Meat must be rationed to four portions a week, says report on climate change

On another note read what these MORONS have to say.
Like that is gonna happen.

How about we put some energy into dealing with Global warming (assuming it is a problem) rather then engaging in these fantasies.

I can not believe a warm planet means the end our civilization.

You MUST See This

This video shows who is responsible for the mess we are in.

http://www.youtube.com/TheMouthPeace

Do yourself a favor. See it and spread it.

The Reason for the Siezing (of the economy)

Hats off to Monmouth Musings. Take a look at the Fox video that reveals the reason for the crisis and the videos which explain the House Republicans position. These tell it like it is.

The fact of the matter is Wall Street has us by the short hairs. They are overreacting. Yeah they have some bad mortgage loans but enough to bring down the economy? They say it has caused a credit crunch. Do they really have to stop lending to everyone or maybe they should just stop lending to bad risks? The stock market is tanking. Why? many of these companies still have strong value. The amount of decline is because of one thing. PANIC. Wall Street should follow the advice they give us and invest for the long term. The question is how do you stop an irrational overreaction?

If we do nothing and make Wall Street fix its own problems do we have a year long recession or do we have a Depression? Can we afford to take the gamble? We have to do something but I tend to think that the Paulson plan stinks. Can we find a better way. Rep. Thadeus Cotter has some good points. Are there any economists out there who want to weigh in.

Good Job

Good Job Voice of Reason.

Evolving Thoughts on Financial Crisis

As a capitalist I have been very conflicted about this bailout. These financial institutions made bad financial decisions so they should fail.

However the number of companies facing failure all at once may be too much for the economy to handle. We could be facing a major long term recession or even depression if they fail. I do not know for sure but we can not afford to take the risk. So I reluctantly will agree that the government needs to take some action.

What should they do? Well I am leery of Paulson’s plan because he is from Wall Street. I think that colors his view of what should be done. He thinks Wall Street is the be all and end all and I think he shares Wall Streets tendency to overreact to Wall Streets problems. (really Wall Street has over-reacted and that is part of the problem).

So I am not ready to roll over and agree to whatever he wants. I hope the package it gives the taxpayers the ability to make their money back. I do agree that if we are bailing these companies out there management should forget about golden parachutes.
It will be interesting to see what the deal finally looks like.

The Dolphin and the Congressman.

I usually do not do local stories but this one is such a great illustration of what is wrong with Congress. (well one thing that is wrong) that I had to do it.

Some background. A pod of dolphins have taken up residence in a local tidal estuary. If they do not leave before winter sets in they probably will not survive. Now many people want us to rescue the dolphins by forcibly removing them or driving them out. NOAA officials say that should not be done until they are in clear peril which is not yet the case because forcibly rescuing them could kill a lot of them. It also begs the question as to why tax dollars should be used to interfere in a completely natural process but that is not what we will talk about today.

Today's paper had an article about how one of the juvenile dolphins expired , probably from pneumonia. The Article reveals that Congressman Frank Pallone (D) wrote a letter to the Marine Fisheries Service requesting they implement a Dolphin evacuation plan.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME! We are trying to deal with major economic issues an energy problem, massive hurricane damage in Texas and two wars ( not to mention the closing of a local military base that he has dropped the ball on) and this clown is wasting his time worrying about some Dolphins? Is this what his constituents elected him to worry about? This is illustrative of why Congress does not work. They can do not understand what their job is. He probably got a few letters from some whack jobs about the Dolphins and decided the issue could get him another 20 or 30 votes. So while he fiddles around Rome burns. Why idiots like this get re-elected is beyond my comprehension.

I ♥ Bill Clinton

Does anyone out there really believe the Clintons want Obama to win. That would mean Hillary has to wait 8 long years to run for President. If Obama looses she gets a shot in 4. (imagine an election Hillary v Sarah WOW).
Bill is out there doing everything he can to deep six Obama in a way that he can not be openly criticized for.
He has said nice things about Palin like he gets why people like her. The latest is; "Bill Clinton praised Sarah Palin Wednesday, saying he found the Alaska governor an “appealing person” and her and her family “gutsy, spirited and real.” and "I think that it’s best to say that Senator McCain looks like he knew what he was doing. He picked somebody who gave him a lot of energy, a lot of support.”

Previously he has said politically Hillary would have been the best choice politically for Obama but she did not really want the second spot. he has also said Democrats should not launch personal attacks on Palin.

Then Clinton defended "Sen. John McCain's request to delay the first presidential debate, saying McCain did it in "good faith" and pushed organizers to reserve time for economy talk during the debate if the Friday plans move forward".

Cinton says he will campaign for Obama after the Jewish Holidays. Obama must be praying that is not true. Imagine this phone call: Hi Bill this is Barack. You know Alaska is turning out to be a key state for us. Could you spend the next six weeks going door to door in Nome. I know its cold but we really need you up there.

I hope all you Clinton Cool Aid drinkers are getting the message. The fastest way for Hillary to become president is to vote for McCain in November.

SOLAR WIND DIMINISHES

I was going to write a piece on this article about the Solar Wind Diminishing because I thought the article was interesting and entertaining. Then I realized I could not write commentary more entertaining then the comments people have already posted on the article. So I recommend you read it. It will be fun.

The Bail Out

I am conflicted about this Bail out. My gut does not like government intervention in the market.

Why should these companies who screwed up be bailed out. What would be the actual effect on the economy if they failed? How do you bail them out and tell the guy who can not pay his mortgage Tough Luck?

On the other hand is it staving off a depression? A short recession is survivable but no one wants to re-live 1929. Larry Kudlow who I like and is a lover of free markets thinks it is a good thing and if it is done right the taxpayers will make money. He claims they made money on the S&L bailout.

I have a lot of questions on this one. Anybody out there have answers? I would love to hear what some experts think?

Race Effects The Race?

So there is a study out that racial factors could cause Obama to loose the election if it is close.

Apparently racial attitudes among Democrats and independents are causing some problems.

"The pollsters set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats"

I am sure there are racists in all parties who would not vote for a black man. I am not sure if I buy that is the source of Obama's problems. The study did reveal some lingering stereotypes. I know a couple of elderly Karry Voters who will not vote for Obama. Probably because he is Black. On the other hand there are a few people who are so anxious to elect a black man to prove we are not racists that they ignore the mans short comings

One thing though "The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites"

Is that racist? Seems to me there are blacks out there who do try harder and are successful. Is it racist to say that? It does not seem to me to be a racist thing to say. The fact is there are bigots. There will always be bigots. There is no longer institutional racism. Individual bigots can not hold back the entire Black community. What is holding back the majority of blacks is there own culture. Not Racism.



The study does mention this.

"Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that."



But what will really cost Obama is the independents. I bet he looses them by a few percentage points. Not because of race but because people are realizing that 1. he is not what he pretends to be and 2. the change he wants to bring would be bad change.



He says he will not raise taxes on the middle class. That is a lie. He will have to raise taxes on everyone to re image government the way he wants it. He is not a moderate. I will beat the drum again he is a socialist. His friends are radical socialist. His voting record is rated as more liberal then the only admitted socialist in Congress(Bernie Saunders who runs for office in Vermont on the Socialist ticket)

The only color that bothers me and a lot of other Americans is Socialist RED, and Obama is that shade of RED!

Another reason

Woody Allen says in Spain

It would be a disgrace and a humiliation if Barack Obama does not win," he told Spanish journalists at the ongoing 56th San Sebastian film festival, where his latest film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is being screened

Don't these guys realize every time they open their mouths 20 more REAL Americans living in the heartland decide to vote for McCain.

How Bad?

This is on the Drudge Report

DOW UP 40 POINTS IN PAST MONTH... UP 18% PAST 5 YEARS... UP 44% PAST 10 YEARS...

Think about it . More to come.

More on Palin

I am not a big Pat Buchanan fan. Mostly because I think hie personality is a little harsh and I strongly disagree with him on immigration.

however this is hits the nail on the head. read it.

I particularly like this because it is dead on.

"Normally, the press is reluctant to rummage into the private lives of public servants, unless their conduct affects their duties or they preach virtues they hypocritically do not practice.
Yet, no sooner was Palin introduced, than the media went berserk over the news that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. As one in three births in America is out-of-wedlock and Hollywood celebrates this lifestyle, why did The New York Times and The Washington Post splash this "news" on page one above the fold?
How does Bristol Palin's pregnancy disqualify Sarah Palin to be vice president? Why is it even relevant?
They did it because they thought it would damage Sarah Palin in the eyes of a Christian community they do not comprehend."

YOUR LOSS, MY GAIN

Warren Buffet (that's Warren the billionaire not Jimmy the beach Bum) has gone on a buying spree. He is snapping up companies. This is why he is a billionaire. He maintains a strong cash position AND he knows that bad news also means opportunity.

The other thing this indicates is that Warren has confidence in the US economy. He would not be spending his cash if he did not think that we would rapidly pull out of this crisis.

While I do not comprehend his political leanings the guy deserves kudos for being a great financier.

Energy Fraud

Congress is at it again. The Democrats pushed through a an energy bill (without letting Republicans add any amendments) that allows drilling no closer then 50 miles from the shore.
Now they can go home for the election and pretend they did what a majority of the country wants.

The problem is they did not do what the people want and the legislation is a fraud. OVER 80% OF THE OIL IS CLOSER IN THEN 50 MILES. Once again the Democrats are hoping that the the public is stupid.

A special award goes to delegation of my home state of New Jersey. Those pandering politicians wouldn't even vote for that.

An extra special award to State Senator Joseph Kyrillos (R) who the same day said he was worried that if people could see windmills off the coast it would hurt the tourism industry.
Does he actaully believe that? I do not know which is worse. That he believes it or that he is pandering to the envionrmental extremists. Did anyone do an economic analysis to see if the alleged drop in tourism would be offset by the boon to our economy of developing offshore energy resources? probably not.

While our economy and national security continue to deteriorate because we must import our energy the politicians fiddle.

Government and the Economy

What role should the government play in the economy.

The first thing they should do is protect us from fraud. I have often said it is not the governments job to protect us from ourselves. It is however their job to protect us from the fraudulent and anti-competitive actions of others. Therefore securities regulations, anti trust regulations and consumer protection laws are all good things.

Deposit insurance is a good thing. People should have one place to put there money that is 100% safe.

The Federal Reserve is also a good thing. Obviously it is also the job of the government to negotiate commercial and trade arrangements with other countries.

After that what the government can do is things like keep government spending in line with tax revenues and keep taxes low.

Reforming Social Security the right way could give the economy a fifty year boost.

They also need to concentrate on maintaining infrastructure. A little historical note. During the first half of the 1800's one of the hottest political debates was should the government be involved in internal improvements. I think history has shown that this is one area where the government can do a better job then private industry. (why this is would be too long to digress into now).

These things will insure that the base of our economy is strong.

What the government should not do is regulate the amount of risk investors can take.

NO TAKERS

Well unfortunately I could get no Democrats to take the bait. No one cared to explain what government actions are causing our current economic problems.

That is probably because it is not caused by the government. I will let you in on a little secret. Government action is not the only or even biggest driver of economic trends.

The current crisis has a couple of components to it. One was high oil prices. This was caused by a number of concurrent international developments as well as some speculation in the market. However the market is correcting itself and prices are coming down. By Christmas I predict a gallon of Gas will be down to at least $3.00.

The second is the housing. Housing prices typically trend upward. However every 8 to 10 years the market gets overly exuberant and something happens that causes a correction. This usually hurts people trying to sell and developers but helps people trying to buy. It also has some effect on the general economy although short term in nature

This time is a little different. people can not take lower prices because they borrowed too much. This causes foreclosures which hurts lenders.

So this problem was caused by individuals and financial institutions making some bad decisions.
Not by a government action or inaction. Certainly not by tax cuts or any other Bush policy. BTW lest we forget it was the Republican tax cuts that that prevented a major recession after 9/11.

You could argue that the problem would have been avoided by more federal regulation of financial markets. However the Democrats really do not want to go there as Democrats have shielded Fannie Mack and Sallie Mae from stricter oversight and it was the Clinton Administration who deregulated financial markets blurring the lines between commercial and investment banking.

You could also argue that if the government had stayed out of the housing market instead of adopting policies that encouraged lending to people who really can not afford home ownership the problem would have been avoided but who wants to touch that sacred Cow?

Besides more regulation means less risk taking. Less risk taking means leass reward.

All in all the financial crisis we are in is just part of the business cycle. There will be winners and losers by the time it is all done. It is part of capitalism. More Government micromanagement of the economy is not the answer.

Next up what role should the government play in the economy?

Now they are both full of it.

Obama and McCain have both made statements that the financial failure that are occurring will not happen on their watch.

OOHHH PULLLease. As if anyone could keep that promise. Besides if they could keep it that would be a bad thing. The failure of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Freddie Mack, Sallie May etc..etc... where caused by something I like to refer to as" the free market". yes the financial genius at these companies got carried away and made bad decisions and now they are paying the price. Just like a lot of Americans accrued more debt then they could handle and are now paying the price. The Market rewards good decisions and eventually punishes bad decisions. Here is a novel concept people in the market must be responsible for the consequences of their actions. Ohh wait we do not believe in responsibility.

If we regulate away the ability of people to make bad financial decisions they will be limited in the amount of risk they can take and some highly profitable good decisions will be foreclosed to them thereby limiting the ability of the market to work. Two sides same coin. Some bad decisions have to be made to get some good ones. You have to have failures in order to have success..


All these "bad decisions" that these companies made and which eventually caused their
failure allowed these companies to make a lot of money for a lot of years. Introduced new capital into a lot of markets. Allowed a lot of people to buy homes who are not loosing there homes.

I would love to see some economist do a study as the whether the whole thing was a net gain for the economy a loss or a break even. Wouldn't that be interesting.

lets not Panic. do not through the baby out with the bath water. We will experience some short term pain, some more then others (and perhaps deservedly so) but we will easily survive this and if we do not overreact be better off in the long run

New Jersey Governor Corzine; Hypocrite and Jerk

I just heard Governor Corzine on the radio blame the fall of Lehman Brothers and Merril Lynch on 10 years of deregulation.

Thats it attack the same system that made you a multi billionaire and allowed you to buy the office of Governor.

WHAT deregulation Governor? What has changed over the last 10 years? what regulations where bdone away with that caused this so called calamity? What has the Democratic Congress tried to do to fix it?

WHO HAS INTEGRITY

Not Obama, Check out this link. Obama was willing to play around with our troops and our foreign policy in order to gain an election advantage.

McCain on the other hand was willing to loose an election rather then do what he thought was the wrong thing

Please Explain

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Monday the upheaval on Wall Street was "the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression" and blamed it on policies that he said Republican rival John McCain supports.

Ok now somebody explain what policies and how with some specifics.

Is That asking too much?

THIS EXPLAINS A LOT

Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.

This explains why vegetarians are always liberals.

Be conservative eat meat!

Don't Forget the Challenge

Don't forget to take the challenge

Jesus and Pontius Pilot enter the election

This really takes the cake. Are you ready.

The latest Democrat talking point is Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilot was a Governor. Three Democratic talking heads include the despicable Donna Brazil used that line on different shows recently. Are they kidding! Usually they want to keep religion out of politics but they keep using this Messianic and God imagery with Obama. And to compare an elected Governor of Alaska with Pontius Pilot is really ridiculous. This really is not going to get them votes in the heartland. NOT!

Look experience of a particular type is not the be all and end all. You do have to prove that you have accomplished something and that you have sound judgment if you want to convince people you are capable of leading the free world. Obama has not shown either.

If you want to convince people he is up to the job based on his resume how about starting
with explaining exactly what a community organizer does. I do not think that is how Jesus would describe himself that way but hey who knows. I sure don,t because I am still not sure what one does.
I once organized my neighborhood to hold a giant garage sale. Am I a community organizer. Maybe I should run for president.

More important then what a community organizer does is what did Obama accomplish as a community organizer. He has not gotten that message out. We sure know what Palin accomplished as governor we know what McCain has accomplished in the Senate.

Even if Obama tried to accomplish something but did not pull it off that would be interesting to know. We learn a lot from our failures and I give points for trying.

So if the Democrats want to convince people that Obama has the experience and judgment to lead this country tell us what he accomplished and stop with the God comparisons because that is one job definitely above his pay grade.

Palin and Prayer

My two favorite subjects religion and politics have once again intersected.

The liberal hoi poloi are all in an uproar because... Governor Palin prays. OHHH the horror.

Yes she asked her church to pray that a gas pipeline would get built and she prayed that gay people would no longer be gay.

And this is a problem for who? Millions of people in this country pray every day. They pray they get a job, they pray for healing, The pray a hurricane does not hit them. I know gay people who have prayed to God to relieve them of there affliction.

Does prayer work. Sometimes? Do I understand why some prayers are answered and some are not. Nope I just know that God knows best. He sees the big picture you might say. If he does not answer a prayer he has a perfect reason. My mind just can't grasp it.

Are there some things we should not pray for. Probably. I imagine God would frown on prayer that requested something bad happen. But Governer Palin did not pray for anything bad. I have my own ideas about what I should bother God with but I am not qualified to judge whether a prayer is proper or not.

The problem these prayer critics have is that Sarah Palin "clings" to her religion and in there mind she must be ignorant. Well I suspect that the millions of people who have prayed at some point in their life are going to be offended by that implication. I know I am.

Obama on Tax cuts

Obama has been running on his claim that Bush's tax cuts are bad and he would do a way with them.

Yesterday he said he might keep them around for a little bit if the economy is bad.

This is a tacit admission that the so called "tax cuts for the rich" are good for the economy.

It also exposes the fact that Obamas tax policy is not based an economics but based on wealth redistribution.

Can you say socialist?

PHIL GRAM WAS RIGHT.

Phil gram got in trouble for calling us a nation of whiners. An impolitic thing to say but essentially correct.

I will explain why in a later post. First I have a challenge to all of you out their who think the economy is bad.

Answer these question?

1. What is bad about the economy?

2. What government policies caused the bad economy.

3. What should the government do to fix what is bad?

Let us see if anyone out there has actually thought this through.

GOD, GUNS, & GUTS MADE AMERICA GREAT

McCain / Palin has all three!

Sexism is alive!

Can you Imagine anyone suggesting that a man should not be president because he has a large family or a disabled child?

Did anyone suggest AL gore should not be president because his teenage son was getting into some trouble?

The media has already spent more time on the pregnancy of a 17 year old girl then they have on Obama's close relationship with Ayers, a non repentant Weather Underground terrorist , a rascist minister and a and Tony Resco an indicted businessman.

The media has already raised more questions about Sarah Palin's experience then they have about Obama's and by any measure she has more experience then both professionally and real life.

But according to the liberals and feminists evangelicals are the sexists. Remember how the Media tarred the Promise Keeper movement. I am a Promise Keeper and my wife has a successful career and BOTH OF US have made career and personal sacrifices for the sake of our children. As a result we have intelligent well behaved children. It takes work but it is possible to do a good job raising children while both spouses work. I know a lot of people just like us. Believe me Conservative Christians and blue collar workers will identify with and admire Sarah Palin.

They are not the sexists.

Sarah Palin is an example of what real equality is all about and she is an excellent choice for Vice President.

NO Excuses

The truth of the matter is I have not done any posting because in the summer there are just to many other things (that are more fun) to do. I admit it. Now I have probably lost any one who actually read this blog. The second truth is I write this for my own amusement anyway so I am not overridden with guilt. The third and final truth is that blogging is a lot more work then you would think.

Now that the summer is sadly coming to an end and politics is really heating up perhaps I will become more diligent about posting. If anyone out there happens to wander across this site accidentally please leave a sign of your passing and if anything I say intrigues you check back occasionally