Monthly Archives: May 2010

THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA IS ALIVE AND WELL

Posted on May 24, 2010 | 2 comments

A bumper sticker seen on a pickup truck in Charleston, S.C. said:

Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard Be Happy.

That sticker said a lot in a few words. Folks of the conservative persuasion are not given to participating in the nuisance of public demonstration. Self reliance nourishes the soul, life is good and too short to spend it pacing around with signs proclaiming the grievances du jour…normally.

But there is a line. If you will permit me to say it, it is liberally placed. You may step on our toes, you may kick us in the shins with little response. But, my liberal friends, when you bludgeon our groin and aim at the heart of where we live we will rise up.

You may not recognize our furor for it is of a different nature from yours. The Nazi signs you expect are yours, not ours. The spits and slurs you expected are your way, not ours. Whatever hatred we harbor is toward what you believe. Whatever hatred you harbor is toward who we are.

We are the defenders of individual freedom. We are the proponents of equal opportunity for all. We are proud of our country. We are the spirit of America.

Here are samples of how we speak our truth to power.

The day Conservatives stood up.

The Associated Press estimated total attendance to be 2 million.

Farrakhan’s “Million Man March” attracted 400,000 people according to the National Park Service estimate..


Protesters came from every state in the union. This man came from San Antonio, TX . He said that he was really sorry he hadn?t brought his family. He stated that being a black conservative he was afraid to expose his children to what he expected would be a lot of liberal abuse. He was thrilled with the tenor of the event and the fact that no liberals were present to harass him. He spoke about how incredibly intolerant the left is to black individuals who don’t bow to the party line.

Can you hear us now?

You surely will hear from us in November.

Catchy, but premature to be sure.

The fearsome mob.

Protesting in style with humor and a smile.

Check out our website.

The other mob, the one that does not wear SEIU shirts.

Joe the plumber's favorite photo.

This is about as nasty as it got.

******************************

Here are samples of how you speak your truth to power.



And these are the people who claim the moral high ground.

Bob B

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CHAVEZ IS ALSO STUPID

Posted on May 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

Hugo Chavez, the socialist leader of Venezuela is giving the world yet another example of how collectivism works. Under his leadership the Venezuelan Bolivar has been experiencing rapid depreciation. As of last month, April 2010, the rate of decline is at an annual rate of 32.9%.

His government has nationalized privately owned oil companies (sixty of them), metal companies, newspaper companies, universities, banks, food supermarkets, the communications industry and general merchandise retailers. The justification given in many cases was expressly to control inflation. The Venezuelan stores of a large French retailer were closed without notice because they raised their prices in response to inflation.

The government is running all these industries and inflation is running rampant. Nevertheless, Chavez reasons the problem must be elsewhere, in the private sector. He believes he has found the cause. Venezuela imports most of its food. Hugo, in his fractured English declares  “Venezuelan businessmen buy abroad, come here and ask for more than it really costs”. Abomination! If businessmen will not operate at a loss Chavez will take away their businesses and do it for them.

Please God, no profits !


Bob B

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LAST WEEK

Posted on May 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Week ending May 21, 2010

Monday
Lulu of Brazil makes a deal with loon of Iran.


Pres. Lulu looks like Foster Brooks to me. In any event, Brazil gets uranium. Iran gets a friend.

Tuesday
Blumenthal hits the fan.
See the post “It Was A Blumen Lie, So It Was”

Rachel Maddow gets night sweats and vibrates off her seat.
If Rachel vibrates and Matthews tingles MSNBC’s ratings might go up if they were put on the same program. I wonder what would be a good name for the show… Click for video.

Wednesday
Euro slides to 1.22

Chicago bank is too cozy to fail
Breitbart reports that ShoreBank, a community lender with strong ties to the Obama administration gets bailed out.

Thursday
Stock market crashes again.
European nations’ financial irresponsibility drags down American markets.

Friday
Jobless claims rise by largest amount in 3 months
It is not good news.

Bob B

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THE TROUBLE WITH EUROPE

Posted on May 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

Excerpts from European Union: A coalition of irresponsibility by George Will as published in the Washington Post.

  1. By socializing the consequences of Greece’s misgovernment, Europe has become the world’s leading producer of a toxic product — moral hazard. The dishonesty and indiscipline of a nation with 2.6 percent of the eurozone’s economic product have moved nations with the other 97.4 percent — and the United States and the International Monetary Fund — to say, essentially: The consequences of such vices cannot be quarantined, so we are all hostages to one another and hence no nation will be allowed to sink beneath the weight of its recklessness.
  2. Recklessness will proliferate.
  3. [T]he European Union is neither a state nor sovereign enough to enforce its rules: No euro-zone nation is complying with the E.U. requirement that deficits not exceed 3 percent of gross domestic product.
  4. The European Union has a flag no one salutes, an anthem no one sings, a president no one can name, a parliament (in Strasbourg) no one other than its members wants to have power (which must subtract from the powers of national legislatures), a capital (Brussels) of coagulated bureaucracy no one admires or controls, a currency that presupposes what neither does nor should nor soon will exist (a European central government), and rules of fiscal behavior that no member has been penalized for ignoring.

There is nothing I dare add after the eloquence of George Will.

Bob B

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IT WAS A BLUMEN LIE, SO IT WAS

Posted on May 19, 2010 | 1 comment

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. On other occasions he has described the abuse received as a veteran returning from Vietnam.

However, Blumenthal, who is  now running for Senate seat being vacated by Christopher Dodd, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid serving in the military.

By way of clarification he explained he misspeaks a lot. That’s a good one.   The man has given speeches in VFR halls, perhaps that is what he meant by being in the military. I suppose it all depends on what “in” means. However, the spits he endured seem to be seared, seared in his memory.

As far as we know he was never under fire the way Hillary was when she had to run from the helicopter to safety.

My, my, how they lie.

Bob B

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RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

Posted on May 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

In “Kagan on Reagan” a certain sagacious blonde quotes Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as having written of Ronald Reagan’s election that “the world has gone mad, liberalism is dead and that there is no longer any place for the ideals we held or the beliefs we espoused”. The lady, (Kagan, not the blonde) is no moderate. She is a true believer in the progressive theme.

Bye the way,” progressive”, that’s propagandic for regressive of course.

If I were you, I would take a cue from Mae West and go up and see this blonde sometime. You will see a nice set of articles if you do. The key to her room is http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/ .

Next. I noticed the New Yorker magazine has something to say about Tocqueville in America in the latest issue. In 5 or 6 pages they managed to make Christianity look pretty silly but didn’t find space available to print his rather timely statement that “America will last until the populace discovers it can vote for itself largess out of the public treasury”.

Finally. It seems Obama is dissing America by proxy now. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner has been assigned the duty of urging the Chinese to improve their humanitarian policies. He led the discussions by volunteering that Arizona’s new illegal immigration policy is a violation of basic human rights. Somehow I don’t think murdering dissidents is the same thing as enforcing laws on illegal immigration. What is it about this administration that causes them to think negotiations will be more fruitful if you humiliate yourself at the outset?

Bob B

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PAPANDREOU BLAMES AMERICAN BANKS

Posted on May 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

The Greek leader has said he might consider suing American banks as responsible for Greece’s insolvency. This is not as stupid as it sounds. Papandreou knows the lenders are not responsible for his nation’s virtual bankruptcy. He also knows his popularity is plunging and he must focus the anger of the Greek people away from himself if he is to have any hope of continued political power.

There lies throughout Europe an underlying resentment of America and a distrust of banks, Wall Street and capitalism. They serve well as straw men toward which the arrows of public discontent may easily be deflected. The idea of suing the banks may be absurd on its merits but at the same time a wise step for the man who put it forth. This is the mud of which the building blocks of a political house are formed.

This one is for Citibank! And the people cheered.

Nor does it appear the man is fighting a lost cause. Papandreou’s popularity has sunk below 50% but he still leads his closest opponent by 17%. His chances for re-election appear good. In a nation with multiple parties a plurality is all that’s needed.

One should not be too quick to take a politician’s actions at face value. There is an old joke that asks, “How can you tell when a politician is lying?” The answer is “His lips are moving.”

Bob B

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CARTOON by RAMIREZ

Posted on May 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Oh my, if only it worked this way

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LAST WEEK

Posted on May 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Week ending May 14, 2010

Monday
Another flag flap.
One student reprimanded for drawing a picture of the American flag while a classmate is praised for drawing one of Barack Obama.

Detroit News reports that workers prefer unemployment over work.
Correction –
Detroit News reports that people prefer unemployment over work.
Extending unemployment benefits has led to an increase in unemployment.
Read about it here.

Tuesday
We learn of proposal for a medal to be awarded soldiers who exercise “courageous restraint”.
British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, the NATO commander of troops in southern Afghanistan, proposed the idea of awarding a medal to troop who exercise “courageous restraint”. There must be danger for there to be courage. Therefore I presume this medal will be awarded to soldiers who, facing imminent danger to themselves and their comrades, do nothing.

Wednesday
U.S. Treasury announces April deficit was 4 times larger than last year’s deficit.
Federal spending to stimulate people was held partly to blame. IRS action also contributed to the shortfall as they returned some of the peoples’ money to them as tax refunds.

Thursday
Obama administration authorizes killing of a U.S. citizen.
His name is Anwar al-Awlaki, and he is hiding in Yemen. The NY Times reports, “Congress has protected Awlaki’s cellphone calls,” said Vicki Divoll, a former C.I.A. lawyer who now teaches at the United States Naval Academy. “But it has not provided any protections for his life. That makes no sense.”
I agree. I see no reason why we should be protecting terrorists’ phone calls.

Friday
Detroit starts the process of demolishing 10,000 buildings.
There goes the neighborhood. Read about it here.

Bob B

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MARKET MYSTERY SOLVED

Posted on May 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

It was Waddell & Reed, not Fat Finger Freddie

Waddell & Reed is a non-aggressive middle America mutual fund manager. They were hedging, i.e. protecting, the investments they manage by placing an order to sell some derivatives called e-mini contracts. If the market goes down the e-minis go up and vice-verse. It is an easy way to insulate a portfolio from the market temporarily.

The wild impact was due to the confluence of a larger than normal order to sell contracts and an unusually nervous market. Foul play would have been better. You find the culprit, mete out a punishment and increase surveillance for the future. But here there was no culprit. There is nothing to say it will not happen again.

The order in question was for 75,000 contracts into a market that trades 50,000 an hour on average. It is easy to imagine how two or three nervous managers might come in with, say 25,000 each in a short period of time to protect their portfolios as the market starts to tank. I hate to say it, but a rule is needed, not sweeping new regulation but a rule or two so the tail cannot wag the dog.

Bob B

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