We are smack dab in the center of the hurricane’s projected path and in a heavily wooded suburban area. In the last storm we were without power for 4 1/2 days and unable to go anywhere by car for 24 hours due to fallen trees blocking every outlet. And that was just a nameless local storm, severe but not hurricane force.
We are prepared and will be safe, but may not be able to post until after the clean-up. Stay tuned.
Two man-made disasters have hit the Gulf of Mexico in the last year and a half. One largely corrected itself through the miraculous forces of nature with some helpful assistance from government cleanup programs. The second disaster continues to fester and is only getting worse. Mother Nature is powerless to do anything about the second disaster and only fools expect Washington to fix that which Washington broke.
We are talking first about the oil spill caused by lax safety standards on the part of British Petroleum that led to an accidental oil spill, and then about the ill conceived drilling moratorium that followed it. The second disaster was no accident. It was wrong headed intentional action taken by Barack Obama against strong advice from the panel of engineers chosen by the President himself.
The engineers report was so clear and emphatic and contrary to the President’s agenda that the administration saw fit to falsify the report. We reported the fraudulent act here and here at the time.
As of now, ten rigs have left the Gulf of Mexico and gone to locations in Egypt, the Congo, French Guiana, Liberia, Nigeria and Brazil. Three more are expected to leave and eight new rigs that were slated for the Gulf have been re-directed elsewhere. Thousands of jobs have been sacrificed, millions of barrels of domestically produced oil have been forfeited, our dependence on foreign oil has increased, and there is less tax to collect. Correction: less revenue to be earned. The Democrats have done away with taxes.
Posted in News, Political polemics, Uncategorized
Tagged Barack Obama, BP, drilling rig, Gulf of Mexico, jobs lost, offshore, oil spill, revenue lost
An earthquake with its epicenter near Washington DC has caused has created havoc but no great damage and no deaths reported as yet. The Capitol building and the Pentagon were among many buildings evacuated and airports were closed. Check news sources for ongoing details.
The other shock.
The Rasmussen poll that tracks the spread between those who strongly approve and strongly disapprove of President Obama’s performance has gone from 30% plus on his first day in office to 26% minus now. Can we have the election now? Please?
HOLY MACKERALL !
When Anthony Weiner, the former Democratic congressman of Facebook fame resigned in disgrace, it was a foregone conclusion that his replacement would be another Democrat. Only one in four voters in his district is registered as Independents or Republicans. Nonetheless, it is turning out to be a race in this super-solid Democratic district that gave birth to Sen. Schumer and other leading Democrats. The reason is broadly held feelings of deep disgust for Barack Obama among working class Democrats. It’s a local situation with national implications.
From today’s New York Times
Dale Weiss, a 64-year-old Democrat, approached the Republican running for Congress in a special election and, without provocation, blasted the president for failing to tame runaway federal spending. “We need to cut Medicaid,” she declared, “but he won’t do that.” She shook her head in disgust. “He is a moron.”
After nodding approvingly for a time, the Republican candidate, Bob Turner, signaled for an assistant to cut off Ms. Weiss. Frustration with Mr. Obama is so widespread, he explained later, that he tries to limit such rants to about 30 seconds, or else they will consume most of his day.
“It’s endemic in the district,” Mr. Turner said. “You can’t stop them once they get started.”
Working people can be quite forgiving of a leader’s mistakes when they believe the leader is doing his best. People will endure a great deal of hardship from a leader who is with them in it. But even then, there is a limit. When working people see themselves as on a sinking ship and you yell “I’m here to help” as you speed by in your yacht, you have lost them.
In a recent dust-off at a Detroit townhall meeting, Maxine Waters and John Conyers were severely put upon by their black supporters. The folks were angry over the rotten economy and lack of jobs. They demanded that Waters and Conyers get on the president’s case to get something done.
When Waters said “We [the Black Caucus] are supportive of the President,” it was met with howls of discontent. And then, asides from her like “but we’re getting tired” and “we don’t know what the strategy is” revealed that her own support for Barack Obama is fading. But it was her very last words before handing the microphone back that are the most telling of all. She told the crowd “When you let us know when it’s time to let go, we’ll let go”. The Congresswoman was signaling her audience that the Black Caucus is ready to withdraw its support of the President when the community is ready to back them.
Surfing for offsite comments on our recent post Krugman’s Kind of Kommon Sense, I happened upon this blog with a banner tag that read.
If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you were not a racist, you better vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you are not an idiot.
That one deserves a place alongside “If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart. If you are not a conservative when you are old, you have no head.”
Posted in News
Tagged Congressional Black Caucus, John Conyers, Maxine Waters, Obama's support
The President’s big bust tour didn’t go very well. It’s not surprising when you know the tour was in fly over Tea Party country. Even the black congressional caucus didn’t like it. He spent too much time with white folks. Maxine Waters pleaded with Black Caucus followers to “release us” and then we’ll go at him. The Caucus is caught between Scylla and Charybdis on this one.
A recent Newsmax poll found that only 42% of voters will admit they voted for Barack Obama. Now I know why all those Obama/Biden bumper stickers are disappearing from cars everywhere, except in college towns of course.
The goal of public service union leaders is to maximize membership. If two people can easily do the job, five is better. Five votes to count, five dues to collect, what could be sweeter than that? On the other hand, the taxpayers, as citizens paying the wages are entitled to a day’s work for a day’s wages paid. The negotiating table is supposed to resolve the conflict of interest between the public service unions and we the people. But it’s the union dues that put the negotiators in their seats across the table. What could be sourer than that?
Charles Koch responds to Warren Buffet
“Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending. I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington. — Charles G. Koch, Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries, Inc.
Charlie must be reading RandomThots. We said here last Monday.
Posted in News, Opinion, Political polemics, Randoms
Tagged bus tour, Charles G. Koch, Maxine Waters, public service unions, Warren Buffet
Image via Wikipedia
By now, any knowledgeable person knows that the Obama White House is no friend of Israel. Jerusalem is a holy city to Muslims, Jews and Christians alike. Wkikpedia states that Jerusalem is the largest city in Israel. There is no reason to doubt the Obama administration acknowledges its size. But they don’t seem to know where it is.
Tagged Israel, Jerusalem, Middle East, West Bank, White House website
Image via Wikipedia
Most people are aware of the Do Not Call Registry whereby you can block telemarketers and others from making unsolicited phone calls to your home. When they wrote this law, Congress saw fit to exempt themselves and their campaign fund raising operations from the law. As outrageous as that may be, it is not the subject of this article. To stop the telephone calls go to www.DoNotCall.gov/register/reg.aspx .
It is a lesser known fact that there is a “do not send” registry whereby you can block some of the junk mail from being sent to your address. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) limits the conditions under which consumer reports can be used to make prescreened offers. You can “OPT OUT” of receiving solicitations from credit card and insurance companies where these conditions are not met. Solicitors who have used consumer reporting services to determine your creditworthiness, will be precluded from sending offers to you in the mail. Only certain financial junk mail can be stopped, but any reduction of this stuff is worth the time it takes to make a phone call.
To opt out call 1-888-567-8688 (1-888-5-OPTOUT). You will be given the choice of opting out permanently or just for 5 years. Why anyone would choose to allow unwanted solicitations to resume after 5 years is one of those mysteries that come with government programs. You will be asked to provide your name, address, social security number and date of birth. You can also opt out online at www.optoutprescreen.com .
We have all been advised to use caution before providing our social security number to anyone. This link will take you to the Federal Trade Commission website to confirm the legitimacy of the Opt Out program
It would be natural to assume this is part of the Obama administration’s new consumer protection legislation because some of its provisions and revisions are only now coming into effect. However, FCRA was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996.
Image via Wikipedia
In this debt debate, do you really know who has offered what? Did Obama agree on some things, and then raise the bar when they were accepted as some Republicans have said? Or did he not? Name three key points and the numbers involved on which the two sides disagree. Okay, then name one, with the numbers, of course.
I have warned from the beginning that if we skirted legislative process in favor of closed-door White House meetings, we would find ourselves in the 11th hour with gimmick-filled legislation being rushed through to a panic-driven vote. … We should try the one thing that has been refused from the beginning: open hearings, regular order, and real legislative process. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R AL).
But then, let’s follow the law–that is, the Congressional Budget Act, which the Democrats have wantonly ignored. Let’s have committee hearings and craft legislation in the light of day; let’s debate the resulting bills on the floors of the House and Senate; let’s propose and debate amendments; let’s allow the American people and third-party experts to see and to evaluate the tax and spending proposals that our representatives want to enact. That’s the way the federal government is supposed to conduct its fiscal business. Let’s get back to it. John Hinderaker (Power Line blog)
Obfuscation is a tactic. It hides the truth. The majority of the public wants to see spending reduced. The truth is Obama wants to see federal spending increased. The truth hurts his cause. But closed doors cannot block discernment. The President is digging himself into a hole on this one.
RANDOM THOTS 