Category Archives: Political polemics

OLIVER STONE LOVES HUGO CHAVEZ

Posted on June 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

Out of the land of Oz comes lavish praise for one of the worlds best known nation destroyers, from one of the worlds best known film makers.

The Associated Press reported Friday:

CARACAS, Venezuela — American filmmaker Oliver Stone said Friday he deeply admires Hugo Chavez.

Stone heaped praise on Chavez, saying he is leading a movement for “social transformation” in Latin America.

“He’s a soldier and he speaks from his heart,” Stone said. “His vision is huge. … And he will go down in history.”

Stone said President Barack Obama’s administration, in spite of initially inspiring hope, hasn’t done anything to improve U.S. relations with Chavez or his Latin American allies.

The director [Oliver Stone] defended his decision not to interview Chavez’s opponents, saying that people already hear those complaints and that the movie is not intended as a detailed examination of Chavez’s record.

Does Stone really believe this or has he sold his soul to the devil for the sake of his film? Some members of the entertainment industry live in a bubble within a bubble, utterly unable to see out and beyond, to the real world. Michael Moore looks toward Cuba and sees a utopia. Venezuela is fast becoming a basket case yet Sean Penn is blind to it, and so it seems, is Oliver Stone.

Bob B

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CLINTON CALLS FOR MORE TAXES FROM THE RICH

Posted on May 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Hillary has just piped up with her opinion that the rich still have too much money: “The rich are not paying their fair share. – Wealthy Americans don’t pay enough taxes.”

In support of her argument that income tax rates should be increased on the rich, Hillary cites Brazil, “Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what — they’re growing like crazy.” One should never trust a Clinton. Income taxes are lower in Brazil, not higher. The maximum income tax rate in Brazil is 27.5%. In the U.S. it is 35% and going higher when the Bush tax cuts expire.

Random Thots readers will be quick to note that Mrs. C. quoted the “tax to GDP rate”, not an income tax rate. She knows very well that that distinction will be lost among the vast audience of her remark. Those quick enough to catch it will also be astute enough to know it signifies a low GDP, not a high tax rate. Furthermore, in no way is it a measure of relative tax on the wealthy.

There is a faction in this country that longs for America to be more like some other country. Hillary and Gore like Brazil. Tom Friedman at the New York Times has lamented time and again that we should be more like China. The whole Democratic Party seems to prefer we become more like Europe. Perhaps we should set aside a state like Vermont or Minnesota and set up a government with finances like that of Greece, health care like that of England, human rights like China and crime like Brazil then offer it as a refuge for those with such longings.

Bob B

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OBAMA NOW RUNNING BRITISH PETROLEUM

Posted on May 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

Obama making it perfectly clear.

Barack H. Obama, the current president of the United States, just held a press conference, his first in over a year. As you probably know, a foreign oil company has been spilling a lot of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. It started more than a month ago (April 20) and apparently our current president thought it was time he said something about it.

Obama said his people ordered the company to drill two holes as part of the effort to control the spill instead of the single one that executives had proposed. “BP is operating at our direction,” Obama said. “Every key decision and action they take must be approved by us in advance,” adding that, “if the Coast Guard ordered BP to do something, they are legally bound to do it. BP is not running around wherever it wants and nobody’s minding the store,” Obama said. “Our teams are authorized to direct BP, in the same way that they’d be authorized to direct those teams if they were technically being paid by the government.”

When a reporter asked about Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s comment that the administration has their “boots on the neck” of the oil company, Obama replied “We don’t need to use language like that. What we need are actions that make sure BP is held accountable.” It is unfortunate Salazar did not consult with the vice president about the use of language before making that statement.

Elizabeth Birnbaum was head of the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that oversees offshore oil drilling. She just resigned. A reporter by the name of Chip Reid asked our current president about it. He replied that he knew she was gone, and added “I don’t know the circumstances in which this occurred.”

Presumably as a  courtesy to clear Ms Birnbaum, lest she be blamed for the accident, Obama told the reporter that corrupt practices of the Bush administration are what led to the disaster.

The President announced he was running BP at about 1:16 pm. By 1:38 pm  BP executives declared the flow had begun to slow and the oceans had started to clean. Obama will visit the Louisiana shoreline tomorrow to view the damage. It is presumed that from there, he will walk out to the sight of the spill and turn the remaining oil into wine.

The transcript of our current president’s more or less annual press conference is here.

Bob B

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CORDOBA HOUSE AT GROUND ZERO

Posted on May 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

A mosque in your face!

That is the theme of Cordoba House, the mosque the muslim community is organizing to build in what was once the shadow of the World Trade Center towers. Manhattan Community Board One endorsed the plan by a 29 to 1 vote.

My instant reactive thought was “how soon they forget”. But there was no forgetting. Relatives were there to remind board members of the horror and remind them they did. Had I been at that meeting I would have worn the pass I still have to admit me to the South Tower and I would have told of a young Oriental woman trapped on an upper floor. She called her mother and spoke of the unbearable heat. Her mother suggested she remove her top; it was no time for modesty. The daughter replied, “I tried, but I cannot. It is stuck to my skin.” That young woman was one among others who were baked to death that day.

The 29 board members in support of the mosque are not insensitive. They are headless and heartless. The very name proposed for the mosque confirms the objective in choosing the location and infers concurrence with the mission undertaken by Mohammed Atta. Cordoba was the Capital of Al-Andalus, the Islamic Caliphate that ruled much of Spain during the Middle Ages. One of Al-Qaida’s main goals proclaimed after the 9/11 attack was the restoration of the Cordoba Caliphate in Al-Andalus.

The muslim faith divides the world into two parts, dar al Islam and dar al harb. the house of faith and the house of war. The house of war fights on two fronts, violent Jihad and non violent diaspora. The mission of diaspora is to occupy, populate and wait but do not assimilate. The mission of 911 was Jihad. The mission of Cordoba House is fulfillment the commandments of diaspora.

Dar al harb welcome in the heart of liberalland

The Manhattan Community Board One has no authority to approve or deny construction. They exist to express the feelings of their community. Perhaps they should disband. It seems their community has no feelings.

Bob B

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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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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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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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GREEK CRISIS, U.S. PARALLELS

Posted on May 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

Regarding the Greek crisis today in the New York Times we read,

“…the basic problem is the same. Both countries have a bigger government than they’re paying for.”
And,

“We have not figured out the kind of government we want. We’re in favor of Medicare, Social Security, good schools, wide highways, a strong military — and low taxes. Dealing with this disconnect will be the central economic issue of the next decade, in Europe, Japan and this country.

Many people, including some who claim to be outraged by the deficit, still haven’t acknowledged the disconnect.”

One begins to wonder if it is really the New York Times one is reading. The paper of record continues, “…politicians, spendthrift as some may be, are not the main source of the problem. We, the people, are.” First mention on the list of those responsible for governmental overspending goes to Tea Party members. All doubts are removed; it is indeed the New York Times.

The article characterizes Obama’s promise of no tax increase for those earning less than 250,000 as unrealistic. That’s kind of them. The Chief Economist at Treasury is quoted, “It’s not a matter of whether we have the resources to solve our problems, it’s a matter of political will.” and the NYT adds their own comment “For now at least, our elected officials are hardly the only ones who lack that will.”

Can’t blame Bush, he’s gone. Can’t blame the current administration, that’s against newspaper policy. Can’t blame politicians while the Democrats are in control. That leaves the public. My fellow American’s, pleased be advised, you and I are the problem, not Washington.

Bob B

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WASHINGTON BY THE WEEK

Posted on May 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

In the future this feature will be titled LAST WEEK. The old title was a bit too restrictive.

Week ending May 7, 2010
Monday
Obama reveals the size of our nuclear stockpile to our enemies.
Obama, as our President, sits in for us in the world wide poker game played between sovereign nations. It is a game of life and death. Our leader chooses to show his hand for all the world to see. We need a new leader.

Bloomberg to Couric – Times Square bomber may have been Obamacare protester
We all know better now. Hizzoner should have known better then.

Tuesday
Schwarzenegger ends his support for offshore oil drilling
I told you. He isn’t a Republican.

Wednesday
Osama bin Laden is in Washington, D.C.
Ahmadinejad said so, and he ought to know. He was kidding, of course. (???)

Bob Woodward is doing Barack Obama
This one is guaranteed to be a best seller. Scheduled for September release.

Yahoo News reports “Congress makes too many vague laws.”
If Yahoo thinks that’s news, it explains why their name is Yahoo.

Thursday
Al Sharpton speaks for Karl Marx
“No Social Justice Until Everything ‘Equal in Everybody’s House’.”
I presume anyone owning two cars is going to have to give one of them to someone who has no car. It’s the only path to justice, especially of the other person won’t work and save to earn one.

Friday
Unemployment comes in at 9.9% or 17.1% depending on how you look at it
If Obama wants to replicate Franklin Roosevelt he has to get higher numbers than that. FDR got the official number up to 23.2% after being in office for two years. To be fair, he had a head start. They were 18% when he took office. But he did hold them up very well. Unemployment was still 17.4% at the end of his sixth year.

Bob B

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