If the Shoe Fits

My son-in-law Mark sent me this interesting article from Yahoo of all places. Yahoo copped it from Politco, which is more understandable, but you know you've got image problems when Yahoo feels emboldened enough to actually run it!

The article details 7 story lines about him that Obama and crew really don't want you to indulge. Here they are:

He thinks he’s playing with Monopoly money.

Well, he has tripled the deficit all by himself. A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon we're talking real money!

Too much Leonard Nimoy.

Hmm. As in Mr. Spock. Perhaps a little too cerebral and a certain lack of say decisiveness. But on the other hand...

That’s the Chicago Way!

Rahm Emmanuel, Robert Gibbs, Rezko and the great real estate deal , and oh, where's Daley?

He’s a pushover.

Don't know, ask Ahmadinejad.

He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe.

Those are pretty much his own words. www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/01/american-exceptionalism/

President Pelosi.

That one's got cojones.

He’s in love with the man in the mirror.

The myth of Narcissus really isn't a myth?

Read the article and see what you do think. I think some of these are starting to gain traction, eh Mr. Spock?

news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091130/pl_politico/29993;_ylt=AtzWUnpid43xQKJ.ZXSmGrKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFpZGk4OXJxBHBvcwMzNQRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX21vc3RfcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDdXNwcmVzaWRlbnRi

A Great Nation Only Has Interests, Not Friends

Here is an enlightening piece from the German magazine Der Spiegel giving the European view of the efficacy of Obama's new warm and fuzzy approach to foreign policy. In one word - "zilch."

As the writer says:

"Upon taking office, Obama said that he wanted to listen to the world, promising respect instead of arrogance. But Obama's currency isn't as strong as he had believed. Everyone wants respect, but hardly anyone is willing to pay for it. Interests, not emotions, dominate the world of realpolitik."

Indeed. Of course there is more than a little irony here, as the Europeans have for decades been able to get by with similar policies because the United States was the adult minding the store and keeping the bad guys at bay. Irony notwithstanding, the article closes with a quote from Newt Gingrich that is dead on:

"Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead," Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, recently said. And then he added: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter."

The United States is not Belgium and can't act like it. Those to whom much is given, much is expected, Mr.President.

www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,662822,00.html

Happy Thanksgiving

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Profiles in Courage

Zimbabwe is the rape victim of Robert Mugabe. Michael Gerson profiles the courage of two women standing up to him and his thugs and refusing to live in their stink. On 10/17/09 I wrote of Nobel prize nominee Morgan Tsvangirai taking on Mugabe in the political sphere. Here are two more names worthy of a Nobel nomination: Magodonga Mahlangu and Jennifer Williams. They are leading protests to hold the government accountable for providing basic governmental services like sewage disposal and keep getting arrested and beaten for their efforts time and again. Yet they keep doing it because they want to "live truthfully." This is the real deal "speaking truth to power" and my hat is off to these women who refuse to live in the stink.

townhall.com/columnists/MichaelGerson/2009/11/25/refusing_to_live_in_the_stink

Pay $200; Do Not Pass Go!

I posted on 8/17/09 about the debacle of the Continental Express jet stranding its passengers in Minnesota and what might be done to stop airlines from treating stranded passengers like cattle. The Department of Transportation has just fined the 3 airlines involved a total of $175,00, which should have some salutary effect. The DOT penalty did provide that half the fine could be waived if the airlines spent an equivalent amount on training their people how to properly handle such events. It is amazing and sad that employees in a service industry have to be taught how to treat passengers like humans, but I guess that's the age in which we live.


online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704611404574556161892196296.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs

A Call to Conscience

Here is a story that I haven't seen covered in the so-called mainstream media. Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian leaders have come together to draw a line in the sand in the culture wars by signing the Manhattan Declaration. www.manhattandeclaration.org/

Chuck Colson explains the purpose of it thusly:

"The Declaration begins by reminding readers that for 2,000 years, Christians have borne witness to the truths of their faith. This witness has taken various forms—proclamation, seeking justice, resisting tyranny, and reaching out to the poor, oppressed, and suffering.

Having reminded readers about why and how Christians have spoken out in the past, the Declaration then turns to what especially troubles us today—the threats to the sanctity of human life, the institution of marriage, and religious freedom."

www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11617059/

Christians have had it so easy in this country for so long that, like the proverbial frog who doesn't recognize that the temperature of the pot in which he sits is rising, many are totally unaware of the growing threats to religious freedom and social institutions that will change the U.S. into a country that we do not know. If you agree, you can sign the Manhattan Declaration at www.colsoncenter.org/wfp-home

Would They Do It Again?

The men and women who fought WWII truly are the Greatest Generation. They left home and family and literally saved the world. There is a smug little bumper sticker about that says, "War Never Solved Anything". Tell it to these folks and then ask Hitler and Tojo for their take on it.

A new book just published in England, though, documents the deep disillusionment of British WWII vets with what Britain has become. Many say that if they had it to do over again, they wouldn't. It is sobering and sad and makes one wonder what American WWII vets would say if asked the same questions. England and the United States seem to be becoming countries filled with, as C.S. Lewis put it, "men with hollow chests." The same cannot be said of the Greatest Generation.


www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229643/This-isnt-Britain-fought-say-unknown-warriors-WWII.html#ixzz0XSeIM6iz

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail

I did a post on July 9 about the Church thriving in Cuba. But wait - there's more! In China not only is the Church growing, but it is attracting disaffected intellectuals. What a testament to the foundation laid by Western missionaries and the faith and courage of Chinese believers in the decades since the communists came to power in 1949. God does great work! This is definitely worth reading and praying for all our brothers and sisters in China.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539120649781240.html

Playing with Fire

One of the dangers to US security posed by the Federal court trial of KSM is what the terrorists can obtain through the course of normal pre-trial discovery. Federal court rules require that the government turn over lots of evidence to the defense pertaining to the case. After 9/11 the CIA, NSA and other intelligence agencies turned the full glare of this country's intelligence assets on identifying and locating those responsible for the attack. It goes without saying that the true capabilities of a lot of intelligence assets have not been made public. It is also true that if how intelligence is gathered is revealed, then countermeasures are possible. This has already happened.

Charles Krauthammer quotes Michael Mukasey, the presiding judge at the trial of the jihadists who attempted the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, as saying that when the defense demanded and received the list of unindicted co-conspirators list from the government, bin Laden's name was on it and he had the list within 10 days. Bin Laden knew that we had "made" him and he went to ground to minimize our ability to keep tabs on him and what he was up to. This was a prelude, of course, to one of the greatest intelligence failures in American history - the 9/11 attacks.

So what can we conclude? I think that it is reasonable to assume that the jihadists are about to get an intelligence windfall. I think that it is also reasonable to assume that they will adjust and adapt their methods, just like they did after 1993. Finally, I think that it is reasonable to assume that they will use this information to craft a new plan to hit us again, just like 9/11, only bigger and better. All of this is unnecessary and courtesy of President Obama, who is doing this for political reasons to shore up his left flank. In my lifetime I have never seen anyone so cavalier with the national security of the mainland United States.


townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2009/11/20/travesty_in_new_york

Under the Bus You Go!

I am not a Pat Buchanan fan, but this column accurately lays out the legal incongruities in trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of 9/11, in Federal criminal court as you would a bank robber or other miscreant. I am incredulous that Obama and his Attorney General could throw the entire United States under the bus for political purposes, but that is what happened. No good will come out of this trial; I only pray that not much evil will either. What a bunch of world class weasels.

townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2009/11/17/is_america_a_serious_nation

That's Presidential

Did you know that former President and Mrs. Bush visited Ft. Hood shortly after the shootings to console the families of the dead, the wounded and their families? He asked that it be closed to the press, although as you can see, some news outlets picked it up. I am glad that someone knows what a President should do. I'm glad that someone has some basic human decency.

www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/07/george-w-bush-secretly-visits-fort-hood-victims/

Nobody is Too Big to Fail

What???!!! Sanity in the marketplace? J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. President Jamie Dimon says that no bank is too big to fail. Hallelujah!

If banks wants to get involved with weird financial derivatives and pay their executives big bucks, okay. But when everything goes boom like last October, and their mismanagement is exposed, they also have a right to fail and should be allowed to do so. Props to executives like Dimon and companies like Ford for honesty and logical consistency.

If you don't have the discipline of the marketplace weeding out poorly-run businesses, then you have crony capitalism, which is pretty much what is going on now. If you pay your political contributions, you survive the though times with government handouts; if you don't - well sayonara! In the long run the losers survive and that doesn't help this country in the global marketplace.

news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091113/bs_nm/us_jpmorgan_ceo

Media Mush

Cliff May writes an interesting column under the above title that gives some perspective to the recent massacre at Ft. Hood. He asks us to consider what we would make of the following situation:

"Imagine if, in 1942, the son of German immigrants from the Sudetenland had yelled "Heil Hitler!" and then gunned down several dozen of his fellow soldiers on an American military base. Most reporters probably would not have expressed bewilderment as to the perpetrator's motive. They'd have simply connected the dots and told the public what happened: An army officer appears to have turned traitor, subscribing to the Nazi ideology and choosing to kill for the Nazi cause."

townhall.com/columnists/CliffMay/2009/11/12/media_mush

Not too difficult, right? Wrong. Much of the US media today is twisting their analysis beyond all recognition to avoid making a similar conclusion with Maj. Hasan at Ft. Hood. A society that will not recognize that someone or something (jihadist ideology) is trying to kill it is in for a very rough time - most of it self-inflicted.

The Boomer's Gift to the Next Generation

I received an e-letter from our Congressman, Rep Schrader (D), wherein he pats himself on the back for being on the north side of the 220-215 vote on healthcare "reform" last Saturday. He crows that it "...makes healthcare coverage more affordable to individuals and businesses as well as constraining costs much more than the original legislation." He seems like a nice man but what has he been smoking?

One of the main ways this bill cuts costs is by "cutting" $500 billion out of the Medicare budget. Does anyone really think that is going to happen? Seriously. When has Congress ever cut the Medicare budget? The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deficit for Medicare and Social Security at $6.5 TRILLION in the 2003-2026 time period and that is before any new healthcare spending. (www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=3982&type=0) Sen. Reid has mentioned a 10-year deficit of $2 trillion over 10 years for this "reform." The cumulative total of existing unfunded liabilities is $59 trillion as of 2007 consisting primarily of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as government employee pension liabilities. (See post 8/4/09).

No, this is the usual political game of benefits now and kick the can of financial reckoning down the road for somebody else to worry about in 15-20 years. We are leaving our children and grandchildren a financial disaster and I for one apologize. That Rep. Schrader could be proud of his involvement in this charade takes really amazing chutzpah.

The Right Plane for Salem

CRJ700

New Air Service for Salem?

The Salem City Council is considering a joint grant application with Coos Bay and Klamath Falls to the state to underwrite airline service to the three cities. Both of the latter cities already have state-subsidized service to Portland and San Francisco on United Express using SkyWest 19-passenger turboprops shown in the picture. If approved, the new grant would fund service to/from Portland via Salem to San Francisco via Coos Bay and Klamath Falls. Whether this would work for Salem remains to be seen.

A study done before the Delta service began to Salt Lake City showed that the Bay Area and Southern California were by far the largest markets from Salem. The study also showed, however, that because Salem is close to PDX it is very price sensitive. Salem area passengers will pay a premium of $50 or so to avoid the hassle of driving to PDX and paying for parking but not much more. There also have to be enough frequencies to make it convenient. Delta did fine out of Salem when it priced its service within this guideline but in the winter, it let its fares get much higher than PDX and (no great surprise) passengers responded by saddling up and driving to Portland. Even so, Delta flew over 46,000 passengers to/from Salem in its first year. Convenient service to San Francisco with its myriad connections should generate substantially more passengers.

Which brings me to the second problem with Delta's service and the new service being proposed - the type of aircraft used. Delta used 50-seat commuter jets that even if 100% full usually could not generate a profit on the relatively long route to Salt Lake City. They were nice aircraft, albeit small, but simply not economic. Regarding the proposed new service, it remains to be seen how many people will be willing to strap into a noisy turboprop for the flight to San Francisco with an intermediate stop. If loads to/from Salem ramp up to the levels of the old Delta service, I think you will see SkyWest, the new carrier, match it with 70-seat jets and probably some nonstops, but they will need to see the sustained demand first. As an example of what could happen, Eugene and Salem generate similar traffic levels and Eugene has 5 nonstop flights per day to San Francisco on 70-seat jets.

Each journey begins with a first step, and this clearly is a first step. Hopefully Salem area passengers will realize this and use the service knowing that bigger and better things are ahead once the demand is established.


www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20091109/NEWS/911090326/1001/news

Space: The Final Frontier

China recognizes the fact that space, as in the military use thereof, is the final frontier. The head of China's air force said that:

“As far as the revolution in military affairs is concerned, the competition between military forces is moving towards outer space… this is a historical inevitability and a development that cannot be turned back,” said air force commander Xu Qiliang in an interview with the official People’s Liberation Army Daily.

'Only power can protect peace,' the commander said in an interview celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC’s air force."

So go ahead America, keep cutting the defense budget. Don't worry - all will be well for you. The Chinese are peaceful and would never harm us. Ask Tibet. Ask India. Ask their own students from Tienanmen Square.

www.dodbuzz.com/2009/11/04/china-declares-space-war-inevitable/

To the Fallen at Ft. Hood

We salute you.

All Politics are Local

Michael Medved has a good column on the recent election results. The essence is that America is a pragmatic country (ed note: most of the time, e.g. - Obama) and the candidate who knows the local issues and has some pragmatic answers will be the winner. I think that the 2008 Presidential election was an anomaly in that regard but having drunk deeply of the Kool Aid, voters seem to be returning to their traditional pragmatic approach. Getting back to basics and really trying to solve some of the enormous problems facing this country is a healthy sign that hopefully will yield results rather than "change."


townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2009/11/04/six_election_day_lessons

Clunker Pickups Traded for New Pickups

Hi! We're from the government and we're here to help you!

Hi Mr. Government! Please let me introduce you to the Law of Unintended Consequences.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_bi_ge/us_cash_for_clunkers

You Are What You Drink

That's gospel according to an Advertising Age article which discussed the results of a study on what your brand of beer says about you. Beer can definitely make you say some stupid things, but I'm not sure how much it says about you. Does it?

adage.com/article?article_id=140106

US Helps Jews Leave Yemen

I had no idea there were any Jews in Yemen. I can't imagine a less hospitable place for a Jew to live and apparently the treatment Yemeni Jews have been receiving for several years bears this out. The US government took action and has been steadily relocating them to Israel and a small Yemeni Jewish community in New York. Good for the US and good for the Jews. They are God's people wherever they are from and it is good they are out safely.

online.wsj.com/article/SB125693376195819343.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

What a Smorgasbord!

Little did I know when I wrote my first post this morning what a smorgasbord of articles there were in today's local newspapers about politicians and economics!

The Statesman Journal has another excellent front page article and editorial about local Oregon governments arbitraging to cover their mongo PERS obligations. Basically, they gave public employees the sun, the moon, and the stars for a retirement program and now that it must be paid for, rather than break the bad news to the taxpayers about coughing up, they tried to borrow money to make money. This is very much like people who took out loans to buy and flip condos during the heyday of the real estate market. We all know what happened to those folks when real estate tanked and yeppers, it's happening to the public agencies too for the same reason. The big difference is that these agencies pledged to use their taxing authority to back up the bonds they issued, so guess who gets to pay? The PERS mess will have to be cleaned up and Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer will get the bill, including now paying for the bonds the politicians issued to try to avoid facing us - and maybe getting thrown out of office as a result. Repeat after me: there is no free lunch!

www.statesmanjournal.com/section/gamble

Bill Church, the Publisher of the Statesman Journal also had an op-ed piece worth reading about why the corporate income tax increases passed by the 2009 Legislature are likely to hurt, not help the restoration of Oregon's economy. I am encouraged that some in the media are starting to catch on.

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20091101/COLUMN0701/911010322/1113/OPINION

Finally, perhaps my favorite piece of the day was in The Oregonian with the following as the sub-headline:

"Estimates for Gov. Ted Kulongoski's legacy-making program were changed, costing Oregon taxpayers 40 times more"

At last, a "why" behind one government financial shenanigan - it's about Ted's legacy, not what is good for Oregon. Ted wants to make Oregon a showcase for "green energy" as his legacy and he pushed a bill through the Oregon Legislature dispensing big subsidies for "green" companies who locate here. If it was such a good deal, why did he feel it was necessary to hide a cost to the state budget that is 40 times larger than he disclosed? Why because he knew it was pretty much hooey and he wanted his legacy and the heck with the cost.

www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/state_lowballed_cost_of_green.html

These are just some local examples of political chicanery that will end up costing all of us - not the "other guy" - a lot of money. Whether it's Ted in the above case or some other politician elsewhere, it's about ego - they know best. Unfortunately, when they screw up, which is often, we - not they - have to pay. I can hardly wait for the bills for national healthcare and "cap-and-trade" to hit my mailbox. When is enough, enough?

There is No Free Lunch

While we are on an economics theme, I thought it would be good to discuss a cardinal principal of economics: THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH! What triggered this and aroused a primal "Oyvez!" from deep within me was an article from today's Statesman Journal about the new 1% tax on health insurance premiums which went into effect on October 1. The article contained the following quote:

"I'm getting a lot of letters about it," said Rep. Jim Thompson, R-Dallas. "People are upset. They understood the premium tax was being charged to the insurance companies. They didn't realize they had to pay for it."

www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20091101/NEWS/911010342&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Aaargh! Economics is based on the fact that we live in a world of scarce resources and it costs real money to produce and distribute products, materials and services. Someone has to pay these costs, plus a profit for the provider, or nothing happens. Americans have somehow gotten it into their heads, aided and abetted by politicians, that the "other guy" will pay the tab for them: health insurance, college loans, etc., etc., etc. The "other guy" in this case is insurance companies, but it could be corporations, the "rich" (usually defined by anybody making more than you are), the government - you get the picture.

Folks, "they" is "us." The harsh truth is that we, the public, can't get away from paying the price either in dollars, lack of service or products, poor service or products, economy-killing deficits, etc. - there is no free lunch. Politicians know this but it is convenient for them to use the charade of the "other guy" paying to get taxes through and then let the taxpayers, like Rep. Thompson's constituents, find out later that guess what - you get the bill! It's time that Americans woke up to this ruse and only "order" from the state and the Feds by their votes what they are willing to pay for and not expect that the "other guy" will pick up the tab.

P.S. This case also illustrates another economic truth: corporations don't really pay taxes. Corporations pass through taxes in their prices or as straight add-ons as was done here. Thus, when politicians thunder about making "corporations pay their fair share" they know perfectly well that any taxes imposed will just be passed through to customers who are - yep, you guessed it - you and me.