All power will be abused. Count on it.
One of my personally held beliefs is that all power given to government WILL be abused. Count on it. RICO: check. Taxation: Check. Regulation: Check. PATRIOT Act: Check. Asset Forfeiture: Check. It is simply the nature of the beast, as well as human nature. Cue the petty tyrant running the window at the DMV, or the post office. So I read something like this with great trepidation:
The plan would give the government new powers to seize key companies whose failure jeopardizes the financial system, as well as creation of a watchdog agency to look out for consumers’ interests.
That statement is from the L.A. Times article about Obama’s new plan to regulate and oversee the financial industry. (The same great oversight that Barney Frank gave us over Fannie and Freddie? Can’t wait!) But lets take this one step further. Read over that sentence again, especially the part where it says “give the government new powers to seize key companies whose failure jeopardizes the financial system“.
I can think of a single company that, should it fail, would certainly jeopardize more than just our financial system but a large percentage of our entire economy! This company employs 1.4 million people in the United States, second only to the Federal Government. (The Federal Government employs 1.8 million people.) This company provides health care for 1.1 million people. They did $374 Billion dollars in sales last year. They sell 1/5th of all major music albums released, and control more of the market than Amazon and iTunes. They have in excess of 100 million customers a week. They are responsible for selling 20% of all the toys made by Hasbro. They are the most generous corporation in America (probably the world too), giving away $301 million in cash gifts to the Children’s Miracle Network, Feeding America, The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the United Way of America, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. They are the #1 retailer in the United States. If you had not guessed already, I am speaking of Wal Mart.
Is it so far fetched to imagine, that in order to preserve the economy and “protect consumers” that our legislators would set their eyes upon the “golden goose” that is Wal Mart? Imagine the tax revenues they could squeeze out of a newly-nationalized Wal mart! It might just turn this whole “financial crisis” around for good. We could then let the unions get into Wal Mart like they have wanted to for years; that will keep the prices low. Surely the government could run Wal Mart in a more gentle and caring manor than the current leadership team; raising wages, providing more and better health care to employees, and of course better service! We’ll just shuffle the guy running the Post Office over there and put him in charge.
Maybe thats all hooey. I hope it is. But go back and look at that sentence again. They want to give the Government (the same folks who run the post office, DMV, military procurement, Social Security and Medicare) the power to seize key companies whose failure jeopardizes the … system.” Sounds like a great idea. What could possibly go wrong?
Topics: Government, In the News | No Comments »
The End of the Dollar?
Check this story out.
Apparently two Japanese nationals got caught trying to smuggle $134 BILLION dollars worth of bonds into Switzerland. It remains to be seen if they are real or counterfeit. Either scenario means trouble for the U.S. If they are fake, then who is trying to get such large amounts of cash into the system and why? An attack on the dollar maybe? (Like we need an “attack” to weaken the dollar.)
I personally fear they are real. Who is going to counterfeit such a large amount of high-dollar bonds? (249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, plus 10 Kennedy bonds and other U.S. government securities worth a billion dollar each.) And don’t you think that a bank presented with a Billion Dollar bond would maybe make a phone call (or six) to verify it before dumping the money in a checking account?
So if they are real, and were taken from two Japanese guys; then does this mean that Japan is was quietly trying to get out of dollars before the massive devaluation everyone knows is upon us takes place? I fear it does, and in fact this may just hasten the fall of the dollar. If Japan is shown to have such little faith in the dollar (and the past/current fiscal policy of the U.S. behind said dollars) can other countries be far behind?
China has already expressed alarm at our bat-shit insane levels of spending and printing new money. Russia has already floated the idea of a new reserve currency over the dollar. Now Japan may have been caught trying to sneak 20% of their entire treasury into Switzerland to unload them for Swiss Gold or Euros or maybe watches and chocolate for all we know.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out, though I expect it will all be kept quite hush-hush either way. If fake, they want to keep it quiet until they find the perpetrators. If real, no one wants a mass panic and a run on the dollar. (Well, no one except lots of people and countries that hate us; I’m looking at you North Korea, Iran, Venezuela etc.)
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
Holocaust Museum Shooting thoughts.
I’ll not waste words on the most of it, instead I’ll cut to the heart of the matter as I see it.
Point one. This guy is OLD. Accounts have him as 88 years old. This man served in WWII, so he’s quite old. Why does that matter? Well, a man “on his way out” might just want a “better” end than having a hospice nurse wipe his ass while his family doesn’t come to visit. Blaze of Glory and all that. Just sayin’.
Point two. The weapon used was a .22 caliber rifle. About the weakest rifle you can get your hands on. The shooter being a felon, no matter what rifle he might have chosen he’d be breaking the same law; so why not gear up with a full-sized battle rifle or shotgun? Which brings me to…
Point three. This was a case of “Suicide by Cop” by an old guy on his way out. He wanted to be killed and “Make a Point” at the same time. Not sure what point, frankly I don’t really care. But if your intent is to rack up a body count you do not do it by walking into an armed checkpoint in broad daylight with a weak .22 caliber rifle. He got off a couple of shots at his first target and was immediately put down by other guards on scene. (Probably wouldn’t have killed the first guard if he’d had a vest on. I have no idea if the museum guards wear vests, but I suspect not. But a lucky shot to a main artery above or below a vest would also result in the death of the guard. All pure conjecture on my part, but mine is at least as valid as the crap I am hearing on the new right now.)
Case over. But we’ll hear about his racist ramblings for the next few weeks. We’ll hear about how America is a simmering pot of racial hatred just below the calm surface. People will worry out loud about Barry O’s safety from “extremests”. Naturally some weak attempts to exploit the situation to push the gun control agenda are in order. Despite the fact that most of America voted for a black man. And those of us that did not vote for him (myself incuded) would vote for “A” black man; we just don’t like the polotics of this paticular black man. My two cents.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
The Weakness Continues
Apparently two reporters who went into North Korea illegally have been arrested and are now sentenced to 12 years of hard labor! Wait, let me get this stright; they are putting people in jail for illegally crossing the border? Hey, maybe we should try that!
OK, but seriously. These two women are simply pawns in the power game. Our Weakness-in-chief isn’t going to stand up to NK, neither is Hillary. The only people that can keep NK in check are China. Are we going to apply any pressure to China? Nope. They own us. We owe them so much money, and do so much business with them that we don’t DARE do anything to upset the Chinese Apple cart. (Especailly in the current economic times.) So these women are being held political hostage. Point one will show our unwillingness to do much beyond whine about it. Point two will be to suppress the interception of shipping to and from North Korea. Wonder what NK is trying to hide?
Maybe after the mushroom cloud subsides over [un-nmaed U.S. City] we’ll get a clue.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
Chicago students want gun control
CNN is playing a story about the 36 Chicago area students killed so far this year. They are quick to point out that “most” of the deaths involve guns. (So how many were from car accidents I wonder?) Well, Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun-control laws on the books in the United States. Hows that working out for you guys?
“The homicide rate is just the tip of the iceberg,” Mr. Voisin said. “Those with nonfatal injuries are almost 100 times that of our homicide rates. You think for about every one kid who is murdered, 100 kids witness the murder or are victims of nonfatal injuries, of robberies, muggings and gang-related incidents. A lot of times, this exposure goes undocumented or unreported.” So says an article in the Washington Times.
Look, for every innocent ten year old kid who catches a bullet there are ten so-called students living the “thug life”. So is the answer to all this violence against “the children” to tighten the screws more on gun control? Has that helped anywhere it has been tried? (D.C., England, Australia anyone?) Yes, far too many children are being killed; no one disagrees with that. But lets be honest and admit that 90%+ of those killed are actively engaging in gang or drug activity. If we want the killing to slow down then why not legalize drugs and regulate the distribution; I mean Budweiser and Samuel Adams aren’t doing drive-by shootings over territory. For sure bringing Chicago’s failed gun control policy to the rest of the country will not make us any safer, just drag us down to their level.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
Judging Susan Boyle.
I heard some guys on the radio this morning talking about Susan Boyle and how she nailed her song on the show Britain’s Got Talent. They played a little clip, and since I am a fan of the Les Miserables’ soundtrack I decided to look up the YouTube when I got to work.
First, let me just say that she absolutely NAILED that song. It was great. So a lady manages to sing a song well; what’s the big deal?
I’ll tell you. Susan Boyle is not a Britteny or Beyonce look-alike. She falls squarely into the “just plain folk” category like most of us. So when she walked out on stage she looked like some crazy cat-lady who put on her Sunday best to get her three minutes of ‘fame’ by making a fool out of herself on TV. Well, at least that is what everyone was expecting; instead they were treated to a fantastic rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”. (Which was an utterly PERFECT choice for her.) Well, now the video has gone viral, its on CNN and the talk shows etc. etc. She’s got over 12 million views and I am sure a record deal will be signed by weeks end. Good for her.
But I have to bring this back around to what exactly the big deal is. A lady with a beautiful voice sung a song well. Happens every Sunday in churches all over the world, on stages from coffee shops and dive bars to stadium venues. What’s the big deal? See, a singer uses her voice to create music. Her voice. What exactly does being skinny, or pretty have to do with your singing voice? Am I to believe that every beautiful person in the world is also a great singer? Are all ugly people bad singers? See, that just doesn’t make sense; and we all know it. Yet for some reason when this unassuming woman walked on stage we wrote off her voice based on her looks alone. When she showed us all the error of our ways, we love her all the more for it.
I think it’s human nature. I remember having a conversation with a business acquaintence of mine who had learned (from a mutual friend) I was an NRA certified pistol instructor. He seemd pretty shocked to learn this and was having a hard time connecting the goofy bald guy (me) with someone who not only knew how to use a gun, but could teach others to use them. I went from “fun guy to have around” to “I bet he could kill me” in the course of a single conversation. 
I suppose in his mind I should look like Arnold or Sly or at least like one of the many High-Speed-Low-Drag “Operators” seen on the cover of any magazine with ‘Tactical’ in the title. While my talent (be it in firearms, music or any elsewhere) does not approach that of Ms. Boyle, it is yet another example of book-cover judging we as a species seem to resort to as our default modus operandi.
Topics: Movies & Media, In the News | No Comments »
Thought for today
“No matter how responsible he seems, never give your gun to a monkey.”
Topics: Fun Stuff | No Comments »
Americans prefer socialism to capitalism
Many Americans prefer Scoialism to Capitalism, new poll finds.
I saw them discussing this poll on the news, and looked it up online. I was thinking about it and have concluded the following:
Many Americans are bat-shit insane.It really isn’t their fault, they went to public school.
In fact, they have been so very brainwashed by the mass media that they can hardly see past the BS.
Come on, how many movies have you ever seen where an “Evil Corporation” was the bad guy? (I think every movie released in the 80’s had the “kids know better than adults” theme in conjunction with the evil corporation/Gummint’ tyring to tear down their community center/imprison their pet alien/turn their street into condo’s.
See, in Capitalism the private businesses (large and small) are the engines that run the economy. So if we paint corporations as faceless, uncaring evil behemoths and keep hitting the American public with that perception, hammer the headlines with examples of the few “bad apples” when they turn up, and generally malign the very institutions that give us our standard of living; then we can get away with the suicidal behavior that currently drives public and tax policy regarding our most productive sector of the economy.
Topics: The Soap Box | No Comments »
Prepare for the coming collapse! (Or heavy snow storm.)
I am a firm believer in having enough “stuff” to get by for more than a weekend. Around here, if we are going to get three inches of snow the stores are mobbed with folks stocking up on TP, eggs, milk and booze. Blockbuster is also hit hard. So when you tell someone that being able to go for weeks, months or even a year without a trip to the store is a good idea, they think your kind of crazy. I just don’t see it that way. A few bridges fall down or l33t h@x0rz bring down the electrical grid and the just-in-time delivery of food will grind to a halt. In a worst-case scenario (such as a huge earthquake in California for example) it could be months before order, commerce, electricity and “civilization” is restored. In a best-case scenario your sitting on top of food, batteries and a good book while the power company restores the power after a summer thunderstorm while steaks sizzle on the grill. Either way getting yourself squared away is a pretty good idea. Fill up your pantry with more than Top Ramen, make sure you have a good first-aid kit, some bottled water and a way to purify more, and your already ahead of most Americans. For anyone wanting to get seriously prepared check out “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” written by James Wesley Rawles, who runs www.SurvivalBlog.com.
Today is “Book Blast” day, where the new version of his survival-manual-cleverly-disguised-as-a-novel is for sale. They want to get it into the top ten on Amazon. I ordered a new copy, and so should you!
From JWR:
Today is the “Patriots” Book Bomb Day!!! If you have a blog, then please mention this one-day event, and if not, then please send a brief e-mail to friends and relatives on your e-mail list, today, to let folks know about “Patriots: A Novel Survival in the Coming Collapse”
As of 10:12am EST the book is sitting at #18.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »
Remember what I said about appearing weak?
Well, the new-and-improved America, led by Mr. Hope-and-Change has given us this:
Somali Pirates sieze U.S. ship, crew.
Funny how they never did that under Bush. Oh, and Korea went ahead and launched their missile over Japan.
Once again, appearing weak emboldens the barbarians of the world.
***UPDATE***
While the Obama administration was busy “examining the situation closely” apparently the Americans on board decided to handle the situation themselves, taking one pirate prisoner and sending three more overboard. CNN is busy talking about the massive cost of placing highly trained armed guards on ships and the serious “insurance and liability” issues of resisting, like that is the real issue here. Panzys.
The answer is real simple. Buy a sturdy locker. Put a bunch of guns and ammunition in the locker. Lock the locker. While at sea, train the crew to use the contents of the locker. While on land, send the crew off to learn more about the contents of the locker. Go back to being sailors until Somali pirates come calling. Open the locker. Hand out the contents. Help the pirates assume room temperature, then feed them to the sharks. Clean the guns really good and buy some more ammunition. Put them back in the locker. Rinse, repeat as needed.
Topics: In the News | No Comments »