Still think we live in a Constitutional Republic with the freedoms our forefathers fought and died to protect? Think again.....Even if our own media fails to give us honest reporting, there are other sources of information out there if only people would take the time to look.....
The piece below is not some angry "right wing extremist" spouting off about what he thinks is wrong with America. It was written by a man named Stanislav Mishin, who writes for Russia's PRAVDA. I can't think of a more pragmatic group of people to look to when talking about Communism. They wrote the book on it and it's inevitable failure. Someone once said, "those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them", and we seem to be all to quick to forget and ignore what has happened in the recent and not so recent past.....
Ted Kennedy was once debating with Milton Friedman when Friedman was addressing the Senate Judiciary committee about the proposed balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Kennedy said he was against the amendment because it would restrict the Federal Government's power and ability to spend, thus reducing Washington's ability to redistribute wealth, goods and services in a more "equitable manner". Friedman, who was arguably the most brilliant economist we've ever had, dropped all pretense of decorum and asked Kennedy point blank: "Senator, socialism hasn't worked in 6,000 years of recored history. Why won't you give up on that?". Kennedy's response, equally testy as he stood up to make his point more effectively was: "It hasn't worked in 6,000 years of recorded history because it never had ME to run it.".
With that as a preface.....I give you now Mr. Mishin's column in it's entirety.
American capitalism gone with a whimper
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.
Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.
These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.
Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.
So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.
Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.
The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.
The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.
Stanislav Mishin
The article has been reprinted with the kind permission from the author and originally appears on his blog, Mat Rodina
© 1999-2009. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Terrorism and The Rule of Law.....
Below is a letter from Andrew McCarthy directed to the AG Eric Holder and others. It's important that people see this letter in it's entirety rather than just in bits and pieces as will be parcelled out in the traditional media, with their usual spin to make any Conservative appear to be an extremist....or....a racist....or.....unpatriotic.....or.....whatever.
It took alot of courage for Mr. McCarthy to stand up to this administration and I applaud him for it.....So long as we have people like this to stand for the citizens of this nation instead of standing for an agenda driven by the desire for more power over the populace and the degradation of our individual liberties then the Untied States still has a chance to remain the beacon of freedom for the rest of humanity.
When all true patriots like Mr. McCarthy are silenced, our Constitution will no longer have meaning and we will just be another failed nation governed by tyrants.
Now......
Andrew McCarthy's Letter to Attorney General Holder
May 1, 2009
By email (to the Counterterrorism Division) and by regular mail:
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Holder:
This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.
The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants -- or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear -- most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany -- that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.
Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.
Beyond that, as elucidated in my writing (including my proposal for a new national security court, which I understand the Task Force has perused), I believe alien enemy combatants should be detained at Guantanamo Bay (or a facility like it) until the conclusion of hostilities. This national defense measure is deeply rooted in the venerable laws of war and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 2004 Hamdi case. Yet, as recently as Wednesday, you asserted that, in your considered judgment, such notions violate America’s “commitment to the rule of law.” Indeed, you elaborated, “Nothing symbolizes our [administration’s] new course more than our decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay…. President Obama believes, and I strongly agree, that Guantanamo has come to represent a time and an approach that we want to put behind us: a disregard for our centuries-long respect for the rule of law[.]” (Emphasis added.)
Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.
For what it may be worth, I will say this much. For eight years, we have had a robust debate in the United States about how to handle alien terrorists captured during a defensive war authorized by Congress after nearly 3000 of our fellow Americans were annihilated. Essentially, there have been two camps. One calls for prosecution in the civilian criminal justice system, the strategy used throughout the 1990s. The other calls for a military justice approach of combatant detention and war-crimes prosecutions by military commission. Because each theory has its downsides, many commentators, myself included, have proposed a third way: a hybrid system, designed for the realities of modern international terrorism—a new system that would address the needs to protect our classified defense secrets and to assure Americans, as well as our allies, that we are detaining the right people.
There are differences in these various proposals. But their proponents, and adherents to both the military and civilian justice approaches, have all agreed on at least one thing: Foreign terrorists trained to execute mass-murder attacks cannot simply be released while the war ensues and Americans are still being targeted. We have already released too many jihadists who, as night follows day, have resumed plotting to kill Americans. Indeed, according to recent reports, a released Guantanamo detainee is now leading Taliban combat operations in Afghanistan, where President Obama has just sent additional American forces.
The Obama campaign smeared Guantanamo Bay as a human rights blight. Consistent with that hyperbolic rhetoric, the President began his administration by promising to close the detention camp within a year. The President did this even though he and you (a) agree Gitmo is a top-flight prison facility, (b) acknowledge that our nation is still at war, and (c) concede that many Gitmo detainees are extremely dangerous terrorists who cannot be tried under civilian court rules. Patently, the commitment to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was made without a plan for what to do with these detainees who cannot be tried. Consequently, the Detention Policy Task Force is not an effort to arrive at the best policy. It is an effort to justify a bad policy that has already been adopted: to wit, the Obama administration policy to release trained terrorists outright if that’s what it takes to close Gitmo by January.
Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from the United States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law.
I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.
Finally, let me repeat that I respect and admire the dedication of Justice Department lawyers, whom I have tirelessly defended since I retired in 2003 as a chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. It was a unique honor to serve for nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor, under administrations of both parties. It was as proud a day as I have ever had when the trial team I led was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award in 1996, after we secured the convictions of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his underlings for waging a terrorist war against the United States. I particularly appreciated receiving the award from Attorney General Reno—as I recounted in Willful Blindness, my book about the case, without her steadfastness against opposition from short-sighted government officials who wanted to release him, the “blind sheikh” would never have been indicted, much less convicted and so deservedly sentenced to life-imprisonment. In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.
Very truly yours,
/S/
Andrew C. McCarthy
cc: Sylvia T. Kaser and John DePue
National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section
It took alot of courage for Mr. McCarthy to stand up to this administration and I applaud him for it.....So long as we have people like this to stand for the citizens of this nation instead of standing for an agenda driven by the desire for more power over the populace and the degradation of our individual liberties then the Untied States still has a chance to remain the beacon of freedom for the rest of humanity.
When all true patriots like Mr. McCarthy are silenced, our Constitution will no longer have meaning and we will just be another failed nation governed by tyrants.
Now......
Andrew McCarthy's Letter to Attorney General Holder
May 1, 2009
By email (to the Counterterrorism Division) and by regular mail:
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Holder:
This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.
The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants -- or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear -- most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany -- that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.
Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.
Beyond that, as elucidated in my writing (including my proposal for a new national security court, which I understand the Task Force has perused), I believe alien enemy combatants should be detained at Guantanamo Bay (or a facility like it) until the conclusion of hostilities. This national defense measure is deeply rooted in the venerable laws of war and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 2004 Hamdi case. Yet, as recently as Wednesday, you asserted that, in your considered judgment, such notions violate America’s “commitment to the rule of law.” Indeed, you elaborated, “Nothing symbolizes our [administration’s] new course more than our decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay…. President Obama believes, and I strongly agree, that Guantanamo has come to represent a time and an approach that we want to put behind us: a disregard for our centuries-long respect for the rule of law[.]” (Emphasis added.)
Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.
For what it may be worth, I will say this much. For eight years, we have had a robust debate in the United States about how to handle alien terrorists captured during a defensive war authorized by Congress after nearly 3000 of our fellow Americans were annihilated. Essentially, there have been two camps. One calls for prosecution in the civilian criminal justice system, the strategy used throughout the 1990s. The other calls for a military justice approach of combatant detention and war-crimes prosecutions by military commission. Because each theory has its downsides, many commentators, myself included, have proposed a third way: a hybrid system, designed for the realities of modern international terrorism—a new system that would address the needs to protect our classified defense secrets and to assure Americans, as well as our allies, that we are detaining the right people.
There are differences in these various proposals. But their proponents, and adherents to both the military and civilian justice approaches, have all agreed on at least one thing: Foreign terrorists trained to execute mass-murder attacks cannot simply be released while the war ensues and Americans are still being targeted. We have already released too many jihadists who, as night follows day, have resumed plotting to kill Americans. Indeed, according to recent reports, a released Guantanamo detainee is now leading Taliban combat operations in Afghanistan, where President Obama has just sent additional American forces.
The Obama campaign smeared Guantanamo Bay as a human rights blight. Consistent with that hyperbolic rhetoric, the President began his administration by promising to close the detention camp within a year. The President did this even though he and you (a) agree Gitmo is a top-flight prison facility, (b) acknowledge that our nation is still at war, and (c) concede that many Gitmo detainees are extremely dangerous terrorists who cannot be tried under civilian court rules. Patently, the commitment to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was made without a plan for what to do with these detainees who cannot be tried. Consequently, the Detention Policy Task Force is not an effort to arrive at the best policy. It is an effort to justify a bad policy that has already been adopted: to wit, the Obama administration policy to release trained terrorists outright if that’s what it takes to close Gitmo by January.
Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from the United States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law.
I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.
Finally, let me repeat that I respect and admire the dedication of Justice Department lawyers, whom I have tirelessly defended since I retired in 2003 as a chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. It was a unique honor to serve for nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor, under administrations of both parties. It was as proud a day as I have ever had when the trial team I led was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award in 1996, after we secured the convictions of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his underlings for waging a terrorist war against the United States. I particularly appreciated receiving the award from Attorney General Reno—as I recounted in Willful Blindness, my book about the case, without her steadfastness against opposition from short-sighted government officials who wanted to release him, the “blind sheikh” would never have been indicted, much less convicted and so deservedly sentenced to life-imprisonment. In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.
Very truly yours,
/S/
Andrew C. McCarthy
cc: Sylvia T. Kaser and John DePue
National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Banks, and what I think Obama will do.....
Below is the first part of a story on what's happening on the banking front. Below that I've linked to the complete story so you can make up your own mind.....Below that is some commentary.....
By David Lawder David Lawder
Sat Feb 21, 7:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Financial regulators will soon launch a series of "stress tests" to determine which of the largest U.S. banks should get bigger capital cushions in case of a deeper recession, a person familiar with Obama administration plans said on Saturday.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said if institutions were found to need additional capital, financial authorities would provide them with an "extra cushion of support."
Banks are expected to receive additional information about the tests in the coming week from regulators.
The largest U.S. banks are "well capitalized" for current conditions, the source said, but the Obama administration wants to ensure they can withstand a more severe economic climate and play an important role in helping restart the flow of credit.
Initial plans for the stress tests were announced on February 10 as part of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bank stabilization plan, but the source on Saturday for the first time linked the tests to additional government support for large banks. That person did not specify what form any extra capital cushion may take.
Little is known about the form of the stress tests, but the person described them as "consistent, forward looking and conservative."
The Obama administration tried on Friday to ease market fears the government was poised to nationalize some large banks that are struggling with losses and a lack of confidence, notably Citigroup and Bank of America.
Bank shares fell sharply, with Citigroup plunging 22 percent to below the $2 fee of a typical automated teller machine, or ATM, and Bank of America trading around the $4 level.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090222/bs_nm/us_financial_banks_capital;_ylt=AgAHVvofAFtrnJbHrTZEJ9fZn414
From Yahoo buzz....
Bruce W: Regulatory designed stress tests did not work for the 20 years that I worked as a bank regulator. These are just some economist's best guess on how things react. It comes down to the member's trust and the quality of service that a financial institution instills on it's coustomer.
......and my response......
Bruce....You're not thinking like a good little communist. The banking stress tests Obama has in mind have nothing to do with "safety and soundness" and everything to do with saying "Bank 'X' can't survive without more government intervention so we the government are going to take over the bank." People at Citigroup and BOA are scared as hell, just as are people in the markets.
It will start this way.....Obama's henchmen will decide that a few big banks are going to fail so the Gov. will nationalize them "short term". The sheeple will buy into it, even while knowing that the Gov. never does ANYTHING short term. After grabbing a few big banks they will move on to the regional banks, and so on and so on until they have control of most of the available financial resources that business relies on. When hyperinflation sets in from their latest spending spree they will devalue the dollar and create a new currency.....
With the new currency in place they will offer 10 cents on the dollar for all 401k plans and money market funds. But they will use funny math and offer that money based on the August or September 2008 value of your holdings. Those plans will then be dissolved since the "old dollar" is completely worthless.....At that point virtually everyone's finances will be under government control, then the government can pretty much do whatever it damn well pleases.
If they move too quickly there will be backlash, and the 2nd amendment certainly gets in the way. That's where martial law, troops in the streets, and government confiscation of firearms comes in. The last issue they need to address is the Military's oath to "Protect and Defend the Constitution of the U.S. from ALL enemies Foreign and Domestic".
They're already trying to dull that down by proposing to change that oath to swearing loyalty to the President instead of to The Constitution. The "liberals" will try to tell you that it's just a matter of semantics, but any thinking person knows better.
For crying out loud you just had Nancy Pelosi over in Rome telling the Pope that his stand on abortion was wrong.....You have Hillary in Communist China telling that country's leaders that we will work together on economics and the environment. (Don't forget how many classified documents landed over there during Bill's presidency.)
What I've stated above is what I would tend to think of as a worse case scenario, but not at all out in left field. Rahm Emmanuel himself has said that "you don't let a good crisis go to waste". The way these people think makes me nervous.
This administration is divisive and perpetuating class warfare, trying to create divides on racial and economic lines. There is nothing inclusive, open, or transparent about anything they are doing at this point. The media can spin it what ever way they want, but this is one middle class citizen that ain't buying.
That's my take on the thing.....believe it or don't.....
The beauty of writing something like this is that if it doesn't happen then I can say that I helped prevent it. If it does happen I can say I was right.
Good Day!!
By David Lawder David Lawder
Sat Feb 21, 7:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Financial regulators will soon launch a series of "stress tests" to determine which of the largest U.S. banks should get bigger capital cushions in case of a deeper recession, a person familiar with Obama administration plans said on Saturday.
The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said if institutions were found to need additional capital, financial authorities would provide them with an "extra cushion of support."
Banks are expected to receive additional information about the tests in the coming week from regulators.
The largest U.S. banks are "well capitalized" for current conditions, the source said, but the Obama administration wants to ensure they can withstand a more severe economic climate and play an important role in helping restart the flow of credit.
Initial plans for the stress tests were announced on February 10 as part of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bank stabilization plan, but the source on Saturday for the first time linked the tests to additional government support for large banks. That person did not specify what form any extra capital cushion may take.
Little is known about the form of the stress tests, but the person described them as "consistent, forward looking and conservative."
The Obama administration tried on Friday to ease market fears the government was poised to nationalize some large banks that are struggling with losses and a lack of confidence, notably Citigroup and Bank of America.
Bank shares fell sharply, with Citigroup plunging 22 percent to below the $2 fee of a typical automated teller machine, or ATM, and Bank of America trading around the $4 level.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090222/bs_nm/us_financial_banks_capital;_ylt=AgAHVvofAFtrnJbHrTZEJ9fZn414
From Yahoo buzz....
Bruce W: Regulatory designed stress tests did not work for the 20 years that I worked as a bank regulator. These are just some economist's best guess on how things react. It comes down to the member's trust and the quality of service that a financial institution instills on it's coustomer.
......and my response......
Bruce....You're not thinking like a good little communist. The banking stress tests Obama has in mind have nothing to do with "safety and soundness" and everything to do with saying "Bank 'X' can't survive without more government intervention so we the government are going to take over the bank." People at Citigroup and BOA are scared as hell, just as are people in the markets.
It will start this way.....Obama's henchmen will decide that a few big banks are going to fail so the Gov. will nationalize them "short term". The sheeple will buy into it, even while knowing that the Gov. never does ANYTHING short term. After grabbing a few big banks they will move on to the regional banks, and so on and so on until they have control of most of the available financial resources that business relies on. When hyperinflation sets in from their latest spending spree they will devalue the dollar and create a new currency.....
With the new currency in place they will offer 10 cents on the dollar for all 401k plans and money market funds. But they will use funny math and offer that money based on the August or September 2008 value of your holdings. Those plans will then be dissolved since the "old dollar" is completely worthless.....At that point virtually everyone's finances will be under government control, then the government can pretty much do whatever it damn well pleases.
If they move too quickly there will be backlash, and the 2nd amendment certainly gets in the way. That's where martial law, troops in the streets, and government confiscation of firearms comes in. The last issue they need to address is the Military's oath to "Protect and Defend the Constitution of the U.S. from ALL enemies Foreign and Domestic".
They're already trying to dull that down by proposing to change that oath to swearing loyalty to the President instead of to The Constitution. The "liberals" will try to tell you that it's just a matter of semantics, but any thinking person knows better.
For crying out loud you just had Nancy Pelosi over in Rome telling the Pope that his stand on abortion was wrong.....You have Hillary in Communist China telling that country's leaders that we will work together on economics and the environment. (Don't forget how many classified documents landed over there during Bill's presidency.)
What I've stated above is what I would tend to think of as a worse case scenario, but not at all out in left field. Rahm Emmanuel himself has said that "you don't let a good crisis go to waste". The way these people think makes me nervous.
This administration is divisive and perpetuating class warfare, trying to create divides on racial and economic lines. There is nothing inclusive, open, or transparent about anything they are doing at this point. The media can spin it what ever way they want, but this is one middle class citizen that ain't buying.
That's my take on the thing.....believe it or don't.....
The beauty of writing something like this is that if it doesn't happen then I can say that I helped prevent it. If it does happen I can say I was right.
Good Day!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
House Resolution 45 or HR 45 for short.....
I've been doing a little popping around the web looking for some information on the reappearance of this bill that was defeated a year or so ago.....It's back again, inspite of a recent Supreme Court Ruling that essentially reaffirmed the 2nd Amendment.
It never ceases to amaze me how the arrogant power brokers in Washington will continue to undermine or just plain ignore our Constitution when it gets in the way or their tightening of control on every aspect of our lives.....Quite frankly, a good federal prosecutor, with strong Constitutional knowledge, could probably make convictions on charges of "treason" stick on any number of members of Congress since they are in direct violation of their "Oath" to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Pelosi, Reid and Barbara Boxer would all be among the first to go down.
But of course.....They don't care about the Constitution.....Only about their own wealth and power, and the misguided belief that they are to be the new leaders of a "liberal" (Communist) Utopia.....
They'll never get there if the populace is allowed to remain capable of defending itself and the Constitution against these very arrogant and dangerous "domestic enemies".
Some of you will say that HR 45 is just about registering firearms. Not so. It's really about trying to know where EVERY privately owned firearm is in the entire country. A single violation of any kind means you lose the "right". Who decides the violations? Well probably Obama's New KGB, since now the NSA is going to be tied in with every local law enforcement agency. And since the ultimate goal is to disarm the public entirely you will see alot of "violations". Probably going to see more than a few dead citizens as well, because there will be some people who are just more than a little willing to stand up against what they feel is "Tyranny" in Washington. Our Founding Fathers recognized that all governments will become corrupt and that the people need to retain the ability to rise-up against an unjust and corrupt government for Liberty and Freedom to remain more than mere words.
The current governing alliance of Leftists like Pelosi and Reid and more mainstream Democrats just trying to protect themselves is the most dangerous affront to Liberty and Freedom that we have encountered in 233 years as a nation.
Below is some information I acquired about HR 45 from the North Dakota Outdoors website.
Good Day!
Subject: House Bill 'HR 45'
Are you ready for the House Bill titled 'HR 45, Blair Holt Licensing and Record Act of 2009'. It will make it illegal to own a firearm unless it is registered with the database in Washington D.C. As a gun owner you will have to be finger printed, you will be required to provide your DL#, SS#, you must maintain a valid address at all times, submit to mental and physical health records being put on file, you will also be required to file any address changes and any ownership changes even if private sale. Each update will cost $25 and if you fail to comply you will lose your right to own firearms. This bill and its language mirror almost completely one defeated last year in the House of Representatives by soon to be Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Criminals by definition and nature do not abide by laws. New laws and restrictions only apply to the law abiding citizen and are not written with the criminal in mind. With guns, it is not about having laws on the books to prosecute individuals, it is about taking guns away from the people so that no one has them in the first place. One last item to note, when assuming power and creating a facist state, Hitler was a proponent of strong gun laws because a disarmed populace was much easier to control than an armed one. The Kings of old also outlawed weapons of any kind in any region that they conquered to quell the ability of the citizens to uprise against them.
The Founding Fathers of this Nation understood all of the above and because of this they included the Second Amendment in the Constitution. In fact, they knew that at some point in every society's life span that the need for the population to arise came about. To this end they made the right to keep and bear arms against a tyrannical state an absolute right that could not be revoked. They did this because the first thing tyrants and despots do is to remove a populations right to defend themselves. When this is done the tyrants have no problem with the destruction of society as we know it.
To see bill, go to:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.go.....:h45ih.txt
http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_45.html
It never ceases to amaze me how the arrogant power brokers in Washington will continue to undermine or just plain ignore our Constitution when it gets in the way or their tightening of control on every aspect of our lives.....Quite frankly, a good federal prosecutor, with strong Constitutional knowledge, could probably make convictions on charges of "treason" stick on any number of members of Congress since they are in direct violation of their "Oath" to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Pelosi, Reid and Barbara Boxer would all be among the first to go down.
But of course.....They don't care about the Constitution.....Only about their own wealth and power, and the misguided belief that they are to be the new leaders of a "liberal" (Communist) Utopia.....
They'll never get there if the populace is allowed to remain capable of defending itself and the Constitution against these very arrogant and dangerous "domestic enemies".
Some of you will say that HR 45 is just about registering firearms. Not so. It's really about trying to know where EVERY privately owned firearm is in the entire country. A single violation of any kind means you lose the "right". Who decides the violations? Well probably Obama's New KGB, since now the NSA is going to be tied in with every local law enforcement agency. And since the ultimate goal is to disarm the public entirely you will see alot of "violations". Probably going to see more than a few dead citizens as well, because there will be some people who are just more than a little willing to stand up against what they feel is "Tyranny" in Washington. Our Founding Fathers recognized that all governments will become corrupt and that the people need to retain the ability to rise-up against an unjust and corrupt government for Liberty and Freedom to remain more than mere words.
The current governing alliance of Leftists like Pelosi and Reid and more mainstream Democrats just trying to protect themselves is the most dangerous affront to Liberty and Freedom that we have encountered in 233 years as a nation.
Below is some information I acquired about HR 45 from the North Dakota Outdoors website.
Good Day!
Subject: House Bill 'HR 45'
Are you ready for the House Bill titled 'HR 45, Blair Holt Licensing and Record Act of 2009'. It will make it illegal to own a firearm unless it is registered with the database in Washington D.C. As a gun owner you will have to be finger printed, you will be required to provide your DL#, SS#, you must maintain a valid address at all times, submit to mental and physical health records being put on file, you will also be required to file any address changes and any ownership changes even if private sale. Each update will cost $25 and if you fail to comply you will lose your right to own firearms. This bill and its language mirror almost completely one defeated last year in the House of Representatives by soon to be Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Criminals by definition and nature do not abide by laws. New laws and restrictions only apply to the law abiding citizen and are not written with the criminal in mind. With guns, it is not about having laws on the books to prosecute individuals, it is about taking guns away from the people so that no one has them in the first place. One last item to note, when assuming power and creating a facist state, Hitler was a proponent of strong gun laws because a disarmed populace was much easier to control than an armed one. The Kings of old also outlawed weapons of any kind in any region that they conquered to quell the ability of the citizens to uprise against them.
The Founding Fathers of this Nation understood all of the above and because of this they included the Second Amendment in the Constitution. In fact, they knew that at some point in every society's life span that the need for the population to arise came about. To this end they made the right to keep and bear arms against a tyrannical state an absolute right that could not be revoked. They did this because the first thing tyrants and despots do is to remove a populations right to defend themselves. When this is done the tyrants have no problem with the destruction of society as we know it.
To see bill, go to:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.go.....:h45ih.txt
http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_45.html
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Obama and the Iranians
There was talk today about Iran extending an "olive branch" for a new era in Iran U.S. relations.....this is how I see it....
Another blogger wrote that he was encouraged by the student "rumblings" in Iran about a more open government. This is my response to that and how I view this "sudden" turn about in Iranian diplomacy.
There were "rumblings" in China too.....Remember how Tianammen Square turned out?.....The reality is that Iran has been fighting sanctions, delaying inspections, refusing inspections, denying they are doing anything other than "innocent nuclear research".....If you buy that then I have a bridge to sell you.....Because the whole time they are doing "deny, delay" they test new missile platforms, lob threats at us, and call for the destruction of Israel almost daily. They continue to enrich Uranium and fund terrorists. The idea is to get a bomb and then say "We have a Nuke, what ya gonna do about it?" They perceive weakness in Obama, something that they can take advantage of, just like Russia sees him, and China and others.
No nation with an oppressive government EVER negotiates unless they see an opportunity for concessions from the other party. If they don't see a tactical or strategic advantage in it for them they will play the "deny, delay" game. The leadership in North Korea is a perfect example. Kim jong Il seems perfectly willing to let his entire population starve to death rather than give up his grip on power. The rulers of Myanmar were perfectly willing to let thousands of additional people perish after a typhoon rather than admit that they were ill equipped to deal with the tragedy and allow aid workers into the country "enmasse". We may be hardasses at the negotiating table, but keeping loons like Kim jong Il and that nut job in Iran from possessing nuclear weapons keeps us and the rest of the world a little safer. Neville Chamberlain tried appeasement. 80 million people died because of it.
Obama would do well to remember that lesson, but I don't have any faith in his ability to recognize that his ego is getting in the way of his common sense. This isn't a schoolyard basketball game, it isn't a community organizing event.....This is the real world with alot of folks that genuinely dislike the freedoms we are used to, are jealous of our lifestyle, or just plain hate that we are the last remaining military superpower. Obama would also do well to remember a lesson from Ronald Reagan's play book. Reagan broke the back of the Soviet Union without firing a shot. He forced an end to the Cold War through simple economics. China, Russia, and a few others remember those lessons and are using them to THEIR advantage now.....We're over-extended, they know it, but not one idiot in Washington seems to get it. We need to ELIMINATE debt, not go on a willy-nilly spending spree to create new mountains of it. If we don't learn that VERY quickly the only thing we will be negotiating is the surrender of all that our Founding Fathers fought and died to create for us 233 years ago.....Not a fitting end to such a glorious beginning.
Good Day!
Another blogger wrote that he was encouraged by the student "rumblings" in Iran about a more open government. This is my response to that and how I view this "sudden" turn about in Iranian diplomacy.
There were "rumblings" in China too.....Remember how Tianammen Square turned out?.....The reality is that Iran has been fighting sanctions, delaying inspections, refusing inspections, denying they are doing anything other than "innocent nuclear research".....If you buy that then I have a bridge to sell you.....Because the whole time they are doing "deny, delay" they test new missile platforms, lob threats at us, and call for the destruction of Israel almost daily. They continue to enrich Uranium and fund terrorists. The idea is to get a bomb and then say "We have a Nuke, what ya gonna do about it?" They perceive weakness in Obama, something that they can take advantage of, just like Russia sees him, and China and others.
No nation with an oppressive government EVER negotiates unless they see an opportunity for concessions from the other party. If they don't see a tactical or strategic advantage in it for them they will play the "deny, delay" game. The leadership in North Korea is a perfect example. Kim jong Il seems perfectly willing to let his entire population starve to death rather than give up his grip on power. The rulers of Myanmar were perfectly willing to let thousands of additional people perish after a typhoon rather than admit that they were ill equipped to deal with the tragedy and allow aid workers into the country "enmasse". We may be hardasses at the negotiating table, but keeping loons like Kim jong Il and that nut job in Iran from possessing nuclear weapons keeps us and the rest of the world a little safer. Neville Chamberlain tried appeasement. 80 million people died because of it.
Obama would do well to remember that lesson, but I don't have any faith in his ability to recognize that his ego is getting in the way of his common sense. This isn't a schoolyard basketball game, it isn't a community organizing event.....This is the real world with alot of folks that genuinely dislike the freedoms we are used to, are jealous of our lifestyle, or just plain hate that we are the last remaining military superpower. Obama would also do well to remember a lesson from Ronald Reagan's play book. Reagan broke the back of the Soviet Union without firing a shot. He forced an end to the Cold War through simple economics. China, Russia, and a few others remember those lessons and are using them to THEIR advantage now.....We're over-extended, they know it, but not one idiot in Washington seems to get it. We need to ELIMINATE debt, not go on a willy-nilly spending spree to create new mountains of it. If we don't learn that VERY quickly the only thing we will be negotiating is the surrender of all that our Founding Fathers fought and died to create for us 233 years ago.....Not a fitting end to such a glorious beginning.
Good Day!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Caroline Kennedy withdraws.....
Okay so the Headline is old news, but earlier I was reading a story that tried to suggest that she was the victim of Gender Bias.....Please!
How can there be gender bias when the final appointment was another woman? Ms. Kennedy was simply in way over her head, and she had none of the necessary qualifications for the position....
To Me she had other problems as well, and I'm not so sure that she is truly as grounded or stable as she would have us believe. Just listening to her speak was enough to tell me that her medicine cabinet is quite possibly chock full of chemical candy.....a veritable pharmacopia. No one can be that inept with their own thoughts without medication.
She was trading on the Kennedy name pure and simple. Had she gotten the appointment I think we can all envision the train wreck that would have been in the senate. She is a walking filibuster.
The fact that she used the same "problems" that plague Geithner as a reason to withdraw tells me that even her handlers can't create an independent thought......
I'm just glad it's over so we can get back to scrutinizing the train wreck we have in the economy and how the bubbleheads actually serving in Washington plan to make it worse with their various proposals for "stimulus".....
Good Day!
How can there be gender bias when the final appointment was another woman? Ms. Kennedy was simply in way over her head, and she had none of the necessary qualifications for the position....
To Me she had other problems as well, and I'm not so sure that she is truly as grounded or stable as she would have us believe. Just listening to her speak was enough to tell me that her medicine cabinet is quite possibly chock full of chemical candy.....a veritable pharmacopia. No one can be that inept with their own thoughts without medication.
She was trading on the Kennedy name pure and simple. Had she gotten the appointment I think we can all envision the train wreck that would have been in the senate. She is a walking filibuster.
The fact that she used the same "problems" that plague Geithner as a reason to withdraw tells me that even her handlers can't create an independent thought......
I'm just glad it's over so we can get back to scrutinizing the train wreck we have in the economy and how the bubbleheads actually serving in Washington plan to make it worse with their various proposals for "stimulus".....
Good Day!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Microsoft cutting jobs.....Benevolent liberal corporate masters? I guess not.....
The story courtesy of Reuters, commentary is mine!
Microsoft expected to cut jobs as profit weakens
By Franklin Paul and Jim Finkle Franklin Paul And Jim Finkle Tue Jan 20, 4:50 pm ET
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) –
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is expected to post a quarterly profit that misses its own target and announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry's biggest players.
When the leading software maker reports fiscal second quarter results on Thursday, investors are likely to press for comments on its outlook and on Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), whose search business has been the object of Microsoft's desires.
The report comes against a backdrop of a wounded global economy that has stifled demand for everything from personal computers to business software and video games, all markets in which Microsoft is a significant player.
"All eyes are on the forecast," said Jefferies & Co analyst Katherine Egbert. "Expectations for the guidance are pretty low."
Analysts on average put Microsoft's profit at 49 cents a share for the quarter ended December 31, which includes a U.S. holiday shopping season that has been called the worst in at least four decades. The Redmond, Washington-based company had forecast a per-share profit of 51 cents to 53 cents for the quarter.
Wall Street is looking for quarterly revenue of $17.1 billion, according to Reuters Estimates, also short of Microsoft's own target of $17.3 billion to $17.8 billion.
Egbert says she expects Microsoft to report sales of its Windows software for PCs and laptops to drop 3 percent from a year earlier, making it the toughest quarter in eight years. She blames the shortfall on weak consumer sales, noting that businesses have yet to cut back as much as retail shoppers.
Wall Street's expectations for Microsoft's performance for its fiscal year ending in June 2009 have declined since it last reported results three months ago.
Analyst forecasts for full-year net income have dropped 10 percent to $17.77 billion, while revenue projections are down 4.4 percent at $63.68 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
POSSIBLE JOB CUTS
With an eye on reducing costs, Microsoft is widely expected to announce that it will cut jobs, following similar moves by other tech firms, including AT&T Inc (T.N), Dell Inc (DELL.O), Motorola Inc (MOT.N) and Advance Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).
"Checks indicate that Microsoft is likely to engage in headcount reductions to the tune of 6,000 to 8,000 employees or 6 percent to 8 percent of its 95,000 workforce," said McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Sid Parakh. "Our checks also revealed some speculation over the potential for a second round of cuts in some groups sometime later in the year."
Other analysts suggest the cost reductions may occur in the next few weeks and could also include more targeted cutbacks and attrition, rather than the big number of layoffs that some have speculated.
Microsoft has declined to comment on any likelihood of job cuts. Its shares have dropped 41 percent over the past year, while shares in another technology bellwether, IBM (IBM.N), have lost 16 percent. The S&P 500 Index (.SPX) has dropped 38 percent during the same period.
Analysts are also expected to pepper Chief Executive Steve Ballmer with questions about the status of the company's relationship with Yahoo, now that the Internet company has named Diane Bartz as its new CEO.
Bartz told employees earlier this week that she had a phone conversation with Ballmer, who has repeatedly said he remains interested in pursuing a search partnership with Yahoo but does not intend to renew an offer for the whole company.
Microsoft made a bid for Yahoo last year, but walked away after they disagreed on price. Investors have been skeptical about whether the software company can win online advertising revenue away from Google (GOOG.O) and Yahoo, which are both stronger than Microsoft in the Internet search market.
Commentary below......
We know that microsoft pays it's people very well, but there is no way you can convince me that they are unable to absorb $1.5 billion in payroll (based on $100,000 a year average salary plus benefits and payroll taxes on those 8,000 people for a full year) for calender year 2009 when they are going to post a profit for 2008 in excess of $17 Billion, and they have about $40 Billion in Cash reserves......
Microsoft execs. had no problem flying THEIR Corporate Jet to the inauguration.....but apparently they don't have the money to keep employees working.....
Why no outrage from the liberals on this? Why no cries for a windfall profits tax on Microsoft? Maybe because Microsoft is a primary bastion of liberalism from it's management on down.....at least it was, until management discovered that they couldn't ride the economic storm for a little while because those pesky "extra" employees would take just 10% of their profits....
Good day!
Microsoft expected to cut jobs as profit weakens
By Franklin Paul and Jim Finkle Franklin Paul And Jim Finkle Tue Jan 20, 4:50 pm ET
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) –
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is expected to post a quarterly profit that misses its own target and announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry's biggest players.
When the leading software maker reports fiscal second quarter results on Thursday, investors are likely to press for comments on its outlook and on Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), whose search business has been the object of Microsoft's desires.
The report comes against a backdrop of a wounded global economy that has stifled demand for everything from personal computers to business software and video games, all markets in which Microsoft is a significant player.
"All eyes are on the forecast," said Jefferies & Co analyst Katherine Egbert. "Expectations for the guidance are pretty low."
Analysts on average put Microsoft's profit at 49 cents a share for the quarter ended December 31, which includes a U.S. holiday shopping season that has been called the worst in at least four decades. The Redmond, Washington-based company had forecast a per-share profit of 51 cents to 53 cents for the quarter.
Wall Street is looking for quarterly revenue of $17.1 billion, according to Reuters Estimates, also short of Microsoft's own target of $17.3 billion to $17.8 billion.
Egbert says she expects Microsoft to report sales of its Windows software for PCs and laptops to drop 3 percent from a year earlier, making it the toughest quarter in eight years. She blames the shortfall on weak consumer sales, noting that businesses have yet to cut back as much as retail shoppers.
Wall Street's expectations for Microsoft's performance for its fiscal year ending in June 2009 have declined since it last reported results three months ago.
Analyst forecasts for full-year net income have dropped 10 percent to $17.77 billion, while revenue projections are down 4.4 percent at $63.68 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
POSSIBLE JOB CUTS
With an eye on reducing costs, Microsoft is widely expected to announce that it will cut jobs, following similar moves by other tech firms, including AT&T Inc (T.N), Dell Inc (DELL.O), Motorola Inc (MOT.N) and Advance Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).
"Checks indicate that Microsoft is likely to engage in headcount reductions to the tune of 6,000 to 8,000 employees or 6 percent to 8 percent of its 95,000 workforce," said McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Sid Parakh. "Our checks also revealed some speculation over the potential for a second round of cuts in some groups sometime later in the year."
Other analysts suggest the cost reductions may occur in the next few weeks and could also include more targeted cutbacks and attrition, rather than the big number of layoffs that some have speculated.
Microsoft has declined to comment on any likelihood of job cuts. Its shares have dropped 41 percent over the past year, while shares in another technology bellwether, IBM (IBM.N), have lost 16 percent. The S&P 500 Index (.SPX) has dropped 38 percent during the same period.
Analysts are also expected to pepper Chief Executive Steve Ballmer with questions about the status of the company's relationship with Yahoo, now that the Internet company has named Diane Bartz as its new CEO.
Bartz told employees earlier this week that she had a phone conversation with Ballmer, who has repeatedly said he remains interested in pursuing a search partnership with Yahoo but does not intend to renew an offer for the whole company.
Microsoft made a bid for Yahoo last year, but walked away after they disagreed on price. Investors have been skeptical about whether the software company can win online advertising revenue away from Google (GOOG.O) and Yahoo, which are both stronger than Microsoft in the Internet search market.
Commentary below......
We know that microsoft pays it's people very well, but there is no way you can convince me that they are unable to absorb $1.5 billion in payroll (based on $100,000 a year average salary plus benefits and payroll taxes on those 8,000 people for a full year) for calender year 2009 when they are going to post a profit for 2008 in excess of $17 Billion, and they have about $40 Billion in Cash reserves......
Microsoft execs. had no problem flying THEIR Corporate Jet to the inauguration.....but apparently they don't have the money to keep employees working.....
Why no outrage from the liberals on this? Why no cries for a windfall profits tax on Microsoft? Maybe because Microsoft is a primary bastion of liberalism from it's management on down.....at least it was, until management discovered that they couldn't ride the economic storm for a little while because those pesky "extra" employees would take just 10% of their profits....
Good day!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Let the Comedy of Errors Begin
It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I think for the next 4 years I'll have plenty of fodder to make people laugh, cry, and perhaps maybe just THINK a little bit.....Normally I wouldn't print a story from the mainstream press to get started, but this was just too rich to pass up. After the story I'll have a little bit of commentary.....Enjoy!
{{{WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama will call on Americans to replace the "anything goes" culture of recent years with a new "era of responsibility" in his inaugural address on Tuesday, top aides said Sunday.
The president-elect penned most of the historic speech just a week ago, crafting an address that will be "heavily infused with this notion of responsibility and getting our country back on track," spokesman Robert Gibbs told "Fox News Sunday."
Rahm Emanuel, Obama's selection as chief of staff, said the inaugural address of the first African-American president, would stress the need to create "an era of responsibility" in the place of what has too long "been a culture of anything goes."
"We need that culture of responsibility, not just to be asked of the American people, but its leaders must also lead by example," Emanuel said on NBC's'"Meet the Press" program.
He said Obama would call on Americans to "once again restore a value system that respects and honors fiscal responsibility, and we all have something to give to our country and have an obligation to do that to return it to its greatness."
Obama will give his inaugural address around noon (1700 GMT) Tuesday just after taking the oath of office as the 44th US president.}}}
Let's just do this paragraph by paragraph.....Because this is just the beginning of the biggest load of bullshit we've ever had thrown at us.
Paragraph One: "Era Of Responsibility" Nice.....We get a new "buzz phrase".....and if you look at the acronym carefully you get EOR.....who might not have been a democrat, but he was an ass all the same.....(yes I know Winnie the Pooh's Eeyore is spelled differently but the comparison was too good to pass up.)
Paragraph Two: "Heavily infused with this notion of responsibility" I read that as bend over, more taxes......
Paragraph Three: "We need to create an era of responsibility to replace the anything goes mentality......" This from Rahm Emanuel who is up to his eyeballs in Blagojevich's pay for play scandal???? Cool.....I'm really impressed now......
Paragraph Four: Emanuel cont....."not just to be asked of the people but it's leaders must also lead by example"......And this from an incoming administration whose nominee for Sec. Tres. "forgot to pay his taxes" and another nominee withdrew because of a criminal investigation into corruption.....and let's not mention the deeds of the president's buddies Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, and the rest of the looney or criminal lot.
Paragraph Five: "respects and honors fiscal responsibility" TOO MUCH!!!!! I have no debt, work my ass off, and do the best I can to give my family a good life.....The Federal Government will have a $2 trillion debt this year and he has the nerve to talk about fiscal responsibility? His new "stimulus package" does nothing more than bloat an already out of control Federal budget, and the very people who caused the whole financial mess are in his party.
Paragraph Six: And this is where we learn the truth about Obama....."We all have something to give to our country and have an OBLIGATION to do that to restore our country to greatness." There it is.....in unmistakable black and white.....Taxes are going up.....
So this is what we have to look forward to.....More taxes.....A deeper burden on the people who already give up too much in the way of happiness to fund people who made bad choices in life. A further loss of freedom because of the rampant left wing lunacy in Congress and the White House.....
It's going to be a fun four years.....Hope I can survive it.....
Good Day!
{{{WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama will call on Americans to replace the "anything goes" culture of recent years with a new "era of responsibility" in his inaugural address on Tuesday, top aides said Sunday.
The president-elect penned most of the historic speech just a week ago, crafting an address that will be "heavily infused with this notion of responsibility and getting our country back on track," spokesman Robert Gibbs told "Fox News Sunday."
Rahm Emanuel, Obama's selection as chief of staff, said the inaugural address of the first African-American president, would stress the need to create "an era of responsibility" in the place of what has too long "been a culture of anything goes."
"We need that culture of responsibility, not just to be asked of the American people, but its leaders must also lead by example," Emanuel said on NBC's'"Meet the Press" program.
He said Obama would call on Americans to "once again restore a value system that respects and honors fiscal responsibility, and we all have something to give to our country and have an obligation to do that to return it to its greatness."
Obama will give his inaugural address around noon (1700 GMT) Tuesday just after taking the oath of office as the 44th US president.}}}
Let's just do this paragraph by paragraph.....Because this is just the beginning of the biggest load of bullshit we've ever had thrown at us.
Paragraph One: "Era Of Responsibility" Nice.....We get a new "buzz phrase".....and if you look at the acronym carefully you get EOR.....who might not have been a democrat, but he was an ass all the same.....(yes I know Winnie the Pooh's Eeyore is spelled differently but the comparison was too good to pass up.)
Paragraph Two: "Heavily infused with this notion of responsibility" I read that as bend over, more taxes......
Paragraph Three: "We need to create an era of responsibility to replace the anything goes mentality......" This from Rahm Emanuel who is up to his eyeballs in Blagojevich's pay for play scandal???? Cool.....I'm really impressed now......
Paragraph Four: Emanuel cont....."not just to be asked of the people but it's leaders must also lead by example"......And this from an incoming administration whose nominee for Sec. Tres. "forgot to pay his taxes" and another nominee withdrew because of a criminal investigation into corruption.....and let's not mention the deeds of the president's buddies Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, and the rest of the looney or criminal lot.
Paragraph Five: "respects and honors fiscal responsibility" TOO MUCH!!!!! I have no debt, work my ass off, and do the best I can to give my family a good life.....The Federal Government will have a $2 trillion debt this year and he has the nerve to talk about fiscal responsibility? His new "stimulus package" does nothing more than bloat an already out of control Federal budget, and the very people who caused the whole financial mess are in his party.
Paragraph Six: And this is where we learn the truth about Obama....."We all have something to give to our country and have an OBLIGATION to do that to restore our country to greatness." There it is.....in unmistakable black and white.....Taxes are going up.....
So this is what we have to look forward to.....More taxes.....A deeper burden on the people who already give up too much in the way of happiness to fund people who made bad choices in life. A further loss of freedom because of the rampant left wing lunacy in Congress and the White House.....
It's going to be a fun four years.....Hope I can survive it.....
Good Day!
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