The GM Affect

Interest rates have gone haywire the last couple of days. You won’t hear it reported in the media though. Why? Because it would look bad for certain economic positions and actions taken by the current Administration …at least that’s my take on it…

The problem is that the bond markets are upset about the way the Obama Administration has handled the bond holders for Chrysler and fear the same will happen with GM. At the administrations urging, the judge in the Chrysler bankruptcy case forced the bond holder to take on more risk.

Usually bond holders are the first to be protected in a bankruptcy but this time it was other interests that were protected first. (think Unions) The bond holders took a back seat to almost every other concern.

Before you go saying those ‘evil’ bond holders (lenders) deserve it, think about this. Bond holders invest in companies by making loans to them because they are risk adverse. Investing in normal stocks is to risky for these investors. There reason? They are investing money from pension funds and insurance companies. This money needs to be invested in areas with very little volatility and steady returns with low risk to the money. (think about your pension, you want safety right?)

The way these bond holders are being treated is a huge change from how large restructuring like this normally takes place. And this sets a dangerous precedent going forward. So with a bankruptcy from GM looming on the horizon, the bond market got very, very nervous and everyone backed out of the market in one day!

I’m calling this The GM Affect because it was so awful. We saw rates jump 1% in less than 24 hours ….by the way… That is completely unheard of!

Rates have come back down today, but I don’t know how long that will last. Rates jumped up to 5.5% from a low the previous day of 4.5%. Rates today are back down to 5% but no one knows for how long.

With a very scary economic report just out about a 5.7% decline in GDP the first quarter of this year and about companies slashing inventories and jobs (approximately 2,000,000 more jobs lost) I’m not sure how much longer rates can stay this low.

So while the Administration rolls our their latest campaign touting the ‘good’ that the stimulus package has done and while they roll out the parties for the supposed 150,000 jobs that were created, our economy has had the second largest contraction since 1981. (By-the-way, only about $11 million of the $45 Billion that has hit the economy was for worthwhile make- work projects. The rest was for one-time payments for welfare and Medicare and for the extension of unemployment benefits.)

I know that this sounds like political commentary and I apologize because it is truly not meant to be a political view point. I'm commenting on my concern about the numbers The numbers don’t lie, and since they don't lie, then someone or something else is lying. Could that something be the government, maybe both parties? Some will point back to the Bush administration as an excuse to support Obama’s actions. Guess what? Bush was wrong as well!

All the economic tricks and gimmicks being tried today have been attempted before. We did here in the late 70's to early 80's. and it didn't work. Heck countries all around the world have tried what we are doing and they will tell you it doesn’t work.

Call it Keynesian Theory, call it Social Democratization, call it whatever you want but understand this. If it is illegal for you to 'kite' checks to cover your debt, then why do we allow the government to do it? (Kiting a check is when you deposit a check from one of your own checking accounts into another and then from that account back into the original account in a never ending circle just to cover checks that you right elsewhere, at some point it will catch up to you.

So why are we allowing our government to do a thing that we would be put in jail for doing? Because of some ‘theory’? Does this make sense to anyone?

At some point we will not be able to print enough money to buy our own bonds to fund our bloated and bureaucratic government. I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Here’s a link to a great article with the bad news/good news that can help you make up you own mind. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-gdp-revised-to-57-decline-in-first-quarter

Contradiction & Accountability

As I watch the swirling controversy over Nancy Pelosi and her constant changing of positions about what she knew about water boarding and other interrogation techniques used on the animals that committed the horrible act on 9/11, I am struck by the level of contradiction in her statements.

Another thing that strikes me as odd is that her colleagues don’t seem to be willing to hold her accountable for her obfuscations. Also, I think it is interesting that many (some in the press even) want to talk about former VP Cheney and attempt to take the focus off of what Speaker Pelosi is doing.

It seems that history has proven one thing time and again. Those who can be defined as Liberal have a close political resemblance to many of the worst actors on the world’s political stage when it comes to double standards.

What I mean here is that those that espouse a belief in conservative values appear to be lambasted for the same hypocrisies committed by those that embrace liberal views. The liberal appears to be able to contradict themselves while avoiding accountability for their hypocrisy.

The Cult of Personality

I’ve come to understand why this is so. I once heard a song by the band Living Color. The song was Cult of Personality and it talked about how ordinary people would blindly follow leaders with dynamic personalities.

What history has shown us is that Dictators, Communist and Socialist use the Cult of Personality to cover their own contradictions and to avoid accountability. They force the populous (you and I) and their political opponents to adhere to one standard while they adhere to another.

This sounds crazy right? But it’s not just the ramblings of a right wing blogger (which I’m not by the way, more of a libertarian/independent thinker type)….anyway, I digress… The way that Liberals use Contradiction and Accountability (or the lack of it as it applies to themselves and application of it as it applies to their political opponents) is spelled out in a strategy written back in the 60’s and 70’s by a political organizer and author named Saul Alinsky.

Rules for Radicals

Alinsky was quite a fellow. His most famous book; Rules for Radicals is basically a play book for causing political change. What is interesting is that the book itself is filled with contradictions, rules for accountability and rules for hiding ones true purpose in order to reach political change.

According to Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky ) Alinsky begins his book with this tribute: “From all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins – or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer.” That’s right, his book uses the Devil as one of it’s sources for how to rebel.

Not withstanding any religious beliefs, let’s not go down that slippery slope; let’s say we believe the bible to be a book of mythology. As in intellectual observation, it is odd that this author would choose to emulate the ‘evil’ force rather than use the ‘good’ forces for his examples.

He goes on to say; “Organization for action will now and in the decade ahead center upon America's white middle class. That is where the power is. ... Our rebels have contemptuously rejected the values and the way of life of the middle class. They have stigmatized it as materialistic, decadent, bourgeois, degenerate, imperialistic, war-mongering, brutalized and corrupt. They are right; but we must begin from where we are if we are to build power for change, and the power and the people are in the middle class majority.”

The Middle Class as a Pawn

It’s not hard to miss the hypocrisy here. Essentially what Alinsky is saying is that he doesn’t like the middle class. However, the political power lies with these masses and if the rebels want to succeed, then the middle classes must be convinced to align with the rebels.

The reference to ‘our rebels’ is to the rebels that have brought about populist social justice themes and are adherents to socialist democracies or so-called Democratic Socialism which in and of itself is another contradiction in terms. How can one have a Democracy aligned with Socialism, it doesn’t work…

Alinsky also felt that the Liberalism of his time was a farce. He saw that movement as docile and weak. His goal was to radicalize the movement in order to bring about his definition of social change ….Socialism…

Examples of his Words in Action

When we look around the world and delve into mankind’s history we see the works and words of Alinsky in practice. Some practiced his words before he even wrote them. Just look at the movements headed by Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse-tung. Some practiced his words even while he wrote them, look at Ches Guevara, Castro, Qaddafi, Pol Pot and some practice his words today. Just look at Kim Jong-il, Chavez and other Socialist Dictators.

Now comes the billion dollar statement, the one that will get me in a huge amount of trouble with many who read my blogs. The power structures that currently run the Democrat party were educated in the principles of Alinsky and while they may not actively refer to the writings of Alinsky, they instinctively use his teachings to control the political spectrum whether they realize it or not.

Proof is All Around Us

My proof is evidenced in the way that Contradictions and Accountability are handled by many Liberals and some in the media. There is one standard for those perceived to be Liberal and a completely different standard for those perceived to be anything else.

Right or wrong is not the question here, the facts are the facts and they are visible for anyone who chooses to ‘un-bias’ themselves so that they can see clearly. The truth is that Liberalism today has been hijacked by the activist-rebellious-Socialist of the late 60’s and early 70’s and the truth is that they despise the middle class and look down upon them.

The elites who head the Democrat party see their continuants as dupes and morons. They revel in the realization that they (the leaders of the party) have finally learned how to control this vast and powerful middle class bastion and now the party will use this control to completely change the face of America.

So what are you? A dupe and a moron? Or are you a free thinker, an independent citizen? How do you view your own contradictions and how do you hold yourself accountable. Shouldn’t our politicians be held to the same standards we hold ourselves?

Alinsky didn’t think so. Contradictions were to be used to frame debate in a way that would not allow for rebutal and Accountability was to be used as a club to bludgeon opponents with, requiring them to hold fast to a standard which nobody could meet.

Think about it… and while you do, here’s a short list of the current day politicians that learned and actively used Alinsky’s teachings to organize communities and run campaigns.
Obama; Clinton (Hillary); Carville; (there are others, simply watch their actions and see how they deal with Contradictions and Accountability). Can we add Pelosi and Reid to the bunch? I don’t think that would be a stretch.

These are not the ramblings of a right-wing zealot, moreover they are the thoughts and research of a center-right realist. After you’ve done the research, I’d love not know your thoughts. Respectfully, thank you for reading.

Winners and Losers Who Chooses

It's taken me a couple of days to completely absorb the fact that a sitting president just reached into the board room of a major corporation and fired the CEO. Notice I didn't say that the Board of Directors asked for the government’s assistance ...they didn't...

The news has been all over the place on this one, some say he needed to go. Others say the government shouldn't have this kind of power. Even others justify the action 'this one time' because of all the money given to the company to keep it afloat.

As is usual with me, I have a completely different take on the situation and it is one that hasn't dawned on many people yet. My question is not whether government should be in the business of firing CEO's of private companies.

My questions is have we crossing some precipice? Some invisible line that takes into a dark abyss where government decides which companies succeed and which should fail.

I know many will argue that this has gone on for years visa vie tax policy and regulations and I would agree. However, when this economic mess started in earnest and we allowed the Treasury and the Feds to save some investment banks while allowing others (Lehman Bros., Bear Stearns, etc.) to fail, we started down a slippery slope.

Now we are in full slide! It’s not just which banks should be saved and which should be allowed to fail, now it’s giving one company 30 days to fix a problem and allowing another 60 days. It’s firing a CEO and putting in another by dictation rather than a vote by the Board.

When the Obama administration announced that the government would stand behind the warranty of GM’s cars, they took an even greater step towards choosing winners and losers in this economy.

I ask one simple question, how is Ford to compete with GM (Government Motors) when Government Motors has billions of our Tax dollars funding it?

I admire Ford for recognizing its problems many years ago and setting out on a goal to fix them. I admire Ford for eschewing government hand outs and showing the rugged individualism and toughness that is genuinely American.

I am genuinely worried that we are on a destructive path here. When ‘BIG’ Government gets to choose the businesses that will be winners and the ones that will be losers, the people are bound to suffer.

I need only point to one example. Take a look at the history of England. You will see that at one time the government controlled all the car companies. You will also find out that there were waiting lists months and months long to get a new car.

So get ready, if government gets to choose the winners in this economy, you could be standing in a long line for your new GM, your new ‘free’ health care and maybe even your block of government cheese very soon!

Obama Lied; The Economy Died

Obama Lied; The Economy Died

The title of this article is one powerful statement and I was in shock when I read it. It’s the title of an article written by a conservative author, Tony Blankley.

Before you cry foul! Remember that liberal Democrats used the saying Bush Lied; People Died as the center piece of an entire campaign, not just an article in a newspaper …much more incendiary rhetoric I’d say.

Blankly, playing on this same theme makes some very good points in his op-ed piece in the Washington Post. He posits that Obama ran as one ‘thing’ but is really another.

Take the Preisdents message of ‘change’ as example #1. Obama ran on the promise of change in Washington. His stated goal was a more civil tone and more bipartisanship.

However, what we see happening is Obama and his Democratic cohorts ramming legislation down the throats of the Republican minority. His side is using tricks like only issuing legislation in printed format (not electronic) and expecting thousands of pages to be digested and voted on in just days of review.

When legislation is opposed, the President says; ‘We were elected, it’s our turn.’ And when the Republicans decide not to vote for legislation they haven’t had time to review the Obama team calls them obstructionist.

What change? Sounds like the same ole Washington to me!

There’s more, Obama professed to be for fiscal responsibility and no ear marks. Here again he has lied. We have only to look at the huge stimulus package which was one giant earmark made into law and had nothing to do with stimulating anything!

Other examples of Obama’s lies exist as well. The omnibus spending package with over 8,000 earmarks in the billions of dollars is being pushed for passage. The President says its last year’s business, BUT, if that’s true then why wasn’t it passed last year.

This is another example of the big lie. Obama claims to have inherited the Deficit and he did inherent some of the deficit but in the two months since he’s been in office, he’s tripled the size of the deficit.

The constant, persistent and now accelerated growth in spending and government regulations is killing the markets and slaying our economy. Obama ran to the center as a fiscally conservative Democrat in order to get elected, what he’s become is a Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi tax and spend style liberal!

Obama Lied; The Economy Died; how very apropos.

Transparency Right?

Suffragette America: wham, bam, thank you mam’! Congratulations the recovery and reinvestment act is law!

Our government is borrowing and this bill is so freaking huge, both colossuses’ of Memnon couldn’t prop the thing between them if they tried. It’s ridiculous! Throughout the history of mankind this type of unchecked spending has collapsed societies.

While I am on the topic of ancient civilizations that no longer exist can I just scream out Rome! Thank you but I am dumbfounded by all of this and not in a good way. I can’t believe the people that are think certain aspects of this bill are good.

“Like, yo dude, I found an extra twenty-five dollars a week in my paycheck! It just appeared magically! Cool!” These knot heads don’t get it! Somebody will pay …all of us will pay… and we’ll pay and pay and pay!

Maybe it has all gotten to me but I see all of this borrowing as being a little like we have this giant drill and we’re boring through the earth. In the end we will pop out the other side and be siphoned into some impoverished third world nation but nobody will notice because it’s been such a slow downward spiral.

For many we are just nibbling on the sweet illusion of socialism but not quite ready for the commitment. Some are excited, some are exasperated and I just may be resigned to what is happening. Trust me I don’t want that and I am almost confident in saying that you don’t want to see it happen either, what a nightmare!

Now I know I am being a little rough on the new bill and some say we need to give it time. All I can say in my defense is that we’ve seen this before and it hasn’t worked. But this time we have ‘transparency’ so everyone can see what’s going on. Right? That makes it all different…

The seductress is Lady Transparency. She’s all dressed up for us and promises the fulfillment of our wildest fantasy, a government that is for the people, by the people and keeps the people free. A government with no corruption and where we can spend all this money and do ‘good’ for ALL people.

But underneath the seductive trappings is a two-timing tramp that is telling lies and stealing from us. You need proof, then just look at the new government web site, recovery.gov. It’s one huge piece of Socialist propaganda. The so called transparency is fiction, read the fine print and the asterisk on the site. Transparency my a**!

Hold on America! I started this blog entry with a song so I’ll end with one. Back in the USSR, you don’t know how lucky you are boy, back in the, back in the, back in the USSR!