And now for something completely differnet

I know this has nothing to do with the automotive world but this is my soap box so here goes.

The other day the lens on my camera phone got scratched and as you can see on some of the previous posts the photos were coming out hazy.  I actually resorted to taking pictures using the rear facing camera for a short while.  I did not want to warranty the phone for such small damage so I did a quick internet search and found a couple of home remedies.

The first I tried was tooth paste.  This worked for about 90% of the scratches.  I still was not happy with the picture quality; it was good but it could have been better.  So then I tried Braso; this worked like a charm.  Picture quality is back up to par. 

Okay stepping off now.

Hooray now we can flag our neighbors for speaking poorly about the government!

Much like Hitler created the Gestapo and Castro the G2 now we too have a group within the executive branch that we can report to when we hear people exercising their freedom of speech.

Maybe we will even be issued armbands too!

If you hear or read any fishy emails please forward them too flag@whit–ouse.gov.

A top priority

I am going to collect a list of all the top priorities that the current administration has.  If everything they talk about is a top priority then what is their real priority?

• “There are few responsibilities more basic or more important for the government than making sure the food our families in America eat is not contaminated and is safe.”  – Biden 7/7/2009

Why not help companies as opposed to hindering them?

Here is a novel concept: Why doesn’t the government help companies increase their revenue and in turn increase tax revenue?  Where is the logic in burdening companies with further taxes and regulations in this shrinking economy?  Can someone please point out an instance where the President, or his administration, has helped businesses increase their revenue?  Not profit, just revenue.  We see plenty of cases where they have found new ways of taxing businesses but nothing to help them increase revenue, at least none that I have noticed.

They are pushing the auto manufacturers to eliminate franchises.  Yes this would help trim their costs, but nothing to increase revenue.  If anything this will cause them to lose market share and lose revenue. 

They are exploring ways to tax companies for CO2 emissions.  This will definitely help push companies into earth conscious business models.  Will it help increase revenue; nope.  It will increase the cost of doing business though.

Soon the discussion of universal healthcare will come up.  Universal Health Care will not increase revenue for companies.  Again, what it will do is increase the cost of doing business for small businesses. 

Are we to expect companies to pay for the additional taxes and government mandates all the while increase salaries and create new jobs?  Many companies are already struggling in these uncertain economic times, how are they going manage the additional operational costs?  How are we going to pull ourselves out of this recession if we additional burden the economic machine?

The Decline of Western Civilization Is Upon Us – And Asimov Foretold It

Anyone with the slightest interest in what is currently going on in the world at large, in our, western cultures, future, in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the world our children will inherent then you should make the time to sit down and read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series.  The names, the places, the cultures are different but they are as real and human as your neighbor, this country, and this little planet of ours.  And the story recounts and foretells our own history.  I have said as much since I first read the series some ten years ago.

I bring up Foundation this morning because of lecture hosted be The Heritage Foundation I watch recently.  The links can be found below.  The gentleman does a marvelous job of pointing out, like it or not, Western Culture is being attacked and we are oblivious/apathetic to it.  By 2050 or so based on this gentleman’s assessment a large majority of the western world will be colonized by Islamic people.  Not through force, not through suicide bombings but through apathy.

I have also linked below a second video.  This one is a quick nugget on the same topic; if you have the time the first series of links have more substance.

First Clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlkEYoKC-kA&feature=related Mostly introductions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBc5V4Ph9n4&feature=related 2 of 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKlXgRS9TZo&feature=related 3 of 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJfXRPBpdiM&feature=related 4 of 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXqpBGimPA&feature=related Q&A session

Second Clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU

The Free Market

America became the wealthiest nation in the history of the world as a result of the application of free market principles.

We are now experiencing a recession/depression.  The reactionary forces in our society are attempting to repair this recession buy moving us away from free market principles and towards socialism.

I believe what caused us to go into this depression was the government hindering the free market.  When the government forced Freddie and Fanny to buy sub-prime mortgages it unbalanced the free market.  The free market, at least until that point, had no use for sub-prime mortgages and would not buy them.  The financial institutions that later were buying up the bad paper and reselling to each other would not have had bad paper to trade in if it were not for the prodding of our government.  The bad paper which feed into the market was a great stocking stuffer that does not naturally exist in the free market.

By no means do I wish to pardon those involved with the scandalous transactions tied to these bad loans.  Nor do I care to relieve the citizens that over extended themselves of their debts.  Both parties should be held responsible for their actions as any citizen of this nation is obliged to be.  What I am saying is that we should take a hard look at what we, our government on our behalf, has done, and continues to do, and say no more!

The mere idea that we will save our economy, our society, by furthering those ideas which got into this crisis is insane.  Our economy, the world economy, can only be saved by the free market.  Any further growth in government will lead to socialism, which will lead to protectionism, which will make us stagnant and ultimately be our death. 

Naming Names

Here are two bits of journalism regarding the sub-prime mortgage meltdown.  Notice the date on the NYT article.  The sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the subsequent economic crisis we are in can be directly link to the policies of the Clinton Administration. 

Not only does the YouTube clip point out when and where the GOP tried to establish additional regulations on the lending institutions but it names names of who defended them.

New York Times article

YouTube Video

Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, and Chris Dodd should all be barred from running for public office.

The State Department targets the 2nd Amendment

I love the ability of the Dems to manipulate reality to suite their agenda.

Recently Hillary Clinton called for a strengthening of gun laws to combat the drug related violence in Mexico. Hillary linked the “lifting” of the assault gun ban to the escalation of the violence  in Mexico. She then asserted that we needed to “put some teeth in the [our] law” to “prohibit the sale outside our borders of these guns”.  

So we will limit our freedoms here at home so that we can better protect the peace abroad; is that correct Madam Secretary?

Have we established that the guns being used for the drug related crimes are arms that were previously owned by American citizens?

Was the assault weapon ban successful in reducing crime in America? If so why was it allowed to expire?

In a recent interview given to the BBC by the Secretary of Homeland Security the cause for the escalation in drug related crime in Mexico was attributed to two facts; the Mexican Government has begun waging its own war on the drug cartels and the tightening of security by the US at our southern boarder.

Maybe the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security should compare notes prior to giving anymore speeches or interviews. Or better yet maybe the Secretary of State should leave the issue to the Department of Justice.

Either way it is disconcerting to see the Secretary of State involving herself with matters of the Justice Department. Further more that she has set her sights on the 2nd Amendment.

Man-Caused Disaster

“Of course it does, I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word ‘terrorism,’ I referred to ‘man-caused’ disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”  – Janet Napolitano Secretary of Homeland Security

The article I found this in can be found here: Newsmax.com

This falls right in with Overseas Contingency Operations.

Maybe they want us to think that we can no more prevent a man-caused disaster then we can prevent a natural disaster.  You know Katrina was unstoppable so was that man-caused disaster on 9/11/2001.

Overseas Contingency Operations

As easily as President Bush initiated a endless war President Obama has ended it.  Oddly enough he did not do so by declaring us victorious.  Neither did he admit defeat.   

The history of the term “War on Terror” is quite interesting and has been around much longer than the previous administration.  For a detailed history take a look here: History of War on Terror.

In its latest incarnation it was used to yoke American to war by the previous administration on September 20th, 2001.  “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”  – President Bush

It is being reported that the current administration has renamed the policy so that it is more socially benign. The Overseas Contingency Operations.  He, or is handlers, are semantical geniuses. 

America will soon be able to rejoice, we will no longer be at war!  

I wonder if the NYT will run a headline in full page font declaring the end of the war.  Probably not as it would draw a spotlight to the subversion by their administration.

I don’t believe they are doing this to end the war, or to change its nature, but merely to disguise it and fulfill an empty promise.  Yet another campaign promise being made good on.