Our Greatest Allies: Egypt

Our Greatest Allies will be a new feature on this blog. We will explore the United States relations with its many friends, debtors, and vassal states. Special attention will be paid to our allies in the Wars on Terror and Drugs, and those nations receiving large amounts of foreign aid and military assistance. First up is that bastion of freedom and tolerance in the middle east; Egypt.

We give Egypt up to $1.3 billion/year in military aid alone, along with close to another billion in economic and developmental aid. Egypt is nominally a republic but when President Hosni Mubarak allowed multi-candidate elections in 2005, they were plagued by accusations of fraud, voter suppression, and police brutality. He is, in effect, a dictator who has imprisoned his political opponents.

But before you think we are wasting our money, look how far they have come with human rights.

Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basic human rights, two international rights groups said Friday.

Don't you feel better about your tax dollars going to them now?

Egypt, a proud country with a rich history, a beacon of democracy and freedom in the Middle East, is truly one of Our Greatest Allies.

Dispatch from Freerepublic.com

This news report brought to you by Freerepublic.com

Tragically, 21 year old Sgt. Corey E. Spates of 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, MND-North was killed on February 10 when his vehicle was struck by an IED in Diyala Province, Iraq. Clearly greater IED protection would have been preferable.

However, in the face of that tragedy is a small silver lining. Sgt. Spates, you see, was the last American killed by hostile action in Iraq. Note the date. February 10.

Due to time zones, it is now February 17 in Iraq.

We’ve therefor gone a week without losing another good American to enemy action. Or put another way, Al Qaeda has become so impotent as to be unable to kill any of us in the entire last week.

Most cities of any appreciable size lose more Americans per week than the above to drunks, or to home fires, or to...drum roll...lightening strikes.

Al Qaeda has been obliterated in Iraq.


In other news 2 US soldiers were killed today in Iraq.

Fascism Watch: U.S. Customs will steal your information

A recent CNN report revealed that U.S. Customs agents can search your laptop or Blackberry, examine files within, and even copy your hard drive. Yet another example of our out of control police state.

Without even considering the legal, ethical, and Constitutional problems with this, it is simply an absolute waste of time. Unless someone has an obvious list of terrorist contacts in his address book, or a schematic of an airplane, there is simply no security benefit to this intrusion.

Given the bovine nature of most airport security workers, this will prove to be only an incredible hassle for already stressed travelers. It will however, allow for TSA to compile one hell of an iTunes playlist.

Hillary Clinton silences David Shuster

In a chilling foreshadowing of the next 8 years under her rule, Hillary Clinton recently caused the suspension and public shaming of MSNBC correspondent David Shuster. His crime? He used the term "pimped out" while questioning daughter Chelsea's role with her campaign. His actual quote from his conversation with Bill Press:

"Bill, there's just something a little bit unseemly to me that Chelsea is out there calling up celebrities saying, 'Support my mom.' And, apparently, she's also calling these super delegates." After Press responded, "Hey, she's working for her mom. What's unseemly about that? During the last campaign, the Bush twins were out working for their dad," Shuster asked: "But doesn't it seem like Chelsea's sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?"

Hillary's chief hatchet man, the always reserved Howard Wolfson, called the remarks "beneath contempt". Coming from the communications director of a campaign that has used such principled tactics as wondering if Barack Obama sold drugs, or writing off his victory in South Carolina by comparing him to Jesse Jackson, one could view this statement as high praise.

Clinton herself used the controversy to show off her Thatcheresque strength and composure.

“I am a mom first and a candidate second and I found the remarks incredibly offensive,” ”I have sent a letter to the head of NBC expressing the deep offense that I took.”

Watch out Putin and Ahmadinejad, this lady means business! If Iran doesn't back off from its nuclear program Mahmoud's mother might even be getting a call.

Now, obviously Hillary is trying to score more points with her base, which at this point seems to consist of post-menopausal women trying to direct their hot-flash driven rage toward any sexist slight, real or imagined. That is her prerogative, and to expect better from her would require ignoring the last sixteen years of her Machiavellian use of her gender for political gain; yet this comes off as desperate, a cheap ploy even by Clintonian standards.

The tears in New Hampshire worked, she came off as an exhausted martyr, her emotions laid bare after years of fighting for YOU while fending off attacks from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. But this is a harder sell, if it was Rush Limbaugh it would be one thing, but Shuster is virtually unknown, and MSNBC is not Fox News, no matter how hard Chris Matthews has been on Hillary.

The actual problem with Hillary's gambit is the absence of any real controversy in Shuster's remarks. Yes, it was kind of in bad taste, but this is 2008, and I highly doubt many people are really offended by the term in the era of "Pimp My Ride". Even today Chelsea was having breakfast with a 21 year old superdelegate in Wisconsin, not quite working the corner, but certainly not above scrutiny.

This shows just what we will be dealing with for the next 8 years if Hillary is elected. She is a vindictive, spiteful, woman with a very long memory, who will not stand for any attacks on her or her family. George Bush was happy to live in his bubble, I truly doubt he saw the worst of the criticism against him, and if he did it didn't seem to bother him. Journalists, bloggers, pundits, everyone had better learn to watch what they say about the Clinton dynasty.

And keep your resume up to date, just in case.

Mitt Romney shuts it down

Governor, CEO, savior of the Salt Lake City Olympics, Mitt Romney can now add failed Presidential candidate to his already impressive resume. Romney made the announcement today before he was scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Romney cited the need to unite against the Democrats as his reason for dropping out, saying

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,"

Classic Mitt. Turning his concession speech into an attack ad against the Democrats, now that is efficiency! It is that kind of business acumen that allowed him to turn the mere $90,000,000 he raised into nearly 300 delegates, along with shocking victories in Utah, Michigan, and Massachusetts. He was even shrewd enough to tap his own fortune for $35,000,000, obviously a strategic maneuver for.... tax purposes, yeah, thats why he did it.


There is no shortage of blame to go around for Mitt's failure.

• The rise of Huckabee drained off social conservatives that might have made the difference in several states.
• He could never shake the flip-flopper label, even having to endure a humiliating segment on Meet The Press where Tim Russert brandished actual flip-flops while reciting Mitt's many position changes.
• Conservatives were largely split between Thompson and Romney, even after Thompson dropped out, their support of Romney seemed half-hearted, more rooted in hatred for McCain than enthusiasm for Mitt.
• He spent incredible amounts of money in Iowa and New Hampshire, only to lose both badly. This gave Huckabee an opening and allowed McCain to come back from the dead.

The real killer of Mitt's campaign was ultimately Mitt himself. Something about him just turned people off. Despite his clean-cut image and lack of obvious scandals, he couldn't get the base to rally around him, even in the absence of a clear front-runner. Watching him in the debates, he was at once arrogant and condescending. He used his business experience as a shield against criticism, but even in the Republican party, people had trouble rooting for the rich guy. Most of the other candidates had their own fallback positions, Giuliani had 9/11, McCain his military experience, and Huckabee his faith. These are all sacred cows, impossible to go after without being demonized, but Bain Capital isn't NYC, the Olympics aren't Vietnam, and Staples, unfortunately for Mitt, does not equal Jesus.

This presents an interesting dilemma for his supporters, while many of them will bite the bullet and switch to McCain, many more are anyone-but-McCain people, and it is unknown where they go from here. They have many of the same reservations about Huckabee, and considering the animosity between Romney and Huckabee, I don't think he can expect much of a bump from this. It will be interesting to see if Ron Paul picks up any of these anti-McCain votes, he is the only remaining candidate who is strong on taxes, immigration, and social issues, which may trump his anti-war stance for some people.

Mitt Romney proved that even American voters have a limit in the amount of phoniness and slickness they will tolerate in a candidate. Despite the blessing of talk radio, limitless funds, a squeaky clean personal life, and a glowing resume, Romney just couldn't close the deal. He has not yet announced his current plans, but it is believed he will likely go into the shop for a temporary shutdown, and much needed refurbishing.

Huckabee wins West Virginia, Ron Paul 2nd.

At least in delegates, that is. Ron Paul was eliminated in the first round of voting, but his supporters cut a deal with Huckabee's where Ron Paul would get 3 of the 18 national delegates in exchange for supporting Huckabee. This put Huckabee over the top for the win. This hurts Romney, who was in WV today, and proves that Huckabee's presence in the race is helping McCain. Of course you can't blame the Ron Paul supporters who picked up some delegates while helping to keep the votes split, which helps their strategy of hoping for a brokered convention. Not much else going on right now.

Stupor Tuesday

Today, February 5th, millions of uninformed Americans will vote in their Presidential primaries.

Many will vote for the candidate whose name they recognize from television.
Many will vote for who they think has the best chance to win.
Many will vote for Obama because he is black.
Many will vote for Hillary because she is a woman.
Many will vote for McCain because he is a veteran.
Many will vote for Romney because he is a Mormon.
Many will vote for anyone but Hillary.
Many will vote for anyone but a Republican.
Many will vote for Hillary because they think Obama is a Muslim.
Many will vote only because they think it is their "civic duty".

All of these people are fools who, dare I say it, are unworthy of their right to vote. It has become almost blasphemy to suggest that the right to vote should require more than a pulse and a 5 minute trip to City Hall, yet shouldn't we at least consider the idea of Democratic reforms? If our democracy makes no distinction between the most apathetic, ignorant voter, and one who carefully studies the positions of each candidate and makes an informed decision based on reason, then you might ask yourself, is it really a fair system?

Pollsters will parse and analyze every possible demographic today, trying to figure out why people voted for whom, they will exclaim over McCain's strong showing from independents, or watch closely to see who wins the Hispanic vote. One group that is never accurately measured, or even discussed, is the highly prized idiot vote. That would include everyone I have listed above, those who wait to see the latest polls to make sure they "vote for a winner", as if a Cabinet position awaits them if they back the right candidate. It is impossible to know for sure what percentage of the electorate votes for specious reasons such as these, as no one will admit their ignorance to a pollster.

The pollsters are also complicit, instead of asking why someone voted the way they did, they will give them dozens of options to choose from, allowing the average simpleton to feel like they made an informed decision. "I voted for McCain because.....I think he has a lot of character, uh.., at least that's what I heard on tv. And wasn't he a war hero?" Sadly, this is what drives a huge chunk of our electorate, the mainstream media's sound-bite journalism, name recognition, and blind allegiance to "The Party".

It would not be an easy task to change the current system, it would certainly require amendments to the Constitution, something it is hard to rally people around unless it involves granting or denying marriage rights to certain minority groups. Demagogue politicians would scream "Disenfranchisement!" if they thought they had to appeal to the intellect of the people, rather than their most basic fears and prejudices. Any supporters of such reforms would be derided as intellectual elitists and snobs, for daring to question the American way of ignorance. But think about this, we require tests for everything from selling hotdogs out of a cart, to working as hairdresser, if such trivial pursuits as this require certification from the State, shouldn't our most precious right as citizens require similar diligence and study? I don't think this is ever likely to happen, therefore the best thing you can do is make an informed decision yourself, don't let the media choose for you, don't vote along party lines, don't vote just because you feel it is your duty. Most importantly, remember that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. Vote your conscience, and you will feel a lot better about yourself, regardless of who wins the election. I will close with a couple of quotes.

Charles Spurgeon: "Of two evils, choose neither"

John Quincy Adams: "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost"

Rudy Giuliani drops out. Thank you God.

Rudy Giuliani, the lisping, cross-dressing, ex-mayor of NYC has abandoned his Presidential campaign after a humiliating defeat in Florida yesterday.

The socially liberal New Yorker decided the best way to neutralize his perceived liberal elitism was to all but concede the early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and Michigan; instead focusing all his energies on Florida and its winner take all primary. Needless to say, that didn't work out so well.

Leading in national polls months ago, Giuliani's campaign was dogged by scandals involving Bernie Kerik; his driver turned police commissioner who found himself under investigation for Mafia ties and tax evasion. Rudy had even pushed Kerik for Homeland Security chief, unfortunately, he also had an illegal alien housekeeper to go with his other legal troubles, and he withdrew his candidacy, disgracing himself and Giuliani. Combined with his much publicized affair with his current wife, who he had chauffeured around by the NYPD during their courtship, the scandals proved to much to overcome for many conservatives already leery of his weakness on gay rights and abortion.

Rudy based his entire campaign on 9/11. Period. Not a single debate or interview went by without him shamelessly bringing up his so-called heroism on that fateful day. When he creepily answered a cell phone call from his wife in front of a shocked NRA audience, he defended himself by saying that “And quite honestly, since Sept. 11th, most of the time when we get on a plane, we talk to each other and just reaffirm the fact that we love each other."
Very believable coming from the romantic who announced he was separating from his wife in a press conference, where his lawyer compared her to a "Stuck pig".

Rudy was a disaster as a candidate, from his foolish strategy, to the debates where he would rattle off an endless series of statistics, all relating to his cutting taxes in New York, cutting crime in New York, sodomizing common criminals with plungers in New York. Actually he didn't mention that last one. His arrogance was almost breathtaking, from when he declared in London that he was one of the five most famous Americans in the world, to his lack of retail politics in New Hampshire and other small states. Rudy thought that everyone knew who he was, and would vote for him despite his lack of effort, he was after all, "America's Mayor". In the end though, he has tarnished whatever dubious legacy he once had, spending some $50,000,000 to garner one delegate and drop out before super tuesday.

Show no sympathy for this man though, he is pure evil. A fascist tyrant who cleaned up New York by flooding the streets with cops hellbent on brutality. A vindictive bully who punished political opponents by having them investigated, arrested, or smeared. A moral pauper whose own children refused to stand by him after he humiliated their mother. A posturing demagogue who used the horrors of 9/11 to make himself rich and famous, despite his own failures before and after the tragedy that led to unnecessary death and disease.

Rudy Giuliani would have put Bush to shame with his warmongering, and rivaled Clinton for personal depravity. He would have embraced the police state that is already rising around us, and increased it to Orwellian levels. All of the Republican candidates, save Ron Paul, would have led us to more wars, more fear; but Giuliani seemed to relish stoking the fears of terrorism more than anyone else. Another terror attack would have led to internment camps, checkpoints, loyalty oaths. Make no mistake about it, Rudy Giuliani would have been our Hitler. Whatever happens in this election, however odious our next President is, remember this. We got lucky.

John Edwards drops out

John Edwards, the "populist" ex- NC senator, has dropped out of the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, failing to realize his life's purpose of ending poverty in America.

Edwards based his campaign on a strong anti-corporate message aimed at labor unions and the middle class; unfortunately many large unions didn't want to risk losing their hard earned patronage jobs by going against Hillary and the Democratic establishment. He got the backing of some smaller unions, but most of the major national unions ended up endorsing Clinton.

Edwards was trying to position himself to the left of Clinton and Obama, but I don't think enough people bought what he was selling. He voted for the Iraq war and the Patriot Act, but highlighted his opposition to both during his campaign. Another main theme of his campaign was his "Two Americas" rhetoric, which might have fallen flat after stories of his $400 haircut and personal fortune were pushed by the media.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would assume that Edwards has cut some kind of deal with either Clinton or Obama, perhaps Attorney General in an Obama administration? Whatever happens we know that John Edwards will work tirelessly to end poverty in America, pausing only for an occasional trim of his flowing chestnut locks, or perhaps to nap at his 30,000 square foot mansion. Don't worry Poor America, "Hope, is on the way!"

Barack F. Kennedy

In a move that brought joy to the hearts of hack political writers everywhere, Ted Kennedy became the latest member of the Kennedy to clan to endorse Barack Obama. A quick look at some of the press coverage yielded the following drivel.

Kennedys, roaring crowds give Obama rally '60s feel

With Kennedys on the stage and Beatlemania-like screams from the crowd, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign stop on Monday took on the aura of the early 1960s.

Where to begin with this one? First of all, JFK was already dead before the Beatles ever set foot in the United States, so that comparison is murky at best. Also, what exactly was the aura of the early 60's?

Ted Kennedy's endorsement speech was a breathtakingly cloying exercise in hyperbole. With frequent references to his brother and Martin Luther King, Kennedy all but bowed before Obama and his transcendent greatness. A quick count reveals 5 references to "hope", 5 to "change", and 7 to "inspire". I didn't keep track of the many allusions to tides, lifted spirits, and America coming together.

Kennedy also mentions Obama's early stance against the Iraq war, not mentioning that he was in the Illinois State Senate at the time, which had about as much influence against the war that I did. Nor does he mention Obama's votes for 300 billion in funding for the war, I guess that would fall under his "bipartisanship".

I have nothing personally against Obama, I disagree with almost all of his policy ideas, but really do respect his lack of obvious lying and character assassination in this race. However I am a little tired of hearing about him being a candidate of change, anti-establishment, the future. Take a look at who has endorsed him, who his advisers are, who his financial backers are, and you will see some of the most entrenched hacks and retreads in the Democratic establishment. I'm sorry, but being endorsed by Ted Kennedy, someone who has been in the Senate for 45 years, is not a good sign that Obama will actually change anything. But then again he is relatively young and so was John F. Kennedy, so he does have that going for him.

MSNBC Republican Debate 1/24/08

Hopefully not too many people sat through that snoozefest, if you were lucky enough to miss it here's a quick rundown. I will rank them in no particular order.

Mitt Romney: Got a ridiculous amount of time (22 minutes out of a 90 minute debate with commercials and crosstalk). Did well against agressive questioning by the loathsome Tim Russert. I think Mitt is a phony even by politician standards, but I still felt bad for him when Russert attacked him over his wealth and self funding. Brian Williams also asked him about his Mormon faith and if it would hurt him in the election, kind of a cheap shot. Moderators should ask about issues, not campaign strategy and election demographics. If I was a neocon/country club Republican, I would certainly vote for this humanoid.

Ron Paul: As usual, the least amount of time, the best answers. He got about 6.5 minutes total. He was the only candidate who did not think the Iraq War was worth it, which drew applause. Also willing to think outside the box regarding the economy, god I wish he could have a one on one debate with any of these clowns. Finished strong with a nice answer to questions about him leaving the Republican party, all his answers are worth seeing here.

Rudy Giuliani: He is toast and he knows it. Didn't really go after anyone despite trailing in the polls a few days before Florida. Not even any attacks on Romney. Seems to me he is thinking about his various business ventures and does not want to burn any bridges. He is also incredibly hard to watch and listen to, his lisp and facial contortions seem to have gotten worse as the campaign progressed. Imagine a 30 minute State of the Union address from this freak?

John McCain: Once again proved himself to be a vicious, unrepentant, liar. First he angrily questioned the truth of a statement Williams made about his lack of knowledge on economic issues, the only problem was it was a quote from McCain himself. He also claimed to have won a majority of the Republican vote in NH and SC, despite exit polls showing he did no such thing. Ron Paul's question about the President's Working Group on Financial Markets showed him to be utterly clueless as to what the group was. He tried to recover by muttering something about the Reagan Revolution, and name dropping Warren Rudman, Phil Gramm, and the Concord Coalition. He tried to somehow drag Paul down with him, saying "Ron, you were there", but only ended up sounding like a stoned frat boy who forgot the end of the story he was telling. The fact that this man is considered a front runner is a truly damning indictment of our nation's collective intelligence.

Mike Huckabee: Sounded more and more like John Edwards as he railed against corporations, trade with China, and Wall St. Proposed some sort of New Deal plan to build a superhighway from Maine to Florida with "American steel, American concrete, and American workers". No mention of how this would be financed with good old American taxes. Was given his mandatory religion question, which he answered convincingly, if predictably. If there was anyone out there who does not know about Huckabee's deep faith they do now. If you already knew, then your eyes probably just sort of glazed over. Huckabee also stared at Ron Paul with a bizarre enthralled expression every time he spoke. It wasn't hostile, it was almost as if he had never heard or seen someone speak the truth before. As the campaign goes on I find myself hating Huckabee less and less, probably because it is less likely he will get a chance to inflict his religious socialism on America.

Tim Russert: A deeply disturbed, tuberous creature, Russert's style of journalism is to dig up an old quote, preferably from decades ago, and unleash it on an unsuspecting target. Seems to think that this makes him a tough journalist, instead of a petty, pedantic, know-it-all. He breathlessly attacked Romney over his self financing, obviously realizing that the Republican party has no patience for wealthy CEO types.

Brian Williams: Seemed uncomfortable asking some of the rather stupid questions, perhaps he has some manner of soul? Not a bad moderator, all in all. I almost forgot about the moronic Chuck Norris/Sylvester Stallone/Roberta McCain line of questioning. It was brain-meltingly stupid, and I found myself yearning for the dignity of the YouTube debate.

As usual most of the Mainstream media declared McCain the winner, I believe he would have to actually start drooling on stage to receive criticism at this point. I will be surprised if anyone calls him on his blatant lies and obfuscation on his economic record. I will be even more surprised if anyone even mentions Ron Paul. Most journalists would like to avoid researching what the PWGFM is as well, so better to ignore him and his question. All in all, a pretty bad debate, par for the course in this horrible election cycle.

Rudy Giuliani: Equal Opportunity Panderer

Rudy Giuliani, who has made Florida the centerpiece of his Presidential campaign, spent the last week pandering to every possible demographic. Here is a quick rundown.

Latinos: Rudy has claimed to be tough on immigration and a frequently used line in his stump speeches is " you should be able to have to read English, write English, and speak English if you want to become a citizen." However that didn't stop him from running several Spanish-language ads in Florida, with Rudy himself giving his approval en Espanol.

Evangelicals: Rudy is not one to let his multiple divorces, adultery, or support of gay marriage and abortion take away an important voting bloc. Speaking at El Rey Jesus Church in Miami, Giuliani quoted scripture and told the crowd how important faith was to his life. Being a predominately Hispanic church, it is unlikely he broke out his English-only message here either.

Nascar Fans: Rudy visited Daytona International Speedway, where he took his campaign bus for a lap around the track. He was denied his request to drive an actual racecar unfortunately, depriving us all of a Dukakis-like image of him in a jumpsuit. Giuliani also declared that "Nascar is a great sport", a statement that almost collapses under the weight of its own stupidity.

Hurricane-phobes: Alright that one is stretching it a little. (Any Hurricane-philes out there?). Nevertheless "fiscal conservative" Rudy was quick to support a National Catastrophe Fund which would give long term low-interest loans to states affected by natural disasters. Just to show he wasn't trying to buy votes in Florida he pointed out that " New York has hurricanes" too.

Obviously Giuliani is feeling supremely confident about Florida, which allows him to speak his mind freely and the political consequences be damned! This is the kind of principled leadership we expect from America's Mayor. Patent Pending. Patent Pending. Patent Pending.

Voters of Florida, don't allow the victims of 9/11 go unavenged, vote Rudy Giuliani.

Please?

Fred, we hardly knew ye....

Senator, attorney, character actor, Fred Dalton Thompson brought much needed gravitas to the race for the Republican nomination. From the months of breathless anticipation waiting for Fred to enter the race, to his electrifying speeches to packed houses, he gave the Republican race a boost that history will show saved his party, and dare I say it, this country.

God, I could barely write that without throwing up.

In reality, despite the adoration of the right wing blogosphere, who just about christened him the next Ronald Reagan, his campaign could not even get off the ground. He gave hints about entering the race for months, finally announcing on that bastion of conservative thought, The Tonight Show. He failed to raise much money, and despite the presence of his buxom trophy wife Jeri, his appearances on the campaign trail were about as memorable as his role in Curly Sue.

Disclaimer: I did not know he was in Curly Sue before I looked him up on IMDB. To be fair I could have mentioned other roles such as the voice of Sir Trenton in Racing Stripes. Or his critically acclaimed guest spot on "Roseanne" as Keith Faber. Ok now I am just being cruel. Sorry Fred.

Nevertheless, Fred's exit from the race will surely sting his devoted and braindead supporters on freerepublic.com, who used him as a vessel for all of their hopes and dreams. It will be interesting to see how they try and spin his exit as yet another MSM attack on their chosen one. Most likely, many of them will refuse to believe it, just as they refused to believe the liberal media lies about his foundering campaign and general corpse-like demeanor.

To them I say, stand strong true conservatives, one day a new Fred will arise to return the GOP to its former glory.

Also, Season Five of Law and Order will be out on DVD soon.

Marketwatch tries to hide coming recession

Marketwatch.com, which is viewed by some 6 million people daily, is attempting to hide the fact we are headed towards at least a recession, if not utter financial collapse. Despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average opening down 400+ points, they frame the turmoil as "repricing", a nice bit of doublespeak that while technically true, does not capture the actual events of the day.

For most of the day the front page of Marketwatch did not even list the DJIA, perhaps they are afraid to let people see that big red number. But everything is ok according to Marketwatch and its parent company: Dow Jones. What a coincidence.

We can expect even more spin from the talking heads on CNBC, Bloomberg, etc., plenty of Bernanke ballwashing and constants invocations of the "overall strength" of the economy. I guess if you keep saying it enough it has to be true.

Luckily we have a Presidential candidate who understands that the economy has problems that another 75 basis point cut cannot fix. A candidate who realizes that our current economic model is as unsustainable as Communist Russia. A candidate who is starting to rack up endorsements from economic experts like Don Luskin, and Peter Schiff.

That candidate is Ron Paul. Unfortunately, it may take a total economic collapse to make people realize this fact. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Martin Luther King Day

As America celebrates the life of Dr. King, it seems unbelieveable that he was so hated and feared by the establishment that now reveres him.

Every politician in America today will evoke his memory; some will be genuine in their praise, while others will humiliate themselves with their pandering. Even King's memorial service did not go untainted by politics, with Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, an Obama supporter, taking a shot at Bill Clinton. Clinton responded by staying seated as the rest of the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Classy, as always.

While President Bush told inner-city children to honor King's memory and "love thy neighbor" , the war raged on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and stock markets around the world plunged as fears of a U.S. recession loomed large.

Were Martin Luther King alive today he would be hated and demonized for his opposition to war and U.S. imperialism. Make no mistake about that, the vulture media, from Fox News to the New York Times would marginalize him as a radical, an unrealistic dreamer, for daring to challenge the idea that the U.S. must rule the world. Just as Ron Paul is called a radical for saying many of the same things today. While everyone fights for a piece of Dr. King's memory, do your part to change the world, donate to Ron Paul today. It is not likely that Dr. Paul will be our next president, the odds against him are immense, but if his message of freedom, peace, and prosperity reaches enough people, it will live on forever.

Donate Now

Nevada Caucus

*Update Ron Paul takes second in the Silver State. Nice work from the official campaign and NV grassroots.*

The Nevada caucus takes place today, with no shortage of controversy for either party. The Democrats have clashed over rule changes allowing voting in casinos. The state teachers union had sued claiming that it gave an unfair advantage to the 200,000+ casino workers over those who had to work at night. Hillary Clinton has many backers in the union, and while she had no official connection to the lawsuit, she is obviously hurt by the ruling to allow casino voting. The Culinary Workers Union has backed Obama, so we will see how this all shakes out today.

On the Republican side, only Romney and Paul have really campaigned here, leading to some predictions of Paul possibly winning or coming in second. The polls don't really reflect that, however, so these stories could simply be spin by other campaigns or the media. Also the Paul campaign has issued a press release blasting the state GOP for making several changes of caucus locations and rules in the last few days. They asked for the caucus to be postponed, to which caucus spokesman Steve Wark, a maxed out Giuliani supporter replied "We would hope that the Paul campaign would go act like adults.."

Obviously this is a completely fair and unbiased individual, with no stake in the process whatsoever. The caucus locations have been changed 3 times in the last ten days, which one would think might merit some questions about the process. It will be interesting to see how Giuliani does in Nevada, he certainly has some friends on the ground there.

Huckabee then and now

Faux-populist theocrat candidate Mike Huckabee recently called the Constitution a "living, breathing, document..." and that he would "amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards". As bizarre and frightening as the thought of Rev. Mike rewriting the Constitution to fit his fundamentalist beliefs, he is at least consistent in this area. Consistently insane.
Far more damning, yet unbelievably ignored by the mainstream media, are his constant changes of almost every major position. While Mitt Romney is certainly worthy of his flip-flopper tag, Huckabee is at least his equal in dramatic changes in policy stances. Actually, many of Romney's changes have happened gradually, while Huckabee has changed most of his during this Presidential primary campaign. Here are a few of Huck's about-faces.

Immigration

Then: As Arkansas' governor he supported giving instate tuition benefits to illegal aliens. He also accused some anti-illegal immigration Republicans of "demagoguery and racism", and as recently as a few months ago defended his instate tuition plan by saying "In all due respect, we are a better country than to punish children for what their parents did."

Now: He recently unveiled his immigration plan, which gives all illegal aliens 120 days to leave the country. No mention is made of the poor children who will be punished "for what their parents did."

Taxes

Then: Raised taxes in Arkansas by $642 million over his ten years in office, including raises of 37% on sales tax, 16% gasoline tax, and 103% on cigarettes.

Now: Supports the so-called "fair tax", a 23% national sales tax. Also claims that he is the only candidate who wants to get rid of the IRS, which Ron Paul has been discussing for decades.

Personal Freedom

Then: Signed a law which mandates annual body mass index (BMI) measurements for all public school children in 2003. As recently as this summer he committed to sign a nationwide smoking ban in public places, should such a measure win approval in Congress.

Now: Has completely flipped on the smoking issue and says it should "be addressed by state and local governments". Sort of like he did in Arkansas by banning smoking in all public places.

Foreign Policy

Then: Unequivocally supported the Iraq war calling timetables "absurd". Also supported the right of the President to preemptively strike Iran.

Now: Called Bush's foreign policy an "arrogant bunker mentality". However he soon backtracked when criticized by the right, saying that he was only criticizing policy, not Bush himself, and that he was "the one who supported the President's surge".

In short, Huckabee has made drastic shifts on policy in several areas in just the last few months. Most of these changes were on issues that he has been criticized for by conservatives, i.e. taxes, immigration, etc. It is quite obvious that Mike Huckabee is at least the equal of Mitt Romney when it comes to changing positions for political gain, and that is certainly a high standard to live up to.

Ron Paul, American Hero

I will not pretend to be an impartial observer of the Presidential race. I fully support Ron Paul, have donated to his campaign, and will be voting for him both in the Massachusetts primary and the general election, even if I have to write him in. That said, I will try to be honest in my analysis of other candidates, offering praise in the rare occasion they merit some.
Why Ron Paul? Simply put, he is the rarest of creatures, an honest politician. He has fought consistently for 30+ years for free markets, personal liberty, and less government. If you have never heard of him, I won't bother to give you his life story and stance on every issue, check them out for yourself at his official site.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

I first heard of Ron Paul during the inexorable march to war in 2002-2003. While virtually every Republican and many Democrats were beating the war drum, Dr. Paul was bravely and eloquently speaking out against going into Iraq. His speeches warning of the consequences of an undeclared, undefined war against an enemy with no ties to 9/11 now read like a glimpse into the future. Here are a few of his speeches from the house floor.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/64/statement-opposing-the-use-of-military-force-against-iraq/

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/65/before-we-bomb-iraq/

If these were the only speeches Ron Paul had ever made, I would still consider him a hero. However he has made a career out of principled opposition to the cowardly groupthink that plagues Washington, D.C. Dozens of times he has been the lone "no" vote against unconstitutional, liberty-destroying, bills passed by our cowardly Congress. He is not perfect, no man is, but he still comes closer to the kind of legislator the Founding Fathers envisioned for this country than anyone else in Congress.

Sorry for the gushing post, but I wanted to have a positive start to the blog, as undoubtedly most of my posts will deal with my overall hatred of our government.

Welcome aboard!

As you might have guessed from the title of my blog, I have some minor issues with the political system in this country. I believe that 99% of politicians from both parties are at best incompetent, and at worst, treasonous. I will try to focus primarily on politics, but anything that catches my eye is fair game. I welcome comments, and will not censor or filter them in any way. I will try to update this thing as often as possible, as nothing angers me more than stale blog posts lingering for days on end. Well, thats it for my first post, be back with more soon.