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31 March, 2008

One Missed Call

In Michael Mukasey, President Bush finally seems to have an Attorney General worthy of the current moment. In Nancy Pelosi's hometown this week, the former judge who once tried terror cases told the Commonwealth Club audience that even he had no idea of the extent of the threat. Speaking of what he hears in his national security briefings, Mr. Mukasey said, "It is way beyond - way beyond anything that I knew or believed. So, if I was picked for the level of my knowledge . . . that was a massive piece of false advertising."

As reported by the New York Sun, he also offered a perspective, partly personal as a former Manhattanite, on the necessity of warrantless antiterror surveillance. Before 9/11, Mr. Mukasey said, "We knew that there had been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went. We've got" - here the Attorney General paused with emotion - "we've got 3,000 people who went to work that day, and didn't come home, to show for that."

The AG also addressed why immunity from lawsuits is vital for the telecom companies that cooperated with the surveillance after 9/11. "Forget the liability" the phone companies face, Mr. Mukasey said. "We face the prospect of disclosure in open court of what they did, which is to say the means and the methods by which we collect foreign intelligence against foreign targets." Al Qaeda would love that. The cynics will call this "fear-mongering," but most Americans will want to make sure we don't miss the next terror call.

Source

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Brookes News Update

Savings and the American economy: The lesson that Asians understand and many Americans now need to relearn is that savings and not consumption underpin living standards. And this is why the Democrats' proposed tax increase could sink the US economy
Bernanke's magic circus comes to town: Bernanke who has written a lot about the causes of the great depression. This has given economic pundits the impression that he knows how to deal with financial crises. Unfortunately, Bernanke's reading of what caused the great depression is completely false. He is making the same mistake that the Fed made in the 1920s
Asset booms and monetary policy: It is a Keynesian myth that changes in asset prices change aggregate spending, particularly household spending
Obama's communist mentor: The media have buried Obama's extreme leftwing links and his contempt for America. Nevertheless, the facts that lead to the conclusion that Obama is a socialist with Marxist sympathies are there for anyone who cares to seek them out
Al Jazeera enraged by Cuban-American voters: Republican-hating journalists who smeared Bush, admire Castro, sneer at the war on terror have joined pro-terrorist Al Jazeera where they now try to persuade Cuban-Americans to vote for the Democrats
The roots of black anger: Intellectually honest blacks, such as Shelby Steele, will tell you that racism is such a distant memory that racial victimologists like Wright are now left with concocting wild-eyed conspiracy theories to maintain their power
It's all over for the Democrats: A fit candidate for the Presidency who also happens to be an African-American or a woman will hopefully emerge in the future, but only after having gone through all the traditional rigors of any other candidate for the job
The Barack Obama double standard: In 1999 the media crucified Bush year for daring to give a speech at Bob Jones University. Now the same bunch of political bigots have been busy trying to rationalise away Obama's support for a venomous race-baiting, Jew-hating, anti-American bigot whose default position is one of unadulterated hatred

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ELSEWHERE



Two tales of great heroism in the Middle East, one from Britain and one from the USA. The egotists of the Left would understand neither.

Media talking down the economy: "Just how obvious is it that the media's economic and business coverage is so negatively skewed that it has to be part of a political agenda in an election year? Obvious enough for the folks at Fox News to do an entire segment Saturday morning asking the extraordinary question: "Media `Talking Down' the Economy to Get a Dem Elected?" Despite my surprise seeing "Cavuto on Business" begin with such a question framed at the bottom of the screen, I was almost enraptured by the comments from Neil's guests which not only included regular assertions that this is clearly about getting a Democrat in the White House, but also that media are "committing a crime against the general public" by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that will end up costing people their jobs in the long run."

Typical psychopathic inconsistency: "Howard Dean slams John McCain's shameless plan to point out he's been there, done that. The Republican Party has seized upon the term "blatant opportunist" to suggest that Dean is implying McCain is an opportunist for including his POW information in his TV ad. What's more interesting are the Dean quotes from 2004 that may come back to haunt him this year. "The real issue is this," Dean said in March 2004, when endorsing formal rival Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"

Another Hillary lie: "A senior Democratic lawmaker blew a hole through Hillary Rodham Clinton's claim that she helped pass critical family-leave legislation - just days after the candidate admitted she "misspoke" when she made false claims about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire. Former Rep. William Lacy Clay, a longtime St. Louis politician, says it was senior lawmakers - not the former first lady - who pushed through the measure, which President Bill Clinton signed into law after only 16 days in office. "If Hillary played a role in its passage, it was without my knowledge," Clay wrote in an e-mail that he circulated."

Muslims think stuff in Dutch film is normal: "The imam at Friday prayers in Amsterdam's El Tawheed mosque spoke of "enemies of Islam", but in spite of that clear nod to Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-immigration politician, and his film, the mood was decidedly relaxed. Mr Wilders' 16-minute film Fitna , the Arabic word for strife, was posted on the internet on Thursday after months of speculation as to just how outrageous the -stridently anti-Islamic MP's project would be. In the event, it consisted of footage of terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and London and other material juxtaposed with verses from the Koran. One of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that provoked violent protests in Islamic countries two years ago was included, without its author's consent. Omar Bakri, the Libyan-based radical Muslim cleric who is barred from Britain, did not think the film was very offensive. "On the contrary, if we leave out the first images and the sound of the page being torn, it could be a film by the [Islamist] Mujahideen," he said.

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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29 March, 2008

The party of corruption

Events this year have exposed, once and for all, in a way that cannot be denied, elided, or spun, Democratic liberals as the party of abject incompetence and institutionalized corruption.

Eliot Spitzer worked his way to the governorship of New York State as the living embodiment of liberal higher morality, crusading against a series of dubious financial and corporate villains. His downfall as the result of a prostitution scheme too moronic for fiction might be taken as evidence of personal failings and no more were it not for the fact that his replacement, David A. Paterson, confessed to similar activities as the first official act of his administration. (If not even more egregious -- no one, after all, has accused Spitzer of trading jobs for sexual favors).

We need only add James McGreevey, ousted in 2004 from New Jersey's governorship for homosexual escapades with an aide (apppointed to a homeland security job with the state for which he had no qualifications), to conclude that liberalism has subsided to a level of corruption of European dimensions.

It's often overlooked -- thanks in large part to the Clinton "legacy" -- that such misbehavior is almost always accompanied by corruption in other spheres. Insistence by Clinton's defenders that his various lady troubles were "personal matters" succeeded in obscuring the moral connection between Big Bill's follies and the endless bribes, kickbacks, suicides, illegal mass firings, and vanishing files that made the "most ethical administration in history" so entertaining to watch.

So it needs restating as a simple truth that a man who cannot control his sexual impulses is unlikely to succeed in more complex matters. In little over a year, Spitzer threw away the goodwill engendered by his landslide victory through a series of petty conspiracies and dirty tricks, bringing New York state government to a standstill in the process. While McGreevey was a better governor than he's ever likely to get credit for (he solved the longstanding auto-insurance "crisis" that made New Jersey a laughingstock for half a dozen previous administrations), his penchant for putting his muscle boys on the state payroll undercuts any other claims for his record. The same can be said for Paterson. Though, being both blind and black, he may likely survive, revelations concerning his practice of awarding jobs and positions don't bode well for the future.

These men are clearly representative of the post-Clinton Democratic Party. They set out to follow in Bill's footsteps, have ended up much the same as he did, and have dragged their party and political doctrine along with them. (At this point somebody will bring up the names Foley and Craig. But neither stood anywhere near the center of American conservatism in the way that the Northeastern governors do with liberalism as a matter of course. Foley and Craig were rotten apples. With the Democrats, it's the whole barrel.)

In turning to the presidential campaign, we need do no more than mention Madame Hillary. The Ma Barker of Little Rock is in a class by herself when it comes to political iniquity (not to mention dodging snipers). The chief puzzle concerning Hillary is how, being so blatantly what she is, she succeeds in holding onto any support whatsoever. There's a process in quantum mechanics called "renormalization", in which certain quantities with values of infinity are arbitrarily dropped back to a more manageable "zero" for the sake of solving the equation. This encapsulates Hillary's political career: truly mindboggling levels of corruption and ineptitude have been continually renormalized by fellow politicians and the media to enable her to survive. These people made a particular type of bargain when they bent the rules for Hillary. Now the ground is opening up under their feet. It has been a pleasure to watch.

Barack Obama was supposed to be another matter. Obama has ascended on a cloud of pure moral superiority and nothing else. That has now evaporated, thanks to impolitic comments from his wife and the news that he has for two decades belonged to what amounts to a racist cult. Obama has nothing else to offer in the way of experience or achievements. Beyond his current difficulties, there lie his continuing and as yet unexplained entanglement with Tony Rezko (He barely knew the man, he insists. All he did was show Rezko his new house before closing. I always clear major purchases with people I scarcely know, don't you?), along with pending revelations concerning his relationship with Bill Ayers, a former terrorist who began his career as one of the driving forces of the Weather Underground.

Obama's response, his "Kennedyesque" speech on race, was in fact purely Clintonian in that it attempted to transform his failings into virtues while placing the blame on the country as a whole. (Not to mention his innocent typical white grandmother.) In less than two weeks, Obama has succeeded in lowering himself to the same level as Madame Hillary. Quite an achievement. (As for Obama's claims to be a necessary "racial reconciliator", this reconciliation has in fact been going on since the end of segregation, quite successfully too. As is often the case with liberals, Obama is offering a solution to a problem that is solving itself.)

To this gallery we can add Jennifer Granholm, who assured that Michigan's current slide was as drastic and damaging as possible, Ed Rendell, Hillary's consigliere for Pennsylvania, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Kwame Kilpatrick, charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, and malfeasance in office. That's the Democratic Party, the bastion of American liberalism, as it stands. A party whose entire leadership cadre, including presidential candidates, state governors, and Congressional leaders, are corrupt or incompetent or both, a party more suitable to ruling a Balkan or Central African peapatch than the world's reigning superpower.

More here

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ELSEWHERE

Hillary's Other Fabrication: " She said that Chelsea was jogging around the World Trade Center on 9/11 and happened to duck into a coffee shop when the airplanes hit. She said that this move saved Chelsea's life. But Chelsea told Talk magazine that she was in a friend's apartment four miles from ground zero when the first plane hit. Her friend called her, waking her up, and told her to turn on the TV. On television, she saw the second plane hit, disproving Hillary's claim that "she heard the plane hit. She heard it. She did." So why did Hillary make up the story about Chelsea? Most likely to was because her co-senator (and implicit rival for the voter's affection), a real New Yorker Chuck Schumer spoke of his daughter, who attended Stuyvesant High School (Dick's alma mater) located next to the Trade Center, being at real risk on 9/11. Hillary needed to make herself part of the scene. She invented the entire story on national television, the "Today" show, and didn't blink an eye."

Interesting point from Arlene Peck about Obama's Muslim origins: "I put it to you that Obama never converted to Christianity. Such a conversion would have been marked by baptism. Had he been baptized, he would have made mention of it when referring to the baptism of his children."

More Obama deception: "In his autobiographical book "Dreams from My Father," Barack Obama paints a heroic picture of his father as having emerged from a poor Kenyan village, where he was nothing more than a simple goat herder, to become a Harvard-educated economist, destined to return to Africa to fulfill his promise. Unfortunately, the reality is much bleaker than the tale Obama tells in his book. In truth, Barack Obama senior, Obama's father, was a polygamist who had already abandoned one wife and child in Africa when he met Obama's mother in Hawaii. After being educated at Harvard, Obama senior returned to Africa, abandoning Obama and his mother, to live the life of a chronic alcoholic who ultimately killed himself in his second drink-induced car accident, while driving drunk on the streets of Nairobi."



The U.N. pisses on itself again: "To the sound of cheers, and by an overhwelming majority of 40 out of 47 votes, the UN Human Rights Council today elected Jean Ziegler, the co-founder of the "Muammar Khaddafi Human Rights Prize," as an expert advisor representing the Western world. And for its new Palestine expert, the council chose Richard Falk, who, like Ziegler, accuses the U.S. of being responsible for many of the world's ills and describes Israel in Nazi terminology"

Ho hum! London's new airport chaotic: "Thousands of families heading on holiday this weekend face chaos after Heathrow's new 4.3 billion pounds terminal was reduced to a shambles on its opening day by the complete failure of its baggage system. British Airways will begin today to wrestle with a huge backlog of passengers, many of them left stranded at Terminal 5 overnight, after the airline cancelled at least 34 flights. BA, the sole occupant of the new terminal, suspended baggage check-in shortly before 5pm and dozens of flights departed half-empty last night carrying only those passengers who had only hand luggage. Passengers on in-bound flights had to wait up to four hours for bags to be unloaded. The problems, which BA blamed on staff not being familiar with new systems, forced many outgoing travellers to abandon their plans and head home. The disastrous opening was a severe embarrassment for BA and BAA, the Spanish-owned company that operates Heathrow. Both had spent five years claiming that the new terminal would transform passengers' experience of Heathrow and work efficiently from Day 1." [The expected British bungling]

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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28 March, 2008

More psychopathic lying from the Left

Very similar to Bill's psychopathic (foolish and easily falsifiable) lies about her being named after Sir Edmund Hillary. And what a contrast with "straight talk" McCain!

Bosnia-gate is bad for Clinton. It goes to the heart of the issue around her and her husband: their stunning ability to stare you in the eye and lie. In her own foreign policy speech last week in Washington, Clinton repeated claims she has been making for months: that a trip to Bosnia was made under death-defying circumstances.

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." The story had already been discredited when US comedian Sinbad, who was also on the trip along with Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, told The Washington Post earlier this month that the only thing scary about the trip was he did not know where he would next get something to eat.

In a press conference after the speech, Clinton was asked about the Sinbad comments and dismissed him as simply a comedian. "We were told to run to our cars. That is what happened." She was clear-eyed and emphatic. Then Togo West, a former army secretary in the Clinton administration who was on the trip, stepped to the microphone and confirmed the story, saying the first lady was told to "run, duck, this is a hotspot and this is serious".



But CBS's footage of the event is damning. Clinton's casual stroll from the helicopter with her daughter to be greeted by an eight-year-old girl is now the stuff of legend on YouTube, clocking up one million views. A bunch of satirical films have emerged too. It is Clinton's descriptions of that day that are simply a breathtaking falsehood.

For what purpose? She knew there was television footage of the event - she was the first lady and had a travelling media contingent. It was simply a matter of time before production staff checked archives. It will not play well. Not with voters and not with super delegates.

More here. Obama is good at fabulism too. See here

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ELSEWHERE

I have been debunking some amazing crap on my FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC blog lately.

Al Qaeda losing its base? "There really is a broad rethink sweeping the Muslim world about the practical utility -- and moral defensibility -- of terrorism, particularly since al Qaeda began targeting fellow Sunni Muslims, as it did with the 2005 suicide bombings of three hotels in Amman, Jordan. Al Qaeda knows this. Osama bin Laden is no longer quite the folk hero he was in 2001. Reports of al Qaeda's torture chambers in Iraq have also percolated through Arab consciousness, replacing, to some extent, the images of Abu Ghraib. Even among Saudis, a recent survey by Terror Free Tomorrow finds that "less than one in ten Saudis have a favorable opinion of Al Qaeda, and 88 percent approve the Saudi military and police pursuing Al Qaeda fighters." No less significant is that the rejection of al Qaeda is not a liberal phenomenon, in the sense that it represents a more tolerant mindset or a better opinion of the U.S. On the contrary, this is a revolt of the elders, whether among the tribal chiefs of Anbar province or Islamist godfathers like Sayyed Imam. It would be a delightful irony if militant Islam were ultimately undone by a conservative, Thermidor-style reaction."

An Unlikely Refuge: Muslims Fleeing Darfur Rebuilding Lives in Israel: "Even though we're Muslim, the Islamic world has done nothing to protect us," said Yassin, one of the first Darfurians to make it into Israel across the border from Egypt and now director of Bnei Darfur [Sons of Darfur], which assists Sudanese refugees to integrate into Israeli society. "All of the Arab countries support the government of Sudan - our problem is with the Arab League," he said. As far as Yassin is concerned, Israel has provided for his people in a way that no Arab country would - and for that he's eternally grateful.

A problem for the Democrats: "We're not French. Americans want to succeed, not just get by. They don't dream about a better safety net. They dream about getting ahead. If Democrats default to a traditional recipe of expanding the safety net -- and that is all they offer -- they will hit the brick wall of public antipathy toward "big government." In a February 2007 poll conducted by Democracy Corps, 57% of Americans agreed that "government makes it harder for people to get ahead in life," and 54% thought that "government mostly gets in the way of the economy and job growth." While people not hurt by recessions are open to helping those who are, Democrats cannot assume that economic recessions automatically translate into broad public support for major government interventions."

Gallup says: "A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination. This is particularly true for Hillary Clinton supporters, more than a quarter of whom currently say they would vote for McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee."

Michelle Obama on how ignornant Americans are: ""We don't like being pushed outside of our comfort zones. You know it right here on this campus. You know people sitting at different tables- you all living in different dorms. I was there. You're not talking to eachother, taking advantage that you're in this diverse community. Because sometimes it's easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your own ignorance... That's America. So the challenge for us is are we ready for change?" [Can anyone imagine this bitch as a First Lady?]

Bush saved Social Security: "At long last the damage from the disastrous Clinton administration has been cleaned up by President George Walker Bush. He has returned Social Security to the solvency it had when his daddy left the White House in 1993. Don't go by my word alone. Paul Krugman of the New York Times blogged: "The latest report of the Social Security Trustees is out. I think the key message is what has happened to the estimate of actuarial balance - the difference between projected outlays and projected revenues over the next 75 years." Krugman downplays the miracle that just happened. But of course. But if we are going to blame every problem on Bush, then every success is his as well."

Evil Minds Cooked This Up: "Palestinian children gathered for an exhibition that depicts Israel burning children in a crematorium. Young children are seen standing beside dolls being placed into a model of a cremation oven. According to the article in Al Ayyam (March 20, 2008), "The National Committee for defense of Children from the Holocaust opened its activities with a Holocaust exhibit. The Exhibit include a large oven and inside it small children are being burned, the picture speaks for itself."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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27 March, 2008

Krugman proves himself right

Paul Krugman, professional economic gloomsayer and New York Times columnist has something truly flabbergasting to say about the role of the clueless prognosticator in modern society.

Reading some of today's news, it suddenly struck me: we're living in the age of the anti-Cassandra. Cassandra had the gift of prophecy - she saw, correctly, what was coming - but was under a curse: nobody would believe her.

Today, our public discourse is dominated by people who have been wrong about everything - but are still, mysteriously, treated as men of wisdom, whose judgments should be believed. Those who were actually right about the major issues of the day can't get a word in edgewise.

Krugman, of course, by virtue of his Times pulpit, is able to get plenty of words in edgewise, which (in an irony certain to be lost on the author) validates his own thesis.

Case in point, Krugman has predicted economic recession in each of the last six years. That's 24 consecutive fiscal quarters (we're actually up to 25 now, and 26 if we keep our heads above water for the next 6 days) without a single reading of negative growth, despite Krugman's perennial prophecies of wreck and ruin around every corner.

Getting back to the central point of the professor's article though, what's most astounding about Krugman's body of work is that it illustrates - perhaps better than any other's - that a career in economic pontification can not only survive, but thrive in the modern media spotlight, despite (or perhaps thanks to) consistent and egregious errors, so long as that systematic variance tends in a media-friendly direction.

It's not a new phenomenon that credit for accurate predictions greatly outweighs discredit for inaccurate ones (people continue to pick through Nostradamus' zillions of predictions so they can breathlessly present a few that vaguely resemble modern events). But it's genuinely astounding that the media's undisputed heavyweight champion of the asymmetry of prediction consequences should recognize this phenomenon without the faintest hint of self-awareness.

Source

The comments above from "Suitably Flip" are just. But I think Krugman has hit on a truth. Paul Ehrlich comes to mind as a complete false prophet who is nonetheless still honoured by the Green/Left

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Democrat dishonesty in the race against McCain

John McCain is scheduled to deliver a major foreign policy speech Wednesday in Los Angeles, one with a heavy Iraq focus, but chances are Democrats won't be listening. They've already distilled his views into an easy to remember formulation: 100 years of war. It is a reference to an offhand remark made by McCain in January about the possible duration of the U.S. presence in Iraq, a comment that Democrats now portray as the equivalent of the McCain Doctrine.... On a recent conference call with reporters, Howard Wolfson, Clinton's bulldog operative, mentioned four times in two minutes that John McCain "wants to be in Iraq for 100 years." ....

McCain never actually went so far as to call for a century-long occupation. Rather, in response to a New Hampshire town hall questioner who asked about President Bush's statement that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for 50 years, McCain interrupted and said, "Make it 100." "We've been in South Korea . . . we've been in Japan for 60 years," he continued. "We've been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, that's fine with me. I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al-Qaeda is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day."

More here

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ELSEWHERE



For those who are interested, Obama has been having a lovely vacation in the Virgin Islands, in his usual (crackpot) sort of company. More here

Shocker: NYT Uses Dreaded L-Word To Describe Obama: "At the core of Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign is a promise that he can transcend the starkly red-and-blue politics of the last 15 years, end the partisan and ideological wars and build a new governing majority. To achieve the change the country wants, he says, "we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done." But this promise leads, inevitably, to a question: Can such a majority be built and led by Mr. Obama, whose voting record was, by one ranking, the most liberal in the Senate last year?

Hmmmm... I've got to give the NYT some praise for reprinting in full a recent speech by McCain. Other outlets just picked out the bits they felt able to criticize. I am on the mailing list for the McCain campaign so I was able to check that the NYT DID reprint the speech in full. It is a most interesting speech for the way it seriously attempts to explain what is going on -- instead of the series of cheap shots and vague generalizations that the Democrats usually put out. It once again makes clear that an interest in the facts is one of the major things that marks out conservatives as different from the Left. McCain is treating the voters as intelligent. Let's hope that works.

Nancy Reagan is endorsing McCain

The Wall St problems: "The problems are due to basic mistakes that even the most unsophisticated among us can grasp. Lenders loaned too much money on too easy terms to borrowers who did not have the capacity to make their payments. No alchemy by even the brightest minds on Wall Street could turn bad loans into good assets. Sound simple? It really is."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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26 March, 2008

So, who really won the Cold War?

Post below lifted from Whats that Smell. See the original for links

Particularly here in Great Britain:

How many citizens who were robbed knew that the police didn't even bother to look for the criminals, didn't even set a case in motion, so as not to spoil their record of completed cases - why should they sweat to catch a thief if he would be given only six months, and then be given three months off for good behaviour? And anyway, it wasn't certain the bandits would even be tried when caught.

Finally, sentences were bound to be reduced, and of course for habitual criminals especially. Watch out there now, witness in the courtroom! They will all be back soon, and it'll be a knife in the back for anyone who gave testimony!

Therefore, if you see someone crawling through a window [...] shut your eyes! Walk by! You didn't see anything!

Three guesses as to who wrote that.

Peter Hitchens? No.
Melanie Phillips? No.
Theodore Dalrymple? No.

It was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describing the state of Soviet criminal law under Stalin in The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956. It is what happens in a society when they accept the Marxist idea that crime (of the non-political type) is borne out of economic hardship rather than having a cost-benefit and moral implication. When I read that part of his book, I became more and more convinced, not that I needed it, that the West may have won the military conflict, but the Communists won the ideological conflict. Particularly here in the UK.

As time goes by, and more and more records are declassified, it is becoming more and more apparent that Joe McCarthy was mistaken about the amount of Soviet infiltration of American institutions: He underestimated it. There was something like over 400 Soviet agents and fellow travellers in the State Department, alone, where he had estimated 200.

Now, imagine the amount of Soviet infiltration into institutions in a country that was not actively looking for Soviet infiltrators. And what you get is modern-day Britain.

My wife is doing some research for her Fine Arts degree on Abstract Expressionism. Her research is leading her down toward the direction in which madness lays...She has discovered the physical, academic, and institutional links between modern art, the Institute for Social Research (aka the Frankfurt School), Antonio Gramsci, the Ford Foundation, and loads of other links in the Communist/Socialist movements of the 20th Century. She had no idea the full extent of the forces working to undo Western Civilisation, with that end being part of their stated goals.

And it is becoming more and more apparent, the more one looks at what these people and their fellow travellers actually stated what they would do, and what has come about in the West over the last 50 years, that there just might be a link between the collapse of the Church, the state of higher education, the intellectual dishonesty of the mass media, and the intentions of the Communists.

Unfortunately (?), there is no central COMINTERN to control the direction of the growing disorder in the West. And now that the Pandora's Box has been opened, one wonders whether these forces that were unleashed beginning from the 1920s (or even before), will ever be stopped. I do believe we live in "interesting times" as the Chinese curse goes. There is more Solzhenitsyn to come...My copy of The Gulag Archipelago now has several dog-eared pages to indicate more gems like the one above.

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Don Surber has a crushing reply to a wind-power freak. Read to the end of his post.

New York's replacement for Governor Spizer seems to be a similar sort of scum. See here. He is a black, however, so perhaps I should be a good Leftist and not judge him by white standards.

Skype passwords are not secure. And that affects Yahoo email addresses too. I'm glad I no longer use one of those.

A reminder here of the corruption Hillary was involved with during the Presidency of her unzippered husband.

I note that Taranto today is referring to Obama as a Rorschach inkblot. I believe I may have been one of the first to do that -- on Dec. 14, 2006. I was quoting John Podhorez on Dec 12, 2006, however, so I was not absolutely first. I have also been referring to Obama as the "empty vessel" since July 21, 2007, which is now a common usage. There too, however, I was not the first.

Bash Habash: "The homicidal career of George Habash, who died on January 26, documents that the hateful seed of Arab extremism sometimes takes root in non-Islamic soil. Islamism's apologists always evinced glee in pointing out that Habash, founder of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was of Christian origin. But to call him a "Palestinian Christian," as so many have, is too much: He was an old-fashioned idolator of the state on familiar Leninist lines. Habash will be remembered for masterminding a series of hijackings, the murder of 47 travelers in the bombing of a Swissair flight, and the murder of 27 people at an Israeli airport. He utterly rejected Israel's right to exist and denounced all efforts at reaching a two-state solution. That Mahmoud Abbas ordered three days of mourning for this apostle of murder suggests that the hateful spirit of Habash's life outlives the man."

Tax Competition May Force Maryland to Reconsider High-Tech Tax: "Greedy politicians in Maryland are between a rock and a hard place. They want to confiscate $200 million from the state's computer industry, but they increasingly recognize that the geese with the golden eggs may fly across the border: Under a bill passed in November, such tech services as Web design, computer repair and programming would all get hit with a 6% tax statewide. If the tax isn't repealed before it takes effect in July, it would be one of the most burdensome regimes in the nation on the growing industry. ... Wait until they see what happens to revenue when business begins to leave the state. Many Maryland companies and small businesses say they could be forced to relocate if the tax isn't repealed. And nearby states are courting potential departees"

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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25 March, 2008

The outer room

Post below lifted from Belmont Club. See the original for links

The AP reports that "Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service."

Yahya Pallavicini, vice president of Coreis, the Islamic religious community in Italy, said he respected Allam's choice but said he was "perplexed" by the symbolic and high-profile way in which he chose to convert. "If Allam truly was compelled by a strong spiritual inspiration, perhaps it would have been better to do it delicately, maybe with a priest from Viterbo where he lives," the ANSA news agency quoted Pallavicini as saying.

All that I can say is that there are more -- many more who have secretly converted from Islam. Some sites have claimed that nearly 700 Muslims convert to Christianity per hour, though I wonder how accurate those numbers are. In that context Pallavicini's question makes sense: why did Magdi Allam make such a high profile conversion on the occasion of the Easter Vigil too? It's extraordinary for any Catholic to be baptized by the Pope. What's the message?

Maybe it is to remind the Islamic world that despite the frequency of these conversions there are no widespread calls to burn mosques, kill imams or desecrate Korans among the converted. Magdi Allam's public conversion is witness to the quiet of all those which have been made in private. And maybe that message is filtering through to the more thoughtful imams.

Egypt's highest Islamic cleric, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, wrote last year against the killing of apostates, saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims who abandon their religion and that punishment would come in the afterlife.

A conversion to Christianity is not an announcement of superiority, but an acknowledgement of need. Only sinners need come to the Cross. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

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Sinbad Was Right-- Hero Hillary Lied About Bosnia (Video Proof): "There was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the First Lady. That's where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base..." It was all a lie. Every single word was a lie except for the fact that she was in a plane and it landed. Here is more proof that the Clinton's will do anything- and SAY ANYTHING- to get back into the White House."

Hillary opposes law enforcement: "Hillary Clinton's endlessly recalibrated position on providing driver's licenses for illegal aliens captures her career in miniature. After arguing that a New York proposal to give illegals driver's licenses "makes a lot of sense," she promptly denied having said such a thing, gave an incomprehensible and classically Clintonian non-answer to the question at the Democratic debate in Philadelphia, and now offers this gem of an explanation: "I do not think it is appropriate to give a driver's license to someone who is here undocumented, putting them frankly at risk, because that is clear evidence that they are not here legally." To repeat: Clinton opposes licenses for illegals because such documents might provide evidence for American law-enforcement agencies. As first lady, she garnered valuable experience in hiding evidence of wrongdoing, but we never expected she'd make a policy proposal out of doing so."



The peaceful Dalai Lama is a terrorist?? "Far from heeding international calls for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, China has accused Tibet's exiled god-king of colluding with Muslim terrorists to destabilise the country before the Olympic Games. State-run newspapers have issued prominent leading articles that are part of a campaign to portray the Dalai Lama as the mastermind of the deadly riots that have rippled through Tibet and ethnic Tibetan communities. In Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, yesterday local TV issued the No 7 list of those most wanted in connection with the riots on March 10 in which Chinese officials say 22 people were killed, including a baby boy burnt to death in a garage and one paramilitary police officer."



Islamic nut does his best to destroy the Indonesian tourism industry: "Firebrand Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has called on his young Indonesian followers to attack tourists - including Australians - in a fiery sermon. In the talk given in October last year Bashir urges his followers to "beat up" western tourists, whom he likened to "worms, snakes and maggots", The Australian newspaper reported on Monday. "God willing there are none (tourists) here," he told the young Indonesian audience on October 22. "If there were infidels here, just beat them up. Do not tolerate them. "Worms, snakes, maggots - those are animals that crawl. Take a look at Bali ... those infidel tourists. They are naked." Bashir was convicted of conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings - which killed 88 Australians - serving 26 months in prison."

Socialists can't run an airport: "The opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow [Britain] last week has been hailed as a new beginning for the airport, but the four older terminals are still a disgrace, according to travellers. A list of the best and worst airports, decided by 7.8 million passengers, suggests that Heathrow's transit system is comparable with the chaos encountered at Bombay airport and that its reputation for baggage delivery is at the same level as the airport at Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. Heathrow was ranked 103rd out of 162 airports, with the main complaints regarding its snaking security queues, surly immigration officials and infuriating baggage system. The airport fell 58 places in the rankings last year, which was due partly to a luggage crisis in August, when British Airways was so overwhelmed that it had to hire a fleet of lorries to transport unclaimed bags from Heathrow to a sorting facility in Milan. Heathrow, which is operated by the British Airports Authority, has the largest number of delayed flights in Europe, with more than one in three departing at least 15 minutes late." [I advise visitors to Britain to come down in Paris and take the Eurostar (train) to London]

Nutty archbishop of doom: "The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gave a warning yesterday against materialist greed and prophesied the collapse of civilisation. In his Easter Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Williams said that the luxuries we took for granted could not be sustained for ever. In our culture, thoughts of death were too painful to manage, he told worshippers. Criticising modern society's approach to mortality, Dr Williams said: "Individuals live in anxious and acquisitive ways, seizing what they can to provide a security that is bound to dissolve, because they are going to die," he said".

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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24 March, 2008

Obama still seems to be the big story at the moment. Four articles about Obama and friends just up on my OBAMA WATCH blog


Weird California corrupts Latinos too

Every Sunday Elias Loera stands behind a pulpit made from motorcycle parts and preaches family values to the people of Fresno. He rails against sinful living and neglectful fathers, yet is careful not to offend. Mr Loera reckons more than half of the women in his almost entirely Hispanic congregation are single mothers. He tries to avoid speaking of "father God", so dismal are many people's experiences with fathers in this struggling Californian city.

Whether Cuban, Mexican or Puerto Rican, most Latinos revere la familia. But the Hispanic family is changing. In the past ten years the birth rate among unmarried Latinas has risen from 89 to 100 per 1,000. It is now much higher than the rate among black or white women (see chart). Late last year came a significant but little-noticed announcement: probably for the first time, half of all Hispanic children in America were born out of wedlock.

The Latino family is not in such a dire state as the black family, where 71% of children are born to single mothers. Yet the gap appears to be closing. In 1995 the unmarried teenage birth rate for Latinas was 20% lower than the rate for blacks. It is now 12% higher. This is not just a worry for socially-conservative preachers. More than half of all young Hispanic children in families headed by a single mother are living below the federal poverty line, compared with 21% being raised by a married couple.

Many blame these changes on the decay of traditional mores. Ed Moreno, Fresno's public-health officer, points to the enormous differences between recent immigrants from rural areas-at the moment, the city is seeing an influx from the Mexican state of Oaxaca-and American-born Latinos. The new arrivals rule their children with an iron hand. Among them teenage pregnancies are rare and often followed by marriage, sometimes at the point of a metaphorical shotgun.

By the second or third generation such old-fashioned attitudes are generally forgotten. Among the poor, cohabitation is seen as normal and single parenthood merely regrettable. Research by Wendy Manning of Bowling Green State University and others shows that unmarried Mexican-American couples who have children while living together are slightly more likely to break up than are blacks or whites in similar circumstances.

More here

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There is a great short video here about where Hillary, Obama and all the other socialists are trying to lead us. It is actually a hamburger advertisement for Wendy's made when the old Soviet beast was still with us but its message is still as relevant as it is amusing. We forget the Soviet Union at our peril and this video is not far off in describing it.

Cellphone hell: "Raised voices, disputes over money, abrupt hang-ups. Asad Baig has experienced all the hallmarks of a stormy relationship with his cell phone company-actually five different ones over the last four years. Once, he fought with his carrier over charges for text messages that resulted in a $400 monthly bill despite signing up for an unlimited texting package. Another time, he got socked with an unexpected phone upgrade fee. Baig said he has encountered customer service representatives ranging from friendly to incompetent to openly hostile. "The most discouraging thing is that in order to get anything accomplished, I have to get angry," said Baig, 25, a law student at the University of Illinois. "It's such a waste of energy and time." Consumer discontent with wireless service has been brewing for years, resulting in lawsuits across the country and requests for government intervention. Now there's movement at the federal level to address long-standing concerns such as mandatory contract extensions, early termination fees and confusing billing." [If ever there's a good cellphone company, it will get a rush of customers. I have yet to find one. See here]

Ted Kennedy Dumps Fuel into Nantucket Sound: "Ted Kennedy has called Nantucket Sound near his Massachusetts estate "a national treasure" - but that didn't stop the senator from having oil dumped from his yacht into its waters. A local photographer spotted an oil slick coming from Kennedy's yacht Mya as Kennedy and his guests left the vessel in a launch following a race that ended in Hyannis, the Cape Cod Today newspaper reported. The lensman was so shocked that he rowed his dinghy out to question the crew member left aboard the yacht. He asked the crewman, "What the hell are you doing?" The crewman said that diesel fuel had gotten into the bilge and he was told to dump it. When the photographer pointed out that the yacht was moored in coastal waters near shellfish beds and people swimming, the crewman replied, "Whatever." Cape Cod Today published a photo showing the oil slick emanating from Mya. As Newsmax reported earlier, Kennedy has opposed a proposal to construct a wind farm in Nantucket Sound to produce cheap, clean energy. Asked why, he said: "That's where I sail."

Switzerland Re-Affirms Bank Secrecy: "Tax-loving politicians in Europe and tax-harmonizing bureaucrats at the European Commission in Brussels and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris are not smiling today. They have already received bad news from Austria and Luxembourg and now Switzerland has announced that it has no intention of weakening its human rights laws regarding privacy simply because money is escaping high-tax nations"

Harvesting Taxpayers: "The Wall Street Journal opines about the shameful excess in the farm bill being crafted by Congress .....farmers are about to score the most lavish subsidies in American history. ...Corn producers will get subsidies of $10.5 billion over five years, which is on top of the deal of a lifetime these farmers were handed when Congress expanded ethanol subsidies. ...There's also a new $5.1 billion emergency "trust fund" for farmers, with almost all the money directed to Georgia, Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas. ...The giveaways are so large that the House version is the first farm bill ever that would raise taxes to pay for it -- by $14 billion, mostly on the U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. This only discourages new foreign investment in the U.S. at a time when the weak dollar is already chasing it away. ...Congress has also spurned the Bush Administration's sensible proposal to establish a $200,000 income ceiling in order to receive subsidies. Instead, full-time farmers will be able to earn up to $1 million per farm ($2 million for a married couple) and still be eligible for a USDA handout."

Britain's stupid Leftist government driving out hi-tech employers through high taxes: "Internet search giant Yahoo is moving its European headquarters from London's Shaftsbury Avenue to Geneva after being driven away by British taxes. Yahoo becomes the latest of a host of multinational businesses being lured away from the UK by rival countries with lower corporation taxes. The move came as a particular blow to Britain's efforts to keep technology companies here. Google, despite employing several hundred staff in London's Victoria, opted to base its European headquarters in Zurich. Video games maker Electronic Arts moved its engineering HQ from London to Zurich. EA's arch rival SCI last month announced it was moving dozens of jobs from its Wimbledon HQ to Canada. Swiss councils have been directly approaching wealthy London non-doms running hedge funds and other investment businesses to highlight the benefits of moving to the Alpine haven. Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive-the giant US companies, both elected to site their European HQs in Switzerland. Kraft recently upped sticks from offices near Kew."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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23 March, 2008

Promoting irresponsibility

Hardly a day goes by during this housing crisis that the media does not report on families in foreclosure proceedings, or in arrears in repayment on mortgages that had close to zero down payment requirements and low "teaser" interest rates. The many excuses offered by some home owners for their plight, and also eagerly by the authors of these human interest stories, is that the borrowers did not understand that these introductory interest rates might rise a lot after a few years, or that they would have negative equity in their homes if housing prices stopped rising and began to fall. An obvious alternative explanation for their behavior is that they gambled that the good times would continue indefinitely.

This type of response to failed decisions is not unique to the present housing crisis, but is part of a strong trend toward shifting responsibility to others. Women who sign a pre-nuptial agreement specifying the amount of their husband's pre-marital wealth that would be theirs in the event of divorce often try to have the agreements overthrown in divorce litigation. They claim that they did not understand what the agreements meant, or that their husbands took advantage of them in other ways to get them to sign the agreements. Usually they signed simply because that was the only way they could marry the men they very much wanted to marry, perhaps in part because the men were wealthy.

Many criminals who confess to or are convicted of serious crimes try to have the courts excuse or mitigate their behavior. They allege that they had uncaring or abusive parents, or that fathers, relatives, stepfathers, or other adults molested them as children. Abusive treatment is awful, but still the vast majority of children abused do become law-abiding and responsible adults. That is a major fact that courts should pay attention to.

Successful attempts to shift the responsibility for bad decisions toward others and to society more generally create a "moral hazard" in behavior. If individuals are not held accountable for decisions and actions that harm themselves or others, they have less incentive to act responsibly in the first place since they will escape some or all of the bad consequences of their actions.

Source

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France to cut its nuclear detergent: "President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France will reduce its number of airborne nuclear weapons by one third. Mr Sarkozy said the reduction to fewer than 300 missiles would leave France with "half the maximum number of warheads we had during the Cold War". But he also insisted he was committed to France's nuclear deterrent, saying it was its "life-insurance policy". He made the comments in a major defence policy speech after inaugurating a new nuclear-armed submarine, the Terrible. France is believed to have 348 deployed nuclear weapons, including 288 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 50 air-launched cruise missiles and 10 airborne bombs, according to the Federation of American Scientists."

More socialist "caring": Main British airport cuts corners on safety: "Passengers at Heathrow are being put at risk because air traffic controllers are having to cut corners, a whistleblower claimed last night. They come under such pressure to keep planes moving that aircraft are put on collision courses, he said. In one case a British Midland Airways jet landing at Heathrow allegedly came within 20 seconds of hitting one from Air France. The BMI service was due to land first but the Air France jet was given permission to turn into the runway instead. The whistleblower said the planes were only 100m apart when evasive action was taken. Heathrow handles 240,000 landings a year and 62 million passengers and is at 98 per cent capacity. The former controller, who retired through ill health in February, spent most of his 27 years' service there. One of his final duties was to compile a report into potential safety breaches last year. Last night he leaked the 33-page dossier, which detailed 12 incidents, to the BBC."

Murdoch on the prowl in NY: "News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch is poised to open his cheque book again to expand his media empire, with reports he has made a bid for Tribune Company's Long Island newspaper Newsday. The deal, estimated to be worth about $US400 million, would come just months after News Corp completed its $US5.6 billion takeover of Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal. News Corp also owns the New York Post tabloid. Newsday is the nation's tenth-biggest newspaper, with about 387,500 copies sold on weekdays. Buying the daily, which services New York City and the affluent commuter belt on Long Island, would give Mr Murdoch his third major paper in the Big Apple, and pitch him against rival mogul Mortimer Zuckerman, who owns the Post's fiercest competitor, The Daily News, and is also bidding.... Last year he joined a bid for Tribune to get his hands on the paper and combine its printing, distribution and ad sales with those of the unprofitable New York Post. The tie-up "would be a very, very powerful combination for advertisers", offering them the combined reach of both papers, Mr Murdoch said last year."

Democrats aiming for a depression: "House Democrats recently adopted a budget with massive tax hikes, many of which are directed at those Americans who can least afford them. By allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, this budget will raise income taxes not only on those in the highest income brackets, but raises the lowest bracket from 10% to 15% as well. Estates would again be taxed at 55%. The child tax credit would drop from $1000 to $500. Senior citizens relying on investment income would be hurt by increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. It's not just that the Democrats want to raise taxes on the rich. They want to raise taxes on everybody. The problem is, policing the world is expensive, and if elected officials insist upon continuing to fund our current foreign policy, the money has to come from somewhere."

Clinton lie kills her cred on trade policy: "What is the proper word for the claim by Hillary Clinton and the more factually disinclined supporters of her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination -- made in speeches, briefings and interviews (including one by this reporter with the candidate) -- that she has always been a critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement? Now that we know from the 11,000 pages of Clinton White House documents released this week that former First Lady was an ardent advocate for NAFTA; now that we know she held at least five meetings to strategize about how to win congressional approval of the deal; now that we know she was in the thick of the maneuvering to block the efforts of labor, farm, environmental and human rights groups to get a better agreement. Now that we know all of this, how should we assess the claim that Hillary's heart has always beaten to a fair-trade rhythm?"

Rights for terrorists? "Israel's renowned airline security faced a legal challenge Wednesday from a civil rights group charging that its practice of ethnic profiling is racist because it singles out Arabs for tougher treatment. At a Supreme Court hearing, civil rights lawyers demanded an end to the policy, which they say violates Israeli law. Such profiling is illegal in the U.S., where passengers must be singled out for security checks on a random basis."

If anybody is interested in what became of my Good Friday church visit, the story is on my personal blog

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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22 March, 2008

"Change" a red herring: Unlimited government is the problem

Democrats in general, I would submit, confuse change with improvement. They fail to weigh the costs and benefits of change, to consider its unintended consequences, or to worry about what we need to conserve and how we might go about doing that faithfully. They ask Americans to embrace change for its own sake, in the faith that history is governed by a law of progress, which guarantees that change is almost always an improvement. The ability to bring about historical change, then, becomes the highest mark of the liberal leader. Thus Hillary Clinton quickly joined Obama on the change bandwagon. Her initial claim of "experience" sounded in retrospect a bit too boring-indeed, almost Republican in its plainness. So "Ready on Day One" signs morphed into "Ready for Change."

As for John McCain, he doesn't really have a slogan, unless we count "Mac is Back." McCain differentiated himself from Romney by saying that he is a leader rather than a manager. A leader, McCain argued, appeals to patriotism rather than self-interest. Certainly McCain's leading characteristic is his personal honor, which-unlike many republican men of honor-he talks about a lot and in public. He fits the traditional category of a war hero-turned-politician, but with one important difference. Usually war heroes are victorious generals, whereas McCain is famous as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a war that ended in defeat. This fact helps to explain the somewhat prickly and self-referential quality to his sense of honor. He despises self-interest and likes to say so frequently in public, whether it's the self-interest involved in campaign contributions (which he wants to regulate), attitudes towards illegal immigration (he imputes to its critics the most selfish motives), or even something like waterboarding (a kind of selfish act, motivated by an urgent sense of national interest). McCain stands against all considerations of low self-interest-or maybe any self-interest-in favor of doing the honorable thing, which sometimes turns out to mean simply doing the thing that John McCain wants to do.

Utterly missing in this election season is a serious focus on limited or constitutional government. The Democrats, generally speaking, want more government, not less, so their neglect of the issue is to be expected. But the Republican dereliction is more troubling. It represents a falling away from the standards of Ronald Reagan's conservatism-a decline already reflected in the "compassionate conservatism" of George W. Bush. After 9/11, many prominent conservatives-e.g., George Will, David Brooks, Fred Barnes -pronounced that small government conservatism is dead. That awful reminder of the dangerous world we live in, and of the need to defend ourselves, somehow meant that big government conservatism, as they called it, was now the only game in town. Conservatives would need to make their peace with this idea, they argued, in order to win future elections....

From a certain point of view-let's call it, for shorthand purposes, the libertarian point of view, or the view associated this year with Ron Paul-every dollar that government spends comes at the cost of freedom. The premise of this view is that government and freedom are opposites-that all government is oppression. By this way of thinking, limited government is simply limited oppression, differing in magnitude but not in kind from tyranny. Interestingly, this notion does not come originally from any libertarian thinker or friend of freedom. It comes from Machiavelli, the great analyst of open and hidden power, of force and fraud. From Machiavelli's point of view, there's no difference between just and unjust government, which are the same phenomenon called by different names. All government, whether considered to be just or unjust, is oppression. Just government is the kind we happen to agree with and profit from, and unjust is the opposite kind.

Against this view stand the American Founders and the greatest statesmen, who have always sharply distinguished between just and unjust-or between free and tyrannical-forms of government. What is the Declaration of Independence but a great meditation on the difference between the absolute despotism contemplated by King George III and the freedom that the Americans hoped to enjoy under their own form of self-government? The Declaration does not proclaim that just government is merely less oppressive than unjust government-as if the American republic and, say, Nazi Germany were separated only by degrees of tyranny. Our ancestors thought that republican governments like ours were good because, grounded in human nature and operating by law and consent, they affirmed human liberty.

Much more here

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Four Times as Many Journalists Self-Define as Liberal than Conservative: "A recent study by the Pew Research Center has revealed that journalists are far more likely to define themselves as liberal than the general population, and far less likely to define themselves as conservative. The massive study was conducted late last year, and surveyed the views of over 500 journalists. "As was the case in 2004," reads the commentary on the study by the Pew Research Center, "majorities of the national and local journalists surveyed describe themselves as political moderates; 53% of national journalists and 58% of local journalists say they are moderates. About a third of national journalists (32%), and 23% of local journalists, describe themselves as liberals. Relatively small minorities of national and local journalists call themselves conservatives (8% national, 14% local)." Commentary by the popular Newsbusters website suggested that the statistics do not even fully describe the imbalance in the media, pointing out, "It's not much of a leap to presume many of the 53 percent who describe themselves as 'moderate' are really quite liberal."

Another crooked lawyer caught: "The prominent lawyer Melvyn I. Weiss of the Milberg Weiss law firm, a prolific filer of lawsuits against publicly held corporations, has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, according to his defense lawyer. According to a statement released Thursday by the defense lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, Mr. Weiss will plead guilty to participating in a criminal conspiracy to pay a share of legal fees to plaintiffs in shareholder suits brought by Milberg Weiss. Such kickbacks are improper because they give plaintiffs representing a class of all shareholders an incentive to accept a deal that might not be best for the class. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Weiss faces a sentence of up to 33 months in prison. Mr. Weiss has also agreed to pay a total of $10 million in fines and penalties, according to the statement."

Do these dummies still get their 70 virgins? "Palestinian militants accidentally set off a large blast at a Hamas training base in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing two members of the violent Islamic group and wounding another, a Palestinian medical official said. Hamas initially blamed Israel for the blast, but later acknowledged that it was caused by a mishandling of explosives, saying its men died while performing a "holy mission." The Israeli military denied involvement."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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21 March, 2008

GOOD FRIDAY

I am posting this very early in the morning of good Friday (Australian time). My old church (Ann St Presbyterian) is having its morning service from 8am this year -- which is a bit early for me. So I think I will attend our local Lutheran church later on. They have a 9am service and the music is sure to be good. We should get some Bach, I hope. I still like to go to church 2 or 3 times a year to refresh my contact with one of the great influences on our civilization. I feel at home in a Protestant church and I love singing the old hymns.

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Anti war activism causing casualties in Iraq

Researchers at Harvard say that public debates about the rights and wrongs of the U.S. occupation of Iraq have a measurable "emboldenment effect" on insurgents there, and periods when there is a lot of media coverage about the issue are followed by small rises in the number of attacks.

The researchers, a political scientist and a health economist, studied data about insurgent attacks and U.S. media coverage up to November 2007, tracking what they called "anti-resolve statements," either by U.S. politicians or in the form of reports about American public opinion on the issue.

The study, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, uses quantitative analysis, a statistical tool employed by economists, to empirically test for the first time the widely held nostrum that public criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq encourages insurgents there.

"We find that in periods immediately after a spike in anti-resolve statements, the level of insurgent attacks increases," the study says. In Iraqi provinces that were broadly comparable in social and economic terms, attacks increased between 7 percent and 10 percent.

The study also found that attacks increased more in parts of Iraq where there is greater access to international news media, which its authors say increases the credibility of their findings.

Source

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The ineffable (and incredible) Andrew Sullivan tells us that if you were not persuaded by Obama's speech, it was because of "racism". So now you know! Ace says that it is Sullivan who is the racist.

McCain ahead: "Barack Obama's big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but disappeared in the US presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released today. The poll showed Senator Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 per cent to 44 per cent over Senator Clinton, down sharply from a 14-point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories. Illinois Senator Obama, who would be America's first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Senator Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher. The poll showed Arizona Senator McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22. Senator McCain leads 46 per cent to 40 per cent in a hypothetical match-up against Senator Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll. That is a sharp turnaround from the Reuters/Zogby poll from last month, which showed in a head-to-head match-up that Senator Obama would beat Senator McCain 47 per cent to 40 per cent."

Hillary dithering: "Having accused Senator Obama of giving mixed messages on Iraq, Senator Clinton's national security director Lee Feinstein said that unspecified "contingencies" would dictate the course of her own plan. Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson was later pressed on whether she would proceed with troop withdrawals within 60 days of taking office, regardless of any upsurge in violence or countervailing advice from US commanders. "The answer is yes," he said. Senator Obama's chief foreign policy advisor Susan Rice said it was "imperative that Senator Clinton clarify" whether she agreed with Mr Feinstein or Mr Wolfson, "and how she intends to square the circle".



Hillary endorses bitchy British gold-digger: "If like me you share the twin obsessions of the Beatles and American politics, you might enjoy this example where the two "Come Together". It seems that the woman whose evidence was branded "inaccurate but also less than candid" in places "wholly exaggerated" or "make-belief", who may have attempted to defraud her husband over the mortgage on a property and has "an explosive and volatile character" and who could provide no evidence of her claim of giving 80-90% of her income to charity does have a couple of things going for her. Heather Mills has two celebrity video character witnesses proudly displayed on her website, Richard Branson and Hillary Clinton. It's been said of Senator Clinton that she reminds too many men of their first wife. Being on the side of Heather Mills won't help dispel that impression."

McCain Was Right, Iran Works With Al Qaeda: "Some bloggers are jumping all over Senator John McCain for his supposed "gaffe" today. According to The Trail, a blog over at the Washington Post, McCain said that Iranian operatives were "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back." He elaborated by saying it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." Senator John Lieberman apparently then whispered something in McCain’s ear, prompting McCain to take it back: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda." But McCain was right the first time. He shouldn’t have taken his statement back. And it’s the bloggers who are ignorant--not John McCain. The 9-11 Commission found extensive evidence of collaboration between Iran and al Qaeda. For example, the Commission concluded (p. 61): "The relationship between al Qaeda and Iran demonstrated that Sunni-Shia divisions did not necessarily pose an insurmountable barrier to cooperation in terrorist operations."

Should the taxpayer bail out Bear Stearns?: "The extraordinary intrusion into the free market over the past several days by the Federal Reserve Board under Chairman Ben Bernanke should send shudders down the spines of conservatives everywhere. While some so-called free marketers were lauding the Fed's bailout of Bear Stearns as a necessary rescue of a banking institution that was too connected with the rest of the financial system to be allowed to fail, government should not protect Wall Street firms from the inherent risks of investing. As a result of the deal, American taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in troubled mortgage assets so that Bear Stearns can avert bankruptcy"

The British Labour party begins to get it: "Labour needs to start urgently winning back the middle-class vote by highlighting issues such as crime and immigration if it is to win the next general election, Hazel Blears said last night. In an unashamedly Blairite new Labour speech, the Communities Secretary said it was vital that the party pitched itself as the "party of the affluent" as well as the poorest families. During a debate held by Progress, a group of modernisers, the Blairite minister Ms Blears argued that the New Labour approach had delivered three election victories by appealing to those across the social spectrum. "If we retreat into our comfort zone, and duck the tough issues such as crime and immigration our coalition will fracture." Her speech follows John Hutton's remarks earlier this month that he wanted to see "more millionaires". Mr Hutton, the Business Secretary who is also a prominent Blairite, sparked a row by urging the party not to attack huge salaries and bonuses in the City."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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20 March, 2008

The Union of Soviet Socialist Europe

Democracy, No!

Poland may soon join Ireland as the only EU members to hold referendums on the new Lisbon Treaty, the latest attempt to ram through a European "Constitution." If it does, euroskeptics will cheer and europhiles howl.

Plebiscites are rarely justified or necessary. Governments routinely sign treaties and make other decisions on behalf of citizens. Yet the Lisbon Treaty is a case apart because of the way it has been presented. Born as the EU's Constitution, the original document was put up for a vote in various EU countries, where it was roundly rejected by the French and the Dutch.

Anywhere else, that would be the end of the story. Not in Europe, which decided it would be stuck in "crisis" without the document's key provisions. So a new "reform treaty" was drawn up and signed last year in Lisbon. Though the failed Constitution's most overtly state-like elements such as an EU anthem were dropped, it remains a transformative treaty. It establishes the EU as a legal personality for the first time, creates new or enhanced offices to represent the bloc globally and significantly changes the ways decisions are made.

Only this time around, the voters are to be shut out. Britain promised and then withheld a referendum. The French and the Dutch won't get a second chance to vote "no," as they did in 2005, or yes. Only the Irish are being given a chance to express their views at the ballot box.

And now, possibly, the Poles. A referendum in Poland, however, would have far more to do with domestic political gamesmanship than with the EU. The opposition Law and Justice Party led by former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski is threatening to block approval in Parliament -- likely leading to a popular vote on the treaty -- if certain conditions are not met regarding Poland's sovereignty. A parliamentary vote is expected within the next week....

With all the effort put into avoiding referendums, it's hard to escape the conclusion that EU politicians are trying to pull a fast one on their voters. On the one hand, they're selling Lisbon as a grand reform treaty that propels Europe out of the malaise that followed the French and Dutch no votes. On the other, they say the treaty is a small tightening-up exercise that doesn't require a return to the ballot box. Which is it?... Should Lisbon be rejected in Ireland or Poland, EU leaders and Brussels insiders will proclaim yet another crisis for Europe. It couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch.

More here

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Brookes News Update

A monetary storm hits US economy: America is experiencing a monetary crisis that the Fed's loose monetary policy generated. Unfortunately this simple fact has yet to be recognized. The result is that the symptoms of monetary disorder are being mistaken for the cause. One can only hope that Bismarck got it right when he said: 'God looks after fools, drunkards and the United States of America'
Is monetary policy destroying the country's manufacturing base?: The Institute of Public Affairs sponsored a paper that argued - with providing any proof - that there is nothing wrong with the current ratio of manufacturing to GDP and that the market working. We argue that there exists the possibility that monetary policy has artificially reduced our manufacturing base and created severe economic imbalances
Only savings can create wealth: Mainstream economists who advocate monetary pumping and the artificial lowering of interest rates in order to counter recessions, totally misconceive that the interest rate is just an indicator. It is just a manifestation of the demand versus the supply of savings. Manipulating it distorts the production structure
Economic growth is the only way to raise living standards and conserve resources: Regardless of what the greens say economic growth is a self-sustaining process that raises living standards. The world's present population owes its existence to economic growth. Stopping growth would literally be a sentence of death for several billion people. But as Dr Van den Bosch, another greenie, said they're only 'little brown people in poor countries'
Global warming is big business: Looks like big business is jumping into bed with the global warming fanatics with the excuse that electricity costs will be lowered. But how can costs be lowered if a new expense is added to the cost of producing electricity which is then passed onto the customer? That's a damned good question
General Confusion About Obama: Why would 10 retired generals and admirals endorse Obama after he accused US troops of being war criminals? Why would they support a Party that publicly slandered the troops as Nazis and slimed General Petraus as a liar. And why do the names Marshall Petain and Benedict Arnold spring to mind. Whatever happened to 'Duty, Honor, Country'?
Obama's supporters say: "Viva Che!": Obama election volunteers decorate their offices with the picture of an America-hating sadistic killer and all he can say is that it was 'inappropriate'. Yet shortly afterwards he accused US troops of committing war crimes. This is the same guy who gives every US-hating dictator the benefit of the doubt while slandering US troops. No wonder the media love him
Obama's mentor's mentor: That Obama's 'spiritual' advisors of 20 years standing are white-hating racists who despise America is bad enough. Obama's refusal to denounce their bigotry and distance himself from their hate-mongering is even worse. But what can we expect when Obama's wife made her hatred of America a public issue that the media are trying to overlook, just as they overlook Obama's racist link

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More Muslim garbage: "An Arab billionaire's son listed as a Facebook friend of a murdered socialite has been named by police as a prime suspect in the blonde's death. Yemen born Farooq Abdulhak, 26, was allegedly the last person to see Martine Vik Magnussen alive after leaving the exclusive Maddox Club with her early Friday morning. The Norwegian socialite's body was found two days later, partially buried under a pile of rubble in the basement of an exclusive London apartment building where Mr Abdulhak was reportedly living. The Daily Mail reported that Magnussen was believed to have been strangled, although investigators told the newspaper that further scientific analysis was being carried out on her body. Mr Abdulhak and the 23-year-old blonde studied business together at the prestigious Regent's College in London. They were listed as friends on Magnussen's Facebook page, but Mr Abdulhak has since deleted his online profile. Associates of Mr Abdulhak tried to contact him over the weekend but he did not reply to calls or texts. Mr Abdulhak's father Shaher, a Yemeni billionaire, is a major hotelier and Pepsi-Cola executive. Farooq was born in Yemen, but has lived in London since he was a child. The Sun reported that flight records show Farooq left Britain "shortly after the time of Martine's death". Police now believe the billionaire's son has fled to Yemen - which has no extradition treaty with Britain".

The absurd Andrew Sullivan takes sycophancy to a new low in discussing Obama's speech: "Alas, I cannot give a more considered response right now as I have to get on the road. But I do want to say that this searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was, in my view, unique in recent American history. And it was a reflection of faith - deep, hopeful, transcending faith in the promises of the Gospels."

China Hand has just blogged on the disturbances in Tibet. He sees little hope for the Tibetans. Mirror site here for any readers in China.

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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19 March, 2008

For an extensive coverage of "Pastorgate" -- the story that the media are desperate to downplay -- see my OBAMA WATCH blog

Democrats misrepresenting the financial disturbances

President Bush on Monday welcomed the Federal Reserve's sweeping intervention in the nation's financial markets as his administration faced accusations that it had supported the bailout of a prestigious investment bank while doing little to address the hardships of Americans facing foreclosures on their homes...

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois declared the economy "in shambles," but he and his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, trod carefully, expressing concern about the broader market and, in Mrs. Clinton's case, for the employees of Bear Stearns, based in her home state, New York.

"There is no doubt that we are teetering on a potential crisis on Wall Street that could have ramifications all across the country," Mr. Obama said at a news conference after meeting with voters during a campaign stop in Monaca, Pa., a town near the Ohio border. "We have a credit market that is locked up."

Mrs. Clinton said that Main Street was as important as Wall Street, but like many Democrats, she did not directly criticize the government's intervention in the sale of Bear Stearns. In a statement, she noted that she had spoken with Mr. Paulson and the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy F. Geithner. She urged that the administration do more. "We have blown it," she said at a news conference in Washington in which she linked the economic turmoil in part to Iraq. "And one of the reasons why we must end the war in Iraq is we cannot afford it. We have got to get control of our economic destiny. There are so many danger signs on the horizon." .....

Both Clinton and Obama are talking through their hats. Many of the employees of Bear Sterns have had their fortunes disappear with this "bailout." Those who invested in the compan's stock have losses similar to the employees of Enron, yet the Democrats are treating them like fat cats who got saved from a huge loss. In fact their losses were probably significantly greater than those who have walked away from upside down mortgages because they have little to lose. It was those who were walking away from houses because of a declining market who caused the huge losses that Bear Stearns incurred, yet Democrats act like the defaulters are the victims.

Harry Reid is as bad as Clinton and Obama. Wall Street has taken the big hit from peoples failure to live up to their obligations and Democrats have mischaracterized these firms as "predatory lenders." What a bunch of worthless demagogues. Meanwhile Obama and Clinton's prescription is Smoot-Hauley light by reneging on NAFTA and on top of that raising taxes in a down economy which is just the sort of prescrpition that led to the great depression.

Democrats should be working to try to resolve this situation rather than trying to take advantage of it, but that maybe asking too much.

Source

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Sweden shows the corrupting influence of welfare

In the Western world, Sweden is often considered a Social Democratic paradise, the irrefutable proof that the welfare state can transform society for the better. But outsiders, and still too many Swedes, tend to overestimate the gains and underestimate the costs of social engineering.

To start with, homogenous Sweden was already an egalitarian society with few social problems before the expansion of the welfare state. It is often forgotten that in 1950 Sweden had lower taxes, fewer trade restrictions and more hours worked per working-age person than contemporary U.S. -- and yet was already blessed with essentially the same flat income and wealth distribution it has today, half a century after the expansion of the welfare state.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the integration of migrants worked quite well. The foreign-born had a 20% higher employment rate than native Swedes in 1950. Half a century later, in the mature welfare state, the picture has dramatically changed. According to the latest figures, only 48% of non-Western immigrants are gainfully employed, which is 30 percentage points below the average. For this group, originating from places such as Turkey, Chile, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and North Africa, welfare dependency is nine times higher than for native Swedes.

No doubt, a generous welfare system initially helps many immigrant families, cushioning the transition to a new country. However, the combination of high taxes, a regulated labor market, the world's highest union-imposed minimum wages and the lavish transfer programs effectively keeps out immigrants from the labor market.

Last year, the OECD advised Sweden to pursue labor-market and welfare reforms to tackle immigrant unemployment. The OECD recommended policies such as "substantial easing of job security rules, more individual wage flexibility and considerable reductions in benefit levels."

Sweden's powerful unions and the left-leaning intellectual elites work against such reforms. Swedish voters, though, are beginning to have mixed feelings. In 2006, they ousted the Social-Democratic government and elected a center-right coalition that promised to cut taxes and benefits. Labor-market reforms, though, were missing from their election campaign.

High unemployment among immigrants is of course not confined to just Sweden or Scandinavia. Throughout Europe, governments have found that well-intentioned social insurance policies can lead to lasting welfare dependence, especially among immigrants. Belgium is the European country with the highest difference in employment rates between the foreign-born and natives. The images of burning cars in the suburbs of Paris that were broadcast around the world illustrate the kind of social and economic problems France is facing with its restive immigrant population.

Given the high barriers to entry, many immigrants in Europe no longer start accumulating essential language and labor market skills. This is in stark contrast with the situation across the Atlantic. For example, in 2000, Iranians in the U.S. had a family income that was 42% above the U.S. average. The income of Iranian immigrants in Sweden, however, was 39% below the country's average...

More here

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Iraq polls: On the day that Sen. Clinton promises a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Real Clear Politics highlights a new poll showing significant increases in the number of Iraqis who say that life for them is better and security is improving. Meanwhile, Jim Geraghty of National Review Online highlights a new poll that shows most Americans want Sen. McCain on the other end of the phone when it rings at 3:00 AM.

The "experts" get it wrong again: "Bear Stearns Cos.'s shell-shocked investors may want to scuttle the investment bank's sale to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for $2 a share, but in the absence of another viable bidder they may have only one real option -- to grin and bear it. Bear Stearns shares fell 84% yesterday but still closed at $4.81, well above the offer price. Speculators flooded into the stock betting J.P. Morgan would ultimately raise its offer to keep the deal from falling apart..... Still, with government regulators prodding the investment bank into J.P. Morgan's arms and in the absence of another bidder with a strong balance sheet, a better deal is unlikely, analysts say. Big Bear holders recently included the $45 billion Vanguard Windsor II Fund that is subadvised by well-known managers including Jim Barrow, the $13.3 billion Legg Mason Value Trust run by Bill Miller and funds from Fidelity Investments, MFS Investment Management and Putnam Investments. The funds declined to comment on their positions. One of the most surprising and well-known fund managers getting burned is Mr. Barrow. Seeing Bear's stock trading below the firm's book value, or its assets minus liabilities, and thinking "it would emerge from the crisis," Mr. Barrow added to his position in a big way for Vanguard last year" [I never touch merchant banks, managed funds and the like]

Death coming to Jews in America too: "A fire bomb attack on the home of Jewish Agency emissary Yossi Knafo in Providence, R.I., was likely a spontaneous attack, Israeli security officials say. While Israeli officials are viewing the incident as a spontaneous act by a single group, they are concerned the attack marked an unprecedented assault on U.S. soil, The Jerusalem Post said Sunday. "This is unprecedented," Jewish Agency executive member Amos Hermon said. "A Jewish Agency emissary hasn't been attacked in America for decades, and we've never known a Molotov cocktail attack that came from anti-Israel or anti-Semitic groups."

There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race and IQ.

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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18 March, 2008

National PROGRESSIVE Radio

Imagine you're a typical NPR listener, tuning in as you sip your Starbucks Cafe Latte - made with skim milk and a shot of cinnamon - work the New York Times crossword puzzle, and think about how great it is that you don't have to stop for gas on your way to work this morning because you drive a Prius. Suddenly, you're jolted out of your comfortable morning routine by the unimaginable: a segment entitled "Conversations with Conservatives."

Choking on your latte and misspelling "pestiferous" on your crossword, your head begins to spin as Rev. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, discusses the status of evangelical voters. But surely it's just an anomaly. An early April Fool's Day joke. Yeah, that must be it! And fortunately, it was only seven minutes.

But the next day, you hear Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, talking about which fiscal policies appeal to Republican voters. And the day after that, radio talk show host and CNN personality Glenn Beck discusses core conservative values. And on the last day of February, you are treated to David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, blathering on about the challenges that Sen. John McCain faces when it comes to proving himself to the conservative base.

If there's a reason to abolish Leap Year and February 29, then having David Keene spoil your Starbucks experience surely must be it. Who can you call? There has to be someone. The Washington Times reports that for daring to air the views of conservatives on its morning drive show during the final four days of February, NPR fielded "more than 60 angry e-mails and phone calls.... calling the programming `shameful' and a `lovefest with radical, right-wing nuts.' There were only a few . that praised the series as `refreshing' and `articulate,' among other things."

National Public Radio is funded in part by federal tax dollars. The last time I checked, both liberals AND conservatives are required to pay federal taxes. So what's wrong with having four seven-minute segments out of the year where conservative ideas are brought forth? You know, throw them a Milk Bone once in a while to pretend you care about them while you spend their money on things like Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion."

The problem with many liberals is that while they say they espouse tolerance, love for your fellow man, and discussing problems instead of resorting to fisticuffs, when they're actually expected to "walk the walk," things get ugly. To them, just listening to conservative ideas is akin to Dracula finding out about a nationwide tainted blood supply. It's painful when liberals realize that not everyone thinks the way that they do: that there are unenlightened souls out there who don't recycle, who go to church once in a while, who respect our military, and who don't think that the sun shines out of Barack Obama's nether regions.

So, being the enlightened, progressive types that they are, instead of listening respectfully to what the other side has to say - and possibly learning something new - they stick their fingers in their ears, chant "I can't hear you," and complain to the person in charge about how awful the experience was. It's sort of like the people who believe that vandalizing and bombing military recruiting stations is a great way to get their message of peace out to the masses.

More here

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In a recent post about the "steamroller", I reproduced a picture of Silda Spitzer which was not very flattering. A reader has suggested that the picture below is a better representation of her. That's probably true. She looks like a nice lady. Maybe she would need to be nice to be married to the "steamroller". Even in the picture below, however, one sees that the hooker would have had a considerable advantage in the bosom department.



Britain: An example of inherited politics: "He was given up for adoption at birth. He never knew his biological parents. And for 36 years he knew nothing of his personal and political roots, or what drove him from youth to pursue the Liberal tradition. Now Matthew Taylor, the Liberal Democrat MP, has revealed the extraordinary story of how he discovered his real mother - and that he is descended from a prominent Liberal who served in the House of Commons for almost 30 years. Finding his mother was shock enough; discovering that politics really is in his blood was almost more overwhelming. "The odds on my having followed in my great-grandfather's footsteps as a Liberal MP were minuscule," he said. "In that moment I felt everything I thought I knew about why I am who I am was turned upside-down. In the battle between nature and nurture, nature seemed to be having a laugh."

The parasites' Party: "The Democratic Party has become the Lawyers' Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are lawyers. Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama are lawyers. John Edwards, the other former Democrat candidate for president, is a lawyer and so is his wife Elizabeth. Every Democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate.) Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Benson, went to law school. Look at the Democrat Party in Congress: the Majority Leader in each house is a lawyer. The Republican Party is different. President Bush and Vice President Cheney were not lawyers, but businessmen. The leaders of the Republican Revolution were not lawyers. Newt Gingrich was a history professor; Tom Delay was an exterminator; and Dick Armey was an economist. House Minority Leader Boehner was a plastic manufacturer, not a lawyer. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a heart surgeon."

Hillary's imaginary achievements: "I suppose I am in a position to comment on Hillary Clinton's claims that she played a significant role in what is called the Northern Ireland "peace process" since I was one of many others involved at that time. In my case I was trying to oppose the appeasement of terrorism that was being planned. Let me assure you that she is lying through her teeth when she alleges she contributed anything of substance. It was husband Bill - that dear friend of terrorist scum like Arafat - who worked alongside Irish PM Ahern and UK PM Blair - and this unholy trinity then did their bit to twist the arms and in other ways cajole democrats to enter a political arrangement with murdering IRA terrorists. Hillary made the tea and talked to pointless left-wing womens groups."

Petraeus makes a point diplomatically: "David Petraeus was diplomatic in his language and careful to honor the primacy of civilian authority over the military. But the commanding general of multi-lateral forces in Iraq has left little doubt that if a new president wanted to withdraw from Iraq faster than would reflect Petraeus's considered military opinion, his family would be happy to have him home."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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17 March, 2008

McCain and pastor Hagee

Post below excerpted from Warner Todd. See the original for links

As you should know by now, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has a Wright problem. That would be a Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. problem. It turns out that Barack Obama's "spiritual mentor" has a long, long history of hatred against whites and the history of the U.S.A. But, late last week, news began to surface that one of John McCain's religious supporters, John Hagee, has made many harsh anti-Catholic statements in the past. As reports of Wright's disgusting, hate filled garbage has made the news earlier last week, many on the extreme left have pointed to the low profile that the McCain story has had as proof that the media is unfair, intimating that the media might even be on McCain's side.

It is true that John Hagee has made bigoted statements against the Catholic Church. It is also utterly true that Jeremiah Wright has made racist, hateful statements against all whites and the history of this country. But, for the left to imagine that the situations in which McCain and Obama find themselves are exactly the same shows that leftists who think this are either uninformed or disingenuous. The situations are not in any way comparable.

Before you even attempt to dismiss this as just another fawning excusing of the GOP candidate by a Republican apologist, I will inform you that I will not vote for John McCain under any circumstances. So, you cannot chalk this up to mere electoral partisanship. So, that said, there are major differences between McCain's endorsement by Hagee and Obama's endorsement by and 20 year long relationship Rev. Wright. The following points mark a stark difference between McCain/Hagee and Obama/Wright:

* In his book the Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama called Rev. Wright his "spiritual mentor." McCain has not made any such statement of Hagee.
* Obama had his children baptized by Rev. Wright. McCain's kids never knew Hagee when they were small.
* Rev. Wright performed Obama's marriage ceremony. McCain had never even met Hagee until he became the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
* Obama chose Rev. Wright's church and attended it for 20 years. McCain has never attended Hagee's church.

These points are extremely important and mark a completely different relationship between the hatemonger Wright and Barack Obama and McCain and Hagee. It shows that Obama had many decades of intimacy with Rev. Wright proving that Wright's hate speech could not possibly have bothered Barack very much at all, much less have come as any surprise. While John McCain had only just met John Hagee proving that his history of anti-Catholic statements is not something that McCain could have had long and intimate contact with.

Of course, both candidates have disavowed their religious supporter's statements. Obama made his statement via the Huffington Post and McCain via the media with a statement to the Associated Press.

But there is absolutely no way to equate McCain's acceptance of the anti-Catholic Hagee's support with that of Obama's acceptance of the racist Wright's. Obama has no excuse to have only suddenly distanced himself form this hate filled, ranter whom he has called his "spiritual mentor." For decades Obama has known of, and sat in a congregation listening to, the wild-eyed rants by this man. Barack has accepted him as part of his family closely associated with his wife and children. Barack Hussein Obama has been very close with Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. for 20 some years. On the other hand, John McCain has only just met John Hagee. You just cannot equate the two.

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Amusing Zogby poll news: "Independent candidate Ralph Nader wins 5%, taking more support from Democrats"



Sex scandal, possible perjury not stopping black Detroit mayor: "Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick continues meeting with Detroit business leaders about his plans to move the city forward despite a text-messaging sex scandal and possible perjury charges that could remove him from office. A day after meeting with three of the city's most prominent businessmen, Kilpatrick spoke Thursday morning to others at the Detroit Athletic Club. The 15-minute speech reiterated portions of Tuesday's State of the City address in which Kilpatrick outlined his vision for improving Detroit neighborhoods, police protection, job training and finding employment for residents, mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver said. But a prosecutor's investigation into whether Kilpatrick will be charged with perjury for testimony during a whistle-blowers' trial and the furor over an agreement settling that lawsuit for $8.4 million has dogged his administration for nearly two months." [Did someone say that there are different rules for blacks?]

Taxachusetts again: "Year after year, Massachusetts government has let out its budget belt, while we workers and taxpayers tightened our belts. Massachusetts state government taxing and spending has more than doubled in the last 17 years -- while the population increased only 8.3%. City and town government taxing and spending in Massachusetts has also more than doubled. Is our government giving us double the results? Are streets twice as well paved and maintained? Are crime rates half of what they were? Are public school children getting twice the education they were?"

Price control stupidity in Maryland: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, says the old saw. It may soon be lined with higher-priced gas stations, too, thanks to Maryland's General Assembly. State lawmakers are considering legislation to ban motor fuel 'zone pricing,' under which fuel wholesalers charge higher prices to some retail gas stations than to others. Understandably, retailers oppose the practice, and legislators worry that it's unfair. But if lawmakers vote to prohibit zone pricing, consumers will end up paying higher gas prices, because low-price stations will end up charging more."

Price control stupidity in South America: "Few things better illustrate the tragedy of Latin American populist and nationalist politics than the crisis related to natural gas in South America. A region endowed with vast reserves and governments that describe themselves as close partners is mired in crippling power shortages and cross-border disputes over cutbacks in the supply of natural gas. People cannot count on consistent service. The problem began in 2002 when Argentine politicians decided to control the price of natural gas, large amounts of which had been discovered in the country during the previous two decades."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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16 March, 2008

The never-ending farm insanity

When it comes to picking taxpayer pockets, no one -- not the trial lawyers or even AARP -- has it over the farm lobby. How's this for clout? Though last year was one of the best ever for farm incomes -- up 44% to $87.5 billion -- farmers are about to score the most lavish subsidies in American history.

The House and Senate are now ironing out differences between their bills, and it's all but certain that farmers will get about $26 billion over the next five years in subsidies. Soybean and wheat farmers are slated to receive higher price supports, though bean prices hit a 34-year high last year and wheat prices have soared to a new record.

Corn producers will get subsidies of $10.5 billion over five years, which is on top of the deal of a lifetime these farmers were handed when Congress expanded ethanol subsidies. The handouts make growing corn so profitable that last year some 15.3 million acres were converted to new corn production, according to the USDA. That has a cascading effect on other prices, as farmers convert bean acreage to more lucrative corn fields and feed prices for meat producers climb....

Congress has also spurned the Bush Administration's sensible proposal to establish a $200,000 income ceiling in order to receive subsidies. Instead, full-time farmers will be able to earn up to $1 million per farm ($2 million for a married couple) and still be eligible for a USDA handout. That means you can be in the top 0.2% in income in the U.S. and still get a subsidy check from Uncle Sam. Yet Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, the Republican who helped craft the House bill, says with a straight face that the bill is "real reform and a real safety net for the farmer." Yes, thank heavens for that millionaire safety net.

The only good news is that President Bush is threatening to veto this budget buster over its taxes, trade distortions and subsidies for the rich. The veto threat is at least causing the Members to think twice, and may actually improve the bill. But the best outcome would be if this monster died of its own, greedy weight.

Source

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With friends like these.... I quote the ineffable Andrew Sullivan on Obama: "What does he offer? First and foremost: his face". Courage? Integrity? Wisdom? Intelligence? No. A face.

The Leftist group identity obsession has never faded: ""The pillars of American liberalism -- the Democratic Party, the universities and the mass media -- are obsessed with biological markers, most particularly race and gender. They have insisted, moreover, that pedagogy and culture and politics be just as seized with the primacy of these distinctions and with the resulting 'privileging' that allegedly haunts every aspect of our social relations. They have gotten their wish. This primary campaign represents the full flowering of identity politics. It's not a pretty picture. Geraldine Ferraro says Obama is only where he is because he's black. Professor Orlando Patterson says the 3 a.m. phone call ad is not about a foreign policy crisis but a subliminal Klan-like appeal to the fear of 'black men lurking in the bushes around white society.' Good grief."

Lone Star tax lesson: "When budgets begin to tighten, many state politicians start to talk tax hikes. So credit Texas Governor Rick Perry for cutting taxes this week as a way to keep his state as a national leader in job creation. Mr. Perry suspended the state unemployment insurance "replenishment" tax for the rest of the year on grounds that government doesn't need the money but employers do. By law, Texas must keep at least 1% of all taxable wages in the state in its unemployment trust fund, or some $920 million today. The trust fund now stands at $1.6 billion, is growing by the day and isn't in any immediate danger of being drained. Texas has a near record low unemployment rate of 4.3%, enjoys a job creation rate that is twice the national average, and in January added 28,000 net new jobs -- more than any state in the union".

Sometimes the EU gets it right: "Airlines will be forced to compensate many more passengers for delays and cancellations under a move by the European Commission to close loopholes in the law governing the industry. Passengers should find it much easier to claim up to 460 pounds for a cancelled flight and to obtain free meals, phone calls and hotel rooms during long delays. In an interview with The Times, Jacques Barrot, the European Transport Commissioner, said that many airlines were exploiting loopholes and leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Mr Barrot said he would issue new guidelines to clarify the rules. He would also prosecute national aviation regulators, such as the Civil Aviation Authority in Britain, that fail to enforce the rules. Airlines will no longer be able to dismiss claims by arguing that staff shortages or maintenance errors had prevented them from operating the flight."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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15 March, 2008

The Inequality Myth

Class warfare is once again a campaign theme. The Democratic candidates are railing against the "tax cuts for the rich," lamenting the stagnation of middle-class incomes, and decrying the deepening woes of the poor. In her January response to President Bush's State of the Union address, Hillary Clinton cited "seven years of stagnant wages, declining incomes and increasing inequality." Barack Obama echoes this theme by referring repeatedly to the "middle-class squeeze."

First, we can easily dismiss the notion that the poor are getting poorer. All the Census Bureau tells us is that the share of the pie consumed by the poor has been shrinking (to 3.4% in 2006 from 4.1% in 1970). But the "pie" has grown enormously. This year's real GDP of $14 trillion is three times that of 1970. So the absolute size of the slice received by the bottom 20% has increased to $476 billion from $181 billion. Allowing for population growth shows that the average income of people at the bottom of the income distribution has risen 36%. They're not rich, but they're certainly not poorer. In reality, economic growth has raised incomes across the board.

Since 1970 there has been a dramatic rise in divorced, never-married and single-person households. Back in 1970, the married Ozzie and Harriet family was the norm: 71% of all U.S. households were two-parent families. Now the ratio is only 51%. In the process of this social revolution, the average household size has shrunk to 2.57 persons from 3.14 -- a drop of 18%. The meaning? Even a "stagnant" average household income implies a higher standard of living for the average household member. Last year, the Census Bureau published a new set of income statistics that adjusted for changing household size and composition. In a single year (2006), this "equivalence-adjusted" computation increased the income share of the poor by 8% and reduced the standard measure of inequality (Gini coefficient) by 4%. Such "equivalency" adjustments would mute unadjusted inequality trends even more.

The supposed decline of the poor and middle class is exaggerated even more by the dynamics of population growth. When people look at the "poor" in any two years, they think they're looking at the same people. That's rarely true, especially over longer periods of time. Since 1998, the U.S. population has increased by over 20 million. Nearly half of that growth has come from immigration, legal and illegal. Overwhelmingly, these immigrants enter at the lowest rungs on the income ladder. Statistically, this immigrant surge not only reduces the income of the "average" household, but also changes the occupants of the lowest income classes.

To understand what's happening here, envision a line of people queued up for March Madness tickets. Individuals move up the line as tickets are purchased. But new people keep coming. So the line never gets shorter, even though individuals are advancing. Something similar happens with the distribution of income. People keep entering the distribution line from the bottom. Even though individuals are moving up the line, the middle of the line never seems to move. Hence, an unchanged -- or even receding -- median marker could co-exist with individual advancement. The people who were at the middle marker before have moved up the distribution line. This is the kind of income mobility that has long characterized U.S. income dynamics.

When you look at the really big picture, it's apparent that living standards are rising across the entire spectrum of incomes. Just since 2000, GDP has risen by 18% while the population has grown by 6%. So per capita incomes have clearly been rising. The growth of per capita income since 1980 or 1970 has simply been spectacular.

Some people would have you believe that all of this added income was funneled to the rich. But the math doesn't work out. The increase in nominal GDP since 2000 amounts to over $4 trillion annually. If you assume that all that money went to the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households, that bonanza would come to a whopping $350,000 per household. Yet according to the Census Bureau, the top 10% of households has an average income of $200,000 or so. The implied bonanza is so absurd that the notion that only the rich have gained from the economic growth can be dismissed out of hand.

More here

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I suspect that Spitzer's "girlfriend" (above) had assets that Silda didn't. Maybe he should have married a sexy gal instead of a career gal.

The Democrat Federal budget proposals: "We have a Democratic majority in Congress seeking to enact the largest tax hike in history in an apparent monument to fiscal irresponsibility. Their proposal would raise taxes by a whopping $683 billion over the next five years. Put in perspective, this amounts to a tax hike of nearly $2,500 for the average West Virginia family. Incredibly, their plan would put 6 million low-income Americans - who currently pay no income tax at all - back on the tax rolls at a time when they can least afford it. Overall the majority's budget would increase marginal tax rates, re-implement the 10-percent tax bracket, increase taxes on small business, raise taxes on families with children, and increase tax rates on investments. Not only would it place additional strain on hard-working families, but it would also seriously jeopardize job creation by our state's small businesses, many of whom file taxes as individuals and would see serious spikes in their tax rates".

Time To Repeal McCain-Feingold : "Congress should repeal the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which should never have become law in the first place. The BCRA, known as the McCain-Feingold law, gained momentum because politicians acquiesced to a public that demanded changes in the way political campaigns are financed. Money was singled out as the problem and those who opposed McCain-Feingold were labeled shady individuals who refused to reform a system that had become polluted by the almighty dollar. If only there were a way to bridle the influence that money plays in politics, many thought, we could free the system from corruption and level the playing field between incumbents and challengers. The current cycle of political primaries demonstrates money plays no less a role than it ever did.... Far from limiting money in campaigns, the law permits King Cash to run berserk. On February 20, the New York Times reported Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., "has broken all political fund-raising records in this election; he has taken in more than $150 million so far, $36 million in January alone."

Airbus failed to hedge its currency bets: "Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, slumped to a record loss last year as weakness in the US dollar wiped more than 1 billion euros from the company's earnings. Airbus has been among the companies hardest hit by the declining value of the dollar and it may be forced to move work out of the eurozone to limit future damage. Aircraft are priced in dollars but Airbus's costs are nearly all in euros, which makes the company highly sensitive to exchange-rate movements. A boom in the aerospace market did enable Airbus, which employes 12,000 people in the UK, to increase revenues to 25.2 billion euros last year and its order book stands at 284 billion but despite the positive trading environment, the company still lost money. Two weeks ago EADS won a $40 billion order from the US Department of Defence for 179 air-refuelling tankers, which will be based on its successful A330 airframe. These aircraft will be built in Mobile, Alabama, and EADS is understood to be assessing whether commercial production of the A330 could also go there. Such a move would be controversial in Europe, where Airbus is regarded as an industrial icon and an important employer."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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14 March, 2008

The subprime mortgage collapse was government-caused

The crisis has its roots in the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, a Carter-era law that purported to prevent "redlining" -- denying mortgages to black borrowers -- by pressuring banks to make home loans in "low- and moderate-income neighborhoods." Under the act, banks were to be graded on their attentiveness to the "credit needs" of "predominantly minority neighborhoods." The higher a bank's rating, the more likely that government regulators would say yes when the bank sought to open a new branch or undertake a merger or acquisition.

But to earn high ratings, banks were forced to make increasingly risky loans to borrowers who wouldn't qualify for a mortgage under normal standards of creditworthiness. The CRA, made even more stringent during the Clinton administration, trapped lenders in a Catch-22. "If they comply," wrote Loyola College economist Thomas DiLorenzo, "they know they will have to suffer from more loan defaults. If they don't comply, they face financial penalties . . . which can cost a large corporation like Bank of America billions of dollars."

Banks nationwide thus ended up making more and more "subprime" loans and agreeing to dangerously lax underwriting standards -- no down payment, no verification of income, interest-only payment plans, weak credit history. If they tried to compensate for the higher risks they were taking by charging higher interest rates, they were accused of unfairly steering borrowers into "predatory" loans they couldn't afford.

Trapped in a no-win situation entirely of the government's making, lenders could only hope that home prices would continue to rise, staving off the inevitable collapse. But once the housing bubble burst, there was no escape. Mortgage lenders have been bankrupted, thousands of subprime homeowners have been foreclosed on, and countless would-be borrowers can no longer get credit. The financial fallout has hurt investors around the world. And all of it thanks to the government, which was sure it understood the credit industry better than the free market did, and confidently created the conditions that made disaster unavoidable.

Source

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Support for war effort highest since 2006: "American public support for the military effort in Iraq has reached a high point unseen since the summer of 2006, a development that promises to reshape the political landscape. According to late February polling conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 53 percent of Americans - a slim majority - now believe "the U.S. will ultimately succeed in achieving its goals" in Iraq. That figure is up from 42 percent in September 2007. The percentage of those who believe the war in Iraq is going "very well" or "fairly well" is also up, from 30 percent in February 2007 to 48 percent today. The situation in Iraq remains fluid, of course. A surge in violence or in troop deaths could lead to rapid fluctuations in public opinion. But as the war nears its fifth year, the steady upturn in the public mood stands to alter the dynamics of races up and down the ballot. The repercussions will be most acutely felt in the presidential contest. Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton remain committed to a staggered pullout, while Republican John McCain holds steadfast in his support for the Bush administration's military surge."

Cheney Says US Needs Missile Defense: "Borrowing a theme from the presidential contest, Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday that the possibility of a 3 a.m. emergency call to the White House is all the more reason for the next commander in chief to follow through on President Bush's plans for a national missile defense. "It's plain to see that the world around us gives ample reason to continue working on missile defense," Cheney told the conservative Heritage Foundation at a dinner recognizing the 25th anniversary of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed network of rockets capable of shooting down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles. Bush has set in motion a more modest version of Reagan's original plan"

Hillary still supports Spitzer: "Thus far, she has kept it to a curt, "I don't have any comment on that. Obviously I am sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family . . ." Sending your best wishes, Sen. Clinton? To one of your top endorsers who's broken the law and participated in the sex industry that you yourself have decried? Clinton has touted her concern for women's rights frequently. Yet "Client 9" has escaped her scorn. Who is she more loyal to - the young women who are exploited for men's pleasure, or the exploiter who nearly drove her campaign off the rails with his harebrained scheme to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in the middle of presidential campaign season?"

Seth Grahame-Smith writing about Hillary Clinton at HuffingtonPost.com: "She has no idea how many times I defended her. How many right-leaning friends and relatives I battled with. How many times I played down her shady business deals and penchant for scandals. . . . She has no idea how frequently I dismissed her husband's serial adultery as an unfortunate trait of an otherwise brilliant man. For sixteen years, I was a proud soldier in the legion of 'Clinton apologists'. . . . And then she ran for president. She's proven that she cares more about 'Hillary' than 'unity.' More about defeating Obama than defeating the Republicans. She's become a political suicide-bomber, happy to blow herself to bits -- as long as she takes everyone else with her. On Friday, one of Barack Obama's foreign policy advisors, Samantha Power, resigned after calling Senator Clinton 'a monster' during an off-the-record exchange. It was an unfortunate slip, but one that echoed the sentiments of many Clinton apologists like me -- who've watched Hillary's descent into pettiness and fear-mongering with the heartbreak of a child who grows up to realize that his beloved mother has been a terrible person all along."

Iran's Eliot Spitzer: "Tehran's police chief, Reza Zarei, has been arrested after he was found nude in a local brothel with six naked prostitutes, according to report on the Iranian Farda News. Farda News is a website said to be close to the mayor of Tehran and former chief of the police forces, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf. Following the raid, Zarei stepped down from his post as police chief. The news of his arrest however was not reported by any official Iranian news agency. According to a popular Iranian website Gooya, the order to raid the brothel was given directly by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, chief of the judicial authorities. Before he was arrested, Zarei was in charge of the programme for the 'moralisation of the city'."

British bureaucrats lose yet more ID data: "The Ministry of Defence is at the centre of a new security row, after the disclosure that 11,000 military ID cards have been lost or stolen in two years. Opposition parties said that the scale of the losses cast fresh doubt on plans for a national ID card scheme. The MoD said that it took the issue very seriously and steps were being taken to improve general security awareness. The cards have photographic ID on them "so it would be difficult for them to be used by individuals they have not been assigned to." MoD figures released in a Commons written answer said 4,433 cards disappeared in 2006 and 6,812 last year. Gerald Howarth, Tory defence spokesman, said: "This is another example of the Government's scandalous disregard for the security of our citizens and another reason why the public has no confidence in the Government's ID card plans."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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13 March, 2008

Yet Another Reason For Outrage Over Spitzer

Post below lifted from Riehl World. See the original for links

So, I'm thinking, how could a guy frequenting high end call girls allegedly for years lead the prosecution of the very same type of service as recently as 2004? It turns out it wasn't the same at all. From the New York Times circa 2004:

In most instances, customers paid $250 for sex, sometimes using credit cards. The transactions, officials said, were processed through merchant accounts held by escort services or limousine companies, and in one instance a company that hired musical bands for weddings.

Two-hundred and fifty bucks couldn't get you a drink with one of Spitzer's gals - the least expensive of which appears to have been somewhere around a grand an hour. So much for Democrats looking after the middle class. You might say in Spitzer's case, he had no regard for the working stiff at all.

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Brookes News Update

Can supply-side economics save the US economy?: The current economic situation in the US is the result of the bad economics that is taught at universities. Until economists develop a greater understanding of the nature and role of money the boom-bust cycle will continue. In the meant time Democrats will move forward with their destructive tax and regulatory policies. The same sort of policies that destroyed the Argentinean economy under Juan Peron whose policies bear a striking similarity to Obama's
Bad economics caused our current account problems: The current account deficit, rising prices and our deteriorating foreign debt situation has caused the Reserve to raise the cash rate from 7 per cent to 7.25 per cent. Bank assets are a useful guide to monetary policy. These fell by 36.25 per cent from May 2007 to January 2008. These figures suggest that the RBA means business
Carbon taxes versus living standards: The Centre for Independent Studies recently published a monograph promoting a carbon. Missing from the monograph was any reference to the detrimental impact the tax would have on Australia's capital structure and the process of capital accumulation. It must always be stressed that living standards depend on capital accumulation. Any policy that strikes at this process strikes a blow against living standards
Manhattan Conference on Global Warming indicates that "No Regrets" is the best policy: The world should follow a No Regrets Policy which yields dividends no matter what the future climate holds. We should abandon all policies that assume either warming or cooling, because there is no clear evidence on what the future holds
Global Warming Conference in New York was a great reassurance - "We are not alone": Foolish restrictions and delays to the construction of coal power plants have already brought blackouts and power interruptions in South Africa and California. Should the current cold spell continue, there will be an even bigger crisis in food and electricity supply. And yet a carbon tax is still being proposed for Australia. We are specially in danger from Garnaut's insane proposal for a 90 per cent cut in carbon emissions
Obama and Rezko: Obama is heading for trouble now that his pal 'Tony' Rezko is going on trial. This is not a mere case of kickbacks. Obama will have to explain his links rich Iraqi's who worked to keep Saddam in power. Then there are his links to unrepentant terrorists who tried to murder American. And we must not forget Obama's the serpentine trail of dollars from unsavoury donors who detest the US
Ethanol and the importance of corn?: The green fanatics who want to tax energy production are same ones who bamboozled some countries into diverting agricultural resources into the production of ethanol. The result has been rocketing food prices and warnings of impending famine

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A thought from a reader: "My wife is a former director of a hospital. She came up with an interesting diagnosis about Spitzer's conduct. It is possible he has lost his inibitions because of brain disease. One possibility is a brain tumor another is Pick's disease. Pick's disease affect the frontal lobe in the brain, the area thart keeps you well behaved. She knows of a fellow who squandered a large fortune on prostitutes before he died of Pick's. I'm not justifying Spitzer's behavior but maybe he needs his brain scanned"

Spitzer had to pay heaps for sex: "With pressure mounting on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to resign over a call-girl scandal, investigators said he was clearly a repeat customer who spent tens of thousands of dollars with the high-priced prostitution service over an extended period of time. Yesterday, when the scandal broke, prosecutors said in court papers that Spitzer, who was known by the call-girl service as "Client Nine", had been caught on a wiretap spending $US4300 with the Emperors Club VIP call-girl service, with some of the money going toward a night with a prostitute named Kristen, and the rest as credit toward future trysts. The papers also suggested that Spitzer had done this before. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a law enforcement official said that Spitzer, in fact, had spent tens of thousands of dollars with the Emperors Club. Another official said the amount could be as high as $US80,000 ($A86,000), but it was not clear over what period of time that was spent."

Spitzer acted in character: "Many in the media refer to Eliot Spitzer as some moral hero who fell from grace. Spitzer was never a moral hero. He was an unscrupulous prosecutor who threw his power around to ruin people, even when he didn't have any case with which to convict them of anything. Because he was using his overbearing power against businesses, the anti-business left idolized him, just as they idolized Ralph Nader before him as some sort of secular saint because he attacked General Motors. What Eliot Spitzer did was not out of character. It was completely in character for someone with the hubris that comes with the ability to misuse his power to make or break innocent people."

More British bungling: "A disciplinary inquiry was under way last night after a report found that thousands of convicted offenders had not been listed on the Police National Computer because of a catalogue of court errors, while hundreds of other suspects had escaped trial. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, announced that an investigation would take place into the "lamentable" failings at Leeds Magistrates' Court, possibly leading to criminal charges against court staff involved. Up to 555 defendants who had their warrants to appear in court withdrawn may now be recalled over the 1,709 charges that they faced. Most were for motoring or other minor matters, but 115 were for serious offences that should be recorded on the Police National Computer." [If a bureaucracy cannot even keep records, what the hell is it good for?]

McCain gets it right: "Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized his Democratic rivals on Tuesday for pledging to renegotiate a hemispheric trade treaty that Democrats blame for U.S. manufacturing job losses. At a town-hall meeting in St. Louis, the Arizona senator also called for the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to approve a free-trade treaty with Colombia that is being stymied on Capitol Hill. "On trade, I'm a free trader," McCain told employees at Savvis Internet company, a session dominated by questions about the ailing U.S. economy. In recent weeks, both Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have increased their criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement linking the U.S. economy with those of Canada and Mexico. They pledged to pull the United States out of the NAFTA agreement if Mexico and Canada did not agree to renegotiate it. "I do not believe in isolationism and protectionism," McCain said. "We've got to stop this protectionist NAFTA-bashing."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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12 March, 2008

Update on Sweden

Though there certainly are positive as well as negative lessons to be learned from Sweden, one should be wary of those who claim causal relationships between Sweden's welfare state and its historic economic achievements. The parts of the welfare state that work the best today are the parts that have been reformed, where competition and private alternatives are allowed.

School vouchers, for example, were introduced more than 15 years ago in Sweden. This reform has allowed children to choose a privately run school if they want to, paid for by taxes. Recent research shows not only that independent schools produce the best results but that school choice andthe existence of independent schools has improved overall efficiency and effectiveness in the entire school system.

American documentary filmmaker Michael Moore praises the Swedish healthcare system in his movie Sicko. But he is worried that the new Swedish Government will destroy this paragon of public health funding, as he sees it, by letting in private alternatives. In fact, Sweden has had private alternatives within the healthcare system for 15 to 20 years. That is no big deal for Swedes, at least not as long as the private alternatives don't constitute too large a share of the market. The debate is on the financial side. Should people be empowered to buy private insurance?

There is also a debate whether big emergency hospitals should be allowed to be run privately (still with funding from the government) and if private hospitals should be allowed to make a profit. Hardly anyone other than Moore is totally against privately run health care.

While the quality of healthcare services is pretty good in Sweden, productivity is extremely low because there is too little competition. In 1975 an average doctor met nine patients a day. Today it is down to four. People have to wait for months or years to get basic surgery, with huge human and economic costs as a result. What kind of welfare is that? ...

More than half of Sweden's 50 largest companies were founded before World War I; only two after 1970. Of five million working-age adults, one million remain outside the workforce, even though few are officially unemployed. The rest are either in various state-run job-training programs, on long-term sick leave, or receiving early retirement or disability pensions from the state...

Sweden is not rich because of the welfare state. On the contrary, it is rich despite the welfare state. Sweden has a proud tradition of free-market institutions, and it was market reforms in the late 19th century as well as in the last reform period in the 1990s that explain the country's economic development. In the late 19th century successive liberal governments introduced free establishment in different trades, abolished guilds and stripped the upper classes of economic privileges that bled the economy dry. It was during this time that free trade was a badge of honour, and immigration and emigration were free for all. Sweden's most prosperous companies were born during this era: SKF, Electrolux and Assa (later Assa Abloy). In 1970, Sweden was the world's fourth richest country; today it is No14.

More here

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Another Leftist hypocrite: "For years, he was the scourge of the Masters of the Universe and the Sheriff of Wall Street. Now he's a joke. Legions of Wall Street's bankers, traders and investors relished the dark clouds enveloping New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been tied to a prostitution ring, The New York Times reported. The Times reported that Spitzer was caught on a federal wire-tap arranging to meet a $US1000-an-hour prostitute at a Washington hotel last month. Spitzer, a Democrat, rose to political stardom while state attorney-general through high-profile investigations into improper business practices by major Wall Street firms. Though his signature issue was pursuing Wall Street's misdeeds, as attorney-general Spitzer also prosecuted at least two prostitution rings when he ran the state's organised crime task force, The New York Times said. The paper said Spitzer "spoke with revulsion and anger" in 2004 after announcing the arrest of 16 people for running what the paper termed a high-end prostitution ring in Staten Island. Spitzer, who is the father of three children, was extolled for his virtues and unyielding focus on corporate malfeasance." [Betsy Newmark has some acerbic comments]

A nasty guy gets his deserts: "One might call it Shakespearian if there were a shred of nobleness in the story of Eliot Spitzer's fall. There is none. Governor Spitzer, who made his career by specializing in not just the prosecution, but the ruin, of other men, is himself almost certainly ruined."

GWB dines with Aussies: "Former Prime Minister John Howard has been honoured with a private family dinner with his friend and ally, President George Bush, at the White House, during his extended speaking tour of the US. His dinner with Mr Bush - a symbol of the bond the two leaders forged - comes ahead of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's first visit to the US later this month, when he will have an official lunch with President Bush at the White House. Mr Howard is in Boston for two days for engagements at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government."

More anti-American fakery? "There is a video circulating like crazy online of a United States soldier throwing a puppy over the cliff in what appears to be Iraq. What's most disturbing is not the act itself (which is under investigation and the video's authenticity is in question), but how quickly many here have condemned those soldiers, IF they are soldiers at all. We supposedly live in a nation where one is innocent until proven guilty, but thanks to the smearing of our entire Armed Forces because of isolated events at Abu Ghraib, as well as Hollywood's slanderous contributions, many are quick to believe this video's authenticity and our military's guilt. I could be wrong, but I believe the video is a fake. This would not be the first time we've all been punk'd...."

Is the Solution to Hire More Muslim Journalists? "Philip Bennett, managing editor of the Washington Post, offered a franker set of views than perhaps he intended when he spoke on March 3 at the University of California-Irvine's Center for the Study of Democracy about media coverage of Islam, as reported by Alan Blank in the Daily Pilot. Bennett, Blank writes, thinks news organizations ought to hire more Muslim reporters. To illustrate this point he drew mainly from quotes of notable colleagues and statistical polls, rarely giving his own opinion directly. "Six of 10 Americans, according to a 2007 ABC Poll, don't understand the basic tenets of Islam," Bennett said. He attributed this to the lack of Muslims working in American newsrooms. "At the Post I want more Muslim readers and I want more Muslim journalists." Bennett assumes, with touching naivete, that to be Muslim is know Islam. Less touching is the assumption that not to be a Muslim is not to know Islam. This fraudulent expectation of special insight from one's status, religious or otherwise, needs strenuously to be rejected."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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11 March, 2008

The charming Ed Brayton



The existence of businessman/comedian Ed Brayton has only twice come to my attention. Last year I referred to him as "some fat guy from Michigan" and, despite that being an accurate description, it apparently caused some heartburn in our Ed. I note however that he has recently referred to some university student conservatives as "larvae" -- implying that they are loathsome insects. So it looks like I was too objective in my earlier description. I should, perhaps, have called him a "fat grub". Have a look at his picture and see if you think that fits. For a man in his early 40s he is looking very lush -- and that is probably an old photo.

I don't however have any strong objections to his recent attack on my writings. He presents a set of fairly reasonable excerpts from my various notes about the similarities between Obama and the Fascists of the 1930s. I am glad that he has exposed my contentions to his Leftist audience. Some intelligent Clintonista (if there is one) might note them and use them! I am pretty sure no Clintonistas read this blog!

Brayton thinks it is self-evident that my comparison is absurd -- and he would not be alone in that: Fascists are nasty and evil and Obama is nice. Sadly, the Leftist control of the education system has almost completely blanked out how Hitler was seen in his time. I guess it is hard for a survivor of a modern education to accept but Hitler too was seen as "nice" in his day -- as a caring father figure for all Germans in fact. He was even seen as devoted to peace! I include some documentation of that in my monograph on Hitler.

And Obama and the Fascists have lots of policy in common too -- government control of just about everything, in fact. And I pointed out recently on my Obama blog that Obama is not at all averse to military adventures abroad.

And the public adulation Obama receives is eerily reminiscent of how Hitler was received by vast numbers of Germans. But you have to know history to realize that. Brayton should stick to comedy. He probably knows something about that.

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An interesting excerpt about McCain

What Bud Day and other POWs specifically admired about Nixon was his willingness to strike back in a way that Johnson hadn't. Johnson's bombing halt in 1968 was seen as a betrayal by POWs, and caused disappointment and anger even throughout the U.S. military. Remember that these POWs were often combat pilots-professional warriors and volunteers that is, not citizen soldiers who were drafted. Professional warriors are not fatalists. In their minds, there is no such thing as defeat so long as they are still fighting, even from prison. That belief is why true soldiers have an affinity for seemingly lost causes.

In December 1967, a prisoner was dumped in Day's cell on the outskirts of Hanoi, known as the Plantation. This prisoner's legs were atrophied and he weighed under 100 pounds. Day helped scrub his face and nurse him back from the brink of death. The fellow American was Navy Lieutenant Commander John Sidney McCain III of the Panama Canal Zone. As his health improved, McCain's rants against his captors were sometimes as ferocious as Day's. The North Vietnamese tried and failed, through torture, to get McCain to accept a release for their own propaganda purposes: The lieutenant commander was the son of Admiral John McCain Jr., the commander of all American forces in the Pacific. "Character," writes the younger McCain, quoting the 19th century evangelist Dwight Moody, "is what you are in the dark," when nobody's looking and you silently make decisions about how you will act the next day.

In early 1973, during a visit to Hanoi, North Vietnamese officials told Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that they would be willing to free McCain into his custody. Kissinger refused, aware that there were prisoners held longer than McCain, ahead of him in the line for release. McCain suffered awhile longer in confinement, then, once freed, thanked Kissinger for "preserving my honor." The two have been good friends since. McCain blurbs with gusto Bud Day's memoir. The senator writes: "I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the dimensions of human greatness.

Henry Kissinger, we should remember, was himself a soldier in the American army. He was an intelligence officer (quel surprise) and served in the Battle of the Bulge, staying behind at some personal risk after his unit bugged out to interrogate captured German soldiers. Point is, he probably understood what John McCain the prisoner would want without having to be told.

John McCain's military service and "sacrifice" does not, ipso facto, qualify him to be president. It does, however, tell us a great deal about the things he values most when he has to make decisions under extremely adverse conditions, and that is certainly useful for voters to know.

More here

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ELSEWHERE

There is an appalling story here about how the British authorities have barred a conservative Israeli from visiting Britain -- while at the same time allowing into Britain a well-known Muslim preacher of hate and Jihad.



Both Fausta and Atlas have derisive posts about the poisonous "Elders" (including Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter) who are going to the Middle East to bring about peace (Translation: Blame Israel for everything).

The next Scots-Irish president : "What do Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Barack Obama have in common, besides wanting to be the next commander in chief? They are all of Scots-Irish descent, an ethnic and cultural lineage that has produced more presidents and military leaders than any other. "Fascinating, but not surprising," says U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. The former naval secretary and decorated Marine should know: He catalogued the migration and cultural influence of the Scots-Irish in America in his book Born Fighting. So, who are these mystery leaders and influential voters? Dr. Joyce Alexander, secretary of the national Scotch-Irish Society in Philadelphia, traces their roots to a mass migration from northern Ireland in the 1700s. The "Ulster Scots," who had been tossed to Ireland two centuries earlier, grew tired of fighting England's battle against Irish Catholics, so they left. A group of their clans settled in New Hampshire, then spread to Maine and Vermont. "Eventually, most of them settled south of New England," Alexander explains"

I had to laugh at this: "The seven deadly sins have grown to at least 14 after the Vatican updated its 1400-year-old list of the worst moral failures to reflect the modern world. The new deadly sins that may lead to eternal damnation are polluting, genetic engineering, being obscenely rich, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice, The Times newspaper has reported. Quoting from Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, The Times reported that certain actions were so unholy that they needed to be deemed as "mortal sins" - not the less serious "venial sins". The man in charge of examining confessions and indulgences for the Vatican, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, told the Vatican newspaper that priests should be aware of the "new" sins".

Amazing! British bureaucrats fall on their swords: "Most of the officials at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) who were directly responsible for the flawed supervision of Northern Rock have quit, The Times has learnt. Of the seven FSA supervisors working closely on the bank before its implosion last August, five have left, the FSA has admitted, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from this newspaper. The FSA, the body responsible for ensuring that UK banks have strong-enough balance sheets and sufficient liquidity, has come under fire for failing to spot the fatal flaw in Northern Rock's business model. The FSA is expected to admit to shortcomings in its supervision of the Rock in a report this month. Hector Sants, the chief executive, has already admitted to MPs that the FSA's performance was unacceptable and that there were failings. Northern Rock's extreme dependence on the wholesale money markets, rather than on depositors, for its funding proved a catastrophic weakness when the credit crunch hit last summer, leading to the first run on a British bank for more than a century."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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10 March, 2008

An interesting piece of research

The academic authors of the research managed to twist something derogatory to conservatives out of it but see what you think:

Dr Wilson and Dr Storm restricted their study to white, Protestant teenagers, in order to eliminate confounding variables. However, their volunteers came from two different traditions-Pentecostal, which tends to the conservative, and Episcopalian, which tends to the liberal. The researchers conducted the study by giving each volunteer a beeper that went off every two hours or so. When it beeped, the volunteer answered a questionnaire about what he was doing at that moment, and how he felt about it.

Dr Wilson and Dr Storm found several unexpected differences between the groups. Liberal teenagers always felt more stress than conservatives, but were particularly stressed if they could not decide for themselves whom they spent time with. Such choice, or the lack of it, did not change conservative stress levels. Liberals were also loners, spending a quarter of their time on their own. Conservatives were alone for a sixth of the time. That may have been related to the fact that liberals were equally bored by their own company and that of others. Conservatives were far less bored when with other people. They also preferred the company of relatives to non-relatives. Liberals were indifferent. Perhaps most intriguingly, the more religious a liberal teenager claimed to be, the more he was willing to confront his parents with dissenting beliefs. The opposite was true for conservatives.

More here

Conservatives are happier: Check. Conservatives like people more: Check. Leftists are misfits: Check. Conservatives are more family-oriented: Check. Leftists are more disagreeable: Check

As Marginal Revolution notes, one of the authors above blogs on the Puffington Host. And does he huff and puff! It's marvellous what you can see in your data when you want to.

As far as I can ascertain, the research concerned has not been published in the academic journals and is based on an M.A. dissertation only. Quality stuff!

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Transfer: Send the Palestinians to other Arab lands

Jordan is just East Palestine anyway. Excerpt:

The Palestinians are the most sickening, revolting group of people on earth. They're actually more loathsome than even the Nazis were because the Palestinian people have all their evil impulses, but they're considerably less industrious and less civilized.



We Americans like to believe the best about people. You know, "The leaders are the bad guys, but the regular people aren't any different than us." The reality is that the Palestinians in the disputed territories are different from us, because the majority of them are evil. By that, I mean that the problem isn't just their leaders and the terrorist thugs, the problem is the average person on the street. The butcher, the school teacher, the traffic cop -- the majority of them are vile, sick, twisted, evil excuses for human beings and that's why there is no peace in the region. Israel can no more live next to these people in peace than New Yorkers could live in peace with New Jersey if it were taken over by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

...Which leads to a very basic question: if this was happening to Americans, how far would we be willing to go to stop it? The truth is, we already know the answer to that question because our ancestors have had to deal with this sort of savagery when Indians tortured and murdered American settlers. Our response was, depending on the situation, to slaughter them and/or force them to move.

Today, in our very civilized world, we look back with shock and horror at what we did to the Indians -- and indeed, some of them didn't deserve what they got. All too often, our ancestors didn't make much of an effort to distinguish between friendly, peaceful Indian tribes and murderous, cannibalistic savages. On the other hand, their strategy of massacring our enemies was one that has been used throughout the ages and it has been proven, time and time again, to work -- and it certainly worked for us.

More here

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Hillary's "experience": ""I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland," she told CNN on Wednesday. But negotiators from the parties that helped broker the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 told The Daily Telegraph that her role was peripheral and that she played no part in the gruelling political talks over the years."

Society is a blessing, but government is evil: "A great part of that order which reigns among mankind is not the effect of government. It had its origin in the principles of society, and the natural constitution of man. It existed prior to government, and would exist if the formality of government was abolished. The mutual dependence and reciprocal interest which man has in man and all the parts of a civilized community upon each other create that great chain of connection which holds it together."

Good God! Could Buckley really have believed in the crank ideas of Henry George?: "Few of the news articles on William F. Buckley's life and death mentioned that he was a Georgist, an adherent of the policies espoused by the American economist and social reformer, Henry George. Buckley's intellectual development was influenced strongly by the Georgist libertarians Albert Nock and Frank Chodorov. Buckley's father, William Buckley, Sr., brought scholars to his Connecticut home to privately tutor his children. One of these tutors was Frank Chodorov, who became Buckley's mentor. The father was also a friend of Albert Jay Nock, and encouraged his son to read Nock's works."

Abe in his own hand: "Barely a year into the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suggested buying slaves for $400 apiece under a 'gradual emancipation' plan that would bring peace at less cost than several months of hostilities. The proposal was outlined in one of 72 letters penned by Lincoln that ended up in the University of Rochester's archives. The correspondence was digitally scanned and posted online along with easier-to-read transcriptions. Accompanying them are 215 letters sent to Lincoln by dozens of fellow political and military leaders."

Another stupid and useless ban: "Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee. Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park. Lt. Kevin Navarro, commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department's Narcotics and Gang Unit, said the ordinance will be an "important tool" to go after grocery stores, health food stores and other businesses. The bags are used by the thousand to sell small quantities of drugs at $10 or $20 a bag."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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9 March, 2008

My Obama Watch blog now has a mirror site -- for all your friends in China and for times when blogspot is down


Democrats creating enemies around the world

Despite their spirited squabbling, the two Democratic candidates are united in the view that one of the big benefits of electing either of them would be an improvement in America's reputation and relations with the world. Hillary Clinton promises to send special envoys to foreign capitals the day after she's elected. Barack Obama offers to reach out to America's foes as well as friends. Unfortunately none of this will matter if they continue to spout dangerous and ill-informed rhetoric about trade.

For the rest of the world-particularly poorer countries-nice speeches about multilateralism are well and good. But what they really want is for the United States to continue its historic role in opening up the world economy. For a struggling farmer in Kenya, access to world markets is far more important than foreign aid or U.N. programs. If the candidates think they will charm the world while adopting protectionist policies, they are in for a surprise.

Already the mood is shifting abroad. Listening to the Democrats on trade "is enough to send jitters down the spine of most in India," says the Times Now TV channel in New Delhi. The Canadian press has shared in the global swoon for Obama, but is now beginning to ask questions. "What he is actually saying-and how it might affect Canada-may come as a surprise to otherwise devout Barack boosters," writes Greg Weston in the Edmonton Sun. The African press has been reporting on George W. Bush's visit there with affection and, in some cases, by contrasting his views on trade with the Democratic candidates'. The Bangkok Post has compared the Democrats unfavorably with John McCain and his vision of an East Asia bound together, and to the United States, by expanding trade ties.

For Obama, the backlash could be greatest because he's raised the highest hopes. A senior Latin American diplomat, who asked to remain unnamed because of the sensitivity of the topic, says, "Look, we're all watching Obama with bated breath and hoping [his election] will be a transforming moment for the world. But now that we're listening to him on trade-the issue that affects us so deeply-we realize that maybe he doesn't wish us well. In fact, we might find ourselves nostalgic for Bush, who is brave and courageous on trade and immigration."

The facts about trade have been too well rehearsed to go into them in any great detail, but let me point out that NAFTA has been pivotal in transforming Mexico into a stable democracy with a growing economy. And, in Lawrence Summers's words, "[it] didn't cost the United States a penny. It contributed to the strength of our economy because of more exports and because imports helped to reduce inflation." Trade between the NAFTA countries has boomed since 1993, growing by about $700 billion. There are no serious economists or experts who believe that low wages in Mexico or China or India is the fundamental reason that American factories close down. And labor and environmental standards would do very little to change the reality of huge wage differentials between poor and rich countries' workers.

The question needs to be asked why Democrats have let a few union bosses drag them into this international disaster in the making. They answer has to be among other things, their own incompetence and the incompetence of their economic advisers.

Source

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WHY THERE'S A HAMAS-ISRAEL WAR : "The deliberate murder of eight and the wounding of nine Israeli rabbinical students in Jerusalem only highlights the fact that Hamas is at war with Israel. It is, from Hamas's view, a war that will never end until Israel is exterminated and its citizens killed or expelled. No other analysis is accurate or can explain what is happening. First, the fact that it is a war must be understood. The Gaza Strip is technically not a state, yet is functioning as one. The Gaza government of the radical Islamist Hamas has declared war on Israel. The war's purpose is not to free Gaza from occupation, nor is it a defensive war in response to Israeli attacks. The goal--openly and daily declared by Hamas in media and speeches, teaching in schools and sermons in mosques--is a long-term campaign to wipe Israel off the map and to kill or expel most of its citizens. There's a word for this: genocide."

Far from a Russian-US arms race (by Richard N. Perle): "With a stridency reminiscent of the cold war, outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin charged last month that with US plans for a limited defense against ballistic missiles, 'a new arms race has been unleashed in the world.' He vowed to field new weapons, which have been under development for years, 'in response.' The same day, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he anticipated 'hundreds of thousands of missile interceptors all over the world ... in the foreseeable future.' Both claims are wrong. Despite a near universal belief to the contrary, the 'action-reaction-upward-spiraling strategic weapons race' of the cold war never really happened. And Lavrov's hundreds of thousands of missile interceptors won't happen either."

Army brass finally get off their fat behinds: "The US Army plans to overhaul its largest online education program following revelations that thousands of soldiers have openly cheated on training exams to get promoted, according to an Army spokesman. General William S. Wallace, the head of Army training, ordered the overhaul recently after an internal review confirmed the findings of a Globe investigation last year that revealed the training command knew as early as 1999 that cheating was widespread. The investigation revealed soldiers were obtaining exact copies of tests and answers for the more than 1,000 online correspondence courses. The new measures - including randomized test questions, individual test access cards, and limits on the number of courses a soldier can take in a given period - are expected to cost millions of dollars."

The Canadian version of privacy: "The TTC can go ahead with plans to dramatically increase its video camera surveillance, Ontario's privacy commissioner says. Toronto's plan for 10,000 additional cameras on buses, streetcars and subway cars complies with the province's privacy standards, Ann Cavoukian said today when she released her report. But the TTC still has to make some changes to make sure the privacy-invasive technology is only used for legitimate crime fighting purposes and not voyeurism as has happened in some other cities, she said."

There's a time and a place for a beanball: "Where in the Constitution does it say that Congress may interfere in the internal affairs of a private baseball league or its players? How exactly have these vainglorious congressional publicity hounds come by the idea that their jurisdiction has no limits? The biggest shockeroo, however, is that these despicable charlatans would throw a private citizen to the FBI wolves on account of his having possibly lied to them, of all people. Do they not lie to the public and to each other with nearly every utterance they make? Do they not lie routinely to their friends, their spouses, their sons and daughters, and even to their cats and dogs? Why is it that what's good for the Clemens goose is unsuited to the congressional gander?"

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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8 March, 2008

There are no Obama posts below because they are all on my Obama blog


Why vote for McCain?

The writer excerpted below makes a good point but I think that McCain's probably more conservative nominations to the Supreme Court are reason enough to vote for him

Many Republicans-this writer included-are not happy with the thought of Senator John McCain as their presidential nominee. Many of these same Republicans are not happy with the Republican Party's drift toward big government and away from conservative principles. Instead of capitalizing on their control of both houses of Congress and the White House and ushering in decades of Republican control of the government, the administration has missed opportunity after opportunity to show real leadership and make government our servant rather than our master. And Senator McCain promises more of the same, with even more of a tilt to the left. Given this, why should conservatives vote for Senator McCain?

The conventional answer is that Senator McCain is the lesser of two evils and, as conservatives, we would be better off with him in the White House than either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton. But would we?

While a McCain administration could be expected to propose less "liberal" legislation and a somewhat less intrusive federal government than either Obama or Clinton, the differences would not be great. If one looks at the net result of legislative and executive initiatives, it could well be the case that more McCain-proposed legislation would be passed than that proposed by a Democratic administration. This would likely be the case if Republicans in the Congress functioned effectively as a "loyal opposition" and stopped the worst of any socialistic initiatives of the liberal Democrats. Those same Republicans would be reluctant to vote against legislation pushed by "their" president.

The question that Senator McCain must answer for doubting conservatives is "Why are we better off with you in the White House than we would be if a Democrat is elected president and Republicans retain enough power in Congress to stop Democrat programs harmful to the country?" Based on McCain's past record and positions, it is not readily apparent that McCain would be significantly better than the alternative. Certainly this is the case until McCain convinces conservatives that he shares many of their views on the critical issues of the day.

More here

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Grim outlook in the Senate: "Last summer, Senate Republicans seemed headed for a cliff in the 2008 election and likely to land on the wrong side of a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Democratic majority. Fights over immigration and Iraq had plunged Republican approval ratings to new lows, and a string of retirements left the GOP in danger of losing more than a dozen seats. Senator John Ensign, chairman of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), says donors wouldn't so much as take his calls. But Republican prospects have "improved quite a bit," Ensign says, now that things are going better in Iraq. The number of competitive races has shrunk as Democrats failed to recruit blue-chip candidates in red states like Tennessee, North Carolina, Kansas, and Nebraska. NRSC executive director Scott Bensing says recruiting Republican candidates was "painstaking" a year ago, but now Republicans have strong candidates for a number of contested seats where John McCain's nomination should help win independents. Even so, November's Senate races are an uphill battle. Republicans control 23 of the 35 seats up for election this year, and 9 of the 10 vulnerable seats are held by Republicans, mostly in blue states and states that are trending Democratic."

Former Clinton Official Named as Russian Dupe: "Although Talbott has been identified in press accounts as a current adviser to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, he showed up to hear Senator Barack Obama deliver a foreign policy address in 2005 to the Council on Foreign Relations and declared, "It was very impressive." In what could be the biggest State Department scandal since State Department official and United Nations founder Alger Hiss was exposed as a Soviet spy, a top Clinton State Department official and former Time magazine journalist has been identified as having been a trusted contact of the Russian intelligence service. The sensational charge against Strobe Talbott is made in a new book based on interviews with a Russian defector. The book, Comrade J, by veteran author and reporter Pete Earley, identifies Talbott as having been manipulated by a Russian official working for Russian intelligence in order to get information about U.S. foreign policy. The same book describes the United Nations as a major base of espionage operations for Russia in the U.S."



Yet another black psychopath in "multicultural" Britan: "A gym instructor scuffled violently with court guards yesterday as he was found guilty of bludgeoning to death a student who performed on the junior version of Stars in Their Eyes, her mother and younger brother. Pierre Williams, 33, used a steelheaded hammer to kill his former lover, Beverley Samuels, a 36-year-old nurse, her daughter, Kesha Wizzart, 18, and son, Fred, 13. Three security guards rushed to restrain Williams, who was bundled down to the cells at Manchester Crown Court after the verdict, loudly proclaiming his innocence. He was banned from the dock by the judge, when he sentenced him later to at least 38 years in prison. Mr Justice Pitchford concluded that only Williams, who had a history of sexual violence towards women, could know what terror and pain he had inflicted upon his victims before they died".

Rather not have Rather: ""48 Hours" Celebrates Its 20 th Anniversary - But Founding Anchor Dan Rather Left Off the Invite List Everybody who is anybody in television news - with one glaring omission - showed up for last week's twentieth-anniversary blowout for "48 Hours," which, after "60 Minutes," is CBS News' most durable magazine program. On hand for the party were CBS chairman Leslie Moonves , CBS News president Sean McManus , "48 Hours" executive producer Susan Zirinsky , former CBS president Sir Howard Stringer and former news president Andrew Heyward . Missing was original "48 Hours" anchor Dan Rather , who was not invited, New York magazine reports"

Louisiana logic: CUTTING prices is "price fixing"??: " A group of crawfish farmers says it will ask the state Attorney General's Office to investigate allegations that big seafood wholesalers are working together to keep down prices at the dock. Crawfish farmers are complaining of wholesale prices dropping from more than $2 per pound to $1 per pound in the past month. The Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association voted at a meeting Tuesday to suspend fishing for two days a week in an effort to raise the price by limiting supply. Association Director Stephen Minvielle said Wednesday that he is gathering information on alleged illegal price fixing to submit to the state Attorney General's Office. He named no processors, but cites as evidence a series of price drops for crawfish that occurred across the state on the same day by the same amount."

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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7 March, 2008

There are no Obama posts below because they are all on my Obama blog -- including toons as usual. I have also now got around to putting up a more attractive template for my Obama blog -- a template which is -- surprise, surprise! -- much like my other templates


More from Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg -- on big business colluding with socialism.

They did it in Fascist Italy and in Hitler's Germany and they do it now in the USA. And Adam Smith warned us about it long ago: "Men of the same profession never gather together except to conspire against the general public". Excerpt below from chapter 8, "Liberal Fascist Economics"

So long as some firms are willing to prostitute themselves to Uncle Sam, every business feels the pressure to become a whore.... This is the hidden story of big business from the railroads of the nineteenth century, to the meatpacking industry under Teddy Roosevelt, to the outrageous cartel of "Big Tobacco" today: supposedly right-wing corporations work hand in glove with progressive politicians and bureaucrats in both parties to exclude small businesses, limit competition, ensure market share and prices, and generally work as government by proxy. Big business rallied behind LBJ, not the objectively free-enterprise Barry Goldwater. Free marketeers often decry Richard Nixon's wage and price controls, but what is usually forgotten is that big business cheered them

...There's no sector of the American economy more suffused with corporatism than agriculture. Indeed, both Democrats and Republicans are decidedly fascistic when it comes to the "family farmer," pretending that their policies are preserving some traditional voelkisch lifestyle while in reality they're subsidizing enormous corporations.

But corporatism is only part of the story. Just as corporations were enmeshed in the larger Nazi Gleichschaltung, supposedly right-wing big business is central to the progressive coordination of contemporary society. If big business is so right-wing, why do huge banks fund liberal and left-wing charities, activists, and advocacy groups, then brag about it in commercials and publicity campaigns? How to explain that there's virtually no major issue in the culture wars - from abortion to gay marriage to affirmative action - where big business has played a major role on the American right while there are dozens of examples of corporations supporting the liberal side?

Indeed, the myth of the right-wing corporation allows the media to tighten liberalism's grip on both corporations and the culture. John McCain perfectly symbolizes this catch-22 of modern liberalism. McCain despises the corrupting effect of "big money" in politics, but he is also a major advocate of increased government regulation of business. Apparently he cannot see that the more government regulates business, the more business is going to take an interest in "regulating" government. Instead, he has concluded that he should try to regulate political speech, which is like decrying the size of the garbage dump and deciding the best thing to do is regulate the flies.

These speech regulations in turn give an unfair advantage to some very big businesses - media conglomerates, movie studios, and such - to express their views in ways exempt from government censorship. It's no surprise that some of these outlets tend to celebrate McCain's genius and courage and use their megaphones to expand on the need for him to go even further and for other politicians to follow his lead. Of course, this dynamic is much larger than mere regulation. The New York Times is pro-choice and supports pro-choice candidates - openly on its editorial pages, more subtly in its news pages. Pro-life groups need to pay to get their views across, but such paid advertising is heavily regulated, thanks to McCain, at exactly the moment it might influence people - that is, near Election Day. One can replace abortion with gun control, gay marriage, environmentalism, affirmative action, immigration, and other issues, and the dynamic remains the same.

That is how the liberal Gleichschaltung works; contrary voices are regulated, barred, banned when possible, mocked and marginalized when not, Progressive voices are encouraged, lionized, amplified - in the name of "diversity," or "liberation," or "unity," and, most of all, "progress."

....In the brave new corporatism, we are all "partners" after all. Environmentalism in particular offers a number of eerie parallels to fascist practices, including as an overarching rationale for corporatist policies. According to generic fascism, an atmosphere of crisis must be maintained in order to circumvent conventional rules. Today, while Hollywood and the press relentlessly hype the threat of global warming, big business works assiduously to form alliances and partnerships with government as if the fight against global warming were the moral equivalent of war. Indeed, Al Gore - who makes much of such public-private partnerships - claims that global warming is equivalent to the Holocaust and anybody who denies it is the moral equivalent of a Holocaust denier.

Source

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Above: Leftist attention-seeker with funny hat. Story here

There's a brilliant British video HERE about Islam. There is still SOME straight talk left in Britain.

British grit still exists: "War hero Captain Bernie Bambury's leg was torn off in an 80mph toboggan crash - and he did not even realise it was missing. Bernie, 32, COMPLETED the famous Cresta Run, then asked: "Is my ankle broken?" He was told: "It's not broken, it's gone." The dashing Army officer survived six months in Iraq unscathed, only to suffer the horrific accident in St Moritz, Switzerland. Swiss microsurgeons sewed the limb back on. But after nine operations they told Bernie it would be two years before he could walk - and he might never regain full mobility. So the tough soldier from the 4th Battalion The Rifles ordered astonished medics: "Cut it off." Yesterday he was fitted with a false leg and hopes to be back leading his men within a year. He told The Sun: "Amputation gave the best prospects for the rest of my life and the swiftest return to duty." Bernie, based at Bulford, Wilts, tackled the fearsome Cresta Run - nearly a mile of solid ice - at an Army tobogganing event in January. His right foot hit a marker post and the leg, severed below the knee, was recovered hundreds of yards up the course after he crossed the finish."



Another black psychopath: "A London fitness instructor has been jailed for life after he went on a first date armed with a carving knife and murdered a businesswoman by stabbing her more than 30 times. Karl Taylor, 27, was told by Old Bailey judge Giles Forrester that he would not be eligible for parole for at least 30 years for Kate Beagley's brutal murder. The 32-year-old, of Walton-on-Thames, was stabbed in the face and neck during her date with Taylor, the court was told. Prosecutors said Taylor, who also worked as a football coach, met his victim in the CC Club at the Trocadero in Piccadilly, central London, on May 20 2007. After dancing they arranged another meeting, with their first date 10 days later in Chiswick, West London. After their first drink, Beagley - described as "well-travelled, with a great sense of adventure" by friends and family - drove Taylor to Richmond Hill where they had another drink. They then walked to a bench overlooking the River Thames, where she was killed. After her father, Alan, had reported her missing, Taylor was traced and interviewed, where he could not offer an explanation for the killing."

Ohio needs more foreign trade: "Sen. Clinton denounced the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) as 'flawed' and blamed it for closing factories in Ohio and upstate New York. Sen. Obama claimed that 'if you travel through Youngstown and you travel through communities in my home state of Illinois, you will see entire cities that have been devastated as a consequence of trade agreements.' Both pledged to withdraw the U.S. from Nafta if Canada and Mexico refuse to add 'enforceable' labor and environmental standards. But tinkering with a 14-year-old trade agreement will not bring an industrial renaissance to Youngstown and other Rust Belt cites. The relative decline of those regions dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the American economy began a transition from heavy industry toward an information-based service economy."

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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6 March, 2008

There are no Obama posts below because they are all on my Obama blog

Chavez planning a new Bolshevik revolution?

He probably plans to take on the army -- which he does not now control and which is the only remaining check on his power

If you remember the chaos that surrounded the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), you know that financial institutions simply cannot operate under conditions of street violence. The tenuous situation in Venezuela could soon reach that state, in light of disturbing new developments that have come to light. Read the details below, and decide for yourself whether a civil war is on the horizon in Caracas. Here is what we know so far:

*.. Four secret flights are scheduled into Venezuela, on TAM Brazilian Airlines, transporting 31.5 tonnes of firearms made in Brazil. The first flight has already arrived, carrying 1.5 tonnes of weapons; each additional flight is scheduled to bring in ten tonnes each.

*.. Whilst the exact types of weapons are unknown, one can safely estimate that between 50,000 and 70,000 weapons will be contained in these shipments, which are not consigned for the Ministry of Defence, but are to be quietly delivered directly to the Miraflores Presidential Palace, on the orders of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez Frias. Why all the secrecy?

*.. In a country where the armed forces and the police are already well-equipped, these weapons can only have one intended use; to arm civilian supporters of the current regime, who will use it upon the opposition in an expected violent confrontation that could degenerate into a civil war.

A civil disturbance would result in the complete shutdown of the financial system in the capital. Watch for any preliminary signs of organised violence, closure of shops and businesses, and attacks upon civilians.

Source

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Brookes News Update

Why America will go into recession: f my email is anything to go by, there are a lot of worried and confused people out there. Basically most want to know why if the US economy is going to slide into recession. Of course it will
Why a carbon tax would hit living standards: A carbon tax is an attack on the capital structure and no amount of abusive language can change that fact. Therefore such a tax dissipates capital, strikes at investment, undercuts living standards and encouragers companies to move offshore
The Cult of Obama: What America truly needs is not a sycophantic public following a cult leader on a path of foolishness. Obama is an empty suit. He is all show and no substance, like so much of modern entertainment. He is the MTV candidate
Monopolistic competition and unions : Monopolistic competition and oligopoly are economic dead-ends that have wasted an enormous amount of intellectual talent while providing enemies of the market with abundant ammunition
Cuba's New and Improved Tyrant: Once again the mainstream media is running interference for the murderous Castro brothers, assuring free world that Raul Castro is a 'pragmatist' and a 'reformer'. What they refuse to tell us is that the freedom-loving Raul is even more sadistic than his ailing brother. This is a man who murdered kids. What counts with our vile media is not the crime but who committed. This is why they give socialist thugs a free pass
Scientific approach to Arab-Israel conflict: Self-hating Jews are promoting ideas that would destroy Israel and create another Holocaust. Are these Jews suffering from misplaced guilt. Or is it no accident that everyone of them is a leftist. For the left Israel is a monstrous capitalist state that has to be destroyed - even if it means another Holocaust
President Lula of Brazil: guilty by confession: President Lula deliberately violated Brazilian sovereignty and has put it at risk by conspiring with FARC (a Colombian narco-terrorist group), Chavez (Venezuela's wannabe Castro) and MIR (a Marxist Leninist terrorist group from Chile) to put the resources of Brazil at their disposal and help them direct 'the internal politics of many Latin-American nations'

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ELSEWHERE

There is a very disturbing article here about the rapid decay of South Africa since it came under black rule. A fall from a first-world country to just another African hellhole seems to be well underway and is probably irreversible.

Colombia: Chavez Funding FARC Rebels : "Venezuela and Ecuador sought Monday to make Colombia pay a high price for killing a leftist rebel leader in the Ecuadorean jungle - expelling its diplomats, ordering troops to the border and cracking down on trade across the border. But Colombia quickly struck back, revealing what it said were incriminating documents seized from the rebel camp that suggest its neighbors have been secretly supporting the leftist rebels' deadly insurgency... Colombia's national police chief stood by its attack that killed Reyes, and said that documents recovered from his laptop showed Venezuela's leftist government recently paid $300 million to the rebels, among other financial and political ties that date back years, and that high-level meetings have been held between rebels and Ecuadorean officials".

Bureaucratic bungles incorrectly kill off thousands: "For a dead woman, Laura Todd is awfully articulate. 'I don't think people realize how difficult it is to be dead when you're not,' said Todd, who is very much alive and kicking in Nashville, Tenn., even though the federal government has said otherwise for many years. Todd's struggle started eight years ago with a typo in government records. The government has reassured her numerous times that it has cleared up the confusion, but the problems keep coming. ... Laura Todd is not alone. She is one of tens of thousands of living, breathing Americans whom the federal government has wrongly declared dead -- by one measure, more than 35 a day."

'Peace partner' at war with Israel in Gaza: "While Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip the past few days has been largely reported as a war against the Hamas terrorist group, members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization boasted they also engaged in clashes against Israeli forces and fired rockets into Jewish population centers. U.S. policy considers Fatah to be moderate."

U.N. sanctions Iran anew over nuclear program: " The U.N. Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran on Monday with near unanimous support, sending a strong signal to Tehran that its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is unacceptable and becoming increasingly costly. For the first time, the resolution bans trade with Iran in goods which have both civilian and military uses and authorizes inspections of shipments to and from Iran by sea and air that are suspected of carrying banned items."

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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5 March, 2008

There are no Obama posts below because they are all on my Obama blog

Ohio has itself to blame -- not NAFTA

There's no doubt times are tough in Ohio. The state has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000, home foreclosures are soaring, and real family income is lower now than in 2000. Meanwhile, the Texas economy has boomed since 2004, with nearly twice the rate of new job creation as the rest of the nation.

Let's start with the fact that Texas's growth puts the lie to the myth that free trade costs American jobs. Anti-Nafta rhetoric doesn't play well in El Paso, San Antonio and Houston, which have become gateway cities for commerce with Latin America and have flourished since the North American Free Trade Agreement passed Congress in 1993. Mr. Obama's claim of one million lost jobs due to trade deals is laughable in Texas, the state most affected by Nafta. Texas has gained 36,000 manufacturing jobs since 2004 and has ranked as the nation's top exporting state for six years in a row. Its $168 billion of exports in 2007 translate into tens of thousands of jobs.

Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are losing auto jobs, but many of these "runaway plants" are not fleeing to China, Mexico or India. They've moved to more business-friendly U.S. states, including Texas. GM recently announced plans for a new plant to build hybrid cars. Guess where? Near Dallas. In 2006 the Lone Star State exported $5.5 billion of cars and trucks to Mexico and $2.4 billion worth to Canada....

Ohio's most crippling handicap may be that its politicians -- and thus its employers -- are still in the grip of such industrial unions as the United Auto Workers. Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not. Many companies -- especially foreign-owned -- say they will not even consider such locations for new sites. States with "right to work" laws that make union organizing more difficult had twice the job growth of Ohio...

So tomorrow the eyes of America will be on these two states moving in different directions. Ohio has an economy burdened by high taxes and work rules that impose heavy costs on employers. Texas embraces free trade, keeps taxes low, doesn't impose unions on business and has tooled itself for 21st century global competition. Ohioans may not like to hear this, but for any company considering where to locate a new plant or move an existing one, the choice between Ohio and Texas isn't even a close call.

More here

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The Fed: a watchdog that didn't bark

Rather reminiscent of another failure of the Fed -- in 1929. Fed incompetence caused banks to fail then and banks are taking heavy hits now. But the problem this time is likely to be transient. It's just bank shareholders and investors in funds who will suffer to some extent. I am one of those, I might add. I am $200,000 down at the moment. But it's only money -- JR

The principal cause for concern today is the paralysis of the credit markets. Credit is always key to the expansion of the economy. The collapse of confidence in credit markets is now preventing that necessary extension of credit. The decline of credit creation includes not only the banks but also the bond markets, hedge funds, insurance companies and mutual funds. Securitization, leveraged buyouts and credit insurance have also atrophied.

The collapse of the credit markets began last summer when the subprime mortgage crisis demonstrated that financial risk of all types had been greatly underpriced, that the market prices of complex financial assets overstated their true values, and that the credit scores provided by rating agencies are not to be trusted. Because market participants now lack confidence in asset prices, they are unwilling to buy existing assets, thus preventing current asset owners from providing credit to new borrowers.

The lack of confidence in asset prices also translates into a lack of confidence in the creditworthiness of other financial institutions, impeding the extension of credit to those institutions. And because financial institutions do not even have confidence in the value of their own capital and in the potential availability of liquidity, they are reluctant to make new lending commitments.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the current situation. The Federal Reserve bears much of the responsibility, because of its failure to provide the appropriate supervisory oversight for the major money center banks. The Fed's banking examiners have complete access to all of the financial transactions of the banks that they supervise, and should have the technical expertise to evaluate the risks that those banks are taking. Because these banks provide credit to the nonbank financial institutions, the Fed can also indirectly examine what those other institutions are doing.

The Fed's bank examinations are supposed to assess the adequacy of each bank's capital and the quality of its assets. The Fed declared that the banks had adequate capital because it gave far too little weight to their massive off balance-sheet positions -- the structured investment vehicles (SIVs), conduits and credit line obligations -- that the banks have now been forced to bring onto their balance sheets. Examiners also overstated the quality of banks' assets, failing to allow for the potential bursting of the house price bubble.

Source

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ELSEWHERE

California exodus turns to stampede: "California, which once lured Americans from near and far, is now driving out millions of the most productive residents - including high percentages of the most affluent. "When California faced a Mount Everest-sized $14 billion deficit in 2003, one of the major causes for the red ink was the stampede of millionaire households from the state," says a report called "Rich States, Poor States" by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. "Out of the 25,000 or so seven-figure-income families, more than 5,000 left in the early 2000s, and the loss of their tax payments accounted for about half the budget hole." And it's not just the rich leaving. Based on data from moving companies, California had the second-highest domestic population out-flow of any state in 2005, according to the report, "despite the beautiful weather, beaches, and mountains." The bad news for California is that it faces a $14 billion deficit this year, despite boasting one of the highest tax burdens in the nation."

John T. Flynn and the myth of FDR: "Albert Jay Nock, distinguished man of letters and philosophical anarchist, was an inspiration to thinkers as diverse as Murray Rothbard and Robert Nisbet, Frank Chodorov and Russell Kirk. A personal friend of the father of William F. Buckley, Jr., he was a kind of guru to the young Buckley as well. In April, 1945, Nock wrote a cheery letter to two of his friends, describing the death of Franklin Roosevelt as 'the biggest public improvement that America has experienced since the passage of the Bill of Rights,' and suggesting a celebration luncheon at Luchow's.... When Flynn came to write his major study of the four-term president, he aptly titled it The Roosevelt Myth."

The Iranian bomb exposed: "Last Monday, the chief United Nations nuclear inspector gathered ambassadors and experts from dozens of nations in a boardroom high above the Danube in Vienna and laid out a trove of evidence that he said raised new questions about whether Iran had tried to design an atom bomb. For more than two hours, representatives to the International Atomic Energy Agency were riveted by documents, sketches and even a video that appeared to have come from Iran’s own military laboratories. The inspector said they showed work “not consistent with any application other than the development of a nuclear weapon,” according to notes taken by diplomats."

There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race and IQ.

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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4 March, 2008

Lots up again (including toons) on my Obama blog today. And TONGUE-TIED is also a bit Obamafied again today

The unprincipled Left

One of the great truths about the Left is that they have no abiding principles (such as respect for the individual or a skepticism about human wisdom). All the Left have is a lust for power. And because of that they can turn on a dime when it suits them. And history is a good tool for showing that. But with their command of the educational system, the Left have ensured that only selected bits of history get taught in the schools or mentioned elsewhere. So the lessons of history are usually well-hidden from most people. That is why I contstantly remind people of what history shows.

One of the great turnarounds of the Left is in their attitude to minorities. And it is quite a recent and extreme turnaround. There are fortunately still lots of people alive who remember the defence of racial segregation by Democrat governors like George Wallace and Orval Faubus and the way Republican President Eisenhower crushed that defiance. But going further back is impossible for most people. There is much that I could say to take people further back but today I want to focus on just two eras: The late 19th century and the 1930s. The policies of the earlier era are crystal clear from the 1876 poster reproduced below and the second era is covered by a brief excerpt about a man who is to this day praised (quite misleadingly) by the Left as a great hero: FDR



(There is an original copy of the above poster available for sale on eBay at the moment)

Although he saw and addressed the evil that Hitler presented, Roosevelt's failure to comprehend the evils of communism laid the groundwork for the Cold War and the millions of victims of communist dictators must also be reckoned with as part of his legacy. Additionally, he was a bigot who made Archie Bunker look refined.

For one thing, Archie never used the N-word that Mr. Fireside Chat was all too comfortable with. Bruce Bartlett shows this side of the four-term president in his book Wrong On Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past.

To be fair, unlike his mentor Woodrow Wilson, FDR did not act on these inclinations, although the man with the cigarette holder may have done more harm by accident than the author of the 14 points did by design. Nevertheless, if the blacks who wept as his funeral train passed know how much they were set back by his policies, they might have cried for another reason. "To the extent that black workers were able to get public works jobs at all, they were mostly in lower level job categories than they had previously held before the New Deal," Bartlett, an economist, writes.

Nor did they fare much better in the economy as a whole. "In April 1930, the unemployment rate was 6.3 percent for black males and 6.9 percent for white males," Bartlett shows. "Seven years later, in 1937, after implementation of most New Deal programs, the unemployment rate for black males was well above that for white males: 19.1 percent for the former versus 13.9 percent for the latter."

"Negroes have lost jobs as a result of the NRA," Dr. Robert C. Weaver, the Roosevelt Administration's senior black economist said of the New Deal's National Recovery Act. Some wags said that NRA stood for "Negroes Ruined Again." "The minimum wage policy, he [Weaver] said, `resulted in wholesale discharges in certain areas,'" Bartlett relates. "A 1937 study by the NRA itself concluded that the minimum wage provisions of the NIRA [National Industrial Recovery Act] put 50,000 blacks out of work in 1934 alone."

To top it all off, Roosevelt was the first president to put a Klansman on the U. S. Supreme Court-a move that Woodrow Wilson is never known to have contemplated. Although FDR proclaimed ignorance of this colorful aspect of Hugo Black's past when asked about it in the 1930s, the justice himself offered a far different recollection in a 1968 memo. "President Roosevelt, when I went up to lunch with him, told me there was not reason for my worrying about my having been a member of the Ku Klux Klan," Justice Black remembered. "He said that some of his best friends and supporters he had in the state of Georgia were strong members of that organization." "He never, in any way, by word or attitude, indicated any doubt about my having been in the Klan, nor did he indicate any criticism of me for having been a member of that organization," Black wrote. "The rumors and statements to the contrary are wrong."

Source

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The Call of duty

"Charlie Foxtrot" is a good man. I honor him by reproducing his latest blog post below:

Well, the time has come...just a bit quicker than expected. Afghanistan, here I come....

I have known I would be deploying for some time now. However with a sudden change in training requirements, I am leaving home this week on only a few days notice. It is always fun telling your spouse that you are leaving in a few days, and won't be home for 10 months.

As I said, the deployment was expected, but the training requirement that will end up lasting a full 50% of the actual deployment was not.

Like many others in service, particularly in the Army with their prolonged deployments, there will be things that I miss while I am gone. My 40th birthday with my family. My son's 2nd birthday. Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.... But I cannot complain. It is part of my service to my nation. I have known this since the day I joined. Of course things are always easier when you are a single 20-something, not an almost-40 husband and father. Such is life....

So in a couple of days I will be off on another grand adventure that will start with several weeks of Air Force training, another few weeks of Army Huah training (where they will teach me to shoot bigger guns, drive Humvees, and sleep in barracks), and finish with my third trip to the sandbox.

I am not sure what the future holds on the blogging front. I intend to go on as normal as long as I have access. I will be taking along my intrepid, and recently revived Apple iBook. It has already been to Qatar and Iraq, so lets hope it will survive my summer vacation in the shadow of the Hindu Kush.

While it is always an honor to serve, no matter what your role, it does seem a little more relevant if you do it on the front lines. This war is the defining moment of my generation, and to crib a famous quote, "There is hardly such a thing as a war in which it makes no difference who wins". So, away I go....

I am pleased to say that I have linked to quite a few of his posts in recent months. Another U.S. military blogger understands what it is all about too.

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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3 March, 2008

I have got lots up on my Obama blog today, including a couple of toons. TONGUE-TIED is also Obamafied today

Prince Charles: A Royal with heart



Prince Harry has returned to Britain from Afghanistan today after a 10-week tour fighting the Taliban, and was reunited with his father Prince Charles and elder brother William.... Prince Charles, who said he struggled to keep his son's mission under wraps, said he was happy to see his son back safe and sound as he and Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to his and other British troops' efforts. "It's an incredible relief to see him back in one piece," he said. "It is obviously marvellous to see him back and I'm enormously proud of what he's done."

"I do so understand what it's like for so many other families and loved ones of those serving on operations, what they have to endure. "Having met so many of the families when I go to visit some of my regiments, I know what it's like when they're so far away and don't know what's going on. It's much worse in a way for those left behind."

Charles also paid tribute to British forces, whose risky work he said the public did not often appreciate, highlighting that Harry's plane was delayed as it stopped en-route for three injured soldiers to receive medical treatment. "While being incredibly proud of Harry I am equally proud, for what it's worth, of all the dedicated service given by all our armed forces."

More here

I feel really sorry for Prince Harry. He was really enjoying himself on active service. He will look back on his time in Afghanistan as one of the highlights of his life. There is still plenty of the old warrior blood in people of British origin. There is a video at the link above in which the Prince says how much he enjoyed his experiences in the field -- JR

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"Liberal Fascism" #1 Nonfiction Book In America



(Via Hugh Hewitt)

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ELSEWHERE

Macsmind covers "Rathergate II", the recent VERY spurious attack on Karl Rove that aired on "60 Minutes".

Appalling: The US is outfitting the Iraq army with M-16s to replace their AK-47s. Even highly disciplined U.S. troops have difficulty keeping the M-16 operational. There are going to be a lot of dead Iraqis over this. And it looks like the reprehensible John Murtha is behind the idea. Atlas has an action call over another matter involving the "treasonous fat bastard".

Colonialism is not the source of Africa's problems: "African leaders, and many people on the left, blame Africa's problems on the evils of colonialism. They sometimes blame the violence on the borders colonialists created that ignored ethnicity. Many African nations have been independent for four decades. If colonial borders were a major problem, how come they haven't changed them? And, by the way, colonialism cannot explain Third World poverty. Some of today's richest countries are former colonies, such as: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Some of today's poorest countries were never colonies, such as: Ethiopia, Liberia, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. The colonialism argument is simply a cover up for African dictators. The worst thing the West can do to Africa is to give more foreign aid. For the most part, foreign aid is government to government. As such, it provides the financial resources that enable Africa's grossly corrupt and incompetent regimes to buy military equipment, pay off cronies and continue to oppress their people. It also provides resources for the leaders to live lavishly and set up "retirement" accounts in foreign banks."

Lock 'em up: "For the first time in the nation's history, more than one in 100 American adults is behind bars, according to a new report. Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars. Incarceration rates are even higher for some groups. One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black adults is, too, as is one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34."

High-Tax Nations Should Think Twice Before Attacking Low-Tax Jurisdictions: "A story in the International Herald Tribune notes that tax havens are increasingly popular with middle-class taxpayers - but also that these jurisdictions help control excessive government. Perhaps most surprising, the article discusses academic research showing that so-called tax havens actually boost investment and growth in nearby high-tax nations by providing a tax-efficient platform for cross-border investment. Germany's greedy politicians should be careful what they wish for, lest they undermine places that actually provide some protection to people willing to invest in Germany's economy"

My Organs Are for Sale: "According to a new book, The U.S. Organ Procurement System, written by economists David Kaserman and A. H. Barnett, there are 80,000 Americans on the organ-transplant waiting list. Twenty of them die each day as a direct result of organ shortages; that's over 7,000 each year. These lost lives are not so much an act of God as they are an act of Congress because of its 1984 National Organ Transplant Act, which prohibits payment to organ donors. Reliance on voluntary donations, has been an abject policy failure. It's noteworthy that everyone else involved in the organ-transplant business is rewarded handsomely-that includes surgeons, nurses, and organ-procurement workers. How might an organ-transplant market work? Lloyd Cohen, a law professor at George Mason University, envisions letting people contract in advance to permit the harvesting of any usable organs when they die. The money earned would become a part of their estate. Many people are offended by the notion of human body parts becoming commodities for sale. That's at least a tiny bit inconsistent because there is a market for human blood, semen, and hair."

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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2 March, 2008

Once again I am putting up my Obama-specific news and commentary on my Obama blog only

Bill Buckley: On the wrong track?

There have of course by now been many eloquent eulogies of W.F. Buckley. And not only from conservatives. Some libertarians have also weighed in with kind words. I have said nothing so far because I don't want to seem like an old grouch, and I do have in mind the old adjuration about speaking only good of the dead: De mortuis nihil nisi bonum. But perhaps another viewpoint won't do any harm, after all:

A recurring theme is that Buckley made conservatism respectable in polite society. And that is exactly why I did not immediately add my voice to the eulogies. From a libertarian viewpoint, polite society is overwhelmingly comprised of Fascists -- and that is using "Fascism" in a precise historical way, to mean advocates of pervasive government power and control. So conservatism SHOULD NOT BE respectable in polite society. What have conservatives got to gain from the approval of people who think that they know what is best for other people and who want to enforce that on other people in any way they can?

To me, polite society is the ENEMY and I personally want no truck with the self-satisfied knowalls who in reality know next to nothing. And that is partly why in 1974 I wrote a book under the title "Conservatism as Heresy". The intelligentsia and their allies will always be Fascistic and should always be opposed because of that. Conservatism SHOULD be heretical.

I have no doubt that Buckley was a fine man and a good conservative but his modus operandi was in my view only superficially helpful to the cause of liberty. At the risk of appearing to make an absurd comparison, I note that the carpenter of Nazareth did not seek convivial relationships with the top people in his day. He was happy among outcasts. And his disciples were "agrammatoi kai idiotai" (translatable as "ignorant and unlearned" -- see Acts 4:13). I respect Christ's example much more than the example of W.F. Buckley, I am afraid, though I certainly don't claim to be a good follower of Christ. But I too get on very well with ordinary working people and it is they who matter most in my view. And as far as "intellectuals" are concerned, do the one thing that they hate most: Ignore them. Fortunately, the workers almost invariably do.

Buckley himself of course acknowledged the good sense of ordinary working people with his famous remark about the first 1,000 names in the Boston phonebook. It's a pity he did not seek them as his audience. He would have found them much more receptive than the self-anointed wise ones of the world were. And the workers have a lot more votes! Still, as the old saying goes: "It takes all types to make a world" and I don't dispute that Buckley had his place.

Coda: I can see that what I have written above could well be taken as sour grapes. Under Leftist influence, ad hominem argumentation is rife these days so people might well conclude that I am simply justifying some failure of my own in polite society. Just a few words then about my background: I am the son of a lumberjack and regard my late father as the greatest gentleman I have ever known. I have in fact moved in all sorts of social circles in my life, sometimes in very rarefied ones, and my acceptance has always seemed good to me. I certainly have no complaints about the ladies concerned. Nonetheless, I just don't seek (and barely notice) acceptance among anybody but those whom I personally value as people.

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Brookes News Update

The US economy: been there before: Economic lessons are vitally important and this is why they need to be constantly aired lest the public be led astray by demagogues and economic illiterates. This is particularly so with the US economy
Global warming to take a cold shower in New York next week: Next week the Conference on the Science of Global Warming will take place in New York. Sponsored by The Heartland Institute of Chicago and 19 other organisations from all over the world, including Australia's Carbon Sense Coalition. The conference will show that a large number of eminently qualified scientists all over the world are rejecting the IPCC proposition that human emissions of carbon dioxide have caused or will cause dangerous global warming
Why is the Centre for Independent Studies supporting the destructive carbon tax?: The Centre for Independent Studies suggests that we use a carbon tax to force Australia to rely on alternative energy sources like solar and wind. Forcing investment in these 'alternatives' would be akin to a government ordering a steel works or a car factory to be broken up into a number of much smaller operating units. The result would be horrendously higher prices, a massive increase in the costs of production and a drastic fall in output and consumption. In other words - capital dissipation and lower living standards
Fidel Castro: The Teflon Tyrant Resigns: Castro's firing squads murdered pregnant women, his coast guard machine-gunned mothers with their children for trying to escape on rafts, and his regime made Cuban women into the most suicidal in the world, tripling their pre-Revolution suicide rate. Yet politicians, so-called journalists and celebrities readily licked this sadistic thug's bloodstained boots
Jerusalem Conference - what a waste!: No one at the Jerusalem Conference pointed out that the PA is not interested in peace, but totally focused on the destruction of Israel. Alternative ideas like the Sinai Option or organising a transfer of all of the hostile population from all Jewish land to Arab and Muslim countries were not even raised
Vice President J.C. Watts?: As McCain's veep J.C. Watts could bring a lot to the table. He's a rock-solid social and fiscal conservative and is pals with Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. If he were on the ticket, it might placate conservative heavy hitters just enough to call off the dogs
The Gipper's Win: A destroyed satellite attests to the prowess of U.S. technology and our ability to defend ourselves. Democrats said it wouldn't work. Adversaries say it's provocative. Somewhere Ronald Reagan must be smiling

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ELSEWHERE

Should the Democratic Party apologize for supporting slavery?: "Before the Civil War, the Democrat Party was united in its support for slavery. After the war, Democrats founded the Ku Klux Klan, established Jim Crow Laws, and repeatedly defeated anti-lynching and other federal legislation that became necessary in order to dismantle Democrat-created segregation in South. ... Based on a correct interpretation of history based on documented facts, does the Democratic Party owe Black America an apology for its past support of slavery, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, and violent acts of racism such as lynching?"

A Royal soldier: "Prince Harry's exploits against the Taleban produced a mass of favourable comments about the Royal Family. "Well done that fine young representative of the Royal Family," one said. "And people wonder why we respect our Royal Family more than the Government," another wrote."

Prince Harry not spared: "Prince Harry's commanding officer has paid tribute to his grit on the front line, where he served at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delhi alongside the Gurkhas. The firebase near the town of Garmsir is the first stop for jihadis heading north into Helmand from the lawless Pakistani border region. It is one of the hottest FOBs. Lieutenant-Colonel Jonny Bourne, commanding officer of First Battalion, said: "FOB Delhi is probably the busiest place in Helmand, with attacks daily - rockets, mortars, small arms fire, that sort of thing."

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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1 March, 2008

Once again I have a heap of interesting news and commentary to put up -- which see below -- so today I am again putting up my Obama-specific news and commentary on my Obama blog only

The Protection(ism) Racket

Post below lifted from Blue Crab. See the original for links

The New York Sun publishes an editorial that pounds Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for their increasingly protectionist stances. Both candidates are taking shots at the North American Free Trade Agreement, abandoning the defense of the treaty to John McCain. The sun points out the absurdity of that.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Mr. Obama has distributed fliers in Ohio showing "a locked factory gate with a large 'closed' sign on it" and language blaming Senator Clinton for having backed Nafta. In his speech Tuesday night in Houston after winning the Wisconsin primary, Mr. Obama said, "We're here because there are workers in Youngstown, Ohio, who've watched job after job after job disappear because of bad trade deals like Nafta, who've worked in factories - who've worked in factories for 20 years, and then one day they come in and literally see the equipment unbolted from the floor and sent to China."

Mrs. Clinton, rather than defend the value of free trade to growing our economy by expanding American exports, providing cheaper goods for American consumers, and increasing overall prosperity both at home and abroad, has been scrambling away from one of her husband's greatest accomplishments. The Journal article reports that the Clinton campaign responded to the Obama flier by saying that, contrary to its claim, the candidate never said that Nafta was a "boon" to the American economy. Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton herself, campaigning in Ohio, said, "My opponent has taken to attacking me on Nafta. The fact is, neither of us were in the Senate at the time, and I've long been a critic of the shortcomings of Nafta." Mrs. Clinton may not have been in the Senate at the time, but she was in the White House at the time, and she wants credit for that as part of her 35 years of experience that is supposed to make her qualified to be president. Breathtaking.

So who is left to defend the trade agreement that President Clinton and Vice President Gore worked so hard to achieve? Well, one can just click on YouTube to bring up a video with Mr. McCain explaining, "I know Nafta was a good idea. It's created millions of jobs, and it has helped the economies of all three of these nations. All you have to do is go to Detroit and see the thousands of trucks lined up every day, or go to our Southern border. .Free trade is something I think that is vital to the future of America. As a free trader, I will open up every market in the world."

Obama has already proposed close to a trillion dollars worth of expensive new Federal programs - and is at the same time arguing against the kind of agreement that has helped the American economy thrive. A growing economy generates more tax revenue than a stagnant or contracting one. Yet both Obama and Clinton appear to be willing to walk away from that agreement. Both also preach that they will raise taxes on corporations. So what they are proposing is taking more from a smaller and smaller pie. Consider for a moment what those policies will do to jobs in this country. Hint: there will not be more jobs.

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ELSEWHERE

Completely off his rocker: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran was the world's "number one" power, as he launched a bitter new assault on his domestic critics. "Everybody has understood that Iran is the number one power in the world," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech to families who lost loved ones in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. "Today the name of Iran means a firm punch in the teeth of the powerful and it puts them in their place," added Mr Ahmadinejad, who on Sunday will become the first president of the Islamic republic to visit neighbouring Iraq. Mr Ahmadinejad's comments come amid renewed Western efforts on the UN Security Council to agree a third package of sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear activities. They also came a day after former top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani launched an unprecedented attack on Mr Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, accusing him of using "coarse slogans and grandstanding".

Islam at the Ballot Box: "Pakistan's election has been portrayed by the Western media as a defeat for President Pervez Musharraf. The real losers were the Islamist parties. The latest analysis of the results shows that the parties linked, or at least sympathetic, to the Taliban and al Qaeda saw their share of the votes slashed to about 3% from almost 11% in the last general election a few years ago. The largest coalition of the Islamist parties, the United Assembly for Action (MMA), lost control of the Northwest Frontier Province -- the only one of Pakistan's four provinces it governed. The winner in the province is the avowedly secularist National Awami Party."

How to increase fuel prices even more: "The House approved $18 billion in new taxes on the largest oil companies Wednesday as Democrats cited record oil prices and rising gasoline costs in a time of economic troubles. The money collected over 10 years would provide tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources and for energy conservation. The legislation, approved 236-182, would cost the five largest oil companies an average of $1.8 billion a year over that period, according an analysis by the House Ways and Means Committee. Those companies earned $123 billion last year. Senate Democratic leaders said they would put the bill on a fast track and try to avoid a Republican filibuster. The White House said the bill unfairly takes aim at the oil industry. President Bush is expected to veto the legislation if it passes Congress."

Israel steps up Gaza air strikes after Hamas rockets: "Israel stepped up air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing five Palestinian gunmen after the first death in Israel in nine months from a rocket attack launched from the Hamas-controlled territory. "We are at the height of the battle," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during a visit to Tokyo, where he held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But Olmert appeared to suggest a major Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip was not imminent, saying Israel's fight against militants was a "long process" and it had "no magic formula" to halt nearly daily cross-border rocket attacks. A total of 16 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel since Wednesday, when a rocket strike on the border town of Sderot, an attack claimed by the Islamist Hamas group, killed an Israeli civilian for the first time since May. Most of the Palestinian dead were militants but also included a six-month-old child killed in an air strike on the Hamas-run Interior Ministry."

Tubby Terrorist: I'm Starving!: "Overweight preacher of hate Abu Hamza has given prison officials a list of demands after telling his lawyer: "I'm starving in here." Hamza, 49, who weighs about 20 stone, has told jail chiefs he wants more and better food, extra phone time and an end to constant strip searches. The former imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, who is fighting extradition to the US, also objects to squatting during searches as it contravenes Islamic law. Hamza, who has hooks after losing both hands, is serving seven years at Belmarsh prison in south London for soliciting the murder of non-Muslims and inciting racial hatred." [I am guessing that most readers here will not be crying about this]

For more postings from me, see OBAMOLOGY, TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

****************************

"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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