Author: Mark Noonan

US May Get Huffy About Syria’s Regime

Mark Noonan3 Comments

From Bloomberg:

The Obama administration may call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down soon, a U.S. official said as the State Department said the Syrian government has detained more than 30,000 people, some in cages.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she wants to see more pressure on Assad to step down from Europe, India and China, including the sanctioning of Syria’s oil and gas industry, speaking in an interview with CBS News yesterday…

And if that doesn’t work we may even send a strongly worded protest.  But calmer heads in the Obama Administration are worried that such a hard line stance might cause Little Assad to go slow on his reforming zeal.  There is much worrisome talk that in a fit of anger President Obama may even decide to make himself perfectly clear about Syria.

What a freaking joke of a foreign policy team…start a half-war in Libya to “defend civilians” while we carefully think over whether or not we should even mention Assad’s massacre of civilians in Syria.  Do you hear the laughter from our enemies?  The curl of contempt on their lips as they consider our President?  Does anyone out there think that any enemy of the United States is worried about what we might do when they attack?

We’ll be a generation repairing the damage Obama and Co have done to America’s reputation around the world…and part of the price we’ll have to pay will be in blood.  This is the result of allowing ourselves to be hoodwinked by slick campaigning…we were fooled in 2008 and we’d better un-fool ourselves in 2012.

Postal Service Seeks to Cut 120,000 Jobs

Mark Noonan32 Comments

From the Washington Post:

The financially strapped U.S. Postal Service is proposing to cut its workforce by 20 percent and to withdraw from the federal health and retirement plans because it believes it could provide benefits at a lower cost.

The layoffs would be achieved in part by breaking labor agreements, a proposal that drew swift fire from postal unions. The plan would require congressional approval but, if successful, could be precedent-setting, with possible ripple effects throughout government. It would also deliver a major blow to the nation’s labor movement…

First off, I’d like to say I never knew we had 120,000 postal workers.  Whenever I go to the post office I see 10 windows and two clerks.  Where are the rest?

That aside, this proposal will be fought tooth and nail – Democrats simply do not want 120,000 dues-paying (ie Democrat-donating) union workers let go, not right in front of an election year.  Doesn’t matter that the postal service is going bankrupt…all that matters is keeping the dues (donations) flowing.  But something does have to be done – and if any Democrat thinks there is an increased postal service subsidy waiting to come out of the House, he’s got rocks in his head (or, more accurately, more rocks than usual).

How this comes out in the end remains a mystery, but get ready for one heck of a fight…bet the Democrats try to tack a postal service rescue amendment to whatever the debt committee comes up with.

When Britain Had Courage

Mark Noonan60 Comments

We got this:

Now we get a supine population being roughed up by welfare bums.

You know something, I’ve never actually owned a gun.  Always figured that enough of my fellow citizens had them to ensure a general defense against riot.  But now I’m going to buy one.  To all the barbarians out there – you go ahead and start a riot in my town, we’ll have words.

Civilization stands on the edge of destruction – the once-great nation of Britain, which used to boast that it never had and never shall lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, is dying.  This is the left wants for us, too…a disarmed, cowardly and government-dependent serfdom, while barbarians prowl unchecked.  Not for me – my America shall live, even if it requires the shedding of barbarian and patriot blood.

Sen. Toomey to the Debt Committee

Mark Noonan14 Comments

From NRO’s The Corner:

Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.), who found out this morning that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) had selected him to serve on the congressional “super-committee,” said he “very strongly hopes” the panel can reach an agreement to avoid triggering the fallback measure that includes deep cuts to defense spending. In order for that to happen, Toomey told reporters on a conference call Wednesday, both parties will have to compromise. “If this committee is going to be successful, it absolutely has to have bipartisan support,” he said. “That’s how it was set up. This has to be done in a cooperative fashion.”

The freshman senator and former Club for Growth president said his “guiding principles” on the committee will be “the twin goals of reducing the deficit and continuing to promote economic growth.” To that end, he hopes to reform the tax code in order to broaden the base while lowering rates and growing the economy. “That will also generate more revenue,” he said. “A stronger economy always does.”…

Toomey is an excellent choice and, also, a pledge to the TEA Party and conservatism in general that they have a voice in this committee.  Do read the whole linked article as Toomey lays out an excellent vision of what this committee can and should accomplish.  If good will and public spirit can accomplish anything, then Toomey will do it.

On the other hand, the purpose of the committee – as far as Democrats are concerned – is to cut defense and ratify tax hikes (especially on those “millionaires and billionaires” who make $200,000.00 a year).  Failing that, the Democrats’ hope that a smash up of the committee can be blamed on the Republicans and be used as part of the overall “smear and fear” campaign they are planning for 2012 (very telling is Reid’s selection of Sen. Murray for the committee – she is chair of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee…in other words, the Democrat Senator with the most vested interest in playing pure politics on the committee).  In short, while Toomey wants to do what is right, Democrats want to claw on to power…it’ll make for an interesting battle.

At the end of it, either Toomey’s spirit of patriotic compromise will prevail, or the whole thing will blow up…but if the Republicans on the committee hang tough on core principals (genuine spending reduction and tax reform which doesn’t punish the middle class nor destroy wealth creation), then the blow up will be right in the Democrats’ face.  Fundamentally, the American people are on the side of reasonable compromise to reduce spending and grow the economy…that is what they want, and that is what the GOP must stand for.  If Democrats sabotage it then the people will see right through that…and only if the GOP caves in and goes along will we be blamed for any failure.

We are at a crossroads for our nation – between now and November of 2012 we will decide if we remain a great, free and prosperous nation, or if we are to sink in to decline and eventual destruction.  Each step we take must be informed by a genuinely patriotic desire to do what is best for America…in this, there is a time to fight it out in the trenches, and a time to seek reasonable compromise.  The opening of the debt committee is the time for reasonable compromise.  The Democrats will, I am certain, reject this course…but let them do it, first…then we’ll have the approval of the American people to get down and dirty with them.

Democrats Refuse to Admit Defeat…

Mark Noonan11 Comments

…or go within a country mile of sanity.  They’re at it again, now working on a recall effort against Governor Walker.  From Hot Air:

You’ve got to chase your dreams. Ahab had Moby Dick, Javert had Valjean, and these tools have a guy whose collective bargaining bill is a fiscal success even according to Milwaukee’s favorite newspaper.

Can we get them to flush a bunch of money down the toilet next year that might otherwise go towards reelecting Barack Obama in a crucial swing state? Yes, we can.

“‘If we can do all of this against entrenched Republicans on their own turf, imagine our success … when all of Wisconsin can have its voice heard on Gov. Walker’s extreme, divisive agenda,’ Wisconsin state party chairman Mike Tate wrote in a memo to reporters Wednesday…'”

W. C. Fields once said that if at first you don’t succeed; try, try again.  And then quit.  No sense being a damn fool about it.  Our Democrats seem determined on being the fool.

They just spent $30 million to win two State legislative seats, one of which was held by a man who got himself mired in a sex scandal.  What’s next?  $60 million to try and bounce Walker from the governorship?  Goodness, even if they did it, if the GOP controls the legislature then a Democrat governor still wouldn’t be able to undo Walker’s reforms.  Furthermore, as Walker’s reforms are starting to take hold, all of the news is good (late breaking good news for Walker probably saved one or two of the GOP seats on Tuesday) – for Wisconsin’s budget, for Wisconsin’s taxpayers, for Wisconsin’s schools…for all aspects of Wisconsin life, except for corrupt union bosses and their bought Democrat politicians.  By the time the Democrats could get a recall off the ground against Walker (I understand that under Wisconsin law they couldn’t try until some time in 2012) things might be going so well that Walker is politically bullet proof.

I do appreciate the appeal to the voters aspect of this – something all too often absent from the left.  But the purpose of recall is not just to undo every election you don’t like, but to remove from office those politicians who prove egregiously corrupt or entirely out of tune with what they ran on.  Democrats are just throwing a temper tantrum here…

But, by all means, have at it…each cent spent on a quixotic attack against Walker is one cent less Barry and the Boys will have to stave off disaster in 2012.

Obama Goes on Vacation

Mark Noonan16 Comments

From Zero Hedge:

We bring you this special announcement courtesy of the White House which has informed that American plebs that following a fantastic job well done, in which the market is now back to pre-QE2 levels, unemployment is near record highs, delays for presidential press meetings compare with Newark airplane take offs, pessimism is at record highs, America’s credit rating has just been downgraded, the country was nearly bankrupted, and sales of end of the world provisions are through the roof (not to mention ammunition), president Obama is taking a well-deserved vacation at Martha’s Vineyard at the end of the month…

This man Obama has a tin ear – he just can’t see what is going on.  Or maybe he really doesn’t care.  Memo to Obama’s handlers – now is not the time for the President to go playing with the rich and powerful.  The White House is pretty swank…and Camp David is just a short helicopter ride away…going to Martha’s Vineyard is way of saying “so long, suckers” to the American people.

We will remember in November 2012.

Obamunism! Confidence Drops Like a Rock

Mark Noonan5 Comments

From Gallup:

Americans’ economic confidence plunged to -53 in the week ending Aug. 7, a level not seen since the recession days of March 2009. This deterioration coincided with the final wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling and Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the United States’ debt rating. Economic confidence is now far worse than the -43 of two weeks ago and the -34 of a month ago.

The 429 point gain by the Dow was the theater of the absurd…and it’ll be back down soon because, let’s face it, the Fed keeping interest rates as near zero for two more years is an admission that the recession will last at least two more years.  The people are right about this – the economy is bad, and getting worse.

The Big Government Failure – California Edition

Mark Noonan26 Comments

From Bloomberg:

California faces “drastic” cuts to universities, schools and social programs if revenue continues to trail budget forecasts, the state controller said after July collections fell short by about 10 percent.

A series of “triggers” written into the most-populous state’s $86 billion general-fund budget would cut spending on universities, home care for seniors and the disabled, libraries and other programs if revenue falls $1 billion short of plan. A $2 billion gap would mean a seven-day cut in the school year and an end to busing subsidies…

The reason I bring this up is to point out that Big Government always gets it wrong.  When faced with having to cut spending or pretending that enough money will come in, Big Government will invariably opt for pretending…or, lying, if you want to be strictly accurate.  We here in Nevada have the same problem – though on a much smaller scale – where our budget was “balanced” because we’re pretending that we’ll have a big increase in revenues (anyone driving around Las Vegas can see that we’ll be lucky if revenues don’t crash through the floor…things are just lousy out here, and Las Vegas accounts for the majority of Nevada’s revenues).  We also have this problem – on a much larger scale – nationally, where our recent budget deal was predicated upon projections of revenue which are laughably optimistic (remember, official projections are based upon official data which indicates we are officially in economic recovery mode).  This means that, just like California, we can expect revenues to fall short of what we predict, and thus we’ll have a larger deficit than expected.

The dishonesty of Big Government is endemic – there is nothing it can do but lie because the basic concept is false.  You can’t make the majority – or even a large minority – of people happy, free, safe and prosperous if you are trying to do it by government action.  You can certainly enrich a Ruling Class of politicians and their crony-capitalists, but you can’t do anything worthwhile for most of the people.

This is because no government, no matter how well disposed, can ever figure out what people need, nor what people want.  Government can play a role in assisting people who have determined, on the local level, what they need but they can’t command results from on high.  There just isn’t – and never can be – sufficient knowledge for such results.  The lies we see in the budgeting process are just one part of it…you can also see it every time some Big Government booster speaks of a grand plan.  Remember, we have a Department of Education because our education was bad in the 70’s and the Department was supposed to figure out what education needed and wanted and fix everything up.  How has that worked out?   Just apply that same standard to all Big Government activities and you’ll get the same result.

Dismantling the beast of Big Government is a necessity – it is the only way we can restore freedom and prosperity in our nation.  And the sooner we get at it, the better.

Poll: Majority Against Obama’s Re-election

Mark Noonan27 Comments

From USA Today/Gallup:

…a majority of Americans, 51%, say President Obama doesn’t deserve re-election; 47% say he does…

Not a good sign for a man seeking re-election.  And do click on the above link for a State-by-State breakdown of Obama’s approval rating.  Here’s the important bits:

Obama’s approval is at 53% in California; 52% in Minnesota; 54% in Vermont…and only 54% in Illinois!

If the election were held today, Obama would be crushed…now, is it likely to get better, or worse, for him by November of next year?