Author: Mark Noonan

Obama to Hold News Conference About Debt

Mark Noonan8 Comments

Having failed in his efforts to get the GOP to commit political suicide by caving in on taxes, Obama is now just seeking the last ounce of political advantage he can from the debt talks – from Reuters:

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Monday about the status of negotiations to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling, the White House said on Sunday.

Obama met with congressional leaders for about 75 minutes Sunday evening and will meet again with them on Monday “to discuss the ongoing efforts to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction,” the White House said, without giving a time for that session.

I think that for the Democrats they are mostly working out a campaign theme for 2012 – the reason things are lousy is because those mean, greedy Republicans wouldn’t agree to a tax hike on millionaire’s and billionaire’s corporate jets.  No, seriously; it is how things are shaping up.  Yes, Democrats are that out of ideas and that convinced that the American people are infantile enough to buy it.

This 11 am presser – a bit of an odd time to hold one – is to try and grab hold of the media narrative for the remainder of the debt talks.  Obama is trying to make it so that the MSM continually asks Republicans why they won’t tax corporate jets.  The idea is that endless repetition will make the GOP look bad and give Obama and his Democrats a lot of good sound bites for the 2012 campaign (remember, America can go down in flames – for Democrats that is not nearly as bad as a Democrat losing an election:  all else is subordinated to Democrat victory).  Of course, this will only work, at all, if Obama comes across in a Presidential manner.  If he spends half an hour just insulting the GOP, then people will simply tune him out, no matter how much his MSM lapdogs try to make it otherwise.

We’ll see how it comes out – but I’ve never been more confident about conservative/libertarian political prospects than I am now.

No More Arms to Egypt

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A bit of Obama foreign policy insanity noted over at Commentary:

While everyone in Washington was concentrating on the debt crisis this week, the Obama administration attempted to slip through a questionable arms deal that requires serious scrutiny. Though it got little attention, the Defense Department officially notified Congress on Friday that it was authorizing the sale of 125 M1A1 tanks to Egypt as well as other weapons, equipment, parts, training and logistical support. While most of the military sales to Egypt have sailed through without objection in the more than 30 years since it signed a peace deal with Israel, this is the first such sale since the fall of the Mubarak regime earlier this year. Which is exactly why the sale ought to be held up until the unsettled situation in the most populous country in the Arab world is better understood…

Until we see what sort of government emerges in Egypt, we should presume the worst and that means not providing Egypt with arms and support which could at some date be used against us or our allies.  The deal to arm Egypt with America’s best weapons was predicated upon Egypt firmly adhering to the Camp David accords and peace with Israel…already we see the rising Egyptian political class calling in to question these basic issues.  Wisdom dictates that we proceed with caution.

It is to be hoped that some how, some way, a non barbarous regime rises in Egypt.  If that is the case, we can resume arms shipments and make up for anything we denied them during the transition period.  According to the linked article, Congress has 30 days to object and thus halt the deal – I hope the House GOP leadership takes up this issue and forces a halt.  If Obama won’t use common sense in this matter, someone else will have to step up.

Inflation Stalks China’s Economy

Mark Noonan19 Comments

From Market Watch:

China’s consumer prices accelerated to a-three-year high in June as food prices soared 14.4%, according to data released Saturday, reaffirming expectations that Beijing won’t be in a hurry to relax its monetary stance even if it may not aggressively pursue more interest-rate increases.

Monthly data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed the consumer price index for June climbed 6.4 % from the same period the year before. Many economists had expected the rise to be between 6.2% and 6.4%…

When considering China, it is best to keep in mind one very important quote, as it explains it all:

…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

All that talk about China becoming predominant and having a vibrant economy and showing the world how it is done is so much nonsense.  All China has demonstrated is that if you allow free scope to unbridled greed you can get ahead for a bit.  Hitler did it, too – he allowed Germany’s industrial titans to do whatever they wanted in the pursuit of profits and, my goodness, how the money rolled it.  But because the government wasn’t by consent of the governed – and thus there was no freedom, including the freedom to check up on what business and government was up to – the whole thing became over strained.  A valid argument can be made that part of the reason Hitler struck in 1939 – rather than 1942, as he had originally planned – was because he was warned that the German economy was on the verge of collapse.  Too much government spending, too much sharp financial practice…the wheels were coming off.  It was either retrench (and have rising unemployment and resign all dreams of conquest) or attack.  It was only by plundering Europe that Germany managed to keep afloat during the war – hardly a valid economic model, but China’s is no different from Nazi Germany’s.

Evil can have its day.  Evil can astound the world.  Evil can look like a winner – but only over a relatively short period of time.  China got a bit lucky in that American economic policy during the past 20 years has essentially encouraged China to pick up our manufacturing capacity.  This gave an immense shot in the arm for China and allowed it to go on longer than it should…but now the patsy (us, that is) can’t resign any more wealth to China; now China’s bad debts have built up; now China’s fake money is under pressure; now China needs 9% growth and there is simply no way to obtain it…except by inflationary policies, which is what China did over the past two years.  But that comes with a price, too.  The financial chickens are coming home to roost in China.

To think that a horrific, corrupt and anti-human tyranny such as that which governs China could ever compete with a free people was, is and always will be absurd.  A temporary advantage is the most such a government could obtain.  All those idiots who have poured investment money in to China are about to find out just how dumb that idea was.  China is heading for a fall – whether it will result in revolution or some sort of foreign adventure as China’s government tries to hang on remains to be seen – but it cannot be sustained as is.  It will have to change – and how they get out of it remains a complete mystery:  in addition to dealing with a corrupt government and a false economic model, China is about to enter demographic decline as the anti-human “one child” policy bears it’s bitter fruit.

Really bad times are coming, folks; just get ready for them.

Obamunism! Consumer Confidence Drops

Mark Noonan11 Comments

From Rasmussen:

Following yesterday’s disappointing jobs report, consumer confidence has fallen to the lowest level in nearly two years.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, fell two-and-a-half points on Saturday to 68.6. That’s the lowest level of confidence measured since July 24, 2009. Consumer confidence is down two points from a week ago, six points from a month ago and eight points from three months ago…

Have any of you noticed that some times it is hard to find things like Tylenol in the stores?  That if you go to a clothing store, there are fewer items for sale?  That when you used to go to a retail outfit a sales clerk was on you in a second and now you can stand jumping around the cash register for a minute or two before an over-worked clerk comes over to help?   Fewer things in the stores, fewer people to help you – not the sign of an economy on the mend:  very strong signs that retailers are barely holding on and are cutting costs everywhere they can.

The economy we have right now is at its current level because of massive money printing by the Federal Reserve and massive government spending.  The Federal Reserve is done printing and even if we wanted to, we can’t afford another two or three trillion dollars in borrowed stimulus spending.  We’re broke, the economy is on life support and for all the happy talk out of government and corporate America, the people see things as they are – which is why the confidence rate is going down.

No one is fooled any longer – the whole, rotten politico-economic system is broken and the people are fully awake to the scam.  2012 will be very interesting.

The Republic of South Sudan

Mark Noonan7 Comments

From Bloomberg:

The Republic of South Sudan was declared an independent nation today in the capital, Juba, as tens of thousands of people celebrated their freedom after almost 50 years of rebellion against the Muslim north.

The national flag was raised for the first time after the declaration of independence was read by the speaker of the South Sudanese parliament, James Wani Igga. Celebrations started at midnight when church bells rang as a countdown clock flashed “free at last.”…

I don’t think any nation ever started with more against it than South Sudan – generations of war and oppression lead up to this moment, and the nation is probably the poorest in the world.  The article goes on to note that there is a total of 100 miles of paved roads in the country.  On the other hand, it does sit atop rather large oil reserves and now that it is free from the north, the people there will start to see some benefits.

It is to be hoped that the new government will go absolutely free market – using only oil revenues to sustain the government and having no other taxes and minimal regulations on new businesses, South Sudan can swiftly become prosperous.  Literally, just let ‘er rip…if they set up what amounts to an area of completely free trade, money will pour in for investment.  It’ll still take 50 years to rise, but the change will be phenomenal and will start to raise up the people very quickly.

More importantly, to me, is the example this provides – both as to the oppression that Islam deals out to all non-Moslem people and the fact that separation is the only way to resolve that issue.  Following upon South Sudan we also need Assyria (out of Iraq), South Egypt, South Lebanon, a piece of the West Bank for the small Christian community there (a strip of land around Bethlehem would be best) and probably several other Christian enclaves out of other Moslem nations.  It is just a fact that Christians cannot obtain peace and justice in Moslem lands – what the Moslems did in South Sudan was by far the worst, but in all Moslem lands the lives, freedom and property of the Christians are at the mercy of the least Moslem whim.

It is time to face up to the facts – civilized behavior towards “the other” is a long way off in Islam, and until that developes it is best that no non-Moslems be forced to endure Islamic rule.

Boehner Seeks Limited Budget Deal

Mark Noonan28 Comments

A statement from the Speaker:

Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes. I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase.

It does appear we are at an impasse – Democrats won’t go for a major package without tax hikes, while we can’t accept tax hikes.  Unless there was a cave-in by the GOP, this is pretty much what I expected.

Of course, it would be better if we didn’t agree to any increase in the debt limit – there would be scare stories aplenty if that happened and the markets would at least temporarily tank…but as the markets are due to tank, anyway, the actual economic effect would be minimal.  And I do believe that as on the morrow of no new debt the world did not end, people would shrug off the event and any hit we took in the polls would be short-lived – and the long term payoff would be immense as the people would absolutely trust us on the matter of the budget.

But, we don’t quite have that sort of Congress, yet.  We’ll have to work for one in 2012 – meanwhile, a mini-deal which actually cuts spending will be good for the country and good for us…and we can carry the fight in to next year, with the Democrats having to defend Big Government while we defend freedom.

Now, if we could only get the GOP leadership to make it a fight against Big Government and Big Corporation and really hang the rotten system on the Democrats, that would be wonderful…

Chances for Budget Deal Fade

Mark Noonan12 Comments

From the New York Times:

President Obama’s drive for a supersize budget deal was further complicated on Friday by the release of unexpectedly weak employment figures, which Republicans seized on to bolster their arguments against possible tax increases and Democrats said were reason to limit painful spending cuts…

If this does create an impasse then that will probably be for the best – no tax hikes can be contemplated, and massive spending cuts must be done.  This is the requirement of common sense in this – we’re bankrupt and we must not spend as much as we have been; meanwhile, our economy is teetering on the edge of a new recession and so we don’t dare put even the lightest additional burden on it.  If Democrats can’t see their way to clear to merely roll back spending to 2008 levels – all that would be required – then there is nothing to discuss.

We’ll see how this comes out, but it does appear that the Congressional GOP has discovered a back bone (or had one implanted by the TEA Party) and at the very least any deal which does come out will be defensible on conservative/libertarian grounds.

Betty Ford, RIP

Mark Noonan2 Comments

From ABC:

Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93.

In public, she was one of the most visible and outspoken first ladies in history. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity.

She was married to Gerald Ford for 58 years. Shortly after becoming president in 1974, Ford said, “I am indebted to no man and to only one woman, my dear wife.”

Ford died Friday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., ABC News has learned. Her cause of death was not immediately clear…

God rest her soul.

Obama’s Pennsylvania Troubles

Mark Noonan3 Comments

From Public Policy Polling:

Pennsylvania is looking more and more like it could be a tough hold for Barack Obama in 2012. His approval rating in the state continues to be under water at 46/48. More voters have expressed disapproval than happiness with Obama on all three polls PPP has done in the state so far in 2011. And even though Obama took Pennsylvania by 10 points in 2008 the best he can muster right now in a head to head match up with Mitt Romney is a tie…

It is best to still rate Pennsylvania as “Lean Democrat” for the 2012 campaign – it has been a reliably blue State in Presidential politics since 1992, so we have to assume that Obama will pull it out.  This is especially true given that Democrats absolutely control the Philadelphia area and are always willing to manufacture enough votes there to counter-balance the GOP elsewhere in the State.  On the other hand, the GOP controls the Pennsylvania governorship and legislature, and that will put a damper on Democrat ability to cheat…might get caught, you know?

One thing is certain, though, is that if Obama can’t win Pennsylvania then he can’t be re-elected President of the United States.  The GOP doesn’t need the State (we can get together 285 electoral votes just by winning the same States as Bush did in 2000 thanks to population growth in the red States…heck, we can even let Obama have New Hampshire and Colorado of the Bush 2000 States and still have 272), but Obama does…and if he loses it, it means that he is likely also losing New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin; in other words, for Obama to lose Pennsylvania means that he’s heading for a landslide loss.

And that is what this poll shows – Obama losing Pennsylvania.  But, don’t anyone get too excited about this.  Obama will spend a billion dollars and will leave no stone unturned to win in 2012.  It will be the hardest fought campaign in history and we can lose it, easily, if we screw up – especially if we screw up by thinking we’ve got it in the bag.  Fight, fight and then fight some more – that is what we have to do in 2012.