That good, old Obama “Recovery” just keeps chugging along:

The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the industry overall eked out a profit of $914 million for the quarter, benefiting from a healing economy, but said the improvement was concentrated in the largest banks.

The largest banks, of course, got the taxpayer money – and the printed money. Everything is great for the Banksters thanks to their men at Treasury and the Fed. For the mid- and small-sized banks, not so good. A lot of reasons for this, but one which will be crushing – indeed, already is becoming crushing – is noted by Mish:

Over the next few years, a wave of commercial real estate loan failures could threaten America’s already-weakened financial system. The Congressional Oversight Panel is deeply concerned that commercial loan losses could jeopardize the stability of many banks, particularly the nation’s mid-size and smaller banks, and that as the damage spreads beyond individual banks that it will contribute to prolonged weakness throughout the economy.

One key take away is the huge numbers of banks at risk of failure…. There are 358 banks in the size of $1 to $10 billion with excessive CRE (Commercial Real Estate loan) concentrations. There are an additional 2,115 banks in the size of $100 million to $1 billion with excessive CRE concentrations. Only 1 of the top 20 banks (greater than $100 billion) has excessive CRE concentrations. However, because of size, that 1 is important as well.

Certainly not all of those banks will fail, but hundreds of them will. Moreover, of all the banks, a whopping 2,988 out of 8,108 have excessive CRE concentrations. With inadequate loan loss provisions…

As I’ve said – the “recovery” is all smoke and mirrors. Its a bunch of money printed up out of nowhere or borrowed from the Chinese and shoved through the largest financial institutions, thus making it appear they have returned to profitability. It isn’t happening. The actual economy – the part which makes, mines and grows things – continues to contract. Unemployment continues to spread – both in numbers and duration.

How long can the Powers That Be keep the ball in the air? I don’t know – could even be another year or two. But next week, next month or next year, the crash is coming. There is no way to avoid it – policy can only make it a bit better, or worse, than its already set to be. The party is over – the time of printing fake money and borrowing against the future is finished. It doesn’t work. It never worked. It was an idiot idea put together by people who never understood that the real economy is make up of tens of millions individual actions which are collectively smarter than even 1,000 gathered Nobel Prize winners in Economics.

If we balance our budget right away and cut taxes on wealth creation, we can avoid the worst of what is coming. Or we can continue to try and borrow and print our way out of this – and have a 20 year long recession, which at times will look like the Great Depression. The choice is ours – and our best means of affecting the outcome is this November.

Excellent description of Obama’s “new” health care plan:

House Minority Leader John Boehner swiftly dismissed a revised White House plan on reforming health care, assailing it as “the same massive government takeover of health care’’ approved late last year by the Senate and House.

The West Chester Republican said the plan outlined Monday, Feb. 22, by President Barack Obama “crippled the credibility’’ of a scheduled televised bipartisan meeting Thursday between Obama and congressional leaders at Blair House, just across the street from the White House…

…Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, criticized the Obama plan as “repackaged,’’ and complained that “rather than integrating common-sense solutions into a plan that all Americans can support, the White House is doubling down on their effort to create a government takeover of healthcare.”

My guess is that they are really believing their talking points about how Americans really do support it, or would if it wasn’t for that dastardly “Party of No” which has prevented the Democrats from benefiting from their overwhelming majority…hey, I didn’t say it had to make sense. Most liberal ideas don’t, ya know?

Anyways, we’ll see how this plays out – maybe I’m wrong and the majority really thinks that Obama and Co can figure out what’s best for everyone else. And maybe I’m wrong and you can borrow and print your way to prosperity. I may be wrong about a lot of things – if I am, then I and my party will be utterly crushed in November and beyond.

I’m not, however, making any plans on being crushed…

UPDATE: Are Democrats heading for the exits on ObamaCare?

Normally, IMAO is just for laughs (although very, very good laughs…and instructions on what to do with hippies) – but this is a bit serious:

Let’s propose an amendment to the Constitution:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

How many Democrats, RINOs, newscasters, liberal bloggers, Constitutional scholars, U.S. presidents, etc, would recognize it for what it is.

And how many would criticize it as dangerous? Or racist? Or something.

It would be a lot of fun and exceptionally instructive, if we did this.

And draws fire from the Civil Rights Commission:

We write to you in our individual capacities as members of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.[1] We understand that the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (the “Akaka proposal”) is about to be brought to a vote on the House floor. We also understand that the bill will be a substitute for the one considered by the Natural Resources Committee. The bill slated for a hasty House vote was apparently negotiated behind closed doors among Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, possibly the White House, and certain state officials, although those actually involved are unclear. Indeed, more changes were reportedly made over the weekend and released less than 48 hours prior to the expected House vote. The citizens of Hawaii, Members of the Committees on Natural Resources and the Judiciary, and any other experts will not have the normal opportunity to discuss or debate the revised provisions of the bill. Nor will members of the general public.

We wish to register our profound disappointment that a bill of this great importance would be dealt with in this manner. The creation of the largest tribal entity in the history of the nation – potentially 400,000 strong – is too important a step to take this lightly.

This bill is the result of political correctness and mult-cultural nonsense run wild. The alleged gripe is that Americans dared to participate in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy as prelude to Hawaii becoming free as part of the United States. This is considered a sin because, you know, if people of white skin color are involved in conflict with people of non-white skin color, then the motivation of the white people is purely racist – a least, so liberals believe. Mostly because they are terribly ignorant of just about everything to do with humanity. No thought is given by liberals to the fact that had the tiny white community in Hawaii not acted in accordance with the wishes of the non-white community, then the overthrow would not have worked.

Anyways – now in an act of pure racism, a separate government entity is to be set up in Hawaii just for people who can claim ancestry from people who were in Hawaii presumptively prior to 1893 – given the mixed-race nature of so many Hawaiians, this will mean that an untold number of people will sign up for whatever racial goodies they can, no matter how tenuous their connection to anyone who was living in Hawaii prior to the first Europeans showing up in the 18th century (which is the last time we can be sure there were nothing but full blooded Hawaiians living there).

Just another stupid idea which will cause trouble rather than solve problems.

Interesting:

In the first part of this little series we stated that every human being is a self owner and that all natural rights therefore are property rights. This part focuses on the question on how human beings survive in a sea of scarcity.

What do we mean by “sea of scarcity”?

Scarcity of things humans need to survive is the natural state on this earth. Food, clothing, shelter are all needed by every human being to survive and none of it is abundant. Food, which includes water as well, has to be acquired from nature in some way. We can get food either by gathering it, by hunting animals or by farming it. There is no other way…

Which is, of course, true and, equally, completely unrealized by liberals who think there is a Stuff Tree and some rich, old, white guy has it and thus has to be forced to “spread the wealth around”.

Best of luck to our European cousins on this.

Remembering the man without whom there wouldn’t be a United State of America:

Today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washington’s greatness was the rarest and the most needed. At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend.

Take, for example, Washington’s contribution to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Washington’s mere presence lent the undertaking and its handiwork the legitimacy that resulted in success. The convention’s first order of business was the election of a presiding officer. Washington was the delegates’ unanimous choice.

Read the whole thing.

Fox News has the breaking story.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been hospitalized with chest pains, Fox News confirms.

The 69-year-old Republican, who served as Vice President from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush, was said to be resting comfortably Monday at George Washington Hospital, Washington D.C.

“His doctors are evaluating the situation,” a statement from his office said.

We at Blogs For Victory offer our prayers for Dick Cheney’s health. We will keep you posted.

Geesh:

In the course of unveiling Obama’s new health reform proposal on a conference call with reporters this morning, White House advisers made it clearer than ever before: If the GOP filibusters health reform, Dems will move forward on their own and pass it via reconciliation.

The assertion, which is likely to spark an angry response from GOP leaders, ups the stakes in advance of the summit by essentially daring Republicans to try to block reform.

“The President expects and believes the American people deserve an up or down vote on health reform,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on the call.

Pfeiffer said no decision had been made how to proceed, pending the outcome of the summit. But he added that Obama’s proposal is designed to have “maximum flexibility to ensure that we can get an up or down vote if the opposition decides to take the extraordinary step of filibustering health reform.”

Translation: If the GOP doesn’t cooperate with us in any meaningful sense, we’re moving forward on our own.

Me: if I were GOP Senate leader, I’d say “once you Democrats get to 59 votes, I’ll provide the 60th to bring it to the floor. This is because I care about our republic and don’t want Democrats to destroy our protections just to get this dog of a bill through.” Trust me on this one – the amount of garbage Democrats will have to insert in to the bill to get the 59th vote will ensure it is toxic to the American people. They’ve put lipstick on a pig, tacked on a bit of populist nonsense about limiting insurance rate hikes (as if ObamaCare won’t increase costs and deny coverage even more) and hope to spin things that the GOP isn’t offering any alternatives (except for all the alternatives we’ve provided…) and thus Democrats are fighting for the little guy and other sorts of pure BS they’re always on about.

Once again – go ahead, Democrats: make my day.

Traveling back to Las Vegas today – so, have fun and I’ll have something later.

In a nutshell, as it relates to Cap and Trade:

…Unlike traditional commodities markets, which will eventually involve delivery to someone in physical form, the carbon market is based on lack of delivery of an invisible substance to no-one…

Fake products traded for what amounts, in the end, to taxpayer money – this is perfect for liberalism is it doesn’t require results and allows the richest of the rich to benefit the most, thus ensuring a continuing supply of fat grants to liberal groups.

What is wrong with America is terms of the economy has been our relentless destruction of the means of wealth creation – liberalism does this, on purpose, because people who create wealth tend to rock the boat, thus putting the liberal elite in danger. Cap and Trade is tailor made to kill off the remainder of the American economy while keeping rich liberals, rich. Its why they want it.