Blogs For Victory

From CNBC:

…A special index created by the Labor Department to measure the actual cost of living for Americans hit a record high in February, according to data released Thursday, surpassing the old high in July 2008. The Chained Consumer Price Index, released along with the more widely-watched CPI, increased 0.5 percent to 127.4, from 126.8 in January. In July 2008, just as the housing crisis was tightening its grip, the Chained Consumer Price Index hit its previous record of 126.9…

This is no surprise to most of us – we know as we buy our food, pump our gas and otherwise just live day to day that we’re being squeezed. My father-in-law hasn’t had an increase in his Social Security check in years…because Uncle Sam says prices haven’t risen. And by the official number, it hasn’t – but the CPI has been driven down by the collapse of home prices and, astoundingly, the main CPI number deliberately excludes food and energy prices.

If you are in the market for a house, this is good times for you – I recently saw a house which originally went for about $350,000.00 sell for $80,000.00 after foreclosure. But if you already own your home then you are highly likely to be “underwater” and, in addition, your pay has likely stayed pretty much the same for the past few years…meanwhile, the food, gas and clothing you buy has been steadily rising in price.

There are two reasons for this state of affairs. The fundamental problem is one of production – we here in America do not make, mine and grow enough of our own stuff. This makes us dependent on foreign supplies and thus we have little ability to keep prices down by ramping up production on our end. The second reason is, of course, the massive printing of money by the Federal Reserve. In order to bail out insolvent banks and keep stock prices high, Bernanke has printed up bags of money. And you should really let that sink in: in order to keep rich people rich, Bernanke has essentially been picking your pocket by way of the printing press. Every time he whistles up another bag of cash to bail out a bank, the money you have becomes worth less. Bernanke might as well pull a gun on you and demand your wallet – though we’ll never get anything as straightforward as that out of him. Amazing to think that the man at the head of our financial affairs falls lower in the honor stakes than a mugger.

Here’s the bad news – there are already rumors that after the latest round of “quantitative easing” is finished yet another will follow. Why? Because liberal economic theory seriously contends that printing money is helpful and, additionally, if Bernanke were to shut off the spigot, stocks would lose half their dollar value in a flash. Can’t have that, now can we?

From Rasmussen:

Just 22% of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level of confidence found since before President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009.

According to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, March 13, 72% of voters now say the country is heading down the wrong track, also at its highest level since before the inauguration…

I’d like to see an in-depth study of those who think we’re heading in the right direction…you’ve got to be a bailed-out bankster or some such to figure things are going well. Even if you believe that Obama is doing the right thing, no one fully conscious of the facts can be other than dismayed at the course of events.

This just says it all about President Obama and his entire Administration – from the Washington Times:

As a thank-you to its most famous customer, Amtrak is renaming the train station in Wilmington, Del., after stimulus “sheriff” Vice President Joseph R. Biden – after the project received $20 million in stimulus money and came in $5.7 million over the initial announced budget.

Spokesmen for Mr. Biden, who said he personally fought for stimulus money for Amtrak, didn’t respond to messages Wednesday or Thursday…

The only thing which says “waste” more than Amtrak, itself, is the absurdity of naming a station after a living man…and then going massively over budget on the project. One wonders – Biden is Catholic. I’ve heard he frequently prays the Rosary…for goodness sake, I can’t imagine how a Catholic could ever envision any set of circumstances which would allow him to sign off on something being named after himself while he lived. There’s a reason, you know, why the Church usually waits a very long time before proclaiming someone a saint…better to wait until all the evidence is in, you know? Biden might end up the greatest Vice President in American history…but a bit more than two years in to his term, its a bit premature to be building monuments to him.

This is what you wanted, however, my fellow Americans. A majority of you voted for precisely this. No backing out of it now – you are free to recover your honor in 2012 and vote to end this imbecile regime…but you’ll never get past the fact that, once upon a time, you really thought that Barack Obama and Joe Biden were the answers to America’s needs…

Ann Althouse got a nice, little missive from the gentle and caring liberals of Wisconsin. You can read the drivel here, if you like. I’d like to point out something to those liberals who are going on a tear and trying to scare us on the right in to silence.

No matter what you do, we’ll never stalk you. We won’t show up at your homes or places of work. We won’t try to make you look over your shoulder, wondering when an attack might occur. We won’t try to stop you from speaking your piece, no matter how nauseating it is. We won’t do all that because we’re Americans – and Americans don’t act like that.

On the other hand, if we are attacked, we will defend ourselves. This is no kidding. This isn’t bravado. This isn’t a threat – its a promise. You want to start a war then that’s fine. We’ll finish it.

UPDATE: At least one liberal gets it – and all honor to him.

But what will it actually amount to? From Reuters:

The United Nations authorised military action to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday, hours after he threatened to storm the rebel bastion of Benghazi overnight, showing “no mercy, no pity.”

“We will come, zenga, zenga. House by house, room by room,” he said in a radio address to the eastern city…

The French air force’s main bomber isn’t really such – its more of a fighter-bomber, the Mirage 2000N, capable of carrying a 14,000 lb bomb load and a range of less than 1,000 miles, and that with drop tanks which presumptively eat in to bomb load. In contrast, the American B-1 can carry 125,000 lbs of bombs for 3,400 miles. The French do have an aircraft carrier – just the one, the Charles de Gaulle, which comes in at 42,000 tonnes and has an air wing of 35 aircraft. In contrast, the USS George H. W. Bush is 102,000 tons (which is a bit different from “tonnes”, but the ship is still very much larger than the French ship) and has an air wing of 90 planes. Boiled down, I doubt the French have the capability of enforcing a no-fly zone – only the United States Navy and air force can make it happen…and thus far there seems to be no move by our government to take the immediate and rather brutal efforts which will be necessary to keep Gaddafi out of Benghazi (latest reports put his forces 60 miles away).

French, American or Bangladeshi, if anyone is going to stop Gaddafi they’ll have to get moving right quick…and that is where my doubt is: I don’t think our leaders really want Gaddafi out. I think they want stability – even if its the stability of the grave. I hope I’m wrong – I hope our President finds his backbone and is right now reviewing the military plans to take out the Libyan regime…but I’m not hopeful.

UPDATE: Over at Hot Air, Allahpundit notes a report that we’re working on military action in the next few days. Gaddafi is 60 miles from Benghazi – “a few days” puts him in the city. For crying out loud, if you’re going to go to war then go to war. We’re either entirely half-assed here, or my theory of “stability” is correct.

From Zero Hedge:

And from the relentless shock and awe happening abroad every single day, we briefly turn our attention to the total financial chaos domestically. Following the settlement of $67.6 billion in debt from last week’s auctions, the Treasury managed to raise its dangerously low cash to a level that will give Tim Geithner pocket change for another week, or $99.5 billion. Alas, the cash buffer came at a price: total debt increased from $14.166 trillion to $14.238 trillion. As a reminder, the debt ceiling is $14.294 trillion, so on a pure basis there is a $56 billion buffer or less than one’s week’s worth of auctions…

It goes on to note that with this, that and the other fiscal rabbits Timmy can pull out of the hat, we’ve got about 6 weeks of money in the Treasury at the moment. Boys and girls, the United States isn’t living paycheck to paycheck, we’re living from payday loan to payday loan…and goodness knows what will happen if, say, a revolutionary ferment or gigantic natural disaster out there dries up the cash of those who buy US bonds. We’re teetering on the brink of disaster – and the way out is for massive reductions in spending…just returning us back to FY 2008 levels of spending (hardly a tight fiscal year for the United States, you know) would ease the pressure. Returning us to 2004 levels of spending would balance the budget (and, once again, it wasn’t like we were being financially sober in 2004).

But, howls of pain arise in Democrat quarters if we even try a mere $60 billion in cuts… I do wonder if the people in DC (aside from a very few who are seeing things clearly) fully understand our condition? We are really out of money – we are just one bad natural disaster or one financial meltdown away from national default. Earthquake in California, Katrina-style hurricane in the Gulf, Chinese meltdown because of inflation and property bubble bursting…and that is it; there won’t be enough money in the world to buy the bonds we’ll need just to keep the lights on.

It was once observed that great empires and little minds go ill together…and here we are, facing bankruptcy and our President divides his time between golf and NCAA brackets…I feel a bit worried, these days.

From Eyeblast:

According to an eyewitness account:

This video was shot minutes after a union advocate destroyed several petitions at a recall Jim Holperin Rally in Merill, WI. The event was moved to the court house grounds because the private location originally slated to host the event was threatened with arson. It should be noted that police were present when the protestor destroyed these recall petitions, but stated to us that there was nothing they could do about it. The female protestor, who had a young child with her, approached the recall table pretending to be interested in signing the petition, then proceeded to write F— You! She then ripped up other completed petitions before being stopped. Her actions were met with great approval from the rest of the crowd…

No surprise. Heck, our Matt Margolis was roughed up by unions goons during the 2004 campaign. Meanwhile one kindly, new-toning liberal once opined that I should be strung up from a lamp post…with a meat hook. This is what fascism really looks like, good people – attempts to shut down debate, prevent votes and intimidate people in to silence. I know our liberals will go ballistic and insist that there is no similarity between modern liberalism and fascism…but that is simply because they’ve bought the age-old, Stalinist line (and, yes, they don’t even know whence it comes) that all on the left are “anti-fascist” (and, thus, they are the good guys). Those of us who are opposed to all that sort of nonsense can see it more clearly – today’s liberalism might be on a different branch from Mussolini, but they are very much on the same, poison tree.

The ultimate key to victory is to de-fund the left. All a public sector union amounts to is taxpayer funded street muscle for Big Government. A lot – and perhaps a majority – of the rank and file don’t realize it, but that is all they are. Hired guns for a corrupt Ruling Class determined to perpetuate itself. But if we can just get control for a short while and have leaders of courage, we can cut off the government funding…and then the liberal infrastructure will be mortally wounded. They are not capable of supporting themselves by their own efforts – even with all their billionaires, they don’t have the sinews to compete in a genuinely free market of ideas. Take away their ability to coerce at taxpayer expense and you take away their ability to ever win…and once beaten in that field, we’ll be able to beat them everywhere and restore American greatness (and, no, not greatness of power – I actually mean our moral greatness, long since vanished down the sewer where liberal gutter politics have brought us).

Its not just about green beer and corned beef:

…It was probably in the summer months of the year 433, that Patrick and his companions landed at the mouth of the Vantry River close by Wicklow Head. The Druids were at once in arms against him. But Patrick was not disheartened. The intrepid missionary resolved to search out a more friendly territory in which to enter on his mission. First of all, however, he would proceed towards Dalriada, where he had been a slave, to pay the price of ransom to his former master, and in exchange for the servitude and cruelty endured at his hands to impart to him the blessings and freedom of God’s children. He rested for some days at the islands off the Skerries coast, one of which still retains the name of Inis-Patrick, and he probably visited the adjoining mainland, which in olden times was known as Holm Patrick. Tradition fondly points out the impression of St. Patrick’s foot upon the hard rock — off the main shore, at the entrance to Skerries harbour. Continuing his course northwards he halted at the mouth of the River Boyne. A number of the natives there gathered around him and heard with joy in their own sweet tongue the glad tidings of Redemption. There too he performed his first miracle on Irish soil to confirm the honour due to the Blessed Virgin, and the Divine birth of our Saviour. Leaving one of his companions to continue the work of instruction so auspiciously begun, he hastened forward to Strangford Loughand there quitting his boat continued his journey over land towards Slemish. He had not proceeded far when a chieftain, named Dichu, appeared on the scene to prevent his further advance. He drew his sword to smite the saint, but his arm became rigid as a statue and continued so until he declared himself obedient to Patrick. Overcome by the saint’s meekness and miracles, Dichu asked for instruction and made a gift of a large sabhall (barn), in which the sacred mysteries were offered up. This was the first sanctuary dedicated by St. Patrick in Erin. It became in later years a chosen retreat of the saint. A monastery and church were erected there, and the hallowed site retains the name Sabhall (pronounced Saul) to the present day. Continuing his journey towards Slemish, the saint was struck with horror on seeing at a distance the fort of his old master Milchu enveloped in flames. The fame of Patrick’s marvelous power of miracles preceeded him. Milchu, in a fit of frenzy, gathered his treasures into his mansion and setting it on fire, cast himself into the flames. An ancient record adds: “His pride could not endure the thought of being vanquished by his former slave”…

You just can’t out-poetic the Irish…nor can one ever doubt the power of a man who has turned his life over to God. St. Patrick really can be credited with the conversion of a nation – and not just conversion, but the civilizing of a nation. So stout was the seed St. Patrick planted that formerly barbarous Ireland – which had never been under Roman rule – was to send out missionaries and educators to England and France after they had fallen very low.

So, go out and have a beer today and enjoy the fact that everyone gets to be Irish for a day…but remember that the start of the whole thing was a man, once a slave, returning voluntarily to his tormentors to bring them the blessings of Christ.

And it’s name is “Stability”. From France 24:

Muammar Gaddafi’s forces pushed towards the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Wednesday and his government predicted victory within days while world powers debated imposing a no-fly zone to help stop him.

Foreign powers condemn the crackdown but show little appetite for action to support an uprising that was inspired by pro-democracy rebellions that toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents. A Gaddafi victory and a crackdown on protests in Bahrain could turn the tide in the region against pro-democracy movements…

…German Ambassador Peter Wittig told reporters after the meeting his country still had queries.

“We raised questions we felt are still not fully answered, as to the Arab participation in such a measure, as to whether the implementation of such a zone would run counter to the intention of the Arab League itself, the Arab League having pointed out that there should be no foreign intervention,” Wittig said…

My view: the leaders of the world, especially of the West, have decided that some thousands of murdered Libyans are worth it if we can get calm in the oil producing States. Its a cold calculation – if revolution spreads oil prices will skyrocket pushing the West in to recession…and that risks the careers of politicians. For the German ruling party it is a matter of State elections through the rest of the year with the ruling party skidding in the polls. For the Brits its Cameron’s minority government which can be forced to call a new election just about any time. For the United States, our President has to face the electoral music in 2012 and can’t afford another dive in the US economy.

All this talk of consulting and trying to figure out is just so much talking the matter to death until the Libyan rebels are crushed and then killed or exiled. It is very reminiscent of the stance the Western powers took during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930’s…just leave it alone, don’t intervene and hope one side loses swiftly before it becomes troublesome. This just rankles with me – people are dying, a tyrant is triumphant and all the power and wealth of the United States and the Western world is sitting idle, doing nothing.

For goodness sake, do they have any sense of honor, at all?

From her Facebook page:

The evidence of the President’s anti-drilling mentality and his culpability in the high gas prices hurting Americans is there for all to see…

…Guided by politics and pure emotion following the Gulf spill instead of peer-reviewed science or defensible law, the President used the power of his executive order to impose a deepwater drilling moratorium. The Administration even ignored a court order halting his moratorium. And what is the net result of the President’s (in)actions? A large drilling company was forced to declare bankruptcy, the economy of the region has been hobbled, and at least 7 rigs moved out of the Gulf area to other parts of the world while many others remain idle. Is it any surprise that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to fall by 240,000 bbl/d in 2011 alone?

But that’s just the Gulf. There’s also the question of a moratorium on the development of Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf. It seems the Obama Administration can’t agree with itself on whether it imposed a moratorium there or not. The White House claims that they didn’t, but their own Department of the Interior let slip that they did. To clear up this mess, Gov. Parnell decided to sue the DOI to get a solid answer because such a federal OCS drilling moratorium would violate federal law…

Some are expecting the recent drop in oil prices will result in lower gasoline prices – perhaps, but only temporarily. First off, the summer season approaches when insane, government regulations require a different and more expensive formulation of gasoline be used in the United States. Secondly, with a number of Japanese oil refineries out of action at least for a while, there will be rising demand on other refineries, pushing up the price of gasoline even if the price of oil eases. Finally, the turmoil in the Middle East is not likely to end soon – Saudi Arabia managed to put a lid on it, but we must expect that the wave of revolution will continue, putting upward pressure on oil prices as time goes on.

The United States cannot, perhaps, become oil independent (though with a dearth of exploration in recent decades, we really don’t know, for certain…but the amount of oil we’re finding in the Dakotas indicates that there might be quite a lot of it in American territory that we don’t know about), but we can at the very least substantially reduce our imports. And we can also greatly reduce supply swings at the consumer level by building enough refining capacity to ensure that there is sufficient slack to meet all emergency demands.

The energy policy of the Obama Administration seems to be clearly in line with his goals stated as a candidate – he wants prices to rise very high. This is because only by placing a crushing financial burden on the American people will the “green” alternative become palatable. We’re being social-engineered – and the worst part of it is that Obama’s “permatorium” on offshore drilling is illegal…yet another examples of the lawlessness of the Obama Administration.

2012 can’t come fast enough.