Month: July 2011

The Debt Clock And Dangerous Delusions

The debt clock found at this site  at that time this sentence was written showed our national debt to be $14.553 trillion which equaled $46,659 per citizen and $130,108 per taxpayer.

It’s a perfect illustration as to the seriousness of the  ongoing debate in Washington and should explain why some strongly question the wisdom of taking on more debt — i.e. “raise the debt ceiling” — without a plan to quickly bring our budget in balance.

President Obama along with Harry Reid and the rest of the Senate Democrats are under the dangerous delusion that one can take on debt forever without an inevitable disastrous end.

Hopefully, they can be freed from it.

And with regard to dangerous delusions, hopefully Americans can be freed from the one that lets them believe that placing community activists and casino lawyers in positions of leadership can somehow not result in an inevitable disastrous end.

Lazy Media Gets “F” For Heat Wave Coverage

Lazy Media Gets “F” For Heat Wave Coverage

By Chris Freind


Gary Kirkpatrick runs Ned’s Bar in
Tahlequah, Ok. If you stopped in for a cold one recently, Gary
would have gladly given you the rundown of all things happening in that
part of the Sooner State. As home to the Cherokee nation, and sitting on
the boundary of the wild and scenic Ozark Mountains, Tahlequah is never
dull. With so much going on around him, Gary had lots to say.

But
there was one thing he didn’t mention: the weather. Which, come to
think of it, was amazing. Not just because he was one of the few who
didn’t get sucked into the nauseating, 24/7 news coverage of the
“nation’s heat wave,” but because, if anyone is entitled to blabber on
about the summer temperatures, it’s folks like Gary Kirkpatrick.

You
see, in Gary’s neck of the woods, it wasn’t 95 degrees for just a few
days like on the East Coast, spiking past 100 for several hours (with
the media hyping a “heat index” of 105, whatever the hell a heat index
is). It was a tad hotter.

As in, over 100 (real) degrees – for
over 30 straight days. That’s a solid month of topping the century mark.
And was there complaining? Few and far between.

Maybe that’s
because many mid-westerners still exhibit the salt-of-the-earth,
tough-as-nails pioneering spirit that built the nation. And maybe it’s
because East Coasters are getting increasingly soft.

But one
thing is certain: the media vastly over-sensationalized the story, to
the point where the heatwave was the only topic of conversation for
millions of Americans. Their scare tactics petrified seniors, made
parents of young children frantic, and otherwise consumed a nation,
forsaking many other far more important stories.

The media’s
abdication of all things related to doing its job has it fast
approaching the esteem level held for lawyers, politicians and the
cockroach –  with the cockroach being held in higher regard, of course.

You
could take any TV segment from a decade ago about summer heat and air
it today – and no one would know the difference. It is, quite literally,
the exact same storyline with the exact same verbage. The only thing
different is that the hype factor has increased exponentially.

And
it’s not just that the stories are mundane, but they’re produced in a
way that would offend a third-grader’s intelligence. That’s not to
suggest that they should appeal only to Ph.D’s, but come on… the
American people are not that stupid. They don’t require the media’s
condescending, dumbed-down approach, but in fact deserve solid and
relevant reporting.

“Place the metal fittings of the seatbelt
into the other, and tighten by pulling on the loose end of the strap.”
“Pour shampoo into wet hair. Lather. Rinse.” “When it’s hot, drink
plenty of liquids, don’t exert yourself outside, and seek air
conditioning.”

Really?

The airlines and shampoo companies
have those ridiculous instructions for liability reasons, since trial
lawyers (see “cockroach” category above) sue for every reason, even
inconceivable ones.

So what’s the media’s excuse? Let’s be
honest. If folks don’t know that they should avoid excessive heat, drink
water, and not resurrect a jogging regimen after 20 years (and 80
pounds ago) when the mercury hits 95, then nothing the media tells them
will make a bit of difference. Idiots will be idiots. But the vast
majority of people have common sense, so the ridiculous stories airing
nonstop serve no purpose.

And really, what do we expect? It’s
July in America. It gets hot. Philadelphia, Washington, and New York
routinely see temps in the mid to upper 90’s during this time. How is
that news? The fact it breaks a one-day record from a whopping five
years ago is newsworthy? And when it breaks 100, you’d think it was the
end of the world. Is there any real discernable difference between 96
and 100 anyway? Or 93 with high humidity versus 100 without it?

So
extensive was the media’s coverage that it took significant channel
surfing to find any details on the horrific massacre in Norway. In fact,
just a day after the shooting which left scores of children dead and a
government building in shambles, a national network dedicated less than
one minute to the story. And that was only after at least 12 minutes of
coverage dedicated solely to the heat.

Is it any wonder why so
many around the world view America disdainfully? Here we have a major
terror attack against a close ally (Norway has a military contingent in
Afghanistan, and has been threatened by al-Queda in the past), and the
identity of the perpetrator(s) and possible connections to other
terrorists had not been fully determined.

Yet we give those
tragic events nary any coverage, instead incessantly rolling the same
tape on something that happens every year — a hot spell during a
typical American summer.

Compare that to the outpouring of
support from overseas and their in-depth coverage of hurricanes hitting
America, the Alabama tornadoes, our flooding rivers— and terror
attacks, including the Oklahoma City bombing, to which many experts
likened the Norway attack.

The media has reinforced what so many
overseas already think: Americans are arrogant and self-absorbed, caring
not about the troubles of others. And that’s the biggest tragedy,
because the reality is so very different.

The American people, as
individuals, and their government (to a fault) comprise the most
generous nation the world has ever known. Money, logistics, care
packages, and yes, their prayers, are immediately sent around the globe
whenever a crisis erupts, with no expectation of payback. We do this not
for calculated future gain, but, trite as it sounds, because it’s
simply the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, the media
overshadows the true American spirit by ignoring the gripping stories of
the day in favor of recycled garbage that focuses on 1) things we
already know, and 2) things we cannot change.

In the same way
that we were treated to the Year of the Shark several summers ago (when
shark attacks were actually down), this has become the Summer of Record
Heat. Both are codespeak for media laziness.

The biggest irony is
that the media hasn’t changed its ways, content to sensationalize the
mundane while ignoring the real stories (READ: the ones which require an
honest day’s work), yet its ratings continue to plummet. Call me crazy,
but there might be a correlation there.

Sounds like a great story. Just don’t expect to see it on TV — or this column in many papers.


More Kudos For Pat Meehan

Freshman Congressman Pat Meehan  (R-Pa7) used the skills he honed as the Delaware County District Attorney who convicted John duPont and the U.S. Attorney who took down State Senator Vince Fumo to get a  hapless ATF bureaucrat to fess up that a whole lot of federal agencies were involved in a convoluted scheme to smuggle guns to Mexican drug cartels in the name of law enforcement.

The bureaucrat was William Newell who was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives’ special agent in charge of  Operation Fast and Furious which began in  October 2009 on the watch of Attorney General Eric Holder.

He told Meehan during a congressional hearing, Tuesday, July 26, that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, the Drug Enforcement Agency,  the Internal Revenue Service, and the FBI all knew about it.

At least the Washington bureaucrats who run those agencies.

Fast and Furious was allegedly a ‘sting’ operation in which the feds twisted the arms of gun dealers in Arizona to sell 1,800 firearms — most of which were AK-47 style semi-automatic rifles — to straw buyers for the drug cartels and which were allowed over the border to Mexico without the knowledge of the Mexican government or even U.S. agents in that country.

Newell could not explain how the United States would prosecute those drug cartel bosses in whose hands the weapons wound up.

It would be fodder for a sitcom except that a lot of innocent people were killed by those guns including U.S. law enforcement officers.

The Mexican government is not happy.

Some are saying that the real motivation behind Operation Fast and Furious was to make gun dealers and Second Amendment defenders look bad which would plough the ground for stricter gun control.

You are not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

Quick question: have you read about Meehan’s performance in any of his hometown media?

 

More Kudos For Pat Meehan

Pray For Obama: Psalm 109.8

Pray For Obama: Psalm 109.8 Courtesy of Mickey Rair

My wife and I were in slow-moving traffic the other day and we were stopped behind a car that had an unusual Obama bumper sticker on it.  It read: “Pray for Obama.  Psalm 109:8”.

When we got home my wife got out the Bible and opened it up to the scripture.  She started laughing & laughing.  Then she read it to me.  I couldn’t believe what it said.  I had a good laugh, too.

Psalm 109:8 ~ “Let his days be few and brief; and let others step forward  to replace him.”

At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look  it up — it is word for word!  Let us all bow our heads and pray.

Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN?

I’m A Hobbit

I’m A Hobbit — John McCain, yesterday, July 27,  quoted a dig at Tea Party members made in the Wall Street Journal saying:


The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would
somehow escape all blame. Then Democrats would have no choice but to
pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea-party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor.

This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP Senate nominees.”

I’m not one of the conservatives who hate John McCain. He showed sagacity in his push for “the surge” in Iraq and political courage in  his outspoken yet ignored warnings about the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac meltdowns.

But even leaving aside the obnoxious and pointless digs at a couple of decent women who were motivated by love of nation to enter the political arena at much personal cost to themselves, he and the Wall Street Journal are dead wrong.

It is not the “Republican House” that has failed to raise the debt ceiling. The Republicans who control America’s House of Representatives are more than willing to raise the debt ceiling. They have passed a plan that raises the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion to $16.7 trillion.

It was McCain’s fellow senators that voted to kill it.

And not raise the debt ceiling.

McCain’s fellow senators are unwilling to cut the gravy train to the government-connected, which it should be noted includes greedy rich things Goldman Sachs and General Motors. This is what motivates the Sharron Angles and Christine O’Donnells and the rest of us Hobbits to get politically involved.

You are a decent guy Senator and I do wish you were the president but you have your guns turned in the wrong direction.

And something else Senator, a Hobbit like Miss O’Donnell would never have caved into threats from Wall Street fat cats and vote for TARP a month before a presidential election.

 

I’m A Hobbit

In Praise Of Front Loading Washing Machines

Nina Yablok has a interesting article on PajamasMedia.Com in praise of front-loading washing machines particularly a Kenmore Model 4044 from Sears.

She notes that it uses much less water, heat and energy than a traditional top-loader and says that it will get out just about any stain.

Chris McNair, Greg Skrepenak And Trophy Hunting Feds

Chris McNair

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Harold Jackson, Sunday, wrote a moving piece regarding civil rights icon Chris McNair who at the age of 85 started serving a five year sentence in federal prison in June.

McNair was convicted of corruption charges in 2006 relating to gifts he accepted as a commissioner of Jefferson County, Ala. which includes the city of Birmingham. He had been out of office five years when the conviction was obtained.

McNair’s daughter Denise, age 11, was among those killed during the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham by members of the Ku Klux Klan. He overcame his anguish to become a community leader and an example of Christian forgiveness. He eventually obtained his political post during which he received almost $1 million from construction companies who would eventually win bids on a $3.2 billion sewer project.

While $410,000 of the money was in cash, some of it was for work related to building a memorial room for his daughter and expanding his photography studio.

McNair claims he thought the money was gifts from people who felt bad about what happened to his daughter and that it did not influence the way he voted.

Some will sneer at this. I’m not one of them.

I find it very believable that a popular and politically unsophisticated person can be tapped to waltz into office with eyes wide in wonder by the political bosses who safely hold the real power and get the real graft.

And I find it very believable that such a person would break laws without knowing it, which would mean he would not take the easy steps to cover his tail from an ambitious trophy-seeking federal headhunter that a true hack does instinctively.

In fact, what happened to McNair sounds a whole lot like what happened to former NFL lineman and Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.

Meanwhile the true hacks who get rich and powerful from sucking our blood while laughing at the law — the Barney Franks and Charles Rangels And Timothy Geithners — remain lionized and respected.

And when one does cross a line that can’t be ignored like Jeff Epstein, well, it’s two years of house arrest.

Jackson is calling for a presidential pardon for McNair so the man would not die in jail.  I wouldn’t go as far as a pardon but Obama certainly should commute his sentence to time served. He should do the same for Skrepenak too.

 

 Chris McNair, Greg Skrepenak And Trophy Hunting Feds

Inevitable Gold Standard?

Inevitable Gold Standard? — Reader TomC, who knows a little bit about banking, sent a link to this fascinating Barron’s piece  in which respected financial guru James Grant “promises” that the United States will soon be on a gold standard.

Grant says doing so will result in more scrutiny about government spending, as is now happening.

“We have a credit card and the gold standard would be our debit card,” he said.

Oh, and for those who spend too much time watching old media and hence fear a government default, Grant also says the “the U.S. Treasury market is pretty fine”

Inevitable Gold Standard?

Brother’s Keeper By Jim Waltzer

Brother’s Keeper By Jim Waltzer

By Jim Waltzer

The popular HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” which will soon present fresh episodes on the small screen, is based on the Atlantic City history of the same name by Nelson Johnson, a superior court judge in Atlantic City. Mr. Johnson compiled research from numerous interviews and archival written materials to produce the most complete and penetrating account of the seashore town’s political history. The TV series captures the spirit of those rollicking vintage days along the Boardwalk, admittedly embellishing fact with entertaining fiction.

My novel “Brother’s Keeper” (on Amazon and Barnes&Noble) shares some of that timeline, as it presents the racial conflict between a black dishwasher and a white man of means, wrapped around a quirky murder mystery. It was a time when the indigenous and seasonal African-American population in Atlantic City provided the services that kept the town running, and a time rich with the color of the Roaring 20s.

If you’re headed down the shore this summer, fix one eye on the towering casino-hotels, the other on Atlantic City’s past of ornate architecture and ruling racketeers. And ride at least one wave for me (and maybe a rolling chair, too).

 

Brother’s Keeper By Jim Waltzer

Pa. Toll Hike To Hit Commercial Haulers Hard

If you haven’t heard yet, Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls will rise 10 percent for cash customers in 2012.

The decision was made July 19 by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and announced two days later.

Those using E-ZPass will not see an increase.

Except for  commercial haulers. They will see a 15 percent increase as they will lose their 15 percent volume discount.

Exempted from the hike will be I-576 in the Pittsburgh area.

The money will be used to pay off bonds that were used for improvements to highways and mass transit systems.

OK, what does the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission have to do with mass transit systems?

Nevermind.

This will be the fourth straight year the Commission has raised rates. The hike is expected to transfer $23 million from citizens to the state.

Gov. Corbett had promised not to raise taxes. He is deluding himself that increasing the transportation costs by 15 percent for those who use the state’s turnpike system to haul our food, manufactured items and consumer goods is not a tax hike, and one that will ultimately be borne by the consumer.

What’s really pathetic is that if revenue is needed highway tolls are an extraordinarily inefficient means of getting it.

This study of the system in Washington State showed that collection costs were $22 for every $100 raised, which was 25 times greater than those of a gasoline tax.

Of course, raising tolls means less screaming from us pheasants than, say, raising the gas tax. The pain is much less immediate and the source of it much less obvious. This is something well understood to those who earn their well-buttered bread by plucking us.

And also ignored by toll-road phanboys are  the hidden costs. Aside from the smog-producing, gas-wasting slowdowns and snarls at the toll booths,  turnpikes are extraordinarily inefficient means of providing transportation.

Consider that in the 20-miles of the free part of I-476 between I-95 and the first toll booth at Plymouth Meeting there are 10 exits.  In the next 37 miles after the Plymouth Meeting interchanges there are three.

This means that there are a whole lot of drivers unnecessarily wasting time and gas on stop-light dotted roads than would be otherwise if our transportation planners were not strapped in considering the burden of  toll collection.