Big Dogs House

Maybe China Can Keep Him

Jun 7, 2009 General

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been quarantined in China after someone on the plane he was on had symptoms of Swine Flu (H1N1) so Nagin (as well as others) was quarantined.

Maybe if we are lucky the Chinese will keep him. That would be best for the people of New Orleans though China might regret keeping him.

But they will have a good spokesperson if a natural disaster strikes and affects a lot of Chinese. Nagin can go on TV and cry that they need Greyhound buses and blame George Bush for the disaster.

Source:
WDSU

Tags: china, new orleans, quarantine, ray nagin

Rights? What Rights?

May 29, 2009 Political

Oh boy- where to begin?  With Nancy Pelosi and China? With Liberals in general? With the apparently rapidly spreading ignorance of not only english, but definitions of these english words? Perhaps we should begin with the proper definition of the word “rights”.

Right(s)- In politics, implying preservation of existing, established order or of restoring former institutions.

I have to say, I was never aware that ecology of our planet was a right- an obligation, perhaps- but not a “right”.

Responsible caretaking of this planet was first mentioned in the Bible (yes, I know that just the mention that ecology was not the exclusive purview of Liberals just drives them NUTS), and done properly, is not only necessary, but desirable in the grand scheme of things, but to call this “green” ridiculousness a “right” is hyping on a scale that makes a fisherman’s stories sound real.

Nancy Pelosi has gone to China, not to chide them on their Human Rights record ( of which they could justifiably be chided indeed), but to inform them of the NEW right that they might not have been aware of (like those other, pesky rights they already ignore). This new one is a responsible path to a greener world, not the democracy thingie, not the “holding Tibet as a slave state” thingie either, despite the pictures she has of her and the Dalai Lama on her web site.

And for all of you who might think that she might be giving away state secrets by showing the Chinese the new ways to use plastic on one’s face, I am fairly sure they already know that one, although perhaps they use melamine- after all, as we have found out, the Chinese believe melamine is a food group.

The botox, well that might engender some interest, although I am fairly sure they already have “inscrutable” down to an art by now, although they might be just a little unsettled at not being able to see emotion on Pelosi’s face. The fact that she, or anyone from the States, could have the unmitigated gall to lecture them on their country’s behavior when ours is in such disarray, just has to leave them speechless. After all, their cars already get better mileage than ours, even though they use a different set of standards.

The average fuel economy of family vehicles in China is already higher than in the United States, mainly because cars in China tend to be considerably smaller than those in the United States — and are getting even smaller because of recent tax changes.

Cars with small fuel-sipping engines are now subject to a 1 percent sales tax, while sports cars and sport utility vehicles with the largest engines are subject to a 40 percent sales tax. Stricter fuel economy standards have won support from four interest groups within the Chinese government, said a Chinese government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.

n.y.times.com

As they say,their cars are smaller, but the main reason for this miserly usage of oil and gas is fear, because while they had been self- sufficient up ’til 1995, now they import 3/5 of all their oil, and they must do this on seas that are patrolled by the U.S. Navy.  Their navy is not as modern nor is it as large, so their xenophobic paranoia tends to kick in with regard to their energy needs. This doesn’t apply to the coal- fired reactors, for their supply of coal is vast, even though they tend to kill plenty of their citizens doing so.

Still, to have Nancy Pelosi even attempt to lecture them on responsible ethics, green or otherwise, is the height of hypocrisy, and behind their outwardly inscrutable faces, you can bet the farm that they are laughing their butts off. 

Since Barama has been elected, we, as a nation, have no street cred in this world. Is there a single instance of ANYTHING that Barama has gotten done in the international arena? Anything? Bueller? Bueller?

Sending Pelosi might have been effective at scaring their children on Halloween (if they celebrated Halloween), but she, and her message are non- starters. The Chinese will not take her seriously, although for politeness’ sake, they will nod and grin, and soon as she is gone, it will be business as usual.

And they can have a good laugh at her newest “right”.

Tags: Add new tag, china, ecology, Pelosi, rights

Personal Responsibility- What’s That?

May 20, 2009 Political

Movie history was made this week, as the Governator was slapped down regarding the ballot measures that would have allowed the California Budget to be “reduced” from a staggering 21.5 billion dollar deficit to a mere 15+ billion dollar deficit. Okay- this is where it gets a little strange, because if I have a -21 dollars in my pocket, I can just SAY I have a -15 dollars in my pocket. It’s all the same NOTHING that I have (or not, depending on whether you are Democrat or Republican, I guess) in my pocket. It’s all a shell game, performed unconvincingly by the politicians, first in California, and soon to come to a Capital Dome near you.

The measures, which would have prolonged tax increases, capped state spending, earmarked money for education and involved the state in a complex borrowing scheme against its lottery, were rejected by roughly 60 percent of those who voted. The failure of the measures, combined with falling revenues since the state passed its budget, leaves California with a $21 billion new hole to fill, while foreclosure rates and unemployment remain vexing problems here.
The Pols take non- money, and make more of the non- money to pay for these programs they want so desperately. It is no longer a question of whether the program is even worthy or not. There is just no money to pay for it, or any others either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/us/20vote.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

When regular folks run low on money, we all have to tighten our belts, but not so the politicians, as we can see. This continues a long and shameful tradition of “borrowing” from every source of money, including the Social Security program, which was never very robust, earning only around 1.5% per year as it was. Now, however, there is no money. Let me say this again.

THERE IS NO MONEY. All of this spending, all this stimulus, all this tarp money is just an illusion that the present government, as have all the past governments dearly wanted you to believe in.

Money has only so much buying power as the government’s word guarantees- and this one is writing checks with his mouth that noone can cash. That’s unfortunate, but true.

The Chinese, who had been buying our bonds, have ceased doing so, and Barama has been trying to get lines of credit at the nearest branch of Saudi Arabia with little luck.

I’ve got an idea- stop every new program, look at all other programs to see whose we can safely cut, and by the way, rescind all of those raises Congress hasn’t earned. Congressional employees are OUR employees, and I know I didn’t okay a raise- did you?

No new “green” programs until we know of a system that works- it’s way too expensive to go charging off in a direction that holds no true promise.

Health care needs to remain private, but I agree that access and affordability are key to the whole process. Cutting costs has to happen for the Insurance Industry, but one thing that needs to change is our habits. Use the insurance for when you need it not just for any old bruise or sprain- that is a part of the rise in costs. The insurance companies need to begin charging real world prices, and the most onerous part of the whole process, paperwork, needs to end.

I know that there will be those who will say that the government needs to regulate health care, but there is nothing government does well, and I wouldn’t expect them to begin now. If government governs best when it governs least, as Thomas Jefferson once said, government health care should be the smallest component of the whole process, and the least intrusive. If government could smooth the process, well and good, but government doesn’t do smooth very well. This would be a new dance for them.

I know Barama has all these really great ideas he wants to try out, but now is not the time to do this, and yet he goes right on ahead, oblivious to the fact that he is holding monoply money, for all the guaranteed value it really has right now.

Only when we institute fiscal responsibility, will we be truly able to do things socially that might or might not need to be done.

I have an idea- Why don’t ALL members of Congress- both parties, and the President too- turn their pockets inside out, just so that reminds them just how broke we really are.

Perhaps then they will get the picture.

Tags: bankrupt, california, china, health care

The Unpleasant Truth

May 5, 2009 Political

Well, if you had even a rudimentary brainstem, you had to see this coming- well, if you were not a liberal, you had to see this coming. The Chinese no longer want to buy our T-Bills, the government bonds that Barama has been borrowing against in order to pay for his little spending spree.

Addiction psychiatrists call what is happening, “Refresh the Joy”, by which they describe the urge of compulsive buying, usually seen in Lottery winners who constantly need to buy stuff to re- energize their pleasure. Sooner or later, they DO run out of money, or in Barama’s case, sugar daddies. This is the truth- there is no more money- the Chinese have cut up our credit card, and the Saudis are not far behind.

Barama went to the well too often, or to paraphrase Rhomboid Emmanuel, we’re gonna have to waste a few crises. There are no more people who will lend us any money, and truth be told, we have nothing that anyone wants right now- we no longer manufacture anything of any material value except cars, and we can see how well that is going. Our manufacturing base, the true base of any economy, has vanished over the years, leaving a hole you could pitch Al Sharpton through. No more good textiles, no more good steel, all of the manufacturing infrastructure has vanished- outsourced to the cheapest bidder- never a good outcome in the long run.

I could lay the blame at the feet of the unions, and they do deserve some of the blame, but NAFTA, and CAFTA, and the “Global Economy” that the last three Presidents have touted have done their dead- level best to wreak havoc on our economy. The minute that companies found that they could have a world full of workers they could get at starvation wages, they jumped at the chance to relocate to a less- taxed, less unionized, less worker overhead environment in a heartbeat.

You see, Corporations have no soul, except that of the CEO and Board of Directors, and to rely on their uncertain loyalty while the government and public cusses them and penalizes them and taxes them to within an inch of their life, only makes them relocate even faster. There is no national loyalty anymore, unfortunately- why should there be? Just loyalty to the bottom line, and as one market’s wages come up, these companies will relocate yet again to try and retain their market share.

So now Barama has no other option but to tax people- a lot- a lot of people, a lot of taxes, in order to just pay the vig, and he will. A lot. Oh, he’ll put on his unhappy face, so you know he feels your pain, but he will still do it- “Give ’til it Hurts” used to be a motto, and he will expect that of everyone he can get ahold of. Some companies have already skipped out- Haliburton, every liberal’s whipping boy, has relo’ed to Dubai, and I am sure there are others who saw the taxes on the wall, flung there by the Democratic Party.

I have to say, I have no good idea of how to get out of this situation, but I DO know it is not by spending more money. AIG could have, and should have been broken apart, and the various divisions sold- most of them were solid, it was only the division relegated to dealing with the sub prime loans that was the problem. It should have gone to bankruptcy re- organization, or written off as loss, and we the taxpayers would not have had to dole out 150 billion dollars.

GM, and Chrysler should have gone straight to bankruptcy- no bail out at all. The banks should stand or fall on their own. Sure some people would get hurt- but not the whole nation, as is the case now. Pain, even that felt financially, is a wonderful teacher- it teaches us that an economy based solely on spending is a hollow economy, rotten to the core, and we must somehow find our way back to being a producer of substance, because a true, solid economy is based on what a country can and does produce.

I saw this in a newspaper, and thought it worth passing along- There are about 40 million people in the U.S. over the age of fifty. The crisis would be solved if Barama gave each one of these over fifty people a million dollars, with three conditions attached: One- Quit your job- forty million job openings, job crisis solved. Two- pay off your mortgage, or buy a new home- housing crisis solved. Three- buy a new American car- forty million cars sold, auto crisis solved, all for less than Barama has used up until now.

I don’t know about you, but that would work for me, and it would have been faster than this garbage he’s trying now.

And THAT’S an Unpleasant Truth.

Tags: china, nafta, taxes, unions

Defense Cuts Will Lead To Disaster

Apr 1, 2009 Political

A Senate Democrat is warning of painful cuts in the Defense budget which should come as no surprise because Democrats love to cut Defense in order to funnel more money to social programs. We are fighting a war on two fronts (even if Democrats call it something else) and we are being threatened by scoundrels from around the world so now is definitely NOT the time to cut the Defense budget but cut they will.

This comes at a time when news reports indicate that China has developed a missile that is capable of destroying US Aircraft Carriers. The Chinese have not wasted time ramping up their military capabilities and they are certainly more of a threat now than they were in the past.

Now is not the time to cut Defense. There are wolves at the door and the guardians of freedom come from the people who depend on the Defense budget. In all reality, who else will defend us from the threats we face?

If you expect it to be Obama and his minions you are out of your mind.

It also won’t be those who benefit from increased spending on social programs. Unless, of course, we could make them serve in the military. That would allow them to earn money and actually give something back to this country.

Tags: aircraft carrier, china, defense, missiles, threats