BloggeRhythms 6/30/2013

According to Wikiquote, the famous line, “insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results” has been variously attributed to Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Rita Mae Brown, and an old Chinese proverb.

 

It really doesn't matter to me who actually coined the phrase, though, I’m only interested in the point it makes, and today, particularly Charles Schumer. Because it never ceases to amaze me that he, and “insane”others like him, either don’t care about repeating horrendous mistakes or are simply too dense to grasp what they’re doing.

 

Fox News on-line this morning reported that, “In a bold prediction that immediately agitated Republicans, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, claimed Sunday that the House ultimately will pass the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill -- despite House Speaker John Boehner's claims to the contrary.”

 

Fox further says that Schumer “needled” the speaker during an interview on Fox News Sunday, claiming that Boehner will be pressured by the "dynamics" of the debate, saying “I believe that by the end of this year, the House will pass the Senate bill."

 

On the same show, South Carolina Republican Representative, Trey Gowdy, rejected Schumer's legislative prediction, stating, "The Senate bill is not going to pass in the House. It's not going to pass for myriad reasons."

 

I bring Schumer up because after forcing the disastrous, economy-busting health care tax on the nation, you’d think Democrats would learn from their horrendous errors and tread more carefully in the future. However, what you get is the complete and utter reverse.

 

As I noted yesterday, and repeated this morning by Representative Gowdy, “the Senate promises that their bill would offer legalization to illegal immigrants in the near-term while eventually building border security and immigration enforcement for employers.” 

 

Now, anyone with an iota of intellect knows from experience that once legalization of immigrants takes place, that’s all that matters to Dems. And whether or not  the border ever gets sealed is of no consequence to them whatsoever. Which is why Speaker Boehner has to make sure the Dem bill gets trashed and  properly rewritten.

 

But, in the end, today’s comments by Schumer should make Republicans feel quite secure in their position on the subject. Because as far as the senator goes, he’s never been correct about anything in his entire, vacuous life.

 

That's it for today folks

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/29/2013

After wasting a couple of weeks of time, huge sums of taxpayer’s bucks and accomplishing absolutely nothing on his overseas trips, I wonder where the incumbent will take off for next. Because since it seems his entire administration and party too, are blowing apart at the seams here at home, if I were him I’d want to be as far away from the debacle as possible too.

 

As I’ve suggested quite a few times, there’s just no way on Earth that a bureaucracy, especially one as bloated, inefficient and poorly run as currently, could possibly design, establish and manage even the simplest of systems. Which is why so many of their hare-brained schemes are imploding now, with far more trouble to come. Because the tax-paying public isn’t going to just sit still while the oafs at the helm try to bail themselves out of the gigantic disasters they’ve created.

 

For, example, as reported by Jonathan Strong, of National Review On-Line regarding immigration reform, “The single biggest criticism about the Senate bill is on its relatively toothless trigger structure. Almost all House Republicans say they want legislation that demonstrably enforces the law before legalization is given to millions of illegal immigrants. The Senate bill legalizes everyone at the start and then includes relatively soft triggers on enforcement in order for the path to citizenship to commence.

 

However, as bad as the bill appears now on the surface, just like the healthcare tax, it gets far, far worse when you learn the details. Because, according to The Weekly Standard’s, The Blog: “The Washington Examiner’s Phillip Klein reported recently: "Under Obamacare, businesses with over 50 workers that employ American citizens without offering them qualifying health insurance could be subject to fines of up to $3,000 per worker. But because newly legalized immigrants wouldn’t be eligible for subsidies on the Obamacare exchanges until after they become citizens – at least 13 years under the Senate bill – businesses could avoid such fines by hiring the new immigrants instead."

 

So, under this bill illegals will not only attain citizenship they don’t deserve in any way whatsoever, they’ll also steal jobs from real Americans to boot. Consequently, two absolutely inane pieces of legislation can now combine to further destroy law-abiding citizens who form the backbone of the nation.

 

And if that isn’t enough, Michael W. Chapman, of cnsnews.com writes about how it took a federal judge and his ruling to prevent another immense abuse of power that's contained in the new healthcare tax legislation, as follows:.

 

“Hobby Lobby, and sister company Mardel, are suing the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, arguing that to force the company to pay for health insurance that must offer abortion-inducing drugs, as well as sterilization and contraception, is a violation of its religious liberty.”

 

However, “In his order issued on Friday, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton said the “court concludes plaintiffs [Hobby Lobby] have made a sufficient showing to warrant the issuance of a temporary restraining order in the circumstances existing here."

 

After reading about the issue, I looked for further information and found an item in The New York Times  that states, ”After considering more than 400,000 comments, administration officials refused to budge on the basic principle. The rule, they said, is very similar to their proposal. An exemption is included for churches. But many Catholic hospitals, schools, universities and other religious institutions will have to take steps so that coverage is available to employees and their dependents.”

 

So, although the other categories are religion related, if they’re not specifically a church, their religious beliefs, tenets and values don’t mater a whit, Because the current administration doesn’t care a bit about anyone’s needs but their own.

 

But, then again, as I said at the start, the bureaucrats in power now are so dumb and inept it almost doesn’t mater what they try to do or enact. Because, little by little, piece by piece, their constantly growing piles of mistakes are doing them in like water dripping on a rock. But it will take far less time for them to dissolve as a rock would, because the drip’s becoming a tidal wave that’ll drown them as it should.  

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/28/2013

I just looked up Congress’s approval rating. According to, David Grant, a staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor it “has tanked to a historic low of 10 percent, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.” 

 

I was curious about the rating because, although the Senate’s loudly congratulating itself on passage of the new immigration law, I thought it extremely unjust and totally insulting to all those who’ve come here legally. Further believing that the law was based on political pandering, would do little to stem illegal entry, and worse, offers potential citizenship to lawbreakers deserving nothing more than jail terms or immediate deportation.

 

Fully realizing that Congress-folks tend to ignore truth's and reality, preferring to stroke each other’s backs while cloistered in D.C., I looked up Maricopa County Arizona’s Sheriff, Joe Arpaio to see what he had to say on the issue.

 

Appearing on Fox News on Monday, talking with Stuart Varney, he “scoffed at lawmakers’ attempts at showing that the border could be secured, saying that it would never happen - at least not without enforcing some immigration laws.”

 

The sheriff explained that “[Undocumented immigrants] are very, very innovative. You’ll never secure the border. To say you’re not going to enforce the illegal immigration laws in the interior and blame it on the border, that’s just a copout.”

 

He then suggested that if the nation’s leaders were really serious about securing the border, working with Mexico would be the best bet, and to, “Use the Mexican army, the federal police, work together and get it done. We should send the border patrol or some military over there to help the President of Mexico to work together and get the job done, if you’re really serious about it.”

 

And that’s why, we’ll all be better off if the House really does as promised and rejects the sham legislation, then puts something together with some teeth in it that finally addresses the problem correctly. 

 

Along similar lines of political double-talk, smoke-screens and falsehoods, an article on www.washingtontimes.com, exposes Dem attempts to fabricate misleading stories regarding how the IRS was used as a political weapon against Tea Party groups. 

 

In order to clarify his position, and be certain his words could not be used to distort facts, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, J. Russell George, said this week “that while some liberal groups were given extra scrutiny by the tax agency, they were not subjected to the same invasive queries as tea party groups — a finding that seems to confirm a political bias was at play.”

 

He sent a letter late Wednesday, released Thursday, saying that just 30 percent of groups with the word “progressive” in their name were put through special scrutiny for tax-exempt applications, but 100 percent of groups with “tea party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their name were subjected to invasive questioning.

 

In response, Representative Sam Johnson, Texas Republican, said. “The bottom line is that the IRS has been used as a political weapon, and that’s just outrageous.”

 

Now, as for myself, I’ve been writing about these issues for many months now, and it seems that finally perhaps Republicans might be waking up. And, for them, I think it’s extremely important, likely vital, to expose every iota of what’s been done to them. Because, by misusing and abusing the powers of incumbency, government agencies such as the Justices Department, IRS, EPA, FBI and a host of others have been enjoined to purposefully stifle, defuse, defeat and deflect political adversaries…and that just happens to be illegal.

 

Therefore perhaps, if committees such as Darrell Issa’s United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, don’t quit and keep on digging for facts and hard information, it’s possible the incumbent’s entire reelection might be subject to review and question. 

 

And although what I’m suggesting might sound ridiculous to many, and totally irrational, go back and check many of my previous entry’s. Because there’s a considerable number of them written long ago, finally coming to light about charlatans like Slick Willy, Hillary, Reid, Pelosi and certainly the incumbent himself.

 

All of which means that, when facing phonies, frauds and incompetents, whatever you do…don’t give up because with continued hard work, sooner or later, the truth will finally come out. And, in that event, who knows what might happen? 

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/27/2013

While gullible Dem’s continually buy the hype, smoke and bilge shoveled at them by their political leadership, the longer those leaders remain in office, the more underlying truths come out, exposing the self-serving frauds for what they really are.

 

In that regard, several more evidences of cronyism, deceit, fabrication and perhaps outright abuses of power, surfaced in the past few days.

 

Doug McKellar of Fox News on-line writes that, “For the second time in as many months, a senior IRS manager on Wednesday invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, fueling perceptions of an agency in  crisis.”

 

The article reports that, Greg Roseman, a Deputy IRS Director, “spearheaded the awarding of the IRS's  largest contract in history to a company owned by a close friend of his, an action that is prohibited under government contracting regulations.”

 

Braulio Castillo’s company, Strong Castle, Inc., won several contracts totaling almost $500 million for IRS IT services “in part on the basis of his friendship with Roseman and by qualifying for two minority programs that allow disadvantaged applicants a better chance of winning lucrative government contracts.”

 

But here’s the incredible part: “He won entrance into another minority set-aside program run by the Veterans Administration that gives disabled vets certain advantages in federal contracting. His disability? An ankle twisted during football at the US Military Academy Prep School 27 years ago.”

 

Then, another item, this one posted by Fox’s, John Roberts, says that, Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund manager, "warned the president not to "trade" action on greenhouse gases for approval of Keystone XL, prior to the incumbent’s pronouncement Tuesday that the pipeline would only be approved if it produced no net change in greenhouse gas emissions.” 

 

Steyer’s a “big Obama donor” who has launched a summer-long social media campaign "We Love Our Land," with a goal to kill Keystone and keep Canadian oil bottled up in the tar sands. He said, “We really cannot afford 40 to 50 years of development of a humongous oil reserve that's twice as bad -- soup to nuts -- as normal crude," at a gathering at the National Press Club. 

 

However, apparently critics have accused Steyer of hypocrisy, because as it turns out, “Twenty-seven years ago, he founded Farallon Capital, which built much of its wealth on shrewd investments in fossil fuels. Farallon made millions for its investors, and left Steyer with a net worth estimated by Forbes at $1.4 billion.”

 

But even more rapacious than that, “One of Farallon's biggest holdings is in U.S. pipeline company Kinder Morgan, which has plans to expand a major competitor to Keystone -- the TransMountain pipeline. It carries tar sands oil from Edmonton to British Columbia's west coast for export to Asia. If Kinder Morgan gets approval for the expansion, TransMountain would carry 900,000 barrels of tar sands oil every day.”

 

And Gee Whiz! what a surprise: “That's more than Keystone XL,” so who’s kidding who? 

 

Then, out of curiosity, while writing about the financially-based collusion between the incumbent and two wealthy friends and supporters, I looked up another: Warren Buffet. Because he certainly fits the mold perfectly of someone who’d sell his soul to the devil for another quarter, and here’s what I found that I should have already known.

 

According to Jim Efstathiou Jr. of Bloomberg on-line back on January 23, 2012: “Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.” 

 

According to Mr. Efstathiou, “With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.” 

 

Krista York-Wooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern, added, “Whatever people bring to us, we’re ready to haul. [So]  If Keystone XL “doesn’t happen, we’re here to haul.” 

 

And then, as a topper, the article states: “The rail option, though costlier, would lessen the environmental impact, such as a loss of wetlands and agricultural productivity, compared to the pipeline, according to the State Department analysis. Greenhouse gas emissions, however, would be worse.” Which means that by defeating Keystone to further enrich Buffet, the incumbent's not only deceiving the public, but completely ignoring his own rhetorical warnings. 

 

So, here we have something I’ve mentioned several times before, and did so again Tuesday, after the Incumbent’s declaration of war against totally fictional climate change. If you want to know what this administration’s all about, forget the politics because they don’t matter to him a whit. Skip the daily speeches and meaningless babble, canned platitudes and rhetoric too. Because all you really have to do, is follow the money like the old adage says. Because the White House runs just like Chicago, where the highest payoffs to those at the top always win, no matter the issue involved.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/26/2013

More bad news for the economy yesterday, as the incumbent announced he’s going to derail the coal mining industry in his one-man effort to curtail climate change. Further decreasing any potential obstructions to his goal immensely by implementing the annihilation though the EPA he controls, thereby bypassing Congress.   

 

The reason the decision is so devastating to the fragile economy is that while he promotes alternative energy sources to offset fossil fuel curbs, there aren’t any that work now, and none on the foreseeable horizon either.

At the same time, he took the opportunity to state for the umpteenth time that he’d remain against the Keystone pipeline until completely satisfied it was safe. And yet, his own State Department, among many others studying the pipeline’s structure, declared it satisfactory to them all several months ago.   

 

As a result of all these irrational postures, energy prices will rise significantly here, while the country’s competitive position versus other major nations -all of which believe global warming’s a farce- will suffer greatly as well. So, this is a triple-negative whammy.

Now, obviously, the incumbent’s decisions have little to do with climate at all but simply payback for the millions pumped into his campaign funds by global-warming activists and in thanks to ill-informed alarmists who piled on with them. Proof of those factors can easily be found by doing some basic research, which I’ve done several times in the past, and refreshed once more a few minutes ago.    

  

Among many others, an article by Julia A. Seymour, of mrc NewsBusters via Drudge, provided several key items, such as: “Just since Jan. 1, 2013, ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news programs have aired 92 stories about “climate change” or “global warming.” Not a single one of those stories mentioned the “warming plateau” reported even by The New York Times on June 10. The Times wrote, “The rise in the surface temperature of earth has been markedly slower over the last 15 years than in the 20 years before that. And that lull in warming has occurred even as greenhouse gases have accumulated in the atmosphere at a record pace.”

Ms. Seymour additionally noted that, “Sadly, the networks’ bias on climate change has been happening for decades. In 2007, BMI found that global warming proponents overwhelmingly outnumbered those with dissenting opinions. On average for every skeptic there were nearly 13 proponents featured. ABC did a slightly better job with a 7-to-1 ratio, while CBS's ratio was abysmal at nearly 38-to-1."

What I also found amusing was that the incumbent made his announcement during remarks at the Georgetown University commencement. 

 

Without any specific focus on Georgetown itself, but instead toward education in general, I thought using that venue for huckstering an invalid premise to be quite appropriate. 

 

Because not only are most campuses decidedly liberal in political thinking today, the quality of education, especially reading and comprehension, keep perpetually sinking at alarming rates. 

 

Consequently, there’s a very significant probability that most of the audience not only had no clue as to what the incumbent was talking about, but had no intellectual basis for disagreement either. Which is exactly what political theatrics, rhetoric orchestration and statistical manipulation are all about.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/25/2013

Watching Stuart Varney’s Fox Business show for a few minutes this morning, curious about what the markets would do after their recent huge losses, I caught a few moments of his interview with a female Dem supporter whose name I didn’t catch.

 

When Varney asked her what she thought about the incumbent's upcoming daily address today, this one to be about how he’s going to shut down the horrendously environmental-damaging coal industry, the woman excitedly answered how pleased she was, supporting him unequivocally and completely in his battle against “global-warming.”

 

When Varney then pointed out that the U.S. was the only major nation on Earth with an iota of interest in the subject, because no others believe it worth worrying about, the woman opined that the incumbent's that much better because the others, and their data, are obviously all wrong.

 

And that’s when I changed the channel, shaking my head because I simply can’t understand how even brain-dead sheep can be scammed so consistently and easily. Especially when there’s been no valid evidence of climate change of any kind for the past sixteen years according to government agencies themselves. And what’s even more upsetting to me is that I can’t find something worthless to sell them myself and at least make a couple of bucks. But, then again, that would be like stealing pencils from blind folk's cups.

 

Similarly, although the administration continues to abuse its power by overreaching into all aspects of life, yesterday the Supreme Court delivered a setback by striking down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, 5 to 4.

 

A cornerstone of the civil rights movement, helping dismantle decades of discriminatory voting restrictions in the South, the incumbent’s Justice Department used Section 5 of the law to block voter ID laws in Texas and South Carolina last year, and it also struck down early voting restrictions in five counties in Florida where minority voters are more likely than white voters to vote early in person.

 

So, here a law that existed without real opposition for more than 60 years, helping bring minorities into the voting mainstream, was used as a self-serving tool to the extent that it drew enough attention to cause reversal of otherwise highly laudable legislation. And while I ought to doubt any politicians can get lower than that, with these guys in office I'm quite certain they'll find ways to sink even more.

 

However, as each day goes by it becomes more obvious that the administration, and the incumbent in particular, are finally becoming exposed as the empty suits they’ve always been. But rather than using my own words to highlight the point, I’ll quote two other guys instead.

 

NBC Tonight Show host, Jay Leno said during his opening monologue yesterday, “President Obama got some good news today. The IRS ruled he can write off the first half of his second term as a total loss.”

 

And then, Mick Jagger, no less. at the Verizon Center in D.C. remarked, "I don't think President Obama is here tonight... But I'm sure he's listening in."

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/24/2013 Part 2 (See previous below)

While putting my thoughts together regarding the Texas economy, another issue arose that I think needs mention.

 

Ben Bernanke’s upcoming departure from the Fed, coupled with the likely curbing of QE3, the quantitative easing open-ended, bond purchasing program equaling $85 billion a month, caused the Dow average to drop about 500 points last week.

 

At the same time, applications for loans from homeowners dropped 15 percent as well, to the lowest level since November 2011, according to an index from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

 

I mention this because these events indicate that the already fragile economy is now significantly more susceptible to a downturn, especially with businesses fearful to hire due to the significantly rising costs and bureaucratic impediments caused by imminent new healthcare taxes.

 

So, what does the incumbent do in the face of this economy-crippling news? On Saturday he states that he’ll now introduce new greenhouse gas regulations that he hopes will drive the coal business out of existence. And if he does that, costs for electricity will rise as well, further strangling whatever hope for economic improvement still exist.

 

As a result, all three major stock indexes were down significantly again this morning, with the Dow losing another 200 points last time I looked.

 

Consequently, sitting back and thinking about the horrendous condition the nation’s in with the incumbent at the helm, it occurred to me that the U.S. prevailed in World War I against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Then it fought the same group, as well as Japan, in World War II, and won again, coming back and rebuilding both times to become bigger, better and stronger than ever. 

 

But now, today, there’s one guy in the White House who piece by piece, step by step is shredding our country all by himself. Pitting groups of citizens against each other, stamping out progress, penalizing those who oppose him in any way via a myriad of government departments that tax, fine and intimidate free marketeers and open-minded thinkers.

 

The reason I bring the preceding up now is, when writing about Texas and how successful it’s become by limiting government, lowering taxes and working hard to stay business and citizen friendly I can’t help but compare it to the exact opposite evidenced by the incumbent's administration which is an unequivocal total disaster by every conceivable measure there is.

 

And what I truly will never understand is how anyone on Earth can hate others success so much that he’ll ruin an entire nation just to make sure everyone else is as unhappy a failure as he obviously is.

 

That’s it again folks.

 

Adios 

BloggeRhythms 6/24/2013 Part 1 of 2

A  couple of governors are quite upset with Rick Perry of Texas who visited their states, inviting business operators and entrepreneurs to move to his more conducive location.

 

After reading about the especial discomfort Perry caused California’s Jerry Brown and Andrew Cuomo in New York, I looked up some Texas statistics to see why they were so distraught, and here’s what I found.  

 

In June 2012, Scott Cohn a CNBC Senior Correspondent wrote that, “Texas has done it again. The Lone Star State makes a triumphant return as America’s Top State for Business—its third time at the top of our rankings. In 2011,Texas had a gross state product of $1.332 trillion, the second highest in the U.S.”

 

Now, obviously, the state’s outstanding performance didn’t occur by magic, so I searched a couple of criteria that I felt might be keys to the state’s success.

 

First and foremost being governance, I found that “The Texas Legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days.”

 

So that means there aren’t huge bureaucracies overseeing every aspect of business operation, creating burdensome, nonsensical legislation, stifling growth, assessing penalties and fines or otherwise preventing success. Which is perhaps why, Texas’ Unemployment Rate is 6.50%.

 

In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Texan job creation has far outpaced the national average. The number of jobs in Texas has grown by a truly impressive 31.5 percent since 1995, compared with just 12 percent nationwide.”

 

While after the financial crisis Texas’ employment situation was less spectacular, the number of jobs growing just 2.4 percent from 2009 through 2011, that was still six times the anemic 0.4 percent growth rate of the overall American economy.

 

And, although the minimum wage varies from state to state as does the cost of living, California has the third-highest cost of living in the nation at 132 percent of the national average, behind Hawaii and New York. Texas has the second-lowest cost of living at 90 percent of the U.S. average. Factoring in the cost of living, California’s $8 minimum wage can buy $6.06 of goods and services while Texas $7.25 minimum wage can buy the equivalent of $8.04.

 

Then we come to taxes, where, according to the Tax Foundation: “Texan's state and local tax burdens are among the lowest in the nation, 7th lowest nationally, with state and local taxes costing $3,580 per capita, or 8.7% of resident incomes. Texas is one of only 7 states not to have a state income tax. The state sales tax rate, 6.25%, is, however, above the national medium.”

 

Putting this all together, as a sovereign country in 2012, Texas would be the 14th largest economy in the world

 

Which, I guess, is why Brown and Cuomo really don’t want folks like Rick Perry showing up, presenting figures and facts clearly demonstrating what happens when government steps back, leaves folks alone and watches while the unbridled economy grows by leaps and bounds, resulting in more revenue for all involved.

 

But, since parasites like Brown and Cuomo don’t know how to survive without leeching and bleeding others dry, the concept of rising tides raising all boats is lost on them, which is why their states are quickly going broke. But the saddest thing about it all is that California and New York could easily turn around, it’s not that hard to accomplish. However, the folks at the top won’t let that happen because their own political survival far outweighs what’s good for the public.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/23/2013

A couple of this morning's items made me realize that while trying to avoid repetition, some things really do call for additional emphasis.

 

In that regard, to set the premise I’ll begin with George Will’s thought in his recent Washington Post column that “The question of whether Barack Obama’s second term will be a failure was answered in the affirmative before his Berlin debacle, which has recast the question, which now is: Will this term be silly, even scary in its detachment from reality?”

 

As an example of “detachment from reality,” Will included the following comment wherein the incumbent “vowed energetic measures against global warming (“the global threat of our time”). The 16-year pause of this warming was not predicted by, and is not explained by, the climate models for which, in his strange understanding of respect for science, he has forsworn skepticism.”

 

So, despite the fact, as Will noted, that there’s been no scientific evidence of any kind of climate change for the past sixteen years, this morning Fox News.com reported that “President Obama said Saturday that scientists must design new fuels and energy sources to curb carbon pollution, part of a larger plan that he will announce next week that is expected to include efforts to regulate emissions from coal-fired power plants.  

 

The president says in an online video that his plan includes preparing the United States for the effects of such pollution, which has been connected to climate change, and leading other nations in such efforts.”

 

At the same time, although today’s oil extraction methods have proven to be environmentally safe, and the White House insists the State Department is making the decision independently, the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast is still being held up.

 

So, thanks to the incumbent’s continual pandering to supporters and lobbyists, billions more will be wasted on technologies to combat a totally fictional environmental threat, “climate-change,” while artificially increased fuel costs continue to curtail economic growth for absolutely no valid reason.

 

Consequently, the answer to George Will’s question: “Will this term be silly, even scary in its detachment from reality?” is a definitive “Yes” to both parts.

 

Then, not to be outdone in rampant Dem abuses of power, according to Matthew Boyle, of Breitbart.com via Drudge, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) have inserted a provision that amounts to little more than a handout to Las Vegas casinos into the repackaged immigration reform bill.”

 

Mr. Boyle writes that: “This provision, a brazen example of crony capitalism, was inserted into the immigration law enforcement section of the bill despite the fact that it has nothing whatsoever to do with "immigration" or "law enforcement."

 

Since the whole article’s worth reading, I’ve included a link: Reid, Heller Slip In Las Vegas Tourism Handout

 

In conclusion, I find it amazing that we have the so-called leader of the free world either living in some kind of bubble totally detached from reality or being somehow paid off by extremists to the extent that seeming demented is worth it.

 

And then we have the Senate majority leader who doesn’t even bother with double-talk, subterfuge or hyperbole, he’s just a flat-out, bought and paid for crook. But, then again, since prostitutes are perfectly legal in Las Vegas, he fits right in.

 

Nonetheless though, I’m very thankful for both of these poor excuses for humanity and look forward to each and every thing they do. Because finding subject matter isn’t easy and if they weren’t around, these pages would be blank. Because folks who do things correctly, ethically, and follow the rules are usually pretty boring and dull to write about.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/22/2013

Aside from the incumbent continuing to try taking personal credit for Ben Bernanke’s performance at the Fed, there really isn’t very much new going on. However, I guess the markets didn’t buy POTUS’s fabrication and must think Ben’s pretty important, because all three indexes slid hugely in the past two days, the Dow alone dropping about 500 points.

I think George Will summed up the sadness of the administration’s entire situation pretty succinctly the other day, when he wrote the following in his column in The Washington Post: “The question of whether Barack Obama’s second term will be a failure was answered in the affirmative before his Berlin debacle, which has recast the question, which now is: Will this term be silly, even scary in its detachment from reality?"  

And that brings me to another example of how confusing things at the top have become, because here’s something I found in the same publication on-line. 

According to Middle East coverage by The Washington Post, “Jordan’s prime minister says the country is hosting 900 U.S. military personnel to bolster its defense capabilities against potential threats from the Syrian civil war.”

The article goes on to report that: “The first Jordanian public official to speak publicly of the numbers of U.S. troops in the kingdom, Abdullah Ensour told reporters Saturday that 200 of the personnel were experts training for how to handle a chemical attack. 

 

He said the remaining 700 are manning a Patriot missile defense system and F-16 fighter jets which Washington deployed this month in case the Syrian war worsens. And that, “Jordan’s premier says country's hosting 900 US troops to boost security against Syrian threats.”

So, if I understand this correctly, after making Middle East withdrawal a cornerstone of his campaigns and then pulling us out of "Bush’s wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq, its okay now to deploy our troops in Jordan, whose numbers will logically increase if the situation escalates further.

And what makes even less sense to me is that if the same had been done two years ago in Syria, we’d have accomplished a victory long before the Russians had time to react, and making those now uprising elsewhere, such as Turkey, Egypt and Bahrain, perhaps think twice before proceeding.

Consequently, these scenarios bring me back once again to my continual quandary. Because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to grasp the fact that a street-corner political hack can exert so much control over world events. Especially when he’s got no background, experience, or first-hand knowledge of any kind supporting his decisions. Which I guess, explains why everything he’s involved in either doesn’t work right or absolutely makes no sense.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/21/2013

The way this administration works, a new scandal, deception, fraud or abuse of power occurs on every day that ends with a “y.” And since Thursdays meet the criteria, another fabrication was exposed today.

 

Fox News on-line published a story entitled: “Study: Gov’t losing billions on ‘inefficient’ tax subsidies that don’t curb climate change.” 

 

The article states that, “ As America's debt rises to unsustainable levels, the U.S. government is losing billions every year on energy tax subsidies that do little to combat climate change. That's according to a tough report released this week by the National Research Council. The non-partisan academic report, sponsored by the Treasury Department, concluded that current tax policies are a "poor tool" for addressing climate change -- and a costly one.”

 

The study found that, “energy subsidies in 2011 and 2012 cost $48 billion, with limited results. Very little if any GHG (greenhouse gas) reductions are achieved at substantial cost with these provisions," the report concluded.

 

But here’s the most important part: “The study did not look at all tax policies and their effect on emissions. But it looked at energy-sector provisions and said the most comprehensive study shows their "combined impact is less than 1 percent of total U.S. emissions."

 

Consequently, we’re all paying billions to foreigners for fuel, costing us jobs, strangling the economy and curbing economic growth because a handful of lobbying lunatics are more important to the incumbent than just about everyone else in the nation. So, perhaps that’s why he’d rather hang out in Europe and Africa, talking to himself, instead of facing the horrendous problems he’s created here. 

 

At the same time, also according to Fox, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it is dropping its longstanding plan to have independent scientists review its finding that hydraulic fracturing may be linked to groundwater pollution in central Wyoming.”

 

The EPA said, “We stand behind our work and the data, but recognize the state's commitment to further investigation. The EPA will let state officials carry on the investigation with the federal agency's support.”

 

As far as Wyoming officials are concerned, they’ve been skeptical about the theory that fracking played a role in the pollution at the location at all.

 

So, here we have another case where, obviously, the EPA has doubts about their prior decisions which they fear will backlash. If not, they certainly wouldn’t agree to permit others any chance to refute what they’ve adamantly claimed in the past. So here we have one more extremely expensive roadblock, purposely placed by the administration for no other reason than political pandering to obstructionists who have no valid case at all. 

 

And then finally for today, there’s the resurgence of focus on illegal immigration which is rapidly coming down to ideas and plans for strengthening border security. But, at the same time, there are several approaches being suggested for some sort of “amnesty” and path to citizenship for those already here. And, that’s the part that loses me.

 

As far as I can see, so long as the description for those aliens coming here outside the law includes the words “illegal,” I don’t understand why there’s any discussion about them at all. 

 

There’s been a process for foreigners coming here for many years and those who observe it are entitled to all that the law allows. But, any and all entering any other way, and permitted to stay, or worse, get a path to legality, not only makes all the rest  look like fools but also mocks any other kind of legislation as well. 

 

If people in this nation, illegal or not, can select which laws to abide and which to ignore…what does that say about the rest of our legislation? Can I go out tomorrow and rob a bank, ask for amnesty after I'm arrested and keep the money I heisted if I stay clean for the next thirteen years? And what if I want to jump the fence and put up a tent on the White House lawn, right near the rose garden so I can smell the flowers?

 

Or maybe I’ll just find Marco Rubio’s home, let myself in and spend some time in his den with the TV on. Since he says he’s on their side now and that illegals should be given a path to citizenship, I don’t see why he’d complain about somebody having no right to be there spending a few days, months or years on his couch simply because I decided to sneak in and stay there until my permanent residency in his bedroom was approved.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/20/2013

I guess we’re all getting a really big bang for the 100 million of our bucks the incumbent’s spending on his European and African trips with his family and entourages.

 

To give an estimated value at present, I compared his results to date to two former presidents.

 

On June 26, 1963, John F.Kennedy flew to West Berlin, then behind the Iron Curtain. His famous “Ich bin ein Berliner" speech drew 450,000 Germans who, according to Wikipedia, “immediately understood that he was telling "all free men, wherever they may live, America stood behind them.”

 

Then on June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan also spoke at the Brandenburg Gate in East Berlin, about 45,000 people hearing him deliver his famous line to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, "tear down this wall."

 

And then yesterday the incumbent showed up, which The Telegraph’s Nile Gardiner, Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator, covered in an article headed “Barack Obama bombs in Berlin.”

 

Niles reports that  it was “a weak, underwhelming address from a floundering president. 4,500 showed up to hear Barack Obama speak at the same location in Berlin. As The National Journal noted, “he didn’t come away with much, winning just a smattering of applause from a crowd that was one-hundredth the size of JFK’s.”

 

In the meanwhile, though, as the incumbent has lost whatever respect Europeans had when they bought the empty promises he hasn’t come close to delivering, other evidences of his destructive objectives keep appearing right here at home.

 

A major topic this morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box, is the huge stock sell-off caused by Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke’s, hinting yesterday that he may be leaving, which might lead to reduction or the end of accommodative monetary policies.

 

However, what I found most interesting is the obvious fear bankers and high-profile investors and money-marketers have for the present  administration in general. Because none are really willing to discuss the fact that our economy’s doing so poorly by presidential design.    

 

For example, John Stumpf, Chairman of Wells Fargo & Company talked about fundamental weaknesses of the past five years, citing that Fed investment was needed to help overcome things like the real estate downturn, the slowness of business rebuilding and weak employment. But, in his description he blamed market conditions, omitting damage done by higher taxes, environmental restrictions, abnormal costs of fuel, over-regulation, governmental interference and growth-inhibiting effects of upcoming healthcare taxes.

 

So, what this all boils down to is either purposeful denial of the real truths or preferring to avoid possible governmental retribution from disclosing facts. But, either way, whether its home or abroad, the bloom’s now long gone from the rose.

 

Because, when only a handful of folks show up in Berlin to hear more gibberish from the incumbent, or the major markets tank because the real driver behind the economy’s leaving, there’s very little doubt that more and more folks understand now that the duck's incurably lame and his party’s over.

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/19/2013

A few days ago I mentioned the incumbent's upcoming family jaunt to Africa, and how frivolous and selfish the $100 million expenditure appears. Especially when the nation’s debt’s $17 trillion dollars and sequester spending cuts have been purposely selected by the administration that will inflict the most pain on the public.

Then this morning, FoxNews.com quoted Representative. George Holding, North Carolina Republican as saying: “For the cost of this trip to Africa, you could have 1,350 weeks of White House tours. It is no secret that we need to rein in government spending, and the Obama administration has regularly and repeatedly shown a lack of judgment for when and where to make cuts. … The American people have had enough of the frivolous and careless spending.” 

 

In the same vein of senseless fiscal management and blatant misuse of taxpayer’s money, Stephen Ohlemacher of myway on-line wrote about Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa’s comment that "The IRS always claims to be short on resources. But it appears to have $70 million for union bonuses. And it appears to be making an extra effort to give the bonuses despite opportunities to renegotiate with the union and federal instruction to cease discretionary bonuses during sequestration. 

 

The IRS said it is negotiating with the union over the matter but did not dispute Grassley's claim that the bonuses are imminent.” 

 

So, here we have two overwhelming proofs of the old adage about government carelessly spending other people’s money, which has reached new all-time levels of gross mismanagement under the current administration. 

 

Then, on another aspect of the topic, two guests appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, also this morning. 

 

Guest host Ken Langone, venture capitalist, investment banker and financial backer of The Home Depot, and a former director of the New York Stock Exchange interviewed Martin Feldstein. “Marty’s”  an economist and the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He’s also president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research and served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economic Advisor to President Ronald Reagan. 

 

Both men feel that Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, has done a marvelous job helping guide the economy through the harsh  times of the past eight years. Originally appointed by ‘W” Bush, Mr. Bernanke’s apparently going to leave in January and return to Princeton University. 

 

In discussing the matter, trying to be polite, both Feldman and Langone were clearly upset and disgusted with the way the incumbent introduced the subject of the chairman’s upcoming departure. Because instead of giving the financial wizard the full credit deserved, he took a considerable amount for himself.

 

Therefore, what this demonstrates is that instead of showing appreciation for a job superbly done, the incumbent’s self-aggrandizement takes precedent once again. On the other hand, though, experts who really do understand where the accolades belong clearly demonstrated their knowledge of Chairman Bernanke’s accomplishments.

 

So, this is just one more case of the incumbent misleading the public, choosing undeserved self-praise instead of recognizing other’s achievements and putting politics and unearned successes to his "legacy" above all else.

 

However, the incumbent’s made so many poor decisions to date, while disrespecting or harming so many others, that it’s likely the cause of the rapid drop in his approval rating which according to Rasmussen’s daily poll shows that "48% of likely U.S. voters approve of President Obama's job performance. while 52% now disapprove."

 

Rasmussen’s numbers also indicate that "25% Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing as president and 40% Strongly Disapprove.” So, I guess, it looks like voters are finally getting fed up and facing the truth about the two-bit phony in the custom-tailored suit.

 

That's it for today folks.

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/18/2013

Looks like the incumbent’s outrageously expensive trip to Ireland produced pretty much what should be expected…zip, zero, nada. In fact, the very important face-to-face meeting with Soviet President Putin would probably have produced the same results had it been done in a long-distance call from the White House, at a cost of a couple of WATs line bucks or on a cheap pre-paid throw-away cell phone.  

 

According to Patrick Wintour of guardian.co.uk, via Drudge: “Hopes that the G8 summit would set out a clear route map to end the bloody civil war in Syria have been dashed after Vladimir Putin insisted he could not back a peace conference convened on the assumption that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, would step down.”

 

However, I doubt it matters very much as to what the soviet leader presented as an excuse for disagreement, there was little hope for cooperation whereas at this point, the whole world knows that with the incumbent at the helm the U.S. will no longer get involved beyond empty threats with no viable enforcement behind them.

 

In that regard, according to former U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton on Fox News this morning, the time for serious action was two years ago which would have changed the scenario in our favor. But the incumbent took a political route instead, pleasing his constituents by staying out. Consequently, Mr. Bolton thinks that right now is so late in the game, that no matter what we do it won’t really help the situation and any advantage we had was lost.

 

Along the same lines, and true to the Incumbent’s course, Mr. Wintour’s article further reports that after the Putin washout “Obama portrayed himself as a reluctant participant saying: We know what it's like to rush into a war in the Middle East without having thought it through," he said in obvious reference to the war in Iraq.”

 

So, no matter the situations, or where in the world they take place, the be all and end all for the incumbent is purely political regardless of what’s at stake. And just as it was with Slick Willy in office, I have to wonder what you need either of them for. Because all that matters to both is poll results. So why not let Rasmussen run the nation and shut down the executive branch completely, whereas it’s totally useless and far too costly when the nation’s $17 trillion underwater?

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios

BloggeRhythms 6/17/2013

As media coverage heats up, regarding use of the IRS to deter and delay political rivals as well as harassing members of the press via the Justice Department, it seems to me that the administration’s credibility and trustworthiness have completely evaporated. 

 

In thinking these situations through, as well as those mentioned yesterday involving the strangling of the economy, abandoning the Middle-East, cold-shouldering Israel,  bailing out businesses for political reasons and cronyism, spending billions on non-existent global warming, higher taxes, stifled business growth, socializing health care and increasing its costs, pushing the national debt to $17 trillion and using various agencies to stifle free markets, drastically curtailing economic growth, although immense damage has already been done, by its actions to date, the administration's gone well beyond the ordinarily lame duck stage, having no real influence left whatsoever.

And if that’s truly the case, as unprofessional, repulsive and selfish as the incumbent’s current activities are, for the type of person he is, they make significant sense. Because since he’s not believable, why bother to attempt swaying all but the densest among us with words? And since most previous decisions have been wrong, why waste time making new ones? Which brings us to leadership, which has never been shown, and therefore can’t possibly be missed at all. 

 

Therefore, taking the family and hitting the road overseas seems to be the perfect decision at this point, since there’s nothing to be gained by anyone by his hanging around here. 

 

But the trip to Ireland itself sets an example of how Dem’s in general regard their positions, responsibilities and constituents. Because it was Willy Clinton who showed his deep respect for the American people and their icon, the White House, while he abused Monica Lewinsky there, setting an example for all to live by. 

 

And now we have the incumbent leaving the economic destitution he created behind while according to Mark O'Regan, of Dublin’s Independent.ie via Drudge: “A mini army of Shelbourne Hotel staff were giving the front facade of the famous old building a final wipe down – as Gardaí (police force of the Republic of Ireland) and American Secret Service agents hovered in the background.

And an array of prototype American Secret Service officers – complete with dark suits sunglasses and ear pieces – discretely kept a watchful an eye on arrivals and departures. 

 

No expense has been spared in catering for the comforts of Mrs. Obama and her party. It is understood she will stay in the luxurious €2,500-a-night Princess Grace suite. 

 

It is understood a total of 30 rooms in the five-star, 265-bedroom hotel, have been booked for the visit of Mrs. Obama and her entourage. During their stay in Dublin, Mrs. Obama and her daughters will visit Trinity College where they will view the Book of Kells.”

 

So, at this point, and considering the state of our economy I guess the real question isn’t to wonder if the incumbent ever thinks before he acts, but instead to ponder if he ever thinks at all.

 

That's it for today folks.

 

Adios