RUH-ROO......
Ya can please some of the people.....etc......
Jules Crittenden tells the tale.....Duke
Grillin The Legislators? - Why Not!
Frank Beckman has this interesting look at the auto maker crisis.He is right, of course. However, that being said there is only one way to "grill" our legislators...with a vote for or against them. Unfortunately, as long as we continue electing and re-electing the Jeffersons and Murthas to office we will get the same results in how poorly our Congress and Senate perform.
Duke
Auto Bailout Would COST not SAVE Jobs!
Jim Lindgren
details his theory.I buy in to this. We, as a country dealing with the current financial problems, seem to have a knack for micro-managing or micro-viewing the problems as separate for each industry or financial sector. It just ain't so! They are all tied together.
An auto bailout, apparently nearing the death level for now, will only perpetuate the losses and eventually cause more job losses elsewhere.
That being said, once the new More-Democratic Senate and Congress are seated, this monster will probably pop up again....this time with big labor and their buddies the DEMs having a much better chance of passage.
Damn shame if it does pass.
Duke
Obama Voters Did Not Know Him!
This should be no surprise....given the media tank for Obama. Most of his supporters cannot identify his positions/statements.
In a special poll by Zogby, the results
SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT VOTERS KNOWLEDGE!er....lack thereof!
Media direction, misdirection, and blatant bias are known quantities. The results are also now known!
Duke
We Have To Support Buggy Whips! - WHOOEY!
Updates Below!!!GM, the current day "purveyor of buggy-whips" is a dinosaur supporting the huge boondoggle of extravagant union programs, massive governmental interventions, and more...all on products no longer accepted by most Americans.
Michael E. Levine expands on the reasons GM bankruptcy IS the answer!Meanwhile, of course, the unions are trying to blame the failing of the automaker on the economy, and anything other than their bloated benefits package which far outstrips any paid to similar workers in Toyota factories.
Time to bite the bullet and free us from union idiocy....not give them the open vote so more and more firms can be lost to unions.
Perhaps we may finally have a GOP issue on which they can begin to regain traction with the electorate!
Duke
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin also sees this as a line-in-the-sand moment for the GOP!UPDATE II: Neal Boortz is also on the case this morning with his explanation of why GM/FORD need to face bankruptcy: "The Democrats also want to limit executive pay ... but what about the over-inflated pay of the workers at these auto companies, thanks to union contracts. I've told you this statistic before, but $1,600 of every GM car you buy goes toward the healthcare costs of union workers. For companies like Toyota that aren't unionized - that cost is only $200 per car. GM also spends another $1,000 per vehicle on holiday pay, work rules, plant-shutdown-pay and line-relief to UAW workers. Those are costs that auto makers such as Toyota don't have to worry about. The average Ford, GM or Chrysler union worker makes about $71.00 or more per hour. For Toyota, Nissan and the rest ... about $48.00 per year. Do you detect a small problem here?If the Democrats are truly concerned about "restructuring company finances" they should start with union contracts. What is clear from this situation is that these companies can no longer handle the burden of unionization ... so why should the Democrats allow this practice to continue if they succeed with their bailout? It will be the taxpayers funding the system that broke these auto companies to begin with."His entire piece is available at
Neal's blog....
"How The GOP Lost My Vote!"
Dr. Paul Hsieh writes;
"...I didn't vote for a single Republican in 2008. I've become increasingly alienated by the Republicans" embrace of the religious "social conservative" agenda, including attempts to ban abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and gay marriage."His entire post:
Is a GREAT READ!Much is made of the sad, sad record of Bush and the GOP on spending and pork. Much is also made of abandoning the conservative values. Both may play a part, however, there is a good bit more meat on the above ideas. For my part the many GOP things I did not side with included exactly what Hsieh lists.
In actual fact the only real reason any of this matters is because not having a handle on the problem will simply cause the GOP losses to continue unabated in 2010 and 2012, or at the very least to keep the Congress where it is with no practical Republican gains back toward a balance..
Now is the time for soul-searching....and removal of all GOP Congressional leadership is most necessary if we wish to change anything. Those now in power will not change their spots...despite any words they might utter to the opposite.
Duke
What Evere Happened To GLOBAL WARMING????
Could it Be A FREEZE-OUT?Notice how the Antique Media (MSM) are completely ignoring ANY mention of Global Warming these days?
I do!
He He
Duke
A Lone Clear Voice of Reason Cries Out!
S. Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is that lone voice....
His message is completely refreshing!Democrats and Republicans alike are falling all over themselves to bury this country in more debt via bailouts/handouts/et al.
Why-o-why are not more joining with Sanford? One would think that, given the depth of losses in 2006-08 the GOP section would be finding firm footing on a new place, and that place should be fiscal conservatism.
Reagan politics are gone as the GOP instead tries desperately to be DEM Lite.
Pathetic, and blind.
Duke
OMG! - (Oh-My-God!)
Now we have the BIG THREE automakers asking for "relief"....
We, as a nation are being asked to provide funds to bailout those automakers who cannot
(basically because of U-N-I-O-N problems) compete on the stage of the international competition.......
If we do so, and there is a HUGE possibility we will, then we are dolts...inepts, idiots, and headed for the fall of our great experiment in democracy!
Those who fail in business do so with the knowledge that they are risking something...They KNOW they are at risk...they play their cards, and they try....
IF THEY FAIL, they do so because the public does not buy their product.WHY should you and I pay for the stupid decisions of MO-Town??????
WHY should we believe IF we give them $ they will cure A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G????They have not indicated they will change; just that they wish us to
BAIL THEM OUT!Stupid is as stupid does.....Damn!Duke
If We're ALL So Biased, Then How Come BHO is President-Elect?
Man there is a question worth exploring.....
Good thing
John Tierney is doing JUST THAT!The facts are.....
But the prognosticators L-I-E!
Boy-O-Boy do they!
Duke
Rollin On The River......
Tomorrow Duchess and I, along with another couple, depart Tampa for DeLand, FL where we have rented a houseboat for a week of fun, fishin, good wines, and perhaps a scotch or two.
If I have a signal on my laptop card I'll be posting pics and stories at my travel blog...
& Then I Bought An RV!Blogging here might be a bit light....
Duke
Of Course We Were Biased.....So What?
Now the parade of self-recognitions can safely begin. Obama is elected.
Ed Hennessy covers the WaPo's Mea Culpa....As Ed said, and as was predicted by numbers of others, now the media will mostly come clean. Their job is done. Then they will hope fervently that the admission will clear them.
HELL NO!They signed their liberal death warrants following years of un-admitted bias by becoming so one-sided in this election as to be pathetic.
The MSM is Dead........Long may they stay that way!
Duke
Post Election Stock Market Worst Ever!
It is official....the three day stock market action following election of Obama was a doozy.
Reuters.com has details.The only significant NASDAQ challenge to these numbers was following the Bush-Gore election with things still undecided. Even then the DOW was less than half the fall this week.
Of course, it can be traced in part to the economy generally, and some business news during the three days. However, it seems unchallenged that at least a good portion of the loss was due a public less-than-enchanted over Obama's business experience and acumen!
Duke
NOTE: Cross-posted at my new blog
& Then We Elected Obama.
& Now It Begins!
The MSM (read ANTIQUE MEDIA) are already making sweeping changes. Out with the old, in with the new.....
UNFORTUNATELY these sweeping changes are in rhetoric......Orin Kerr at Volokh Conspiracy tells it like it is....
"Mandate for Me But Not for Thee: People for the American Way Press Release in 2008, after Democratic President Elect Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain by a 53-46 margin: Looking at yesterday’s results, it’s incontrovertible that the election delivered a sweeping mandate for President-elect Obama . . .People for the American Way Press Release in 2005, after Republican President George W. Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry by a 51-48 margin: Clearly, President Bush, who won a narrow victory and leads a divided nation, has no mandate . . . A 53-46 margin isn't exactly the same as a 51-48 margin. But still, I think I see a pattern. UDPATE: Some commenters seem to believe this post is unfair, because everybody is prone to this sort of hyperbole — especially advocacy groups. To be clear, the point of the post is just that: This was just an early example of the shift in arguments that we're all supposed to make now that the Presidency is set to change. Also, a few readers argue that there really is a dramatic difference between the two election outcomes. First, some readers argue that the test for whether there is a "mandate from the people" is electoral college outcome, not the popular vote; I respond to that here. Second, some argue that a doubling of the size of the gap is really dramatic; the difficulty is that if you look historically at the differences, the two sets of outcomes are not so far from each other; the doubling of a small number is still relatively small given the range of outcomes in elections. Of course, Obama won soundly, especially at the electoral college; it wasn't a close election. But I don't think the difference justifies the rhetoric of the press releases, which was the point of the post."And thus the MSM totters off to find GREAT things in a new LIBERAL, Democratic President-Elect's results....as opposed to the GOP results of 2004.
Do you see any bias; I don't see any Bias......
Damn!
Duke
O-M-G!!!!
Today is the day-after-the-election & already the hounds are loose......
Will Palin carry the mantle for 2012 for the GOP?
Will Obama fail since he promised sooooo much to soooo many, and now has to face the reality of the economy?????
Can we P-L-E-A-S-E have a few weeks of political silence?????
I am tired of politics.
Oh well, I have the perfect cure......
Duchess and I, plus another couple, will be aboard a 45 foot houseboat next week for a slow, relaxed fishing cruise on the St. John's River out of DeLand, Florida (my family name)....
I am excited about the diversion and the potential lack of communication.
Duke
The Future....
Well, the voters have spoken.
Now Neal Boortz lays it out as to what we can expect:
"
WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO The end of the secret ballot in union elections
A return of the Fairness Doctrine
A tax code punishing the wealthy, businesses, entrepreneurs, achievers
More federal government in government schools
Universal healthcare
Cap-and-trade policies on coal (no nuclear power, no drilling)
Supreme Court justices who favor a vaporous idea of "fairness" over the Constitution
The security of our nation and our allies (particularly Israel)"
This is going to be a really bad four years, and at the end we will have lost lots of our freedoms and much more.
Sad day.
Duke
I Can!
SORRY.....
I said I could not post again on this election.....
I was wrong.
I can and I will post for the election.
I am ashamed that this nation will apparently elect Obama President.
I am much more afraid of the resulting decisions of "The One" for the future of this country.
Let us hope i am paranoid....but we shall find I am not.....
Duke
I Cannot!
I simply cannot write anything, anymore on this election.
It is so very, very perverse as to be idiotic......
We are on a lose-lose track of non-productive voting/electing.
"The One" will be the
anointed and he will do as he pleases....and he will provide the fodder of liberal socialist illumination......
WE will pay higher taxes.....WE will find jobs
dissolving....We will find the term "employable" beyond our scope of knowledge.....
Unemployment of 10%.....easily achieved......
I hate this, and hope for the positive which will NOT occur!
Duke
JUST IN CASE!!!!
While still holding out hope......
I have created
& Then We Elected Obama so that, in the event we elect him, I can trace the twists, turns and wrong-headed decisions to follow.....vis-a-vis Jimmah Carter!
As I note in my 1st post in the new location, I sincerely hope that election night...or the next morning...I can simply kill the new blog.
I really, really do!Duke
Obama Team Leaks Concession Speech!
OH MY GOSH!Scott Ott at Scrappleface exposes the message!Nuff SaidDuke
p.s. For the thinking impaired;
IT IS A SATIRE!!!!
DUH!!!!!!!
Let me see........
Within the past few days:
1. Obama has declared any who oppose higher taxes as guilty of "selfishness";
2. Decided among himself and the other liberal Democrats that those who deserve tax breaks are from the $250,000 income class.....er, well, the $200,000 income class; er.....OOPs....the $150,000 income class........O.K., then from the $120,000 income class. As McCain asked at a news conference today; "Do we see a trend here?"
3. Kicked those reporters whose newspapers endorsed McCain off the "O" Force One plane.
4. Dropped any cooperation or news answering for TV stations which actually asked he or "Slow Joe" real questions.
Plus a lot more......
This is the man many see as change?????
Well, I guess so if "Change" is to take away your rights, intimidate you, etc.
How can people actually like this guy and feel he is good for the country?
Duke