Lucid Links (043009, Morning)
Noteworthy Net-Worthies:
Supporting the point made in this post Tuesday about newspaper circulation, namely that the New York Times sees Obama worship as a survival strategy, a Times reporter Twittered (HT Michelle Malkin) that the company “has sold $2 million worth of obama merchandise.” No conflict of interest there, eh? It’s as if he’s the local sports team. Zheesh.
Sherrod Brown’s vote to support proabort radical Kathleen “No Abortionist Left Behind” Sebelius was not a surprise (roll call here). George Voinovich’s Spectervich’s was, and is a bitter disappointment coming from someone whose sole remaining legitimate claim to conservative values is supposedly being prolife. It’s further evidence that the 17th Amendment was a mistake that should be undone (and probably never will be). Before it, senators could be recalled from Washington by their legislatures. The 17th has no recall provision. Lame ducks can do anything they want with impunity for conceivably up to six years, and are not subject to recall. The Founders gave great deference to senators, but they did not expect them to turn into multi-year untouchables.
Related — A (PDF) letter signed by 32 congressmen urged President Obama to withdraw the Sebelius nomination, because “During her time in public office she has she has worked against even such modest (life-protecting) measures as parental notification, waiting periods, and informed consent.” That letter didn’t have the signatures of Steve Driehaus, who claims to be prolife and objectively is not, or John Boccieri, who won’t even answer direct life-related questions. Don’t give me any crap about the list being all GOP, if indeed it is. If that’s the excuse, the absence of the two Ohio Democrats’ signatures is strong evidence that Driehaus’s and Boccieri’s party is more important than their principles.
Great historical point that needs repeating, especially because the Left can’t handle it — The Mathew Shepard murder was not a hate crime (”What it came down to really is drugs and money and two punks that were out looking for it”; HT Brad Wilmouth at NewsBusters). As would be expected, Keith Olbermann went ballistic over this evidence-based claim. Update: Invincible Armor elaborates nicely.
If the Bush administration had done the incredibly stupid Manhattan fly-by (which, because they had common sense, they would never have even considered), it would have supplanted swine flu as the most important story of the past few days. Doug Powers notes an error in the apology.
Ira Einhorn lawyer Arlen Specter became a Democrat primarily because of Pat Toomey. So “obviously,” someone else besides Toomey has to run against Specter in the general. This is pathetic.
In his 100th day town hall meeting set-up yesterday, Obama said, of the tea parties that he was said to be unaware of, that “I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term, how we are going to stabilize Social Security.” Well, the National Tea Party Coalition has accepted his offer. Put up or shut up, pal.
And now for the stick in Obama’s eye:
China Stimulus spurs US business
China’s efforts to quickly pump up its economy are providing a much-needed boost for U.S. businesses as well.
A growing number of companies, from tire and excavator makers to fast-food chains, are benefiting from China’s $585 billion stimulus program, which has quickly funneled money into everything from bridges to consumers’ pockets.
Just 11 days after the Chinese government approved a $930 million bridge and expressway project called Xiangshan Island Bridge, which will extend over the East China Sea and through mountain tunnels, massive orange drilling equipment was already on site.
Such speed is critical to U.S. industrial-equipment makers, which sell into that market and aren’t benefiting nearly as quickly from U.S. stimulus spending.
Caterpillar Inc. Chief Executive James W. Owens says the company’s excavator sales in China have returned to record levels in recent months, bouncing back from plummeting sales over the winter.
http://www.news-to-use.com/2009/04/china-stimulus-spurs-us-business.html
The rest of the article is a must read, hahahahaha, the irony of this, China does an economic stimulus that is actually economically based and it works, while Obama and the Dems do a government program based stimulus and it does squat..
Comment by dscott — April 30, 2009 @ 10:56 am
I was contemplating an interesting article:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Get-ready-for-Obamas-coming-hyperinflation-44042002.html
Then it struck me, maybe Obama and the Dems actually do have a plan to deal with the SS trust fund, Medicare expenses and national debt…
What would happen if we have a period of hyperinflation due to the Feds continued buying of US bonds with printed money? Is it an off the wall conspiracy theory to say the deliberate devaluation of the dollar would water down the SS trust fund (more accurately debt) and make all outstanding bonds worthless to the point you don’t owe any money? Look at the current example of Zimbabwe. You think Robert Mugabe is on to something here? Such a deliberate act is wreckless and unthinkable, BUT wouldn’t this go a long way to explain Obama and the Dems behavior in blithely running up the annual budget deficit to $2 trillion a year? Surely, no one could be this stupid to think they could run up such a massive debt with no PREDICTABLE consequence?
Does it not serve Obama’s desire for power to continually live under a series of crises given Rahm Emanuel’s comments on using them? A crisis so big that only government can solve… Isn’t that the MO we have been seeing so far in issue after issue? Would not a debt crisis and an inflation crisis serve his purposes of government control? If everyone’s money is worthless, if everyone is beholding to the government for food and fuel, which means all the ISPs (including every business) are also on the ropes as well, then how does one pay for or express dissenting opinion?
Comment by dscott — April 30, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
#2, he would have to stop automatic indexing of benefits to make it work — or I think we would actually go broke faster.
Comment by TBlumer — April 30, 2009 @ 11:35 pm
Fascinating article on market timing:
http://www.news-to-use.com/2009/05/equities-in-twilight-zone-citi-says.html
The Twilight zone indeed, it’s the hope and change that better days are ahead. Hmmm, somehow I don’t think this paradigm is going to work as theoretically planned, there are too many shoes yet to drop before any recovery can begin.
Comment by dscott — May 1, 2009 @ 9:43 am