The disconnect: Obama’s polls and the economy
Dick Morris (yeah, Dick Morris; can’t stand the guy but every now and then he writes something interesting) points out that Obama’s continuing popularity seems to rest on the fact that the majority of Americans still blame Bush for the bad economy. Morris believes that, as time goes on and the negative consequences of Obama’s own policies take root, his popularity will plummet.
I don’t know. That would require a connection between cause and effect, and a knowledge of financial matters, that may at this point be beyond the powers of the majority of Americans. It also would mean that quite a few people would have to admit that they were wrong in voting for the man.
These are two very formidable barriers.
plus three, the media won’t help with one…
Neo, I think you’re correct in your assessment of people’s knowledge of things economic. And working with highly educated people, I would say that that lack goes well into the educated class.
Well, we figured it out with Carter. Everyone I knew who voted for him was sorry and ended up voting for Reagan nest time.
Especially the second reason. The O supporters were so energetic, so virulent toward those who did not support him, so vile toward opponents, that they have a lot more climbing down to do than did Carter’s supporters.
Can’t afford to admit it. Might change their votes, if they admit it to themselves instead. But nothing public.
If the general public is in enough economic pain, and if the Republicans actually do something besides curl up in a ball with a “Kick Me” sign on their a$$, then there is a good chance the general public may turn on The One in spite of all of the interference the puff pieces the Lamestream media do on His behalf.
“And working with highly educated people, I would say that that lack goes well into the educated class.”
I might substitute the phrase incompletely educated for highly educated.
When I look at what is going on in the bond markets (treasuries), currency markets (every day the dollar’s slide adds a few cents more to gasoline and food) – I can only conclude that one hell of a shitstorm is coming our way. Obonga and the Democrats seem oblivious to it. Something very bad is happening when even the few blue dog Democrats are caving in to The One. Reality just does not enter the picture.
A lot of moderate conservatives and conservatives like me are getting discouraged. I certainly feel very discouraged, when I ponder how the public does not understand that the markets are forward-looking, not backwards looking, and that two weeks before the election they were looking FORWARD. Most of this is on Obonga, not Bush.
Did you know that the vast majority of college grads in this country never took a macro and micro economics course? And the vast majority of those who just graduated from high school have virtually no background in economics and finance, unless they get it on their own.
I think we are going to be seeing the W shaped cycle. Next year interest rates are going to be forced higher by the debt and currency markets. Bernanke will also begin raising interest rates to try to choke off inflation. Unemployment will be in the 9% to 11% range.
The Democrats know this is coming, but they can’t seem to help themselves. For a brief spell, 2006 to 2010, they will have had it all and THEY WILL GO FOR IT ALL. They know they are going to lose a lot of seats in 2010, and that it will be the beginning of the end for them for maybe generations. So, this is their time to try to grab it all. Spend it all. Legislate it all. Because starting in 2011 it will get a lot tougher. In 2012 they will be shut out and fading.
But the pain will continue into the early part of a new Republican administration. Monetary policy will be very tight to squeeze out inflation and improve the dollar. There will be big cuts in spending. Initially, there will only be small tax cuts, but targeted ones, in order to spur investment. Socialized medicine will be pared back to an expanded Medicaid. The taxing of private, employer based medical insurance will be rescinded (the Dems are now planning to tax your health insurance benefits). Cap and trade will be scrapped. The Defense budget will be revived, and not a moment too soon.
Reality is going to be a hard fist to the face for a lot of people during the next few years. You think the Seventies were bad? This is going to be worse.
It will take considerable damage and negative press before the sheep who voted for him regain some sanity. The fact that O’s popularity has rebounded recently suggests a terrific power of denial.
Perhaps it’s a bit trite to put it this way, but I believe the world is at the crux of a paradigm shift; one that will be born in blood. The United States does not exist in a vacuum, where Obama’s house of cards can escape the foul winds of the rest of the world’s tempests and blow-hards. The shabby constructs of the politically correct delusional Left will fold when Hell shakes loose from one hot spot or another and quickly overwhelms the weaklings and incompetents that pretend to lead us. Whatever emerges from the ashes to be will not come easily, and all who truly value the past and promise of Western Civilization must remain resolute in their efforts to protect that legacy and bear it forward through the terrible wrenchings that must come. God be with us.
Amused Observer: How about “highly-schooled” or perhaps “highly-degreed?”
The past couple weeks Rasmussen’s Obama Approval Index has been spiking up and down between +1 to +10. Currently it is at +3.
It seemed that the high spike was for the Sotomayor nomination, but it’s dropped since then, whether on account of the “wise Latina” controversy or continuing economic worries or Obama’s tapdancing on Guantanamo and security issues or who knows.
I suspect that Obama’s support is brittle. I see no wins for him on the horizon, only losses. Even if he succeeds in forcing through Sotomayor or some form of healthcare, it will cost him. More and more Americans will see the negatives of his policies.
Plus, who can doubt that there are some nasty world crises coming up? I don’t see these working to Obama’s favor unless the US is nuked. Obama’s America-bashing gestures will garner no cooperation.
I think Obama’s poll numbers will erode, with occasional steep negative lurches. That will be another crisis since we have no idea how Obama will respond to the loss of popularity and adversity.
Regarding the level of education, I’d like to offer the following options:
“Educated idiot”
or
“Educated above their level of competence”
or possibly
“Book smart and common sense dumb”
Take your pick.
FredHjr,
Agreed. What’s coming will make people nostalgic for Carter again in comparison.
My only hope is that mini-skirts make a big comeback as well!
Scottie,
Who knows what the women’s fashions are going to be?
I’m married, so I can’t look. Besides, at my age and experience nothing surprises me and I’ve pretty much seen it all.
Count me in as one who thinks that Obama and the Democrats are trying–very consciously and deliberately, as fast as they can–to pass every piece of legislation, change every regulation they can, embed appointees everywhere they can, knowing that when the effects of their radical policies start to bear their evil, bitter fruit, they will be thrown out of office; it is ideology uber Alles, and the hell with everything else, including the American people. I’m sure that a lot of Democrats are in denial about what their policies will do to America, and many others, who know quite well what will happen, are hoping that these deleterious effects will be slow enough in coming and in intensity that they and the MSM can string people along long enough to hold onto power through 2012 or later. The fact that Obama & Co made taking control of the Census (whose counts are used to configure, increase or decrease the number of Congressional districts and to allocate federal funds to the states) practically their first move in office, their successful efforts to get an expert in “sampling” to run the Census, and ACORN involved in hiring all the enumerators, shows that they are intent on doing whatever it takes–fair or foul–to hold on to power.
I believe what they ultimately hope is that even though they might soon be thrown out of office, they will have so weakened our Capitalist system, so massively changed things in such fundamental ways, in so many areas, that they will he re-expanded the welfare state to such an extent, that many of their changes will be irreversible; it is not about the well being of the country–despite what they say, many Democratic members of Congress don’t really give a shit about our country–it is about having and exercising the power to implement their far left agenda, and pay off their allies and contributors.
Let’s face it, if they were serious about really doing what is best for America and, say, GM, would they install a politically connected 31 year old–no automobile industry experience, no business experience, no economic education, not even a completed Yale law degree–as one of principle people overseeing GM’s restructuring (http://tinyurl.com/m8dkg5) or plan to run up an $11 trillion dollar debt to weigh down our children and grandchildren and greatly limit their futures?
Dear Neo,
“Highly schooled” will suffice.
There is a general, historical, and cultural knowledge test that was given to students at several schools, including Ivy League, and freshman did better than seniors.
I don’t think the MSM has much choice but to prop up The One. They made the decision to go ‘all in’ over a year ago and it’s hard to see how they back off without exposing themselves to ridicule.
When WF Buckley made the statement about being governed by the Harvard faculty he might have expanded it to include being journalistically served by journos like minded to the Harvard faculty. Democrat Party – MSM – Ivy elites: they’re in it together, they’re in it forever.
Note that the next step will be the media clamoring for a bailout from the Obama administration, as a necessary step for safeguarding democracy, don’cha know.
Here’s a video of Robert MacChesney making the argument: The Life or Death Struggle for Journalism.
If this happens, the US really will be in Hugo Chavez mode.
BTW — I heard the MacChesney piece on NPR and it sent me ’round the bend that afternoon.
Essentially we are paying for left-wing media to propagandize for more of our money to make more left-wing propaganda.
I too subscribe to the “shoot the moon” hypothesis as being the Dems’ strategy; nothing else is consistent with their unseemly haste.
What will happen when those policy chickens come home to roost? While the MSM will probably continue to provide top cover, Obama will inevitably get roughed up, for the first time in his life, and the question is how he’ll react. He strikes me as having a brittle personality, one that would shatter when subjected to a few milliBush of vituperation.
And if he starts to lose popularity, he’s in trouble, because he doesn’t have warm fuzzy personality to win it back. He actually seems rather cold and distant (again much like Carter, and in contrast to, e.g., Reagan) who does not easily and naturally connect with the common man.
Is it possible Obama was selected for just this purpose, to be the guy to implement socialism, immunized by his race from criticism until it’s too late, and then to take the fall for its shortcomings, while leaving the socialist policies intact?
Too convoluted and conspiratorial (especially for someone with my handle!), but I can’t shake the impression that his whole career trajectory was …orchestrated. By whom? To what purpose? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
As an aside, I’ll say that the amazing thing to me is that Bush seemed unfazed by the vitriol to which he was subjected. He never came across as bitter, antagonistic, or vindictive, as Nixon did.
I can’t honestly say I could have matched his performance.
I hate to be so over-simplistic, but I think Obama’s popularlity hinges ultimately one simple economic measure: The Almighty Value of the Dollar.
When the dollar drops, it’s an effective tax hike and smart money runs to commodities. When the dollar goes up, our money buys more and doesn’t flee into bubbles. It’s what happend to Bush and why he was so unpopular the last few years.
Notice, today the stock market rose, the dollar, which has fallen for weeks, took a jump and commodites fell in inverse proportion.
I don’t think Team Obama can pull off keeping the dollar up for long what with all the dilution from the government printing presses. and the massive spending However, if he were too, he’d be a two-termer and nothing could stop him.
Obama is more a fashion oriented phenomenon than a political one. Which explains why people who can’t name their own mayor love him and everything he does.
The man is going down. And he’ll take the greenies with him.
Occam’s Beard
“Is it possible Obama was selected for just this purpose, to be the guy to implement socialism, immunized by his race from criticism until it’s too late, and then to take the fall for its shortcomings, while leaving the socialist policies intact?”
I’ve been thinking somewhat along these very lines, but for different reasons.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if he were selected and groomed for this position by the powers that be many years ago – and after he won they only then realized there was a problem with his citizenship?
His citizenship status may have been a problem they had not even thought to consider.
The Big O being the self absorbed individual that he is may have felt perfectly justified in pulling off just such a stunt.
They didn’t ask, so he didn’t tell, and now it’s too late. Too many heads would roll if it were to be verified.
That would certainly explain the millions he’s spent (where’d he get THAT money, anyway?) fighting release of his birth documents…..
Interesting, Scottie. Clearly there’s something toxic about his birth documents, or he wouldn’t make such a production out of it. Hell, I’d put mine on a website, if I thought anyone would care. I bet you would, too.
Since no one naturally has such incredible good fortune, it certainly seems that Obama has been groomed for this position from the get go. But once again the question is, by whom? And tp what purpose?
My take: not being an American – essentially and viscerally, but only legally – he didn’t realize the gravity of the citizenship problem, assuming it exists. As Americans we consider dubious citizenship as the political third rail, but citizens of other countries don’t necessarily. Citizens of many countries (especially Third World ones) pretty much their country as the place where they live, and that’s it, much the way Americans view their state of residence.
Obonga’s mother worked for the Ford Foundation, a major and financially formidable Leftist organization. So, we need to look at who was networked into the Ford Foundation about the time Obonga was prepped to enter Columbia University from Occidental College. There has been talk about his connections with Zbigniew Brezhinski, Rashid Khalidi, and Edward Said at Columbia. Those are some pretty connected people in Western socialist circles and Third World and Islamic revolutionary circles.
Since we have no access to any of his records, we don’t know what kind of grades he got at Occidental. His description of how he was at Occidental does not inspire any confidence that he got outstanding grades. You don’t transfer into the Ivies with C’s or even mostly B’s. You have to have pretty much A’s and your SAT scores have to be at least respectable.
If he was not an A student at Occidental – and I am only making that as an assumption (I have no way of knowing this – it’s just a logical conjecture) – I cannot see him being an A student at Columbia, well-established Ivy League grade inflation notwithstanding.
And getting into Harvard University’s Law School…???
I think that somebody inside the Ford Foundation had powerful connections and influence to get Obonga on the way up the ladder. He was being advanced for some purpose.
But now we have no need to speculate about his socialist ideological template. His actions, decisions, appointments, and agenda are now in plain sight and shout it. I said last year that he was a Manchurian Candidate. I’m right, and those who thought my prediction loony can eat my stool.
I hadn’t realized that the Ford Foundation was leftist-infested. How did that come about?
I don’t know, Occam’s Beard, how it came about. I just know that its activities here in the U.S. tend to be anti-U.S. and pro Third World revolution. They tend to favor global government and the U.N. getting to veto the U.S. Constitution.
Good God, can you imagine the first class $hit$torm that would be raised if it WAS verified he wasn’t a US citizen?
There’s just entirely too much smoke around his birth documentation for there to be no fire.
And as was pointed out, why does he fight it so hard if there’s nothing there?
Fred, sorry, I was being lazy. I just read the entry on the Ford Foundation in Discover the Networks.
Good God. I hadn’t realized…
Scottie, I’ve mused about that too. It could the thesis of an intriguing novel, the mirror image of Seven Days in May.
I think some portion of his polled popularity is “Bradley Effect.” It’s so poltically correct to not be seen as “racist,” and his supporters have been so nasty to any who would question The Won, that I believe a significant (10-20? Strictly a WAG) portion of those polled are unwilling to express disapproval.
In fact, I’m surprised that his negative numbers are as high as they are in the face of that phenomenon.
While this is only my own wild theory, it would account for the fact that the public poss in the 60% range+ AGAINST most of The Won’s policy positions.
Scottie,
I think Obonga was the perfect stealth candidate. Even more so than Jimmy Carter was. I just don’t think the brain trust that advanced him thought about the natural born clause in the Constitution. To my way of thinking, that spells FOREIGNERS big time. Or, at least some powerful Americans who do not know the Constitution.
Months ago I saw an article about how much money has been spent to stiff-arm the challenges about his birth and citizenship status. Millions. The Obongas don’t have that money. Deep Pockets have it. And I have a few ideas of who those people are. I’ll bet you do too!
I think after four years of this the United States of America will be facing it’s most serious crisis since the Civil War. In fact, we may have another civil war into the bargain. A nasty one which will have nothing to do with states vs. the federal government, but more about the Left fighting for its very life, literally, as citizen militias and most of the military bay for the blood of these traitors and threats to our society and civilization. I hope it doesn’t happen. If it does happen it will be quite a wound upon the nation’s psyche. We would recover and restore civilian rule and law and order rather quickly. But the Left will be driven even more underground and it will make them even more vicious, stealthy, and even more determined to avenge the destruction of their attempt at collectivism. I am of the opinion that we would need to chop off the heads of the socialist-progressive Left. Those people are either going to be driven into exile or killed, because we just cannot afford to let them survive and counterattack. Sometimes, to restore the civil society its enemies have to die. There is no getting around it.
It appears that a black convert to orthodox Muslim and black nationalist, Dr. Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, aka Don Wardon, a well connected radical American Muslim who is a close adviser to multi-billionaire Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the world’s 19th richest man, was asking people he knew with connections to Harvard to write letters of recommendation to help Obama get into Harvard Law School, and it also appears that as a Saudi Arabian money man, al-Mansour was collecting money for Obama’s Harvard tuition and might, indeed, have paid it (http://tinyurl.com/6af5j7).
Reason enough for Obama to bow the Kinng Abdullah.
FredHjr:
I’m pretty sure George Soros backed Obama. I’ve seen photos that were allegedly taken when he first announced his candidacy for President, and Soros was in the audience. Could Soros have done it by himself, or did he have additional help? I don’t know.
If I recall correctly, Soros has stated publicly that he wants to change America’s system of government. In a rational world, that should have made him an official enemy of the U.S. and marked him for death.
The part I can’t figure out is why Soros would want to change the American form of government. Our system has richly rewarded parasites such as Soros, who with any luck after a socialist revolution would find himself in front of a firing squad (perhaps the only good thing to come out of it, in fact). So what’s the attraction for him?
Fredhjr said ” In fact, we may have another civil war into the bargain. A nasty one which will have nothing to do with states vs. the federal government, but more about the Left fighting for its very life, literally, as citizen militias and most of the military bay for the blood of these traitors and threats to our society and civilization.”
FredHjr, you leave out the most important part of that scenario. Foreign “peacekeepers” to “restore order”. Or they might be wearing US uniforms- pretenders- as to not rile up the potential militias even more. Think Mexican / Venezuelan soldiers, disguised as “Hispanic National Gaurdsman from Texas.” White European Union troops disguised as Minnesota National Gaurd. Different accent, but the troops could look the same….
“Guardsman” not “Gaurdsman”- spent 15 years in and still spell it wrong…
rickl,
If I were compiling a proscription list of people we have to get if things blow, Soros is on that list. Interestingly, I would prefer that Obonga go into exile. I don’t like the idea of killing a sitting or retired president. In fact, I have stated it before: if I ever got wind of a plot to kill the president I would report it to the Secret Service. Even this president. But outside of him, all bets are off.
Folks, these people who are now making copious and bold efforts to completely change our society and government are not to be taken lightly. Read Mark Levin’s book, “Liberty and Tyranny.”
jon baker,
We’re not afraid of foreign troops. The only troops we would fear would be our own. That’s why if the U.S. military were to ever side with the socialists, the lights go out on Western Civilization and the United States of America.
Everyone buy and read Stephen P. Halbrook’s “The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms.” American men (many or perhaps most of them) either by hobby and hunting in their youth or by military training much later on are generally very good shots to excellent ones. It was so when Gen. Thomas Gage was sent to disarm us, and it remains so today. The British feared the colonials. And not just the boys from Pennsylvania and Virginia who had longrifles. Even the New Englanders who had muskets – a decidedly not accurate weapon because it was a smoothbore – the KY longrifle had a rifled barrel – were good shots. We have a long tradition of “one shot, one kill.”
The Europeans, South Americans, and Middle Easterners are not as good as we are with rifles. I honestly believe any foreign troops deployed here to help buck up the socialist regime would be annihilated. Everyone knows the “blue helmets” are pussies. They’ve proven that time and time again.
Nope. We’re not afraid of foreign troops. Besides, with it highly likely that well over half of the U.S. military would be ready to give them a warm welcome (if you get my meaning) I just cannot see the U.N. or E.U. able to pull it off. They might help evacuate people we are out to get, but that’s about it.
FredHjr said” We’re not afraid of foreign troops.”
Hence one reason they might very well be disguised as US troops.
A friend and I were discussing illegal immigration- specifically the Mexican part of it. As he said, the way they are colonizing us is worse than if they came across the river as an army because we would fight them then. Instead our politicians , both parties, assist the Mexican government by allowing the 50 or so Mexican consulates to operate in the US assisting illegals with Matricualr consular cards, which they, with US congressional blessing, open banks accounts with.
Where I live, we see the Mexican flags on US soil. Forgive me if I doubt the loyalty of many of my neighbors to the Red, White and Blue.
Actually, sometimes it is less overt than a Mexican Flag. You will see various decorative things, bumper stickers etc, where the color scheme is red, white and GREEN. Guess what color the Mexican flag is?
The big “hispanic ” night club here in town has three large letters on top of the building. One is Red, one is White , one is GREEN. “Hispanic” -lol. Only for those who are blinded by the media. Its Mexican.
“Hispanic community” my blankety blank!! Its Mexican.
jon baker,
Most of the guys I know who are plugged in to these things are veterans and some have friends and family in the Army, Marines, AF, and Navy. We know fine points about uniforms and behavior that would pretty much get the drop on those guys. We are not stupid and are aware of the enemy’s potential for subversion and deception. I just laugh every time I hear some Leftists croon about how we’re all just a bunch of stupid rednecks. Most of us are educated, well-read, and resourceful as well as accustomed to discipline.
If Soros and his coterie of international elites want to ride the tiger and underestimate us, hell, we will be happy to oblige. It will be the ride of their lives and probably their last one.
FredHjr:
I’m currently reading Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism” and will read “Liberty and Tyranny” next. Levin’s book is sitting right here next to me.
(My problem is tearing myself away from the Internet long enough. I don’t read as many books since I discovered blogs.)
Funny you should mention rifle marksmanship. I was recently directed to the Army training films here.
Occam’s Beard,
I think the key to understanding Soros is not so much that his internal impetus is the accumulation of wealth. He is concerned with amassing political power.
Some crucial points:
1.) He led the bear market and cheered on the market’s fall so that he could profit from selling off all of his mortgage backed securities and financial products. Potentially, he could have made more money by not selling and maintaining a hold on his assets (as an economist like him would know that markets invariably fluctuate but always exhibit an upward trend over time). However, my theory is that he relished the power of manipulating the markets to suit his will.
2.) He is a prominent leftist but he has made a fortune by reaping the benefits of the free enterprise system. There are many upper-class liberals like this. My theory is that they wish to be part of what is termed the revolutionary vanguard, or the oligarchical order that acts as the guardian of society. Even though wealth brings power, these individuals want more than just monetary muscle; they want political clout.
3.) Upper-class liberals that are not so concerned with power have upper-class guilt. They want to be thought of well as the protector of the people and the defender of the common man without necessarily thinking through their process. I doubt Soros is like this, because Soros a.) understands economics, and b.) therefore knows that his personal actions involving the manipulations of markets have exacerbated the plight of the working man.
4.) Soros has funded revolutions in Eastern European countries, most notably Georgia. However, I doubt that he had any noble intentions in mind by pulling the strings of politicians of far-away lands.
5.) Soros may be an American, but his real identity is Hungarian. This enables him to have less respect for America’s core values.
There is more, but it’s safe to say that Soros doesn’t care about money unless it is used as a tool to give him power over political processes and institutions.
By the way, interestingly enough, Soros pioneered the Quantum Fund which was involved in manipulating international trade and money markets.
It seems reminiscent of the “Quantum” organization from the new James Bond movie. I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories, but is it just coincidental? I can’t think that Hollywood would rebuke one of the main backers of its declared cause.
FredjrH: Your comment about hiding your guns reminds me…If you haven’t already, I’d like to mention a book I just finished last week that—granted–is a bit over the top but still very much worth reading…It’s called Patriots–A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse, by Jim Rawles.
While the book is fiction, it’s extremely well-reserached and helpful in making even small preparations for what could happen…
It was written a decade ago and is an eerie read today, especially since the complete breakdown of
the civilized world is precipitated by the fall of the U S dollar….
OK, it’s official – I went off line last night too early!
Good discussions all around.
First Occam, thanks for reminding me of “Seven Days in May”. I read it in high school on the advice of my history teacher.
Though my history teacher was far more pre-occupied with the political right taking over (I don’t think he ever got over Watergate) it’s still a good book. I may hunt down a copy of it just to re-read it!
Regarding Soros….
He has actually gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble with various European countries, and if I remember correctly it was specifically due to manipulating currencies.
Seems I recall something about him being behind the undermining of British currency? If anyone knows details it may be enlightening to see if he’s pulling/pulled the same trick with the US dollar.
Regarding why someone would make a vast fortune and then harm their own interests by taking up socialists policies, you need to understand something about the hyper-wealthy.
The first million makes them. The next few millions only inflates their sense of self worth/destiny/superiority even more.
However, at some point if you look at the truly wealthy – and I’m talking multi-billionaires here – their mindset changes.
It becomes less about making their next million or billion, and more about becoming masters of the universe kind of thing.
That’s why you end up seeing extremely wealthy people taking up causes that, had they done so much earlier in their financial careers, would undermine their own ability to build wealth.
At that point, it’s not about building more wealth, it’s about having and exercising power, and the pursuit of power is addictive a drug as anything a crack head could have ever cooked up.
FredHjr,
You’re right, the Big O doesn’t have those kinds of deep pockets to fight the legal skirmishes he’s paying for to keep a lid on his citizenship status.
Having said that, you unfortunately won’t have any republican in sight question it, either.
As far as they are concerned, the issue was raised and dismissed by McCain last year.
(ah McCain, the gift that just keeps on giving….).
Raising it again, they feel, will let the opposition paint them as tinfoil hat conspiracists.
I’m actually surprised no troll has shown up screeching about the doctored digital copy that the Messiah put up on the internet last year, and the kind of document anyone born anywhere could have obtained in that time frame from Hawaii.
So, even if he were to be found out by someone in authority to be a non-natural born citizen, they ain’t saying a damn thing.
Regarding a civil war, I sincerely hope that would not happen.
There’s nothing “civil” about such a thing at all – and the polite civilized rules of engagement our military operates under will go out the window immediately as nominal civilians take sides and do really nasty things to each other outside the accepted rules of war.
Old scores would be settled, you’d have retribution type killings going back and forth, assassinations, all further feeding the meat grinder.
Any foreign troops brought in would be slaughtered.
It would not be like going into some 3rd world country where the peasants barely know how to work a 100 year old rifle and NATO troops could do as they pleased.
It would be precision death at ranges they would probably have to start responding to with air and artillery strikes, further alienating the locals and painting a big blue target on their noggins.
And by the way FredjrH, if you DO want a 5.56mm type weapon, consider the AR type kits currently on the market.
You purchase the lower receiver as if it were a rifle (because it’s the serial numbered part), and the rest of the weapon can be purchased as individual parts or assemblies as funds allow.
The AR is quite a modular type design, so this approach works well. I would advise picking one particular brand though and sticking with that same brand throughout the buildup.
Pick one with a 5.56mm chamber, as it can fire .223 Remington – but a .223 chamber should not be used to fire 5.56mm. Research it and you’ll understand why.
Or you can go with Rock River Arms. They have something called a .223 Wylde chamber that eats both chamberings with aplomb, a fact I can personally attest to.
Correction: yesterday markets went down and the dollar went up….the TLT long bond also rose.
Hey Webutante,
Check out this:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1Ev4HxCKXRI
Particularly relevent being this quote from the article:
“Oil posted its biggest monthly gain in a decade in May, and traded above $69 a barrel for the first time since November on speculation a global economic recovery will trigger a rebound in demand. A decline in the value of the dollar has also drawn investors to crude and other commodities as an inflation hedge.”
My wifey made the observation that we needed to fill the cars as at one point it looked like gas prices were rising about a dime a day!
Thanks Scottie for the great link to Bloomberg piece. Personally I think the Goldman forecast may be too conservative. But so much depends on the dollar.
If it were to fall precipitiously back to last year’s levels or lower we could see inflation, then hyper-inflation.
If the dollar were to completely crash—-which is certainly not imminent—gas could go up to $30-$60/gallon. Really.
I believe the financial crisis and the way Team Obama is handling it is an ever greater threat to our security and stability than Islam at least at the moment.
Again, thanks for the link….
It occurs to me that I need to explain what I mean, in my comment above, by citing “irreversible” changes that Obama wants to bring about.
What I mean is that, for instance, major companies that were in existence and functioning–however poorly–will be gone, their capital assets–plants and machinery, parts and raw materials, work forces and/or capital, will have been disbursed and their industries fundamentally changed, expectations, laws and regulations–like the sanctity of contracts, shareholder’s rights and the formalities of bankruptcy law, the wall of past custom and usage that formerly existed that prevented Presidents from takeovers of companies, the firing of their CEOs and the expropriation of their bondholder’s assets, all will have been torn down, various interests and groups, like ACORN for instance, will have been given benefits–i.e. changes in national policy, legitimacy, a say in national policy, or funding–that they will not willingly surrender and, with Obama’s intended increase of those who pay no federal taxes from the current 38% of our citizens to almost 50% via “tax credits,” there will have been created a “mob” of welfare recipients and, more to the point, voters–many, I am sure, who will be very grateful to Obama and, thus, his fervent supporters–a mob that will not give up their new benefits and the non-working lifestyle that it will make possible for many of them to enjoy, without a fight. How to disperse all of the “people’s organizations”–designed to be formed of hundreds of thousands of voters too, that Obama and the Congress–Democrats and Republicans alike–have just created and funded via the GIVE Act? How to abolish the idea of “mandatory public service” once it is written into law? How to redress the balance between the People and the Constitution, The Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court after Sotomayor and perhaps more appointments, and after the creation of so many “Czars.”
How, for instance, would we roll back–if we could–all of the scheduled government expenditures that Obama has set in motion, how to deal with just the $1.85 trillion dollar deficit for 2009 alone, how to pay off the incredible spending he has done just to this point; according to various reports, more spending in the last six months than was done by our government in all of the last 30 years combined! How to regain international confidence in the dollar and in U.S. bonds and Treasuries that is starting to slip away, as potential buyers see Obama’s enormous expenditures, deficits and debt, and realize the economic weakness and instability they foretell?
It seems to me that once we are frog marched by Obama & Co. down this road, even if we wanted to, we could not reverse things and get back to anything like the “status quo ante,” and that is the whole object of Obama & Co’s furious Blitzkreig against America– its government, economy, society, culture and it’s people.
Webutante,
I hear ya. I’m concerned about the same thing, though I don’t think we could ever get to gas prices a high as you note in the near future.
I think the economy would go into severe depression before they could get that high, shutting off demand and thereby reducing prices – though they would still remain too high for most to afford at that point.
Agreed Scottie.
But bottom line politically right now imo:
Strong dollar=2 term for BHO
Weak dollar=1 term
My recommendation: pray for weak dollar and buy SLV, DBC, UCO, then give some capital gains to conservative candidate for POTUS….
That’s exactly what he did. IIRC, the UK was involved in the exchange rate mechanism at what Soros (who was ultimately proven correct) believed was an unsustainable exchange rate. The sterling exchange rate swung violently between $1.96 and $1.06 as Soros shorted sterling, and the Bank of England tried to support it. Eventually the Bank of England ran out of reserves, the UK left the ERM, and Soros covered his short position.
He did the same thing to Thailand, grinding a Third World country under foot, and into greater poverty, to enrich himself. So much for the great humanitarian.
Occam’s Beard,
Thanks much! I knew he had something to do with Brit currency but wasn’t sure what it was.
Thailand’s currency, on the other hand, I had no idea of.
But it does go to prove my earlier point – at a certain level it’s no longer about making more money, it’s about power and exercising it.
Amused Observer,
i am broad and vertically educated (mostly self)
the word your looking for is vertically educated. the education is specialized. (and they feel that the higher they go the base is widening, but its not).
as far as smart people being dumb, einstein nearly killed in germany ends up writing a paper in favor of socilaism when he gets here.
but he was a house slave, not the common man who is a field slave. what was the worst was to think that the reason for the things that happened were a product of a sick mind and not the instructions of an ideology. (conflagration is the world engels used, holocaust had not yet been invented to insure separation of ideology from action).
so many famous people were taken in on it and some were very very deep in things before they woke up. you can read some of their works online (if ya did you would be one of the only people who have looked and read when i suggested these).
search for bella dodd school of darkness for one read.
the transformation that neo and others go through is a common trip that is seldom shared so they dont realize that there are over 100 years of such stories of discovery and for many extreme pain.
occam,
Is it possible Obama was selected for just this purpose, to be the guy to implement socialism, immunized by his race from criticism until it’s too late, and then to take the fall for its shortcomings, while leaving the socialist policies intact?
Too convoluted and conspiratorial (especially for someone with my handle!), but I can’t shake the impression that his whole career trajectory was …orchestrated. By whom? To what purpose? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
its possible that he was selected for this purpose and groomed.
and it all hinges on whether he knows or not. that is if he knows, then he doesnt think this is a sacrifice, but that he has all kinds of things behind him to support him and he will pull it off.
if he doesnt know, then he is just a person all full up with the right education and attitude whose path through the world was made easy in the direction they wanted him to go.
that is, once prepared as young with the right attitudes, and history. anyone ever thought that the magazine he claims to have seen that doesnt exist could have been a fake put on the table for him to read? no one could have thought that that plant would have become a story that he would use. such a thing would make all parts line up neatly and he wouldnt have been a liar or made it up. but if you were trying to form a viewpoint in a person, and controlled what they read, and never knew there would be an internet and a way to check things instantly and so thoroughly, some fake papers are easy.
of course there are other just as valid ways to look at it.
but what makes it all stink to me like nothing else i have seen is the ambiguity. its the secret curtain that i have brought up more than once.
if you were a cat and you wanted to sneak up on your prey, you would want to be silent and slow, and so forth.
when your human and your operating against people in front of them, how do you hide it so you can move in silent and slow? ambiguity.
it allows and creates doubt and lack of sureness. this causes lack of action for fear of the consequences if your wrong. even worse, those will be the consequences if you act since you cant prove the end result to show that you acted correctly. you have to ride it out.
there is only one defense and its why you dont give up opportunity and such and forgoe money and success. mobility.
he could very well be what you say, there is nothing to show that it isnt that way and a lot of ambiguityand games all around.
such a person not knowing and getting where he has gotten but without trying will give him a self confidence that would be frightning. if he knew he would have to act, if he didnt, the easy path would reinforce his sense of self. the symptom of that i would say would be how he has gotten this far but does not know real basic facts. that he didnt earn his path and so makes mistakes would be the product of it. did it really matter whether he knew X if not knowing it wouldnt mean anything to his progress?
ah well.. maybe if things work out well, he is out of office, and there is time. you and i can put a bunch of ideas together and team up with an author i know, who will make a book and farm it out through his agent. 🙂
Obama has been groomed for this position from the get go. But once again the question is, by whom? And tp what purpose?
i will give you a hint. who can facilitate a membership in the CFR?
I hadn’t realized that the Ford Foundation was leftist-infested. How did that come about?
long story made short… the organization was infiltrated as per orders of a certain organization along with womens groups and race groups. the idea was to take over the band leaders position and lead the followers (a la 1941 parade scene).
there is a famous letter from ford when they manipulated him and his son out of the organization (so this situation is actually not the fords creation).
Established in 1936 by Henry Ford, who founded Ford Motor Company in 1903, and his son, Edsel Ford. The late Henry Ford II (d. 1987), chairman of Ford Motor Company and a son of Edsel Ford, served on the foundation’s board from 1943 until 1976. Under his tenure, the foundation evolved from a Michigan charity into a worldwide institutional philanthropy. Today, the foundation has no official ties to the Ford family or the Ford Motor Company.
write up on ford foundation
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderProfile.asp?fndid=5176
Because Ford’s leading officials pursued an ever-more leftist orientation politically and ideologically, the Foundation naturally began to direct its funding disproportionately toward donees of similar leanings. When Henry Ford II eventually resigned from the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 1977, he expressed his profound disgust with how the institution and most of its trustees had drifted so radically to the political left over time. Lamenting the Foundation’s rejection of the economic system that had made its very existence possible, Mr. Ford wrote in his resignation letter: “In effect, the Foundation is a creature of capitalism, a statement that, I’m sure, would be shocking to many professional staff people in the field of philanthropy. It is hard to discern recognition of this fact in anything the Foundation does. It is even more difficult to find an understanding of this in many of the institutions, particularly the universities, that are the beneficiaries of the Foundation’s grant programs.”
city journal article: The Billions of Dollars That Made Things Worse
http://www.city-journal.org/html/6_4_a1.html
and our leaders people just leaked nuclear information.
Soros’ particular genius is in his understanding of leverage, or how to understand when a system becomes so unbalanced that a smallish effort can create a wildly disproportionate result. He wrote a piece in one of the financial publications (WSJ or Forbes, or perhaps NYT) that was the best analysis I have seen on the inherent structural asymmetries in Credit Default Swaps. I would not be at all surprised if he traded to take advantage of them.
Obama’s socialism cannot be sustained while the US military is strong, complex, and at the world’s hot-spots. European socialists, and others, have lived off the American taxpayers’ support for our military, and once that military is defunded, a process forced by competition for ever scarcer resources with the welfare dependent, non-taxpaying Democrat-voting mob, the world no longer has Uncle Sam to contend with; which makes things much safer for tyrants, tin-pot potentates, and anyone else in our fractious world who desires a big piece of everyone else.