Trickle down recession

This is what happens when Washington DC scares the living crap out of everyone:

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell in Asian trade today on signs of weaker US energy demand and as positions hardened in a fiscal showdown in Washington that could push the world’s biggest economy back into recession.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January was down 16 cents to USD 87.72 a barrel in the morning and Brent North Sea crude for January shed nine cents to USD 108.72.

A weekly US government report released yesterday showed a surge in supplies of gasoline and other products, indicating softer demand in the world’s biggest oil consuming nation.

The supplies of distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel that are closely watched at the onset of winter, rose by three million barrels, while gasoline inventories leaped by 7.9 million barrels, five times more than forecast.

“Oil prices fell… after data showed a huge increase in gasoline stockpiles in the United States last week,” Phillip Futures said in a market commentary.

The political impasse in Washington over avoiding mandatory fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts in January that may toss the US economy back into recession was casting a cloud on sentiment.

via Oil prices down in Asian trade – The Economic Times.

This is what happens when you scare the living crap out of everyone with a chicken match. If you are invested in oil, get out while you can. On the other hand, gas prices are going to come down and for we middle class, that is a very good thing. But, for those in the market, it sucks. Good time to get out of futures and get into gold or something.

Oh yes, and the Democrats are owning this one too.

Horse-hockey!

More stupid from the left:

When Congress picks a fight with the President, no matter who the President or who leads the Congress, the President usually wins in the public eye.

Prediction: if the President plays chicken on this tax and spending issue and doesn’t flinch, he wins one way or the other politically.

via Congress & President Playing Chicken | The Moderate Voice.

Bullcrap. The President, nor the Republicans are going to look good in the eyes of the people; whose taxes are going to go through the roof!

Morons, I swear.

Let them own it

Them being the Democrats. This is some grade A, class 1, horse-hockey right here:

President Obama’s lead negotiator in the “fiscal cliff” talks said the administration is “absolutely” willing to allow the package of deep automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax hikes to take effect Jan. 1, unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher income tax rates on the wealthy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with CNBC that both sides are “making a little bit of progress” toward a deal to avert the “cliff” but remain stuck on Obama’s desired rate increase for the top U.S. income-earners.

“There’s no prospect for an agreement that doesn’t involve those rates going up on the top two percent of the wealthiest,” Geithner said.

Most House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, remain opposed to any increase in tax rates.

Obama and Boehner spoke by phone this afternoon, their first conversation in exactly one week, an administration official said. Their relations have grown frosty in recent days as both sides have dug in on the issue of higher rates.

via White House ‘Absolutely’ Willing To Go Off The Fiscal Cliff – ABC News.

The truth is, the Democratic Party leadership does not honestly care, if the United States of America goes back into a full-blown recession.

As much as I despise this god-forsaken woman, I am going to link to something she wrote at Crooks and Liars, about what is going to happen to the working class AKA middle class, if we head over the cliff:

but I think it’s worth listing what happens on January 1st if Democrats do absolutely nothing:

  • The top tax rate for individuals goes up by about 4 percentage points.
  • Capital gains rates increase to 20 percent.
  • Dividends are taxed as ordinary income, rather than at the Bush-era 15 percent capital gain rate.
  • Estate tax rates return to 2001 levels, and the taxable cap returns to $2 million instead of $10 million.
  • Payroll tax holiday expires

Some of these consequences aren’t great for the middle class, which is why House Democrats are pushing so hard to force a vote on the Senate bill extending those tax cuts while allowing the upper-income tax cuts to expire.

So, for you that actually have a job and are not sitting around on your butt, like me, wishing you had a job; guess what? Your taxes will be going up. Which means, you will get less of a refund after you file, especially if you are in the $20-120 a year bracket.

This is your modern-day Democratic Party. They would rather America go into a full-blown recession, than do something that would actually keep America out of a recession —- all for politics, all to keep their ideological purity. This is why I despise that god-forsaken party, with every last fiber of my being. Democrats of this day and age are not patriotic Americans. They are anti-American, Anti-Capitalist, profit hating, bastards who have really no place in this Country! They would rather stick it to the people who actually make jobs in this Country and those who work for them and actually give to society, than they would help them.

Joseph McCarthy warned us about these bastard fiends and for it, he sacrificed his career and life for it. The Republicans at the time, dismissed him as a drunkard, and as a paranoid old coot. We are seeing the fulfillment of his prophecies, now, in front of our eyes. It goes without saying that these are frightening times in America.

Be ready, that is all that I truly say about this; be very ready.

Very well put!

Another Conservative blogger, who thinks just like I do.

This is good stuff, follow the link:

Is it about supporting democracy? Because democracy is essentially bullshit, you know. I’ve never understood why promoting and defending democracy overseas is such a priority for some conservatives. Democracy has made a royal fucking wreck out of the US, after all.

Are we worried about a human rights disaster if Israel is wiped out? That’s a nice moral concern, but the US does a fine job of ignoring such things in countries where the people don’t look like us. Why is any of this our job, anyway? The Palestinians aren’t our enemies or even our problem. Even Hamas isn’t a particular threat to the US. This instinctive desire to root for Israel and curse the Palestinians makes less and less sense to me with every rocket fired and bomb dropped.

Now I’m not going all anti-Zionist here. Israel has every right to exist as a Jewish state. What I can’t wrap my head around is why we think it’s our job to defend them and demand their protection regardless of what (sometimes brutal) steps they take to maintain that status. That Israeli lobbying cash that keeps our elected representatives in thrall isn’t lining any of my pockets. How about you? I think our “leaders” are duping us, truthfully.

Simply put, I’m tired of defending Israel when the rewards are clearly diminishing, if there are any at all. Demographics and political developments among Israel’s neighbors give me a bad feeling that we’re supporting the losing side for no good reason.

It’s perfectly appropriate for us to admire a romantic and embattled people. It’s another thing entirely–and arguably not conservative–to place the ambitions of such a nation above the long-term interests of the United States. I think it’s time for American conservatives to break up this bad romance.

via Wherein I Call for Throwing Israel Under the Bus » Right Thinking.

I will be adding these guys to the blogroll. It is an excellent blog. Please, check them out and pop a donation if you can.

Video: Bob Costas explains himself

The only real quibble I have with this, is this: The gun culture that Bob Costas is referring to, is mostly promoted by Gangster Rap. Most of those guns that are in the inner cities are illegally bought and owned. Most legal gun owners are upstanding citizens, and not deranged nut jobs like the guy who shot up that theater or the guy who shot Gabrielle Giffords.

The painful truth is, that both of these guys bought these guns legally, and even I, as strong of a supporter of the second amendment as I am; I will concede that background checks would be a good idea, on the state level, with states sharing information. Now that would be a good idea. As for what kind of background, I believe checking for like serious health illnesses, such as mental illness and whether that person takes medication for some sort of illness is not unreasonable.

Either way, this video is very good. I think Costas defended his position well, I do not agree with it. I do not believe that the “Gun Culture” is necessarily a bad thing. The problem is that it has been exploited, by the gangsta rap culture.

(Via Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News Page)

Finally! The ACLU does something right….for a change.

It is about darned time that the ACLU has done something worthy of their name and not something in the league of the Communist Party of America!

My friends, this is good, very good:

The ACLU of Oklahoma filed a complaint Tuesday against a judge who made required church attendance part of a teenager’s sentence for manslaughter.

TulsaWorld.com reports 17-year-old Tyler Alred was sentenced to 10 years of probation after he pled guilty to manslaughter as a youthful offender in connection with an alcohol-related crash that killed 16-year-old John Luke Dum.

Muskogee County District Judge Mike Norman made mandatory church attendance for 10 years part of Alred’s requirements to avoid prison. Alred must also wear an ankle bracelet that monitors alcohol consumption, attend victim-impact panels and speak at events about the consequences of drinking and driving, among other requirements.

The ACLU argues in their complaint that Norman’s ruling violates the Oklahoma Code of Judicial Conduct because the decision disregards America’s principles of religious liberty.

via ACLU files complaint after teen sentenced to church in manslaughter case | Fox News.

Excellent. Glad to see that they actually are defending the Constitution for a change. This judge violated the first amendment, when he imposed a theocratic sentence this kid, who is a murderer, if you want to be real about it. The kid belongs in prison, period.

If I had the money, I would be sending the ACLU a donation myself, because of this. But, now, I do not have the funds. Nevertheless, good on them for doing this.

 

This pretty much sums it up

I know I said that I would not be linking to this guy anymore. I have reversed this decision. If Israel wants to be stupid, then they should expect derision from people like this man here.

Anyhow, this pretty much sums up my opinion of the Republican establishment:

The Republicans in the House are largely more conservative than at any time since Wilson left office. One would expect them to understand the intent of the voters who sent them there and thus say no to more taxes, no to more spending and no to more borrowing. Instead, we have Republican leadership in the House that actually proposed raising more revenue by eliminating deductions on income taxes. They somehow claim that they are being faithful to their stated mission of fiscal conservatism by making you pay more money but at the present tax rates. They, too, have failed economics 101.

Any significant movement of wealth from taxpayers to tax consumers will not enhance prosperity; it will crush it, and it will breed dependence on a government that is fiscally out of control. The recipients will no doubt vote to re-elect those who gave them these payments.

via NAPOLITANO: GOP for Big Government – Washington Times.

Amen and Amen. Big Government sucks and taxing the job creators is beyond stupid. If the GOP plays surrender monkey on this; you can kiss that party goodbye. Because the grassroots will not vote for a party that says one thing and does another.

I will also say this: If the Republican Party thinks for one lousy second that the Tea Party is dead and that the movement has ended, they will be in for a huge shock come 2014. I believe that there well a huge ground swell of voter discontent come 2014, especially after when taxes go up on small businesses.

So, if the GOP wants to cave on this; feel free — but the clock is ticking and you have basically blown through your political capital, Mr. Boehner. If you believe that punishing true Conservatives is going to do you any good. Think again. Oh, it will help you on the short-term, so that you can play nice with the President. But, in the long-term, you are toast. You will be out of job, because I tend to believe that the Republican grassroots and the Conservative grassroots —- you know, those who actually vote for you? — are not going to stand for this at all.

 

Former NSA Agent says, “The Government is spying on us”

This comes Via Joe Farah’s WorldNetDaily:

First the Video:

youtube placeholder image

The Story:

Did you ever get the feeling you were being watched?

And watched by the government?

There’s very good reason to feel that way, says a whistleblower from the National Security Agency who says everyone in the U.S. is under virtual surveillance by federal authorities.

In an interview with RT, William Binney, a former mathematician and code breaker at the NSA, says the FBI records the emails of nearly all Americans, including members of Congress, and warns that the government can use this information against anyone.

“The FBI has access to the data collected, which is basically the emails of virtually everybody in the country. And the FBI has access to it,” Binney said.

“All the congressional members are on the surveillance, too, no one is excluded. They are all included. So, yes, this can happen to anyone. If they become a target for whatever reason – they are targeted by the government, the government can go in, or the FBI, or other agencies of the government, they can go into their database, pull all that data collected on them over the years, and we analyze it all. So, we have to actively analyze everything they’ve done for the last 10 years at least.”

This is not entirely surprising to me at all. I have long suspected that the Government was spying on everyone via Internet. This was a direct result of the attacks on 9/11.

The only quibble I have with this little report is this right here:

“I don’t think they are filtering it. They are just storing it,” Binney told RT. “I think it’s just a matter of selecting when they want it. So, if they want to target you, they would take your attributes, go into that database and pull out all your data.”

You notice he says, “I don’t think…” You see he does not know any of this for a fact, he noticed that the Government was scanning information, using data miners for terrorist activity and basically freaked and left the NSA. However, I am encouraged to see the following; but I am dismayed at the same time:

Binney actually blew the whistle on NSA practices during the term of President George W. Bush, but with President Barack Obama now in office, he says, “it’s getting worse. They are doing more. He is supporting the building of the Bluffdale facility, which is over two billion dollars they are spending on storage room for data. That means that they are collecting a lot more now and need more storage for it. That facility by my calculations that I submitted to the court for the Electronic Frontiers Foundation against NSA would hold on the order of 5 zettabytes of data. Just that current storage capacity is being advertised on the web that you can buy. And that’s not talking about what they have in the near future.”

Now this is where Mr. Binney gets partisan. I doubt very highly that there is any real difference between George W. Bush and President Obama. Both supported Big Government and just because one was a Neoconservative and the other a Neo-Liberal (or one white and one black) does not mean that one is more bigger Government than the other.

The important fact is that the Government is doing this at all; as it violates the Constitution of the United States of American. However, to be fair and balanced, sort of like a Network that we all know about; essentially, the United States Government was caught with its proverbial pants down on 9/11 and the terrorists were in this Country flying under the radar, so to speak. So, the United States had to employ some controversial tactics to catch up with these idiots to catch them, before they hurt anyone else.

This, of course, sent the Constitutionalists into a tizzy and rightly so. Now, the Government has maintained that they only record calls going out of the Country and not domestic calls. This man says otherwise. Now, do I believe him? I have no opinion, and I present it to you to make up your minds. I just think we, as Americans, ought not trust our Government, especially while it is under control of an Government expansionist like Obama. At the same time, I believe it would be a idiotic mistake to believe that any Republicans would actually decrease the size of Government, as long as the Neoconservative right controls the Republican Party.