More of the mess that America created in Iraq

As many of you know; I was initially was for the invasion of Iraq back in 2003, at the time; like most people, I was under the impression that Iraq had WMD’s. Well, like most people, I was very wrong about that impression, after it came out that the United States was never able to find said WMD’s. Having said all of that; here is the mess that United States of America created in the invasion and removal of Saddam:

In the latest attack, a series of bombings and shootings across the country on Thursday killed 55 and wounded more than 225. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In a 33-minute audio statement posted on an extremist website, al-Adnani warned of an impending “stage of real confrontation and war against the despicable (Shiites).”
“The war of the Sunnis with the (Shiites) is a religious war, a holy war of faith,” he said, according to a translation of the remarks provided by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks Islamist extremist messages. “There is no way out of it and there is no swerving from it.”
His comments played on fears of a new surge in sectarian violence two months after the American military withdrawal from Iraq. Attacks are nowhere as frequent as they were during the tit-for-tat sectarian fighting from 2005 to 2007.
Tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims have lingered for centuries since Islam split into the two sects after the death of the Prophet Muhammed in 632. In Iraq, the minority Sunnis have feared being politically sidelined since the overthrow of Saddam’s Sunni-led regime.
via Al Qaeda In Iraq Warns Of Looming War With Shiites | Fox News.

First of all, I thought we defeated Al-Qaeda in Iraq ? Did I not see this huge celebration in the blogosphere and on Fox News, about how our Military defeated Al-Qaeda in Iraq? I guess not. Of course, I really do know what happened; before some liberal starts saying that I “saw the light” or something silly like that. What really happens was this; we never actually totally defeated Al-Qaeda in Iraq, we set them back a bit, by killing their leader and cutting off a good amount of their funds from other countries.

Of course, like the termites that they are; they recovered, possibly by funding from Iran or by elements of the corrupt Iraq Government that we put into place; and now they are attacking Shiites. Which is why George W. Bush did not want to leave the Country so quickly, in the first place. This not say that I did not or do not support the boots on the ground; I support our Military in anything that they do. This is because they are just doing their jobs. Now, as far as the politics of said operation is concerned; I thought that once the specter of WMD was out of the question; we should have just left. This was before Al-Qaeda in Iraq ever was formed at all. In fact, Al-Qaeda in Iraq did not set up shop in Iraq until like a year or so after the invasion!

Either way, all of that above that I have written in that second paragraph is now past history and there is no point in griping about the past. It is over and it happened and now we have to deal with what is coming down the pike now. I look for the United States to end going back into the Country Iraq, again; to stop this War. This most likely will not happen under an Obama administration, unless he absolutely has to; because it would hurt him politically. However, if a Republican does win, I could see us going back into Iraq again soon. For the Country’s fiscal sake, I hope we are able to avoid going in there again. Getting in the middle of wars of this sort only gets the United States in trouble with the international community. Like Vietnam and Korea, us going into these Countries to settle disputes, often fails and fails badly.

Sometimes I think Joe Biden might have actually been right. Maybe he should have just walled of the city and given one part to one group and another part to the other group. Maybe this sort of stuff would not be happening now. It is just a thought, I mean, I would rather deal with two separate Countries and they be peaceful ones, than to deal with one huge waring Country.

About those Palin e-mails that the media are talking about

You know the one’s that the media just had to have?

Well, now the MSM is lying about the contents of those e-mails.

Much to their credit; Conservatives for Palin, the only group of Palin supporters out there; are fishing those e-mails and getting the TRUE info out there about the content of those e-mails.

God love them all; those C4P people are on it. Heck, I’m more impressed with the C4P people, than I was Sarah Palin herself! 😯

I was not a huge fan of Palin’s when she was running; but that was because the people handling her were complete and utter buffoons. But I will give her defenders at C4P credit for this here; Sarah Palin could sing “Hail Satan!” in her underwear horribly out of key and those gals would defend her! 😉 In other words; they’re a faithful lot. There’s much to be said about that, especially today’s political world. (of which I know much about these days!)

Good job Ladies and yes, you guys over there too! 😀

The Late Night Music Express Presents: Whitecross

Video: Kira Davis for Republican President in 2016!

It’s too late for 2012, but man she would get my vote in 2016 in a heartbeat! This is Kira Davis. I would say that I am smitten; but, naturally, she’s married. Heart-Ache, Heart-Ache indeed. 🙁

This comes via Gateway Pundit and HotAir.com:

This is another reason why I do not support Santorum

I have nothing personally against Catholics. I just disagree with their theology. However, when a wife of a Presidential candidate spouts stuff like this here; I am afraid that I get a bit worried.

Via Washington Post:

Rick Santorum’s wife granted a rare interview Thursday, telling conservative talk show host Glenn Beck that she initially had been against her husband running for president but finally concluded it was “God’s will.”
Speaking in deeply spiritual terms, Karen Santorum said she had been reluctant to throw her support behind the idea because her husband’s failed 2006 Senate re-election campaign had been so brutal. Also, she said, her husband had become more involved with the family after leaving the Senate, and was even coaching Little League.
But she said she prayed on the matter, and finally changed her mind after the passage of the 2010 health care overhaul.
“I did always feel in my heart that God had big plans for Rick. Eventually it was there, tugging at my heart,” she said. “When Obamacare passed, that was it. That put the fire in my belly.”

Sorry to say this; but I happen to agree with the commenters over at HotAir.com, this just does not look good for Rick Santorum. I also dislike his stance towards Libertarianism, which I happen to find highly offensive. Furthermore, I believe that any person that is running on some sort of a “God Mandate,” should never, ever be take seriously as a candidate for President of the United States of America.

Speaking of HotAir, this comment made me almost fall out of my chair, laughing!:

Religion is like a penis.
It is fine to have one.
It is fine to be proud of it.
It is NOT fine to whip it out in public and wave it around.
And PLEASE do not shove it down my children’s throat.

Surprise Rolling on the floor Laughing Hee hee Doh It’s a bit crude; but I happen to agree. Tongue

Again, I am all for a President who is truly a Christian believer. Reagan was a Believer in Christ; he did not attend Church very much, but I digress. However, if their overall reason for running for President is a “calling from God,” then I believe that this said person should be not be taken seriously for running for President. I want a Constitutionalist Conservative in the White House, and not a Christianist Theocrat. The two cannot co-exist; theocratic folk are statists and are not truly Conservative. Furthermore, many Conservatives, including myself, are totally against radical Islamists and their quest to bring jihad to America. To me, it seems a bit hypocritical for those who advocate the destruction of said radical Muslims to be advocating the Christian equivalent of it.

Not only this, but allow me to float this question as well — at the risk of being accused of playing the “race card,” as it is called: Mrs. Santorum feels that fire in her belly for her husband to run; now, if I may, why does she have that fire? Is it because she is genuinely concerned for her Country, because of the socialist polices of President Obama — or is it because of his black skin? Confused Hopefully, it is the latter; but with the majority of the Republicans in this race, I suspect it is the former.

Just a thought. Nerd

Ouch!

Heh:

Here’s Sarah Palin’s reaction — which is decidedly unnuanced and unpresidential: “Obama apologizes for the inadvertent Koran burning this week; now the U.S. trained and protected Afghan Army can apologize for killing two of our soldiers yesterday.”
Good thing we kept this state-schooled hoochie out of DC.
via Taliban: ““Kill them, beat them, take them as prisoners and teach them such a lesson that they never summon the courage to abuse the Holy Qur’an again” | protein wisdom.

Oof. That’s harsh. 😯 I thought I was bad with my “Tina the happy hoo haa” posting, which a particular crypto Neo-Nazi turned into a fiasco.

Kudos to Matt K. Lewis

For publishing this piece here on what caused the recession, which was caused by other factors than the “flash crash of 2008.”

Quoting Matt:

1. The FED kept interest rates too low for too long – This isn’t rocket science. Keeping interest rates artificially low led predictably to excessive credit and speculative asset bubbles — such as occurred in the housing market (this problem has not been fixed).
2. The expanded mandate of Fannie and Freddie – The housing collapse can very likely be traced back the Clinton administration’s pressuring of Fannie and Freddie to encourage more home buying. The Community Reinvestment Act, for example — in which banks were encouraged to people who normally would not be worthy of obtaining home loans — was especially pernicious. The CRA, of course, had been around for a long time prior to Clinton, but as Howard Husock noted in 2000, the Clinton Administration, “turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities.”
(Note: Anyone interested in learning more about Fannie and Freddie should read “Reckless Endangerment,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning business reporter and New York Times columnist Gretchen Morgenson, and housing finance expert Joshua Rosner.)
3. Mark-to-market accounting – This accounting device requires financial institutions to adjust their balance sheets and capital accounts whenever the value of an asset they own increases or decreases. The trouble with this is that it requires banks to show paper losses for assets they may have no plans to sell (in fact, the bank may be planning to wait for the price to increase prior to selling it). FDR suspended mark to market accounting in 1938, but unfortunately, the George W. Bush administration brought it back in 2007. As Steve Forbes wrote in 2009: “Of the more than $700 billion that financial institutions have written off, almost all of it has been book write-downs, not actual cash losses.” (The requirement has since been loosened.)
4. Repeal of the uptick rule – Also enacted by FDR, this says investors can’t short a stock unless it goes up in price. According to Investopedia: ”The uptick rule prevents short sellers from adding to the downward momentum when the price of an asset is already experiencing sharp declines.” In 2007, the SEC got rid of the rule, resulting in investors betting against the market, manipulating the market, and depressing stock prices. (Note: Like everything else on the list, some people dispute the notion that the uptick rule would have helped. Others argue that short sellers get a bum rap. For example, the last infamous CEO to complain about short sellers was Dick Fuld of Lehman Brothers. The company went bankrupt and short selling had nothing to do with the rapid decline of price.)
5. Repeal of Glass-Steagall – Enacted by FDR after the Great Depression, a main provision of Glass-Steagall was separating investment banking from commercial banking. But in 1999, the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (passed by a majority of Republicans and signed by Bill Clinton) repealed that provision. The problem, of course, is that this encouraged banks to be speculative — to take risks, knowing all along that the FDIC would insure their loss. (The notion that repealing Glass-Steagall contributed to the recession is disputed by some economists. Some would even argue that it helped. For example, when Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch got into serious trouble, they were promptly acquired by J.P. Morgan and Bank of America. These rescues were possible only because banks could own full-service broker-dealers.)
So there you have it: Five things which (I, at least believe) contributed to the crisis.

Only thing I will add to this is that the CRA DID cause the housing bubble, because of what they added, which was the sub-prime clause that was added to that act. This caused a considerable amount of credit to given to those whom without said act, would never have been able to get said credit. This is called, “taking money from the people who have it and giving it to those who have not” or simply put; class warfare.

Furthermore, I am glad to see that Mr. Lewis does point out that Bush’s White House did have some input into the crash and recession. So many times, I get so frustrated with people on the right; who look at everything through a partisan lens and try to blame Obama or the Democrats only for the mess. Truth is, the Republicans screwed up royally too, with the things listed above and with their addiction to spending, which did not help either.

What burns my rather large behind is that both Republicans and Democrats both; instead of usually fixing the problem, they sit around and blame one other for the damned problem, which fixes absolutely nothing. This is why I despise partisan politics so much. Maybe if Republicans and Democrats had tried to work together more, we might could have staved off the recession. Nevertheless, that did not happen, because both sides knew that they could create a cottage industry out of blaming the other side.

….and that my friend is the much sad state of politics in this Country.

Tea Party Patriots comes apart

A sad headline, but there is reason this is happening:

Mark Meckler, the co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, has resigned from his role with the grassroots group over internal disputes about the leadership of the organization, The Daily Caller has learned.
In an email obtained by TheDC, Meckler told the state coordinators of Tea Party Patriots on Thursday night that he “fought long and hard” to maintain the group “as an organization that is run from the bottom up, with the intent of serving the grassroots.”
“Unfortunately, it is my belief that I have lost this fight,” Meckler said. “I probably fought the internal fight longer than I should have, but I wanted to give absolutely every possible effort to preserving what I believe was the unique nature of the TPP organization.”
Since the organization’s founding, Meckler has shared the role of national coordinator with co-founder Jenny Beth Martin. But Meckler wrote in the email that he had lost “influence in the leadership of the organization, and it has been that way for quite some time.”
Meckler said the board granted Martin “almost complete power over the day-to-day operations” in November 2011 after a “protracted fight in which I was complaining about the direction, operation (top-down) and finances of the organization.”
via Mark Meckler | Tea Party Patriots | Resigns | The Daily Caller.

There is a reason why this group, The Tea Party Patriots is falling apart. It is because this group became too friendly with the Republican establishment. This is not really a surprise to this writer; the “Tea Party” movement as a whole was, in this writer’s opinion, a colossal and abject failure. The reason I feel this way, is the current crop of Republican candidates running for election. I mean, where is the “Tea Party” candidate? Quite bluntly, there is none. The Tea Party’s mandate to the Republican Party was “No more business as usual!” The Republican Party proceeded to capitalize on the movement and then turned right around and did what they usually do; ignored the movement and pursued their own agenda.

Therefore, this little story is not a big surprise to me at all. Before too long I look for most of these “Tea Party” groups to fizzle out and close up shop. The Tea Party was a good idea, it just never made the impact that it should have, largely because neither of these parties was willing to listen or change their ways.

Detroit’s Autorama is in town

Now here is something that makes me get a bit nostalgic:

Now that Detroit has had a month to bask in the future of what the automotive industry has to offer, the Motor City will now take a look at its past.
The 60th annual Autorama begins noon Friday and runs through Sunday at Cobo Center, One Washington Blvd. in Detroit.
Around 100,000 people are expected at the annual car event, which will feature about 1,000 exhibits with celebrities, attractions, beer and — of course — more than 700 hot rods, classic cars and customized vehicles.
via 2012 Autorama Detroit: Motor City revs up for ‘America’s greatest hot rod show’ | MLive.com

When I was a little kid, my Father and I would always head to Cobo Hall in Detroit every year to go to this show. It was like a year religious pilgrimage for us. Some years, like back in the 80’s, my cousins, my Mom, and her sister and hubby would trek down to the show. Back in the 80’s stars from shows like “The Duke of Hazzard” would be there. People like Tom Wopat, James Best — who played Roscoe P. Coltrane — were there. What I remember the most, was the walking; we would walk that entire show, all rooms, upstairs and downstairs of that hall and look at everything. We used to go to the auto-show as well; it was fun time. I remember getting my picture taken in the car from the T.V. Series “Knight Rider,” You know K.I.T.T.? I got it taken in the car from the first season and I believe the second season. It was a Polaroid, and it cost my Dad five bucks.

My Dad, because he worked at General Motors, used to get free tickets to all of those shows. I miss those old days; they were the “magic years” for me as a kid. Sadly, we stopped going to those shows, mainly because it was such a pain in the rear to get down there and the walking was not easy on my Dad or me, as we both got older. In addition, in addition, we started hearing about incidents happening at those show, shootings, robberies, and so forth, so we just quit going. I went to an Auto Show once, by myself, back in the days when I was actually working. I actually found a good parking spot on the roof of Cobo, I went inside, and the place was heavily crowded. I went and looked at a few cars, fought my way through the crowd; and finally got disgusted and left. After that, I never went back. In addition, people were rude, and one person even hurled a racist remark at me, for simply being in his way. Naturally, he was black and I was white; so in that City, this was considered normal. This was, for what it might be worth, in the 1990’s. Things changed in 10 years, I suppose.

The bottom line is this; if you do not mind crowds, rude people and want to see some nice classic cars, this is the show to see. The cars, of course, come from an era when Detroit was on top of its automotive game. Like good, moral women —-they just do not build them like that anymore.

Never trust a Baptist

Looks like this Church learned the lesson I learned here a few years ago:

A West Bloomfield man was arraigned Thursday on charges that he embezzled more than $600,000 from a Pontiac church over the last six years, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.
Reuben Bynum, 61, was released on bond. He had been the financial officer for Trinity Baptist Church until August, when the money was discovered missing, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A complaint from a deacon led to a review of church accounts, the Sheriff’s Office said. It showed that Bynum forged a signature on church checks and misused a church ATM card.
via West Bloomfield man faces charges of embezzling $600,000 from church | Detroit Free Press | freep.com.

It is a lesson that I learned here back in 2006, which I wrote about here a few weeks ago, when writing about something else — and that is, if a Baptist knows that they can stab you in the back, they will most likely do it. Although, to be fair to my Baptist brethren, most so-called Christians would do it too.