A Perfect Storm [Open Thread]

perfect post. I have been thinking about how far we have sunk and been writing on my blog about Obama being the perverse reaction to the bush years who will only make it worse.

We need to remember that actions speak louder than words. Obama has brought this lesson home this year. The actions of his campaign have been an attack on democracy. Words aside, a true reading of his campaign’s behavior can only lead one to the conclusion that he does not trust the democracy as we have known it.

If he wins all of us are going to be charged with defending individual freedoms. I say this as a dyed in the wool liberal.

Not to change the subject, but looks like Binden had problems with another TV stattion last week; in PA.
Hmmmmmmm
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/206633.html

Great cartoon, Pat. (I met you in Los Altos at THE Hill event where she said that her supporters felt they deserved to vote at the Convention). Well, we saw what that led to. Two of the three Hillary delegates selected at the caucus in my district were at this event. Later at the Democratic Fraudulent Convention all three Hillary delegates voted for Obama on the first ballot, which I believe is contrary to California law.

The citizens of CA paid 50 to 90 million dollars for an election in which the Democratic candidate was merely selected by the DNC–really Pelosi and her PAC money, funneled through one of Soros’ banks and used to buy off the super delegates to pressure Hillary to “suspend.” The elected delegates caved because of threats to their position in the Dem Party, loss of jobs, credentials, “50-state” funds, mob psychology, etc. Most never knew how close the delegate count really was, and the actual votes were clouded by the vote giveaway to Bama.

Thank god I am out of the current incarnation of the Democratic Party. I’m waiting until November 5th to switch to Decline to State. I want my vote for McCain to come from a registered (and lifelong) Dem.

I do believe there is a river of consciousness.

I was unable to sleep, my thoughts on the election and how angry I am that the democratic party stole from me my right to a free and fair election. I called my Democratic Representative and Senator and for the thousandth time asked them “How dare you”.

How dare you go along with this. How dare you not stand against this. How dare you not come home to us, we who elected you, and tell us what you knew was going on. How dare you.

Then I came here and found you here thinking much the same thoughts.

ATTENTION!

Jack Cashill is saying that William Ayers ghost wrote Obama’s first book “Dreams of My Father” and not holds a trump card (blackmail) over Obama. Check the article on World Net Daily. It comes out today Oct. 29th! Very important for someone that has not decided for whom to vote.

This is the site with all the archives of Cashill’s articles. They are very impressive.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/archives.asp?AUTHOR_ID=164

This is the site with all the archives of Cashill’s articles. They are very impressive.

Can democracy itself survive whatever happens?

The answer is no, Pat, but I expect you know that or you wouldn’t have posed the question. Our government doesn’t listen to the people and Washington has shown us clearly this year, they don’t care what we think. They make the rules and they break the rules. They create “committees” and they invite those concerned and they ask questions and they change nothing. Did any citizen in this country believe $700 Bil should be spent to bail out investment bankers or insurance companies? People voted to change the majority in the house and senate in 2006, then the Democrats said there was nothing they could do because they didn’t have enough. They vote to give ammunity to telecoms after they have broken the law and illegally tapped our phones and intercepted our emails. Obama has raised and will spend an obscene amount of money this year. Does anyone believe they were small donations which don’t obligate him to cooperations to do things against the interest of the people? I don’t believe people are apathetic and don’t care. I think we feel hopeless and helpless. We know how it’s supposed to work, but we are too divided to change anything and that is just the way Washington wants it to be.

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth” Abraham Lincoln

“Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike”
Theodore Roosevelt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXqrkjxtLSY&feature=related

Cynicism is not needed at this time.

America is not the east and west coast only. America is not all blighted with urban decay and gangs and illegal immigrants. States like Idaho and Montana don’t have large black populations (0- 3%) that are screaming for reparations and Obama in the White House. No one is succumbing to socialism without a whimper.

Democracy has taken a huge hit but don’t believe it is over. The larger picture is that corruption - the rust on the hull of the ship- has been exposed. Whether the corruption is on Wall Street, the corruption and obfuscation of the Obama campaign, the failure of GW Bush, or the corruption of trust and values by the media, it is being exposed and that exposure will continue for a long time.

The institutions of the democratic party, the Wall Street backroom deals, the biased media, and the dependency on someone else to fix our problems are out on the table. There’s where the change is needed. The change is NOT Obama and his cesspool of socialism and anti- american “friends”.

Stand up and be firm in what you believe. If you believe it’s over you’ve become an Obot.

The threshold on Obanta Claus’s promised tax cuts is getting lower and lower. It’s like an economic limbo competition. First it was $250,000, then $200,000 and now Biden is touting $150,000.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MzI3ODEyM2U4YWQxZDU4ZWQ5Yjk4YWNmZjIzM2U3NmY=

It reminds me of the old joke about the kid asking his miserly father for $20.

“$20? What the hell do you want $10 for? I don’t have any $5 spare. You’ll not get that dollar out of me.”

I have an idea for a new political party. One that only elects members to the US House of Representatives. It was born of that same frustration mentioned by elise in the comment above.

Our government does’t listen to the people and Washington has shown us clearly this year, they don’t care what we think. They make the rules and they break the rules

Here is how it will work, you will need to sign up the majority of people in your district. Every two years they have to pay a membership fee, maybe 5 dollars. A month or even a week before the Nov. election a name is randomly selected from the names of all paid up members. That person is the nominee and everyone else has pledged to vote for him/her warts and all.

The remainder of the membership fee is divided into good sized chunks and distributed by a random selection process. Recipients of the chunks are part time lieutenants to the member and liaison to the community. The member pledges to rely closely on the community for guidance, every community has its experts, political junkies, and avid researchers. Member uses all communication means available to keep in nearly constant contact with the community. Guidance is provided to the member by the community consensus and the lieutenants will set up community meetings to reach a consensus.

The member only serves one term, so it the damage from a bad pick is limited.

Every two years the community is enriched by US House alumni who will also help guide the new member. The member gets about a hundred and sixty thousand a year and medical. And service in the House of Representatives should be considered the same as being called to active duty to an employer.

Just think about it for a minute. The house controls the budget, it could take control of our country back from the Democrats and Republicans and the lobbyists. Wouldn’t it be fun to see where a truly representative government would take us? And any lobbyist influence would have to directed to the people of the district so everyone would be aware of it.

If the executive branch is Socialist and the legislative branch is lock step in line with the executive and the Socialist president sees the constitution as something needing to be updated and revised — then no, democracy cannot survive unless the freedoms of the constitution are protected. If we cannot even guarantee against voter fraud in this country, we’re already on the way toward destroying our democracy.

Everything that is going on now was anticipated hundreds of years ago. Why have we not remembered?

Thomas Jefferson:
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

James Madison
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

George Washington:
“The thing that separates the American Christian from every other person on earth is the fact that he would rather die on his feet, than live on his knees!” [Fuck yeah!]

This guy is truly Prophetic
Daniel Webster
“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from anothe quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing.”

“Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”

“If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may ovenvhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”
[It's taken about 40 years for this happen]

“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy, If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”

Noah Webster:
“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed….No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God. The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty;

“If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for the selfish or local purposes;

“Corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded.

“If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.”

“Corruption of morals is rapid enough in any country without a bounty from government. And…the Chief Magistrate of the United States should be the last man to accelerate its progress.”

Let us not insult their honor and memory by saying they haven’t warned us.

The constitution must be protected then.

Let’s start with Pelosi and Obama. They are two of the biggest perpetrators at this point. Pelosi because she wouldn’t put impeachment on the table and Obama because he is anti american. Then let’s go for the rest of the Dem party. They have done everything to destroy the values of rule and order to threaten our democracy.

End the tyranny of the Dem party by voting for McCain and after the election making sure your legislators stay on course.

What’s the situation in Virginia? Everyone’s mentioning PA, OH, FL but Virginia is a must win for McCain/Palin.

That’s really cute, Pat! Bravo!

I saw Sarah Palin last night, right here in central Pa. Look, I will tell you that I BELIEVE, in my HEART, that John and Sarah win Pennsylvania and this entire election will turn on my state. In a building that holds just under 8,000 (I know this building, I know what it’s different formats hold) at 9 p.m. on a cold windy central Pennsylvania night, Sarah drew almost 8,000 inside with ANOTHER 3,000 or so turned away! YES! The fire marshall shut it down at that point.

We are the invisible voter my friends and last night, by the Nittany Lion statue in Penn State’s Rec Hall, we ROARED. This woman works a crowd and she speaks to US, Americans, those who remember what America is supposed to mean. I was blown away by her stature and grace, by her ‘reality.’

A wonderful aside. My wife and I were sitting by a wonderful African American woman who told me she takes no end of crap for voting McCain Palin but she said “I will not vote for that racist SOB” (her words, not mine!). “I don’t care what the color of his skin is, that man is a BAD man!” (her emphasis!). We waited in line, with 10,000 others, for two hours just to get in. It was about 30 degrees and windy as hell. We didn’t care. NO ONE did. Everytime someone saw a veteran or a disabled person working their way to the back of the line, someone would grab ‘em and let them cut right in front. IT WAS WONDERFUL!

A last aside: There were about 30 Obama-Cultists protesting (of course) and I heard one say “F***, look at all these people! How can this be happening here?” It was a revelation!

WE

WIN

THIS

STATE!

Take care, fight, vote, be brave!

Patrick

I been saying to expect the total collapse and destruction of the US Dollar…. Here it comes folks.

Below are two parts, the first is a blogger’s commentary, followed by a Bloomsberg News story about a statement made by the Treasury Department.

=====================

In 2009 the US Will Be Forced to Selectively Default and Devalue Its Debt

We have seen estimates that next year the US will have to finance a $2 Trillion annual deficit. They may be able to push it further into the next Administration than that by the forbearance of the world, but not by much. We’d expect a significant drop in Treasuries by 2011 at the latest.

It should be obvious to anyone that we are approaching the apogee of the Treasury bubble, with the credit bubble having broken already.

When the Treasury says they are facing unprecedented challenges in financing the US public debt next year that is an understatement.

Once the deleveraging of the markets subsides, the dollar and Treasuries will drop, perhaps with some momentum, as the rest of the world realizes that the US has no choice but to default. This can be resolved in several ways, including continued subsidies from foreign sources in the form of virtual debt forgiveness, devaluation of the dollar, raising of taxes, and higher interest rates on debt.

The problem now is that the US has breached the point where it can service its debt out of real cash flows, and turning this around will require a severe devaluation of the US dollar.

Devaluation and selective default are the only foreseeable systemic alternatives. There are other exogenous paths of a more political nature such as consolidation and war that may color the default a slightly different color, but a selective default it remains.

This is the fundamental situation. Everything else is speculation and commentary.

Bloomberg
Ryan Says Treasury Faces `Unprecedented’ Financing Needs in ‘09
By Rebecca Christie

Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Treasury faces historic demands to fund a growing budget deficit and raise money for a $700 billion Wall Street rescue program the department’s top domestic finance official said today.

“This year’s financing needs will be unprecedented,” said Anthony Ryan, the Treasury’s acting undersecretary for domestic finance, at a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference in New York, where he was a last-minute substitution for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

To raise the necessary funding, the Treasury is looking at selling more long-term debt and possibly bringing back three- year note sales at the Nov. 5 refunding, Ryan said. The Treasury also is raising money to address “many different policy objectives” and reduce bond market disruptions and will try to keep its borrowing patterns as regular as possible, he said.

“We firmly believe that investors value greatly and pay a premium for Treasury’s predictable actions,” Ryan said. “To the very best of our ability, we intend to stay the course.”

Ryan also said the U.S. government now “effectively guarantees” debt issued by mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises placed into government conservatorship on Sept. 7. The preferred stock agreement included in the government takeover means the U.S. now backs “both existing and to be issued” GSE debt.

“The U.S. government stands behind these enterprises, their debt and the mortgage-backed securities they guarantee,” Ryan said. The GSEs have almost $6 trillion in outstanding debt and mortgage securities.

U.S. equity and credit markets remain under “considerable strain” and face ongoing challenges, he said. That said, Federal Reserve efforts to backstop commercial paper are “helping” to stabilize markets, he said.

Last Updated: October 28, 2008 10:47 EDT

This is chilling.

If you have not seen this video, watch it.

I participate on these blogs and it can get a bit back-and-forth and we all have our points of view.

This leaves me speechless.

I got chills watching it. Not the good kind, the same kind I got waking up in NYC on a September 11 a few years ago, preparing to go to work downtown, at Broadway/John Street. Also known as the perimeter of Ground Zero.

Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sj91NH5fvw

Quote from Canada Free Press “It is not known, of course, what kind of illegal financial activities may have contributed to the current crisis. But based on what has been publicly said by the President and the SEC, the culprits could possibly include operators of the controversial, mysterious and secretive financial vehicles known as hedge funds.

A hedge fund operator such as George Soros, who was convicted of insider trading in France, is known to make money from the collapse of national economies and currencies. Labeled “The Man who broke the Bank of England” because of his financial activities against the British currency, he is said to be on a witness list of hedge fund operators that will be called to testify before Congress next month―probably after the election.

One wonders if the Democrats controlling Congress will want to investigate or even aggressively question the multi-billionaire. It is significant, as I noted in a January column, that Soros pours millions of dollars into the Democratic Party, its front groups and candidates”.

Soros is the man who’s bankrolling Obama’s campaign with OUR money , and no doubt funnelling it to him in illegal contributions.

Does anybody know if he is wanted in France? If so he should be deported.

This might prove helpful. Not sure where to post it.

On another blog, I read the following comment: “And all you have to do to be elected Governor of Alaska is convince enough high school dropouts.”

Okay, fine, just another idiot. But, being as anal as I am, I looked it up, of course. All we have is from 2005, because it’s based on U.S. Census data. But, thought you might like to know the results. Here’s the ranking, at least as much of it as matters:

United States and States
R1401. Percent of People 25 Years and Over Who Have Completed High School (Includes Equivalency): 2005
Universe: Population 25 years and over More information about this table…

Data Set: 2005 American Community Survey
Survey: American Community Survey, Puerto Rico Community Survey

Rank Ordered by Rank
State Order by State Percent Margin of Error

1 Wyoming 91.3 +/-0.8

2 Alaska 91.0 +/-0.6

Pat, your cartoon is right on target with the issue at hand. We know the Democratic Party has sunk to the lowest of lows, and Lord knows, many of us have been tossed overboard to fend for ourselves. But the very fabric of our democracy is at stake here, and I don’t think I’ve felt the fear that I have now if Obama is elected. If we don’t stop it now, I’m not sure it can be stopped.

Democracy has never been pristine. Election fraud has been a constant. Back-room deals? You bet. Politicians who garner power and hold other politician’s feet to the fire? Of course.

We are an imperfect people, so the system reflects us.

I personally think this year has yielded some very good changes. For one, I’ve never seen people turn away from the media so firmly. The media drank the kool-aid, abused their power to push their candidate, and threw away their credibility in doing so. And the public….just the regular Joes….are not fools. They watched. They knew. And they are ticked off.

I think this year showed the country that treating women as sex objects makes it impossible for a strong woman professional politician to get through a message without having to deal with her cleavage (amazing, given Hillary’s age that this is still even an issue) and her wardrobe. It’s bad enough that the wives of candidates are subjected to this drivel…but a standing governor has to take time to describe where her earrings came from? Even the most hard-core sexists I know agree that this was embarassing for all. Another media black eye. Why in the world do they think people care? They are the only ones talking about it. Not real people.

I thought a LOT of people caught on to a LOT of political tactics this year. That’s a good thing. The election has gone on so long that the techniques of electioneering are better understood today than ever.

So there are some good points about this year.

Pat, I agree with you!
During this election, I have felt intense distrust of the major players!
I’m usually fairly straight-forward, so I don’t think I’m ready for a “rubber room”!
Although I was hesitant to bring it up before, some of the spokes-people at a funeral, for instance, were advancing the agenda of putting a “black” in the White House…not just a democrat…there is a difference in the two objectives!
Will America wise up and save it’s precious heritage?

Another great cartoon, Pat:

Ob (or the Democratic Nominee) should be ahead by 20 points or so, not by 2 points (today’s Gallop Poll).

It’s because the Congress has a 13% approval rate.
Taking Impeachment OFF THE TABLE was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Not having a “pull-out” date for our troops in Iraq was the second straw.

We’re in deep trouble. No way out.

Perfect storm indeed.

This election raises some important questions about the state of our democracy:

1. For two major elections in a row (2000 & 2008), we are electing a President based on marketing and branding (Brand Bush and Brand Obama) as opposed to leadership and ability? Why is it that few Americans — especially on the left — are paying attention to the candidate’s stand(s) on issues? What can be done about this?

2. Why can’t we get candidates to address the issues? Both Obama and McCain propose tax cuts. Yet, our nation under Bush passed the largest tax increase in history (Iraq and bail-out expenses) and then put it on the Visa card. The bill is now coming due. Neither candidate will address this issue. The idea of tax cuts in the face of a looming national credit card bill is absurd. The same can be said for what we will do in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3. Why did the media chose in 2000 not to question Bush’s record (cocaine use, failed military service, lack of experience) and then again in 2008 fail to question Obama’s record (changing positions, Rezko and Chicago corruption, lack of experience)? In contrast, the media chose to smear Hilary Clinton with all sorts of false and exaggerated stories (as they did Kerry in 2004). What is determining how the media selects its “chosen one” and why do we go along?

Great cartoon! If we ever needed someone with experience to help us, it is now!!!!!

Rich

A great depiction of impending doom to our democracy, Pat. We will feel the impact for many years of the failed policies of the Bush administration that have almost capsized our ship. Now we face the uncertainties of what lies ahead from the next administration. Will it be more of the same with McCain or something much different, but probably not better with Obama? Seems the media and the polls and Wall Street have pretty much conceded it will be an Obama world. It is much more clear what we could expect from McCain/Palin. No matter how hard he tries in these last days to distance himself from Bush, the fact is he has supported Bush policies most of the time. How Obama will operate as President is much less clear. To some people he is the new hope for major change. To others, he is a scary figure because of the kinds of people he has associated himself with as a budding politician. Many people are suspicious that underneath the flowery rhetoric lies a hidden agenda that, if implemented, will further threaten to sink our shaky democracy. Perhaps the major bright spot for the future of our democracy is that many more people have gotten involved in understanding what are the crucial issues at stake in the election. There will be many more people voting this year and feeling they have a stake in the future of our country. It may require dedicated efforts from all of us to bail out a sinking ship.

A perfect cartoon!

Excellent cartoon. This primary season in the Democratic party has been a nightmare and our country will suffer from the insanity of it for years to come. Today, Mac and I voted early and we both voted for McCain/Palin. I, a devoted Democrat who would have voted for a Yellow Dog before I voted against a Democrat was left without a Democratic Party and no real Democrat to vote for in this election. It breaks my heart but I do believe that Obama is more dangerous to our country than McCain or Palin either would be. A very sad day for Mac and me.

Thank you for the cartoon that so accurately expresses my feelings right now.

To elect an inexperienced candidate with little substance at a grave time like this is frankly exceedingly reckless and unconscienable.