In the absense of leadership

...the idiots will run the show

" White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Sunday she knew of no talks going on between banking giant Citigroup and the federal government for financial aid.

Speaking to reporters traveling with President George W. Bush, who is returning to Washington after attending the Asia-Pacific summit in Peru, Perino declined to comment on whether the president supported a federal rescue package for Citigroup." - Reuters

This is quite frankly, obscene. Our money is being hosed around with reckless abandon by those on the hill, and the executive branch has entirely sold out to Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary. It's be comedy if it wasn't real.

Pirates of Somalia

So, back from mexico. Good trip, we finished the house in 4 days and wrapped up some unfinished business from this summer when we left early. Great trip, and Lord willing we'll be back again in march.


The stories that caught my eye yesterday concerned piracy in the Indian Ocean, mostly off the coast of Somalia. A Saudi Arabian oil tanker, the Sirius Star, carrying a colossal quantity of oil was pirated this week with a ransom demand of $10 million. To date this year, at least 83 reported pirate instances have occurred.

Times UK: "The International Maritime Bureau has reported that at least 83 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January, of which 33 were hijacked. Of those, 12 vessels and more than 200 crew were still in the hands of pirates. "

Even in the past week, there have been more hijackings.

Times UK: "Since the Sirius Star was captured at least three other ships – one Greek, one Thai and one from Hong Kong – have been seized by Somali pirates."

There is considerable money being made by these marauders as well.

AP: "...But in northern coastal towns like Haradhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.

In Haradhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast. Businessmen started gathering cigarettes, food and cold glass bottles of orange soda, setting up small kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to re-supply almost daily.

Dahir said she is so confident in the pirates, she instituted a layaway plan just for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."

For Somalis, the simple fact that pirates offer jobs is enough to gain their esteem, even as hostages languish on ships for months. The population makes sure the pirates are well-stocked in qat, a popular narcotic leaf, and offer support from the ground even as the international community tries to quash them.

"Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Haradhere.

"Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy.""

My initial reaction was to blame a news media with little left to report on by dreary economic news for drumming up stories that happen frequently but get little coverage. But looking at the data from years past compared to this year tells a different story.
(Chart source, UN Data)

Since 1991, there has been no functioning government in Somalia. For a short time, a set of Islamic courts were set up, and these radically curtailed piracy in the region, and restored some semblance of a legal system for this impoverished region. When the ICG was destroyed in late 2007, piracy again exploded, and has rapidaly increased to its current level, which is indeed considerable compared to last year.

"Negotiations with ships’ owners can go on for several months and are clouded in secrecy. Fourteen ships with more than 250 crew members are being held as negotiations continue. Among them is the Ukrainian arms ship Faina, which was captured in August with a cargo of 33 battle tanks, hundreds of crates of Kalashnikovs and ammunition""

More naval vessels of the trading nations are being moved into the area, and I imagine this is not a problem that will be ongoing. Simple economics dictate that shipping lanes are more prosperous without piracy.

What on earth is wrong with W?

Ok, so real quick. I'm in mexico again, helping build another house for a fellow child of the King and his family down here, which is why there has been a stark and sudden lack of posts following that debacle of an election (for those with brains, anyways) a few days back.

We're well ahead of schedule on the house, so we may get to some of the work left unfinished by our hasty withdraw due to a hurrican this summer. Thats my prayer, anyways.

So I hit up the Drudge today, and find an absolute horrid mess of a government take over being delt to us by George W Bush and his crony, Treasury Secretary Paulson.

Here it is, and I'll say it.
What a bunch of commies who have masqueraded as republicans over the past 10 years.

Officially, I have almost as much repect for this bunch of mentally vacant chowderheads running the white house as I will for Barak and his coming term.

ABC News:
"When we'll get a list of those dozens of additional applicants which will be getting a piece of the $125 billion in remaining taxpayer case remains to be seen. The original CPP participants were told about the program at a closed-door meeting at Treasury and no minutes have been released on what was said during the meeting.

So, is this the biggest bait and switch in American history? There will certainly be critics who say that Paulson and the Bush Administration were disingenuous when they were selling Congress and the American public on the program back in September. And they’d probably be right. Paulson said today, he knew when the bill was signed the purchase of trouble assets wasn’t the right solution to the problem. But history will judge Hank & Co. on the effectiveness of their response. If the risks to the financial system remain low, the future doesn’t bring bigger bank and financial institution failures, and the recession doesn’t get too deep or last too long, then the quick pivot on this plan will probably go unnoticed."

The Aftermath of the American Electoral Process 2008

First Democrat President in 8 years.
Barack Obama is now president elect, with the million ramifications that brings to bear. But, I think you can take the label of racist off the majority of Americans now, and its about time.

Obama received more of the popular vote then Bush did in either election, and really, more votes then any other man in American history has earned. Think about that for a minute... he managed to unite 62,682,389 65,340,608 people to vote for him.
Mac? He showed up with less then John F. Kerry brought in, at 55,543,527 57,358,053 votes.
(Voter tallys updated 11-8-08)

I attribute this election lost to a lack of conservative energy, and rightly so. The GOP betrayed its principles, and is paying a heavy price for it.

But not too heavy.
The democrats failed to acquire a super majority in either house. Obama was elected on a centrist platform, not one of radical leftist ideology that we know he carries. But, in the first term at least, he will need to stick to the middle of the road for political reasons.

So not all is lost, but little was won.

Its over

This long, civil presidential campaign is over.


Can we get on with the issues now??

Iran hates women.

Times: "Last month police stopped her as she drove on the Modarres highway, Tehran’s main north-south route, supposedly for overtaking. She had planned to leave Iran two days later. Clearly worried, Momeni called Parvin Ardalan, founder of the Iranian women’s campaign, as she was being pulled over. “She was talking to me when they were telling her to stop and was asking me what to do,” Ardalan said. “When I called her 20 minutes later her mobile was switched off.”

Through contacts, Ardalan confirmed her worst fears. “Later that day, I was informed that Esha’s house had been searched, documents seized and her computer had been confiscated. They told me she had been taken to section 209 of Evin prison,” she added. Momeni was allowed only one telephone call from prison, to her father. He said she sounded scared.
...
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced Momeni’s arrest. Amnesty said she was “at risk of torture or other ill-treatment”. Former prisoners in section 209, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence, have complained of solitary confinement, interrogation and torture. Five years ago Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian photographer, died after being beaten there. "

This is the developing story of Esha Momeni, a US student who was arrested in Iran almost a fortnight ago.
If we weren't in the midst of a head burying US election, this would be dominating the news cycle. But nope, we've retreated to politics within our borders. Maybe this bloody election will be over within the week. By bloody, I mean a political fallout of epic proportions amongst the republican party, as the Democrats take the Administration, the House, and the Senate quite handily.

The Case for McCain 3: Not Possible by this Blogger.

Ok, my objective was to spend the past week making cases for why John McCain should be president. After rifling through his 'Issues' page at www.johnmccain.com, I've come to the conclusion once again, after all the hyperbole and hot air from the desperate republicans, that Mac is simply a democrat with a solid sense of national security.

No, really. Here are the issues listed on McCain's site, and a quick hit of where he stands on them.
Right = Smaller government, more power to the citizens, free trade, defending our nation.
Left = More government, less power to the citizens, protectionism, diplomacy at all costs.

The Economy - Left
Energy - Left
National Security - Right
Health Care -Left
Iraq -Right
Home ownership -Left
Veterans -Right
Immigration -Left
Education -Right
2nd Amendment -Right (Past actions would belie this however)
Judicial Philosophy -Right
Homeland security -Right
Fighting Crime -Right
Natural Heritage -Left
Agricultural Policy -Left
Sanctity of Life -Right
Climate Change -Left
Ethics Reform ?
Space Program -Left
National Service -Left
Technology -Left

Total tally:
11 Left
9 Right

Obviously, that is a misleading stat, because the issues vary in importance. But this man is not a conservative, even less so the W has been. Sad, really, that this is considered the best and brightest the republican revolution has to offer.
I'm not sure which way I'll mark in the booth, but if its for McCain, its only going to be begrudgingly so.

The one place I take solace? My mind keeps hearkening back to Fred Thompson at the GOP convention this year,


"John McCain's bones may have been broken but his spirit never was.

Now, being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be President.
But it does reveal character.

This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders.
Strength.
Courage.
Humility.
Wisdom.
Duty.
Honor.
It's pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, "Who is this man?" and "Can we trust this man with the Presidency?""

So that's what it comes down to. If your an American, make your choice. And vote GOP for senate and House, 'cause those matter.
If you're not, watch with wonder as the worlds longest lasting democracy once again makes a peaceful transfer of power at the highest levels.

The Case for John McCain 2: The Man

Remember the republican primary, when the political future looked bright with a strong stable of Republican Conservative candidates, and we said "Who ever wins, we'll be alright, as long as we don't wind up with Ron Paul or John McCain"?
Well, republicans consoled each other about Ron Paul by saying he'd never win, and on John McCain by saying he's a fine man.

Both of which are true. John McCain's life story is one that would stand up proudly against any President in the History of the United States, from Washington to Jackson, Grant to Eisenhower, Kennedy to Bush.
United States Naval Pilot, shot down twice, 5 years a political toy of a POW in the Hanoi Hilton, returns home to a wife who had been crippled in a car fiasco, family and a nation that no longer appreciates what saves it, returns to health against medical diagnosis, earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation as a training squadron leader, only to become the Navy liaison to the Senate, and then the US Congress.

Silver Star
Distinguished Flying Cross
Navy Commendation Medal
Bronze Star

McCain earned these through his service. He's not some whippersnapper coming out of college for office and climbing the political ladder for politics sake, he's not the trial lawyer who was bored, he's not the spouse of a famed political figure, and he's not some community organizer.
He's the best of America, and though I don't agree with most of his policies, he is one of the few remaining Statesmen in a relatively peaceful political environment, and a man who has served his country as few surviving men can claim.

Dear Mr. Obama

"I've seen many men sacrifice their lives for the Iraqi people. They died for a purpose, not a mistake.

They died giving hope.
They died giving freedom.

Do you rescue a fireman just as he's about to save a child?"



(Here's a staggering note: This man set up a camera in a park, said his piece, and with a little post edit and uploading it to YouTube on August 27, 2008, has more then 11 Million views. The internet has power.)

Debate = Glorified Talking points

The Case for John McCain

Heading into the election next week, I've been torn in many different directions on the presidential front. It will be my first election to vote in, and the 2 worst possible candidates from the primaries have come to the forefront of the nation.

In the Punditiosphere of Politics, there are plenty of assaults flying fast and furiously in the direction of Obama, and justifiably so. The man has a veritable cornucopia of serious flaws in his past and present policies, associations, and experience. But what is lacking from the Right is a case for John McCain that doesn't include socialism.

Why? Because McCain is, at heart, an excessive creator of government. The Fed will be enlarged, likely as expansively as it was under Bush, and likely to the same degree as Obama would. So what are we left to support him on?

In the coming days, I'll be giving reasons that are outside the mainstream new cycle, but certainly have a lasting impact upon our nation and society.


Over the past 60 years, the Supreme Court has become the final arbiter of America, a bench of 9 that is capable and frequently exercises its assumed ability to legislate by fiat. The 9 members of its hall receive lifetime appointments, and often cling to their seat until the end. The list of abysmal decisions runs long, and the court is still evenly split, likely to go to the right or the left depending on the issue.
John McCain would be in a position to fix that, and put another justice along the lines of Alito or Roberts on the bench. Obama certainly would not, and this may be the most lasting legacy of the W presidency, the appointments of Alito and Roberts. McCain would continue in that tradition, appointing a constitutionalist justice to the bench. Like Bush, this would likely be his legacy, and if handled correctly, can alivieate a multitude of problems for the coming generations.

Barack 2001 Radio interview, marxist economics on full display

Krauthammer for Mac

Seeing as the election is closing in, I'm finally going to get around to pushing for McCain and pushing against Obama.

With his typical ability to put excellent thoughts to words, Charles Krauthammer is endorsing John McCain. Here's an excerpt:

"...The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.

Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who's been cramming on these issues for the past year, who's never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of "a world that stands as one"), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as "the tragedy of 9/11," a term more appropriate for a bus accident?

Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?

There's just no comparison. Obama's own running mate warned this week that Obama's youth and inexperience will invite a crisis -- indeed a crisis "generated" precisely to test him. Can you be serious about national security and vote on Nov. 4 to invite that test?

And how will he pass it? Well, how has he fared on the only two significant foreign policy tests he has faced since he's been in the Senate? The first was the surge. Obama failed spectacularly. He not only opposed it. He tried to denigrate it, stop it and, finally, deny its success.

The second test was Georgia, to which Obama responded instinctively with evenhanded moral equivalence, urging restraint on both sides. McCain did not have to consult his advisers to instantly identify the aggressor.

Today's economic crisis, like every other in our history, will in time pass. But the barbarians will still be at the gates. Whom do you want on the parapet? I'm for the guy who can tell the lion from the lamb."

Iran arrests US citizen

AP: "Esha Momeni, a student at California State University, Northridge, was driving on a highway in Tehran when she was stopped by authorities who said they were traffic police, the London-based Amnesty said.

Iranian officials said Momeni was arrested Oct. 15 for a traffic offense. But Amnesty said in a statement Tuesday she was taken to her family's home where her computer and other materials related to her research on the Iranian women's movement were confiscated.

Momeni, who is a member of the California branch of Change for Equality _ an Iranian women's rights group _ was later taken to Evin prison, the Tehran facility notorious for holding political prisoners, Amnesty said.

Her family was told by an Iranian court on Monday that her case was still being investigated, and no details would be released until after the probe was completed, Amnesty said."

AFP: "Momeni, who is a photographer and graduate student, is a member of the Change for Equality campaign, its website said. She was arrested while at the wheel for illegally overtaking another vehicle.

Change for Equality said Esha had since her return to Iran "conducted video interviews with members of the One Million Signatures Campaign in Tehran" that aims to ensure equal rights for women in the Islamic republic.""

It's unfortunate. Because of the observation of Politics as Theater, rather then the arbitar of leadership, in collusion with the market spiraling with reckless abandon, this is another story that will slip through the cracks.

Practically, the lesson is don't drive in Iran if you are a US citizen.
Don't drive fast in Iran, especially if your taking up the cause of oppressed women.

Obama, up by 1.1%

IBD

Most telling is the very bottom stat. Displaying the flag has a very large correlation with canidate support.

The State of Journalism

This is an excerpt from a column by Orsen Scott Card, one of the finest science fiction writers of our age, and also a pretty good political columnist. He's a democrat, but this is the most eloquent and scathing bit of journalistic review I've read this year. (For those of you that listen to Rush, he read this on air today)

"...There are precedents. Even though President Bush and his administration never said that Iraq sponsored or was linked to 9/11, you could not stand the fact that Americans had that misapprehension -- so you pounded us with the fact that there was no such link. (Along the way, you created the false impression that Bush had lied to them and said that there was a connection.)

If you had any principles, then surely right now, when the American people are set to blame President Bush and John McCain for a crisis they tried to prevent, and are actually shifting to approve of Barack Obama because of a crisis he helped cause, you would be laboring at least as hard to correct that false impression.

Your job, as journalists, is to tell the truth. That's what you claim you do, when you accept people's money to buy or subscribe to your paper.

But right now, you are consenting to or actively promoting a big fat lie -- that the housing crisis should somehow be blamed on Bush, McCain, and the Republicans. You have trained the American people to blame everything bad -- even bad weather -- on Bush, and they are responding as you have taught them to.

If you had any personal honor, each reporter and editor would be insisting on telling the truth -- even if it hurts the election chances of your favorite candidate.

Because that's what honorable people do. Honest people tell the truth even when they don't like the probable consequences. That's what honesty means. That's how trust is earned..."

Mac on a Roll

Polls? We laugh at polls

Ann Coulter: "This is how two typical voters might answer a pollster's question: "Whom do you support for president?"

Average Obama voter: "Obama." (Name of average Obama voter: "Mickey Mouse.")

Average McCain voter: "I'm voting for McCain, but I swear it's just about the issues. It's not because Obama's black. If Barack Obama were a little more moderate -- hey, I'd vote for Colin Powell. But my convictions force me to vote for the candidate who just happens to be white. Say, do you know where I can get Patti LaBelle tickets?"

In addition to the social pressure to constantly prove you're not a racist, apparently there is massive social pressure to prove you're not a Republican. No one is lying about voting for McCain just to sound cool.

Reviewing the polls printed in The New York Times and The Washington Post in the last month of every presidential election since 1976, I found the polls were never wrong in a friendly way to Republicans. When the polls were wrong, which was often, they overestimated support for the Democrat, usually by about 6 to 10 points."

Good read, and with her typical scathing rebukes of all things left of the right, its salve for an angry conservatives soul.

MY Congressman still has principles

I just got this email response from Congressman and Doctor Michael Burgess, my rep in the corridors of power.
principles

Dear Mr. -----:

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R.1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act that recently passed the US House of Representatives. I appreciate hearing from you on this very important matter.

As you may know, the Secretary of Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Congressional leadership, President Bush, and various financial experts, asked Congress for decisive action to prevent dangerous harm to our nation's economy. The situation presented to Congress included failures in our credit markets, extreme bank vulnerability, and a threatened economic depression. In response, the United States Senate passed H.R. 1424 on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 by a 75-24 vote. H.R. 1424 then passed the House of Representatives on Friday, October 03, 2008 by a 263-171 vote. The nearly $800 billion package was rushed through the House of Representatives in a little over a week and did not adequately protect tax payers from Wall Street liability or address the causes of this market failure, for those reasons, I voted against the emergency rescue package on Monday, September 29, and again on Friday, October 3.

In my view, legislative time would have been better spent shoring up systems designed to protect the American middle class. This bill did not do enough to protect Oak Street and Elm Street despite the endless references to the impact on Wall Street and Main Street. H.R. 1424 gives the Department of Treasury the authority to borrow money from foreign banks to appease the foreign banks that lost money investing in our housing market, this is wrong. With this vote, Congress gave up the ability to control these funds and acted without appropriate oversight to protect the taxpayer. We responded to questionable investing with questionable spending of tax payer funds. Wall Street is made up of a well paid, sophisticated group of institutional investors who are well aware of the risks and benefits of investing. Wall Street must repay the good faith provided by tax payers by picking up the tab that resulted from unsound investment vehicles tied to the housing market.

Although I disagreed with the emergency financial package, I am dedicated to working towards results. Congress has a responsibility to fix the cause and hold those responsible for this situation accountable for their actions. We have a duty to protect American taxpayers from more debt, higher taxes, and untold risk due to market failures or our legislative response. Ultimately, the government entities responsible for regulatory authority over financial markets never exercised the proper oversight over complex 21st century financial instruments. The Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in need of systemic changes to the way they do business and our federal programs need improved flexibility to better avoid risk and respond to crisis.

While Congress debated the large spending package, federal agencies took the opportunity to embrace steps recommended by Members of Congress. I am grateful the Securities Exchange Commission acted to end short selling stock without actually possessing it; and modifications to ensure "fair value accounting" within banking institutions. I also defend the important steps that are being made at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; your money is safer today because of their continued response. I am encouraged by these steps that protect American assets from financial risk, and I look forward to recommending more changes in the future.

Congress was given a small window of time to consider this very expensive program and as a result, it will carry long-term financial implications that must continue to receive scrutiny. This government action was not right, it was heavy handed, and we were right to question the government's ability to intervene and the tax payer's right to object to payment. As we move forward, I will continue to keep you informed of my progress and I hope you will continue to support my efforts to protect your financial assets, and your freedom from government intervention. "Too big to fail" is a phrase our government should use only once and only when looking in the mirror.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives. Please feel free to visit my website (www.house.gov/burgess) or contact me with any future concerns.

Sincerely,

Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
Member of Congress