More Dangerous "Price Gouging" Superstitions

When economic ignorance collides with an antipathy towards free markets, you get stupid editorials like this:

"Those who prey on people during a tragedy represent a particularly loathsome
sort of subhuman. Consumed with profit, price gougers charge unconscionable
prices during a calamity and make a bad situation worse...Genuine price gouging
is rare in a civilized society, but when it does occur, Virginia must not ignore
it, no matter where it originates."

What the paper is calling for is an expansion of Virginia's "price gouging" authority that would allow them to go after wholesalers in other states. Genius. Now they want to export shortages and market distortions outside of their borders.

The Roanoke Times uses the typical language of economic simpletons as they assign insulting terms like "subhuman" to those who are in fact, doing the right thing by imposing discipline on the marketplace.

If supplies of any commodity are disrupted, then that means there's not enough to supply everyone with what they want. There has to be rationing by the market in order to make sure people get what they need unless you want government hacks to impose it by force. Increased prices do just that.

When prices rise during an emergency, people are more prudent in how much they consume and buy just what they need rather than hoard products in anticipation of the inevitable shortages price gouging laws produce.

If gas is allowed to rise from say, $4.00 a gallon to $8.00 in an emergency, then rather than top off the tanks of two cars, consumers will fill just one. And they wont feel the need to hoard since the higher price reduces demand and the supply available increases.

Additionally, suppliers now have an incentive to bring more gas to the marketplace despite the hardships and increased costs of the emergency. If the price they're allowed to charge is kept artificially low then it's more beneficial to them to just store the gas and sell it after the emergency subsides.

If I owned a gas station and a hurricane was coming, why would I want to bother sticking around to sell gas at current prices when I could just shut down and take care of my own property and family? Or should I just sacrifice my own well-being and property to a government induced frenzy of irrational behavior?

This is simply about the Laws of Supply and Demand that all too many like to believe doesn't or shouldn't exist when it causes pain or inconvenience. Or they think the Laws should only apply to things people don't need. That's like saying the Laws of Gravity shouldn't apply when people fall out of windows.

In both cases it reflects irresponsible and immature thinking. And now we have fools in Virginia who want to impose their idiocy on the rest of us.

Bailout Fails. Pelosi Helps Sink It

The bailout failed. Good. Now maybe we can get a bill that gets the government that caused this the hell out of the way.

The ever incompetent Nancy Pelosi probably killed the bill with her stupid and laughably false remarks prior to the vote:

"Opponents said part of the reason for the opposition from Republicans was what they termed a partisan speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said one GOP source.
"Pelosi's partisan speech has caused our members to go berserk and may cost us any remaining chance to pass the bill," the source said.
Pelosi had said that Congress needed to pass the bill, even though it was an outgrowth of the "failed economic policies" of the last eight years."

Brilliant. This idiot couldn't even corral enough Democrats to pass a bill that didn't need ONE Republican vote to pass as ninety-four members of her party voted against it.

UPDATE: Video added of Pelosi's speech

How the hell does she walk with those big Brass Balls clanging around? It was unbridled capitalism? No, it was regulations that forced lenders to make crappy loans to begin with. It "snuck up on us"? What rock have you been living under?
Hell, I was talking about this potential problem to my students as far back as 2003. Are you saying I have better information than you do? OK. Bad example since it seems no useful information enters Nancy's brick thick head.

The Record Speaks for Itself

More damning video of Democrat incompetence, corruption, racial politics and intimidation.

The Price Gouging Myth

Boortz has a good column that describes the destructiveness of emotionally appealing but woefully ignorant price gouging laws:

"...nearly 200 gas stations in Atlanta are being investigated
for price gouging. Don’t investigate them! Reward them!
Price gouging is exactly what we need! It should be encouraged, not
investigated. "

The Laws of Supply and Demand are just that, laws. Not theories or suggestions, but laws. Like the Laws of Gravity, they apply in every situation, not just when it's convenient or only to those things people don't "need".

Don't Blame Bush for This One

The White House has issued a timeline of its efforts to reign in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They were blocked or ignored until it was too late by a Democrat Party (and some cowardly Republicans) more interested in class warfare and racial politics than doing their job:


2001
April: The Administration's FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is "a potential problem," because "financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity."

2002
May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that "although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations," "the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them." As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. ("Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO," OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO's review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact "legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises" and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any "legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk." To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have "broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards" and "receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE." (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

2004

February: The President's FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: "The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator." (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to "not take [the financial market's] strength for granted." Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by "ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator." (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, "Keeping Fannie And Freddie's House In Order," Financial Times, 2/24/04)
June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying "We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System." (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

2005: April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying "Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system." (Secretary John W. Snow, "Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee," 4/13/05)

2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying "first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options." (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying "These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I've called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon." (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)


2008
January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says "A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully." (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and "move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and "modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes." (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

** "Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

** "[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator." (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

** "Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying "we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President's call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

Democrat Fiddling While Money Burned

Fox News has put together a timeline that shows us who saw the financial meltdown and tried to do something about it. It also shows us who stood in the way.

If Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer et al had any shame, they would resign immediately. Instead they're asking us to trust them to fix a disaster they created and refused to recognize until it was too late.

At the very least they should get out of the way and just vote yes on whatever plan the responsible, competent adults decide is best to clean up their mess.

Senator Bluto Biden

Life imitates art. Or was Animal House a Biden bio-pic?

Bluto 1978: "Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"

Biden 2008: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed,"

Give the Market Back its Freedom

Let's get this straight. The liquidity crisis is not a failure of capitalism or a result of deregulation. Rather, it is a classic case of Moral Hazard that benefited politicians and Wall Street pseudo-capitalists while using taxpayers as their co-signer. This is what happens when you have too much market distorting regulation that can be easily manipulated for personal and political gain.

Washington abused its power of force and law and the good credit of the American people to borrow money at below market rates in order to lend to unworthy borrowers and cronies in a massive socialist/fascist vote buying scheme. This was all done in the name of creating "affordable housing" regardless of the willingless or ability of borrower to afford it in the first place. It also attracted risky speculation that never would have happened had mortgages been priced to reflect market realities.

Democrats going all the way back to Jimmy Carter are to blame, although more than a few Republicans were right there with them. At the very least the entire GOP is guilty of either willful neglect, incompetence or both.

The all too predictable meltdown now has the perpetrators scrambling to cover their collective asses while adding insult to injury by sticking us with the bill. In other words, the same people who got us into this mess are now asking us to trust them to get us out of it with more of the same.

What to do now? Get the Government completely out of the mortgage business and let the real free market solve the problem. Newt Gingrich has a sound plan to get this started, which includes:

"First, suspend the mark-to-market rule which is insanely driving companies to unnecessary bankruptcy. If short selling can be suspended on 799 stocks (an arbitrary number and a warning of the rule by bureaucrats which is coming under the Paulson plan), the mark-to-market rule can be suspended for six months and then replaced with a more accurate three year rolling average mark-to-market.

Second, repeal Sarbanes-Oxley. It failed with Freddy Mac. It failed with Fannie Mae. It failed with Bear Stearns. It failed with Lehman Brothers. It failed with AIG. It is crippling our entrepreneurial economy. I spent three days this week in Silicon Valley. Everyone agreed Sarbanes-Oxley was crippling the economy. One firm told me they would bring more than 20 companies public in the next year if the law was repealed. Its Sarbanes-Oxley’s $3 million per start up annual accounting fee that is keeping these companies private.

Third, match our competitors in China and Singapore by going to a zero capital gains tax. Private capital will flood into Wall Street with zero capital gains and it will come at no cost to the taxpayer. Even if you believe in a static analytical model in which lower capital gains taxes mean lower revenues for the Treasury, a zero capital gains tax costs much less than the Paulson plan. And if you believe in a historic model (as I do), a zero capital gains tax would lead to a dramatic increase in federal revenue through a larger, more competitive and more prosperous economy.

Fourth, immediately pass an “all of the above” energy plan designed to bring home $500 billion of the $700 billion a year we are sending overseas. With that much energy income the American economy would boom and government revenues would grow."

I would add to that the following:

Fifth, break up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into too small to save pieces and sell them off to the private sector. Government has no business being in business as it will always put political considerations above sound business practices.

Sixth, investigate and prosecute Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, Jamie Gorelick and anyone else who was involved in this fraud. Additionally, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Bill Clinton and any other officials behind this mess should be exposed for their corruption and removed from any position of authority going forward on this matter. If we were to use Enron as a benchmark for financial crime and punishment, then nothing is too good for these crooks.

The proponents of a bailout are saying a collapse of the financial system is inevitable if taxpayers don't step in with more money. They don't know that and it's probably not true. Instead, it's a fear of the unknown consequences that the free market will impose on these excesses. That will be painful, but far less so than more willful ignorance of the Law of Supply and Demand.

True capitalism can be strict and punishing, but it is always more fair and beneficial to everyone than the arrogant intrusiveness of the state.

At the end of the day, this is an object lesson as to why we should be as vigilant, if not more so about a separation of business and state as we are with religion and state. Not that we needed more examples of the 100% historical failure rate of Government meddling in the free, voluntary trade of individuals.

Links to more on this subject Here, Here , Here and Here.

The Credit Crisis

From Real Clear Markets:

The government has rescued Bear Stearns and now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is not how things are supposed to work in America. The American dream is turning into a national nightmare.

And now we can add Lehman and Merrill to the list. The government is a major contributor to these problems, but their answer is more meddling in free markets.

"The path to recovery for our economy is well worn and proven. Corporate taxes
should be reduced dramatically or preferably eliminated. Individual taxes should
not be raised and preferably reduced. Regulation should be limited and effective. Banking reform should include a gradual increase in capital requirements. Trade should be expanded, not limited through tariffs and stealthy “fair” trade laments. Most importantly, the Federal Reserve should be reformed and given one mission – a stable currency. Not a rising dollar, not a falling dollar, but a stable dollar. The best way to accomplish that mission is by stabilizing the price of gold. A stable currency, once again linked to gold, will eliminate inflation and limit government spending.

The policies that advocate more government are borne of fear. The policies of the free market are borne from optimism. America is not a place that was built on fear. Our choice is clear."

Amen, brother.

Buying Nothing

Buffalo, NY is preparing to waste its time and money with another useless gun buy back program:

Even Buffalo’s police commissioner wryly stated that he doesn’t expect
many criminals to be lining up outside seven local churches Sept. 27 to
turn in their weapons for prepaid cash cards.
“But it’s a beginning,” Evans said of the buyback. “We have to start somewhere, so why not start here. If even one gun is taken of the street, it’s worth it.”

No it's not worth it. Do these fools really believe that criminals will turn in guns that that they may want for future crimes? The people who show up for these things are typically ordinary citizens who want to unload old or broken firearms. I have a broken Beretta Tomcat that's not worth fixing. I'd be happy to sell it to these saps for 75 bucks. That's a lot more than I'd get at a pawn shop or gun show and I can use the funds to buy a new one.

"None of last year’s weapons was tested, said Police Department
spokesman Michael J. De- George, so officials cannot say whether any had been
used in crimes. Mayor Byron W. Brown said he hopes the “no questions
asked” buyback will result in even more guns being turned in than last
year."

I guess a criminal could unload a gun with a body on it with no worry. From the Chicago Tribune:

"The continuation of buy-back programs is a triumph of wishful thinking over all
the available evidence," said Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California at Davis...University of Pennsylvania professor Lawrence Sherman, who headed a wide-ranging assessment of crime prevention programs, called gun buy-backs "the program that is best known to be ineffective" in reducing firearms violence.

The bottom line is that the gun control nuts continue to think that crime problems are really gun problems. That's an easy, feel good excuse for ineffective law enforcement that does nothing but convince the incompetent and ignorant that they're "making a difference". In fact, a lot of taxpayer money is being wasted to do absolutely nothing.

How Not to Balance a Budget

From the Wall Street Journal. No further comment necessary:

"Anyone who thinks the path to "fiscal discipline" is through higher taxes ought to look at the current budget spectacles in New York and California. The two liberal states have among the highest tax burdens in the country, yet both now find themselves with huge budget deficits and are debating still higher taxes to close the gap. . .

...Every time the politicians raise taxes, they merely lift their spending by as much or more, and then plead poverty and demand another tax hike during the next economic slowdown.

The "progressives" who dominate politics in these states target the rich on grounds that they have the ability to pay. They also have the ability to leave. From 1997-2006, New York State lost 409,000 people (not counting foreign immigrants). For every two people who move into the state, three flee. Maybe the problem for New York is merely bad weather, not high taxes.

Except that sunny California is experiencing a similar exodus. Over the past decade 1.32 million more native-born Americans left the Golden State than moved in -- despite beaches, mountains and 70-degree weather. Mostly the people who have fled are the successful, the talented and the rich.

If taxes don't matter, then maybe someone can explain the divergent economic paths of California and New York and America's two other most populous states, Florida and Texas. The latter two states have no personal income tax. Personal income has been growing about 50% faster in Florida and Texas than in California and New York. (See chart.) This year Texas became the No. 1 state for Fortune 500 corporate headquarters. About a dozen of those 58 corporations once called New York or California home, and taxes are one reason they departed.

Paul Mc'Cartney Threatened by Islamo-Fascist

I wonder if the Celebutard crowd would at least care about this:

"Self-styled preacher of hate Omar Bakri claimed the former Beatle’s decision to take part in the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary celebrations had made him an enemy of all Muslims...

“Instead of supporting the people of Palestine in their suffering, McCartney is celebrating the atrocities of the occupiers. The one who is under occupation is supposed to be getting the help.

“And so I believe for Paul McCartney, what he is doing really is creating more enemies than friends.”

Explaining his comments, Bakri told the Sunday Express: “Our enemy’s friend is our enemy.“Thus Paul McCartney is the enemy of every Muslim.

We have what we call ‘sacrifice’ operatives who will not stand by while he joins in a celebration of their oppression.“If he values his life Mr McCartney must not come to Israel. He will not be safe there. The sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him.”

Red and Blue State Economics

Would you like to compare the economic plans of Obama (D) and Mc'Cain (R)? Phil Gramm shows us some real life results at the state level. Previous posts on this subject Here, Here and Here.

"The Competitiveness Index created by the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC) identifies "16 policy variables that have a proven impact on the
migration of capital -- both investment capital and human capital -- into and
out of states." Its analysis shows that "generally speaking, states that spend
less, especially on income transfer programs, and states that tax less,
particularly on productive activities such as working or investing, experience
higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more."

Ranking states by domestic migration, per-capita income growth and employment growth, ALEC found that from 1996 through 2006, Texas, Florida and Arizona were the three most successful states. Illinois, Ohio and Michigan were the three least successful."

The Barbaric Left

American Sentinel reports on some punk who is offering $25,000 to Bristol Palin if she has an abortion. More telling are the comments from the oh so caring, tolerant and sophisticated left wing. Here's a sample:


"Average abortion $500, birth control pills $75, box of condoms $8, girl that takes up the ass........priceless!!!" - steve, united fools of america

"PLEASE DONT STAB ME MOMMY" - Bristol's unborn baby, USA USA USA USA

"Why don't you just have McCain do it? He's bound to kill something." - Dez, USA

"How about I just put a coat hanger on the head of my dick and punish fuck you like the little whore you are. God Bless." - George Schlong, USA

That's some classy group of supporter's you've got there, Barry.

Presidential Job Requirements

Obama evidently thinks computer literacy is necessary to be President, as if creating Power Point presentations and typing are things the leader of the free world should be doing with his time. As a former fighter pilot, Mc'Cain has more technological skill sets than Obama ever will and could learn how to use HotMail in about five minutes if he felt the need.

On the other hand, Obama's friendship with William Ayers alone would disqualify him to be hired as an FBI agent or any other sensitive government position. His other Anti-American and criminal associations would probably subject Obama to a follow up investigation after he was turned down for the job.

*

UPDATE:

*

From Hot Air: Earlier today, Barack Obama’s campaign released an ad attacking John McCain for not knowing how to send an e-mail. Their crack research team apparently never heard of Google or Lexis-Nexis, but Jonah Goldberg does. He discovers why McCain doesn’t use a keyboard — his torturers made sure he couldn’t. The Boston Globe reported it eight years ago:

"McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain’s severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He’s an avid fan - Ted Williams is his hero - but he can’t raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball."

The World Votes For Obama

Should we care what the world thinks about our presidential candidates?

The latest data come courtesy of the BBC, which commissioned a survey of 23,531 people in 22 countries for their views about the U.S. election. The not-so-astounding result: Barack Obama is the favorite in all 22 countries.

The answer is yes and it's all the more reason we should elect Mc'Cain. The rest of the world answers that question based on their interests, not ours. And it's obvious they would like to see us weaker and more like them, especially in Europe, where resentment of America has more to do with embarrassment over their own inadequacies and feelings of schadenfreude than anything we've done. Who they would call when there's trouble with say, Russia or Iran, doesn't seem to occur to the continent that gave us Hitler, Stalin and Marx.

"Consider another global survey, this one from the University of Maryland-based WorldPublicOpinion.org, concerning the perpetrators of 9/11. Out of the 17 countries surveyed, majorities in only nine of them believed that al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks. In Turkey, a longstanding NATO ally, 36% believed that the U.S. government was the culprit. In Egypt, 43% blamed Israel.

More remarkably, a mere 56% of Britons, 63% of the French and 64% of Germans named al Qaeda, while 26% said they "do not know." Fully 23% of the German public blames the U.S. government, as do 15% of Italians."

There must be a lot of Alex Jones fans out there. I'm not going to consider seriously the opinion of overseas lunatics anymore than I do the ones we have right here.

Organic Food Fascists Starving Africa

From Times-Online
Western do-gooders are impoverishing Africa by promoting traditional farming at the expense of modern scientific agriculture, according to Britain's former chief scientist.
Anti-science attitudes among aid agencies, poverty campaigners and green activists are denying the continent access to technology that could improve millions of lives, Professor Sir David King will say today.

From ConsumerFreedom.com
With no end in sight to global food shortages, the opposition to genetically modified (GM) foods is having a harder and harder time making its case against technological advancements in agriculture. As these naturalists cling to a “Frankenfood” yuck factor, a flood of international experts have been arguing that more research on GM foods is an inevitable part of addressing the challenges of world food production. Today, former British chief scientist Sir David King is the latest to join the list.

A Mighty Icy Wind Blows from Canada

I never heard of Heather Mallick until today, but apparently someone reads her drivel in Canada. Since she's inserted herself into our election with an astonishingly bigoted and sophomoric column, I'll comment a bit in the style she's accustomed to:

"I assume John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential partner in a fit of pique because the Republican money men refused to let him have the stuffed male shirt he really wanted. She added nothing to the ticket that the Republicans didn’t already have sewn up, the white trash vote, the demographic that sullies America’s name inside and outside its borders yet has such a curious appeal for the right."

Yeah, and you're doing a lot for Canada's image right now. We're all so impressed that you've written books that no one's read with that English degree of yours. As a business major, I would take every English elective possible because it was an "easy A" that required nothing more than a little creative Bullshit.

It's possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she's a woman. They're unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night? I mean, I know men have their secret meetings at which they pledge to do manly things, like being irresponsible with their semen and postponing household repairs with glue and used matches. Guys will be guys, obviously.

When was the last time you got laid honey? With that attitude, I'm sure it's been a while. Isn't this considered hate speech with the thought police up there? Or is prosecution only reserved for those who criticise Islamo-Fascist terrorists.

Palin has a toned-down version of the porn actress look favoured by this decade's woman, the overtreated hair, puffy lips and permanently alarmed expression.

How's that Lady Bird Johnson look working out for you? You're probably just angry because you couldn't get a guy to throw you one in a men's prison while holding a fist full of pardons.

We also have this disturbing rant from another unhinged bigot:

"For the die-hard Republicans who lusted over Palin at the convention, her whip-wielding persona was a turn-on. You could practically feel the crowd getting a collective woody as Palin bent Obama and the Democrats over, shoved a leather gag in their mouths and flogged them as un-American wimps, appeasers and losers."

Dude, you've got issues. That's what happens when you spend too much time making love to your right hand. Maybe you should give Heather a call and the two of you can...well, do whatever creatures like you do with one another.

Palin's Alaska is OPEC?

Is Michael Kinsley a liar or just an idiot. That's the question I asked myself after reading this Gem:


Back to reality. Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 2 1/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook.
Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC.

Alaska has a population of just under 700,000 but is by far the largest geographically, which means it's infrastructure is stretched tremendously. This is what's known as Economy of Scale, which is something Kinsley either doesn't understand or dishonestly ignores. In this context it means that every state will have certain fixed costs that can be measured across the population. Since Alaska's population is so small relative to its size, taxes and spending and taxes per capita will always be very high.

Alaska is an adjunct member of OPEC? WTF is this clown talking about? Again, Alaska has to tax that oil because it doesn't have enough residents to support the infrastructure required to get that oil to the lower 48 states. And to compare one of our states to Saudi Arabia or Venezuela is not only slanderous, it's just plain stupid.

Even more stupid is Kinsley's suggestion that dependence on Alaskan oil would no more preferable than dependence on OPEC.

The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Disaster

I feel compelled to write something about the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac debacle despite my disgust over the whole thing. The Wall Street Journal sums up the stupidity with its usual expertise. No one listened to them either when they were sounding the alarm for the last umpteen years with numerous editorials and reports. No one can say this wasn't avoidable and the result is downright criminal.

What should happen now? These two dinosaurs should be stabilized, broken up into small enough to fail pieces and privatized. That's probably a pipe dream since congressional Euro-Socialists, Country Club Republicans and the Pseudo-Capitalists on Wall Street like having the American taxpayer as their co-signer. Who wouldn't want a business that would give them all the rewards of success and have someone else pick up the tab for the failures?

What should also happen is the arrest and prosecution of a lot of people, starting with Franklin Raines. Ken Lay was public enemy number one for tanking a $25 billion dollar private company. What should be the penalty for $5 trillion worth of malfeasance?

Previous posts on this subject here, here and here.

Obama Futures Continue Slide, Mc'Cain Gains

We capitalists always trust the judgment of people who have their own money at risk rather than opinions that carry no consequences. As a follow up to my pre-convention post of Intrade prices, it seems my predictions are coming true.

Charlie Rangel: More Equal Than You

No one should be surprised that House Ways and Means Commitee chairman Charlie Rangel doesn't abide by the rules he writes for everyone else. His tax fraud and gaming of New York's socialist and morally bankrupt rent control system is par for the course for parasites like him. He's a typical member of a ruling class that feels divinely entitled to be what us mere mortals would consider hypocritical. Rangel has accumulated his assets through demagoguery and the force of his position, not through ingenuity and voluntary trade. He's done this mostly through racial extortion and giving his Harlem constituents just enough stolen taxpayer money to keep them poor and beholding to him.

That's why it's also not surprising that he's a long time friend and admirer of Fidel Castro, the longest ruling warden of the largest prison in the Western Hemisphere. As a matter of fact, Rangel supports just about anyone who opposes liberty in favor of the anointed dictatorship he would have America aspire to. Some reminders of who Rangel really is:

**Rangel joined six New York Democrats in opposing a House resolution of support for pro-democracy advocates and dissidents in Cuba. Rangel angrily dismissed the activists as "insurgents," condemned a policy of "dealing with dissidents," and complained that American legislators "refuse to give the [Cuban] government the respect that it deserves."

**In February of 2005, Rangel proclaimed that it was discriminatory to label groups like Hezbollah "Islamic terrorists." "To call it Islamic terror is discriminating, it's bigoted, it is not the right thing to say," Rangel said.

**When Castro toured Harlem in October of 1995, Rangel greeted him with a bear hug and joined in a prolonged standing ovation for the visiting dictator.

**When the Republican-led Congress pushed for tax relief in 1994, Rangel denounced the plan as a form of modern-day racism. "It's not 'spic' or 'nigger' anymore," Rangel raged. "They say, 'Let's cut taxes.'" Similarly, when Republicans sought to reform a bloated and abused welfare system through budget cuts, Rangel remonstrated that the planned reforms were beneath even Nazi Germany. "Hitler wasn't even talking about doing these things," he insisted.

**In 1995, Castro made a smash return to Harlem, basking in the adulation of black New Yorkers, and receiving that embrace from Charlie Rangel. He spoke at a Baptist church, where the throng screamed “Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!” and “Viva Cuba!” Said Castro to his flock, “As a revolutionary, I knew I would be welcome in this neighborhood.” He used the occasion to denounce conservative attempts to scale back affirmative action — not that he himself would ever practice any.

Olbermann Whines: 9/11 Too Painful

Keith Olbermann and the rest of the moonbat left have their panties in a bunch over a Republican 9/11 tribute video:

"I'm sorry, it's necessary to say this and I wanted to separate myself from the others on the air about this. If at this late date, any television network had of its own accord showed that much videotape, and that much graphic videotape of 9/11, and I speak as somebody who lost a few friends there, it, we, would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that videotape the way I did, I apologize. It is a subject of great pain for many of us still and was probably not appropriate to be shown. We'll continue in a moment."

We only wish you and your MSM comrades would show something like that. Admit it, you're upset that Republicans reminded everyone that we're still in a world war that you and the Democrat Party don't want to fight. Hell, you don't even want to name the enemy.

And don't hand me that "I lost friends there" crap to bolster what little credibility you have. So did I and a lot of other New Yorkers. That doesn't give you unique moral authority over anyone. Evoke pain? The video should of evoked anger and resolve over the slaughter of your fellow citizens. There were also images of numerous Islamo-Fascist attacks on us prior to 9/11. That should have reminded even an intellectual lightweight like you that this war started long before that day.

How many times do you think footage from Pearl Harbor was shown in newsreels during WWII? You do know all the war footage back then was promoted and approved by the FDR (government) administration, don't you? Would you have been against that?

The bottom line is that you don't give a rat's ass about the victims of 9/11 other than how you can use them to exploit your own political agenda. Talk about projection! The problem for you is that those images remind everyone of who the real enemy is and it's not George Bush or your own country.

Moonbat Theater

The Angry Left is angry because Bush called them the Angry Left. This follows the same logic as the violent Muslim Fascists who threaten to kill anyone who calls them violent.

Grasping at Straws

There's so many left wing pundits sputtering inanities over the Palin pick that it's hard to choose which to tear apart. Jonathon Alter makes that choice easy. Alter is a hall of fame snob who perfectly illustrates the true colors of a desperate Washington elite:


I asked a senior McCain aide on Tuesday: "So what you're saying is that Barack Obama is not ready to be president on day one, but Sarah Palin is?"

"Yes," he said with a straight face.

Obama won 18 million votes, faced countless tough interviews and emerged with a reputation for fluency in discussing affairs of state, whatever one thinks of his politics. Palin's vote totals for mayor were measured in the hundreds; she has served only 20 months as governor of a state half the size of Brooklyn, and knows nothing of national or international issues beyond energy.
No matter. The argument stands.

Of course the argument stands. Ignoring facts doesn't mean they cease to be facts, Jonathon.
I can't believe you're still making the same dumb argument with a straight face.

Hillary Clinton also won 18 million votes and Obama had to be dragged over the finish line by you and your MSM buddies. Obama's fluency ends when the teleprompter is off and he's only done one tough interview at Saddleback that he failed miserably. The rest have been softball games and love fests.

Only 20 months as Governor? Well that's 20 months more than Obama or Biden. As a native of Brooklyn, I can tell you that any decisions she made as Governor have far more world importance than what's going on in Bensonhurst. Alaska is also the largest state in the Union (geographically), supplies 20% of our oil (and a lot of fish), has more coastline than all other states combined and is within spitting distance of Russia.

When faced with the obvious question—"So does that mean that Palin is more qualified than McCain, who has never been an executive?"— Republicans (working from talking points) have an answer. McCain commanded a training squadron in Florida in 1976 (the fact that he was not promoted to flag rank afterwards doesn't get mentioned).

At least he had an executive position to not get promoted from. And a life and death one at that. Should we now promote two guys with no executive experience to the most powerful positions in the world?

The Republicans were speaking from talking points? Oh, the horror! That's unprecedented!

It will be up to the press and public to raise enough of a stink about this, that Palin is forced to submit to real interviews with real questions that show whether her real-life experience is any preparation for assuming high office. In that sense, the Palin nomination is as much of a test of us as it is of her.

Oh, now you're calling for real journalism. Please show us the column where you expressed such misgivings about Obama. By trying to denigrate Palin's limited experience, all you're doing is highlighting the fact that Obama has none to speak of. At least none that he wants to talk about with any honesty.

US Weekly's Amateur Liar Gets Crushed

This guy should have taken the MSM's Yellow Journalism for Dummies course before going toe to toe with a competent journalist.

Democrat Illogic

Over at Democratic Underground, we have a predictability popular race-obsessed post. If this is what passes for intellectual heft, then we're all screwed

Best statement yet about Palin -- One day on the Greatest Page ain't long enough for this!

"What's galling is this: When the subject is a pregnancy to an unwed, minority teenage mother growing up in some (presumably Democratic) urban area, that pregnancy becomes fodder for lectures from conservatives about bad parenting, the perils of welfare spending and so on. But when the subject is a pregnancy to an unwed, white teenager from some small town in a Republican state, that pregnancy is...a celebration of the wonders of God's magnificence--and choosing life! -Thomas Schaller'

The difference is that in the first case, we taxpayers end up paying the bill. That bill is compounded by the fact that in the minority neighborhood, out of wedlock births are the norm whereas in small Red State towns, it's the exception.

And don't even get me started on a comparison of marriage rates (Bristol is marrying the father) in these situations or the incidence of multiple out of wedlock births by multiple fathers.

Flexible Job Requirements

It's becoming very hard to take outlets like the Washington Post seriously at all when they print editorials with arguments like this:

"But the fact is that Ms. Palin has an astonishingly thin résumé -- mayor of a small town, governor of a sparsely populated state for less than two years -- for someone hoping to ascend to national leadership. The country will need to hear much more from Ms. Palin before being convinced of the soundness of Mr. McCain's judgment."

At least she has a resume'. If Palin's resume' is so thin, then what does WAPO think about Obama's complete lack of one? At least she's not running for the top job. She also has more executive experience than Obama and Biden put together.

That WAPO and the rest of the MSM continues to willfully ignore these facts reveals their condescending belief that membership in the anointed, socialist Washington ruling class is a prerequisite to be considered competent. Palin is the antithesis of the statist left notion that an elite, EU like bureaucratic brain should rule over the unwashed masses.

The fact that neither she nor Mc'Cain aren't Ivy League lawyers just adds to their shock and horror.

Obama Ally Slanders Palin's Daughter

Until someone proves otherwise, I will have to assume that the Obama campaign is behind the vile and cruel attack on Sarah Palin's teenage daughter. That's the rules of evidence we're using, right? Now they've backed off (sort of), but the damage is already done.

The Daily Kos is and has been intimately involved in Democrat campaigns for years. Democrat candidates routinely court its founder and his lunatic readers. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and other Democrats have written for the site.

If the Obama campaign and the Democrat party doesn't denounce and disassociate themselves from this punk and his gang of thugs, then we'll have to believe they support his slanders.

Democrats didn't say much when the Daily Kos suggested that Pat Tillman was murdered or when they celebrated the execution and mutilation of contractors in Iraq, so I'm not expecting much now from these hypocrites now.