The year in review - the MSNBC shows that just couldn't make it:
Media: out with the old and in with the new!
UPDATED 1.1.16:
Comrade and hat owner Big Fur Hat over at IOTW posted this:
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Book Review: SJWs Always Lie
Book Review: SJW’s Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police, by Vox Day. October 13, 2015. 236 pages.
I recommend this book for my fellow anti-Communists.
Your parents called them “hippies.” I call them “commie pinko bed-wetting libs.” They call themselves “progressives.” Vox Day calls them SJWs, short for Social Justice Warriors.
The terms change with the generations, as do the tactics. But the Marxism stays the same The goal to bring an end to Capitalism and Western Civilization stays the same. The lying stays the same.
Vox Day does an excellent job at describing the new tactics of the left in his new book, SJW’s Always Lie. He’ll bring you up to speed with these new destructive methods, walk you through many of their recent successes, describe an SJW attack that he defeated, and give you rules and strategies to use to overcome this latest Marxist menace.
Author:
The goal of this book is to show you how SJWs operate, teach you how to see through their words, explain how to correctly anticipate their actions, and give you the weapons you need to successfully thwart their inevitable attempts to disqualify you, discredit you, and destroy your reputation.This book could be titled: #GamerGate - An After-Action Review. I’ve seen enough #GamerGate activity to know that a group of game enthusiasts are fighting leftist hoards. Our comrade, Davis Aurini, dedicated a good portion of last year to open a new front in that battle. Yet, I could never make sense of the actual story. SJWs Always Lie will explain it all, and while not a gamer myself, I realized just how important this fight is for all of us. The author shares his lessons-learned from the #GamerGate battles and he shows the reader the many spin-off benefits that have come from #GamerGate.
Take a look at my book notes for this book to see many selected quotes. You’ll get a sense of the call-to-arms Vox Day has published. And, I suspect, all readers will gain a better view of the exposure they have to potential social justice attacks. Read SJWs Always Lie, and follow this advice to prepare for your victory against the filth that is the social justice warrior.
I have added this book to the Ushanka Library book list at the left.
U/T: Comrade Matt Forney for telling me about this book.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Recommended: The Big Short
After watching Comrade Aaron Clarey's 3-star'ish video review of the new movie, The Big Short, I felt comfortable enough to go see it. My lowered expectations going in may be influencing this review. My history in the mortgage industry may be an influence too.
I think it was a rare 5-star production.
The Big Short is the true story about the men who first saw the cracks in the US mortgage business that led to the SubPrime disaster of late 2007 and the banking crisis of 2008.
It is entertaining. Top acting by Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and others. It presents the events and causes of those crises. And it does so in a way that educates the audience and demystifies the mortgage banking industry.
The end credits summarize America's losses: 8 million jobs, 5 million homes, and $5T in wealth.
Comrade Aaron and I are two of those 8 million jobs lost. We're both unemployed by choice, and are both employable now, but we have pursued other ventures since walking away from the this man-made disaster. Others have not been as fortunate.
Aaron was on the front lines reviewing loan applications for a credit union. You can read his stories in his book, Behind the Housing Crisis.
My story:
I don't care to reveal the details of my experience, but you'll see my former employer in the movie.
I was in a senior, non-mortgage specific, role at a leading player in the mortgage business in 2007. My timeline is slightly different, although in parallel with, what is presented in The Big Short. I think you'll enjoy the movie more if you know my experience:
Late 2004
I'm hired.
From day #1 to my last day
The discussion at lunch with my co-workers was the same:
My company reaches its highest valuation ever.
Shortly thereafter
A wall street analyst warns of a coming mortgage crash. My CEO and other major players pounce on the analyst and his employer. The analyst is fired for his warning, including the 'outrageous' prediction that my company will go bankrupt. This was hard to reconcile in the optimistic environment where I worked, but I had a little secret at the time - I was fully divested in my company and had been since I was hired.
I didn't own a share of the company stock. When the company matched 401k deposits with their own shares, I'd go into my account and sell those shares the next day. In good times and bad. I didn't understand the business and I knew there was a bubble going on. I had been burned in the dot-com bubble and I wasn't interested in re-living that experience. I didn't have access to the data that you'll see in The Big Short, nor would I have recognized the coming disaster if I had. Of the 401k choices, my company's shares just looked less exciting than others.
So imagine my objectivity as things went South. I had no skin in the game other than my job, and by that time I had already made plans to leave the company. I watched it all - business news and management responses, with no zero bias but rapt fascination.
July 2007
SubPrime defaults go from 7% to 15%. My company's stock tanks. A major subprime lender shuts its doors overnight. My company loses a key funding source that makes up 20-25% of its available funds. Subprime is "toxic."
I remember thinking it wasn't too bad. 15% default rate? To people who have a history of not paying their debts? That means 85% of these people are making their payments. Good for them! Why the surprise? Why the 'sky is falling' panic? The Big Short does a great job answering these questions.
August 2007
The CEO of a major bank is quoted, "I don't know why my bank's stock is falling. We don't do SubPrime." My company's CEO, whose biggest failure was to not hire crisis management experts back in July, came out the next day: "I don't know why my stock is falling. We only do 13% SubPrime." I remember sitting at my desk with my head in my hands thinking, 'Ya, and I'm only 13% pregnant." Others saw this epic fumble too. The stock drops more.
I read the Wall Street Journal every morning - religiously - and noticed a very bad trend. Either "Mortgage Backed Securities" (MBS) or my company's name was on the front page EVERY day in August 2007. This violated MBA rule #1: You never want your company name on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. I'd then go to management meetings and hear something different than what I had read that morning. Disconnect. Big time.
October 2007 -
Layoff rumors abound. The company starts layoffs in the periphery. While not one of the 'mortgage gods' that I worked with, I was in a key role, senior and essential enough to know my job was safe. Assuming the company survives.
I discover from a co-worker that my company is still selling SubPrime loans. It wasn't a secret - I had just assumed we stopped selling "toxic" products. In the movie you'll learn just how lucrative the SubPrime loans are compared to traditional loans. The greed was strong in my company as the groupthink took hold from board to CEO to senior managers:
Layoffs are heavy and brutal, and are now rumored for headquarters staff (me). The company starts using a tactic to avoid state laws and employment contracts regarding severance payments. They limit all severance payments to two-weeks of salary regardless of time served. Loyalty goes out the window as the company throws veterans and new employees alike out on their asses. We hear that the CEO has dumped most of his shares despite a promise earlier in the year not to. I decide to enjoy an extended Christmas vacation, away from this stress. I tell my boss on a Monday morning that Friday is my last day.
January 2008
Two weeks after I leave, management is finally shocked out of its groupthink, but too late to do anything about it other than take thefirst only offer for a buyout - at 6% of its April valuation - just 7 months earlier. Probably just days away from going out of business.
---
I never saw anything unethical. And the one time a mortgage broker tried to steer an applicant to a SubPrime loan instead of a standard loan that they qualified for, I saw a lightening bolt go from the CEO's office to that broker and read about it on the front page the next day. My boss might have been an ass and the CEO clearly failed to grasp the gravity of the situation, but I otherwise worked with extremely smart and honest people.
The CEO took some heat and had to pay some guilt money over his stock sales, but I don't judge him for the broken promise to Wall Street. He made the promise in one environment and was faced with a new environment later that year. You'll see this paradigm shift in The Big Short. And, those were his shares to sell. If you don't like executives getting rich on stock grants, outlaw stock grants or close the stock markets. For more on this, see Marx. Or Obama.
What could we have done differently? The company's business model was to offer EVERY new loan program from Fannie/Freddie. There was zero consideration for default probabilities. In other words, we had no management that reviewed loan programs with an ethical eye. And I'd argue that it wasn't their job to do so. But the industry's assumption that the ratings agencies, or congress, or Fannie/Freddie were policing the ethics, in hindsight, was the stupidest and most costly assumption in banking history.
One aspect that The Big Short did not cover was the churn at the mortgage companies. Most mortgage lenders are dead if they do not recover the loaned funds within THREE DAYS. This occurs in their Secondary Marketing divisions. This means they must package the new loans into Mortgage Backed Securities and sell those securities - all in three days. The more competitive firms, like mine, would actually pre-sell securities that were promised to have a certain mix of loans, by loan type, lender FICO scores, or some other measure that the investors preferred. Understand this for a better movie-going experience: [most] mortgage lenders do not hold/own the loans they process. It isn't the defaults or the collapse of MBSs that bring a mortgage lender down. They die when either they are separated from their funding sources, their funding sources charge too much, or when they cannot make their 3-day churn.
My criticisms of The Big Short:
You'll see a family lose their home in this movie, and that happened. But more often, people stayed in defaulted properties for one or more years at the expense of you, the taxpayer. The rule of law was suspended - living rent free and trashing properties was allowed with no recourse. The term "Private Property" has a new definition now.
While mentioned in the movie, another factor could have received more attention: the bailout and the forgiveness of risk. When you lend to someone who has a history of default, you accept a higher risk. Similarly, if you buy MBS's with these crap loans in them, you accept a higher risk. The only criticism you'll hear from me Re: President Bush is this: he should have let the banks who took excessive risks fail. He should have let capitalism run its course. In his defense, this was his initial impulse, but his loyalty to his cabinet, specifically the ethically-challenged former GoldmanSachs chief, Secretary Paulson, was a horrible mistake. It not only forgave faulty risk assessment by bankers and encouraged this to continue ("Too big to fail"), but TARP opened the door for Obama to pseudo-nationalize the banks.
The movie also plays to the 'mean banks' theme of hurting the 'little guy.' I noticed a few people in the audience succumbed to this theme as they were visibly agitated. Don't fall for this anti-capitalist bullshit - it was nothing personal. This gets to the blame question.
The movie doesn't place blame, and they show all but one factor. Was it the home-buyer who didn't understand the contract that they signed? Was it the broker who matched the buyer to a loan program? Was is the mortgage-lender who maximized profits with customized Mortgage Backed Securities? Was it the ratings agencies (the movie does a great job exposing these agencies and their true motivations)? Was it the pension funds who clammored for MBS, thus enabling this entire market? Was it fraud (yes, some at the broker level) or was it layer upon layer of stupidity and groupthink (bingo)?
The factor missing from The Big Short. The biggest reason for the mortgage and banking crises. The reason we are still suffering from the events of 2007 and 2008: Democrats.
It was Democrats who demanded SubPrime following the LA Riots, which were triggered by a lack of 'dignity' in that oppressed, SubPrime market. It was Democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who rewrote banking law and, with their fellow Democrats,allowed encouraged the semi-private/semi-public Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs - Fannie Mae, etc.) to guarantee stupid loan programs that required no income, no down payments, etc.
Last:
I suspect the next bubble will be defaults in municipal bonds. Specifically cities that have been run by Democrats for decades. I thought of this as I watched the S&P scene in this movie. When you see this part of the movie ask yourself as I did: Has Chicago earned its current BBB+ rating?
If you like The Big Short, consider watching Margin Call.
I think it was a rare 5-star production.
The Big Short is the true story about the men who first saw the cracks in the US mortgage business that led to the SubPrime disaster of late 2007 and the banking crisis of 2008.
It is entertaining. Top acting by Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and others. It presents the events and causes of those crises. And it does so in a way that educates the audience and demystifies the mortgage banking industry.
The end credits summarize America's losses: 8 million jobs, 5 million homes, and $5T in wealth.
Comrade Aaron and I are two of those 8 million jobs lost. We're both unemployed by choice, and are both employable now, but we have pursued other ventures since walking away from the this man-made disaster. Others have not been as fortunate.
Aaron was on the front lines reviewing loan applications for a credit union. You can read his stories in his book, Behind the Housing Crisis.
My story:
I don't care to reveal the details of my experience, but you'll see my former employer in the movie.
I was in a senior, non-mortgage specific, role at a leading player in the mortgage business in 2007. My timeline is slightly different, although in parallel with, what is presented in The Big Short. I think you'll enjoy the movie more if you know my experience:
Late 2004
I'm hired.
From day #1 to my last day
The discussion at lunch with my co-workers was the same:
These loan programs from Fannie/Freddie are ridiculous. Who buys a house with no money down? It is only a matter of time before this scheme blows up.April 2007
My company reaches its highest valuation ever.
Shortly thereafter
A wall street analyst warns of a coming mortgage crash. My CEO and other major players pounce on the analyst and his employer. The analyst is fired for his warning, including the 'outrageous' prediction that my company will go bankrupt. This was hard to reconcile in the optimistic environment where I worked, but I had a little secret at the time - I was fully divested in my company and had been since I was hired.
I didn't own a share of the company stock. When the company matched 401k deposits with their own shares, I'd go into my account and sell those shares the next day. In good times and bad. I didn't understand the business and I knew there was a bubble going on. I had been burned in the dot-com bubble and I wasn't interested in re-living that experience. I didn't have access to the data that you'll see in The Big Short, nor would I have recognized the coming disaster if I had. Of the 401k choices, my company's shares just looked less exciting than others.
So imagine my objectivity as things went South. I had no skin in the game other than my job, and by that time I had already made plans to leave the company. I watched it all - business news and management responses, with no zero bias but rapt fascination.
July 2007
SubPrime defaults go from 7% to 15%. My company's stock tanks. A major subprime lender shuts its doors overnight. My company loses a key funding source that makes up 20-25% of its available funds. Subprime is "toxic."
I remember thinking it wasn't too bad. 15% default rate? To people who have a history of not paying their debts? That means 85% of these people are making their payments. Good for them! Why the surprise? Why the 'sky is falling' panic? The Big Short does a great job answering these questions.
August 2007
The CEO of a major bank is quoted, "I don't know why my bank's stock is falling. We don't do SubPrime." My company's CEO, whose biggest failure was to not hire crisis management experts back in July, came out the next day: "I don't know why my stock is falling. We only do 13% SubPrime." I remember sitting at my desk with my head in my hands thinking, 'Ya, and I'm only 13% pregnant." Others saw this epic fumble too. The stock drops more.
I read the Wall Street Journal every morning - religiously - and noticed a very bad trend. Either "Mortgage Backed Securities" (MBS) or my company's name was on the front page EVERY day in August 2007. This violated MBA rule #1: You never want your company name on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. I'd then go to management meetings and hear something different than what I had read that morning. Disconnect. Big time.
October 2007 -
Layoff rumors abound. The company starts layoffs in the periphery. While not one of the 'mortgage gods' that I worked with, I was in a key role, senior and essential enough to know my job was safe. Assuming the company survives.
I discover from a co-worker that my company is still selling SubPrime loans. It wasn't a secret - I had just assumed we stopped selling "toxic" products. In the movie you'll learn just how lucrative the SubPrime loans are compared to traditional loans. The greed was strong in my company as the groupthink took hold from board to CEO to senior managers:
We've survived these downturns before. We'll emerge stronger as we take on the business that our failed competitors have left us.December 2007
Layoffs are heavy and brutal, and are now rumored for headquarters staff (me). The company starts using a tactic to avoid state laws and employment contracts regarding severance payments. They limit all severance payments to two-weeks of salary regardless of time served. Loyalty goes out the window as the company throws veterans and new employees alike out on their asses. We hear that the CEO has dumped most of his shares despite a promise earlier in the year not to. I decide to enjoy an extended Christmas vacation, away from this stress. I tell my boss on a Monday morning that Friday is my last day.
January 2008
Two weeks after I leave, management is finally shocked out of its groupthink, but too late to do anything about it other than take the
---
I never saw anything unethical. And the one time a mortgage broker tried to steer an applicant to a SubPrime loan instead of a standard loan that they qualified for, I saw a lightening bolt go from the CEO's office to that broker and read about it on the front page the next day. My boss might have been an ass and the CEO clearly failed to grasp the gravity of the situation, but I otherwise worked with extremely smart and honest people.
The CEO took some heat and had to pay some guilt money over his stock sales, but I don't judge him for the broken promise to Wall Street. He made the promise in one environment and was faced with a new environment later that year. You'll see this paradigm shift in The Big Short. And, those were his shares to sell. If you don't like executives getting rich on stock grants, outlaw stock grants or close the stock markets. For more on this, see Marx. Or Obama.
What could we have done differently? The company's business model was to offer EVERY new loan program from Fannie/Freddie. There was zero consideration for default probabilities. In other words, we had no management that reviewed loan programs with an ethical eye. And I'd argue that it wasn't their job to do so. But the industry's assumption that the ratings agencies, or congress, or Fannie/Freddie were policing the ethics, in hindsight, was the stupidest and most costly assumption in banking history.
One aspect that The Big Short did not cover was the churn at the mortgage companies. Most mortgage lenders are dead if they do not recover the loaned funds within THREE DAYS. This occurs in their Secondary Marketing divisions. This means they must package the new loans into Mortgage Backed Securities and sell those securities - all in three days. The more competitive firms, like mine, would actually pre-sell securities that were promised to have a certain mix of loans, by loan type, lender FICO scores, or some other measure that the investors preferred. Understand this for a better movie-going experience: [most] mortgage lenders do not hold/own the loans they process. It isn't the defaults or the collapse of MBSs that bring a mortgage lender down. They die when either they are separated from their funding sources, their funding sources charge too much, or when they cannot make their 3-day churn.
My criticisms of The Big Short:
You'll see a family lose their home in this movie, and that happened. But more often, people stayed in defaulted properties for one or more years at the expense of you, the taxpayer. The rule of law was suspended - living rent free and trashing properties was allowed with no recourse. The term "Private Property" has a new definition now.
While mentioned in the movie, another factor could have received more attention: the bailout and the forgiveness of risk. When you lend to someone who has a history of default, you accept a higher risk. Similarly, if you buy MBS's with these crap loans in them, you accept a higher risk. The only criticism you'll hear from me Re: President Bush is this: he should have let the banks who took excessive risks fail. He should have let capitalism run its course. In his defense, this was his initial impulse, but his loyalty to his cabinet, specifically the ethically-challenged former GoldmanSachs chief, Secretary Paulson, was a horrible mistake. It not only forgave faulty risk assessment by bankers and encouraged this to continue ("Too big to fail"), but TARP opened the door for Obama to pseudo-nationalize the banks.
The movie also plays to the 'mean banks' theme of hurting the 'little guy.' I noticed a few people in the audience succumbed to this theme as they were visibly agitated. Don't fall for this anti-capitalist bullshit - it was nothing personal. This gets to the blame question.
The movie doesn't place blame, and they show all but one factor. Was it the home-buyer who didn't understand the contract that they signed? Was it the broker who matched the buyer to a loan program? Was is the mortgage-lender who maximized profits with customized Mortgage Backed Securities? Was it the ratings agencies (the movie does a great job exposing these agencies and their true motivations)? Was it the pension funds who clammored for MBS, thus enabling this entire market? Was it fraud (yes, some at the broker level) or was it layer upon layer of stupidity and groupthink (bingo)?
The factor missing from The Big Short. The biggest reason for the mortgage and banking crises. The reason we are still suffering from the events of 2007 and 2008: Democrats.
It was Democrats who demanded SubPrime following the LA Riots, which were triggered by a lack of 'dignity' in that oppressed, SubPrime market. It was Democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who rewrote banking law and, with their fellow Democrats,
Last:
I suspect the next bubble will be defaults in municipal bonds. Specifically cities that have been run by Democrats for decades. I thought of this as I watched the S&P scene in this movie. When you see this part of the movie ask yourself as I did: Has Chicago earned its current BBB+ rating?
If you like The Big Short, consider watching Margin Call.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Gun New III
See recent posts: Gun News and Gun News II.
Comrade Kenny (Knuckledragg'in) predicts the dear leader will go for broke with gun-control in his last year. He posts a list of goals he expects Obama to pursue. The desperation for a single accomplishment after 8 years in office is strong with that one.
Comrade and hat owner, Wild Bill, responds to a similar list:
Comrade Rob (Sharp as a Marble) reminds us the
They don’t care about ‘guns on the street’, they are worried about guns in the hands of the people they want to control. But they use phrases like ‘getting guns off the street’ because it’s a generalization that is meant to make you look like a horrible person if you disagree.Comrade Oleg (Oleg Volk Blog) recommends the new book, Infringed, for those interested in making sense of gun-control laws.
Comrade Angry Mike (Angry Mike's Hood) points us to this helpful article about "assault" weapons: Lies You Are Told About Assault Weapons, by Matt MacBradaigh.
Rifles, of which so-called “assault rifles” are a subset, accounted for just 2.55% of all homicides in 2011. Mass murder accounts for less than 100 dead out of nearly 13,000 homicides.Comrade Kelly Grayson posts Comrade, hat owner, and Gun Blogger Tam's (View From The Porch) Fun Show Song:
Last, a PSA from Angry Mike:
If I were to own a gun, I'd buy my ammo, in bulk, at SGA.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Quote of the Day
Mohammad cartoon winner, Bosch Fawstin on FB:
The Soviet Union had Nothing to do with Communism. It was only a small minority of extremists in power who perverted Communism ... & Islam means peace, beauty, truth and reason.Something else I recently found on FB - a photo of the elusive moderate muslims:
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Blogroll Changes
First, returning from early retirement, Comrade Remus and his Woodpile Report. I've removed the "Ret." from his link in the Ushanka blogroll. I cannot express how excited I am to see his return. He is as entertaining as he is enlightening. He is one of the best.
Added: Gates of Vienna and Changed: Pamela Geller (was AtlasShrugged). Islam is in the news more everyday, and there are no better sites where one can keep informed on this subject than these.
Moved: Pamela Geller. Moved to the Commercial section of the blogroll. Her site has many ads including popups.
Added: Black Man with a Gun. I had the honor to do some shoot'in with David Cole, a regular columnist at Black Man with a Gun. David is a valuable informed resource with current gun laws and gun-control proposals. His latest article: Enemy of the State, where he discusses the dishonesty of restricting gun ownership based on the terrorist list.
Added: Gates of Vienna and Changed: Pamela Geller (was AtlasShrugged). Islam is in the news more everyday, and there are no better sites where one can keep informed on this subject than these.
Moved: Pamela Geller. Moved to the Commercial section of the blogroll. Her site has many ads including popups.
Added: Black Man with a Gun. I had the honor to do some shoot'in with David Cole, a regular columnist at Black Man with a Gun. David is a valuable informed resource with current gun laws and gun-control proposals. His latest article: Enemy of the State, where he discusses the dishonesty of restricting gun ownership based on the terrorist list.
Redistribution: The 401k Grab
The next front in the left's redistribution-of-wealth 'struggle' to make things 'fair' is in our retirement accounts. Those 401k's and IRA's where private citizens privately manage their own retirement funds, and do so with a FAR higher rate of return than union pensions and Social Security.
We've seen other redistribution schemes win presidential elections in 2008 and 2012, pass with Congressional majorities, and even win the blessing of the Supreme Court. Some small, like Cash for Clunkers, Tanning Salon tax, Solyndra, and auto-maker bailouts. And some large: Progressive Tax Code, ObamaCare, Stimulus, Quantitative Easing (QE), Zero Percent Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), and trillion-dollar deficit spending.
So, to sit back and think nationalizing private retirement accounts is not possible would be ignorant of both recent history and the events from 98 years ago. Redistribution, with comforting promises of hope and change, always come first. Only tremendous suffering follows.
The Set Up
The timing has to be right, but the groundwork can start now.
We've seen more than one Global Warming Summit get snowed out. We've seen the math that says crop yields will go up with the temperature changes the left believes will occur if we do notaddress climate change stop Capitalism immediately. We've also seen the science that says this movement is a fraud. For the Global Warming folks to get any traction, they must exploit hot weather as it occurs. This is tough to plan for and organize around, hence the failed attempts so far.
The same for the retirement-redistribution movement. Timing is everything. TheLiberals Progressives Communists have to act when retirement accounts suffer and account holders panic.
Despite the $20T in debt (was $6T under Bush), the stock market has had record gains. That may be more related to the increase in money supply to $4.5T (was $800B under Bush), and the funneling of that new money into the markets. (Of course, do your own research as I am the product of the public schools.)
If QE were to end (the last QE was two years ago), and if ZIRP were to end ('ended' last week after 9 years), one might expect the economy to slow a bit. "But we have such a strong economy," say those in power at the moment. They will point to the 5.5% unemployment rate, but not the 9.9% U6 Unemployment rate. They will point to iPhone sales, but not the fact 35.4% of Americans are receiving government assistance.
And we are not alone here in the States. The global economy isn't doing any better. The price of oil has dropped two-thirds off its recent highs. New supply gets some credit, but demand plays the bigger role here. Are the benefits of Capitalism (innovation, faster growth, improved quality of living, increased trade, and retirement savings increases) linked at all to oil consumption? Is it possible the economy is not doing as well as some say?
Selling a retirement 'modernization' policy that redistributes the trillions in wealth to a government IOU program, with promises of continued account growth, is easier in an economic decline than it is during an economic boom. One question to ask yourself: Looking at the national and international scene today, do you think it is more likely an unexpected event or discovery will trigger a 10% jump in stocks, hiring, and/or personal income? Or, is it more likely that a 10% drop would occur?
Ask the same, but with "25%" as the number. Ask: 50%.
Last, imagine the panic that will enable a total redistribution of retirement accounts, by consensus.
Meet the New Communists
Big government enthusiasts, Tony James and Teresa Ghilarducci, are setting the ground work for the redistribution of retirement accounts from the individual American citizen to the government. Calling the 401k retirement plans "a faulty experiment," Tony concludes:
I have used both types of accounts, and despite my public school education, my accounts have made more than the 1% return the government currently brags of Social Security.
Control is the Goal
Bernie, Hillary, Pajama Boy, and every other leftist wants to control everything in your life, including your wallet. They talk about it when they drink coffee. They think about it when they go to bed. They dream about it as they sleep. And they get up in the morning to pursue it. With enthusiasm. It is in their DNA.
To gain control over your health care, they had to first paint the picture of everyone getting top-quality care. The actual results: lower quality and higher prices for all. Promises broken but goal attained: control.
What conditions must exist for a majority consensus behind the redistribution of private retirement funds? Envy, from the envy crowd, isn't enough this time. But panic, caused by liberal policies within the private sector, will be enough. Of all the solutions that will be offered if/when the market drops 50%, only Obama's will be simple, easy, and attractive to the historically ignorant and panic-stricken. He'll promise to restore prior balances as he confiscates remaining balances. His IOUs will be "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America."
What could go wrong?
Political Solutions (assuming you trust politicians):
Double down on 401k and IRA accounts. Remove the deposit limits, and tax incentive limits, for 401k's and IRA's. If an employee wants to save 80% of his salary tax free, he should be allowed to. Or even better, turn all accounts into IRA accounts by replacing all federal taxes (Income, gas, etc.) with a single-rate consumption tax.
Further protect retirement savings from litigation and confiscation with an amendment. "The right to save for retirement shall not be infringed."
Individual Solutions:
Ann Barnhardt has advocated moving digital assets into hard assets (real estate, gold, etc.) with this truism: "You don't own it unless you can stand in front of it with an assault rifle."
Jim Rickards offers an asset allocation suggestion, based on the hard times he sees coming, in his latest book, The Death of Money.
Sources:
Story and photo - New York Times
Dow and Oil charts - MarketWatch
Unemployment chart - MacroTrends
Welfare Data: Statistic Brain
See Also:
David Mills (via Doug Ross) - IF YOU LIKE YOUR 401(k), YOU CAN KEEP YOUR 401(k): Obama Labor Dept. Sets Stage for Nationalizing Retirement Accounts
We've seen other redistribution schemes win presidential elections in 2008 and 2012, pass with Congressional majorities, and even win the blessing of the Supreme Court. Some small, like Cash for Clunkers, Tanning Salon tax, Solyndra, and auto-maker bailouts. And some large: Progressive Tax Code, ObamaCare, Stimulus, Quantitative Easing (QE), Zero Percent Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), and trillion-dollar deficit spending.
So, to sit back and think nationalizing private retirement accounts is not possible would be ignorant of both recent history and the events from 98 years ago. Redistribution, with comforting promises of hope and change, always come first. Only tremendous suffering follows.
The Set Up
The timing has to be right, but the groundwork can start now.
We've seen more than one Global Warming Summit get snowed out. We've seen the math that says crop yields will go up with the temperature changes the left believes will occur if we do not
The same for the retirement-redistribution movement. Timing is everything. The
Despite the $20T in debt (was $6T under Bush), the stock market has had record gains. That may be more related to the increase in money supply to $4.5T (was $800B under Bush), and the funneling of that new money into the markets. (Of course, do your own research as I am the product of the public schools.)
If QE were to end (the last QE was two years ago), and if ZIRP were to end ('ended' last week after 9 years), one might expect the economy to slow a bit. "But we have such a strong economy," say those in power at the moment. They will point to the 5.5% unemployment rate, but not the 9.9% U6 Unemployment rate. They will point to iPhone sales, but not the fact 35.4% of Americans are receiving government assistance.
And we are not alone here in the States. The global economy isn't doing any better. The price of oil has dropped two-thirds off its recent highs. New supply gets some credit, but demand plays the bigger role here. Are the benefits of Capitalism (innovation, faster growth, improved quality of living, increased trade, and retirement savings increases) linked at all to oil consumption? Is it possible the economy is not doing as well as some say?
Selling a retirement 'modernization' policy that redistributes the trillions in wealth to a government IOU program, with promises of continued account growth, is easier in an economic decline than it is during an economic boom. One question to ask yourself: Looking at the national and international scene today, do you think it is more likely an unexpected event or discovery will trigger a 10% jump in stocks, hiring, and/or personal income? Or, is it more likely that a 10% drop would occur?
Ask the same, but with "25%" as the number. Ask: 50%.
Last, imagine the panic that will enable a total redistribution of retirement accounts, by consensus.
Meet the New Communists
Big government enthusiasts, Tony James and Teresa Ghilarducci, are setting the ground work for the redistribution of retirement accounts from the individual American citizen to the government. Calling the 401k retirement plans "a faulty experiment," Tony concludes:
There’s really no alternative. It needs to be mandated.The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is available to any American who may or may not have access to a 401k plan. It is, by definition, exactly an alternative. Tony knows this, but assumes you do not.
I have used both types of accounts, and despite my public school education, my accounts have made more than the 1% return the government currently brags of Social Security.
Control is the Goal
To gain control over your health care, they had to first paint the picture of everyone getting top-quality care. The actual results: lower quality and higher prices for all. Promises broken but goal attained: control.
What conditions must exist for a majority consensus behind the redistribution of private retirement funds? Envy, from the envy crowd, isn't enough this time. But panic, caused by liberal policies within the private sector, will be enough. Of all the solutions that will be offered if/when the market drops 50%, only Obama's will be simple, easy, and attractive to the historically ignorant and panic-stricken. He'll promise to restore prior balances as he confiscates remaining balances. His IOUs will be "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America."
What could go wrong?
Political Solutions (assuming you trust politicians):
Double down on 401k and IRA accounts. Remove the deposit limits, and tax incentive limits, for 401k's and IRA's. If an employee wants to save 80% of his salary tax free, he should be allowed to. Or even better, turn all accounts into IRA accounts by replacing all federal taxes (Income, gas, etc.) with a single-rate consumption tax.
Further protect retirement savings from litigation and confiscation with an amendment. "The right to save for retirement shall not be infringed."
Individual Solutions:
Ann Barnhardt has advocated moving digital assets into hard assets (real estate, gold, etc.) with this truism: "You don't own it unless you can stand in front of it with an assault rifle."
Jim Rickards offers an asset allocation suggestion, based on the hard times he sees coming, in his latest book, The Death of Money.
Sources:
Story and photo - New York Times
Dow and Oil charts - MarketWatch
Unemployment chart - MacroTrends
Welfare Data: Statistic Brain
See Also:
David Mills (via Doug Ross) - IF YOU LIKE YOUR 401(k), YOU CAN KEEP YOUR 401(k): Obama Labor Dept. Sets Stage for Nationalizing Retirement Accounts
The Obama administration has its sights set on an incredible amount of your money. By some estimates, Americans are holding well over $10 trillion in private retirement accounts.
For a country with debt that is clearly "unsustainable" (source: the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office), flashing that kind of figure to a Democrat politician is akin to showing a kilo of heroin to a desperate junkie.
THE GOAL: FINANCIAL REPRESSION
---
...the real goal of the Obama administration is to nationalize your retirement account and to invest it in debt that will become increasingly unsellable in the open market.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Cartoon of the Day
Comrade Branco delivers!
Usually when I post on Obama's foreign policy, there is a white flag associated with the story. The golf bag has become the symbol of Obama's surrender to anything that challenges the greatness of the United States or the security of Western Civilization.
Usually when I post on Obama's foreign policy, there is a white flag associated with the story. The golf bag has become the symbol of Obama's surrender to anything that challenges the greatness of the United States or the security of Western Civilization.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Mark Stein: How We Lose
Mark spoke before the Danish Free Press Society in September.
The conference focus: "'The Danish Muhammad cartoon crisis in retrospect' marking the 10 years anniversary of the publications of the Muhammad cartoons." - YouTube
Serious. Funny. Angry. Spot on.
10:00 mark:
U/T: Chicago Boyz
The conference focus: "'The Danish Muhammad cartoon crisis in retrospect' marking the 10 years anniversary of the publications of the Muhammad cartoons." - YouTube
Serious. Funny. Angry. Spot on.
10:00 mark:
I am not prepared to surrender an inch of the civilized world to barbarians, which is the choice we have been faced with. And I'm not prepared to watch the lights go out on Denmark, and Sweden, and Norway, and Slovenia, and Belgium, and Luxembourg, and Canada, and Australia, and think that, you know, you can have one little redoubt where liberty will thrive.You can see the full conference video (1 hour) - here.
I take the same view to the civilized world that Islam takes to the Dar al-islam. Once we hold this, we hold this forever. And we never surrender it.
U/T: Chicago Boyz
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
GOP Rankings Report - Dec 15
Ushanka's 10th GOP Rankings Report - December 15:
You can see the criteria for this report - here.
Updates:
I added an 8th Foreign Policy sub-category: Stop Muslim Immigration. I'm embarrassed I didn't come up with that first. A hearty Ushanka Tip to Trump for this one.
I knocked some candidates for their internal attacks this week. Bush, Paul and even Trump decided to weigh-in on their competition within the GOP rather than spend their time telling us what Obama F**kups they will fix, or how they differ from the Hillary/Bernie threat.
I could not find a single change to the candidates websites since my last review. Some are getting desperate and there are rumors some may drop out soon, yet not a single candidate has chosen to clarify or improve or even state his/her positions on their site. This is the party of businessmen?
You can see the criteria for this report - here.
Updates:
I added an 8th Foreign Policy sub-category: Stop Muslim Immigration. I'm embarrassed I didn't come up with that first. A hearty Ushanka Tip to Trump for this one.
I knocked some candidates for their internal attacks this week. Bush, Paul and even Trump decided to weigh-in on their competition within the GOP rather than spend their time telling us what Obama F**kups they will fix, or how they differ from the Hillary/Bernie threat.
I could not find a single change to the candidates websites since my last review. Some are getting desperate and there are rumors some may drop out soon, yet not a single candidate has chosen to clarify or improve or even state his/her positions on their site. This is the party of businessmen?
Monday, December 14, 2015
Book Review: 13 Hours
The harrowing, true account from the brave men on the ground who fought back during the Battle of Benghazi. - Amazon
Fellow comrades have been reading this book and talking about how great it is. I’ve asked them for a list of things to watch for in the coming movie, but none have come through. I thought they were avoiding this, but after reading the book, I cannot come up with such a list myself. Here is why.
The only new information 13 Hours offers are the minute-by-minute tactical movements and events during the multiple attacks that started on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi. You will not get one whiff of political-level or strategic-level information in this book. The only information that was new to me is the operators’ reports on how Ambassador Stevens died and when. These differ on what I’ve seen elsewhere, but I am inclined to defer to the account in 13 Hours, as every fact within seems to be double-sourced or better.
The author does a great job at capturing the events of that long night and the heroic actions by the American’s on the ground there. He only covers the conversations and movements of the shooters, so you will learn very little about the Americans who were hiding inside the buildings as the shooters defended, first, the Embassy Compound, then the nearby CIA Annex.
The author has failed this reader by not only avoiding the political side of the story, but by repeatedly clarifying why he is avoiding the politics. He presents this in a moral equivalence manner that is insulting to anyone who has been paying attention to the strategic and political failures of that night. The reason his book is selling is not addressed in the book, as few outside the shooter’s families and colleagues would have an interest to read about the positions, movements and actions of those shooters that night.
My guess is the author tried to write something similar to Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down. He fell short for two reasons: 1) the Benghazi fight is far less complex and far smaller than the fight in Mogadishu, and 2) the author keeps a very narrow view on the tactical environment alone.
This is a story of heroes - of great men in a fight for their lives - published in a politically charged atmosphere. If you are looking for reasons to charge Hillary Clinton for negligence or worse, forget it. Whatever criticisms the shooters share of their predicament - of not getting the support they requested before and during the attack - they are not alone. Every person who was in a firefight will tell you that they could have used more resources, more support or a bigger gun. It is a reality that is constant with men who choose to live dangerously.
For these reasons, I cannot recommend 13 Hours.
I assume the movie will be a worthy patriotic movie where you will come to know and respect the men and what they did that night. And hopefully the movie will drive Hillary from her public life once and for all. Unless they expand the scope of the movie to include the strategic and political view, don’t expect any information that [rightly] smears the incompetence and disinterest of the failed Secretary of State Clinton or her failed boss, President Obama.
If you want to read about great American men, and be given the full strategic and tactical picture, I’d recommend these two favorites: Black Hawk Down or The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Saturday Cigar
Gun News II
This post is part two. Part one is here.
Both posts are about the latest gun-buying craze. First, after the Paris terror attack. And now the craziness following the San Bernardinoworkplace violence terror attack.
The most recent gun news:
My compliments to the South Park creators with their most recent anti-politically correct season 19 episode, PC Principal Final Justice. They picked up on the gun-buying craze and shared their version of the American gun show. Hilarious.
Comrade Ken over at Knuckledraggin shares his recent gun store experience.
Our comrade who works a mid-west gun store, who I mentioned in my previous post, called me this week. He reports they sold 18 AR-15 rifles - their entire stock - in one day. They have a waiting list now that they will call when the next batch arrive.
Fear is an amazing thing. I was sleeping atop the Northridge earthquake in 94. When the destruction ended, I grabbed three things: my wife, my infant son and my .45. When we made it outside of our crumbling condo, I saw that my neighbors were also carrying guns. It was funny then and it is funny now.
The gun-buying in 2009-2011 was in response to an anti-American getting elected president, and the obviousness of a coming American decline. If a majority of Americans can vote for Hope and Change, they can vote to take your house, your bank account, your rifle. I contributed to that first gun-buying frenzy for those reasons.
Today the fear is Terrorism exacerbated by open borders. It feels like Obama is inviting criminals and terrorists into the country because he is inviting criminals and terrorists into the country. For those who sat out of Frenzy #1, their distrust of the government to protect them, their families and their property is fueling Frenzy #2. I would urge them to follow my advice to new gun owners in post #1.
Our betters in government have painted themselves into a corner. They will be forced into a decision in the coming days:
Comrade and author Matt Bracken shared Fred's latest sarcastic masterpiece: Allahu Akbar! :The View from 2018
And this would just be another news story, if it hadn't happened less than 5 miles from my house. GP: Liberal Judge Behind Racial Profiling Ban Is Victim of Brutal Black Robbery and Beating (Video)
And a FB Comrade shared this today:
Both posts are about the latest gun-buying craze. First, after the Paris terror attack. And now the craziness following the San Bernardino
The most recent gun news:
My compliments to the South Park creators with their most recent anti-politically correct season 19 episode, PC Principal Final Justice. They picked up on the gun-buying craze and shared their version of the American gun show. Hilarious.
Comrade Ken over at Knuckledraggin shares his recent gun store experience.
Our comrade who works a mid-west gun store, who I mentioned in my previous post, called me this week. He reports they sold 18 AR-15 rifles - their entire stock - in one day. They have a waiting list now that they will call when the next batch arrive.
Fear is an amazing thing. I was sleeping atop the Northridge earthquake in 94. When the destruction ended, I grabbed three things: my wife, my infant son and my .45. When we made it outside of our crumbling condo, I saw that my neighbors were also carrying guns. It was funny then and it is funny now.
The gun-buying in 2009-2011 was in response to an anti-American getting elected president, and the obviousness of a coming American decline. If a majority of Americans can vote for Hope and Change, they can vote to take your house, your bank account, your rifle. I contributed to that first gun-buying frenzy for those reasons.
Today the fear is Terrorism exacerbated by open borders. It feels like Obama is inviting criminals and terrorists into the country because he is inviting criminals and terrorists into the country. For those who sat out of Frenzy #1, their distrust of the government to protect them, their families and their property is fueling Frenzy #2. I would urge them to follow my advice to new gun owners in post #1.
Our betters in government have painted themselves into a corner. They will be forced into a decision in the coming days:
1) Either restore the security of America and its citizens as top priority, orUPDATED 4:30pm: Adding related items of interest...
2) Limit free speech by silencing critics like me, removing criticism like this post, and tracking those who read this.
Comrade and author Matt Bracken shared Fred's latest sarcastic masterpiece: Allahu Akbar! :The View from 2018
And this would just be another news story, if it hadn't happened less than 5 miles from my house. GP: Liberal Judge Behind Racial Profiling Ban Is Victim of Brutal Black Robbery and Beating (Video)
And a FB Comrade shared this today:
Adm. James "Ace" Lyons Jr. (Ret.)
I miss the seriousness of Cold War warriors like Admiral Ace Lyons.
February 2015:
Supplemental reading:
February 2015:
Supplemental reading:
Wartime admiral: Obama is 'anti-American, pro-Islamic' by Paul Bedard. February 19, 2015
Admiral Lyons on Obama’s Strategy: ‘It’s Anti-American ... Pro-Islamic, It’s Pro-Iranian, and Pro-Muslim Brotherhood!’ by Michael W. Chapman. March 2, 2015.
Admiral 'Ace' Lyons: Alliance Between Obama, Clinton, And The Muslim Brotherhood Will Take America Down, by Mikayla Bean. May 18, 2015.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Affirmative Action on Display
When you continue to lower hiring standards until every diversity quota can be met, you're left with Ms. Burriesci as your only choice to send to Capitol Hill to answer questions.
She is part of the same Homeland Security that missed the signals the San Bernardino terrorists were sending for over 2 years. You could say she has the blood of those 14 dead in San Bernardino on her hands, but after you watch her performance here, you'll realize she can't be blamed. For anything.
She is as much of a victim as the San Bernardino casualties.
U/T: Trey Gowdy.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Back to the 80's
The 1380's.
FB Comrades J and M get credit for this post, but Attorney General Lynch should talk to me if somebody has to do time.
FB Comrades J and M get credit for this post, but Attorney General Lynch should talk to me if somebody has to do time.
Tuesday, December 08, 2015
My Trump Prediction
I'm projecting here, but bear with me.
If nominated, I can see Trump skip the main debates.
One, I assume he'd still have momentum on his economic and immigration positions. They are superior to anything the Democrat Party has to offer and they appeal to many people who would otherwise vote Democrat.
But second, I think he will understand the Democrat Party's only political strategy in 2016:
The only credibility that a Bernie or Hillary candidacy has is when that credibility rubs off from someone who has achieved great things in life. Someone who is accomplished.
In other words, a member of today's Democrat Party, to have any credibility, must redistribute credibility from the other side and call it his/her own.
To see evidence of this, notice how Bernie and Hillary comment on a GOP idea. They dissect it. Criticize it. Find flaws. Next time you see this, watch for Bernie or Hillary to explain their solution to the same topic. Ooops, out of time....
Getting the votes in Vermont as a Socialist isn't an achievement, nor is riding the coat tails of your husband. The Democrat bench is vacuous, and the best way to hide this is to distract with debates.
I predict Trump not only knows this, but that he will deny his opponent any side-by-side propaganda opportunities.
He'd win any debate despite the MSM's effort to call it for the liberal, but that isn't my point. My point is: sharing a stage with Trump creates an either-or proposition that delivers unearned benefits to his opponent.
There are plenty of old and new media that will serve to highlight the differences between the two and eliminate the need for debates. I think that is sufficient, and I hope Trump does as well.
This comparison-for-credibility has bugged me for years. It was all I thought in 2008 when I saw this photo:
Do you see it too?
If nominated, I can see Trump skip the main debates.
One, I assume he'd still have momentum on his economic and immigration positions. They are superior to anything the Democrat Party has to offer and they appeal to many people who would otherwise vote Democrat.
But second, I think he will understand the Democrat Party's only political strategy in 2016:
Be seen next to a Republican.
The only credibility that a Bernie or Hillary candidacy has is when that credibility rubs off from someone who has achieved great things in life. Someone who is accomplished.
In other words, a member of today's Democrat Party, to have any credibility, must redistribute credibility from the other side and call it his/her own.
To see evidence of this, notice how Bernie and Hillary comment on a GOP idea. They dissect it. Criticize it. Find flaws. Next time you see this, watch for Bernie or Hillary to explain their solution to the same topic. Ooops, out of time....
Getting the votes in Vermont as a Socialist isn't an achievement, nor is riding the coat tails of your husband. The Democrat bench is vacuous, and the best way to hide this is to distract with debates.
I predict Trump not only knows this, but that he will deny his opponent any side-by-side propaganda opportunities.
He'd win any debate despite the MSM's effort to call it for the liberal, but that isn't my point. My point is: sharing a stage with Trump creates an either-or proposition that delivers unearned benefits to his opponent.
There are plenty of old and new media that will serve to highlight the differences between the two and eliminate the need for debates. I think that is sufficient, and I hope Trump does as well.
This comparison-for-credibility has bugged me for years. It was all I thought in 2008 when I saw this photo:
Do you see it too?
Monday, December 07, 2015
Trump Drops a Nuke
Old-media Obama network, MSNBC, comes to the defense of America's muslims. Today's news:
The MSNBC gal can't remember when this nation did such a ban. She may want to study how Democrat FDR treated the Japanese in the early 40's.
Drudge:
As much fun as it is to tune into MSNBC when news like this hits, I would have rather been in the Kasich or Bush campaign HQs. Those campaigns have been waiting for a Trump mistake for months now. It is their only strategy. I'm guessing there were a lot of high-fives, followed shortly by an even worse depression. "Why aren't our donors calling back?"
Forliberals progressives communists, and their like minded RINO Republicans like Kasich and Bush, there is good news. We live in a democracy and everyone will have a chance to vote on this abhorent, hateful suggestion.
But let's be clear if Trump wins next November. It was today's announcement that won the day, and it is the libs and rinos that need to suck it up or head to Canada. Does that sound fair?
And while I have the floor... This democracy allows, nay protects, free speech. There is nothing, nor has there been anything in the past 15 years, to stop any American muslim to speak out against murder and terrorism. To not speak is a choice, and the silence is as clear as a shout.
This is going to be an interesting presidential season.
The MSNBC gal can't remember when this nation did such a ban. She may want to study how Democrat FDR treated the Japanese in the early 40's.
Drudge:
As much fun as it is to tune into MSNBC when news like this hits, I would have rather been in the Kasich or Bush campaign HQs. Those campaigns have been waiting for a Trump mistake for months now. It is their only strategy. I'm guessing there were a lot of high-fives, followed shortly by an even worse depression. "Why aren't our donors calling back?"
For
But let's be clear if Trump wins next November. It was today's announcement that won the day, and it is the libs and rinos that need to suck it up or head to Canada. Does that sound fair?
And while I have the floor... This democracy allows, nay protects, free speech. There is nothing, nor has there been anything in the past 15 years, to stop any American muslim to speak out against murder and terrorism. To not speak is a choice, and the silence is as clear as a shout.
This is going to be an interesting presidential season.
Sunday, December 06, 2015
Saturday, December 05, 2015
Be This Guy
Former Congressman Joe Walsh:
I will send a free Glorious Hat to every American arrested by Attorney General Loretta Lynch for the "crime" of anti-Muslim speech. The ushanka hat was once the difference between life and death in the Siberian Gulag, and it shall be the mark of honor for today's dissident here in America.
U/T: Comrade Googie
UPDATED 12.7.15 10am:
Comrade Branco's latest (@LI):
I will send a free Glorious Hat to every American arrested by Attorney General Loretta Lynch for the "crime" of anti-Muslim speech. The ushanka hat was once the difference between life and death in the Siberian Gulag, and it shall be the mark of honor for today's dissident here in America.
U/T: Comrade Googie
UPDATED 12.7.15 10am:
Comrade Branco's latest (@LI):
With Governments Like These . . .
The San Bernardino Terror Attack reinforced this observer's assumptions about the US Federal Government's focus on National Security and the safety of its citizens.
It isn't lacking.
It doesn't exist.
Check out these three new-media links from yesterday and today. No need to go read them. The titles say it all: fake address, radical ties, DHS incompetence.
** I submit that the government came out yesterday to admit the attack in San Bernardino was terrorism only because they realized they had lost all legitimacy.
*** The New York Post is the exception with this cover the following day.
The solution is simple:
Last, we need to de-link the Federal government's actions (in-actions) from what we see on the news.
The first responders in active shooter situations are either armed/courageous citizens, or local law enforcement. The police and San Bernardino sheriff's deputies did an excellent job in Wednesday's attack. The Feds were caught flat-footed, partially due to bloat and the effects of decades of Affirmative Action, and partially due to politicized managers with no interest or knowledge of national security matters.
Be sure to know the difference, and reject these false links.
The only credibility the Federal government has from Wednesday's attack in San Bernardino is the credibility they redistributed from local law enforcement after the fact.
A hearty Ushanka tip to those officers on the scene.
UPDATED 12.7.15 11am:
WRSA gives us another DHS image for future overuse:
It isn't lacking.
It doesn't exist.
Check out these three new-media links from yesterday and today. No need to go read them. The titles say it all: fake address, radical ties, DHS incompetence.
Gateway Pundit: EXCLUSIVE: Tashfeen Malik Should NEVER Have Been Granted US Visa=> Used Fake Home Address That Doesn’t ExistHere is how many hours it took to determine the active shooter news out of San Bernardino was terror related:
Weasel Zippers: State Department Satisfied With Visa Process That Allowed Tashfeen Malik Into U.S., Despite Terrorist Giving Phony Address
Weasel Zippers: Terrorist Tashfeen Malik Associated With Radical Mosque, Preacher In Pakistan, So How Did She Pass DHS Vetting?
My Facebook Comrades: 3 hours (when Farook's name was known)* I went through Weasel Zippers' posts from Wednesday (day of attack) to determine their first post that links the attack to terrorism. WZ original post: Dec. 2nd 4:30pm. WZ post confirming Islamic terrorism: Dec. 3rd 12:31am.
The New Media*: 8 hours
The Federal Government**: 48 hours
The Old Media***: Pending
** I submit that the government came out yesterday to admit the attack in San Bernardino was terrorism only because they realized they had lost all legitimacy.
*** The New York Post is the exception with this cover the following day.
The solution is simple:
1) Remove Democrats from power, in all branches, andIf we do those three things I will no longer have a reason to post images like these below.
2) Cut the Federal budget, all civilian and military, by 50% and force their managers to prioritize their activities based on citizen safety, then
3) Continue to trim areas where waste and sloth still exist.
Last, we need to de-link the Federal government's actions (in-actions) from what we see on the news.
The first responders in active shooter situations are either armed/courageous citizens, or local law enforcement. The police and San Bernardino sheriff's deputies did an excellent job in Wednesday's attack. The Feds were caught flat-footed, partially due to bloat and the effects of decades of Affirmative Action, and partially due to politicized managers with no interest or knowledge of national security matters.
Be sure to know the difference, and reject these false links.
The only credibility the Federal government has from Wednesday's attack in San Bernardino is the credibility they redistributed from local law enforcement after the fact.
A hearty Ushanka tip to those officers on the scene.
UPDATED 12.7.15 11am:
WRSA gives us another DHS image for future overuse:
Thursday, December 03, 2015
San Bernardino
I've been late to post on the terror attack in San Bernardino yesterday. Would you believe I was waiting for them to announce the motive?
You'll excuse me if I go straight to the partisan stuff. I've said before, these public shooting attacks are the new norm in Obama's America, and I don't want you to expect me to post outrage after each event.
First, the obligatory image. It is timeless.
Screen capture of the Day - Gateway Pundit:
Have you noticed our fellow right-wing extremists have found their voice when it comes to these predictable events? Further, the network to share these is better than ever.
Here are a few of the best memes I captured within 24 hours after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. My compliments to the comrades behind these:
As to the announcements:
dear lame-duck leader -
We've been hit multiple times now, and each time we hear the spin, from 'workplace violence' to 'we are not at war with Eurasia.' The American people have tuned him out and have headed to the gun store. Over 185,000 guns were purchased last Friday. We shared a story about this shortly after the Paris attacks.
Muslim Muzammil Siddiqi - Orange County Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR - Terrorists)
"Possible terrorism" is the FBI's way to say something without saying it. Just following orders...
Explaining these public statements. Let me be blunt.
The dear leader's role is to exacerbate the decline in values and standards with the ultimate goal of destroying Western Civilization. He tried this with gun control, with climate change, with executive orders and other half-assed efforts. He found the magic in his immigration (open borders) policy.
Siddiqi is being honest when he says he does not know the motive of his fellow muslims. After 1600 years of inbreeding, the entire muslim population has such a reduced IQ that critical analysis of the facts will never be possible.
Similarly, the FBI has suffered over two generations of Affirmative Action, thus reducing the standards to the point that any mouth-breather can get a job there. It was once the pinnacle of law enforcement and national security. Now it is a political appendage of the white house and the democrat party disguised as a laboratory of diversity and harmony.
Winks of sleep lost: 0
Because I read Comrade Matt Bracken's Tet, Take Two essay and two other Religion of Peace posts the day before.
My post with those links.
UPDATED 12.4.15 11:30am:
My fellow comrades of the right wing are livid that the dear leader won't call the attack "terrorism." One has even channeled the late Sam Kinison as our spokesperson:
My suggestion: ignore the regime. Drudge didn't have any hangups about making the call. Neither did millions of Americans who have taken responsibility for their own protection.
A couple good links to check out:
Pamela Geller posts some photos of the weapons and asks, "Who paid for this?"
Noah Rothman does a great job connecting radical Islam with/to the Democrat Party.
You'll excuse me if I go straight to the partisan stuff. I've said before, these public shooting attacks are the new norm in Obama's America, and I don't want you to expect me to post outrage after each event.
First, the obligatory image. It is timeless.
Screen capture of the Day - Gateway Pundit:
Have you noticed our fellow right-wing extremists have found their voice when it comes to these predictable events? Further, the network to share these is better than ever.
Here are a few of the best memes I captured within 24 hours after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. My compliments to the comrades behind these:
As to the announcements:
dear lame-duck leader -
Enough is en-blah blah, blah blah...As for the dear leader doing everything he can to not call yesterday's terror attack "terror," I think I may have an idea as to why. I am unable to find the video, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. Amb. John Bolton was on FoxNews discussing Obama's War on Terror strategy back in 2008 or early 2009, and he cut through the noise and said, effectively, this: "Obama's strategy is a success if his term ends without a terror attack on US soil." Fair. Precise. Correct.
We've been hit multiple times now, and each time we hear the spin, from 'workplace violence' to 'we are not at war with Eurasia.' The American people have tuned him out and have headed to the gun store. Over 185,000 guns were purchased last Friday. We shared a story about this shortly after the Paris attacks.
Muslim Muzammil Siddiqi - Orange County Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR - Terrorists)
We don’t know the motives. Is it work, rage related? Is it mental illness? Is it extreme ideology? At this point it’s really unknown to us.FBI - Treating this as:
Possible terrorism.Tactical vests. Reinforced vehicle. Two accomplices. Muslims. Recent travel to Saudi Arabia. 1700 rounds of .223 loaded and ready. Hard drives erased the day before. 15 pipe bombs. Suspicious behavior for weeks.
"Possible terrorism" is the FBI's way to say something without saying it. Just following orders...
Explaining these public statements. Let me be blunt.
The dear leader's role is to exacerbate the decline in values and standards with the ultimate goal of destroying Western Civilization. He tried this with gun control, with climate change, with executive orders and other half-assed efforts. He found the magic in his immigration (open borders) policy.
Siddiqi is being honest when he says he does not know the motive of his fellow muslims. After 1600 years of inbreeding, the entire muslim population has such a reduced IQ that critical analysis of the facts will never be possible.
Similarly, the FBI has suffered over two generations of Affirmative Action, thus reducing the standards to the point that any mouth-breather can get a job there. It was once the pinnacle of law enforcement and national security. Now it is a political appendage of the white house and the democrat party disguised as a laboratory of diversity and harmony.
Winks of sleep lost: 0
Because I read Comrade Matt Bracken's Tet, Take Two essay and two other Religion of Peace posts the day before.
My post with those links.
UPDATED 12.4.15 11:30am:
My fellow comrades of the right wing are livid that the dear leader won't call the attack "terrorism." One has even channeled the late Sam Kinison as our spokesperson:
My suggestion: ignore the regime. Drudge didn't have any hangups about making the call. Neither did millions of Americans who have taken responsibility for their own protection.
A couple good links to check out:
Pamela Geller posts some photos of the weapons and asks, "Who paid for this?"
Noah Rothman does a great job connecting radical Islam with/to the Democrat Party.