Oh my, intelligence is evaporating

http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/eliasisquith/2012/06/the-fundraiser/

I don't know this writer very well, but he writes a lot. I think he's young, so I'll cut him some slack -- if he's going to pretend he's putting forth intelligent arguments, though, then he should do better than this.

This is the weakest argument I've seen against Citizens United. Pilon at Cato wrote that an incumbent has an advantage because, in our system, the sitting President can give things away for votes. Nowadays, Wall Street is pretty much hated by everyone, so what advantage does Romney have, if it's true all his support comes from Wall Street, while Obama can bribe the middle class, all special interests and anyone looking for a handout?

All this guy and other liberals can do is imply that evil (Wall Street) money in politics can buy anything and anyone, but they never explain why the middle class, the poor, minorities, women and all special interests would be swayed by someone bought and paid for by Wall Street? Something's wrong with this guy -- he has some kind of new Romney/Wall Street syndrome that's similar to Bush Syndrome.

Up with Chris Hayes 11/20/2011 -- mean-spirited Republicans

On Up with Chris Hayes this morning, Hayes' guests were Representative Steve Cohen, Melissa Harris-Perry (I get her two names out of order some times) Bob Herbert and Reihan Salam. I only watched the first hour of the show, and the normal topics were discussed -- Newt Gingrich, inequality, OWS, Republicans, OWS, Gingrich, inequality, rich people, inequality, etc.

They showed a clip of Gingrich saying OWS protesters need to get a job right after they take a bath. There was much concern over the audience applause regarding Gingrich's remark. Herbert said there are no jobs, but this is counter to a report of job openings which can't be filled due to lack of qualified applicants. Why are there no jobs? Salam wasn't any help -- he's more of a cultural critic. Perry, Herbert and Cohen blame Wall Street and Republicans. Hayes is on board blaming Wall Street and Republicans, so a good opportunity was missed to have a serious discussion.

The Up with Chris Hayes panel could have discussed the problem with education in America, and they could have discussed high business taxes, and they could have discussed business-killing regulations, and they could have discussed the crowding out effect of government spending, and they could have talked about the sword of Obamacare that's hanging over the head of the economy, and they could have discussed unfunded liabilities which scare businesses, and they could have talked about how statism favors large corporations which are protected from competition which suppresses small business growth, and they could have discussed the need for a free and dynamic market left alone by a limited government, but none of them really believe these are problems or solutions, so they blamed Wall Street and Republicans.

OWS and the fading light of reason

For the most part, I don't care one way or the other about the OWS movement, but as media present us with the recurring theme of bankers and the evil 1%, I feel a need to respond. When the Tea Party started, my main concern was whether this movement focused on limiting the power of government or if they simply wanted government power for their pet concerns. We'll see how many limited government/free market representatives are elected in 2012.

The OWS movement appears misdirected, because Wall Street speculation, rent-seeking and cronyistic bail-out manipulation during the housing crash were only symptoms of a much larger, fundamental problem. For decades government pushed the private sector in the direction of a housing boom, and the Fed fueled the housing boom with artificially low interest rates, as Fannie, Freddie and the FHA did everything within their power to push the boom higher and higher, with FHA raising their maximum to over $700,000 at one point -- low down payments for low income home-buyers at $700,000!

OWS should direct bipartisan rage at our statist, interventionist government which provides the bully-muscle for a powerful State that's wreaking havoc on our economy, has us bogged down in war in the mideast and moves ever closer to sacrificing American sovereignty to a new global order under neo-liberal/neo-conservative/State capitalist control.

I get the impression that OWS is being led by forces which are a part of the problem the protesters are supposedly fighting against.

Morning Joe 10/3/2011 -- The DC/Wall Street Game

On Morning Joe today the guests on the first segment were Richard Haas, Chris Matthews and Steve Rattner, and the various topics went from the obligatory Perry-bashing to speculation on Chris Christie to Obama's performance in office to the validity of Ron Suskind's book to the protests on Wall Street to Wall Street's involvement in the recession.

As I've discussed over and over, political means have overtaken economic means in the US, and the Morning Joe show is a prime example of how the two become confused in the minds of the public, the pundits, politicians and anlaysts. The political aspect of what's happening between Wall Street and DC is often mistaken for reality, when, in fact, it's often pure illusion, or, to be more blunt, made up of lies. This is not my paranoid imagination in an attempt to create a conspiracy theory -- the political class talks openly about the Political Game. Matthews is doing a special on MSNBC with several political players discussing how Obama can position himself to win re-election -- some guests on the special believe the center-right position is best, while others, Like Bernie Sanders, believe the far left position is best for these times. In other words, what image is necessary to fool enough people to vote for Obama in 2011.

The natural position for Obama is the progressive position -- this is where his passion lies, but Obama understands, as do his handlers, that in order to get re-elected and continue the progressive agenda, Obama has to appeal to a wide range of voteres, especially independents/swing voters. There's nothing new about these manipulations in politics -- but now it's become an art, and reality is hardly ever discussed -- it's all about the Game.

Scarborough said that Wall Street has done well and they shouldn't be crying about regulations, while Rattner said that Dodd-Frank does have consequences for Big Banks. There are so many mini-stories in the political realm, it's understandable how the fiction of politics gets confused with reality. The standard story is that Wall Street has bought DC and now Wall Street has to be regulated and controlled by DC.

Another story is unemployment. Mika talked about a jobs line she saw which stretched for blocks, and the guests talked about the "malaise" not unlike the 70s, and how government leaders have to take control and do something about job creation. A clip of Bill Clinton was played showing his skills as the kindly and helpful, beloved Uncle, gently leading the country to better times under the wings of benevolent government.

Matthews and Scarborough talked about how Christie appeals to people looking for strong leaders with passion who are as angry as the public and able to make things happen. So, different forces in the political realm are all converging in a perfect storm to increase State power during a financial/jobs crisis, with Wall Street and Republicans playing the roles of obstructionists, with the twist that a new kind of Republican like Chrisite is needed to bring the parties together in statist action to get the economy moving and people back to work -- that is unless Obama developes passion and finds a way to break through Republican obstructionism -- then Obama is still The Man. These are populist stories meant to marginalize the Tea Party and elevate government as the potential savior, if only the two parties will work together to "get things done" and prevent Wall Street from accumulating all the wealth.

But the Political Game would not be complete without the right amount of insider cynicism to show how the pundits understand the Game. So, another story is that Obama has actually helped Wall Street, and Wall Street was a huge donor to Obama in 2008. So, what do we believe with all these conflicting, confusing stories? It helps to always keep in mind that the Political Game is basically built on lies, then you can see more clearly what's happening past the spin.

The healthcare bill, Dodd/Frank and all the EPA regulations were the first shots fired at Wall Street, even if the bills allowed some large corporations to benefit from the changes. Wall Street hasn't bought DC, but DC has conned Wall Street. When Rahm Emanuel put forth the quote "never let a good crisis go to waste", he wasn't kidding. In the political realm, there are power players who basically favor progressive ideas, because progressive ideas ensure increased State control. A free market is the greatest threat to State power, and the power players in the political realm have long term goals of global control in tandem with other global power players. Just as Britain led global control by power players in the 19th and 20th centuries, until their decline in the latter half of the 20th century, today there are power players from the US and other major countries who want to guide and control the global economy. A free market and limited government in the US are antithetical to the global plans, so any attempt to limit government or create a free market must be stopped. The progressive movement is toward a global order controlled by powerful statists from around the world -- power players from the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, Asian countries on the rise, and all the international organizations moving toward globalism have no patience with a hokey movement like the Tea Party, or with small and medium size businesses in the US throwing monkey wrenches in the progressive agenda.

The US can't be the cowboy nation prospering at the expense of global order and social justice, so the US government has to first co-opt the major players on Wall Street, and this was accomplished through regulations which favor the large players, and although some large Wall Street players will "win" by becoming de facto arms of the State, Wall Street in general, and businesses in general in America have been conned. American businesses now see the writing on the wall, but they are mistakenly moving towards someone like Chris Chrisite who they think will re-establsihment the old Game of which global order and control wasn't a part -- it was just the ordinary Merchant State arrangement that Hamiltonians establsihed from the beginning of America, and which has been threatened a few times, but has always prevailed.

This newest threat to State power originated in the Information Age which is just now taking off, so it's uncertain how this all plays out. The ordinary American has more power than ever, plus the American people know more than ever about technology and making things and innovative services, and they are learning about the Political Game. The American people are suppressed at the moment by government intervention, but they are waking up to this fact.

Statists attempt to marginalize the threat to State power by promising more and more to people through the welfare state and regulations on Fat Cats. Statists want to also tax Fat Cats even more, so that the threat is further minimized. Statists want to fund an infrastructure bank to control job growth and guide the growth to the areas the State chooses.

I apoligize for this long post, but I can't ignore the bogus nature of the political stories being told, and the reality that's avoided. The Morning Joe crew, and most of their guests from the political class, are reprentative of the Political Game being played. This Political Game is destroying our economy, and yet media still runs with stories of Fat Cats and Wall Street greed as the main villians in the story -- the Wall Street crowd made lots of mistakes, and they allowed themselves to be lured by government favors -- this is despicable -- but they will pay -- all of them will pay, because this Game doesn't end well for anyone. It's time to stop the Political Game and attend to economic reality.

Wall Street speaks loudly

The 501 drop today is a loud signal to DC that this economy is in serious free fall. What the market and our economy needs right now is bold action, but action which signals back that America is going to a free market, and the government is backing off the interventionist approach. Obama should announce that a designated group is looking at all regulations blocking economic growth, and that energy production is in full operational mode. Another good touch would be to assure the market that agriculture subsidies and regulations will be eliminated. Free market principles especially applied to energy and food production would go a long way toward cranking up our economy and lowering unemployment.

It wouldn't hurt to repeal Obamacare.