Politics2020.com

One More Paradox of Viet Nam

Just one more paradox of Viet Nam ... the Viet Nam stock market (a sure sign of capitalism) is called the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

Ho Chi Minh was the spirited leader of North Vietnam in its war versus South Vietnam and the United States.

Of course, well documented, the United States entered the war due to the prevailing "domino theory", that the USA could not allow Viet Nam to fall into Communist hands.

After the withdrawal of U.S. troops, North Vietnam did, indeed, overrun South Vietnamese forces.  (Ho Chi Minh had already died by this time.)

The Communists had their victory.  Or, did they?  The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange Index traded Friday at 467, up 2%.

Obama Talks Down to Everyone

Rev. Jesse Jackson stated on Fox News that Barack Obama "talks down to black people." 

But, take solace, Rev. Jackson.  Barack Obama doesn't just talk down to black people.  He talks down to everyone.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my least favorite characteristics are Barrack Obama's condescending speech and posture.

Mr. Obama has that annoying presumptive knack for believing he knows a bit more than you do, can express it a bit better than you can, and, is, quite frankly, just a little bit better than you are.

I'm still voting for Obama.  But how will his arrogance play in Peoria?  If it doesn't play well with Jesse Jackson, chances are it won't play well in middle America, either.

Just something for Obama strategists to consider.

Tax Rebate Checks - Manna for China and Saudi Arabia

The U.S. dollar has been crashing in world markets for several years. 

The reason  is pretty simple:  The U.S. government and its import hungry citizens both spend way more than they make.  To pay for this imbalance, the U.S. Federal Reserve just prints more dollars.  Economics 101:  When a commodity is plentiful (in this case, U.S. dollars), its value goes down.

That's why the Euro and the British Pound and every major currency have had double digit and even triple digit gains vs. the dollar.

But, alas, we keep printing more dollars.

So, we send those dollars off to far away places like China and Saudi Arabia.  For our citizens,the conduits for this dollar transfer are, among other places, our local Wal-Mart (where we buy the goods from China) and our local ExxonMobil gasoline station (where we fill up our tanks with foreign oil).  (For our federal government, a large conduit is Haliburton and defense contractors to finance George Bush's war in Iraq.)

China and Saudi Arabia are kind enough to send these dollars back.  They buy our stocks, our real estate, and our Treasury notes.  (The Treasury notes part keeps the cycle going).

But, notice something important.  China and Saudi Arabia (and a host of other nations) are buying our means of production.  In Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 911", Moore points out that Saudi Arabia actually owns 6% of the total stocks of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

When you transfer your means of production (i.e. others are buying your stocks), you are transferring real wealth out of the country.

But, here's another interesting point:  As the economy slipped into recession, George Bush decided to stave off the inevitable by writing checks from the U.S. government to all its taxpayers.

One problem:  The U.S. government doesn't have any money.  In fact, it's $10 trillion in debt.  (FYI, Reagan, Bush 1 and Bush 2 are responsible for about $8 trillion of that.  So much for "fiscal conservatism".)

So, the U.S. government, in essence, wrote bad checks to everyone, and, then printed the money to cover the bad checks.

Now, we can all go to our local WalMart and our local ExxonMobil station.  China and Saudi Arabia can't wait. 

Just the Soundbite, Please

Barack Obama said today that he was surprised at the uproar over his comments about refining his thoughts towards the Iraq war. 

Earlier in the week, Obama said that he may refine the time-table for withdrawal of American troops depending on feedback from military commanders.

The press pounced.  Obama was changing his position.  Obama is, dare we say it, a flip-flopper.

Of course, Obama had not changed policy.  He merely commented that the strategy for carrying out the policy is subject to some variables.

Woo, nelly.... The American press (and/or the American people) is not ready for intelligent discussion with contemplation and nuance.

The sooner Mr. Obama learns this fact, the better.  If he doesn't learn it, he'll never be president.

It reminds me of his speech on race relations.  Way too much thought went into that speech.  :)

The press is interested in a sound bite.  Give it to them, and, move on.

Details are for intellectuals on Sunday morning talk shows.  As for the candidate, if it can't be said in 10 seconds, it doesn't need to be said.

"Bring Your Gun to Work" Law

The Louisiana Legislature is a train wreck.

Here's the deal.  About a decade ago, Louisiana citizens voted for term limits.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  With the last election, all of the incumbents were "term-limited" out of office.

Here's where it gets interesting.

It seems the kids (the new Legislature) were feeling their power when they voted to triple their own salary.  They compromised with double the salary.  The Governor vetoed the whole mess.

It's time for Bobby Jindal to get out his veto pen again.

The Legislature actually passed a "Bring Your Gun to Work" Law.  So, unless the Governor vetoes the measure, Louisiana will forever secure its position as the absolute worst state for business.

But, the NRA zealots and their "right to life" friends (with a little help from the "intelligent design" people) are the money behind this governor.

What's a governor to do?   Keep business happy, and, veto the "bring your gun to work" law?  Or, keep his pockets rich in campaign contributions by allowing Louisiana workers to bring their guns to work?

The NEW Louisiana Legislature ... kinda makes you re-think this whole term limit thing.

Jindal Feels the Heat

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced today that he will veto the much publicized pay increase for legislators.

Over the weekend, stories ran in The Advocate that Jindal was the target of a recall petition drive.

So, it seems that Bobby Jindal must be threatened with political turmoil before he will do what is, in his own words, the right thing to do.

Jindal had said before that he thought the pay raise was unwarranted, and, that he wished it wouldn't happen... (uh, he's the Governor)... but that he wouldn't veto the bill.

He wouldn't sign it either.  He would just let it sit on his desk until it became law.  That'll show 'em, Bobby! 

But, after public outcry reached critical mass, Jindal capitulated.

I'm not impressed.

Jindal has shown that he is incapable of leadership.  He puts his finger in the air to size up prevailing opinion, then, acts accordingly.  That's not leadership.  In fact, it's kind of pathetic.

It's Heating Up a Bit in Louisiana

It's heating up a bit in Louisiana...   It takes alot to get the people of Louisiana to take action against their politicians.  Doubling your pay seems to be enough.

Louisiana's Legislators voted to triple their pay.  When the public cried foul, they "compromised", and, agreed to only double their pay.

Governor Jindal (who, incidentally, made the campaign promise that he wouldn't let the Legislators raise their own pay for this term) has said he'll not veto the bill. 

Showing himself to be a jellyfish as Governor, Jindal won't sign it either, but, it becomes law on July 8th, signed or not (absent a veto).  In less than one year in office, Governor Jindal has already allowed more bills to become law without his signature than did the two previous governors combined in their cumulative 12 years in office.

First, to Governor Jindal, you lied.  You have broken the bond of trust with the people of Louisiana.  And my guess is you can stop waiting for that call from Mr. McCain. 

It's funny how Republicans run for office as fiscal conservatives, then, once they take office, just can't spend it fast enough.   Jindal joins some heady company:  Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W. Bush (the three Presidents who have increased the national debt to obscene levels).

Secondly, recall petitions have begun circulating for Louisiana State Representatives.  Be assured that I will sign the recall petition against first term District 70 Representative Franklin Foil.  I encourage all to do the same.

Recall procedures require that 1/3 of the registered voters sign the petition.  Of course, that number is way too high, and, pretty much seals the deal against the recall efforts.

But, it's worth a try.

It's an absolute absurdity that Lousiana Legislators think they deserve pay that places them in the top 10 among the 50 states.  Louisiana will now pay its legislators salaries equal to their peers in such high cost states as Massachusetts and California.

Meanwhile, Louisiana ranks 49th or 50th in just about all of the standards for quality of life.

Ironically, Louisiana passed Ethics Reform bills earlier in the session.  Makes you wonder... do the Legislators need the salary increase to replace income they used to get in other ways before the Ethics Reform?

Great Quote

I just heard a great quote by an unidentified person in the documentary, "For the Bible Tells Me So" . . .

"It's ok to have a 5th grade understanding of the Bible, as long as you're in the 5th grade."

Unfortunately, the religious right counts on its followers to maintain a 5th grade understanding of the Bible throughout their adult lives.

Restrictive passages in the Old Testament were written for reasons specific to that time.

Passages in the Old Testament against homosexuality were to maximize society's tendencies towards procreation.  The Bible encouraged heterosexuality for the simple reason that, at that time in human development, the survival of the species depended upon having as many babies as possible.

At 6.5 billion people, many of them malnourished, the world probably has this shortage of people thing licked.  Indeed, the planet is strained by the human population, not vice versa.

Thus, spiritual laws that may have been prudent 5,000 years ago may not apply today.  At least allow for the possibility.  Let's all graduate to the 6th grade together.

The Great Cool Down

The Great Cool Down, the time passing between Obama winning the nomination and announcing his VP running mate, is probably the The Great Freeze Out for Hillary.

As times goes by, it's my opinion, an Obama/Clinton ticket becomes less and less likely.

Obama told us that we all needed to "cool it" a bit.  I have to admit that sometimes I find Obama condescending.  This was one of those times.

As the summer heat builds, the enthusiasm for an Obama/Clinton ticket cools.

It's sort of like that joke about telling someone the cat died.  Anyone remember the movie, "Capricorn One"?

The joke goes like this:

There are two brothers.  One is on vacation.  He calls back to the other brother and asks, "How's the cat?"

The second brother says, "The cat died."

The brother on vacation says, "That's not how you tell me the cat died.  You don't just come out and say "The cat died".  You give it to me gradually."

"The first time I call, you say "The cat's on the roof".  The next time I call, you say,  "We're worried, the cat has jumped in the tree and won't come down."  The next time I call, you say,"The firemen came out to get the cat down, but they couldn't reach the cat."  Then, when I call again, you say, "The cat died."

"That's how you tell someone the cat died.  By the way, how's mom?"

The brother responds, "Mom's on the roof."

As time goes on... the Obama/Hillary ticket.. well, it's on the roof. And, it's mighty cold up there.

Barack Obama turns down public financing

Barack Obama has said that he will turn down public financing for his presidential bid.  Thus, he can raise and spend without limits.

The Obama fundraising juggernaut is now unimpeded by those pesky campaign finance laws.

John McCain is crying foul.  But, hey, what really is his complaint?

Barack Obama is following existing law by opting out, and, he's saving the taxpayers some money.