Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Obama's speech

1/25/12 Wednesday
We have rain, not much, just a little drizzle. It’s cold so have a fire going. Cooked some chicken for Cherie. Right now I am working on a response to Obama’s State of the Union speech. I’d called him “Liar in Chief” on my facebook page and got someone a bit upset. He asked me to name the lies so I am taking the time to go through his speech and do just that.

Part of the difficulty with Obama’s speech is he, and his team of assistants, is careful to not be caught in an obvious lie. However Obama is an expert at bending the truth and spinning facts in such a way as to achieve his purpose. We live in an age where propaganda is so pervasive it is hardly recognized, and the sheeple often swallow whatever line they are fed. So I will go through his speech point by point.

“For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.”

Ok, That’s a fact, kind of. But is this good? There are still troops in Iraq but they are not technically fighting but training and providing some guidance. Meantime Iraq is decaying into a civil war as the situation deteriorates. Iran’s influence is immense and growing so though Obama’s early withdrawal we could well end up with a worse enemy than we had. I know Obama would like to take credit for Osama Bin Laden being killed but those wheels were put in motion with President Bush so Obama inherited that blessing. Al Qaeda’s top lieutenants defeated? Taliban momentum broken? Bull. Sure we have killed many Al Qaeda leaders but there are plenty to step into their shoes. As far as the Taliban goes, many of you may not be aware that Obama has opened channels of negotiation with the Taliban and part of that negotiation involves releasing many of the prisoners we have at Guantamino Bay, along with other compromises. Troops coming home from Afghanistan? Sure, whenever it is politically expedient our president can order some home for a big false show to impress us.

The reality in all this is that we are fighting a war with an ideology, a religion that believes in lying and deceit to achieve it’s goals. And our president has done much to hide or disguise that fact. All references to “radical Islam” Muslim terrorists, and anything else that identifies violent acts as being motivated by the Islamic religious belief has been ordered purged from all official government communication. Meantime the Obama administration is funneling not just millions but billions of dollars into the hands of these radicals through all kinds of back doors and under many guises.



“In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect. Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.”

Sounds good doesn’t it? That’s because it’s supposed to sound good. The 4 million jobs lost were a fact, part of what Obama inherited, however that was over a 9 month period, not six as stated. But read how carefully he states the next sentence “we lost another 4 million Before our policies were in Full effect” The reality is that took a full nine months and this includes 8 months after the trillion dollar stimulus package was passed. So despite a trillion dollars being put on the table job losses still continued. The reality is that he talks about 8 million jobs being lost but only created three million to replace them. Unemployment today is still at one of its highest points ever. And the unemployment figures used aren’t honest anyway because many have given up on finding a job and thus are no longer counted. Here is another fact. Obama has the worst job creation record of any president since world war ll.

“We will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits… It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts.”

Interesting. Obama was the bailout and handout president. He bailed out the banks but held no one accountable, he bailed out the auto industry, and he’s handed out billions of dollars. “No copouts” is a meaningless good sounding political phrase that has no real value.

“Right now, American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right — eight years. Not only that — last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.”

Not really. America’s oil production is practically unchanged since 2003 and according to the Energy Information Administration is only slightly up in the last few years. Oil and gas production on federal lands directly under Obama’s control is down 40 percent compared to 10 years ago, according to Spencer Pederson, a spokesman for Representative Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. In 2010, the U.S. signed the fewest number of offshore drilling leases since 1984.

“Lower imports are the result of lower demand, and increasing production has come despite Obama’s policies”, according to Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute President. Here’s another quote from someone in the industry “The losses due to the Obama administration’s death-grip on offshore drilling and its unwillingness to open federal lands or issue timely permits for exploration far outweigh any energy gains that the White House may tout this week,” Thomas Pyle, president of the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research, said in a statement.

Essentially, the increase in oil and gas production has happened despite the Obama administrations apparent efforts to stymy that growth. Oh, but he’s quick to claim credit for it.

“Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.”

And it’s the “Let’s play with words” game. The money we spent on war we borrowed. Period. So what he is saying, in such a nice way, is that we will continue to borrow money “to pay down our debt” and keep on borrowing more for what he calls “Nation building”. What this really means is that he wants to increase domestic spending relative to what we use with the military. And all the while keep borrowing money while increasing our countries debt. Creating more debt to “pay down” debt is the height of stupidity but our country has been practicing this long before Obama became president. We now have to borrow money just to pay the interest on money we have already borrowed. Why can’t anyone in government see this is a bad course to follow? It’s like a heroin addict stealing money for his next fix and saying “this will be the last time I do this”.

“Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households.”

Blame it on the rich. That’s the popular thing to do now. The reality is that most millionaires actually pay more tax, about a 30 percent tax rate. But there are loopholes that I personally would like to see dealt with, loopholes put in by our self-serving congress. Personally I would like to see a flat tax with no loopholes.

I’m tired and have stuff to do. There is much more in Obama’s speech but it’s your country, so investigate and read up on it yourself. Don’t forget to Vote and get your friends to vote too.

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Tired of it

Got this email today. Pass it on if you agree

Congress Unexplainable, Inexcusable
Col. Amos wrote, "Please forward this to every one you know, we need a 28th Amendment along these lines. No one has been able to explain to me why young men and women serve in the U.S. Military for 20 years, risking their lives protecting freedom, and only get 50% of their pay. While Politicians hold their political positions in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full pay retirement after serving one term. It just does not make any sense. Monday on Fox news they learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans. This will get national attention if other news networks will broadcast it. When you add this to the below, just where will all of it stop?
Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention. If you agree, please pass it on. This is an idea that we should address. For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever. The self-serving must stop. If each person that receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.
Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.

Monday, January 02, 2012

It's a new year, with the same problems, only...

They are going to get a lot worse. We have a president who lies, blatantly, obviously, and verifiably, but no one seems to notice. My personal opinion is that Obama is actively and knowingly working for the downfall of America, with the goal of establishing a socialist and Muslim government. Is that radical paranoid thinking? It might be but the evidence is pretty clear when you view what is happening throughout the world. Here is an article about the financial situations America and the rest of the world face.

Date: January 2, 2012
Reporting From: Coyhaique, Northern Patagonia

New Year's predictions are always a fun exercise. We can bet each other over the price of gold on December 31, 2012, or who will win the White House this year, or even make wild, black swan predictions.

It's like the Charades of thought experiments... good for laughs at a cocktail party, but ultimately meaningless. Serious personal and financial plans cannot be developed from mere conjecture-- it takes significant research, uncovering little-known facts, reviewing historical examples, and looking for ongoing signs that either reinforce or void hypotheses.

I'd like to share a few with you today. In my assessment, these ideas are not so much predictions, but rather mathematical near-certainties that underpin some of my own plans and investments.

Note-- the timing for these is loose, not based on some fixed calendar date (Mayan or Gregorian). Some may occur this year, others may not arise for another 3, 4, even 5-years. But with each passing day, the likelihood becomes stronger.

1) Social Security in the US, and public pensions in Western Europe, will be completely restructured.

That which cannot be sustained will not be sustained, and the public pension Ponzi scheme is at the top of the list. This is already happening in the European countries that have had to face the music already, but the rest will soon follow.

Why? Because at a $1.725 trillion cost, the US government spent nearly 75% of all tax revenue on Medicare and Social Security last year. And the situation will only get worse. Tax revenues are falling in a dismal economy, while the retiree demographic and rising healthcare costs are pushing up entitlement spending year in, year out.

Even by the US GAO's own math, these entitlements constitute a $33 trillion liability. And amazingly enough, it's even worse in Europe.

Not to mention, public pensions represent a neat little kitty for cash-strapped politicians to raid... and the likelihood of these criminals allowing the funds to end up where they were promised is incredibly low.

Inflating away the debt is certainly the preferred course of action as it is more politically palatable. Inflating away a $33 trillion liability in the available time frame, however, is nearly impossible...not without sparking hyperinflation.

Rather, retirees and prospective retirees are going to be hit squarely between the eyes with a restructuring of what had been promised to them for their entire lives. And most will be completely unprepared.

2) Epic failure: the 'ah-ha' moment

At some point, even the most dim-witted American is going to realize that his country is flat broke. Most Europeans are starting to realize it... but Americans have an incredible ability to ignore the obvious and kick the can down the road.

This may arise from some major infrastructure failure, or another epic natural disaster-- the mother of all hurricanes, or an ill-located earthquake-- that absolutely levels a major city. And it'll stay that way. The government will be too broke to rebuild, and too uncreditworthy to borrow.

The city will remain an architectural graveyard, an American Pompeii that becomes a monument to insolvency. And it will be the ultimate 'ah-ha' moment as people are finally shaken from their apathy and blissful ignorance. This will mark the start of the mania phase for everything ranging from firearm purchases to expatriation.

3) Gun control

With over 129,000 federal background checks registered on Black Friday 2011, the previous single day gun sales record was shattered by 32% according to FBI records. And baby, we ain't seen nothin' yet.

From ancient Carthage to Nazi Germany, history is full of examples of how a citizenry is systematically disarmed by its government prior to a major erosion of civil liberties and restructuring of the social contract. The calculus is quite simple-- government is interested in maintaining the status quo, i.e. their power at our expense.

Consequently, attempts at gun control become a foregone conclusion in times of social and economic turmoil.

4) Western governments pull a Mubarak

In an effort to stamp out dissent, Western governments begin utilizing Internet and mobile kill switches, censoring web sites, and increasing their authority over telecommunications architecture. Google's 'don't be evil' mantra becomes the de facto 'ignorance is strength' from 1984 as every major service provider becomes a willing accomplice.

Facial recognition technology will become ingrained with public surveillance under the banner of national security. All Internet activity is monitored. Privacy ceases to exist in the developed west.

5) War

In his book Civilization , historian Niall Ferguson pokes a bit of fun at Karl Marx when he refers to nationalism as 'the cocaine of the Middle Class'. Nothing unites people like a common enemy, and the time-tested trick to get an entire society to forget about their domestic plight is to start a war.

Boogeyman terrorists have done a marvelous job keeping society in check, but in a world of scarce resources and economic decay, a more conventional conflict may ensue. After all, to the victors go the spoils, and many countries won't be above taking what they need by force: water, farmland, oil, etc.

6) Dollar dominance ends

As I travel around the world, I'm constantly struck by high levels of inflation. From Thailand to Egypt to Sri Lanka to Uruguay, uncomfortably high inflation is prevalent, particularly major categories like fuel, food, and housing. Poor people don't but iPads.

With its genesis in the Fed's quantitative easing measures, inflation has become a major US export, right after Hollywood movies, hip hop music, and worthless debt instruments. America ships dollars overseas, and developing nations literally pay the price.

This is unsustainable, and the dollar's status as the global reserve currency will continue to decline. In the coming years, you can expect to see the US Treasury issuing debt (at much higher yields) denominated in a foreign currency-- perhaps Chinese renminbi, or a to-be-determined new monetary reserve unit.

[To be continued tomorrow...]

Until tomorrow,
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Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com