The Great Global Warming Meltdown

Yesterday (1/23/09) the NYT published an article that surely made their editorial board burst into tears.

The article, Environmental Issues Fall in Poll of Public's Concern, highlights the fact that as the economy has worsened, people are caring less and less about the "environmental" issues said to be plaguing our future (read: global warming). The original article by Pew research can be found here.

The article's author seems stunned to learn that Americans rank the issue of global warming as NUMBER TWENTY on a list of top 20 concerns.

Now don't get me wrong -- I'm all for preserving the environment in the sense that I want my children to have a nice, clean earth to call home..., and whether or not a person "believes" in global warming, I think we can all agree that we want the earth to be habitable for generations to come. This is only in the best interests of our entire species. ... But at the same time, I also don't believe in being a martyr for a vain cause. There is absolutely no reason for the US to commit economic suicide in order to save an earth that's going to be destroyed by our economic competitors in the meantime. In the long run we lose both ways.

It's about time that people started to realize what's really at stake every time the phrase global warming is circulated around in the MSM. 'Global warming' and 'economic growth' are polar opposites - I may not be a meterologist, but I don't believe you need any formal training to recognize that you can't have a snowstorm and a hurricane on the same day.

If nothing else, hopefully our current economic challenges might trim the ranks of reigning liberals who tout global warming as a harbinger of the future.

Along with cheaper energy prices, falling immigration numbers, and falling trade deficits, maybe the authors of the article Why the Recession Might Be Good For Us As A Country can add the collapse of the global warming ponzi scheme to their list.

A documentary titled "The Great Global Warming Swindle" was produced in 2008, here is the first part of that documentary.

Who yuans to revalue their currency?

There's an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Stance on the Yuan Gets Tougher" (1/23/09) concerning treasury secretary nominee Geithner's position on the Chinese currency. The article describes how Geithner openly called out the Chinese on their currency manipulation practices - and if appointed, this stance will likely affect the treasury's stance on foreign currency manipulation.

This topic is really interesting because it provides insight on the somewhat counter-intuitive positions of a liberal and a conservative administration on the issue of "fair trade". One would expect that the Bush-admin would have pushed for a fairer currency in order to stimulate US exports and help foster the US manufacturing sector.

It seems strange that the Obad (Obama administration) would push for a fairer currency, knowing that this will a) hurt the Chinese and b) help support US manufacturing. Liberals have enjoyed the decrease in US manufacturing as it has "reduced" pollution (though just by exporting the pollution overseas) and it has increased our dependence on foreign trade (they love globalization). Perhaps this seemingly strange relationship can be added to the list of liberal paradoxes.

The Chinese aren't the only ones engaging in this currency manipulation, but they are one of the biggest contenders (along with the Japanese). This list from the U.S. Treasury U.S. Dollar Holdings shows some of our most generous dollar buyers. Here are some of the things I find most amazing over the one year period from 11/07 to 11/08 (in billions):

1. China's dollar holdings have increased from $460b to $680b
2. Japan's dollar holdings have actually slightly decreased from $590b to $577b
3. Russia, the U.K., and Caribbean banking centers have basically doubled their dollar holdings
4. Oil exporting nations have increased their holdings from $140b to $200b

China has obviously increased their holdings because they fear the dollar's depreciation -- there's nothing they fear more than a massive dollar depreciation that will make US exports more competitive.

It's very surprising that Japan has decreased their dollar holdings so significantly -- in fact, it's pretty troublesome to consider that their actions might be hinting at continued sell-offs in coming months... this will only improve our economic situation if we continue to unleash billions in bailout money.

It will be interesting to see if this topic comes up again in coming months as we beg foreign nations to buy up our bailout debt. Everyone seems to pussy-foot around the topic, fearful of causing a "red sea" of backlash. It seems pretty unlikely that the Chinese will continue revaluing their currency any time soon though - they're not about to start playing fair now with their economic stability on the line in terms of export figures.

Bottom line: if the Chinese want to be a major player on the global scene, it's about time they start playing by the rules. It seems like every other nation can get away with breaking a few rules, but if the US tries to do the same, everyone attacks the US for their 'unfair' behavior (think Kyoto treaty).

I think it's about time we revalued our definition of double standard.

Maxine Waters - Idiot Liberal

Maxine Waters is a member of the United States House of Representatives in California’s 35th district and one of this blogs liberal idiots. Granted, Ms. Waters was only recently brought to our attention with her views on the socialization of the oil industry (I will go into that later), however, a query into her past reveals a plethora of incidents that rightly justify her on our list.

First things first, anyone that is an adamant supporter of Jesse Jerkson err Jackson’s presidential bid is obviously lacking a few brain cells. In fact, Waters was Jesse Jackson's most vocal backer in both the 1984 and 1988 presidential races and was his campaign manager in the latter. In an article for the Nation, Waters wrote: "The Democrats cannot win the presidency without us and without Jackson and others who will work for the party." Obviously we don’t have a re-incarnated Nostradamus here.

She later popped up on the national radar during the L.A. Riots of 1990. Is it me or are we sensing the race card here? Seems that Ms. Waters loves to come out of hiding anytime an issue of race rears its ugly head. Getting back to the riots, however, Waters excoriated the urban policies of President Bush and former President Reagan and even went as far to make the remark that the riots were “the voice of the unheard." In a scathing editorial the conservative National Review claimed she was trying to shift the blame for the riots from the rioters to everybody and everything else and in the process was giving tacit permission to riot again.

Being in Chicago, we are familiar with what is known as the Chicago machine. This includes everything from corruption to nepotism. Speaking of nepotism, Waters has also been involved in these allegations. Maybe she should consider a change of scenery from her California roots? Apparently, her grandson, Mikael Moore, is also her Chief of Staff and Press Secretary. Even though he claims to call her “Congresswoman” and swears that he never once called her grandmother! Gotta love it!

Finally, and most importantly, there was the incident that occurred in May of 2008 in which Waters told Shell Oil President John Hofmeister at the House Judiciary Committee's Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust Laws, that if he did not guarantee reduced gasoline prices in exchange for Congress allowing the oil industry to drill where it wished, she would favor socializing American petroleum companies (see the video below f0r proof). In a widely reported exchange, she stated: "Guess what this liberal will be all about, this liberal will be all about socializing....taking over and the government running all of your companies.” Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.

This blogger doesn’t believe Ms. Waters is a socialist or that she is even necessarily a mean person, this blogger just believes that Ms. Waters is a flaming idiot.

HUD commercial

Why is it that Liberals want to constantly remind white America that we should feel guilty of our past transgressions and that we are the root of all discrimination in this country? Add a new HUD (Housing and Urban Development) advertisement to this movement which I and many others have begun to call "White Guilt"!

As I was driving home from work today, I heard an ad that started out with a younger sounding (presumably white by his linguistics and tone of voice) man speaking with what sounded to be a woman representing a newspapers classified ad service.

The man began by saying that he has a two bedroom, 850 sq. ft. apartment for rent, with new floors, an outdoor patio, and that the cost is 1,000 usd. per month. Then comes the fun! As the lady is seemingly entering this into her computer, there is a brief pause, followed by the man stating "Oh, and by the way, can you put on the ad that I will not rent the apartment to any blacks, asians, indians or any other minority (no mention of whites)" and finishes with the statement "oh, and before I forget, make sure you put in the ad that dogs are allowed" as if to state that having a dog living in the house would be more acceptable than having a minority.

I can't begin to tell you how typical this is coming from a liberal organization such as HUD! I was so turned off by the ad, that I actually called the number given at the end of the advertisement. To be honest, I didn't know who I would reach, but I wanted to let them know that minorities are not the only people in this country that are discriminated against and that their commercial (in no other words) was a pile of crap.

Perhaps the funniest moment of this whole situation was when I finally got to the end of a long automated call in which they stated that the organizations hours are 9-5 and that I should leave a message (I never got to speak to a representative). What time was it you ask? 4:51. I love government workers!