Oh Snap!

The UN atomic watchdog pressed Iran Monday to disprove allegations of past nuclear weapons work, saying Tehran should not be concerned about divulging sensitive information because its confidential.

Iran cannot simply dismiss all the charges as "fabricated," the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, told a meeting of the body's 35-member board.

Tehran must "clarify the extent to which the documentation is factually correct and where, as it asserts, such information may have been fabricated or relates to non-nuclear purposes," ElBaradei said on the first day of a week-long board meeting.

Neither could the Islamic republic hide behind the argument that in order to respond to the accusations, it would have to divulge information pertinent to its national security, the IAEA chief said.

Even the IAEA is saying that Iran is probably after nuclear weapons. Russia and China have no other choice then to admit that this is indeed the case. If Russia and China veto UN sanctions, then the only choice left is either broad sanctions outside of the UN, or a military strike by Israel.

Either way isn't going to bode well for Iran.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Transition And Travel

Ok, I've spoken to my web guy, and we should be transitioning the website to Wordpress very soon.  You should see the new changes in the next few days.

Also, I am traveling to Dallas, Texas for business, so I won't be posting until Thursday.  Sorry guys, you'll have to just wait it out until your next fix. :)

 

Travis

I Hate Being Right

Especially when being right means that people die:

Pakistani investigators are hunting an Al-Qaeda cell based in Islamabad that is believed to have carried out the bombing of the Marriott Hotel, security officials said Monday.

Investigators said they believed the attackers constructed the massive 600-kilo (1,300 pound) truck bomb at a safe house in the capital, since all lorries entering the heavily-guarded city are searched at checkpoints.

Dramatic footage of Saturday night's attack showed the attacker failed to get through a barrier when he crashed his explosives-laden truck into the hotel's security gates. At least 60 people were killed.

"Our focus at the moment is to track down the network in Islamabad which must have facilitated the movement and construction of the bomb," a senior official involved in the investigation told AFP.

Whether it was Al-Qaeda or not, we warned you, I WARNED YOU, that failure to do anything would result in more attacks and an emboldened enemy.  You failed to heed our warnings, pushed back against us when we went after them, and now 60 people are dead because of your lack of spine.

Maybe next time you'll listen?  Or are more people going to need to die before you do?

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

I Feel So Dirty

But here it goes:  Democrats are right.

<shudder>

Ok, I'm back.  Here's WHY they are right:

The Bush administration's proposed $700 billion financial rescue took fuller shape on Monday as Senate Democrats circulated a counter proposal that would require the government to receive an ownership stake in the companies it helps.

The proposal, offered up by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., would require companies who sell assets to Uncle Sam to give the government shares in the company, according to a draft obtained by CNN.

The Senate Democrats' proposal would also require the government to come up with "a systematic approach for preventing foreclosures and ensuring long-term, sustainable homeownership through loan modifications and use of the HOPE for Homeowners Program" on the mortgages it buys in the bailout.

Now, this is being proposed by Christopher Dodd, so anything out of this guy's mouth is suspect.  However, I do agree that if we taxpayers are footing the bill, we should get a cut of the proceeds.  There's nothing wrong with a company asking for help, but any investor, the government included, would ask for something in return.

IF, and this is a big IF, it works, great.  I want my taxes lowered accordingly when we cash out.  It's not likely to happen of course, but I'm tired of being treated like a damned piggy bank.  I want something tangible for my tax dollars, instead of watching it get pissed away with wasteful spending.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Welcome

A young teenage girl was about to finish her first year of college. She considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat but her father was a rather staunch Republican.

One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to taxes and welfare programs. He stopped her and asked her how she was doing in school.

She answered that she had a 4.0 GPA but it was really tough. She had to study all the time, never had time to go out and party. She didn't have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because of spending all her time studying.

He asked, "How is your friend Mary." She replied that Mary was barely getting by. She had a 2.0 GPA, never studied, but was very popular on campus, went to all the parties all the time. Why she often didn't show up for classes because she was hung over.

Dad then asked his daughter why she didn't go to the Dean's office and ask why she couldn't take 1.0 off her 4.0 and give it to her friend who only had a 2.0. That way they would both have a 3.0 GPA.

The daughter angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair, I worked really hard for mine and Mary has done nothing".

The father slowly smiled and said, "Welcome to the Republican Party".

 

Travis

Politicians Are Retarded

The Bush administration asked Congress on Saturday for the power to buy $700 billion in toxic assets clogging the financial system and threatening the economy as negotiations began on the largest bailout since the Great Depression.

The rescue plan would give Washington broad authority to purchase bad mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions for the next two years. It does not specify which institutions qualify or what, if anything, the government would get in return for the unprecedented infusion.

Democrats are pressing to require that the plan help more strapped borrowers stay in their homes and to condition the bailout on new limits on executive compensation.

Congressional aides and administration officials are working through the weekend to fill in the details of the proposal. The White House hoped for a deal with Congress by the time markets opened Monday; top lawmakers say they would push to enact the plan as early as the coming week.

"We're going to work with Congress to get a bill done quickly," President Bush said at the White House. Without discussing specifics, he said, "This is a big package because it was a big problem."

The proposal is a mere three pages long, but it gives sweeping powers to the government to dispense gigantic sums of taxpayer dollars in a program that would be sheltered from court review.

"It's a rather brief bill with a lot of money," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman. "We understand the importance of the anticipation in the markets, but we also know that what we're doing is going to have consequences for decades to come. There's not a second act to this—we've got to get this right."

Lawmakers digesting the eye-popping cost and searching for specifics voiced concerns that the proposal offers no help for struggling homeowners or safeguards for taxpayers' money.

The government must bail out the financial system "because if we don't, it will have a tremendous impact on American consumers, homeowners, taxpayers and the rest," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in San Francisco.

But, she added, "We cannot deal with this unless this bailout helps families stay in their homes."

They don't deserve to stay in their FUCKING HOMES NANCY!  Jesus you are one of the dumbest politicians I have every seen in my entire life.  You want the government to bail these companies out?  Fine, but I want assets for my money.  I want people to either pay their mortgage, like the promised when they bought the place, or I want to become part owner of the home I'M PAYING FOR!

$700 billion dollars is $2,300 for every man, woman, and child in America.  Can any of you afford an additional $200 a month in expenses per person in your home?

Let these people fail.  Let these people who bought homes sell them and move out into an apartment.  This is a bullshit idea, and it's only a bandaid for a bigger problem.  What are we getting for our money?  What consequences are these lenders and homeowners facing for their bad business decisions?  "Too big to fail" means "too big to exist".  I'm sick of paying for everyone else.  I pay my fair share, plus more.  I pay taxes that some of you may never pay.  I pay more in taxes then my neighbor makes in a year.  Where's my "bail out"?

When is Nancy going to care about making MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT?  Heads up politicians:  Every, single one of you that votes for this is going to be publicly outed by me and I will vote against any one who votes for this.  You vote for this, you obviously have no brain in your head and you are not fit to lead.

We'll start at the top:  Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and anyone, including Republicans, else.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Poor Management

Please meet poor idea.

The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration.  These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy. 

The middle class has really been under assault.  Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.

While the middle class collapses, the richest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s.  The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

But they also pay 90% of the taxes.

In my view, we need to go forward in addressing this financial crisis by insisting on four basic principles:

(1) The people who can best afford to pay and the people who have benefited most from Bush’s economic policies are the people who should provide the funds for the bailout.  It would be immoral to ask the middle class, the people whose standard of living has declined under Bush, to pay for this bailout while the rich, once again, avoid their responsibilities.  Further, if the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout.

Specifically, to pay for the bailout, which is estimated to cost up to $1 trillion, the government should:

a)  Impose a five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers.  That would raise more than $300 billion in revenue;

Reduce spending?  Nah, even with the majority of the top financial minds in America saying that spending needs to be curbed, obviously the problem lies in that there needs to be more taxes.  Of course!  It all makes sense now!

Travis

Thank You, Mr. Biden

So I’m watching the O’Reilly Factor the other day, as I do every day and the news clip of Joe Biden was playing where he alluded to the fact that it is our patriotic duty to pay higher taxes. In other words, by contributing to income re-distribution we will become patriots? Hmmm? I thought that was Communism? Damn, for my entire life I was lied to and was told that Communism was bad. I feel truly enlightened now that the Democrats have finally shed light on all the misinformation I was fed over the years. Wow, you mean the whole twenty five years I was in the Navy, that my shipmates and I sailed dangerously close to communist Russia in order to rid the world of oppressive communism for nothing? You mean my Commanders were lying to me when I was trained to defend our country from the Communist Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba, and China? Whew, I feel so much better now that the Democratic vice Presidential candidate is the smartest politician in the United States. Those damn Republicans had it wrong all these years I guess. And here I was a believer.

I don’t consider myself a political or economic scholar but, I do know that I came from less than modest means and after many years of hard work and dedication to the service of my country, I became successful. I understand that for some, success is hard and an arduous task. And that for others, misfortune can happen beyond individual control. However, with every opportunity the United States government, civic organizations, charities, foundations, religious organizations and community volunteers make available, there is no reason for anyone to be in need of a percentage of every individual Americans paycheck. If you think that Americans are going to sit by and let some left-wing Washington ass kisser take their hard earned money in order to appease the progressive factions of their party, then Joe Biden is not the smartest Politian in America, he’s the dumbest. If the citizens of the United States let this monstrosity happen by electing two of the hardest lefties in the nation’s history as President and vice President, then we got what we deserved. Not only am I clinging to my guns and religion, but my hard earned cash too Joe.

Navy Chief

United Stated Navy. Retired.

The Bluff

Obama:  I will meet with Iranian leaders!

Ahmadinejad:  Ok.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put Barack Obama on the spot Thursday, offering to debate with both U.S. presidential candidates when he arrives at the United Nations next week for its annual summit.

The fiery Iranian leader, who provoked a storm of controversy when he visited last year, said he would debate global issues at a public forum in UN headquarters if the candidates agreed.

Obama said early in his campaign that, as president, he would be prepared to meet the leaders of U.S. foes such as Iran and Syria.

The statement sparked a sharp rebuke from Republican candidate John McCain, who argued it showed the Illinois senator's inexperience in knowing how to deal with recalcitrant leaders on the world stage.

Leading UN powers have been in a standoff with Iran over that country's refusal to roll back its nuclear ambitions, which the United States and its allies believe are aimed at producing a nuclear bomb.

Your move Obama.

 

Travis

FINALLY!

Teachers and parents in Dallas, Texas, are angry about new grading policies that they say are dumbing down the district and pushing students through the system who haven't earned it.

Students who fail a test in Dallas this year get to retake it, with the failed score tossed out.

One of the most contentious of the policies allows a student who fails a test to retake it, with the lower score being tossed out.

"Instead of setting high expectations and the high standards and holding them to that, we seem to be wanting to lower the bar and give them an excuse not to succeed," said Dale Kaiser, president of the National Education Association, the teachers union.

Dallas Independent School District officials refused multiple interview requests from CNN. But in interviews with CNN affiliates and in documents outlining the grading policy, district officials say the goal of the grading system is to emphasize learning, not failure.

"This is not about giving anybody any sort of free ride. What this is about is giving students a second chance to be successful," John Dahlander, a spokesman for the school district, told CNN-affiliate WFAA.

The policy allowing failed test scores to be thrown out is just one of several changes to the grading policy that went into effect at the start of this school year.

Other grading policies include:

• For elementary and middle school students, only homework grades "that raise a student's average" will be recorded.

• Students must be given one opportunity to turn in homework assignments that weren't finished on time.

• Parents must be contacted before a teacher records a zero in the grade book.

"I think it's ridiculous," said parent Bobbie Wilhite. "It's tough out there once you get out of high school. We're already namby-pamby enough for our kids."

Finally, I'm not the only one noticing that kids these days are being hand held throughout their lives, and are totally unprepared for the real world.

"only home grades that raise the average" are recorded?  What kind of bullshit line of thinking is that?  Does your boss only think of things when doing your annual review that make you look better?  Of course, not, he/she looks at the whole picture.  Then they decide on how much your raise should be accordingly.  Don't like it?  Get another job or work harder.

What the fuck are parents needing to be told for their kid getting a zero?  Why are they allowed to turn in an assignment late?  We were allowed that, but you automatically lost a percentage of your grade every day it was late, sometimes even by the hour.  After I believe it was 3 days, you shouldn't even bother, because even if the paper was perfect, you still failed.

It's a rough world people, and when you coddle your kids, you are telling them that it's ok to hide under mommy's skirt and she'll protect you at all times.  When mommy retires or dies, then they will have a meltdown sometime in the future, I guarantee it.

It's time to go back to the old ways.  Kids got out of line?  They got swatted by the teacher or principal.  Don't show up?  You get detention.  Homework not up to snuff?  You fail.  Fail enough times, you repeat the grade.  You will grow up and know how to think and act properly, I promise you that if these things are reenacted.

Want to know what the real world is like?  Here you go:

It's just not as intense, but the rules are the same.  First time, every time.  Watch your team mates back.  Work hard and you will be rewarded.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

A Bit Of Fiscal Responsibility

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign a compromise budget deal after lawmakers ceded to his demands for budget reform, his spokesman said Friday.

   "The governor has an agreement with legislative leaders on the budget," spokesman Aaron McLear said. "They met his demands. They included real budget reform, and they did not take money from people's paychecks."

   California lawmakers were scheduled to vote Friday on the compromise budget deal -- averting a historic veto by Schwarzenegger, who had called lawmakers' previous budget plan fiscally irresponsible.

   The new plan eliminates some of the borrowing gimmicks that lawmakers had included to help close a $15.2 billion hole, but leaves others intact. It also strengthens the state's rainy day fund.

   The state's four legislative leaders met with the governor Thursday and agreed to many of his demands after conceding they were uncertain whether they could muster the two-thirds vote of the state Legislature required to override his veto.

Yep, that's right, they wanted to override a veto because it would allow them to continue to spend freely.  To give you an idea, the California state budget is larger then many countries.

They are up to their eyeballs in debt, and they wanted to make it deeper?

   Schwarzenegger had criticized the earlier plan for failing to meet his demands for a more robust rainy day fund. He said the budget relied on accounting gimmicks -- such as collecting an extra 10 percent of workers' income tax in advance and repaying it later -- that could lead to an even larger deficit next year.

   The four legislative leaders said they had agreed to remove that provision in their latest deal.

   They planned to take up two bills. One would levy larger fines against businesses that underreport their tax liabilities, and another would ensure the state's rainy day fund could only be tapped when revenues fall below projected spending -- the last remaining piece of the budget reforms Schwarzenegger sought.

   The remainder of the budget approved Tuesday will stand, including $7.1 billion in spending cuts that advocates say will trigger deep cuts to health care in the future.

There you go.  SPENDING CUTS.  Sometimes you have to cut the budget in areas that aren't politically popular, but that's just the way the ball bounces.  It's even nice to see Arnold see through the bullshit of collecting more income tax, only to pay it back later.  With administrative overhead, it would actually COST more money then anything.  Stupid idea.  Good job Arnie.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Financial Bailout That You And I Are Going To Pay For

President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Friday outlined a series of far-reaching steps - likely to cost hundreds of billions of dollars - aimed at stemming a widening financial crisis that is roiling the financial markets and undermining confidence in the banking system.

"We must act now to protect our nation's economic health from serious risk," Bush said at a White House press conference. "There will be ample opportunity to discuss the origins of this problems. Now is the time to solve it."

"This is no time for partisanship," Bush added. "We need to move urgently needed legislation as quickly as possible without adding controversial provisions that could delay action."

Earlier, Paulson said that federal action would target the mortgage-related "illiquid assets" that are burdening the finance industry.

"The federal government must implement a program to remove these illiquid assets that are weighing down our financial institutions and threatening our economy," said Paulson. "This troubled asset relief program must be properly designed and sufficiently large to have maximum impact."

The new program would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, according to Paulson.

The downside to the plan is its enormous cost, said Baumohl, estimating that the federal bail-out of the financial markets could swell the national deficit to $1 trillion annually.

Now, my gut reaction is "why am I paying for this", but then a bunch of financial people, who are easily smarter then me in this area, are saying it's a good thing and it should have come sooner.

So, maybe they know more then I do, maybe they know something that will be helpful.  I'm just not sure.  One thing I do know is that Obama's got a sneaky thing going on:

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said on Friday he supported efforts by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to shore up confidence in the financial markets and said he would hold off from presenting his own economic recovery plan.

"The events of the last few days have made it clear that we must take further bold and decisive action to shore up confidence in our financial markets and avoid a deepening economic crisis that could jeopardize the life savings and well-being of millions of Americans," Obama said in a statement.

Why is he "holding off" presenting his plan?  Simple:  He's waiting to see if this works or not.  You see, if he comes out and says "this is exactly what I'm thinking", and it fails, it's a big hit against him.  He's doing this for purely political reasons, not because he's looking out for the average American.

My bet is that his plan is filled with more regulation and higher taxes.  I can almost guarantee that if this doesn't fix it, Obama's going to come out and say "I have a plan" and people will flock to it, regardless of if it's a good one or not.  However, if this government plan does work, you'll never hear about Obama's "plan" again, regardless of what it contained, and I can equally guarantee that he won't show it to the public if the ideas in it are vastly different then what's going on right now.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Democratic Leaders Are Dumb

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Thursday to press ahead with a Democratic plan to inject more than $50 billion or so into the economy, despite opposition from the White House and moderates in her own party.

“The worsening economy demands another bipartisan economic recovery effort,” Pelosi wrote in a letter delivered to President Bush Thursday evening.

Just hours earlier, the California Democrat had seemed pessimistic about the chances for a second stimulus bill to follow on the tax rebates enacted in February. She told reporters that it would only advance after Democrats attempt to put some of the more popular components on a budget bill Congress must pass in the next two weeks.

“We’ll see what we can get” in that bill, Pelosi told reporters. “And then we’ll see where we go from there.” The “continuing resolution” is necessary to keep the government running after Sept. 30.

“Let’s face it, we can only have a stimulus if the president will sign it,” Pelosi added.

Later, Pelosi renewed her vow to try to pass a stimulus measure that would combine billions of dollars for jobs-producing infrastructure projects, more food stamps, additional Medicaid aid to states, home heating subsidies and a further extension of unemployment insurance.

Ok, so the last one didn't work with more than $100 billion dollar infusion, so what makes them think another $50 billion will work?  It's not even money we have, it's borrowed money.  It's an idiotic idea at best, and Nancy Pelosi is simply trying to prop up her numbers by basically buying votes.  Simply put, you need to cut spending.  Do that, and everything else will fall into place.  Our budget is $3 trillion dollars, so how about instead of spending more money, you put say oh I don't know, $500 billion a year towards reducing the federal debt.  It'll be COMPLETELY paid off within 20 years.  Not really that difficult people.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Get Out!

State Rep. Mike Kernell said today that he was aware of Internet rumors about his son being the subject of speculation that he accessed the personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Asked whether he or his son, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, had been contacted by authorities investigating the break-in of Palin's account, he responded:

"Me, no."

As far as his 20-year-old son, David, he said: "I can't say. That doesn't mean he has or hasn't (been contacted by investigators)."

Kernell, D-Memphis, cited the father-son relationship.

He said he had talked to his son today, but that he talks to his son regularly.

He declined further comment.

The focus of a the email break in of Sarah Palin is the son of a Democratic State Representative.....how.....odd.  :)

 

Travis

Biden calls paying higher taxes a patriotic act

Yep, that's right folks.  When people in the financial district are telling you that the only way to solve the problem is to reduce spending, Joe Biden is telling people that to pay more money to give it to poorer people is "patriotic".

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that paying more in taxes is the patriotic thing to do for wealthier Americans. In a new TV ad that repeats widely debunked claims about the Democratic tax plan, the Republican campaign calls Obama's tax increases "painful."

Under the economic plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes while those earning less — the vast majority of American taxpayers — would receive a tax cut.

Although Republican John McCain claims that Obama would raise taxes, the independent Tax Policy Center and other groups conclude that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposals.

"We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people," Biden said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Noting that wealthier Americans would indeed pay more, Biden said: "It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."

How is redistributing wealth going to "get America out of the rut"?  Simple, it isn't.  It's an effort to get votes.  It has NOTHING to do with getting out of a financial pinch.  Democrats lately reek of desperation.  You want to "help get America out of the rut", then you cut spending.

Taxing wealthy people to give to the poorer isn't going to do jack, and if you believe that, you're an idiot.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Celebrating Genius'

Too often, we as a society celebrate professional athletes, movie stars, and musicians.  While they are certainly talented in their own field, they don't really do much in terms of helping society.

Doctors, teachers, and this student, are people who are unsung and I want to take a moment to show you how gifted some people really are:

William Yuan, a seventh-grader from Portland, OR, developed a three-dimensional solar cell that absorbs UV as well as visible light. The combination of the two might greatly improve cell efficiency. William's project earned him a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to the Library of Congress to accept the award, which is usually given out for research at the graduate level.

“Current solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light,” he said. “I came up with an innovative solar cell that absorbs both visible and UV light. My project focused on finding the optimum solar cell to further increase the light absorption and efficiency and design a nanotube for light-electricity conversion efficiency.”

My only issue is that he shouldn't be given a $25,000 scholarship, he should be given a completely free college education.  That way, he can focus his intelligence on making things better for all of us, rather than having to worry about how to pay for school.  It's win-win all the way around.

Congratulations William!

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Harry Reid Gets Dressing Down

And the best part is that it's all about him and Nancy Pelosi blaming the Bush administration, which I just talked about yesterday:

U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has said he doesn't have a clue about how to fix the financial crisis.

"No one knows what to do. We are in new territory here. This is a different game," the Democrat from Nevada said late Wednesday. In fact, Congress is likely to do what it usually does when the chips are down -- punt.

Still it's amazing that, in the biggest financial crisis since the Depression, the man in charge of the world's greatest deliberative body can't even think of the one thing everybody else has to do when times are tough: cut the budget.

It really isn't brain surgery; it's just addition and subtraction -- well, really just subtraction.

The problem is, it's so simple, probably only a hockey mom could understand it.

And that's the real issue.

It's not in Reid's interest to do anything.

A big fat financial crisis is just the ticket to see his party's nominee safely across the finish line in the presidential election.

So throwing up his hands is exactly the right political move.

But -- and it's a big but -- the current fiasco on Wall Street is still only a prelude to what happens when the U.S. is finally held to account for the combined costs of Social Security, Medicare and the trillions of dollars in debt already on the books.

So perhaps once the Obama coronation is safely over and Joe Lieberman has been shown to his new office -- formerly the Senate janitorial closet -- the majority leader can take it upon himself to show some real leadership and take an axe to federal spending.

Even people over at marketwatch.com are seeing Harry's full of shit.  What's even better, is that he's calling him out as a failed "leader".  He even flatly tells it how it is:  It's a political ploy.

It's nice to see Democratic "leaders" called out for their line of BS.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Harry Reid's Full Of @#$$

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: Don't look for any legislation in the near future to address the financial crisis.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asked today what new regulatory actions Congress can take, said, bluntly, "No one knows what to do. We are in new territory here. This is a different game. We're not here playing soccer, basketball or football, this is a new game and we're going to have to figure out how to do it."

A Reid spokesman said neither Treasury Secretary Paulson nor Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered up any suggestions for new regulatory legislation when they met with Reid in the Capitol building Tuesday night, either.

In the short run, Democrats are trying to push through a second stimulus package with funding for infrastructure improvements, renewable energy tax credits and other things. But all agree it will be up to the next President and Congress to do any re-regulation.

Ok, so "no one knows what to do", but he and Nancy Pelosi is damned sure that it's the Bush administration's fault.  So, anyone with half a brain cell knows that Nancy and her ilk are just trying to play upon the feelings of Americans in a financial pinch, instead of appealing to the facts.

But the senate majority leader said, "the good intentions of these two decent men cannot escape the reality that the Bush administration's willful of oversight and zealous embrace of big business is responsible for the crisis we now face."

Yep, had nothing to do with the bad business decisions of the people who were running the companies, it's all Bush's fault!  Jeez people, do any of you think before you speak, or all you just above a retarded monkey?

Reid went through a litany of bankruptcy protection bills aimed at shielding consumers rather than corporations that he said Republicans had blocked. With more protections for consumers and if the Bush administration had more zealously, or at all, policed the markets with the regulatory tools at their disposal, he wondered if the financial crisis would be happening at all.

But, check out this little jewel.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

John McCain said that in 2005, LONG before Democrats took power in Congress, so if he was warning about it then, who do you suppose is to blame here if you want to point fingers?  It shows you how people have been blinded by hype by people like Obama about financial responsibility.  McCain knew there was trouble in 2005, yet no one did a thing about it.  Even the writer of the article is noticing that Harry Reid's full of shit.

And he seemed to forget how he voted on a now-controversial bill that largely de-regulated the financial services industry in 1999. It was written by Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, who has since retired and is a McCain economic adviser. And Democrats, including Reid, opposed the bill when it first passed the Senate with 54 votes.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Proof Of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program

The U.N. nuclear watchdog showed documents and photographs on Tuesday suggesting Iran secretly tried to modify a missile cone to fit a nuclear bomb, diplomats said, and Tehran again dismissed the findings as forged.

Iran said an International Atomic Energy Agency inquiry into its nuclear activity was at a dead-end because the IAEA was demanding Tehran reveal conventional military secrets without nuclear dimensions. Iran has denied seeking atom bombs.

The Vienna-based U.N. watchdog said in a report on Monday that Iranian stonewalling had brought an agency inquiry into whether Tehran had covertly researched ways to make a nuclear bomb to a standstill.

Britain has accused Iran of showing contempt for the U.N. watchdog and, with the United States and France, vowed to seek harsher sanctions on Tehran over its defiance of U.N. demands for full disclosure and a suspension of uranium enrichment.

The IAEA wants Iran to clarify intelligence material pointing to links between Iranian projects to process uranium, test high explosives and modify a Shahab-3 missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead.

The Islamic Republic has denied the allegations but the IAEA says Iran must substantiate its position by granting access to sites, documents and relevant officials for interviews.

Top agency inspectors briefed its board of governors on the report's findings on Tuesday ahead of a meeting by the 35-nation body next week likely to heighten pressure on Iran to cooperate.

Washington's IAEA envoy said the group was shown photos and documents of Iranian work on re-designing a Shabab-3 to carry what would appear to be a nuclear weapon.

"The (IAEA) Secretariat told us the information they have is in their words, 'very credible', unquote, and they have asked iran to provide 'substantive responses', unquote," Gregory Schulte told reporters.

He said the meeting was told that Iran had refused IAEA requests to interview engineers involved in the work and visit their ostensibly civilian workshops, depicted in photos.

Full sanctions, where not a dollar is exchanged with Iran from all UN member nations, or a military strike.  Those are the two options I see right now.  There's no mistaking these photos and the source now.  For the longest time, Iran touted the IAEA when there was doubts, now that proof has surfaced with these pictures, Iran is claiming fabrication and blocking access to various sites for inspection.

Any "don't bomb Iran" folks care to pipe up?  Or are you all going to slither away without saying a word?

Any "George Bush is making it all up about Iran" folks going to say anything, now that it's been proven that he was right all along?

Didn't think so.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

America! @#$^ Yeah!

Occassionally, I get the rantings of a reader that just speaks volumes about the kind of nut jobs that frequent my site from time to time, that just stand out.  The kind that make you go "wow, that guy's my #1 fan!".  Christian is one such reader:

Hey, guy, seriously...Shut the Fuck Up! You fucking moron. What, do you speak on behalf of the U.S. government (I know, I know)? Since when does the U.S. have the right to just barge into Pakistan without permission? Oh yeah, one more thing, FUCK AMERICA! You're walking on Indian land faggot, couch quarterback, cultureless, pilgrim asswipe! There's another war comin' here in the states (actually it's been going on for 500 plus years) so I wouldn't be so worried about what happens all the way in faraway Pakistan. I expect you to be offended and I expect you to get angry and offer me some little high school teacher excuse for all the crimes that were committed by America the ugly so I'll ask you to save it. The movement in general is growing daily and it seems as if all of our fallen warriors of the past are reviving in our youth of today! The ten thousand unarmed warriors of Tenochtitlan, the thousands of Cholula, of Cajamarca, the hundreds of Wounded Knee, of Sand Creek that were killed are reborn in our youth. The Eagle and the Condor are coming together and we will regain our lands from the white colonial rulers and elite. Oh, by the way, we don't need your religions either. We have our own religions that make a heck of a lot more sense than your superstitious religions. Ours were based on science and observation of the universe as well as philosophy; yours are based on blind faith. And so, the mental and physical colonialism will stop. Bye Bye anchor baby.

Hooray for me!  I'm making friends!  I can totally see myself going to the movies with this guy and talking about girls and hitting the strip clubs.

Christian, I love you buddy!

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Racism In Election?

Race is arguably the biggest issue in this election, and it's one that nobody's talking about.

The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain couldn't be more well-defined. Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is a part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy. Yet the polls remain close. Doesn't make sense…unless it's race.

I actually agree with this guy, but a different twist.  I think that some people, in fact a lot of people, are voting for Obama simply because he's black.  How else can you explain Obama getting upwards of 80%+ percentage of black voters in some states?

Some people will reject or accept Obama simply because of the color of his skin.  I reject him for his hypocritical nature and his ideology.  You know, the more important aspects of a Presidential candidate. :)

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Weight Gain Not Intentional To Avoid Execution

A double murderer scheduled to be executed next month in Ohio said Tuesday he has not deliberately gained weight to rule out his death by lethal injection.

Killer Richard Cooey has gained 70 pounds since his incarceration, which he says should block his execution.

Instead, Richard Cooey said in a death row interview that his execution cannot be carried out humanely under current state procedures because his veins are hard to reach.

"Vein access was an issue even when I was back in the service," Cooey, 41, said in an hour-long interview with the Associated Press at the Ohio State Penitentiary.

Cooey, 5-foot, 7 inches tall and 267 pounds, said he has gained perhaps 70 pounds while being locked up for raping and killing two University of Akron students 22 years ago while he was on leave from the U.S. Army. He blamed the weight gain on medication and lack of exercise.

"It's hard getting access to my veins," said Cooey, who was handcuffed and locked in a closet-sized visiting room. He spoke through a straw-sized slit in a reinforced glass partition.

Cooey said he has heard secondhand about comedians' jokes about the Ohio inmate who claims he's too fat to be executed.

But he says that ridicule reflects ignorance of his underlying claim that it's the inaccessibility of his veins that makes it difficult to get an IV inserted for a lethal injection.

The legal challenge is based on constitutional issues and not fear of execution, Cooey said. "It has nothing to do with weight gain," he said.

Instead of lethal injection, "If it would make people happy, shoot me in the head with a .45," Cooey said. "Do it legally."

I'm ok with shooting him in the head with a .45.  He murdered two people.  He doesn't even deny that.  What I'd also argue, is that while your arms, legs and stomach have gotten fat, I'll bet that the veins in his neck are just fine. 

When you murder someone in cold blood, you deserve to die for that crime.  You robbed someone of a family member, of a friend.  So, instead of whining about how it'll be "hard to find a vein", how about you man up and take your punishment?  Is it really that difficult to find a vein, and if so, is it really that difficult to just shoot him?

 

Ohio - Lethal Injection - If lethal injection held unconstitutional, then any subsequently prescribed legal method.

Hanging's Constitutional.  So's electrocution, firing squad, and the gas chamber.  I'm just saying....

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Shipping My Kids To Florida

A teacher's ability to control students could get more physical. In an effort to maintain safe classrooms, the Florida Board of Education is considering giving teachers more physical power to control students by using "reasonable force."

"I think it would be a useful tool depending on the amount of force involved," said parent Robin Page.

"I say if it gets out of line, smack them around. Sometimes you got to do it," Brent Sanders, a parent, said.

Another parent, Jane Lane, said, "I think it's probably not a good idea. Whenever you have 'reasonable' as a standard, it's subject to individual interpretation, and you have all degrees of the spectrum, which just leads to some sort of abuse."

The proposed rule says reasonable force is defined as appropriate physical response necessary to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment.

There was a time, not too long ago, that if you go out of line, you got a smacking from the teacher, or the principal.  Notice we didn't have school shootings, idiot kids who can't spell, and we still ended up as the most powerful nation on Earth.

Coincidence?  I don't think so.  If you raise your kids to be responsible and respectful, they'll continue the tradition when they reach adulthood, and you likely won't ever get a call from the police asking you to come down to the station.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Star Spangled Patriotism

A camera at a celebrity flag-football game became Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard's worst nightmare. Howard turned to the camera and said, "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is going on right now and I don't even celebrate that s--t. I'm black, goddamnit. Howard an Obama supporter makes no qualms about ensuring the media know he believes that if your black, you are not to celebrate America and its traditions. Well, let me tell you people. I served with every race and religion of Americans in the Navy and we had a saying which I still believe today, “In the Navy, your not White, Black, Brown, etc… We are all Blue”. Any idiot who uses their position in the media's spotlight to seethe their hatred for America just because they are “lucky” enough to have the ability is the worst kind of individual (in my opinion). If you ask the typical American what patriotism means to them, most will tell you that just having the freedom and ability to be able to express opinion mean the world to them. No one ever said we all have to agree but no one ever said that because you are more fortunate to have access to the media, (left-wing for the most part) that you use every opportunity to bash this country and our leaders. This makes us all look weak and divided in the eyes of the world and frankly makes us look as stupid as extremist countries. Are you listening Hollywood?

Navy Chief

Watch Out!

Watch Out; By Navy Chief, United Stated Navy. Retired.

SAN'A, Yemen (Sept. 17) - Suspected militants armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and at least one suicide car bomb assaulted the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday. The coordinated attack killed 16 people, including six assailants’, officials said.

It was the deadliest attack on a compound that has been targeted four times in recent years by bombings, mortars and shootings. Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, has struggled to put down al-Qaida-linked Islamic militants, often to the frustration of U.S. counterterrorism officials.

So, I have been pondering the real motivation of the Democratic Party. Obviously any major party wants to gain or re-gain power in politics. The original and noble reason is to serve constituencies. As a vast world traveler from my long military career, I have been to almost every country in the world, have seen countless cultures, values, and traditions. Something really bothers me. How can elected officials who write foreign policy and manage overseas diplomacy ever do so without ever stepping foot in that country? Many elected Politian’s have done this with by surrounding themselves with the right people who have had hands on experience in this field. Further, when your goal is to appease those that will harm us with a “head-in-the-sand” approach, how can that be good for the United States of America? The current President had really no initial experience in these areas when he became Commander in Chief, but he ensured that his cabinet was capable of providing essential experience to do so.

I have had hands on experience with foreign hostiles, POW’s, and basic brain washed individuals who no matter how they are approached, will try to kill you by any means necessary. I sometimes felt almost sorry for those stupid bastards at times. From infancy, the extremist regimes program their young people to hate America and the west in general by using a religious excuse which after careful interpretation is blatant crap. Most really don’t know any better. It is the leadership within the bunkers of Afghanistan and Iraq who cower like little bitches and send the ignorant to do their dirty work. Never the less, Whom do you think will be savvy and straight forward enough from the two parties running for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency this year? I can tell you from experience any “Jack-Ass” who will talk with hostile regimes without pre-condition is wrong for you and your country. No one is perfect mind you, but I will venture to say that if terrorist’s can plan an attack on the United States for over six years and never be questioned because the leadership in Washington is too busy fulfilling their own special interests and political agendas, those type of leaders are wrong for this country. Consider this. If all the Democratic Party is concerned with is Sarah Palin, we are in for big troubles come January if we let a novice in the white house because the left-wing media thinks it’s a good idea.

Navy Chief

If Obama Loses?

To some, this thought is unthinkable.  Obama simply has everything going for him, and Americans can't be THAT stupid right? 

If Obama is rejected by voters, liberal activists will face a difficult moment. Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, sure. There was something wrong with them. A failure to connect. A remoteness. A coldness felt in some feathers of the left wing. Bill Clinton was an electoral success, but something about him didn’t sit right. The drama. The southerness. The welfare reform. The zaftig valley girl. Activists can understand why voters might have punished Hillary for the sins of Bill.

But Obama? He is perfect.

A rejection of Obama can only mean one of two things: a rejection of the 1960s formulation of liberalism (the current formulation, alas) or that America is deeply racist. Too many of them will go for the second hypotheses.

Too many think that elections turn on identities, not ideas.

If Obama loses–and it is still a big ‘if’–too many liberals will fail to heed the message that voters have been sending them since 1981. Seventy percent of the country is tired of 1960s liberalism. Indeed many find the hippie vision frightening: A country too ashamed of itself to fight its enemies, too unsure of itself to praise its own history,govern its children or corral its criminals,and too resentful of the rich to allow the economy to make more of them.

That's exactly why Democrats continually lose in many states.  They fail at basic problem solving such as the ones mentioned above, and when you tell someone they are stupid for believing a set of values, they'll reject you.  If you bad mouth their home, they'll reject you.  If you coddle criminals, when they want justice, they'll reject you.  If you resent the wealthy, even if they came up from nothing to build themselves a financial empire, they'll reject you.

And you'll have no one to blame but yourselves.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Why "Truth" Websites Have No Credibility

Unless you make more than $2.87 million per year, Barack Obama will not raise your taxes. In fact, he will probably cut them.

    This reality has been trampled, twisted, turned inside out and scribbled over so many times by the McCain campaign that it is hardly recognizable amid the clutter, but the fact remains: Obama's plan would grant tax cuts to all Americans making less than $226,982 per year, with the largest cuts going to the poorest individuals. Only the wealthiest 0.1 percent of earners would have to pay more.

Now, check out the graph they use:

So, "unless you make more than $2.87 million" is a fabrication.  Under Obama's plan, if you make more than $603k per year, then your taxes will go up.  Granted, $603k is a lot, but they're complaing about "this reality" being "trampled, twisted, turned inside out and scribbled over so many times by the McCain campaign".

So, then they come out with this additional lie:

Only the wealthiest 0.1 percent of earners would have to pay more.

That's not true either.  It's the top 1%, and it's for people making more than $603k per year.

Come on guys, at least LOOK at the graph you're using, and try not to lie when your name is "truthout", it makes you look like partisan liars.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Pakistan Orders Troops To Fire Upon US Troops

Pakistan's military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The orders, which come in response to a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos, are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and a key ally against terrorism. Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of U.S. drone aircraft striking militant targets, most recently on Sept. 12.

Pakistani officials warn that stepped-up cross-border raids will accomplish little while fueling violent religious extremism in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Some complain that the country is a scapegoat for the failure to stabilize Afghanistan.

Pakistan's civilian leaders, who have taken a hard line against Islamic militants since forcing Pervez Musharraf to resign as president last month, have insisted that Pakistan must resolve the dispute with Washington through diplomatic channels.

However, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that after U.S. helicopters ferried troops into a militant stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal region, the military told field commanders to prevent any similar raids.

"The orders are clear," Abbas said in an interview. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire."

You've made your choice.  Lots of people have derided President Bush for some of his tough talk, but honestly, there's really no doubt here, I think everyone can agree:  You're either with us, or you're against us on this one.

Because we're going after Al-Qaeda terrorists, and you've chosen to impede that chase, you've made your choice as to which side you prefer to be on.

So, you have two choices, you can either hand over Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and every Al-Qaeda member in your area, or you can look forward to people dying.....LOTS of people, and there's really no one to blame but yourselves.  You've had plenty of time, you your self have said that you have sent in 100,000 troops to weed out terrorists, and you've failed.  We've already killed several high end Al-Qaeda members with small Navy Seal teams that you couldn't do with 100,000 men?  You obviously aren't trying hard enough, or you're on their side.  Either way, I have no room for you, and if you choose this path, then it will lead to your own destruction of your military members.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Nancy Pelosi Thinks You're An Idiot

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked Tuesday whether Democrats bear some of the responsibility regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, had a one-word answer: “No.”

Pelosi (D-Calif.) ripped President Bush’s “mismanagement” of the economy and a lack of regulation that led to the current situation.“I think the American people have had it with this situation where the middle-income people in our country are not protected from the ramifications of the risk-taking and the greed of these financial institutions,” Pelosi told MSNBC.

When asked whether the Democrats “deserve some responsibility” regarding the economic crisis, Pelosi responded: “No.”

Ok, first off, Nancy tries to blame the Bush administration for something that's clearly not his fault, but then tries to say that Democrats don't deserve any responsibility either?

Any third grader can tell you that the President only signs legislation into law, he cannot pass laws by himself.  Congress does that.  So, for her to say that Bush is responsible, is bullshit.  Of course, Democrats aren't either, because the fault lies with the companies themselves, but if there's anyone in the government who has any real power over any situation, it's Congress, not the President.

So, if Congress passes legislation that the President signs or vetoes, how is Congress responsible for the situation?

It's partisan politics that even Barack Obama is playing, and they are trying to capitalize on the feelings of voters. 

Nancy should know better, but I guess passing the buck on responsibility, even if it's clearly not a government problem, comes second nature to her.

She's even shown to be hypocritical about her dealings with her own party's corrupt members:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday privately pushed Rep. Charlie Rangel to give up his chairmanship of the influential House tax-rules committee amid explosive revelations that his personal tax filings were riddled with errors and omissions, a wellplaced source said.

I posted about how Democrats were going to "punish" Joe Lieberman by removing him from one of his committee memberships for speaking at the Republican National Convention.

So, if they can remove Joe, why can't she remove Rangel?  Because she doesn't want to.  Period.  She was even quoted as saying "there's no way" that she'd remove Rangel.

Rangel met privately Tuesday morning with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, his second such meeting in two days. He emerged tightlipped, refusing to discuss the matter.

"People believe that this is so sensitive that the last person in the world that should be discussing it is me. So I love you guys but what can I tell ya?" Rangel said as he walked out of the meeting.

His lawyer said Pelosi told Rangel "she was pleased at the initiative he's taken to, in effect, authorize an investigation of himself with full transparency and direct reporting to the ethics committee and she also expressed her appreciation that he is allowing the House ethics committee to complete its process."

It's a dog and pony show.  She has no intention of removing Christopher Dodd, William Jefferson, or now Charles Rangel.  But let's not look into the corrupt nature of members of her own party and get rid of the "culture of corruption", let's start an "investigation" into Wall Street dealings, which will lead to nothing but wasted time and taxpayer dollars.

And she wonders out loud why she is in charge of a 9% approval rated Congress.

It's crap like that;  Blame Republicans for anything, say or do anything to get into office, and then do anything you can to help your corrupt friends and colleagues, including exempting America Samoa from the minimum wage increase because one of your constituents owns a major factory there.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Biden Needs A Lesson In Economics

Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, said Tuesday that "the middle class is dying" and Sen. Barack Obama's economic plan will reverse that trend by lowering their taxes and raising those of people making $250,000 or more.

"Create jobs, keep people in their homes and increase regulatory oversight of the very people John (McCain) has refused to regulate," Biden said, summing up Obama's plan for repairing the ailing economy.

"We're letting taxes expire for the very wealthy and giving the middle class a fighting chance," he said.

Asked if that amounted to income redistribution, Biden replied, "I don't care what you call it. The middle class is dying."

"The American worker's been left out in the cold," he said.

Biden squarely blamed the economic mess on President Bush's economic policies backed by McCain, including the failure to properly regulate Wall Street, which he said resulted in fewer jobs, increased foreign debt and skyrocketing oil prices.

Biden, like McCain, called for stronger government regulation of Wall Street. "Bottom line is if you come to the federal government to borrow money, we get to look at your books," he said. "That's my money. It's the taxpayers' money."

Biden further blamed Bush and McCain for the "god-awful economic mess at home and abroad." Referring to assertions by McCain that the U.S. economy was fundamentally strong, Biden said the economy was "sound if you're very wealthy."

"It's a disaster if you're a hard-working middle-class family who goes from paycheck to paycheck and worries about paying your mortgage," he said.

Sorry Joe, but Bush wasn't responsible for the economic situation we're in right now, contrary to what you want to believe, or what you want everyone else to believe.  We're in this situation because investors and company managers got greedy, mortgage brokers oversold people homes, people bought homes way above what they could afford, and the dollar crash.

Not one of those things are Bush's fault.  In fact, during those "tax cuts for the wealthy" you describe, tax revenue went up.  How do you explain that away?

You're trying to tap into the bad sentiment in people's lives and blame Republicans for the mess, when clearly it isn't their fault.  Just like some try to blame 9/11 on Saddam, which is clearly not true.

However, I will agree that if a company comes to the US government for money, we should get to look at the books.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Hypocrisy From McCain's Top Aide

Hours after top McCain aide Carly Fiorina said Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin isn't qualified to run a major corporation, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO said she doesn't think John McCain is either.

In comments that are strikingly off message as the Arizona senator attempts to position himself as the candidate best positioned to fix the country's economic woes, Fiorina said in an interview on MSNBC Tuesday running a Fortune 500 corporation is not the same as running the country.

“Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation, I don't think Barack Obama could run a major corporation, I don't think Joe Biden could run a major corporation," Fiorina, a top McCain advisor, said.

"But, on the other hand, a major corporation is not the same as being the president or the vice president of the United States," she continued. "It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company. So, of course, to run a business, you have to have a lifetime of experience in business, but that's not what Sarah Palin, John McCain, Joe Biden, or Barack Obama are doing."

Well Carly, I know YOU can't run a corporation either.  You came to HP, pushed for the purchase of Compaq, a known shitty computer company, and ran HP into the ground.  In the meantime, it was found out that you would be getting a large million dollar bonus if the merger went through, AND at the same time, you laid off 30,000 employees.

I cringed when I read that Carly was going to be John McCain's aide.  My aunt was one of the 30,000 people who were laid off by HP, and she had been there more than 20 years.  Meanwhile, Carly gets the boot with a ton of money as severance, and my aunt got nothing.

Just shut up Carly, it's better that people think you're a fool, then to open your mouth and prove it.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama Supporters Are Criminals!

Ok, innocent until proven guilty, but these guys do give me a chuckle:

 

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama Thinks Terrorist Leader "OK Guy"

"He did despicable things 40 years ago"??  What kind of bullshit answer is that??  That's fucking appeasement at it's worst, and some of you out there want to allow this guy to be in charge of the military and to protect us against threats from terrorist groups and hostile nations?

Are you all THAT stupid?

 

Travis

Hackers block Qaeda’s 9/11 terror on tape

Hackers prevented Al Qaeda from releasing a videotape to mark the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Al Qaeda has traditionally issued a video or audiotape by either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al Zawahiri, the terror network’s two leaders, to mark their massive terrorist attack on the US.

As-Sahab, Al Qaeda’s media unit, had indicated earlier this week that it would post such a videotape on September 11. As-Sahab had banner images on the internet showing a silhouetted head with a question mark and the words, “Wait 11 September”.

The US-based intelligence group IntelCenter had speculated the video would be a message from Osama or Zawahiri with a recording of the last will and testament of Mohammed Atta, one of the leaders of the 9/11 attackers.

Sources close to US intelligence said, “Hackers knocked out Al Qaeda’s online means of communication, thus preventing them from posting anything to commemorate the anniversary.”

With the bad rap that hackers in general get, it's nice to see them do some good from time to time.

 

Thanks guys.  Now, if you can break in and tell us more intel about who's posting what from where, I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Free water cooling kit and the latest Intel MB and CPU combo to anyone who points out where Osama is hiding.  Shipping included. :)

My response:

A) I'm not a hacker, although I play one on TV.

B) Aaron is not a hacker.

C) News of my ability to thwart al Qaeda's online activities have been greatly exaggerated.

D) Neither I nor Aaron are responsible for the take down of al Qaeda's main forum and two of its sister forums. Reporting that they are down does not mean I'm taking credit. Neither does reporting on it mean that I even approve of taking down al Qaeda's main propaganda outlet.

But if I was responsible I'd deny it.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Iran's Got Nowhere To Run

A U.N. inquiry into intelligence allegations of secret atom bomb research in Iran has reached a standstill because of Iranian non-cooperation, an International Atomic Energy Agency report said on Monday.

"We have arrived at a gridlock," said a senior U.N. official familiar with the latest report, which urged Iran to take the intelligence allegations seriously to defuse suspicions its nuclear work is not entirely peaceful.

The confidential report also said Iran had raised the number of centrifuges enriching uranium to 3,820, compared with 3,300 in May, with over 2,000 more being installed.

But Iran seemed some way from refining enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon, if it chose, the report indicated.

Iran had stockpiled 480 kg (1,050 pounds) of low-enriched uranium so far. It would need 15,000 kg (33,000) to convert into high-enriched uranium for fuelling an atom bomb, said U.N. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"That would be a significant quantity, one unit of HEU, and would take on the order of two years," said one official.

In its last report in May, the IAEA said Iran appeared to be withholding information needed to explain intelligence that it had linked projects to process uranium, test high explosives and modify a missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead.

Now that it's pretty clear that Iran isn't cooperating, where are the crushing sanctions?  China and Russia simply no longer avoid the facts on the ground:  Iran isn't cooperating.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Blame Others

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Monday the upheaval on Wall Street was "the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression" and blamed it on policies that he said Republican rival John McCain supports.

"This country can't afford another four years of this failed philosophy," Obama said after the shock-wave announcements that financial giant Lehman Brothers was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while titan Merrill Lynch was being bought by Bank of America for about $50 billion.

Obama's statement, issued as he prepared to fly to Colorado to begin a swing through contested Western states, was intended to serve two purposes: to link McCain with the unpopular presidency of George W. Bush and to express sympathy with the anxiety of most Americans who say the economy is issue No. 1 in the election.

"The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store," Obama said in a statement. "Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression."

"I certainly don't fault Sen. McCain for these problems," Obama said, "but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to."

Well, let's take a peek here.  When tax cuts were put into place, we had record tax revenue.  Now that financial outfits have made poor decisions, Obama wants to blame the policies that he follows?  How are those two intermixed?  If I am given tax breaks for my business, and then I turn around, make more money, and thus, give the government more tax revenue, how are those policies failed if I make a poor business decision that leads to my bankruptcy?

It's simply Obama trying to blame everyone else for a problem that has nothing to do with the policies in place, and the everything to do with the greediness and the lack of preparedness for the future these businesses did.

Stop blaming others Obama.  Remember when you said you wanted to "stick with the issues"?  How about you actually do that instead of trying to place blame where it doesn't belong?

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

You Know You're In Trouble With Democrats

When even the NY Times is calling for your resignation because of your "ethical problems".

Mounting embarrassment for taxpayers and Congress makes it imperative that Representative Charles Rangel step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee while his ethical problems are investigated.

This recommendation does not come easily, considering the New York Democrat’s four decades of service in Congress. But Mr. Rangel himself has felt obliged to request three separate House ethics inquiries of his behavior. While denying serious improprieties, Mr. Rangel concedes that he has not lived up to the “higher standard” expected of members of Congress.

His latest admission is that as chief of Congress’s tax-writing committee, he was “irresponsible” in failing to disclose $75,000 in rental income and pay federal and state taxes on a villa in the Dominican Republic.

His temporary yielding of the gavel is an urgent necessity for a Democratic Congress elected two years ago on promises of an ethical housecleaning.

Committee posts are not bestowed by voters. They are partisan privileges granted by leaders in Congress, and Ms. Pelosi must not cut slack for an ally. If Mr. Rangel refuses a temporary hiatus from his chairmanship, Ms. Pelosi should remove him permanently.

Yeah, good luck with that.  Nancy didn't remove William Jefferson from his post, she promoted him, after he had $90,000 in marked bribe money found by the FBI, so why should she be any different with Rangel?

Face it, Democrats lied during the 2006 election and swore they'd "clean up the culture of corruption", and the American public bought it.  Now, they are coming to the realization that they've been lied to, and it's quite possible that they may shock Democrats and vote them out of office.

I'm not holding my breath on either of those things happening though.

 

Travis

An Odd "Coincidence"

When the federal government announced two months ago that it would prop up mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CRP looked at how much money members of Congress had collected since 1989 from the companies. On Sunday the government completely took over the two government-sponsored enterprises, and we've returned to our data to bring you the updates, this time providing a list of all 354 lawmakers who have gotten money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (in July we posted the top 25). These totals are based on data released electronically from the FEC on Sept. 2 and include contributions to lawmakers' leadership PACs and candidate committees from the floundering companies' PACs and employees. Current members of Congress have received a total of $4.8 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with Democrats collecting 57 percent of that. This week we also wrote about how much money lawmakers had invested of their own money in the companies last year--a total of up to $1.7 million.

Dodd, Christopher J
Obama, Barack
Kerry, John

Christopher Dodd being #1?  No surprise that corrupt piece of shit is there.  But what is odd is Barack Obama is #2 for the 10 year span and only been in office about 5 or so years?

Anyone else alarmed by that?

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Pakistan Is Confused

Two air-to-ground missiles ripped through the sky before smashing into the house where a Taliban leader with close links to Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding.

"There was a glittering flash of light and a prolonged roar," said Hameedullah Khan, one of the first on the scene of Monday's suspected US drone strike in the Pakistani town of Dande Darpa Khel, near the Afghan border.

Two white drones circled the area for hours ahead of the attack that left 21 people dead, including women and children, residents told AFP.

"We recovered 10 bodies. Some were mutilated, some charred. We could not identify if the victims were locals or foreigners. But we could distinguish that children were among the dead," Khan said.

Missile strikes targeting Islamic militants in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas in recent weeks have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan. Pakistan does not have missile-equipped drones.

In the past 12 days, five strikes have been carried out, targeting suspected Taliban or Al-Qaeda bases.

The reputed target of Monday's attack, veteran Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was not among those killed, and the devastation left on the ground seems only to have strengthened the Taliban's influence on local civilians.

"After about an hour, the Taliban turned up," said Khan, who helped in the rescue work at Dande Darpa Khel.

"They ringed a building and erected a tent (to treat casualties) nearby," the 35-year-old said.

"Then they recovered more bodies and wounded who were sent to hospital."

Washington says Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions have become a safe haven for Islamic fighters waging an insurgency against international troops based across the border.

But the increasingly frequent missile attacks, for which the United States has not claimed responsibility, are straining Pakistan's relationship with its key ally.

Civilian deaths have stirred local anger and embarrassed the Pakistani government, already struggling to tackle the militancy that has seen 1,200 of its own people die in bombings and suicide attacks in the past year alone.

Pakistan's army, itself engaged in fierce clashes against militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the border regions, has also condemned what it sees as unilateral US action that violates the country's sovereignty.

Residents in Dande Darpa Khel say until recently, one drone would comb the region late at night or early in the morning. But now, two or three will fly together, around the clock.

"They keep on flying in our skies with full immunity and people are scared," said Abdus Khan, a 22-year-old student, adding that the prospect of further attacks may lead people to flee the area.

We warned you about Al-Qaeda.  We offered to work with you, and yet, corrupt people within your intelligence community have repeated warned Al-Qaeda members to incoming US strikes.  You have made your choice, now you get to deal with the consequences of that choice.

You want us to go away?  It's real easy and I'll even give you the answer:  Give us Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and every other Taliban and Al-Qaeda member you know of.  Do that, and we go away.  Until then, you can bet your ass we're coming and we're coming in hard.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Common Sense In Government?

Or just out of money?

Wall Street readied for a potential Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy after Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc pulled out of talks to buy it and the government indicated it wouldn't provide funds to prevent a collapse.

Banks and brokers today held a session for netting derivatives transactions with Lehman, or canceling trades that offset each other, in case the New York-based firm files for bankruptcy before midnight.

``The purpose of this session is to reduce risk associated with a potential Lehman'' bankruptcy, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association said in a statement today. The ISDA includes 218 banks, brokerages, insurance companies and other financial institutions from the U.S. and abroad.

The step indicates Wall Street lacks confidence that three days of talks to find a buyer for Lehman, held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be successful. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has led the talks with New York Fed President Timothy Geithner, was adamant two days ago against using taxpayer funds to help a purchaser take Lehman over.

This is the kick in the ass that the economy needs.  Yes, a major company collapsing will harm the economy, but it will provide an example to others as to not make rash decisions, hoping that the government will bail you out.

I've railed against other bailouts such as the Freddie and Fannie fiasco's, and I don't think the government should be bailing out companies that make bad business decisions.  It encourages it, and I don't seem to remember businesses paying back the bailouts when times were good.

So, yes it's sad to see ordinary people lose their jobs at Lehman Brothers, but they wouldn't be in that spot if their bosses didn't make rash business choices.  These things happen.  Talented people will find other jobs, and those who made these decisions should be unemployed for a while to really drive home the point.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

The sleaziest and least honorable campaign

Sen. Barack Obama's spokesman on Saturday accused Sen. John McCain of "cynically running the sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history."

Obama, speaking to a crowd Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire, said, "John McCain wants to have a debate about national security; let's have that debate. I warned that going into Iraq would distract us from Afghanistan. John McCain cheerleaded for it. John McCain was wrong, and I was right."

"The McCain-[Sarah] Palin ticket, they don't want to debate the Obama-Biden ticket on issues because they are running on eight more years of what we've just seen. And they know it," the Democratic presidential nominee said. "As a consequence, what they're going to spend the next seven, eight weeks doing is trying to distract you.

"They're going to talk about pigs, and they're going to talk about lipstick; they're going to talk about Paris Hilton, they're going to talk about Britney Spears. They will try to distort my record, and they will try to undermine your trust in what the Democrats intend to do."

Ahh the issues.  The core of any campaign.  Mr. Obama wishes to discuss them.  Ok, fair enough.  Let's start with his favorite:  Opposition to the war in Iraq.

First off, Obama never voted for or against the war in Iraq.  He was never put into that position.  However, as President, you need to make tough choices and you cannot avoid them.  Obama likes to point out how he was "right" about Iraq.  Really?  Iraq possessed WMD's and we have found them.  Granted, the ones found so far are pre-Gulf War I, but Saddam was not allowed to have even those.

Saddam, even by Obama's admission, butchered his own people.  That's not our problem according to Obama.  But we can argue reasons all day long.

However, let's point out where Obama is clearly wrong:  The surge in troops in Iraq.  Obama was against it, and it clearly has worked.  Granted, there are many other reasons why things have turned around in Iraq, but none of them could have happened without the support of the security provided by the extra US troops.  That is an indisputable fact, and Obama to this day has not admitted that.

So, Obama is wrong, but many will point to him being right about Iraq in the first place.  I use Iraq as a perfect example, because many times, as President, you will have to make tough choices based upon circumstances that are out of your control.  You cannot avoid them, and here we have one of those situations, and Obama made the wrong choice.

Next up, the economy.

McCain has asked for $29 million dollars in the 20+ years in Congress.  A little more than $1 million each year.  Obama, on the other hand, has asked for hundreds of millions of dollars in the few years he's been in office.

With the economy shaping up to be the #1 issue during the election, I think it's pretty obvious we can't trust Obama to be fiscally responsible.

"They will try to distort my record, and they will try to undermine your trust in what the Democrats intend to do."

Actually Mr. Obama, I am using undeniable facts here.  You have asked for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional pork spending without coinciding with same dollar for dollar spending cuts.  You asked for and received millions for your wife's employer, clearly at best a conflict of interest, at worst, showing that you're corruptable and are willing to "scratch their back if they scratched yours".

Oddly, your wife got a promotion and a massive raise.

Officials at the University of Chicago Hospitals say a promotion and large pay increase given to Sen. Barack Obama's wife shortly after the Democrat was elected to Congress were well-deserved boosts for an executive who is "worth her weight in gold." The Chicago Tribune has the story.

"She's terrific," added Michael Riordan, who was president of the hospital in March 2005, when Michelle Obama was promoted to vice president for external affairs and had her annual salary increased from $121,910 to $316,962.

Riordan told the Tribune that the promotion and salary increase had nothing to do with Obama's husband becoming a U.S. senator. "She was hired before Barack was Barack," Riordan said.

Really?  You mean to tell me you couldn't see the value in having a woman on board who's married to an ambitious political husband?  That's a bullshit lie.

Plus, she gets promoted and her salary is almost tripled?  Anyone else get a promotion like that??  If so, I'd love to hear this story.

We've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. We are distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants, and as people have looked away in frustration and disillusionment, we know who has filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests, who've turned government into only a game they can afford to play. They write the checks while you get stuck with the bill. They get access while you get to write a letter.

Unfortunately for Obama, he writes the checks, and we get the bill.  Over the course of 20+ years, my share of McCain's earmarks have been around 10 cents a year.  A YEAR.  For Obama, it's been significantly higher.

And with Congress doing absolutely nothing but going on a spending spree and putting me further into debt for nothing more then a smiling bunch of smug assholes, I think I deserve something more.  I think I deserve a President who'll cut spending, tell people to get off their ass and work, sell the home they couldn't afford, tell people the government isn't supposed to take care of you, and be honest with me.

Unfortunately, I don't think Obama will do any of those things.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com