I had an interesting discussion with my credit card company this morning.
I explained to them that while I had reached my credit limit, I had a plan.
My plan was really simple....instead of increasing my spending on restaurants, movies, entertainment etc by the expected 9% next year, I would restrict my spending to only an 8% increase.
Because of my new-found spending cuts, they should lend me a few more thousand dollars so that I could spend that extra 8%.
Well, don't laugh...it made sense to me at the time.
Unfortunately, I am not the federal government...and my credit card company is not Congress.
My ears are still ringing from the peals of laughter coming from the credit card representative. He said to me...
"So, you can't pay your debts unless you get more credit, right? And you have no plans to reduce your debt in future, and you plan to spend more in the future, thus requiring more credit, right? And to achieve this master plan, you need us to increase your credit limit now, even though you can't meet your existing bills without it?"
I said "Yep, that sounds about right!"
The guffaws that followed were very infectious....and I laughed with him...until he suddenly stopped and said "No!"
I was aghast! If I couldn't get my credit limit increased, I would not be able to meet my current bills!
When I told the representative this fact, he solemnly said...
"Well, instead of increasing your spending next year, why don't you try reducing it? If you do that, you won't need to increase your credit limit."
I said..."But, I plan to CUT spending next year, not increase it!"
He laughed again making it very clear..."A decrease in the amount of additional planned spending is NOT a cut in spending! A spending cut means you spend LESS than you did this year."
I thought about this for a minute...it seemed kind of logical....but then it hit me that I had the perfect argument....
"You know, I COULD do that....but that would be very bad ultimately. If I didn't go out to restaurants as often, the restaurant workers would lose their jobs, and couldn't feed their families. If I stopped going to the movies, all those actors and support people would lose their jobs and couldn't feed THEIR families. I can't be responsible for their future difficulties...so I have to keep spending. What would they do if I didn't support them? So I have to keep spending...and it is in your best interests to allow me to, or all these people out of work will default on their credit card payments. So you have no choice !""
The guffaws at the other end of the phone were even louder than last time. When they subsided he simply said to me..
"What do you think we are? Democrats?"
.....devereaux
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Knight of the Living Debt.
OK...so you have you ever been doing your thing, minding your own business...and you get the sense that something just isn't right?
You stop in mid step, or mid sentence and have to look around carefully to ensure that everything is normal. You look into all the corners of your surroundings, eyes trying to pierce the places where light does not enter. You look internally, your mind seeking to illuminate those parts that wish to remain hidden and in secret.
And then, with a shrug, the feeling passes and you go on your merry way, trying to remain oblivious to the uncomfortable sensation that just moments before almost paralyzed you.
I had one of those moments this morning, but instead of trying to ignore it, I chose to explore it.
What was it that caused such discomfort? What was it that caused every muscle in my body to prepare for fight or flight? What was it that caused adrenaline to pour through my body, that caused my heart to do a back flip landing awkwardly on my own fears?
Having summoned the courage to explore this sensation, I searched inward to find what it was that was causing this...and I found it!
Zombies!
Yep, zombies.
Not the brain devouring mindless creatures you find in great movies like the wonderful Zombieland (Woody Harrelson is perfect!) but the kind of zombies that stalk the halls of Washington, hiding in the dark corners and mindlessly repeating the mantra..."money, spending, taxes...taxes...taxes", while their arms reach out to grab the unsuspecting and jerkily grab wallets and purses, looking for any stray cash that other tax hungry zombies may have missed.
As daylight dawned in my mind in the same way it does when the sun peaks over the horizon, it became clear that this group of zombies was unlike those in most zombie movies. This group had a leader, someone who they could mindlessly follow...someone who did not have ALL the attributes of a zombie, but had powers far beyond the norm....had the power to direct and recruit more brainless zombies for a common purpose.
Yesterday I said we do not need a knight on a white stallion. I didn't realize yesterday how accurate I was. Today I realize we have a knight in the White House already...a Knight of the Living Debt!
So now I have a problem. How do I reconcile the clown in the oval office with the leader now known as the Knight of the Living Debt?
While I pondered this apparent inconsistency, i recalled the statement that art so often imitates life. And what better art for this purpose than the art of movie making, where imagination and creativity often combine to reveal great truths about the present and the future.
So I went back to Zombieland...and considered the scene with Bill Murray. Bill Murray, one of the finest comic actors of the current crop, played the part of Bill Murray, a much loved comedian who had not succumbed to becoming a zombie. But he had stayed safe by "pretending" to be a zombie. He dressed like one and acted like one.
He decided to play a joke on the hero in the movie and pretended that he was a fully fledged zombie. When nerdy college student hero Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg ) saw the Bill Murray zombie, he did what every red blooded nerdy college student would do. He gave him both barrels!!
Bill Murray's last word were..."He won't shoot me!"
Wrong!!
So...let me try to explain this another way.
Bill Murray is a comic, a clown. He played the part of a clown. This clown believed he would not be shot. He was shot. He ended up dead!
And the moral is.... a clown who plays the part of a zombie is not likely to survive when the good guys think they are in real danger.
Obama..are you listening? You are playing a dangerous game. Being the Knight of the Living Debt, being a clown pretending to be a zombie, will not end well for you. When the zombies line up to vote at the next election, they will find that their numbers are vastly inferior to the good guys...and they won't have the brains to stop lurching forward screaming "money, your money, taxes...taxes...taxes".
We are truly living through the Knight of the Living Debt.
Scary!
Talking about scary, I decided to have some fun yesterday and visit some liberal blogs to see what the progressive talking points are today.
Apart from being an exercise in total futility, as most of the arguments have not changed in years, I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of liberals who were actually almost pleasant.
In a series of posts about the poor and future opportunities, this post appeared....
"Typical conservative. Doesn't know what they believe or how to explain it unless its fed to them in a Rush Limbaugh talking point.
You are the one arguing equality, not me. I don't begrudge Bill Gates his 25 bathrooms, as you suggest. I just acknowledge the fact that not everyone will have the opportunity to construct a billions a year computer business because someone will have to work to build those computers. Not everyone is born with a trust fund and those that aren't have to work harder to become something.
You are the one who thinks that everyone has an equal chance, not me. You are so very confused."
You are the one who thinks that everyone has an equal chance, not me. You are so very confused."
Maybe this guy needs to read my post on liberal or confused conservative? In one breath he acknowledges that some people need to work harder than others. And yet he also argues that I believe everyone has an equal chance....and that he doesn't begrudge the wealthy? And I am confused? LMAO
And this one.....
"Sorry, but the American dream was never about there will always be poor people so we might as well stomp on them while we make ourselves richer."
These folk really do have a distorted view of conservatives. Now they believe we want to stomp on the poor and that we believe that is the American dream? They really should stop listening to the Liar-in-Chief, Pelosi and Wasserman-Schultz, and start listening to their own beliefs. They are not bad people...just very confused.
And finally, I want to share this one...
"deveraux?
And you think that is a credible link?
Here at Swampland, we know what opinion is, what fact is, and what tabloid journalism is...."
And you think that is a credible link?
Here at Swampland, we know what opinion is, what fact is, and what tabloid journalism is...."
Really?
For those who do not know, Swampland is the name of the comments section of the New York Times...a name I think is highly suitable for it describes a slimy unpleasant place full of creepy crawlies!
The article referred to was an opinion piece decrying the conservatives refusal to modify their thinking so a deal could be done to lift the debt ceiling. It was far from a factual piece, and while not being tabloid journalism, was definitely an opinion piece.
I can not decide what the heroes at Swampland consider it to be - he has not stated that. He just said he knows the difference? LMAO I make no bones about the fact that what I write is simply opinion....this guy seems to have failed remedial comprehension since he can't actually determine what it is that I write.
So...if you want a laugh, go visit the swamplands where you can easily find all kinds of zombie like creatures...it just goes to show that zombies do exist...and we need to find more and more creative ways to destroy them.
Unfortunately, unlike the heroes of Zombieland, our tactics must be restricted to verbal salvos, and the cut and thrust of well thought out logical arguments...until we get to go to the polls, and then, we will truly discover that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Keep on seeking out zombies....
.....devereaux
Thursday, July 28, 2011
We don't need another hero....
Is this what America has come to?
What happened to the freedom of idea? What happened to open debate of issues? What happened to Congress doing what they believe the voters want done?
But most of all....what happened to the leadership of this Country?
I see a number of things that we can take away from the current debt ceiling situation:-
1. The great US Senate....the place that his been held up worldwide as the place for the free expression of ideas and honest debate, has now become nothing but a bullpen for ignorant liberals who refuse debate the issues (I suspect they refuse the debate because they know they cannot win.)
Have you heard anything more ridiculous than the Democrat Senators writing to John Boehner as Leader of the House, and stating very clearly...."don't even bother to pass the proposed debt ceiling plan through the House, because we are never going to vote for it anyway and it is a waste of everyone's time!"
I thought the Senate was the place for debate? It seems to have become nothing more than a weapon for the current administration (a very dull weapon at that) and a place that will only debate ideas that they pre-approve. Do I need to point out that the Democratic controlled senate has not passed a budget in over 820 days now, and these idiots expect us to believe they want to do the right thing about the Countries finances? Poppycock!
My personal belief is that Harry Reid is scared that if there was a decent debate in the Senate, that several democratic Senators will see the wisdom of the proposed legislation and vote for it, thus denying the President of his desire to further bully republicans. Harry Reid cannot take the chance with a debate because he will lose...so he uses parliamentary trickery and bully-boy tactics to avoid it at all costs.
And do you know what is worse than that? We, the American people simply accept it as the way it is.
2. We have a President who has been very vocal about his position on the debt ceiling stuff for some time. He has been heard campaigning for a balanced solution. He has been in discussions with the leaders of both parties in both houses. I do not think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that he wants a balanced solution.
So, the House produces a balanced budget solution....
"Oh no...that is not a balanced solution....the sort of balanced solution I want is more taxes and higher spending. And I want that to be for a period beyond the next election, ok? How else can I be re-elected?"
When that didn't work, he goes to the people. He makes threats. He bullies. He calls for plans. He does not even indicate what he has in mind.
He has more discussions, more BS and more claims about a balanced solution.
This is not leadership. This is not compromise. This is him electioneering. This is all about how he can try to paint the Republicans bad.
He is a disgrace. And what is more disgraceful? That a large portion of the population are so ignorant of reality that they believe his lies.
Where do we go from here?
Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the US credit score is going to be downgraded. It does not matter now what sort of deal comes out of Washington. The President and the Senate are now seen to be broken. The Country has NO leadership.
No organization can look at our governing bodies and have any confidence whatsoever that the countries fiscal problems can be fixed.
So we WILL be downgraded. This will result in higher interest rates on new borrowings which will dampen the economy. The stock market will respond accordingly and dip in the short-term. (I suspect that the downgrade is already priced into the market, as traders tend to see reality before politicians do! After all, it is their own money at risk, not somebody else's.)
UNtil a couple of very significant events occur, this downgrade will remain...the events that will assist in a return to a perfect grade are:-
1. the removal of the tyrant and Liar-in-Chief currently residing in the White House. Without strong leadership, and honest attempts to get debt and spending under control, the ratings agencies will not risk upgrading us
2. the re-establishment of the Senate as a place where issues are debated. Until the Senate starts doing it's job , no rating agency will ever upgrade us.
3. The Senate MUST pass a budget. That is their job.
4. Real spending controls MUST be instituted. Not some wishy-washy cut in spending 10 years out, but real controls that prevent this Government and future Governments from spending more than a certain amount of money.
5. Debt must be paid down significantly, not increased.
If America can show she is serious about tackling this problem head on with real solutions, real efforts and real results, I expect we will see our grading improve within a couple of years.
If we continue on the same path that our Liar-in-Chief wants to follow, a triple A rating is something we will never see again in my lifetime and probably my grandchildren's lives.
We don't need another hero. We don't need dreams from someone's father. We don't need the image of a white knight on a stallion coming in to save the day. We don't need the audacity of hope. We don't need hope and change.
What do we need?
We need honesty.
We need someone who will roll up his sleeves and get down in the trenches with us.
We need a leader who is not concerned about extending his time in the White House or improving his golf score.
We need a man or woman who, when no-one is watching, falls on his knees in grief for what this country has become...and when the grief passes, when determination sets in, he or she becomes the one to stand beside us as we all shovel that next load of crap out of the way.
We don't need a hero....we need someone who loves this Country more than life itself. We need someone willing to risk their wealth, and their very lives to do what is right.
We need no hero.
.....devereaux
What happened to the freedom of idea? What happened to open debate of issues? What happened to Congress doing what they believe the voters want done?
But most of all....what happened to the leadership of this Country?
I see a number of things that we can take away from the current debt ceiling situation:-
1. The great US Senate....the place that his been held up worldwide as the place for the free expression of ideas and honest debate, has now become nothing but a bullpen for ignorant liberals who refuse debate the issues (I suspect they refuse the debate because they know they cannot win.)
Have you heard anything more ridiculous than the Democrat Senators writing to John Boehner as Leader of the House, and stating very clearly...."don't even bother to pass the proposed debt ceiling plan through the House, because we are never going to vote for it anyway and it is a waste of everyone's time!"
I thought the Senate was the place for debate? It seems to have become nothing more than a weapon for the current administration (a very dull weapon at that) and a place that will only debate ideas that they pre-approve. Do I need to point out that the Democratic controlled senate has not passed a budget in over 820 days now, and these idiots expect us to believe they want to do the right thing about the Countries finances? Poppycock!
My personal belief is that Harry Reid is scared that if there was a decent debate in the Senate, that several democratic Senators will see the wisdom of the proposed legislation and vote for it, thus denying the President of his desire to further bully republicans. Harry Reid cannot take the chance with a debate because he will lose...so he uses parliamentary trickery and bully-boy tactics to avoid it at all costs.
And do you know what is worse than that? We, the American people simply accept it as the way it is.
2. We have a President who has been very vocal about his position on the debt ceiling stuff for some time. He has been heard campaigning for a balanced solution. He has been in discussions with the leaders of both parties in both houses. I do not think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that he wants a balanced solution.
So, the House produces a balanced budget solution....
"Oh no...that is not a balanced solution....the sort of balanced solution I want is more taxes and higher spending. And I want that to be for a period beyond the next election, ok? How else can I be re-elected?"
When that didn't work, he goes to the people. He makes threats. He bullies. He calls for plans. He does not even indicate what he has in mind.
He has more discussions, more BS and more claims about a balanced solution.
This is not leadership. This is not compromise. This is him electioneering. This is all about how he can try to paint the Republicans bad.
He is a disgrace. And what is more disgraceful? That a large portion of the population are so ignorant of reality that they believe his lies.
Where do we go from here?
Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the US credit score is going to be downgraded. It does not matter now what sort of deal comes out of Washington. The President and the Senate are now seen to be broken. The Country has NO leadership.
No organization can look at our governing bodies and have any confidence whatsoever that the countries fiscal problems can be fixed.
So we WILL be downgraded. This will result in higher interest rates on new borrowings which will dampen the economy. The stock market will respond accordingly and dip in the short-term. (I suspect that the downgrade is already priced into the market, as traders tend to see reality before politicians do! After all, it is their own money at risk, not somebody else's.)
UNtil a couple of very significant events occur, this downgrade will remain...the events that will assist in a return to a perfect grade are:-
1. the removal of the tyrant and Liar-in-Chief currently residing in the White House. Without strong leadership, and honest attempts to get debt and spending under control, the ratings agencies will not risk upgrading us
2. the re-establishment of the Senate as a place where issues are debated. Until the Senate starts doing it's job , no rating agency will ever upgrade us.
3. The Senate MUST pass a budget. That is their job.
4. Real spending controls MUST be instituted. Not some wishy-washy cut in spending 10 years out, but real controls that prevent this Government and future Governments from spending more than a certain amount of money.
5. Debt must be paid down significantly, not increased.
If America can show she is serious about tackling this problem head on with real solutions, real efforts and real results, I expect we will see our grading improve within a couple of years.
If we continue on the same path that our Liar-in-Chief wants to follow, a triple A rating is something we will never see again in my lifetime and probably my grandchildren's lives.
We don't need another hero. We don't need dreams from someone's father. We don't need the image of a white knight on a stallion coming in to save the day. We don't need the audacity of hope. We don't need hope and change.
What do we need?
We need honesty.
We need someone who will roll up his sleeves and get down in the trenches with us.
We need a leader who is not concerned about extending his time in the White House or improving his golf score.
We need a man or woman who, when no-one is watching, falls on his knees in grief for what this country has become...and when the grief passes, when determination sets in, he or she becomes the one to stand beside us as we all shovel that next load of crap out of the way.
We don't need a hero....we need someone who loves this Country more than life itself. We need someone willing to risk their wealth, and their very lives to do what is right.
We need no hero.
.....devereaux
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Liberals...or misguided conservatives?
As you know I have been trying to ignore the stupidity in Washington but it is so compelling that it is very hard to turn away...the train wreck that is our President keeps showing us that he has no clue. The Democratic leadership keeps lying to us and stupid stuff keeps being repeated ad nauseum in the media. The Republicans are under pressure to make a deal....that pressure being applied by....the train-wreck President and the lying democrats.
Give me a break! Enough already!
When I listened to the utter garbage that Pelosi spewed yesterday in a speech to union members in Washington, I have to simply cringe.
Gems like this.
"They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education."
Really? Really?
how about this one....
Damn right Pelosi! We DO NOT like Government. We want the government to get the hell out of our lives. We do have an engine of popular support for reducing the deficit...every poll taken shows that. You, ma'am are about to find yourself on the wrong side of history at the next election...and you know it. You have already stated the truth!
And then she goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like:
"They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education."
Oh well...I guess I have to ask this question....if it looks like a clown, and talks like a clown, and acts like a clown , what is it? It is a member of Obama's sycophant clown posse. You don't have to be scared of clowns to be alarmed at this group....led by the Deceiver-in-Chief, they are nothing but a joke in their big shoes and sloppy pants. They are sure not big enough to fill those britches!!
Enough of Pelosi and her stupidity....
Although I have to thank her because she got me thinking in a different direction...and that is always an interesting experience.
When I think of the stupidity that sprouts from her mouth, and the mouth of her co-clown captain, Harry Reid, I have to wonder....
When you all were sitting in the mud and rain, enjoying Woodstock (and now regretful that you left early and missed one of the greatest renditions of the National Anthem EVER, played before a mere couple of thousand hangers-on on the Monday morning...by the late great Jimmi Hendrix)..do you really think your idea of the great progressive movement, destined to solve the world's problems, was in fact Pelosi and Reid? Is that what you envisaged? Are they the picture of liberalism that you would have embraced so fully had they been around then? Is that really what you aspired to?
I can't quite reconcile my knowledge of the Woodstock, summer of love, so-called hippy freedom movement, with the likes of Pelosi and Reid. If I am right, why are they there? Can someone tell me that?
So, it got me to thinking.
Are liberals today really liberals or are they simply misguided, uneducated conservatives?
I could throw in intellectually lazy as well...but I don't want to offend anybody here....lol.
So, to make it easy, I have designed a short quiz to test whether you are a liberal/progressive or a misguided conservative.
1. Do you regularly, or occasionally, give gifts to charitable organisations such as faith based institutions (churches) or organisations such as Save the Children?
If you said yes, you are likely to be a conservative, as liberals rely on government to provide charitable giving.
2. Do you believe that natural resources should be protected, managed and utilized carefully so that they will be available to future generations? Do you believe you have a responsibility to ensure that?
If you said yes, you could be conservative, because that is what they believe. Liberals believe it is the government who must control and protect natural resources by passing legislation to prevent people enjoying them!
3. Do you believe somebody should be able to walk into your home, sit down, eat your food and stay as long as they like, without your approval?
If you said no, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that anyone should be able to live wherever they want.
4. Do you believe you should be able to choose what car you drive, what food you eat, what you read, what you do and what you believe?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that the government should determine what is best for you to drive, eat read and believe. Liberals believe the individual is incapable of making the best decisions for their own lives.
5. Do you try to balance your home budget, trying to spend no more than you receive? Do you try to pay your bills on time out of the money you earn from your own blood, sweat and tears?
If you said yes, you are likely to be a conservative. Liberals believe that what you earn should be spread around so that other people can pay their bills using YOUR blood, sweat and tears to provide the money.
6. Do you believe that two people doing the same job should get the same pay, the same opportunities for advancement and the same recognition, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity or religion?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative.Liberals believe that members of a minority group should have extra opportunities and have legislated exactly that. It is called affirmative action and bestows more rights on certain classes of people than others. This is the equality you believe in, right?
7. Do you believe that everybody should pay a fair share of the costs of government?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that some people should pay more and others none of the costs of Government. This is their idea of equality.
8. Do you believe that the money you earn is your money, not your neighbors?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe the money you earn is community property to be used by whoever needs it.
9. Do you believe that when you buy a car, you can put whatever you want on it to make it work better. You can chose who can drive it and who will wash it. Do you believe your mechanic should be paid more for keeping it safe than the car washer who keeps it clean?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe they must control what you do with your own property in order to keep others safe. They tell you who you MUST employ (affirmative action) and how much you must pay them (minimum wage).
And finally...
10) Do you believe in certain God given rights that the Government is required to protect as demanded by the Constitution?
If so, you are a conservative. Liberals rarely believe in God, cannot distinguish between God given rights and man-made rules, and have no concern for the Constitution.
So...are you really a liberal, or simply just a misguided and confused conservative?
The liberal/progressive movement has been so good at creating new meanings for words, that many democrats of old do not realize that their party has abandoned them. They do not yet realize that they are really conservatives but follow the likes of Pelosi and Reid simply because they are democrats.
If we all practice intellectual honesty, question and understand not only what we believe but WHY we believe it, the conservative groundswell will be so powerful that all the left-wing marxists, the socialists, the communists, the liars in office and the clowns that support them will be forced to retreat in the face of insurmountable odds. They will be finished!
So, I implore you to challenge the thinking of your liberal friends and families. Do not try to win the battle of ideology. That is NOT where your weapons are strongest. Fight the battle of belief, the battle of what they truly deep down know is right. From there, you can guide them to the understanding that MOST Americans are conservative, and that the liberal/progressive movement has hijacked the democrat party and made a mockery of the Constitution we all love.
.....devereaux
Give me a break! Enough already!
When I listened to the utter garbage that Pelosi spewed yesterday in a speech to union members in Washington, I have to simply cringe.
Gems like this.
"They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education."
Really? Really?
how about this one....
“They do not like the government. They’re riding an engine of popular support for, ok we have to reduce the deficit. And they’re using that to destroy.”
It got me thinking about a number of things.
Firstly, I find it hard to believe that the progressives today actually believe this stuff. I find it hard to believe that they actually think the motivation behind conservatives is to destroy our air, destroy our water, reign death and destruction over all the lands....crazy stuff. And if they do believe it? Then they have all climbed aboard the crazy train with their chief engineers Pelosi and Reid.
I will come back to this point later in this post...as that is what I am really wanting to examine today.
Before that, I want to spend a few minutes looking at how such blatant stupidity and lies get to be applauded by the followers.
It is clear to me that for lies to work, they must have some degree of believability. They must have a base truth that is either perceived by the listener to be true (even though it is not) or an actual truth.
If we look at Pelosi's statements above, there is the use of an ACTUAL truth to give validity to her claims.
That actual truth is:
“They do not like the government. They’re riding an engine of popular support for, ok we have to reduce the deficit."Damn right Pelosi! We DO NOT like Government. We want the government to get the hell out of our lives. We do have an engine of popular support for reducing the deficit...every poll taken shows that. You, ma'am are about to find yourself on the wrong side of history at the next election...and you know it. You have already stated the truth!
And then she goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like:
"They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education."
Oh well...I guess I have to ask this question....if it looks like a clown, and talks like a clown, and acts like a clown , what is it? It is a member of Obama's sycophant clown posse. You don't have to be scared of clowns to be alarmed at this group....led by the Deceiver-in-Chief, they are nothing but a joke in their big shoes and sloppy pants. They are sure not big enough to fill those britches!!
Enough of Pelosi and her stupidity....
Although I have to thank her because she got me thinking in a different direction...and that is always an interesting experience.
When I think of the stupidity that sprouts from her mouth, and the mouth of her co-clown captain, Harry Reid, I have to wonder....
When you all were sitting in the mud and rain, enjoying Woodstock (and now regretful that you left early and missed one of the greatest renditions of the National Anthem EVER, played before a mere couple of thousand hangers-on on the Monday morning...by the late great Jimmi Hendrix)..do you really think your idea of the great progressive movement, destined to solve the world's problems, was in fact Pelosi and Reid? Is that what you envisaged? Are they the picture of liberalism that you would have embraced so fully had they been around then? Is that really what you aspired to?
I can't quite reconcile my knowledge of the Woodstock, summer of love, so-called hippy freedom movement, with the likes of Pelosi and Reid. If I am right, why are they there? Can someone tell me that?
So, it got me to thinking.
Are liberals today really liberals or are they simply misguided, uneducated conservatives?
I could throw in intellectually lazy as well...but I don't want to offend anybody here....lol.
So, to make it easy, I have designed a short quiz to test whether you are a liberal/progressive or a misguided conservative.
1. Do you regularly, or occasionally, give gifts to charitable organisations such as faith based institutions (churches) or organisations such as Save the Children?
If you said yes, you are likely to be a conservative, as liberals rely on government to provide charitable giving.
2. Do you believe that natural resources should be protected, managed and utilized carefully so that they will be available to future generations? Do you believe you have a responsibility to ensure that?
If you said yes, you could be conservative, because that is what they believe. Liberals believe it is the government who must control and protect natural resources by passing legislation to prevent people enjoying them!
3. Do you believe somebody should be able to walk into your home, sit down, eat your food and stay as long as they like, without your approval?
If you said no, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that anyone should be able to live wherever they want.
4. Do you believe you should be able to choose what car you drive, what food you eat, what you read, what you do and what you believe?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that the government should determine what is best for you to drive, eat read and believe. Liberals believe the individual is incapable of making the best decisions for their own lives.
5. Do you try to balance your home budget, trying to spend no more than you receive? Do you try to pay your bills on time out of the money you earn from your own blood, sweat and tears?
If you said yes, you are likely to be a conservative. Liberals believe that what you earn should be spread around so that other people can pay their bills using YOUR blood, sweat and tears to provide the money.
6. Do you believe that two people doing the same job should get the same pay, the same opportunities for advancement and the same recognition, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity or religion?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative.Liberals believe that members of a minority group should have extra opportunities and have legislated exactly that. It is called affirmative action and bestows more rights on certain classes of people than others. This is the equality you believe in, right?
7. Do you believe that everybody should pay a fair share of the costs of government?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe that some people should pay more and others none of the costs of Government. This is their idea of equality.
8. Do you believe that the money you earn is your money, not your neighbors?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe the money you earn is community property to be used by whoever needs it.
9. Do you believe that when you buy a car, you can put whatever you want on it to make it work better. You can chose who can drive it and who will wash it. Do you believe your mechanic should be paid more for keeping it safe than the car washer who keeps it clean?
If you said yes, you are likely a conservative. Liberals believe they must control what you do with your own property in order to keep others safe. They tell you who you MUST employ (affirmative action) and how much you must pay them (minimum wage).
And finally...
10) Do you believe in certain God given rights that the Government is required to protect as demanded by the Constitution?
If so, you are a conservative. Liberals rarely believe in God, cannot distinguish between God given rights and man-made rules, and have no concern for the Constitution.
So...are you really a liberal, or simply just a misguided and confused conservative?
The liberal/progressive movement has been so good at creating new meanings for words, that many democrats of old do not realize that their party has abandoned them. They do not yet realize that they are really conservatives but follow the likes of Pelosi and Reid simply because they are democrats.
If we all practice intellectual honesty, question and understand not only what we believe but WHY we believe it, the conservative groundswell will be so powerful that all the left-wing marxists, the socialists, the communists, the liars in office and the clowns that support them will be forced to retreat in the face of insurmountable odds. They will be finished!
So, I implore you to challenge the thinking of your liberal friends and families. Do not try to win the battle of ideology. That is NOT where your weapons are strongest. Fight the battle of belief, the battle of what they truly deep down know is right. From there, you can guide them to the understanding that MOST Americans are conservative, and that the liberal/progressive movement has hijacked the democrat party and made a mockery of the Constitution we all love.
.....devereaux
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
He's at it again!
He’s at it again.
“If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills – bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses.”
….Obama, July 25 2011 Press Conference on the debt ceiling.
What sort of a moron is this guy? He KNOWS he is lying…Timmy Turbotax Geithner knows he is lying…the American people know he is lying…and yet he continues to have press conference after press conference where he repeats the same old dribble.
I am convinced this guy believes that if he says something often enough or loud enough, people will believe it is true. Well, the only people who believe this BS are Obama and his sycophants!
Once more he uses bully tactics from his bully pulpit to try to bully people into believing his bull.
Of course, this does not surprise me…it is his standard practice.
But for those of you who are worried about the country paying Social Security as Obama likes to threaten, let me tell you what can happen.
It is so simple, even a 5 year old can understand this.
The Social Security Administration takes money from your paycheck to put away for your retirement. To protect YOUR money, federal laws were enacted to ensure that Social Security gets paid on time every time. You see, Obama has no choice…he must pay SS.
But of course, the Ponzi scheme that is Social Security does not have any actual cash. The Social Security Administration has lent that money to the treasury and has IOU’s from the treasury supporting the amount owed by the treasury to the SS Administration.
Think of it as you lending money to your brother. He has good credit, strong income, and so his IOU is good. You don’t mind lending him the money because you know that when you need it back, he has no choice but to give it back. Of course, if he has no money, there is nothing you can do…but you have checked his credit facilities and he has plenty of credit available so he can always borrow the money and pay you back.
So, now we find out that the treasury has hit its credit limit, and cannot borrow any money to pay back the SS Administration. Obama would have you believe that this means that SS payments will not go out. Utter BS.
Here is how it will work. We know that there is enough cash coming in to more than cover the SS payments. So, the SS Administration simply calls in its IOU and forces the government to pay back that part of its borrowings. The SS Administration can then send out the SS checks as it should.
However, the Treasury now has that much less money in its coffers to meet other liabilities. And it really needs the money it just paid back to the Social Security Administration.
Hmmmm…what to do?
Duh!! Even a child can see the solution. Because the treasury paid back an IOU, its total debt has dropped by almost the same amount. The treasury is now below its debt ceiling and can go out and borrow the same amount it paid back to the SS Administration. (There would be a small difference due to interest costs, but it would remain virtually dollar for dollar.)
So, let me get this straight for you….
1. Use the treasury cash flow to repay a loan from SS Administration so that they in turn can pay SS
2. Use the now lower debt levels to borrow that same amount from external parties to replace the cash sent to SS Administration.
The total amount of debt owed by the treasury has not changed. The government remains below it’s debt ceiling, and SS checks get sent out.
So…why is Obama threatening social security?
Apart from the obvious political campaigning tricks, and the bullying attempts, there is only one reason why Obama is threatening SS payments.
Just one.
One little reason that, if true, is cause for far greater concern than a debt ceiling!
What if the treasury has not recorded it’s debt to the Social Security Administration as debt? What if it is NOT included in the reported debt levels? What if the money that was taken from your pay and my pay has been spent by the government but has not been reported as debt?
If that has happened, then not receiving your SS on the due date will soon become the least of your problems.
If it hasn’t happened, and the debt has been included, then why does Obama keep telling us that SS payments will not be paid?
Let’s go back to your brother and assume you ask him to pay you back. He says he has no money, and his credit limit is tanked. He says he is broke and can’t pay you back. He then asks you to give him some more money and he will hold it safely for you. What do you do?
That’s what I thought.
Either Obama is lying once more about the SS payments not going out, or, he and previous presidents have stolen our retirement money and have no way of returning it.
Madoff has nothing on this guy!!
Stupid is as stupid says.
….devereaux
Monday, July 25, 2011
The soap opera continues!
It just gets funnier and funnier.
I tell you, the best script writers in Hollywood could not make this stuff up.
Let's take a look at some of the things that happened in the last few days:-
1. Obama makes it clear that if the debt ceiling is not lifted, the US will default, SS payments will be in jeopardy and soldiers on active duty may not get paid.
2. Wednesday last week, the House passed a bill to extend funding to FAA to keep it running with some restrictions on subsidies to a small number of airports. (Funding to the FAA would run out on the weekend).
3. Last Friday the Senate votes on "cut, cap and balance" without any debate, and then the senate closed early so the senators could have a weekend at home. The Senate did not consider FAA funding either through debate or vote notwithstanding that funding would run out in a matter of hours. Hours that the senate still had available i normal working hours. Clearly the democratic controlled Senate had no interest in passing FAA funding.
4. Friday Boehner walks out of debt ceiling negotiations with Obama, accusing him of moving the goalposts and not being serious about the negotiations.
5. Friday, Obama holds press conference and demands the leaders of both houses meet with him on Saturday.
6. Friday, late, the FAA advises that it will have to put about 4,000 employees on furlough since it does not have enough funding to pay for them. (These employees were largely involved in non-critical areas such as construction and secretarial duties. None of the furloughs presented a danger to the air travel system.)
7. Saturday, democrats around the country blasted Republicans for putting air travel safety at risk just because they wanted a few cuts to the subsidy system providing low cost flights to people in remote areas. (It seems incongruous to me that the Republican controlled House passed a bill, and the democratically controlled Senate refused to look at it....yet it is the Republicans who are causing the FAA problems.
8. Obama and his posse of clowns met with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling...nothing accomplished. (Not a surprise.)
9. Democrats claiming Republicans are the problem...yet the House passed a bill that was rejected by the democratically controlled senate. A senate that not only has NOT provided any plans, but has ALSO failed to agree on a budget for 818 days!!
10. Barclays and UBS analysts report that July revenues are higher than expected and accordingly financial armaggeddon is now not due till August 10. (They do state they are not 100% sure of that date, but that the government has plenty of money to meet SS payments due August 3 and all debt payments etc).
Does anyone else see the pattern here?
It is so clear to me that the democrats and the Joker -in - Chief, have absolutely no interest in securing this country's finances.
It is clear that Obama cares only for his re-election, demanding that any increase in the debt ceiling covers the period to 2013, beyond the next election.
It is also clear that the democrats in congress do not want to make a decision. If they do, they fear they will be held accountable for the outcome. If they fail to pass anything, they think they can get a passing grade by saying the house did not provide any acceptable alternatives, putting the blame back on the republicans.
This is starting to look like a very bad soap opera....I am just waiting for a blind photographer to become part of the script!!
I wonder how long the people will accept these lies? I wonder how long it will be before the liberals start screaming for heads to roll? I wonder how long it will take to get to the point where Obama himself is seen as the idiot he is...or the narcissistic, socialist, marxist nobody who uses race and bully pulpit tactics to get his own way.
Well...I think that time is now here, or at least very close.
Obama, nobody fears you anymore. Nobody fears the taunts from the left any more. We see through your feeble attempts to control us. And sooner or later we will do something about it.
In a representative republic like ours, the true power of the people is found at the ballot box. That is where this battle will be fought. Obama, you have already lost the battle of ideas. With over 65% of the population wanting a balanced budget amendment (as reported by your own CNN polls) and 75% wanting significant spending cuts, you are on the wrong side of the people.
Let me give you a little advice (although it pains me to tell you anything that could actually help you, I don't mind because you would never listen to anybody with a pulse). When you ignore the wishes of the people, when you treat them as irrelevant, when you chose to bully them as you do, they WILL rise up. They WILL reach a point where they say "Enough!!" That point is rapidly approaching. You saw a small sign of it in the 2010 elections where your party was decimated. That is but a small indication of what will happen in 2012.
I hope the debt ceiling is not lifted. I hope the government is forced to reduce spending. I know there will be some tough times, but I would prefer that to happen today than in 10 years time. ( I have always believed in the maxim that you take the pain as soon as possible and then move forward again...deferring the inevitable does not work!) I hope Obama is forced to decide who will or won't get paid. He will then be seen for exactly what he is....a tyrant and a liar.
If this makes me irresponsible, I will wear that title with pride. Any extension to the debt ceiling will only enable this government to spend more. It is time for the rot to stop!
And to the conservatives in Congress I say this...do NOT be discouraged, do not blink, do not do what He demands. If he calls you to his office...politely but firmly decline his invitation....if he demands you be there...politely decline....he must learn that he is not an emperor but rather simply an elected official, doing the will of the people.
We must ALL make a stand....IT's Time!
.....devereaux
I tell you, the best script writers in Hollywood could not make this stuff up.
Let's take a look at some of the things that happened in the last few days:-
1. Obama makes it clear that if the debt ceiling is not lifted, the US will default, SS payments will be in jeopardy and soldiers on active duty may not get paid.
2. Wednesday last week, the House passed a bill to extend funding to FAA to keep it running with some restrictions on subsidies to a small number of airports. (Funding to the FAA would run out on the weekend).
3. Last Friday the Senate votes on "cut, cap and balance" without any debate, and then the senate closed early so the senators could have a weekend at home. The Senate did not consider FAA funding either through debate or vote notwithstanding that funding would run out in a matter of hours. Hours that the senate still had available i normal working hours. Clearly the democratic controlled Senate had no interest in passing FAA funding.
4. Friday Boehner walks out of debt ceiling negotiations with Obama, accusing him of moving the goalposts and not being serious about the negotiations.
5. Friday, Obama holds press conference and demands the leaders of both houses meet with him on Saturday.
6. Friday, late, the FAA advises that it will have to put about 4,000 employees on furlough since it does not have enough funding to pay for them. (These employees were largely involved in non-critical areas such as construction and secretarial duties. None of the furloughs presented a danger to the air travel system.)
7. Saturday, democrats around the country blasted Republicans for putting air travel safety at risk just because they wanted a few cuts to the subsidy system providing low cost flights to people in remote areas. (It seems incongruous to me that the Republican controlled House passed a bill, and the democratically controlled Senate refused to look at it....yet it is the Republicans who are causing the FAA problems.
8. Obama and his posse of clowns met with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling...nothing accomplished. (Not a surprise.)
9. Democrats claiming Republicans are the problem...yet the House passed a bill that was rejected by the democratically controlled senate. A senate that not only has NOT provided any plans, but has ALSO failed to agree on a budget for 818 days!!
10. Barclays and UBS analysts report that July revenues are higher than expected and accordingly financial armaggeddon is now not due till August 10. (They do state they are not 100% sure of that date, but that the government has plenty of money to meet SS payments due August 3 and all debt payments etc).
Does anyone else see the pattern here?
It is so clear to me that the democrats and the Joker -in - Chief, have absolutely no interest in securing this country's finances.
It is clear that Obama cares only for his re-election, demanding that any increase in the debt ceiling covers the period to 2013, beyond the next election.
It is also clear that the democrats in congress do not want to make a decision. If they do, they fear they will be held accountable for the outcome. If they fail to pass anything, they think they can get a passing grade by saying the house did not provide any acceptable alternatives, putting the blame back on the republicans.
This is starting to look like a very bad soap opera....I am just waiting for a blind photographer to become part of the script!!
I wonder how long the people will accept these lies? I wonder how long it will be before the liberals start screaming for heads to roll? I wonder how long it will take to get to the point where Obama himself is seen as the idiot he is...or the narcissistic, socialist, marxist nobody who uses race and bully pulpit tactics to get his own way.
Well...I think that time is now here, or at least very close.
Obama, nobody fears you anymore. Nobody fears the taunts from the left any more. We see through your feeble attempts to control us. And sooner or later we will do something about it.
In a representative republic like ours, the true power of the people is found at the ballot box. That is where this battle will be fought. Obama, you have already lost the battle of ideas. With over 65% of the population wanting a balanced budget amendment (as reported by your own CNN polls) and 75% wanting significant spending cuts, you are on the wrong side of the people.
Let me give you a little advice (although it pains me to tell you anything that could actually help you, I don't mind because you would never listen to anybody with a pulse). When you ignore the wishes of the people, when you treat them as irrelevant, when you chose to bully them as you do, they WILL rise up. They WILL reach a point where they say "Enough!!" That point is rapidly approaching. You saw a small sign of it in the 2010 elections where your party was decimated. That is but a small indication of what will happen in 2012.
I hope the debt ceiling is not lifted. I hope the government is forced to reduce spending. I know there will be some tough times, but I would prefer that to happen today than in 10 years time. ( I have always believed in the maxim that you take the pain as soon as possible and then move forward again...deferring the inevitable does not work!) I hope Obama is forced to decide who will or won't get paid. He will then be seen for exactly what he is....a tyrant and a liar.
If this makes me irresponsible, I will wear that title with pride. Any extension to the debt ceiling will only enable this government to spend more. It is time for the rot to stop!
And to the conservatives in Congress I say this...do NOT be discouraged, do not blink, do not do what He demands. If he calls you to his office...politely but firmly decline his invitation....if he demands you be there...politely decline....he must learn that he is not an emperor but rather simply an elected official, doing the will of the people.
We must ALL make a stand....IT's Time!
.....devereaux
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Heaven is for real!
I have just spent an amazing two hours kicking back and reading a book.
I kept away from news programs on TV. I have not visited my favorite blogs, or looked at online news sources.
For the first time in many months, I slowed down, kicked back and decided that the world would be just fine even if I did drop out for a few hours.
My wonderful wife suggested I take some time and read a book. She smiled as she handed me a small book of around 160 or so pages, and said, this will refresh you; it will give you a lift and you won't be able to put it down until you have finished...and then you will want to read it again.
I have been a reading fanatic for as long as I can remember. I remember as a small child, if I did not have a book to read, I would read anything that was available. The cereal box, the milk carton, the back of my father's newspaper...it didn't matter. If it had words, it had to be read.
By the time I was in grade school, I had read every book in the junior library and was starting working my way through the senior books. (This was my first experience of censorship as some teachers decided I was too young to read the books I wanted to read - boy, how I wish things like the internet and kindle were available when I was a kid!)
My love of books waned for a short while when I discovered girls and surfing...both events happening around the same time. Even then, when the waves beckoned I could often be found sneaking a few chapters in while waiting for the sets to get bigger.
Through my early working years, and then early family years I could always find a book that would capture my attention. While I went through stages of being into different genre's (scifi, fantasy, thrillers, and espionage were all hard to walk past) I also loved historical accounts, biographies and true life type stories. I loved to discover through the written word what makes people do what they do and be who they are. What was it that shaped their lives, and helped them form their beliefs?
At University I studied business, marketing and psychology...an odd mix but probably a result of my quest to understand what makes people do what they do, and a belief that if I understood that I could understand business. Throw accounting into the equation and economics, and you have a very unusual mix of skills....lol
Life has a way of sometimes getting so busy that we don't take the time to slow down and refresh. Some can do that by visiting nature and spending some quiet time relaxing in its arms, listening to the stream wending its way over the rocks that form its bottom. I personally love sitting on a beach and watching big waves rolling in and crashing on the shore. I find the motion and the sound hypnotizing and can sit there for hours at a time. (In my younger days I would search the water with my eyes to find the ever present rips and read the breaks, and after a half hour of closely watching the rhythm of the ocean would plunge in with my board and seek the excitement that only big waves could bring.)
We all need to find that place of solitude, to recharge our batteries and to find strength to fight another day. There will always be another liberal dragon to slay, or another stupid statement to debunk. As for today, it was time for me to recharge my soul by sitting down with a good book.
I looked at the title of the book my wife handed me..."Heaven is for real"....
Now, I am a believer...but have not had much time for institutionalized religion. I find the attempts by church groups to pigeon hole faith into a whole litany of church rules very distracting to my own beliefs and understanding of God. Where some may find traditional churches uplifting, comforting and a source of strength, I find it limiting. Just as some prefer a lazy stream meandering through gentle meadows, I prefer the rough and tumble and uncertainty of the big waves. Every man and woman has to find their own way to God.
So, when I read the title of this book I couldn't help but wonder whether it was just another attempt to pigeon hole believers by using the threat of heaven or hell as the motivation for belief. I could not have been more wrong.
This is the story of a small boy who just before his 4th birthday nearly died. This is about his near death experience...and his 3 minute trip to heaven. This is about his father, a small town pastor who rages at God for the unfairness of things that happened, and whose guilt overflows in moments of pure honesty.
This is about the discovery, over a couple of years, of what heaven is all about. This is about finding God in a way I have never before heard of. This is about questioning everything we have been taught and trusting everything we know.
I don't know where you all stand in your beliefs. It matters not.
Whether you are a devout Christian who attends church frequently, or an atheist, reading this short book will challenge what you think of as heaven or the blankness following death. It will lift you up...between moments of tears and joyful laughter, you will find yourself wondering..."What if...."
I don't recommend reading very often (in fact, this is the first time since starting this blog), but I strongly recommend that you set aside two or three hours from your busy schedule, sit back, and engulf yourself in the words of this book. A conversational style makes it easy to read, while the story is a real page turner.
For more information visit: http://www.heavenisforreal.net
The book is available from Amazon or your favorite book store.
Let the politics slip by for a few hours, let the stupidity slip into irrelevance as you refresh your mind with this book. A couple of hours is not long to spend on yourself.
Be like the Nike man.....just do it!
....devereaux
I kept away from news programs on TV. I have not visited my favorite blogs, or looked at online news sources.
For the first time in many months, I slowed down, kicked back and decided that the world would be just fine even if I did drop out for a few hours.
My wonderful wife suggested I take some time and read a book. She smiled as she handed me a small book of around 160 or so pages, and said, this will refresh you; it will give you a lift and you won't be able to put it down until you have finished...and then you will want to read it again.
I have been a reading fanatic for as long as I can remember. I remember as a small child, if I did not have a book to read, I would read anything that was available. The cereal box, the milk carton, the back of my father's newspaper...it didn't matter. If it had words, it had to be read.
By the time I was in grade school, I had read every book in the junior library and was starting working my way through the senior books. (This was my first experience of censorship as some teachers decided I was too young to read the books I wanted to read - boy, how I wish things like the internet and kindle were available when I was a kid!)
My love of books waned for a short while when I discovered girls and surfing...both events happening around the same time. Even then, when the waves beckoned I could often be found sneaking a few chapters in while waiting for the sets to get bigger.
Through my early working years, and then early family years I could always find a book that would capture my attention. While I went through stages of being into different genre's (scifi, fantasy, thrillers, and espionage were all hard to walk past) I also loved historical accounts, biographies and true life type stories. I loved to discover through the written word what makes people do what they do and be who they are. What was it that shaped their lives, and helped them form their beliefs?
At University I studied business, marketing and psychology...an odd mix but probably a result of my quest to understand what makes people do what they do, and a belief that if I understood that I could understand business. Throw accounting into the equation and economics, and you have a very unusual mix of skills....lol
Life has a way of sometimes getting so busy that we don't take the time to slow down and refresh. Some can do that by visiting nature and spending some quiet time relaxing in its arms, listening to the stream wending its way over the rocks that form its bottom. I personally love sitting on a beach and watching big waves rolling in and crashing on the shore. I find the motion and the sound hypnotizing and can sit there for hours at a time. (In my younger days I would search the water with my eyes to find the ever present rips and read the breaks, and after a half hour of closely watching the rhythm of the ocean would plunge in with my board and seek the excitement that only big waves could bring.)
We all need to find that place of solitude, to recharge our batteries and to find strength to fight another day. There will always be another liberal dragon to slay, or another stupid statement to debunk. As for today, it was time for me to recharge my soul by sitting down with a good book.
I looked at the title of the book my wife handed me..."Heaven is for real"....
Now, I am a believer...but have not had much time for institutionalized religion. I find the attempts by church groups to pigeon hole faith into a whole litany of church rules very distracting to my own beliefs and understanding of God. Where some may find traditional churches uplifting, comforting and a source of strength, I find it limiting. Just as some prefer a lazy stream meandering through gentle meadows, I prefer the rough and tumble and uncertainty of the big waves. Every man and woman has to find their own way to God.
So, when I read the title of this book I couldn't help but wonder whether it was just another attempt to pigeon hole believers by using the threat of heaven or hell as the motivation for belief. I could not have been more wrong.
This is the story of a small boy who just before his 4th birthday nearly died. This is about his near death experience...and his 3 minute trip to heaven. This is about his father, a small town pastor who rages at God for the unfairness of things that happened, and whose guilt overflows in moments of pure honesty.
This is about the discovery, over a couple of years, of what heaven is all about. This is about finding God in a way I have never before heard of. This is about questioning everything we have been taught and trusting everything we know.
I don't know where you all stand in your beliefs. It matters not.
Whether you are a devout Christian who attends church frequently, or an atheist, reading this short book will challenge what you think of as heaven or the blankness following death. It will lift you up...between moments of tears and joyful laughter, you will find yourself wondering..."What if...."
I don't recommend reading very often (in fact, this is the first time since starting this blog), but I strongly recommend that you set aside two or three hours from your busy schedule, sit back, and engulf yourself in the words of this book. A conversational style makes it easy to read, while the story is a real page turner.
For more information visit: http://www.heavenisforreal.net
The book is available from Amazon or your favorite book store.
Let the politics slip by for a few hours, let the stupidity slip into irrelevance as you refresh your mind with this book. A couple of hours is not long to spend on yourself.
Be like the Nike man.....just do it!
....devereaux
Friday, July 22, 2011
I'm mad as hell!
Today is Friday....I thought this week would drag on forever...but finally Friday has arrived and we can all look forward to a weekend filled with sunshine, fluffy clouds, rainbows and puppy dogs. We can climb mountain, surf breaks, smell flowers and eat delicious food at fine restaurants. We have no concerns, and no problems....life is good. Life is fun and on the weekend we can all enjoy the finer things....restaurants, boutiques, fine wines and cigars.
Oooops...I forgot....I suspect none of my readers are actually senators...and therefore do not have the option to enjoy their weekends that way. I noticed that once again Harry lied when he stated that the Senate will work through the weekend until the debt deal is done....he rushed the vote on "cut, cap and balance" today so that the Senators could all rush to their waiting limo's to be whisked away to the airport for the flights home for the weekend. Where, no doubt they will enjoy all the finer things in life that you and I are PAYING for!
Well, I for one, am not a happy camper today.
The Senate has done nothing about this so-called debt crisis. They have not produced a budget in over 800 days...and now the crisis is so deep that they can simply go home early for the weekend. There opinion that the GOP controlled House should do all the work is really starting to wear thin.
And so, today, we hear good news. We hear that Boehner and the White House are in deep negotiations over the debt ceiling. We hear that the figure the administration is now talking about is $3 trillion in cuts. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel here?
You must be joking if you think that!
Before I get to my thoughts, I have to ask....does anybody else get concerned when all these negotiations are being conducted behind closed doors? Does anyone else get the impression that when that door closes, the discussions turn to how the parties can spin something so that you and I will never know just how badly we are being screwed? Does anybody else see the GOP and White House getting into bed together to hammer out a deal that is good for them....but for us? Not so good?
What happend to the transparent Government Obama promised? Clearly just another lie....and yet he expects us to believe his nonsense.
I am sick of it. I am sick of the mealy mouthed lilly-livered politicians on both sides who have sold their soul to the devil in the white house because they are too damned scared to do what is right. I am sick of the power hungry pathetic politicians who are happy to fund special projects with my money for the sole purpose of re-election.
I am thrilled that America is waking up and more and more people are taking a cue from the 1976 movie Network.
You surely remember Howard Beale's rant...if not I include it here....
Oooops...I forgot....I suspect none of my readers are actually senators...and therefore do not have the option to enjoy their weekends that way. I noticed that once again Harry lied when he stated that the Senate will work through the weekend until the debt deal is done....he rushed the vote on "cut, cap and balance" today so that the Senators could all rush to their waiting limo's to be whisked away to the airport for the flights home for the weekend. Where, no doubt they will enjoy all the finer things in life that you and I are PAYING for!
Well, I for one, am not a happy camper today.
The Senate has done nothing about this so-called debt crisis. They have not produced a budget in over 800 days...and now the crisis is so deep that they can simply go home early for the weekend. There opinion that the GOP controlled House should do all the work is really starting to wear thin.
And so, today, we hear good news. We hear that Boehner and the White House are in deep negotiations over the debt ceiling. We hear that the figure the administration is now talking about is $3 trillion in cuts. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel here?
You must be joking if you think that!
Before I get to my thoughts, I have to ask....does anybody else get concerned when all these negotiations are being conducted behind closed doors? Does anyone else get the impression that when that door closes, the discussions turn to how the parties can spin something so that you and I will never know just how badly we are being screwed? Does anybody else see the GOP and White House getting into bed together to hammer out a deal that is good for them....but for us? Not so good?
What happend to the transparent Government Obama promised? Clearly just another lie....and yet he expects us to believe his nonsense.
I am sick of it. I am sick of the mealy mouthed lilly-livered politicians on both sides who have sold their soul to the devil in the white house because they are too damned scared to do what is right. I am sick of the power hungry pathetic politicians who are happy to fund special projects with my money for the sole purpose of re-election.
I am thrilled that America is waking up and more and more people are taking a cue from the 1976 movie Network.
You surely remember Howard Beale's rant...if not I include it here....
“I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
35 years ago and while the problems were slightly different nothing has changed. I guess nobody was mad as hell!
But now we are...and it is time to do something.
OK..so let's look at what the liars leading our country have to say about the debt ceiling.
The latest word is that there is now a deal being discussed that provides for savings of about $3 trillion. I point at the start that this over a ten year period...and that is just crap. $300 billon savings per year does NOTHING to cut spending. It is simply a reduction in the RATE of increase. It is not a cut at all.
And this is how our leaders treat us. They think we are fool and idiots. They think we do not know what shell games they play with us. They think we believe we can win a game of three card Monty...they think their magician skills can keep us confused and trick us.
Well, not while I am here.
Let's look at these "cuts" that are proposed:_
1. Savings from the end of the wars in Iran and Afghanistan - $1 trillion
What? According to Obama we were leaving there anyway. This so called cut assumes we would have continued the war for another 10 years, even though he has made it clear that we will be out i the next year or so. This is just BS and is nothing more than smoke and mirrors designed to make us think the GOP bargained well for cuts before passing the increased debt ceiling.
2. Savings from interest reductions due to spending cuts and reduced borrowings - $250 billion
Are these idiots insane? Sorry, stupid question. Of course they are. Let's see...we have imaginary spending cuts of $1 trillion that will save us an imaginary interest cost of $250 billion...so lets call that a spending cut!
Maybe they are talking about interest savings on the entire $3 trillion dollar in proposed cuts?
Lets look at that possibility. $250 billion over ten year is about $25 billion a year which represents about a 10% per year cut in interest expense. That makes sense. To cut interest expense next year by 10% would require a retirement of debt of ...oh...about $1.43 trillion. And then, to reach the $250 billion mark over ten years...NO MORE borrowing would happen AT ALL.
SO, yes, it is possible...but wait...isn't the trade-off to this spending cut based on increasing the debt ceiling by around $2.5 trillion over the next 18 months? So where are these interest savings?
There are NONE! This claim is just more lies from the White House. The Budget Office has not calculated these numbers, they are White House estimates designed solely to fool you!
3. Reduction in SS payments of $300 billion over 10 years.
They propose to make this saving by recalculating how SS increases are aligned with inflation.
Now, this is a tricky one. The government calculated inflation numbers are already designed to understate inflation. (This will be the subject of another post). It is designed to understate inflation so that SS payments do not increase as much as they would if the calculations were real. This reduces government outflows while allowing them to feel good because SS is inflation adjusted. For all you folks on SS, you have been getting screwed for 30 years already and under this plan it is going to get worse.
Can the Government save $30 billion a year this way? Possibly, but given that government calculated inflation is in the low single digits right now, I doubt there is room for reduction so I suspect the White House has assumed an inflation rate much higher than what is currently stated, and worked backwards from that fictitious, imaginary number. (I expect inflation is really in the 10% - 15% range right now, not the 3% range the government touts. Take an honest look at your expenses and see what you think!)
4. Reduction in fraud and waste. - $250 billion
Now this one takes the cake. Since when has an effort to reduce fraud and waste been seen as a cut in spending?
Mr. President, if you can so easily identify savings as a result of fraud and waste, why have you not done something about it? Why does it become a spending cut to bump up your numbers? You are nothing but a lying deceitful jerk, and are conspiring with politicians of all flavors to destroy this economy!
OK...I have had enough of this...you get the picture.
What I am most angry about is that NO politician is standing up and saying these proposed spending cuts are just BS. Nobody is calling them what they are. Nobody has a pair big enough to state the truth.
Here's an idea. If you want to make a difference, Mr Congressman, demand that the balanced budget begin now. That means we need to see spending cuts of $1.6 trillion in the coming year. And that does not even get to the effort of reducing our borrowing...it simply stops the need for more.
Mr. President, we do not need $400 million programs to solve the problem of "food deserts"..a problem that does not exist. We do not need the food pyramid to be redesigned - ooops. too late, it already has been.
We do not need studies into how gay's penis size impacts their happiness...we do not need studies on teaching Chinese prostitutes to swallow....
We do not need government to tell us what light bulbs to use, what toilets to flush or how much salt to eat..
We need you to do your job, not play golf.
In the immortal words of Edgar Friendly (Demolition Man, 1993)....
" I'm the enemy, 'cause I like to think; I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy who likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder, "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?" I WANT high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati
If you want a glimpse at the future the progressives offer, take a look at Demolition Man...you will soon open your eyes! The progressive future sucks.
Do not let the progressives, the liberals or the GOP spend YOUR money taking us down this path.
Be the enemy, fight every chance you have. Show their stupidity to everyone you know.
Get mad as hell.
.....devereaux
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Lets have some intellectual honesty here.
Intellectual honesty.
Is it too much to ask this of our elected representatives?
Is it too much to ask this of our media?
Is it too much to ask this of our peers, our families, our friends, neighbors, community, educators?
Apparently, it is.
A quick scan of the media today provides some headlines that do not in any way approach intellectual honesty:-
1. The Huffington Post: "Grover Norquist: Ending Bush Tax Cuts Not A Tax Hike (updated)"
The story goes on to say that Grover Norquist claims that this quote was taken out of context and that he is against tax increases of any kind, including rolling back the Bush tax cuts.
The headline was misleading....the article at first supported the headline and was followed by updates that revealed the reality. We are lucky to have even had the updates. I suppose that was a slight nod to truthful journalism, even though most people will not read beyond the headline and the first paragraph.
At best, misleading. Definitely intellectually dishonest.
And why are they called the Bush tax cuts when it was Obama who extended them? They should now be called the Obama tax cuts...or at least the Obama extended tax cuts. Of course, that would not serve the left's current agenda so it is ignored as much as possible. Intellectual honesty? I don't think so.
2. Fox news: "White House to Give Congress More Time to Strike Debt Deal"
OK, on the face of it, not a bad headline. White House press secretary Carney said that given the constraints, the president would be willing to support a "very short-term extension" if a broader deal is reached by the deadline and lawmakers just need more time to work out the details.
The story briefly covers the point that this is a softening of the Presidents position. It also briefly covers the fact the "cut, cap and balance" was passed by the House but faced opposition in the Senate. It suggested that the Gang of Six proposals were being considered, and it inferred that time was of the essence.
What it didn't say was that the so-called Gang of Six had been working on this for a full year and even now has little to show for it. It did NOT say that the democrats had failed to produce a single plan for debt reduction. It did not say a whole lot of stuff that could have put this report in better perspective.
The omission of information is equally as dishonest and the spinning of information.
I am going to be very generous to the media for just a moment. I understand that there are space limitations and that not all stories can be provided sufficient space for full disclosure. Just as TV and radio is being dumbed down to sound bites, written media is being dumbed down to meet the dubious demands of 10 second concentration spans....or word bites!
So, while not giving media a pass on this, I do indeed understand that they are in business to make money. They make money by appealing to a demographic that advertisers will pay good money to get in front of. If that demographic can't understand the media offering, then the advertisers won't pay...so the media will find the lowest common denominator...the one thing that all its viewers will "get" and will by necessity do that. Hence the sound bite and the word bite.
Intellectual honesty has no part to play in that particular game, regardless of which political preference you hold.
The problem with this is that the media, along with educators, have been so successful at this, that they have enabled a whole generation or two of people who can no longer determine when a report is honest or dishonest. Who can no longer see past the words and question the motives or the agenda of both the speaker and the reporter. They are no longer capable of seeing a story, or a graphic, and asking whether that is a true representation of reality.
A case in point.
I was sent a graphic yesterday with a notation that said:
Show this to your fiscally conservative friends and family...
An impressive looking graphic that is designed to trick you into believing that Reagan was the the biggest spending President by far.
I want to look at this for a minute or two and see how long it takes to find the intellectual dishonesty present in this graphic. I will not even look at the source until the end.
1. The first thing I notice is the use of percentages. For those of us who are numerically inclined, we know immediately that percentages can be totally meaningless numbers. It is all a question of what the percentage is calculated from and what the base is. As an example, let me show you how 5 imaginary presidents, who all increase debt by exactly the same amount, can end up with different percentages.
Lets assume that each fictional president increases the debt load by $500 million during their term
Let's assume that debt stood at $350 million at the start.
Fictional president 1 will have an increase in debt of 500/350 = 143%
Fictional president 2 will have an increase in debt of 500/850 = 59%
Fictional president 3 will have an increase in debt of 500/1350 = 37%
Fictional president 4 will have an increase in debt of 500/1850 = 27%
Fictional president 5 will have an increase in debt of 500/2350 = 22%
Let me ask you something. Which of my fictional presidents spent more?
If I showed you just a graphic depicting this, would you immediately think president 5 spent less? If you say yes, do not be alarmed. You number among the majority of the population. The fact is that a percentage calculation as depicted in the above graphic does not portray "spending".
2. Nowhere in this graphic does it define "debt". We have no idea what the base numbers are, what has been included and what has been excluded. For instance, do the numbers reflect unfunded SS liabilities?
3. When looking at spending and percentages, we must also look at economic growth, inflation, unemployment and many other factors that provide a full picture. What factors did this graphic look at?
4. This graphic does not take into account the relevant terms of the President. For example, it is right to compare an 8 year term of Bush and Clinton with a 3 year period for Obama? Just on that basis alone, the graphic is intellectually dishonest.
So, 5 minutes is all it took.
Five minutes of thinking logically and the entire graphic is debunked in the sense that it has applied intellectual dishonesty.
And yet, millions of people, including well educated, smart people, will look at that graphic and immediately believe Obama is the lowest spending President in recent history. The fact remains that in just 3 years he has increased the debt load of this country by 3 trillion. More than any other president in history.
Can we afford another term?
Can we afford the intellectual dishonesty of this graphic?
Of course, a quick look at the source of the graphic tells us why it has been done this way. It has come from Newscorpse.com and is distributed by moveon.org....enuff said.
Surely those two organisations do not have an agenda?
Wake up people...intellectual dishonesty thrives on the right and is rampant on the left. Question everything you see, and learn to dissect and analyse. Find the information behind the story, and you may indeed find the truth.
Looking for truth within the story will tell you only what the writer wants you to think.
.......devereaux
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Mad dogs and Englishmen!
Just when I thought that there were no strong conservatives left in Washington, and when it looks like the GOP will once again cave to the bullies known as Democrats, I see something that makes me believe all is not lost.
If I was inclined to hero worship, I would say that today I found another hero.
Representative Joe Walsh was interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Mathews yesterday.
And he took no prisoners.
In the space of a ten minute slug fest between Mathews and Walsh, Walsh landed the following big hits:-
1. He said clearly that the President had lied...and when questioned about that he said "when the President says an untruth, knowingly, that is a lie!"
I lift my hat to you Rep Walsh...well played!
2. He pointed out the obvious by stating clearly that Chris Mathews "is a bully who will not allow his guests to answer the question".
Well played again, Rep Walsh!
3. He pointed out that the democrats had not passed a budget in a long time and that the president has NOT been taking this seriously!
That was a home run, sir!
Now, there is no doubt that Rep. Walsh knows why he was elected. He knows who sent him to Washington, and he knows what they want him to do. He is not scared of stating that in very clear terms, and in doing so, managed to get Mathews to fall back on the liberal playbook.
When the bullying didn't work, and the derision didn't work, Chris Mathews did what every progressive knows is the next step...he ran away!
Representative Joe Walsh, I applaud you for winning against this blowhard, Mathews.
Some of you will know that I am an accountant. Accountants have a sort of love hate relationship with numbers. Sometimes numbers provide the perfect solution while at other times numbers are the harbinger of disaster.
Whatever they are, there is one thing that never changes. Numbers mean something. Just like words, numbers have meanings. So...I thought that today I would look at some numbers and explain their meanings:-
1. The number 48
This is the number of people who tuned in to Chris Mathews last night to see his interview of Joe Walsh. I am saddened by this low number as it would have been marvelous for millions to have seen Mathews dissected so easily....but ....oh well...with ratings that low, Mathews will soon be forgotten and history will remember him only as the guy who gets a thrill up his leg when Obama speaks!
2. The number 813
This is the number of days since a democratic house or senate has passed a budget. Given that democrats controlled both the house and the senate from 2006 through 2010, and the senate through the present, one would have thought that they could pass a budget. But no...they can't, and they won't. And yet they want us to believe them when the claim to be fiscally responsible. And Obama wants us to believe him when he says the republicans are pushing us headlong into a financial crisis. Hey Democrats...813 days since you passed a budget? And you want us to trust you? Not gonna happen!
3. 350 million
This is the population of the USA. A subset of this number - 45 million is the number of people who voted for Obama. That leaves 300 million who did NOT vote for him. Assuming 100 million ineligible to vote, that leaves 200 million who can vote against him in the next election (plus a few who regret voting for the clown in 2008). If we could get these people to the polls in 2012, game over!
4. 150 billion
The amount of money the government wants to borrow EVERY month for the next 18 months in order to meet its liabilities, bills, interest payments and living expenses
5. 180 billion
The estimated receipts that the federal government will receive each moth for the next 18 months
6. 20 billion
The estimated total of all interest payments on loans to be paid each month
7. 160 billion
The amount available to the government to spend after paying all interest
8. 30 billion
Estimated monthly cost of defense spending
9. 54 billion
Amount available to the government after paying interest, defense, SS, medicare and all other entitlements each month.
10. 200 billion
The amount the government needs each month to keep the government running (after paying interest, SS, defense and entitlements), the amount that can be prioritized and cut without impacting SS or other entitlement programs.
11. 13
Number of days till Obama declares financial armaggeddon on August 2 and stops paying SS, or veterans or any of the other payments he has threatened to stop.
12. 202
The number of days this year that the president has been caught in a lie.
13. 202
The number of days so far this year.
14. 13.4 trillion
The credit limit for America.
15. Unknown
The number of days till our over leveraged economy collapses, hyper inflation kicks in, the currency is devalued, or the real financial armaggeddon slaps us back to reality.
Yep...numbers mean something. They tell a story.
As they say, only mad dogs and Englishman go out in the mid-day sun.
Or...more appropriately...
Only fools and Presidents ignore the truth of numbers!
......devereaux
If I was inclined to hero worship, I would say that today I found another hero.
Representative Joe Walsh was interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Mathews yesterday.
And he took no prisoners.
In the space of a ten minute slug fest between Mathews and Walsh, Walsh landed the following big hits:-
1. He said clearly that the President had lied...and when questioned about that he said "when the President says an untruth, knowingly, that is a lie!"
I lift my hat to you Rep Walsh...well played!
2. He pointed out the obvious by stating clearly that Chris Mathews "is a bully who will not allow his guests to answer the question".
Well played again, Rep Walsh!
3. He pointed out that the democrats had not passed a budget in a long time and that the president has NOT been taking this seriously!
That was a home run, sir!
Now, there is no doubt that Rep. Walsh knows why he was elected. He knows who sent him to Washington, and he knows what they want him to do. He is not scared of stating that in very clear terms, and in doing so, managed to get Mathews to fall back on the liberal playbook.
When the bullying didn't work, and the derision didn't work, Chris Mathews did what every progressive knows is the next step...he ran away!
Representative Joe Walsh, I applaud you for winning against this blowhard, Mathews.
Some of you will know that I am an accountant. Accountants have a sort of love hate relationship with numbers. Sometimes numbers provide the perfect solution while at other times numbers are the harbinger of disaster.
Whatever they are, there is one thing that never changes. Numbers mean something. Just like words, numbers have meanings. So...I thought that today I would look at some numbers and explain their meanings:-
1. The number 48
This is the number of people who tuned in to Chris Mathews last night to see his interview of Joe Walsh. I am saddened by this low number as it would have been marvelous for millions to have seen Mathews dissected so easily....but ....oh well...with ratings that low, Mathews will soon be forgotten and history will remember him only as the guy who gets a thrill up his leg when Obama speaks!
2. The number 813
This is the number of days since a democratic house or senate has passed a budget. Given that democrats controlled both the house and the senate from 2006 through 2010, and the senate through the present, one would have thought that they could pass a budget. But no...they can't, and they won't. And yet they want us to believe them when the claim to be fiscally responsible. And Obama wants us to believe him when he says the republicans are pushing us headlong into a financial crisis. Hey Democrats...813 days since you passed a budget? And you want us to trust you? Not gonna happen!
3. 350 million
This is the population of the USA. A subset of this number - 45 million is the number of people who voted for Obama. That leaves 300 million who did NOT vote for him. Assuming 100 million ineligible to vote, that leaves 200 million who can vote against him in the next election (plus a few who regret voting for the clown in 2008). If we could get these people to the polls in 2012, game over!
4. 150 billion
The amount of money the government wants to borrow EVERY month for the next 18 months in order to meet its liabilities, bills, interest payments and living expenses
5. 180 billion
The estimated receipts that the federal government will receive each moth for the next 18 months
6. 20 billion
The estimated total of all interest payments on loans to be paid each month
7. 160 billion
The amount available to the government to spend after paying all interest
8. 30 billion
Estimated monthly cost of defense spending
9. 54 billion
Amount available to the government after paying interest, defense, SS, medicare and all other entitlements each month.
10. 200 billion
The amount the government needs each month to keep the government running (after paying interest, SS, defense and entitlements), the amount that can be prioritized and cut without impacting SS or other entitlement programs.
11. 13
Number of days till Obama declares financial armaggeddon on August 2 and stops paying SS, or veterans or any of the other payments he has threatened to stop.
12. 202
The number of days this year that the president has been caught in a lie.
13. 202
The number of days so far this year.
14. 13.4 trillion
The credit limit for America.
15. Unknown
The number of days till our over leveraged economy collapses, hyper inflation kicks in, the currency is devalued, or the real financial armaggeddon slaps us back to reality.
Yep...numbers mean something. They tell a story.
As they say, only mad dogs and Englishman go out in the mid-day sun.
Or...more appropriately...
Only fools and Presidents ignore the truth of numbers!
......devereaux
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It's undeniable. He's irresponsible.
Today I want to talk a little about music.
Music has played a major part in every cultural movement that I can recall. Music either led the way or was used to record great events in history. In 1880 when Tchaikovsky penned what has arguably become the best known classical piece, "The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major", better known as the 1812 Overture, he delivered a remarkable musical journey through the historical victory of Russia over the advancing French army led by Napoleon. The interplay of instruments leads the listener through the fears and joys of that occasion.
In recent history we have had cultures changed through music. Woodstock was a moment in time that led a cultural revolution. Elvis changed the entire direction of music and made 'black" music the staple of a new generation. Crooners like Frank Sinatra melted many a heart. The British invasion set off a explosion of cultural changes.
A large proportion of the population can remember the important events in their lifetimes by reference to the music they heard at the time.
Who can forget Marilyn Monroe's sultry version of Happy Birthday Mr President sung to JFK just a few days before his 45th birthday?
So, if music is such a pervasive element of one's life, it is fair to ask what music a man would use to best define a person for future generations.
As I pondered this question, it came to me that the perfect (almost) song for Barack Obama had already been written. When I say almost, it required the change of just two words from the original...and became just perfect.
Before I share this song with you, let's take a quick look at Obama and his efforts through the last couple of years....
- he is a narcissist
- he has no sense of etiquette
- he lies
- he blames others
- he does not do what he says
- he pisses off our friends and succors our enemies
- he believes Islam is a religion of peace
- he runs up the credit card to its limit and asks for more
- he devalues the currency
- he creates class warfare
- he creates racism
- he creates poverty
Not a bad laundry list of achievements from our President in such a short period of time.
So today I am going to dedicate a song to him....a song made famous by Frank Sinatra....a song that could have been written for Obama to perform....
"Call me irresponsible - call me unreliable
Throw in undependable too
Do my foolish alibis bore you
Well I'm not too clever - I just adore me
Call me unpredictable - tell me I'm impractical
Rainbows I'm inclined to pursue
Call me irresponsible - yes I'm unreliable
But it's undeniably true - I'm irresponsibly mad for me"
Do my foolish alibis bore you
Well I'm not too clever - I just adore me
Call me unpredictable - tell me I'm impractical
Rainbows I'm inclined to pursue
Call me irresponsible - yes I'm unreliable
But it's undeniably true - I'm irresponsibly mad for me"
So, Mr President, there is your new theme song.
May it ring long and loud in your ears until you are kicked out of office in 2012.
Mr. President,
your irresponsible actions over the last several weeks , specifically in relation to the debt ceiling negotiations, will not be forgotten by the voters. You have failed to bring leadership of any sort. Instead, you have brought threats, challenges, and fear tactics. When you did not get your way, you threw a tantrum and stormed out. You have never once taken responsibility for the State of the Republic today. Nor have you given any plan for how we as a nation will overcome the difficulties facing us.You have done nothing but deceive the American people with your threats and ridicule. Well, sir, the game is up. I will do everything within my power to ensure that the truth be told.
You, sir are irresponsible.
You sir, are unreliable.
You sir, are undependable.
You sir, are not too clever.
You sir are unpredictable.
You can continue pursuing rainbows and tilting at windmills, but it is time you did that on your own dime, not on the blood, sweat and tears of the American people.
You sir, are not a leader. If you had any leadership skills, you would be guiding this country toward a future of dreams being fulfilled, but no....you are forcing this country toward a future filled with broken dreams, a future filled with pregnant pauses where hope once reigned.
You have sent this country on a course of self destruction, aided only by the progressives before you who paved the way for their Messiah as John the Baptist paved the way for mine.
You sir, are the epitome of evil. Your lack of morality is second only to your lack of knowledge and common sense.
Mr. President, it's undeniably true - you are irresponsibly mad for you!
.....devereaux
Monday, July 18, 2011
Help! My mute button is wearing out!
Well folks, it is Monday again already...and far too nice a day to mess up with talk of debt ceilings and political maneuvering. These things will all be with us tomorrow and for the next few days...
So if you are hot and bothered from the heat wave, this may be the place to be today as I try not to heat up the air with truthful statements about our mediocrity laced presidency, but instead look at something that to date has had little, if any, air time.
Let me ask you all a question....
Where do you get your news, more specifically your political news?
If you are reading my blog, and enjoying it (as opposed to reading it so you can get angry at stupid conservatives like me, which is a trademark of some liberals I know who just love to spend their days angry), there is a good chance that you do not get your political news from main stream media outlets such as CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC and other alphabet outlets. The newspaper outlets are generally so heavily liberal biased that they no longer need opinion pieces, the "news" segments carry more opinions than they could possibly need.
Of course, the preponderance of blogs such as mine make good reading, but can hardly be called a news source, as they are all strongly tinged with opinion. I make no apology for the fact that my daily dose is just that....opinion....and definitely could not be categorized as news.
So, perhaps the last bastion of conservative flavored news is the Fox empire...both the cable version and the online print version. Many liberals like to call it faux news, accusing it of cherry picking the stories and then spinning them to meet the conservative agenda.
At the same time, many conservatives are finding that the cable news leader is becoming soft, with a nod to the liberals in being fair and balanced, and the inclusion of far more liberal talking heads than was the case even a few years ago.
Can both sides be right?
When I watch Fox cable news I keep the remote control handy.
It has a mute button.
I use it.
I am convinced that the designer of the mute button was an avid conservative who preferred watching Fox cable news shows but became increasingly irritated by the increasingly long line of liberals being paraded through the opinion shows in an effort to be politically fair and balanced. From the bombastic Alan Colmes to the unintelligible Juan Williams, from the pompous Bob Beckel to the irrelevant Joe Trippi, Fox is seeking liberal opinions to counterbalance its conservative stance.
And that is why I love my mute button. The purest form of censorship is in your hands, just one little button....press it and you can eradicate their poison from your mind. (Of course, liberals also have mute buttons they can use on conservative talking heads, but that is not good enough for them....they want people banned from the airwaves if they hold a different opinion....I presume that is just in case someone does not know how to use a mute button or change the channel!!)
It is clear that Roger Ailes is the force behind Fox programming and editorial content. It is clear that he has forged the strongly conservative Fox cable channel for the purpose of countering the liberally biased main stream media.
Does this mean that Roger Ailes is a staunch conservative, or simply a good businessman? I wish I could answer that...but I simply do not know. It is possible that he has created the conservative leaning cable news channel simply because it was good business and could generate a huge following from people who otherwise would only get a liberal viewpoint, capitalizing on the 50% of the population that holds conservative views and have no other news outfit targeting them....simply good business regardless of the views held.
Or it could be that he does hold strong conservative views and is using Fox as a way of expressing those view in the hope that he can educate and perhaps, over time, convert liberals to the higher truth. The fact that this is also good business guarantees his role as head of Fox.
Either of these scenarios could be true....but where is the real power? Does it really matter where Roger stands on the political spectrum? And what does it matter to you?
The bad news is that is does matter to you. The bad news is that Fox is going through a transition. The bad news is that Rupert Murdoch is in deep doo-doo right now....and the story is still unfolding. The bad news is that Fox may never again be anything like the conservative news source you have relied upon, but may simply become a washed out, homogenized and pasteurized, low fat, low-carb version of CNN.
Do you think I jest?
A quick look into the Murdoch family holds some keys here.
Rupert Murdoch's eldest son left News Corporation in 2004 due to his inability to reconcile himself politically with the direction that Roger Ailes was taking Fox. Murdoch's daughter, Elizabeth, and her brother James, were also very outspoken about the way they believed Fox was treating Obama in the presidential election. They were clearly sympathetic to democrat causes.
The succession at News Corp is going to be one of these three children. James is the most likely candidate as he has been running the European arms of Newscorp for some time now and knows the business inside and out.
This becomes far more interesting when we look at the current problems that Murdoch is facing. His tabloid News of the World was forced to close because of the voicemail hacking scandal breaking in England. The Editor in Chief of the News of the World at the time of the hacking incidents has now been charged with criminal offences and has stepped down from her high executive position within Newscorp. James Murdoch is being drilled and will now testify before the courts in the cases.
As if this wasn't enough, the FBI is claiming an investigation into voicemail hacking in the US post 9/11.
None if this is good news for Newscorp chairman, Rupert Murdoch.
At 80 years of age, there is no knowing how long Murdoch can hold the reigns at Newscorp.
It is estimated that this hacking scandal has effected his personal wealth by over $1 billion, and the stress on his health must be significant. It is clear to me, and therefor must be clear to people much smarter than I, that this is the right time for a leadership coup ...as with most coups, it would be bloody and unpleasant, and Murdoch is nothing if not a fighter. But sooner or later he will lose...age and history is not on his side.
When the reigns are handed to James, I suspect that Roger Ailes will not have long before he too will go.
And that, dear friends, will be the end of Fox and the beginning of CNN Diet.
The rapid departure of Glen Beck from the Fox line-up should not be ignored. Personally I found him quite grating and his histrionics actually got in the way of hearing his message. I do not respond well to that sort of drama, but many people loved him and he was supported by millions of viewers, winning his time slot easily. So why would Fox not do everything possible to renew his contract? Why would they simply say "bye-bye"?
I am not aware of the negotiations or the reasons that Beck and Fox parted ways....but I do know what is replacing him. Some stupid panel made up of conservatives and liberals, with a rotation to keep things interesting. Now why would Fox do that? Replace Beck with a "fair and balanced" panel?
To my way of thinking this is the start of the movement toward CNN light...and I suspect that over the next short while, we will see more and more liberal talking heads getting airtime on Fox.
It will soon be time for us to find our news from other sources...but I do not know where those sources will come from. This is why I implore you to spread the word, spread your thoughts and opinions, start your own blogs, tell people about mine, tell your friends every time you read something interesting that smacks of truth.
I fear that when the torch is passed from Rupert to James, the last vestige of conservative thought will disappear from cable. I suspect it will still look the same, but will sound totally different.
I fear my mute button will wear out from excessive use.
Stupid is as stupid says.
.....devereaux
I suspect that most of my readers also read Fox news, watch Fox
So if you are hot and bothered from the heat wave, this may be the place to be today as I try not to heat up the air with truthful statements about our mediocrity laced presidency, but instead look at something that to date has had little, if any, air time.
Let me ask you all a question....
Where do you get your news, more specifically your political news?
If you are reading my blog, and enjoying it (as opposed to reading it so you can get angry at stupid conservatives like me, which is a trademark of some liberals I know who just love to spend their days angry), there is a good chance that you do not get your political news from main stream media outlets such as CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC and other alphabet outlets. The newspaper outlets are generally so heavily liberal biased that they no longer need opinion pieces, the "news" segments carry more opinions than they could possibly need.
Of course, the preponderance of blogs such as mine make good reading, but can hardly be called a news source, as they are all strongly tinged with opinion. I make no apology for the fact that my daily dose is just that....opinion....and definitely could not be categorized as news.
So, perhaps the last bastion of conservative flavored news is the Fox empire...both the cable version and the online print version. Many liberals like to call it faux news, accusing it of cherry picking the stories and then spinning them to meet the conservative agenda.
At the same time, many conservatives are finding that the cable news leader is becoming soft, with a nod to the liberals in being fair and balanced, and the inclusion of far more liberal talking heads than was the case even a few years ago.
Can both sides be right?
When I watch Fox cable news I keep the remote control handy.
It has a mute button.
I use it.
I am convinced that the designer of the mute button was an avid conservative who preferred watching Fox cable news shows but became increasingly irritated by the increasingly long line of liberals being paraded through the opinion shows in an effort to be politically fair and balanced. From the bombastic Alan Colmes to the unintelligible Juan Williams, from the pompous Bob Beckel to the irrelevant Joe Trippi, Fox is seeking liberal opinions to counterbalance its conservative stance.
And that is why I love my mute button. The purest form of censorship is in your hands, just one little button....press it and you can eradicate their poison from your mind. (Of course, liberals also have mute buttons they can use on conservative talking heads, but that is not good enough for them....they want people banned from the airwaves if they hold a different opinion....I presume that is just in case someone does not know how to use a mute button or change the channel!!)
It is clear that Roger Ailes is the force behind Fox programming and editorial content. It is clear that he has forged the strongly conservative Fox cable channel for the purpose of countering the liberally biased main stream media.
Does this mean that Roger Ailes is a staunch conservative, or simply a good businessman? I wish I could answer that...but I simply do not know. It is possible that he has created the conservative leaning cable news channel simply because it was good business and could generate a huge following from people who otherwise would only get a liberal viewpoint, capitalizing on the 50% of the population that holds conservative views and have no other news outfit targeting them....simply good business regardless of the views held.
Or it could be that he does hold strong conservative views and is using Fox as a way of expressing those view in the hope that he can educate and perhaps, over time, convert liberals to the higher truth. The fact that this is also good business guarantees his role as head of Fox.
Either of these scenarios could be true....but where is the real power? Does it really matter where Roger stands on the political spectrum? And what does it matter to you?
The bad news is that is does matter to you. The bad news is that Fox is going through a transition. The bad news is that Rupert Murdoch is in deep doo-doo right now....and the story is still unfolding. The bad news is that Fox may never again be anything like the conservative news source you have relied upon, but may simply become a washed out, homogenized and pasteurized, low fat, low-carb version of CNN.
Do you think I jest?
A quick look into the Murdoch family holds some keys here.
Rupert Murdoch's eldest son left News Corporation in 2004 due to his inability to reconcile himself politically with the direction that Roger Ailes was taking Fox. Murdoch's daughter, Elizabeth, and her brother James, were also very outspoken about the way they believed Fox was treating Obama in the presidential election. They were clearly sympathetic to democrat causes.
The succession at News Corp is going to be one of these three children. James is the most likely candidate as he has been running the European arms of Newscorp for some time now and knows the business inside and out.
This becomes far more interesting when we look at the current problems that Murdoch is facing. His tabloid News of the World was forced to close because of the voicemail hacking scandal breaking in England. The Editor in Chief of the News of the World at the time of the hacking incidents has now been charged with criminal offences and has stepped down from her high executive position within Newscorp. James Murdoch is being drilled and will now testify before the courts in the cases.
As if this wasn't enough, the FBI is claiming an investigation into voicemail hacking in the US post 9/11.
None if this is good news for Newscorp chairman, Rupert Murdoch.
At 80 years of age, there is no knowing how long Murdoch can hold the reigns at Newscorp.
It is estimated that this hacking scandal has effected his personal wealth by over $1 billion, and the stress on his health must be significant. It is clear to me, and therefor must be clear to people much smarter than I, that this is the right time for a leadership coup ...as with most coups, it would be bloody and unpleasant, and Murdoch is nothing if not a fighter. But sooner or later he will lose...age and history is not on his side.
When the reigns are handed to James, I suspect that Roger Ailes will not have long before he too will go.
And that, dear friends, will be the end of Fox and the beginning of CNN Diet.
The rapid departure of Glen Beck from the Fox line-up should not be ignored. Personally I found him quite grating and his histrionics actually got in the way of hearing his message. I do not respond well to that sort of drama, but many people loved him and he was supported by millions of viewers, winning his time slot easily. So why would Fox not do everything possible to renew his contract? Why would they simply say "bye-bye"?
I am not aware of the negotiations or the reasons that Beck and Fox parted ways....but I do know what is replacing him. Some stupid panel made up of conservatives and liberals, with a rotation to keep things interesting. Now why would Fox do that? Replace Beck with a "fair and balanced" panel?
To my way of thinking this is the start of the movement toward CNN light...and I suspect that over the next short while, we will see more and more liberal talking heads getting airtime on Fox.
It will soon be time for us to find our news from other sources...but I do not know where those sources will come from. This is why I implore you to spread the word, spread your thoughts and opinions, start your own blogs, tell people about mine, tell your friends every time you read something interesting that smacks of truth.
I fear that when the torch is passed from Rupert to James, the last vestige of conservative thought will disappear from cable. I suspect it will still look the same, but will sound totally different.
I fear my mute button will wear out from excessive use.
Stupid is as stupid says.
.....devereaux
I suspect that most of my readers also read Fox news, watch Fox
Friday, July 15, 2011
What can you see when you don't listen?
I made a mistake this morning. I hate to have to confess that, but it is true.
I turned on the TV and watched Nero speak. After the debacle of the last few days, I guess he felt the need to set the record straight. Unfortunately, I did not feel the need to listen to his dribble, so turned the volume off.
The one thing I did hear him say was this...."we don't need a balanced budget amendment to be able to do our jobs properly"....
Really? So the last hundred years of deficit spending is what you call doing the job properly? If you can't keep a balanced budget, what makes you think future administrations can?
As I watched the arm gestures, the hand gestures, the turned lips, the eye movements and all the other body signals that are easier to spot without sound, I suddenly realized that I have seen this before...exactly this. And it wasn't from a politician...it was from a businessman.
Back in the mid to late1980's I was working in Australia. Now I love Australia...Australia and America are both great countries separated by a common language. Australia is more similar to America than it is to it's cultural motherland, England (where I also worked for a number of years).
The 80's were a very interesting time in Australia. The economy was growing pretty well notwithstanding the legacy from the Carter years, and the early 80's saw low interest rates but that was short-lived, as interest rates on mortgages climbed to the 16% range by the mid 80's. Nevertheless, the country continued to boom for several more years, notwithstanding a stock market crash in 1987 .
It was the late 80-'s that were most dynamic. I found myself working in a group of companies that were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. (Akin to being on NYSE). There were 5 large companies in the group (each individually traded) and about 30 companies for each large one that were "private".
The basic business model of the group was to find companies near bankruptcy, buy them for pennies on the dollar, turn them around and then sell them off, or keep them if the cash flows were strong enough.
In an era when Michael Douglas brought Gordon Gecko to the silver screen in 1987's Wall Street ( the same Gordon Gecko who proclaimed that greed is good), the public was very aware of greed and the corporate takeover cannibals. This was a PR nightmare, as we did not want to be lumped into the corporate raider category.
We were different. We were turn-around experts. We did not break up companies and sell the parts, we fixed them and saved people's jobs. It did not take long for investors to love us. We saved companies, saved jobs and, given time, saved their investments. In no time, we became the darlings of the investment world in Australia.
My role was officially Group CFO, with a team of accountants and financial experts doing the day to day grind for me. My real job was often referred to as "Assistant Minister for Having a Good Time" and involved wining and dining bankers, stockbrokers, investors, lawyers and the corporate teams. It was not unusual for me to have a luncheon engagement in Sydney and a dinner engagement 1,000 miles away in Adelaide on the same day. I would talk up our companies, explain what we were doing, provide financial information, talk about funding the next deal etc etc...all surrounded by the best wines, in the best restaurants and the thousand dollar suits.
With no limit on my expense account, and no restrictions on my activities, many people would think it was a dream job. In many ways it was very easy because I was meeting with all the Gordon Gecko wannabe's who could be manipulated easily by another bottle of Chateau Super Expensive and a Cuban cigar. They literally drooled as they heard of the very real opportunities I was presenting. Our auditors at the time were reasonable...one bottle of single malt did the job, or, with two, they became very reasonable.
The reality was that this dream job became very wearing in a short period of time. The arrogance of the Gordon Gecko wannabe's was polluting my mind, while the thousand dollar suits and high lifestyle threatened to pollute my morals.
I remember that the Chairman was a man of rules...not many...but he had a few that would result in instant dismissal if they were broken. The first and second rules were the most often quoted.
Rule 1: Never believe your own BS.
Rule 2: Never believe your own BS.
As the darling of the investment world, the Chairman became a legend in his own lunch hour (where most of his deals took place.)
As Group CFO I had intimate knowledge of the financial strength or weakness of every company in the group. I knew what their sales were, what their profits were, what their debt was, and how they could pay their debts.
It was therefore something of a surprise when I saw reports that showed our expected sales and profits were significantly higher than I knew they would be. Long story short...
The directors of the companies had started breaking Rule 1 and 2 and were not only believing their own BS but were now trying to make every investor also believe it.
I left the employ of that company within a week or two of discovering this, as I refused to be a part of it and would not sell my soul to become the Gordon Gecko types that I had been wining and dining for the past 18 months. Goodbye expense account, goodbye company cars, goodbye thousand dollar suits, goodbye high lifestyle. The only light at the end of this particular tunnel I could see was that my waistline was thankful.
As is ALWAYS the case in these stories, it did not end well for the company or its directors, but that is another story.
I shared this part of my history with you for a couple of reasons:-
1. to give you a glimpse into my background
2. to help you understand exactly what it was that I saw in our Deceiver-in-Chief as he told his lies today
Today I saw a man who has started to believe his own BS.
In the couple of years since he was elected, he has repeated so many lies so often that he is actually starting to believe his own BS.
It has often been said that if a person repeats a lie often enough they will start to believe it is the truth, and then can be very convincing because he believes it. Well, our president has become that fool. Our president, the so called leader of the free world, can no longer tell the difference between truth and lies.
I said earlier that I had seen this before. I will now tell you WHERE I have seen it.
I saw it in a courtroom when I was testifying against the directors of the Company that had previously employed me. When I was telling the court what had transpired, I looked into the eyes of the accused directors and saw their hate for me, their utter contempt for the truth.
I watched as they took the stand and babbled some nonsense about what they had done, believing to the end that they had not lied and had done nothing wrong. Their hands moved exactly as did Obama's today. Their lips curled as did his. Their eyes roved the room seeking support from a friendly face, and when they could not find one, looked into the near distance without ever making real contact.
It has taken me a quarter century to see that look again. A look full of contempt for the audience. A desperate appeal for everyone to believe the lies they believe...and a total lack of understanding as to why nobody believes them any more.
The look of defiance mixed with fear that passed across these men's faces when they were found guilty and sentenced to jail was just a shade away from what Obama is showing us today. The defiance and fear is starting to show.
It is clear to me that Obama now believes his own BS.
It is also clear to me that this will not end well.
This country needs to fully awaken and make the changes necessary to ensure that this corrupt liar does not see another term. He is Gordon Gecko in political attire...
Rule 1: Do not believe your own BS.
Stupid is as stupid says.
......devereaux
I turned on the TV and watched Nero speak. After the debacle of the last few days, I guess he felt the need to set the record straight. Unfortunately, I did not feel the need to listen to his dribble, so turned the volume off.
The one thing I did hear him say was this...."we don't need a balanced budget amendment to be able to do our jobs properly"....
Really? So the last hundred years of deficit spending is what you call doing the job properly? If you can't keep a balanced budget, what makes you think future administrations can?
As I watched the arm gestures, the hand gestures, the turned lips, the eye movements and all the other body signals that are easier to spot without sound, I suddenly realized that I have seen this before...exactly this. And it wasn't from a politician...it was from a businessman.
Back in the mid to late1980's I was working in Australia. Now I love Australia...Australia and America are both great countries separated by a common language. Australia is more similar to America than it is to it's cultural motherland, England (where I also worked for a number of years).
The 80's were a very interesting time in Australia. The economy was growing pretty well notwithstanding the legacy from the Carter years, and the early 80's saw low interest rates but that was short-lived, as interest rates on mortgages climbed to the 16% range by the mid 80's. Nevertheless, the country continued to boom for several more years, notwithstanding a stock market crash in 1987 .
It was the late 80-'s that were most dynamic. I found myself working in a group of companies that were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. (Akin to being on NYSE). There were 5 large companies in the group (each individually traded) and about 30 companies for each large one that were "private".
The basic business model of the group was to find companies near bankruptcy, buy them for pennies on the dollar, turn them around and then sell them off, or keep them if the cash flows were strong enough.
In an era when Michael Douglas brought Gordon Gecko to the silver screen in 1987's Wall Street ( the same Gordon Gecko who proclaimed that greed is good), the public was very aware of greed and the corporate takeover cannibals. This was a PR nightmare, as we did not want to be lumped into the corporate raider category.
We were different. We were turn-around experts. We did not break up companies and sell the parts, we fixed them and saved people's jobs. It did not take long for investors to love us. We saved companies, saved jobs and, given time, saved their investments. In no time, we became the darlings of the investment world in Australia.
My role was officially Group CFO, with a team of accountants and financial experts doing the day to day grind for me. My real job was often referred to as "Assistant Minister for Having a Good Time" and involved wining and dining bankers, stockbrokers, investors, lawyers and the corporate teams. It was not unusual for me to have a luncheon engagement in Sydney and a dinner engagement 1,000 miles away in Adelaide on the same day. I would talk up our companies, explain what we were doing, provide financial information, talk about funding the next deal etc etc...all surrounded by the best wines, in the best restaurants and the thousand dollar suits.
With no limit on my expense account, and no restrictions on my activities, many people would think it was a dream job. In many ways it was very easy because I was meeting with all the Gordon Gecko wannabe's who could be manipulated easily by another bottle of Chateau Super Expensive and a Cuban cigar. They literally drooled as they heard of the very real opportunities I was presenting. Our auditors at the time were reasonable...one bottle of single malt did the job, or, with two, they became very reasonable.
The reality was that this dream job became very wearing in a short period of time. The arrogance of the Gordon Gecko wannabe's was polluting my mind, while the thousand dollar suits and high lifestyle threatened to pollute my morals.
I remember that the Chairman was a man of rules...not many...but he had a few that would result in instant dismissal if they were broken. The first and second rules were the most often quoted.
Rule 1: Never believe your own BS.
Rule 2: Never believe your own BS.
As the darling of the investment world, the Chairman became a legend in his own lunch hour (where most of his deals took place.)
As Group CFO I had intimate knowledge of the financial strength or weakness of every company in the group. I knew what their sales were, what their profits were, what their debt was, and how they could pay their debts.
It was therefore something of a surprise when I saw reports that showed our expected sales and profits were significantly higher than I knew they would be. Long story short...
The directors of the companies had started breaking Rule 1 and 2 and were not only believing their own BS but were now trying to make every investor also believe it.
I left the employ of that company within a week or two of discovering this, as I refused to be a part of it and would not sell my soul to become the Gordon Gecko types that I had been wining and dining for the past 18 months. Goodbye expense account, goodbye company cars, goodbye thousand dollar suits, goodbye high lifestyle. The only light at the end of this particular tunnel I could see was that my waistline was thankful.
As is ALWAYS the case in these stories, it did not end well for the company or its directors, but that is another story.
I shared this part of my history with you for a couple of reasons:-
1. to give you a glimpse into my background
2. to help you understand exactly what it was that I saw in our Deceiver-in-Chief as he told his lies today
Today I saw a man who has started to believe his own BS.
In the couple of years since he was elected, he has repeated so many lies so often that he is actually starting to believe his own BS.
It has often been said that if a person repeats a lie often enough they will start to believe it is the truth, and then can be very convincing because he believes it. Well, our president has become that fool. Our president, the so called leader of the free world, can no longer tell the difference between truth and lies.
I said earlier that I had seen this before. I will now tell you WHERE I have seen it.
I saw it in a courtroom when I was testifying against the directors of the Company that had previously employed me. When I was telling the court what had transpired, I looked into the eyes of the accused directors and saw their hate for me, their utter contempt for the truth.
I watched as they took the stand and babbled some nonsense about what they had done, believing to the end that they had not lied and had done nothing wrong. Their hands moved exactly as did Obama's today. Their lips curled as did his. Their eyes roved the room seeking support from a friendly face, and when they could not find one, looked into the near distance without ever making real contact.
It has taken me a quarter century to see that look again. A look full of contempt for the audience. A desperate appeal for everyone to believe the lies they believe...and a total lack of understanding as to why nobody believes them any more.
The look of defiance mixed with fear that passed across these men's faces when they were found guilty and sentenced to jail was just a shade away from what Obama is showing us today. The defiance and fear is starting to show.
It is clear to me that Obama now believes his own BS.
It is also clear to me that this will not end well.
This country needs to fully awaken and make the changes necessary to ensure that this corrupt liar does not see another term. He is Gordon Gecko in political attire...
Rule 1: Do not believe your own BS.
Stupid is as stupid says.
......devereaux
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