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POPS"The world’s greatest deliberative body has been subverted by the threat to filibuster"
More: What is clogging up the Senate these days is threatened filibusters that don’t actually happen. This is the imaginary filibuster… In 1975, party leaders in the U.S. Senate adopted a new procedure to deal with filibusters. In order to keep the Senate floor clear for other business, if senators merely threatened to filibuster, the body would automatically impose a 60-vote limit on cutting off debate.… And bills with majority support would die. For the price of a threat, the votes needed to pass a bill could be raised from 50 to 60. It’s not clear why no one foresaw what would eventually happen, but soon the number of alleged “filibusters” was rising. Delighted senators found they had a new tool to stop legislation. With just a threat to filibuster, a senator could stop a bill cold even though the Senate supported it—and without having to actually filibuster. A single senator can unilaterally make it more difficult to enact legislation.
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POPS Thomas Sowell: Random Thoughts
But what this means is that even the record-breaking federal deficit understates the government's real financial liabilities, because agencies like FDIC and the Federal Housing Authority are likely to need increased amounts of money to keep going. An e-mail from a reader says that liberals like to take the moral high ground, even though their own moral relativism means that there is no moral high ground. I doubt whether the man responsible for the massacre at Fort Hood will pay with his life for the lives that he took. He may well be free again someday. We can only hope that he does not get a hero's welcome when he arrives in some terror-sponsoring country, the way the Lockerbie bomber did. A recent study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights showed that, after the housing boom and bust, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asian Americans and American Indians all reduced their subprime mortgage loans. Only politicians seem not to have learned anything from the economic disaster ...
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POPSDamnit! Why Didn't They Listen To Ron Paul!
Everywhere you look, big events are occurring in the global economy. Last week, the United Nations said that the dollar’s unique role as a global currency was at an end. Although China, Brazil, Russia and India have all called for a new economic system not based on the dollar, this is the first time that a multinational institution has suggested scrapping the greenback. Also last week, the U.S. administration was forced to ask Congress to raise the debt ceiling again—this time to over $12 trillion—a level that will be breached by October. On Friday, three more banks failed in the U.S., bringing the total to 92 this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently increased the number of problem banks on its watch list to 400—up from around 300 during the first quarter of the year. In Britain, last week, the World Economic Forum listed Britain’s economy as less stable than Peru’s. The world is awaking to the possibility that America and Britain face real collapse.
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POPSJob-Killing Policies Could Doom Democrat Hopes: By Michael Barone There was something to these arguments. But it's also true that job creation accelerated in 2004 and kept going for another three years. Perhaps, although Democrats would not like to admit it, the Bush economic policies had something to do with that. And perhaps the rather different policies of the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress may help Summers' gloomy predictions come true. Tax policy is one example. The Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire next year, and the Democratic Congress will surely allow income tax rates on high earners to go up to 39.6 percent again, or even more if it enacts the administration's proposed policy of limiting high earners' charitable deductions. These increases will produce revenue that the government needs to reduce the enormous budget deficit, though surely not as much revenue as static economic models indicate. But they will also depress economic growth to some non-trivial extent, and thereby depress job creation.
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POPSConservative George Will calls for Afghanistan pull-out Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked Monday by Peter Cook of Bloomberg TV: “Are we winning in Afghanistan?” “I think it's a mixed picture in Afghanistan,” Gates replied. “I think that there aren’t too many people with too rosy a view of what's going on in Afghanistan. I think there are many challenges. But I think some of the gloom and doom is somewhat overdrawn as well. … I think that there are some positive developments. But there is no question our casualties are up and there's no question we have a very tough fight in front of us, a lot of challenges.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26628.html#ixzz0Pocw7LWI
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POPSHow do you cope during tough times? This has been on my mind for some time and is probably has on yours...too many people are suffering from the economic crisis going on around us. My wife was reading a headline about there being another real estate crash coming. I didn't even want her to read the article as it is too depressing. If you feel the same, try these helpful tips:
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POPSSolitary Crow On Fence Post Portending Doom, Analysts Warn
"At this point, all we can say for sure is that the sudden appearance of this grim avian prophet spells disaster for our nation's banks, its roads, its schools, its health care system, its energy resources—for our entire American way of life," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters while examining video footage of the crow. "Would you just look at the way it's sitting there, with those glassy, black eyes and that creepy beak. Christ. Something bad is going to happen, I just know it." The president has also requested that all Americans remain inside their homes to avoid being spooked by the bird's foreboding, unearthly caws. "Look, the crow is already upon us, and we can't undo that," the president said at an emergency press conference Monday night. "As our nation faces this unprecedented challenge, it is very important that no one panic, because panicking will only increase the chances of it fidgeting with its talons or perhaps even flapping its wings. And I th
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POPSObama "fundamentally sound"... is this McCain? According to Rasmussen polls Obama's numbers are dropping below the popularity of other new presidents (including Bush at this stage) His polling is trending decidedly negative... so now Mr. Doom & Gloom starts sounding like McCain?? ("Most productive workers on earth"... "Fundamentally sound") Didn't they criticize McCain up and down for being "out of touch" when he used the phrase "fundamentally sound" in describing the economy?
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POPSStockpiling Grows As Economy Falters Blankets, flashlights and emergency cooking supplies are also in demand at the military surplus store. Kamaunu says the demand has coincided with the fall of the U.S. economy. “You just have to be ready for things to happen,” she said. “And if you're prepared, it's not quite as frightening as if you're caught short with nothing.” That kind of survivalist instinct also has more people growing their own food. According to the National Gardening Association, food gardening in the U.S. is expected to increase nineteen percent in 2009 compared to the previous year.
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POPSSoros sees no bottom for world financial collapse This traitor is one of the engineers of the collapse. And, like the his student, the Empty Suit Obama, he spreads tales of doom and gloom. Yet I make deposits to my bank in Houston. And I make withdrawals. From my perspective there is no "economic collapse". This is the same tune sung by the phony "global warming" liars. There is no global warming and there is no worldwide economic collapse. These charlatans are trying to instill fear in the world's people in order to take over in the chaos. This all will blow over if we can control our fear, and reveal all these liberals as liars.
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POPS'Doom' Rhetoric Seen By Some As 'Not Presidential' "It's not presidential. An American leader needs to be hopeful and optimistic - and truthful. Everything he says is parsed; everything he says is searched for deep meaning. When he goes to 'DefCon 5' on the economy and says that we're on the brink of catastrophe, it's absolutely insane." Last week he said, "A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe." But he isn't the only Democrat ramping up the rhetoric while talking down the economy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said last month that our economy "is dark, darker, darkest." Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin said, "This economy is in mortal danger of absolute collapse." And Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said of the economic-stimulus bill, "If we don't pass this thing, it's Armageddon."
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POPSEconomic Gloom? The Solar Future still Looks Sunny Chinese, German, American and Australian investors (including a large oil company) are investing heavily in solar technology. This is despite the doom and gloom economic forecasts recently. This is a good sign not only for renewable resources, but also for the workforce. Perhaps skills in the solar energy means entry into a more reliable job market.
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POPSGlobal Warming Lies Will Bring On An Economic Recession October 2008 went down as Fairbanks’ fourth-coldest October on record since 1904, according to meteorologist Rick Thoman with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. The average temperature of 15.1 degrees was 8.4 degrees below normal. … There were 13 days when the low temperature was zero or colder, the most sub-zero days in October since 1965, which holds the record of 14 sub-zero days in October and ranks as the second-coldest October on record. These 2008 records challenging levels going back to 1904 and 1965 prove that CO2 levels cannot be the driver of global temperatures claimed by the alarmists on the left and inside the UN. CO2 levels are very high compared to 1904, let alone 1965, and so is the world’s human population. For example, in 1900 the world population was 1.65 billion people, in 1965 it was 3.33 billion and in 2005 it was 6.45 billion.
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POPSCan ecology gain by the economic losses? Worldwide governments are taking over banks to 'save' the economy. Wallstreet and other trademarkets respond by going up in recordspeed, so there seems to be a happy ending..... I think that there is a way in which this financial crisis could be used in our advantage. If the governments decide: 1.to break down the barriers that are withholding developing countries to trade with the west 2. to only invest in companies that have sustainable policies, there would be huge protests by those that will suffer in the short run. But the real entrepreneurs will find ways to make money in a way that will not only benifit them, but also have profits for the planet as a whole.
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POPSFraud of Global Warming It is time to revisit several assumptions and implications Al Gore made in An Inconvenient Truth. Each of the fourteen highlighted in this article are a snapshot of the Global Warming doomsayers’ views. The added perspective shows the fraud of the catastrophic manmade Global Warming thesis
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POPSRussia Not Immune to American Influence Perhaps to undermine the Russian Bear and China, this crisis will benefit some of the architects of doom. If the energy market of Russia and China's relentless expansion are threatening American interest, ie, oil, so why not create a crisis that takes most down and rewards the few we all know?
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POPSToward a Type 1 civilization Along with energy policy, political and economic systems must also evolve. Michael Shermer, one of the most trusted voices in todays world.
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POPSHurricane Lieberman-Warner That’s another little bitty fact that will never see the light of day on most press reports. Instead what we’ll get is the usual hot air, except this time it has the price tag of 660 hurricanes.
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POPSMullahs Keep Fighting Us While Destroying Iran against an official estimate of $45 billion. This sort of discrepancy typically occurs when capital flight is disguised as imports through fraudulent invoices and similar devices. A small current-account deficit would be of little concern for a nation with normal access to world capital markets, but Iran is unable to borrow. There is indeed massive capital flight. As I wrote a couple of years ago, Gulf bankers told me that they can’t handle all the money pouring out of Iran. Wealthy Persians long since saw the doom of the Islamic Republic, and have been looting the country’s resources for their own gain. They are printing money, further pauperizing Iranian workers–who are famously paid very late, if at all, as demonstrated by the ongoing demonstrations and strikes at government-owned companies– The message Spengler delivers is that there is no way out of this war. Left to their own devices, the mullahs will destroy Iran, and, if they can, us as well.
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POPSFear Is Driving Recessionary Trend:Global Economy Is Still Solid The global economy in general is being driven by several huge factors which significantly outweigh any blip in the U.S. mortgage market. Global investment in commercial real estate increased from $665 billion in 2006 to $930 billion in 2007, and foreign buyers will likely look to the U.S. for properties with long-term value. Furthermore, the current exchange rate of $1.51 per Euro expects to support the growth of exports by offering strong opportunities for the U.S. economy. A recession is not inevitable, but it may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Frost & Sullivan research reveals the current concern over the "crisis" in the U.S. subprime market is overstated and reflects the risky lending practices of banks. The subprime mortgage market accounts for $1.3 trillion of the total U.S. economy, of that only 1.5% is actually at risk. Considering the default rate of 1.5% is the same today as it was in 2004, it seems foolhardy to tie this amount to a nationwide economic downturn.
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