Friday, October 31, 2008

Vision of Coming Events: Exodus of Productive Citizens?

Wise Words

"Once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader - the barbarians enter Rome."

. . . Robert A. Heinlein via the Gunslingers Journal

The Wizard of Washington

McCain - Palin Tradition Per Hank Williams, Jr.

Unqualified for Office

Why Sarah Palin Should NOT be elected
Vice President of the United States:

1) She is a Woman.

2) She does not believe in killing babies, born or unborn.

3) She is NOT endorsed by Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, Rosie O'Donnell, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Geraldine Ferrara, Barbara Walters, Helen Thomas, Ellen DeGeneris, Ted Kennedy, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, Barbra Streisand, David Letterman, or others who fervently believe in a Woman's Right to Choose (to kill babies).

4) She is married to a Foreigner--a species called 'Native American'--meaning her five children are half-breeds.

5) She has on more than one occasion expressed PRIDE in the United States of America .

6) Unlike decent, self-respecting Democrats everywhere, she has a 17-year-old daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock.

7) She is a member of the American Riflemen's Association / actually owns firearms / and knows how to use them.

8) She has killed a moose, among other animals--and spreads the propaganda that it is hunters, through their license fees, that keep American wildlife from becoming extinct.

9) She often does her own grocery and other household shopping.

10) She drives a car, and flies a plane.

11) She chose to give birth to a defective child, rather than allow a skilled Abortion Doctor to kill it for her.

12) She refuses to apologize for seeking the termination of an Alaskan State Trooper just because he applied a gentle taser to his 12-year-old stepson (who, of course, happened to be Gov. Palin's nephew).

13) She is inexperienced. And she refuses to admit that her duties as the chief executive in the State of Alaska are nowhere near equal to those of a public servant who was once a Community Organizer, or that of a United
States Senator who has carried the awesome burden of overseeing a staff of political appointees.

14) She has a son who is in the U.S.. Military, soon to be deployed to the Persian Gulf--probably making her prejudiced against all the peaceful Muslims in that part of the world.

15) She is on Oprah Winfrey's 'Do Not Invite' list.

16) She professes to be a Christian, but has no 'Spiritual Adviser'--even though Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who served Sen. Obama in that capacity for 20 years, is now available.

17) She isn't really a 'beauty queen,' as advertised. She was only the runner-up in the Miss Alaska Contest; and Alaska is not a very populous state, anyway.

18) The Obama-Biden ticket is favored over McCain-Palin, 80% to 20%, by our friendly allies in France.

19) Her children are not properly trained in hygiene. (Did you see her 7-year-old daughter shamelessly lick the entire palm of her hand at the Convention, then use it to slick down the hair of her little brother?)

20) She is of mixed English, German, and Irish ancestry--and you KNOW you can't trust the Limey's, Krauts, or Micks.

21) Back to No. 1: This is the one that really galls modern, liberal 'feminists.' Gov. Palin is a Woman, a female-type wife and mother, who shaves her legs, wears makeup, dresses smartly, often cooks meals for her family, doesn't give a hoot about the National Organization for Women or the all-powerful Teachers Unions--and obviously will never, ever fit in as a member of the Washington Elite.

22) She's a decent and honorable person: a species seldom seen in Washington.

One Voter's Thoughts

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Shaming the Shameful Media

Here is a letter that K.R. has sent to the Los Angeles Times in response to that paper's suppression of a video recording that might harm Obama's candidacy -- the latest occurrence in the media's ongoing shielding of the Democrat nominee:

"Inasmuch as the Los Angeles Times, like a great many other big metropolitan newspapers, currently is in the news suppression business, it deserves its downward spiral to extinction that is in progress. The stridently partisan press has forfeited its credibility with the blatant dishonesty of the one-sided bias of its coverage of the current political campaign. The Times and many of its peers no longer serve as reliable sources of information and accordingly have earned their places in what they have made a dying industry. Unfortunately, our society has been significantly damaged by your transformation from a disseminator of news to a propaganda outlet. Other media will fill that role going forward and we will miss only the great newspapers of the distant past."

A short time ago, K.R. asked for suggestions on how to strike back at the propagandizing press, and, with the help of those who responded to that request, a realistically possibly workable and effective plan is being formulated. More about that will be posted after the election.

In the meantime, others who agree with the above letter might consider sending similar ones to the L.A. Times and to other media outlets that deserve to be shamed.

Monday, October 27, 2008

California's Ignorant Again Hip Deep In Hysteria

The logic free and scientifically ignorant humanoids who make up the bulk of California's population have their knickers in a bunch again -- this time over what they refer to as "another possible drought year."

It apparently is irrelevant to them that the period during which we have been keeping records is insignificant insofar as natural history is concerned. The inconvenient and unfortunate fact is that a great deal of scientific evidence indicates California has had far more than normal rain during this now possibly ending period.

If this is the case, the state may just be returning to the semi-desert condition that actually is its long term norm -- one in which it lacks the amount of water necessary to sustain its current the levels of population, agriculture, and industrial activities. These levels have been achieved (and reached the outer limits of the available water resources) during what appears to have been an abnormally abundant rainfall era.

Look out: the fruits and nuts soon may be fleeing to your neighborhood.

Media Comments/Observations from a Kindred Soul

Listening to the mainstream media (MSM) these last few days I've learned a few things about the GOP's VP nominee, but, I also have learned a few things on my own.

1. From the media I learned Sarah Palin's husband has a DUI conviction from 22 years ago.

On my own I learned that Ted Kennedy (hero of the tribute at the DNC) was drunk while driving a car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick. That same crash killed a young campaign volunteer.

* Mr. Palin's (who is not running for office) DUI came a mere 4 years after Barack Hussein Obama (who is running for president) stopped using cocaine and marijuana (by his own admission in his autobiography). Shocking -- it's OK for the presidential candidate to use drugs or the party patriarch to kill someone while driving drunk yet the husband of a VP candidate should be demonized for something done 22 years ago.

2. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant.

* On my own I learned the Obama's mother was an unmarried street hippy in Honolulu, Hawaii, when she conceived Obama.

* On my own I learned that Joe Biden's (the other VP candidate) son was paid a large amount of money as a consultant to the credit card company MBNA. That same company had business before Senator Joe Biden concerning regulation of consumer credit practices. After the company paid a hefty sum to Mr. Biden's son, h e voted in favor of legislation to help that company. That same son, Hunter, is also engaged in a legal investigation and suit for defrauding a former business partner. Shocking -- it's a crime for the Republican VP candidate to have a child who's pregnant even though it’s irrelevant to how she performs her job. It's OK if the Democrat Presidential candidate's unwed mother conceived him out of wedlock. It's OK, however, for the Democrat VP candidate while a senator to vote in favor of a company who paid his son over a quarter of a million dollars.

3. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin should be considered “selfish” for agreeing to run for VP knowing about her daughter's condition. Knowing that her public role would bring extra scrutiny on the family is selfish and she should have declined to protect her child (actually heard this on ABC)

Strange --the same people who said Sarah is selfish for running for VP did not seem to care about any impact on Chelsea when Bill Clinton had his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. That was a private, personal matter you see.

4. From the media I have learned to be 'concerned' that Sarah Palin probably won't be able to manage her family and do an effective job of being VP at the same time.

Funny --I never heard anything about Hillary's ability to support Chelsea while re-doing “healthcare” or any of the other feminist icons who say you can balance work and family. They also never mention that Barack will have to balance time with his children while personally meeting with heads of rogue nations or how Joe Biden's kids don't even have a mom and will be fighting for his time while he hosts white house coffee fundraisers and sells nights in the Lincoln bedroom.

5. From the media I have learned that Sarah Palin is “too inexperienced” to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

* Apparently taking on corruption in your own party and running a state that's the same size people-wise as Delaware (hint hint: that's where Joe Biden is from) is not really experience.

* However, time spent as a “community organizer” and less than 180 days in the Senate where you've authored no significant legislation is just the type of “change” we're looking for from the top of the ticket.

Funny -- inexperience at the top of the ticket is a mantra for “change” and “hope” while strong practical everyday experience as the number 2 is cause for concern.

6. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin's husband once got a ticket for fishing without a license.

* I haven't heard much about the fact that if he were still a practicing attorney, the VP candidate Joe Biden would be disbarred for plagiarism not once but multiple times. It's OK to break the rules if you're a Democrat candidate but not OK if you are the spouse of a Republican candidate.

7. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin doesn't know much about Iraq; in fact they wonder if she even knows where it is.

* Sarah's son volunteered into the US military and is now deployed in Iraq. I guess that doesn't count. Sarah has spent more time with troops in Iraq (as commander of the Alaska National Guard, she visited Iraq last year) than Obama has even while running for president. In fact, when Sarah went to Iraq she spent time with the troops. When Obama went there, he skipped a base visit to instead go work out at the Ritz Carlton.

8. From the media I learned that Sarah Palin is a “lightweight” and she better be a “quick study” to keep up with this te am.

Funny, nobody is talking about how, after Barack Obama had “visited 57 states” according to him he only had “2 more to go” or endless other stupid gaffes that expose who he really is.

9. From the media I have learned that (gasp!), Sarah Palin's husband was once a registered member of a 3rd party that favored states' rights (man, this is really bad stuff).

THIS IS THE REAL IMPORTANT ONE!

* That same media has been silent to the story that when Barack Obama announced his first senate run, he did so in the home of William Ayers. Mr. Ayers is an un-repentant terrorist convicted for bombing the pentagon. This same Mr. Ayers said on 9/11 that he and his group did not do enough to harm our military and he wished he had done more. During the same time as that comment, he was serving on a board with Barack Obama (ACORN). All notes and information about their serving together is now locked up by the corrupt Chicago machine and reporter access to those records are being blocked by the Obama campaign.

If we've had any doubts about the bias of the media, it's pretty clear now where they stand. Pass this on to some of your friends who are on the fence and who get all their information from Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer, Tom Brokaw and the gang. This is egregious and corrupt. The only way to stop it is to spread information using other outlets and make these guys irrelevant.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Obama's Enforcer?


Click on Image to Enlarge It

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Obama Is a Serious and Dangerous Threat

Few people today know or recall how Obama first won election to public office. He did it by using valid but hyper technical legal arguments to get all of his opponents removed from the ballot, leaving him as the only candidate. He obviously isn't proud of what he did as he has avoided mentioning it in his writings.

Now, his dictatorial instincts are taking a more dangerous turn as he is methodically stifling dissent and seeking to silence criticism of him and his record, and he is using governmental threats and powers to do so.

The examples of the Obama camp harnessing government to extinguish its critics are accumulating at a disturbing pace. If twice is a coincidence and three times a trend, then four times and more is megalomania. Obama has set his lawyers on TV stations airing NRA ads critical of his Second Amendment record, he's called on the Justice Department to shut down the American Issues Project for airing ads highlighting his relationship with Bill Ayers, his ACORN-styled "action wire" regularly calls on its foot soldiers to bombard any radio station brazen enough to invite on Obama-skeptics like David Freddosso and Stanley Kurtz, his "truth squads" have recruited government prosecutors in states like Missouri . . . . And now the latest: the campaign's general counsel Robert Bauer is demanding that the Justice Department punish McCain and certain surrogates for raising objections to ACORN's flagrant and wide-scale voter fraud. Of course, by sticking up for ACORN Obama explicitly rejects his previous and patently false assertion that his relations with the group are limited to some mid-90s legal work.

Even more worrying is what this whole pattern portends. It strongly suggests than in an Obama administration there would be no hesitation to, or limitation on using the forces of government to suppress speech and thus solidify Obama's power.

The media have used enormous resources in an effort to ferret out any and all details about Sarah Palin that they could use to discredit her yet they have never vetted Obama or made any significant effort to do so. For a serious critical (but well documented) outline of the Obama record that the press is assiduously avoiding, click here.

Get Real and Face the Naked Truth

In 1990, the US Government seized the (legal in Nevada) Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting America's economy to a pack of nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling booze!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hilarious Postal Truck Video

Barack Ought to Channel Old Abe

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

. . . Abraham Lincoln

True Wisdom Emerges in Ecumenical Discussion

A priest and a rabbi were sitting next to each other on an airplane. After a while, the priest turned to the rabbi and asked, 'Is it still a requirement of your faith that you not eat pork?'

The rabbi responded, 'Yes, that is still one of our laws.'

The priest then asked, 'Have you ever eaten pork?'

To which the rabbi replied, 'Yes, on one occasion I did succumb to temptation and tasted a ham sandwich.'

The priest nodded in understanding and went on with his reading. A while later, the rabbi spoke up and asked the priest, 'Father, is it still a requirement of your church that you remain celibate?'

The priest replied, 'Yes, that is still very much a part of our faith.'

The rabbi then asked him, 'Father, have you ever fallen to the temptations of the flesh?'

The priest replied, 'Yes, rabbi, on one occasion I was weak and broke with my faith.'

The rabbi nodded understandingly and remained silent, thinking, for about five minutes. Finally, the rabbi said, 'Beats the shit out of a ham sandwich, doesn't it?"

Character: Values Endure and Are Immutable

The following is from internationally prominent personal privacy, safety, security, and firearms instructor John S. Farnam. I am proud to count John and his equally distinguished wife, Vicki, as friends. They own, operate, and conduct their training programs through Defense Training International, Inc.

"The Japanese Art of Bushido, and the teachings of Greek philosopher, Socrates, hold one thing in common:

"Both teach that any man, worthy of the title, will predictably behave according to an absolute moral standard, a standard that perpetually transcends fads, trends, fashion, whim, even logic. Socrates reminded his followers, "Do we really need to argue over what is right and what is wrong? As men of honor, don't we just know such things?" Honor, a vivid consciousness of personal dignity and worth, would go on characterize the doctrine of both Socrates and the Samurai.

"The difference between good and evil, between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong are givens, absolutes, not arguments subject to discourse nor self-serving pseudo-justification. A man, worthy of the title, should ever know and understand the difference, and it is a man's obligation to teach his household right thinking and right conduct through the model of his own behavior.

"The first objective of Samurai education was thus always to build uncompromising, righteous Character. More subtle issues of prudence, intelligence, and dialectics were also crucial, but clearly second in importance. Intellectual superiority was esteemed, but a Samurai was foremost a man of right thinking and right action. In fact, the Japanese term "Makoto,"often translated to the English word,"sincerity," had a profoundly deeper meaning to Samurai Warriors. It meant wagering it all, holding back nothing, putting all your heart, spirit, and strength into your act. To a Samurai, doing less meant acting insincerely.

"In our age, we're submerged in self-delusion. 'Situation ethics,' for example, is a preposterous contradiction of terms! No man of honor would even utter such an absurd phrase, with a straight face.

"Ancients, in every corner of the world, understood what was required for any civilization to grow and prosper and what caused them unfailingly to rot and crumble.

"Nothing has changed!"

Monday, October 20, 2008

Government Schooling: New English and Modern Education at Its Best

How would you pronounce this child's name: "Le-a" ???
Leah?? NO
Lee - A?? NOPE
Lay - a?? NO
Lei?? Guess Again.
It's pronounced "Ledasha" Oh yes...you read it right. This child attends a school in Livingston Parish, LA. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. SO, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember to pronounce it correctly. When the mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said:

"The dash don't be silent."

Like Lethargic Frogs in the Proverbial Pot Gradually Being Brought to a Boil

"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

-- James Madison (speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention,
16 June 1788)

Reference: Bartlett's Quotations (352)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Security in Small Town and Rural America

HOW TO SECURE A HOME:

1. Go to a secondhand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazine.

3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4 Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bubba,

Big'un, Duke, Slim, & I went for more ammo and beer. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls - they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up bad. I don't think Killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside.

Cooter

A Fairy Tale for Our Time

Look here.

Making the Appropriate Comparison

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

How About a Denny Crane - Sarah Palin Ticket?

Validating Prior 'Bismarck Had It Right' Post

Something we haven't been capable of learning in 2,063 years:

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

-- Cicero , 55 BC

What Our Own Media Can't See or Won't Report

It takes the UK press to state the truth about Obama.

The final paragraph of a UK article:

"You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so."

For full article, click here.

Bismarck Had It Right!

A Notable and Astute Observation/Commentary

"Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think."

. . . La Bruyere

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Another Hoot: Nasty Nancy Tries Stand Up Comedy

Sure, rest assured: congress is going to identify and hold accountable those responsible for the subprime debacle that undermined and is continuing to wreak havoc on our economy. Nancy Pelosi has promised that Rep. Barney Frank and the committee he heads are going to hold hearings to do this.

That bit of hilarity by the Squeaker of the House has got to be the biggest hoot since a similar effort to avoid a serious examination of the failures that made 9/11 possible was undertaken by a commission that included Jamie Gorelick, whose actions in the Clinton Justice Department facilitated the attacks we sustained.


As John Adams noted, " . . . one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress."

How Kerr Plans to Vote

K.R. is going to cast his ballot for Sarah Palin and her running mate, rejecting the glib Dumbo and the lying plagiarist with whom he is teamed.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Porky Earmark Laden Bailout Boondoggle Enacted

Anticipating Earmarks

"For the same reason that the members of the State legislatures will be unlikely to attach themselves sufficiently to national objects, the members of the federal legislature will be likely to attach themselves too much to local objects."

-- James Madison (Federalist No. 46, 1 February 1788)

Seeking Help on Media Project

In K.R.'s opinion, the BOM (big old media a.k.a. the mainstream press) has crossed way over the line and become a flagrantly dishonest propaganda megaphone for the Democrat Party and its most extreme left wing elements. It would be an insult to the intelligence of visitors to this blog to cite evidentiary examples of the constant flow of their blatant bias. In addition, they are insufferably condescending to normal Americans.

Despite the disdain and distrust that most people have for the press, it is damaging and dangerous to our society simply because it is the source upon which we rely for, and from which get most of the information we need and use to make our decisions. And a big lie repeated loudly and often enough eventually does have an effect upon the attitudes and thinking of large segments of the public.

K.R. is determined to combat the pernicious effects of the journalistic whores and is seeking the most effective practical ways to do so. As many minds are better than one, your thoughts and suggestions about the best ways to proceed are requested and will be welcome. Please send your ideas to:

krmudgeon@earthlink.net

Acting together, we should be able to reform or bury them.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Question for Vote Switchers

Any member of congress who now votes for the multi-billion dollar bailout boondoggle after having voted against it previously should be asked one question. He should be required to explain to his constituents which of the many pieces of pork that have been attached to the turkey in the intervening week transformed it into a bird that the public interest requires to be fed.

The bill has grown from three pages when first proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to 102 pages when the House rejected it last Monday to 451 pages when it was passed in the Senate.

Is Contempt for Congress a Crime?

If it was, most of the country would be a concentration camp.

Put the Show on the Road and Solve All the Debt and Deficit Problems

Step 1 -- Sell the U.S. Capitol to Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, or Donald Trump for use as a theme park, with the purchase price as well as a percentage of future revenues from the property going to the U.S. Treasury.

Step 2 -- Dress those who have been playing the roles of congressmen and senators in appropriate clown costumes, and buy a couple of the big tents that they're always talking about.

Step 3 -- Put the whole comedy on the road as a traveling show, with the clowns continuing to act in the tents at numerous locations all around the country just as they have been on Capitol Hill. Ticket sales would boom and as the humor of the whole ridiculous thing became apparent the mood of the entire country would improve tremendously. Just think about what the balls to be hurled to dump the Hon. John Dumbshit into the dunk tank sideshow would bring.

Step 4 -- Proceeds from ticket sales would pay off the debt, eliminate the deficit, put the country on a pay-as-you-go basis without any need for taxes, and perhaps even enable the government to pay significant dividend to all American citizens.

Wouldn't that be a great country. It couldn't get any better than that.

Understanding the Debacle's Origin

Only the Brits are capable of cutting through the almost impenetrable fog of gibberish to explain as clearly and humorously yet accurately as they do in the second half of this video how our financial geniuses got us into the financial mess that congress now seems intent on worsening and extending by throwing an incomprehensible amount of our money to those responsible for it.

Gun Ban Not Without Supporters

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Excellent Necessary Questions Posed by Laura Ingraham

Eight Bailout Questions:

How many times over the last few days have we heard politicians, talking heads and other self-proclaimed "experts" tell us the reason the $700 billion bailout is so wildly unpopular is that we just don't understand it. The economy is complicated. Just trust Congress, President Bush and his royal highness, Hank Paulson. They'll fix it. Don't worry about that $700 billion number. It only sounds high.

Well. If that's the case - if we're really too dumb to understand what's happening - perhaps Congress can show us how much they know. To start, here are some questions I'd like answered.

1) Since the White House introduced the bailout last week, a number of alternative ideas have been proposed. For one, Michigan Republican Thaddeus McCotter wrote a 10-point plan that carries no cost to taxpayers. Others, like George Soros', are significantly less expensive and, in his estimation, likelier to be effective. Can you explain why this bill is the best option, despite being the most expensive?

2) We're told the bailout could actually turn a profit for taxpayers. Assuming that's true, how can we be sure the money actually ends up back in taxpayers' hands? For years the Social Security system took in more money than it paid out, yet instead of putting the surplus revenue toward future benefits, Congress snatched that extra cash for general expenditures. Likewise, Fannie and Freddie's "profits," were used for congressional pet projects. With this track record, how can we trust that this program will be any different?

3) The McCain campaign yesterday pointed out that the most recent housing bill gave the government nearly $1 trillion to purchase mortgages. If this is true, why exactly does Congress need to pass this monstrous legislation?

4) Does the latest version of this bill still "allow the government to purchase troubled assets from pension plans, local governments, and small banks that serve low- and middle-income families"? Americans are having a hard enough time swallowing the idea of a bailout for irresponsible home, car, and student lending. The notion that we'll be on the hook for insolvent pension plans administered by awful, union-controlled lawmakers in cities like Detroit and New York is simply insane.

5) Does the bill's preamble still proclaim that the law "provides authority to the treasury secretary to ... ensure the economic well-being of Americans?" Does anyone know if there are limitations to this seemingly unbridled authority? Otherwise, what prevents the Treasury secretary from becoming a de-facto dictator? This strikes me as especially worth discussion.

6) Are there still no meaningful curtailments of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Does the bill contain anything even hinting at accountability?

7) What concrete assurances do taxpayers have that the turmoil's provenance - Carter and Clinton-era social-engineering dictums that upended safe-lending practices in favor of higher minority home ownership - will forever be outlawed? How do we know taxpayers won't be asked to finance another $700 billion bailout in 10 years? What has Congress learned from its past mistakes?

8) After Enron's collapse, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, then-CEO Ken Lay, and then-CFO Andrew Fastow, were called to testify before Congress. According to the Business and Media Institute, Fannie's and Freddie's overstated earnings were 19 times larger than Enron's fake numbers. So when can we expect Congress to call Jim Johnson, Franklin Raines, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and the rest of Fannie's and Freddie's enablers to testify before Congress?

At the end of the day, we're not being asked to bailout Wall St. so much as we are the Democratic Party. For $700 billion, answers to the questions above are the least Congress can do in return.

Capitol Hill Follies

Watch the clowns mock and reject efforts to have them get serious, and be sure to watch past the apparent end to the real one.

Promoting Panic

They're at it again. Still pushing the $700 billion "bailout."

It's got to be done . . . and done RIGHT NOW, QUICK, before . . . before . . . before what?

Before anyone has a chance to read and consider the proposed bailout bill
rationally . . . before anyone has a chance to think.

Given enough time, people will recognize a turkey for what it is even if it is festooned with enough decorative lard to make it look like a Christmas tree.

So the panic push is on and its purpose is to spark an expensive and unprecedented legislative stampede.

Blameless Barney?

A reader has commented that K.R. is being unfair to Congressman Barney Frank:

"How can anyone expect Barney Frank to have realized that in shielding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from accountability and increased oversight he, in effect, was pimping for a couple of financial whorehouses? After all, a few years ago the Democrat congressman from Massachusetts never even realized that a widely known gay brothel was operating in his personal digs in Washington, D.C."

Point well taken, and one can only marvel at the perspicacity of the bright lights we have serving as our lawmakers!