Culture of Corruption - Big Tuna Lobby buys off Speaker!!!

Re(1): 'GOP hits Pelosi's 'hypocrisy' on wage bill', Washington Times, Charles Hurt
Re(2): 'Clock ticking on Dems' 100-hour agenda', Associated Press, Kasie Hunt

It is true

:-&

At some indeterminate timeslice in



Speaker Pelosi’s Magnificent First 100 Hours (or so)

we have been made aware of the influence of the


Big Tuna lobby.

Watching the Deficit???

Re(1): Monthly Treasury Statement 2006/12 (FY2007)
Re(2): 'Dubya's New Plan to Balance the U.S. Budget', The Daily Reckoning, Ian Mathias

Howdy Folks - all five readers. The above link doesn't exist yet. It will magically appear tomorrow. Will it tell a story tomorrow that is better or worse than what follows...

Prediction Time...
But, with lots of caveats...

It is rather dumb to predict Federal spending with two months of data. So these numbers shouldn't be used when debating some Lib. Next months numbers will provide enough data to whack-a-mole a Lib or two and win some bets.

However, here is one recent bet I made and won: President Bush promised to cut the deficit in half by FY2009 (his last budget). He made that promise using the CBO FY2004 estimate of a $512 Billion dollar deficit. The media scoffed, the Dems wailed... 1/2 of $512 Billion is $256 Billion. Last years deficit was $247 Billion. He wins, I win. At least I got a decent lunch out of it. What did Bush get for being right and being early. Nada.

Now for this year (FY2007).

Right now we are running a $124 Billion deficit - a 4.31% reduction from last year. Revenues are up 8.75% while spending is up a mere 4.74%.

The interesting factoid is that the Gubmint is running without a budget and cannot exceed last years spending by more than inflation. What does that mean in the greater scheme of things.

1. We might hold spending to a 4% increase
2. Even that spending might be reduced because of gridlock
3. And, we will not be funding Katrina (already paid for last year)
4. And who knows about the annual $100 Billion military supplemental

Thus, we are looking at FY2007 1st Qtr (2006/12) numbers as follows:

• Receipts: $588,533 Million
• Outlays: $669,004 Million
• Deficit: $ 80,471 Million

With those numbers we are looking at annual FY2007 numbers as follows:

• Receipts: $2,671,409 Million
• Outlays: $2,734,524 Million
• Deficit: $ 63,115 Million

Our GDP will be about $13,000,000 Million
The deficit will consume 0.49% of GDP
The deficit will be 2.3% of spending

And, the budget will be in surplus in FY2008 - just in time for the Presidential Elections!!!

Rosy... Me thinks not. The worse case scenario (not including acts of God and the like) would result in an FY2007 deficit of $145 Billion. Basically, the growing economy and the minimal spending restraint shown by the Pigs in the Trough lop off about $100 Billion a year in the defict. Thus, by FY2009 we are looking at a surplus of between $50 Billion and $130 Billion...

Quite a Legacy, eh...

minnieMeCVN 'The William Jefferson Clinton'

Re(1): 'Loose Lips Name Ships', In From the Cold, Spook86

Spook86 discusses the naming of major command ships in the US Navy. He rightfully decries the politicized process behind naming capital ships. He also expresses a concern about the naming selection that awaits for the sister ships of the Ford CVNs.

He is, alas, too late. A new, and vastly improved capital ship class has already been designed and will wear the moniker of William Jefferson Clinton. She has, in fact, already been spotted at sea trials (August 2005, New Orleans). What follows is a brief synopsis for both of my readers:

Military History Buffs!!!

The U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton did indeed sail prior to the U.S.S. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Crewed ably by Sean Penn, she sailed dramatically (and peacefully!!!) into the murky waters of New Orleans. However, the rapacious warmongers of Congress increased the military budget so she was redesigned as a three-man ship with provisions for four. This came in handy since an able captain, a legacy photographer, and a noted biographer must man all warships of the Clinton class.

This photo demonstrates the viability of this concept. While there was no space for transporting rescued Americans, America can indeed show concern and immediacy with this warship. Also, this fine vessel stored enough food and water for four stranded citizens for one day. With a flotilla of 7,500 such ships sailing daily we could have dealt with the situation in New Orleans much better and much faster. This proves that posing and posturing are forms of leadership that work. Planning, logistics, and coordinated action are unnecessary in the 21st Century as is proved by Sean Penn and the U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton.

Note: Minor flaws in preparing the warship for active duty precluded even the appearance of saving children or the feeding of the stranded. However, Captain Penn has described his sortie as a success and President Bush's efforts as inadequate, too slow, and impeachably cheap. In addition, the Superdome was evacuated Friday, September 2 2005. The Convention Center was evacuated Saturday, September 3 2005. Regrettably, the U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton sailed forth on Sunday, September 4, 2005. Our hope is that future sorties will save thousands!!!

Recruiting poster for the 'U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton':

'An Army of One'. For all active duty (of any force - we are a bit desperate), we are seeking volunteers to man the U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton. There are no minimum requirements. There is no minimum rank. There are no physical or mental challenges placed in your way - serving on this peaceship will lead to far greater self-esteem than serving anywhere else in this military. Actually, we don't care if you are actually in the military - as long as we can fit you to some type of uniform or another. By the way, the chain of command of all ships of the Clinton class ultimately lead to either William Jefferson Clinton or Hillary Rodham Clinton. This ensures civilian authority over part of the military and their use of deadly force.

The 'U.S.S. William Jefferson Clinton' is the first of the Clinton class of warship. It embodies all the necessities of being cheap (I mean inexpensive), inexpensive in manpower requirements, inexpensive in negative publicity if sunk, inexpensive in lethality since our goals are humanitarian, and inexpensive in scariness... The second ship, the 'U.S.S. Hillary Rodham Clinton' is currently under construction. Construction of the Rodham Clinton may actually be completed and sea trials finished before the problems with the Jefferson Clinton are worked out. Regardless, the Rodham Clinton will enhance the current Jefferson Clinton class by streamlining the medical insurance of the crew. The third ship, the 'U.S.S. Cohen', is being designed carefully by Mr. Cohen himself. There will be a TV on board to ensure that missions can always be recalled by a careful review of CNN broadcasts. This ship is over budget and way behind schedule. Mr. Cohen is staying up all night every night - right now he is concerned about the paint scheme. In the wings is the 'U.S.S. Albright' which will be the most forward of the peaceships Clinton. She will be the iron fist behind the felt glove. I sure hope the meanies in the world watch out when she sails free. Regretfully, construction of the 'U.S.S Sandy Berger' is now delayed. The schematics and drafting plans seem to have been misplaced.

Back to the --- Past...

1968 all over again...

But, in a time of war???

Oh, that's right, there is no war...

LBJ, how many children did you kill today!!!

"De-escalate, investigate, troops home now!!!

To my Lefty friends, at least this memorable chant isn't in 'Black and White'! My challenge still stands, however. Please use the comments section to provide links to ANY memorable speech by any liberal President that is in color. And, when I say memorable I actually mean memorable in a good way. Therefore President Carter's brilliant malaise speech really doesn't count.

Pathetic.

Truely Pathetic.

Clear Choices - None Easy...

Re(1): 'Parthian Shot', The Belmont Club, Wretchard T.C.
Re(2): 'Total War', USS Clueless, Steven den Beste
Re(3): 'The Peace Party vs. The Power Party', The Weekly Standard, Matthew Continetti
Re(4): 'The Three Conjectures', The Belmont Club, Wretchard T.C.

A still small voice seems to be thundering...

We have decided, as a civilization, to ignore the region, the people, and the culture of the Middle East for more than three decades. In fact, far more than three decades. But, three decades in which we have been the target of aggression by those peoples and that culture.

We must engage that culture culturally. While they do not have the means to destroy our civilization, globalization has provided them the means of disrupting us to the point we may eat our own. One way we destroy our own values and our own culture is to stand by in some form of Sitzkrieg and wait till we can defend ourselves only through the ‘Second Conjecture’ solution of genocide. Any information age total war will be a war of genocide. Imagine a weak President after 9/11. Imagine that Putin was not constrained (he must have been) after Beslan. While some may want a more forceful posture there is a balance – and once that tipping point is met and exceeded (since none know where it is to be found) than future generations will judge our actions.

The Left (the Peace Party) refuses the power of the kinetic influence. The Right (‘The Power Party’) often refuses the influence of soft power. Judgments have to be made and made soon. We are in for a long conflict that requires leadership and vision, or we are in for a short conflict that requires acceptance of genocide. Are we really at the point of promoting and accepting the second option? Is another thirty years of Sitzkrieg going to really change our options? In the end we really do have to dance to the same tune, eh…

That is history.

I pray history finds us informed, just, and victorious.

Bye, Bye Turd...

If you told me during the reign of Brave Sir Clinton that Saddam Hussein would be hung my mental picture would have been:




Maybe that is the same image floating around my noggin even now!!!




Smile...
We just won a battle!!!

‘Going Roman’ the American Way…

Re(1): “You've got money. But what do you want to buy?”, The Belmont Club, Wretchard TC
Re(2): “Things are coming to a head”, Works and Days, VDH
Re(3): “Yeah, We Can Win - If We Decide We Want To”, Daily Pundit, Bill Quick
Re(4): “The Three Conjectures”, The Belmont Club, Wretchard TC

Wow, a confluence of articles on really one topic. The topic is summarized best by the following:

In order to win a war, you first have to have the will and intention to wage a war. Nobody, Hanson included, has demonstrated anything like the will needed to defeat our Islamist enemies. Instead, to a lesser or greater degree, none of these people - from the Hansons to the Bushes - are talking about actually waging a war.

I have nothing against Mr. Quick but, and this is a big but, he apparently hasn’t read VDH’s authored works. VDH does, in fact, know what a ‘total war’ is. He does know, and in his referenced article demonstrates that fact, that there is a requirement of civil willpower and drive required for a Democracy to fight. These are things he knows and understands.

If Total War is initiated than it will look like:

At this point, a United States choked with corpses could still not negotiate an end to hostilities or deter further attacks. There would be no one to call on the Red Telephone, even to surrender to. In fact, there exists no competent Islamic authority, no supreme imam who could stop a jihad on behalf of the whole Muslim world. Even if the terror chiefs could somehow be contacted in this apocalyptic scenario and persuaded to bury the hatchet, the lack of command and control imposed by the cell structure would prevent them from reining in their
minions. Due to the fixity of intent, attacks would continue for as long as capability remained. Under these circumstances, any American government would eventually be compelled by public desperation to finish the exchange by entering -1 x 10^9 in the final right hand column: total retaliatory extermination.

Once started, there is no solution other than the final solution. That is why we stay our hand. Our civilization, our culture, our people will change in ways we cannot comprehend if we destroy their civilization, their culture, and their people. As Wretchard notes:

The attempt to establish a democratic Iraq, however disappointing the experience has been so far, is unlikely to be abandoned very easily in the near future -- and perhaps not for as long as a the ghost of a shadow of a chance remains that it may be attained -- not only because the current administration is so invested in it, but because the alternatives of divide and rule and naked power politics, which would have been adopted without a second thought by Empires in the early 20th century, are too cold-blooded and heartless to be easily embraced by an American public which genuinely wishes the Iraqi people well.

‘Going Roman’ is no longer sowing a city with salt. It is obliterating a language, a belief structure, a culture, and killing tens of millions or hundreds of millions.

It may come to pass, but I want history to write

‘It was necessary, and it was just'

on both the first and final lines of any discussion regarding our era.

This is not something to be taken lightly.

It is now discussed openly...

The Long March of the Shitte Islamic Blitzkrieg!!!

Re(1): "The Spirit of '79", The Belmont Club, Wretchard T.C.
Re(2): "Declare War on Iran's Economy", Back Talk, Engram
Re(3): "Saddam Will Rise Again", The Belmont Club, Wretchard T.C.

The Long March of the Shitte Islamic Blitzkrieg, aka "The Spirit of '79"

To All (including Wretchard – how presumptuous):

We are witnessing events in a vacuum.

1. We blame only our leadership. However, Chamberlain did not act alone. He acted on the will of his people – and that will had Churchill ranting and raving in some oak paneled government mental health facility. We Americans and the West were told this would be a long hard slog. We were told that we would not even know when the conflict was won – or conversely, lost. That implies that we do not currently know were we stand. We should, however, admit that as a civilization we are quite at fault for making a bit of a mess of the current situation. Most of us at this site know that the mess in the kitchen will get a bit worse if we let the cat crap on the dinner plates – but America has 40 – 50 million folks thinking the cat lady’s house is just fine!!! A bit of botulism will take care of that, eh!!!
   
2. We are viewing the ‘onrush’ of Shiite Aggression as a momentous and monstrous ‘Force of Nature’ that can no longer be pushed against, can no longer be fought. There will be no adjustments as the Shiite Islamic Blitzkrieg marches through the capitals of the middle east and right into your living room. And, there are no problems on the other side of that wall of green and red that hamper their push to doom us. Iran, with its oil wealth and population, will squash us like a bug! We somehow forget that supporting client states and organizations is somewhat expensive in terms of resources, time, and energy.

What we are forgetting is that it is hard to compete against a crappy team. They cannot even get behind their coach – but, apparently we can’t either. They haven’t made a shot for ten minutes – but some of our players are hoopin’ it up for them because they don’t think there is a chance of the game getting even kinda close. Over there Murtha lobs a shot from half court into our defensive bucket while ranting ‘I want off this court, this game is boring’, over here Buchanan chucks a layup into our defensive hoop while demurring about the fallacies of using our military outside America’s borders, and finally some nutjob on the Islamic bench trips his teammate and rants that the ‘Old Coach is Back!!!’.

Yuk, this game is boring, it is long, and we don’t just lose and come back to play again in a month or so. Can I turn it off? Can I turn off a game my team is playing? Can I bitch about the players and coach? What about that game last month? Pre-Season sucked. I think we should restructure our game plan right now for a half-court possession offense and switch to a pressing defense!!! But, my friend wants us to play Laker-Ball!!!

Oh, well… Maybe the other team will lob some three’s and get that magical 5x10^6 and the 'Game will be on!' - again!!!'

Hope Not.

The Race is On!!!

Re(1): "Declare War on Iran's Economy", BackTalk, Engram

Autocracies fail catastrophically when they fail.

This one is failing. I guess there were smarter people than I reviewing the situation if these reports are to be trusted – and they do match the reports from early spring regarding the reduction in fuel import by the Iranian government. That is another reason our form of economy and government will win out in the long haul – can you imagine if our government was the direct purchaser and owner of our fuel needs?

Now Iran must answer basic questions.

It must answer the question of whether it can support Hezbollah after Hezbollah destroyed southern Lebanon. Can Iran rebuild Lebanon after their very own self-induced Katrina? Can they do so as oil prices fall and oil production plummets? Can they induce Halliburton to rebuild their oil infrastructure under the threat of air strikes that they cannot defend and under the cloud of nationalizing the assets once they are profitable?

Can Iran continue on their Manhattan Project when America doesn’t really seem strategically concerned with the Ill One in North Korea? When we still attacked Iraq even though we ‘knew’ there were WMD capabilities – one of the reasons we did not mass troops and attack WWII style?

And, can Iran continue to hold client states? Unlike North Korea, which is a client state of China, Iran is the 'owner' of many regional states and groups. They are the 'power' that drives the regions terror. Without assets and influence they will lose their clients - and in this part of the world clients that lose their papa are in a very precarious position.

My personal question remains: Will Iran fail before we quit? I think so. Rope-A-Dope will take two years and I don’t think Iran with its meager economy will survive that long (just a guess). If Iran collapses as a revolutionary force than Iraq will be a very interesting place.

Hard Numbers on Military Recruitment/Retention

Howdy Folks,

You want hard numbers to battle the Liberal Intelligencia regarding ground force recruitment/retention/capability...

A CBOStudy: Recruiting, Retention, and Future Levels of Military Personnel

Not all rosey - but initiated to resolve issues during the worst of months (June, July, August 2005).

It proves:

1. The Army is having recruiting problems to a minor extent
2. The Marine Corps is not having recruiting problems to any extent
3. Retention in both the Army and Marine Corps is exceeding any goals
4. There is no degredation in the quality of recruits entering military service

And, these numbers dramatically improved in FY2006.

A 'Favorite Posts' Blogroll - without den Beste

Uuuuggggghhhhhhh, how can any serious blogger not link permanently to at least one of many seminal den Beste articles...

My first link shall be: Total War

How embarassing :-&

UPDATE:
I guess I'm not quite the idiot I have convinced myself I am. How could I have forgotten about: 'Strategic Overview'. That is another exceptional article by den Beste that is permanently collated in the 'My Favorites' blogroll.

Hard Ball???

President Bush is going to make 'an 'significant statement' 20 minutes from now...

If it is to dump Rumsfeld than we are in for a lame duck Presidency and a weak stature in the GWOT...

If it is to dump Rumsfeld (or hopefully some other cabinet member) and replace him/her with Senator Joeseph Lieberman than we are playing to win...

If Lieberman accepts a cabinet position Republican Governor Jodi Rell will select the replacement Senator. A Republican will rebalance the Senate to 50(R) / 49(D) + 1(I). And Vice President Cheney will break ties - much like the first two years. Regardless, the media is placing Lieberman squarely in the Democratic Caucus - a change there may be a 'significant statement'.

If we play strong will the Democrats remember Jumpin' Jim?

Time shall tell...

I Would Rather Be 'Stuck in Iraq' Than

Re(1): John Kerry's 'Education' Speach - uncut, from his site...

... be forced to listen to this kind of unprofessional and uniformed and unprepared presentation by war hero Senator John Forbes Kerry.

But for the switch of 70,000 votes in Ohio (imagine if the vote were held this year, eh) or a mere 4,000,000 votes nation wide we would have two more years of a President John Forbes Kerry.

Wow, could there have been any more miserable political rally than one featuring Senator John Forbes Kerry and Phil Angelides.

Can there...

I would rather spend the hour answering automated phone calls from political action groups.

Yup, that would be more entertaining.

Much more inspirational.

And more educational.

I Would Rather Be 'Stuck in Iraq' Than

Stuck on Stupid...

Democratic Leader John F. Kerry Trashes the Military (Again)









Nahanni said...

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do
your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If
you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

"There are "worse" things to be stuck doing, John.

One could always be a vapid, venal old gigolo like you.

I honestly don't know if anything else can be said about Senator John Forbes Kerry.

Be proud Massachusetts, very proud...

From the Northeast???

Re(1): 'War, Punditry, and Farming', Works and Days, VDH

Salvation from the bastion of common sense - the Northeast???

Presidential hopefuls

The Hoover Institution has been hosting Presidential hopefuls. The latest visitor was Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who spoke to, and received questions from, the Senior Fellows yesterday. For about one hour, he heard some tough inquiries, answered without notes, kept his cool, and talked analytically rather than in platitudes. I was impressed, and came away thinking that being a conservative governor in Massachusetts must have sharpened his debating skills and given him insights about dealing with the therapeutic mindset. I don’t know what he thought of us, but most of us thought him quite impressive.

When VDH speaks, I listen...

A recommendation: When VDH speaks, people should listen...

Bored by Lefty Brain Surgeons...

Re(1): 'CNN Poll Says Bush Failed: America Not Completely Fascist Yet', Confederate Yankee

So Americans (other than the Moonbats and Idiotarians) feel that we aren't quite fascist yet...

That was a suprise to CNN and their Idiotarian viewership...

So much so that one of theirs (TD Larkin) commented as follows:

... what am I supposed to 'die' from? Al Qaeda?

Please, they are essentially a video production company these days. I don't lie awake at night worrying about those clowns

Well, yeah. Like President Clinton you should have been concerned for your safety when they demonstrate the capability to murder civilians on your streets. Are you more worried about Hezbollah? How about Hmmas? Islamic Jihad? Muslim Brotherhood? The Iranian Revolutionary Guards or whatever?

By the way September 2006 was a milestone of sorts. It was the month that military fatalities in the GWOT (from October 2001 onward - almost 5 years) exceeded the civilian fatalities of 9/11 (almost two hours). It is a nice way of remembering that our adversaries do not seek military targets - they seek you, TD.

Two thousand, zero, zero party over oops out of time...
So tonight let's party like its 9/10...
Can I vote for you...

From Barbary Coast to Barbary Coast…

Re(1): 'Barbary Wars', Time Magazine, Christopher Hitchens

We have been fighting ‘Moslem’ Barbarians for 250 years.

When will we tire of it?

Answer: First Conjecture

What will happen when we do?

Answer: Second Conjecture, then Third Conjecture

These are not good times. These are interesting times. These are times that will change our culture - to our acclaim or to our contempt.

Peace In Our Time!!!

Re(1): 'Peace at Last! *clink*', BlameBush!, Liberal Larry

In 1938 an honorable peace was signed in Munich...
In 1994 we celebrated peace with champagne!!!

Award winning photos of each:

A 'Valued' Link...

Yuk, yuk...

Got a blogroll link at 'The Iraq War Was Wrong Blog'. My intrepid site warrants a blogroll entry in the 'Bad People Wrong About Iraq War Being Right' group. I guess I made the cut in July 2004. Something to be proud of, eh...

But come on folks - am I really a bad guy???

Brad and Other Libs Miss Deficit by just 39%!!!

Re(1): 'Edmund Andrews on the Bush Budget Submission', Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
Re(2): 'And, now banned :-{', Me
Re(3): 'Budget Deficit Estimation', Me
Re(4): 'Federal Budget Deficit - MoveOn Libs, nothing to see here', Me

Still not permitted to post on Brave Brad DeLong’s (the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton) Lefty web site, but I can post here regarding his FY2006 budget premonitions:

------------------------------------------------

Well Brad,

You have your answer regarding the truly brilliant FY2006 deficit estimate of $423 Billion.

Missed it by that ($163 Billion) much...

Get Smart...

But that wasn't your real question was it...

Here is a question (given that this post isn't dead and that I am permitted to post again): What will the higher income middle class going to do with a clearer tax burden. That is, they can compute their taxes without the AMT surprise...

Brad, are you going to keep on trusting Krugman et. al.?

-------------------------------------------------

Let's see...

In February I estimated a deficit of $287 Billion.

Missed it by that ($27 Billion) much...

I guess presenting and missing an economic target by a mere 39% is good enough for government work - Brad DeLong, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton. Vote these guys back in!!!