originally posted at 2bucksworth.com
I'm not ashamed to tell you, one thing I will never skimp on is good toilet paper. In fact, I bring my own when I travel, because even good hotels don't have the good stuff. About 15 years ago, I discovered that they could put lotion in my TP, and things have never been the same since.
For all my fellow aficionados of fine bathroom paper products, here comes a story that will really chap your...um...hide (Literally!) Turns out, soft wipeage is more destructive to the planet than SUV's or even Al Gore's carbon-belching mansion. That's right, Francis - every time you squeeze the Charmin, a baby seal dies. Not even turning on the exhaust fan will help this time.
Are they serious? Is this the most important thing we have to worry about now? Aside from the fact that I think anthropogenic climate change is for the most part so much balderdash, if we saw trees down to make TP, we can plant more! With the economy in the crapper, do we really have time to discuss what else is in there?
Maybe we should start using reusable potty wipes, so we can all be stinky hippies and our houses can permanently smell like the daycare at changing time. Whata load of...you know what.
Nolanbuck
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Senatobia Boycott: 22 Years Ago Today
On this very day twenty two years ago, during my senior year of high school, something happened that would change how I viewed race relations forever. A large majority of the African American students of the Senatobia Separate School District were held out of school by their parents, and an African American boycott of white-owned businesses soon followed, as did a civil rights rally. What sparked this series of boycotts and protests was a white assistant superintendent was hired over an African American candidate for the same position.
Being only 17 at the time, I did not know the whole story surrounding the hiring decision (and I still don't), but I did see how it affected my school and my friends (both black and white) and that I did not like. This month-long holdout effected athletes in spring sports, and the band who was preparing to go on a trip to Gatlinburg, TN to compete in a few weeks, not to mention the disruption in the studies of hundreds of students.
And what things occurred beyond the school room also gave me reason to ponder. As an employee of a white-owned grocery store, I had to escort little old African American ladies to their car with even one item, because certain persons had threatened to confiscate any goods from anyone breaking the boycott. But set against that type of intimidation, there were signs of hope and friendship; like brave classmates of mine..black kids who just wanted to go to school, and their white friends who escorted them as they walked to school and back.
As a part of the first generation to begin school in Mississippi after integration in the early 1970's, I had never known school without people of both races and found the boycott month at school somewhat surreal and, frankly, a little boring. I won't criticize the cause that led to this boycott, I am ignorant of the circumstances..and ultimately the school district caved, so there must have been some merit to the claim. But I saw that racial tensions made everyone's life (even those for whom skin color no longer mattered) more difficult.
I learned that being right is good, but being good to one another is better. I hope some of my classmates from SHS will share their thoughts and recollections on my blog or the Facebook feed.
Nolanbuck
Being only 17 at the time, I did not know the whole story surrounding the hiring decision (and I still don't), but I did see how it affected my school and my friends (both black and white) and that I did not like. This month-long holdout effected athletes in spring sports, and the band who was preparing to go on a trip to Gatlinburg, TN to compete in a few weeks, not to mention the disruption in the studies of hundreds of students.
And what things occurred beyond the school room also gave me reason to ponder. As an employee of a white-owned grocery store, I had to escort little old African American ladies to their car with even one item, because certain persons had threatened to confiscate any goods from anyone breaking the boycott. But set against that type of intimidation, there were signs of hope and friendship; like brave classmates of mine..black kids who just wanted to go to school, and their white friends who escorted them as they walked to school and back.
As a part of the first generation to begin school in Mississippi after integration in the early 1970's, I had never known school without people of both races and found the boycott month at school somewhat surreal and, frankly, a little boring. I won't criticize the cause that led to this boycott, I am ignorant of the circumstances..and ultimately the school district caved, so there must have been some merit to the claim. But I saw that racial tensions made everyone's life (even those for whom skin color no longer mattered) more difficult.
I learned that being right is good, but being good to one another is better. I hope some of my classmates from SHS will share their thoughts and recollections on my blog or the Facebook feed.
Nolanbuck
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ghosts of Ole Miss
Featured on the front page of ESPN.com today is a great retelling of the terrible story. It is the story of the riots on the campus of my Alma Mater, Ole Miss, in 1962 during the enrollment of James Meredith, the first African American to attend Ole Miss. This dark narrative is juxtaposed in the piece with the story of the 1962 Ole Miss Rebel football team, one of the best in the college football that year, and probably the best in Ole Miss history.
This story was written by a fellow Mississippian, and it tells the truth of how very far we have come since those dark days, and how far we have yet to go. I am proud to be a Mississippian, I'm proud to be an Ole Miss alum, and I'm proud that my kids are growing up in a Mississippi, where black and white alike live together like never before, and in many ways, like nowhere else. We in the South, both black and white, have had to confront our issues of race, and we are all the better for it.
Sure we have a ways to go yet, but I love that most of the players for Ole Miss's football and basketball teams today are African American, my wife's best friend is African American, and my sons can chose who they befriend, hang out with, love, date and marry based on the content of their character, and not their race.
Alot of things have happened in my home state that make me want to cry, and we're still not perfect. But man, how I love progress.
Nolanbuck (Ole Miss, Class of '91)
This story was written by a fellow Mississippian, and it tells the truth of how very far we have come since those dark days, and how far we have yet to go. I am proud to be a Mississippian, I'm proud to be an Ole Miss alum, and I'm proud that my kids are growing up in a Mississippi, where black and white alike live together like never before, and in many ways, like nowhere else. We in the South, both black and white, have had to confront our issues of race, and we are all the better for it.
Sure we have a ways to go yet, but I love that most of the players for Ole Miss's football and basketball teams today are African American, my wife's best friend is African American, and my sons can chose who they befriend, hang out with, love, date and marry based on the content of their character, and not their race.
Alot of things have happened in my home state that make me want to cry, and we're still not perfect. But man, how I love progress.
Nolanbuck (Ole Miss, Class of '91)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Freedom of Speech, or Pro-Choice?
Earlier this week, an Oklahoma City man was pulled over by local police for a sign affixed to the rear of his vehicle that read "Abort Obama Not the Unborn". The sign was confiscated as possibly threatening to the President, and the Secret Service dropped by his house for a little chat. Soon it was acertained that the man and his sign was no threat to the POTUS, and he was reunited with his sign.
Now I'm foursquare in favor of keeping our President safe, but two things are troubling in this case. First of all, the man has a 1st Amendment right to free speech and that includes witty signs about the President. As for the sign being construed as a threat, that is simply not possible...because as we all know: abortion isn't murder, it's a choice. Not only was the poor man's free speech infringed, but his freedom of choice was stripped away as well. His bod...er...bumper, his choice.
I'm sure the ACLU is thumbing through the phonebook for this man's number as we speak.
Nolanbuck
Now I'm foursquare in favor of keeping our President safe, but two things are troubling in this case. First of all, the man has a 1st Amendment right to free speech and that includes witty signs about the President. As for the sign being construed as a threat, that is simply not possible...because as we all know: abortion isn't murder, it's a choice. Not only was the poor man's free speech infringed, but his freedom of choice was stripped away as well. His bod...er...bumper, his choice.
I'm sure the ACLU is thumbing through the phonebook for this man's number as we speak.
Nolanbuck
Hoover Reloaded
According to a Washington Post story today, the Obama administration is preparing to unveil it's budget plan for fiscal year 2010, which includes plans to slash the federal budget deficit by half in the next four years. And how does the President plan to accomplish this Herculean feat? Why, by raising taxes, of course!
Putting the time-worn label of "tax & spend Democrat" behind him, the President has apparently hit upon a fresh approach: Spend...then Tax. Well, he promised change, people. Just days after signing the huge $1 trillion + spend-ulous IOU, our President has announced that he plans to complete his class-warfare model by soaking the rich and big business. All the while framing this new spend-and-tax plan as fiscal responsibility. If Mr Obama wanted fiscal responsibility, he should have started with cutting the $30 million for the salt marsh harvest mouse or the $200 million to "design and furnish" the new Department of Homeland Security headquaters.
The script of the U.S. government's to this economic downturn so far is frighteningly familiar. In 1929, President Hoover poured billions into banks to prop them up and prevent illiquidity, just like President Bush did last fall. Hoover also signed the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff Act, a protectionism scheme not unlike recent noises being made by the current administration to "Buy American First" and renegotiate our trade treaties. The result of Smoot-Hawley was a trade war with our former trading partners which robbed our economy of vital trading partners that could have helped us get the economy revved up again.
Then, Hoover obliterated the tax cuts of the Harding & Coolidge administrations, by raising the top marginal rate from 25% to 63%. Thats right folks, Hoover raised taxes on the rich and big business. It was right after this tax hike that the Great Depression reached it's nadir, and the Hoover Administration met it's end.
Obama's tax hikes will bode no better for our generation, tax increases stiffle spending, which in turn costs jobs of people who make things people aren't buying anymore. And there's no such thing as a corporate tax in reality, businesses are not going to pass the costs onto their shareholders, so they will offset the expense by raising prices or cutting costs (i.e - jobs.) You can blame the rich or big business all you want for this current mess, but trying to punish them with higher taxes may make us feel better, but it will cost working people their jobs.
Despite the Democrats painting Bush as the Hoover of this century, it is now the Dems who are turning to the failed policies of Hoover to deal with the present day crisis. Change, more and more, looks like an unoriginal rehash of the bad ideas of the past.
Nolanbuck
Putting the time-worn label of "tax & spend Democrat" behind him, the President has apparently hit upon a fresh approach: Spend...then Tax. Well, he promised change, people. Just days after signing the huge $1 trillion + spend-ulous IOU, our President has announced that he plans to complete his class-warfare model by soaking the rich and big business. All the while framing this new spend-and-tax plan as fiscal responsibility. If Mr Obama wanted fiscal responsibility, he should have started with cutting the $30 million for the salt marsh harvest mouse or the $200 million to "design and furnish" the new Department of Homeland Security headquaters.
The script of the U.S. government's to this economic downturn so far is frighteningly familiar. In 1929, President Hoover poured billions into banks to prop them up and prevent illiquidity, just like President Bush did last fall. Hoover also signed the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff Act, a protectionism scheme not unlike recent noises being made by the current administration to "Buy American First" and renegotiate our trade treaties. The result of Smoot-Hawley was a trade war with our former trading partners which robbed our economy of vital trading partners that could have helped us get the economy revved up again.
Then, Hoover obliterated the tax cuts of the Harding & Coolidge administrations, by raising the top marginal rate from 25% to 63%. Thats right folks, Hoover raised taxes on the rich and big business. It was right after this tax hike that the Great Depression reached it's nadir, and the Hoover Administration met it's end.
Obama's tax hikes will bode no better for our generation, tax increases stiffle spending, which in turn costs jobs of people who make things people aren't buying anymore. And there's no such thing as a corporate tax in reality, businesses are not going to pass the costs onto their shareholders, so they will offset the expense by raising prices or cutting costs (i.e - jobs.) You can blame the rich or big business all you want for this current mess, but trying to punish them with higher taxes may make us feel better, but it will cost working people their jobs.
Despite the Democrats painting Bush as the Hoover of this century, it is now the Dems who are turning to the failed policies of Hoover to deal with the present day crisis. Change, more and more, looks like an unoriginal rehash of the bad ideas of the past.
Nolanbuck
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Nation Of Cowards?
AG Holder & President Obama are prime examples of the fact that it is not their race or discrimination toward that race that keep many African Americans in a life of poverty, abuse and moral decline. It is what many do or fail to do with the opportunities that are available to all of us. What we need to be asking ourselves is what makes an educated, successful black man different from a poor, uneducated & unsuccessful black man. It isn't the color of his skin, so…what is the real problem? Until we can all have an open & honest dialog about race relations in this country, about what the issues truly are and who or what is responsible, then we cannot solve the problem. Although the new Attorney General and I probably have very different views on the majority of issues, I accept the challenge that he put forth today; the challenge to embrace racial understanding, to break out of our “race-protected cocoons” and I believe in turn to begin the journey to true racial equality and harmony. This is a battle that I have been passionate about my whole life and one that I believe can be won in my lifetime. Can we change the mind and heart of everyone? Of course not, but we can still achieve our goal in spite of those that choose to live with the cancer of hatred and bigotry. It may destroy them, but we cannot allow it to destroy us all.
Mr. Holder said in a statement to hundreds of Justice Department employees, that the United States was “a nation of cowards” on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. Although not the most diplomatic approach, his comments were certainly provocative. He did not say that white Americans were cowards; he said that we were a nation of cowards. Both blacks and whites shy away from addressing issues of race in a dignified manner. The only time you hear about race relations is when someone is pointing a finger. That will not accomplish anything except to further divide us. We all need to take an honest look at ourselves and where we truly stand in regards to this devastating problem. Part of Mr. Holder's statement has been largely ignored. He says "If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," -- He didn't say that only whites need to accept justified criticism. That honesty is also an opportunity to address the strides that have been made and where the current problems lie. He also said that we must be tolerant enough of each other to have these frank conversations. I take that to mean that we ALL must be tolerant...blacks & whites. While it is true that this issue will not be resolved through conversation, it can open doors that will make other changes possible. Many politicians have proven for the most part that it is more beneficial to them to keep the simmering pot of racial issues stirring, so it is up to the rest of us that want true equality to address this. If we all do our part to break down the walls that divide us and balance the scales by which we are measured, one day soon we can ALL have equal and unweighted opportunities based not on the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.
There are many white people that are also living the same pathetic lives that many blacks live; lives filled with the same poverty, abuse and moral decline that are seen in our black communities. The difference...we don't defend them or try misplace blame. People of all races have to take personal responsibility for their failures just as they would accept the rewards of their successes. Again, open and honest dialog on the part of ALL Americans is the first step to bridging the gap between us. The second is identifying and addressing the true source of the problems and demanding personal accountability for those responsible - no matter their race. The greatest strides will be made when successful African Americans begin to speak out and challenge other African Americans to step up and embrace excellence over excuses. Together we stand…Divided we fall.
Debbiebuck
Mr. Holder said in a statement to hundreds of Justice Department employees, that the United States was “a nation of cowards” on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. Although not the most diplomatic approach, his comments were certainly provocative. He did not say that white Americans were cowards; he said that we were a nation of cowards. Both blacks and whites shy away from addressing issues of race in a dignified manner. The only time you hear about race relations is when someone is pointing a finger. That will not accomplish anything except to further divide us. We all need to take an honest look at ourselves and where we truly stand in regards to this devastating problem. Part of Mr. Holder's statement has been largely ignored. He says "If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," -- He didn't say that only whites need to accept justified criticism. That honesty is also an opportunity to address the strides that have been made and where the current problems lie. He also said that we must be tolerant enough of each other to have these frank conversations. I take that to mean that we ALL must be tolerant...blacks & whites. While it is true that this issue will not be resolved through conversation, it can open doors that will make other changes possible. Many politicians have proven for the most part that it is more beneficial to them to keep the simmering pot of racial issues stirring, so it is up to the rest of us that want true equality to address this. If we all do our part to break down the walls that divide us and balance the scales by which we are measured, one day soon we can ALL have equal and unweighted opportunities based not on the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.
There are many white people that are also living the same pathetic lives that many blacks live; lives filled with the same poverty, abuse and moral decline that are seen in our black communities. The difference...we don't defend them or try misplace blame. People of all races have to take personal responsibility for their failures just as they would accept the rewards of their successes. Again, open and honest dialog on the part of ALL Americans is the first step to bridging the gap between us. The second is identifying and addressing the true source of the problems and demanding personal accountability for those responsible - no matter their race. The greatest strides will be made when successful African Americans begin to speak out and challenge other African Americans to step up and embrace excellence over excuses. Together we stand…Divided we fall.
Debbiebuck
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
New NY Senator Has To Move Her Guns
The recently appointed replacement for Hillary Clinton's vacant U.S. Senate seat, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) mother of a 5 year old and an infant, recently came under fire from New York anti-gun groups when it was learned that she kept two rifles under her bed for protection of her family. Nevermind that it was later disclosed that the rifles were stored in a locked case away from any ammunition, the New York anti-gun machine went into full-automatic and has been letting her have it with both barrels.
One of her most vocal critics, Joyce Gorycki, co-chair of Long Island's New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, summed her opposition to the guns under the bed this way: "I don't know why she needs two rifles." According to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Ms. Gorycki, it's none of your dang business.
Now that savaging Sarah Palin is no longer trendy, the Dems have turned on one of their own. What is it about powerful women packing heat that drives the left so crazy? I know that it's too much to ask for liberal groups not to make a political football out of this, but the fact is if Senator Gillibrand has legal guns stored safely in her home, she has every right to do so, political backlash notwithstanding.
So, buckling to political pressure, the new senator has moved the rifles to an undisclosed location for "security reasons". I'd love to see the gun control gestapo's faces when they find out the guns are under the 5 year old's bed now. ;-)
Nolanbuck
One of her most vocal critics, Joyce Gorycki, co-chair of Long Island's New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, summed her opposition to the guns under the bed this way: "I don't know why she needs two rifles." According to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Ms. Gorycki, it's none of your dang business.
Now that savaging Sarah Palin is no longer trendy, the Dems have turned on one of their own. What is it about powerful women packing heat that drives the left so crazy? I know that it's too much to ask for liberal groups not to make a political football out of this, but the fact is if Senator Gillibrand has legal guns stored safely in her home, she has every right to do so, political backlash notwithstanding.
So, buckling to political pressure, the new senator has moved the rifles to an undisclosed location for "security reasons". I'd love to see the gun control gestapo's faces when they find out the guns are under the 5 year old's bed now. ;-)
Nolanbuck
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thank you!
We at 2 Buck's Worth deeply appreciate those of you who stop by and browse our growing new blog. We would also like to read your opinions, so please feel free to voice for point of view by commenting on any post here. Even if we disagree, we believe in your freedom of speech and want to hear your voice.
One favor we ask is that you refrain from using foul language. We dispense pointed commentary here at 2 Buck's Worth, and don't mind the same in return. But we're a family blog, and I don't want to have content that I wouldn't want my kids to read.
If you would like to comment on the blog in general, or have any questions, please feel free to email us at the link in our profile. Thank you, and please visit us often.
Nolanbuck
One favor we ask is that you refrain from using foul language. We dispense pointed commentary here at 2 Buck's Worth, and don't mind the same in return. But we're a family blog, and I don't want to have content that I wouldn't want my kids to read.
If you would like to comment on the blog in general, or have any questions, please feel free to email us at the link in our profile. Thank you, and please visit us often.
Nolanbuck
Bill Clinton on Economy: "Don't look at me!"
In a recent interview with CNN's John Roberts, Bill Clinton flatly denied that his administration had anything to do with the current economic crisis, save of course that he should have regulated derivatives more closely. Really? Is that all? Nevermind that derivatives are at the heart of the problem we now face.
Derivatives, or financial instruments whose value is based on that of another financial instrument, are the very same toxic assets that the banks are being rescued from as we speak, namely the MBS's I discussed in a previous entry. Had derivatives been regulated in the 90's (or under Bush 43 for that matter), this crisis would not have reached the depths it has now tumbled to. I'm usually a free market laissez faire true-believer when it comes to economics, but as we have seen in recent months, some things (and people) bear watching.
He deftly dodged on the repeal of Glass-Steagall; specifically his role in the repeal and it's unintended consequences. He's technically correct that the New Deal era act that created the FDIC and limited speculation by banks had been being rolled back since 1980, but it the last nail was driven into the law's coffin in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. And although the GOP in congress had enough votes to ostensibly override his veto, Clinton did not voice any serious reservations, and signed the bill. I agree with Clinton that the 1999 law did not directly cause this crisis, diversification of assets is a good thing. However, the derivatives market was the Achilles' heel of this new era of deregulation, and it wounded us...though hopefully not as badly as Paris' arrow wounded the Greek hero.
No one can claim that the 8 years of Bill Clinton's presidency caused this economic meltdown. And furthermore, it is obvious that Bush 43's intervening 8 years did not prevent this crisis. Both men, as well as Congress, and a host of bad managers in the financial world share the blame. But Bill Clinton's "who, me?" attitude we grew accustomed to during his impeachment is more than a little insulting at a time when so many people (who mostly still love his for some reason) are in dire straits.
Nolanbuck
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Spend-ulus Is Bad For Your Health
No, I'm not talking about panic attacks from seeing so much money spent by the government with so little discussion, although I'll grant you that is a concern. Rather, I reference the sneaky health care measures that were tucked into this bill while we were all distracted with how much we hate Wall Street and President Bush.
My favorite part is the apportionment of funding based on age. Old people (who by the way will have paid a larger share of taxes by the time they reached old age) are apparently less deserving of health care than the young. Unbelievable.
As a health-care professional myself, I can tell you that while a portable and accessible electronic medical record is a great idea, adding another layer of bureaucracy to health care will only serve to drive a wedge between doctors and their patients. And the slowing of new technologies and medicines is crazy talk, why have the best health care in the world if you can't benefit from it?
As we take the first step down the long-anticipated path to socialized medicine, one wonders how much longer having the best in health care will even be an issue.
Nolanbuck
My favorite part is the apportionment of funding based on age. Old people (who by the way will have paid a larger share of taxes by the time they reached old age) are apparently less deserving of health care than the young. Unbelievable.
As a health-care professional myself, I can tell you that while a portable and accessible electronic medical record is a great idea, adding another layer of bureaucracy to health care will only serve to drive a wedge between doctors and their patients. And the slowing of new technologies and medicines is crazy talk, why have the best health care in the world if you can't benefit from it?
As we take the first step down the long-anticipated path to socialized medicine, one wonders how much longer having the best in health care will even be an issue.
Nolanbuck
Prolife Platform of a 12 Year Old
As seen on Hot Air...
Brilliantly stated. Adults should make so much sense.
Hammering it home with "Horton Hears A Who"! You go, girl.
Nolanbuck
Brilliantly stated. Adults should make so much sense.
Hammering it home with "Horton Hears A Who"! You go, girl.
Nolanbuck
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Illegal Immigrants Leaving The US...To Find Work
Just when these days seemed as surreal as they could get, now we hear that some of our unwelcome guests are packing up and leaving the country . The downturn in the economy (specifically the construction sector) has left them under-employed, so they are going back where they came from. Turns out, all we had to do to solve the illegal immigration problem in this country was ruin the economy. Who knew?
While my first impression was something along the lines of "Don't let the door hit you on the way out", I have to give the ones that are leaving some credit. I can't fault them for doing whatever it takes to feed their families, especially when they don't mind doing a hard day's work...I honestly can't say I would do the same in their shoes. Plus, now that the gravy train is off the tracks, they are going home to those families instead of jumping on the welfare rolls and becoming a burden to society. I guess in a way some thanks are in order.
Maybe we could seize this opportunity to striek a deal with the jobless ilegals: if they agree to leave now we will put their name on a list and they will be first in line to come back legally when the jobs are available again. I know, I know...there I go making sense again.
Nolanbuck
While my first impression was something along the lines of "Don't let the door hit you on the way out", I have to give the ones that are leaving some credit. I can't fault them for doing whatever it takes to feed their families, especially when they don't mind doing a hard day's work...I honestly can't say I would do the same in their shoes. Plus, now that the gravy train is off the tracks, they are going home to those families instead of jumping on the welfare rolls and becoming a burden to society. I guess in a way some thanks are in order.
Maybe we could seize this opportunity to striek a deal with the jobless ilegals: if they agree to leave now we will put their name on a list and they will be first in line to come back legally when the jobs are available again. I know, I know...there I go making sense again.
Nolanbuck
Monday, February 9, 2009
Obama Grabs The Census
I did not vote for President B.H. Obama (big shocker, eh?), but I realize that he is a very smart and likable man, so I have tried very hard to be open-minded and give the man a chance. The problem is, he won't let me,
As if the spend-ulous plan that he, Pelosi & Reid are going to saddle our children with paying for wasn't bad enough (and trust me, it is bad enough), at least they are attempting to wreck what's left of the economy within the rules of the Constitution. Now apparently, their not even going to let that paltry document slow them down.
Today, the Obama administration quietly moved the census bureau from the Commerce Department to the White House, placing the once-a-decade enumeration of We The People directly under his political operatives.
"So what?" you may ask. The census is once of the most important and far reaching functions of government. No mere counting of heads, the census decides how many representatives each states get in the House of Representatives, and how funding and entitlements are apportioned.
This is no mere political maneuver, this is a power grab. As the Executive Branch's control over the economic sector grows daily, now the White House seeks to corner the political market as well. Where are all of those who decried President Bush's "abuses of power". Not even the evil Bush II had the unmitigated gall to take over the census. We are moving closer to a one-party system, with no room for dissent or even debate.
Nolanbuck
As if the spend-ulous plan that he, Pelosi & Reid are going to saddle our children with paying for wasn't bad enough (and trust me, it is bad enough), at least they are attempting to wreck what's left of the economy within the rules of the Constitution. Now apparently, their not even going to let that paltry document slow them down.
Today, the Obama administration quietly moved the census bureau from the Commerce Department to the White House, placing the once-a-decade enumeration of We The People directly under his political operatives.
"So what?" you may ask. The census is once of the most important and far reaching functions of government. No mere counting of heads, the census decides how many representatives each states get in the House of Representatives, and how funding and entitlements are apportioned.
This is no mere political maneuver, this is a power grab. As the Executive Branch's control over the economic sector grows daily, now the White House seeks to corner the political market as well. Where are all of those who decried President Bush's "abuses of power". Not even the evil Bush II had the unmitigated gall to take over the census. We are moving closer to a one-party system, with no room for dissent or even debate.
Nolanbuck
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Brotherhood Of The Splitting Pants
Chances are, at least once in a man's life he will suffer from the most embarrassing of male wardrobe malfunctions (with the possible exception of a complete public de-pants-ing), the rip in the pants. Even if it was in childhood, all of us have been there at least once. Nothing, not even an all day fly-open fail, can quite compare with the feeling of complete powerlessness and confusion of a sudden separation of your trousers in a place and a manner in which they were not intended to open.
Not long ago, this very event happened to your humble correspondent. I was all dressed up for an appointment, and I was on time and well prepared. As I left my vehicle in the parking lot, I decided to check my appointment printout so that I could point myself to the correct room. As fate would have it, another important piece of paper fell out of my briefcase/manpurse, and as I stooped to quickly grab it the unthinkable happened.
As I bent toward the earth, I heard the horrible ripping sound from behind me that could only mean one thing...I had ripped my friggin pants. Apparently, in my haste to retrieve the wayward document, my cat-like reflexes overwhelmed the tensile strength of my normally well-fitting trousers, resulting in a rutpure. As I shot bolt upright, all hope of the rip being a small one was soon extinguished by the unwelcome zephyr that greeted my hindquarters. Oh no, dear friends...this was no mere tear...this was total, catastrophic pantaloon breach. To put it in nautical terms, we're talking from stem to stern, below the waterline. In public no less, and far enough from anything to hide behind that a dash for cover would have been unseemly. Thinking quickly, I shifted my shoulder-hung manpurse behind me so as to hide the new crack that had formed on my tuckus from public view while I calculated my next move.
Fortunately for me, as I scanned my surroundings with darting eyes, it appeared that no one had noticed my personal little Hades that was unfolding in the middle of the parking lot. I rapidly assessed my dwindling options in this crisis as my rear-end hung in the proverbial breeze...the appointment would have to wait, that much was plain. I briefly (no pun intended) considered making for the nearest bathroom to assess the trouser damage in a mirror, but I did not want to risk sauntering past more prying eyes who might see past my makeshift manpurse-shield and spot my skivvies peeking out at them.
So I decided that a retreat to my vehicle was the best option left to me, as it was close-by and private; and best of all it provided me with a means of escape. Not wanting to cancel the rest of my schedule, I made for the nearest store for a quick replacement for my shattered garment.
I tied my coat around my waist to hide the breach in my breeches and tried to enter the store as if the butt of my pants wasn't torn asunder. I quickly found a suitable pair of replacement pants and after "trying them on", I sheepishly asked the attendant if I could wear them out of the store while I went to pay for them. I was allowed to do so without any awkward questions until I reached the checkout, where the friendly clerk conversationally asked me why I would want my new pants "to go", as it were. Slyly, I told him that the new ones fit much better.
Which was entirely true. If he didn't believe me, I had the proof lying hidden in the bottom of the shopping cart.
Nolan (what's that sound?) buck
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Whole Mess, And What To Do About It, part II
In the first part of this series, I described (as best as I could make the words tell it) how the current economic FUBAR we find ourselves in came to pass. Now, for reading all of that drivel, I give you my plan for fixing said FUBAR.
Well then, here we are… the banking world in tatters, and people holding on to their money for fear of worse times to come. Which brings me finally to my plan: The two things we need to do and do immediately are 1. Get the banks lending again and 2) Get people spending money again.
Bank loans are the life blood of business, especially small business. They need them for payroll, inventory and for other expenses. But many of the banks’ assets are so damaged by the MBS collapse that instead of lending they are holding onto their cash to cover their own liabilities. This hurts business and the banks themselves, who need to lend to make money. Therefore, instead of just buying stakes in the banks or loaning them more money, the government needs to convert the TARP fund into a buyback fund for bad assets to remove the bad assets from the banks ledger and give them liquid cash to lend, and we need to stipulate that the money must go to lending and not to internal expenditure. If the bank doesn’t agree, it is left to its fate.
And to get people spending again we need to boost consumer confidence, much like the banks they are “hording their cash”. So, the government should not make them wait for some spending program that might take two years to see any benefit, Uncle Sam should give the people an immediate tax holiday…no payroll taxes for 2 or 3 months and watch my materialistic brothers & sisters get the gears of capitalism moving again. Also, why not cut the corporate tax rate (ours in the US is among the highest in the industrialized world) to give business a little breathing room to grow and create wealth & jobs.
Congress, by borrowing & spending on useless projects, is mortgaging our kids’ future with a debt we can’t afford to repay. Haven’t we learned anything about debt from this current crisis? Eventually, the government will be forced to raise taxes or print more money to pay off this gargantuan debt, either of which will only serve to deepen and lengthen this recession. Or worse, push it into the next depression. Learn from the Great Depression and the 1990’s economic collapse in Japan: Unemployment and temporary aid are fine, butthe government can’t spend us out of a recession or depression. However; if it will get out of our way and let us…We The People can.
Nolanbuck
Well then, here we are… the banking world in tatters, and people holding on to their money for fear of worse times to come. Which brings me finally to my plan: The two things we need to do and do immediately are 1. Get the banks lending again and 2) Get people spending money again.
Bank loans are the life blood of business, especially small business. They need them for payroll, inventory and for other expenses. But many of the banks’ assets are so damaged by the MBS collapse that instead of lending they are holding onto their cash to cover their own liabilities. This hurts business and the banks themselves, who need to lend to make money. Therefore, instead of just buying stakes in the banks or loaning them more money, the government needs to convert the TARP fund into a buyback fund for bad assets to remove the bad assets from the banks ledger and give them liquid cash to lend, and we need to stipulate that the money must go to lending and not to internal expenditure. If the bank doesn’t agree, it is left to its fate.
And to get people spending again we need to boost consumer confidence, much like the banks they are “hording their cash”. So, the government should not make them wait for some spending program that might take two years to see any benefit, Uncle Sam should give the people an immediate tax holiday…no payroll taxes for 2 or 3 months and watch my materialistic brothers & sisters get the gears of capitalism moving again. Also, why not cut the corporate tax rate (ours in the US is among the highest in the industrialized world) to give business a little breathing room to grow and create wealth & jobs.
Congress, by borrowing & spending on useless projects, is mortgaging our kids’ future with a debt we can’t afford to repay. Haven’t we learned anything about debt from this current crisis? Eventually, the government will be forced to raise taxes or print more money to pay off this gargantuan debt, either of which will only serve to deepen and lengthen this recession. Or worse, push it into the next depression. Learn from the Great Depression and the 1990’s economic collapse in Japan: Unemployment and temporary aid are fine, butthe government can’t spend us out of a recession or depression. However; if it will get out of our way and let us…We The People can.
Nolanbuck
The Whole Mess, And What To Do About It
In my previous post, I opined about the current spending bill that Congress is kicking around as a solution to the current economic crisis…a bill that is less of an economic panacea and more of a huge series of political payoffs and pork barrel crap.
This then begs the question: If I have such a problem with Congress’s solution, what do I think should be done. In order to understand my answer, one must understand where the problem came from and why it is continuing to fester. In this post, I’ll briefly describe (by way of gross over-simplification) how the troubles began. In the next post, I’ll tell you my plan to deal with the problem. So, you’ll have to stay tuned.
This current economic crisis has been decades in the making, with wrongheaded policies from both political parties contributing to the impending mess. But the ball really got rolling when two things happened:
The banking industry was deregulated, allowing them to merge and grow into multinational corporations that were “too big to fail”. This deregulation was not a bad idea in itself; it certainly aroused some serious money-making in the financial sector, and should have made the banks even more solvent by allowing them to diversify into other areas like insurance and stock brokerage. It should not have been so bad, but it left the door open for the other shoe dropping…
…which was the new laws and regulations that Congress and its two ugly step-children Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac foisted upon the mortgage lending universe. The original idea seemed innocent enough; to allow more people of lesser means to partake of the American dream of home-ownership, a piece of real estate that was the ultimate investment in their future. These new rules, which even allowed alimony, child support, welfare and unemployment payments to be counted as income for loan consideration, were enforced under penalty of law. And this new artificially-created market of people who could now “afford” their dream home, combined with years of low interest rates, sent the housing market to the moon; with home values climbing at historic rates. This new equity, in turn, allowed home-owners to borrow still more against their steadily appreciating real estate assets.
Now these blazing hot mortgages were then sold off to other banks (some discount mortgage brokers sold 100% of their loans immediately after they were finalized) and bundled into mortgage-backed securities (MBS’s), literally these bundles of debt markers were sold as assets much like bonds, and held as assets by these “too big to fail” banks. Everyone was fat and happy until the unthinkable happened. Some of the common folks who had been allowed to borrow against their real estate (sometimes for even more than the house was worth at the time) got behind on their mortgages…especially those who had taken out adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s) who after the salad days of the low interest in the beginning, got hit with the balloon of interest at the end that they had not budgeted for. Then some more people got behind, more got foreclosed upon.
So then the banks were left with a lot of mortgages that were either in arrears or in foreclosure, only able to recover a fraction of the value of the loan by seizing the collateral. This was bad enough, but it also affected the value of the MBS’s that stood upon the integrity of the mortgage debt. When the mortgage market began to falter, and house prices started to slip, the MBS assets the banks held began to crumble as well. This affected their cash on hand to pay their own debts to other banks, and like a windmill when the props are kicked out from under it, the whole thing began to sway precariously in the breeze.
Check back later tonight for the rest of the story…my solution to this mess. Perhaps my wife, being the banker in the family, will make an appearance to set me straight where I went awry.
Nolanbuck
This then begs the question: If I have such a problem with Congress’s solution, what do I think should be done. In order to understand my answer, one must understand where the problem came from and why it is continuing to fester. In this post, I’ll briefly describe (by way of gross over-simplification) how the troubles began. In the next post, I’ll tell you my plan to deal with the problem. So, you’ll have to stay tuned.
This current economic crisis has been decades in the making, with wrongheaded policies from both political parties contributing to the impending mess. But the ball really got rolling when two things happened:
The banking industry was deregulated, allowing them to merge and grow into multinational corporations that were “too big to fail”. This deregulation was not a bad idea in itself; it certainly aroused some serious money-making in the financial sector, and should have made the banks even more solvent by allowing them to diversify into other areas like insurance and stock brokerage. It should not have been so bad, but it left the door open for the other shoe dropping…
…which was the new laws and regulations that Congress and its two ugly step-children Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac foisted upon the mortgage lending universe. The original idea seemed innocent enough; to allow more people of lesser means to partake of the American dream of home-ownership, a piece of real estate that was the ultimate investment in their future. These new rules, which even allowed alimony, child support, welfare and unemployment payments to be counted as income for loan consideration, were enforced under penalty of law. And this new artificially-created market of people who could now “afford” their dream home, combined with years of low interest rates, sent the housing market to the moon; with home values climbing at historic rates. This new equity, in turn, allowed home-owners to borrow still more against their steadily appreciating real estate assets.
Now these blazing hot mortgages were then sold off to other banks (some discount mortgage brokers sold 100% of their loans immediately after they were finalized) and bundled into mortgage-backed securities (MBS’s), literally these bundles of debt markers were sold as assets much like bonds, and held as assets by these “too big to fail” banks. Everyone was fat and happy until the unthinkable happened. Some of the common folks who had been allowed to borrow against their real estate (sometimes for even more than the house was worth at the time) got behind on their mortgages…especially those who had taken out adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s) who after the salad days of the low interest in the beginning, got hit with the balloon of interest at the end that they had not budgeted for. Then some more people got behind, more got foreclosed upon.
So then the banks were left with a lot of mortgages that were either in arrears or in foreclosure, only able to recover a fraction of the value of the loan by seizing the collateral. This was bad enough, but it also affected the value of the MBS’s that stood upon the integrity of the mortgage debt. When the mortgage market began to falter, and house prices started to slip, the MBS assets the banks held began to crumble as well. This affected their cash on hand to pay their own debts to other banks, and like a windmill when the props are kicked out from under it, the whole thing began to sway precariously in the breeze.
Check back later tonight for the rest of the story…my solution to this mess. Perhaps my wife, being the banker in the family, will make an appearance to set me straight where I went awry.
Nolanbuck
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Americans Find Stimulus Not So Stimulating
In our newly-minted government's rush to do something, anything about the recession, it begins to appear that they may have leaped before they looked. Now that the particulars of the $900 billion spending bill (let's call it what it is) have come to light, more & more Americans are scratching their heads & saying "Why was this a good idea again?"
That Nancy Pelosi has this huge government payoff package loaded in the breach for the day after the election is now obvious. Even with the removal of such vital economy-stimulating items such as birth-control and resodding the National Mall in Washington, D.C; the bill still managed to pass the House of Representatives 244-188. Not one Republican voted for this monster, and 11 Democrats also voted against it, however, my new supposedly "conservative" Democrat congressman voted for this bill...the largest federal expenditure in the history of our republic. What happened to holding the line on spending, Mr. Childers? (I am scoffing at you, Travis. You, sir, are no conservative!)
Now that people can see this bill for the trainwreck that it is, President Obama (to his credit) has realized that he was sold a bill of goods by the House and seems willing to work with the Senate GOP to take problem sections out of the bill (an act unheard of in Washington).
We have a huge problems on our hands, that much is undeniable. And we cannot afford to do nothing, that is also clear. But we have a equally huge opportunity to make smart decisions ahead of time and learn from the mistakes of the New Deal in the 1930's or the economic collapse in Japan in the 1990's that government spending programs alone cannot end a recession and may in fact prolong it by causing inflation. Add to this that the Congressional Budget Office has said that at least half of the spending won't even have an effect for at least two years. That's too late!
If the GOP in the senate and the President can keep common sense the order of the day, this bill (as vile as it is) may come to some good after all.
Look for what I would do instead of this crappy bill in my next post.
Nolanbuck
That Nancy Pelosi has this huge government payoff package loaded in the breach for the day after the election is now obvious. Even with the removal of such vital economy-stimulating items such as birth-control and resodding the National Mall in Washington, D.C; the bill still managed to pass the House of Representatives 244-188. Not one Republican voted for this monster, and 11 Democrats also voted against it, however, my new supposedly "conservative" Democrat congressman voted for this bill...the largest federal expenditure in the history of our republic. What happened to holding the line on spending, Mr. Childers? (I am scoffing at you, Travis. You, sir, are no conservative!)
Now that people can see this bill for the trainwreck that it is, President Obama (to his credit) has realized that he was sold a bill of goods by the House and seems willing to work with the Senate GOP to take problem sections out of the bill (an act unheard of in Washington).
We have a huge problems on our hands, that much is undeniable. And we cannot afford to do nothing, that is also clear. But we have a equally huge opportunity to make smart decisions ahead of time and learn from the mistakes of the New Deal in the 1930's or the economic collapse in Japan in the 1990's that government spending programs alone cannot end a recession and may in fact prolong it by causing inflation. Add to this that the Congressional Budget Office has said that at least half of the spending won't even have an effect for at least two years. That's too late!
If the GOP in the senate and the President can keep common sense the order of the day, this bill (as vile as it is) may come to some good after all.
Look for what I would do instead of this crappy bill in my next post.
Nolanbuck
8 babies - Part II
After reading more about the mother of the octuplets and her situation (including her recent book deal negotiations), I wanted to reiterate that I am not condoning what this woman did or is now doing by trying to profit from it.
My main point is, it is none of our business. The militant reproductive rights movement has told us for the past 35 years that what's in a woman's plumbing is her property, no matter how it got there. Never mind someone else (like the father or the taxpayers) may have an emotional or financial stake in her decision, it is hers alone to make.
And for those who call the octuple-mom irresponsible: I will not disagree with you there. But is it any less responsible to have yourself implanted with 8 embryos that you want to raise - and then have them, than it is to have casual sex and get knocked up with 1 child you don't want, so you kill it?
The only positive here is that those who have fought for decades for no-questions-asked abortin on demand will have to do some soul-searching as to the ramifications of reproductive freedom without reproductive responsibility.
Nolanbuck
My main point is, it is none of our business. The militant reproductive rights movement has told us for the past 35 years that what's in a woman's plumbing is her property, no matter how it got there. Never mind someone else (like the father or the taxpayers) may have an emotional or financial stake in her decision, it is hers alone to make.
And for those who call the octuple-mom irresponsible: I will not disagree with you there. But is it any less responsible to have yourself implanted with 8 embryos that you want to raise - and then have them, than it is to have casual sex and get knocked up with 1 child you don't want, so you kill it?
The only positive here is that those who have fought for decades for no-questions-asked abortin on demand will have to do some soul-searching as to the ramifications of reproductive freedom without reproductive responsibility.
Nolanbuck
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