Light blogging

Blogging will be a little light over the next few days as Mrs. Scar and I head to the tundra for a Thanksgiving day celebration with the Scargirls and sons in law.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and don't forget our troops that are keeping us safe when you bow your head and give thanks to God.

Terror Attacks

There has been a terror attack at a series of luxury hotels in Mumbai, India. The terrorists appear to be targeting British and American citizens. 90 people are feared dead and over 200 wounded with 40 being held hostage.

Read more here.

Stocks Rise

Wall Street has smiled on President-Elect (I can't wait until I don't have to hyphenate) Obama's picks for his economic team. The latest being former Fed Chief Paul Volcker to head the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board. I'm not sure what that is but it sounds good, doesn't it? Although, I guess if he does a good job he will be out of a job.

The Dow has risen more than 1,000 points since Pres-El Obama started naming his economic team. Some of them I like, some I think are just re-treads from former administrations, but it is a pretty impressive list. I will wait to see the policies that they put forward to say more, but for the most part I like what I see so far.

In the first sane move

of what is the Minnesota senate election, the state Canvassing Board has denied democrat challenger Al Franken's request to reconsider absentee ballots that were disqualified from the vote tally for one reason or another.

It is my humble opinion that Franken, along with his lap dog Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has tried everything he can to steal this election. Matt Drudge had a ballot on his website that Franken was contesting that was clearly marked in Senator Coleman's favor. I can't really blame him too much as only a couple hundred votes separate the two, but let's try not to be too obvious about it.

For the best coverage on the Minnesota Senate race go to the Powerline blog.

Russia is building a new "Berlin Wall"

Because, you know, the first one worked out so well.


Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said Wednesday that Russian forces were erecting a "Berlin Wall" as part of a campaign to cut off rebel regions from the rest of the country.
Russia is trying to divide Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia, she said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank in London.
Tkeshelashvili said Russia was building a wall at Zugdidi, a city at the Abkhaz border.

Read more here.

The bailouts continue...

I didn't think it was possible, but Megan McArdle has actually found a bailout I can support here.

Where is Obama

Today we had another 445 point drop on the big board to 7552. That is a drop of 2073 points since the election of Barack Obama, or 21.5%. There hasn't been a lack of confidence in the market in the aftermath of an election like this since WWII. Investors are nervous about the tax promises of the president-elect and they are pulling their money out of the market. I have said it before, and so have countless economists, which I am not, you don't raise taxes, or promise to raise taxes in a down economy.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen the worst time to disappear. I didn't think he would ever decline face time with his fan club the mainstream media. There is a direct link between the drop in the market and the election. If Wallstreet were excited about the Obama economic plan, the numbers would be going through the roof and not at 5 year lows.

Someone needs to put an APB out for the president-elect and get him in front of a news camera so he can assure the American investors that he will hold off his tax proposals until the economy gets back on its feet, otherwise "change" will be all that is left in your retirement account.

Wall Street Update...again

Today the Dow Jones dropped 427 points to close at 7997 and change. That means that since The One was elected to be president, the Dow is down 1622 points, or 16.9%.

Barack Obama has held one press conference since he was elected. The markets are nervous about what he will do on taxes in the midst of a recession. Investors are nervous that he will keep his promise on raising the capital gains tax and are selling off before he gets the chance.

Raising taxes in an environment like we currently have is economic suicide. He needs to get in front of the American people and tell them that his tax proposals will have to wait until the current economic troubles have stabilized.

That would be a change.

Obama's Barometer

Via the Hugh Hewitt Blog, here is the barometer that the Obama administration will be measured by in his first (only?) term:

The inflation rate was 3.7%
Unemployment was 6.5%
The prime was at 4%
The Dow closed at 9,625
The NASDAQ closed at 1,780
The S&P closed at 1,005
Oil was $60 a barrel.
U.S. monthly domestic oil production: appx 155 million barrels
U.S. proven oil reserves: 21.3 billion barrels
U.S. offshore proven reserves: 3.9 billion barrels

These were the various levels on November 4th, the day that Barack Obama won the election. I will refer to these numbers over the next 4 years. If he does well, we'll let you know. The same will be the case if he doesn't.

Jones + 30

It was thirty years ago today that the followers of Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana commited mass suicide by drinking a cyanide/KoolAid mixture. He was a favorite of the political left as The Flynn files states. It's good to see that the leftists of California haven't really changed in the last three decades...

Eric Holder

It appears that the more we hear of change, the more things stay the same, or go back in time eight years. Word is that Eric Holder is going to be the next Attorney General in the Obama administration. Hmmm, where have I heard that name before...Oh, now I remember, he was the number two (no pun intended) in the AG office under the Clinton administration. He was also in charge of reviewing pardon requests for the outgoing president.

This includes the disastrous pardon of Marc Rich. Rich was under investigation for evasion of taxes on $48 million, 51 counts of tax fraud and more importantly, of illegal oil dealings with the Iranians from 1979 - 80 during the hostage crisis.

It has been alleged that the reason for the pardon was that Rich's ex-wife Denise has been giving the Clinton's money hand over fist, which includes funds for the ex-President's library. The truth is that Eric Holder gave Clinton the thumbs up on pardoning this scum bag, not that Slick Willy can blame the whole thing on Holder. If he wasn't so interested in flavored cigars, maybe he could have read a little about Rich... as well as two Weather Underground (Bill Ayers, come on down) members.

Update: Yes, I changed the name from Holden to Holder. I must have had Stalag 17 on my mind.

Update II: Eric Holder's fingerprints are also all over the Elian Gonzalaz debacle.

Update III: The editors over at NRO have a must read article over at their site. You should check it out.

Change you can still believe in.

Hannity's top ten

I have been meaning to post this for quite some time. Since I have posted Karl Rove's top ten, I figured I might as well post Sean's as well (punctuation not mine). In the coming days, I will give you my own list of the ideas/policies I think need to be implemented, or at least discussed.

Hannity's Top 10 Items of Conservatism

1) To be the Candidate of National security:
a) Victory in Iraq b) Fully support NSA, Patriot act, tough interrogations, keeping Gitmo openc) A Candidate that pledges to NOT demean our military while they are fighting for their Country. eg Harry Reid: "the surge has failed", "the war is lost"d) Candidate that promises to ensure that our veterans can live out their lives in dignity.

2) The Candidate who pledges to oppose Appeasement:
a) The Candidate will oppose any and all efforts to negotiate with dictators of the world in places like Iran, Syria, N.Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela without "pre-conditions"

3) The Candidate Pledges to support Tax CUTS, and fiscal responsibility:
a) The American people are NOT under taxed, Government Spends too muchb) The Candidate who Pledges to ELIMINATE and VOTE AGAINST ALL Earmarksc) The Candidate pledges to BALANCE the budget

4) The Candidate Pledges to be a supporter of "Energy Independence"
a) supports Immediate drilling in Anwar and the 48 statesb) Building new refineriesc) Begin building and using Nuclear Facilitiesd) expand coal mininge) realistic steward of the environment While simultaneously working with private industry to develop the new energy technologies for the future, with the goal being that America becomes completely energy independent within the next 15 years.

5) The Candidate pledges to secure our borders completely within 12 months:
a) build all necessary fences b) use all available technology to help and support agents at the border c) train and hire agents as needed

6) Healthcare:The Candidate will look for Free-Market solutions to the problems facing the Healthcare industry, and will vigorously oppose any efforts to "nationalize healthcare".
a) The Candidate will fight for Individual health savings accounts, that includes "catastrophic insurance" for every American, so people can control their own healthcare choices.

7) Education:
a) The Candidate pledges to "save" American children from the failing educational systemb) The Candidate will fight to break the unholy alliance of the Democratic party and teachers unions, which at best has institutionalized mediocrity, and has failed children across the countryc) fight for "CHOICE" in education and let parents decided) fight for vouchers for parents

8) Social Security and Medicare:
a) The Candidate will "save" social security and medicare from bankruptcy.b) Options will include "private retirement" funds so people can "control" their own destiny.

9) Judges:
a) The Candidate vows to support ONLY judges who recognize that their job is to interpret the Constitution, and NOT legislate from the bench.

10) American Dream:
The Candidate accepts as their duty and responsibility to educate, inform, and remind people that with the blessings of Freedom comes a Great responsibility. That Government's primary goal is to preserve, protect and defend our God given gift of freedom. That Government's do not have the ability to solve all of our problems, and to take away all of our fears and concerns. We need their pledge that we will be the candidate that promotes Individual liberty, Capitalism, a strong national defense and will support policies that encourage such...It is our fundamental belief that limited Government, and Greater individual responsibility will insure the continued prosperity and success for future generations. We the people who believe in the words of Ronald Reagan, that we are "the best last hope for man on this earth," "a shining city on a hill," and that our best days are before us if our Government will simply trust the American people.

http://www.hannity.com/

While I am talking Rove

He did an interview with Deborah Solomon that was in the New York Times. The quote of the day:

Solomon: Do you like Joe Biden?

Rove: I think he has an odd combination of longevity and long-windedness that passes for wisdom in Washington.

Hat tip: Powerline

Karl Rove

has a new article in Newsweek with his top ten list on how Republicans can find their way out of the wilderness. While I don't agree with everything he says, it is certainly worth reading.

Wall Street Update

Another day with President-Elect Obama, another Wall Street sell off. The election-to-date Dow Jones drop yesterday was 925 points or 9.6%. Today, the Dow dropped another 411 points. That means since Lord Obama the Beneficent was elected 8 days ago, the Dow has plummeted 1336 points, or 13.9%.

Now that's change you can believe in.

Before I forget

To all those who wear the uniform of the armed forces, whether it be Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard, I thank you for serving this great country. You are the reason this is the greatest nation on earth. I thank God for each and every one of you for your sacrifice.

Happy Veteran's Day all.

One for One

Number of press conferences that President-Elect Barack "The One" Obama has held since the election on November 4th? One.

Number of apologies that President-Elect Barack "The One" Obama has had to issue due to a stupid comment in said press conference? One.

That's a good average in baseball, not so good for politics. I personally think that the whole Nancy Reagan seance thing is really stupid. Republicans are about a week late to get all fired up, and this is not a good reason to be fired up. You guys need to get a thicker skin if you are going to survive the next 2-4 years.

Find an issue and take a stand...on anything...for once.

Automakers

The three big automakers are certainly going through a very tough time. So bad in fact that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid as well as President-elect Obama want to bail them out of their woeful ways with a bridge loan (I am working on the odds of an actual payback now) of $50 Billion. Why the generosity? Let's have a look.

Could it be because there is a long love affair between the democrats and the big three? Unlikely. The dems have been shoving all kinds of regulations as well as cafe standards down their throats for years. The only time that the left is polite to the auto industry is when they are being provided their complimentary limo's.

I think that the more likely answer lies elsewhere. The fact is that the big three American automakers haven't kept up with the times. They produce cars that we don't want to buy. The CEO's and other high level management are raking in huge paychecks. But the major problem with the auto industry is organized labor.

Organized labor has been bankrolling the democrat party for years. Up to now there hasn't been the big payback they have been looking for. Along comes Obama and the democrat led congress. Union membership is at its lowest levels since WWII. That means dues are down as well. Union dues fell to $169 million for 2007 from $191 million the previous year. The dems need to stop the bleeding and help the unions increase their membership, and in turn the contributions from labor to the DNC coffers. That is why Obama is a proponent of the poorly named Employee Free Choice Act, which will eliminate secret union ballots and allow the union bosses to strongarm employees into joining their ranks.

With the bankrolling of the automakers using taxpayers money, the dangers of either of the three filing for bankruptcy is practically non-existent. If the automakers were to file for bankruptcy, all union contracts would be null and void. The current union members average pay stands at about $40 per hour. That ain't going to happen again. Also, the billions of dollars that the automakers have set aside for healthcare for all qualified retirees and former workers, would be put back in play for the restructuring of the company and thus lost to the unions.

I don't see any way to stop any of this from happening. The dems have the votes to pass this after January 20th of next year.

Elections have consequences. Think 2010.

The economy

According to this AP poll, 70% of those polled believe that The One will fix the economic troubles that face the country. Now, I don't know if he will or if he won't, but lets take a look at the only major indicator available to us at this time. That would be the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed at 9619 and change on election day last Tuesday. It looks like today's closing is going to be around 8694. That would be a drop of about 925 points, or 9.6% just one week since his election day victory.

Now I don't have any fancy degrees in economics, but it seems to me that a drop of that magnitude in such a short amount of time is not a good thing. Perhaps the brilliant idea of raising taxes in a down economy is making investors a bit queasy.

Hmmm, Interesting

The AP has a story out today that as soon as The One spoke today at his first press conference since becoming the president-elect, the stock market dropped a dramatic 260 points. Coincidence? Time will tell.

Governor Sarah Palin

If there is one thing that this election has shown me, it is that Governor Sarah Palin is a rock star in the republican party. I believe that she is the reason that a 5% loss in the presidential election yesterday was not a 15 - 20% loss. She needs to go home and lick her wounds for a little while, and then get back on the national stage. I believe she will be a major part of the rebuilding of the conservative/republican party...if the republican party decides to return to their conservative values.

First and Foremost

Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama. He has won a very hard fought election. I pray for him and his family and that there is a smooth transition. I disagree with his policies and where he wants this country to go, but I give him his due and wish him well.

I will have much more to report on as far as what comes next and what the republican party needs to do to make a difference in the next election and the future of this country over the next several days, but for now, congratulations Barack Obama.

Get out and Vote

Election day is finally here. It is time for all of you who are eligible to vote to go do so. The choice this year is very clear. You can vote for a spread the wealth socialist who can't say the words victory and Iraq in the same sentence who you hadn't heard of 2 years ago, or you can vote for a true American hero whose history you know, along with a rising GOP star in Sarah Palin.