Blog @ MoreWhat.com

The news, that portion which merely provides data, would seem to support the notion that liberals are wrong and conservatives are right. The items below are presented as cases in point.

Yes, these stories are cherry-picked. But there are more bleak stories than positive ones. Even the good ones are usually accompanied by the fact the government is providing artificial boosts to the economy which are increasing public debt and serving no useful purpose.

Here are four stories about housing, foreclosures and government intervention. In July banks took over homes at a record pace. Obama is giving $3 billion to unemployed homeowners. Unemployment is given credit for a fall in home prices at the same time another report claims housing prices are rising due in part to government tax credits for homebuyers.

The rest of the world is not doing as good as some would like you think. Japan saw lower than expected machinery orders along with lower exports, wholesale prices and a generally gloomy picture on recovery. In the UK consumers are pulling back as food and fuel prices rise and budgets fall. The EU’s 16 countries saw only a 0.2% growth rate in the first quarter.

While liberals resist common sense approaches like that of Gov Christie in New Jersey who tackled a severe deficit without raising taxes places like California are finding out daily the folly of a nanny state of mind. Not only do most Californians lean hard left but now their paychecks are proving them wrong. The liberal mindset has seen their pay fall for the first time since WWII. Will they ever learn?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

From the Guardian UK via the Drudge Report comes a story which is a curious coincidence given the airing of a documentary on some PBS stations about national parks.

Governor Dave Freudenthal is threatening to sell off a chunk of one of America’s most beautiful national parks unless the Obama administration comes up with more money to pay for education in the financially beleaguered state.

He says he will auction land valued at $125m (£80m) in the Grand Teton national park, one of the country’s most stunning wildernesses. Part of the park was donated by John Rockefeller Jr.

Other parts belong to the state government including two parcels of land of about 550 hectares (1,360 acres) designated as school trust lands to be “managed for maximum profit” to generate funds for education in Wyoming.

From PBS….

Fifty-year-old George Bucknam Dorr was another “cottager” on the island, living alone in the grand house he had inherited from his family. Dorr had blazed many of the island’s trails and he now became the organization’s most dedicated worker, slowly buying up scenic parcels of the land. Once the trustees had acquired a significant part of the island, they began looking for a way to protect it forever by making it a national park.

Not to difficult to understand. Some with the power and influence to do a good thing like protect magnificent portions of the planet are subject to the whims of idiot POLS years later.

Granted, this governor is making a threat with ’state owned’ lands. However, the principle and legacy of some forward thinking individuals may be at risk.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

image source

Decades of mismanagement contributed to the mortgage meltdown in recent years. The information that supports the notion government sponsored home buying is a bad idea keeps piling up. Like the fact that Freddie Mac, one of many GSEs or government-sponsored enterprises, is required to pay the US Treasury a dividend. This quarter Freddie’s ten percent annual dividend payment to the Treasury is $1.3 billion. And Freddie is asking for $1.8 billion in additional aid to cover losses. The taxpayer continues to be scammed.

Current economic conditions and the challenge they pose for the housing market found the leader of Freddie stating the following:

“With that in mind, we continue to focus on the quality of the new business we are adding to our book to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds.”

Sir, if you were not doing it before how do you expect anyone to believe you now?

On Thursday, Fannie Mae asked for an additional $1.5 billion after posting a $3.13 billion loss, although its losses shrank dramatically in the second quarter, down from $11.5 billion in the first quarter.

And yet those in government are talking ‘overhaul’ rather than abandoning this disaster looking for a place to happen. It would make more sense on many issues that we return to values of years past. As for homebuying a return to successful lending policies of the past may inspire a return to the kind of behavior that rewards hard work and discipline.

You want a house? Come back when you have twenty percent down. Have some skin in the game and commitment to doing the right thing long term. If you cannot afford twenty percent you need to work on that problem. Like raising yourself up and expect it may be the next generation that reaches the goal of home ownership. But you have to start somewhere.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Pardon me if I do not accept the rhetoric of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on the matter of a $26 billion spending bill for public sector employees. Pelosi said, ‘This legislation is about creating and saving American jobs, and preventing a double-dip recession.‘ Van Hollen said, ‘It’s not a gamble,” he said, but “it would be gambling our children’s’ education to have them go back to school and find no teacher in the classroom or a larger class size.‘ The gamble part comes from a question posed to the Maryland Democrat about interrupting POLS summer vacation for votes on a spending bill.

Van Hollen had this to say about the opposition. Defining teachers and police officers as special interests while opposing closing a tax loophole for big corporations “defines the difference between our two parties,” retorted Van Hollen.

Well, Mr Van Hollen you might want to consider what the opposition had to say.

Republicans portrayed the special session as the Democrats’ pre-election gift to their labor union allies and objected to provisions to raise taxes on some U.S.-based multinational companies as a way to partially cover the $26 billion cost of the bill.

Democrats love to characterize public sector employees as something we cannot live without. But campaign promises to lure voters and post-election payoffs in the form of spending taxpayer money on those same voters is corrupt. At the very least, this time the GOP is correct. Charging businesses to pay for a liberal voter payoff is a government-sanctioned bribe. The same sort of ethics problem faced by Rangel and Waters.

Here is part of the teacher mindset these Democrats feel compelled to reward.

Despite Budget Cuts, Layoff Fears, Milwaukee Teachers Fight for Taxpayer-Funded Viagra
Published August 06, 2010
Associated Press

With the district in a financial crisis and hundreds of its members facing layoffs, the Milwaukee teachers union is taking a peculiar stand: fighting to get their taxpayer-funded Viagra back.

Does anyone really need an explanation on how pathetic this is?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Ruth Marcus wrote a piece last week entitled, ‘Why Congress should let the Bush tax cuts expire.’ There is very little right and too much wrong in her column. Who is Ruth Marcus?

Ruth Marcus is an editorial writer for The Post, specializing in American politics, campaign finance, the federal budget and taxes, and other domestic issues. She writes a weekly column that appears on Wednesdays.

The best thing about the column is the use of one of Bush 43’s best quotes.

“The people of America have been overcharged, and, on their behalf, I’m here asking for a refund,” Bush told Congress in February 2001.

Marcus claims ‘the social security surplus was spent.’ If Marcus specializes in the federal budget and taxes you might expect her to know what the CBO knows about social security and other government trust funds. They are ‘accounting mechanisms.’ Meaning there is no little piggy bank where everyone’s SSI benefits are waiting for their retirement.

Marcus uses references from the OECD, the OMB and Alan Greenspan to make her points. A breakdown of who pays taxes in the US may have been a more efficient choice. From the IRS via the National Taxpayers Union one fact is clear.

Those whose incomes are in the top 50% nationwide pay more than 95% of US income tax. Those in the bottom 50% pay less than five percent.

The part where Marcus almost gets it is demonstrated in the excerpt below.

I expressed frustration a few weeks back with the denialism among some liberal Democrats about the need to curb entitlement spending and the conviction that simply socking it to the rich would solve the fiscal problem. But the Republican position seems even more intransigently divorced from reality. Perhaps there is some magical point at which Republicans might accept the reality that the government needs more revenue than it is currently set to take in — but I haven’t heard it yet.

Yes, liberals do not want to reduce or eliminate entitlements.
Yes, liberals want to redistribute wealth.
No, the government DOES NOT need more revenue.

Entitlements account for the majority of the federal budget. Government spending will always exceed the ability to pay for it. That is one reason why goverment must be limited. And it is why the government does not need more revenue. It needs to end the spending spree.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Arizona voters, taken after the ruling was issued, finds that 66% still favor the recently passed immigration law. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are opposed. Support for the law is unchanged from when it was first passed in April.

By a 59% to 34% margin, Arizona voters disagree with Judge Susan Bolton’s decision to block implementation of some parts of the law.

Not surprisingly, voters favor Governor Jan Brewer’s decision to appeal the ruling by a 59% to 29% margin. Brewer has risen in popularity since signing the law and is now well ahead in the Arizona governor’s race.

Nationally, 59% of voters support passage of a law like Arizona’s in their own state, and 50% disagree with the judge’s ruling.

It is extremely rare that this blog author watches television. Before last Sunday I can only guess that it has been many months with the exception of the occasional online news video featured on this blog. So what was the attraction to listen to Meet the Press this week?

I couldn’t resist the appeal to confirm my suspicions that listening to Gregory’s guests would be excruciating. It was. Governor Rendell, Mayor Bloomberg and former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan were predictable as well as annoying.

Either during a commercial interruption or after the programmed concluded I took a quick look at what was on the other channels. My location features 11 off-air OMG digital broadcast channels. That’s right. No point in subscribing to cable or satellite if I don’t watch TV more than once every few months for less than an hour.

The local public television station offers three channels. One of them was airing a public affairs program populated only by liberals and perhaps a token conservative. The liberals were whining about Arizona’s state immigration law. Along with that they were whining about all the racism and inequality in America.

The point is this. One of the fine liberals concluded the poll data above or other polling data like it was wrong. He did his level best to convince the viewers he was right and most people opposed the Arizona law.

The problem is he had no data, no evidence or any other information to support his opinion. He simply presented his opinion as fact. This is exactly the reason I do not watch television very often. Given the financial woes of most broadcast and print media it may be the only people watching regularly are liberals.

Where else would anyone agree with their fantasies? And how long will it be until the rest of the liberal media goes the way of Air America? (bankrupt and out of business)

With any luck at all a return to the rule of law will begin after Novmeber 2010. Then the simple method of cutting off taxpayer provided benefits, free education for illegals, anchor babies and chain migration as well as sanctions against employers who hire illegals can begin in earnest.

For a return to national security and border control we can borrow a currently familiar phrase. ‘Yes we can.’ To anyone who claims it is not possible to remove all illegals from the US I say you are a closet shamnesty supporter. The simple method outlined above is more than possible. It is necessary and will work. Those who oppose it support illegal immigration.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Some good news just keeps coming. A testament to the fact big government, bailouts, stimulus and other liberal dreams are not necessary nor wise.  In February this blog pointed to the success of Ford amid troubles all over the auto industry. It seems the old slogan ‘Ford has a better idea’ is once again noteworthy. They never took a bailout and are experiencing a string of very successful quarters.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Ford posts another quarterly profit as sales climb
07/23/10 5:40 PM

With its two longtime Detroit rivals still finding their way after spending time in bankruptcy last year, Ford, which never took government bailout money, extended its success story.

Not like the NAACP calling the Tea Party phenomenon racist or multiple blunders related to the employment of Shirley Sherrod were not enough to fuel more race debates but now another hot button is pushed.

It seems there’s an IG report describing the methods used in determining which dealerships would cease to be after Obama took over government motors, etc.  Besides criteria like how new the dealership or its importance to wholesale parts distribution at least two other factors were considered.  If the dealership was minority or woman-owned.

At first you might say ‘that is reasonable’.  But you may not be considering the fact that successful businesses not meeting the criteria may understandably take offense to such an arbitrary selection process.

And you can also see if the situation was reversed how offended all the liberals would be. That is why criteria based on anything other than the numbers, meaning financial success, is not the way to go.  Let performance be your guide.

If you had 100 dealerships and were forced to eliminate 20 other than keeping a presence in all markets the best performers should stay regardless of ownership demographics. But then that is just common sense talking. Some think we should make those decisions based on personal preferences or other bias rather than impersonal data like performance and viability.

But coming from an administration willing to take over the private sector their action on this is no surprise. Rather than economic survival based on free market principles their preference is to choose the winners and losers.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Read the rest here. (click)

If you are looking for another reason to vote against tax and spend liberals, here it is.

Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.

That opening paragraph from the Boston Herald says it all. ‘Repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress’ yet denies the state of Taxachusetts their due. And of course the senator’s chief of staff denies the mooring location was selected to avoid paying the tax.

As the article states, Kerry is skirting a Massachusetts sales tax of 6.25%. The same sales tax ordinary citizens are required to pay and likely cannot avoid. If Kerry and his rich wife can afford a MULTI=MILLION dollar plaything paying a 6.25% sales tax should be no problem. If you can pony up $7 million plus for the boat you can afford to pay the tax.

For instance, those paying a similar duty after purchasing an automobile have little choice but to pay it. And the car, truck or other vehicle is probably a necessity rather than a luxury.

When the liberals once again target the public for the cap and trade burden let’s see if Senator John Kerry stands to profit from carbon credit exchanges like Al Gore and friends. John Kerry’s leader, Barack Hussein Obama said their will be no taxes on those earning under $250K. Will Kerry once again vote for increasing taxes when his leader promised not to do so?

That’s really a rhetorical question since Obamacare and other legislation passed by Dems with purchased votes already place new burdens on taxpayers. By increasing the national debt and deficits or directly raising taxes for specific items the Obama Administration and their liberal allies in Congress have broken any campaign promises about no tax increases.

Come November 2010, throw the bums out. Repeat as necessary.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

The de Rothschild’s fortune may be a publicly unknown quantity but theories abound on its size. It has been estimated by some as in the trillions and some accounts place it in the hundreds of millions when at first the dynasty was born.

David de Rothschild may not be your typical or average limousine liberal. With the size of the family fortune a whole new label may be required. But what de Rothschild shares in common with the long car lefties is an affection for anthropogenic global warming.

Why is it that well-heeled individuals take a Hollywood approach when telling the rest of us how to live? Is it possible that those who shoulder the burden of living with massive fortunes the rest of us can only dream about have no clue? It would make more sense if those short on targets for their fortunes invested in practical solutions to the issues they embrace.

But that would illuminate the real story. It is not about AGW or any real issue. It’s about them and their personal interests.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

from VOA News….

A British adventurer is spreading his own message in a bottle by crossing the Pacific Ocean aboard an 18-meter catamaran made of thousands of plastic soda bottles.

David de Rothschild’s unusual boat is his way of drawing attention to the plastic polluting the world’s oceans while also showcasing a solution. The 31 year old hopes to inspire followers with the boat he calls the “Plastiki.”

Global mission

“We’re on a mission to beat waste,” says de Rothschild. “The Plastiki project is really trying to showcase that waste is inefficient design and that we can reuse everyday materials and rather than them ending up in landfill, or in our oceans, or being incinerated and ending up in our atmosphere, we can repurpose and build items that can be reused so we can close the loop.”

After reading a United Nations report about the huge swirls of plastic trash in the oceans, the British banking heir thought up the expedition to draw attention to the problem.

The name Plastiki echoes the Kon-Tiki, the raft that Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl built to cross the Pacific in 1947.

His grandson, Olaf Heyerdahl, was one of six crew members on the first leg of the Plastiki voyage, from San Francisco to Christmas Island.

For President Obama the honeymoon has long since past. The first 100 days analysis of each new American president is more common these days since ‘honeymoon’ characterizations may have faded with frequent two term administrations like Reagan, Clinton and Bush 43. The question in either case was how long will it take for the promises of a campaign to be discarded after election.

Hope and change was as pathetic a slogan as one might hear from a snake oil salesman. But the distinction between the ambitions of a community organizer and a seller of dubious liniments can no longer be defended.

With the midterm elections approaching Democrats prove the pundit forecast predicting the probability of the GOP retaking the congressional majority. Rather than a carnival atmosphere liberals appear as cannibals feeding on their own to redirect blame for their failure to govern properly.

Democrats are having a jolly good time beating up the White House.

You can see why. President Obama has caused the party to squander a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reclaim permanent majority status.

An example of how bad things are for Dems in the report above has this little tidbit:

Out in Iowa, the Democratic Governors’ Association spent money on mailers trashing Republican gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad for being too much like Obama on health care.

Who’s selling the snake oil now? But it gets better.

WASHINGTON — Republicans are outraising Democrats in nearly a dozen open Senate races, increasing their hopes of significantly narrowing the Democrats’ majority in November.

Money as the root of all evil is not a phrase lost on politics. The idea that he who has the most money wins may be a subject for debate given the strength of the tea party and new conservative candidates. But outdoing your opponents on fundraising suggests more people support you than your opponent.

What else does the money game offer POLS?

WASHINGTON — A Republican lawmaker says documents show more senators and staff members than previously known received sweetheart mortgages from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., based on their perceived ability to help the company.

It wasn’t just Chris Dodd or Kent Conrad who took perks from Countrywide. This is no different than money from lobbyists or other special interest powerbrokers. Then there’s vote selling (bribes) like Cornhusker Cash (Sen Ben Nelson), the Louisiana Purchase (Sen Mary Landrieu) and the following:

GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Scott Brown of Massachusetts voted for the bill after Democrats agreed to drop a provision to raise $19 billion by imposing fees on banks.

It’s not quite that innocent. Collins, Snowe and Brown received perks for their states as the price paid for their vote to pass the bill. How is that different from Dodd or others taking perks from Countrywide in exchange for political favors?

That’s right. Throw the bums out. Repeat as necessary.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Porkulus has been one of the most absurd political disasters in our lifetime.  The remainder of the liberal agenda will bring more of the same. Hope and change is coming in November 2010.

Here’s a report highlighting some of the stupidity of PORKULUS.

Stimulus fails, Blue States hardest hit

ProPublica’s “Recovery Tracker” has an interesting chart listing how much federal stimulus funding went to each state, juxtaposed with that state’s rate of unemployment from 2008 to 2010. Remember, the main purpose of President Obama’s $850 billion stimulus package was to “save or create jobs,” 

California voters are giving U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer some of the lowest approval ratings of her career, as the three-term Democrat is in a statistical dead heat against first-time GOP office-seeker Carly Fiorina, according to a new Field Poll released today.

Not unlike the no choice situation in the California governor’s race the contest for US Senator between Boxer and Fiorina allows voters to lose either way. For governor the state of California will elect either Moonbeam Jerry Brown or Shamnesty Limousine Liberal Meg Whitman. For one of California’s US Senate seats the no choice is incumbent Boxer with a tanking approval rating or RINO Fiorina who is no different than Specter, Collins, Snowe or McCain for conservatives.

One of Boxer’s more vexing problems, analysts say, is that opposition to her is not just about her. She has become an avatar for broader voter frustrations about the struggling economy, President Obama and the growth of the federal government.

The article also expresses Boxer’s ‘close relationship with the White House’ as a problem and that Fiorina won the nomination running as a conservative and gave up independent votes to Boxer.

Anyone who believes Fiorina is a conservative would hold the same opinion of the other RINOs mentioned. But liberals in California have kept Boxer for three terms and NOW have a problem with her? The land of fruits, nuts and flakes deserves what it gets.

Welcome to the People’s Republic of California: no money, no borders, no brains.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Contrary to some of the information in the report below which may be typical of most news accounts this week the US economy and many of those around the globe have no strength. Just as jobs lag behind other factors related to recovery it may take the public a long time to finally decide things are really bad. The latest consumer confidence report may indicate that time has come. And unfortunately for nearly everything about economies, if the public doesn’t spend the economic engine has no fuel. Talk about your energy crisis.

‘But economists say’ are weasel words. Not all economists hold one view on anything. The same holds true for every other group. The great psychological forces that influence markets are in play. And the liberal majority in the US Congress and occupying the White House are desperately trying to advance their agenda even though it runs contrary to recovery.

The suggestion within the report below that suggests recovery may be illusive for six months to a year conveniently aligns with the 2010 elections and enough time to have new blood reign in government meddling in the private sector. That could spur a recovery.

Check the numbers below after the report from Mil Arcega.

Stocks Fall on Double Dip Fears
Mil Arcega | Washington 30 June 2010

Global stocks fell again on Wednesday on new worries about the pace of the global economic recovery. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined more than nine percent in the second quarter, fueled in part by a drop in consumer confidence and continuing worries about the health of the global economy. But economists say speculation that the world economy could slip back into another recession is simply that - speculation.

Falling stocks and a slow recovery in the job market have put many Americans in a pessimistic mood. Consumer confidence fell sharply in June — raising fears that a decline in consumer spending could trigger another recession.

But economist Jim Glassman at JP Morgan Chase says the worries are greatly exaggerated. “When you look at the consumer trends, consumer spending is actually pretty steady, and the job front, we will find out on Friday,” he said.

That’s when the monthly U.S. unemployment report comes out.

Meanwhile, doubts about the pace of recovery continues to roil global stocks. In Asia, key indexes finished the second quarter with the worst performance since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

“Of course, the main concern is really the ongoing credit crisis in Europe. The sovereign risk — Greece can’t repay their debt even though the Central Bank and IMF announced a 750 billion euro facility that still has not restored the confidence of the financial markets,” said Francis Lun, the head of Fullbright Securities in Hong Kong.

Some reports added to the pessimism, suggesting the U.S. could fall back into recession as the effects of the 800 billion dollar stimulus begins to fade.
But economist Mark Zandi says a double-dip scenario is unlikely. “I think the economy will make it through. It’s going to be a bit tricky. We’re going to feel uncomfortable over the next six to 12 months. As the reporter said, the benefits of the stimulus is fading, but I think there’s enough good going on that we’ll make it through without a recession,” he said.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Wisconsin on Wednesday President Barack Obama acknowledged the frustration many Americans feel about the economy and more importantly — jobs. “Today, we’ve added private sector jobs for five months in a row. So the economy is headed in the right direction. But I know that for a lot of Americans - for Racine and a lot of other communities - it’s not heading there fast enough,” he said.

The much anticipated employment report coming out on Friday should give investors a clearer picture of how fast the U.S. economy is growing. Preliminary reports suggest job growth in the private sector is likely to fall short of expectations.

Here are some of the preliminary numbers on the quarter, from the close on March 31 through 4 p.m. Wednesday according to Thomson Reuters data.

S&P 500: -11.86%
Nasdaq Composite: -12.04%
Dow Jones Industrials: -9.97%
Russell 2000: -9.24%
U.S. Dollar Index: +6.19%

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Feed and clothe the poor. Now there’s a noble endeavor. And let’s not forget to give welfare recipients an ATM card. It would be equally enlightening to allow them to use the ATM card at their favorite casino.

ATM cards given to welfare recipients in, go figure, California, are enabled to withdraw money at more than half the state’s casinos. Now ’state officials’ are trying to determine how much ‘taxpayer’ money has been withdrawn from casinos using California’s welfare debit cards.

“We have instructed our vendors to prohibit these cards from being accepted at ATMs located in casinos and card rooms,” Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Wednesday. “It is reprehensible that anyone would use taxpayer money for anything other than its intended purpose.”

While term-limited Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has done nothing to change California’s image as the poster child for nanny state failures the state’s prospect of having shamnesty advocate Meg Whitman or Moonbeam Jerry Brown as the next governor almost guarantees the continued path to disaster for one of this nation’s socialist strongholds.

And you have to love McLear’s statement. So, limiting the use of the cards was not on their mind after reaching the hair-brained idea to give welfare recipients an ATM card in the first place? That’s more ‘reprehensible’ than what he suggests in the second sentence. Like you do not have to assume some will ‘game’ the system when you create one.

Individual liberty, individual responsibility and conservative principles are lost on the land of fruits, nuts and flakes.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com