The Banking Crisis, Anger and Islam

There has been a lot of media hype lately about the financial crisis. And, of course, the crisis has EVERYONE’S attention. But, what isn’t covered, or dealt with openly is the seething anger below the surface. This was best revealed on the Tonight show when President Obama was a guest.

Jay Leno described the immense dollar amounts of executive bonuses, and said

"I know what would make me feel better -- shouldn't somebody go to jail?"

At this the audience clapped and cheered loudly. In turn the President indicated that he understands the sentiment, but gave this reply:

"Here's the dirty little secret -- most of the stuff that got us into trouble was perfectly legal."

Actually, it’s not that dirty of a secret. But, it is true. It was all legal. One thing the media and government has not focused on is that most of it went on with Democrats in charge of financial oversight through the US Congress, but who said and did nothing about it. Their inaction caused a lot of this trouble. And the trouble has, in turn, generated is a lot of anger. As the audience of the Tonight show demonstrated, we are pointing fingers and demanding vengeance. And, what is being done to deal with the anger? NOTHING! ZIP! NADA!

Would you like to know why Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world? At it’s fundamental levels, it justifies anger. Most religions do the same thing, but some are more codified about it than others. You have to earn forgiveness, favor from heaven, etc. Any structured institution built by men does this.

So, why is it that we expect government to be able to solve the problem? Due to the control factors, government obviously has a vested interest in not seeing this change. People need to pay more attention to how and why government, or any other institution, gains more control over situations. And, what government does not do to solve issues…like go after the ones who did not solve the financial problems in the first place (aka Barney Frank and company).

Only one thing is required break the growth of the anger in America. It is changed hearts. So, pray for America to have a changed heart, and for people to go out living lives from changed hearts. Otherwise, the anger is only making room for more judgment and anger, which can only be justified by a religion built on it--Islam.

(...i bet you never thought there was a real connection...did you?...)

Afghanistan, and Liberal Europe

Did you know that many Taliban fighters are afraid to defect from cause? Much as Iraq has changed since former fighters began to fight for the country, it could also be true in Afghanistan. But, a stronger, more secure government is needed to pul it off.

"Ninety-five percent of the Taliban want to reconcile with the government if they can be assured security," Mullah Abdul Salam, a former high-ranking Taliban commander and now district chief in Musa Qala in the southern Helmand Province, told Reuters. "But the government of Afghanistan cannot ensure their safety. If they defect to the government, the other Taliban will kill them. They are fighting for their lives."

This possibility has a lot of promise. Petraeous has said what worked in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan. And, he has cited several good and valid reason why. Yet, while the tactics and applications that brought so much success in Iraq may not work in Afghanistan, the goal needs to be the same.

Meanwhile, the Spanish are out to arrest Bush administration officials.

The case, against former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and [five] others, was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review by Baltasar Garzón, the crusading investigative judge who ordered the arrest of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

A previous attempt was made by human rights groups in Germany. This attempt has been filed by a different human rights group, the Association for the Dignity of Prisoners, using Spanish jurisdiction since Spanish prisoners are believed to have been tortured. Mr. John yoo, whose legal opinions were the basis for Bush policies, commented that such cases could prompt military and intelligence agencies to reduce efforts to protect due to the threat of legal actions. Needless to say, there is a fine line between gathering intelligence and abuse of prisoners. The problem is that many “prisoner rights” are based, not on good policy, but on self esteem and other such concepts. This whole line of thinking ignores the wrong that is done, and the need for restitution to the victims, in the name of making nice to those who did wrong. Terrorists are no different. They hide behind legal obscurities to maim and destroy, but are treated exactly the same by liberaldom. Without some sort of punishment, aside from locking people up in country club environments—even though surrounded with barbed wire and walls—there will never be any real change in a criminals’ or terrorists’ hearts. These types of lega; actions, while perhaps motivated to keep excesses in check, will most likely only curb truly necessary and proper action, giving criminals and terrorists even greater reign.

Policy, Medicine and Islam

After the report on medical information safety by the BBC, the NYT reports that many doctors question whether the cost of implementing digital records may not be worth it.

Two articles, to be published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, point to the formidable obstacles to achieving the policy goal of not only installing electronic health records, but also using them to improve care and curb costs.

Studies found use of data to be far lower than originally thought. One journal article went so far as to say implementing this would be a serious policy mistake. In typical liberal line-toeing, The NYT, though, goes on to cite the importance of implementing the proposed Obama/left wing policy without citing any real sources that refute the Journal’s findings.

On the subject of dealing with tough policy issues, Germany is wrestling with dealing with Islam in the schools. Religious instruction is a constitutional reality in all but two states. The honor killing of a Turkish woman in 2005 scared Berlin into using an ethics based teaching instead of religion.

What everyone shares is an obsession with Muslims, who account for over half the students in parts of the city. The ethics course is partly meant to snuff out incipient violent radicalism. But it leaves many children learning the Koran from teachers who have little stake in German society. Better, says Pro-Reli, to bring it into school, where German-speaking teachers can impart Islam under the state’s watchful eye.

Bringing it into the school to allow state control of religion can be dangerous. America, for instance, was founded on the idea that government should not control the church as well as the church not being the government. At the same time, giving Islam an inroad in one area is just as dangerous. Islam is not tolerant, contrary to those who say otherwise. Just follow the history of how Islam has gained control of once Christian Lebanon.

Consider, for another example, the proposed rules in Tajikistan.

The new law imposes censorship on religious literature and restricts performing rituals to state-approved venues. It makes it harder for new religious communities to get registration.

The new law revolves around a state sponsored version of Islam, for a primarily Sunni population. Part of the new law is government control to block a resurgence of the Taliban.

All of this leaves the U.S. with the question of how it will deal with the most rapidly expanding religion in the world. Will we continue to tolerate it without question, as C.A.I.R. desires and lobbies for? Or will we give it equal footing with other religions and remove the anti-religious laws and restrictions that are steadily increasing in the nation? Or will we do something entirely different? The choice is ours, and we must act. And, we act by what we say to our legislators, and how we deal with those around us. Are you speaking out?

Wednesday Hero: Chief Airey

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Elena

Chief Master Sergeant Paul Wesley Airey


"Chief Airey was an Airman’s Airman and one of the true pioneers for our service," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff. "He was a warrior, an innovator… and a leader with vision well ahead of his time. His legacy lives today in the truly professional enlisted force we have serving our nation… and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude."

Chief Airey was born in Quincy, Mass., on December 13, 1923. At age eighteen, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December, 7, 1941, Airey quit high school to enlist in the Army Air Forces on November 16, 1942. He later earned his high school equivalency certificate through off-duty study. During World War II he flew as a B-24 radio operator and additional duty aerial gunner. On his 28th mission, then-Technical Sergeant Airey and his fellow crewmen were shot down over Vienna, Austria, captured, and held prisoner by the German air force from July 1944 to May 1945. During his time as a prisoner of war he worked tirelessly to meet the basic needs of fellow prisoners, even through a 90-day forced march.

Chief Airey held the top enlisted from April 3, 1967 to July 31, 1969. During his tenure he worked to change loan establishments charging exorbitant rates outside the air base gates and to improve low retention during the Vietnam Conflict. Chief Airey also led a team that laid the foundation for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, a system that has stood the test of time and which is still in use today. He also advocated for an Air Force-level Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy. His vision became reality when the academy opened in 1973, becoming the capstone in the development of Air Force Senior NCOs. Chief Airey retired August 1, 1970. He continued advocating for Airmen’s rights by serving on the boards of numerous Air Force and enlisted professional military organizations throughout the years. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Airmen Memorial Museum, a member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation and the Air University Foundation.

On the north wall of the Air Force Memorial in Washington D.C., Chief Airey’s thoughts on Airmen are immortalized, "When I think of the enlisted force, I see dedication, determination, loyalty and valor." The Air Force Association honored Airey with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Chief Airey passed away on March 11, 2009 at his home in Panama City, Florida

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Abandoned Partners

Sunday’s announcement that former insurgents were under Iraqi control was fantastic news. It defied all the gloomy predictions since the plan was announced. Of course, independent journalists, like Michael Yon have been telling the real story of these former al-Qaeda members for a long time. While only about 10-15% of those fighters will actually have positions in the Iraqi security forces or military, the remainder have been promised jobs or training to help them get them. And, all of it was accomplished under the Bush administration’s watch. It leaves me wondering what may happen under Obama’s watch. Will it end up being a string of broken promises and abandonment like the Democrats handed South Vietnam after Nixon? Let us sincerely hope not. Unfortunately, in his latest dispatch, Michael notes that this just might be the case:

The hints coming out of Washington tend to cause me to believe we will abandon Afghanistan. I’m making no personal comment one way or the other yet, other than Iraq was worth the effort and costs all the way around – so long as we cement that success.

You should read the rest for yourself.

Meanwhile, here at home, Democrats continue to circle the wagons around each other. Well, at least the President is doing that for his cabinet folks—still. Despite tax evasion issues, and faulty bailout implementations 9both of which ruined Bush’s popularity levels due to the media), Obama still stands behind Geithner. And then, true to form, the media lets Obama off the hook by merely changing the point of the story to Republican failures. Isn’t it amazing that the media does not care one whit if their party abandons foreign governments, or that Democrats are getting away with all the stuff Republicans can’t do without MAJOR scrutiny?

The Iran Contra debacle caused the Democratic legislature to abandoned Afghanistan to warlords, and eventually the Taliban, during the 80s. The diligent prosecuting of war against communist forces in Vietnam under Nixon caused the Democratic legislature to pass laws which doomed any democratic rule in South Vietnam. I fear what the Democratic President and legislature will bring about in the Middle East in the years ahead.

My Rant On Debt, Debt and More Debt

Debt is scourge on the American people. According to America’s Total Debt Report, 2008 debt was $186,740 per man, woman and child - - 6.4 times higher per capita than in 1957. The report also shows that higher debt reduces the level of real national income while adding little to the economy. In fact, according to the report, every dollar of economic growth requires more debt per dollar than ever before. Consider this:

Household debt is made up of consumer debt plus mortgage debt. The Family Income Report shows real median family incomes stopped growing in 1970, and thereafter families tried to keep up by going deeper and deeper into debt ever since - at near 3x the rate of national economic growth - to an all-time high today. Consumer debt payments % disposable income are at historic highs. The Family Income Report cites the reason, with dramatic pictures.

This is just to give you an idea of what lies below the surface. There is a lot more in the entire Grandfather Economic Report series. You should go read it for yourself. All of his debt information is supplied from Federal sources, by the way.

Here is the question Americans, and even those abroad, must answer. If debt got us all into this economic mess, why do we believe more debt will get us out? Everyone should know that you can only leverage your earnings so far before you produce a diminishing return due to interest requirements. According to another source, “In 1946 the debt hit 121.7% of the GDP due to WWII, it's currently (as of 2003) at 62.4%.” These figures are referring to total debt—business, household, government, etc. What does that mean in real terms for today? According to a March 3, 2009 MSN Money article:

Consumer credit ranged between 12% and 14% of the GDP from 1965 through 1995. It currently stands at 18%. With the GDP at $14 trillion, the American consumer will have to shed $600 billion of debt to achieve a 14% level. It will take years of debt reduction and GDP growth to rebalance the economy.

Put in perspective, that means almost $1 of every $5 earned is paying for debt, rather than producing anything meaningful.

So, I repeat my question. If creating so much debt, which actually reduced economic growth despite driving industrial production, got the world into this economic mess, why do the powers that be believe more debt will get us out? Simply put, debt allows more goods to be purchased, thereby maintaining economic output, if not increasing it. So, in order to keep producing goods and everyone have a job, more debt must be created. But debt actually reduces economic gain after it reaches a certain size. That’s one reason why the US dollar keeps dropping in value as we create more federal debt.

The result of the banking and financial mess was the cessation of the flow of credit. No money is reaching the market. This causes people to be unemployed, because goods are not being produced, which causes a further drop in spending, creating a further reduction in spending, and more goods left on the shelves. In order to counter that, prices would have to fall. This is something called deflation. So, the Federal government is working to cause credit to flow again, by creating more debt. The result being that the viscious cycle just continues.

The one way to guarantee the cycle stops is to cease the increase of debt. But, that would mean 10s of millions of Americans, hundreds of millions of people world wide, would suffer catastrophically. And that is political suicide for anyone in a public office. It is, or should be, morally repugnant to most people. The alternative method is to limit debt, that is place restrictions on the ability to borrow—perhaps using long abandoned security requirements (such as 20% down for mortgages). Unfortunately, that would probably have the same result, just to a lesser degree depending on how limited credit actually becomes

The simple truth is Americans cannot continue to let debt continue to get out of control. We need to stop being the selfish cretins we have become, demanding government bail us out of the messes we create. And, we need to take responsibility for our own actions. I fear, however, that we have forgotten how.

bin Laden speaks, Obama changes nothing and Democrats...well...

A new tape from bin Laden is calling for the ousting of Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The tape claims Sharif has sold out to the infidels. Sharif has already called for, and received cabinet backing, for implementation of Shari Law. But, for those who think appeasement will be enough:

But the hard line Islamists rejected the move, saying it would not be a strict enough version of Islamic law.

Not strict enough? That should give serious pause to anyone thinking of negotiating with bin Laden and those like him. Even though Sharif has support from several Islamic groups, al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab still fights the government, and controls most of southern and central Somali. bin Laden was previously based in Somalia, so there could easily be large sentiment in his favor among extremists. And, the focus is on that word: extremists. As Sharif is finding, appeasement does not work with hard line extremists.

More concerning is the possible home connections of al-Shabab.

For several months the FBI has been investigating at least 20 Somali-American men from the Minneapolis area who traveled to war-torn Somalia, where some of them trained and fought with an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group known as al-Shabaab, according to counterterrorism officials.

While there is no proof that these men are actually planning any type of attacks in the US, there is growing concern over the possibilities, especially since the latest bin Laden message. Several investigations are on-going.

Meanwhile, The Senate confirmed Obama’s nominee for Solicitor General, who just happens to be a former law school colleague. But, there are other indications in his continuing lack of change.

A former Clinton administration lawyer who's been the dean of Harvard Law School since 2003, Kagan is seen as a possible Obama nominee for any future opening on the high court.

Despite his call for change, and his claim to want Washington outsiders in his government, Obama continually seems to be picking former Clinton advisors and colleagues for his administration.

(…so much for any real change…)

Finally, another Democrat has been caught in a scandal.

A divided Ohio Elections Commission found Thursday that former Attorney General Marc Dann twice violated state elections law by using campaign funds to pay for an expensive in-home security system and a cell phone often used for personal calls.

His election was part of a Democratic near sweep of Ohio’s elected offices after state investment scandal involving Republicans. It is interesting to note that, in Clintonesque style, Dann had already resigned back in May due to a sexual harassment scandal.