REVOLUTION……January 31, 2012

Once again, I give you my good buddy AP and his take on the political agendas going on in our Country. AP is in his nineties, and a World War II vet, a successful businessman, a father, and grandfather, and in my opinion…a great American.

And now…this edition of… “Revolution…”

“In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one group of citizens to give to the other”…Voltaire (1764)

THE ANTI-JOBS PRESIDENT…Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline, and blames Congress…The central conflict of the Obama Presidency has been between the jobs and growth crises he inherited and the President’s hell-for-leather pursuit of his larger social-policy ambitions. The tragedy is that the economic recovery is caught in between, with the second impulse keeps winning. Yesterday came proof positive with the White House’s repudiation of the Keystone XL pipe line, Trans Canada’s $7 billion shovel ready project that would support tens of thousands of jobs if only it could get the requisite U.S. permits. THESE JOBS, APPARENTLY CAN WAIT.

The 1,661 mile pipe line, from Alberta to the refineries in Texas along the Gulf Coast. The State Department, which presides over the Keystone pipe line, because it crosses the 49th parallel, claimed that the two month Congressional deadline was too tight “for the President to determine whether the Keystone Pipeline is in the nation’s interest” The White House also issued a statement denouncing Congress’s “rushed and arbitrary deadline”, which merely passed with bi-partisan support.”……THIS IS, TO PUT IT POLITELY, A CROCK……..

Keystone XL has been planned for years and only became a political issue after the well-to-do environmental lobby decided to make it a station of the green cross. TransCanada filed its application in 2008, and the State Department determined in 2010 and then again last year that the project “would have no significant impacts on the environment” following exhaustive studies. Mr. Obama’s own Jobs Council, which released a report, that endorsed an “all-in approach” on energy, including the “profound new opportunities in shale gas and unconventional oil”. The 27 man committee, handpicked by the President, recommended that he support, “policies that facilitate the safe , thoughtful and timely development of pipeline, transmission and distribution projects, and they warned that failing to do so, would stall the engine that could become the PRIME DRIVER OF U.S. JOBS AND GROWTH IN THE DECADES AHEAD………..The EPA chose to intervene anyway, and the political left began to issue ultimatums and demonstrate in front of the White House, so President Obama decided to defer his decision until “AFTER” the elections.

Such green delusions are sad, and Obama’s pandering is sadder, even though everything the country stands to lose is the saddest. When the Republican candidate is chosen, he should make Obama explain why job creation is less important than the people than the people who make a living working for the green anti-industrial complex.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Americans poked fun at Canada for its economic policies. Nowadays, Canada has it all over the U.S. Take the contrasting political reaction to the proposed oil lines from Canada to the Texas oil refineries off the Gulf. CANADA’S , Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources recently blasted the “radicals” trying to block the project, saying the green movement’s “goal is to stop any major project no matter what the cost to Canadian families in lost jobs and economic growth. No forestry, no gas , no oil, no mining, no more hydraulic dams. Greens attack jet setting celebrities with some of the largest footprints in the world, and then try to lecture Canadians not to develop our natural resources. These groups are willing to sue anyone and everyone to delay the project even further, to the point it becomes comically unviable”…..who ever thought the day would come when Ottawa would be more pro-growth than the government of the United States.

SOME OVER VIEW OF THE FACTS:
Natural gas is found in many of the same areas of crude oil and is collected through small gathering system and moved to gas processing plants, where the impurities are removed. Including the small piping from the street mains, creating approximately 1.8 MILLION MILES OF PIPING. Oil within the United States, the oil pipelines are divided into two groups, one system is designed for crude oil, the other for refined product lines. First, in areas gathering lines are quite small, usually from 2 to 8 inches in diameter, in areas in which crude is found deep in the earth, there are about 40,000 miles of these small gatherings, all ending in TRUNK LINES, measuring from 8 inches to 42 inches. Refined products of oil, approx., 95,000 MILES of piping are then delivered to large terminals, then distributed by trucks or trains..

Enough (for now) of the latest, “boo-boo,” time to get to other matters, such as tonight’s STATE of DYSFUNCTION…America will watch the work of a rhetorical master with a flair for ILLUSION. Our President will take the floor of the Capital in hopes of laying the groundwork for a political debate on his accomplishments during his present term, and a forecast of all the “goodies” he plans to deliver. Like taxing the so-called rich because they were clever enough to stay within the law, and created vast sums of wealth. One thing for sure it will be “political.

In preparation for the 2012 campaign, term 1 where he stands on emotional appeals, populism. And class warfare, not the shaky ground on his crumbling record. And looking right back at him will be the U.S. Senate, which has for the “1,000 days failed to pass a budget, a total shirking of their fundamental duty as stewards of the tax-payer money.” The President, with flourish, will tell a story through PROGRESSIVE EYES, about where “fairness” takes on a new meaning, where America’s core values are brushed aside, where the truth of a failed presidency is forgotten but the soaring deficits, depths of unemployment, or miles of job killing regulations that his administration has wrought.

This sort of Progressivism has its roots in 100 years of history and 100 years of failure.. No need to look back to the history books to see the proof. One only has to see the President’s record of the past three years. You have eyes and ears, that connect to a “brain” that hopefully will decide whether this President has fulfilled his promises made during the past 3 years.

PATERNO DIES at the age of 85…The man known by the Pennsylvania State University as “JoePa” will be remembered both for his dependency career leading one of college football never to be forgotten coaches. He was in charge for 46 years, starting in 1966, earned him 409 victories, earning him football’s win ingest coach, a pair of national titles and a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame, During his time at Penn State, he and his wife, had donated an estimated $4 million dollars to the University. His Netanya Lions were also held up as a rare marquee football program that won without having been found guilty of major violations. The press labeled Paterno’s Lions as “Linebacker U” for their defenses prowess and their success in placing linebackers in the National Football League. Dressed in basic blue and white uniforms with no name on the back of the uniform, the Dittany Lions played the game in the old-schooled fundamental football. Beaver Stadium swelled to a seating capacity of over 100,000 seats. There were great coaches in the past, Bowen, Bryant, Schnellenberger, Stagg, Holtz and many more, but there will never be the group who spent most of their careers at one school, a ND produced great players and teams. The game has changed, as has the coaches, the players and the rules, there never be another Joe Paterno!

AS IRAQ IGNITES, CLERIC SEEKS GAIN…AMID RESUMED Conflict, Ex-MILITANT SADR, Shiite LEADER AND ALLY OF IRAN, AIMS TO CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE FRAY AS PEACEMAKER…

Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, who waged a bloody insurgency against Americans for over eight years, now presides over one of the county’s most organized and influential political groups, a cause of concern for America and all other religious groups. This past two weeks, amid a power struggle has threatened to bring down the Yaqui government… Mr. Sadr has sought to rise above the fray by calling for a referendum on his own, Sadr joined talks in Iran with Turkey’s Foreign Minister who was on his way to try to ease tensions in the Middle East…during his meeting, a series of bombings killed at least 69 Shiite areas in Iraq—attacks that appeared aimed at goading M. Sadr’s followers back into a war that would make Iraq ungovernable, (especially since the President removed all of President Bush’s remaining troops, leaving 5,000-10,00 troops to police to make sure the Iraqis have a chance to organize a strong government, or must we wait for another General Marshall…who knows what might have developed if some of our troops were not left behind in Europe and Japan).

In Bagdad, Ayad Allawi, the former Shiite prime minister, who now leads a Sunni contingent within the government, while Kurdish leaders met in Erbil, the semi-independent Kurdish region, with same goal, to oust Maliki. Very confusing to say the least, but all can agree that there is unrest within the country, that will probably lead to violence.

BILL DALEY’S LOST YEAR…Someday William Daley may tell the world what went wrong during his short, unhappy tenure as White House chief of staff, a lost year for him…and the country. President Obama brought in the Chicago politico-business man to replace Rahm Emanuel, who had clashed with Michelle Obama. Mr. Daley was supposed to repair relations with the business community and the Republicans on Capitol Hill…….rumors abound that when he was assigned an office with no windows, that the space with Michelle and Daley, widened despite Bill Clinton’s push for retaining Daley.

TWO COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS…Subject…blending corn “but I think that the third leg of this massive political payoff continues to survive, that being legal requirements that a percentage of gasoline we buy at the pump be ethanol. This is all part of the payoffs which Congress provides to the farm lobby and the mid-west politicians in exchange for political support, all at the expense of the American consumers. So what if ethanol uses up too much corn and drives up the price of food for all Americans , particularly the poor? At least we are dispensing political favors and continuing our legacy of corrupt hypocrisy.”

Second opinion: recess appointment power…”The legal opinion which Obozo relied on for his latest power grab could be construed to say that if Congress breaks for lunch, it’s a recess and the President can then make “recess appointments”. And if this power grab wasn’t bad enough, the Cordray part was done on behalf of a new agency with doctorial powers which is answer to no one, not Congress, not the Fed, NO ONE. The purpose of the agency, as with so much of Obozo’s Presidency, is to drive as many banks and private lenders out of business as possible so the Federal government is able to take over.”

FINANCIAL CRISES on TRIAL…The Securities and Exchange Commission the government-backed mortgage buyers, not Wall Street greed.

For the first time in a government report, the complaint made it quite clear that that the two government sponsored enterprises made it clear that the two GSEs played a major role in creating the demand for low-quality mortgages before the 2008 financial crises. More importantly, the SEC is saying that Fannie and Freddie- the largest buyers and securitizes of subprime and other low-quality loans—hid the size of their purchases from the market. Through these acts of securities fraud, they did not just mislead investors, they deprived analysts , risk managers, rating agencies and even financial regulators of vital market risks that could have prevented the crisis. What were Dodd and Frank doing that they failed to see the problems ahead, surely they were told about the storms coming?

MIA on the SHORES of TRPOLI…The U.S. defers to Qatar and the U.N. in Libya…President Obama offer criticizes the Bush Administration failing to “finish the job” in Afghanistan, so it’s odd to see him leave himself vulnerable to the same charge in Libya. A few months after the death of Gadhafi, the cautious and reluctant White House follow up to the NATO war resembles its approach to this year’s ARAB upheavals in general……The U.S.is finally “trying “to get the U.N. to release Libyan frozen assets, including $30 billion under U.S. jurisdiction. The United States is also deferring too much to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on security, the Europeans, who pushed hard for NATO, seem more interested in buying Libya’s oil than midwifing a new Arab democracy.

UAW PICKS TARGETS for SUICIDE BOMBING of U.S. ECONOMY…For over a year, it has been rumored that the UAW was going after major foreign auto manufacturers in the United States to force them to unionize by a work boycott. High on their list are the German manufactures Volkswagen AG and Daumier AG, seen as easier targets than the Japanese and South Koreans.

It’s a battle the UAW cannot afford to lose. By failing to organize factories run by foreign automakers, the union has been a spectator to the only growth in the U.S. auto industry in the past 30 years. That failure to win new members has compounded a crunch on the UAW’s finances, forcing them to sell assets and dip into its strike fund to pay for its activities.

KODAK DIDN’T KILL ROCHESTER, IT WAS the OTHER WAY AROUND… The population of Rochester, N.Y. peaked in 1950 at 330,000, its largest headquartered company then and now, was Eastman Kodak, who produced the Kodak Brownie Camera that sold for $5.95. Rochester began to shed population after a race riot in 1964, and 5 years later the second largest company, the Haliod Company, later renaming itself Xerox, left for Norwalk, Connecticut. Kodak with its large cash flow and top global brand, thrived in the 60 and 70’s. Geography was a fatal blow to Kodak, businesses located in places where success is the norm, and innovation is built into the ecology, have a better chance of re-inventing themselves.

WHO PAID for YOUR DOCTOR’S BAGEL ?… Obama Care’s “SUNSHINE ACT” will benefit only accountants, bureaucrats and lawyers…Embedded in Obama Care is a toxic rule called “Physician Payments Sunshine Act.” The Act requires all companies that manufacture medical products that are purchased from the government to disclose on a public web-site anything they give physicians valued above $10 dollars…….there pro and con groups….Who wins, who doesn’t care and who loses as a result of this regulation? Winners: the Sunshine Act is a stimulus plan for critics of the pharmaceutical and medical care device industry. The Sunshine Act will be a boon for accountants, compliance bureaucrats and legions of lawyers, who companies will hire to interpret and manage the regulations. There will be questions of how to identify which physicians are being paid what—as to how to account for $25 dollars’ worth of bagels brought in for a group-practice office meeting when it’s unclear who actually ate the bagels.

Do you want your doctor pilloried for eating a bagel while getting useful product information that might benefit his patient? Do you want your hospital hiring compliance officers instead of nurses or lab technicians. This legislation is the poster child President Obama characterized as rules that are “plain dumb”. No matter what happens to the health-care reform law as a whole, Congress should junk the “SUNSHINE ACT” before it burns us all.

I want to thank all those who sent their comments in respect to certain issues, and hope that continues, as I need as much help as possible…….next issue will contain some pre-Florida comments and the final results from the great State of Florida, which may end up with giving one candidate enough votes tube the opponent of the party presently in power………..see y’all in the funny papers…..AP

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