What Americans Don’t Know WILL Hurt Them

I must admit, I’ve been mystified by the reaction, or more accurately the lack of reaction by Americans with regard to our imploding economy. But I get it now, thanks to Dmitri Orlov’s excellent Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects. Orlov, an American with Russian roots, was able to watch the collapse of the Soviet Union while visiting a number of times during that collapse.

At the height of the intensity of the bailout drama a couple weeks ago, I visited a nice, mid to upscale mall where I occasionally shop (I needed the Apple Store, my only consumerist passion). I was amazed that even though our economy was on the verge of meltdown with anyone who knew anything about what was going on tense and wondering how the next couple days were going to play out, the everyday consumers flowing around me in the mall seemed completely unaware that anything unusual was going on. I realize now that they weren’t completely unaware of dramatic things going on, they were simply convinced that it wouldn’t affect them. That’s a distinction that was lost on me that day, as the well-practiced credit-card presentation moves were displayed even as the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson got down on one knee to beg Nancy Pelosi to pass the $750 Billion bailout bill.

I was comfortable spending a little money that day, because I have protected myself from short-term disruptions in the everyday workings of our economy. Having cash on-hand, safely stored along with enough food, water and household goods to easily weather a couple months disruption is something I recommend to anyone who asks my advice about what could possibly happen. But looking around, I realized that few, if any, of my fellow shoppers had protected themselves in that way.

Reading Orlov’s new book yesterday, I realized that we Americans are asleep about what could happen to us because we don’t believe anything catastrophic could happen to us. And that’s not a completely unreasonable assumption, since nothing bad has happened to us in almost 80 years. Plus, it’s been almost 150 years since war has been seen on our shores, as wars are something that Americans have to travel a long way to participate in. It’s been that way since the Civil War ended in 1865. Europe lives with that collective memory still relatively fresh. Even if Europeans haven’t lived through it first-hand, it’s a part of their history that’s closer to the surface.

We in America are living in one of the best-insulated pockets of comfort the world has ever seen, and that will make the troubles that are almost certainly coming much harder to deal with. The shock Americans will feel when the ATMs don’t work will be devastating. When the grocery shelves are cleared by those with a little cash on-hand, the panic will set in. Most people don’t plan for disruption because they don’t believe it is possible. Waking up to the realization that their assumptions in that regard aren’t true will be a difficult experience.

The alarm has most certainly gone off. The government is frantically doing what it can to keep hitting the snooze button, but when it’s morning, you can only do that for so long before waking can no longer be delayed.

Posted in Economy, US
Tags: Depression, Economy, Financial Armageddon, Recession, Stock market crash

Obama Problem #3

Problem number 1 will be the economy. He will be in charge of the world’s only remaining Superpower in decline, and possible economic collapse.

Problem number 2 is Iraq. He claims to know what to do, and it’s entirely possible he will get the chance to prove whether he does, or will just screw things up worse.

Problem number 3 will be impeachment. There is no way a candidate for President of the United States can raise $150 million in a month without his organization making some big mistakes. I predict that in the coming months, should Obama be elected, we will hear about a massive donation from somewhere horrifying. I guarantee that Senator Obama’s opponents have already begun investigating where the almost quarter of a billion dollars in donations in August and September came from.

He shouldn’t have taken the money. First, in doing so he broke an agreement with Senator McCain to take public funds, which would limit his outside fundraising. Secondly, studies show once you get to a certain level of money, incremental dollars don’t help that much, if at all. He didn’t need the money.

The problems associated with massive fundraising in my opinion (which I should tell the reader ISN’T backed up by any first-hand experience with political fundraising – just common sense) just aren’t worth the benefit derived from them. The more money rushing in, the more likely it is that some of it will be difficult and/or embarrassing to explain. I think the possibility exists that a President Obama will spend a great deal of attention during his first term explaining not a spot on a dress, but a million dollar contribution by someone he shouldn’t have taken a dime from.

Again, I believe an Obama Presidency, should it occur, will be an ugly time. And that’s unfortunate, because I don’t fear Barack Obama as a person at all. I think, if he were at the head of a complete overhaul of our political landscape in Washington, DC, we could do far worse in a President. But, it’s not a complete overhaul, and a lot of the same players are in charge in Washington. I don’t fear the results of a President Barack Obama, but I am concerned about what can happen with Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Harry Reid in charge with a rubber stamp-providing President in the White House.

They are incompetent and corrupt and will play Obama like a fiddle.

Posted in Politics, Society, US
Tags: Corruption, Impeachment, McCain, Obama, Scandal

2 Things About the Obama Campaign

2 Questions:

1. How important can the endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell be, considering:

Colin Powell is the one, as Secretary of State, who delivered testimony about Iraq having the Weapons of Mass Destruction. If he’s so good, why didn’t he know that wasn’t true? If he DID know it wasn’t true, why didn’t he resign, rather than lie to us?

2. Why isn’t the media holding Obama to his promise to take federal campaign funds, thus limiting his ability to raise money himself. The answer is this: The media is profiting from a staggering $150 Million he raised last month. They get a huge windfall in tough economic times for television and radio and in return, they support Obama.

I’m no fan of John McCain, but what a mess we’re in for. The problem with an Obama Presidency is that the real issues will be overshadowed by the ones that don’t matter: Race, experience, the charge that will be leveled that Obama bought the office. It’s all going to take away from the real problem – that we’ve entered the most dangerous recession of our time, and will probably suffer a Greater Depression.

I predict the race issue will be a big problem. A big portion of the U.S. is simply not interested in a black President. Militant and vocal Black America will soon become disillusioned when things don’t change overnight to put them on top. Liberal White America, who (if it happens) will have elected Obama, will bear the brunt of the Militant Black community’s anger. After all, the Democrats are still basically white. With the “super-majority” in Congress they expect to get, the Democrats will be seen as blocking Black America’s triumph. The backlash could be devastating, and won’t help anyone.

I don’t envy Barack Obama if he becomes President. Black America will expect to see a White House and Administration filled with African-Americans. Liberals call fears of that “racist,” but only because they don’t believe it will happen. If it doesn’t happen, Obama has problems with Black America, who will believe they’ve elected him. If it does happen, it will scare a lot of non-black people who will have voted for Obama, and they will start to reconsider their previous assertion that “race doesn’t matter.”

Sadly, it does.

Posted in Economy, Politics, US
Tags: Campaign, Election, McCain, Obama, Presidential Election

Depression Update

The question is no longer “if?” But rather “when?” and “how bad?”

Answers: 2009, and very bad.

We’ve got lots of data about what happens when economies slide into recession, but fortunately, little experience with what it’s like to enter a depression. My view is, we’re about to collect some data and add to our experience level.

Despite our lack of first-hand experience with depressions, one thing is clear – the beginning of an economic event like this can be like a snowball rolling down a hill, picking up energy and mass as it goes. That snowball is bearing down on us right now. Believe it.

Here are some important cues:

• The volatility of the market. Been watching the DOW lately?
• Shipping slowdowns – The less stuff coming into “Consumerland” (the U.S.), the less stuff that will be sold, with all sorts of negative results like layoffs, lower sales tax collections (resulting in state and city budgetary shortfalls, resulting in layoffs, and on and on. Stories here, here and here. In short, the Port of Long Beach is showing a 15.8% decline in inbound containers September to September, and a 10.8% slowing so far in 2008.
• The amazing lack of visible results of the $750 Billion bailout Bernanke and Paulson engineered. The problem sucked all that money up in a hurry, didn’t it? Now, there’s talk of another bill.
• Unprecedented demand for Gold, despite the horrible performance of the paper version of the metal, as well as the mining stocks. Try to buy gold coins or bullion. You can’t. Yet the price of the metal is languishing

So, it’s more important than ever to protect yourself and your family. I’m writing a FREE report about how to start the process of doing just that. Click HERE to get it.

Posted in Economy, Society, US
Tags: Bailout, Depression, Economy, Money, Recession

The Beauty Pageant completely misses the point

—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—

Watching the Vice President Debate last night, I was struck at how (almost) pointless this campaign is, and just how out of touch these people are. There was so little of serious consequence debated last night, I wondered if anyone up there truly grasped the danger of the economic situation, or realized more and more, everyday Americans are beginning to understand it. There’s worry out here, and a rising sense of anger over it. With the exception of Sarah Palin, everyone in the race is a complete Beltway Insider. I’ve lived and worked inside the Beltway, and I know insiders when I see them.

That term, “Beltway Insider” gets bandied about a lot. The interstate system that encircles Washington, DC, running through Virginia and Maryland, is a system I avoided as much as possible. My wife and I lived first in Arlington, then Vienna, both in Virginia. Arriving in the Nation’s Capital not long after Bill Clinton’s election (don’t read anything into that – purely coincidental), I quickly realized that when you came to Washington, you were either a Virginia or a Marylander, and you figured that out pretty quickly. Most never change sides. Sure, a few people end up living in the District, but that’s usually either ghetto or uber-upscale real estate. Neither for me, thank you.

Living in Arlington was subtly different than Vienna. Vienna is a nice little community barely a mile outside the beltway on I-66. There’s a Metro station at the edge of town, but my work hours (I’m writing this at 4:29am) kept me in the car, driving across the Chain Bridge, or else around the circular off-ramp that provided a magnificent view of the Iwo Jima Memorial as I left I-66 to drive through Arlington and across the Key Bridge into Georgetown.

Living in a high-rise in Arlington was a much more urban, inside the beltway experience. I loved it, though. We lived in a building just across a small plaza from the National Science Foundation, so between that, and my work in the media, there was a lot of contact with the “insiders.” When you’re inside, it’s almost like you’re in a “cone of acceptance,” and belong there. More than once, on a coffee-break we bumped into Chelsea Clinton and stopped and talked for a couple seconds outside Starbucks with her and her surly girlfriend/Secret Service protection. The “surly” was in a high school girl way, not a Secret Service Agent way, but she still could have probably kicked my ass in a heartbeat, even though I’m 6’2″ and on the day we first met, was wearing a long Aussie-style raincoat and a “USS Ronald Reagan” baseball cap (the ship hadn’t been launched yet, but I have Navy connections that got me a “Gipper” cap not long after they laid the keel), but they showed no concern. I figured my much more friendly looking staff, one metro-sexual male and a pretty 30 year old female “softened” my look. I was a little surprised that high school girls did lunch at Starbucks (it was only the middle 90s, and I don’t think the Frappacino had made its debut yet) – her school, Sidwell Friends – was down the street, but that’s the District. Things are just a little ahead of the rest of the country, like the East Coast, but in a subtler way.

Once we moved to Vienna, we got away from a lot of the “total government” people and more into the high tech and government support industry community. Sure, there were still insiders there – our next door neighbors, still friends to this day, were an Air Force Captain (now Colonel) at the Pentagon, and his government contractor wife. But Vienna residents seemed more down to earth.

We occasionally would run into insiders outside the Beltway, but it was rare. There was a salad bar we frequented, a mile or so further outside the Beltway from where we lived, where we would see and chat with ABC (now Fox) anchor Brit Hume and his wife Kim, Washington Bureau Chief for Fox. Really nice people, and when we first met them, my quick introduction (I was a voice in DC, not a face) warmed the meeting up, and while I wouldn’t say we became close friends over infrequent salad bar meetings, it was a much more comfortable knowing each other than you would normally experience two miles further east, inside the Beltway. That’s the nature of the region. Every two or three weeks I would have my hair cut at Okyo Salon in Georgetown, almost always sitting next to, or not far from, Larry King, who was (maybe still is?) there every day having his hair blow dried (I know…but that’s what he was there for – he’d walk in, hair a mess and leave the perfectly coiffed Larry we all know and love, thanks to Bernard, who cut my hair a couple times and he’s GOOD). We never talked. And I have nothing against Larry King, in fact early in my career he was someone I learned a lot about being a talk show host from, but it was not a friendly media-people meeting. Neither was my almost daily passing on the sidewalk of Jim Leher, of PBS, even though on that walk I was usually with my very well-known radio news anchor. We were inside the Beltway, and it’s a different environment.

My point in all this, is that being inside that Interstate system, the air is different. When people pass through the invisible boundary they are changed. What goes on outside the Beltway becomes more academic, and less personal to you. And when I say “you” I can’t say that I was exempt. When you’re regularly inside, you are part of a social system that makes you want to continue to belong to it, and be true to it. I can’t explain it better than that. Moving to Vienna, outside, albeit barely outside, changed that. Again, I can best describe it this way: The air is different.

So, when I watched the VP debate last night, I was startled, more than anything, by the contrast between the accomplished insider, Joe Biden and the massively outsider Governor Sarah Palin. Gov. Palin brushed by a topic I would have pounded, that Biden, in his Democratic Primary race against Obama mercilessly hit Obama with the charge that he’s in no way ready to lead. Much like George Bush Sr. in the 1980 Republican Primary campaign, where he slammed Ronald Reagan so hard, it was shocking to see Reagan pick Bush, the elder, as his VP candidate, it shocked me when these Democratic candidates hooked up to campaign.

But that’s the way it works inside the Beltway, and I realize John McCain is an insider. But, it’s why, when I watch Sarah Palin I can’t help but think we need many, many more like her. Candidates who simply reek of outside the beltway. We need them. The same old insiders have put us in these troubling times. The interesting misconception about Washington is, that we think we need these experienced hands to run government. Not so. Staffers run the place. Sure, the higher up you go, the more partisan the players, but on the administrative level, the people that do a lot of the real work are the people who take public transportation to work, answer the phones, word process the paperwork and handle the day to day stuff of running the government. Even partisan staffers aren’t nearly as tied to their party affiliation as we tend to think. Much like Judd Nelson’s character in St. Elmo’s Fire, staffers sometimes jump parties for better job. Heck, didn’t Dick Morris do just that? Not even going to mention Joe Lieberman.

And after all, let’s face it. We are called “The United States of America” for a reason. We are an association of States, not a single centrally-run organization. Remember when the Government shut-down in the winter of 1995? I was there. Between the snowstorms that shut down the District (don’t even get me started about Marion Barry and his “80 snow plows at work,” he had maybe 2 running) and the budget crisis that sent Federal employees home for a few days, despite the worry, American still ran just fine. Better, according to some! I ferried our private industry employees to and from work through waist high snowdrifts in the District and Maryland in my Jeep Cherokee – We Virginians are just much more hardy souls The government employees stayed home on paid vacations.

The insiders must go. Please do not vote for them. I will hold my nose and vote for McCain, because it seems like someone involved at a high level of the McCain campaign understands this. If I thought it would make a difference, I would write-in Ron Paul. I will continue to help him in any way I can, because we truly need Dr. Paul. We need Congressional candidates of his like elected for the next Congress.

Let’s find them, and elect them.

Posted in Economy, Politics, US
Tags: Biden, Palin, Politics, VP Debate

Will the Bailout Bill Fail?

—WCN Warning: Economic/Terrorist event possible—

Here’s my bet.

Yes.

I think the outpouring of angry comment from the constituents of the 435 House members, all of whom are up for reelection in November, will convince a big enough number of them that if they want to keep their jobs (for whatever that will be worth in the post-crash United States), they will vote against the bailout.

The American people are angry. They have a right to be. They’ve been manipulated, lied to, drugged with cheap credit, cheap mass media “entertainment” rich with endless hours of inane reality TV, ridiculously expensive popular culture retail fluff and the American Panto of loundmouthed talking head news/debate shows. They’re waking up from the American Dream, which is starting to look like a night’s restless sleep brought on by a huge malt liquor bender, their head hurts and they’re pissed.

Con Artists like Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and the like are still trying to shove this pork-infested rescue of their rich patrons, getting progressively more strident in their swearing the bailout is necessary to keep the U.S. from plunging into a depression.

I, for one, am already depressed! I’m depressed that those who profess to lead our nation don’t feel they’ve stolen enough, that they have to take what’s left before fleeing town themselves. Then again, I think it’s possible that the thieves who have put us (with our distracted and at times unconscious help) in this precarious position may well have thought their gravy train would continue indefinitely. Is it possible their panic is more caused by their sudden realization that the income derived from their stealing may be at an end, too? Could it be they’ve overreached, and are about to kill their own golden goose?

That would sure panic me!

In any event, as painful as it will be, our economy and political system needs an overhaul, a cleaning that will sweep away those we’ve foolishly allowed to lead us. Americans need to really read the Constitution and once again embrace this document. it’s still relevent and will save us.

If we let it.

***Update***

Clearly, I was wrong about the bill failing. I keep this post up because I don’t want to hide the fact that I was wrong in my optimism that the Executive and Legislative branches of our Government would listen to the will of their constituents. They did not. There reportedly hasn’t been a greater outpouring of opposition to legislation they were pushing in the history of our Republic.

They failed us. And should pay for this dereliction of duty with massive electoral change in the November elections. No member of the House, Republican, Democrat or Independent (all of whom are up for reelection, of course) who voted for this atrocious bill should be summarily release from service by being voted out of office. The same for any Senator up for re-election, though I would guess you will find a lower percentage of those, since only a third of the Senate is begging for their continued employment in November. Though I haven’t looked at the numbers, the water for this abomination was probably born by those who had another 2 or 4 years left in their term.

Cowards, crooks, thieves and liars. I am ashamed. It is time for change.

Posted in Economy, Politics, Society, US
Tags: Bailout, Congress, Constitution, Depression, Economy, Politics

Corsi Book Slams Obama

The #1 seller on Amazon right now is a book that will hopefully end the Obama campaign’s chances for winning the White House in November.

I’ve made no secret about the fact that this blog supported Ron Paul for President. He was the only candidate who truly understands the nature of the crisis our nation is entering. At best, it will be difficult. At worst, it could end the dominance of the United States on the international stage, possibly forever. There is the very real chance that within a few short years, countless areas of our country will resemble the poverty-ridden third world villages you see in television infomercials asking for money to help feed their children.

But the media decided Dr. Paul was a crank unworthy of serious coverage. They love Obama. They tolerate McCain. A Presidency of the latter will not do a thing to move the United States in the direction it needs to go to address these problems. If the former wins in November, the Republic is in serious danger. Here’s why.

Barack Hussein Obama is an empty suit who is only a serious contender for the Presidency because of his race. He has 143 days experience in the Senate, and has not put forth a single idea or even the tiniest scrap of a note of what he believes should be done to put this country back on the right track. He will in no way have the support of the majority of the American people because he is the son of a African Muslim and an American woman who clearly had problems with mainstream American life and culture. Is he intelligent? Sure seems so to me. Is he a good man? I haven’t seen anything (other than the normal political dishonesty that seems to be almost a prerequisite for staying in the Senate) that suggests he is anything but an honorable American. Do I believe he is a danger to our country?

No.

But his Presidency would be. I think our country is a tinderbox of civil trouble waiting for ignition. The mainstream middle to upper-middle class American is besieged with a host of people who want what they have without having to work for it. From illegal Mexican immigrants who demand that we educate their children and give them public assistance and all the rights and privileges of American citizenship, to a thuggish, prison-life inspired class that prefers to take, rather than work for what they need to the middle-class youth culture who, because of the trash the commercial media produces, enjoys emulating that thuggish prison-inspired rap culture, we feel besieged. This is not the America of my childhood, and I feel sad that my son won’t be able to experience that America. Furthermore, I refuse to feel embarrassed that I wanted that same America to last, and I object to any who call me “racist” because I mourn the America of the 50s and 60s.

Because it’s not about not wanting a black President. I don’t care if the President’s black or white. I care that he’s capable, honest, has ideas and beliefs he is willing and able to articulate, even if I disagree with him. I DO care that there are those who want Obama to be the President BECAUSE he is black.

In my opinion, THAT makes someone a racist.

I think there’s a very good chance that the Obamas will move into the White House next January, and I dread that, because I believe it will get very, very ugly. And right now, America doesn’t need that.

Posted in Politics, US
Tags: 2008, Corsi, Election, Obama, President, The Obama Nation

The Iranian EMP Threat – Redux

Once again, as elements in our nation lobby for war, a story from NewsMax discusses the intelligence that suggests Iran is preparing an EMP attack on the U.S. Is this a credible threat?

Possibly.

More likely though, is that this story helps beat the war drum to hit Iran with this same type of attack. Much like an enormous amount of intelligence surfaced immediately after 9/11 about who attacked us and why, if there were a semi-successful attack on territory and resources not closely tied to the survival of the United States, I have a feeling we’d be served up hard evidence that Iran was behind it, and that they are, in fact, ahead of where we thought they were in their quest for nuclear weapons. That would justify the end of Iran’s participation in the 21st century (and 20th century as well). I don’t believe we would “turn their major cities to glass” as many call for, I just think we would detonate 4 or 5 EMP weapons ourselves, turning a very modern nation with a very backward religious-based authoritarian government into a 19th century society.

If that happens, there will be those in the government who will actually suggest we did them a favor by ending their conflict between the old world and the new. There will be those who say “be careful what you wish for.” Want the kind of male-dominated medieval society the Shiites seem to advocate? Here you go.

Personally, I don’t believe that Iran could pull this off. I think their President likes to talk a big game, but I don’t think the country collectively has the desire to end the modern era. But what’s most important, is what the people who run the United States believe and want, and what the Iranian government gives our leaders the excuse to do.

Posted in Society, US, War
Tags: EMP, Iran, Nuclear War