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Bloviating Zeppelin: Insanity At The Gates

Bloviating Zeppelin

(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Insanity At The Gates


[NOTE: First, I apologize for not visiting or consulting more blogs this past week, but my computer and internet connection are not cooperating. My HP zd8000 laptop has, for some arcane reason, decided to not recognize every 3rd or 4th keystroke and it is maddening (for I am a very rapid typist, courtesy of Mrs. Lefkow's 7th Grade typing class!) when I have to continuously backspace in order to add the requisite letters or spaces between words.

In addition, my dial-up seems to have gone on vacation. It comes up as 54.6 kbps, but a simple and graphics-minimal site such as WorldNetDaily takes a good 1 to 1.5 minutes to completely load. Your blogs, some with many videos, can take up to 4 or 5 minutes to load. I simply don't find myself having the patience on some internet sessions, what with the connection and the keyboard issue -- not to mention the connection deciding, at a whim, to disconnect itself. Three or four more paychecks (some very serious fiscal issues had to be addressed recently, leaving me with no budgetary room) and I'll be ready to divest myself of the PC world and purchase my very own iMac. After that, I'll be seriously (fiscally) investigating a satellite internet connection.]

THOUGHTS ON ISRAEL:
After the second Lebanon War, the Olmert Party is barely holding together a country. Olmert is doing nothing for his nation and nothing in Gaza.

Condoleezza Rice isn't helping either. Our state position on Israel isn't helping. Pressure from Washington isn't keeping Israelis secure in their beds at night.

It isn't poverty, it isn't settlements, it isn't a country, it's simply about the state of Israel being allowed to exist. Acknowledging its presence and its future. And Arabic interests are doing their best to ensure Israel dies. I repeat: it isn't about "Palestinian" "poverty" or "no power" or "no water" or "the wall" -- it's simply about the total and complete elimination of Israel. Anything less is unacceptable and damn the casualties -- on both sides.

Yassar Arafat set the precedent: whilst filling his own personal coffers with briefcases full of cash sent to offshore accounts, Parisian housing, he portrayed himself as a fighter for, in truth, those sufficiently stupid and gullible to buy his "common man" act. And an act it was; he refused to accept, under President Clinton, lands offered by Israel for "Palestine"; he wasn't satisfied. He wanted all of Israel offered up on platter. Anything less was insufficient.

Arafat couldn't have cared less for the average "Palestinian" and neither does Hamas, the force behind the recent Israel school slayings. The young "Palestinian" assassin was a driver for the school and, as a "trusted" employee he managed to bring his AK-47 there. A Hamas flag flies over the assassin's mother's house. This is called a "clue." Hamas has already claimed responsibility.

But what is being done? The Israeli government said:

Mark Regev, spokesman for Olmert, said that "tonight's massacre in Jerusalem is a defining moment." He said that "the same warped and extremist ideology behind tonight's massacre is also behind the daily rocket barrages in the south."

A defining moment. This attack occurred on Thursday night; I write this late Friday for a Saturday publishing. And nothing is yet done. "Defining moment" indeed.

I can only ask: how long will Israel continue to exist when it has not the collective will to actively defend itself? And how long will the populace continue to allow itself to be undefended?

A True Defender of Israel, Yoni Tidi (at Yoni The Blogger) writes:

Jews are murdered but the peace talks must move on.

It makes about as much sense to me as if someone during the Holocaust indicated that the only thing they spoke out against was the environmental impact caused by all the smoke.

Shame on Bush, Rice and Olmert for standing by whilst innocent blood, both the blood shed yesterday and that which will be shed in the future, is shed on the altar of the Idol called Peace.

THE U.S. RECESSION:
We are in a recession. Its definition simply indicates so with two contiguous quarters. This economy has to be allowed to run its course. And until credit and capital starts to move, we won't be climbing out. Even Toyota is down. Popular car sales are softer.

In a positive (as I wrote last week) we can already see signs that homes are darned near at the bottom. Spring will bring about national upwards movement.

However, in Fornicalia, proposed Demorat tax increases will kill the state. Arnold doesn't have it in him to VETO. The Fornicalia economy is definitely in a recession. It could actually go into a full fledged depression.

There need to be SPENDING LIMITS -- an external DISCIPLINE which allows politicians to point to a particular bill and "gets them off the hook".

PETROLEUM:
President Bush says we need to get off the petroleum nipple. But what does he do? It doesn't matter what you say; it matters what you do.
  • Building new refineries?
  • Deciding to tap oil reserves in ANWR?
  • Oil shale in Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota?
  • Building more electrical generation stations?
  • Deciding to build nuclear power?
  • Erecting oil platforms for drilling off our very own shores?

ANY indication that we are even remotely attempting to become the slightest bit independent?

NONE.

Oil is at $104+ the barrel.

I paid $3.63 for gas at my local Sierra Nevada station two days ago.

Diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline now, impacting railroads, trucking, farmers, fire departments.

Gasoline already costs $7.50 per gallon in Germany today.

U.S. CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations indicate that Amercan vehicles must achieve 35 mpg by the year 2020. Get over it right now: the only way to achieve this is to create an entirely new wave of microcars, none of which can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Your SUV is gone. Your station wagon is gone. Your Accord-like vehicle is gone. Your pickup truck is gone. Get used to the smartForTwo prototype vehicle.

We are competing with India, China, Europe and Russia for fuel.

I predict $5.00 per gallon fuel by this time next year. For my 2007 4WD Toyota RAV-4, which is much larger, much faster (0-60 in 5.9 seconds, 280 hp) and gets better mileage (my best is 31 mpg, average of 23) than my former dinky 2003 Subaru Outback Sport AWD (best mpg of 24, average of 19 to 20), this would cost me $85 per fill due to my 17-gallon tank.

This will simply kill our economy. If it goes that way I'll forward my retirement and sit back, observe. I have a 69 mile commute per day because I REFUSE to live cheek-to-jowl with illegal Mexicans, black gangbangers, Vietnamese with their chicken shacks, continuous rooster howls, people who refuse (and whose lesser languages are accommodated by my government) to speak English. Call me a racist, sexist, generationist, futurist, I couldn't care less. I want to be with people who look like me and speak like me in my dotage. Imagine that.

And still we'll beat our breasts when we have the answers at our very fingertips -- killed by our own stupidity.

To quote Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007): "and so it goes."


BZ

11 Comments:

Blogger Mark said...

Bush and Rice are a serious disappointment where Israel is concerned. they essentially demand Israel surrender to their local neighborhood terrorists while we fight ours. why the obvious difference?
shouldn't we be giving Arab terrorists land for peace too? I mean, if it's good for the goose...
well, I better keep quiet, wouldn't want to give president-elect Obama any ideas....

Sat Mar 08, 01:24:00 PM PST  
Blogger A Jacksonian said...

It will be interesting to see what happens when Iran and Venezuela implode: Iranian protests and sporadic riots have been undermining the place for a few years and attacks on the Baseej have already happened; Venezuela is having their bluff called by Columbia and Ecuador as they start to dismember FARC. Neither of these places has long to go with their current regime, and the Iranian infrastructure is going soon.

Israel cannot count on the US for international support, although we will send them weapons for self-defense. Each and every Sec. State we have had since the 1960's has been a disaster with regards to Israel. Palestine cannot be 'fixed' by giving away anything more from Israel. The only people who can fix Palestine are the people who live there. Egypt now has the lovely problem of dealing with Palestinians illegally going into Egypt... as Egypt did nothing to help Israel since Sadat, they are getting exactly what they deserve - their homegrown terror group called the Muslim Brotherhood now in direct contact with its heavily armed wing, HAMAS.

If you remember the Sec. State who started this with 'shuttle diplomacy' is Henry Kissinger. The man who Sen. McCain has on his foreign policy team... who taught 'realism' to the next three generations of diplomats, with Condi being the collateral offshoot. Mind you, the D side is just as bad with their non-entities who seek to please any aggrieved group anywhere at anytime. Just like the rest of the 'realists'. Israel needs elections RSN to get rid of the incapable and failing Olmert... before he 'gives away the Home World'.

I seem to remember 6 years of the R party in control of the House, Senate and Presidency and having zero done about: ANWR, off-shore drilling, adding refinery capacity, building nuclear plants, or, indeed, doing anything to address energy resources. The only people who have failed worse than them are the Democrats, who have asked the Republicans to join them in bipartisan failure. Too bad they accepted and threw out their principles back in the 1990's.

Welcome back to the era of progressive Rockefeller Republicans... remember them? The folks stuck out in the cold for a few decades because there was no discernable difference between them and Democrats? If you liked 'stagflation' you will adore the next 8 years in the wilderness with two clueless parties grasping for as much governmental power as they can grab on to. It *did* happen here, can happen here and will happen here. Big Government Left and Big Government Right gets you stuck with Big Government controlling your life.

What happens when Iran and Venezuela drop off the energy radar for a few months to a year or so? China will stop financing its debt, which supports 30-60% of its GDP. Nice knowing it, the bubble there will be horrific. KSA, Nigeria and the Emirates will get super-extra charged with cash... so will al Qaeda, HAMAS, and anyone else with a Koran and an AK-47. With a smidge of luck, Iraq will be their killing ground as it, too, will get supercharged into the late 20th century.

Europe? Outside of the UK, nice knowing you!

Mexico? Want to think of what gang violence hyped on petrodollars looks like? We will sure find out!

Japan, US, Australia and India will be able to limp along, more or less, until someone steps into the mess to get the previous petro regions producing again. Venezuela will be faster on that as it hasn't abused its infrastructure for decades. Iran may see a good amount of its resources bought by the next gen of Red Mafia led by Dmitry Firtash. Won't that be fun? Organized crime in control of a major petroleum resource region the world depends upon.

Whoever the next President is will see all of this as an excuse to get more power via regulations and economic control... to 'support the poor homeowner' and 'make sure the market is stabilized'. Throw in 'to protect the children' for good measure. Force everyone to get 'health insurance' with 'government oversight'... won't it be fun to have the government have a direct and immediate say in your health? Just how is that working out in Canada, UK and the rest of Europe these days? Months to get routine procedures done? Hospital staff taking August off?

At this point Iraq just might survive without us.

They may have to... not from *politics*, mind you.

We could sure use a President who knew what the hell he or she was doing... too bad that is not in the cards for us.

Sat Mar 08, 05:13:00 PM PST  
Blogger Just John said...

Sorry to hear about your computer woes BZ (especially the dialup...yuck).

Sat Mar 08, 05:58:00 PM PST  
Blogger RETaylor said...

Hope you have your connection problems solved... I use dsl at home and an air card on my laptop when on the road, which usually works decent...
That being said -- diesel fuel is already up to $4 in the northeast. I'm seeing prices at truck stops across the south at over $3.75 per gallon. While the insane fuel prices immediately impact us truckers, everyone will pay soon via increased prices on everything from milk to toilet paper as the cost of transporting these goods continues to rise.
Sitting in the cab of our Freightliner (thank goodness my husband is a company driver and not paying for fuel -- we sold our truck in 03 when he went to Iraq), I'm pondering what the future holds. It ain't lookin' good, folks.......

Sat Mar 08, 06:29:00 PM PST  
Blogger Mark said...

A JACKSONIAN FOR PRESIDENT!!!!

his Momma didn't raise no fool.

Sat Mar 08, 06:57:00 PM PST  
Blogger Mark said...

By the way BZ, you might check on cellular internet as well as satellite, many satellite plans have these crazy "fair use" policies that choke down your bandwidth if you use more than what they consider "average" use.
Most cellular companies offer an unlimited use plan for around 50-60 bucks a month with bandwidth from around 150 kilobits/sec. to as much as 2 megabits/sec. and far less equipment costs. and you can take it with you anywhere.

Sat Mar 08, 07:38:00 PM PST  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

RTaylor551: hey, thanks for visiting and YES, increased gas prices affect every aspect of the economy, not just your transportion of cargo from point to point. All costs get passed on to the end user: consumer.

Mark: unfortunately, where I live, I get no cell service. The closest service I can get is when I actually reach the I-80 freeway some miles away. Probably the only alternative to dial-up, for me, is satellite. And you that "fair use" -- is that in terms of TIME spent online, or is that in terms of SIZE of things you're uploading/downloading?

AJ: I concur with Mark also; I'd vote for you for president any day.

BZ

Sun Mar 09, 10:00:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Gayle said...

Whenever my ISP goes out I use a dial-up connection that I kept as a backup, and I'm constantly disconnected, so I can identify with your internet woes, BZ. It's maddening! I hope that you are able to get a satelite connection and a iMac very soon.

I imagine Condoleeza Rice is doing whatever President Bush tells her to do, so I don't blame her. She may be every bit as frustrated as we are, but I imagine it's a bit hard to buck the President of the United States. What I can't help wondering is why Bush isn't being more confrontational about all this. He certainly didn't have any problem confronting Saddam Hussein!

Regarding the California recession, all anyone has to do to understand what a Democratic president would do to this country is look at what's happening in California. What's wrong with Schwartzeneger anyhoo? Is it possible he was able to build up all those muscles he had in spite of not having any cajones? *sigh*

Regarding Petroleum, you're right. Bush does nada. Sorry for the Spanish, but nada is being done about our borders too. Being in Texas I think I'd better get on the ball and start learning Spanish. It may wind up being the country's official language sooner than I think! Or would that be Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, Farsi, or whatever other languages Muslims speak? *sigh*

Sun Mar 09, 02:15:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Mark said...

those fair use policies are based on volume, not time. You just better ask about it when you call your provider be it Hughes or wild blue. if you just read news/blogs and post a few bits they will probably not effect you. but you'll want to understand their contract before you shell out the money for the hardware I'm sure.

Sun Mar 09, 04:35:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Mark said...

Hughesnet

Wildblue

links to their fair use policies

Sun Mar 09, 06:04:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Mark: well, it would HAVE to be satellite, so I'd best get to reading those links you've kindly provided.

BZ

Sun Mar 09, 06:12:00 PM PDT  

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