Friday, March 6, 2009

I'm proud to say that I'm kin to these kids ! ! !

These are my cousin Darryl's kids, ages 14, 13, and 11.
Erica is named after Eric Clapton. Delaney is named after Delaney Bramlett (of Bonnie & Delaney fame) who was a huge influence on Clapton. Zachary is named Zachary because my cousin's wife didn't want a son named "Clapton".
Or at least I think that's the story.
All over the world, there are groups of adult musicians laboring in vain to blend as well as these kids do.
This is The Eagles' song "How Long".
Enjoy !

Here's what is going to happen next

In 1923, hyperinflation turned Germany upside down. Hyperinflation is a relentless rise in prices caused by the circulation of too much money in the economy.
By the second half of the year, virtually everyone in Germany was caught up in the chaos of hyperinflation:
* Most workers were paid daily and given time to shop before the value of their wages fell further.
* Housewives used small bills to fuel their ovens because they were worth less than wood
kindling.
* The German central bank printed larger denominations of bills almost every month.
* Depositors received letters from their banks informing them that their life savings were worth less than the administrative costs of maintaining their accounts.
* A retired minister might spend his entire annuity payment from his life insurance policy
on a loaf of bread and a jar of jam.
* Young women who had been setting aside money for their dowries saw their savings
evaporate, thus making a traditional German marriage impossible.
* A concert pianist would be paid with a suitcase of bills for his performance and ex-
change half of the bills for several sausages
Here's a chart of what's happened to the U.S. money supply in the last 6 months. There's no other way to pay for all the crap (bailouts, stimuli, banks, voters) that the government is currently purchasing.



Thursday, March 5, 2009

Caption Contest - Strange Bedfellows Edition

I need a caption for this picture.


An anonymous commenter won last week's caption contest. Mr./Ms. Anonymous, you can claim your prize (chicken nuggets from McDonald's or an Egg McMuffin or a free dachshund) by identifying yourself.

The New York Times Is Decadent And Depraved

A friend of mine sent me this chart from the February 27 New York Times. It shows the gap between federal spending and federal receipts.
At first glance, the projected deficit doesn't look that bad, does it? We've been through worse, haven't we?



But after I looked at it for a few seconds longer, I saw what was wrong. Where is the Reagan revenue boom (and the Clinton/NAFTA) echo?
The chart shows the federal receipts, spending, and deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product. Hit the link above if you can't read the fine print.

We mustn't scare the New Yorkers, but....there are more honest ways to present that information, especially if you are going to display it beside a document entitled "A New Era Of Responsibility".

Here's what those numbers really look like in millions of dollars, instead of as a percentage of another number. Can you imagine the NYT printing this chart alongside the "New Era Of Responsibility" payoff pamphlet ?



The first question you should ask is "What the hell is happening to the value of the dollar?" (Answer: They're printing them as they go.)

The second question is "Why did the NYT go out of their way to make the latest giveaway/bailout numbers look less threatening?" (Answer: The hope and change thing.)

The third question is "What is the total of all this deficit spending?"
(Answer: Here's the national debt as of last year. I don't have an update for all the latest ladles of slop and neither does anyone else, but you get the idea.)


And people wonder why newspaper readership is declining.

From Marktaw.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

An Open Letter To China, Brazil, Japan, Luxembourg, and anyone else tempted to lend us money

Gentlemen, Ladies,

Thank you for your continued interest in lending money to the United States government. We appreciate your concern for us during this trying time.

I feel obliged to make you aware of the following:

We have no money to repay any more of your loans.
Our current options are to raise taxes, print more money, or default on your loans.

Raising taxes is politically unpopular, therefore none of our leaders will ever raise enough taxes to repay your money.
Printing money causes inflation, and you wouldn't want that devalued crap anyway. Plus, inflation is a guaranteed regime-changer, and our current Gang Of Thieves enjoys being in power.
Therefore, if you give us any more money we aren't going to give it back. It's that simple. We'll have to default.

(I've helped friends write similar letters to this one, usually involving their 16-year-olds and too many credit cards. Our present circumstances aren't much different.)

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter. If you have kids of your own, you know what it's like.

Sincerely,

http://thewhitedsepulchre.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 2, 2009

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk is doing his part to end government waste !

Here's another nominee for "The Whitey Award". Blah blah blah. There are now so many nominees that it's become a chore to post them.

Next time a Democrat is elected president, all nominees for "The Whitey" are going to have to submit a petition with 500 signatures before they're eligible for consideration. This is freakin' ridiculous.

Anyway, here goes....

Former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk has tried to eliminate government waste. He's done this by not paying all of his taxes, and we as a nation should applaud his effort. That makes Ron Kirk, along with a great host of other Obama nominees, eligible for "The Whitey" award.

Hit the "Whiteys" tab below for more info on the prize. (yawn)

Milton Friedman on Enlightened Self-Interest

A friend of mine sent me this link in which the late, great Milton Friedman takes an interviewer to school.



If only our Messianic president, senatorial saviors, and congressional rescuers had digested this video prior to the unpleasantness of the last two weeks, every person in the U.S. would be, on average, about $15,000 better off.

If this info had been absorbed about 40 years ago, we'd all be at least $40,000 better off.
(Look at your share of the National Debt Meter to your right. Divide the total debt by 300 million Americans. I know, I know, it's fewer than 300 million, since Democrat officials don't seem to pay taxes.)

Instead, we're stuck with a bunch of voters who think that Big Brother knows best. "Only government can solve this government-created crisis, therefore we need more government."

Unbelievable.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Real Men Of Genius: Joe Biden

The great Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine recently consented to be my friend on Facebook. (I'm now in there with about a thousand other Gillespie admirers.)
I found a link to this gem on Mr. Gillespie's home page. Enjoy.



It's good to see that some people aren't afraid to mess with Joe.



One other thing I found on the Gillespie Homepage.....They've come up with a Personal Stimulus Package Generator. If you aren't laughing out loud when you get the survey results, well, never mind. Most of the nation doesn't understand the ripoff anyway. Fill in the blanks, and then look for the yellow highlights in your copy of the stimulus bill.