Seeing red elephants

The Intrade Prediction Market has the possibility of Republicans taking the House at an all time high.

Penn Jillette - Taxes

The madness of the progressive tax code is explored--only a bureaucrat out of a Kafka novel would love it. (Warning: Strong language.)

HT: Liberty Pen

The Dow And Party Control

From The Club For Growth.

The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition

Yes, siree! Here it is! The car we have been waiting for all these years. Let us praise the noble minds of hack politicians everywhere. You see, if you create the "right" incentives and pump gobs of tax dollars into the a failing industry that employs union workers you will reap great rewards. Hold on tight fellow taxpayers! We are in for a ride! Whoopee!

HT: Carpe Diem

Congress is getting a pay raise? Why?

Yes folks, just when you thought that our current economic situation couldn't get any stranger. The political class will be quietly giving themselves a sweet pay raise in 2009. Oh well, why not? After all, Congress has done a real bang-up job with just about everything under the sun and under their perceived great scope. With an approval rating lower than George W. Bush, you would think that they should get a pay cut at least until the economy and the rest of the sucker-taxpayers like you and me had something to be cheerful about. This is yet another example of how trusting our country to these people is always a bad idea.; the taxpayer seems to not be a priority.

HT: Copious Dissent

59% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress

Wouldn't it be great to kick some of these bums out. It is very obvious that Congress is chock full of politicians that will sell this country down the river to salvage their interests.

How Democrats protected Fannie and Freddie

Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.): I worry, frankly, that there's a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios. . . .

Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), speaking to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez:
Secretary Martinez, if it ain't broke, why do you want to fix it? Have the GSEs [government-sponsored enterprises] ever missed their housing goals?

House Financial Services Committee hearing, Sept. 25, 2003:
Rep. Frank: I do think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision]. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing. . . .

House Financial Services Committee hearing, Sept. 25, 2003:
Rep. Gregory Meeks, (D., N.Y.): . . . I am just pissed off at Ofheo [Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight] because if it wasn't for you I don't think that we would be here in the first place. And Freddie Mac, who on its own, you know, came out front and indicated it is wrong, and now the problem that we have and that we are faced with is maybe some individuals who wanted to do away with GSEs in the first place, you have given them an excuse to try to have this forum so that we can talk about it and maybe change the direction and the mission of what the GSEs had, which they have done a tremendous job. . .

Read more wonderful quotes from those that brought us financial crisis

Fannie and Freddie go KABOOM! And Taxpayers get screwed.

Well, it finally happened just as fiscal conservatives and small government advocates warned that it would; Fannie and Freddie Mac have been taken over by the federal government—the largest bailout EVER! That means, dear reader, that you and I are stuck with a massive tax bill. Ka-Ching! Congratulations to us…the suckers.

For decades, libertarian think tanks like the Cato Institute, have sounded the alarm on the potential hazard of having giant government sponsored enterprises (Fannie and Freddie) continue to operate too cozily to the federal government. Of course, calls to completely sever the two GSE’s from any Federal protection and advantage were always met with resistance from the left side of the political spectrum. No surprise there. Fannie and Freddie were therefore encouraged to reckless expansion as they took on more and more risky bundles of mortgages from lenders in order to swap them for mortgage-backed securities. But so what right? They’re doing it for the public good and people need housing even if they can barely afford them. Besides, the federal government has their back.

The hapless figure in all of this is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who a while back had offered the beleaguered GSEs and their patrons in Congress a blank check signed by the taxpayers promising potentially unlimited funds to backstop the lenders. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd thought that this was a wonderful idea. Mr. Paulson has obviously acquiesced to the Democrats and the mindset that exists in Washington about “doing something.” Unfortunately, President Bush will go along will all of this.

All of this is the latest example of the waste, crony-capitalism, political trading, and bureaucracy that has gripped Washington for decades. Americans really need to come to understand that government is a poor substitute for free-markets. Until that happens, we will see more waste of taxpayer’s funds and more problems with government largesse.

Pelosi's Energy News Conference Gets Overwhelmed by Pro-Drilling Americans, Then She Hops in an SUV

HT:Americans for Prosperity

The tide of Liberalism and America

The Democratic Convention in Denver is underway and the Democrats seem to feel very confident about their chances in November, not just for the executive branch of government, but also the legislative branch. While I have often criticized Republican leadership and its turn away from conservative governance, the current crop of Liberal Democrats controlling congress are also to be looked upon with great suspicion: The federal government is poised to obtain more power and more control over our lives than ever before. It will be done very gradually and with seemingly the best of intentions. But before we know it, our choices will have been greatly diminished while our ability to manage our national finances may further become untenable.

So, as you watch the DNC party in Denver, pay close attention to what they say and how they seduce America when it comes to government having a greater role in our lives. You may remember those words many years from now and not in a good way.

Speculators=Vampires II

Has anyone noticed that the price of gas has dropped for 24 consecutive days? I’m sure you have as there has been a drop of 15 cents over the last two weeks. Strange, Congress takes a vacation from doing squat all season and oil prices drop rather nicely. Hmm, maybe it’s just a coincidence.

But what of the conspiracy theories regarding speculators brought forth by progressives and liberal Democrats? Where are these capitalist vampires and why in the world would they let oil prices drop when there are riches to be had? Heck now is a good time to stick it to consumers since Congress is out of town. Why not ratchet the price up ever higher? Who is going to stop you, right? After all, the Enron Loophole is still in place and so are all the laws that sneaky Phil Gramm passed back in 2000 which, according to over active imaginations or political spinsters, are the mechanisms used by speculators to push crude oil prices higher and higher.

But, dear reader, as we have witnessed over the last couple of weeks, the laws of supply and demand, a strengthening dollar, and slowing economies in Europe and the U.S., have proved the conspiracy theorists wrong. What a surprise!

By the way, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission released the results of its interim investigation into any fraud, wrongdoing, or market manipulation on 07/22/08. And the conclusions of the interim report, “found that fundamental supply and demand factors provide the best explanation for the recent crude oil price increases.” Imagine that.

However, we shouldn’t be surprised if oil prices spike up again due to an unexpected world event (or if the dollar starts to sink again) and that complaints from the Left begin again in earnest. Quite frankly, I would actually be OK if the Enron Loophole were closed. Then, when prices do go up again, we won’t have to hear all the ludicrous theories on how capitalism doesn’t work, more regulation is needed, and how speculators are all making a mint as they tool the market.

Obstructionist by any other name

Pelosi and the Democrats are beholden to the radical environmentalists in their party. Hence, we get the obstruction and the usual straw man arguments regarding drilling for domestic oil supplies.

HT: Jimmy Cardoza at Liberty Pen

Congressional approval hits all time low—14%

Approval of Congress has reached an all-time low reading of 14%, having dropped five points over the past month. The decline from last month is almost all because of depressed ratings from Democrats. My question is: How low can they go?

Confidence in Congress: Lowest ever for any institution

From Gallup

Just 12% of Americans express confidence in Congress, the lowest Gallup has measured for any institution in the 35-year history of the confidence in institutions question.

If you watch c-span as much as I do, then you can understand why Congress gets such a low rating. A partisan spin on every touchstone issue is the norm.

U.S. policies limit our oil production

While China readies to drill oil not far off the coast of Florida, our congress refuses to tap into the vast oil reserves off of our coast. Read a great post at The Real World on our terrible energy policy and what is needed to remedy it.

Climate bill in Senate turns into a squabble

From Road Runner: A Senate debate over global warming legislation turned into late-night drama Wednesday marked by an eight-hour reading of the 492-page bill and a call for senators to return _ some of them from their homes _ to cast a procedural vote not long before midnight.

An angry Majority Leader Harry Reid demanded senators return to the Capitol for the late-night vote after Republicans blocked his attempt to limit amendments on the bill, arguing there were not enough senators in the chamber for Reid to proceed.

Comment: One of the law-makers had to show up in shorts and a t-shirt for the procedural vote that eventually failed. Majority leader Harry Reid had the temerity to accuse the Republicans of “making political points” because they disapprove of this massive bureaucratic bill. Yet, the entire spirit of the bill is about scoring “political points.” If the sponsors of this bill really cared about carbon emissions, why don’t they push for a far simpler carbon tax? They don’t because they want to hide the true cost of this boondoggle from the American taxpayer. Is it any wonder why the legislative branch of government has a lower approval level than the hated George W. Bush?

A big Hat Tip to Bobo at The BoBo Files for this story.

Where the problem is

The House passes the farm bill

Cha-Ching!! Congratulations my fellow Americans! We get to subsidize big agricultural companies and millionaires for another five years! Woo-hooo!

They passed it with a veto proof majority, 318-106

HT: Andrew Roth

Congress less popular than President Bush

The latest data from Gallup:

Approval of Congress has dipped below 20% for only the fourth time in Gallup history, tying the record low of 18%. President Bush’s 29% approval rating is only one point above his personal worst approval scores, recorded in April and earlier in May.