The Other McCain : Page 2018 : "One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up."

‘BumBumBum’ Drumbeat: End The Fed

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

by Smitty

Freedom Works has a great piece on what is among the most crucial issues of our day: Ending the Fed. Couple of quick points, emphasis mine,

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is desperate to protect his privileged secrecy. Bloomberg writes that he “argued that revealing borrower details would create a stigma — investors and counterparties would shun firms that used the central bank as lender of last resort — and that needy institutions would be reluctant to borrow in the next crisis.” Helicopter Ben, a nickname he acquired by essentially stating that the government could “defeat” deflation by dropping money out of helicopter, cares more about protecting the reputation of his cronies than letting the American people know where their money is going.

Hey, get stuffed, Bernanke. As far as I can tell, you have just said that fair markets are bad. That transparency==stigma. That we cannot handle the truth. We may need to borrow Nigel Farage to ask the Who Are You? question.

An overwhelming 75% of Americans want a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve, according to a recent Rasmussen poll. The calls for a true audit are getting louder and stronger by the day. The fight for transparency is transcending party lines, with fiscal conservatives such as Ron Paul and self-identified Democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders working together to remove the Fed’s cloak of secrecy. More Republican presidential candidates are starting to echo Ron Paul’s long held beliefs on the Fed.

I think that an actual look at Bernanke’s shenanigans is going to drive the stake through the Federal Reserve heart. There is just no way under the sun that this bogus distinction for the Federal Reserve, such that “its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government” is thoroughly and completely wrong, as well as counter to the spirit of our Constitution.

More at Zero Hedge. Is there anything more painful than someone refusing to admit that it’s over?

Update: some post-Fed thoughts in U.S. News.

BULLETIN: Earthquake Hits Vanuatu as Santorum Vows on National TV: ‘We’re Going to Surprise a Lot of People’ in Iowa

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

Geologists, eschatologists and political observers took note Thursday when an earthquake struck the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu at the exact time that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said during an appearance on a U.S. television network that he would do “very, very well” in next month’s Iowa caucuses.

“It’s coming our way,” the former Pennysylvania senator told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “We’re the campaign that’s on the move. We’re the campaign that’s rising.”

Students of apocalyptic prophecies noted that, even as Santorum was speaking, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Vanuatu, a tiny achipelago of volcanic islands between Fiji and New Guinea.

“We will do well in Iowa — I have no doubt about that,” Santorum said during his Thursday interview with Mitchell. “We’re going to surprise a lot of people on [Iowa caucus] Election Day on January third.”

Thursday’s earthquake was the third to strike Vanuatu in the past five days. The former French colony was hit with 4.7 quakes on Wednesday and on Nov. 26, which most seismologists described as aftershocks of the 8.7-magnitude earthquake near Vanuatu on Nov. 11.

Asked by MSNBC’s Mitchell about his disagreements with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Santorum said the current GOP front-runner has “been jumping around a lot” on “very big, definining issues in Iowa and across the county,” including cap-and-trade legislation that would impact “lots of farmers in Iowa.”

Although no deaths resulted from the series of earthquakes that have recently shaken Vanuatu (known by Westerners as the New Hebrides prior to becoming an independent republic in 1980), disaster-relief organizations warned that tsunamis or other deadly catastrophes are possible if the long-dreaded “Big One” should hit next.

Recent polls in Iowa show Santorum in 7th place, although his strong grassroots campaign in the Hawkeye State has taken him to all 99 Iowa counties. A Catholic father of seven children, Santorum is staunchly supported by social conservatives, and recently gained the endorsement of Karen Testerman, a New Hampshire activist described by The Hill as a “powerful former . . . supporter” of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The Santorum campaign had no immediate comment on speculation by one autodidactic religious scholar that the Vanuatu earthquakes may be a “biblical omen of cosmic significance.” However, a few hours before the 5.2-magnitude quake hit Thursday afternoon, Santorum spokesman Matt Benyon issued an “updated media advisory” announcing that six events have been added to the campaign’s “Faith, Family and Freedom Tour” of Iowa that begins Sunday afternoon.

RECENTLY:

Dec. 1: Santorum Heading to N.H. Friday
Nov. 22: Santorum Claims Victory in CNN Debate UPDATE: Gingrich Goes Soft?
Nov. 16: Good Question, Tina
Nov. 12: RICK SANTORUM AFTER DEBATE
Oct. 11: Ouch: Former ‘Americans for Rick Perry’ Iowa Operative Joins Team Santorum

Ace of Spades Really Hates Ron Paul, Endorses Re-Election of Barack Obama

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

“I heretofore state I will not support, or vote for, Ron Paul, under any circumstances whatsoever.
“That’s where I’m coming from. Under no circumstances whatsoever will I vote for this reactionary, anti-semitic peacenik ‘We brought 9/11 ourselves’ pacifist Chomskyite crank.
“And I’ll say it: I will, yes, be amenable to Barack Obama being re-elected under those circumstances.”
— Ace of Spades

This seems to be turning into “Let’s F– With Ace” Week, so what the heck? Go with it. Having spent three months kicking Tabitha Hale in the shins — “Not Good Enough for BlogCon” — this wheel’s gonna keep on squeaking until some grease shows up.

Also, “heretofore,” Ace? Think you meant “hereby” or “henceforth,” but if the Valu-Rite Vodka says “heretofore” . . . Go with it.

Everybody knows I love Ace, so why am I doing this? Why would I push a running gag so far as to deliberately expose him to the vitriolic rage of the Paulistas who will flood his comments with fuming denunciations? A few possibilities suggest themselves:

A. It beats the hell out of finishing my long post about why you should hit my tip jar to send me to Iowa.
B. It beats the hell out of transcribing audio of the various interviews I’ve done recently.
C. It beats the hell out of soberly confronting the undeniably grim prospects for the Herman Cain campaign.
D. There’s no point traffic-baiting Allahpundit who, since becoming an employee of Salem Communications Inc., doesn’t give a damn anymore whether bloggers talk smack about him.
E. Admit it: “Let’s F– With Ace” Week is probably funnier than anything else I could be blogging about this week.

If you answered “All of the Above, But Mainly E,” congratulations: Put $10, $20, $50 in my tip jar and I’ll keep it up all week, just for fun and also to pay my way to Iowa. Because if you’re going to f–k around on a blog as a therapeutic escape from depressing realities, you might as well do it for profit. More f–king around after this ad for our Amazon “Black Monday Deals Week” specials.

See? I got no shame in my game, because Smitty reminded me last week why he’s willing to pay the blog-hosting fees out of his own pocket: It’s his patriotic duty to keep me online. Continue reading Ace of Spades Really Hates Ron Paul, Endorses Re-Election of Barack Obama →

“Lack Of A Coalition. . .Is Nature’s Way Of Saying Something’s Wrong”

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

by Smitty

I don’t know if Quigley’s sad little attempt at divide-and-conquer in The Hill is worth a RTWT, but these lines are a hoot:

Because right now the hard-hat Republican base has commandeered the party. It retreats to a degenerative state and doesn’t have a chance against President Obama. The varying support and lack of coalition around a candidate is nature’s way of saying something’s wrong.

There had been an allusion to the 70’s distinction of “hippies v. hard hats” earlier in the article. Quigley seems so scared of saying Tea Party, in his attempt to goad Sara Palin into declaring a run:

Sarah Palin, still a paid commentator I believe for Fox, should go direct on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show — he the honest, courageous dean of free comment today — and say this: “I am thinking of entering the Republican primary campaign.”

A sentence so tortured, it looks like one of mine.

The Left cannot seem to grasp that a vocal chunk of Americans really care more about liberty than this or that personality. You read the news: the Attorney General is a thug, the Federal Reserve is expending the last of our economic vitality on Europe, the Middle East is on the brink of a full-on regional war, the welfare state entitlements are strangling any future hope. You realize that statesmanship is more about having the correct principles and being committed to them than it is about having excellent sound bites and a swell personality.

I’m writing Sarah Palin in during the primary, and I hope she doesn’t declare until the last legally possible moment, mostly in protest and rejection of the existing, defunct political system.

via Ginthegin

The Web Site That Mrs. The Other McCain MUST NOT SEE

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

by Smitty
Under no circumstances should Mrs. The Other McCain’s web browser be permitted to visit this site:

If she goes there, all heck could break loose. All readers are encouraged to help restrain Mrs. The Other McCain. That is all.

Cain in N.H.: ‘I’m Not Finished Yet!’

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

Tim Buckland of the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader reports:

MANCHESTER — A small group of supporters and a horde of media got unclear answers Wednesday night whether Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is staying in the race.
During a gathering held for core New Hampshire supporters at his campaign office on Lowell Street, Cain told the group: “They keep coming after me. After that firestorm, people thought I was finished. Well, just like Yogi Berra said, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over, and I’m not finished yet.”
But, during a five-minute press conference held after the appearance, he said he was still “reassessing” his campaign.
“As a businessman, that’s what I do,” he said. “I don’t make a kneejerk reaction.”
He said he would make a decision “about the campaign” within the next few weeks after he evaluates the impact the campaign is having on his family, his supporters and on fundraising.
“During this hit, fundraising went down. I admit that,” he said. “But fundraising is starting to go back up.”
But he never said during the meet-and-greet with supporters or during the press conference if he is considering dropping out. His political advisor, Bo Harmon, said Cain planned to keep an appointment [Thursday] with the New Hampshire Union Leader for an interview. . . .

Skip Murphy of Granite Grok live-blogged the Manchester event and at the “media availability” (translation: press conference) after the event, Skip says the media disgraced themselves:

Tonite was a great “teachable moment” in how the MSM can make anyone appear in a bad light — all it takes is an uppity attitude, a whiny voice, a TV camera, and a pre-determined narrative.

Skip singles out Amy Coveno of WMUR-TV for her especially petulant attitude. Hell hath no fury like an anchorette scorned. And via Memeorandum, Susan Saulny and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times report under a Columbus, Ohio, dateline:

But nothing in Mr. Cain’s actions on Wednesday suggested that he would halt his campaign as he engaged in a whirlwind day of campaigning around Ohio and in New Hampshire.
“They want you to believe that we can’t do this,” he told a few hundred supporters gathered in a hotel ballroom in Dayton on Wednesday morning. “They want you to believe that with enough character assassination on me, I will drop out!”
The audience shouted, “No!” and “Don’t go!”
Mr. Cain seemed delighted. “Well, the American people have a different idea,” he said. “The American people are going to raise some Cain in 2012!”

Longtime Cain enthusiast Chris Barron (who remembers when this blog was just about the only place on the Web regularly covering the Cain campaign) makes his case: “Why Herman Cain Should NOT Drop Out.”

Santorum Heading to N.H. Friday

Posted on December 1, 2011December 1, 2011Comments

Press release from the campaign:

SANTORUM RETURNS TO NEW HAMPSHIRE
HOSTS TOYS-FOR-TOTS TOY DRIVE
Santorum Takes Part In New Hampshire Christmas Traditions

Verona, PA – Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum will return to New Hampshire on Friday, December 2nd. Open press events are noted, all times are local.

Friday, December 2:

6:00pm ET: Senator Santorum and Team Santorum New Hampshire will host a Toys-for-Tots toy drive at the Rick Santorum for President New Hampshire Headquarters. The event is open to the public, but all attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for charity.
Location:
Rick Santorum for President New Hampshire Headquarters
273 South River Road
Bedford, NH

7:30pm ET: Senator Santorum will take part in “Midnight Merriment” to support locally owned businesses in downtown Concord, NH.
Location:
Downtown Concord, NH

Saturday, December 3:

9:30am ET: Senator Santorum will host a breakfast meet-and-greet with area ministers and faith leaders in Nashua, NH.
Location:
Bonhoeffer’s Café
8 Franklin Street
Nashua, NH