Required Rumbler Reading

Haven't done an R Cubed column in a bit, but over Thanksgiving I worked through my "Read it Later List" and thought I would share a few gems with you.

1. Should the Rich Be Condemned? I grow weary of Obama's constant class warfare and the idiocy it has spawned in the streets. But Walter Williams nails it in this piece. "Class warfare thrives on ignorance of the sources of income," Williams observes.  Sadly, ignorance begets tyranny.  I can't think of any demagogue from Huey Long to Adolf Hitler that hasn't used the meme that "someone else is getting theirs unfairly" that has improved the situation.  The usual outcome is pretty grim.

2. U.S. Job Market Looking More Like Europe's:  This Wall Street Journal piece takes a hard look at the results of Obanomics and what it has done to the core job numbers.  It is a sobering prediction that if we don't change the regulatory environment and get the American economy focused on growth instead of "fairness," we're all screwed.

3. Speaking of the rich...what if we took EVERYTHING they had?  Bill Whittle did a short video on this that is highly instructive - I shared this before, but it really is worth another look:

4. FATCA: A Ticking Time Bomb for the Economy:  Is that intro missing a "T" at the end?  I had not heard about this, but it actually stands for "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act," bred from the FBAR. No, my military veteran friends not "F***** Up Beyond All Repair,"  FBAR is actually the "Foreign Bank Accounting Report.  FATCA gives IRS the authority to find out the bank balances of U.S. citizens living abroad and to require the institutions holding those funds to report the information. This is truly scary stuff and will result in a complete abandonment of US financial markets by foreign investors.

5. Thomas Jefferson's Free Market Economics: as a student of the history of Mr. Jefferson, I was well aware of his love for Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations."  This short piece pushed Jefferson squarely into the economic libertarian camp.  It might be a bit of an overstatement - just as when Jefferson said "the tree of liberty must from time to time be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants."  He didn't really mean there needed to be regular violent revolution...it was a calculated overstatement to drive home the point that liberty requires vigilance.  This is a good piece, nevertheless, worth the read!

That's enough for now...

Rumble on!

Jobs (and not the Steve kind)

Ramirez's sentiment over at Investor's Business Daily really nails it.  Liberals in Washington (and all over the fruited plain) are lambasting the same corporations that their allies in the OWS movement vilify for not creating jobs. The OWSers lament, through their wafts of body odor,  that it is the corporations that are ruining America.  You mean the oil companies that can't drill?  Or perhaps you mean the food and beverage companies that are being regulated out of existence?  Maybe you mean the tobacco companies that can no longer advertise?  Perhaps you are talking about the evil pharmaceutical companies that can't get FDA approval for the product they spent billions of research dollars on?  Wait, wait, you must be speaking of the horrifying financial services companies that can no longer lend thanks to the shackles of the Dodd-Frank Bill?

As we have discussed on these pages before, some regulation is necessary to maintain order in the system.  But once the government has gotten in the business of picking winners and losers in the free market, we are finished.  How about a Solyndra powered Chevy Volt with a battery that catches fire and burns all the shareholders' interests (except the ones that contributed to the Obama campaign)?

Leaves one pining for a little blues - how about Joe Cocker's "Unchain my Heart?"

Rumble on!

How's That "Reset" Thingie Workin' For Ya?

Remember the famous Hillary "reset" button:

Of course the idiots didn't check their Russian-English dictionary wherein they would have learned that "peregruzka" actually means "overcharged."  But let's not get in the way of symbolism.  Back in those heady days when the oceans were going to recede and peace would be heralded throughout the world with vuvuzelas at the very image of our gifted young God  President...oh how the mighty have fallen.

Take a look at this Russian newscasters quite public opinion of Msr. Obama:



Man if the Russian media doesn't feel the love, you know you have fallen to a new low!

Just checking...

Yup - still resembling that famous Ross Perot line about giant sounds.

Rumble on!

Just In Time for Black Friday!

Don't go to the Mall!  You can get all you need for your loved ones at the "Gifts for Conservatives" e-store!  Get your special loved one that Ronald Reagan "Miss Me Yet?" T-Shirt.  How about Mark Levin's latest book on the evolution of modern America?  It's all here and we will be adding products daily!

Click on the image to go to the store.

Benetton Gets in Right

Are they sure this is photo-shopped?

From the Occu-Cootie Front

Meanwhile, the RAPES pile up.  Head and body LICE are popping up. Theft is rampant.  There have been at least two deaths reported from drug overdoses.  Millions of dollars in damages and police overtime costs are being borne by the communities where these idiots are camping out...and best of all, most still have no idea why they are there...



The Chicago Board of Trade dealers are at least doing something about it - they dumped McDonald's applications at Occupy Chicago.

Rumble on!

Our Pious Pompous Congressman Cooper

Oops!  Mr. Dudley Do-Right, Mr. "Blue-Dog Democrat," (but voted FOR Obamacare AND for Cap and  Trade AND for anything else Ms. Pelosi ran up when she were in power) done got caught.  Jim Cooper likes to present himself as a cerebral even-handed policy wonk.  He is none of the above.  He is just like the rest of the ruling class that enjoy the benefits of the good life in Washington.  In this instance, he has not been caught with his hand in the taxpayer cookie jar, but rather proving himself to be the beneficiary of the largess of folks interested in his vote.  According to the always reliable Tennessean (cough cough), Msr. Cooper was numero uno in the Congress for taking trips on someone else's nickel.  I don't resent anyone traveling to learn about a particular problem, show the flag et al.  I do resent boondoggles and blatant transfers of funds that can't count as "campaign contributions."  Let's take a look at one particular trip.

Mr. Cooper travelled to Barcelona, Spain, we are told - and mind you, the Tennessean has made it official policy to defend this gentleman, cost $18,487.  Now I have travelled to a lot of places in the world and stayed in some pretty superlative hotels...I couldn't figure out how to spend money like that.  But some exploration is warranted.  The trip was for Mr. Cooper to speak on "policy changes in the Muslim world."  Hmm, OK. he represents the 5th District of Tennessee - makes sense that he would be an expert on Muslim affairs...  Well, let's go to Barcelona!

First we have to fly there...

Looks like $2,500 ought to cover a round trip from here to Barcelona.

Let's assume we are going to stay there a week and we HAVE to stay in a 5-star hotel.  A quick search of Zagat's get's us this:

Nothing like the Gran Hotel La Florida overlooking the city.  They're quoting $216.27 a night, but I want the Congressional Special - let's assume $350 per day - for six nights, that would be $2100.  We are up to $4,600.  But of course we have to eat!

Let's assume we are going to eat at a 5-star restaurant for six suppers...a little investigation reveals this jewel:

This is "Alikimia," pretty hot spot.  If I total up the top prices for the "starters," "main courses" and "desserts," we get in Euros - 30+33+10 or 73Euros - throw in another 20 for drinks and tips and you get to 93 Euro.  That translates into about $115 per meal.  Heck, let's eat there for lunch too and we get six dinners and seven lunches: $1,495...we're now up to $6,095.

Jeez - let's thrown in some limos and breakfast above and beyond what the posh hotel offers...another $3,000.  I am only up to HALF of what he was paid.  Where did the money go?  I'll wait...

Friends, an awful lot of Congressmen go up to DC from humble to middle class backgrounds and yet, they return multi-millionaires.  This is just one teensy example of how corrupt the political class has become.  The useful idiots at Occupy Wall Street ought to understand that they are camping out in the wrong town.

Rumble on!