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CBS’s Erica Hill to Ann Coulter: Will Mosque Issue ‘Go Away’ Before November Elections?

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Speaking to conservative commentator Ann Coulter on Thursday’s CBS Early Show, fill-in co-host Erica Hill seemed to hope the Ground Zero mosque controversy had run its course: “Does it go away or does this continue through November?” Hill’s question to Coulter followed fellow guest, Democratic strategist Tanya Acker, ranting: “…the notion that in the United States of America we would deny people the right to have a religious edifice is simply – like, that’s just not – it’s unconscionable….I think that smart Republicans, fair Republicans, fair people of all political persuasions need to look – are looking at this really as a constitutional issue and really as a freedom issue. It should not be this political question that it’s become.” Picking up on Acker’s argument, Hill turned to Coulter: “So, it shouldn’t be a political issue. Though is it going to continue to be one as we head to November?” In her response, Coulter fired back at Acker: “I will say Tanya’s absolutely giving the Democratic position. America, you want a mosque at Ground Zero, you vote for the Democrats.” Acker angrily replied: “No. No, I’m giving – I’m giving the American position, Ann. I’m giving the American position because my constitution says that-” Hill then interrupted, notifying both guests that they were out of time. At the top of the segment, Hill asked both Coulter and Acker for their reactions to the pullout of major U.S. combat forces from Iraq. Beginning with Coulter, Hill wondered: “…this is happening two weeks ahead of President Obama’s schedule, Ann. Is this, perhaps, a step forward for the administration, some more positive news coming out?” Coulter replied: “Well, Iraq isn’t really his war. That is George Bush’s and it’s gone very well.” Hill interjected: “This was his deadline, though.” Here is a full transcript of the August 19 segment: 7:00AM TEASE HARRY SMITH: No regrets. President Obama insists Muslims have the right to build a community center and mosque near Ground Zero. Though a growing number of Democrats say it’s the wrong place, and a majority of Americans agree. 7:07AM SEGMENT: ERICA HILL: Joining us now with their take on the political impact of all this are conservative commentator Ann Coulter and Democratic Party strategist Tanya Acker. Good to have both of you with us this morning. So the last large U.S. combat brigade leaving Iraq. Obviously there are still troops there, as we heard from the General [Steven Lanza], talking about that as well. But this is happening two weeks ahead of President Obama’s schedule, Ann. Is this, perhaps, a step forward for the administration, some more positive news coming out? [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Heading Towards The Midterms; Political Impact of Iraq Pullout] ANN COULTER: Well, Iraq isn’t really his war. That is George Bush’s and it’s gone very well. HILL: This was his deadline, though. COULTER: Afghanistan is his war and that’s not going so well. HILL: So you’re not seeing any positive- COULTER: No. I think he’s been a disaster on foreign policy. I mean, there was a reason to concentrate on Iraq. Iraq is good for regime change. The people are fairly educated. That is exactly the opposite in Afghanistan. You’re dealing with peasants who are stoning a couple who elope. Turning that country into a democracy, I think, is a pipe dream, which is why with Bush he went in, he knocked out the Taliban, left a few troops behind. But then turned the major war on terrorism into Iraq, a country that’s good military, that is sitting on a lot of oil, that’s in the middle of a crucial region of the world. What do we want to be in Afghanistan for? And instead, this president, purely out of political correctness, because he wanted to respond to MoveOn.org crowd about ‘oh, Iraq, it’s a war of convenience, whereas Afghanistan it’s a war of necessity.’ No, no, no, no, no. Bush cared about national security. This guy about – Obama cares about political correctness. And it’s a big mistake. HILL: Tanya, I hear you – I can hear you in the background there. I know you want to jump in, go ahead. TANYA ACKER: Well, it’s so funny because Ann’s perspective is so completely ahistorical, and also, it seems – she seems to not have a very good grasp of American political science. Barack Obama’s the President of the United States right now, which means that Iraq is his war. It also means Afghanistan, too, is his war, as it was George Bush’s war when he first directed that operation. I’d also remind Ann that Afghanistan is –  borders this country called Pakistan. And that’s – there’s a reason that we need to keep that country and that region of the world stable. But all that aside, and you know, putting some of that nonsense, bracketing that for a moment, I think the General [Steven Lanza] made a really good point. It is time now that we let the Iraqi people govern themselves. They need to rule themselves. And that – that military really needs to take responsibility for its own country’s security. We’re not gone. We’re going to provide a very important, valuable training mechanism. But I definitely think this is a step in the right direction. HILL: There’s been so much talk. It seems every day something new comes out about plans for a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero. Tanya, I’ll let you kick this one off. We’re hearing again from the President on this, saying he doesn’t regret those comments. Is this the kind of thing that’s going to go away or is this starting to shape, in fact, the road to November elections? ACKER: Well, you know, look, I think there are a lot of partisans who are going to try to turn this into an even nastier issue than it’s become. But I think that we would all be wise to follow Ted Olsen’s lead, George Bush’s former solicitor general who lost his wife on 9/11, who said that the notion that in the United States of America we would deny people the right to have a religious edifice is simply – like, that’s just not – it’s unconscionable. And I think the President’s doing the right thing. I think that smart Republicans, fair Republicans, fair people of all political persuasions need to look – are looking at this really as a constitutional issue and really as a freedom issue. It should not be this political question that it’s become. HILL: So, it shouldn’t be a political issue. Though is it going to continue to be one as we head to November? COULTER: Well, one person made it not only a political issue but a national political issue and that is President Obama. Who wanted a standing ovation from a Muslim audience at a Ramadan dinner at the White House. So he comes out in favor of the mosque. And then as soon as he’s not in front of a crowd that’s going to give him a standing ovation for that, he’s taken it back. I don’t know what his position is now that he claims he’s standing by. HILL: Does it go – does it go away though? Does it go away or does this continue through November, before I let you go? COULTER: Not until we know what’s going to happen to that mosque at Ground Zero. And I will say Tanya’s absolutely giving the Democratic position. America, you want a mosque at Ground Zero, you vote for the Democrats. ACKER: No. No, I’m giving – I’m giving the American position, Ann. I’m giving the American position because my constitution says that- HILL: Ladies, we have to leave it there. But there is much more to talk about in the months ahead. Don’t worry. Tanya Acker, Ann Coulter, good to have both of you with us this morning. ACKER: Thank you.

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CBS’s Erica Hill to Ann Coulter: Will Mosque Issue ‘Go Away’ Before November Elections?

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Time Editor Richard Stengel Frets About America’s ‘Islamophobia,’ ‘Ignorance’

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Time magazine editor Richard Stengel on Thursday appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to bemoan the United States’ “ignorance” towards Muslims and to wonder, ” Is America Islamophobic? ” That particular question is also on the front cover of the current issue of Time. Leaving only two options, Stengel lectured host Joe Scarborough, “I mean, the extent of the ignorance- where you parse Islamophobia versus ignorance of Islam, I’m not exactly sure. But there is tremendous ignorance of Islam as a religion.” Declaring that Christianity Judaism and Islam have great similarities, he derided, ” And I think, you know, the American misconception about Islam is amazing.” Scarborough, at times, seemed to go along with the contention that America is Islamophobic. He complained, “As a country, this sort of hatred was visited upon the Irish…the Germans, Jews.” He did, however, offer one contrarian perspective during the segment, pointing out, “I’ve just got to say, though, too, also, because everybody likes jumping opinion on up and down on this. About 33 percent of Americans believe that George W. Bush was behind the 9/11 attack.” A transcript of the August 18 segment, which aired at 7:45am EDT, follows: JOE SCARBOROUGH: So, anyway, what’s on the cover of Time magazine this week? RICHARD STENGEL: Well, what is on the cover of Time magazine this week is the subject we’re all talking about, but that we broadened out into a larger topic. And, basically, it’s a very provocative question: Is America Islamophobic? Is the crisis and the furor of what’s going on down at 9/11 [sic] with building the mosque, how does that represent and play across the rest of the country? SCARBOROUGH: Are we? STENGEL: Because there are new mosques being built than ever across the country. There has been increasing examples of intolerance and hatred towards Muslims around America. SCARBOROUGH: So, are we? STENGEL: Well, you be the judge, okay? We did a poll, you know, 28 percent of Americans think that Muslims should not be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court. About a similar number believe Muslims should not be allowed to be president. The- A majority of people who are against the building of the mosque downtown. At the same time, 55 percent of Americans say they would like to have mosques built in their own community. The poll is kind of beautiful reflection of American diversity. Because people like Muslims in particular but think Muslims- They have lots of misperception about the religion. And, in fact, we have an extraordinary quote from Franklin Thomas [sic]- I’m sorry. From Franklin Graham basically saying that Islam is a religion of hatred and you shouldn’t build mosques anywhere and they believe in the violent domination of other religions. This is Frank Graham, the son of Billy Graham. I mean- SCARBOROUGH: Is that a recent quote? Quote for you guys? STENGEL: That was a quote in today’s Time magazine from yesterday. SCARBOROUGH: Franklin Graham saying that mosques shouldn’t be allowed to be built in America? STENGEL: No. He didn’t say that. But, he said- he said it’s a religion of hatred. He said they seek global domination and the violent domination of other religions. I mean, the extent of the ignorance- where you parse Islamophobia versus ignorance of Islam, I’m not exactly sure. But there is tremendous ignorance of Islam as a religion. And, again, to talk about, about Frank, you know, you know Islam is one of three great Abrahamic religions based on teaching of Abraham. You know, Judaism, Christianity, Islam. I mean, the similarities far outweigh their differences. And I think, you know, the American misconception about Islam is amazing. Plus we have stats in the story, which was written by Bobby Ghosh, our former Baghdad correspondent- Terrific, terrific story- about the perception of Obama’s religion. I mean, 47, only 47 percent of Americans think he is Christian and more than 40 percent of Republicans think he is Muslim. It’s kind of amazing. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There it is in the Post, Norah. NORAH O’DONNELL: I mean, it’s the Pew study also says one in five think Obama is Muslim. You’ve got it at 24 percent of Americans think that he is Muslim. SCARBOROUGH: I’ve got to say, too- I’ve just got to say, though, too, also, because everybody likes jumping opinion on up and down on this. About 33 percent of Americans believe that George W. Bush was behind the 9/11 attack. So, we have a healthy one third- BRZEZINSKI: Healthy dose of ignorance. SCARBOROUGH: Healthy dose of ignorance on both sides. STENGEL: By the way, this morning, speaking about George Bush 43 one of the things that we write about in our story. And this is talking about how incredibly stalwart he was about saying that Islam was not a religion of hate, it was a religion of peace. He visited mosques on many occasions. President Obama has yet to go to a mosque as president. I mean, one of the hallmarks of Bush’s presidency in this regard was the fact that he really did draw the line on that. SCARBOROUGH: Isn’t that an irony? Maureen Dowd, we read the column yesterday. Maureen Dowd, Norah, said how fascinating it was that Bush showed mere leadership in this area than a progressive president And she also cited Chris Christie and Michael Bloomberg and said basically get on board. O’DONNELL: George W. Bush was the first president to use the word mosque in an inaugural address. STENGEL: Wow. O’DONNELL: I mean, significance outreach to Muslim Americans and so that’s why there are a number Americans where ed Gillespie or David Winston who is a poll sister saying Republicans watch where you go on this discussion about a mosque, of painting all Muslims as extremists. SCARBOROUGH: As a country, Rick, let’s talk about this. As a country, this sort of hatred was visited upon the Irish- STENGEL: Right. SCARBOROUGH: – the Germans, Jews. STENGEL: Right. SCARBOROUGH: I mean, you can go through it. And don’t we know how this story ends? Don’t we know that Muslims are like- America is this huge- it is a melting pot. STENGEL: Right.

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‘True-ish Grit?’ Hollywood Libs Attempt Remaking a Classic

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Hollywood westerns don’t sell very well anymore. Remakes of westerns don’t sell and they tend to remind those who do see them of the superiority of the originals. So remaking the iconic 1969 western, “True Grit,” for which John Wayne received his only Best Actor Oscar, seems an odd choice for the Coen brothers. But the extremely successful directors of “Fargo,” “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” and “No Country for Old Men,” are indeed remaking “True Grit.” They stress that their effort is based more on the 1968 novel by Charles Portis than the original movie. Still, The Duke’s portrayal of hard-drinking, one-eyed Marshall Rooster Cogburn has been a TV staple for decades. Portis’ novel – not so much. The Coens’ quirky, often dark and sometimes absurd portraits of America couldn’t be much more different from any flick in John Wayne’s legendary career. And maybe that’s the point. After all, any movie with America-bashing lefty Matt Damon in an important supporting role is bound to be at odds with traditional takes on the American frontier. All the more-so because Damon admitted, “I’ve never even seen the original John Wayne movie.” The Coens cast 2010 Best Actor Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges as Cogburn. Bridges will have to be a heck of an actor to do the character justice, because in real life, he couldn’t be more different than Wayne, a traditional conservative. Bridges is an admitted pot-smoker and marijuana legalization advocate. On his website , Bridges has a page dedicated to the End Hunger Network, a charity he helped establish. While Bridges work with this charity is admirable, he downplays the role of charities on the page, and advocates for massive government intervention. We can never end hunger through the wonderful work of local charities – like other western democracies, we must end hunger through governmental leadership. Charity is nice for some things, but not as a way to feed a nation. We don’t protect our national security through charities and we shouldn’t protect our families that way either.  Included in the cast are Josh Brolin, son of James Brolin and stepson of actress and liberal activist Barbara Streisand. Brolin and Damon, who play’s Glenn Campbell’s old role as LeBeuf, have collaborated before. They participated (along with Hugo Chavez pal Danny Glover) in a History Channel Miniseries based around the 1980 anti-American revisionist book, “A People’s History of the United States,” written by communist historian Howard Zinn . And of course, there’s Damon, fresh from his failed anti-American agit-prop thriller, “The Green Zone.” So maybe the Coens know what they’re doing, and we can all look forward to “A People’s History of True Grit.”

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Ariz. Sheriff to Obama: Give Me Half Hour, I’ll Show You How to Secure Border

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Ariz., is issuing an invitation to President Barack Obama: If the president will come and spend a half hour with Babeu in Arizona, the sheriff says, he will convince the president he can succeed in securing the border and thus make himself into a hero who transcends partisan politics.   Babeu’s southern Arizona county, while not contiguous with the border, has been designated by the Justice Department as part of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking region that is a major route for drug and alien smugglers bringing narcotics and illegal aliens into the United States from Mexico. Babeu has joined with Sheriff Larry Dever of neighboring Cochise County, Ariz.-which does sit on the border-as well as with Arizona’s two senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, in endorsing a ten-point plan for securing the border.     Noting that President Obama has visited Afghanistan to assess the security situation there, CNSNews.com asked Babeu in a videotaped interview whether he would like the president visit with him in Arizona so he can have the opportunity to persuade the president that his plan to secure the border will work. “If the president gave me a half hour, I am confident that I could convince him and to show him the way that he can personally secure the border, and he would be the hero of everybody that truly transcends bipartisan politics and secures that border,” said Babeu. “I believe that if a leader truly wanted to do that we have the means and the resources necessary to secure our border and to protect America once and for all, and then we can get to the point in the future, only after the border is secure, that there is some type of discussion about what do we do with the approximate 13 million people who are here illegally.”     The  ten-point border security plan  backed by Sheriffs Babeu and Dever and Senators McCain and Kyl includes provisions to complete 700 miles of double- and triple-layered border fending, significantly increase the number of drone surveillance aircraft patrolling the border, and deploy 3,000 National Guardsmen to the Arizona section of the Mexico border alone until the governor of Arizona in consultation with local law enforcement officials certifies that the border is secure. Crossposted at NB sister site CNSNews.com  

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Meet Lissie, Co-Signed by Katy Perry, Kid Cudi And Perez Hilton

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Singer who got everyone’s attention singing covers on YouTube just released her first album, Catching a Tiger. By Matt Elias Lissie Photo: MTV News Singer/songwriter Lissie grabbed our attention earlier this summer with a series of buzzed-about covers, including Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” . But we weren’t the only ones to take notice. Lissie garnered praise from the likes of California Gurl Katy Perry , filmmaker David Lynch , and blogger/trendsetter Perez Hilton . “It’s nice to get some praise from time to time,” Lissie told MTV News. “That’s just human, you need it. But I think it’s exciting. And I also, though … personally I’m one of those people that’s like, ‘Oh the new buzzed-about person’ … I feel like it almost gives it too much expectation ’cause it’s been made out to be so great that then you have really high standards to meet. But it’s great. I think I can rise to that. I think that right now, I feel like I’m in a good stride and I got it going on.” That attitude — part playful, part modest — can be attributed to her Midwestern roots. Lissie grew up the youngest of four kids in Rock Island, Illinois — part of the Quad City area along the Mississippi River. She remembers cookouts in the summer, going to the pool and her mom’s well-kept garden. The city’s website even boasts its tie for second place as “one of the best mannered cities in the United States.” While Lissie has since located to the artsy community of Ojai, California, it was a trip back home that inspired her Kid Cudi cover. After a late night of daiquiris with her childhood best friend at the appropriately titled Daiquiri Factory (which serves $4 U-Call-It Bombs on Fridays), Lissie had her first encounter with the “Day ‘N Nite” MC. “I was having this really [nostalgic] moment of being in my hometown, like, ‘Ahh yeah’ windows rolled down, and she puts on ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ and I’m like ‘I love this song’ because he’s like ‘rolling the Midwest side out, living my life.’ ” Ten spins later, Lissie was set on covering her fellow Midwesterner. The attention generated online from that cover — Kid Cudi even posted it on his Facebook page — fueled interest in what Lissie could offer in the way of original material. That time has finally come with the release of her debut album this week, Catching a Tiger. Recorded under producer Jacquire King, who helmed Kings of Leon’s smash Only by the Night, it’s a bittersweet collection of songs about love and heartache. Take, for instance, the album’s first single, “In Sleep,” written after the breakup of her long-term relationship. “I’d have these great dreams, like everything was fine and we were together and life was happy and everything’s good,” Lissie recalled. “That would be the place where I could see him and I would wake up from that dream and it was like the reality is that we’re not together anymore and I need to get over it and move on with my life — which is gonna take some time but it’s going to hurt until it stops hurting, and that’s all right too.” With other album standouts such as “When I’m Alone” and “Cuckoo,” will Lissie develop the same kind of following as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, which Perez Hilton helped propel? The man himself speculates. “I don’t know how popular Lissie’s going to be in America,” Hilton said. “I’m thrilled that MTV is doing this little profile on her and I’m equally excited that she’s getting a lot of traction in the U.K. But will radio in the United States start playing Lissie? Probably not. However, I love those success stories of artists that can become successful without going about it the traditional way, without radio play.” Will you buy Lissie’s new album? Tell us in the comments. Related Artists Katy Perry Kid Cudi

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Archemedes’ "Death Ray" Really Works. On Pirates. (Video)

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Image credit: Neddy’s Palaver Legends abound about the Archimedes “death ray”, constructed from giant mirrors, which he allegedly used during the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC to set Roman ships ablaze. Now Green Power Science—the folks who brought us videos on flash cooking eggs with a Fresnel lens , building your own solar space heater with discarded campaign signs and, most recently (to mixed reviews),

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Time’s Klein: ‘Nativist Electoral Politics’ Behind Opposition to Ground Zero Mosque

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

In a Swampland blog post this morning entitled, “Something I Didn’t Know,” Time magazine’s Joe Klein pointed to a New York Times article that noted the existence of two mosques “already within several blocks of the proposed [Islamic] center.” But while other folks might draw the conclusion that building an additional mosque just blocks from Ground Zero is a needless exercise in dividing New Yorkers over a highly sensitive matter, Klein ran in the exact opposite direction, suggesting that logical consistency would compel mosque opponent Newt Gingrich to want to “close those suckers down”? “[T]his is further evidence of the true nature of this squabble: a particularly sleazy form of Nativist electoral politics,” Klein insisted. [click here for a related post by Brent Baker] But the issue has never been any and every mosque on the island of Manhattan, just the Cordoba House/Park 51 project and the imam spearheading the effort to build it, Faisal Abdul Rauf. Klein surely knows this yet simply refuses to acknowledge it because of his desire to play political hack rather than mere opinion journalist. After all, it’s hard to fault folks for opposing Rauf’s project when the imam reportedly said just weeks after 9/11 that the United States was an “accessory” to the attacks . More recently, the imam couldn’t bring himself to agree with the U.S. State Department that Hamas — a group committed to the destruction of U.S. ally Israel — is a terrorist organization. From the June 19 New York Post: Asked if he agreed with the State Department’s assessment, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf told WABC radio, “Look, I’m not a politician. “The issue of terrorism is a very complex question,” he told interviewer Aaron Klein. “There was an attempt in the ’90s to have the UN define what terrorism is and say who was a terrorist. There was no ability to get agreement on that.” Asked again for his opinion on Hamas, an exasperated Rauf wouldn’t budge. “I am a peace builder. I will not allow anybody to put me in a position where I am seen by any party in the world as an adversary or as an enemy,” Rauf said, insisting that he wants to see peace in Israel between Jews and Arabs.

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Help ban crush videos in the US

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Crush videos, among other “fetish videos,” feature small live animals, such as kittens, puppies, mice and bunnies, being slowly tortured in the most horrific ways imaginable; including being burnt alive, cut with pruning sheers, nailed to the floor, skinned alive, beaten, stabbed, and having their limbs broken. All of these videos share a common theme: the animals are incrementally crushed by a woman in high heels. Most people view these materials for “sexual gratification”, but these videos are becoming increasingly popular just for their shock value alone. The crush fetish can be also linked to “paraphernalia,” which is an atypical sexual arousal to nonhuman objects and humans alike being caused physical distress. Crush videos are becoming increasingly popular across America, and will escalate to epidemic proportions due to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to legalize them. It’s not hard to find such sites on the Internet with any search engine-keep in mind it’s now perfectly legal to download and watch. Minors can access these materials with a click of a button. If The Supreme Court says, “Okay fine, It’s free speech,” please first examine the damage it causes both human and nonhuman lives, and society as a whole. Freedom of speech has its limits when it places a society in danger, such as the ban on child pornography as it leads to violence of children. Films that exploit, torture, and kill animals for entertainment purposes also puts society in danger, for it is destructive by inciting violent and antisocial behavior, thereby endangering our citizens. Adults showing their own children these videos can cause emotional damage and lead to Antisocial Personality Disorders. This is not only considered child abuse, but is one of the leading disorders found in serial killers. While there are many factors that contribute to someone becoming a serial killer, the one constant they share is animal abuse. In short, there is nothing socially redeeming about “crush videos” and animal torture videos when used for entertainment and financial purposes. However, relating to educational or for political and sociological purposes, this should be the exception – such as speaking against, or educating the public about the realities of dog fighting or other issues and how it affects a society, such as the making of a violent criminal or serial killer. Sign the petition added by: crystalman

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Without a Revolution, Americans Are History

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The United States is running out of time to get its budget and trade deficits under control. Despite the urgency of the situation, 2010 has been wasted in hype about a non-existent recovery. As recently as August 2 Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner penned a New York Times column, “Welcome to the Recovery.” As John Williams (shadowstats.com) has made clear on many occasions, an appearance of recovery was created by over-counting employment and undercounting inflation. Warnings by Williams, Gerald Celente, and myself have gone unheeded, but our warnings recently had echoes from Boston University professor Laurence Kotlikoff and from David Stockman, who excoriated the Republican Party for becoming big-spending Democrats. It is encouraging to see some realization that, this time, Washington cannot spend the economy out of recession. The deficits are already too large for the dollar to survive as reserve currency, and deficit spending cannot put Americans back to work in jobs that have been moved offshore. However, the solutions offered by those who are beginning to recognize that there is a problem are discouraging. Kotlikoff thinks the solution is savage Social Security and Medicare cuts or equally savage tax increases or hyperinflation to destroy the vast debts. Perhaps economists lack imagination, or perhaps they don’t want to be cut off from Wall Street and corporate subsidies, but Social Security and Medicare are insufficient at their present levels, especially considering the erosion of private pensions by the dot com, derivative and real estate bubbles. Cuts in Social Security and Medicare, for which people have paid 15 per cent of their earnings all their lives, would result in starvation and deaths from curable diseases. Tax increases make even less sense. It is widely acknowledged that the majority of households cannot survive on one job. Both husband and wife work and often one of the partners has two jobs in order to make ends meet. Raising taxes makes it harder to make ends meet–thus more foreclosures, more food stamps, more homelessness. What kind of economist or humane person thinks this is a solution? Ah, but we will tax the rich. The rich have enough money. They will simply stop earning. Let’s get real. Here is what the government is likely to do. Once Washington realize that the dollar is at risk and that they can no longer finance their wars by borrowing abroad, the government will either levy a tax on private pensions on the grounds that the pensions have accumulated tax-deferred, or the government will require pension fund managers to purchase Treasury debt with our pensions. This will buy the government a bit more time while pension accounts are loaded up with worthless paper. The last Bush budget deficit (2008) was in the $400-500 billion range, about the size of the Chinese, Japanese, and OPEC trade surpluses with the US. Traditionally, these trade surpluses have been recycled to the US and finance the federal budget deficit. In 2009 and 2010 the federal deficit jumped to $1,400 billion, a back-to-back trillion dollar increase. There are not sufficient trade surpluses to finance a deficit this large. From where comes the money? The answer is from individuals fleeing the stock market into “safe” Treasury bonds and from the bankster bailout, not so much the TARP money as the Federal Reserve’s exchange of bank reserves for questionable financial paper such as subprime derivatives. The banks used their excess reserves to purchase Treasury debt. These financing maneuvers are one-time tricks. Once people have fled stocks, that movement into Treasuries is over. The opposition to the bankster bailout likely precludes another. So where does the money come from the next time? The Treasury was able to unload a lot of debt thanks to “the Greek crisis,” which the New York banksters and hedge funds multiplied into “the euro crisis.” The financial press served as a financing arm for the US Treasury by creating panic about European debt and the euro. Central banks and individuals who had taken refuge from the dollar in euros were panicked out of their euros, and they rushed into dollars by purchasing US Treasury debt. This movement from euros to dollars weakened the alternative reserve currency to the dollar, halted the dollar’s decline, and financed the US budget deficit a while longer. Possibly the game can be replayed with Spanish debt, Irish debt, and whatever unlucky country is eswept in by the thoughtless expansion of the European Union. But when no countries remain that can be destabilized by Wall Street investment banksters and hedge funds, what then finances the US budget deficit? The only remaining financier is the Federal Reserve. When Treasury bonds brought to auction do not sell, the Federal Reserve must purchase them. The Federal Reserve purchases the bonds by creating new demand deposits, or checking accounts, for the Treasury. As the Treasury spends the proceeds of the new debt sales, the US money supply expands by the amount of the Federal Reserve’s purchase of Treasury debt. Do goods and services expand by the same amount? Imports will increase as US jobs have been offshored and given to foreigners, thus worsening the trade deficit. When the Federal Reserve purchases the Treasury’s new debt issues, the money supply will increase by more than the supply of domestically produced goods and services. Prices are likely to rise. How high will they rise? The longer money is created in order that government can pay its bills, the more likely hyperinflation will be the result. The economy has not recovered. By the end of this year it will be obvious that the collapsing economy means a larger than $1.4 trillion budget deficit to finance. Will it be $2 trillion? Higher? Whatever the size, the rest of the world will see that the dollar is being printed in such quantities that it cannot serve as reserve currency. At that point wholesale dumping of dollars will result as foreign central banks try to unload a worthless currency. Continued at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/without-a-revolution-americans-are-history.html added by: Dagum

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10 Signs the US is Becoming a Third World Country

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The United States by every measure is hanging on by a thread to its First World status. Saddled by debt, engaged in wars on multiple fronts with a rising police state at home, declining economic productivity, and wild currency fluctuations all threaten America’s future. The general designations of the ranking system for world status date back to the 1950s, and have included countries at various stages of economic development. Since the Cold War, the definition has come to be synonymous with repressive countries where a wealthy class of ruling elites segment society into the haves and have-nots, many times capitalizing on the conditions that follow an economic crisis or war. While much of the world is still mired in poverty, the reduced cost of innovative tools such as computing and connectivity ironically puts traditional Third World countries at the forefront of a new lean-and-mean economy that is based on ideas of empowerment for the disenfranchised. For better or worse, the world is leveling due to Globalism. However, America and other over-leveraged countries face this re-balancing of the globe at a time when they have dwindling resources. We can speculate about who and what is to blame for America’s fantastic fall, but for the purposes of this article we shall focus on the obvious signs that the United States is beginning to resemble a Third World country. 1. Rising unemployment and poverty: 2. Economic dependence: 3. Declining civil rights: 4. Increasing political corruption: 5. Military patrolling the streets: 6. Failing infrastructure: 7. Disappearing middle class: 8. Devalued currency: 9. Controlling the media: 10. Capital Controls: explanations and more at link… What a shame! If people only knew the Truth about 9/11 and the New World Order, then we might have a chance to save this country. added by: rodstradamus

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