Yeah, yeah... I'm aware it's not even 9:00 a.m.!
A man can dream though... can't he?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Another Art Laffer "Must Read"
Policy makers in Washington and other capitals around the
world are debating whether to implement another round of stimulus spending to
combat high unemployment and sputtering growth rates. But before they leap,
they should take a good hard look at how that worked the first time around.
* THEY SHOULD... BUT I DOUBT THEY WILL.
It worked miserably, as indicated by the table nearby,
which shows increases in government spending from 2007 to 2009 and subsequent
changes in GDP growth rates.
* SEE...
Of the 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development nations, those with the largest spending spurts from 2007 to 2009
saw the least growth in GDP rates before and after the stimulus.
(*PURSED LIPS*)
The four nations — Estonia, Ireland, the Slovak Republic
and Finland — with the biggest stimulus programs had the steepest declines in
growth.
The United States was no different, with greater spending
(up 7.3%) followed by far lower growth rates (down 8.4%).
Still, the debate rages between those who espouse
stimulus spending as a remedy for our weak economy and those who argue it is
the cause of our current malaise.
* IT'S THE CAUSE! CLEARLY IT'S THE CAUSE! JUST LOOK AT
THE FRIGGIN' NUMBERS...!!!
The numbers at stake aren't small. Federal government
spending as a share of GDP rose to a high of 27.3% in 2009 from 21.4% in late
2007.
* AND DON'T FORGET, FOLKS... DEMOCRATS TOOK CONTROL OF
BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE IN JANUARY 2007! YES... BUSH WAS PRESIDENT IN 2007/8,
BUT HARRY REID AND NANCY PELOSI WERE THE LEADERS OF THE CO-EQUAL LEGISLATIVE
BRANCH... THEY HELD THE POWER OF THE PURSE... THEY - AND THEN-SENATORS OBAMA,
CLINTON, AND BIDEN - ALL SUPPORTED TARP! AND THEN... ONCE JANUARY 2009 HIT...
OBAMA WAS PRESIDENT AND FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, HE, NANCY PELOSI, AND HARRY REID
JOINTLY RAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
This increase is virtually all stimulus spending,
including add-ons to the agricultural and housing bills in 2007, the $600 per
capita tax rebate in 2008, the TARP and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts,
"cash for clunkers," additional mortgage relief subsidies and, of
course, President Obama's $860 billion stimulus plan that promised to deliver
unemployment rates below 6% by now.
"Stimulus" spending over the past five years
totaled more than $4 trillion.
* AND WHERE HAS IT GOT US? DEEPER INTO DEBT - THAT'S
WHERE!
"[S]timulus" spending really doesn't make much
sense. In essence, it's when government takes additional resources beyond what
it would otherwise take from one group of people (usually the people who
produced the resources) and then gives those resources to another group of
people (often to non-workers and non-producers).
Often as not, the qualification for receiving stimulus
funds is the absence of work or income — such as banks and companies that fail,
solar energy companies that can't make it on their own, unemployment benefits
and the like.
Quite simply, government taxing people more who work and
then giving more money to people who don't work is a surefire recipe for less
work, less output and more unemployment.
Yet the notion that additional spending is a
"stimulus" and less spending is "austerity" is the norm
just about everywhere.
* SEE... THIS IS WHAT I'M SAYING! IT'S NOT SIMPLE A
PARTISAN ISSUE. NO! THE REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT BUYS INTO IT IN LARGE PART!
Without ever thinking where the money comes from,
politicians and many economists believe additional government spending adds to
aggregate demand. You'd think that single-entry accounting were the God's truth
and that, for the government at least, every check written has no off-setting
debit!
* EXACTLY...!!! INDEED... LET'S REPEAT THAT:
You'd think that single-entry accounting were the God's
truth and that, for the government at least, every check written has no
off-setting debit!
(*VIGOROUS NOD*)
Well, the truth is that government spending does come
with debits. For every additional government dollar spent there is an
additional private dollar taken.
* AND THAT'S JUST TAXES! WHEN WE FACTOR IN BORROWING...
WELL... THEN ADD INTEREST PAYMENTS TO THAT MONEY TAKEN OUT OF THE PRIVATE
SECTOR!
All the stimulus to the spending recipients is matched on
a dollar-for-dollar basis every minute of every day by a depressant placed on
the people who pay for these transfers. Or as a student of the dismal science
might say, the total income effects of additional government spending always
sum to zero.
Meanwhile, what economists call the substitution or price
effects of stimulus spending are negative for all parties.
(In other words, the transfer recipient has found a way
to get paid without working, which makes not working more attractive, and the
transfer payer gets paid less for working, again lowering incentives to work.)
But all of this is just old-timey price theory, the stuff
that used to be taught in graduate economics departments. Today, even stimulus
spending advocates have their Ph.D. defenders. But there's no arguing with the
data in the nearby table, and the fact that greater stimulus spending was
followed by lower growth rates.
Stimulus advocates have a lot of explaining to do. Their
massive spending programs have hurt the economy and left us with huge bills to
pay. Not a very nice combination.
* AH... BUT HERE'S THE PROBLEM! THE MEDIA DOESN'T PLAY IT
STRAIGHT! THE MEDIA BUY IN TO THE FAILED KEYNESIAN ARGUMENTS TOO AND THUS
AMERICANS ARE CONSTANTLY GIVEN THE WRONG "PRESCRIPTION" NOT KNOWING
THAT THE "DIAGNOSIS" ITSELF IS WRONG!
Sorry, Keynesians. There was no discernible two or three
dollar multiplier effect from every dollar the government spent and borrowed.
In reality, every dollar of public-sector spending on stimulus simply wiped out
a dollar of private investment and output, resulting in an overall decline in
GDP. This is an even more astonishing result because government spending is
counted in official GDP numbers. In other words, the spending was more like a
valium for lethargic economies than a stimulant.
(*SIGH*) (*NOD*) (*ANOTHER DEEPER SIGH*)
In many countries, an economic downturn, no matter how
it's caused or the degree of change in the rate of growth, will trigger
increases in public spending and therefore the appearance of a negative
relationship between stimulus spending and economic growth. That is why the
table focuses on changes in the rate of GDP growth, which helps isolate the
effects of additional spending.
(*NOD*)
The evidence here is extremely damaging to the case made
by Mr. Obama and others that there is economic value to spending more money on
infrastructure, education, unemployment insurance, food stamps, windmills and
bailouts.
* AH... BUT AGAIN... IF THIS REALITY ISN'T PASSED
ON...??? IF THE MEDIA REPORTS JUST THE OPPOSITE...???
(*SIGH*)
Mr. Obama keeps saying that if only Congress would pass
his second stimulus plan, unemployment would finally start to fall. That's an
expensive leap of faith with no evidence to confirm it.
* THE SAD FACT IS THAT OBAMA DOESN'T NEED CONGRESS...
BERNANKE'S FED IS QUITE WILLING - AND UNFORTUNATELY ABLE - TO INFLATE THE MONEY
SUPPLY ALL BY ITSELF.
* FOLKS... ALL THIS DROUGHT BUSINESS YOU'VE BEEN HEARING
ABOUT... WELL... IT'S TO SOFTEN YOU UP FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF INFLATION! DO YOU
HONESTLY THINK THE DROUGHT IS CAUSING ACTUAL SHORTAGES IN TERMS OF "WE
CAN'T GROW ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED OURSELVES?" FOLKS... AS YOU'RE PAYING MORE,
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WILL STILL BE ALLOWING OUR CROPS TO BE SOLD (AT SUBSIDIZED
PRICES) AND EVEN GIVEN AWAY OVERSEAS!
* YES... THERE IS A DROUGHT... BUT WHILE IT'S TRUE THAT
THE DROUGHT BY ITSELF WILL LEAD TO HIGHER FOOD PRICES... THE INFLATION HAS BEEN
WITH US ALL ALONG AND OVERALL THE INFLATION IS A MONETARY PHENOMENON - A
DELIBERATE CREATION OF THE FED - RATHER THAN A BYPRODUCT OF THE DROUGHT.
Barker's Newsbites: Monday, August 6, 2012
Prayer is all well and good... but God helps those who help themselves.
People are stupid, lazy, ignorant, and stubborn.
(Oh... and did I forget to add delusional? Deliberately blind?)
The country is going down the $hitter and while thank God we've experienced a partial reawakening of the American Ideal and American Spirit via the Tea Party, by the same token the Tea Party is actually looked upon negatively by more Americans than look upon it favorably!
Now of course a large part of the explanation for that goes back to my "lazy and ignorant" critique. Most people buy the crap the mainstream media sells. It really is that simple.
Ah... but folks... it's not just ignorance! A huge segment of the American People simply don't revere the Constitution and don't give a damn for the Rule of Law except as the law can be bent and twisted to meet their own selfish wants and needs!
Yep. It's not all ignorance, folks. A great deal of the problem is simply that there are millions and millions of Americans out there who - like Obama - want to "fundamentally change" America.
Of course there's that old saying, "Be Careful What You Wish For," but now we return to my "stupid, delusional, deliberately blind" critique.
(*SHRUG*)
Most Americans don't read much unless they're forced to. And of the Americans who enjoy reading... comb the best sellers lists... the non-fiction best sellers lists...
(*SIGH*)
Hey... it's not simply our "Shades of" culture. No. It's that the average American (and I'm talking college educated... even graduate "trained") is (deliberately) poorly educated in history, philosophy, economics... well... pretty much everything applying to the causation of the decline and fall of the Founders' hopes, dreams, and expectations.
I try to educate folks. God knows I try! But by and large... few people want to be educated. That's the problem.
Oh, well... enough of me ranting! On to Newsbites!
(You'll find the actual newsbites within the comments section!)
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., August 4 & 5, 2012
I've gotta tell ya, folks... I enjoy the Olympics!
Yesterday American Serena Williams literally demolished fellow American (*GRIN*) and cute blond Maria Sharapova... who was actually representing Russia... though she's lived in the U.S. since age 7.
(*SMILE*)
Serena played some of the best tennis of her life and totally dominated the little blond girl with the cannon camera and cute little puppy dog... and then - unfortunately - she "celebrated" with a bit... (umm...) too much exuberance. Still, though, nothing to get too hot and bothered over. She is who she is and came from where she came from... obviously "the moment" put her on auto-pilot and frankly... I can't blame her.
Today of course Scotsman Andy Murray made history by soundly thrashing Roger Federer (perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time) at center court Wimbledon to win Olympic gold for himself and for the United Kingdom.
GOOD FOR YOU, ANDY...!!!
Back to yesterday... Russia got the best of our men's volleyball squad. (I caught the early games at the gym while doing my workout.) Disappointing... but those Russians are tough! We'll just have to see how the race for the medals works out; certainly Team USA isn't out of it yet! Indeed, we could still win the gold!
Anyway... besides watching the Olympics... yesterday was BBQ day at Colleen's where we celebrated Kenny's and Kevin's birthdays and remembered Colleen's late dad who would have turned 75 today. (I of course made my kick-ass "heart attack potato salad" as well as my - if I do say so myself - awesome turkey burgers.)
Friday, August 3, 2012
Today's Unemployment Numbers... (*SIGH*)
FOLKS... WE'VE GONE ON AND ON ABOUT HOW THE
UNEMPLOYMENT STATS (AND INDEED MOST GOVERNMENT STATS) ARE GARBAGE IN... MEANING GARBAGE
OUT.
HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY'S FRIDAY DATA
DUMP REGARDING UNEMPLOYMENT:
There were 195,000 fewer people employed in the United
States in July than in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics...
(*SHRUG*)
THAT'S IT. THAT'S WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO.
A "Stand Alone" Newsbite Concerning Gas Prices
From today's WSJ...
By Drew Johnson, fellow at the Taxpayer Protection Alliance
Crude oil costs make up about 76% of the cost of
gasoline, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Thus $2.66
of a $3.50 gallon of gasoline is set before the oil is even refined.
Refining oil is the next step in the process — and the
next expense for drivers. Gasoline is extracted from crude oil and additives,
including lubricants and detergents to reduce engine deposits, are added. As of
January 2012, the EIA found that refining was responsible for 6% of the cost of
gasoline.
* 76 + 6 = 82. (SO WE'RE UP TO 82%)
Distribution and marketing—the part of the process most
apparent to consumers — constitutes another 6% of gas prices. That portion of
the cost includes the shipping and transportation of the gasoline, a markup to
cover retailers' expenses, and any advertising created to appeal to customers.
* 82 + 6 = (WE'RE NOW UP TO 88%)
The remaining 12% — or almost 50 cents per gallon today —
goes directly to federal, state and local governments in an array of sales and
excise taxes.
* THAT'S 12% OF PURE PROFIT! PROFIT JUST FOR BEING THE
GOVERNMENT! PROFIT FOR DOING NOTHING SAVE HOLD YOUR HAND OUT!
The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents on every gallon of
gasoline sold in America.
* OK... SO THE FEDS MAKE 18.4 CENTS OFF EVERY GALLON OF
GAS SOLD. HOW'S THAT COMPARE TO WHAT THE OIL COMPANIES MAKE... TO WHAT THE
REFINERS MAKES... TO WHAT THE GAS STATIONS MAKE?
State gas-tax rates vary from a low of eight cents per gallon
in Alaska to a jarring 49 cents per gallon in New York.
* SO... IF YOU BUY GAS IN NEW YORK STATE... YOU'RE PAYING
(49 + 18.4) 67.4-CENTS JUST IN DIRECT FEDERAL AND STATE TAXES FOR EVERY GALLON
OF GAS YOU PURCHASE.
Other states where it's steep to fill up include
California and Connecticut — each with 48.6-cent-per-gallon gas taxes — And
Hawaii, at 47.1 cents per gallon.
Some local governments have gotten in on the act, too.
* OH... THIS SHOULD BE GOOD! (READ ON!)
In California, local sales and excise taxes on gasoline
average 3.1%, according to the Los Angeles Times. That works out to about 12
cents in local taxes for each gallon of gas, based on the state's current
average of $3.80 per gallon.
* JEEZUS... SO WE'RE TALKING TAXES OF 18.4-CENTS (FED),
48.6-CENTS (STATE), PLUS 12-CENTS (LOCAL) FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF... .79-CENTS A
GALLON GOING TO TAXES!
Skokie, Ill., a suburb north of Chicago, levies a gas tax
of three cents per gallon.
You'll pay an extra nickel per gallon at gas stations in
Eugene, Ore.
And the next time you're gambling in Las Vegas, you'll
need plenty of cash left over to cover Clark County's 10-cent local tax on a
gallon of gas.
In Florida, Brevard County (home to the Kennedy Space
Center) [and hanging chads] expects to siphon more than $15 million from
motorists this year, according to the newspaper Florida Today.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
Put this all together, and government makes far more from
gas sales than all of the oil companies put together.
* ONE MORE TIME...
Put this all together, and government makes far more from
gas sales than all of the oil companies put together.
* HOW SO...?
Exxon, for example, made only seven cents per gallon of
gasoline in 2011.
* ONE MORE TIME...
Exxon, for example, made only seven cents per gallon of
gasoline in 2011.
That's a drop in the bucket compared to the nearly 50
cents per gallon that federal, state and local governments rake in on an
average gallon of gas pumped in the U.S.
* ON AN AVERAGE... (AS WE'VE SEEN, IT'S FAR HIGHER IN
STATES LIKE NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA!)
Most people have to drive — whether to work, to the
grocery store, to pick up kids from school or for dozens of other reasons. For
some families struggling to make ends meet, paying 50 cents per gallon in taxes
may be the difference between driving to work and putting dinner on the table.
So the next time you begin to blame oil companies,
speculators or service stations for high gas prices, remember that no one get
richer off of gasoline than government.
* AND, FOLKS... WHILE THE ARTICLE DIDN'T GIVE THE
FIGURES... IF MEMORY SERVES RETAILERS AVERAGE A PROFIT OF ONLY TWO OR THREE
CENTS PER GALLON... AND REFINERS... BELIEVE IT OR NOT MANY HAVE LOST MONEY EVEN
AS RETAIL PRICES HAVE SKYROCKETED.
* OH... AND FOLKS... DON'T FORGET... YOU'RE NOT JUST
PAYING GAS TAXES - MANY OF US ARE ALSO PAYING OUTRAGEOUS TOLLS ($12 CASH TO
CROSS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE FROM NJ INTO NYC) AND THEN OF COURSE GENERAL
GOVERNMENTAL REVENUES (TAXES) ARE ALSO GOING INTO PAYING FOR ROADS.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Victor David Hanson (and yours truly!) On Election 2012
From Hanson's latest NRO column...
What could change the pulse of the election in the next
three months?
Strangely enough, it may not be the economy, which is now
boringly predictable: flat and not likely either to rebound or to plunge much
further before the November election.
The new normal is 42 consecutive months of 8%–plus
unemployment.
The dismal economy is expected to slog along with annual
GDP growth of less than 2%.
* BUT THE FACTS ARE ONLY A PART OF THE STORY... (READ
ON...)
The public shrugs at four straight $1 trillion–plus
annual deficits.
* BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN CONDITIONED TO! KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS
ARE ESTABLISHMENT ECONOMICS! THE BASIC TEMPLATE OF MEDIA COVERAGE IS TO BOOST
THE FALSE PREMISE THAT DEFICITS DON'T MATTER! EVEN MOST REPUBLICANS - THOSE IN
GOVERNMENT AT LEAST - STILL BUY THE BASIC FALSE PREMISE OF KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS!
Balanced budgets belong to the last century.
Housing is still depressed after four years.
* AS ARE INTEREST RATES - ARTIFICIALLY SO! BUT ONCE
AGAIN... THE KEYNESIANS LOVE ARTIFICIALLY LOW INTEREST RATES! THE BASIC PREMISE
THAT ARTIFICIALLY LOW INTEREST RATES ARE "GOOD" IS RARELY CHALLENGED
IN SUCH A WAY AS THE AVERAGE AMERICAN IS EXPOSED TO THE OPPOSITE ARGUMENT.
* AS TO HOUSING... AS WITH INTEREST RATES, THE HOUSING
MARKET IS MANIPULATED BY GOVERNMENT. SUCH MANIPULATION NEVER WORKS IN THE LONG
RUN. IT ONLY CREATES BUBBLES... WHICH AS WE'VE SEEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN... END
UP POPPING WITH A BANG.
* BASICALLY THE PROBLEM WITH "HOUSING" IS THAT HOUSING
PRICES HAVE BEEN DE-LINKED FROM INCOME AND THAT HOUSING ITSELF HAS BECOME AN
"INVESTMENT" RATHER THAN A BASIC PURCHASE - WITH ALL THE RISK THIS ENTAILS.
Home equity and interest on passbook accounts are
fossilized concepts. Not even the administration is arguing that the $831
billion in stimulus borrowing, ObamaCare, a $5 trillion increase in the
national debt, or three years of near-zero interest rates have primed the
economic pump.
* WELL... WHAT THEY CLAIM IS THAT THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN
WORSE ABSENT THE PUMP PRIMING. (I STRENUOUSLY DISAGREE.)
Yet Obama has not yet suffered all that much politically
for the hard times, at least not in the manner accorded incumbents Herbert
Hoover, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.
* THE MEDIA, FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THE MEDIA. THE
MAINSTREAM MEDIA - THE ESTABLISHMENT MAINSTREAM MEDIA - IS STILL THE WINDOW
THROUGH WHICH MOST VOTERS GET THEIR NEWS AND INDEED THEIR PERCEPTION OF REALITY
FROM. THE MEDIA IS PROGRESSIVE. THE MEDIA IS LIBERAL. THE DEMOCRAT IS MORE
NAKEDLY PARTISAN DEMOCRAT THAN EVER BEFORE.
* FOLKS... REMEMBER THE MISERY INDEX? (ANYONE IN HIS OR
HER LATE 40's OR OLDER SHOULD!) YOU DON'T NOTICE IT BEING TOUTED TODAY, DO YOU?
YOU DON'T NOTICE THE MEDIA OUTING THE GOVERNMENT FOR DELIBERATELY LOW-BALLING
INFLATION... FOR BASICALLY LYING ABOUT INFLATION, DO YOU?
Instead, Obama argues mostly that the nightmare could
have been worse. Or that four years ago George W. Bush left him a mess.
* FOLKS... HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE OR HEAR THE MAINSTREAM
MEDIA START LAYING OUT THE ECONOMIC STATS - THE NEGATIVE STATS - FROM JANUARY
OF 2007, WHEN DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS?
* BY THE WAY... IT'S NOT ONLY MEDIA BIAS... IT'S ALSO HOW
STUPID THE LEADERS OF THE REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT ARE. THEY COULD BE POINTING
ALL THIS OUT, BUT, BY AND LARGE THEY DON'T.
Or that a Republican majority in the House of
Representatives beginning in 2011 derailed his successful agenda after two
years of Democratic majorities.
* BOEHNER HAS FOLDED EVERY TIME WHEN CHALLENGED BY REID
AND OBAMA.
Or that Romney is the sort of rich financial pirate who
got us into the mess of 2008.
* AND TO AN EXTENT... THAT'S TRUE. (BUT THAT'S NEITHER
HERE NOR THERE BECAUSE BOTH PARTIES ELEVATE THE FINANCE GUYS AND GALS RATHER
THAN THE DOERS... THE CREATORS...
Romney counters that Obama’s neo-socialist policies
turned a natural recovery into a near-permanent recession.
* YEP.
Expanded government, more regulations, constant talk of
higher taxes, astronomical debt, a federal takeover of health care, insider
subsidies to failing companies, and non-stop demonization of successful
business people stalled the economy and scared the daylights out of
job-creating entrepreneurs.
* YEP... YEP... YEP... YEP... YEP... YEP...
The public is about evenly split between the two
arguments. About half seem to want even more government and public assistance;
the other half want far less of Washington.
* AH... AND HERE'S WHERE WE POINT TO METASTASIS OF THE
CANCER KILLING THE AMERICAN BODY POLITIC. HOW CAN WE SAVE AMERICA WHEN HALF THE
POPULATION DOESN'T WANT TO SAVE AMERICA, BUT RATHER WANTS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING
THAT ONCE MADE AMERICA AMERICA?
Everyone still insists the election will hinge on the
economy and voter turnout, but at the same time there is no national consensus
yet on whether Obama should be blamed for making bad things worse...
* WHICH REALLY TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW... (BE
AFRAID, MY FRIENDS... BE VERY AFRAID.)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, August 1, 2012
First... a bit of samba to celebrate this first day of August 2012!
Next... a rare bit of "defense" of Mitt Romney:
Mitt was right about the London Olympics. What the media and certain pundits refer to as a "gaff" I find to be a refreshing bit of candor.
Mitt was also right about the cultural component being crucial to a successful society.
As regular readers know, I'm not a big fan of Mitt Romney... except in the sense of him being the lesser of two evils vs. Obama. That said... just as I have applauded Obama on the few occasions he's deserved applause, so too will I defend Romney when he deserves to be defended.
Did you know that the guy walked the streets of London the other day...?!?! Had Obama done so - or even Michelle - it would have been big news. But since it was Romney... chances are this is the first you're hearing of it.
Folks... as I've said all along... for this upcoming election... the mainstream liberal media will be pulling out all the stops in order to hurt Romney and help Obama. All I'm saying is... be aware.
Oh... pet peeve! What is it with even many conservatives who tend to portray Hillary Rodham Clinton as (in the past, a "good" Senator, and now) a "good" Secretary of State?
With Hillary at the helm of the Ship of State (Department) we've LOST EGYPT!
The friggin' communist Chinese have set up military bases and a faux "city" government to administer the Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, and Macclesfileld bank which don't belong to them!
Libya? A "triumph?" It's a friggin' disaster! (Why do you suppose you never hear about it?!)
Iran...? Things were better under Bush!
Jeezus, people, Wake up and smell the coffee! Hillary Rodham Clinton has proven herself a disaster at State. She only looks "good" in contrast to Obama... who is ultimately responsible for all the international disasters under his watch.
Oh, well... anyway... now that I've got that out of my system...
ON TO NEWSBITES!
(FOUND IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!)
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