Is the USA Too Insular?


Not likely. Our population is composed of people from all over the world. In some cases, we even have more of certain nationalities than their home country does. This is particularly true of Ireland, Scotland, and Israel.


In spite of that, we are always hearing the beautiful people both here and elsewhere tell us how we are a bunch of inbred bumpkins who don't know jack about happenings beyond our little neck of the woods. To support their contention, they note the fact that only a small percentage of US citizens have a passport. This is a non sequitur, because until recently, US citizens did not need a passport to travel to Canada, Mexico, or most of the Carribbean countries.

From the Wall Street Journal, we hear of business leaders who decry our suspicion of sovereign wealth funds:

America is too insular and its approach to foreign investment is misguided until sovereign-wealth funds have more acceptance here. So say Americans–at least, several of the prominent ones who attended The Wall Street Journal’s Deals & Deal Makers conference.

In the USA, we don't allow our government to own businesses. The simple fact that commerce is in private hands is the source of our economic strength. Why should we allow foreign governments (sovereign wealth funds) to own US businesses? It makes no more sense.

I had to chuckle at this comment:

Blackstone Group’s John Studzinski, an American who now lives in London, said he is amazed by how much Americans see the world from the American point of view, particularly when it comes to suspicion of sovereign-wealth funds.

Oh my god! Americans see the world from the American point of view. That's just as bad as Lithuanians seeing the world from the Lithuanian point of view, or Mongolians seeing the world from the Mongolian point of view. I'm sure they are too cosmopolitan to stoop that low.

And then the article quotes Ubercosmopolitan Indra Nooyi:

Wednesday, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, an Indian-American, said her company considers as many as 30 acquisitions globally at any one time. Her advice for new graduates? “The world today is not as insular as it was 30 years ago when I left [India]. Do not view yourself as an Indian or Chinese or European. Think of yourself as a global citizen. Make sure to understand the world around you,” she said.

This is the same Indra Nooyi who made some choice comments about America at a commencement speech at Columbia University:

This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, The United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg-up in global business since the end of World War I.
However, if used inappropriately – just like the U.S. itself - the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I’m talking about. In fact, I suspect you’re hoping that I’ll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I’m not looking for volunteers to model.
Discretion being the better part of valor...I think I’ll pass.
What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. – the long middle finger – must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand...not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. – the middle finger – sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.
Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand – giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers – but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal.

Indra should make a music video. Here's some lyrics for her:

I'm.....too worldly for my shirt

Too worldly for my shirt

So worldly it hurts!

Gorelick's Big Paycheck from Fannie Mae

In the recent talk about O'Bama's campaign aide Jim Johnson, and his conflicts of interest when he worked at Fannie Mae, there was revealed this tidbit about former Clinton Administration Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick. She worked at FNMA from 1997 to 2003 as Vice-Chairman and earned a whopping $26,466,384. Not bad for six years of work.

Jamie can include this among her other accomplishments such as setting up a wall between law enforcement and intelligence agencies, that enabled the 9/11 terrorists to operate with impunity in this country for several months prior to the attacks. Jamie has a knack for getting herself appointed to posts for which she is clearly not qualified. She got appointed to the commission that investigated the 9/11 atrocities, when she should have been called as a witness to answer for her foulup. She has no training nor experience in finance, yet she was somehow qualified to be appointed to Vice Chairman of FNMA. During that time, FNMA developed a $10 million accounting scandal that has yet to be resolved.

And of course, Jamie is now representing Duke University in its defense against a lawsuit by 38 former lacrosse players. It seems like whenever and wherever there is a problem, you can find Jamie on the wrong side of it.

So what should be done? Both FNMA and Freddie Mac need to be reorganized from top to bottom. Even though they are theoretically private companies, they have an implicit guarantee of their debts by the federal government. This results in a strong possibility of moral hazard, and attracts outright crooks like Gorelick and Raines to the management of FNMA. The companies should either be fully nationalized, with management salaries in line with civil service standards, or they should be fully privatized and the federal government should announce that it makes no gurantee, either express or implied, of the companies' debts.

FNMA has been a part of the political spoils system of the Clinton Administration. Raines and Gorelick worked there to get their big payoff. The Wall Street Journal article shows how they did it:

Addressing the company's too smooth (and fraudulent) reported earnings growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ofheo reported: "Those achievements were illusions deliberately and systematically created by the Enterprise's senior management with the aid of inappropriate accounting and improper earnings management . . . By deliberately and intentionally manipulating accounting to hit earnings targets, senior management maximized the bonuses and other executive compensation they received, at the expense of shareholders."

I don't see O'Bama nor McCain doing anything constructive about problems like this. Both of those jackasses are merely part of the machine that protects the Washington feed trough. And they put the interests of the citizens of the USA dead last.

None of the Above

I once thought I might vote for Bob Barr, Libertarian candidate for president. But after reading this, I definitely won't.

Bob Barr got back to his anti-war roots yesterday, calling the prospect of U.S. military action against Iran "unnecessary, counterproductive, costly and dangerous."In condemning the Bush administration's bellicose stance toward Tehran, the Libertarian presidential candidate was joined at a Capitol Hill press conference by a liberal roster that included Democratic Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee of California, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Marcy Kaptur of Ohio. There was even an appearance by a contingent of activists from Code Pink, the distaff demonstrators infamous for their disruptive tactics.

Well Bob, what do you expect Bush to do? Should he tell the mullahs of Iran something like "It's ok with us if you get a nuke and threaten Israel with it"?

I have no one to vote for. Perhaps the only choice is to write in Fred Thompson.

Global Warming Zealots Become Even More Hysterical

If we don't stop pumping that nasty CO2 into the atmosphere, we're all doomed:

A timetable to fit power stations with carbon dioxide capturing technology should be agreed by next year to avoid "dangerous and irreversible" climate change, some of the world's leading scientists will say today.
Britain's Royal Society has joined with science academies from other industrialised nations and five further countries, including China and India, to issue the warning in documents that will set the agenda for climate discussions at the G8 summit in Japan next month.
In a joint statement, the scientists lament the slow progress being made in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and call on industrialised countries to step up their efforts by developing greener housing and transport. They urge the G8 countries to commit themselves to a timetable of power station upgrades designed to capture CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere.

The only 'leading scientist' they mention by name is the magnificent Martin Rees

Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, said climate change and the rising world population threatened to aggravate the food and water shortages that were already a "dangerous reality" in many developing countries.

Even if they admit to themselves that they are wrong (unlikely), people like Rees can't afford to give up their faith in global warming. Their careers are too highly invested in it.

Those ominous 387 parts per million that CO2 comprises of the earth's atmosphere constitute a mere 0.0387% of the total atmosphere, as compared with 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, and 0.93% argon. There is no laboratory evidence that carbon dioxide has any special radiation-capturing abilities.

The Evil George W. Bush

Mick at Uncorrelated has an interesting observation about the president:

I am reminded that if George W. Bush really were the tyrant that the various left-wing demagogues have made him out to be, he would have acted like a Democrat as it concerned the war on terror--meaning that he would have insured that various terror attacks occurred on a regular basis--like a low-grade infection, to keep people in a continuous state of fear. By actually solving the problem, he put himself and the Republican party out of a job. That is just bad bureaucracy, which exists to perpetuate the problems that justify their existence.

I agree wholeheartedly. Furthermore, if Bush were so dishonest as the left claim, he could have instructed the CIA or the military special forces to stash some poison gas or some uranium somewhere in Iraq after we conquered the country. And then announced with great fanfare "Look what we found!"

But he didn't do that. Bush has admitted that no weapons of mass destruction have been found. Thus subjecting himself to endless criticism from the left using bromides like "Bush Lied, People Died".

Scottish Girl Crippled by Vegetarian Diet

We're constantly hearing advice from 'experts' about how unhealthy it is for humans to eat meat, fish, eggs, or cow's milk. These experts are inevitably people with a political axe to grind, such as 'animal rights' activists, 'ecologists', or other modern-day Luddites such as ELF. (Any guesses as to what percentage of these people also believe that human CO2 emissions are causing global warming?)

From Scotland, we learn of a young girl who was raised on a strict vegetarian diet by some idiotic parents who fell for this nonsense spewed by the moonbats on the left:

A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman.
Doctors are under pressure to report the couple to police and social workers amid concerns that her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their dietary beliefs.
The girl, who has been fed on a strict meat and dairy-free diet from birth, is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones.
The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce. Decalcification leads to the bones becoming brittle and can cause curvature of the spine.
Dr Faisal Ahmed, the consultant paediatrician treating the child at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, declined to discuss the specific case. He said, however, that he believed the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet needed to be highlighted.
One leading nutritionist, who asked not to be named, said: “In most instances, the parents who are imposing this very restrictive and potentially hazardous diet are not themselves brought up as vegans. They are imposing on their children something . . . which we do not know enough about to know it is safe.”
Jonathan Sher, head of policy at Children in Scotland, an umbrella group representing 400 organisations, said social workers should intervene where a vegan diet was putting children’s health at risk.
Last year, an American vegan couple were given a life sentence for starving their six-week-old baby to death. In 2001 two vegans from west London were sentenced to three years’ community rehabilitation after they admitted starving their baby to death.
Glasgow city council said the incident involving the 12-year-old girl had not been referred to its social work department.

If an adult wants to eat a strict vegetarian diet, that is his prerogative. But why can't they allow children to have a healthy diet? It is a well-established fact that small children need animal protein. Their mother's breast milk is only sufficient for the first year.

Can O'Bama Win?

I don't know. I see several reasons why he might win and several more why he might not.

In his favor:

(1) His base is energized and enthusiastic. They will work hard for him.

(2) Many of who should be McCain's core constituency are not so enthusiastic. I have voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, and I'm not even certain that I will vote for McCain.

(3) The Republican incumbent in the white house is unpopular. (Although I believe the leftist media have obfuscated the reasons for his unpopularity.)

Against O'Bama:

(1) He is too far to the left. Most people don't want a socialist America.

(2) Republicans have an advantage in the electoral college. They can even lose the popular vote and win the electoral vote, as Bush did in 2000. Democrats simply are not competitive in the south, the great plains states, and the rocky mountain states. O'Bama will probably win the pacific coast states and most of the northeast. His problem is that McCain will probably do well in the midwest states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and perhaps even Pennsylvania.

(3) McCain is able to attract many independents and quite likely many Hillary supporters.

(4) O'Bama's ties with Wright, Pfleger, and the Trinity Church will continue to hurt him, as well as the perception of elitism.

This election will be a first for me. Since I am so put off by McCain I don't have a horse in this race. If the nominee were Thompson, Giuliani, or even Romney then I would be supporting the Republican ticket enthusiastically.

No Freedom of Speech in France

To the members of the political left in France, the USA, the UK, and many other places, the most important thing of all is the sensitivity of muslims. Their tender feelings must not be hurt, even if it means suppressing all human rights. For example, what recently happened to Brigitte Bardot:

Brigitte Bardot was convicted Tuesday of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France.
A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against the former screen siren and animal rights campaigner. The court also ordered Bardot to pay $1,555 in damages to MRAP.
Bardot's lawyer, Francois-Xavier Kelidjian, said he would talk to her about the possibility of an appeal.
A leading French anti-racism group known as MRAP filed a lawsuit last year over a letter she sent to then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. The remarks were published in her foundation's quarterly journal.
In the December 2006 letter to Sarkozy, now the president, Bardot said France is "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts."

Those poor little muslims. All they want is to be left alone so they can hijack planes and fly them into buildings.

Angelina Supports the Right to Bear Arms

I have always liked Angelina Jolie. I like her looks. I like her personality. And now I have discovered that I like her attitude towards gun rights:

Angelina Jolie has a gun - and she's not afraid to use it.
The pregnant mother of four told the U.K.'s Daily Mail that she owns guns similar to the ones she used in "Tomb Raider." Jolie and partner Brad Pitt are not against having weapons in their house for security reasons, she says.
"If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I've no problem shooting them," she said.

You would think that this would be common sense. That people shoud have the right to own and use guns to protect themselves and their families. But many politicians, especially those of the left, feel that we don't have any rights at all.

An Unhappy Clinton Supporter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACQuZVAE3s

(I can't get the embed to work.)

"And they think we won't turn and vote for McCain. Well I got news for all of you. McCain will be the next president of the United States"

Gas is so expensive nowadays. Even 100 quintillion pengos might not be enough to fill up your tank.

Democrats Want to Nationalize Hurricane Insurance

As if the taxpayers don't already have enough to pay for already, the geniuses in the Democrat party want us to pay for national catastrophe insurance

WASHINGTON -- As hurricane season begins, Democrats in Congress want to nationalize a chunk of the insurance business that covers major storm-damage claims. The proposal -- backed by giant insurers Allstate Corp. and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., as well as Florida lawmakers -- focuses on "reinsurance," the policies bought by insurers themselves to protect against catastrophic losses. The proposal envisions a taxpayer-financed reinsurance program covering all 50 states, which would essentially backstop the giant insurers in case of disaster. The program could save homeowners roughly $500 apiece in annual premiums in Florida, according to an advocacy group backed by Allstate and State Farm, the largest writers of property insurance in the U.S.

Isn't that nice? All those wealthy retirees in Boca Raton and Punta Gorda get to save $500 per year, while the rest of us get more and more deducted from our paychecks.

Hey stupids: The people in Oklahoma and Kansas aren't lobbying for tornado insurance. The people in Alaska aren't lobbying for blizzard insurance. Let the Floridians pay for their own hurricane insurance and leave the rest of us alone.

Head of Northern Ireland Police Says We Must Negotiate with al Qaeda

Talk about stupid. Read what Hugh Orde, chief of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has to say:

A police chief was slapped down by the Government yesterday for suggesting Britain could open talks with Al Qaeda.
Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said he knew of no terror campaign that had not ended with negotiation.
And he said his 30 years spent tackling the IRA had convinced him that security work and arrests were not enough to defeat terrorists.

What a raving idiot!

UPDATE: I have learned that Hugh Orde is a political appointment of the Labour party. He was sent to Northern Ireland to run the police service at the behest of Sinn Fein.

Socialist of the Week

I am beginning a series in honor of the biggest idiots and charlatans the world have ever known. I thought it appropriate to begin with their commander-in-chief.

Marx was born into a well-to-do family in Germany. Moved to England but continued to live off his parents until well into his thirties. Never held a job and never set foot in a factory in his life. His 'accomplishments' consisted solely of projecting what he felt were the thoughts and feelings of working people onto them, without ever asking them how they really thought and what they really wanted.

Although he had no knowledge of work or business, he co-authored with Engels a set of books filled with many big words that impressed the simpletons out there who are allergic to hard work. He predicted that capitalism would destroy itself. This hasn't happened yet but every time there is a hiccup in the economy, his sycophants immediately start crowing about the failures of a market economy. He predicted that once his socialist utopia was established, people would cease to think about their own self-interest and those of their families and become selfless slaves of the collective. For some reason that didn't happen either.

His 'dictatorships of the proletariat' that were established in the Sovet Union, China, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cuba, and elsewhere enabled some of the worst sociopathic mass murderers to run amok among the innocent people of their countries, unchecked by any laws or any principles of individual rights.

The socialist regimes established in his name were responsible for mass poverty and many famines in which millions died. In the Soviet Union, at harvest time the government would send the army to help farmers harvest the crops, they would also empty out the factories and schools and send the workers and students out to help. Even so, most of the crops would rot in the fields before they could get them to the cities. When Germany re-unified in 1990, it was discovered that the east Germans were using the same antiquated telephone system that had been in use during world war II.

And even though the communist regimes are now dead or dying, there are many idiots out there who still advocate marxist policies. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California) recently threatened to nationalize the US oil industry. Both Hillary and Barack want to nationalize the health care system in the USA. And there are many back-door attempts to bring about marxist policies. Notice how eager many people are to place industry under the control of the government in order to avoid 'global warming' even though there is no evidence that humans are causing any warming at all.

Good News

According to Fortune magazine, the senate 'climate change' bill will be defeated:

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- An influential coalition of Fortune 500 companies and environmental groups that was formed to support climate-change legislation has splintered over the Lieberman-Warner bill that is headed next week to the Senate floor.
The U.S. Climate Action Partnership formed last year won't take a position on the bill, although nine of its members - including General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) and four utility companies - signed a letter to senators backing the legislation.
The letter, also signed by big environmental groups and obtained by Fortune, says: "Prompt action on climate change is essential to protect America's economy, security, quality of life and natural environment."
But other members of the coalition known as U.S. Cap, most visibly Duke Energy (DUK, Fortune 500), a coal-burning utility, are strongly opposed. "It's going to translate into significant electricity price increases," says Jim Rogers, Duke's CEO.
Without widespread corporate support, passage of the bill - already a long shot at best - becomes even more unlikely this year. President Bush remains opposed. House Democrats have been slow to act.

Why don't conservatives have the guts to come out and say that 'global warming' is nothing but a load of leftwing psychobabble?

Bob Barr for President?

If John McCain can be a maverick and go against the rest of the Republican party, then so can I.

Of course, if enough of us desert the Republican ticket, we will put Obama in the White House. It may be worth the risk.

McCain has done many things that are patently stupid. He actually believes the 'global warming' nonsense. He sponsored a law that put severe limitations on freedom of speech in the name of 'campaign finance reform'. He has advocated amnesty for 12 million illegal aliens in the name of 'immigration reform'.

Is it worth the risk? Stay tuned.

Scott McClellan's Fantasy World

This whole thing about McClellan's book and the revelations it contains reminds me of Nixon's former White House counsel John Dean and how he has adopted the talking points of the left, in order to maximize the amount of attention he gets from the lefties in the media. It's almost as if his book were written by some journalist like David Gregory or some Democrat politician like Barbara Boxer. It's almost exactly what they would have said.

The LA Times article has an interesting quote:

"It is the drama of somebody who owed everything to the Bush administration in terms of his visibility and status in Washington" turning on his master, said Linda L. Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College. "It is more about the political drama of the Bush White House slowly self-destructing" than about the policies of that White House.

I wonder who Linda voted for in 2000 and 2004? Any guesses?

"Oops I did it again..."

NASA is exploring the Martian north pole. So they brought a Britney Spears CD along in case any Martians want to know what earth sounds like.

UT 15 Kansas State 7

Big 12 Champions!

Texas 11 ou 10

In Your Honor

NOAA: Global Warming Causing Fewer Hurricanes



Now I'm confused. The broad consensus of climatological 'experts', backed by the geniuses in the media and the left, have told us repeatedly that global warming was causing more hurricanes. Now they're telling us it is causing less:

Hurricanes and tropical storms will become less frequent by the end of the century as a result of climate change, US researchers have suggested.
But the scientists added their data also showed that there would be a "modest increase" in the intensity of these extreme weather events.
The findings are at odds with some other studies, which forecast a greater number of hurricanes in a warmer world.
The researchers' results appear in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (Noaa) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) said its findings did not support the notion that human-induced climate change was causing an increase in the number of hurricanes and tropical storms.
"There have been some studies published that have suggested that this is the case, but this modelling study does not support that idea," observed lead author Tom Knutson.
"Rather, we actually simulate a reduction in hurricane frequency in the Atlantic."

But I thought that the warmer temperatures were causing more hurricanes? But wait, temperatures haven't warmed since 1998. But wait, they must be warming because CO2 levels are increasing!

It's a good thing I have chosen economics as my profession rather than climatology. All the mental gymnastic required to become a member of this 'consensus of experts' would give me a brain cramp.

Senator Barbara Boxer Complains of focus on Race and Gender

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), who has made a career from race-baiting and gender-baiting, is whining about the chickens coming home to roost:

05-17) 04:00 PDT Washington - -- California Sen. Barbara Boxer in an interview this week dismissed the uproar over whether likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama will be able to attract the white working class or women in November.
"Nobody's ever said to me, I'm not voting for you because you're Jewish, and I don't believe they vote that way, or because you're a woman," Boxer said. "They want to know what I believe in, what I care about, not the color of my skin or my religion. I just really get insulted by that, to be honest. I really do."

You have made your bed, Barbara. Now lie in it.

Bank of America Does Good

I wrote previously about how Bank of America tried to raise the interest rate on my Visa account to a ridiculous level. And then how they ignored my own proposed amendment to lower the interest rate.

Apparently, writing the chairman Kenneth Lewis did some good. I got a call from a very nice woman yesterday, and we agreed on a lower interest rate. I am a happy camper.

Posh Says She "Can't Concentrate in Flats"

Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham says that high heels enhance her mental powers:

Victoria Beckham's addiction to vertiginous heels doesn't just boost her height, she insists it increases her brain power too.
The 34-year-old, who is never knowingly seen in public without towering stilettos on her feet, says she also avoids the gym because she can't bear to be in trainers.
“I just can't concentrate in flats,” she explained during the second installment of her GMTV interview today.

So where are your brains, Posh? In your feet or in your head?

In her case, it doesn't matter. She is leading a life that most women can only envy. How much smarter does she need to be than that?

Tlahuiz is Ten

Rocky Tlahuizcalpantecutli WDX MH is ten years old today. He has had ten awesome years as a hunting dog. I have shot hundreds of pheasant, quail, snipe, and woodcock over him, and he has fetched beaucoup dove and ducks.

Here's to you, Rocky. May you have many more successful years in the fields.

IRA Terrorist Attacks Continue in Northern Ireland

The ever-so-fragile ceasefire in Northern Ireland was broken yesterday evening when a bomb exploded in an off-duty policeman's car, injuring him severely. Here is what Martin McGuinness, who is Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and a former IRA terrorist, had to say:

"The elements within our society who perpetrated this act have nothing to offer, they are without mandate or strategy and represent no one," he said.

Is McGuinness being sincere? Or is he doing a Yasir Arafat: Talking peace to the press while sending his minions to kill people?

Trivial Solutions

I often wonder how the left come up with some of their ideas. For example, they often take a legitimate issue, such as racial discrimination against blacks, and believe they can solve the problem by discriminating against whites.

Their thought processes remind me of phenomenon often encountered in mathematics, known as a trivial solution.

Let y be a function of another variable x, related as y = f(x). y is at least twice differentiable and its second derivative is related to the original function by the following second-order differential equation:

y'' + y = 0.

So what form does y = f(x) follow? Obviously, y = 0 will solve the above equation. But if we should encounter the differential equation in some problem in finance, physics, or engineering, simply setting y = 0 will probably not be of any help. y = 0 is known as a trivial solution.

A more useful solution is y = Acos(x) + Bsin(x). Where A and B are arbitrary constants. Differentiating twice and substituting into the above equation shows that it solves the equation and gives us a useful way of relating the two functions.

Likewise, the left, when confronted with a problem, often resort to trivial solutions. Is it true that human CO2 emissions cause the atmosphere to warm? Yes, say certain "expert" climatologists. We are told there is a broad general "consensus", therefore anyone who dares look at the facts must be deluded or on the payroll of some evil oil company.

When a stripper who has a demonstrated record of mental health and substance abuse problems, and who has made false accusations in the past, accuses three young men of raping and assaulting her, it must be true because the lacrosse players are members of a privileged class and race and because a politically motivated District Attorney "says so". The fact that there were serious questions about her story from day one, and the fact that two of the men had air-tight alibis, are completely irrelevant.

The essence of the political thought of the left: Either stupid and repeatedly settling on trivial solutions, or having some ulterior motive and hoping that others will fall for their proposed trivial solutions.

Ancestral Home of Woodrow Wilson in Northern Ireland Catches Fire

President Woodrow Wilson was the descendant of Protestants from Northern Ireland. His ancestors' former home was in the news recently, when it caught on fire

The thatched roof of the ancestral home of a former American president near Strabane, County Tyrone, has been extensively damaged by fire.
The cottage at Dergalt, which was once owned by the family of Woodrow Wilson, caught fire around lunchtime on Thursday.
Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States from 1913 to 1921.
Police said the fire was the result of an accident. Fire crews managed to save some artefacts and furniture.
Local historian Michael Kennedy said: "It's bad news from a local history - and even from an Irish history - point of view," he said.
President Wilson's grandfather emigrated from County Tyrone to North Carolina in the early 19th century.

Perhaps as many as 30 million Americans are the descendants of protestants from Northern Ireland, also known as Ulstermen or Ulster Scots. Most of them came there from Scotland in the 17th century, although there were some who came from England and others from France. Many of them moved to the American colonies in the 18th century, or came to America after the Revolution, as Wilson's family did.

And many of us don't even realize where our ancestors came from. I didn't know that I was descended from Ulstermen until a few years ago when I began researching my geneaology. And I also didn't understand what was really happening during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In the press it was usually depicted as Irish revolutionaries struggling against British occupiers. The fact was and remains today that most people in Northern Ireland want to remain part of the UK. Terrorist groups like Sinn Fein/IRA were waging war against our kinsmen in Northern Ireland.

I am pleased to see that the violence has largely stopped. But if it should resume again, the IRA should be aware that American Ulstermen will not allow our kinsmen to be attacked with impunity.

Jungle Jim Locks Horns with Bank of America

I have written previously about how Bank of America tried to raise the interest rate on my visa account from a fixed 9.90% rate to 23.99% variable. I declined this generous offer and sent them my own amendment to lower the rate to 3.99%. The bank did not respond to my amendment, even though I gave them over a month to do so.

Therefore, the interest rate on my card should now be 3.99%. However, the bank ignored the change of terms in their latest statement and went ahead and billed me at the old 9.90% rate. I called them today and complained. The man at customer service said that I could not do what I have done "because you do not own the bank. Your amendment has no meaning."

It is true that I do not own the bank. That is irrelevant. I proposed an amendment to our agreement just as they did, and gave them the appropriate amount of time to reject the amendment, which they failed to do.

So, I sent them the following letter today, and CC'd to Kenneth Lewis, Chairman of Bank of America:

May 5, 2008

Bank of America
P. O. Box 15565
Wilmington, DE 19850



Re: Visa account # XXXX


Dear Sir or Madame:


I am writing to complain of the inaccurate bill I recently received from you concerning the above Visa account, a copy of which is enclosed. In the bill you charge me a 9.90% Annual Percentage Rate on the outstanding balance on this account, for a total of $97.13 finance charges for the billing cycle that closed on April 25, 2008. The interest rate and finance charges are inaccurate and do not reflect the current status of our agreement.

On January 29, 2008, I sent you an amendment to our agreement. A copy of the amendment is enclosed. I proposed a reduction of the interest rate on this account to 3.99% Annual Percentage Rate. You did not have to accept this amendment. I gave you until March 2, 2008 to give me your rejection in writing, but you did not respond. I sent this amendment to you at P. O. Box 53113, Phoenix, AZ 85072-3113, which is the same address from which I received a proposed amendment from you that same month.

Since you did not respond, the Annual Percentage Rate on this account is now 3.99% fixed.

At the new interest rate of 3.99%, the daily periodic rate will be 0.010932% and the finance charges on this account for the billing cycle that ended on April 25, 2008 are $39.15. Please adjust your records accordingly and send me a corrected statement.

Sincerely,

Jungle Jim

cc: Mr. Kenneth D. Lewis

I sent all that to Big Ken, along with this letter:

May 5, 2008

Mr. Kenneth D. Lewis
Chairman, CEO and President
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporate Center
Charlotte, NC 28255


Dear Mr. Lewis:

I am a customer of your bank’s credit card business. I am writing to you because your employees are not acting in good faith and are treating me unfairly. Please see the enclosed copy of my complaint and supporting evidence.


Sincerely,


Jungle Jim

Stay tuned.

Another Bad Appointment from the First Bush Administration

In an article about Jenna Bush's upcoming wedding, Doug Wead, whom I have never heard of before, spouts off like a Democrat:

Doug Wead, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush and author of a book on presidents' kin, calls Jenna's ceremony "the anti-Alice Roosevelt wedding." Former President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter was married in 1906.
"That wedding took place during a time of prosperity and peace; this one at a time of economic struggle and war," Wead said. "The Roosevelt family was outgoing, flamboyant; this is a private family. That was one of the most popular presidencies in American history. Even John Adams didn't go on Mount Rushmore, but Teddy Roosevelt went on Mount Rushmore. This is an unpopular presidency. Alice had no bridesmaids. Jenna has 14."

Economic struggle, eh Doug? 5% unemployment and 4% inflation rate is an economic struggle? The much-heralded recession has yet to appear. I doubt that many people who currently live in the USA in 2008 would care to switch places with those who lived here in 1906.

How in the world did the Elder Bush pick so many losers for his administration? David Souter, Dick Darman, and whoever this Wead guy is. We might as well have elected Dukakis in 1988.

Hypocrite Dean Accuses Republicans of Race-Baiting

The Democrat party, who have played the race card for over a century, are now accusing Republicans of race-baiting:

(CNSNews.com) - Howard Dean, the head of the Democratic National Committee, says Republicans are race-baiting when they bring up Sen. Barack Obama's long-time pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Dean refused to discuss Wright: "I think we've spent enough time on Reverend Wright," he told Chris Wallace.Pressed on how the Wright's controversial comments might affect Democrats in local races across the nation, Dean said that Republicans for the last 30 years have used race-baiting, hate and divisiveness in an attempt to win elections. "In 2006, the American people said no to that, and I think they're going to say no to that in 2008," Dean said.

And then we get the obligatory reference to Willie Horton:

Governor, are you suggesting that bringing up Jeremiah Wright is race baiting, and hate and divisive?" Chris Wallace asked.

"Yeah, I am suggesting that kind of stuff," Dean responded. "I think when you start bringing up candidates that have nothing to do with the issue -- when you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate and nothing to do with the issues, that's race baiting, and that's exactly what it is, just like Willie Horton was race baiting so many years ago.

Hey Howard, would it do you any good to remember that it was Democrat Al Gore who first used Willie Horton as a political football?

Bush Delivers Commencement Address at Greensburg, Kansas High School

In spite of all the leftwing bozos who feel Bush is an uncaring monster, the president showed his admiration for the people in Greensburg on Saturday:

GREENSBURG, Kan. - President Bush hailed the resilience of this town and its tiny high school graduating class Sunday, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury.

Never before had Bush delivered a commencement address at a high school, and his presence was meant to reflect how far Greensburg has come. From nearly total devastation last May 4, this town is recovering, and hope has been rekindled.
At the center of attention is the Class of 2008 — 10 boys and eight girls. They finished their senior year at a makeshift campus of trailers.
"We celebrate the resurgence of a town that stood tall when its buildings and homes were laid low," Bush said in his remarks at the temporary high school gym.

And even though no one can fault him for supporting Greensburg, the author of this AP story could not resist taking a cheap shot about a related story:

Such words have taken on more meaning since the failed federal response to Hurricane Katrina, which stunned the nation and hurt Bush's standing. The government has rallied to show a faster, more aggressive reaction to disasters over the last few years.

Unfair and inaccurate, but we know that leftwing journalists would never allow the truth to stand in their way.

Hot Dog!

Rangers have made the UEFA Cup final. To play the St. Petersburg Bolsheviks on May 14.

Should France Re-Join NATO?

No. France is an unreliable ally. Brussels Journal discusses the issue:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he will decide by late 2008 or early 2009 whether France will fully rejoin the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is one of the more important issues left unresolved at the recently concluded Bucharest Summit, where Sarkozy proclaimed: “I reaffirm here France’s determination to pursue the process of renovating its relations with NATO.”
General Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO’s military structure in 1966 in protest over American dominance of the Atlantic Alliance. And more than 40 years later, the issue of American influence over European security remains a fundamental stumbling block to improved Franco-US relations.

NATO is not as important as it was during the cold war. Back when the Soviet Union controlled the eastern half of europe and was menacing the western half, NATO was critically important to the survival of the free world, and the support of the French was needed. But they cut and ran. Why should they be given a voice in NATO now?

Get Over It!

The left and their sycophants in the media still can't deal with the fact that Bush's war policy in Iraq is finally showing success. So what are they doing? Drudging up the 'mission accomplished' banner displayed on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Here's what MSNBC has to say:

WASHINGTON - The White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was flown in triumph five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war in Iraq.

Hey stupids, let me clue you in. Not everything in life is easy. By invading Iraq, Bush toppled a brutal dictatorship and gave the people of that country a real chance at democracy.