Monkey see, monkey do.

After years of being compared to Bush, it looks like our monkey has a new friend.

Pirate Booty

No. I'm not going to write about Somali pirates, though I think they should burn. I'm talking about the booty our own government pirates get away with to fund their profligate spending. The tax system is an effective tool to either bolster the economy, or destroy it. Examples of destruction due to the misuse of the tax system are manifest in the presidencies of LBJ, Nixon and Carter, among others.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the spending budget grew 61% between 1965 and 1969. This was during ever unpopular Vietnam War. On top of spending on guns, the LBJ Administration began increasing spending on "butter", or social programs known as the Great Society. Of course to fund this, higher taxes seemed to be the panacea. Art Laffer (The Laffer Curve) would disagree.

Then there's Nixon. Milton Friedman was once asked who the worst economically minded president was. Nixon was the answer.

Oh then there's Carter. He's famous for the energy crisis he created in the 70s. The price controls and the windfall profits taxes he instituted on "big oil" diminished domestic oil production, increased demand for oil in the U.S., and increased reliance on foreign oil. Sounds like a safe national security measure, right? I mean, gas prices jumped and we became slaves to foreign oil sheiks and cartels. Glory, hallelujah!

If liberal Dems are allow to captain the ship and steer her in the same direction as these clowns, we may as well subject ourselves to Somali pirates. In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow: "STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!!!"

This or That?

Are you a sensible liberal protester or some whacked out conservative god and gun clinging extremist that is on every government list possible? This simple chart will help you decide which category best describes your political agenda. Just click the picture to view the hi-res version and decide for yourself.

Janeane Garofalo is mentally challenged

I'm officially boycotting anything this beast is involved with, including 24. Sorry Jack.

Happy Tax Day!

See the inspiration for the picture here


And happy birthday to my mom.

Political cartoon day!

Out of the TARPy tar pit

Goldman Sachs today reported Q1 earnings that were higher-than-expected. The earnings report showed a net of $1.81 billion. Because of this, GS is planning a public offering of common shares that would yield an estimated $5 billion in cash inflows. Their plan is to repay the government that lent them billions of dollars and slip out of their grip. What a victory!

Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps the government will be the entity hailed as the conquering hero. Because of the Fed's tough stipulations imposed on firms receiving TARP money, maybe other firms will follow GS's lead by working more efficiently to post net profits, repay the government, and free themselves from bondage. Only after that will things be business as usual, and business as it should be.

Billy Mays here!

I often find myself getting very angry with some commercials that I see or hear, and as a result of this there are many products that I refuse to buy and stores that I will never grace with my presence.

Low Book Sales - I have hated their radio jingles since the day I moved to Utah. In fact, I have a friend who bought a car from them and we have deemed it necessary to shower him with punches whenever we hear one of their commercials.

Billy Mays - This man has pimped himself out more than Tony Little, and that's saying something.

Vince Shlomi - AKA Billy Mays jr. I won't be saying shamwow and I will not be slap chopping my way to a healthier life. The fact that this dude was just involved in an altercation with a prostitute doesn't bode well for my future slap chop purchases.

Jared - This "He" will not be going to Jared The Galleria of Jewelry. I'm not sure why, but I can't stand these commercials.

Snuggies - I like saying the word "snuggies" but I'm not a wizard, so I won't be caught wearing one anytime soon.

Quiznos - Their new torpedo commercial has a few too many homosexual innuendos for my liking.

Let me know if I'm forgetting any winners.

We're screwed

It's official, the Obama administration has gone mad with power and we're headed down a path that will make Hugo Chavez look like Ronald Regan. There was a recent opinion piece in the journal stating that Barry Hussein is actually rejecting the return of TARP funds from banks that are of some prestige. One particular bank has been sitting on the cash for months, wanting to write a check including interest, trying to return the nearly billion dollars it got from the government. The Obama administrations response? There will be adverse consequences if the Chairman persists in his efforts to return the taxpayer's money.
Why in the world would the government reject the return of taxpayer funds? It's simple, Stuart Varney says it is because they want to directly control the financial system, and I think he's 100% spot on. Barry just flexed his pimp-hand with GM by firing their CEO. Isn't this the responsibility of the board members? Couple that with the passing of the Pay for Performance bill that gives tiny Tim Geithner the power to set the pay for any employee that works for a company that has received government funds. Then there is the story from Bloomberg  where Geithner says that they are prepared to do more of what was done at GM and oust the senior management and board of any company that receives government assistance.
Simply put, the America you and I love is on life support and Barry and his cronies are itching to pull the plug. Yes comrades, change is coming to America!
I suggest you to head on over to MSNBC and give Barry a grade for his stellar job.

I'm blaming the TiVo/DVR

I'm going Freakonomics on us here. However, unlike me, they are good at drawing connections between everyday occurrences and the hidden things that catalyze those events. But I will try.

We are currently in an economic downturn. No surprise there. And the easy and probably more correct target at which to point the finger of blame is Barack Obama. But let's not be so superficial. I blame prerecording our favorite TV shows to watch them later because of our busy lifestyles.

The best TV shows are arguable during prime-time. It goes without saying that the best TV commercial spots for marketers to buy are during those shows. Fast-forwarding through commercials decreases customer awareness and stifles firms' exposure. The real catalyst for economic growth, the effectiveness and efficiency of businesses, is doused and the economy suffers.

Blog-stalker

So I was perusing some random blogs of people I went to high school with and I came across a funny post about Obama. This was from back in November when Barry Hussein was elected. And I quote...
"Wow this country has come a long way! We are going to have our first African American president. I am sure most of the people in Utah were hoping McCain would be president, well at least we won't have to pay as much taxes!! Hopefully this tax plan can get us out of this huge deficit hole. Lets all pray that everything will be ok and eventually get better! "
When I read this I literally LOL'ed all over myself. Wow, simply stunning.
Hope and change and all that other crap!