Believe me, while I have rested my keyboard-weary fingers for a few months, my mind has been going full-speed-ahead.  I have watched my stock portfolio take a hit that is reminiscent of 2008 (I cringed when I got my statement today), Congress has proven yet again their unworthiness to govern and President Obama  has demonstrated to all sensible  Americans that he is  as American born and Christian as the next   (only attends church on Easter and for funerals).  The economy is souring with unemployment still (20 months into this recession) the #1 problem.

But wait, there is more.  Iraq is no longer a combat zone for Americans (pity the poor Iraqii’s though), Afghanistan is ballooning into a Vietnam and a Korea all balled up into one awful nightmare, and the Mid-East situation is no better at all (despite the opening of Obama’s direct talks with Palestinians and Israelis) as the threat of Iranian nukes hovers ominously.

Hold on!  If you keep on reading you will get even more from CapitalistMarks in the coming days.  Health care reform is proving to be the opposite of the wonderful promises made  (Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utah has cancelled my policy and forced me to take another with significantly less coverage/benefits coupled with added costs that could easily be in the tens of thousands of $$ each year).  I am told there are a bunch more like me out there that won’t be helped at all until at least 2014 when the new Obamacare/Democratcare plan kicks in.  Health care costs will continue soaring, and health insurance companies profits will bollow in lockstep.  But will I (others) live until 2014 with reduced coverage and costs that exceed average American family incomes?

Bailout spending?  Sure a few big banks have survived and some large Corporations  too . . . but only to the benefit of the CEOs and a few of their croonies . . . surely not you and I . . . the employees,  ‘head-shaking’ shareholders or the stunned taxpayers.

Stimulus?  Cost billions more than we were told originally and now Obama and his minions are talking about adding a few dozen more billions.  And, the Federal Reserve is out of arrows with interest rates at zero (of course they have quantitative easing left . . . but the Fed buying up government notes will add to the already enormous deficit).

Fiscal Policy?  Don’t look for any help in an election year.  Everyone in the country knows that the tax system needs to be reinvented.  But, don’t expect any politicians to offer  any credible solutions that would cost any votes.

Remember the old sage who said (roughly) ‘when 51% of the poor decide they want to live off the honest earnings of the other 49% then democracy will fail.’   Well, Obama’s democratic solutions of socialism at it’s worst are beginning to make that a possibility.  Wouldn’t it be something if he really is a Muslim or Communist ’sleeper’ who ends America’s greatness by destroying our economic/political system with old fashioned Marxist policies?  NOTE:  I do not believe this . . . but I can see why some bloggers are going conspiracy theory on us.

China?  Passed Germany as the #2 economy in the world and is only 30 or so more years of double digit GDP growth from passing the U.S.  Oh, yeah, don’t forget their military is growing faster and more aggressively than any other in the world, nor their efforts to grab natural resources from the rest of the world for their own good (sounds pretty capitalist to me).  Note that the ‘rare earth’ minerals used in so many high-tech products are produced primarily in China’s two mining/mineral centers, and that the costs of these crucial minerals have gone up over 1000% (yep, one thousand) in the last 10 years or so.

Iran?  I can’t even bear to talk about it.  Ahmadinejad is nuts!

Venezuela?  Run by a lunatic dictator who makes Castro (in his old days) seem like a kindergarten recess monitor.

Housing?  Millions of homes in foreclosure and the banks still won’t bend over to help anyone despite federal laws requiring them to do so  (wait until those very real writeoffs hit the books!).

Unemployment?  Some estimates put actual #’s as high as 20+% when underemployed and work-force abandoners are included but regardless there are at least 25 million Americans who want good full-time jobs and don’t have them.

Global warming?  Only the HOTTEST summer in history for our northern hemisphere.

I could go on but my moist, fearfuk and warm tears are clouding my eyes too much.

All I can say is it behooves you to stay tuned to this channel.

I will tell it like it is–give my answers to tough questions–offer solutions where needed.  I will be right-on most of the time and never wavering in pursuit of truth and justice.

But,remember this always:  the single biggest problem America has today is professional politicians.  They call D.C. home and they love living there and partaking of their un-American perks and benefits.  The new byword is ‘if you don’t like their perks, get rid of the jerks.’

Do NOT vote for incumbents . . . we need citizen leaders who leave their real lives to serve for 4-8 years and then go back to those same lives.  Guys like you and I who can listen to both sides consider the alternatives and decide what is really best for our country.   Our founding fathers intended it.  We really have to now.  Oh, and eliminate the guaranteed jobs, golden retirements and benefits for congress and government employees.  Make them live like the rest of us . . . they won’t want to stick around more than they are welcome if we can push that through.

I hope you will join me at the polls in November to oust the greedy, self-serving ‘pros’ and vote in our neighbors and friends who will do an honest job (particularly those who promise to go home after one or two terms).

I will post when impressed to do so and not just in order to get another word in.  You can count on that.  Also, due to some continuing health issues, I may not post as regularly as I would like.  I promise though, every post will be important, current, relevant and helpful.

I can’t imagine any other reason for it.

Man, aren’t we great though?

A nation that allows all sorts of behavior in public (dare I admit that sometimes we even encourage it?), all kids of crazy dress (my opinion — but then who am I to judge styles?), all kinds of religious belief (without judging for the most part — a special caveat here for Tom Cruise), all kinds of decorating on automobiles that drive our highways (remember the fur covered ‘dogmobile?), shoes that make you wonder why we ever invented the dern things . . .  and on and on.

But, we are also a nation that forgives a guy like Tiger Woods who egregiously violated marriage oaths and common sense.  The crowd at the Masters has followed him loyally and encouragingly — well he did offer a genuine (it seemed to me) apology before the competition started.

At the same time we welcome a new Masters hero (for this year)  and applaud the success of Phil Mickelson, because he is a great golfer (the best this day) and a dad who loves his wife and family so much they spent the week there with him.

Yep, we can appreciate at the same time that we forgive.

And that is a good thing.

We forgave the Germans for WWII (thank heavens since I married one), and the Japanese for the same war ( thanks for the Toyatas and Hondas that I have bought over the years and continue to drive).

And we will forgive the Iraqies and the Afghans if we can ever finish our wars there and let them prove to the world how great their culture is.

In fact this propensity to forgive is one of the greatest things about our country . . . we are so varied and diverse that we find it easy to forgive just about anyone and any nation for just about anything.  Pretty quick too.

Each time we do it the world opens up, gets more forgiving, allows greater acceptance and follows our example.

In short the whole dang place gets better.

I hope, and believe,  that we will never change.  Good thing too.

Just a year ago the world (well at least the Chinese and Russians — I don’t count Iran, Venezuela or Cuba) were yelling that the American Economic model of free-market capitalism was dead.  Boy were they ever wrong.  Our system works and worked — adjustments were made, changes were accepted and now we are on another tear that I hope will soon employ everyone that really wants a job (another neighbor got off unemployment this week!).

Man aren’t we great?

Your darn tootin’ we are!!

thanks to flickr’s johntraynor for the photo

Like we all want to root for Afghanistan to rise up out of the poverty and religious intolerance that has made it one of the poorest nations in the world . . . war torn for decades, rife with uneducated Mullahs (except in their perverted view of the Qu’ran) who poison the minds and wills of generations of young people, destroyed by Russia’s arrogance, and now occupied by America and it’s allies in a seemingly perpetual war against terrorism and Al Quieda.

Our government has tens of thousands of troops in this God-forbidden, mountain bound’ land-locked and insular land.  We have spent hundreds of billions of $$ trying to rid the country of wicked and ignorant men and women who care nothing for the ‘nation’ we are trying to create for them.  Our efforts to educate the people (mostly the young) have met with resistance and killing.  Attempts to free women from the bondage of poorly interpreted religious traditions resulted in further hatred and even torture.

And yet, our government (with support of a majority of citizens) has labored on.  Like other battles for the ‘underdog’ Americans stand willing to sacrifice for the ‘greater good.’

The blood of hundreds of our young men and women has been spilt on the dusty plains and rocky ranges of the faraway country.  Enormous amounts of equipment, supplies, food, and other necessities have been shipped there.

And why?

We think we know and so struggle on, but . . . Karzai?

Karzai has assumed that it has all been for him and his ill-conceived, and even more ill-functioning government.  Bribery is a way of life there.  Fraud and abuse of the $$billions we send there result in little being dribbled down to the people as corruption at the highest, and all, levels are commonplace.

Karzai and his cronies line their pockets and play at governing but the Afghan people see no improvement.  In fact most reports say they  either fear or hate the bureaucrats and police.  There are even rumors of government alliances, both political and financial, with some of the Taliban.

This of course has been hard to stomach.  I have not trusted Hamid Karzai from the first day I saw him on TV costumed in his pretentious green robes and sillywool ‘crown.’  There was something inherently dishonest in the was he spoke . . .  the droll of his pleas for peace and money.  I have been a pretty good judge of character in my life . . . it has helped a lot . . . and I judged him bad from day one.

The stated strategy has been that we must support the ‘nation building’ of a country that has rejected a central government for generations.  All so that the nooks and crannies within its borders will not become hiding places for terrorists bent on destroying all western and Christian forms of life.  The process has been harrowing and dangerous.  Some of our allies have packed up and left . . . deeming the goal to be unachievable.

Yet, America presses on under the leadership of our own new President.  Hoping that eventually Afghanistan will thrive under a legitimate and self-sustaining democratic government.  I can only say dream on.

Both President Bush and President Obama have voiced support for the ‘elected’ leader of the land:  Hamid Karzai.  I say ‘elected’ because the most recent elections were so rife with fraud that no President should have been elected.  Yet Karzai prevailed . . . and Obama has said that ‘the people’ of Afghanistan have spoken.

Let me tell it like it is:  Karzai is in power in Afganistan only because America allows him to be.  Perhaps this administration considers him the lesser of two evils (or three or four for that matter).  But, this support is misguided and wrong.

Karzai is not in control of his nation.  He is even less in power. The United States military, along with our few remaining allies, is in control and has the power, such as it is.

Yet this administration continues the charade of Karzai’s puppet government.  We allow him to parade around the world as if he was a genuine leader worthy of international acclaim.  He is the titular head of a ragtag army and national police force . . . yet those very forces are trained and funded with our tax dollars.  There is no real government in Afghanistan.

Talk about a balanced budget– heck Afghanistan’s government has revenues of only $1 billion and spends over $3 billion.  About the same as a mid-sized city in Montana.  Are you kidding me?  Karzai has been bad for his own people and he has been bad for us . . . more so every day it seems.

Now, Karzai has really crossed the line.

Last week he complained of ‘international’ interference in the most recent election (international can only mean U.S. since we dominate the foreign presence there).  The White House took that with unexpected resilience that came across as far too understanding.

Then, a few days later, in a final strike at the hand that feeds him, Karzai said that if foreign interference continued the Taliban would be legitimized and he might even join them.  What the heck would he do without ‘foreign’ interference?  He would be nothing but another penniless  ’foreigner’ strolling along Paris streets.  Is this guy crazy?  A Quisling?  Traitor, enemy, crook?

The audacity of this idiot is incredible.

And it must not be allowed to continue.

It is time for Obama to follow the lessons learned after WWII in Germany and Japan.  Our military must take over the entire government process until the people of the country are distanced enough from Karzai’s puppet and illegitimate rule to see that self-governance can and will work.

This will take years.  But we must do it.  We simply cannot allow Afghanistan to collapse again like it did when the Russkies abandoned it.

America and our allies must be in control of everything that goes on in Afghanistan.  We have to control the police, the army, the bureaucrats, transportation, licensing . . . the entire government.  We have to be there to manage our $$Billions and save our soldiers lives.  We can’t leave any decision that involves the Afghans or our soldiers to be left up to others — especially not someone like Karzai who only came to Afghanistan after the successful ‘invasion.’  We have to make sure the people in every city and throughout the country have peace, freedom, education, roads, dams, schools, hospitals, and everything else it takes them to enter, at least, the 20th century.

It is clear that this will never happen with Karzai or anyone else like him.  Leadership can’t just be assumed.  It has to be learned and earned and America must be the teacher here.  Perhaps there is a young man (or woman) somewhere in Afghanistan who can, someday,  rise to leadership . . . and we must provide the avenue for him (or her) to do so.

It will be a huge commitment (perhaps along the lines of post-war Germany or Japan, maybe even South Korea) and it will take years, not months.  Forget the pretense of Karzai’s leadership and take control.  Out of the existing mess, one day,  pride and greatness can rise. jJust not now.  Just not Karzai.

That much is as clear as anything in this troubled world.

I call on President Obama to recognize that Karzai is NOT a legitimate leader and has neither the qualifications nor the honor to function as President of Afghanistan.  Appoint an interim ‘Governor’ and assume complete leadership.

Give the Afghan people a chance–and some time.

thanks to flickr’s blatantnews.com for the photo

Attendance was mandatory at West Point (he is the Commander-in-Chief afterall) and still the reception there was muted at worst and respectful at best.

What up dude?  Why did this strategy take more than 3 months to formulate?

What’cha got?

Adding more troops as General McChrystal (the commander in the field) had requested, though not as many as the good General had hoped for.  A plea for help from our allies (who are they any way?).  And the incredibly naive promise of beginning withdrawal by the summer of 2011.

Hello!  That wasn’t a strategy, it was an admission of failure to date and an unequivocal assurance to the Afghan people that America is tired of this war and will try a bit more but not too much before leaving with our tails between our legs.

Yechh!

I am flat out disappointed.

You should be too.

Why is it that our political leaders never seem to reflect the views of our military leaders (which they always seem to seek).  The military types are professionals, the political types are glad handers.  It should not be too difficult to recognize that professionals have a broader and better perspective on any issue than part-time thinkers (congress–you pick the subject).

You can’t run a war on a schedule and President Obama should know that despite his lack of real experience.  Putting an end date on a war that has lasted 8 years while Americans died (a century or more if you want to count the Russians and British) is downright  folly.

With all the hype leading up to the speech at West Point yesterday we should have been given more.  How in the world do the democrats put a positive spin on this mess?

President Obama was perfectly clear vague on the details and preciously void of any understanding of what is happening in Afghanistan relative to the Taliban and Al Queda.  Where has he been for the last 8 years?  Doesn’t give me any confidence and it sure can’t be very promising to our men and women-at-arms.

If you want my prior views (unchanged to date) on the Afghan war go back to here.

My worst fears at the election of Barrack are being realized and I don’t see any turn for the better in the near term.

Hew as a great campaigner and does really well reading off scripts from the teleprompters . . . but what happened to the great ‘mind’ the democrats and broad minded independents were voting for?  To the Nobel Peace Prize winner who ‘earned’ the medal before doing anything to merit it?

91 days to come up with this plan?

If our President doesn’t understand the issues in this war then how is he going to get our allies (again who are they?) to step up more than they have in the last 8 years.

Here is what I see with the plan as it now stands: 30,000 more Americans will show up (but with uncertain directions), $30 billion more will be spent next year on this ‘war’, a few (compared to our 100,000) troops from other lands will arrive to direct traffic (but not fight), the Taliban and Al Queda forces will rally their own troops (knowing they only have 18 months left to kill infidels with hidden bombs and suicide idiots), and then . . . America will withdraw like we are doing in Iraq and declare that the local government is going to be in charge from now on because we trained them so they can . . .

End of story.

The political bottom line:  President Obama is NOT proving possession of great intellectual capacity, is proving to be indecisive, continues his efforts to change perceptions of America in the rest of the World (with a hopelessly inept diplomatic approach — Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, California . . . ) at a cost to be determined later, watches as unemployment keeps on climbing, AND . . . proves why his popularity diminishes further.

Oh, what great hopes I had.  At least President Bush (the worst President in my memory), didn’t care about celebrity.  He always (when not on vacation) seemed focused on the job.

Come on President Obama, you still have 3 years left to show us what you got.  The first year is a dismal failure in my estimate but hope reigns eternal!  I don’t know who I am more disappointed in — Tiger Woods or Barrack Obama.

Forget the celebrity, stop needless travel (foreign leaders can come here for crying out loud!), start focusing on the real problems and pay attention to the ‘experts’ you hired!!

thanks to isafmedia at flickr for the photo

Thank heavens for that.  The news of pending default, or at least failure to meet interest payments, on around $80 billion of commercial debt centered in the desert coasts of Dubai first hit the wires last Wednesday.  CNBC was all over it then and gave it the attention it deserved . . . moderate to be frank.  Then, when U.S. markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, Asian markets tanked and European markets followed suit as they worried while we partied.  Drops of 3% were the norm and when American markets opened on Friday further carnage was expected but did not happen (1% or so in typical in recent market swings).

Yet the news still resounds with talking heads and financial analysts who want to force markets down.

The truth of this story in Dubai is all about greed, pride and stupidity.  Sounds familiar but we really haven’t seen anything recently on the scale of witless investors in the desert.  Consider.   Dubai is soon to be home to the tallest building in the world (I caught a glimpse of it while watching my favorite reality show ‘Amazing Race’ recently . . . and it is awesome).  Dubai is already the home of shopping mall overkill with a mall that houses an entire indoor ski resort where the idle rich can ride a lift to the top of a man-made hill and ski down man-made snow in freezing temperatures while it is 120 degrees outside (also on the show).  Not far off shore are a number of man-made islands( ‘designer’  types) where lots are selling for multi-millions of $$ (the operative word here is selling not sold).

This pending default shows how stupid people can be.  Why would anyone want to even visit a place where the temperatures can be in the 120’s in the shade?  Let alone invest hundreds of billions of $$ to create a Disney Land environment that no masses will ever have any interest in let alone see?

Sure, oil was trading over $100 a barrel when much of this insanity took place, but that is no excuse.

The average Joe is gonna want to vacation somewhere they can breathe without having a heart attack . . . Hawaii sounds about right.  The rich folk couldn’t care less.  So who were the Dubai-ees (?) going to market all that insanity  to?  Iraqis wanting to escape a war zone?  Saudis wanting to get away from a dry (as in alcohol) place to wile away the summer hours?  Maybe but not even that makes sense in the world today.

So, in a month when the DOW and S&P were up over 5% the Dubai crisis proved to be a very localized and mostly uninteresting bubble.  A study in bubble economics that won’t burst to the harm of anyone with an ounce of brains on this side of the pond.

Rather than worry about how the sheiks are going to make their payments (the total potential default is less than 10% if America’s total debt service next year)  we should be focusing on black-weekend retail sales that were up nearly 1% and with on-line sales up over 10% for the same period.

Americans are starting to spend again and we should join each other in the fun of the next three weeks of Christmas shopping insanity.  If you really want to be cool you might think about helping those that are less fortunate (like the unemployed for example) and spend some money to help their families have a good season.

Sit back and relax.

The only thing to worry about right now is how President Obama will handle the Afghanistan strategy during his talk to the nation tomorrow.

Stay tuned.  This could be fun!

Thanks to flickr’s larsploughmann for the photo

The national credit card delinquency rate fell for the first time in 10 years.  Smakin’ and smokin’ this really is good news.  Details:  the % of U.S. credit card holders who are more than 90 days delinquent fell from 1.17% in the second quarter to 1.1% in the third quarter.  Means that consumers are paying off debt and controlling new debt at a much better pace.  If that is real then they must also be feeling better about both saving and spending.  Three stars!

The somewhat powerful influencer ‘Conference Board’ has informed us that consumer confidence rose from a 48.7  revised figure in October to a preliminary 49.5 in November.  Also good news even though it takes a number above 90 to reflect a more balanced economy.  Two stars!

President Obama has finally made up his mind about Afghanistan and will announce his revised strategy at a nationally televised press conference next Tuesday.  Whisper numbers are an increase of around 35,000 troops.  More than anticipated but less than the General in charge wants.  Two stars!  (would have been more if he had decided earlier)

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has met with President Obama this week and bowed when he met our President.  Even lower than Barrack Obama (apparently as a private individual since American’s have a general disregard for hereditary leaders) bowed to the Emperor of Japan recently.  Four stars!  (just kidding but wouldn’t that be great!)

On that note I am leaving to buy the biggest bird in the city which I will proceed to masacre in a cruel and unusual manner which will make it barely edible but certainly something else to be grateful for.    5 stars and counting.

thanks for the photo to cygnus921

The point he made is that President Obama seems to change his own opinions over time.  The war in Afghanistan is where he focused–  pointing out that less than two months ago President Obama declared the war to be “a war of necessity.”  Of course Obama no longer seems to be following that declaration and Krauthammer closed with these words — ‘Does anything he (Obama) says remain operative beyond the fading of the audience applause?’

Well, I hope not.

We certainly don’t need a President who refuses to change his mind in the face of changing circumstances, contradictory facts, or additional information that has come to light.  And, we really don’t need another President like our most recent ex-President . . . who held to the ‘party’ line regardless of new facts or added information.  He and his minions (the likes of Rumsfeld and Cheney) apparently believed that war and military might were the answer to all problems and they acted on that premise — always it seems.  Jeez Louise, did we, as a nation, ever pay for their intransigence.

I am glad that Obama seems willing to change his mind and perhaps even ‘our’ strategy in Afghanistan (or on any other topic I hope) when he learns more than he knew at the time of making an original statement. Life is, after all, about change and reacting to it.

Today, we desperately need a President (and other leaders as well) who are willing to listen to those who know more about a subject than they do and then filter it all appropriately and make a change if it is needed. They need to be influenced by other’s facts and opinions — and any effort to this end is worthwhile.

We do NOT need someone who holds fearlessly (and often idiotically) to a position that proves to be not only wrong but dangerous.  Afghanistan may well be such a case.  I do not know what the answer to that war is . . . but I am learning to making big changes as I have written about before (see here).

I really appreciate Krauthammer’s previous efforts at helping us understand various issues.  He is usually a voice of reason in a sea of tempers and tantrums.  But, I hope he comes to learn that changing one’s mind is a privilege and a duty– and that he reconsiders his view on the article mentioned.

Let’s welcome beneficial change in ALL its manifestations.

thanks to flickr’s the truth about for the photo

When President Obama changed command there and picked General Mc Chrystal as his ‘man on the spot’ he indicated that he intended to follow the General’s recommendations.

Well, now he has them and the news is NOT good.

More troops are needed and right now.  Sadly even the additionally troops Obama chose to send to Afghanistan months ago are not all in place . . . can you believe that?  Now we need more.  Quickly, according to the General.

Obama and Sec. Gates must make a very difficult decision.

Are we to waste the lives of our young people in this terrible, drug out, non-conventional war (when is war ever conventional)?  That would be to continue as we are until we can arrange a planned withdrawal.

The other choice is to commit to this war and do our best to win it.

I am sure everyone with a loved one, or even a friend or acquaintance, serving there is waiting for the decision.  Trouble is Obama seems to be ignoring this critical issue.

Frankly I wonder if we should even be there any more?  The people don’t seem to want us and the government is corrupt beyond belief (I say that because it is OUR tax dollars that are supporting this government and not Afghani funds).  If we are going to stay, then the government should be chosen by us (and NOT include Karzai or his crooked brother) and under our control . . . clearly this country is NOT ready for democracy yet as I have already written about.

I do not believe we can say we won the war in Iraq . . . not with the thousands of people that are still being killed or critically injured in that country.  So, if we bail on Afghanistan then we will have a 0-3 record since WWII (it is sad that anyone, let alone me, is keeping track).

Is it our choice of wars or is it the way we chose to fignt them?

It is both.

What are we really doing half way around the world fighting this war in the year 2009?

If you can answer that intelligently and with substantial proof and evidence to support your response then you belong on Obama’s Cabinet.  No one that close to the President has made any kind of cogent statement to this affect since the election.

I repeat, I am frustrated.  Are you?

Obama is NOT keeping his campaign promises.  Well, what is new or different about that (don’t we all remember that Bush promised not to engage in ‘nation building’).

It is time to survey the situation there and make a decision.

General Mc Chrystal has done the survey and made recommendations.

Now I am waiting with bated breath for the decision.

Get out or get real.

Don’t wast any more of our time President Obama and sure as heck don’t wast any more of our precious lives!!

thanks for the photo from flickr to army.mil this photo deserves full credit:  it is of Sgt. Joseph Evans and was taken by Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel — double thanks for your devoted service to our country!