The "independence" of the CBO has been a foundational claim of the Pelosi/Obama/Reid triumvirate as they continue to pitch ever-increasing expenditures and desired bills.  The CBO is above taint, it is independent, it can be trusted.  But can we really trust it?  Isn't it just a tool of Congress?  After all, the CBO can only do what Congress directs.  And we see that in it's latest "report", the CBO claims that the Middle Class--Not the Rich or the Poor--Pay Majority of Federal Taxes.  Wow, shocking, no?

For decades, we've heard the call of "peak oil", that we're facing an ever-decreasing supply of oil.  The US simply cannot maintain it's current usage of oil because we are on the verge of a collapse of apocalyptic proportions because the last oil in the ground is being used right now.  Makes wonderful news copy, and is a great way to castigate the energy industry and justify entire reworking of the economy, but there's a problem: it's not true.

Seven Hundred Thirty Six dollars.  Nearly a week's wages at $20 per hour.  Three months lease on a new Volkswagen Passat.  Enough for a round-trip ticket to Paris from most major US cities.  More than most Haitians will earn in an entire year.  Nearly $3,000 for a family of 4.

That's your share - and the share of every man, woman and child within the US.  Share of what?  

The Federal budget deficit.

For the month of February only.

Twenty six dollars a day.  More than a dollar an hour, every hour, of every day, of the month of February.  Pull a dollar bill out every hour, and burn it.  When you wake up in the morning, and have your breakfast, $10 has burned from when you shut your eyes the night before.  Every single morning, another $10 - gone.

Our Federal Government spent $221 billion - $221,000,000,000 - more than it took in this past month.  To put that in perspective, February 2010 would be the 6th highest annual deficit ever, if it was an annual deficit.  Yes, from 1776 to 2009, only 6 YEARS had deficits greater than $221 billion.  The deficit we rang up in a single month.

The Federal Government has gone insane.  It is spending money faster than ever before, and it's telling us it will continue to do so for at least the next TEN years.  Trillion dollar deficits for the coming DECADE.  More months with $200+ billion deficits.  Those dollars burning out of your pocket, one dollar at a time, one dollar every hour, every day.

And they have the gall to tell us they're being fiscally responsible and that this level of insanity - this massive increase in our debt, the fiscal yoke fitted to our necks - is for our own good, we need to buckle down and accept that burden.  And the additional burdens of ever-increasing spending over the coming years because we cannot survive otherwise.

I wonder if I can write an IOU to the Federal Government for my share, much like they are doing for their own spending...

On this holy day, I wish you and yours a Merry, peaceful, rejuvinating, relaxing Christmas!

As the Copenhagen climate summit gets underway, the fever pitch talk about the impending climate doom reaches a crescendo.  And once again we're reminded that the ice will all melt, and - as the data irrefutably states - we will be submerged below the seas, a Waterworld as apocalyptic as any ever imagined.  A truly sobering reality except for one little thing - the data does not support the conclusion.

Many have asked what I fear is the worst issue confronting these United States; after reflection and tought, I have concluded a rather unique, but I believe ultimately correct, answer:  The politicization of science.  Yes, science has become a political minefield, and the results are the catastrophic effects we are seeing today.

There's a cute little set of pictures that purport to "lay it out" about the health insurance debacle in These United States.  It's well drawn, and well written, the scripting flows great.  In fact, it's a really nice presentation in all ways except for the fact the fundamental basis for that little artwork is flawed:

The news is giddy - green shoots in the economy, it's turning around, we've stopped the slide, things will get better.  Our President says so, Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid assure us it's the case, and the media faithfully tell us over and over again: we have no concerns, the economy is starting to run again.  All sounds wonderful except for one little fact: they're all wrong.

On one forum I visit frequently, there are more and more threads started about "Communist China", "Red China", and of course, Rush Limbaugh's favorite term, "ChiComs" (short for Chinese Communists).  When most conservatives learn that I - a radically right-wing conservative - live and work half my life in "that hell-hole of Communism" they are shocked.  And when I state "I like it" well, let's just say the floor has many different jawlines imprinted.

As many have come to expect, I typically deal with financials and numbers.  I am not an economist or CPA or even MBA by trade; I am an engineer, so I actually understand numbers, rather than merely pushing them around.  And most of the last editorials have been about finances, but I felt it was time to take a short respite and address a different topic for today.

Recently, as I prepared for another jaunt to my second home in Shanghai, China, a friend of mine asked about the population of that nation.  I answered it was somewhere beyond 1.3 billion people at the time, and that China, India, and Southeast Asia together combine for just over 3 billion people.

And so it becomes apparent; Congressional Democrats and the media are officially fiscal ostriches.  A very important milestone was reached in July, one with disasterous consequences for these United States, yet nary a peep was uttered, or should I say a feather ruffled?

The tipping point: the point at which a system becomes unstable and falls down.  See the US in 2009.

or How I learned to stop worrying and understand it's the big Mr. Fusion in the sky.

The current "consensus" is that climate change - what used to be known as Global Warming, until it was found that the globe, in fact, was not warming - is a result of man. Our use of fossil fuels is the problem. Our use of electricity via hydro/wind/solar is the problem. Our mere existence is the problem.

The Obama Administration rightly states that the solution to our economic meltdown is job creation.  We need to get more people working to get the economy rolling again.  That should be self-evident, and is one of the few things that I agree on with the Administration.  But which jobs are to be created is where the Administration simply gets it wrong.

Remember back in the heady, giddy early days of the Obama Administration?  Much was made over the promised tax cut for the middle and lower classes.  It was a full $13 per week for the average worker.  This was going to save the economy, rebuild America, and bring prosperity back to the shores of these United States!

But this isn't the $13 I'm talking about...

Nationalizing health care is the latest push of the Slavery Party; and with the haste being applied, it is quite apparent they want this not for the benefit of society, but for their own controlling agendas!  Because if you take a look at the real data behind this debate, you'll see they have nothing to stand on.

On a forum I frequent, we were discussing nationalize health care.  A poster (of the liberal bent, but a very nice fellow altogether) made the following statement:

If access to health care is a fundamental right,

This was meant as a means to support the nationalization of health care inside these United States.  For if the supposition is true - health care is a fundamental right - then clearly it would be within the purview of the US Federal Government to nationalize and control the administration and delivery of that health care!

On a forum I frequent, we often talk of politics.  A question came up about how so many are disappointed with the actions of the current Administration as far as the economy goes (and in general, that seems to be echoing with the general population as well).  The poster asked "what would you do to get things moving again".

As most could guess, I am no fan of the Obama Administration's handling of the economy (that phrase should not even exist; a Presidential Administration should NOT be involved in the economy to begin with, but I digress), and would favor a free-market based approach.  And you would of course guess right.  My approach is rooted in a very straightforward and easy to understand plan.

Here's what I would do:

President Obama ran on a platform of hope, change, and unity. No longer politics as usual, but a new call to come together as Americans. To bridge the divide of partisan politics. They were certainly persuasive words, enough to persuade 53% of the electorate to select him for the Presidency.

But the truth is now coming out. Politics is now completely partisan – there is no call for unity, just a strident shout towards execution of one man’s – and one party’s – desires. Along with this hyper-radicalization of politics, we are witnessing the boldest accumulation of power to one man since the beginning of these United States, nearly 12 score years ago.

Seriously, I've figured out a plan that I think will work.  It should not upset Conservatives as it does not raise any taxes.  And it should not upset Liberals as spending is not cut, nor are programs eliminated.  Best of all, it's simplicity itself, insanely easy to calculate, model, and follow.  Are you ready for it?

On a web board I frequent, the claim was made - for the umpteenth time - by someone of a more liberal/Democrat bent than I that "Bush created massive deficits after Clinton left us with surpluses!!!"  And how many times do we hear from fellow Conservatives that the GOP spent like drunken sailors?  Well, I've had enough.

Many often are surprised or even repulsed by my use of Slavery Party in place of the more common (and self-given) Democrat Party. I submit that, for facts both historical and modern, the moniker Slavery Party is not just applicable but descriptive beyond reproach.

Many know that I am, at best case, an extreme right-wing zealot; at worst I would surmise that many would consider me a political revolutionary from the furthest Right side of the spectrum.  Yet you all know me as a fair, knowledgeable and personable man.  My political position does not create ill will among us, nor should it if exercised in the ways proper between men.  The reasons for my stances are many and are rooted not just in a philosophical belief but by history and actions of Government against me.  You may know the actions I have felt; let me now expound on the beliefs underlying.

Welcome to Simply Shrug, a new movement of Conservative Politics.  I trust you'll find this site and its ideas of interest, and will join in my call to bring the concept of Simply Shrug to the forefront of US politics.

Simply Shrug.  It sounds simple, and it is.  It's taken from Ayn Rand's classic book, Atlas Shrugged.  In that book, the producers of society - the business men, the creators of wealth - finally rebel from the ever-growing greed of class warfare and a Government bent on wealth redistribution as a means to maintain power and control.

The current "conventional wisdom" is that the whole Middle East issue is the fault of the US. We created it, we're the source of the Arab/Israeli conflict, we're the creator of Al Qaeda, we're the fountainhead of all ills in that troubled region. Any action on our part can do nothing but further foment hatred toward the US.

In essence, we're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't.

See where your dollars are going. Nothing more needs to be said!