This is not the economy you are looking for...

Sadly I don’t have the kind of “blog time” I used to, but every now then something comes up I just can’t ignore…

Stocks skid on renewed fears of global slowdown

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-skid-on-renewed-fears-apf-3481581188.html?x=0

“Then, shortly after U.S. trading began, the market was hit with news that consumer confidence fell sharply this month because of worries about jobs and the overall economy. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 52.9 from a revised 62.7 in May. It was the steepest drop since February and economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast only a modest dip.”

And:

U.S. Economy: Confidence Sinks on Concern Over Jobs

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-29/u-s-economy-confidence-sinks-on-concern-over-jobs.html

“June 29 (Bloomberg) — Confidence among U.S. consumers sank in June more than forecast as Americans became distressed over the outlook for jobs and incomes.
Stocks plunged as the confidence data, combined with Conference Board figures showing China’s economic outlook improved less than previously estimated, added to concern the global economy is slowing. Unemployment and the turmoil in financial markets precipitated by the European debt crisis raise the risk that household spending will falter.”

Meanwhile:

Obama: US economy ‘strengthening’ despite weak data

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100629/ts_afp/useconomyobama_20100629170100

“The economy is strengthening, we are into recovery,” Obama said, shortly after new figures showed that consumer confidence, a key economic indicator, had tumbled in June, sending stock markets worldwide plummeting.”

George Orwell would be proud…

Van Jones, the most dangerous man on campus...

I attended two events at UCSD back to back this week, and if only to appease my own personal conscience, I feel an obligation to recount part of the last 48 hours of my life in “print” while it’s still fresh in my mind… Not unlike being jarred awake by a nightmare at 3:30AM, I need to capture and record this experience before the “emotional state” it’s left me in recedes.

“Pre-game”

On Monday, May 10th, I attended a lecture at UCSD, San Diego given by 60′s radical turned conservative, David Horowitz. On Tuesday, May 11th, I attended a lecture at UCSD, San Diego given by self proclaimed communist and would be Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones. The following is my best effort to present that experience as it occurred, sans any partisan leaning… I’ll save that for the end…

Monday morning I did a quick Google search to double check the details surrounding the event with Horowitz… UCSD’s campus can be somewhat confusing, so naturally I wanted to be sure of where I was going, etc. I Googled “David Horowitz appearing at UCSD”, and the top response was hosted by a site called zvents.com. It briefly outlined the event, but it displayed the address as University of California Price Center West – Ballroom B, La Jolla Amago, CA… Huh??? The address and accompanying Google map depicted some patch of dirt off of the 76 near Pala… The Price Center Ballroom is on the main campus in La Jolla, not some place called La Jolla Amago… I looked at the next entry on Google and it was a ning site maintained by a Tea Party protest group, “Stop Obama Now”… There I found the correct address and additional information. I did the same search on Van Jones, the top response on Google yielded a page hosted by UCSD containing a glowing endorsement for Jones and his work with green jobs… http://helenedison.ucsd.edu/eventjones.cfm

Monday evening I arrived at the Gillman Dr. entrance to UCSD, but I still wasn’t exactly sure where it was on campus I was going. I stopped at the visitors center; only slightly more impressive than the type of glass booth often inhabited by gas station attendants and purveyors of movie tickets. There I stood for no less than 6 minutes (I checked on my phone) in front of a closed window while a student on the other side of the glass didn’t even look up from his phone conversation to so much as acknowledge my presence until he hung up. He then gave me a small map and showed me where I needed to go.

Tuesday evening I arrived at the same Gillman Dr. entrance, but as soon as I came upon the information center from the night before, there were signs out on the sidewalk clearly directing traffic to parking for the “Van Jones Event”… There were signs along the entire route.

After finding my way to The Price Center on Monday, I entered through what appeared to be the main entrance, checked in at the will call desk, got my ticket, and waited for them to open the doors to Ballroom B, where Horowitz’s lecture was to take place. On Tuesday night when I arrived for Van Jones, like a trail of breadcrumbs, the same type of signs which directed me to parking directed me to what appeared to be the side entrance to the venue. This was the only way in to see Jones, which, coincidentally(?) took me in the immediate vicinity of an “anti-Zionist” apartheid wall, apparently constructed (I found out it cost 20k) for an antiapartheid week taking place on campus. U2′s “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” was blaring out over a radio, so I figured I’d go ahead and take a moment to go check it out. I had a small handheld video camera with me so I started taking some footage of the wall when I was greeted by what I can only describe as a beautiful Middle Eastern girl wearing a white Hijab. She was friendly to the point of being flirtatious, and was eager to answer any questions I had about the wall. Like a complete fool, I politely declined any “help” and told her I was just taking some video before going in to see Van Jones. She perked up even further at the news and excitedly said that she would be attending as well, and maybe she would see me inside. I should have spoke with her at length regarding the wall and asked her to appear on camera, but my mind was literally racing over the differences I was witnessing already as compared to my experience the night before and I just wasn’t on top of my game… Crap…

“The Presentations”

Apparently, due to the kind of disruptions that have gone on during public speaking engagements in places like Columbia University, all such lectures at UCSD must have a moderator who, if nothing else, is there to turn off microphones during the Q&A portion of the program if someone gets out of line or drones on for too long. Horowitz’s engagement was almost cancelled because evidently, there was no one willing to moderate, save for an unnamed woman who stepped up at the zero hour in order to bring the event off. I don’t know who she was, but obviously, thanks are in order to her for taking the reigns when nobody else would.

Horowitz was preceded briefly, and introduced by two students. Jones was introduced by The Head of The UCSD Extension Division.

Before continuing, I feel it pertinent to mention that I am both a professional videographer/digital media artist, as well as a semi-professional musician… As such, I am keenly aware of things like PA systems, microphones, and other areas of sound reinforcement used in all kinds of events. Horowitz was “tethered” to his position via a small microphone mounted to his podium on a flexible arm. It would not stay in place, necessitating his fiddling with it throughout the entire lecture. Not only was it physically sub-par, but the plosives (“pops” emanating from the microphone when speaking the letter “p”) were at an uncomfortable and unprofessional level for such a presentation. Van Jones was outfitted with a wireless lavalier mic (clips to a tie or lapel) and was free to move about the stage, all the while maintaining perfect audio… No sibilance (harsh s’s) or plosives for Mr. Jones.

Now, content and subject matter aside, watching these two men was like being offered two different modes of transportation… Your grandfather’s Buick, or a new Mustang GT500 (I like to keep it domestic). Again, messages aside, which mode of transportation do you think a college aged kid is going to choose? The safety and reliability of Pop-Pop’s LeSabre, or the white knuckle joy-ride associated with some 400+ horsepower wrapped in a sleek, black paint job? If such a decision weren’t obvious enough, add to the equation the authority figure of your choice standing behind you, encouraging you to take the keys to the vehicle you think you want already… Pop-Pop’s sedan hasn’t got shot in hell… It doesn’t matter that in the Buick, you can go anywhere you want, while the Mustang will take you to a predetermined, inevitable destination from which you cannot deviate… To 90% of these college kids, looking good is all that matters. Herein lies the problem with modern conservatism… No kid wants to be caught dead riding in it, and our future is in serious trouble because of it.

Ladies and gentleman, if WE do not take back some sort of control of our government NOW, during THIS election cycle, I personally don’t see us ever recovering from the mess we’re in. Van Jones comes off like a cross between Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy, while David Horowitz is just some crusty old dude espousing out dated ideology. As a forty-something year old conservative, I KNOW Pop Pop’s LeSabre is the right choice in this situation, but how are you going to convince children of this when they’re literally being educated at the plant where Mustangs are built?

I was not allowed to film or record Horowitz’s lecture (I should have inquired as to who’s decision that was) but was determined to record Jones no matter what. With that in mind, I ditched my HVX200 (a professional grade camera which constantly draws attention due to it’s size) and opted to bring one of my small consumer grade video cameras to the Tuesday lecture with the hope of flying in under the radar. As it turned out, there was nobody preventing anyone from filming or recording Jones’s lecture. Sadly, with such a small camera and no tripod, the footage I shot was extremely shaky, and I simply couldn’t hold the camera up with one hand for an entire hour. I did, however, get good audio which is available on the link below.

Listen for yourself, but my experience was that much of Jones’s presentation contained an almost hippie-esque undercurrent of “love” for one another and expressions of the need for unity. He basically declared our current economic model dead and buried and spoke in terms which no doubt left these kids feeling empowered with the responsibility of helping to create the “new economy”, when in reality they have no clue such things have already been predetermined should Van and his ilk get their way. That being said, his crowning moment came at the very end with his closing words… “When it becomes hard to love, you’ve got to love harder”… With that, the crowd broke into a standing ovation, and I happened to catch a glimpse of the girl sitting next to me when she rose from her seat. The hairs on her arm were standing on end and she had goosebumps the size chickpeas… It was at this moment that I fully grasped exactly how much trouble we who love freedom in this country are really in. If WE don’t do something today, I have little hope for tomorrow…

Ladies and gentleman, the most dangerous man on college campuses today, is the wolf in Van’s clothing…

Hear Van Jones at UCSD

Apparently, at UCSD it's OKAY to hate David Horowitz

Last night I attended an event at UCSD where David Horowitz was lecturing about the situation in the Middle East and the ramifications of things like “political correctness” and how it’s being used to indoctrinate students on our college campuses… A sub-par summarization, but I’m in a bit of a rush this morning Anyway, they would not allow me to film, but I think it must be because my camera simply looks “too professional”, as I saw plenty of people with iPhones and little hand helds getting all the action… I was disappointed to say the least, but my buddy Roger (legendary rabble rouser from various Tea Party events) was armed with a small hand held camera and I will be getting footage from him tonight, hopefully depicting the following:

During the Q&A portion of the event, a young girl, dressed in full PLO terrorist regalia, got up and started by insulting Horowitz (she “found his pamphlets much more interesting than his speeches”) and the started asking questions which were answered in the very pamphlet she was holding in her hands. Horowitz, no stranger to this kind of treatment, asked the girl first, would she denounce Hamas and Hezbollah before answering her questions. Not only did she refuse, but Horowitz quoted someone (I can’t remember who, but when I get the footage from Roger I will post the entire clip) who basically said, let the Jews gather in Israel so that we won’t have to hunt them down… He asked her if she was for or against that statement, and she came right out and said, “FOR IT”… This from the same campus who lost it over the “Compton Cookout” spurred on by none other than Jiggaboo Jones himself…

Now I ask you… If I showed up in a white hood at an event where somebody like Al Sharpton was speaking, and expressed interest in the idea that all blacks should gather in Africa so we don’t have to hunt them down, WHAT WOULD BE THE RESPONSE???

I guess it goes to show you that it’s actually okay to hate in this country, as long as you’re hating “the right people”…

I for one, am thoroughly disgusted at what’s happening on our college campuses… Footage of this event coming tomorrow…

Joining the fight for the conservative cause, MofoCulture.org has re-launched in the name of the defense of our beloved country and it’s Constitution. This video has a few glitches, but stay tuned, they’ll only be getting better!

CORRECTION: Nick Popaditch is running in the 51st Congressional district, not the 52nd… D’oh!!! I’ll get it right next time

Links pertinent to the video:

The Independence Caucus: http://icaucus.org/

David Horowitz @ UCSD: http://stopobamanow.ning.com/events/david-horowitz-talk-at-ucsd

Van Jones @ UCSD: http://helenedison.ucsd.edu/eventjones.cfm

Nick “Gunny Pop” Popaditch in action: http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/07/cigar_marine__w.html

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann: http://www.michelebachmann.com/

Michele Bachmann’s San Diego appearance: http://events.linkedin.com/Michele-Bachman-San-Diego-Eagle-Forum/pub/305787

Mmmm, chaaaaaannge...

The change we needed since last year: “We are going to ban all earmarks…”

The change we need starting today: “Done right, earmarks have given legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their districts, and that’s why I’ve opposed their outright elimination.”

That sure is a big change from changing the change… Change that didn’t get changed before for but will surely be changing in the future.

Mmm, chaaaaange…

What does this have to do with guns?

Self explanatory...

Perhaps there are statistics more telling in the measure of public confidence than media generated polls… Gun and ammunition sales have soared since Obama’s taken office and preliminary background checks for gun ownership are up 42% in the last three months. Many sources report this is due to Obama’s historic support of anti-gun legislation and the appointment of anti-gun guy, Eric Holder to Attorney General but, MoFoCulture has to ask (and few want to talk about) the possibility that an army of crazed Glenn Beck fans have decided to “lock ‘n load” in preparation for the End of all Times…

Laugh if you like, but since joining FoxNews, Beck’s numbers are through the roof, achieving prime-time numbers in a 5pm time slot on the east coast. The recent airing of his “War Room” episode set both right and left handed blogospheres spinning off their axis in response to his “worse case scenario” depiction of the US over the next several years. It seems to me, in a worse case scenario a gun is a pretty handy thing to have around…

Polls are one thing, statistics another… Your best bet in any situation is to track how the two interact. With a little practice (and the application of some common sense) you’ll begin finding yourself drawing conclusions about 48hrs. ahead of mainstream media. Right now, the smart money says people are battening down the hatches and the gun is looking more and more like just another piece of the first aid kit.

In fact, maybe I should start selling those…

Thomas Sowell - Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow The Hoover Institution Stanford University Stanford, California 94305

After the big gamble on sub prime mortgages that led to the current financial crisis, is there going to be an even bigger gamble, by putting the fate of a nation in the hands of a man whose only qualifications are ego and mouth?

Barack Obama has the kind of cocksure confidence that can only be achieved by not achieving anything else.

Anyone who has actually had to take responsibility for consequences by running any kind of enterprise– whether economic or academic, or even just managing a sports team– is likely at some point to be chastened by either the setbacks brought on by his own mistakes or by seeing his successes followed by negative consequences that he never anticipated.

The kind of self-righteous self-confidence that has become Obama’s trademark is usually found in sophomores in Ivy League colleges– very bright and articulate students, utterly untempered by experience in real world.

The signs of Barack Obama’s self-centered immaturity are painfully obvious, though ignored by true believers who have poured their hopes into him, and by the media who just want the symbolism and the ideology that Obama represents.

The triumphal tour of world capitals and photo-op meetings with world leaders by someone who, after all, was still merely a candidate, is just one sign of this self-centered immaturity.

“This is our time!” he proclaimed. And “I will change the world.” But ultimately this election is not about him, but about the fate of this nation, at a time of both domestic and international peril, with a major financial crisis still unresolved and a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon.

For someone who has actually accomplished nothing to blithely talk about taking away what has been earned by those who have accomplished something, and give it to whomever he chooses in the name of “spreading the wealth,” is the kind of casual arrogance that has led to many economic catastrophes in many countries.

The equally casual ease with which Barack Obama has talked about appointing judges on the basis of their empathies with various segments of the population makes a mockery of the very concept of law.

After this man has wrecked the economy and destroyed constitutional law with his judicial appointments, what can he do for an encore? He can cripple the military and gamble America’s future on his ability to sit down with enemy nations and talk them out of causing trouble.

Senator Obama’s running mate, Senator Joe Biden, has for years shown the same easy-way-out mindset. Senator Biden has for decades opposed strengthening our military forces. In 1991, Biden urged relying on sanctions to get Saddam Hussein’s troops out of Kuwait, instead of military force, despite the demonstrated futility of sanctions as a means of undoing an invasion.

People who think Governor Sarah Palin didn’t handle some “gotcha” questions well in a couple of interviews show no interest in how she compares to the Democrats’ Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Biden.

Joe Biden is much more of the kind of politician the mainstream media like. Not only is he a liberal’s liberal, he answers questions far more glibly than Governor Palin– grossly inaccurately in many cases, but glibly.

Moreover, this is a long-standing pattern with Biden. When he was running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination back in 1987, someone in the audience asked him what law school he attended and how well he did.

Flashing his special phony smile, Biden said, “I think I have a much higher IQ than you do.” He added, “I went to law school on a full academic scholarship” and “ended up in the top half” of the class.

But Biden did not have a full academic scholarship. Newsweek reported: “He went on a half scholarship based on need. He didn’t finish in the ‘top half’ of his class. He was 76th out of 85.”

Add to Obama and Biden House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and you have all the ingredients for a historic meltdown. Let us not forget that the Roman Empire did decline and fall, blighting the lives of millions for centuries.

Well, so far we know he’s appointed partisan “bulldog” Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of staff and

Rahm Emanuel reportedly sent a dead fish to a pollster he didn't like.

word on the street has John Kerry as Secretary of State… This while Joe Lieberman is trying to fend off being removed from his postion as chair for The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because of “unfavorable comments” made regarding Obama and the Democrats during the election. In fact, since they obviously don’t need Lieberman to get their sixty seats, there’s now talks of Lieberman caucusing with The GOP… So much for reaching across the isle.

Apparently, with all the fervor around dealing with appointees and disciplining non-believers, somebody forgot to pay Obama’s campaign workers. Law enforcement had to be called to a campaign head quarters in Indianapolis to control an angry mob who had not been paid for last minute canvassing. Many of these workers were paid with pre-paid credit cards.

While I think this is truly a proud moment in American history when we’re able to elect a man of mixed ethnicity to The Presidency, I still find myself wondering, at what cost? The question of Obama’s citizenship seems to have evaporated in the breeze… Even staunch conservative radio host Glenn Beck dismissed a caller this morning who expressed continuing concern of this yet unresolved issue… Suddenly we’ve set the precedent in this country that despite the words of The Constitution, you no longer have to be a confirmed, natural born U.S. citizen to become President. This is insanity.

All my life I’ve had difficulty when put in the position of being held accountable to a person or entity who takes a “do what I say, not what I do” approach to their leadership role. Suddenly, I’m feeling that stink of hypocrisy wafting down over me from a height I never thought possible.

While it’s too early to tell for sure, were we go from here is still cloudy at best. All we can do is watch, and wait… I wish our new President Elect all the best and pray that my fears about him are wrong, for if I am wrong I will be the first to sing his praises and rejoice in the betterment of America. Naturally, that sword will swing both ways.

Now, that dream is gone from me.

With all the fervor over media bias, many of us have already turned to The Internet as an alternative source of information. Unfortunately, this same bias which has newspapers and network TV  devouring it’s own credibility from the inside out, has leaked onto The Internet.

The New Media Monster

Google News Sources

While I realize the top news stories on Google are dynamically fed and change every few minutes, the vast majority of 1024 x 768 prime real estate is occupied by headlines from the much beleaguered New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, CNN, and The BBC. There are many other sources cited such as Fox News, The Christian Science Monitor, The AP, and Reuters but the sources in the first group come up more often on my homepage. How is this bias? Let’s find out.

The New York Times and The Washington Post both openly support the candidacy of Barack Obama for President. In addition to making a public endorsement, both publications use the age old trick of running “hard news” with a left hand curve while presenting the conservative point of view in the editorial and op ed sections. This is their version of “fair and balanced”.

The Huffington Post… A liberal left smear site… So much anger it’s hard to believe anyone could quote them as a credible news source.

CNN – Many documented allegations of liberal bias and unfair practices. Same for The BBC. Even though I didn’t include The AP in this group, if you go to their website at the time of this post, there is a scrolling marquee of images depicting top stories. Notice the image of Vice Presidental candidate Sarah Palin appears right next to the image of Syrian villagers with coffins, supposedly containing the bodies of “martyrs” killed in a US attack earlier in the week. Not only are the images conveniently placed, but Sarah Palin appears to be blowing them a kiss.

Fair and Balanced?

In addition to the preponderance of liberal left leaning news sources taking up the front page, I took a close look at headlines from Fox News and The Christian Science Monitor. I picked those two because the mere mention of either name sends liberals screaming into the night crying fascism and bigotry. The headline for Fox News? Thousands Still Without Power in Upstate New York After Snow Storm How about The Christian Science Monitor? Obama rips Sarah Palin in new campaign ad

So the story Google runs from Fox is about a power outage (aka, who gives a crap…) and while The Christian Science Monitor decries the Obama ad in the article following the headline, you wouldn’t know that unless you read the whole thing. TCM would have done better to run the headline: Questionable Obama Ad Rips Governor Palin. Same story, but quite a different sounding headline. Of course if they ran that headline, you probably wouldn’t see it on Google.

Before you call me crazy, take a look at the Google ad(s) to the right. Who’s name or image do you see? Again, this is constantly changing, dynamically loaded content but 98% of the time, B.O.’s over there…