Tuesday, January 6th 2009




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HALF-FULL REPORT 01/02/09 Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler   
Friday, 02 January 2009

The HFR has recovered from its hangover bidding the annus horribilus of 2008 vale ad aeternam, goodbye forever, and welcomes you to what's coming for this brand new year of 2009!

Or rather what might be coming - for as we learned near the start of last year in The 2008 Carpe Diem Filter,  history is stochastic, a series of uniquely unrepeatable events.  There is no such thing as the future, and you can't make predictions about something that doesn't exist.

You certainly can about nature (like what time the sun will rise tomorrow), but not about what people will do, because they haven't decided yet - and in particular, the extent to which they decide to treat problems as opportunities (the carpe diem filter).

Nonetheless, there are some things that look exceedingly likely.  So here goes.

Don't be surprised if 2009 is as weird a year as 2008.  A president who worships at a God Damn America church is worshipped as the savior of America - but for how long?  The media will focus on his every word and deed, and will shout hosannas of positive news regarding everything he touches.  But sooner or later it will dawn on folks that he is no more competent a president than he is a golfer - or bowler.
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IS BLAGO CRAZY AS A FOX? Print E-mail
Written by Jack Kelly   
Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, had Milorad Blagojevich, Illinois' notoriously corrupt governor, arrested Dec. 9 because he feared "Hot Rod" was about to sell the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

At the time of the arrest, the FBI released portions of wiretaps in which Mr. Blagojevich discussed, in profane terms, what he wanted in exchange for picking the successor Mr. Obama preferred: a Cabinet post, or a cushy job with the Service Employees International Union.

Since he had to know the FBI had been investigating him, many wondered why Hot Rod would speak so brazenly and recklessly on a line on which he ought to have suspected the FBI was listening.

"He's utterly mad, completely and totally off his rocker," wrote Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown Dec. 10. "I've long since come to the conclusion that Rod Blagojevich is the stupidest governor in all of our 50 states." said Michael Barone, editor of the Almanac of American Politics.

But if Hot Rod is crazy, he's crazy like a fox, and if he's stupid, he's smarter than most of the other Democrats in Illinois.
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GROUNDHOG DAY IN ISRAEL Print E-mail
Written by Jack Kelly   
Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Irit Sheetrit, 36, a mother of four, was killed Monday night in the Israeli town of Ashdod when a Grad-type rocket struck the bus stop where she had run for cover.  Four others were injured in the attack.

Earlier in the day Hani al-Mahdi, 27, was killed, and a dozen others wounded when a Grad rocket struck the construction site in Ashkelon where they were working.

The deaths of Ms. Sheetrit and Mr. al-Mahdi passed largely unnoticed outside of Israel, as had the deaths of dozens of others in preceding months.  Outside of Israel, the news media are concerned only that the Israeli response to the attacks might be "disproportionate."

What's truly disproportionate is that some 6,000 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza since 2001, most of them since Israel unilaterally withdrew from there in 2005.
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THE HEROIC CRIMES OF ISRAEL Print E-mail
Written by Ralph Peters   
Monday, 29 December 2008

Dead Jews aren't news, but killing terrorists outrages global activists. On Saturday (12/27), Israel struck back powerfully against its tormentors. Now Israel's the villain. Again.

How long will it be until the UN General Assembly passes a resolution creating an international Holocaust Appreciation Day?  The UN seems always ready to denounce Israel's "crimes."

What have those crimes been? Not "stealing Palestinian land," but making that land productive, while exposing the incompetence and sloth of Arab culture.

Israel's crime isn't striking back at terror, but demonstrating, year after year, that a country in the Middle East can be governed without resort to terror. Israel's crime hasn't been denying Arab rights, but insisting on human rights for women and minorities.

Israel's crime has been making democracy work where tyranny prevailed for 5,000 years. Israel's crime has been survival against overwhelming odds, while legions of Arab nationalists, Islamist extremists and Western leftists want every Jew dead.

But Israel's greatest crime was to...
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WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND WON'T Print E-mail
Written by Richard Rahn   
Friday, 02 January 2009

Many had warned, but few who were in a position to act even tried to avoid the very predictable economic calamities of 2008. This was the year that proved Ronald Reagan's old adage, "The government is not the solution; it is the problem."

As we enter the New Year, the question is again, "Will those in charge do what is necessary to avoid the very obvious new economic wrecks coming?"

The U.S. government has now explicitly said there are financial institutions (and other companies - autos, etc.) that are "too big to fail." If that is (arguably) true, then they must be more highly regulated than the smaller institutions, particularly in terms of capital adequacy.

The reason is quite simple. If the government guarantees the debt of big companies, those institutions will have a much lower cost of capital than their smaller competitors, which is not only unfair but will destroy new and smaller companies, thus killing much of the job and productivity creating innovation in the U.S. economy.

So far, the Washington governing class has failed to even discuss this disastrous consequence of the bailouts, let alone figure out a solution.
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INVESTING IN IRAQ Print E-mail
Written by Richard Rahn   
Monday, 29 December 2008

Baghdad, Iraq.  Would you invest in Iraq? Many people think it is crazy to even ask the question.

But strange as it may seem, there may already be some good investment opportunities in Iraq, and chances are there will be many high-yielding investments in the country in the next few years.

When you arrive at the international airport in Baghdad and are greeted by a security company that puts an armored vest on you, and then loads you into a highly armored vehicle manned by tough guys with automatic weapons, just to get you to a hotel, you are thinking, "This is the last place where I would ever invest."

The good news is that much of Iraq, other than Baghdad (outside the Green Zone and other high-security compounds) and a few other places, is returning to normal and is safe, and parts of it, such as the Kurdish region, are actually booming. This means there are increasing potentially profitable private investment opportunities, on a risk-adjusted rate of return basis.

This past week, the Washington-based Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) hosted a conference in Baghdad where about 100 representatives of 15 of the 18 Provincial Investment Commissions (PICs) came to discuss how they more effectively attract foreign investment.

If the Iraqis didn't think things were getting more peaceful and normal, it is unlikely they would waste time traveling some distance to Baghdad by automobile to learn how they might obtain more private foreign investment in their provinces. 
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LEAN INTO LIFE IN 2009 Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Joel Wade   
Friday, 02 January 2009

I would like for all of us to have a happy, successful, and inspiring year in 2009. One way of helping that along is to focus on what there is to do, what positive steps you can take to improve your life - like practicing gratitude, optimism, kindness, living with integrity, and taking effective action.

But it is important also to know what traps to avoid. The antithesis of happiness, effectiveness, and optimism is depression. It's a serious problem that can bring an otherwise promising life into stagnation and hopelessness. Like a sailor entering the doldrums on the open sea, you can want to move out of it all you want, but with no wind at your back, the task is daunting.

If you are feeling depressed there may be a biochemical or physiological tendency toward this that makes it more difficult for you. But there are some clear practices that can exacerbate the problem, and recognizing these and doing your best to avoid them, along with certain positive interventions,  can help quite a bit.
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HALF-FULL REPORT 12/26/08 Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler   
Friday, 26 December 2008

The best news this week is that with this issue of the HFR, we get to raise a tin cup of moonshine and say adios to 2008.  Come what may in 2009, it is such an incredible relief to get this sucker over with.

It is, of course, not good news that during Christmas, millions of Americans have been stranded in airports and train stations due to massive winter storms all across the country.  Yet being stranded gives one time to think - and hopefully one thought that will occur to them is that global warming is laughably ridiculous...

... By the way, out of every 100,000 molecules of air, how many do you suppose are molecules of CO2, the evil gas environuts say causes global warming?  39.  How many are man-made molecules of CO2?  1.  That's one-onehundrendthousandth.  Man-made greenhouse gas emissions are irrelevant to the world's weather...

... So now Blago is going to subpoena Zero's chief of staff.  Watching this scandal unfold is almost as much fun as seeing Princess Caroline Kennedy's assumed royal prerogative of being anointed US Senator from New York crashing and burning...

...But now let's focus on what is truly good and uplifting news this week.  For the first time ever, Christmas was celebrated as an official holiday in Iraq.  And let's close this last HFR of 2008 with this heartwarming thought.  Christmas yesterday was celebrated by more people in more places on all seven continents (even scientists in Antarctica) - by far - than any other celebration of any kind, religious or otherwise, in the world.
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THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler   
Monday, 22 December 2008

I want to wish you the Merriest of Christmases this Thursday, but according to the song, the First Day of Christmas is the day after Christmas, December 26.

Ancient Christians celebrated "The Holidays," as our militant secularists insist on referring to them now, starting with the day after the birth of Jesus and ending on January 6th with the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:11 known as the Epiphany. Start with 12/26 and end with 1/6 and you get: the Twelve Days of Christmas.

You may be really tired of hearing Christmas songs by now, including this one, yet you may still be wondering what the heck partridges in a pear tree and eight maids a-milking have to do with the birth of the founder of Christianity. So I thought we might take a break from Serious Thoughts About World Events, and take a look at the song's origin, meaning, and myth.
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THE WISDOM OF KIPLING Print E-mail
Written by Jack Kelly   
Monday, 22 December 2008
Our government now owes more money than all of us in the country put together possess.

As of Sep. 30, federal financial statements showed approximately $56.4 trillion in debts, liabilities, and unfunded promises for Medicare and Social Security, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation reported.  The Federal Reserve estimated total household net worth at that time at $56.5 trillion.  

Since then the stock market has crashed, tens of billions of dollars of personal wealth have evaporated, and the government has committed $700 billion to bail out financial institutions.

A government which long has been morally and intellectually bankrupt is now financially bankrupt too.

I used to infuriate my English teacher in high school by declaring that all anyone needed to know about life could be found in the works of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).  She was not a fan of the bard of the barrack-room.  But the more I see of the world, the more sure I am that this is so.  We need the wisdom of his poem below.  You can be sure that the poem to be read at Mr. Obama's inauguration will be its antithesis.
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MARCHING OFF A CLIFF Print E-mail
Written by Jack Kelly   
Friday, 26 December 2008


Act in haste, repent at leisure.

Back in October, when Congress was stampeded into approving a commitment of up to $700 billion to bail out banks who invested in mortgage-backed securities, we were told the money would be used to make a market for these now toxic financial instruments.

After Congress approved the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson changed strategy.  Rather than use the first $350 billion to buy up subprime mortgages, the government invested it in the banks themselves.

The Associated Press contacted 21 of the 116 banks that received federal money and asked them what they've done with it.  None were willing to say. Their reticence was understandable.

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THE TROUBLE WITH TEXTBOOKS Print E-mail
Written by Tony Blankley   
Friday, 26 December 2008

I recently read a book that deserves the widest possible readership: The Trouble with Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion, by Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra. I never have met or talked with either of these gentlemen, but I can't say enough good things about this book.

For all who believe that there is a fairly objective rendition of history that we are obliged to teach our children, this book reveals how shockingly far from that objective American education - particularly in schools' textbooks - has fallen.

The grievance group that has become particularly adept at influencing textbook publishing is the organized Moslem lobby. Shabbir Mansouri, the founder of the Council on Islamic Education, the chief Islamic group for vetting textbooks in the United States, refers to his work as a "bloodless revolution ... inside American junior high and high school classrooms."

Mr. Mansouri is, regrettably, right.
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JUKEBOX SATURDAY NIGHT Print E-mail
Written by To The Point News   
Friday, 26 December 2008

Every night can be Jukebox Saturday Night now. 

All you have to do is plug a good set of speakers or headphones into your computer and click on this link:  Jukebox.

Up will appear a scrollable list of 104 classic Oldies from the Fifties.  Elvis Presley's All Shook Up, Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill, The Everly Brothers' Wake Up Little Suzie, Chuck Berry's School Days, Jerry Lee Lewis' Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On, Buddy Holly's That'll Be The Day - and lots, lots more.

For those of you who grew up to this music, it will bring back loads of happy memories of a world we wish still was.  For those of you too young, try out some real rock instead of the homogenized pablum of today. 

For all of you, put on your dancing shoes, grab the one you love, and jitterbug your way into 2009.  Jukebox Saturday Night - any night or day you want!
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DRIVING IN CHINA Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler   
Thursday, 18 December 2008
When you hear the word "China," if you're like most people the picture most likely to appear in your mind's eye is vast uncountable hordes of people. I've got a different picture, having bounced along so many thousands of kilometers of bad Chinese roads: no people at all.

China is almost half a million square miles bigger than the continental US (the contiguous 48 states without Alaska/Hawaii) - and it is amazing how much of it is desert or high mountain plateaus where hardly anybody lives. And I mean no one, as in empty. I'd estimate that more than half, upwards of two-thirds of China is virtually uninhabited.

That means cramming 1.3 billion people into an area less than one-third of the continental US. People who have made a deal with their Chicom leaders: you get to keep political control and we get to prosper in a growing economy. The deal breaks down if the economy falters - and it is faltering fast.

The engine of China's economy - her exports that we buy - is in steep decline, foreign direct investment is down 36% for 2008, scores of millions of peasants who had found work in cities are now unemployed and headed back to their bleak villages.

China is in trouble - and when dictatorships get in trouble, history shows the option they most often choose to try and save themselves is war. Will China - or will it opt for the alternative that geopolitics is now providing, to take America's place as protector and peacemaker?

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HALF-FULL REPORT 12/18/08 Print E-mail
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler   
Friday, 19 December 2008

There hasn't been an HFR since November 4 since it's too depressing to raise a glass that's completely dry and empty.  Lately, however, so much fun stuff has been filling the HFR full liter stein that it's like the Munich Oktoberfest in December.

Let's start with the biggest silver lining of November 4:  we didn't end up with President Pain-in-the-ass McCain.  Once again, he reminded us this week of what an insufferable jerk he is.  The only reason he got the nomination is because the Stupid Party allows Democrats to vote in its primaries.  It's such a relief we never have to pay any attention to him ever again.  Jindal-Palin 2012!

Next we move to Blagogate, which is serving to bring into clear focus that corruption is the Democrat Party's middle name - and that for the next four years we'll have a Chicago White House, the operations of which will be run by Blago buddy Rahm Emmanuel...

... Now on to the substantial benefits of the US/global recession.

... We'll close this edition of the HFR by raising a glass of sacramental wine to a great American patriot and founder of the modern conservative political movement, Paul Weyrich.
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