Weaseldog's Lair
My rants and raves on politics, Peak Oil and anything else that comes to mind.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
When The Wind Blows
For your apocalyptic viewing pleasure. Great music, but put the razor blades away before watching.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 6.5
Part 7
Part 8
Monday, February 18, 2008
Downer Cows, It's What's For Dinner
Here are the Humane Society Videos on the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. Slaughterhouse scandal.
Note that the USDA says that these cows have been entering our food supply for some time. Though they are diseased and may be infected with Mad Cow Disease, the USDA insists that their meat is safe to eat.
"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.
We've come to a pretty sick day when the USDA insists that diseased meat is safe for human consumption.
Warning Graphic Content!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Terrorists Want Lawful Societies
In Bush's world, the terrorists are people who love the US Consitution and the Rule of Law. As he has explained in his latest speech, if the Telecom Corporations have to obey the law and are not allowed to violate our Constitution Rights, then the terrorists are going to kill us all.
do you want the terrorists to kill you? Do you want terrorists to kill your children? Do you want terrorists to kill you parents? Siblings? Cousins, Friends? Lovers?
Make no mistake about it. If we don't turn our corporate structure into a Wild West of Lawlessness, then the terrorists are going to kill you and the people you love.
So fight terrorism, make it clear to our Congressmen and Women that you believe that the greatest danger to America is corporate accountability. Once we do away with laws that restrict the freedoms of multi-national corporations and the wealthiest Americans, terrorism throughout the world will just become a memory.
Laws Cause Terrorism.
Stranahan explains.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Bah! Obama Stood Idly By!
It turns out Obama refused to defend the US Constitution also.
Evidently his Oath of Office means nothing to him either.
If he won't fight for the US Constitution now, and sit idly by while it is being defecated on, then he'll continue to watch our liberties erode as President.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
House And Senate Defecates On The US Consitution
Well the Senate did it. It passed a bill that legalizes spying on Americans by private corporations.
What I refer to is the Telecom Immunity Bill.
This bill gives the Telecom corporations immunity from prosecution for unknown crimes that may or may not have committed and for future crimes that they have not yet committed.
It gives them permission to listen in on and record our communications.
It places these corporations above and beyond the US Constitution and the Rule of Law.
Though the House and Congress has been making it clear for years now that the Rule of Law is only for little people and not politicians, banks and corporations, this legislation specifically codifies their position.
As time goes on, we should see more legislation of this kind, exempting corporations being bound by the laws that should be applied equally to all.
Our masters have spoken. Laws are for the little people. They are not bound by the US Constitution or Laws derived thereof. They will do as they please, and there is nothing we can do about it.
This is just the beginning.
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Update:
Most of us now know that Senator Hillary Clinton didn't even bother to show up for the vote.
I've heard the argument that the vote was lost anyway, so there was no point in trying. I vehemently disagree with this argument.
And I disagree because she took an Oath.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
And when the US Constitution needed her, she put her own personal ambitions ahead of the US Constitution and ahead of the country.
If she will break her Most Solemn Oaths as Senator, then she'll break them as a President.
Yesterday she demonstrated that she will break Oaths and refuse to defend her country in it's hour of need. In her capacity as Senator, she has deserted her post when it really mattered.
Senator Obama on the other hand stayed for the full vote, and voted for the US Constitution and against giving corporations that commit Federal Crimes, immunity from prosecution.
McCain voted to defecate on the US Constitution. He cast his vote in favor of exempting the Telecom Corporations from the Rule of Law. And he won his battle against the US Constitution.
I don't really like Obama, Hillary or McCain, but now I have a compelling reason to cast a vote for Obama, rather than the traitors that oppose him in this race.
The Republicans work to get votes and they show up to get their agendas passed. The Democrats worry that they might lose, so they give up and don't even bother to show. Obama just demonstrated that he's not a Chicken Shit Democrat.
Hillary can go back to Arkansas.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Waterboarding Bush
Hey! Bush did authorize water boarding! But only in cases where torture is legal!
In tomorrow's news we're likely to learn that Bush also authorized bank robbery, illegal drug distribution, and the butchering and cannibalization of live babies. But only in cases where these activities are legal, because well, Bush said it's Ok.
Marta Explains...
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
My Dogs Are Still Gone
Tomorrow the local Humane Society office opens. That is really our last hope in getting our dogs back. And it is a slim hope. After all, two of my dogs had ID tags. If someone caught them with the intention of returning them to their rightful owner, I would've had them back over the weekend.
Yesterday I did a bit of online research on stolen dogs. I didn't learn anything new, but seeing it all spelled out, just left me feeling a sense of helplessness and dread. Those dogs depended on me to keep them safe and I was unable to do that.
My wife cried most of yesterday. She went to PetSmart and Shady Grove Feed Store to put up flyers. At PetSmart, they were supportive but told her that they were most likely stolen and there is little chance of getting them back. At the feed store, the clerk said she'd tell every customer and help get them back.
I didn't want to think about my wife spending all day crying, and I'm broken up quite a bit myself, so I got another pup. I bought an unregistered Catahoula. He is six weeks old and weighs about 9-10lbs. My wife and I talked about getting a dog from a shelter, but my hours don't make it possible to get to one during the weekdays, and I know she wouldn't do it at this time. In a few months we will pick up a mutt at the shelter, as this pup will need a playmate. He's going to be too much dog, to be left playing by himself. He'll just get into trouble.
I'll post pictures of the pup later. He doesn't have a name yet.
I'm still hoping my three lost dogs will return. If they do, they've got a new puppy to play with.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Welfare Payments For Banks?
Karl Denniger seems to have uncovered something stinky in our banking system.
It looks like the Fed is pumping $50 billion a month into the banks to keep them afloat. The Fiat system has been erased and the banks are lending money based on their debts, not their reserves. In other words, the deeper into the red the banks go, the more money they can lend.
About six months ago, the Fed announced that they were loosening the Fiat standard. That is the standard by which the banks lend money. For every dollar that a bank has in deposits, they can create ten more dollars our of thin air for loans.
Now it looks like they can create ten dollars for every dollar they borrow.
This is pretty scary stuff! The faster the banks sink into the red, the faster they can increase their debt and create more money for bad loans.
They indicates that the banking disaster is beyond critical mass. There is no recovery from infinitely recursing debt.
We should all know by now that fiat system requires infinite growth in order to stay healthy. And so they must occasionally crash in a world that doesn't fill all of an infinite universe. Since our planet is a essentially a globe and of finite mass, there are limits to every every physical resource.
Quick update, as I'm writing this, I already got an email back from Karl that I misunderstand what this means.
This is my paraphrased response:
I believe I understand your point. Where did the money go? Where are the reserves that guarantee our deposits?
But about 6-8 months ago, Bernanke gave a banking speech announcing a suspension of the Fiat standard of 10/1. I never learned the details, so I don't know what this meant. It seems in retrospect that the banks can ignore the ratio altogether. the Fed will cover the difference.
In a more recent speech, Bernanke told the banks that there were taxpayer funded bailout vehicles available, and that banks should use them. This may be what you're seeing. Taxpayer subsidies, channeled through the Fed, to keep the illusion up, that the banks are solvent.
What we may learn later is that the Gov has guaranteed these loans to the banks and if they become insolvent, the taxpayer will cover their losses. In such a situation, there is no downside to the banks continuing to make matters worse. They'll profit from any bad decisions they make, at the taxpayers expense.
Overall, this pretty exciting stuff! It's like look over the edge of a cliff, as an avalanche bears down on you! What a way to get the heart racing.
Now, this has to get worse, but it is hard to imagine how!
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Lost Dogs
Yesterday, all three of my dogs got loose. I went looking for them minutes later and couldn't find them.
We've been to the pound and filed a lost dog report.
They've never run off without coming back in a half hour or so.
After walking and driving for miles around the neighborhood I've learned that other people have similar stories to tell. I've also learned that there is a pit bull ring working in Irving, kidnapping dogs to train their pit bulls with. They use friendly dogs when teaching their pit bulls to kill, so that their pit bull won't be injured.
I don't believe my dogs are coming back. It's hard to write this. I keep expecting them to come in and try coax me away from the keyboard with a ball or chew toy.
Ella, Teaser and Chipmunk, I miss you guys.