HALF-FULL REPORT 11/21/14

I just got back from what you know by now was The Mystery Adventure I couldn’t name last September – for I am on the Mullah Regime’s blacklist. 

I was able to secretly scribe Hope for Iran then post it in Istanbul yesterday, and now have to play catch up with what’s been going on in the world.  Yet again, I can’t thank Jack Kelly enough for penning two marvelous HFRs in my absence.

Let’s start by taking a break to read the best description I’ve seen of Zero’s almost impossibly mendacious demagoguery last night (11/20):  Ben Shapiro’s Kneel Before Zod.  His opening line:

"It was historic, both in its scope and its dishonesty: the speech represented a closely-woven and incredible tapestry of falsehood, exposited with a straight face by the greatest liar in modern American history… (It was) like watching a madman describe, with preternaturally perfect sincerity, how the moon was constructed of cheese."

The bottom line for me was how much this drama is a truly Reaganesque moment.

Within months of Reagan taking office in January 1981, the Democrats tried to kneecap his nascent presidency by having the PATCO federal employees union of air traffic controllers make outrageous demands, then calling a strike to shut down commercial air travel in the US when the extortion was not agreed to.

The Dems figured Reagan had no choice but to capitulate.  His presidency would thus be permanently weakened right at the outset. Reagan would learn his lesson who really ran Washington, and would now be the Dems’ poodle on their leash.

The day the strike was called, August 3, 1981, Reagan made this statement declaring that unless the strikers returned to their jobs within 48 hours, they would all be fired. 

The Dems laughed at what they considered a foolishly empty threat – the air traffic controllers were irreplaceable and the economy would collapse without them.  48 hours later on August 5, Reagan fired every single one of the 11,345 strikers and banned them from employment by the federal government for life.  He then ordered the decertification of PATCO and the union ceased to exist.

It was the greatest cold shower shock of many a Dem’s political life.  They thought they had him by the huevos and he kicked them right in theirs’.  It was a singular turning point of epic history in which he saved his presidency, going on to save the American economy and the world from the Soviet Union.

This is exactly what is happening right now. 

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The GOP has just scored a massive electoral nationwide victory at every level.  It won a 9-seat gain in the Senate (counting Cassidy’s win over Landrieu on 12/06) for a 54R-46D majority.  A 15-seat gain in the House (counting coming wins in AZ-2 (Mcsally over Barber), LA-5 (Abraham over Mayo), and LA-6 (Graves over 87 year-old crook Edwards) for 247R-188D, a 59 (!) seat majority. 

The GOP now holds 31 governorships, 68 of 99 state legislatures, and 23 state trifectas (gov + both legislatures).  The Dems now have only 7 trifectas.

Further, since Zero overtly made the Nov 4 election a national referendum on himself and his policies, the GOP now has a massive nationwide mandate to oppose him and them.  And just like the Dems who tried to kneecap Reagan after he won a 489-49 Electoral College victory over Carter in 1980, Zero is trying to do just that to the GOP with his blatantly unconstitutional and illegal executive amnesty.

If the GOP caves and doesn’t defund his Amnesty EO, then they will be neutered, their victory lost from the get-go, they’ll be Zero’s poodle just as he intends they be.  Specifically, this means if they fail to steamroll Rino Rectums like Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers who wants an Omnibus funding bill.  No wonder NRO call Rogers "the Obama Republican."

To review the bidding:  Harry Reid has blocked the passage of a FY Budget, so what’s been funding the Feds since 2006 is a continuing series of CRs (Continuing Resolutions) the most recent of which expires on December 11.  These CRs have been gigantic piles of funding garbage called Omnibus bills. 

Ted Cruz this week in Obama Is Not A Monarch gave a solution.  The giant fear is another Zero-threatened "government shutdown" for which the GOP will be blamed.  Rino Rectums like Rogers are idiots enough to think an Omnibus is the solution when it enables what they are afraid of.  Namely, if the Omnibus doesn’t have what Zero wants, he threatens "Shutdown!"

But as Cruz notes, "Congress can authorize funding for agencies of government one at a time."  When it comes to defunding programs of one particular agency (like DHS implementation of amnesty), there’s no way vetoing that one bill can shutdown the whole government.  

But that is the job of the 114th Congress starting next January.  A short-term CR must be passed within the next three weeks.  Zero has placed his marker and now Boehner & Co must place theirs.  Either the CR will fund Zero’s Amnesty EO or it will defund it.  It is Boehner’s Reaganesque moment.

If he capitulates and sells his huevos to both Zero and the pro-amnesty Chamber of Crony Commerce, confirming suspicions he’s the GOP’s Chief Rino Rectum, then it’s open warfare upon him by Congressional Teaparty conservatives.  If instead, he kicks Zero in his presidential huevos, we’ll have to reassess our opinion of him.

Either way, this is going to be quite a show.  Hope you’ve got lots of popcorn at the ready.

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This morning (11/21), Drudge has one of its more idiotic headlines:  REPORT: America One of the Least Happy Countries. 

The "report" is by a group of Marxist eco-fascists in London promoting "environmental justice," calling themselves the New Economics Foundation.  They’re getting all this publicity with an asinine "Happy Planet Index" rating the alleged happiness of people in 151 countries. 

How anyone with a 3-digit IQ and not a Luddite Looney could take this as anything but ludicrous – like editors of Drudge and the Daily Mail – is a mystery.  The USA ranks #105.  We’re #17 in "experienced well being" and #33 in life expectancy, but horrors, we’re #145 out of 151, at the bottom of the global barrel, in our "ecological footprint."  Somehow that makes us really unhappy.

Click on our footprint ranking and you’ll see how Bangladesh is doing so much better than us.  So much better, in fact, that Bangladesh ranks #11 out of 151 in total happiness.  And even happier than Bangladeshis are… wait for it… the folks of Venezuela ranking #9.

That’s because Venezuelans, with the second highest murder rate in the world, one of the worst economies in the world, one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and one of the least free countries in the world (#175 out of 178, only Zimbabwe, Cuba, and North Korea are lower), rank #7 among 151 countries in their "experienced well being."

You don’t get a lot more Marxist-Fascist insane than that.  More confirmation that Leftism really is a mental disease.

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A report actually worth paying attention to – and sure to disappoint all those fantasizing about the collapse of the dollar – is Goldman Sachs’ outlook for next year: US Will Be World’s Recovery Driver in 2015.

Among Goldies’ predictions are:

*The bull rally of the dollar will continue through at least 2017, with the euro falling towards parity (now at $1.24), and the yen climbing to 140 (now at 118 to the $).  "We are in a multi-year phase of a US dollar recovery. The market may be underestimating the scope and persistence of that trend," the report said.

*Oil prices will continue to fall, due to a "new oil order" in the world thanks to fracking and extra crude supply from e.g., Libya, Iran, and Iraq.  This will do grave damage to economies dependent on a high price for oil such as Nigeria and Russia.  Expect crude prices, which have fallen over $30 in the last few months to fall another 5 to 15%.

*To the dismay of goldbugs, gold will go nowhere.  If anywhere, it’s sliding down along with continuing deflation and "lowflation" globally.

*China faces a "bumpy road" on the way to reach its goal of 6% growth.  (In the HFR’s opinion, this is a gross understatement – China’s growth is likely to be much  lower.)

*Among emerging markets, India, Thailand, and Chile will be the standouts.  India in particular, under Modi.

*All in all, 2015 will be a fairly benign year with low global volatility and many economies benefitting from lower oil and commodity prices – except those dependent on high prices for them. 

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The most enjoyable event of the week was the G20 Summit last weekend in Brisbane, Australia.  That was because Putin Huilo dared to show up and was frosted by most of the other leaders in attendance.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (TTP’s favorite world leader), in a joint press conference with British PM David Cameron declared:

"Russia would be so much more attractive if it was aspiring to be a superpower for peace, for freedom and prosperity, if it was trying to be a superpower for ideas and values, instead of trying to recreate the lost glories of Tsarism or the old Soviet Union."

For his part, David Cameron declared that unless Putin ceased his aggression against Ukraine, sanctions against Russia would be increased:  "it’s as simple as that."  You can watch their statements here.

When Putin entered the meeting room and held out his hand to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Harper looked him in the eye and said right to his face, "Well, I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you:  You need to get out of Ukraine."  Canada is lucky to have such a leader.

Zero gave the cold shoulder to Putin as well, barely speaking to him, and promising to tighten the noose around Russia’s economy until he got out of Ukraine.

The term the Aussie press used was Putin got "shirtfronted" by his peers.  They made him overtly unwelcome.  He ate breakfast alone.  He left early in a huff.  The term comes from Aussie Rules Football where a player slams front-on to an opposing player so hard he knocks him down and often knocks him out cold.  Here’s an explanation with some brutal video examples.

Putin Huilo was not knocked down or out in Brisbane but he certainly was humiliated.  He’s not one of the guys.  In their eyes, he’s a schmegeggy, a huilo, a jerk, a dickhead.  Yet Putin will not be deterred until he’s punched in the mouth, shirtfronted for real like in the videos above. 

That may come when one of the Russian nuclear-capable bombers playing the Russkie intimidation act, like in Guam last week, get too far into US airspace and is shot down with no apologies.  All the bluster and threats, including nuclear ones, aside, the only thing a Russian like Putin understands is the willingness to use superior force. 

And when confronted with that, when they realize that the bullying won’t work, it is only then that Russians back down.  The Brisbane G20 was quite educational for Zero, as he saw his peers’ contempt for Putin.  Just possibly, he could go for shirtfronting Putin for real.

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For now, however, he’s trying to shirtfront Boehner, McConnell, and the GOP.  It’s a momentous question as to whether they can rise to history’s challenge and shirtfront him right back.  Time to pray for a miracle.

There are such things.  Here’s an example:

This is a functioning Christian church in Iran – the Armenian Apostolic Catholic Church of Saint Joseph of Arimathea in Isfahan. It is inspiringly magnificent. There has been a thriving Armenian Christian community in Isfahan for 400 years that thrives today.  If there can be miracles like this in Mullah Iran, then there can be one on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Pray for it.

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