It's what he doesn't say that counts!

Hey Rush, is there anything you forgot to mention in this story?

It’s not what he says, but what he doesn’t say that’s enlightening. In Rush’s Story One yesterday (last week) Rush again pointed out how the idiots were running Obama’s economic recovery. Specifically naming Lawrence Summers (Obama’s Director of Economic) as the “idiot” responsible for Harvard University losing 1.8 billion in it’s endowment fund because of his “too aggressive” investment policies while he was the University’s President.

The facts that are true in this story: Summers was Harvard’s President and during the recent downturn the endowment value lost 1.8 billion dollars.

The facts that are missing from the story: Summers was Harvard President from 2001 to 2006. He left two years before the current bear market. During his Presidency the endowment grew from $17 to $30 billion and continued to grow after Summer’s departure to $35 billion before it fell to it’s current $33 billion. Bottom line the endowment almost doubled during and shortly after Summers’ Harvard Presidency.

That’s the kind of “idiot, egghead” (Rush's words) I want looking after my finances.

This isn't my first try at debunking a Rush story. In fact I try to do it every few weeks just to confirm my belief that Rush lies to his legion of worshippers who obviously never take the time look through his smoke and mirrors.

Bob

Sources:
I reprinted the Rush transcript as printed on his website rushlimbaugh.com, November 30th, 2009 below. I’ve also attached a link to the “Boston Globe” story linked to as the source for Rush’s comments. ( http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/11/29/harvard_ignored_warnings_about_investments/?page=4 ) And to be totally fair, the article had some reasonable critisism of Summers operating cash, investment policies during his tenure as President, but fell way short of Rush’s claims of his being an idiot. Example: the article states “Even with the losses, Rothenberg said, the cash strategy has earned Harvard returns averaging 8.9 percent over the past 10 years. He and other university officials say the cash pool is still ahead of where it would have been, if invested more conservatively all along. But no one could be specific about what that net gain has been.”

You say "dither" like it's a bad thing

With Obama scheduled to reveal his plan for Afganistan tomorrow night, I'm left wondering what it might be. Will it be worth all the dithering that Cheney has accused Obama of doing.

Then I started wondering what might have been if Cheney and company had dithered a little? What if, rather than just rubber stamping the Iraq War plan, Bush had dithered and asked, "Now, you're sure they got them WMDs?" or, "What do we do if they don't greet us as liberators?" , or even "What are we gonna do after we shock and awe 'em?".

I'd think the disaster that was/is The Iraq War II has already taught us that a little dithering can be a good thing. And I find it amazing that anyone would lend credence to one of the architects of that disaster's criticism.

I Love God & America

I've been informed by way of a Facebook poll that there's a plot to remove the words "Under God" from the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I for one am against it.

I'm also against removing the words "and to the republic for which it stands." A republic being a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people (or at least a part of its people) have an impact on its government. Can anyone realistically think of a better system?

I also believe this country is "One Nation, Indivisible. ... with Freedom and Justice for All".

Yep, I believe all these things. But I sure wonder why there are so many people who want to divide our Nation with the injustice of lies while attacking a citizen (or their representative) exercising their freedom of speech?

I'm an American who serves the cause of freedom. And my primary interest is to better this Nation. So, should I express my convictions?

Sure, as long as I don't fabricate lies, exaggerate truths, and say just plain stupid shit.

Ben Stein's a Butt!

Got an email the other day urging me to take action against Obama's health care programs and quoting a Ben Stein article http://spectator.org/people/ben-stein . There was a sentence or two referring to health care, but by far most of the article was just a criticism of the Obama administration. And his purported purpose in writing the article was to urge America to stop Obama from pushing through his reforms.

Ben gave us all the reason necessary to be critical of the president, like -- "Barack Obama is a super like able super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future." Pretty tough talk, but short on facts. In fact there were no facts -- just opinions.

Here's one thing Ben wrote that I was pretty sceptical about and thought I could research -- "Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation." The only related articles I could google left me guessing he was referring to a statement by Hillary that maybe America can't keep Iran from getting a nuke. Short of conquering those countries, sounds realistic to me.

And call me naive, but GW Bush's comment back in 2000 about Iran being a part of the "Axis of Evil" along with Iraq and North Korea might have already given Iran and North Korea the impetus to "go-ahead" with a nuclear program. Especially after we invaded the other Axis country.

But what does Ben have to do with GW? Why would I want to look back. Ben doesn't look back. If he did, he might see statements like he made in 2005.

On the December 15 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fox News contributor and former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein announced that President Bush "is going to go down in history as one of the great peacemakers and democracy-builders in the history of the world." http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200512160009

I really like Ben Stein in "Ferris Buller's Day Off", and I even watched his televised game show in the nineties, but his commentary on CBS's Sunday Morning show has allowed me to see the evolution of Ben's opinion from worshipping to slamming GW for the poor manner in which he handled the war in Iraq. So I have to wonder why I or anybody should ever follow his advice.

And maybe I shouldn't kick a man while he's down --- Ben just lost his NY Times financial column, because they felt his advertising for FreeScore.com (like free credit . com) was a conflict of interest. Obviously being a man driven for the public good, he gave up the column before his ad gig. But maybe that was good for America, too. In an August 12 2007, column, Chicken Little’s Brethren, on the Trading Floor, Stein made the absurd argument that because sub-prime was so tiny relative to the US Economy, it was meaningless. Those who followed his advice lost millions.

Does that mean Ben is not a man of conviction? He took a lot of flack from the science community for "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" -- a movie he co-wrote and starred in that criticised evolution in favor of intelligent design. Yes, Ben's got his own opinion about science, too. "Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Stein#Views_on_evolution_and_science )

So now I've given a few reasons why I think Ben Stein is a Butt. But that's just my opinion, based on some facts.

Humph!

Gun Control

Got this feel good graphic from one of my brothers who loves America, but just can't stand the politics of more than half the people that live here.

In 2006 there were 31,000 gun related deaths in the US. Only about 600 were accidental and around 17,000 were suicides. The remaining 13,400 were homicides and only 400 of those were committed by law officers while making arrests. So, that left 13,000 people getting shot to death because someone had a gun handy.

Oh yeah, on Sept 3, 2006, the number of US troop killed in Iraq surpassed the number of Americans killed by the 911 terrorist: 2,974, but only 1,000 of them died in 2006 and only about 400 of that number from gun shot wounds.

So what can we make of this numbers game. In 2006, Iraqi militants shot and killed 13,000 less Americans than were shot and killed in America.

What can really be said is with or without the numbers, “There’s no reason for all the guns in America, and there never was a reason for Americans to be in Iraq.” Humph!

Our 22nd Annual 4th of July Parade and Party

The parade is always pretty much the same, but the party can vary greatly. This years was one of the best. The guest count was manageable -- probably 75 total with half that number for lunch. Two years ago there were so many people that the only way I could get from the front yard to the backyard was by walking around the side -- the inside was wall to wall people.

Another good part this year was the addition of more children. Still no where near the number we had in the first years, but more than I've seen in a few years. And there's promise of even more kids in the future. That's what I'd like it to be all about. That and hot dogs and cold beer and ...

Great Birthday Gift

Lauren gave me a great gift for my birthday this year. A $50 account with KIVA. I first became aware of KIVA a couple years back when I was looking for a means of helping my friend, Abraham, in Ghana get a business started. In short KIVA facilitates micro-loans to third world citizens in need of capital to start or grow their business. Loans can be made for anything from a $100 to a roadside peddler to buy a shoestring inventory, up thousands of dollars to a farmer for a tractor. KIVA's website allows me to view and decide who gets my loan in $25 increments. My loan will be combined with other lenders until the request amount is met.

I gave my first $25 (toward a total request of $525) to a young woman in Vietnam with a farm supply business, so she could increase her inventory. This is not her first loan. She's received and repaid five previous loans expanding her business each time. I should receive the a full repayment within 13 months, and there is no interest. At that time I can either cash out or re-loan to another requester.

There's also the possibility that she will default on her loan. It's a gamble. As I see it though, this venture is somewhat like all those slot machine I've played over the years. I won't win, but at least now I can't lose, too. And this rounds going to last 13 months

Thanks, Lauren

Interested in Playing a little yourself? http://www.kiva.org/

I'll sell your car for you!

I just sold Lauren’s car for her --- an interesting experience.

It was a Toyota, Corolla I bought new in 2001 that Lauren and Megan drove 83,000 miles to mostly just visit their Huntington Beach friends. I priced it at the lower end of Blue Book -- $5500. After a few weeks and more than a few painful encounters of the strange kind, I dropped the price to $5000.

At first I used Craig’s List to advertise the sale. I got over ten phone calls in the first couple days. A couple of them showed up and told me everything that was wrong with the car that made my asking price laughable (in their country). Most of the callers said they would like to come by to see it but never showed up.

One young lady asked me to call her on Saturday if it was still available. When I called she treated my call like I was a stalker. I expected that at any moment she would tell me I was harassing her with all (this) phone call(s). She just wasn’t sure she was interested -- maybe it would be better if we were just friends was a comment that wouldn't have been anymore strange.

Most though just called and wanted to know if I would take a lot less than my offer price. At first, I just said no. But after awhile, I started playing with them. When they said they thought it was worth $4200 or $4800, or whatever. I just asked them why they thought that was the right price. Some said because it was eight years old, some because it had 83,000 miles. I said, then as long as were going to pretend the price is wrong, let’s just pretend that the miles or age is wrong, too. Let’s pretend it’s two years old with 40k miles. Hell let’s pretend the price is $6500, but I’ll let it go for $5500. Most hung up, but some laughed.

I also got a lot of email asking questions. I was honest in my reply, mostly.

Q: Has it ever been in an accident?

A: (Hell yes, with two teenage girls you can’t expect an original bumper or fender.)-- real answer: A fender bender, but no airbag deployment or frame damage.

Q: Was it driven by a smoker?

A: (with multiple cigarette burns a dead giveaway, I just tried to mitigate the anwer.) Yes, but I also have a tendency for uncontrolled diarrhea and projectile vomiting, so you really can’t smell the smoke.

One phone call came from a man and his friend who worked at a nearby 7-11 Store. They wanted me to drive the car to the store so they could see it. The funny thing is that I did it. Both were recent immigrants from Nepal and as they took turns working the store counter, the other tried to negotiate the price down. I’d already decided that I wouldn’t take a nickel less just for my inconvenience. I left getting nothing more than an offer of a free Slurpee. I don't like Slurpees.

When it finally sell, four weeks into the project, the lead came from the time honored method of a sign in the window. A young couple were out riding their bikes on a Sunday morning, saw the for sale sign in the window, and bought it later that afternoon . It sold old for just $50 off my final asking price -- so they could get it detailed.

I still had 6 weeks left on the Auto Trader ad I paid $39, so I replaced the comment section of the ad where you BS all the positives with the following statement. “Advice to buyers. If you want to buy a car for $4200, don’t call where the sales price is $5200. Call an ad where the price is $4200. Guaranteed, you’ll have better luck! PS: I happily SOLD this car and did so with no great discount.”

We're still getting calls from people who can't, won't, didn't read the ad.

How much would be different?

The hot topic of the week is how stupid Obama is for wanting Gitmo closed. And how wrong he's been for discussing the issue of torture. Then I wondered how different everything would be if McCain had been elected, because I remembered him criticizing the Bush administration when the 1st reports of waterboard were made public a couple years ago.

Here's what was reported By Philip Sherwell in Cedar Falls, IowaLast Updated: 2:25AM GMT 19 Mar 2007 http://wizbangpolitics.com/2007/03/19/mccain-close-gitmo-fight-climate-change.php


... a lot that's not relevant and then...

But Sen McCain has also consistently criticised the handling of the war by the Bush administration, and has led efforts in the Senate to end torture and extrajudicial treatment of terror suspects.

In a sign that he wants to distance himself from the president - to whom he lost in an ugly campaign in 2000 - Sen McCain outlined a series of measures to roll back Bush policies and counter the "ugly American" image.

"I would immediately close Guantanamo Bay, move all the prisoners to Fort Leavenworth (an army base in Kansas) and truly expedite the judicial proceedings in their cases," he said. "I would reaffirm my commitment to address the issue of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. I know how important this is in Europe in particular."

John Weaver, Sen McCain's chief strategist, confirmed his plans for a markedly more conciliatory foreign policy. "The next president will have to work extra hard to unite our friends and divide our foes. Sadly the opposite has occurred in recent years," he said, as Sen McCain addressed a crowded hall in the farming community of Cedar Falls.

Doesn't seem like a whole lot of difference in how both parties candidates indicated they would handle Gitmo including the fact they both pretty much agreed that Bush has screwed-up in his foreign policies.

Don't be Afraid or Scary

I know people who lean way to the Right, and the way they’re thinking now just scares me. I try to understand them by listening to Rush and watching Fox News. But when they aren’t declaring how Obama has ruined America forever in these 1st few months, both of those leaders of the Right just rant and rave about how “they” are the targets of the mean spirited, liberal Left, and their mainstream media.

I guess I am a liberal, and I guess I also watch the mainstream media. But unless I tune into the rhetoric of Keith Oberman, I do not hear the Right being attacked. Especially, not since GW left office. The only attacks I see are coming from the traditional political attack programming --- humor. I’m talking about SNL and the Daily Show. Hell, I can even go back to the 70s when conservative views were the butt of the humor – remember Archie Bunker?

Sure nobody wants to be laughed at, but if you view the world as unchanging, contained in the values (a favorite word of the Right) of tradition then your ideas might be outdated if not laughable. Just in the last few centuries, tradition dictated that whites were superior to blacks, browns …, and that men were superior to women, and that Arians were better than Jews. Values change!

Even the Right are not totally immune to an evolutionary change in values. How else can GW’s administration’s adoption of torture as a legitimate method of information gathering be explained. During my military indoctrination in the traditional 60s, torture was really frowned upon. Yes, we were warned that the bad guys might use it. Those bad guys were the --- the godless heathens, the VC, the gooks like the Japs (who attacked us with the shock and awe of Pearl Harbor)—people who didn’t share our values.

Therefore it seems that change is not just an option of the Left. And values aren’t always fixed in political or ideological cement.

But if the Right would have had their way, we Left would have listened to them and “Stayed the Course” of a conservative Presidential administration. However in light of the truly ineffective if not disastrous administration they/we/us voted in 2000 and 2004, how could they expect anyone to follow their lead in 2008. Any such expectation is laughable.

So why isn’t the Right laughing? Why are they so paranoid in their feeling of persecution? I can only advise them to calm down. Give change a chance. See if it isn’t nice. And for that I’ll promise if Obama screws up as bad a GW, I’ll accept a change back. I’ll just have to hope they won’t let him/her be stupid, or controlled by the super natural, or the like.

And if the worst happens for them and their candidate in 2012 is only a three time Purple Heart recipient versus our draft dodging, “Please, Daddy get me into the national guard!”, candidate (Oops never-mind, I’m getting mixed up again), then they’ll just have to tolerate another four years of someone they don’t particularly like.

In the meantime, let’s everybody just try not to be so scared or scary.