THE ECONOMY IS READY TO TAKE A DIVE

Once again, Lew Rockwell has featured a great article.
The US economy is on the brink of collapse, the gangsters at the Federal Reserve have all but ruined the economy. Cheap credit, limitless government handouts, and a permissive system that has allowed massive gambling by hedge funds, have created an inflationary bubble that is ready to burst.

Getting through the political stuff at the beginning of the article, the economic analysis begins at about the halfway mark. David Stockman does a marvelous job of breaking down the most recent economic indicators in a clear and concise fashion. The Keynesian fanatics that are now considered "experts", have no clue as to what is really going on. All they understand is that pumping the economy with money and cheap credit will somehow give GDP the appearance of growth, They can then declare that good times are here to stay, and we will all get rich together because in the increase of the national average.

Read the article here: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/06/david-stockman/derangement-danger-potomac/

THE PARIS AGREEMENT: JUST ANOTHER SCAM

On June 2, 2017 President of the United States Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change. The world media, and most of the political class, have reacted with shock, outrage, and predictions of doom and gloom. The conventional wisdom is that the world needs this agreement in order to save the planet from an ecological disaster. It should be noted, very few people have chosen to read the actual text of the Paris Agreement. In this article I have chosen to use the actual text of the treaty, instead of trusting the opinions of the uninformed.

There are many that remain skeptical about the whole thing, and some of those skeptics have impressive qualifications. Many scientists and political leaders have refuted the various environmental agreements as being a scam. This raises several questions, questions that need accurate answers. What is the Paris agreement all about? What is its intended purpose? How is it connected to the Kyoto Accords? Why are the Elite so eager to impose this agreement on nations around the world? Why is the greater part of the agreement concerned with finance and global monetary transfers?

Basic Environmental Goals

The Paris Agreement is a continuation of a long line of agreements, including the Kyoto Accord, made under the auspices of the United Nations. These various agreements supposedly will unite the nations of the world in improving the environment by reducing carbon emissions. The environmental goal (Paris agreement line 17) is to somehow reduce the planet's temperature to 2 degrees Celsius below pre-industrial levels, and to keep world carbon emission to about 55 gigatonnes by the year 2030. Each member nation will have nationally determined contributions to the plan (lines 22-31), and those plans must be submitted by the year 2030.

There are several questions that everyone should ask when reading the above paragraph. First and foremost, the Earth had experienced a "Little Ice Age" between the years circa 1250-1850. This Ice Age would have ended just as the Industrial Revolution was getting started. Using a bit of common sense, it would seem the Paris Agreement wishes to plunge the world back into an Ice Age.

A working group of the Third Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an agency of the United Nations, has published an extensive report for policy makers. This report is rather biased in that it attempts to downplay the naturally occurring phenomenon that affected climate change in the past and continue to do so in the present. Instead, the authors attempt to make their politically motivated theories "fit the facts" by focusing on human activities. This report, and others like it, are used by politicians to make policy decisions that will affect the planet. Perhaps the information in that report should have been presented in a more unbiased fashion so that policy makers can make better informed decisions.

Nationally Determined Goals

According to the Paris Agreement, and in keeping with the Kyoto Treaty, each nation affiliated with the climate accords must determine how they will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions(Lines 22-31). There is no set value, nor any sort of standard, each nation can use whichever criteria they choose. This has led many to question the validity of agreements in which major polluters, such as China, can avoid responsibility.

Financial Manipulation

The biggest area of contention is the requirement that developed nations be subject to financial penalties if they miss their goals, and they must provide financial support to developing nations; regardless if those developing nations are major polluters. Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Treaty for this exact reason, and the US refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty for the same reason.

The Paris Agreement calls for a collective quantified goal from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries; (Line 54). In other words, the Paris Agreement would create a new class of "Super Welfare". This new welfare would be on a global scale, and the recipients would be any nation that is classified as developing. Many voices have been raised protesting this figure, saying it is not enough to support the needs of developing nations in their attempts to reach their Nationally Determined Goals. Some estimate that developing nations will require much more than $500 billion a year, by the year 2050. Taken to it's logical conclusion, this system of welfare would create a vast money pit in which trillions of dollars would eventually disappear. The only beneficiaries would be the leaders of underdeveloped "Third World" nations that would siphon off billions of dollars into their own private bank accounts, while their nations and peoples continue to be underdeveloped and poor. Regardless of how much money is made available, a society must have the ability and willingness to put forth the necessary effort in order to achieve whatever goals have been set for them. Unfortunately, in many countries around the world environmental issues are of little importance to people that must struggle to find food, water, and the basic necessities of life.

An Inescapable Conclusion

For the record, I support any legitimate effort to ensure a clean environment; however, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is not legitimate. It is a scam. It sets no rules, no standards, and no real goals. It's only apparent purpose is to transfer money from "rich" countries to "poor" countries. Trump was correct in rejecting the Paris Agreement, it may be the smartest thing he'll do all year.

 http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/the-paris-climate-deal-was-a-fraud-and-a-sham-until-trump-decided-to-ditch-it/

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-withdrawal-latest-news-updates-global-warming-deal-a7768116.html

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

 https://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/science/earth/canada-leaving-kyoto-protocol-on-climate-change.html

http://www.heritage.org/environment/report/why-president-bush-right-abandon-the-kyoto-protocol

 http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/paris-climate-agreement-report-oxfam-a7030446.html

TRUMP AND COMEY

I did not want to get into this political quagmire of President Trump and his decision to fire FBI Director Comey; there are several more important topics that can be discussed. But, everyone is all excited about it, as if their lives depended on the shenanigans that happen inside the Beltway. So, I am going to review the relevant facts, and then provide an analysis of the situation. I hope you will understand if a I take a rather lighthearted approach to this matter.

First and foremost, the President of the US has the absolute authority fire the Director of  the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, or any other individual serving in such a capacity. They serve at the pleasure of the President, it's his administration so he can run it the way he wants. Beyond that, there is nothing more to discuss about the legality of the situation.

Director Comey had it coming to him for a variety of reasons. He botched the investigation into the various misdeeds Hillary Clinton was accused of having committed. As an investigator, it was not appropriate for him to discuss an ongoing investigation, nor was it acceptable to turn it into a source of public entertainment. And it was certainly inappropriate for him to describe Hillary as an incompetent idiot during the election; regardless of how much I agreed with him. Besides all of that, in his recent appearance before Congress, he once again proved that he did not know when to keep quiet. He stated in a public forum that he was investigating his boss, and that is never a wise decision.

The Democrat party loyalists, and progressives of every stripe, began calling for Comey's removal from office as soon as he spoke out against Hillary. There was an undertone of real anger at the thought that his carelessness may have cost Hillary the election, and that was an offense for which they were willing to riot and burn down entire cities. As a matter of fact, the progressives and Democrat party hacks did engage in rioting, looting, and arson in several cities across the country.  However, when Trump fired Comey, all the progressives and Democrats that had been calling for his head, suddenly accused Trump of doing something wrong. With all the back and forth and indecisiveness, I'm surprised the Democrats in Congress have not given themselves whiplash.

Comey may be a nice guy, with intelligence and charisma and every other sort of good characteristic and qualification; but he did not know when to shut his big mouth. On the other hand, Trump has not exactly covered himself in glory, and he certainly loves to make big, broad statements.

On a personal note, I don't really care one way or another as to the outcome of this fiasco. Life will go, I will go to work tomorrow, the bills will come in the mail, and it will continue to rain.

USEFUL IDIOT? PERHAPS A USELESS IDIOT

The election of Emmanuel Macron is a bit troubling, to say the least. He is the stereotypical highly cultured and educated Socialist/Progressive/Marxist that believes ALL social problems are caused by economic disenfranchisement.

The issue of radical Islam will not be resolved by giving everyone a job or by providing everyone with a decadent and comfortable lifestyle. It is a perverted belief system that must be combated through force of arms and by the destruction of those social structures which have allowed it to flourish. Indeed, there is a substantial body of evidence available that proves that several governments, that happen to be "allied" with the US, have provided direct aid to Al-Qaeda, ISIS(Daesh), and other terrorist groups.

Before any further discussion can be had as to the threat of radical Islam, the entire truth must come out. The secretive planning and support of radical groups must stop. Anyone found to have supported those groups should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, in a public and open forum.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10310/emmanuel-macron-islamism
Emmanuel Macron, a "Useful Infidel," is not a supporter of terrorism or Islamism. It is worse: he does not even see the threat.

Louizi's article gave names and dates, explaining how Macron's political movement has largely been infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood militants.

Is Macron an open promoter of Islamism in France? It is more politically correct to say that he is a "globalist" and an "open promoter of multiculturalism". As such, he does not consider Islamism a national threat because the French nation, or, as he has said, French culture, does not really exist.

REVISITING PARAGON THEATERS

The front entrance of the theater, as seen from the parking lot

The word "Paragon" is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "a model of excellence or perfection". Perhaps it is a "paragon" of movie theaters, it is a great theater in many ways, but it has one very obnoxious flaw.  The entertainment, the bowling, the food, the drinks, the seating, the staff, the management, and the all the other details are just right; however, the one flaw defies all human understanding.  From the picture above we can see the front door, but what we can't see, until we are up close, are the drains that are positioned above the front doors. WHICHEVER GENIUS DESIGNED THE BUILDING PUT THE STORM DRAINS RIGHT ABOVE THE FRONT DOOR! WHENEVER IT RAINS THE MOVIE GOERS WILL GET WET!  

It's NOT my intention to be obnoxious, nor do I wish to stop visiting the theater. Like I said, it's a great theater in many different ways. But there must be a realistic solution to this problem! Perhaps they could pipe the water to the side of the building, somewhere so people don't have to take cold shower after their movie! 

 

I took the above pictures at 10:30 at night. There was a heavy downpour, and the drains were happily giving the movie goers a very cold shower.