Alan Greenspan was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He talked and few could quite figure out what he was saying. That was mostly a good thing. I loved finding him on c-span late at night. I could turn him on and be assured of a rapid return to sleep. Then he retired. Except no one retires anymore. They write a book. Alan Greenspan seems to be determined to become the Jimmy Carter of ex fed chairmans. That is too bad. No good can come out of his jabbering for the country or the market. Some people do not know when to just shut up. Alan Greenspan is one of them.
Rush did a good job of unscrambling the mess the MSM made reporting on this:
ReplyDeleteHe was in favor of OIF to preserve stable oil markets, and said he would likely vote GOP over Hillary for President, plus a bunch more:
Will ghost writer make a liar out of the old man?
Not everyone was unable to understand him, you know:
Take Rufus,
He can give his positions, forward and back, as well as the principles and implications involved.
I can see no good in his talking and talking except to sell books.
ReplyDeleteRush also read some excerpts about "smart-ass" Bush from an upcoming book by his dearest friend:
ReplyDeleteVinnie Fox.
Said he never thot W would become president.
Didn't mind having him for his water boy and providing accomadations for his excess child molesters, serial rapists, and murderers, now did he?
'600 Iranian missiles aimed at Israel, dozens at US targets in Iraq'...
ReplyDelete---
According to this report, thousands of Persian rug dealers will be used to launch 600 Al-PBUH missiles within minutes.
Good to know.
Greenspan could, occasionally, break away from his old Keynsian training, and do something quite brilliant. Then he'd turn around and draw a mustache on it.
ReplyDeleteNow, in his dotage he's returning to his Keynsian roots. Dumb people don't know they're dumb. He's got an entirely incorrect slant on the current situation.
I know he loves the adolation, and the money, but, you're right, "He should just Shut Up."
Altogether, he batted about .500. Great for a baseball player - average, but, unacceptable for a Fed Chairman.
ReplyDeleteSomeone said on Special Report that he was as good a "Politician" as ever breathed; and, That, I'll agree with.
When I posited the question, "Can the Israelis (or us) turn them off on the ground?" I was only half joking. I wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet not too many hit their target, in any case.
You're right, Doug. I really did think I understood him. Maybe, I'm just dumb. hmmm
ReplyDelete" know he loves the adulation"
ReplyDelete---
He's got his MSM Honey to keep happy, too.
We're all rendered dumb by the brilliance of all the Policy Moves made while under (temporary) GOP Management.
ReplyDeleteIt's been Stunning.
I'm NOT going there. I'm not. Too dangerous. Oh, but God, I want to.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Surge Goes South
ReplyDeleteOf all the threats to Iran, this may be the most dangerous. Bill Roggio reports:
In southern Baghdad province, the establishment of the Concerned Citizens, also referred to as Iraqi Police Volunteers, began to take hold in late spring. Initiated by tribal connections from Anbar province, the movement mimicked the rise of the Anbar Salvation Council in some respects, but differed in many ways. This bottom up process of local reconciliation consists of both Sunni and Shia tribes wishing to restore a measure of peace to the war torn regions south of Baghdad.
Read more! Wretchard
---
OK 'Rat, tear that one apart for us.
Even with the MSM spin on what Greenspan didn’t say, what's so terrible about going to war over oil? Why would anyone be seceding moral ground to a barking loon over this?
ReplyDeleteRufus got called Cat Vomit for that kind of Advocacy, Mat, so it Can't be Good!
ReplyDeleteThe part about the hunny bunny, I mean.
ReplyDeleteNo need, doug, proof of further success
ReplyDelete5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
Only defeatists would not be celebrating the success!!!
Victory is behind US
5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
Mexican Imports
ReplyDeleteA homeless person said: "I haven't eaten in three days." Greenspan replied: "That's very interesting. How does this compare with the same period last year?
ReplyDeleteWith 30,000 returning Veterans, just think of the 4th of July Parades and Celebrations!!!
ReplyDeleteWe've WON!!!
5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
I think Trish calls you her hunny bunny when no-one's lookin.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was my attitude that people that join the military should understand that it's the Army, and not the FUCKING PEACE CORPS, and should be ready to spend their time fighting wars since that's kind of like what the Army Fucking Does.
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't it?
hmm
DR: 5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
ReplyDelete30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
Only defeatists would not be celebrating the success!!!
...leaving only 130,000 troops in Iraq. Why didn't we just declare victory last year when we had only 130,000 troops in Iraq?
It's that we never got around to giving people four years of the best education in the world for free in return for joining the Motherfucking Peace Corps (or for sitting around the pentagon on their fat asses for twenty years.
ReplyDeleteOur Bad, I suppose.
Doug,
ReplyDeleteLucky she hasn't called him a gas bag, or the situation might've really blown up. All the ethanol n' all.
I agree, Mat; I'd be devastated to learn that that wasn't the reason. Anything else would be inanity of an exponential order.
ReplyDeleteTes,
ReplyDeleteThis conflict is about managing perceptions as it is about anything else.
If they had listened to me, Ms T, they would have.
ReplyDeleteTook the powers that be, two years to see.
So now we are on our way home.
5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
Besides, that was then, this is now
ReplyDeleteThe future starts now!
5,700 Troops Home for Christmass
30,000 for the 4th of July!!!
When Johnny comes marching home again,
ReplyDeleteHurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home
Now-a-days fellas, don't ask, don't tell
The departure to coincide with General Jone's estimate of Iraqi capacity to succeed.
ReplyDeleteIn 18 to 24 months.
All the pieces fit together, like a swiss watch.
The Plan is in motion
Stay the Course!!
Methuselah: This conflict is about managing perceptions as it is about anything else.
ReplyDeleteManaging perceptions has nothing to do with truth.
Truth, that only a perception, Ms T.
ReplyDeleteTruths are relative, like time.
Not universal, like God.
The Truth is the Army is coming home, the Iraqi can secure Iraq.
Givern a little more time, it's all in the Plan. The Plan calls for a decade, ought to read it, its' author got an unanimous vote of support from the Senate, just six months ago.
They should have read the book.
Tes,
ReplyDeleteWretchard had a good line that I've quoted earlier in the previous thread:
"Evidence counts for nothing when evidence is not accepted. And even "evidence" must be interpreted."
Gosh, the US protects its "Vital Interests" and Greenspan acknowledges this elephant in the room yet so many get their knickers in a knot...gotta luv 'merica's head in the sand approach to foreign affairs - but that is the essence of politics I guess.
ReplyDeleteactually, I guess it isn't the head in sand that's interesting but rather the aversion to confronting the base materialism that propels this war of agression
ReplyDeleteWar of UN authorized occpation, ash.
ReplyDeleteLet's keep things straight.
When I said he should "just shut up" I was referring to his present opinions on the Global economy. I think his observations on the war are a hoot. Hell, we all knew all this, anyway. Why in the hell else would we do what we did?
ReplyDeleteIt was a tide taken at it's crest. Another month and it would have been perceived as "Too Hot," and by the fall it would have been all over. The fear of any rational people was that the sanctions would go down, he would be able to successfully test a nuke, and then, the next time he headed for the Kingdom there's no way in the world we would have got the votes to stop him.
We only passed the Gulf War Resolution by "Two" Votes. No way, once he had nukes.
Not wanting your children to starve because the diesel for the tractors costs $50.00/gal is NOT "Base Materialism."
ReplyDeleteMat, how DID Israel turn Syrias air defense "missiles" off?
ReplyDeleteI'm becoming more, and more, intrigued with that question.
ReplyDeleteI mean, it wasn't just one battery. There's no talk of ANY of them firing.
ReplyDeleteIf we WERE going to hit Iran, for sure, would we do it AFTER that 5,700 troops have left?
ReplyDeleteOr would we disguise our intentions with the faux pullout?
OR, would we take'm down to Kuwait, load'em on a couple of "Gator Freighters," and park them off the coast of the Straits?
ReplyDeleterufus said...
ReplyDeleteNot wanting your children to starve because the diesel for the tractors costs $50.00/gal is NOT "Base Materialism."
Once we acknowledge the elephant we can get on with debating the merits of its care (or is it just a symptom of withdrawal i.e. alcoholics seeing all them pink elephants floating about).
If we acknowledge our need for oil we can have an honest discussion of how to approach this need. Should we invade and occupy to in order to ensure a 'free market' of the stuff? Should we develop alternatives? If we simply maintain the fiction that we are there under UN authority bringing democracy to the nobel Iraqis (who refuse to pass the OIL revenue sharing agreement - i.e. share the loot with foreigners) then we shall forever stumble along this dark and painful path. What about property rights? Is it really our oil under their sand?
Bob, Here's some neat stuff about ALFALFA.
ReplyDeleteAsh, this is the last time. Don't you get it? It never was about "Iraqi" oil. It's mainly, "Saudi" oil, but, also, Kuwait oil, UAE Oil, Omani Oil, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe came within two votes of not having enough to stop him the first time he headed south for Saudi Arabia. If he got out from under the sanctions, and managed to get the bomb he would have owned every drop of oil in the Gulf. And, the "Price" was going to get really, really high.
Is it really their sand, under our tank treads?
ReplyDeleteThat's the question inquiring minds want to know.
If it were me, rufus, I'd have been drawing down for a while, especially if Iran is to be an air bombardment, the less targets in Iraq, the better.
We're in a mini drought here, Rufus, the alfalfa struggled to get up in June, then got fried, in July and August. Well you don't get anything the first year anyway, now it's the middle of September, it's got to rain sometime. It should kick in next year, but it looks like, well, crap right now. We still have lots of forest fires around too but with the cooler temps they are settling down.
ReplyDeleterufus,
ReplyDeleteYes, very true, it isn't only Iraqi oil at play but the same issue lays at the bottom of it all, oil and its importance to the world. If we keep ignoring that elephant the discussion is simply a smoke screen. Once we do acknowledge that elephant we can then discuss the morality of taking it and/or, as you have spent many words advocating, finding alternatives.
Ash, that's NOT how you do it.
ReplyDeleteAll you need to know about the tragic death of Alfalfa
ReplyDeletebobal,
ReplyDeleteA chap I was chatting with on the weekend was going on about farmers getting an average of 800k a year each from the feds. Is it true? Does the government write you checks?
desert rat said...
ReplyDeleteIs it really their sand, under our tank treads?
whaaa....are you some kind of grand socialist? We are all one, sharing everything equally? Or, are you suggesting it is simply a case of 'to the victors go the spoils'?
Oop, my mistake. That wasn't Ash, but Rat.
ReplyDeleteRat they probably have a couple of million in their army. Our greatest fear will be that they come pouring across the border. The fear will be that we don't have enough troops; not that we have "Too Many."
That guy overstates the case by a lot, Ash. Though there are commodity support programs. Look around the USDA sites, you can find the exact amount paid out in dollars and cents to any person or entity in the programs. Cities, school districts, parks sometimes get money if they qualify as being farmland. But the payments are down now with the higher prices. It's true that too much has been paid in the past to too many who don't need it any more. Was a necessary program back decades ago. My own view is only small farmers who are actually working the land should be qualified in the programs.
ReplyDeleteThey had a site that I can't seem to find anymore, showed what any individual or corporation at gotten over the decades--public record. It can be found.
Or agriculture has been supported a lot less than the French or the Japanese, for instance. And it has kept a steady stream of food to the market at home and abroad.
It's the fact that the farm states have same number of senators that keeps it going. All in all I think it's not a bad thing, just should be tightened up a good bit.
I imagine, though I don't know, that Canada has some kind of similar system.
ReplyDelete"Poverty" Programs add up to a measely
ReplyDelete600 BILLION/yr!
bobal, I'm really not trying to be accusatory in my query. I'm well aware of the massive amounts of farm subsidies pushed about world wide. I was a bit put aback by the number he quoted. He got up on a soapbox about how much individual farmers were getting and how it equaled wall street largesse.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as a regular old consumer my food expenses for me and my family are a tiny fraction of my income. Hunger, and the fear of it, is not an issue these days.
Someone in this thread or the one before mentioned the recent rise in the price of oil with no real reason. There is one constant factor pushing the price up and that is the falling US dollar. The Canadian dollar rose about 14% with respect to the US dollar last year. That helps mitigate any price rise in oil, denominated in US dollars. The Euro has risen as well.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Bob, It's such a vital industry (the most vital one of all) and there is so much "Weather Risk" that ALL countries have farm programs. I, also, agree that ours should be "tightened up" a bit, but it's, of course, highly unlikely.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, subsidies are DOWN about a Billion/mo this year. Total Cost of the Ag dept is down $9 Billion, to date.
As Tom Sowell and others have pointed out, Poverty was on a downslope when poverty programs came in.
ReplyDeleteSince then, there has been NO net percentage reduction in poverty, since it pays so many, so well.
Both the distributors of the confiscated wealth, and the recipients.
Marx knew Best.
The looney went from 165 to the dollar in 02 (I think it was 02') to 105, today. Canada is our largest oil exporter.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the dollar pushing oil up, it's oil pushing the dollar down.
I gave the two only possible reasons. 1. They smell an impending strike against Iran, or
2. more likely, everyone is starting to realize that we really are at "Peak Oil."
OR, a comb of the two. even more likely
Carson and Webb in, "Copper Clappers"
ReplyDeleteDoug, about 60% of those classified as being "in poverty" own their own homes. You can be within our "poverty" range and have a higher standard of living than the "average" European.
ReplyDeleteIf I run into those poverty stats I'll link them. They really open your eyes.
By far, the biggest cost in your food is transportation costs.
ReplyDeleteA 14 oz box of corn flakes that costs between three and four dollars had, when corn was the highest, about 4.4 Cents worth of Corn in it. Today, it's about 3.3 Cents.
Copper Clappers was the most amazing skit in the history of show business. And, the funniest.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Household Net Worth set a new record last quarter. $57.9 Trillion.
ReplyDeleteCopper Clappers :) dang, I remember that skit...
ReplyDeleteIf they come by the hundreds of thousands, 5,700 or 30,000 will not matter.
ReplyDeleteTheir Army is a death from above matter, not a "Highway of Death" redux.
Our guys fall back to the megabses and lay waste from the air. The Iranians arn't that foolish. They'll wait for the elections, '09 or 10. Iraq's second Parlimentary cycle, new Members, new Prime Minister, or a reaffirmation.
All in the 18 to 24 months that General Jones forecast. An independent Army, at the command of, but in control of the State.
Lke Turkey, which should have always been the model.
All lays out reasonabley well, on a napkin. But fleshed out into a "Plan for Victory" and lay it out there. Adaptable by events and the new US President
So Johnny became an "author" of his THEME for copyright
ReplyDeletepurposes, and got not only a piece of the publishing
royalties, but a composer's share of royalties as well;
Of course, it must have been worth it to Paul Anka who
once said he got $200 in royalties every time the show
aired. It ran for 32 years, 52 weeks a year, 5 nights
a week -- which works out to $1,664,000.00 -- not bad
for an old tune that was re-cycled twice.]
Global Cement Trade & Shipping - Future Outlook to 2015
ReplyDeletePresent a vaible "Plan" that is being implemented, make it public knowledge, like an assured World Power should.
ReplyDeleteSupport the Iraqii Government, supporty the Kurds, support the Baathists for that matter.
On a local level
Support the training and transition to the Iraq in the lead, on a firm timeline, with accountability for failure.
No excuses, that is the mission, get it done, and they will.
Change the entire tone of the debate, take the War of the table.
What to do in Jan09 with 100,000 troops in Iraq?
There is a "Plan"
negotiate the size of the "Stay Behind" force, if there is to be one.
Timeline the complete handover, over the next 28 to 32 months.
only $1400.00 for that book? What a Deal. Where do I sign up? Take a "Check?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, but in the meantime there's the matter of a few thou centrifuges. A "loose end" that must be tied.
ReplyDeleteAlfalfa's Aunt--ah, The Golden Age of TV
ReplyDeleteElection coming up. Timing is "Everything."
ReplyDeleteWell, it's Kinda a Book, if a PDF file counts:
ReplyDeleteHow else ya gonna keep up with Korea - Syria ship traffic?
Ask the Israelis?
ReplyDeleteDifferent matter, entirely, rufus.
ReplyDeleteNot going to drive to the nuclear sites, to dheck them out.
Not from Baghdad.
So those troops are not really needed, they're not going to Iran.
Never were.
Have to spin the war to a positive and that is a matter of perseption and messaging.
Everyone considers the US to be leaving. 30,000 by July as a defeat, for US.
When it is a sign of success. If some vision and positive spin were applied to the realities.
I celebrate the Victory, and I'm told that I must pine for defeat, at the BC. Even there the President and the Generals have lost the support of the posters.
Withdrawal is framed as defeat, not victory. That is all in the packaging. Team 43 does not shape or manage future events, but is buffetted by them.
They are not manipulators at heart, but headcounters without a cause, just running in front of the wind...
Thank you AlBob!
ReplyDeleteMany laughs, just like the old days!
No one in the US will take YES as the answer.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Texican Malaise, I tell you!
ReplyDeleteHey Rufus:
ReplyDeleteYour custom data is at hand:
---
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How to wean a fighting force off heroin and teenage concubines
ReplyDeleteCatherine Philp in Gereshk
Captain James Johnson was pleased with the scene at the police checkpoint above the bazaar in Gereshk. All the policemen were present, no one was high on heroin and there wasn’t a male concubine in sight.
“Last time we were here it was like Trainspotting,” Captain Johnson said. “Everyone was completely spaced out, lying around the place with tourniquets around their arms.”
Outside the town, where the highway fords the riverbed, the second checkpoint was a different story. A row of suspiciously shiny rifles sat atop the mud wall. An enigmatic character in a black turban lurked around the compound.
In the lookout tower the visiting British police mentoring team discovered a prisoner, wild-eyed and giggling quietly, chained at the ankles and the waist. “He went home without permission,” said the police commander. “This is his punishment.”
Heroin addiction, the exploitation of teenage boys for sex and a less than salutary regard for human rights are just a handful of the problems British soldiers in Helmand face as they struggle to build a credible local police force capable of defending their people against the Taleban.
Poor george, I think. He fell into the trap. Wonder if he'll fade away. A lot of heart, just uninformed.
ReplyDelete... And we are withdrawing, because the primary mission is complete
General Jones reports the Iraqi Army will be ready, 18 to 24 more months. That'll have been 7 years from the start. Time enough to build that vaunted NCO Corps.
Jan09, 100,000 US troops deployed.
12 to 18 months to Iraqi capacity.
Sep 09, 70,000 US troops deployed
4 to 9 months to Iraqi capacity.
Dec09 62,000 US troops deployed
Iraqi Army capable or within 90 days
Mar10 55,000 US troops deployed
Iraqi Army fully capable
What is the "Stay Behind" Force structure to be?
We'd better get that negotiated, with the Iraqi Government. While they are still beholdin', such as they are.
They grow up too fast these days, the Kids
ReplyDeleteNite.
Rudy Unplugged on Mike Reagan Show.
ReplyDeleteHe was even better on Miller at taking Hillary apart. Brought to mind how devastating GWB's "New Tone" has been for GOP Politics:
All Surrender,
All the time.
No Defense, no offense: the enemy has had a clear field for the past 6 years. Kiss their Butts, again and again, bend over and grab ankles.
Not so with Rudy.
Says he worked with new AG a lot, and has his full approval.
Ah, you remind me, 'Rat, that in addition to the Deadly New Tone is the equally Malignant tendency to kick the can down the road instead of striking when the iron is hot.
ReplyDeleteWhy lock in that stay behind now?
There's always Mañana!