The Exposing of the Enemy Within Begins

Is the United States fighting to defeat ISIS, the worldwide terror group inflicting immense pain and suffering around the world?

ISIS, which currently has France on edge after the ruthless and hideous attacks earlier this month in Paris and Brussels, home of NATO, on lock down and is killing "infidels" with lethal abandon, seems to be running roughshod across the globe, almost unabated.

Russia seems to be engaged in the fight, appearing to be forced into action after they had a passenger jet shot down about a month ago. Stop and give that a moment of thought; Russia had a passenger jet, with innocent citizens, shot down.

Vladamir Putin is not a good guy, and Russia, without question, has ulterior motives. Russia noted the turmoil being caused by the uprising in the middle east, and had taken action to increase it standing in the region. GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio accurately pointed this out in an earlier GOP debate, and of course, Mitt Romney hit Obama with the news of Russia and their dangerous plans in a 2012 debate.

If we are indeed at war with the evil terrorist group ISIS, why has the Obama administration not thoroughly dismantled their main sourcing of finance; oil. Furthermore, who are the buyers of this oil, and what are their motivations behind helping to finance this evil band of terrorists? Evidence suggests it is reasonable to conclude Obama is playing for the other team, but who else, in terms of the financing, is joining him?

An excellent article over at Zero Hedge asks The Most Important Question About ISIS Nobody Is Asking.

Among foreign leaders, Turkish PM Erdogan is Obama's best buddy, and both support establishing a greater Syria, or caliphate, in the middle east, against established American interests.

Moscow has accused Turkey of being involved in ISIS's oil trade, and has presented evidence backing the accusations.  This credible evidence, and evidence from outside observers of geopolitics and intentional markets suggests it is Turkey that is purchasing oil from ISIS, allowing it to gain strength and standing in the region.  Make no mistake, Obama is fully aware of this and has no issue with it.

Turkey is making many moves in the region, moves that would not be tolerated without the US backing. The actions are generally against the common positions held by the US, but those positions are at lengthy odds from the direction placed into action by President Obama.

US officials noted the oil being smuggled in is "economically insignificant". "The State Department has dismissed Moscow's charge against its NATO ally, insisting there is no evidence to support it."  However, an admission of the smuggling came from Amos Hochstein, U.S. special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs. "The amount of oil being smuggled is extremely low and has decreased over time and is of no significance from a volume perspective - both volume of oil and volume of revenue," he said.

It is noted that the Muslim nations, and in particular those seeking to establish the caliphate, have a deep disdain for not only the western colonial powers, but Russia, who was a signatory of the Sykes-Picot Agreement.

What we have in a commander in chief; is an individual who seeks the degrading and transformation of America to a bit player, defines the USA as a country that must pay for its perceived sins as an oppressor and an individual seeking to advance the caliphate, where a Muslim country regains power similar to the days of the old Ottoman Empire. In short, it is reasonable to conclude, by his actions, our president is playing for the other team.

In September of 2014, we noted Obama was enabling enemies of state, arming terrorist organizations and helping to create the chaos necessary to fuel the flames of insurgency, all of which escalates the power Iran yields in the middle east. Obama is not delusional. His actions, assisting Iran in forming the caliphate, with ISIS free to do the necessary cleansing, are intentional and orchestrated.

President Obama has no intention of doing anything to significantly disrupt the activities of ISIS.  In fact, it certainly appears Obama and the members of his administration are enemies within.

But, placing your opinion from what you may have read here or on other sites should be secondary to watching the actions of President Obama.  They will tell you everything you need to know.

The Coming Storm

By a slew of market data, a crash in the capital markets appears imminent. The market is extremely toppy, and as Doug Ross notes in analysis of John Hussman's weekly letter, "When weak participation, rich valuations and scarce bearish sentiment accompanied a record high in the same week, the handful of instances diminish to surround the precise market highs of 1973, 2000, and 2007, as well as 1929 on imputed sentiment data – and the week ended July 17, 2015".

From earlier instances of The Hindenburg Omen, to a recent death cross formation and an increasing disconnect between the worlds of equity and fixed income, multiple and increasing signals within the capital markets indicate trouble on the horizon.

Interest rates should have been hiked over ten quarters ago, even with the putrid economic status.  The raising of the rates would have had a serious negative ripple effect on the overall economy, but this would have been healthy, an opportunity to cleanse the market of excesses and establish true points of equilibrium.

It will not happen now, as multiple, far more significant issues have arisen that threaten to torpedo the not only the capital markets, but the overall economy as well. Of particular note in this well crafted piece is the collapse in the price of oil, which would not be happening in a healthy environment with normal and reasonably efficient supply and demand levels. Rather, it signals great weakness, which in this case, could be catastrophic.

Historical Oil Chart/InvestmentResearchDynamics.com

The collapse in oil is documentation of a contracting economy. Despite the propaganda and data manipulation, as eloquently stated in the Investment Research Dynamics piece, "It’s hard to hide the truth when there’s still checks and balances around to counter-balance the Orwellian fog that is engulfing our system."

As Jim Quinn, who runs truly outstanding blog The Burning Platform, points out, department store sales are imploding, noting "What is revealed when you look under the hood of this economic recovery is that it is a complete and utter fraud. The recovery is nothing but smoke and mirrors, buoyed by subprime auto debt, really subprime student loan debt, corporate stock buybacks, and Fed financed bubbles in stocks, real estate, and bonds."

Add in the massive expansion of the FED balance sheet increasing inflation, and you indeed have an unsustainable mirage of a recovery.  No doubt; the storm is coming ashore.

In the aftermath of this impending collapse, engulfed with smoldering evidence of failure of a slew of centralized government programs, most notably Dodd-Frank, perhaps it will dawn on the minds of those placed in command of governance to all to unwind the centralized government programs, reduce taxation and regulation, unleash the great entrepreneurial spirit of America and embrace the power of free market capitalism, which in the words of noted economist Larry Kudlow, is the best path to prosperity.

Whose Buying?

While there is a large contingent who despise such activity, I have always enjoyed respectful political discussion at the many local watering holes I frequent.  A recent topic engaged upon with one of my favorite participants is why, if we are indeed at war with the evil terrorist group ISIS, why has the Obama administration not thoroughly dismantled their main sourcing of finance; oil.

Furthermore, who are the buyers of this oil, and what are their motivations behind helping to finance this evil band of terrorists?   Curious George deemed this subject worthy of putting pen to pad, so therefore, BAHL'S Blog welcomes our third guest on this timely subject from Curious George:

    Are we at war with ISIS or not? This seems to be the question that The President, Congress and the press are bantering about as events play out in Iraq and Syria. Just for the sake of argument let's say that we are. This makes sense since we are dropping bombs on and shooting missiles at our enemies over there. Also let me say at the outset that I support these moves and whatever other military action we feel we need to take over there to defeat ISIS.

    Based on that premise let's take a look at the last war that we can arguably say we won, World War II. During that war, and the one before, we came to be introduced to what is arguably the age old concept of interdiction. No interdiction is not a term coined by the DEA during the war on drugs. In war, this is the concept of seizing or destroying your enemy's ability to rearm, re-enforce and resupply. This includes interdicting their commerce, their ability to sell goods to others to make money. This significantly effects their ability to replace their losses and to make war. In WWII, the allies bombed axis factories and attacked their shipping. Right after the disastrous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Secretary of the Navy issued issued a very short and direct order by radio to all US. Navy submarines operating in the Pacific. "Conduct unrestricted submarine warfare on Japan." This meant that any vessel flying the Japanese flag was a target. This order, and the effort that followed by our subs, came at our lowest point in the war. It was none the less very effective in greatly reducing the Japanese ability to make war and was a major factor in the eventual allied victory.

    Although I served in the military, I am far from an expert on warfare or for that matter, economics. But in light of all that I have seen, heard, and read; it would seem to me that the way to defeat an enemy in war is to 1) Kill them and root them from the ground they hold, and 2) as a second axis of war, interdict their resupply and commerce. In the past, these terror organizations finance infrastructure was underground and had o be investigated and rooted out. This is true of the terror state ISIS with regard to some of their financing activities. But with regard to the selling of "black market oil" we know what oil fields ISIS holds and we know that they are selling at rock bottom prices to folks who are close enough to send tank trucks to get it. Supposedly, from there, it "MAY" be going to refineries in Iran, Turkey, and to small refineries run by ordinary individuals. In addition, it has been rumored in the press that some of our EU allies have also admitted to buying ISIS black market oil. It should be noted that Turkey is also a NATO "ally", and examples of such activity have been presented in a piece at (The Daily Star, July 26th, 2014 article by Mazin Sidhmed, and an in a piece at Zerohedge.com by Tyler Dudren on 9/15/2014). It should be noted that Turkey has denied any involvement in ISIS oil smuggling operations.

    So who is buying? where is this oil going. Turkey? Oil rich Iran? Perhaps an EU "ally" like France, who has recently made comments against what is known as the petro-dollar according to the Durden article. In addition to these things, it has also been reported that sympathetic, (to ISIS), militia groups along the route are making money "protecting these shipments en-route. They are certainly no match for our air power. According to online reports, ISIS controls 11 oilfields in Iraq and Syria. We know where they are. From that information it is safe to assume that we also have the tank truck routes. Why we are not interdicting these shipments raises the question of who's interests are being protected here. We do not have to destroy the oil fields if we can stop the trucks, although I would never take the first option off the table because it might become necessary. The 'black market oil" is netting ISIS millions of dollars a day. Interdiction of these trucks would go a long way toward putting a serious dent in ISIS ability to make war. It would also fit in nicely with Obama's degrade and destroy philosophy. Take the war directly to ISIS and also destroy their ability to rearm and resupply. Why are we not doing this? Why only now is the mainstream press beginning to discuss it?

    As I stated above, I am far from an expert on economics and warfare. I'm just a taxpaying American citizen with a question, which to paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, bothers me so.

Organizational Deception

Is bombing ISIS in Syria "just some part of an organizing the Arab world adventure" asks Glenn Beck. Sure looks like it. If we have placed a stranglehold on their income streams ( oil ) I missed it.  Obama reluctantly engaged in this process, seemingly designed more for toppling Assad in Syria rather than crushing ISIS.

Pay attention to actions, not rhetoric.  The organizational deception underway stretches the mind, and is very troubling to say the least.

A Measure of Success

While literally in midst of another domestic terrorist attack in Washington, DC at the Naval ship yard, in what can only be described as a classless and appalling action, President Obama took to the podium in front of a staged crowd marking the five year anniversary of the financial crisis to take credit for saving America from a a depression.

The top priority since his tenure in the oval office began, Obama reiterated his intention of focusing like a laser beam in his effort in building our economy so it works for everyone and laying out a new foundation for economic growth and prosperity. Take a listen:



With an adoring mainstream media failing to once again to question the assessment of the president, the extreme lies and misrepresentations of this speech cannot go unchallenged.

Obama, through the passage of Dodd-Frank, has left most banks paralyzed, as he blames the money center banks for creating the housing crisis through unsavory lending and underwriting practices.  Never mind that much of the blame falls on the goings on surrounding the Community Reinvestment Act, which sought to provide loans to lower income individuals and families who under normal established guidelines would fail to qualify.  ACORN, a community activist organization Obama supported and worked with, threatened legal action and public ridicule through protest for those considered racist banks who refused to dismiss best underwriting practices and engage in lending to unqualified applicants.

Dodd-Frank also provides consumer protection for those engaging in commerce with banks, given the deemed incompetence of the consumer derived by the government.  Forget buyer beware, Obama and big brother are here to help, guiding (and restricting) what banking actions of commerce the consumer will be allowed to engage in. Dodd-Frank does nothing but restrict banking opportunities all while increasing costs of the consumers.  It is about nothing but government control, and limits the individual liberty and economic freedom of the citizenry.

In addition, while we are at it, the assault on property rights also adds costs and restricts freedom of property owners through EPA implemented regulatory action, restricted permitting and zoning regulations implemented under Agenda 21.  Has anyone replaced an HVAC system lately?

President Obama spoke of how his efforts jump started the flow of credit.  Through government entitlements, such as HARP, scores of homeowners have refinanced their mortgages at lower interest rates as banks beholden to the government have been directed to provide this opportunity.  The lost money is absorbed by the taxpayers.

Most property owners, due to underwater property values, facing restricted credit and unstable employment, are unable to qualify for loans without government assistance.  Credit for small businesses, and mortgage loans free from governmental intrusion, remain quite difficult to obtain.

Some thirteen trillions dollars have been spent, actually borrowed, to "stabilize the economy" and create jobs, and although Obama has no idea, this has been a colossal failure in large measure to his horrendous economic policies. Remove the FED buying bonds, begin some tapering, and see how stable the economy is.

While the administration trumpets a lowering unemployment rate, it should be noted that figure has been grossly manipulated.  Millions of Americans, unable to find work, have quit looking, and thus have fallen from being counted in the data sample, thus allowing the rate to fall.  The real story can be found by looking at the Labor Force Participation Rate, which tells us that the amount of our citizenry fully employed, not withstanding steady population growth, is at levels not seen since 1978.

 

The real statistics regarding the economy are staggering, and if the workforce was equal to when Obama was sworn in, the unemployment rate would be closer to 14%.  Among the jobs Obama has claimed to create, a mind boggling number have been part time, in large measure due to companies limiting the hours of their employees in preparation of the implementation of Obamacare.  Obama championed the flagship legislation he spearheaded in Obamacare, the current top ranked job killer in America. 

 

In a related statistic, ZeroHedge.com illustrates economic realities even the low information crowd can comprehend; reporting a record number of restaurant workers while restaurant companies report decreasing sales.  Something is wrong with this picture.

 

Obama noted an erosion of the middle class, unaware his policies are the culprit.  Families are working harder than ever for less as median family income is lower than when he took office, coupled with rising costs in health care, food and of course gas, which has been over $3 a gallon, in contrast to a cost of $1.83 upon him taking office, for over 1000 days.

 

In fact, Obama highlighted his efforts to insist on new technologies to end our addiction to foreign oil.  Given that commentary, it is puzzling that this included reducing domestic drilling where possible, with a byproduct of a reduction in jobs, and increasing purchases from foreign countries.  Obama proclaimed we sought to become Brazil's biggest customer for oil.  Cheers!

 

Higher education has been an item Obama has focused on, even having Sallie Mae taken over by the federal government,  Sadly, the cost of higher education has never been higher and issues abound.

 

Much of the stimulus money went to unions organization and green job initiatives, many of whom are now bankrupt. Bridges and roads earmarked for repair remain in need as the money went elsewhere.

 

Obama was thrilled to save Detroit, except he did not.  The city of Detroit has gone bankrupt, and General Motors has been unable to repay Uncle Sam for the bailout.  The famed Pontiac Motor Division fails now to exist, and green energy vehicles Obama forced GM to produce have not produced a profit.  In a brazen derailment from contract law, bond holders had their money stolen while auto unions were padded.  Dealerships that were closed were over 80% owned by GOP donors, a political hit.  Ford, meanwhile, turned down the bailout and is outperforming GM. 

When Obama adds it up, he sees a tremendous success. Given his ambition to fundamentally transform the United States of America, his presiding over our decline may be measured as such.  For those who appreciate free markets, individual liberty and economic freedom, his tenure has been catastrophic.

But the lies and misrepresentation did not end there.  Yet to come was the all too common bitterly partisan and divisive attack on those meddling kids, otherwise known as Republicans.



It is worth noting, again, that for the fist 18 months of the Obama administration, until the election in Massachusetts of Scott Brown, democrats held a super majority. Better stated, the republicans may as well have played golf everyday because they alone could stop no legislative action. Zero.

At this point, the GOP has the house, but the democrats still control the presidency and the senate. Furthermore, against rhetoric to the contrary, a long list of progressive GOP members refrain from contesting Obama on anything, even some having supported much of his plans, inclusive of Obamacare.

The economic chaos Obama speaks of has been caused by his wreckless spending, exploding entitlements and attacks on small business and free markets.  Keep in mind it is Obama and his party are and have been in control presiding in the decline of America.

With respect to those who are offering opposition to Obama and his collective ambitions, I joined millions of others in electing representatives charged with defeating his initiatives.  It is Obama who has tanked the economy, not a handful of GOP members who oppose his socialistic goals.

Obama is emphatic that he will not negotiate with the GOP on the budget issues, which is odd coming from a man who claimed he would negotiate with any terrorist on the planet.  The GOP always get hammered for not compromising, but it is Obama who will not negotiate.

Yes, when you add it up, freedom and prosperity has been lost under Obama's presidency.  Five years after he implemented his strategy, with limited elected opposition, the country is far from economically stable and cannot pay its bills.  Seemingly under control of the administration, the FED is monetizing our bloated debt, crushing savers and decreasing asset wealth in what has to be considered the reaching of Obama's goal of the transformation of wealth.

The media can cheer Obama on, but those of us in the middle class out here working know what the scorecard says.  The economic conditions as a result of the actions taken by Obama have significantly reduced freedom and prosperity, the opportunity to achieve it, and have decreased the standard of living for the greater majority of our citizens.

How is success measured in this case.  For Obama, presiding over the transformation of the United States is considered a rousing success.  I consider those actions unconstitutional, and therefore seek his impeachment.

Snake Oil

Oh thank heaven. Not!

Gas price in metro Orlando on 3/5/2013

Pulling on to pit road for a fuel stop the other day was painful.  Gas prices are near historical highs, and nobody seems to care.  In fact, the average national price per gallon has been over $3 for well over a year now.

 

I recall when gas spiked last decade under President Bush, the mainstream media, including local network affiliates, worked the citizenry into a frenzy.  Details of how the misery of the high gas prices negatively affected family after family and businessman after business were the top news story nightly with reporters in the field at gas stations far and wide.

 

Not these days. With the anointed one in office, the media cannot be bothered by a story that casts negativity on their beloved president. These folks do not present the truth, only propaganda.

 

Do they want a story?  Well, light sweet crude, which reached $147 a barrel under the spike under Bush, is only approximately $90 per barrel now.  What gives?

 

 

Although the Democrats hammered Bush and the capital markets during the spike last decade, they could not recognize then what they deem true now; that much of the price of oil under the current environment is out of the presidents control. True then, true now.

 

However, while the president cannot directly control world prices dictated by OPEC, control over the blessings of our natural resources can be engaged.  President Obama has failed to do so and stands opposed to it, so part of the infliction of pain on gas consumers lies on his desk.

 

He has borrowed taxpayer money to gamble on experimental alternate sources of energy which have ended in bankruptcy more often than not.  An outspoken opponent of fossil fuels, Obama has failed to move forward on the Keystone pipeline and has decreased our production.  Actions in the aftermath of the Gulf Oil Spill were designed to decrease our production, never letting a crisis go to waste. In addition, the US being Brazil's best customer does not help Americans at the pump.

 

But Obama has stated he prefers gas prices to reach European levels in a methodical manner, and has placed regulatory action on vehicles aimed at nudging motorists into small engine block vehicles the majority of the populous rejects. 

 

Cities embracing sustainable development and principles found in Agenda 21 are rewarded, and the punishment absorbed by the citizenry due to the hidden tax of high gas prices is a orchestrated mechanism to nudge Americans away from the pump.

 

Pain for the public to achieve political gains is sadly part of the plan to transform the United States of American and transfer our wealth to nations perceived as victims of our economic advancement.

 

Described as a new normal, nothing could be further of the truth. Simply sold as snake oil.

Raising Cain

Last Thursday night, the GOP held their first 2012 presidential debate and gave America a glimpse of what cold be considered the second tier as many of the estimated front runners skipped the event.

The evening provided an opportunity for someone to emerge, as has happened in years past. Quite a bit of money was placed on Tim Pawlenty, the former Governor of Minnesota, while many others just knew former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum would stand tall. Texas Congressman Ron Paul has a strong following, as we all know.

Unless you got the fever from examining a dark horse for he weekends upcoming Kentucky Derby, you may not have considered Georgia businessman Herman Cain might steal the show.

Although the other candidates held steady, it was Herman Cain that positioned himself as a candidate that could move up to the first team. Cain, a former military man who began his business career at Coca Cola, has had quite a distinguished career as the former CEO of Godfathers Pizza, Chairman of the National Restaurant Association and a position on the board of directors of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.

Cain spoke common sense, something America is clamoring for. I think America wants to eject from the tainted political process with an outsider who is free to run the country like an efficient business. This was evident in the overwhelming reaction by a Frank Luntz focus group, who came away in full support of Cain. The Wall Street Journal came away impressed also.

Recently, at the Tax Day TEA Party in Orlando, Cain was the headline speaker, and I quite like him. I am not sure if he can win the GOP nomination, but given the way Republicans give away the minority vote, Cain could give the GOP opportunities it could only dream of. Employing the business background Cains brings to the table, I think in this plain spoken Georgian you may have just met the GOP VP candidate for 2012.

Did you miss Cain dominate the debate? Take a listen as Cain recaps the evening in a discussion with CNBC's Larry Kudlow.



Cain is expected to formally announce his candidacy on May 21, 2011.

Agent Speculator

This sign, reportedly located in north Central Florida, is most telling.

Please allow a moment of digression. Elements of the left wing, under the premise of assisting those in the lower levels of economic stature to purchase a home, applied pressure to banks to lend with potential charges of false racism to lend to this group of individuals. Certainly, you recall ACORN.

The easy money position taken by The Federal Reserve helped fuel and create an environment of easy lending to all levels of economic status. Coupled together, we all now know how catastrophic this series of moves was.

In response to the crash, the FED balance sheet has been expanded to allow for banks to reset. Initially, public thought was that the banks would lend this money out to the public to help restart the economy. Instead, banks have been hording the money.

Are the banks still trigger shy to lend to the small businesses and individuals that make up most of the economic growth in the community? Given the economic environment created by this administration, one which seemingly encourages people to escape their financial obligations, I would be.

Are banks not convinced of the stability of the underlying value of the collateral used to secure loans, such as real estate? I am.

Are banks saving up because they see what lies ahead in the future, which is the possibility of another crash. Could be, as a double dip recession is already underway and we can see bubbles in several areas, such as gold and silver.

If I had all the answers, I would be floating around on my Hatteras in the Bahamas.

Currently, the dollar is at near term low. One of the four pillars of Reaganomics was sound money, which includes a strong dollar, which puts our economy in prime position to function at high levels. With oil prices pegged to the dollar, a weak dollar is one of the main reasons gas prices are soaring. Another reason is the Obama administration, who set out to investigate what role speculators are having in causing prices to rise.

If I know demand is steady at a minimum and Obama is restricting oil production, adverse to increasing our domestic supply from drilling, is assisting in creating havoc in the oil rich middle east which disrupts distribution and is placing a heavy hand of regulation on the profitable energy sector, I recognize investment opportunities.

Investors are indeed speculating on higher oil costs. The way to derail the speculators is for the policies regarding oil to change, and that would heave to come from the very folks investigating potential speculation.

Recently, China has been decreasing bond purchases from the US and selling at a discounted rate, as the Chinese are not confident they will get paid what they are owed. This action devalues our economy, as does our government using quantitative easing (printing money) as stimulus.

High levels of inflation has already arrived in some areas (food), but will become an all encompassing issue in the coming years. The FED will work to quickly offset the inflationary pressure by restricting the money supply, which should include a rise in interest rates.

What will the playing field look like when this starts happening. Will the gold bubble burst. Will the much talked about municipal bond crash become a reality? Where will investors run to?

Perhaps the answer is Real Estate, a tangible investment which as adjusted has historically low prices. Due to high levels of vacant units nationwide and new home construction nil, a reset is not expected until about 2016.

If it does come full circle, I hear Exxon-Mobil is entering the home financing business. Just call me Agent Speculator!

Ethanol Eating Away Propserity

Does Obama want $8 gasoline?

It certainly seems that is the case. During the 2008 campaign, video surfaced of Obama commenting that under his plan, energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket". Immediately upon taking office, Obama suspended oil and gas leases previously granted by the Bush administration. The handling of the Gulf Oil spill was juvenile, and just last week the first permit was granted to begin drilling again in the area.

The administration took initiative under the financial crisis to take over car companies and dictate to them to build cars that move away from high consumption of oil and gasoline. It has not been successful, as the love affair with the automobile is another piece of American exceptionalism Obama does not recognize.

No worries though. Corn based Ethanol is here and is a significant player in reducing our energy independence of foreign countries, which will culminate in lower gas prices.

Even the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, is on board.



Even though NASCAR is all thrilled with themselves for being a corporate leader in going green, there are issues, and they go far beyond the high banks.

At the Daytona 500, Glenn Beck had a chance to speak with NASCAR President Mike Helton and spent time with the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 88 Chevrolet Mountain Dew team, pole sitter for The Great American Race.

While visiting with Steve Latarte and the crew of the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his 88 Chevrolet team, Beck found out that the team is experiencing a 12% decrease in gas mileage in testing thus far in 2011. This does not sound good.

The government has admitted that cars built before 2007 may have issues with the gas. Maybe the only way Obama thinks he can pry us from our muscle cars is to destroy the engines with ethanol?

Furthermore, there is compelling evidence that the ethanol based gas is creating a real problem for small engines, like lawn mower and weed eaters. Although I can attest to this personally, The Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV-Channel 9, recently had a very troubling report on the impact of ethanol on these small engines.

Rather than using our own supply of oil as we turn the private sector loose on the challenge of discovering cost effective fossil fuel substitutes, we have taken to using our own food supply to fuel our thirst for oil by using corn based ethanol. Do you suspect food prices might rise in response to this development?

Indeed. While this is a welcomed development for all my Cornhusker farmer friends in Nebraska, unfortunately, rising food prices across the globe is having a rather nasty residual. One of the reasons we have seen an uprising in the middle east is due to a sharp rise in food prices in nations who already had significant economic difficulty.

Even though government is involved, could it be possible the use of ethanol has lowered oil and gas prices? Click on the chart below for a closer look to the answer you already know.

Even Van Jones, a smart left wing Communist who I rarely if ever agree with, has issues with corn based ethanol.



Certainly, taking a hard look at possible counterparts to oil is applauded, but forcing corn based ethanol down the throats of American citizens is not sound economic or moral thinking. With our economy barely standing, we cannot be so stupid as to burn up our own food supply, destroying carburetor engines and raising the costs of the food along the way, in order to quench our thirst for oil when all we have to do is Drill Baby Drill.

Or can we?

Casting the Blame

While there is nowhere close to the media howl in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are rumblings that the Obama administration has been a failure in addressing the most unfortunate oil rig explosion and resulting spill of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Among those asking questions, and rightfully so, are The New York Times, Rush Limbaugh, and even left wing moonbat Bill Maher. On FOX News, the lovely Megyn Kelly discusses the issue with Juan Williams and Brad Blakeman. Take a listen:


To recap, President Bush was excoriated for his administrations response to Hurricane Katrina, unfairly as I saw it. The National Weather Service had it nailed, and the Emergency Alert System kicked in. New Orleans residents were told to evacuate, even by Bush himself in a pre-landing announcement. Most who stayed weathered the hurricane itself, but the devastation that came after the levee broke was severe. When the levee breaks, you got no where to go. Bush and the FEDS were held back by state and local governments (recall NO Mayor Ray Nagin), who were totally inept.

When the oil rig platform explosion happened, it seemed the situation would be handled. However, as shown in this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video, officials were worried about extensive oil leakage as reported by theblogprof.com. It has been reported that the congress was by law supposed to have fire booms and failed to do so, in yet another example of governmental ineptitude. If true about the fire booms, someone in government is criminally negligent.

Obviously, in retrospect, both the Bush administration and the Obama administration would handled some things differently. In my view, the big difference is the arrogance of Obama, who was among the many mouthing off at the actions of Bush but feeding us the load of crap over the weekend that his administration was on this "day 1", which if it were not so serious, would be laughable. And, I cannot help but think this may be another emergency the Obama administration wants to take advantage of, what with cap and trade on the horizon.

A big difference is the media coverage, as there are very few questioning Obama on this. From Sheppard Smith to Kayne West, Bush was getting an absolute earful. Obama?

Meanwhile, Obama's Katrina is taking place and he out is telling jokes, attacking Wall Street, calling out Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck at U Michigan and firing distasteful jokes about the Jonas Brothers while yucking it up at the National Correspondents dinner. But don't worry, it is British Petroleum's job to clean it up and Obama has his foot on the neck of BP (BP:NYSE).

Wow! Even though we have an environmental disaster and substantial forthcoming economic damage, I feel much better.

Advantage Bush. Again!

HT Gateway Pundit, Doug Ross and The Blog Prof.

Green Ideology Taxes Prosperity

The events of the last year or so have been an unparalleled attack on prosperity, and much of the basis for this has been due to an incredible scam otherwise known as Global Climate Change, which essentially blames the industrial revolution for all the perceived problems.

CNBC's Larry Kudlow, a BAHL's Blog favorite, editorializes on this subject last night on his excellent program, The Kudlow Report. Take a listen:



I agree whole heatedly agree with Kudlow, with one exception.

Although I enjoy much of the programming on CNBC, I do not share Kudlow's respect for General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. There is evidence suggesting General Electric does business with Iran (who is the head of the snake in the trouble in the middle east and has been identified as providing support to those trying to kill our troops), oversees the NBC news division, which is out of control in bias favoring left wing ideology and has a practically hidden financial interest in our society moving toward green technology.

I may further comment on a later post on GE and Immelt, but at this point I am simply refraining from purchasing GE appliances for my rental property portfolio. I do not have much of a voice, but I can steer my minor allotment of cash spent in this arena in a different direction. Cash is king!

Housing Bottom To Lead Recovery

Not withstanding the stranglehold being placed on the vehicles of economic growth coupled with the immoral spending creating massive deficits and the complete lack of respect for contract law, our economy is engaged in a rebound.

What led our economy down was the housing crisis, which culminated in the banks getting creamed with the derivatives gambling they were involved in, freezing credit and punishing housing values and stifling sales activity.

Markets correct themselves, regardless of what politician is claiming credit. Currently, even in the face of the implementation of economic policies that would make Milton Friedman cringe, evidence suggests a bottom is in.

The S&P seems to have bounced nicely off the bottom and has been in an uptrend for several weeks now. Any recovery in the economy will met with rising oil prices, and that is taking place.

The wildcard in the deck is the lagging indicator of jobs. The jobs report will be released in the morning, and indications from the ADP National Employment Report suggests that, although the loss of jobs will continue, likely for some months, the rate of job losses is declining significantly. In a chart gathered from Professor Mark Perry's A+ economic blog Carpe Diem, we see that unemployment claims seem to have peaked a few weeks back. In past recessions, this has proven to be a very sound and reliable indicator.

If we can see improvement in the job situation, we can turn to housing affordability, which is at historic highs evidenced by the chart from professor Perry. If it is given that the jobs losses have stabilized and will be improving, a significant change in the housing psychology can take place, tackling the existing inventory at a accelerated pace which will lead to a resumption of normal price appreciation.

The one, and only, governmental action that has helped housing thus far is the 8K credit for buyers who have never owned a home or those that have not within the prior three years. With prices way down, this is percentage wise a big deal.

I have always subscribed to the stock market being a leading indicator and telling us a story. Therefore, given the recent performance of the market, I am looking for a much better job number and a clear signal the worst is behind us. Then we can turn our attention to the nationalization of industries, higher taxes and regulatory influences that are heading our way thanks to the incompetence we unfortunately placed in policy making positions.

When is the next tea party ?

Eco-tional Rescue

While guest hosting for Rush Limbaugh today, Mark Steyn could hardly keep his composure. I was right there with him, in tears while keeping my gas guzzling SUV hammer down in the fast lane on I-4. And for good reason!

Steyn was recounting a story from the BBC, and it is a howl. A group of Eco sailors, you know, left wing global warming idiots, were in the midst of a 500 mile trip to Greenland on a boat named the Fleur, aimed to rely on sail, solar and man power. Isn't that nice.

As education systems around the world make efforts to brainwash our children on the horrendous (unproven) plight known as man made global climate change, some 40 schools across the UK were following the progress of the trip.

Mayday! Mayday! "Atrocious" weather apparently ripped the wind generators and solar panels off the boat, resulting in the crew taking refuge in the cabin, powerless. I bet they wish they were powered by those gas guzzling 350 Chevy block MerCruiser inboards?

America, this is not the first group of global warming novice would be Christopher Columbus yachtsman plucked from the sea this year, and although I cannot imagine, it won't be the last. I appreciate the passion, but there is something known as common sense, and it seems foreign to these idiots who are hell bent on being right on this while substantial evidence to the contrary continues to mount.

In an article on Anthony Watt's super climate oriented blog, guest poster William DiPuccio, in an article about ocean heat, quotes Albert Einstein, “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” This is applicable with respect to these alarmists. Anti global warming folks, although stacked with evidence, are labeled as anti-earth while idiots like this continue to fail in proving their ideas while foolish governments fund unnecessary green projects at taxpayers expense.

Maybe Al Gore will solve the housing crisis? He predicts south Florida will be under water next year. That will do away with overhang of inventory in the condos down there in a heartbeat.

Although the sailors were "overwhelmingly relieved to be safe" and gave heartfelt thanks to the coastguards for their professionalism as well as to the outstanding captain and crew of the Overseas Yellowstone," they should not have attempted such a bold expedition with unproven power options resulting in them needing rescue.

Mother Ocean is boss, as many a man has found out the hard way over time. So is man made progress, and the industrialization of modern technology, including fossil fuel. With that in mind, in the mother of all irony, the rescuing vessel, the Overseas Yellowstone, was as God wanted it, an oil tanker.

God Bless America!

Domestic Oil Drilling Not Aboard Shell Game Porkulus Package

The Obama administration is in its infancy but we are already learning many negative policy positions. One such position has to do with our energy policies.

The Obama administration indicates they are anti domestic fossil fuel and appear much to cozy to alternative energy options, regardless of costs. What this means to you is that the extreme oil prices we suffered through last summer will return again, in spades. The time is now to drill, baby, drill, but it looks like we won't be doing that.

BAHL's Blog welcomes our first guest commentary on this subject. The Wizard speaks:

Currently, renewable fuels like ethanol, wind, solar and water account for about 6% of the country's energy usage. Sounds promising right? Obama says he wants to double our output in renewable fuels. OK, sounds good.

Here's the problem...Although 6% of U.S. energy usage comes from renewable sources, nearly half of that comes from large-scale hydroelectric projects that have little growth potential. Most of the rest comes from ethanol, (which is now as predicted, turning out to be a disaster for the environment and takes more energy to produce than it can ever yield) and other so-called biomass fuels which are equally less yielding. If all of our current farm land in the U.S. were immediately converted to growing switch grasses, corn based ethanol, wood chips, and whatever other phony bio-fuel you can come up with, you can only just keep up with increasing demand. Not to mention we would have to import ALL of our food. And of course much less water for you and me.

Wind and solar right now account for less than 1% of our energy usage. Doubling that output is a given seeing that the government is going to pay for it, regardless of effectiveness. This is in line with creating or saving 3.5 million jobs at a cost of $275,000 per job. 20% of the nations electricity needs are currently accounted for with nuclear energy. We have 104 operating plants in the U.S. If we were to bring that number up to where France is, 75%, you could make a dent in our oil consumption. Unfortunately, despite our incredible record of zero nuclear related deaths in the U.S., the Obama admin. says it is as of yet not clean or safe enough.

The Energy department says we have enough coal and natural gas deposits available today to meet our electricity needs for more than 100 years! We also have some of the largest untapped oil reserves anywhere on planet earth both in Alaska and the Gulf and off the California coast. Forget about shale. We don't need to drill on land. THE WIZARD TOOK THIS PHOTO FROM THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR LAST MONTH

You might think that somewhere in this Porculus calamity there would be something for taking advantage of our incredible fossil fuel resources or for nuclear production. Not so much as $1. Obama is drawing a line in the sand and deliberately shunning our natural resources or he believes that we can replace 20,000,000 barrels of crude per day with renewables and alternatives.

Combine this administrations wanton dislike for all things fossil fuel, and add to that the fact that no new refining facilities are being built and you may see a potential problem. It is possible that we will use so much less oil, think Iran, Venezuela, Russia, due to neglect and socialist policies that thwart any real productivity, that we won't need those 20,000,000 barrels. Maybe this is there plan?

We now have succeeded in giving China a huge ace to play where our finances are concerned and we will continue to give untold leverage to the world of Islam and Hugo Chavez and Vlad Putin where our energy needs are concerned. The final strike will no doubt be our continued policy of letting Iran inch ever closer to obtaining the ability to produce and export their military nuclear ambitions.

This all seems risky to me. We are heeping on pile after pile of negative variables that need not be. It almost appears calculated that a country could make so many bad decisions. It's as if we opened our huge southern border and invited anyone who could walk across to come on in and enjoy the party!

If BHO can succeed ( $2 billion for ACORN in the Porculus)( along with our massive new welfare spending) in getting these folks to somehow vote, he will get his eight years regardless of how our economy or our energy or our foreign policy works out.This is nothing new. It has been tried many times before. It's zenith and heyday during the 20th century. Quick, name 1 success story? No? It's a trick question.

Many thanks to The Wizard for his commentary. With this kind of nonsense going on the future economic and geopolitical climate seems quite risky, which hinders investment. Investment is the mothers milk of economic growth, so you get the point.

Who Let The Dogs Out

Last summer, as the price of a barrel of crude oil topped out at $147 a barrel, there was public clamoring for the oil companies profits to be taken and redistributed to the public. How dare a company like Exxon Mobil make records profits while the country is in economic peril. The above picture, part of a campaign piece produced by left wing congressional contender Alan Grayson, who unfortunately defeated Ric Keller in my Orlando district, credits the hometown Orlando Slantinel as a cheerleader for this kind of rhetoric. Idoits at large in my view!

Forget that the rise in oil was an economic phenomenon, perhaps a byproduct of the historical expansion of India and the pre-Olympic China. Arm chair economists like myself predicted oil would retrace to $75 per barrel. For the record, I did not see it falling into the $30 area. However, it was declared immoral for these oil companies, roughly generating a profit margin of about 10%, to continue to rape the public in this fashion. Educating the idiots, two well known companies, Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) and Coca Cola (KO:NYSE), have profit margins in the 20% range.

That was a nice run the oil companies supposedly had, but what about now, with oil at $40 a barrel. Times ain't pretty, as we find out from Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA:LN) who produced their first quarterly loss in 10 years. You ain't going far without these oil companies, so I would caution about celebrating their demise.

I know where you can shift your anger, as I know of a company kickin the crap out it while we are in these horrendous economic times, and with a profit margin far exceeding that of the oil companies. When you go there to protest, grab yourself a Big Mac! That right, McDonalds (MCD:NYSE) reported record earnings.

Where is the public outcry about the obscene profits the Golden Arches are posting? I have not heard the dogs barking? Cat got your tongue? Oh, shut the pie hole, or rather, stuff it at Mc'Ds. If Preston Parker is blocking the drive thru, join the festivities in the dining room, where CNN is on flat screens and the capitalism will make you sick. I hear they even have a hotel for dogs for you to sleep it off!

Furthermore, the charitable foundation McDonalds operates is a blueprint for philanthropy, again stating the case that those who have money after taxes do profitable and charitable things with their profits, like creating jobs and opportunities and helping others. What a concept!

For us hard working Americans, we will grab a happy meal cause we deserve a break today; at McDonalds. Be sure to chase it with a refreshing Coca Cola! I'm Lovin It!

I AM A SHAREHOLDER OF MCDONALDS AND COCA COLA AND FORMERLY OF MICRSOFT