Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It's the uncertainty, stupid

James Carville's famous line from the 1992 Presidential campaign, "It's the economy, stupid," is applicable again this year and the reason why is the economic uncertainty created by Barack Obama and his gang of leftist radical tinkerers:

Why isn't the economy recovering? After previous recessions, unemployment didn't get stuck at close to 10 percent. If left alone, the economy can and does heal itself, as the mistakes of the previous inflationary boom are corrected.

The problem today is that the economy is not being left alone. Instead, it is haunted by uncertainty on a hundred fronts. When rules are unintelligible and unpredictable, when new workers are potential threats because of Labor Department regulations, businesses have little confidence to hire. President Obama's vaunted legislative record not only left entrepreneurs with the burden of bigger government, it also makes it impossible for them to accurately estimate the new burden.

...

Nothing more effectively freezes business in place than what economist and historian Robert Higgs calls "regime uncertainty."

"(A)ll of these unsettling possibilities and others of substantial significance must give pause to anyone considering a long-term investment, because any one of them has the potential to turn what seems to be a profitable investment into a big loser. In short, investors now face regime uncertainty to an extent that few have experienced in this country -- to find anything comparable, one must go back to the 1930s and 1940s, when the menacing clouds of the New Deal and World War II darkened the economic horizon."

Uncertainty created by Obama's legislative "successes" are comparable to the Depression and World War II? This does not bode well for job growth.

No manure, Sherlock. And the way to end the uncertainty is coming up on Election Day in November when we can give the Obama buffoons the spanking they so richly deserve.

(h/t Instapundit)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

C'mon Barack, invite Aunt Zeituni to join you on Martha's Vineyard

The Obama clan is are busy swanning about on Martha's Vineyard for their umpteenth luxury vacation this year, but there's one thing missing - Barack's Aunt Zeituni who's just down the pike aways in Boston living off the taxpayers. What's the problem, Barack? She is your favorite Aunt and she's now in the country legally after an immigration judge bought her ridiculous story they she needed asylum in the USA since she would be in danger of persecution if she went back home to Kenya:

Worse yet, Judge Shapiro acknowledged that Aunt Zeituni’s claims of fear of persecution in her previous applications were all lies. Quote: “Onyango’s testimony in February was sometimes confusing and inconsistent with what she said during her last request for asylum six years ago,” end quote.

Yes, Aunt Zeituni is a flagrant liar as well as a flagrant scofflaw. Yet Shapiro still allowed this latest claim.

There is no evidence that anything that’s happened to Aunt Zeituni since 2004 made her any kind of a target for persecution in Kenya. It is just something she claims — something she plucked out of the air, with no supporting evidence whatsoever. In a previous claim she said she had health problems that made her unable to walk. She did indeed show up to the February hearing in a wheelchair; but then she mysteriously walked out. She strolls around her Boston neighborhood, flaunting the expensive designer accessories she seems to have a fondness for.

She ought to fit in nicely with Michelle who has a great fondness for fashion too - check out this snappy number she wore Monday night at a fancy Vineyard eatery (h/t FR).

michelle_hol_inn

Of course, the Kenyan government isn't too happy with Zeituni's persecution fable, but that's because no one has explained to them that immigration law in the USA is mostly about lying illegal aliens as Zeituni's fancy legal team knew. (Question: did the taxpayers foot the bill for Zeituni's legal team or was it some deep-pocketed pals of Barack?) Anyhow, I am sure Mr. Diplomacy can send the Kenyans some more loot to salve their wounded feelings.

So, what's the holdup? Aunt Zeituni has her spiffy green dress that Barack bought her and her collection of fashion accessories, so all she needs is a ride. Now Barack could send a Marine helicopter, but maybe that's over the top even for the party happy Obamas. Not to worry, Howie Carr has an idea:

Here’s a suggestion: Call Sen. Kerry. You may have heard - his second wife’s first husband’s trust fund just bought the senator a new boat. Liveshot could sail The Botched Joke to Boston, pick up Auntie Zeituni at the Dorchester Yacht Club and bring her back to the islands. Maybe he and Mama T would even invite you over to Nantucket for dinner. From Brant Point, he could point out to you where Deval’s wind turbines will be going up to destroy the view.

Get cracking, Barry - the party is almost over ... in more ways than one.