Since my last entry, and because we were speaking directly to this issue, it would seem that another Obama cabinet nominee -one Sanjay Gupta to be exact- has withdrawan his candidacy for Surgeon General. One can only speculate at the improprieties lurking in Mr. Gupta's closet. Like the others, I'm sure Gupta is a serial tax evador, but as defrauding the government no longer precludes one from occupying a post in Obama's cabinet, one has to wonder what sins Gupta committed that will never see light of day. My guess - he killed someone on the operating table during his residency . . . and he was flying on Rx drugs.
Moving on now, the stock market plumbed new depths only to rebound nearly 700 points to close this last Friday over 7200.
WASHINGTON -- Ron Kirk, nominated as U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to make his payments, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.
The committee said the taxes arise from Kirk's handling of speaking fees that he donated to his alma mater, and for his deduction of the full cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team.
The disclosure made the former Dallas mayor the latest in a string of top-level Obama administration appointees found to have underpaid their taxes, following Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Tom Daschle, who withdrew as candidate for Health and Human Services secretary. Nancy Killefer, Obama's pick for chief performance officer, also bowed out amid tax problems.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the underpayments, which were uncovered by the committee's staff in a review of Kirk's nomination papers.
Yeah about that "response"--ummm, has anyone heard anything yet? No immediate reaction? No? Nothing? You don't say? And indeed, why the fuck should we expect a response. They know by now that they can get away with it when an outright complacent and apathetic zombie nation has its collective head buried up its ass. The American people are happy to take an IRS' cattle prod up their asses for deducting their work clothes, but this dickhead deducts NBA season tickets and all we get is . . . chirp, chirp, chirp.
Try this little test: deduct some luxury item of notable worth, get caught doing so and see if you aren't assessed fines and possible jail time. Now, shut up and bend over, dipshits!
The market roared to life today, gaining over 250 before slipping back to 149 at close. This was a classic case of buy the rumor in the Wall Street vernacular. Today's global market frenzy was sparked by a brief statement from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in which he stated that China will boost spending (above and beyond the 4 trillion Yuan already pledged) in a desperate attempt to maintain 8% growth. Eight percent growth is believed to represent the threshold that, when breached, would lead to unchecked social unrest.
China will increase spending in areas such as infrastructure and manufacturing on top of the 4 trillion yuan stimulus package that it announced in November, a senior economic planning official said on Wednesday.
Closer examination of various stimuli packages reveals some rather muddled logic, particularly where China is concerned. At a time when the world should be ramping down its production capacity, China is going to dedicate trillions of RMB to significantly boosting production. I cannot argue with infrastructure spending and actually question why it was not undertaken at a much earlier date - before this ugly global meltdown, but I do question how the world will absorb hundreds of billions more of Chinese crap when manufacturing is still contracting in response to spending pullbacks by consumers.
One could assume that the Chinese are counting on inflationary measures to take hold around the world, thereby affording us the occasion to buy more plastic widgets. Unfortunately, this may indeed come to pass, but the outcome will almost certainly be hyperinflation of some sort. Interest rates will inevitably rise in response to all the liquidity sloshing around that MUST be soaked up to tame inflation.
It's uncertain how the market took Jiobao's statement to mean that America would somehow benefit. Freeport McMoran soared today based on -sigh- copper prices, and the rest of the market went along for the ride. Americans are flat broke; so broke in fact that they have compelled their neighbors to pay their mortgages. A few select companies MAY see a small piece of this action, but the over gist of this spending is as follows: China is terrified that social unrest may threaten their cozy positions within the corrupt Communist structure. The apparatchicks are willing to pay farmer peasants not to riot.
I have to admit, I am rather curious to know how China, Japan & the Saudis, all of whom have seen their economies ravaged, will step up and purchase the necessary amount of treasuries to fund our own pork-laden stimulus package. It would seem that falling trade revenues would necessarily preclude buying what must amount to trillions in treasuries. Gee, I wonder how we'll solve this problem? Printing press anyone?
Have you wondered who makes this shit? No one will ever confuse this idiocy with art, but you have to make a concerted effort to produce something so hopelessly cheesy. Do porn producers moonlight as infomercial shills? The tip off comes around .55 seconds when the blonde bimbos w/token readhead/asian/black share how cute they think the cheesedick standing across the room is. A knowing grin spreads across his face as he nods in a porno-esque manner. I don't know why they didn't just take it all the way and write in the part where he looks at himself in the mirror, points with both fingers locked in pistol formation, does the click, click sound effect with his tongue and says, "yeah, you're a real tiger". And then there's the small issue of the 70s electronic chicka bow bow keyboard music and a foursome in the coatroom complete with shared facial.
Just in case you didn't know that most cops are mentally deficient sociopaths, this video should help bring you around. The police officer in question, Paul Schene, can be seen beating the snot out of 15-year-old Malika Calhoun. That Calhoun is a mischievous little ghetto thug is not in question, it's just that the response to what appears to be flinging a shoe at the officers seems, well, a bit disproportionate. It would seem that littly Malika took the beating that officer Schene's wife, kids and dog were to receive after he polised off a bottle of Makers Mark. And if you thnk this is an isolated incident, think again. Cops are some of the slimiest, festering piece of filth that walk this earth.
