MORE LIBERAL HATE SPEWERS BITE THE DUST

James O’Keefe already brought ACORN down and now he brings down NPR. Nice job Mr. O’Keefe. The truth will always set you free. I’m sure that Smokey and LLPOH will come to the defense of NPR, since what O’Keefe did was unethical and not according to the rules of journalism. Rules are rules.

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns Over James O’Keefe Video

Benjy Sarlin | March 9, 2011, 9:54AM

Former CEO of National Public Radio Vivian Schiller

NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller resigned from the news organization Wednesday morning in response to a hidden camera prank targeting NPR Foundation president Ron Schiller, adding another high-profile notch to James O’Keefe’s belt.

“The Board accepted Vivian’s resignation with understanding, genuine regret and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years,” read a statement from NPR Board Chairman Dave Edwards.

Ron Schiller (no relation to Vivian), president of the NPR Foundation, had already submitted his resignation on Tuesday evening after the network had placed him on leave and released a statement saying they were “appalled” by his behavior on a tape with a group of phony prospective donors slamming Tea Partiers, nodding politely as conspiracy theories about Jews in the media were floated, and suggesting NPR would be better off without federal funding. Another NPR executive in the video, Betsy Liley, director of institutional giving, is also on administrative leave.

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The video proved an uncomfortable and unexpected crisis for NPR, which was already under heavy fire from Republicans in Congress who are pushing legislation to cut funding to the public broadcaster. Majority Leader Eric Cantor seized upon Ron Schiller’s remarks in the video yesterday as proof that NPR could survive without federal dollars while critics pointed to Schiller’s numerous denunciations of the Tea Party as evidence the news organization was biased towards the left. Ron Schiller was not part of the news division of the organization.

Vivian Schiller, who took her position in 2009, had recently weathered another difficult episode in the organization’s history, firing commentator Juan Williams over comments that some critics felt were derogatory towards Muslims. Williams has since taken a position with FOX News, and many conservatives claimed that his firing was inappropriate and more cause to defund NPR. In a speech to the National Press Club this year, Schiller admitted, “We handled the situation badly. We acted too hastily and we made some mistakes, and I made some mistakes.”

Williams, for his part, ripped NPR on Fox News over the latest video.

“This was an act of incredible condescension,” he said on Fox Nation, according to the Huffington Post. “They will say things to your face about how there’s no liberal orthodoxy at NPR, how they play it straight, but now you see it for what it is. They prostitute themselves for money.”

According to NPR, Vivian Schiller will be succeeded by Joyce Slocum, Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, who will serve as an interim CEO while the board finds a permanent replacement.

CLUELESS AMERICANS

“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!” – George Carlin

Whenever I read the responses of average Americans to questions about the economy and how our government operates, I think of George Carlin. Here is another poll that confirms we are doomed. Americans like big government. They actually think the government creates jobs. They actually aren’t worried at all about peak oil. They actually think we can cut the budget without touching Medicare or Social Security or the Military. The education system in this country has done just as those in power wanted. It has created the most clueless, docile, non-critical thinking flock of sheep ever assembled on earth in one place. They approach the slaughterhouse without a care in the world. Here is teh link to the actual survey.

http://media.bloomberg.com/bb/avfile/rk74U1tEA.R0

Americans Oppose Government Shutdown, Fault Cuts in Poll

Americans are sending a message to congressional Republicans: Don’t shut down the federal government or slash spending on popular programs.

Almost 8 in 10 people say Republicans and Democrats should reach a compromise on a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit to keep the government running, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. At the same time, lopsided margins oppose cuts to Medicare, education, environmental protection, medical research and community-renewal programs.

While Americans say it’s important to improve the government’s fiscal situation, among the few deficit-reducing moves they back are cutting foreign aid, pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and repealing the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 a year.

The results of the March 4-7 poll underscore the hazards confronting Republicans, as well as President Barack Obama and Democrats, as they face a showdown over funding the government and seek a broader deficit-reduction plan.

“Americans do not have a realistic picture of the budget,” says J. Ann Selzer, the Des Moines, Iowa-based pollster who conducted the survey. “We all know people who are in debt yet cannot for the life of them figure out where the money goes.”

Overall, public concern about the deficit — which is projected to reach $1.6 trillion this year — is growing, although it’s still eclipsed by employment, with poll respondents ranking job creation as a higher priority.

1% of Budget

More than seven in 10 respondents say slashing foreign aid and pulling troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan would result in substantial savings, and large majorities back such moves. Yet foreign aid accounts for about 1 percent of federal spending, and the Pentagon requested $159 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, less than 5 percent of Obama’s $3.83 trillion federal budget.

Fewer than half of respondents say cutting Medicare benefits or raising the age at which Americans receive Social Security retirement benefits would have a large impact on the deficit, and only 2 in 10 favor cutting Medicare benefits. Such entitlements account for about 40 percent of the budget and are the main drivers of the long-term deficit.

“Those people need those benefits,” says Will Moore, 36- year-old electrician from Dallas, Georgia, in a follow-up interview. Congress instead should eliminate “useless government programs and cut taxes and put money back in people’s pockets to stimulate spending,” says Moore.

Eclipsed by Jobs

When given five choices for the most important issue facing the nation, unemployment and jobs ranked first with 43 percent – – down from 50 percent in Bloomberg’s December 2010 poll — with the deficit and spending cited by 29 percent, up from 25 percent. Health care was chosen by 12 percent, the war in Afghanistan by 7 percent, and immigration by 3 percent.

Asked to choose between jobs and the deficit, 56 percent called creating jobs the government’s more important priority now, while 42 percent said cutting spending was.

Obama and congressional leaders have until March 18 to break an impasse over funding the government through the end of the 2011 fiscal year or risk a shutdown. The Republican-led House last month passed a $1.2 trillion budget that includes $61 billion in cuts. Obama and Democrats call the reductions excessive and propose cutting a total of about $10 billion. The debate is only over the current budget and doesn’t include long- term issues about the debt, including entitlements.

Cautionary Notes

To be sure, the poll holds cautionary notes and signs of opportunities for both parties in the budget battle. It shows the public doesn’t support the Republicans’ deep cuts to social and scientific programs. Solid majorities reject significant reductions in community programs that serve lower-income Americans, medical and scientific research, education programs and the Environmental Protection Agency. Fifty percent oppose significant cuts to public television and radio, compared with 46 percent who are in favor of that.

Still, the results indicate the public embraces the Republican argument that spending cuts will improve the economy and create jobs and doesn’t agree with Obama’s plan to invest in such areas as infrastructure to jumpstart a recovery.

Fifty-three percent say the drive to cut spending and taxes would improve the economy, while 44 percent say spending money on high-speed rail, expanding access to broadband Internet and developing new sources of alternative energy, as Obama proposes, would lay the groundwork for growth.

The poll also found that 61 percent say it’s possible to bring down the deficit substantially without raising taxes, while 37 percent said it isn’t possible.

Partisan Divide

While large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans want to avoid a government shutdown, that feeling is stronger among Democrats: Only 6 percent of Democrats say the issue of spending cuts is important enough to warrant a shutdown, compared with 92 percent who said they want to avoid that; 29 percent of Republicans say deep reductions need to be made even if it means closing down the government for a time, while 69 percent say that should be avoided. Just over 7 of 10 independents say they want compromise.

Overall, 77 percent say while cuts need to be made, an accord should be reached to avert a shutdown, compared with 20 percent who say a shutdown would be tolerable.

“I don’t think that allowing the government to shut down is acceptable,” says Suzanne Ray, a 67-year-old retired state employee from Richmond, Virginia, who describes herself as an independent. “We have elected people who should be able to reach reasonable decisions instead of acting like a bunch of spoiled children.”

Hands Off Medicare

While the broad majority that wants compromise on the budget may signal peril for Republicans, 45 percent say the party would benefit more than Democrats from a shutdown for having taken a strong stand against spending; 34 percent say Democrats would gain.

People are reluctant to touch Medicare, with more than three-quarters opposing any reduction in benefits to the insurance program for the elderly. Fifty-one percent say that would make little difference to the federal deficit, compared with 44 percent who say it would have a big impact.

Respondents split over whether gradually raising the age of eligibility for retirement for Social Security to 69 would produce at least modest savings: 47 percent say it would produce very or fairly large savings, compared with 48 percent who say it would have little impact.

The public may be opening up to the idea of raising the eligibility requirement for Social Security. From December, there was a 7-point increase in the percentage of Americans who support raising the retirement age, to 44 percent. While just 22 percent say Medicare benefits should be reduced, that’s a 7- point jump from three months ago.

Do Something

And 40 percent say Medicare should be replaced with a system in which government vouchers would help participants pay for their own health insurance.

“Something has to be done,” says Stanley Stein, a 75- year-old retired X-ray technician from Sahuarita, Arizona, who endorses raising the retirement age and means-testing Social Security benefits. “Otherwise, there’ll be nothing for anybody.”

There’s also a partisan split in public perceptions of the threat posed by the deficit.

Forty-six percent of Republicans and 47 percent of Tea Party supporters call the deficit and government spending the most important issue facing the country, compared with 16 percent of Democrats, for whom jobs ranks first. Almost 7 in 10 Republicans and Tea Party backers say spending is the more important priority over jobs, while 77 percent of Democrats choose job creation over the deficit. Jobs are the higher priority for independents, by a margin of 55 percent to 42 percent — almost identical to respondents overall.

The poll of 1,001 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

RE’s Daily Rant-3/8/2011

World War III Expands
Daily Rant Archive 2/11/11, 2/12/11, 2/14/11, 2/15/11, 2/17/11, 2/18/11, 2/19/11, 2/20/11, 2/21/11, 2/23/11, 2/25/11, 2/27/11, 2/28/11, 3/2/11, 3/3/11, 3/5/11, 3/7/11	Top Links Reverse Engineering Automatic Earth Zero Hedge Economic Undertow Of Two Minds
Rant Lite Today’s rant examines scenarios for the escalating War for Oil in the Middle East.		Quote of the Day Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

A Tale of Two Depressions

As the Great Depression progressed onward, the early collapse in RE prices made many Banks insolvent, which then precipitated the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Saudi Arabia is Going Down

When the Saudis have to Ban Protests in an already ridiculously repressive state, the End is not far off.

Other Shoes and the Uselessness Premium

“Creating fuel production in a failed- state Libya is beyond the grasp of the EU’s and United States’ unconventional ‘assets’. Blatant military intervention would be opposed by Russia, China and no doubt the other oil- producing autocracies.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUcnNfjku6U&feature=related

World War III over in the M.E. has ratcheted its way up here quite a bit in the last couple of days. Dominoes are falling fast and furious now.

Unlike in Egypt, el-Kabong has shown he isn’t going to exit stage left quietly, and while the MSM tiptoes around the subject saying “Libya MIGHT descend into Civil War”, the truth is apparent, there is ALREADY a full on Civil War going on there.

Obama-sama has declared “Nothing is off the Table”, and they are floating the idea of arming the rebel forces. Now exactly who to and how they will issue Assault Rifles and RPGs to isn’t exactly clear. Does a Container Ship pull up at the dock and Libyan Towel Heads line up for an issue of Guns and Ammo? Do they pay for the Ammo or we just hand it out for free? Nobody is handing me free Ammo! I am paying through the nose for it here! These folks live on $2 a day. How many rounds can you buy for $2 in Libya?

Then there are the Limeys and the Frogs, the ones most strenuously pushing for a “No Fly Zone” to be established over Libya. This because apparently for the Brits the boys at the London School of Economics were in bed with el-Kabong, and they are probably looking at losing a shit load of money here if they cannot protect their assets. For the Frogs, I suspect they along with the Ities get most of the shipments of Libyan Oil, its right across the Mediterranean Sea. They are getting hit first and hardest with the supply loss, which they have to try to make up from other sources, but this is pretty hard to do when all the other sources are having problems producing also and what they do produce already has been contracted for.

So, on the Gas shortages/lines/rationing problem, the Ities and the Frogs look like they will be the first Western Countries hit. I don’t know if either of those countries maintain any kind of SPR. Labor strikes have already hit the Frogs, if they start having trouble getting gas, France is going to be in the deep doo-doo very quickly. So these folks want to shut down the Libyan Civil War ASAP and get those Oil Wells producing quickly.

So if you figure its hitting them first, they should be the ones who sign up a bunch more Mercs for the French Foreign Legion to head over to Libya to guard the Oil Wells. Both the French and the Brits have plenty of their own Jets, and you don’t even need an Aircraft Carrier, you can sortie the Jets straight out of an airbase in Sicily. Its only about 300 nautical miles across the Med Sea for them to Bomb Tripoli back to the Stone Age. So if any Western Countries are about to drop in on this Clusterfuck, one suspects the Brits and the French will be the first to do so.

While the Civil War has been spinning up, the Refugee issue is getting rapidly bigger. Just yesterday I read in the MSM the Spin that the refugee issue was not too bad, 100K or so on the borders of Algeria and Egypt. Today, the number was jacked up an order of magnitude to 1M. “Humanitarian Crisis” has hit the pages of the MSM. An HC is ALWAYS the excuse for a UN “Peacekeeping” Force to be dropped into a War Zone. So I am figuring the UN is negotiating to set up Refugee Camps in Egypt and Algeria, where they will then drop in a shit load of French and Brit Mercs, using these refugee camps as a staging ground for sending in counterinsurgency Special Ops to try and Capture/Kill el-Kabong. They clearly have to try this before trying to stage up a massive INVASION with Tanks, the hope being if they can come out with el-Kabong’s Head on a Pike, the Rabble will calm down and they can then Restore Order. Trying alternatively to restore order here by Brute Force will take a LOT of military assets. Just think about all those WWII Tank Battles in North Africa between Patton, Montgomery and Rommel. This is a BIG patch of land to try to control this way.

The question here is just how well prepped is el-Kabong? How much fuel does he have stored up for his Jets? How many MREs does he have sequestered to dish out to his “Loyal” troops? How good a Bunker did he build with his Oil Billions? Is it better than Hitler’s Bunker? I’ll bet it is. Probably has its own Micro Nuke Hitachi Power Plant buried and a deep well drilled down to the water table left over from the Jurrasic Period, 50 years worth of Mountain House Freeze Dried Food and an Underground Hydroponic Farm for growing produce into the next century. LOL.

Even if he just has an average Bunker though, its unlikely that unless he makes a HUGE mistake and gets caught out in the open making a Speech that the Mossad will be able to take him out quickly. How LONG can he keep his war machine rolling with fuel and ammo? Can he hold his OWN Oil fields Hostage, and threaten the Brits and Frogs that if they try to get him he will blow the wells to Kingdom Come? El-Kabong is CLEARLY psycho enough to do this, you would have to believe he would do it.

Meanwhile, over in Saudi Arabia, its heating up fast as well. Despite the Diktat from the House of Saud that all demonstrations are Illegal under Sharia Law and political opponents being arrested and tortured willy nilly, there is a big Demonstration planned for Friday, and I suspect this will get the ball really rolling in Saudi Arabia as well. The Saudi Royalty has been watching all the shit go down all around them, so I cannot see them tolerating any kind of large demonstration. If there is one, I suspect the Saudis will go in and hit them hard and fast. This won’t work to stop the problem, it will make it worse and then Saudi Arabia goes down the same road as Libya. I certainly cannot see the House of Saud picking up and leaving quietly like the Hoser did from Egypt. Like el-Kabong, those Sheiks know if they cannot hold onto Power there, they are FINISHED, all their wealth goes Bye-Bye as the “Authorities” at the BIS freeze all their accounts. They’ll be back to Camel driving.

So, bottom line here, possibly in as short a time span as one month or so from RIGHT NOW, we could see along with Libya in full on Civil War, Saudi Arabia in much the same predicament. This basically completes the path of Anarchy and War stretching from Morocco in North Africa all the way across to Pakistan, easily triple the geographical area of Europe in WWII. This by itself is World War, but does not even take into account the shit going on between the Koreas, the shit going on in Chechnya, and the shit going on down on the Mexican Border, along with all the shit going down in Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia et al. Its WORLD WAR III folks, its here. So far YOU are still somewhat insulated from this anarchy, but its Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You in some fashion.

What will the “fashion” be that the Big Show comes to your Theatre? Well, remembering back to WWII, the Battles all occurred over in Europe and North Africa and China and in the Pacific Islands. We did not get Bombed over here, but we did have serious rationing. At the moment, for the most part it looks like that scenario gets repeated, but as I indicated in a prior post, it looks to be worse rationing this time because we do not have our own local supply of Oil in sufficient quantity to keep all the systems developed since running and we have a much larger population.

The Austerity required this time around here in the FSofA to support the War Machine I think will be too great for the society to bear, and so as this progresses we also will break down into Civil War. This isn’t going to happen overnight, its still likely a couple of years away. Still, you have to remember that down in Mexico they are already about in full anarchy as Cantarell stops producing, and this can only mean the border issues down in TX and AZ will increase. If/when we start having Blackouts/Brownouts in the Big Shities, the FSA in these Shities will take the opportunity to start Looting. Mad Max commences shortly thereafter. Forget subsisting on Grasshoppers and Mealworms, if you expect to survive in the Big Shities, you will need to develop a taste for Human Flesh. Stock up plenty of Curry, all meat tastes the same when Curried, just ask any Chef in an Indian Restaurant. Cats, Dogs, Mice, 4^th Grade Children, Nursing Home residents, whatever, you cannot tell the difference when you load it up with Curry. If/when we get Soylent Green, its about guaranteed it will be flavored with Curry.

Time is definitely RUNNING OUT now to make your ESCAPE. I do not recommend you try to escape outside the borders of the FSofA unless you have contacts and some connection to people wherever it is you are planning on evacuating to and you fit in racially, ethnically and religiously with the dominant population of the area. Do not head for South America unless you speak FLUENT Spanish and/or Portuguese and can pass as Hispanic. Do not head for Asia unless you speak FLUENT Mandarin and are at least half Han Chinese. If you are a White, the only places you should head for are the ones where Whites are dominant. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Finland, the Falkland Islands, Norway, Tasmania, Tristan de Cunha-Edinburgh of the Seven Seas are about the ONLY places I would ever consider as reasonable to try to evacuate to if you were going to leave the FSofA as a White Person. Britain is OUT. Britain is TOAST. The Sun has SET on the British Empire and the little island they Ruled the World from for a while. Ireland might be survivable.

Inside the borders of the FSofA, Numero Uno BEST location for White Folks, ALASKA!!! Ranked in order on the FSofA Top Ten RE Doomer Holes List:

1) Matanuska-Susitna River Valley, Alaska

2) Juneau/Ketchikan Alaska

3) The Valley of the Great Salt Lake, Rocky Mountains Utah (especially if you are a Mormon)

4) Cascade Mountains, Oregon,Washington

5) Ozarks Mountains, Missouri and Arkansas

6) Tennessee Valley, Smokey Mountains

7) Shenandoah Valley, Poconos Mountains

8) Adirondack Mountains, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire

9) White Mountains, New Hampshire, Maine

10) Louisiana Bayou (if you are OK with Sweating all the time)

You can buy some raw land CHEAP in many of these places right now (though not as cheap as it will be in the future, but if you have the money and want to secure the purchase now the prices are not too bad). A good purchase would be Raw Land bordering on a National Park. Much as I do not believe in Land Ownership for myself, I bought 20 Acres bordering on Mark Twain National Forest and put it in my Grand Nephew’s Name. Used about half my 401K when I cashed out to make that purchase. He is only 5 years old, but unlike his Dad my Nephew, he has no Debts encumbering him. The Banksters do not Own him yet. He OWNS that land under our current Goobermint and Property Ownership system, Free & Clear. I’ll pay the Taxes on it long as I can, it is unimproved hunting land and the taxes are low. My family in Missouri can pack up and go there if things get tough. I have hammered down on them for the last 3 years to Prep Up and be ready to move, I can only hope they will when it becomes necessary, I am too far away otherwise to make a difference for them. As it is, they aren’t in a bad zone, Springfield MO is a small city surrounded by a lot of working Farms, I think Springfield will do OK for a while. My Brother-in-Law is a Tool & Die Man, and his company got a contract to supply plumbing fixtures for the building going up on the old WTC site in NYC. Should keep the company going a few more years if the monetary system does not crap out completely. Call me a Hypocrite if you like for doing this, for taking some of my Illuminati Money and BUYING land, but this IS the system and its not changing this minute, so I might as well get rid of the Fiat this way, eh? WTF else would I do with the money anyhow? Buy GOLD? Sorry, I don’t need a new Paperweight and besides, I can always go out and pan up some more, it just takes a lot of patience to do it and you get very little each day, but good grief, when its price goes up to $1500/oz, any idiot with a pan can pull up that much in a month of work by a good stream. Tedious work, but not as bad as flipping burgers at Mickey Ds, and while you do it you can ponder on the nature of existence, quite like when you go Ice Fishing. It’s not stressful, very relaxing actually.

Of course, you also can only do it for 3 or 4 months or so after the spring thaw, it’s not year-round work. I expect though that if the Gold price continues to skyrocket, this summer there will be a LOT of Panners out there. LOL. I am actually considering taking the summer off this year just to Pan, Fish and Hunt. Probably won’t do it, but I am considering it. Another alternative I am considering for the summer is touring Doomstead locations in NZ and British Columbia, and maybe making a last trip to Europe before it devolves into complete anarchy (assuming that has not already occurred by June). Another alternative I am considering is taking one last Gas Consumptive Tour of the NA Continent, driving from the Mat Valley across the Al-Can and all the way back to my birthplace in NYC. If it looks like the gas is going to be available for that trip at anything under $5/gallon, I might go for it. Visit tent cities, check out the real stories across the nation. Perhaps make some speeches and talk from the pulpit of some Unitarian Churches across the country. I still have decent connections with the Unitarians, it’s the “religion” I was brought up under. If I use the Bugout Machine for it, it probably costs $10K in fuel. There is REAL Hypocrisy for you if I do that one. LOL. But Hell, I am gonna die soon enough anyhow, and the 2000 gallons of gas I use to make this trip isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference anyhow globally speaking, so WTF. I think it would be a decent utility of the fuel and my money, to chronicle what I see and write about it. Anyhow, I will decide come around May what I will do this summer. Call this Doomer Vacation Planning.

Anyhow, I have drifted quite a bit in this Rant off the main topic of the evolution of WWIII we are witnessing. I really do not see at this point how anyone could make the case that WWIII is not already in progress when you look at what is currently going on in the M.E. At this MOMENT, it is not really affecting directly most of us here in the FSofA, but it most CERTAINLY is affecting millions if not BILLIONS of people across the M.E. countries. All of these countries are LOADED with the weapons of the Industrial War Machine, in order to Maintain Power Puppets like el-Kabong and the Saudi Sheiks have spent a FORTUNE in Oil money buying the tools of high tech warfare, from the assault rifles to the helicopter gunships to the jets. The system is coming apart at the seams, and now these weapons will be used, one way or the other. It is getting ugly out there NOW, and it is Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You.

See you on the Other Side.

THERE ARE NO GOOD OUTCOMES

The political class and their mouthpieces in the corporate controlled mainstream media are desperately trying to spin the oil price surge as a temporary inconvenience that will not derail their phony recovery story. Brent crude closed at $116 per barrel yesterday. West Texas crude closed at $104 per barrel. Unleaded gas has risen by 22% in the last month and 60% since September 1, 2010. I’m sure this slight increase hasn’t impacted Ben Bernanke or Lloyd Blankfein. Their limo drivers just charge it to their unlimited expense accounts. Joe Sixpack, driving his 15 mpg Dodge RAM pickup, is now forking over an extra $1,200 per year in gas expenditures, not to mention more for everything impacted by oil such as food, utilities, and anything transported to their local Wal-Mart by truck (everything). Luckily, the Federal Reserve and crooked politicians only care about their comrades in the top 1% elitist society, for whom oil is an investment, not an expense.

UNLEADED GAS

The “experts” speak as if they know what will happen, even though they never saw the rebellions coming in Tunisia, Egypt or Libya. They assure the masses that Libya doesn’t really have an impact on U.S. oil supply. It’s as if these shills never took Econ 101 in college. World oil demand is 88 million barrels per day. Oil supply is 88 million barrels per day. If 1 million barrels of oil supply are taken off-line, it doesn’t matter that the U.S. doesn’t get their oil from Libya. The Italians need their oil. Do the talking heads understand that oil is fungible? The supplier will ship the oil to the highest bidder. Presto!!! – $116 a barrel oil.

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies

Let’s assess the probability of things getting better in the near, medium, long term or ever term. Take a gander at the chart below. These countries account for 29% of the daily world oil supply. Does it strike you as a list of stable countries with happy populations of employed young men? Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Iran have already experienced revolution or are on the verge of revolution. Algeria is dead man walking. The Saudi royal family is trying to buy off the masses to stay in power. The revolution genie is out of the bottle. It can’t be put back. Mix 40% unemployment, with millions of young men, no hope, and some Muslim fundamentalism and you’ve got yourself an out of control situation. No amount of public relations spin will create a positive outcome for the United States. The existing world order of despots, kings, and military juntas was just fine for Washington DC. They poured hundreds of billions of “aid”, tanks, helicopters and missiles to these “freedom fighter” despots who diverted the billions to their Swiss bank accounts and fell into line with U.S. policy. No matter who takes power when these revolutions succeed in toppling our puppets, the new regimes will not be friendlier toward America. And they still have the oil.

	Proven Oil	Oil
Country	Reserves (bil barrels)	Production Per Day
Saudi Arabia	265	8,400,000
Iran	137	3,700,000
Iraq	115	2,700,000
UAE	98	2,300,000
Kuwait	102	2,300,000
Libya	46	1,600,000
Algeria	12	1,300,000
Qatar	25	820,000
Oman	6	810,000
Egypt	4	742,000
Syria	3	376,000
Yemen	3	298,000

One look at the chart of self reported world oil reserves paints a picture of woe for the United States. Countries in the tinderbox of the Middle East and Africa control 65% of the world’s oil reserves. Saudi Arabia controls 20%, Iran and Iraq control 11% each, Venezuela controls 7%, Russia 5%, and Libya 3%. So, countries that can barely stomach our existence, hate us, or just despise us, control 57% of the world’s remaining oil. Sounds like a recipe for lower oil prices in the future. The two countries on our border are the only dependable suppliers for the U.S. Canada controls 13% of the world oil reserves, mostly in its tar sands. Mexico controls just over 1% of the world’s oil reserves, but supplies 13% of the U.S. daily oil supply.

Drill, Baby, Drill

Now for a reality check on the “Drill Baby Drill” propagandists like Larry Kudlow and the other dishonest Republican shills. The United States controls a full 1.58% of the remaining oil reserves in the world. We have 21.3 billion barrels of reserves versus 264 billion barrels in Saudi Arabia. We are currently producing 9 million barrels per day. At that production rate, the U.S. will deplete its proven reserves in the next 6 to 10 years. New discoveries will not be able to keep up with depletion of existing wells. The good news just keeps coming. Mexico’s oil production has been dependent upon one giant oil field since 1976. The Cantarell oil field produced 2.1 million barrels per day in 2003 at its peak. It is currently producing 464,000 barrels per day. Peak oil has arrived in Mexico. By 2015, the country that currently supplies 13% of our daily oil supply will become a net importer of oil. Drill Baby Drill.

Based upon the monthly import data below from the IEA, it would appear that, to paraphrase Chief Brody in Jaws, we’re going to need more corn. As the Obama administration operates in denial of these simple facts, they will continue to push ethanol and Chevy Volts to save us from dirty oil. We are already diverting 40% of our corn crop to the ethanol boondoggle. I’m sure that has nothing to do with the 98% increase in corn prices in the last year. Maybe tax credits for solar panels on SUVs and rubber band propeller cars will save the day.

We know for a fact that Mexico’s 1.2 million barrels per day will evaporate in the next few years. But, at least we have that solid dependable 2.7 million barrels per day (30% of our daily imports) from those stable bastions of democracy Nigeria, Venezuela, Iraq, Angola, and Algeria. Makes you want to go out and buy a Hummer. The storyline being sold to the American people is that there is no need to worry. Saudi Arabia will step to the plate and make up for any shortfalls throughout the world. Just one problem. Saudi Arabia is lying about their reserves and their ability to increase production. They’d fit in very well in Congress and on Wall Street.

Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries) (Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country	Dec-10	Nov-10	YTD 2010	Dec-09	YTD 2009

CANADA	2,064	1,975	1,972	2,104	1,943
MEXICO	1,223	1,229	1,140	1,063	1,092
SAUDI ARABIA	1,076	1,119	1,080	870	980
NIGERIA	1,024	806	986	1,020	776
VENEZUELA	825	884	912	772	951
IRAQ	336	340	414	325	449
ANGOLA	307	263	380	266	448
BRAZIL	271	188	254	181	295
ALGERIA	262	379	325	336	281
COLOMBIA	220	489	338	179	251
ECUADOR	192	188	195	86	181
RUSSIA	158	85	252	168	230
KUWAIT	125	170	195	160	180
UNITED KINGDOM	124	80	120	67	103
ARGENTINA	85	35	29	33	53

Lies, Obfuscation, Misinformation & Denial

The late Matt Simmons made the strong case In his book Twilight in the Desert that Saudi Arabia has been lying about their reserves for years. Documents released by Wikileaks give support to this contention. Cables from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh , released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from senior Saudi government oil executive Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at the Saudi oil monopoly Aramco, that the kingdom’s crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.
The UK Guardian reported:

According to the cables, which date between 2007-09, Husseini said Saudi Arabia might reach an output of 12m barrels a day in 10 years but before then – possibly as early as 2012 – global oil production would have hit its highest point. This crunch point is known as “peak oil”.

Husseini said that at that point Aramco would not be able to stop the rise of global oil prices because the Saudi energy industry had overstated its recoverable reserves to spur foreign investment. He argued that Aramco had badly underestimated the time needed to bring new oil on tap.

One cable said: “According to al-Husseini, the crux of the issue is twofold. First, it is possible that Saudi reserves are not as bountiful as sometimes described, and the timeline for their production not as unrestrained as Aramco and energy optimists would like to portray.”

The US consul then told Washington: “While al-Husseini fundamentally contradicts the Aramco company line, he is no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered.”

A fourth cable, in October 2009, claimed that escalating electricity demand by Saudi Arabia may further constrain Saudi oil exports. “Demand [for electricity] is expected to grow 10% a year over the next decade as a result of population and economic growth. As a result it will need to double its generation capacity to 68,000MW in 2018,” it said.

It also reported major project delays and accidents as “evidence that the Saudi Aramco is having to run harder to stay in place – to replace the decline in existing production.” While fears of premature “peak oil” and Saudi production problems had been expressed before, no US official has come close to saying this in public.

The overstatement of reserves by Saudi Arabia and most of the OPEC countries should be abundantly clear to anyone with a smattering of critical thinking skills. This eliminates just about everyone on CNBC or Fox News. Essentially, the self reported, unaudited declared oil reserves from OPEC members are a fraud. Production quotas for each member of OPEC are dependent upon their oil reserve amount. When this was instituted in the early 1980s, shockingly OPEC countries miraculously added nearly 300 billion barrels to proven reserves in a six year period with NO NEW DISCOVERIES of oil. The chart below shows the unexplained jumps in reserves in red. Do you honestly believe any self reported number from Iran or Venezuela? Dr. Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, a former senior expert of the National Iranian Oil Company, has estimated that Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have overstated reserves by a combined 320–390 billion barrels and has said, “As for Iran, the usually accepted official 132 billion barrels is almost one hundred billion over any realistic estimate.”

Using some common sense, someone might ask, “How could Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves remain above 260 million for the last 22 years despite pumping over 60 billion barrels during this time frame, and not making any major new discoveries?” Maybe their statisticians did their training at Goldman Sachs or the Federal Reserve. The monster Saudi oil fields are over 40 years old. They will deplete. Oil is finite. They will not refill abiotically like some crackpots contend. Saudi Arabia’s production peaked in 2005 and it has been unable to reach that level since. The spin sheiks in Riyadh and spin doctors in Washington DC cannot spin oil out of sand. Peak oil is about to choke the American way of life.

Declared reserves of major Opec Producers (billion of barrels)
BP Statistical Review – June 2009
Year	Iran	Iraq	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia	UAE	Venezuela	Libya	Nigeria
1980	58.3	30.0	67.9	168.0	30.4	19.5	20.3	16.7
1981	57.0	32.0	67.7	167.9	32.2	19.9	22.6	16.5
1982	56.1	59.0	67.2	165.5	32.4	24.9	22.2	16.8
1983	55.3	65.0	67.0	168.8	32.3	25.9	21.8	16.6
1984	58.9	65.0	92.7	171.7	32.5	28.0	21.4	16.7
1985	59.0	65.0	92.5	171.5	33.0	54.5	21.3	16.6
1986	92.9	72.0	94.5	169.7	97.2	55.5	22.8	16.1
1987	92.9	100.0	94.5	169.6	98.1	58.1	22.8	16.0
1988	92.9	100.0	94.5	255.0	98.1	58.5	22.8	16.0
1989	92.9	100.0	97.1	260.1	98.1	59.0	22.8	16.0
1990	92.9	100.0	97.0	260.3	98.1	60.1	22.8	17.1
1991	92.9	100.0	96.5	260.9	98.1	62.6	22.8	20.0
1992	92.9	100.0	96.5	261.2	98.1	63.3	22.8	21.0
1993	92.9	100.0	96.5	261.4	98.1	64.4	22.8	21.0
1994	94.3	100.0	96.5	261.4	98.1	64.9	22.8	21.0
1995	93.7	100.0	96.5	261.5	98.1	66.3	29.5	20.8
1996	92.6	112.0	96.5	261.4	97.8	72.7	29.5	20.8
1997	92.6	112.5	96.5	261.5	97.8	74.9	29.5	20.8
1998	93.7	112.5	96.5	261.5	97.8	76.1	29.5	22.5
1999	93.1	112.5	96.5	262.8	97.8	76.8	29.5	29.0
2000	99.5	112.5	96.5	262.8	97.8	76.8	36.0	29.0
2001	99.1	115.0	96.5	262.7	97.8	77.7	36.0	31.5
2002	130.7	115.0	96.5	262.8	97.8	77.3	36.0	34.3
2003	133.3	115.0	99.0	262.7	97.8	77.2	39.1	35.3
2004	132.7	115.0	101.5	264.3	97.8	79.7	39.1	35.9
2005	137.5	115.0	101.5	264.2	97.8	80.0	41.5	36.2
2006	138.4	115.0	101.5	264.3	97.8	87.3	41.5	36.2
2007	138.2	115.0	101.5	264.2	97.8	99.4	43.7	36.2
2008	137.6	115.0	101.5	264.1	97.8	99.4	43.7	36.2

The denial, accusations and misinformation have already begun. Congressional hearings will be called to blame Big Oil and the dreaded speculators. Americans always need a bogeyman to blame for their mindless decisions and willingness to be led to slaughter by corrupt politicians. Big oil companies do benefit from higher oil prices. Big oil companies spend millions buying off Congressmen. Big oil companies cut corners, ignore safety procedures, and seek profits by any means possible. But, they do not control the oil. Nations control the oil. Many of these nations are led by lying, corrupt, evil despots. That is a fact. Blustering moronic Congressmen going after oil executives and phantom speculators is just a sideshow. It will divert the non-thinking masses from the truth that our leaders haven’t allowed a refinery or nuclear power plant to be built since 1977. These leaders have promoted and subsidized corn based ethanol that requires more energy to produce than it creates and has driven the cost of our food sky high. We are more dependent on foreign oil than any time in our history.

The real speculators are the Americans who clog our highways every morning driving monster SUVs, turbocharged sports cars, gas guzzling minivans, and pickup trucks that make them feel like salt of the earth tough guys despite living in their 6,000 square foot energy sucking McMansions in suburban tracts 30 miles from their jobs, if they have one. The ignorance of the average American car buyer knows no bounds. The recent bounce back in auto sales was led by SUVs and pickups. The green clean cars are nothing but hype and bullshit. GM expects to sell about 10,000 Volts this year, and Nissan expects to sell about 25,000 Leafs in the United States, a piss in the ocean compared with the millions of sport wagons and SUVs purchased by Americans annually. Americans have the attention span of a gnat and are already dazed and confused by the surge in gas prices to $3.50 per gallon.

When oil prices spiked to $147 barrel in 2008, Americans were spending $467 billion per year for fuel. By early 2009, the collapse in energy prices due to the worldwide recession reduced the annual expenditure to $265 billion, freeing up over $200 billion for consumers to spend on other items, pay down debt, or save. Expenditures for fuel had already surged back to $400 billion before the recent spike in oil prices. Next stop $500 billion. That should do wonders for the faux economic recovery that has been touted by Obama and the MSM for the last year. The years of denial, lies, indecision, bad decisions, and inertia have left the country vulnerable and at the mercy of countries in far off lands that despise our way of life.

There are no good outcomes, only bad, really bad, and catastrophic. Take your pick. Could gas prices drop below $3.00 per gallon if the world sinks back into recession? Yes. But it would only be momentary. The easy to access supply is dwindling. The medium and long term direction of gas at the pump is up. There is nothing that can be done in the next five years to prevent significantly higher oil prices. A full court press of realistic ideas like converting our truck fleets to natural gas, a major effort to build nuclear power plants, more drilling, greater use of wind, geothermal, and solar would take at least a decade to have an impact. There is no consensus or resolve to undertake such an effort. Therefore, Americans will suffer the consequences. Be a good American and take advantage of GM’s no interest for 7 years deal on their biggest baddest SUVs and buy two. What could go wrong?

LANSDALE CATHOLIC CRUSADERS WALK TOGETHER FOREVER

HATBORO HORSHAM SLEEPS WITH THE FISHES

The Lansdale Catholic Crusaders are the champions of the Suburban hockey league. In a tense game, the Crusaders prevailed 3 to 1. Our goalie Ben Mills played the game of his career. The Lansdale Catholic student body showed up en mass. We were able to match the loudness of the 500 HH fans with our 100 fans. There were numerous thundering body checks, with a number being delivered by Kevin Quinn. In the last 5 minutes he single handedly kept the puck in the HH zone for over a minute battling along the boards.

My Fred Shero post made the rounds among the team prior to the game. I’m sure it was the key to the victory.

CONGRATULATIONS LANSDALE CATHOLIC. YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT WILL LIVE WITH YOU FOREVER.

HARD WORK, DEDICATION, AND TEAMWORK ALWAYS PAYS OFF.

LC tops H-H to win league championship

The Crusaders captured the best-of-three Class A series in their first year in the American Division.

WARWICK TWP. – The building was packed, the crowd energetic. And the deciding game of the Suburban High School Hockey League Class A championship series matched expectations.

Joe McGarity, Nick Sette and Andrew Hart all scored goals as Lansdale Catholic downed Hatboro-Horsham 3-1 Thursday night at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center to take the series two games to one.

Both teams will be back in action next week in the Class A Flyers Cup tournament but, for the Crusaders, who moved over to the American Division from the defunct Catholic League Blue this season, this was the night that mattered.

“Oh my God, this feels amazing,” said LC winger Sette. “Words can’t describe the feeling. It’s almost like winning the Cup.”

The energy in the stands spread to the players on the ice; the opening period featured an abundance of end-to-end skating.

The Crusaders’ McGarity scored the period’s only goal on a shot from the right wing. Hatters goalie Jimmy Salfiti couldn’t quite cover the right post and the Crusaders had a 1-0 lead.

“I think we came out flat in the first period,” said Hatters coach Trish Silvestri. “I think we thought it would just happen instead of making it happen.”

Settle made it a 2-0 game at 7:55 of the second period when he beat Salfiti at close range.

By that point, both teams were feeling the effects of the game’s pace.

There was plenty of hitting and, for the most part, the officials let the players play on, whistling only the most serious of infractions.

Tim Boyle scored for the Hatters with 1:51 left in the second period to make it a one-goal game.

The Hatters failed to capitalize on an opportunity at the start of the third period when the Crusaders successfully killed off back-to-back minor penalties.

The Crusaders’ Andrew Hart spent two minutes in the box after being whistled for holding at 2:44 but, only moments later, scored the game-clinching goal when Lansdale Catholic dumped the puck into the Hatboro-Horsham defensive zone.

The Hatters were slow to go after the puck and the Crusaders’ Anthony Valerio got to it instead on the offensive left wing. He put the puck on Hart’s stick and it wound up behind Salfiti.

“We could see they weren’t working hard (around) the puck,” said Crusaders coach Mark DiDonato. “That (third) goal was huge.”

“They got a lot of bounces we didn’t get,” Silvestri said. “We had a lot of chances right by the net that just wouldn’t go in. I think our overall effort was there.

“Some of these kids have never been in a game like this. For them to work as hard as they have, that’s achieving a goal in itself.”

Rick Woelfel can be reached at [email protected]

Lansdale Catholic 3, Hatboro-Horsham 1

Lansdale Catholic 1 1 1-3

Hatboro-Horsham 0 1 0-1

First-period goal: Joe McGarity (LC) from Liam McCorry, 13:38.

Second-period goals: Nick Sette (LC) from Brendan Curtis and Andrew Hart, 7:55; Tim Boyle (HH) from Harry Nesbitt, 13:09.

Third-period goal: Hart (LC) from Anthony Valerio, 5:27.

Shots: LC 27, HH 24. Saves: Ben Mills (LC) 23; Jimmy Salfiti (HH) 24.

Records: LC (15-9); HH (14-9-3).

TOP 40 LIBERTARIAN WEBSITES

DBKPES

Our site deserves to be on this list. Nolan Chart is like the sound of one hand clapping. Dead as a doorknob. I bet our traffic counts beat at least 25 of these sites. Maybe Libertarians don’t use foull language. The Big Picture isn’t libertarian. Barry Ritholtz is an inside Wall Street guy.

Top Libertarian 40 Sites: March 2011

March 1, 2011

By Mondoreb

Top 40 most popular Libertarian websites according to 3-month Alexa worldwide traffic averages.

DBKP’s Top 40 list featuring Libertarian sites.

DBKP Reports has released its ratings of the top 40 most popular Libertarian websites on the Internet. Ratings are based on the sites’ 3-month average of Alexa worldwide traffic as ranked on February 27-28, 2011.

The Libertarian 40′s top five most popular sites is led by Lew Rockwell, followed by Reason and Ludwig Von Mises Institute. The top five is rounded out by The Daily Paul and the Big Picture.

Like all lists, the Libertarian list covers a lot of ground; our broad definition: all these sites cover topics of interest primarily–but not limited to–Libertarians: individual freedom and liberty, small government, unabashed defense of capitalism and the free market and fiscal restraint.

As with DBKP’s other lists, it’s planned that the Libertarian list will expand in the future to 100 sites as more become known. If your website (or one that you frequent) has been missed, drop a line to: [email protected].

DBKP Libertarian 40
March 1, 2011
1st Ratings- 2011

Rank	Alexa Rank	Website
1	Lew Rockwell	6823
2	Reason	10519
3	Ludwig von Mises Institute	12616
4	Daily Paul	14124
5	The Big Picture	16771
6	Electronic Frontier Foundation	18606
7	Ron Paul Forums	26531
8	Marginal Revolution	28829
9	Campaign for Liberty	42441
10	Cato Institute	47953

11	Library of Economics and Liberty	73208
12	Free State Project	96002
13	Freedom’s Phoenix	99024
14	The Agitator	120641
15	The Freeman	130164
16	Cafe Hayek	131898
17	Laissez Faire Books	147837
18	Young Americans for Liberty	168564
19	Ayn Rand Institute	189208
20	Downsize DC	197375

21	Independent Institute	198103
22	Advocates for Self-Government	204534
23	Strike the Root	213317
24	Bureau Crash	2215793
25	Vox Populi	233336
26	Nolan Chart	234672
27	Samizdata	256436
28	United Liberty	263070
29	Capitalism Magazine	276968
30	The Atlasphere</td>	286403

31	Center for a Stateless Society	321677
32	Adam Smith.org	345286
33	Build Freedom	346608
34	Acton Institute	347453
35	Liberty Pulse	354902
36	Coyote Blog	388545
37	The Entrepreneurial Mind	396360
38	Freedom Watch	405343
39	Questions and Observations	420434
40	Foundation for Economic Education	473863

LLPOH’s SHORT Story to Make You Mad #1: The Idiot Son

This is a story that I became aware of yesterday. It is a tragedy, and I think bears repeating.

Several times per year several of us, along with our wives, get together for fellowship and to discuss our business interests. We are like-minded individuals, and all own or operate small to medium sized businesses. We have been friends for many years. We had one of these lunches yesterday.

I was sitting next to one of my old friends and asked him how his business was going. He teared-up and could barely speak. He and I went aside to talk.

My friend is in his mid-seventies. His business is seventy five years old and was founded by his father in the Great Depression. His father nurtured and grew the business even during such hard times. My friend worked alongside his father for many years, and in due course the business became his. That was some forty years ago.

The business deals in relatively high dollar projects with six to twelve month lead-times. My friend slowly, steadily, patiently grew this business from a mere gosling to a full grown goose laying steadily more frequent golden eggs. Each year the business grew, added more employees, increased the size and scope of its projects, and became more profitable. It was never an enormous change year on year but rather was a steady and measured growth. The primary competition was originally local but gradually began to be centered overseas.

The business is and was always a relatively low margin business. Profitability relied on accurate quoting, highly skilled and experienced employees, and a set of rules that were developed over many decades. First among the rules was that the business always declined to undertake contracts above a certain size. The contract size undertaken would only expand as my friend determined that the business had the requisite skills and resources to do such larger contracts. Generally, each year the company could undertake slightly larger contracts. Currently the company has sales of approximately $10 million per annum, and employs dozens of people.

About twenty years ago my friend began to groom his son for succession. He sent him off to college to get his degree. Upon his return from college, my friend began the painstaking process of preparing him to one day assume control of the business. The son worked on the shop floor, in engineering, in quoting, in sales and administration. He was given experience throughout the company. Slowly he began to make major management decisions, carefully supervised. His biggest flaw was that he had the rashness of youth – he was constantly advocating for larger contracts and faster growth of the company. My friend was very patient with him and passed on the wisdom of many decades.

My friend was anxious to retire given is increasing age, but did not feel his son was quite ready. He stayed on, slowly reducing his hours, giving his son more authority, and checking his progress. His son was learning the lessons – jobs were accurately quoted, contracts were kept to an appropriate size, and profits were maintained.

Finally the day came when he saw that his son was ready. My friend was 73 on that day 18 months ago. He sold the business to his son on very favorable terms (the son borrowed against his house for the purchase) and ever so tenderly handed over the golden egg laying goose to his son, and proceeded to enjoy the fruits of his decades of labor – nice car, lavish holidays, etc. with his wife of many years.

The son, henceforth to be called the Idiot Son, roughly grasped the goose and ran off shouting “At long last I am King”. The die was cast.

With the first golden egg laid the Idiot Son ran down to the bank to show them its magnificence. The bank was duly impressed, as the company was profitable, the order bank strong, and there was a 75 year history of success, and so granted him a bigger mortgage to finance a much larger home for himself and his family. The goose was not too much troubled by this, as the golden eggs flowed freely still. It had been about two months since the business was passed along.

Then the Idiot Son ran down to the Mercedes dealer and borrowed the money for two AMGs – one each for him and his wife. The goose honked a bit at his folly, but still the eggs came and the goose was only slightly troubled, as surely more eggs would be laid. The Idiot Son took out more loans against future eggs and bought a new Harley and a new speed boat as well, and a nice vacation. The goose was concerned by this as never before were future eggs pre-committed, but there seemed there would be enough eggs to cover the debts. It had been about three months since the handover to the Idiot Son.

The Idiot Son decided that the current offices and factories were not grand enough for a man with such a magnificent goose, and so moved to far grander premises. The new premises were more than $100k per year more expensive than the previous site. The goose did not know this had happened. The Idiot Son, seeing that he could not reach his growth targets without extra engineers and administration and salesmen immediately recruited the finest of these he could find. Fine they were, and appropriately expensive. The goose was blissfully ignorant of this and kept laying magnificent golden eggs for the Idiot Son, not knowing that each egg had already been committed. It had been about 8 months since the Idiot Son took charge.

The fine new salesmen went out and found the nice large contracts the Idiot Son so desperately wanted. The fine engineers and estimators defined the work and quoted the jobs, and secured the large contracts. It was now 9 months since the handover. The old jobs were being completed and the new jobs were starting. The goose was now terminally ill, and would soon die.

Fast forward a further 9 months to yesterday, and the goose is long dead. The company just went bankrupt, and all the employees have been fired. The Idiot Son has lost all of his possessions including his house. His wife has left him.

The magnificent goose would have been able – just – to survive the outrageous spending of the Idiot Son. But the Idiot Son did not realize that the first nine months were financed by the contracts already in place when he assumed ownership. These projects were profitable and followed the established rules of the business – his father’s rules.

During the second nine months, the Idiot Sons jobs began to flow through. They were accurately costed – that was not the problem. The problem was the jobs were too big for the organization to complete – there was not enough skill and experience available and insufficient time to train new people. Overtime began to gnaw on slim margins, and late penalties kicked in. Each job lost money – lots of money. In the second nine months the jobs lost in excess of $1 million dollars. In combination with all of the personal and company debt, which could only be funded through continued profitability, the huge loss resulted in the bankruptcy of the once fine business .

In 18 months the Idiot Son destroyed the magnificent work of two lifetimes, cost many dozens of people their jobs, lost the Idiot Son all of his possessions and his family, and caused $10 million of annual work to move overseas. With the multiplier effect, the Idiot Son may well have stripped more than $50 million out of GDP. He accomplished this all by his idiot self, despite the years of careful training he had received. One single idiot did all of this damage in EIGHTEEN months.

Some of you have asked for stories of Evil Banksters and Corrupt Corporations and the Free Shit Army. I have some of those, too. But I am here to tell you there are a great many forces destroying the country – forces that largely go unseen. This Idiot Son is one such. One imbecile has caused untold millions of dollars’ worth of damage to the economy of the country – perhaps even hundreds of million worth if projected forward some many years. The Idiot Son is despicable in his arrogance and stupidity. He wanted instantly what it took his father decades to build for himself. I cannot fully express my disgust.

The great tragedy of this story is what happened to my friend. He has seen, suddenly and unexpectedly, the death of a company that he and his father built over 75 years. He has seen people that he has worked with for decades lose their jobs. He has seen his legacy die because of his Idiot Son. He is inconsolable. He is fine financially, but I do not believe he will ever be the same.

In eighteen months one idiot caused all of this devastation. It is truly a disgrace. Beware the Idiot Son seems to be the moral of this story, as I am afraid they lurk everywhere. May God save us from idiots in whatever guise they assume.