Is Trump Serious?!

This must also be what the Chinese are thinking right now.
If Trump is genuine regarding Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum coming from outside the United States it must be considered Economic War.
The debilitating effects of Tariffs are well documented following Smoot-Hawley.

I am guilty of under estimating the negotiating skill of this man… and I must remind myself that he is a graduate of Wharton School of Business.  I must remind myself that he Knows where this will go.

So let’s assume this is the opening shot across the bow of an international trade war.

The White House is desperately trying to keep the focus of proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum on the increased cost of goods which will be directly passed to the consumers.  (This is also how corporate taxes work… but that’s for another day.)  The Maison Blanc is currently sending Peter Navarro out to sell the tariffs with talking points implying there will be ‘only a penny increase on the cost of a six-pack of beer’ and ‘only $45 to the cost of a new car’… I sh*t you not.  Navarro knows better, too.

Why do I find this an amazing point in time? Because once you read a bit about the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs (linked above) we imposed with only the best of intentions during the 30’s and the resulting consequence of extending the duration of the Great Depression you quickly realize it’s not the direct impact which hurts the most.

It’s the Indirect Impact.

It’s the Retaliation.

It so happens that we American’s have had our productivity and living standards vastly increased by our ability to access inexpensive goods from… China.

Chew on that for a second.

Now think about the fact that China is a poisonous concept based in Communism/Socialism that exploits its population as life is cheap under such a horrid Governing Theory.  It is also an open secret that China must… must… create a quarter of a million new jobs every month or they risk a full-out pitchfork rebellion… not just the condemnation of a pathetically partisan Socialist Press as we endure here in The United States.

Which of us can weather  the economic impact we both know will result?

This is nothing short of War.

I’m not sure it’s not time… but I’m not sure it is.

Advertisement

An Epic Battle over All They Survey

I’ve found myself at the forefront of a Battle the likes of which has never been seen… maybe.

So there I was minding my own business when I noticed something odd… strange even. At first I dismissed it as ‘just a dirty window’ but quickly realized it was Dog Snot. For those of you who own dogs you already know that this occurrence, dog snot on windows, does not rise to “odd” or “strange”. But it was not the snot… it was the abundance and location that raised it to remarkable.

Let me explain, our home is our castle and as such has windows throughout with a walled backyard.  A number of these windows run roughly floor to ceiling because we invite our very small spot on this earth into our home… visually. That being said, when I noticed an unbroken 8 in. swath of haze looking like a long, dried, sneeze running the length of each window, I became perplexed. I couldn’t figure out how such an event could happen so suddenly without my noticing it.

But I had suspects.

Three height challenged ones to be exact.

I’ll offer to those of you who have lives, and do not wait eagerly for each and every inane utterance tapped out on this site, that we have an agreement with several small rescue dogs.  They get to live with us and we get to feed them.

To make a long story longer, after I finished my search for dog snot throughout the house, with Windex and paper towels in hand, I had nothing left to do but wait… with a short scotch.

While we’re waiting…

I should also let you know a couple of years ago a family of Road Runners adopted our neighborhood.  They have spawned several offspring and completely decimated our lizard population.  We’ve all had the good fortune to watch ‘the circle of life’ in play without sending Jim Fowler down to wrestle anything dangerous or anthropomorphic cartoons singing and dancing the sheer terror of it away.  Anyway…

The Waiting was over!  Without warning, as if out of nowhere, came my answer!

The silence was murdered by a cacophony of small dogs yelling their ridiculously small heads off with their tiny, slimy, noses pressed all over my freshly cleaned windows.  The troika was growing louder and more hysterical with each passing moment, and that’s when I saw one of our new neighbors walk calmly to less than a foot from my apoplectic herd on the other side of the window… and stare.  Just stare.  Only occasionally shifting its gaze from one to the other for what seemed to be an eternity.

It was clear.  The new neighbors had claimed our yard as eminent domain.

It goes without saying, the previous owners were none too happy.

So I walk over to the back door and opened it… out rushed the herd screaming whatever it is that they thought would intimidate this brazen interloper.  (I don’t speak dog, so I don’t know exactly what they were yelling, but I suspect it was laced with expletives.)

For reference, The Road Runner is a reasonably large bird.  It is also a pack hunter.  And… it is indeed fast, as well as intelligent.

All of the above traits, particularly the ‘intelligent’ one, do not work in favor of the Chihuahua’s.

The intruder cavalierly jumped up onto our side wall and stared at the dogs some more with a long pregnant pause.

Then hopped away.

That was the first salvo I witnessed.  But I know the war continues.  I’m beginning to believe the Road Runners are enjoying it.  I’ve watched them come up to our french door and peer inside as if looking for my host of hapless idiots.  I have watched them ‘circle’ my little batch of fools while perched just out of reach.  I have, I believe, watched the family allow my dogs to chase them across the yard only to follow them back when the dogs walk away.  I think they are playing… but I know for sure the dogs are not.

So on goes this little internecine battle over control of territory outside our windows.

On the upside, the dogs still think they own the inside… and I have plenty of paper towels.

On the downside, I don’t want to tell our gaggle of goofs that they are outmatched and lost the war over the outside a couple of years ago.  It would break their little stupid hearts.

The Middle East Solution

I propose we solve the Middle East violence through a program of Understanding.

Here in the United States we have an abundance of Well Trained, Amazingly Equipped and Overly Funded Diversity Trainers.  (It’s worth noting that many of these same people are cross-trained in Sexual Harassment Education and Gender Sensitivity Issues.  All Added Value as far as my Proposal is concerned.)

I cannot believe it would take much to initiate a Mission composed of the Majority of these ‘Special Operators’ to head over to Syria and Iraq to impose Mandatory Diversity Training.  We can even make sure they wear comfortable shoes so they don’t challenge the President’s ‘No Boots on the Ground’ edict.

Finally, Taxpayer Dollars well spent.

And, Once all sides understand the Value of Diversity… Problem Solved… Forever.

Peace will be experienced throughout the land.

(There could be an obvious upside for those of us here in the U.S. if it doesn’t work out… but I’ll leave that for you guys to figure out.)

There is No Time to Waste.

Isn’t it worth the Life of a Child?

So let’s get started!

The United States Declares War on China

Yesterday, in preparation for action against China, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the United States possessed direct evidence the Chinese Government has employed a Weapon of Mass Destruction targeting every other country in the World.

Secretary Kerry explained the Chinese have cleverly not used a Nuclear Device but have employed Carbon Dioxide instead.  And, in no uncertain terms China’s use of this Global Warming Weapon will not be tolerated.  He went on to say the U.S. has initiated immediate and decisive action.

Considering China is the World’s largest producer of this Weapon of Mass Destruction it has come as no surprise that a time has come they decided to use it.

In the first troop movements designed to confront and defend this Global Sino Militant Hostility the U.S. has paired up with Indonesian forces.

In response the Chinese have feigned surprise.  While they say they view the Navel actions in Indonesia to be clearly aggressive, they seem stunned by a Declaration of War stating they thought they were simply producing goods American’s wanted not to mention they beleived a Declaration of War required the United States Congress’ approval.  The unnamed Chinese Official also pointed out the United States came in as the Second largest manufacturer of this new CO2 Weapon of Mass Destruction.

A spokesperson for Secretary Kerry replied to these ridiculous assertions stating “Of course Americans continue to expect China to produce the things we want.  Concerning the Declaration of War, we would remind the Chinese that the President of the United States has a pen AND a phone, both of which were made in China!” and “Of Course we know the U.S. is the second largest producer of the new Weapon of Mass Destruction.  After we’re finished with China we have every intention to Declare War on the United States.”  When questioned about Secretary Kerry’s authority to make this Declaration,  his spokesperson said “Secretary Kerry also has a pen and a phone.  In addition, most staffers in the Secretary’s office possess either pens or phones… some even have both.  The Chinese should already be aware of this.”

We’ve contacted the Chinese Consulate for additional comment but local representatives seem befuddled and have said, off the record, they have genuinely no idea what the Secretary of State is talking about.

We contacted a number of high-ranking U.S. officials within the State Department, as well as the Defense Department, and no one we spoke with seemed to understand what Secretary Kerry was talking about either.  But a few did say they we aware, and somewhat concerned, John Kerry had a pen AND a phone.  One Defense Department official said “We do joint Navy exercises with Indonesia every year… what is he talking about?”  One State Department official commented that it was difficult to listen to the Secretary very long as his deep monotone drone and strange intonation put her to sleep after only a few words, but she assured us she would read his comments and get back to us with a comment.

A number of Progressive Groups have come out in Opposition to this Declaration saying; “The Secretary has it all wrong.  Global Warming, while the single most horrific man-made phenomena the planet has ever seen, should only be addressed in Rich Western countries.  Egalitarian Countries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran need this weapon in order to defend themselves from the Exploitation of Capitalism.  Communal security can only be achieved through MADD.  It’s only Fair.”

We contacted MADD for comment and received a release stating “…officially MADD has no idea what any of these people are saying or what any of it has to do with drunk driving.”

Bumper Nation

(I love the word “Jalopy”.  Originally posted… a while back.)

I’d like to offer up a few suggestions for the Republicans… at least the Republicans that I would vote for, so Fiscal Conservatives… to consider.

I’m a Huge believer in “Simple, Powerful and Direct” when it comes to communicating ideas. The following are what I call “Bumper Strip” statements and could be used as such. Frankly, these could be handed out across the nation and many folks “across party lines” would slap them on their 1980 Volvo. Anyway…

There is a stark difference between a “clever” or “smart” bumper strip and an inane one.

Here are some examples of inane bumper strips you have probably seen on a jalopy in front of you…

“Who would Jesus bomb?” – Well, aside from Sodom and Gomorrah… how about the NAZI’s to stop them from burning Jews?  Stalin, to stop him for killing tens of Millions of his own people?  Mao, for doing the same?  Pol Pot for fertilizing the fields of Cambodia with anyone who could read?  While I could go on I hope I don’t have to.  So are we to read this bumper strip that Jesus would have tolerated such behavior… aside from Sodom and Gomorrah of course.  (May be when he did that he was his Dad?  A different manifestation of himself?  Not around yet, so that was just his Dad?  Around but not in human form?  Better rely on the theologians here… I get so confused.)

“Peace not War” – OK… define Peace.  This one is so stupid it hurts my head.  Who’s definition should we use?  Ghengis Khan’s? Hitler’s? Stalin’s? Kim Jung Un’s?  Bashar Al Assad?  Quadaffi?  Saddam?  Obama?  Bush?  Mine?

“Coexist” – Again… OK.  Even when we fight for the protection of the life and liberty of humans we are “coexisting”, so WTF does this mean?  If it means “Can’t we all just get along?” then “NO… we can’t.”  I will not get along with people like Hitler… Mao… Nasrallah… or anyone else who wishes to subjugate, enslave and/or murder people.

“No Blood for Oil.” – This is ridiculous because the premise is we have an alternative… which we do not.  We’re working on it though.  So, let’s assume we were just a Solar nation… if a bunch of A-holes figured out a way to block out the Sun from shining on our country do you really think we would not go to war?  Of course we would… and of course there will be blood for oil, right up until we have other viable options and then there will be blood for energy.

Again, I hope I’ve made my point here.

A “smart” bumper strip should lead to solid, easy to define, well thought out arguments that can be implemented and are not based on some utopian fantasy.  They should be statements that can easily lead to a conversation based in reality should you walk out to your car and be confronted by an Occupier… assuming you parked in the middle of a drum circle.

The colors should be “black and white”… because the answers to these problems are indeed, black and white.

“Stop Spending, Stop Spending, Stop Spending!”

“We Have No Money!”

“Nobody Owes you Anything.”

“Don’t Like China? Stop Asking Them For Money.”

“Don’t Like Big Oil? Stop Buying It.”

“It’s the Debt Dummy.”

The above should also be used for every interview and essay for the next 10 years.

Just for fun, and just for the rest of us…  If you really want to be provocative in an intelligent way here are some ideas:

“There’s no such thing as a bad teacher, apparently they all are equally inept.”  Which should be in close proximity to “Thank a College Professor if you can read that.”

“I insist on rules for other people.”

“I only vote for people who give me things.”

“I’m your responsibility.”

“Self-sufficiency takes effort, and I’m just not interested.”

“You owe me everything because I’m old.”

“I’m living off of your money!  Ha, ha, ha…”

“I’m not in a hurry… so I’ve decided it’s my job to make sure you’re not either.”

“I’m the person who stops in the middle of the aisle, because I’m important.”

“You’re an idiot!”  (This one is brilliant because if you are an idiot you certainly don’t think you are… and if you’re not you wont be offended.)

“I’m the kind of special that requires a helmet.”  (Not really relevant, I just like it.  And it’s true.)

So fire up Cafe Press and let’s get these out to the masses!  With enough of these we should be able to make sure no-one parks next to us.  Might be just in time for the Holidays!

Of Course the Floor is Open to any ideas you all might have.  I’ll list them all as updates.  Have fun.

Do the Chinese Care? Yet?

Below is a post published on 121212.  I thought it was worth looking at again considering the recent events in North Korea and our military build-up in the region.

On the heels of a successful ballistic missile launch by North Korea a couple of things occurred to me.

First, we had to let that launch happen to show the world, and those Liberals living in New York, that “Yes… the North Koreans do, in fact, have the ability to put a nuclear device on something and send it somewhere far away.”  So… now you know.

Second, China does not care. (At least not in the way we would like them to.)

It is not some intellectual feat to realize that the Chinese could stop North Korea from doing what it is doing at any time they wished. What might be puzzling is that the Chinese have nothing, in regard to technology, to glean from a sticks and stones program.

It is also not a leap to see that China views North Korea as part of what would be a Global China and meld seamlessly into their country.

They have an excuse to just take it… So what’s going on?

The Chinese have a serious problem on their hands. They need stuff for their people to do. “Serious” cannot be stressed enough in this context.

This is not a Western type problem where we argue about 3-4% differences in unemployment. They need tons of new jobs every month… every day. So much so that they have undertaken building Ghost Cities and Moving Mountains… literally.  If they don’t find things for their population to do they will have internal strife rarely matched in history… some of these things are already happening in the outlying areas of China.  When you don’t keep your people busy… and fed… they start sharpening the pitchforks.

So, do they really want another 30 Million people who need stuff to do?  (This aspect of how they Chinese treat North Korea occurred to me after reading a post by Sobpol: here.)  No, they don’t.  Revolution and rebellion is not fun for anybody.

So look at it this way, if the world decides to intervene in North Korea the Chinese can fire up the People’s Army… creating stuff for their people to do.  If they drag their feet a little and allow for some population reduction and general destruction in North Korea during such a military event all the better.  The Chinese know that whatever the outcome they will be the ultimate possessors of the northern peninsula with its newly created work projects, ports and resources.  They will easily be able to place themselves as the “peacemakers” and showing “extreme restrain” by not engaging those powers at war with the North Koreans.  Being allowed to walk into North Korea will be payment for not interfering… and they will need that as a promised outcome.  Time is on their side.

So don’t look to the Chinese to help with North Korea.  It is in China’s best interest to allow Un to hang himself… all of us to make a mess of the country… and them to clean it up… so to speak.