Gene Morphis ' View

To: Members of Congress and the Administration: In the face of a credit downgrade, you apparently can only find $27 billion of savings. I've heard a number of you -from both parties - argue that we must avoid "draconian" actions. News flash: we were just downgraded. It is already past time for draconian actions. Since you are apparently bereft of ideas, here are some to get you started: 1. Approve the Free Trade Agreement with Columbia. It is failure to do something simple and easy like this that makes Americans of all parties believe you aren't serious about aiding the economy. 2. Ditto Korean Free Trade Agreement. Or is your goal to screw around until the Chinese and the French jump in and strike deals with all those local businesses? 3. Close the Department of Energy. Lay everyone off. 4. Close the Department of Education. Lay everyone off. 5. Cut the EPA budget 50%. 6. Amend the Environmental Protection Act to exclude new nuclear, wind and solar pla...

Smoked a Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir.  Apparently, it is the same binder and filler as the regular Champagne, but with a maduro wrapper.  Not bad, but I'll stick with the regular Champagne.

Dear Dr. and Mrs. Fisher, Thank you for taking the time to contact my office regarding the recent debate surrounding the debt ceiling. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts. Left to my own accord I would have much rather seen larger spending cuts now, a long-term plan like the CAP Act to put a fiscal straitjacket on Congress, and a constitutional amendment to keep Congress from falling off the wagon, but regrettably, with the current administration and Republican control of only one house of Congress, I believe this was the largest package we could get at this time. In the final analysis I had to ask myself: do I believe two to four more weeks of negotiating would produce a better outcome? The answer is no, and I think it could even get worse. I'm encouraged that passage of this agreement changes the paradigm in Washington by requiring real cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling. I view the $900 billion down payment as a sta...

This is a response from Congressman Culberson to my email, pleading for some serious cuts and dealing with the debt ceiling in a constructive way. August 2, 2011 Mr. Gene Morphis 2345 Sage Road #182 Houston, TX 77056-4621 Dear Mr. Morphis: Last night, I reluctantly supported the debt ceiling compromise for several important reasons. First, America will run out of money in early August, putting us at risk of a default. The ratings agencies have threatened to downgrade our AAA credit rating, which would drive up interest rates, shrink our GDP, and collapse our economy. For every 1% increase in interest rates, we lose a trillion dollars worth of spending cuts we enact. There is a particularly well researched explanation of the debt ceiling problem at www.bipartisanpolicy.org. Click on the debt limit analysis, and pay particular attention to the Bloomberg.gov debt bubble link. Recognizing the very real threat of default and downgrade, we had to find a way to avoid this ...

Ms. Rachel Maddow: I've seen your commercial with the impressive gorge bridge in the background saying that we need government to do certain things - implication is things like roads and bridges. I totally agree.  Let's do this - exempt any new roads, bridges, interstate highways, airports, high-speed railroads, light rail systems, new and expanded subways from having to prepare and obtain an environmental impact statement prior to construction. Maybe we can get some projects and the economy going.

The following is a letter from Rep. Marsha Blackburn to conservative friend Richard Fisher. Dear Dr. Fisher: Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns regarding our nation's budget. As you may know, on August 1, 2011, the House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 (S. 365) by a vote of 269-161. It was subsequently passed the Senate by a vote of 74-26, and was signed into public law by President Obama. I voted for this bill because it accomplishes two vital tasks: it gives the American people the security of avoiding the possibility of default, and it charts a new course for fiscal responsibility. In this bill, we achieved more than two-thirds of Congressman Paul Ryan's budget, and most of the aspects of Cut, Cap, and Balance. It contains real cuts in spending, real caps on future spending, and requires both the Senate and the House to vote on a proposed Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution by the end of the year. This bill prevents ou...

During the recent debt limit fiasco, I wrote my Senators and Congressman.  I received reasonably lucid respones, which I'll post here. However, I must preface it by saying that words fail me at the level of disdain I feel for people who can only cut $25 billion of spending from a $2.6 Trillion budget..... Here is the letter from Senator Hutchison. Dear Friend: Thank you for contacting me regarding our national debt. I welcome your thoughts and comments. Out-of-control spending has put our economic and national security at risk. Over the past two years, the federal government has posted deficits of $1.4 trillion and $1.3 trillion, respectively. Our nation’s accumulated debt surpassed $14 trillion December 2010, and reached its statutory limit of $14.3 trillion on August 2, 2011. The debate over our nation's debt ceiling agreement presented Congress and the White House with the opportunity to achieve real, substantive spending cuts and reforms that are necessary to p...

Should conservatives support a balanced budget amendment? I don't think so. To understand why , let's review some history. Beginning with the Eisenhower era, budget compromises were always hammered out. Defense suffered some in that, but there were plenty of strong defense, conservative Democrats that kept things reasonable. With the coming of Johnson's Great Society, however, dramatic shifts began. Strong defense democrats like John Stennis, Scoop Jackson, Mike Mansfield and Jack Kennedy, retired, passed away or were pushed aside, as the Viet Nam war turned the Democratic Party pacifist. The compromises made to balance the annual budget among various government priorities moved strongly away from defense to a growing variety of social programs. This continued under Nixon and Carter. The CIA was almost destroyed by Senator Church, while the overall defense budget was dismantled, as Republicans made cuts to keep the budget balanced. However, a new theory emerged a...

Let's deal with this before the U.S. (and don't tell me it can't happen here). First, separate this into two issues: the current deficit, and the accumulated debt. The deficit should be dealt with through massive spending cuts.  Entire government agencies - at the cabinet level - should go.  If you've had experience in a company, charity, church, local or state government, school district, etc. then you very likely know one thing: to get real cuts, first the frills must go.  For employees to accept pay cuts and still give 100%, the corporate jet has to go. Same here.  The Acorns and Planned Parenthoods must go.  This isn't about whether or not they are effective.  We are broke, and therefore can't afford frills.  Then you move to the tough  stuff, and larger amounts. The goal would be to cut at least a trillion from current spending. Then, on to the accumulated debt.  There tax increases are required.  Conservative buddies...

Image via Wikipedia I miss the Nixon administration. Yes, Nixon was a crook, no question about it. And I'm a conservative, and President Nixon definitely wasn't. (Disagree? We can debate that. He was clearly more liberal than his Democrat opponent Kennedy). But along with his sidekick Henry Kissinger, he had an encompassing, completely thought out, foreign policy. Now, many conservatives didn't care for his policy - it was far too realpolitik for their convictions. And many if not most hated it, because it was a too confrontational to communism. I loved it then, and I love it more now. Look at successive administrations. Ford wasn't in long enough to matter. Carter was completely taken aback when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and never recovered his bearings. Regan made some steps in the right direction and had a brilliant plan vis a vis the Soviets, but couldn't develop a theory for the rest of the world. Bush the elder was on course, I believe, to a compreh...

I'm rarely surprised nowadays.  I've become accustomed to actions that used to shock me, acclimated to statements I would have considered outrageous at some point. Nonetheless, I was shocked to learn that AARP said they were prepared to negotiate an increase in the age for Social Security eligibility.  That is astonishing hiatuses.  Where does AARP get any standing in this matter?  Who do they think they get to negotiate with?  In a private meeting with, say, the Majority Leader of the Senate?  Some cabinet member?  The President? Who do they send to negotiate?  On whose behalf?  Mine?  Have we acceded some Constitutional authority to them? Isn't this remarkable? Related articles AARP Pivots on Social Security Benefit Cuts (foxnews.com)

A while back, on this blog I mentioned that I had bought a couple of books based on recommendations from individuals I follow on Twitter.  Further, both had been quite different than my expectation, including one that turned out to be about advancing the alternative energy/green tech movement, and that I would post a review about it. Sustainagility is one of those books. The tagline is "How Smart Innovation and Agile Companies Will Help Protect Our Future" Authors are Patrick Dixon and Johan Gorecki. Maybe I should have perceived what it is really about - but I didn't. Rather than a business book (my supposition) it is a wide-ranging survey, analysis and set of proposals to reduce global warming. Let's set up my view of global warming, so that anyone who is interested in the review knows my biases. First, in my view the evidence that the earth is getting warmer is overwhelming. Basically, since the Little Ice Age (approx 1550-1850) the world has gradually, if i...

Once you realize that we've elected people whose idea of good judgment  is that it is OK to email pictures of their crank to women they've never met in person, you understand why I despair that we will deal with our debt and deficit problem. Representative Weiner Related articles Purported X-rated Weiner image released (salon.com)

I watched Fareed Zakaria tonight being interviewed by John King on CNN. The topic was job creation. My summary of Zakaria's points were: the Republicans are saying no to any government programs that might help, and President Obama for some inexplicable reason isn't prepared to propose the kind of bold initiatives required to get the unemployed millions back to work. Mr. Zakaria: I agree. I'll give you some bold proposals to get job creation. • Approve every outstanding offshore drilling permit, as long as rigs are in place or under construction within the next 180 days. That drilling is exempt from any EPA laws or rulemaking. • Notify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that any plan submitted must be reviewed and approved or disapproved with specific guidance on requirements to be approved within 90 days of submission. Notify all utilities, investment groups etc. that any new nuclear plant that is capitalized and breaks ground in calendar 2011 is exempt from all env...

The Republicans should shut up about Rep. Weiner.  No comments.  Dodge any questions.  Or say "Resign?  That is up to the Representative and the citizens of NY".  Why?  Frequently in business a company is better off with a severally wounded competitor than a bankrupt competitor.  The assets of a bankrupt competitor may end up in strong hands, creating a stronger, tougher competitor.  Same here.  Weiner is now a non-factor.  Formerly a Lib Democrat attack dog, he is now discredited and completely marginalized. If he quits, his seat will most certainly be filled with another far-left Dem.  Why push for that? Republicans should let him stew and be a thorn in the opposition party's side.

Mr. Gingrich: I watched your interview on Meet The Press. The whole thing, live. Mr. Gregory asked you hard questions. I thought you handled them rather well. He was tough on your history of ugly divorces. You responded humbly. But you did undermine Rep. Paul Ryan, and in a harsh way. And you quite clearly talked about health care, clarifying your point of view on coverage after Meet The Press showed a video from their archives (they are really good at digging up old, on-the-record stuff). In that video clip you supported mandatory health care. (I understand the concept of mandatory healthcare; otherwise I don't know how the freeloader problem is ever resolved. But if we are ever going to restore any powers to the Commerce Clause, I don't see how a Federal mandatory program is Constitutional. The courts will eventually let us know.) Overall, I thought you did quite a good job. Then I heard you this week on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. If I hadn't watched Meet Th...

Here in Texas we've passed a law requiring a sonogram before an abortion. Now I don't think America should take any national pride in the number of abortions, but they are at least currently legal. The one thing we are sure of is that, as a country, we have more debt than we can handle, and it is compounding away. My questions are, first, who pays for those sonograms? And second, did this really have anything to do with abortion, or are some TX state reps getting some monster kickbacks from the companies that make sonogram equipment? Related articles Texas law forces abortion seekers to get a sonogram (rt.com)

It is always sad when a CEO stays too long.  Ask someone who witnessed the last days of Peter Grace at W.R. Grace.or Richard Fuld at Lehman.  That is what we are witnessing at Microsoft.  Gates' buddy and long-time CEO Steve Ballmer has stayed long beyond his usefulness.  While Apple shares continue to set records, MSFT is about where it was in 2,000. And after squandering $6 billion of shareholders' money on aQuantive, and attempting to buy even more of Yahoo, MSFT is offering $8.5 billion for Skype.  How is MSFT going to get a return on that?  Answer : they don't know.  Ballmer is flailing around looking for something that can help. Steve, you are now acting like a crazy man.  Time for you to leave.  Resign.

OK - conservative buddies: The President deserves plenty of credit for getting OBL.  Yes, President Bush authorized interrogation techniques that probably helped. But, the raid could have backfired.  Remember the raid authorized by President Carter?  Disaster.  If that had happened, we would have pilloried the President. Give credit where credit is due.  He took a big risk.  He earned this time.

Representative Weiner, appearing on some Bill Mahler show, indicated that Glen Beck followers were shoeless and toothless. Mr. Beck's radio and TV shows both occur while I'm at work, so I don't get to watch or listen very often.  However, when I do I usually find him entertaining or provocative.  Do I agree with everything he says? Of course not. I do agree with his assessment of the sorry state of the country's financial condition. And I have all my teeth. And, Representative Weiner, I'll compare shoe inventories with you, anytime you'd like to have a closet comparison. And my closet contains many pair from U.S. manufacturers Alden and Allen Edmonds... Related articles Anthony Weiner speaks - again - obsesses over Glenn Beck (bellalu0.wordpress.com)