The Politics of Fear, The U.N. and Israel.

George W. Bush's legacy (for better or worse) will be that he chose to fight terrorism and the Islamic Tide. He felt that the only way to stop Jihad was to take the fight to them. Sen John McCain also held this view that the Free World needed to stay on the offensive against Global Terrorism. Most Americans, however lost their stomach for war and backed the candidate that favored appeasment and a more European approach to terrorism, which is to basically learn to live with it and try to understand why the Islamists are so angry.

Obama and the Left kept saying that the Bush Policies played on the fears of Americans in order to maintain support for the war. This is not entirley inaccurate but not entirely true either. You see, Americans have traditionally reacted to fear by meeting it head on, facing it, and conquering it. Fear has always been a strong motivator whether it be fear of starvation, fear of unemployment, fear of personal attack or home invasion, and/or fear of national security and fear for our brothers safety. We don't need fear to do the right thing, but it is a good motivator...when it is real.

We as a people, though frightened by the same terrors that befall other nations, have always acted with courage and resolve. Sadly I cannot say the same for most of the other nations and leaders (Great Britain being an exception, untill recently). HIstorically (and recently) most European and Asiatic nations have reacted to the fears of terrorism by listening to the grievances of radicals and ultimately giving in to their demands.

What is it that they truly fear though? Is it death, beheadings and ultimate annihilation? These may be the obvious surface tensions that create fear, but no one really believes that the Jihadist's have the military might and power to win a traditional war. The Islamists would be the one's annihilated...and they know it.

That is why they have adopted a different tactic. Although car, train and plane bombings continue, that is not the real threat. The real danger is Economic. The most recent spikes in the price of a barrel of oil led to near economic ruin in most smaller countries and also contributed greatly to the troubles in larger economies as well. The fears of high gas and food prices, expensive luxuries and limited vacation destinations evoke a more visceral response from folks than does the bombing of an Embassy.

Most of the nations who rely on imported oil fear economic ruin more so than a Fundamentalist Islamic takeover. This is why they turned against America in the War On Terror. It is safe to say that our war-time consumption helped drive the costs so high along with an Arab Alliance to force world opinion against participating in any war in the Middle East.

This is where it all ties in to Israel. The U.N. has come down harshly on Israel for in effect, doing nothing more than trying to protect their own borders (and citizens) from rocket fire. Most of the "United" Nations fear both terrorist attack and economic ruin from the oil producing nations, including Russia but also fear China who's own dependence on the same oil creates tension in trade markets as well as Stock Markets (since it seems only the Chinese have money to invest and/or lend).

Israel is like America (was). They will react to terrorism, invasion, rocket attacks or even thrown stones with swift defense and meet it with deadly force, if neccessary. They would rather die fighting than give in to terrorism, economic turmoil and/or world opinion. Unfortunately, this puts them on the "wrong side" in Euro-Asian thinking as their philosophy seems to be "Survive at all Cost" rather than "Live Free or Die".

Maybe it is wrong of me to see the rest of the world as France c.1940, just weeping as Nazi Troops marched in to take over, but it sure looks that way to me. I just hope our "New FDR" and all the "Lindburg Isolationists" in power now, don't wait for another major attack on American Soil before joining in Israel's Defense...and Right to Exist.

Media

The media definately leans Left but I do not believe it is a conspiracy to change the moral fabric of America (& The World) but it ends up having that effect anyway. Hollywood & The Media know that the majority of Americans are Judeo-Christians and that even those that are not of a professed religion still live by Judeo-Christian ethics and morales.

What The Media does, though (and quite effectively) is prey upon the fears of our ethics and moralities. They know what scares us, what makes us cry, what makes us laugh, what makes us proud and what gives us hope.
Of course they don’t always hit the bullseye (esp. in the comedy dept.) but the best movies, TV shows, music and art make you think…they make you feel…and they make you doubt yourself.

How would I react? What would I do? Why is life like that sometimes? When will I become like that? Am I like that? Why I am like that? The Entertainment Industry is very adept at tapping into our emotions. That’s actually why we love (and hate) it so much…it knows us so well. It knows how to get under our skin and draw out intense feelings.

That is what sells tickets, CD’s, DVD’s and such to the the masses. Sometimes the “message” of a particular film is specifically geared towards a tartget audience (& mindset) but even then it is done so with one purpose in mind…to make a profit. If they feel the audience for an anti-war film will be large enough to garner a profit…they will make it. Then they will make a film that praises the foot soldier and makes you proud to be an American because it will be a blockbuster and make up for some of the losses on the “other” films that didn’t quite have the audience numbers they hoped for.

The Entertainment Industry should really be called The Industry of Entertainment. It is an Industry 1st and foremost. A business in business to make money. Entertainment is the product they sell, and sell it well they do.

The Media (esp. Television) is also a business. TV makes it’s money from Advertisers who want to sell their products to the masses. Every Television Show on the air is there for the sole purpose of attracting the largest possible audience in order to charge the highest rates for advertisments. A smart Network, Cable Provider, Sattelite Broadcaster does not want to alienate and ignore any possible viewer/consumer so they offer programs that appeal to almost every imaginable demographic. If some demos are left out of “mainstream” programming, a smaller company will usually try to tap that market, albeit for more meager profits but for profits none the less.

The News also is part of this demographic programming. Each and every news channel is geared towards where they see the most profits based on marketshares, demographics and ratings. The majority of news and commentary appears to be left leaning because in reality, we are a much more liberal people than we were. Freedom tends to do that and The Media follows trends.

Conservative values are also still represented however, but only because there is still a large enough market for it to be profitable but it is the minority and the big bucks are in showcasing Liberal Ideals because that’s where most of the money is…because of the Obama phenomenon.

“Obama” sells tickets, magazines and t-shirts along with Hope. The Media wants (needs) the Ad Revenue from those trying to sell us Pepsi, so The Media is selling us Hope.


*This was my response to http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aklavan/2009/01/14/why-we-fight/ but as is often the case with me, it became a blog-on-a-blog so I figured I may as well put it here too.

**Also, the title is just Media because everytime I hit the Space Bar, it changed the launguage...weird...or is it Wierd?

Zombie Economics...Part 1: "How about A New CAR!...if the Price is Right" (The Auto Bailout)

*Whether bailing out the Auto Industry is a good idea or not is not the purpose of this post. My ideas are geared towards the assumption that it is going to happen anyway, esp. after Obama takes office.


Since it appears that we are headed towards semi-Nationalism in some of our industries via bailouts and "Rescue Plans" and also towards semi-Socialism with more Stimulus Checks and handouts, I was thinking today of maybe how it could all be handled better since it's going to happen anyway.

The U.S automakers definately have problems. They made cars that either people didn't want, were too expensive and/or (more recently) could not get financing for. Now "The Big Three" do not have sufficiant cashflow (or credit) to pay their employees or even stay in business. Giving (or even lending) them money will only help in the short term and the overall problems will still exist once that money has all been spent.

GM, et al, will still be saddled with huge inventories of unsold cars. They need to unload current stock before they can even think about making more Hybrids (which is what Obama wants) plus there needs to be something of value to back up the bailout money or else it is just worthless printed paper.

There are, however, millions of Americans who would love to buy a new U.S. made car but cannot get financing and/or do not have a large enough down payment to get affordable payments. The Credit Companies though, do not have enough capital to give out loans and/or need to charge rediculously high interest rates.

My Solution>-----------COUPONS!

Send every fulltime-working, legal American citizen a Stimulus Check in the form of a Government Guaranteed Coupon (GGC). The GGC is like a Cashiers Check but can only be spent at your (semi) local car dealership. Pay to the order of General Motors/Chrysler/Ford are the only options. The local car dealer also gets a portion of the GGC, as does each State with tax & liscensing fees.

The GGC is transferrable tho, because not everyone needs or wants a new car and/or would rather have the cash. The GGC can be traded in at the Financial Institution(s) that handle the auto loans...for a percentage. The "bank" keeps 10% of the GGC off the top (thus raising capital) while the "customer" keeps 80% to stimulate the economy elsewhere. The remaining 10% is put in a Federal Individual Retirement Account (FIRA) and gets added to the value of the GGC. **(more on that later).

($20,000 is the figure I had in mind but if there is any merit at all to this "plan", better minds can figure that out.)

So every qualified (tax paying) citizen gets a GM/Chrysler/Ford Coupon good for $20,000 on a new car or truck. The remaining value can either be paid with cash or financed thru GMAC/WaMu/Whatever. Cars sold + Fed Rescue money based on car sales + "real" money infused into economy thru cash and/or financing. The "new cars" can also be resold for much less (but still a nice profit) on the open market (with taxes).

Every citizen who "cashes in" the GGC gets a $16,000 Debit Card to spend as they please, pay bills, pay for college (or a college loan), downpayment for a home, home repairs, rent, food...any business that accepts GGC Express. You can even have money from your paycheck applied to your GGC Card or you can have a portion or all of it added to your FIRA (which collects interest of course thru more home loans, college grants , small business loans, etc.)

The FIRA can be cashed out early but like an IRA, only with stiff penalties. At retirement age tho you get the full ammount minus capital gains tax. The government will likely have made a profit from the initial $20,000 investment between the FIRA loans (plus interest), the CapGainsTax and other (normal) taxes on the whole economy.
** The GGC is now worth $22,000?!

Yes, the value of the GGC was 20k, however only 18k was paid out. 16k to the citizen, 2k to the bank and 2k to the FIRA. The GGC still has a face value of 20k and can be purchased for 20k, but in return you get that "extra 2k" on paper anyway. You are essentially buying a $20,000 Bond guaranteed to pay out $22,000 (at full term) but most likely more thru interest and dividends.

The GGC's themselves continue to rise in value not just thru interest but also thru the purchasing and trading of the Bonds either in real value and/or thru speculation. The FIRA accounts continue to grow thru the influx of trading money and CapGains taxes. The Federal Government gets a return on it's investment. Banks/Creditors have positive cash flow. Traders make money. GM/Chrysler/Ford are able to retool and restructure while staying liquid and moving inventory.

And I get "A New Car!"...if the Price is Right.