Next Great Depression fails to occur as predicted

Update: Dow Jones Industrial Average
up 485.21 points at close today.
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Tokyo Stock Exchange - down 4.6%

The Big Bailout was defeated in the US House of Representatives yesterday. Today, the predicted collapse of the world's economic systems has not materialized as predicted by Marxist dupes. The US market lost a great deal of its (I would argue, artificially inflated) value, but not so much as to be devastating. The 7% drop on Monday didn't come close to other recent setbacks, all of which our robust economy has taken in stride.

The predicted destruction of the Asian markets didn't happen as America slept last night, either. From the Thomson Financial News Asian stock market summary at Forbes.com:

Japan's Nikkei index in Japan lost 4.1%,
Japan's Topix was down 3.6%
Autralia's ASX 200 index finished down 4.3%
Korea's Composite Stock Price Index fell only 0.57 %
Taiwan's weighted index closed down 3.55%

Its a national Holiday in China, so the markets there were closed. Early trading has indicated that there won't be a catastrophe in the European markets today either. Carnage in the markets - NOT!
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This reminds me of the concerns that the Large Hadron Collider was going to create a black hole that would swallow the Earth earlier this month. It was a cheap thrill, but it never happened. The biggest damage done by the Big Collider was to the wallets of the suckers that are funding it.
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What I wrote in the comments to Sunday's post bears repeating:

The real economy is based on valuable physical assets, a productive labor force and abundant natural resources. Our best industries own such assets, our labor force's productivity is second to none and America is blessed with natural resources and potential energy like no place else on earth. The economy will be emerge stronger than ever.

Don't waste any tears over the collapse of the part of our economy that has been doomed from its inception. I mean the part based on pure hype, virtual assets like 'derivatives', unworkable eco-nut market schemes like cap and trade or phony carbon credits. Let these bad ideas pass, along with the Marxist thought that was supposed to drive them. If you were invested in them, kiss that money a belated good-bye. It had its bags packed up under the bed a long time ago.

Think of the present adjustment as a costly lesson. Don't throw it away; we all can learn from it. I'm giving thanks to the stalwarts in Congress who refused to panic. I just hope their resolve lasts out the coming few weeks and months. Let the howling and hand-wringing begin.

With apologies to Byron:

The widows of Marx are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Bail.
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Certainly the markets will lose some value, but I don't think it will be as bad or last as long as advertised. At least now we might get a chance to watch free market forces work as they should, without the mindless manipulators in government perverting its natural tendency toward growth and prosperity, inadvertently or not.

I wouldn't put it past some folks to have been trying to gin up a big economic crisis as part of a political power grab. Call me paranoid, but...

Get a grip, ye of little faith! We have weathered worse in recent tears, as Michelle Malkin points out in Some perspective for the Chicken Littles.
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Somehow, I think it is going to be difficult for President Bush, and those in Congress to admit that they were suckered in by the Marxists among us who wanted to see the US economy taken over by the federal government. Their pride has been hurt, but that is no reason to take it out on the rest of us. I expect the worst of them to try to jawbone the economy further into the tank today to justify their mistaken positions regarding the bailout.
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We must continue to resist, Set your teeth, stiffen your upper lip, remember the free market and call, write or e-mail the President, your Representatives and your Senators today. Thank the Republican stalwarts that pushed our nation out of the path of yesterday's red bullet. Tell the 'Chicken Littles" to show some faith in the USA.

Remind them that the panic is off. The black hole didn't happen. We have time to see what happens.

Doing nothing IS an option.
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Don't tell anyone I said so, but this might be a great opportunity to buy some equity in America at bargain prices. You can bet the farm Warren Buffet is doing exactly that today.
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The Marxist dupes at the New York Times are saying that the only reason the world's economy hasn't crashed is that investors are hopeful that the bailout will come back to life. These traitors have no shame at all. Bush can be such an idiot at times. I've always said he will go into the history books as a weak president. His continued duplicity in this week's attempted socialist economic coup is more evidence to that effect.

Send President Bush an e-mail (just click) and tell the pathetic lame duck that he is starting to look like Nancy Pelosi more every day.

Legislate in haste, regret at leisure

Update: Bailout Bill Fails in House 228-205


If these people are happy, you should be worried

Grinning Democrats equals a tax increase for you. These people are only happy when they are spending your money. When was the last time you saw Harry Reid smile?

Call your Senators. Call your Representative in the House. Send President Bush an e-mail. Tell them you don't see any rush to "bail out" the idiots that have screwed up their own financial schemes. Not to the tune of 700 billion of your dollars.

Anything that costs this much shouldn't be bought without long, hard consideration. Rushing in a panic to finish costly prophylactic legislation before we are even sure there is a problem that will affect ordinary folks very much or for very long is foolish.

I'm concerned that the cure will be worse than the disease.
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Less than 20% of Americans approve of this Congress, yet we are about to let them pass the biggest, fattest law ever. Would you let go to a hospital for major surgery if 80% of your neighbors thought the doctors there did a bad job? I wouldn't let someone work on my car or mow my lawn that had such a low approval rating.
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More: Conservatives are chickening out faster than I can count them. Here is my reply to those who are getting panicky and are considering falling behind this ill-advised bailout scheme:

Stop and think.

Won't the threatened crash be followed by a recovery? Good investments reflect real assets and honest equities, just as true creditworthiness finds capital.

What should be the instrument of the needed adjustments, the inept and untrustworthy Congress, or the invisible hand of Adam Smith? Whom do you trust? The congressclowns you can see, or the less obvious economic realities of the market?

What kind of legislation MUST be rushed through on a weekend, while the instigators think no one is paying attention? Answer: only legislation that the leftists and their dupes in Congress think we won't approve of if we have a chance to examine it more closely.

This is simply another step in the left's efforts to force the USA to adopt Marxist thinking. If we don't resist now, it will take generations to fix the damage.
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Worse: The bailout scheme is untestable. If we commit the money and the economy doesn't collapse, how can we ever know if the economy would have collapsed without the bailout?
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We could fight a decent sized war for 700 billion dollars.
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Must Read - Michelle Malkin: All aboard the bailout bandwagon? Hell, no!
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Update: Bailout Bill Fails in House 228-205
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A little reality check for you hand-wringers from Michelle Malkin:

Today’s stock market drop is a record point drop, but does not even crack the top 10 single-day percentage drops in American history.
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In terms of percentages in a single day of trading, 1987’s stock market crash was far worse, and the NASDAQ slide of 2000-2002 was massively worse.
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Are there businesses getting turned down for loans? Yes.

Here’s a novel thought: Maybe banks are finally learning they shouldn’t fork over money to bad risks.

Don't panic. Breathe deeply. Keep repeating: "America's economy is stronger than this ginned up correction. I will trust the free market more than I trust government."
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First posted at 2:42 AM, 28 September, 2008. Bumped to the top at 8:20 PM on the 29th.

Teacher-Molester Kelsey Peterson: not too pretty for jail

Kelsey Peterson, the former Lexington Nebraska middle school teacher who plead guilty to having a sexual relationship with a student has been sentenced to 6 years in federal prison. Kelsey began molesting the male student when he was just 12 years old. She will start doing her time, less the year she has already been incarcerated, at a women's prison in Pekin, Illinois.

Miss Peterson could still face state charges that include kidnapping. I suspect, along with her lawyer James Martin Davis, that the state will drop these charges now that Kelsey is locked up. I don't know if sex crazed female teachers are as prone to recidivism as male child molesters.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp, who sentenced the 26 year old Peterson, said she did not believe Kelsey was a sexual predator, but added that she lacked good judgment and was immature. The judge said Kelsey "seems to be on the level of a junior high school student."

Miss Peterson ran away to Mexico with the boy after it appeared that her activities were going to be exposed. You can read all the sordid details in these previous Plains Feeder posts about Kelsey and Fernando:
November 02, 2007 - Kelsey & student sex toy: headed for Mexico?
November 08, 2007 - Kelsey Peterson & Fernando: an update
November 13, 2007 - Kelsey Peterson: revolting development
November 20, 2007 - Father of Kelsey's daughter gets custody
November 28, 2007 - Kelsey Peterson - she's back in Nebraska
November 29, 2007 - Teacher who had sex with her student, fled to Mexico, pleads not guilty
July 02, 2008 - Kelsey Peterson pleads guilty to sex with student
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Unlike Debra LaFave, another infamous sex crazed teacher, who was deemed "too pretty for jail", Kelsey never posed on a motorcycle while wearing a bikini.

How to e-mail Congress

Update: Bailout Bill Fails in House 228-205

Can you spare a few billion? NO!

The US Congress is going to vote on the biggest bailout ever. They shouldn't do it without your input.

Here is a link to the e-mail addresses of all US Senators and Representatives. I urge you to use it today. The website linked is easy to use; click on your state in the left column, then click the names of your congresscats. The format is "mailto" and is simple to use. Be sure to mention "bailout" on the subject line.
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If you can't think of what to say, here are 10 suggestions you can copy and paste into the body of your e-mail. There is also a petition you can sign, thanks to FreedomWorks. Via Michelle Malkin: The crap in the “crap sandwich;” 10 reasons to oppose the bailout.
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Update: Michelle Malkin blogs the floor debate in the House of Representatives. It has already started. Give them your 2¢ worth before they take your $3318.16. (Divide 700 billion by the number of US households: 105,480,101.)
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I'm finding that the mail server for my man in Congress is jammed-up. e-mails to him bounce back and the web mail form on his official website won't load. I had to break down and spring for a long-distance call to Washington DC. I wonder if he's getting the message from Nebraskans or if the leftist goons are mail-bombing him.
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Is the bailout constitutional? Listen to this fine interview with Andrew Grossman of the Heritage Foundation done by Fausta on Blog Talk Radio.

I can't watch presidential debates

Kang and Kodos debate in Mississippi

I didn't watch the debate. For me to watch such events is as unnerving as watching tight-rope walkers perform without a net.

John McCain: "We must move forward... not backwards, not to the side, not forwards, but always whirling, whirling, whirling and reaching across the aisle."

Barack Obama: Abortions for all. [crowd boos] Very well, no abortions for anyone. [crowd boos] Hmm... Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others. [crowd cheers and waves miniature flags] Fooling these voters is easier than expected.

Jim Lehrer: Well, a refreshingly frank response there from Senator Obama.

Aliens, bioduplication, nude conspiracies. Oh my God, Lyndon LaRouche was right!
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Corrupted from The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII.

The NRA ad that Obama doesn't want you to see

Click to see the NRA ad Obama wants to ban

Barack Obama has gone to great lengths to obfuscate his gun grabbing tendencies. Barack hides his anti-Second Amendment position as assiduously as he hides his smoking habit. But the fact is, the Bolshevik in Black wants to ban guns.

The National Rifle Association has produced a little television ad to open up folks eyes to Senator Obama's true intentions. True to form (and from a man that wanted us to worry that Sarah Palin might have once wanted to keep dirty books out of the reach of kids in a library) Barack's gang of thug lawyers have been working overtime to make sure that no NRA ad ever gets any air time on TV.

The Riehl World View has the solution. Spread the NRA ad all over the internet. Embed the YouTube video or put a link to it on your blog. The television cats, most of whom are already in the bag for Obama, won't stand up to this blatant attempt to subvert the First Amendment. Not so long as it helps to subvert the Second Amendment the left fears more than freedom itself. Get the message out anyhow.
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It is almost October, can we expect to see Barack the hypocrite going out to 'get me a huntin' license' soon? I'm guessing Sarah the Moose Slayer upstaged him too much for such blatantly phony antics.

Next Great Depression or Next Great Boondoggle?

Get in on the top floor of the Next Big Bailout!

Its the end of the world, the economy is in ruins, the spectre of the Next Great Depression looms. Unless, of course you are on the 'take' end of the apparently inevitable bailout. The old feeder has been out of town for a few days, but all I heard on the TV and radio is that this credit crunch, combined with the collapse of the Fannie and Freddie mortgage rackets threatens another depression.

I cant' see it. The stock market hasn't collapsed. Gasoline prices continue to decrease. I still get junk mail from banks offering to lend me stupendous amounts of money for sub-prime rates.

The best analysis I've seen so far is at the Marginal Revolution. Read these posts: Where is the Credit Crunch?; Questions that are rarely asked; and A Supply Side Approach to the Crisis for a view that is a bit less dramatic than the one pumped up by the slavering media and our presidential contenders.
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If WaMu is going broke, how come I got an offer from them in today's mail to lend me $10,000 at 1.66% interest, said rate guaranteed through June, 2009? If I deposit the enclosed check, the money will be mine. Of course, the only reason I get such offers is that I have always paid these types of loans back promptly. But at the offered rate, I could hedge inflation by putting the loan proceeds into a CD.
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Them as are going broke from making bad investments or ill-advised loans should suck it up on their own. Let them sing along with John Lee Hooker: Serves me right to suffer.
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A bit of comfort and perspective from via Genevieve at Prairie Bluestem:

Capitalism is not the free world.
Capitalism is a term devised by Marxists to describe what they thought were the worst aspects of our freedom.
We should never let any corporation or bank or computer company pose as the embodiment of our freedom.

James Healy, The Heelers Diaries.

Its a good start

No Special Treatment

It is good news any way you read it: Muslim leader says 150 workers fired at Neb. plant.

Mohamed Rage with the Omaha Somali-American Community Organization says 80 workers were thrown out after an altercation late Thursday. He says when they tried to return for their shift Friday, they were fired, along with 70 others.

Say NO to Sharia, NO to special treatment for Mohammedans, NO to jihad in any guise.
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Note the nasty way Mohamed Rayzh chooses to transliterate his name as Mohamed Rage. Why not just Mohamed Rage Boy?

Sandra Bernhard: Palin better stay out of Manhattan

Sandra Bernhard - not cute

From The Theater J Blog:

...Sandra warns Sarah Palin not to come into Manhattan lest she get gang-raped by some of Sandra’s big black brothers...

Sounds like Sandra is jealous because she isn't as 'cute' as Palin. Seriously, this is demonstrative of the level to which the Desperate-ocrat Party has sunk in their hate for Sarah Palin.
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Disgusting video at Hot Air.

Off to Lake Okoboji

Now that the tourists have left

The old feeder is taking a few days off to enjoy the Red Indian Summer* at beautiful Lake Okoboji, Iowa.
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*Or Native-American Summer, what with the Obamanites calling everyone and everything racist.
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Trip delayed: brake pads loudly demand replacement. Nothing wrong that money can't solve.

The Race Card

Barack Obama's Race Card

Breaking News from Michelle Malkin: Barack Obama is half-black. Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, campaigning for Obama said,

Have any of you noticed that Barack Obama is part African-American? (Republicans) are not going to go lightly into the darkness.

I think it may be easily considered insulting to call a man half-anything. Barack Obama is all mulatto. He should be proud of it.

Busy Blogger

Obama's Red Tentacles

The old feeder is busy trying to load ancient software into a cutting-edge computer. Having no experience with Windows Vista, and even less with 64-bit processor architecture, its been time-consuming. Its almost enough to make me yearn for the old DOS days. Only almost.

I could use the automatic blog post generator, but I haven't been that far out of touch. One thing I'm concerned about: commie agitators in South America being encouraged by Russia's Vlad Putin. Its bad enough to see Castro lovers wearing Che shirts here in Omaha. As far as I'm concerned, Marxists ought to stay the heck out of the western hemisphere. I guess that is old fashioned thinking, given that we have a Marxist running for president right here at home.
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Feel free to copy and use the new Obama poster at the top of this post. I made it out of the picture on the cover of an old pamphlet named "How Communism Works".

Cuzzin Grumpy's Pork Chop Revue

Lola

Sometimes you would think pigs are the scum of the earth, the ultimate insult, vile creatures that some religions have declared to be obstacles to the gates of heaven. Most Americans love to eat them and hate to smell them, as if a shower, cologne or perfume could make other animals forget that we don't smell all that great ourselves.

I was a hard headed farm kid who didn't have a clue as to the intelligence of these animals and their willingness to get along with us if we'd only treat them with a little respect, such as inviting them into the house for dinner like Les Kimes does on a regular basis. I saw Grumpy and his porcine pals last week at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. They have an entertaining act called Cuzzin Grumpy's Pork Chop Revue which makes the rounds of county fairs entertaining farm kids of all ages. Pig acts are a family tradition for Kimes, whose father, Boyd, started the pig act, calling it Uncle Heavy's Pork Chop Revue.

My pigs probably felt threatened at my hostility towards them and were therefore extremely reluctant to do anything or go anywhere just to please me. Along with yelling at them I wasn't beyond hitting or kicking them and feeling justified because I thought they were so stupid and stubborn, not some of the most intelligent of animals as Grumpy points out. At least they had thick hides and no physical harm resulted other than the occasional sprained wrist I suffered. They're really solid. Or I'd miss a kick and fall down in piss soaked hog manure. This isn't a bad thing if you're able to observe it happen to a hard headed farm friend, or especially somebody's dad. We all need to laugh.

Knowing now that they're pretty decent critters I'd still like to see us continue eating them even though powerful forces are at work to put a stop to it. But you should know that these 4-legged cloven hoofed farm animals have a dark side. Under the right circumstances they're not above eating each other, as confirmed by Iowahawk in an excellent hog blog. So it's not like we have to feel guilty eating a slice of pepperoni pizza. Barack probably had bacon for breakfast the day he made his lipstick remark.

Enough about that. Let's watch these videos I made at the Fair of The Pork Chop Revue!

Putin on George Bush

Click to see what Uncle Pootie is doing

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says of US President George Bush: He's OK, but the people around him are rubbish. Well, Vlad, we don't like you, the people around you, or the tank you rode in on.
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As for George Bush: He is the hero of the liberation of Iraq. Just ask the people of Iraq. You'll have to ask them because the radical leftist 'mainstream' US news media won't tell you.

Liberal Palin Panic

Not funny - Not nice - Not even civil

This nauseating Oliphant cartoon goes to show the depths to which the liberal media will sink as they realize that the Barack Obama magic is vanishing. As the smoke clears and the mirrors reveal the racist hate and Marxist perfidy standing behind the wannabe Messiah, the Obama campaign along with its fellow travelers in the media are resorting to the ever more transparent and disgusting attacks on the McCain-Palin ticket.

This disrespectful cartoon is the most despicable display of classlessness since pro-slavery Democrat supporters ran this anti-Lincoln political cartoon during the 1860 presidential election campaign. I hate to think what we'd be seeing from Mr. Oliphant if McCain had chosen Condoleeza Rice as his running mate.

This shameful cartoon isn't the only thing making folks like Jeffro at the Poor Farm angry with the Obamanists. There is Charles Gibson's unprofessional and poorly prepared waste of a perfectly good opportunity to interview Sarah Palin for ABC News. He misquotes her and frames his questions to suit his painfully obvious liberal agenda. Another example of liberal desperation is the Washington Post's recent effort to connect our national remembrance of the Islamic Jihad 9/11 attack with a smear of Sarah Palin.

I can't help thinking that this ugliness is going to backfire on the Democrat party. I actually think there will be a chance to reclaim the House and Senate this November. All the Democrats have to do is stay the course down the low road they seem to have chosen.

No Fear

Freedom's Smile - (risky click)

Freedom is worth it. From Grant Wahl's Blog at FanNation:

I like freedom, and I am not afraid of fighting for it. A year ago I was in jail for 32 days. You are going to laugh when I tell you why. It was for having a satellite antenna in my house. I had it, but I have no interest in politics for anything. I just love sports. --- After I was in jail they fined me 800 pesos and said that every year they want 30,000 pesos more. And I am not going to pay. I don’t know what will happen, but I am not going to pay.

Manuel Díaz Rodríguez - a free man in an unfree nation

Hat tip: El Abuelo de todos los blogs Cubanos, Babalu Blog.

Remember

Remember who did this to us.

It is a good thing that facts are not determined by consensus, because half of the people on Earth are below average in intelligence. Indeed, fully half the people alive today are below average by any measure. More than half in some places. Thats a fact. Like the fact that these disciples of al-Qaeda, believers in the Mohammedan Jihad, did this to us. A consensus or lack thereof changes nothing.
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Check out the archived TV coverage of that day. Read again about the Falling Man. See the smashed bodies, pictures the MSM wants to hide. Read a poem about the horror. Cry if you can. Get angry all over again. Say a prayer. Never forget.

Anti-Palinistas

Gals against Sarah Palin

Cool new blog: Women Against Sarah Palin. Statement of purpose:

On Wednesday, September 3, we sent out an email to 40 friends and colleagues asking them to respond to Sarah Palin’s candidacy as Vice President of the United States. They forwarded the letter to their friends across America. To date, we have received more than 60,000 responses from women of all ages and backgrounds. Below are their voices.

Cop a Laugh! - Hat Tip: The Mickeys
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For more laughs, you should check out the great Red Tide cartoons by James over at Red State Eclectic.
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If I was a woman, Id be embarrassed by the shallowness expected of me by the world's media elite.

You can put lipstick on a male chauvinist, but,

Even with lipstick

He's still a male chauvinist. Did I say male chauvinist pig?
I didn't think so. Gateway Pundit has Barack's response to the uproar his "lipstick on a pig" comment has caused: no apology.
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Discussion: There is a huge discussion of this situation at Michelle Malkin's post: You botched the joke, Barry O.
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Feel free to steal the photoshop, or anything else at the Plains Feeder.

Glenn Beck weighs in on the Large Hadron Collider

Black Hole Destroys Earth

The old feeder isn't the only one concerned about the possibility that there will be no September 11th this week. At the risk of being called a twat, Glenn Beck asked on his radio program today:

Could a French made black hole destroy the earth tonight as you sleep? Scientists say probably not, but check back tomorrow....

He wonders if the reason given for taking even a small risk of destroying the Earth is sufficient. He's right; the odds may be long, but the risk is extraordinarily high given the ephemeral value of a successful or otherwise non-cataclysmic outcome.

Eventually, Glenn comes to the same conclusion that I did: fire it up. There are worse things than having no future. Glenn:

When you put it in perspective, it's never what you expect that's going to end it all for you. --- It's like, whatever. So we're sucked into a black hole. I won't have to do the debates. I mean, I don't have to listen to Keith Olbermann for the next two months.

Beck is no twat either.
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IMHO, it doesn't make any difference if the black hole that eats the earth is French-made or not.
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Update: The scientists at CERN are claiming success. What they really mean is that they were able to run a moderately high energy proton beam through the complete circuit of the circular collider without having it fizzle out or escape its magnetic bounds. The world didn't end. End of story? Not quite.

It will be some time before the proton beams are jazzed up to the full energy capacity of the giant collider. Then the really risky part of the planned experiment to 'discover' the Higgs boson can begin. This will involve running two extremely high energy proton beams in opposite directions and causing them to collide head-on. It is at this point that the 'mini' black hole may be created and the elusive Higgs particle detected.

I think today's experiment was a trick. Now the rest of us are supposed to breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Those wacky high-energy physicists are OK. They pulled it off and the world didn't end." These world class fiddlers have only rosined up their big bow. Contrary to what Drudge's headline this morning says, the "Big Bang" recreation has not yet been attemped. The black hole part of the tune is 'way on down the program. Stick your i-pod things back in your ears, folks, you'll hear no big bang this week.

The CERN kids with the big chemistry set won't blow up the garage, even if they have access to more cash and electrical energy than most third world countries. No way, man. Be cool.

A Poll about Polls

I'm trying out a poll about the cause of the recent McCain-Palin poll bounce. I never attended Gallup U, even though there is a campus here in Omaha, so I don't know how to skew the questions to get the the results to fit my own pre-existing conclusions. I'm not clever enough to create a sensible binary poll that would satisfy the curiosity that moved me to create this poll in the first place. I considered this: a) it was something Sarah said or did b) it was something Obama said or did; but it seemed somehow unsophisticated. I'm just not a binary thinker.

The poll will run for one week. Please register your opinion even if you have methodological gripes. Feel free to post said gripes, condemnations and suggestions in the comments to this post. Since I'd like as many folks to vote in my little poll as possible, links to same which come to my attention will be rewarded with kind words and back-links right here, as well as a small measure of fair treatment in future Plains Feeder comments.

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Help the old feeder: This poll refuses to appear correctly in any of my browsers. Especially if I try to view it via the permalink to this post.If it seems all screwed up to you, please let me know in the comments. I might have to try a different 'free' poll service. or just fuggedaboudit!

Need a Vise-Grip tool? Buy the cheap imitation instead.

Made in China

I like the Vise-Grip tools. The old feeder is shy a few fingers, and the locking feature of these (until now) well-made, heavy-duty, chrome-plated tools make them very useful around the house and shop.

There have always been cheaper imitations, but I always bought the genuine article. The cheap ones will rust or are so flimsy they seem sure to fall apart under heavy use.

Now, you might as well save your money and buy the cheap imitations. The fools that run the company have decided to move all their production to China. I guess they weren't clever enough to sell their customers on the real value of Made in the USA quality. Now the renowned Vise-Grip tools will themselves be cheap Chinese imitations. Your Vise-Grip tool dollars will help prop up a totalitarian communist state that enslaves its people.

I feel sorry for the over 300 workers that are losing their jobs here in DeWitt, Nebraska. As for myself, I'm going to buy all the Vise-Grip tools I need now, before they are replaced with crappy junk on the store shelves. I hope the Vise-Grip company goes broke.

All Earth's problems: solved by science this week?

Large Hadron Collider - click to see it in action

I was getting ready to write my 9/11 Islamic terrorist attack anniversary blog post when I saw in the news that there may not be any more 9/11s. Some folks are saying that all of the world's problems might be solved this coming Wednesday, September 10th by a group of high energy physicists in Europe.

The scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), working in spite of death threats from sissies afraid to face a new trouble-free world, will start up the Large Hadron Collider at their gigantic particle accelerator which straddles Switzerland and France near Geneva. The ostensible reason for expending these enormous amounts of money and electricity is to 'discover' the elusive Higgs Boson. This explanation is so transparent and facile as to be worthy of derision. There must be an ulterior motive for all this bother and expense.

I think the idea is to save the earth by destroying it. Remember the famous Viet-Nam era quote (the one that nobody can recall who said it) "We had to burn the village to save it"? I suspect the same reasoning is being surreptitiously applied to the LHC. Human beings are widely thought by the fruits of academe to be bent on ruining the Earth and, eventually, the whole universe. What better way to keep things 'natural' than to get rid of the human pests and the conditions that spawned them?

The old feeder remembers a ride on the cable car up to the summit of the Zugspitze. My first wife was with me and she was so nervous that it was obvious. Someone asked her what she was worried about. She snapped back, "What if the cable breaks?" The other passenger said calmly, "If that happens, all your troubles will be over." The same reasoning applies to the results of powering up the Large Hadron Collider.

If, as predicted, a black hole is created by this device and it grows into a matter sucking monster instead of disappearing via some prophesied Hawkings Radiation, then the Earth will be destroyed and all our worries will be ended. You can bet on it.
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Dr. Brian Cox, one of the boy-scientist whiz kids leading the LHC project, (so young, I wouldn't trust him with the car keys) has this to say to folks advocating a cautious approach to creating black holes here on Earth: "Anyone who thinks the LHC will destroy the world is a twat."

Thats good enough for me. I'm no twat. Fire up that black hole!

Guitar Man

Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed died earlier this week, entertainer and guitar picker extraordinaire. One of his last concerts was at the York VA Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Here's Jerry in 2002 demonstrating that an old boy can still do it.

2 out of 3 people worldwide

The AP reports that 2 out of 3 people worldwide tuned in for Olympics. I wasn't one of them. Not for one second. I'm not sorry. I plan to keep saying no to China until the Chinese people give up communism. Marxist thought stinks on ice. That stink rubs off on everything that China touches. --- Addendum: A Canadian reader sends this 'so true' cartoon from Time magazine. Cop a laugh!

Barack Obama has got The Fear

Joe Biden's New Look

Sarah Palin has Barack Obama running scared. The Alaska Governor is so appealing that even Obama himself was a big fan of hers less than a month ago. Barack must think that the problem is only gender deep. Though it might reflect sexism in the fading messiah's camp, Obama is turning to women to undo the severe damage Sarah Palin's spot on the GOP ticket has wrought on his popularity.

First, Barack has trotted out Hillary Clinton. Until a few days ago, Hillary was emblematic of women in Washington politics. As Allahpundit at Hot Air points out, Obama must truly be in a panic to count on Clinton to save his campaign from Palinmania.

Next, Obama can count on his Most Rich and Famous gal pal, Oprah Winfrey to stifle the public view of Governor Palin. Oprah won't let her dreamboat Barack down, but women have been led to believe that Oprah is on their side in their efforts to overcome sexist stereotypes. I'm guessing lots of Oprah's fans will wonder why she is snubbing Sarah.

Finally, Obama could order Joe Biden to start wearing women's clothing and plant some rumors of a sex-change procedure. Barack is too proud to yank Joe Biden off the ticket (perhaps for drinking on the job) and revert to Clinton for his running mate. That would require admitting that he was wrong, something a real messiah just can't do. Changing Joe into Jo just might work.

John McCain

The Ticket

I'm not only impressed, but I'm surprised. John McCain gave the acceptance speech I wasn't sure he had in him. More in the morning, when I get back to the feedlot and my own computer.
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Friday morning, 5:30 AM: thoughts on John McCain's acceptance speech.

My favorite part:

I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.

Most important part:

I’m running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has. I will draw on all my experience with the world and its leaders, and all the tools at our disposal - diplomatic, economic, military and the power of our ideals - to build the foundations for a stable and enduring peace.

Selling points:

We face many threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it. I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't. I know how to secure the peace.

Change & Hope:

In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do is plainly before us. We don’t need to search for it.
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Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

I'm sold on the McCain - Palin ticket.

Sarah Palin

The Moose Hunter

I'm impressed. The McCain - Palin ticket is the right choice for America. Country first!
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Update: The Morning After
Last night I saw two speeches delivered at the Republican National Convention that I thought were outstanding and others that were just plain good. The truly great speeches were delivered by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin.

Normally the old feeder would update this post endlessly with reactions. Today, you won't need to go looking for reactions to these two great speeches. You will be bombarded with reactions, critiques and commentaries. I'm going to fix my leaky roof.
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If you missed Rudy or Sarah's speech last night, you can watch them on CBS News' bandwidth dime. Sarah Palin 's speech is here. Rudy Giuliani's here. If you sent any money to the McCain Palin campaign, then you may watch both speeches here at the official RNC website without feeling guilty. Full text versions abound, you can find the Giuliani speech text here, the Palin text here.
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Aside: The Plains Feeder is still getting a large number of hits from cats Googling for naughty pictures of Sarah Palin. Here is a photo that purports to be of Palin posing with a muscle car. For entertainment purposes only. [One of the Mickeys says it looks like a '73 Mustang.]
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Thursday night: John McCain!

Fred Thompson's very excellent speech

"John McCain has the kind of character that civilizations
throughout history have sought in their leaders."

I thought Fred Thompson's speech at the Republican National Convention last night was as good as any of its genre I've ever heard. I'm glad I went to town where I could watch the speech on FOX News, because CBS and NBC censored Fred's speech from their convention coverage. Today, the communist stooge press is panning the speech and Fred Tompson.

By now, anyone that reads the Plains Feeder is aware of how deeply in the bag for Obama I perceive the liberal news media to be. They have abondoned even the pretense of objectivity and impartiality.
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Joe Lieberman's speech. I'm happy he's in the GOP tent and even happier that he isn't on the ticket.
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Outside the convention: Barack Obama's brown-shirts engaged in deadly, violent disruption. Obama claims he doesn't inspire and condone this violence and terrorism. He also says he doesn't want his misogynist supporters attacking Sarah Palin's family. We already know that Obama's a liar.

Betsy opens Joe Biden's lunch bucket and finds...

A watercress sandwich? Most interesting analysis at Betsy's Page. Via Michelle Malkin.