Tex the Pontificator

I suffer no illusion anything I write can hold a candle to Rudyard Kipling, but I do admire his skill.

If you can tell all comers what they each desire to hear
And get each one of them to cheer;
If you can defer their understanding they’ve been had,
Their seeing you clearly as a cad;
If you can lie without being seen to be a liar,
With no one knowing that your pants have caught on fire;
If you can promise things no sentient being could believe,
And contain the damage when the marks begin to seethe;
If you can crush the economy with regulations that you weal,
And pretend that reality is not real;
If you can shelter cronies and hammer down your critics,
While making bland pronouncements sans specifics;
If you can claim your predecessor was a cowboy,
Who dealt with foreign leaders as a plow boy,
But bow to leaders from Riyadh to Yokohama,
You, my son, can surely be Obama.

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Labels: Barack Obama

Charles Krauthammer's October 30 column discusses Obama's propensity, even this far into his administration, to blame all problems on George Bush. In so doing, he compare's Barack's behavior to an old Soviet joke. The joke presupposes that, as he lies on his death bed, Stalin calls in Nikita Khrushchev, who succeeded him:

"Niki, I'm dying. Don't have much to leave you. Just three envelopes. Open them, one at a time, when you get into big trouble."

A few years later, first crisis. Khrushchev opens envelope 1: "Blame everything on me. Uncle Joe."

A few years later, a really big crisis. Opens envelope 2: "Blame everything on me. Again. Good luck, Uncle Joe."

Third crisis. Opens envelope 3: "Prepare three envelopes."

Wouldn't you know that elicited some doggerel from me:

Unemployment’s through the roof.
They’re emptying out the vault,
But poor Obama stands aloof.
It’s Georgie Dubya’s fault.

The stimulus has blown the budget
And could lead to default.
Now poor Barack will have to fudge it.
It’s Georgie Dubya’s fault.

Afghanistan has gone to Hell,
Pull out or now assault?
How can Obama even tell?
It’s Georgie Dubya’s fault.

Obamacare will kill us quick
And government exalt,
And if you find that you get sick,
It’s Georgie Dubya’s fault.

Cap and trade will stultify
And make some go John Galt.
Let’s be just a teensy sly,
And say it’s Dubya’s fault.

The Left feels wounds from Dubya still,
So let’s get out some salt,
And rub it in their wounds until
They say it’s Dubya’s fault.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel

The American Digest has a parody of the Yorick scene from Hamlet. Called Obamlet, the parody puts Obama in the role of Hamlet anguishing over how to proceed in Afghanistan. It is well done and on point, but beyond how to proceed in Afghanistan, the parody's point is symptomatic of how the Obama administration has failed to live up to what supporters projected onto Obama in the election.

Obama’s election some thought was auspicious.
The policy changes they thought quite delicious,
But now it’s in doubt
How things’ll pan out.
His promise now seems meretricious.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel

The Wall Street Journal reports that Daniel Ortega, unsurprisingly, has made an end run around Nicaragua's constitutional term limits. He will now no doubt become president for life or as long as he can possibly hold on. Nicaragua returns to jail without passing go or collecting anything resembling freedom. This is the same fate the Obama administration is trying to foist on Honduras.

Ortega’s now stolen Nicaragua,
In a move that was tried by Zelaya.
He’s leader for life,
Despite all the strife,
And that’s how they cut the papaya.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, foreign policy

The Obama White House's Nixonian war against Fox News is much to be regretted in a country where political speech is supposed to be unsuppressed. But Obama comes naturally to the impetus to suppress things he does not like.

With rules that are used in Chicago,
Like Bolsheviks chasing Zhivago,
When you’re on the run,
They pull out the gun.
Barack, he learned well and evolved so.

10/26/09 Update:

A reader emailed me the following:

Dude, you talk real nice, but considering how short it is, you sure do leave a massive load of easily-debunked pus in this fevered wound of a blog entry. I guess my first question would have to be what your definition of "a war on Fox News" is.

The White House hasn't denied any of their reporters credentials, and hasn't tried to take Fox off the air. They just don't feel like sitting down and having to deflect massively spun questions, distortions and half-truths from what they've rightly described as the propaganda wing of the GOP.

("Nixonian"? Look up Roger Ailes' background sometime.)

This "war" is entirely in the drug-addled mind of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. The White House's "attacks" are to merely say "nope - don't want to be interviewed by you." The remainder of their input is to explain this reasonable policy, when asked. It's Fox making the actual attacks.

So, how is this a war? I'm just curious.

Oh, and “Nixonian”?

It was Ailes whose guns were all large-bore,
And he used to give newspapers what-for.
Just because all his tricks
Were to calm Tricky Dick’s
Paranoia doesn’t make him a man-whore

The guy who wrote this disagrees.
With the pattern that I see.
But my heart o’er that won’t bleed.
I’m delighted someone reads.

To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.

Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel

The blogosphere is replete with comment on Obama's abrogating compensation agreements at firms receiving TARP money. Professor Bainbridge has a cogent post that includes this point:

The bottom line thus is that Obama is having his minion coerce TARP executives and employees into ripping up contracts Obama doesn't like so as to assuage the populist public. In doing so, Obama and his appropriately entitled "czar" are exhibiting a basic lack of respect for the rule of law.

Despite the wailing of the left-wing Cassandras at the time, Bush was never the threat to the rule of law that Obama is.

Abrogating contracts is Barack Obama’s plan.
Cutting back excessive pay, he sticks it to the man.
Why should Obama care that contracts aren’t enforced?
He blows away your vested rights, not feeling your remorse.

Contracts were the settled way we planned into the future.
The recent abrogations leave a rift without a suture.
Undermining confidence, Obama's biggest feature.
Trust in government alone, now, that’s the message from our teacher.

If he can cut back pay because he thinks its way too high,
He can change the price on all the things that you have gone to buy.
If you’re the one who sells things, then you have no way to know
If Obama will just change the price and tell you where to go.

When you can’t rely on business terms of all the deals you’ve made,
You cannot know if you can keep the sums that you’ve been paid.
You’re left to plead your case to distant bureaucrats,
Officious functionaries knowing less than mewling cats.

Success will not depend upon your marketplace acumen.
You’ll need to cultivate a set of skills that don’t like excess lumens.
Who you know and who you stroke, to whom you give out favors,
These are things that now will set the outcome of your labors.

To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.

Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel

There was a time when the mainstream media would have had us believe it was a major failing of George Bush that he did not follow the advice of certain generals whose advice the liberals agreed with. Apparently Eugene Robinson, no doubt among others, does not agree with the advice of General McChrystal.

Bush had a problem with the war in Iraq,
But Bush is long gone; the Pres is Barack.
“Listen to generals,” George Bush was then told,
For some generals lined up with liberal scolds.
Afghanistan’s where the troubles are now,
And listening to generals puts you out on a bough.

You don’t need to listen if you don’t want to hear.
We can’t let the facts with our plans interfere.
Obama is weighing the options, transfixed,
On which course of action best helps politics.
Now General McChrystal, he asks for more troops.
Why won’t the warmonger shut up and salute?

To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.

Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, jihad

MSNBC (yes, really, I had to look twice) carries an AP analysis (yes, AP, really) decrying profligate charges of racism.

Our society is not free of genuine racism, though mercifully racism is less common than it used to be. We should not relent in rooting out genuine racism, but in so doing, we should not use the term loosely.

Labeling opposition to Barack Obama's policy proposals as necessarily racist is an abuse of the term, because it unfairly libels innocent people with a vile charge. But worse than that abuse, doing so leads to resentment of charges of racism and to taking the charges less seriously. That result is counter-productive of eliminating racism.

Once upon a time calling someone a Communist was a serious slur in the eyes of almost all Americans. At least partly because of the excesses of the McCarthy era, the charge lost its sting in many quarters and some now regard the charge itself as antiquated even when it fits, as in the case of Hugo Chaves.

We must all hope that a consequence of Barack Obama's presidency is not to lessen the sting of a racism charge. That is not the direction in which our society needs to go. Those throwing the charge around need to bear that in mind.

To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.

Labels: Barack Obama, cultural divide

Acorn the org has been known to all.
Acorn the org had a great fall,
And all the spin doctors and all Barack’s men
Couldn’t put Acorn back together again.

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Labels: Acorn, Barack Obama, doggerel

Dubya Bush thought it made sense
To give Eastern Europe missile defense.
Barack Obama says au contraire,
With Eastern Europe he will not share.

We used to fear proliferation,
Because it could lead to conflagration.
Our defense we said we’d share,
If from the bomb you would forbear.

The message now is loud and clear:
If you’re a target and danger's near,
America won’t protect you pukes.
You'd better get your own damn nukes.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, foreign policy

Negative rights and positive rights are the dividing line.
Obama promises positive rights, offering things so fine.
He’ll give us all our health care and all our hearts desire,
If, in return, we’ll close our eyes and step into the fire,
For when the government gives us things, they’re not spun from thin air.
No, others must produce those things, and Barack will make them share.

There’s a word for when another takes the things that we produce,
And applies them to the taker’s thoughts of what’s a better use.
Conscripting labor from another is the vilest form of knavery.
We’ll find our labor has become nothing more than slavery.
If we don’t own what we produce, we own almost nothing.
We have just what they leave us with. Do not believe their puffing.

Negative rights are things that the government must not do,
Ways in which it’s not allowed to interfere with you.
Freedom of speech and of petition, such things they cannot stop,
If we insist on being free; we’ll know just what we’ve got,
But when they pass out goodies by taking things from others,
What we get was necessarily taken from our brothers.

Now if you think they’ll take from them, but not take things from you,
I’ve got a bridge to sell you, pal, a deal you’ll come to rue.
They see the proletariat as the class where we belong.
Trading freedom for state care is just a siren song.
If you are tempted to believe the state’s care will be great,
Ask Sitting Bull how it worked out; what was his people’s fate?

We can all be citizens, free and independent,
Or we can be just vassals, on the state dependent.
Freedom is quite costly, and it’s often very hard,
But you must throw it all away to choose to be a ward.
I know not what all may choose, freedom or dependence.
But as for me our negative rights are all that can defend us.

To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.

Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, Obamacare

Barack has got plans for you and for me,
But they’re not embraced by the bourgeoisie.
His spending and taxes will soon fill the bill.
Stagflation will pauper us, leave us with nil.
Just like in the song called "Government Cheese",
When we’re all beggars, we’re easily pleased.
A banana republic is how it will end,
With Barack as caudillo, an endless downtrend.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, Obamacare

Barack is nimble and he's quick.
He'll give you care when you are sick,
Unless, of course the cost's too high,
Which is when he'll let you die.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, Obamacare

Power Line points to a Jeffrey Roger Hummel article discussing our future.

According to the article, we have three options:

1. We can try to get off cheap on repaying treasury securities through comparatively modest inflation.

2. We can default on treasury securities.
or
3. We can adopt the Zimbabwe option, repudiating the national debt indirectly through hyper inflation.

Mr Hummel is optimistic enough to believe the political class would avoid option 3 and does not believe option 1 will work. That leaves us with option 2. I don't know whether option 1 would work, but Mr. Hummel offers plausible reasons why not.

No option is good. Option 1 would severely damage the American economy. Option 2 would put an end to America as we know it, dramatically reducing our standard of living. Option 3 would leave us streaming into Mexico, looking for something to eat. My seat-of-the-pants guess is something in between 2 and 3.

Oh frabjous day. Obama is The One.

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Labels: Barack Obama

The Telegraph reports:

Under NHS guidance introduced across England to help doctors and medical staff deal with dying patients, they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away.

But this approach can also mask the signs that their condition is improving, the experts warn.

But fears of death panels in Obamacare are fear-mongering distortions? If the Dems want to hold up European health care systems are the model to which they aspire, do they not have to address the negative aspects of those systems?

Defenders of Obamacare will say it is my own personality defect that I cannot put aside such trivial concerns and rest assured that:

Obama loves me, this I know,
For Pelosi tells me so.
All of us to him belong
For we are weak and he is strong.

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Labels: Barack Obama, doggerel, Obamacare

Keith Hennessey writes of how poor leadership from the Obama administration has contributed to the legislative problems in enacting Obamacare.

I think much of the chaos we are seeing results from a combination of:

Presidential indecision about which path to take and a lack of preparedness for the different paths;

an ever-changing message from the White House;

and a flawed set of policies and substantive arguments to which American citizens are reacting harshly.

Contrast that with Lyndon Johnson's approach to getting Great Society legislation enacted. A consummate leader in the Senate, Johnson's personality and skill were major factors in the success of his legislative agenda. I was young and naive enough at the time to be excited about the quantity of reform legislation pouring out of Washington.

I am profoundly grateful that, unlike LBJ, Barack Obama never bothered with the drudge work of getting legislation enacted.

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Labels: Barack Obama, Obamacare

Dissent is not merely a schism.
It's the highest form of patriotism,
Except, of course, when it is not.
That's when the Dems are the ones who are got.

Dissing Obama is one of the basest
Things ever done by a GOP racist.
Bush was like Hitler and also a moron,
But Barack is a genius, an angel, and so on.

Barack will save you from insurance greed,
And give you the health care he thinks that you need.
Don't ever you worry; there's no cause to sigh.
Barack will know when it's your time to die.

Obstructing Obama is not very nice.
Don't you impede his workers' paradise.
Hail, all hail Barack ObaMA,
Who will lead us all to Shangri-la-la.

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Labels: Barack Obama, dissent, doggerel, Obamacare