4/08/2012

Thoughts On A Sunday

It's Easter and preparations leading up to it reached a fever pitch here in the Lakes Region. While we here at The Manse didn't have the chance to celebrate it together – Deb had to work, BeezleBub celebrated it with Horse Girl and her family, and I went to the WP Parents – it was still a great day.

************

I realized after reading the above that I have been remiss, making mention of Horse Girl but never having 'introduced' her.

Horse Girl is BeezleBub's girlfriend. I assigned her sobriquet not because she has a horse face (she doesn't), but because she rides. She has her own horse. Another reason for her nickname? Because that's how some of BeezleBub's friends referred to her...well not specifically her but aimed at what she is.

“You're dating a horse girl? Oh, great! I'll bet she has horse stuff all over her bedroom!!”

She does, but that doesn't mean she isn't a great girl. Besides the youngest WP sister was a 'horse girl', and a pretty darned good rider at that, and she turned out OK...mostly.

************

The Trayvon Martin shooting has stopped being a story about a shooting in Florida and become one about the corruption now endemic in the mainstream media, using old photos and creative editing to change the perception of the victim and the perpetrator. It seems they will bend the facts to meet the narrative in an effort to control the debate and boost ratings. Never mind that the police haven't finished their investigation and that evidence and facts presented so far do not match the media narrative. It's like they're trying to stir up trouble in an effort to create more problems, maybe even the lynching of George Zimmerman. And as I've written before, if that should happen the media will claim “But we didn't know anyone would do this!” even though they would probably have cameras there to record the whole thing in HD.

************

It looks like we're headed for a economic downturn two-fer, in this case another wave of mortgage foreclosures and one hell of a tax hike as of January 1, 2013.

In regards to the first:

In 2011, the "robo-signing" scandal, in which foreclosure documents were signed without properly reviewing individual cases, prompted banks to hold back on new foreclosures pending a settlement.

Five major banks eventually struck that settlement with 49 U.S. states in February. Signs are growing the pace of foreclosures is picking up again, something housing experts predict will again weigh on home prices before any sustained recovery can occur.

Some are saying the foreclosure rate in 2012 will be higher than that seen in 2010. That doesn't bode well for the housing market. How many more millions, if not billions of dollars worth of shadow inventory is out there waiting to hit the market?

************

The Obama Administration keeps playing the “unemployment rate is falling” card as if that's all that's needed to win re-election. But the electorate isn't being fooled. While the official rate has dropped to 8.2%, the number of jobs created (120,000 in March) is well below what was projected (200,000).

Why the drop in the unemployment rate? Simple – people have stopped looking for work and/or are no longer on the unemployment rolls. The official keeper of the employment figures, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tracks the numbers of under-employed and those no longer officially on unemployment but still looking for work and reports those numbers as well. When those numbers are added into the official tally, the unemployment rate is closer to 16%.

An recent illustration of the disconnect between the Obama Administration's claims and reality is a job fair held at a local New Hampshire amusement park, hiring for summer workers. Over 1000 people showed up for the 200+ job openings. One thing I noticed about those standing in line for those summer jobs? Most of them were older than one would think would be applying for them.

As one teen standing in line to apply for a job stated:

"It's definitely a lot harder because you have the adults that need to support families, they're first priority right now," [Sidney] Battle said. "So it's hard for a teenager like me to get a job."

Indeed.

************

Jeff Soyer clues us in to the fact that the Anthropogenic-Global-Warming-Is-Killing-Polar-Bears narrative is just so much bunk. At least that's what the Nunavut Wildlife Management folks are saying.

************

And a second link to Jeff, where he compares the logic of licensing gun owners with that of licensing drivers. As he states, “...it hasn’t saved lives when it comes to death-by-automobiles.”

************

Tom Bowler gets into the reasons for rising gas prices and their unintended consequences. The biggest cause? The Obama Administration.

Obama expected millions of so-called green jobs to be created after he put the screws to the traditional energy industries. But what he got instead was bankrupt green energy companies, billions of taxpayer dollars wasted, and higher unemployment because of skyrocketing energy costs he helped to cause.

Unintended consequences indeed.

Another unintended consequence – One and Done.

************

Some time ago Remington Arms, located in New York, started making noise about leaving the Empire State because of the increasing costs of doing business there. Between higher taxes, more onerous regulations and laws, and a feeling of being unappreciated by the powers-that-be for the jobs they provide, the motivation to look for a new place to set up business has increased.

I have a suggestion for Remington – move to New Hampshire.

My home state already hosts a number of small arms manufacturers including Sturm Ruger, Thompson Center Arms, and now Sig Sauer. (Sig Sauer just moved their corporate headquarters to Newington, New Hampshire at the Pease Trade Center. There will also be manufacturing operations located there.)

It seems that unlike New York, folks here in New Hampshire actually like guns. Adding yet another manufacturer here helps both us and the manufacturer.

************

Is stealing campaign signs off of a blogger's front lawn a sign of desperation from Democrats?

Yup. And the blogger in question, Steve MacDonald of GraniteGrok, says “I’ve got another post coming Monday that will make them bleed out their beady little sign stealing eyes.”

Hmm. Could there possibly be video of the perpetrators committing their crime?

************

Detroit is on the brink, and if it can't find a way to avoid financial insolvency by Thursday the State of Michigan will take over.

Fierce opposition from unions -- in a city that remains a bastion of labor power -- has so far stymied efforts to pass a rescue package.

A deal backed by Mayor Dave Bing and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, would grant the city the power to void contracts and slash costs but not provide state funding or loans to bail the city out of its financial problems.

Without city council agreement on that deal, Snyder can by law appoint an "emergency manager" who will assume the powers of the mayor and council to run day-to-day operations. He has until Thursday to take such action.

Apparently the unions don't realize that should that happen, they lose everything. At that point all union contracts are void and the emergency manager will control the purse strings, including the number of those who will remain employed by the city of Detroit.

The unions have dug themselves into a deep hole. Too bad none of the union leadership had the smarts to say “Stop digging!” while there was still time to fix the problem with far less pain than they're going to feel now.

************

To close out, let me include this link to a promo piece done by the New Hampshire Film Office to show off the Granite State to filmmakers and television producers. While aimed at that specific audience, this video gives you a taste of where it is I and the others of the WP team live and work.

And in case you're interested, I've been to most of the places shown in the video and I can attest that they are indeed as beautiful as depicted.

Enjoy!

************

And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the waters of the lake are softly calling, the sun has been warming the land, and where there's no better place to live.