John Jay

Brick Oven agrees with John Jay.

With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people--a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.

This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties.

John Jay helped found Columbia University. He is not pleased.

Peter R. Orszag

“A federal rescue of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers as much as $25 billion, Congress' top budget analyst said Tuesday.”

BS. Freddie and Fannie have $5 trillion of the country’s worst debt. Prices are down 30% from the peak, and it is entirely possible that F/F’s portfolio’s average is worse than that. The taxpayer will be on the hook for trillions. This act will likely be found by some court to be criminal when the smoke clears.

The picture is of Peter R. Orszag, the man responsible for the $25 billion figure. He is on record stating that there is a better than even chance that no money will be necessary. Funny how Congress wrote a blank check.

The Pickens Plan, Part 3

The Federal Production Credit for wind power is 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour and is set to expire on December 31st. Pickens has ordered 1000 megawatts of wind turbines. The federal benefit would provide Pickens with $19,000/hr in federal benefits, or $166 million per year.

More important is the value added if the federal government exercises eminent domain and condemns land for transmission lines. The value of this is easily in the billions.

I had previously speculated that 33% of electricity could be generated by wind. I reduce this percentage to 20% based on Denmark’s experience. Denmark has 15% of it’s electricity generated by wind and is beginning to have problems. Wind can stop for days at a time. Our wind would be spread over a wider region than Denmark, accounting for the extra 5%.

The Pickens plan would not benefit our country. Our resources should instead be going into nuclear power and electrified rail systems. Nice blondes though.

The Pickens Plan, Part 2

T. Boone Pickens has invested $2 billion of his own money in windmills. He is before Congress seeking tax benefits for his investment. More importantly, he is asking Congress to pass legislation to exercise eminent domain for vast swaths of land for power transmission lines from the wind belt to populated areas.

I see his actions as those of a businessman. His $2 billion investment would probably triple or quadruple in value if he gets what he’s seeking. More power to him (ha).

But wind power cannot solve our problems unless we are willing to live with part-time electricity. The economy that we depend on cannot exist with part-time electricity.

The answer is nuclear power, not wind. There needs to be a ‘fast-track’ permitting process that shoves new plants, built on federal lands, down the throats of communities. I don’t think our current form of government can accomplish this.

So hang on.

Conspiracy Theory #23j8i

Henry Paulson ran Goldman Sachs, when the investment bank originated massive numbers of the collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that have brought the banking system to its knees. When the CDOs went bust, Goldman Sachs was not holding the CDOs. Goldman Sachs remains a highly profitable investment bank.

The CDOs would be subject to buy-back at face value if they were proven fraudulent, which they most certainly would be in court. Goldman knew the CDOs were toxic, as is evidenced by the fact that they were not holding them when they went bust. This would come out in discovery. Paulson would be under oath. A buy-back would bankrupt Goldman and subject it’s leaders to personal legal liability. Possibly criminal.

Paulson was installed as Treasury Secretary around the time that the nature of the CDOs was discovered. He was installed, in my opinion, to prevent the lawsuits. If the taxpayers picked up the tab, Goldman would not be sued by the other investment banks. That’s the deal as far as I can tell.

If the man is successful, he may end up taking down the global economy. Which may or may not be a good thing.

Henry M. Paulson.

Better Image People

We’ve got a better picture Harold, now we’ve got to keep him quiet.

Update #1:
I "did not anticipate, and I think that this is a fair characterization, the convergence of not only the surge but the Sunni awakening in which a whole host of Sunni tribal leaders decided that they had had enough with Al Qaeda, in the Shii’a community the militias standing down to some degrees. So what you had is a combination of political factors inside of Iraq that then came right at the same time as terrific work by our troops. Had those political factors not occurred, I think that my assessment would have been correct."

Update 2: Um Uh Um Um Uh Uh Uh Um Um We are bipartisan Uh Uh Um Uh Uh. Israel is a friend of Israel.

Obama is not used to being criticized. He will not handle this well (‘don’t make fun of my ears’). He will become defensive in future speaking engagements, which will be minimized. He will then do something revealing, when that happens Brick Oven will define it as Obama’s Jack Nicholson Moment (“JNM”).

Marching On

I believe that history will look kindly on Ron Paul. Here’s a talk from Thursday.