Are Your Shoes Wet?

Just 2 days left before the Federal Government's debt ceiling hits the wall. Talking about walls, there is a lot of shit thrown against the wall by the Republican Party, but that is to be expected. What I marvel at is that the Republican Party has so many followers. This party does not have the interest of 99% of the American people. Their policies take care of only 1% or possibly 2% of the population. The interesting thing is that they are able to convince a much larger percentage of the population, to think, they are trying to help them to a better life. Is it even possible for these Americans that have nothing to be gained from voting for the Republican Party, to wake up some morning and realize on what side of the bread their bread is buttered? When will people ask themselves why large corporations can pay no taxes and other large corporations receive tax breaks that the ordinary worker does not receive? I admit the Republican Party does a great job of presenting a plethora of social issues that distract people from the key economic issues that would give them and their children a better life. And yet they, the Republican Party, claims to want to reduce the size and reach of the Federal Government except when it is reaching into those homes and families that don't mirror their righteous leaders. Education is hardly enough, people need to be able to think and analyze what is being said. If someone is pissing on your shoe, don't let them tell you it is raining. For God's sakes, Wake up!

President Obama And A Lincoln Moment

I find it hard to believe that idiots are running the country. The debt ceiling crisis besides being a manufactured crisis is also not the big deal the peanut brain idiots of the Republican Party believe it is. Governments do 2 things: they collect taxes and they spend revenue. Raising a little more revenue is such a bitter pill that the idiots will in effect raise the cost of borrowing which of itself will be like a higher tax by putting the country into default. So, people that don't understand economics or the capital markets for that matter, or how to govern, are making decisions based on false assumptions. Yes, if I was a single old man, with no other responsibilities to anyone else, I would look into leaving and living in another country. The bird size brain idiots in Congress, with their faith based reasoning, has put western civilization back at least 500 years. In my opinion, I think in the end it will be up to President Obama to raise the debt ceiling by executive order and let the Supreme Court decide if he has the power to do so under the 14th amendment. I hope he has the courage to take the action if it is necessary.

Stay tuned. This is just the beginning.

Speaker Bonehead And The Debt Ceiling

Like many of you, I have been following this manufactured crisis over raising the debt limit. The misinformation that the Republicans have been throwing around along with their lies and distortions of historical facts is unfortunate. Raising the debt ceiling was no big deal under Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton, so why is it such a crisis for President Obama. My answer is that the Republicans on the extreme right believe that the election of our first black president was a fluke and that if enough shit is thrown at him the electorate will not elect him for a second term. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said from the beginning that his number one job is to see to it that President Obama is a one term president. But, the President isn't without his own party, as surely will be seen by the stupid exercise going on in the House of Representatives. Speaker Bonehead and Cantor think the American people will place all the blame for the debt raising fiasco on the President. I think the majority of American's sense of fair play will lead them to the correct conclusion about the debt ceiling debate. The Republicans, that control the House, have squandered valuable time by refusing to compromise, and thus placing the United States' triple-A credit rating at risk. Remember, credit ratings are based on two primary factors: the ability to pay interest on the debt and retire principal in a timely manner, and, the willingness to pay. The Republicans, by their refusal to raise the debt ceiling for this president, has placed our willingness to pay on past debt the main question. I would like to make mention of the fact that had President George W. Bush not taken us into Iraq based on the bogus claim of WMD, the United States would not have the debt that we are dealing with. Also, had the war in Iraq been paid for by not lowering taxes, the debt situation would not be where it is today. I certainly hope we get through this debt ceiling crisis before August 2, 2011, as 70 million Americans not receiving their checks could cause a break down in our society's willingness to live within the law. Think about it.

Stamp Update

This may be how the stamp will appear on a white t-shirt. Maybe.

Saturday Is For Art: Bush 43 Postage Stamp

Artists get their ideas from many places. I get a lot of my ideas for political satire from reading magazine articles and books. A few weeks ago I suggested that anyone interested in Bush 43 and the Saudi relationship surrounding 9/11 might like to read an article in the August issue of VANITY FAIR titled THE KINGDOM AND THE TOWERS. After reading the article and looking at the photos accompanying the article, this postage stamp came to me. The graphics I borrowed from a beautiful 1923, 14 cent U.S. postage stamp of an American Indian in blue. My Bush 43 stamp is still a work in progress as there is much yet to do before it has my seal of approval. But since I am not moving around very much these days with a leg brace strapped to my left leg, I thought I would share my progress report with my many fans of MONEYTHOUGHTS.

Take care and be well and drink plenty of liquids during this heat dome we are having in eastern half of the United States.

Bush 43 Postage Stamp by F.D. Zigler, in acrylic on canvas board, 2011.

Saturday Is For Art: New Political Satire Stamp

This week I have been working on a new stamp. (See last post.) I am enjoying working on this piece as there is little else I can do with my left leg in a brace. I enjoy creating my political satire stamps. Can you guess what this one is about? When I complete the drawing phase, I can beginning painting.

New Project: Postage Stamp

While I am healing from leg surgery, I came across an idea for another of my political satire postage stamps. Tuesday I was out and about with the help of my friend Stertmeyer, and I bought a piece of canvas board. I like to use canvas board or any other kind of board or plywood especially when I am doing a lot of mechanical drawing on my artwork. I also use cereal boxes to make patterns where I need to use a design more than once. When the drawing is complete, I will start painting with acrylics. So, besides sleeping in front of the TV while I am waiting for my left quad tendon to heal, I can do a little drawing. Here is what it looks like after one day's work. I got tired standing all morning and quit drawing and cutting patterns in the early afternoon. This old man got tired. The brace on my leg after a while feels like it weighs 50 pounds, so I took a nap. For the graphics of this postage stamp, I went back to an early 20TH century postage stamp design. More pics latter when the details are filled in.

Raise the Debt Ceiling & Meet Our Obligations Now

Since I am not an economist by training or profession, let me give you some of my "junk economics".

The credit rating agencies measure 2 things when assigning a credit rating to a country, state or political sub-division. The first is the ability to pay! That is the debt, sometimes referred to as debt service or interest on the debt. Can the country meet its obligation to pay principal and interest on its debt. The second criteria is the willingness of the borrower to pay that debt. In other words, a political entity could have the financial resources to pay their debt, principal and interest, but not the inclination to do so. The United States Government should raise our debt ceiling and make good on obligations that it has assumed. The alternative to paying our debts in a timely manner is undercutting our ability to borrow in the capital markets around the world. This in my opinion and quite a few trained economists is what the government should be doing. This is not something that should become a political football to be kicked around our not so level economic playing field.

New Subject:

There is a huge need in the United States to repair and build new infrastructure. Only the Federal Government has the resources to under take such large projects, much like pursuing a war where the nations Armed Services are called into action. When investment is made domestically and resources in the ground are used from within, the domestic economy of the United States grows at a faster rate. Money is paid out and taxes on income are collected. But, there is one more thing that takes place. There is the expansion of the money supply that accompanies this economic growth. This then leads to more economic growth and more tax revenue to pay for the infrastructure. The infrastructure also delivers an economic good in and of itself. That economic good being in the form of greater productivity of the whole economy. This greater productivity produces greater demand and greater demand produces jobs! The above is not junk economics. It works. Check the political and economic history of the United States for the years 1941 to 1945, to see how this has worked in the past. Basic economics is not that complicated, except for the expansion of the money supply that takes place during economic growth, the rest is very much straight forward and understandable.

Note. That is me looking like an economist wearing a bow tie in 2006.

They Think They Can Beat The Negro President

After listening to what is going on in Congress, it is my opinion that we have finally reached that point where the dumber are running the show. The right wing of the Republican Party is so fucking dumb that they have no comprehension of what a default will mean to our domestic economy. Also, it is my opinion that they think they can beat this negro president. It is also my opinion from evidence such as the recent marriage piece out of Iowa about slave babies had it better in 1860, than African-American babies growing up in the United States under President Obama's administration in 2011, that lead me to this conclusion. Senator McConnell said from the get go that he wants to make Obama a one term president. I don't think they would take this thing to the brink (and what now appears to be past the brink) on the default of the government, if the president was white. I think, that they really believe they will win in 2012 if the country defaults under the negro president. Every level headed adult has said the default is something we should not play with. Unfortunately, there are not enough level headed adults in the Republican Party in congress. The days of liberal or even conservative Republicans is past. The Southern Strategy that the Republican Party has pursued since Senator Strum Thurmond became a Republican in the early 1960s is still alive. One only has to listen to the twisted fabrications of American Political History that comes out of the mouths of the Republican presidential candidates to understand that the foundation of their arguments are rooted in distortions and racism. How can any intelligent person accept this behavior from a major political party in the United States in 2011?

Obama 44 Cent Stamp by F.D. Zigler, acrylic on MDO plywood, 2009.

Let's Go Back To The 14th Century And No Big Government

Let's go back to the 14Th century and no big governments. We could all live around castles and pay our lord in crops for his protection in case of war. That way we pay no new taxes, except if the duke decides he needs more money to run the castle. Yes, let us go back to a simple time when everyone knew their place and the world was at peace. For those of you who know your European history from the 14Th century forward and don't care to repeat the lessons of history, it might serve us all well to enlighten those among us who think that life as we know it now has always been like this and that to go back would be a huge improvement. Why stop at the Tea Party Rebellion of the 18Th century, let us go back to even Roman times when Caesars decided what our taxes will be and who will pay and who will be slave. I get a kick out of listening to the those that don't know the history of western civilization. For the Republican Party, history is just more propaganda and it is to be used to manipulate the masses. So masses, be manipulated by the false history that comes forth from the mouths of Palin and Bachman, for ignorance is surely the new way to go. Can someone tell me when the NFL lockout will end so the gladiators will be able to fight? The coliseums are waiting.

Saturday Is For Art: Simeon Zigler's Art Continued

Here are three pieces in watercolor that are not in the art exhibit of Simeon Zigler's artwork at the Skirball Museum. While these three pieces are a bit different and would have shown another dimension of his work, space was a real factor that limited what could be seen.

The 2012 Presidential Election Will Decide How Stupid The Middle Class Has Become

The political economy remains in the toilet, and millions suffer. The unemployment is right around 9.2% and that doesn't even count those that gave up looking for work, or those working at wages far below their earning power just a short time ago. The changes that I wrote about that needed to me made in the capital markets never took place. While the investment game goes on, there is much damage that has not been repaired. When you take away all the fancy words and phrases from the economic pie, we are left with one word that means everything: confidence. Without confidence in the game people don't bet, and they take their money off the table. Every gamble that we make, we make because we feel there is a chase we may win. Whether we play the ponies or the slots or blackjack, we feel at least that the game is on the up and up and we have a chance. Unfortunately, when it comes to Wall Street, the investment bankers don't really care if people have a chance to win. Shooting fish in a barrel, a guaranteed win is what they are after. What is insider trading if not an attempt at knowing you are going to win before the game is even played. Unfortunately, The Wall Street & Washington Alliance controls the economy of the United States. As long as the people permit this situation to exist, unemployment and the recovery will linger. The fact that government spending to rebuild and repair the infrastructure of the United States is not happening is a testament to the fact that even solid economic principles can be buried over by bullshit from the Republican Party. The Republican Party stands for the destruction of the middle class. The middle class in many parts of the country are dumb enough to swallow their economic nonsense. The 2012 presidential election will be the year that we find out just how stupid the middle class is in America. Economics is not that difficult to understand, but it has been perverted to a point by the Republican Party beyond recognition. Has anyone seen a Nobel Prize winning economist buy into the Republican economic nonsense?

Saturday Night

The painkillers work, but this operation has taken a lot out of me. Glad I have a long weekend with the 4th to get some rest.