Monday, December 15, 2014

Nothing Succeeds Like Liberal Secession:

Blue America Without Red America Would Be a Basket Case.

Kurt Schlichter @ Town Hall.

Schlichter writes about his political fantasies to provoke. Again.

Using Michael Tomasky butthurt outburst about southern states all falling to Republican leadership as premise, this outburst:
Practically the whole region has rejected nearly everything that’s good about this country and has become just one big nuclear waste site of choleric, and extremely racialized, resentment. A fact made even sadder because on the whole they’re such nice people! (I truly mean that.)
Schlichter visualizes what it would be like if Blue States under a president De Blasio actually would succeed from red states led by a president Abbott. What an imagination. What a character. What a provocateur. What a tremendously amusing person.

34 comments:

chickelit said...

Schlichter was being tongue-in-cheek, I believe. Tomasky is the colonically scabbed, tongue between-the-cheeks, butt-hurt rêveur.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I offer a tongue-split-up, or half a tongue, for each of your tongue-in-cheek and tongue between-the-cheeks.

chickelit said...

Zip it, Lem!

chickelit said...

Miss_Wisconsin?

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I gave you a softball.

chickelit said...

Blue America Without Red America Would Be a Basket Case.

As I recall, there was a debate on the Senate floor 101 years ago during deliberations on the 16th Amendment. I forget who said what, but the result predicted in 1913 was not what came true.

chickelit said...

Not that I was there...it was something I recall reading.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Well, I suppose there is more than one miss Wisconsin in Wisconsin. So it may not be the miss Wisconsin you are thinking about.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

BTW as I am not white I am technically allowed to use the bullhorn. So you can't say zip it to me.

chickelit said...

As I recall, there was a debate on the Senate floor 101 years ago during deliberations on the 16th Amendment. I forget who said what, but the result predicted in 1913 was not what came true.

It was the "without apportionment" langusge that caused the stir.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Bullhorn, Megaphone... Massachusetts, Massapequa

You say tomatoe I say tomato

chickelit said...

Lem said...
BTW as I am not white I am technically allowed to use the bullhorn.

Technically, they used the word "megaphone." which means that I'm still allowed to use the microphone.

chickelit said...

Wasn't "Bullhorn" the firehose wielding police chief?

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I 'am paying for this microphone!

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Talk about "apportionment" ;)

edutcher said...

If it came to pass, you'd have a West Pakistan/east Pakistan situation that couldn't last.

The Left Coast would petition Red China and the East would want to be part of France.

Michael Haz said...

Speaking of blue states - keep your eyeballs glued to Russia today. Full meltdown of their economy is underway. Putin tried to stop it yesterday by raising interest rates to 17%, but the global bond market didn't but it. The ruble collapsed overnight to 20 rubles = 1 dollar.

Russian wealth is fleeing the country, but has only a few places to go because the U.S. has sanctioned Russian economic activity in the US because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

If you want to see how (1) Land wars begin in Europe and (2) how a country with a weak economy collapses, keep your eyes on Russia.

Michael Haz said...

Graph of ruble collapse overnight here.

Michael Haz said...

At ruble's current level, Russia goes from 8th-largest country by nominal GDP to something like the 16th, in one day.

AllenS said...

The global collapse of the price of oil can't help the Russians at all. In fact, it's probably one of the contributing factors.

Michael Haz said...

The frackers have done to Putin what the BHO administration was too cowardly to do, namely slap his ass for invading Ukraine.

Putin's economy needs $70 per barrel crude prices to thrive, and the price has fallen below that. The Saudi's are in the same situation. All bets are off if the US production level drops, though.

AllenS said...

The collapse of the global price of oil will surely shake out the weakest producers.

Michael Haz said...

Crude oil just dropped below $55 per barrel for the first time in five years. Crude prices have dropped 45% this year.

Despite the fact that Russia has been labeled one of the world’s most promising emerging markets, often mentioned in the same breath as China and India, the Russian economy is actually quite different from the others. While India gains growth benefits from an expanding population, Russia, like much of Europe, is aging; while economists fret over China’s excessive dependence on investment,

Russia badly needs more of it. Most of all, Russia is little more than an oil state in disguise. The country is the largest producer of oil in the world (yes, bigger even than Saudi Arabia), and Russia’s dependence on crude has been increasing. About a decade ago, oil and gas accounted for less than half of Russia’s exports; in recent years, that share has risen to two-thirds. Most of all, oil provides more than half of the federal government’s revenues.

chickelit said...

Did George Soros bet against the ruble?

bagoh20 said...

"The frackers have done to Putin what the BHO administration was too cowardly to do..."

Yea, but watch who gets and takes the credit.

ricpic said...

In terms of the collapse of the Russian economy, which is directly related to the Saudi decision to keep pumping oil and holding the price of oil way down, here is my question: what's to stop Russia, in combination with Iran, from ousting the Saud ruling family and installing a more "cooperative" government? After all, Saudi Arabia has very little in the way of a defensive force. And what the House of Saud is doing is literally killing Russia. Cause for war? I'd say so. Which will probably escalate to world war.

Michael Haz said...

@ricpic:

An excellent question. The House of Saud has become increasing wary of Iran, to the extent of forming an informal alliance with Egypt and (gasp!) Israel.

If a normal American was in the WH, that person would tell the Saudis that if they wanted continued protection form America, that they must stop funding Wahabism in America, and stop funding Hamas in Palestine.

If only.

AllenS said...

Unfortunately, we probably have a defense pact with Saudi Arabia.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Great commentary Haz.

While we, all the people out here buying gas are doing happy dances at the pump, this does not bode well in the long run for our energy independence and the burgeoning fracking/oil/gas industry.

When the market prices get so low, but your costs don't correspondingly decline, something has to give. The small cats will go out of business or even BK. The bigger guys will just pull back, lay people off for now...or maybe for a longer time. This will put a big halt to the booming economies associated with the oil production. The trickle down effect on this economic halt is going to be awful.

Obama and the rest of the greenies are happy about this.

So...enjoy the low gas prices while you can. It is a trick and an illusion perpetrated by the Saudis and cheered on by our own government.

Mitch H. said...

ricpic, Russian force projection capacity isn't sufficient to seriously threaten Saudi Arabia short of nuclear attack. They're right next door to Turkey and northern Europe, so they can make things uncomfortable for their unnervingly disarmed NATO neighbors, but Russia can't do anything directly to Saudi.

Iran, on the other hand... But the Russians haven't been directly supporting Iran. Except indirectly as part of their mutual Syrian Ba'athist project. And the Iranians have been sniffing around Saudi's restive Shia eastern provinces for the last five-ten years, same way the Saudis have been quietly, if ineffectually funding a nasty little Arab insurgency in Iran's gulf provinces. Which is how petrotyrannies prefer to wage war - via proxy.

Michael Haz said...

Did more research. Russia needs $120 oil to fuel its expansive economy, including a major build-up of its military. Putin also quelled the riots the followed his most recent 'election' by spiffing more money each month to the Russian welfare class..Big trouble if he can't continue to do that.

The big difference between the US and the other oil producing countries is that the US production is not state-owned. Venezuela, for example, cannot ratchet its production down because it needs every penny it can scrounge. The ME countries are increasing in the same circumstance. They have bought domestic peace by buying off large segment of their population. Being unable to afford continuing that is a major problem.

If production in the US ramps down, it is because the oil companies have chosen to do so, not the government.

ndspinelli said...

The Saudi lowering the price was aimed more @ us than Russia. I see their motivation in this order.

1]Hurting US. Making fracking unprofitable

2] Hurting Iran

3] Hurting Russia

edutcher said...

The market's dropped 500 points the last 2 trading days.

Obviously, russia is on a lot of minds.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

here is my question: what's to stop Russia, in combination with Iran, from ousting the Saud ruling family and installing a more "cooperative" government?

Lol. Uh, America.

If a normal American was in the WH, that person would tell the Saudis that if they wanted continued protection form America, that they must stop funding Wahabism in America, and stop funding Hamas in Palestine.

If only.


If only W., Clinton, GHWB, Reagan, etc. were normal, then. But yeah, your point is valid.