Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Why You Should Blame the Democrats and Vote Republican

So I am getting a little sick of people blaming the republicans for everything and saying we must vote for Obama to solve our problems. But here are some hard truths to think about.

President Bush and most of the Republicans have been advocating drilling for years, but the Democrats have been dead set against. Oil prices were on the rise and will likely be on the the rise again soon, but still the Democrats (who control both houses) are a no go on drilling. So gas prices are high, which is the Dems fault. If they had allowed drilling before, we would not be facing this crisis. If they had allowed us to build refineries and drill away from the golf coast, we wouldn't be in constant fear of a hurricane shooting up gas prices.

Because of the high gas prices, everything else is going up in price, food, products, anything that is shipped, and families are struggling. Obama talks about the struggling family, but his policies of no drill and more "green" production will only increase their hurt as it will increase prices.

Of course, his excessive pro-union stance and high tax rates will also drive companies and jobs abroad to China, but, hey, according to Obama, jobs going to China is NAFTA's fault. Though, last time I checked China was not part of North America so not part of NAFTA, but hey, there's Dems. geography for you.

So Obama's policies = higher prices and less jobs. Now he can say from now until forever that the opposite is true, but just saying something doesn't make it true, it just means you've said it a lot.

Terrorism is always a fear for us here in America. Guess how terrorism is partly funded? Oil proceeds. That's right, when you fill your tank, you may be sending money straight to terrorists who will try to use your own money to blow you up. But hey, why worry about it now? They haven't attacked us since 2001, which obviously had nothing to do with Republican policies.

Obama's followers keep harping on Palin's lack of experience, but last time I checked she was running in the VP spot and Obama's experience is not much greater than hers. Now many Obama supporters say he can just get good advisors, which would also work for Palin, yes? And Palin doesn't have a history of associating with racists, domestic terrorists, and real estate misdeeders, so she is ahead on this avenue. Now, Obama was against the Iraq war, true, but he was in Illinois state senate when the position cost him nothing and then he was opposed to the surge, which worked, and which McCain said would work. And we have Georgia, which McCain almost predicted years ago with his stated distrust of Putin anf Obama that wanted to sit back and just wait to see what happened (In other words, good by Georgia). Yeah, Obama is somehow so much better on foreign policy than McCain, because after all he toured Europe with reporters.

Of course, there is the issue of corruption in politics and breaking up the current system. Now on one side is Obama who was part and parcel of the Mayor Daley corruption world of Chicago and Biden who is true old school politician and all that entails. Then we have McCain, who has fought against corruption for years and Palin who made a name for herself in Alaska taking on big oil and the corrupt politicians in her own party. Which side do you think is more likely to take on the Washington elite and win? My vote is with Sarah Baracuda.

Palin is also the only one with executive experiences. True, it is only 2 years, but it is more than anyone else out there. Now Obama tries to claim his campaign has prepared him (well, since there is nothing else to his credit, I supposed that is what he must fall back on). This is the same campaign who threatened media outlets with massive loss of advertising if they ran the add linking Obama to Ayers (the unrepetent domestic terrorist that Obama launched his campagin from), the same campaign that tried to link China with NAFTA, the same campaign that called mid-westerners bitter signal issue voters. So what we have is the lowest of the low in political tricks, of misleading the American people, and preventing freedom of speech. Great attributes for the main of "change." Now, true, Obama's campaign has been successful. He did, after all, win with no experience to his name and just a pretty little speech to show he is ready to run the country. You know, Hitler was popular, too, but I sure wouldn't want him running any country I live it.

Now, I could write an entire book on the downfalls of the socialist agenda he is pushing and a universal, government run, health care system, but I will just ask this - How good did the government do at say Katrina or managing social security and any of the other of its myriad of overbroad government programs it tries to run? Also, just do a quick search for available doctors in Canada or dialysis in Great Britain if you are over 55, or cancer treatmentsm or expensive drug therapy in Europe and see the results you get. See what is not said about the rest of the worlds attempts at universal healthcare. Oh, and check out their tax rates and unemployment rates and think if that is the country you want to live in. And before you say we are already there the unemployment rate for July was 5.7% and last quarter saw growth and the dolloar is on the rise, no matter what the media and Obama is trying to scare you into thinking.

Oh, and one more thing. The top ten poorest cities are all democratic strong holds and many were thay way long before they became the poorest cities. Do we really want them controlling th entire country? (See below for an articles re: the top ten poorest cities)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/20/beck.cities/index.html?iref=newssearch

Just put down the Obama kool-aid and think. Do you really know what is in that glass? Is it something sweet? Or poison?

Monday, February 4, 2008

What's my favorite topic?

So it's Crazy how everything comes back China. I just cannot escape this country and the need for any future elected official to have a plan to deal with Chinese products. Today's story is poisonous flipflops sold at Walmart from China. They are apparently causing what look like chemical burns on people's feet!! If I was the US gov't I would require testing on all products coming from China. If you know there is an increased likelihood of harm if a product has certain characteristics (in this instance, created in China), it is the obligation of the government to take steps to decrease the probability of consumers suffering from this harm. Isn't this why we have the FDA or the US Product Safety Commission? Maybe some departments should do their job?

Or we could all just stop buying stuff made in China.

Website on it:
http://www.lamanaphotography.com/walmart6.htm
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/flipflop.asp

I would so class action Walmart at this point - my theory: 70% of their products come from China. Walmart is fully aware of the multiple incidences of defective and harmful products from China. They have instituted no new testing procedures to protect consumers from the increased probability of harm that consumer face buying products at a store where 70% of the products are from China. Walmart has therefore assumed the risk by creating the situation which increased the potential for harm for its customers. Alright, not the best, but if you make through summary judgment, the jury will understand.

Friday, January 11, 2008

What I want in a president

So as politicians battle it out to be the nations next president, I began to think about what my ideal president would be and what all the current presidential hopefuls lack. I have decided to center my blog on what the politicians should be doing from my perspective. Feel free to disagree. That is the point of democracy, after all.

Today's blog will be about what they lack.

None of the current hopefuls have advanced any plan to help the nation's ailing economy. Let's face it, the US is in trouble. Our dollar is weak. We are in the midst of a mortgage crisis. We have a huge trade deficit with China. And the current motto is we are becoming a service industry country.

The dollar must be strengthened. I am not an economist or a financial advisor, but I do know the importance of a strong dollar in America. What do the politicians plan to do about it?

The mortgage crisis needs to never happen again. The mortgage industry needs to be more heavily regulated in many areas. Adjustable arm mortgages just need to go. There is no reason for their existence and they just taken advantage of the poor.

Trade deficit with China. Now I am of the belief that the huge trade deficit with China is one of the things that weakening our dollar. This is just a theory, I have done no mathematical calculations to prove it, but it makes sense. The Chinese dollar is artificially devalued. We have a huge trade deficit with China (hint, try to avoid stuff made in china -supply and demand does work. if we don't buy it, they'll eventually stop making it). This imbalance affects our dollar and I am of the belief that this relationship is helping to devalue our dollar.

Seriously, Mexico take up the model China used to get its manufacturing edge. Then you citizens woudl be employed and they can stop fleeing to the US. We don't want your poor and your criminals. Please keep them.

Realistically, shaping an economy around the service industry is just a bad idea. Such an economy is just too tied to the whims of the country and a failure is one sector affects all sectors drastically. There needs to exist a manufacturing sector, a sector that provides jobs to lower skilled workers and offers a home base for the manufacturing that may be necessary for military reason. Also, we need to something to export to offset our trade deficits. The US produces a better grade steel, but we are reducing our production because other coutries are producing a lower grade, but cheaper steel. Personally, however, I want the bridge I drive across to be made of higher grade steel, even if it costs a little more. This may be an area that a litte regulation could go a long way. Just saying.

We need to be encouraging in city schools to be teaching their students trades. These students are likely no going to college and we as a nation seem to have abandoned those children that are not going to college and that is just wrong (not to mention likely leads to a greater need for welfare and welfare related programs). We need to create workers that can do jobs better than the rest of the world to encourage the production of goods within our own nation. Now, I am in general against a universal healthcare system (I worked hard to get where I am so I don't have to wait a week to see a doctor - but that will be a blog for another day), but the government may want to consider offering baseline healthcare for workers of new manufacturing jobs on a temporary basis to take away some of the initial overhead costs of starting a company. Not permanent, mind you, but until the company gets off the ground and can afford the cost.

We, as citizens, need to reward those companies that produce goods in the US by buying their products. Again, good old supply and demand. To make this work, however, this requires government regulation. All goods (including food) need to be labeled according to where they were made and where their parts come from. I especially wish for this in food and it currently does not contain labeling as where it is made. Personally, I think where food is made is more important in terms of my health than were my shirt is made. Think all that killer pet food, the killer toothpaste, the killer cold medicine (all out of China by the way).

Well, that is my bit on the economy. I am sure there is a lot more that can be done. But how would I know, as the politicians seem to feel they should just ignore the issue?

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Boycotting China Products

Usually I use my blog to yell at people for being stupid. Now this is very easy to do because there are a lot of stupid people out there. But this article is about what we as a country should do to be smart. I'm not saying we're being dumb (though when you look at it, we are) but just that we can be smarter.

It is very important that we shift manufacturing away from China and back to our own hemisphere. There are a lot of problems (beyond loss of jobs) with the push to manufacture things in China.

I decided I was going to boycott China products, because, you know, I didn't want to die or kill a family member due to lead paint exposure or poisonous toothpaste. I have learned this is very hard to do because almost everything is made in China.

I then ran an informal comparison test between the few non-Chinese products I could find and those made in China. I have found my made in the USA socks are much more durable than the ones made in China, and they haven't been recalled!! It is actualy amazing the higher quality I found in US socks compared to China socks. I have also found a similar better quality of US products in the few other products from the US I have found. Also, south americans seem to make better jeans than China. The lesson is that there is more than just cost involved in manufacturing location choice and companies and consumers should be aware of this (This is also very apparent in consumer help call banks - they are much better in the US than abroad. When you purchase a product with consumer assistance, ask where the cal bank is).

Anyway, if a company was smart they would start making things here in the US and not in China. Also, this would be a good time for Unions to negotiate to increase their work here in the US. This would mean giving up some benefits in exchange for guaranteed expansion.

Also, I truly believe that China's undervalued currency and our extreme trade inbalance with them is one of the factors weakening our dollar. Well, that and unchecked predatory lending and a bust in the real estate markets due to idiots buying on speculation and unnecessarily driving up housing costs.

So companies, this is what I propose. First, make things in Mexico. I did not say US, because, though this would be most beneficial, it make be too much of a jump for companies. If things are made in Mexico, less Mexicans woudl illegally migrate to the US because they would have jobs. Stuff would also be less likely to be recalled and be closer to the US to allow for better oversite.

All in all, we should just stop buying from China. It would be best for everyone. Even the Chinese. If we stopped buying their lead based products, the Chinese workers would no longer be exposed to lead. It would be good for us because it would increase the value of the dollar, weaken the political threat of China, increase the quality of goods produced, potentially increase the available jobs for those without higher education, and all in all restabilize trade relations internationally.

So the message of this post: DON'T BUY CHINA

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Computers

I have decided I need a new computer (Mainly because the piece of junk laptop I have is falling apart). Dell is out of the question because I cannot understand their customer service people (He may say is name is Ronny from North Dakota, but I am pretty sure he is Rani from New Delhi). I decided I would try to find a laptop not made in China as I did not want my laptop to give me lead poisoning or explode. No such luck. They are all now made in China. This means I will be forced to buy a piece of crap laptop that will not work and will probably kill me.

This whole Made in China thing has gotten out of hand. Companies have moved there and completely washed their hands of quality control while them pay their workers just enough money to not qualify as slave labor (most times - sometimes it is slave labor). Their profits go to executives and stockholders and their products kill Americans, but it is not their fault. Oh, no, choosing to manufacture your products in a 3rd world country with no government oversight should magically result in safe products. Crazy companies.

Anyway, here is my message to companies: I will pay more money for stuff made in America that will not kill me and will actually work. Just a heads up. In case you wanted to make responsible decisions in the future.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

China AGAIN!!

Seriously, China is becoming a country of loons. The Chinese government has passed a law that essentially means that the Dalai Lama cannot reincarnate without the Chinese government's permission. I did not know a government could regulate someone's soul after they died.

The Chinese government is trying though, with the person chosen by the tibetan monks as the reincarnated Panchen Lama disappearing. I recommend we stop trading with China. This is ridiculous.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2194682.ece


Stuff from China is killing people and they are killing people because their "soul" didn't seek permission from the government to reincarnate.

Seriously, we are missing the actual threats. The countries we should worry about are China, Russia (claiming the north pole??), and Venezuala. Well, and the terrorists, but they really are less a country and more a whole bunch of crazies.

Monday, July 23, 2007

China again

so this is why I am opposed to the Kyoto Treaty:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118470650996069354-buQPf_FL_nKirvopk__GzCmNOq8_20070818.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
an exert:
"One tainted export from China can't be avoided in North America -- air.
An outpouring of dust layered with man-made sulfates, smog, industrial fumes, carbon grit and nitrates is crossing the Pacific Ocean on prevailing winds from booming Asian economies in plumes so vast they alter the climate. These rivers of polluted air can be wider than the Amazon and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
"There are times when it covers the entire Pacific Ocean basin like a ribbon bent back and forth," said atmospheric physicist V. Ramanathan at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif....

Asia is the world's largest source of aerosols, man-made and natural. Every spring and summer, storms whip up silt from the Gobi desert of Mongolia and the hardpan of the Taklamakan desert of western China, where, for centuries, dust has shaped a way of life. From the dunes of Dunhuang, where vendors hawk gauze face masks alongside braided leather camel whips, to the oasis of Kashgar at the feet of the Tian Shan Mountains 1,500 miles to the west, there is no escaping it."

I have nothing against reducing pollution. I think it is a very good idea, but it is useless unless we require countries like China and India to adhere to the same standards as the U.S. and Europe. Right now polluted air is crossing the Pacific Ocean causing damage to the U.S.'s west coast, but no one, not a single environmentalist, who rails against society because people drive cars or throw away a coffee cup or pop can, is up in arms about the continual pollution pouring out of China.

Whether global warming is truly a disaster looming on the hoirzon or not, plumes of pollution filled with chemical circling the globe, raining down on people, is a very real health concern and should be addressed. Quite honestly, more important to me is reducing pollution to lower cancer rates, asthma rates, etc. is an immediate compelling reason to work to reduce pollutants entering the atmosphere. Why don't we focus on that?

On a side note, do you know that those energy efficient light bulbs out right now contain mercury? That's right, next time you go buy a bulb, think what is worse: using a little more electricity or putting more mercury into our environment? Again, why does no one talk about this?

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

So today what bothers me is China. After the whole kill America's pets through food tainted with melamine thing, followed by the whole let's kill children with poisoned toothpast thing, and the let's kill South Americans with cough medicine thing, and let's not forget the whole lets give kids toys made of lead paint thing, you'd think American companies would say - "Hey, we are going to stop using Chinese products and will look to other places to supply the ingredients for our products." But, instead, none of this occurred. Companies continue to blissfully use China products saying it is not their fault if it kills people. At this point, I am going to say they have enough warning as to the poor quality of stuff coming out of China, that to use this stuff in making their products practically constitutes negligence.
The only thing that has happened is that China executed the guy in charge of regulating the safety of products for taking bribes which lead to people dying from a bad vaccine (not sure if I approve or disprove yet - my conscience hasn't decided).
I'm going to by honest here folks. We need to seriously encourage companies to stop getting anything from China. We also need to require that products, especially food products, label where all the elements/ ingredients of their products come from. If I knew an ingredient in my toothpaste came from China, you can bet I wouldn't be buying that toothpaste again.