Future Of The Dollar Teeters

Barack Obama, Bush, Economy, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation

Trashed By “W,” and his “worthy,” wastrel successor, the once-solid dollar may soon be dumped as the world’s reserve in favor of a basket of fiat currencies.

Reuters:

“The U.S. deficit is so huge. This is why all countries, particularly East Asia, are concerned because we hold a lot of these assets. What happens if the U.S. dollar falls 40 percent? Many central bankers will be losing huge amounts of money.”

Yahoo Finance:

“Central banks hold their reserves in a variety of currencies and gold, but the dollar has dominated as the most convincing store of value — though its rate has wavered in recent years as the United States ran up huge twin budget and external deficits.”

Tough love indeed.

Updated: Rude, Rudderless Rabbi

Christianity, Etiquette, Israel, Judaism & Jews, Religion

Religious correctness at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, as it is known to Jews, is policed by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch. The rabbi “is responsible for religious decorum at the site.” More like religious indecorum.

“Ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s May visit to Israel, the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, has said that it is not proper to come to the site wearing a cross,” reports the Jerusalem Post.

Naturally, “The pope wears a cross in all public appearances.” The Pontiff “is slated to visit the Western Wall on May 12 after a meeting with Muslim religious leaders …”

I wonder if these Muslims will emulate Jewish rudeness and request that the Pontiff remove his cross on entering the Dome of the Rock. This is the Muslim community’s opportunity to put Jews to shame. (I say this as a Jew who does not wish to see Jews qua Jews put to shame.)

“My position,” the boorish rabbi told The Jerusalem Post, “is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross. I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church.”

A boor and a bit of an idiot is Rabbi Rabinovitch, because it is not up to him to feel anything at all about the religious attire in which individuals wrap themselves on entering a church. It’s up to the proprietors of that establishment: Christian worshipers, their ministers, and other religious leaders. I bet they would not think to turn away worshipers or visitors, in tallit or turban, from entering their place of worship.

What a shame Jews must be embarrassed by this chap.

As I said, if Palestinian Muslims have any sense, they will seize on this bit of Jewish misbehavior to show their hospitality to “Benedict the Brave.”

Update (March 18): I spoke to my father, Rabbi Ben Isaacson, who resides in South Africa. He agreed with my assessment of Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, and went even further. Dad invoked the term Chilul Hashem, a pretty severe tack to take.

The idea is that a Jew’s behavior amounts to desecration of G-d when he brings shame on the community of Jews, and increases the likelihood of retaliation or negative reaction to Jews by his immoral acts. (“King Con” Bernie Madoff is beyond redemption in this sense.)

I Googled the Chilul Hashem concept and found this elegant explanation and argument. My father’s interpretation seems to approximate Rashi’s (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105 C.E.): “Why is it a chilul Hashem if others perceive us as acting immorally? The challenge is not against G-d but against us. Do we profane G-d’s Name because the non-Jew assumes that the Jew is acting pursuant to the Will of Hashem and thus Hashem must support such behaviour?”

Great logic all along. As you can see, one can be a non-believer (me), while being as Jewish as they come in so far as cherishing the wisdom and logic of this tradition.

Updated: Barack’s Bitches

Barack Obama, Business, Capitalism, Economy, Fascism, Law, The State

Michelle Malkin makes an important, if limited, point when she writes the following about the ponces in Congress. They indeed have some nerve pointing fingers at other parasitical incompetents:

“How nauseating to hear the growing chorus of lawmakers on Capitol Hill inveighing about the AIG bonuses and the rewarding of incompetence. This, after the Senate refused to give up automatic pay increases for themselves and Nancy Pelosi refused to give the measure a hearing. Congress sez: Incompetence bonuses for me, but not for AIG. Spare me.”

Of course, “Congress played major role in AIG mess,” as it has in our credit woes.

But the larger issue here is interventionism. You may be surprised to learn that I am completely indifferent to anything that our Kenyan kleptocrat inflicts on business leaders and their bonuses if they have been bailed out.

Take what you get; you’re Barack’s bitches now.

Economist Ludwig von Mises warned that the road to socializing the means of production is paved with interventionism. Middle of the road interventionism leads directly to socialism.

AIG has made common cause with the State. Now that the State owns a good chunk of the company, it gets to regulate and terrorize its corporate lackeys; take over operations completely, and sink the whole sorry ship with all on board.

And don’t let anyone on the Left try to tell you that this is the culmination of the unfettered free-market. Lies. This is the outcome of fascism, corporate cronyism. Let those who partake in this system suffocate in its deadly embrace.

Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal, would have allowed unviable industries to fail. Under freedom, no one would survive at the expense of another.

Update (March 18): The corrective chaos that’ll come with state takeover is obvious: companies, CEOs especially, will see that it is better to go bankrupt, and look for other, honest employment, than become the state’s bitch. How can anyone suggest that the contracts of those who suck at the state’s teat ought to be sacrosanct? As far as I’m concerned, state employees ought to be denied the vote too. Contract law is a feature of the voluntary free market, not a prerogative of the plundering class.

Updated: It Takes A Jew To Tell It Like It Is

Israel, Judaism & Jews, Political Correctness, Pop-Culture, Propaganda, Race, Racism, The Zeitgeist

“If it’s a racist society, the white people are the ones being persecuted because they have to defend themselves” against ‘professional racists’ like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.”

So said the feisty Jewish comedian Jackie Mason, after causing an uproar by referring to Obama as a “schwartza” during a stand-up routine.

“I’m an old Jew. I was raised in a Jewish family where ‘schwartza’ was used. It’s not a demeaning word and I’m not going to defend myself.”

My grandfather, RIP, was an innocent, sweet man. He too used that particular Yiddish word and meant nothing bad by it.

“And there was this parting shot [from Mason]: ‘I’m more talented than Oprah Winfrey and look at how much she makes. I can’t even make a living.'”

Don’t we know how he feels. (But the market doesn’t adjudicate quality.)

We also know of white men who’ve lived to rue the day they’ve spoken the politically unpalatable. Imus was lynched by the mob Mason mentioned. They were joined by willing conservatives executioners.

Here’s hoping Mason doesn’t back down.

Update (March 16): In response to Gunjam, and about the line, “the marketplace doesn’t adjudicate quality.” I wrote this concept in 2003, in the article “MUCH ADO ABOUT CONSERVATIVES AND POP CULTURE“:

“More often than not, the marketplace doesn’t adjudicate the quality of art or pop culture. … The market does no more than offer an aggregate snapshot of the trillions of subjective preferences enacted by consumers. Aguilera (Christina) probably sells more than Ashkenazy (Vladimir) ever did. Britney outdoes Borodin. For some, this will be faith inspiring, for others deeply distressing.”

[Snip]

The concept can be found in its succinct version under “Pop Culture & Populism,” in the “Quotables” section.