Shire Network News #149 has been released. The feature interview is with the Director of probably this year’s most universally panned movie (in the main stream media). Yes we speak to David Zucker, director of An American Carol. David speaks to us about the movie’s initial reception and the process behind getting an overtly conservative movie out of Hollywood. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to "Consider This!"

Dave Ramsey is a syndicated talk show host here in the States, and he gives advice on how to get out of debt, something we Americans are in love with.  An occasional forlorn caller to his show will indicate the desire to make more money so that he or she can pay all their bills.  What Dave and many other financial advisors would say is; control your spending.  You have much more control over that, and without discipline and good habits on the spending side, no amount of money will ever be enough.

Well, somebody at the New York Times needs to give Dave a call.  In a recent editorial, the first sign of someone who is in deep denial about our financial situation was quite evident.  "The big issue for each candidate," they said, "is not spending, per se, but how the crisis will affect their promises on taxes."  What?  We spend 3 trillion dollars a year, and the problem isn’t spending?  Aside from perhaps the dire need to include wool research funding in a 700 trillion dollar credit rescue bill (and who could argue with that, really?), this is the top financial priority in the United States. 

Now, most Americans can’t just legislate more income (well, unless they work for a union).  The government is in a position to say both how much they earn…well, take…as well as how much they spend.  But the typical government mindset is to never decrease spending if at all possible, and to mischaracterize reductions when necessary.  When Sarah Palin tripled spending for pregnant teens, the Washington Post said she "slashed funding".  Now, when you hear the term "slashed" you think of someone losing an arm in a horror flick, not growing 2 additional ones.  And yet, since Palin didn’t quadruple the spending, as was originally requested, the Post said, with a straight face, that she "slashed" it by 20%.  Only in Washington, DC, and in its media, is a 200% increase called a 20% cut. 

This is a toxic environment for someone who should be taking Ramsey’s advice.  The liberal media are certainly one contributor to this, but there’s another culprit.  To quote the old comic strip Pogo, "We have met the enemy…and he is us".  The entitlement mindset of Americans who ask, "What has government done for me today?", is perhaps the primary culprit, if indeed we have a government "of the people".  Just see what would happen if a presidential candidate actually suggested the government should live within its means, spending no more than it takes in.  Hoo boy, the sparks would fly!  But after keeping our hands off welfare, staying away from entitlements, continuing those ever-so-badly-needed subsidies to all manner of businesses, and not touching each person’s pet project, we’d probably be in the same exact place we are now. 

You see, we are keeping our politicians from making the tough decisions.  Because as soon as they make them, they become our ex-politicians.  John F. Kennedy did not say, "Ask what your country can do for you", but today his Democratic party spends like a drunken sailor, finding new and exciting ways to live up to Robin Hood’s exacting standards.  And to be honest, Republicans, for the past 8 years, have certainly shown that they can get rather tipsy themselves.  A recent poll said that 60% of Americans would replace the entire Congress, yet their Congressmen and women keep getting re-elected over and over again.

My fellow Americans, do you want to help solve this financial crisis?  Look in the mirror and have a heart-to-heart with that guy or girl.  And my fellow Anglospherans…Anglospheriacs…Anglo…my fellow English-speakers from all over; you are getting hit as hard or harder by this, and you, too, have mirrors or silver tea sets or puddles of water you can stare into.  Let’s stop this entitlement mentality.  It begins with us.

And if you see someone on the street, staring at the side of a mirrored-glass building, talking to him- or herself, be glad to know that they took the time to consider this.

Shire Network News #148 has been released. The feature interview is with Australian writer John Birmingham, who has just published a book in which the Left gets it’s oft-stated wish that the world wakes up one day and America is simply not there anymore. It’s called "Without Warning", and we must warn prospective readers, it contains plenty of what  John Birmingham calls "explody goodness".  Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, fighting allergies and asking you to "Consider This!"

The story of the credit crisis in America has chased off just about all other story topics from the front page of newspapers worldwide.  The main reason for this is the sudden perceived worthlessness of what are called Mortgage Backed Securities; pieces of paper that give the buyer or lender rights to the payments and interest on one or more more mortgages.  Basically, an IOU used as collateral for another IOU.  And this was repeated over and over, wrapping our financial institutions into a Gordian Knot.  This knot hung in there as long as home values continued to rise.  And there’s the rub; they didn’t and now here we are.

One of the big things that got our banks into this mess was the choice of the Jimmy Carter administration to use government to increase home ownership among minorities.  The Community Reinvestment Act was ostensibly created with the high-minded intention of doing just that, but in order to fulfill that promise, banks were required to write a certain percentage of CRA loans.  Now, in order to do that, they had to come up with some more creative ideas for qualifying for the loan.  "Outdated" ideas like sources of income and, oh, down payments were thrown out.  They were just sooo 1960s.  They were there to limit loan defaults, but hey, the number of people getting a home was on the rise!  What could possibly go wrong with this well-intentioned big government program? 

Indeed.  But getting a home and paying the mortgage are two very different things.

Banks didn’t like this added exposure to risk, but they were required to do this or face penalties.  In 1995, during the Clinton administration, the CRA was strengthened.  Now, let me ask you.  Which lending institution led the way from here, writing up many of these higher-risk loans?  Countrywide, a bank who’s recent failure you may have heard about.  Who bought up many of these loans from banks that didn’t want them?  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, more names you’ve probably heard in the news just a little bit lately. 

I have a personal blog, "Considerettes", that is linked to in the show notes when I have a segment in the show.  However, I also run a Christian group blog called "Stones Cry Out", where I’ve been discussing this issue.  One of our commenters, a Christian from the left of the political spectrum, said that the CRA is "about justice, and, as such, is a good thing".  That, folks is a naive and dangerous idea.  This is essentially a case of the motivations justifying the means, and utterly ignoring the ends.  (Hmm, I gotta’ work on that phrase.  Needs to be snappier.)  My response to him was that "recession in the name of justice" isn’t a slogan that works for me.  That’s because "the road to recession is paved with good intentions and other people’s money".  (Nahh, that one’s awful, too.  It’ll never catch on.)

Essentially, and to get away from coming up with more slogans, this was a big government program, with good intentions, that was tweaked and tweaked by big government, until we were in such a mess that we had to be rescued by…big government!  Ironically, and sadly, the liberal representative who chaired the committee who oversaw all of this, called it a failure of…the free market! 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, that’s why voting matters.  More than that, political philosophy matters. I know, I know, it’s sound boring and irrelevant.  "Political Philosophy" isn’t the name of some must-see TV show, nor the latest boy band, nor the national championship team.  But political philosophy matters.  If you care about whether or not your country, the United States or somewhere else, slides into recession or worse, you need to care about it. 

The lessons to learn from this are legion.  Government programs never stay the same size; they get bigger.  Government programs never stay targeted; they get generalized.  Government programs never cost some amount X; they cost more, lots more.  And anyone who tells you that this or that government program will fix everything is mistaken.  It’s not that they are willfully lying.  But you can never know the harm it can cause down the road.  If it fails, it fails in a big way, for loads of people.

If you want to know why I want smaller centralized government and vote conservative, now you know.  That’s my political philosophy, and it matters.  Please…consider this.

("Consider This!" was brought to you by the letters C, R and A, and by the number 700 billion.)

Shire Network News #147 has been released. The feature interview is with Dr. Rusty Shackleford, proprietor and founder of the My Pet Jawa Blog. Using just his computer and an Internet connection he stumbled on what looks like a possible campaign scandal. His first post on this broke the story to the world.

Rusty explains to us exactly what astroturfing and sockpuppetry are and the steps he and his team of web sleuths went through to do the job the Main Stream Media won’t do for you.

Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News asking you to "Consider This!"

Iranian President, Genocidal Maniac, and all-around fun guy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently said he was ready to debate the men running for US President.  Oh, now that’s something I think we’d all like to see, for the comedic value if nothing else.  It’s not that we could actually believe any answer Ahmadinejad gave, it’s just that it would be funny enough to watch him try to say things he thinks we would believe. 

So I’m going to take a peek into my crystal ball, and sift through what would be, from the home office in Camillus, NY, the Top 9 Answers Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Would Give During A Presidential Debate.

9 – No, Mr. Gibson, I don’t know what the Bush Doctrine is.  Is it a Baptist thing?

8 – When I talked about wiping Israel off the map, I was speaking metaphorically.  Somewhat like "killing all Jews in Europe" used to be.

7 – Actually, I just wanted to wipe Israel off my whiteboard.

6 – True, we do not have any homosexuals in Iran.  We also don’t have thieves, murderers, extortionists, or genocidal maniacs.

5 – No, I haven’t been ignoring the letters from the United Nations.  They’re in my "To Do Real Soon Now" pile on the kitchen table.

4 – I refuse to answer on the ground that it may make me sound like a raving lunatic.

3 – Did I say "Sharia Law".  I’m sorry, I meant Jude Law, the actor.  I loved him as Lemony Snicket.

2 – I want to thank Mr. Anderson Cooper for the interview he had with me, and would love to evade, shift blame, and give further "no comments" anytime he wants.

And the #1 Answer Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Would Give During A Presidential Debate:

I agree with everything Mr. Obama has just said.

Consider that.

Shire Network News #146 has been released. The feature interview is with Australian academic, Dr Mervyn Bendle, who has queried the appointment of a man who doesn’t believe the West is better than the Jihadi terrorists, to a teaching position at the Australian Defence College. Needless to say, in the politicized world of modern intellectual life, it’s the whistleblower who finds himself up on a charge. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a commentary this week.

Shire Network News #145 has been released. The feature interview is with El Marco, whose photoblog, Looking At The Left is doing sterling work in exposing the reality of leftist protests. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News asking you to "Consider This!"

In 1939, Frank Capra directed a classic film entitled "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", which won an Oscar for Best Writing.  In it, Jimmy Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, leader of the state’s Boy Rangers, and is appointed, mostly as a joke, as an interim to fill out the term of a recently deceased Senator.  While there, Smith doesn’t just sit back and idly do what he’s told.  Instead, when he sees corruption and graft, even in his own political party, he acts against it, culminating in the films filibuster scene on the floor of the Senate.  (That’s when filibusters were filibusters.  None of this "cloture vote" stuff.) 

Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith is the Everyman in Washington, the small town boy who makes good, and what each of us believes we would be like if we only had the chance. 

Moving from the theater screen to the political scene, John McCain chose Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his Vice Presidential running mate.  To rousing shouts of "Sarah who?", the American political scene, and the media trying to cover it, were thrown into a tizzy.  Immediately, they fired up their dirt-digging Ditch Witch because they had less than a week to fill up their buckets of mud. 

What they found was a women’s basketball player who led her small town team in prayer before the game, and nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda".  A beauty queen pageant winner who won both the "Miss Congeniality" award and a college scholarship.  A college graduate with a major in journalism and a minor in political science.  A hockey mom, and a PTA member.  A moose hunter, with better aim than Dick Cheney.  A 2-term city councilwoman.  A 2-term mayor who was voted into office on a platform of fighting wasteful spending and higher taxes (which she did).  An ethics supervisor who actually supervised ethics; she quit her position because of ethics violations in her own party, and she continued to pursue those violations resulting in record fines.  (Did I mention the guys were in her own party?)  A governor of the state who ran on a clean government platform against a governor of her own party and won, and who sold the previous governor’s jet for starters.  And someone who, throughout all this, maintained a huge popularity rating.

>whew<  So then, with their mud buckets still clean as a whistle, the press, the Democrats and the liberal bloggers had to come up with something.  So they did.  One anonymous diarist on the Daily Kos (where else?) started the rumor that Sarah’s 5th child was really her daughter’s, and that Sarah faked the pregnancy to cover it up.  When it ultimately came out that Bristol Palin was pregnant now, the shock value had already worn off.  As hard as the NY Times tried, putting Sarah and/or Bristol on 3 front page stories on the same day, they just couldn’t get past the fact that the family, given a bad situation, was acting on their principles. 

The same went for Trig, their Down’s Syndrome baby.  Knowing what was ahead they chose life.  For that, Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards proclaimed that "Women voting for this ticket is just like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders."  Right.  So allowing children to live is like poultry suicide.  And vacuuming them out when they’re inconvenient is…what, exactly?

Anglosphere rock start and former SNN contributor Andrew Ian Dodge pointed me to more sources of left-wing media smears.  One Washington Post story, later picked up by the NY Times, claimed that Palin slashed funding for teen mothers.  What they failed to note in the story, however, was that she actually tripled the spending on it.  The "cut" came when she wouldn’t quadruple it.  That, of course, is the liberal mindset that comes free with an Obama presidency.

The "Troopergate" allegations of firing a public safety commissioner are probably the worst thing to come out.  I mean, the governor firing someone who the courts agreed served at the sole discretion of the governor must be a scandal, right?  Palin denies that the firing was over the fact that Walter Monegan didn’t fire her ex-brother-in-law Mike Wooten, who himself, it has already been established, tasered his son, drank on the job, and threatend Palin’s family; firing offenses all.  So the firing of Monegan was legal, and if you want to make a connection to Wooten you do so at the peril of your own credibilty.  Yeah, there’s a scandal for you.

The Left is just waiting eagerly for something — anything — to come out that will allow them to brand her a hypocrite, and will manufacture it if necessary.  Don Surber said it best:  "You can be an unrepentant terrorist.  You can be a perjurer.  You can be an ex-klansman (Exalted Cyclops at that).  But Lord help you if you are a conservative and you run a stop sign."

And I would add, "or a Republican woman with hair that is out of fashion".  Yes, they’re even going after that.  Sarah, just prepare yourself for the photographs of you at the scene of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, or in the crowd at the Kennedy assassination.  Y’know, it would be nice if there were a national organization for women to defend her against this treatment.  But I imagine she can handle it herself.

Lisa Schiffren at the National Review Online noted another Veep selection similar to this one.  He’d only been governor of New York for 2 years before getting on the big ticket.  He was an anti-corruption reformer when he was the New York City Police Chief.  He also did a lot of hunting (but no moose, as far as I know).  Maybe Sarah Palin is no Teddy Roosevelt, but he turned out rather well, don’t you think?

Look, Democrats, media, leftist bloggers; please listen to me.  You are watching the movie "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" and you’re booing the Jimmy Stewart character.  Loudly.  Granted, he’s in a brilliant disguise, but it’s still the Everyman (or Everywoman) looking at you from your TV screen.  Politically speaking, Sarah Palin is the anti-corruption, cost-cutting, true-to-her-values type that everybody says they want to see in Washington.  Well, at least they say they want it.  Consider that.

Shire Network News #144 has been released. For the second week, we are talking to David Horowitz of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He talks to Tom about the direction the Democratic party is taking and how this is rooted in the politics of the 1960’s. They discuss the take over of the College Campuses and the importance (or not) of Europe. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News asking you to "Consider This!"  Last week, Democrats in the United States held their convention to officially nominate Barack Obama and Joe Biden as their candidates for President and Vice President of these United States.  Party conventions, for the past 40 or 50 years, have pretty much been political theater, both for the Democrats and the Republicans.  The conclusion is foregone, no more deals struck in smoke-filled backrooms, as my dad laments.  It’s just not surprising anymore.

At least, that’s the facade.  But here at Shire Network News, we managed to infiltrate the rooms full of decision-makers and discovered some surprises that would not otherwise have seen the light of day.

So, from the home office in Camillus, NY, via our satellite cubicle in Denver, CO, here are the Top 9 Things You Didn’t Know About The Democratic National Convention.

9.  Rejected the campaign slogan idea, "See, we have old, rich, white guys, too!"

8.  Barack called Hillary at 3am to tell her when she was going to speak.  Just like her ad said, she was ready for the call.  (Though she was hoping it was the call to be VP.)

7.  Jimmy Carter’s request that the thermostat be turned up to 80 to conserve energy was rejected, for fear that Ted Kennedy’s sweating would clear the convention hall.

6.  Renting huge stadium for speech: $500,000.  Getting various rock legends to play there:  $275,000.  Taking credit for drawing an audience that’s really there to hear a concert:  priceless.

5.  Filed a formal protest with RTD, the Denver Regional Transportation District, about their new signs, "Hope you have exact Change."

4.  Rejected the campaign slogan idea, "Joe’s just Biden’ his time."

3.  Organizers were  unable to have Obama descend out of the heavens into his Greek temple because Zhang Yimou [chang ee-mow] was just too tired after directing the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

2.  Hillary Clinton suggested that, instead of confetti, those 18 million pieces of the "glass ceiling" should shower down on Obama supporters.

And the number 1 thing you didn’t know about the Democratic National Convention…

1.  It was all really just the warm-up act for this week’s Republic National Convention.

That’s right, the kids have had their fun, with all their bickering, some feel-good talk to smooth it over, and promises of utopia.  It’s time for the adults to get serious.  Consider that.

Shire Network News #143 has been released. The feature interview is with one time Marxist, David Horowitz from the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He talks to Tom Paine about the direction the Democratic party is taking and how this is rooted in the politics of the 1960’s. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a commentary this week.

Shire Network News #142 has been released. The feature interview is with Douglas Murray, the Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion think tank, who joins us for a talk about the latest report from his think tank. It’s a bombshell report on the attitudes of Muslim students in the UK. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News asking you to “Consider This!” Last week, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri put out an official audiotape. Yeah, yeah, no big news there, he does this all the time, “death to the infidels”, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But wait, this time there was a first; he spoke in English. That’s right; he wanted to speak to the Pakistani people directly, but since he doesn’t do Urdu (do you?), English was a good second choice. But even in English, the words were pretty much the same. “Your President stinks and his mother dresses him funny.” “Please oh please stop cooperating with the Great Satan.” “How do you like the results of my Berlitz classes?” The usual stuff, all with nothing more than a stock photo of their man Ayman on-screen. It’s almost like AQTV is in summer reruns.

Hey, don’t laugh; it appears that they really are. ABC reported last month that the media arm of Al Qaeda distributed old videos to jihadist websites. And get this; they didn’t bill them as reruns. Instead, they were previously released material translated into Urdu. Sounds like they’re stealing some ideas from US television network executives.

And since they’re translating into Urdu, I guess it’s only a matter of time until the latest al-Zawahiri blockbuster gets the overdub treatment. Whoever does it, I hope they credit him for it. (“Overdubbing courtesy of a scared Pakistani store owner with a scimitar to his throat. We apologize for any nervous jittering in the voice. Listener discretion is advised.”)

And those poor jihadist websites! I hope they didn’t pay full price for these warmed-over videos. There’s got to be a cheap iTunes-like place for 2-month-old hate speech. I mean, even I can to a “dollar theater” for second-run movies. Well, I’m sure that they did get a break. Those Al Qaeda guys are nothing if not sensitive to the little guy.

So that’s my “This Week in Hate Speech Video”. Join me next time, when I review the DVD “Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger; Together Again for the First Time”. Consider that.

Technorati Tags: podcast, Shire Network News, Douglas Murray, British Muslims, Islam, Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri

Shire Network News #141 has been released. For the second week, our guest is author and activist Ibn Warraq, who has been writing and speaking against Jihadi Islam for decades. His work on what the Koran really says, and what the core of Islam is really about is the kind of writing and thinking that Islam’s phobia of self criticism makes impossible from within Islam. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a commentary this week.  (Next week, for sure.)

Technorati Tags: Ibn Warraq, Islam, Shire Network News

Shire Network News #140 has been released. The feature interview is with author and activist Ibn Warraq, who has been writing and speaking against Jihadi Islam for decades. His work on what the Koran really says, and what the core of Islam is really about is the kind of writing and thinking that Islam’s phobia of self criticism makes impossible from within Islam. He’s the author of many books, such as Why I am Not A Muslim and editor of The Origins of the Koran, The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, What the Koran Really Says, and Leaving Islam. His latest work is "Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said’s Orientalism".

Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a segment this week, since I was on vacation.