Inflation on the Way

Mark my words: serious inflation, probably stagflation, is on the way.

Why do I so pontificate with such confidence/despair? These two charts.

You have been warned.

45% Want Rest of Stimulus Spending Cancelled!

I think this Rasmussen poll is a bit of a bombshell. A plurality of 45% want the rest of the “stimulus” spending cancelled.

That very few politicians (Actually, I don’t know of any outside of Ron Paul.) advocate cancelling the rest of stimulus spending shows how far out of touch they now are with the American people. And that includes many or most Republican politicians. Heck, by Washington standards, cancelling the rest of the stimulus spending is way-out-there extreme radical caveman right wing!

This poll certainly confirms that the tide may have turned against Obama and his allies. If the economy doesn’t significantly improve soon, things could get downright ugly.

Hat tip to Hot Air.

The Episcopal Church Says No Buddhist Bishop For Now

I have to admit I expected Thew Forester, the would-be Buddhist TEC bishop, to get the necessary consents. But apparently he will not. Since I enjoy beating up The Episcopal Church, it is only fair that I note that.

Now I could take a rather jaundiced view or note that a number of the votes against him did not directly address his Buddhism and various heresies.

But TEC just said no to a heretic. And that is a good thing and amazing to behold.

++Duncan: Opposition to ACNA Constitution May Require “More Work”

Bishop Robert Duncan, who will likely be the first Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, defends the proposed Constitution and Canons in an introduction to them.

But what I find most interesting is the following:

Our vision is for fairly straightforward up or down votes on articles and canons. If the Provincial Council has discerned it rightly, and we have significant consensus, a matter is ratified. If not, the matter is sent back to Provincial Council for more work. Most things, if not easily agreeable, can wait another year or two.

I think that a remarkably frank concession that passage of the Constitution and Canons might not go smoothly. He does frame the potential difficulty as not the end of the world should it occur. He neither dismisses the opposition to passage, nor insists that the Constitution and Canons must pass as is or else.

And I think him wise to so frame the situation. But it is interesting that the potential opposition is significant enough that he feels the need to say this.

An Interesting Poll: Is the Tide Turning Here?

The beat-down the Left just suffered in Europe begs the question, how does the Left stand in the U. S.?

Some interesting polls indicate that, although we are nowhere near a beat-down phase, the popularity of Obama and his allies has waned rather quickly less than six months into his administration. This one I find particularly interesting at the moment: Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on the economy as well as on a number of other issues. The number on the economy is 45% Republicans – 39% Democrats.

Given that the Republicans lost the election big just six months ago mostly on the economy, this is a remarkable turnaround that cannot bode well for Democrats. Of course, the economy could blip up and change this.

I may say more on this “change” in due time. But I will give into the temptation to make a worthless prediction:

The Republicans will make significant gains in the 2010 Congressional elections, but not come close to taking either house. Then in 2012 comes the beat-down for which I so eagerly yearn.

You heard it here first.

Euro and UK Voters tell Left and EU to . . .

Well, I am not going to complete that sentence as I do not think there is a polite way to describe the strong message European and particularly UK voters sent to the Left and to the EU in EU parliamentary elections.

The UK results are especially revealing – and gratifying. Much attention has been given to the BNP’s gains, but I think it much more significant that the UKIP (which is anti-EU without the racist baggage) has suddenly become the go-to third party in the UK and even polled ahead of Labour. The worthless pro-EU Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, fell behind. Up to now, the Lib Dems have been the main third party, but no more, thanks to their failure to provide a real alternative and their EU sycophancy.

And, of course, Labour got slaughtered, not only losing to the Tories and the UKIP overall but polling behind other parties in a number of regions. You have to go back several decades to find a worse result for Labour.

The message is unmistakable – UK voters have had it with both Labour’s Gulag UK and Gulag EU.

The Tories also had better listen and listen well. Voters do not want a lighter shade of Labour.

Lost Another One . . .

Jeffrey Steel is swimming the Tiber.