Hey!
If you're reading this blog, and have friends who you think might be interested in viewing it or even contributing in 2010, then hook them up with our blog address.
http://tutordefides.blogspot.com/
I'd like to see our readership increase if it's at all possible!
Thanks!
Wade
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Why bother thinking? Just bash Bush
So I read a story about the terrorist plot from Christmas day. This Nigerian guy gets on a plane, goes to the bathroom, combines some stuff, hides it and then tries to blow the plane up with his chemical bomb.
Lots of questions are popping up of course. Most are questions you’d expect like “how come this guy got that stuff on the plane?”, “if he’d been reported earlier why wasn’t he higher up on the “watch list” we keep hearing about?” and that kind of thing.
In an interview with Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security Secretary) she said those were all good questions that will be investigated.
You and I know what the results of that investigation will be. The conclusion will read “In truth, those most responsible for these security failures are those members of the Bush Administration who…”.
Why bother wasting the tax payer’s time and money with a phony investigation? Just blame Bush for it, like the Obama administration has done for every other thing that goes wrong and move on with our lives. The investigation is a colossal waste of time and resources when the conclusions drawn from it have already been decided.
After all why bother thinking or investigating when you can just bash Bush?
Lots of questions are popping up of course. Most are questions you’d expect like “how come this guy got that stuff on the plane?”, “if he’d been reported earlier why wasn’t he higher up on the “watch list” we keep hearing about?” and that kind of thing.
In an interview with Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security Secretary) she said those were all good questions that will be investigated.
You and I know what the results of that investigation will be. The conclusion will read “In truth, those most responsible for these security failures are those members of the Bush Administration who…”.
Why bother wasting the tax payer’s time and money with a phony investigation? Just blame Bush for it, like the Obama administration has done for every other thing that goes wrong and move on with our lives. The investigation is a colossal waste of time and resources when the conclusions drawn from it have already been decided.
After all why bother thinking or investigating when you can just bash Bush?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
My New Year’s Resolutions for Keepers of the Faith.
A list of New Year’s resolutions for this blog.
1- I vow to Blog More in 2010…at least once a week.
2- I vow to do research on Candidates in my area and the areas I have friends, to get the real record out on who your congressional representatives are and for what they stand.
3- I vow to continue standing up for the conservative principles of Liberty, Justice and Honesty
These are my resolutions for this blog and to my fellow keepers of the conservative faith.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Wade
1- I vow to Blog More in 2010…at least once a week.
2- I vow to do research on Candidates in my area and the areas I have friends, to get the real record out on who your congressional representatives are and for what they stand.
3- I vow to continue standing up for the conservative principles of Liberty, Justice and Honesty
These are my resolutions for this blog and to my fellow keepers of the conservative faith.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Wade
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Voices of History
I just completed reading G.J. Meyer’s book “A World Undone: The Great War 1914-1918”. And I highly recommend it to anyone reading this blog who would like a better understanding of World War I. It is a well written and concise yet detailed narrative history of the war that pulls all the fronts and all the political wrangling that lead to the blood spilled on each battlefield into focus. There are short chapters dedicated to the main characters of the war that fill you in on their background to help you better understand their decisions and the creeping madness that eventually afflicted all of them.
Worldwide there are only 3 confirmed Veteran’s of World War I left alive. Three more soldiers to go and then this war will have passed irretrievably into history’s fog like all other wars before it. It is only a matter of time before the soldiers of World War II dwindle in number and their stories too will pass into history.
That is why I’m writing this, because the voices of history are being silenced, day in and day out by death’s ruthless efficiency. I write this because the men who I have had the good fortune to know, that were a part of this country’s historic tapestry, are passing from my life one by one. And one by one they are passing from yours too.
Anyone who believes that history is found only in books should rethink their belief. Right now in a nursing home not too far from where you sit reading this there is an old man lying in a bed who once stormed the beach at Normandy. Somewhere in your town, there is a man playing with his grandchild or great grandchild who will never forget what he saw in the Pacific as plane after plane was shot down in the attack on his ship. Somewhere, maybe the next town over, is a former nurse who went through countless uniforms as one after another became ruined by the blood of dying soldiers.
These men and women are the history of America. They have (I believe) much to offer us still, and certainly the lessons of their history should be heeded by all of us today.
I started this blog as a response to what I saw as the loss of conservatism. I promised to defend and proselytize the conservative faith, hence the name. Well…part of that faith’s defense has to be an understanding of the continued importance of history and the voices of those who lived it. So…from time to time I will be posting on historical subjects that I believe are relevant to the defense of my country and my conservative faith.
Worldwide there are only 3 confirmed Veteran’s of World War I left alive. Three more soldiers to go and then this war will have passed irretrievably into history’s fog like all other wars before it. It is only a matter of time before the soldiers of World War II dwindle in number and their stories too will pass into history.
That is why I’m writing this, because the voices of history are being silenced, day in and day out by death’s ruthless efficiency. I write this because the men who I have had the good fortune to know, that were a part of this country’s historic tapestry, are passing from my life one by one. And one by one they are passing from yours too.
Anyone who believes that history is found only in books should rethink their belief. Right now in a nursing home not too far from where you sit reading this there is an old man lying in a bed who once stormed the beach at Normandy. Somewhere in your town, there is a man playing with his grandchild or great grandchild who will never forget what he saw in the Pacific as plane after plane was shot down in the attack on his ship. Somewhere, maybe the next town over, is a former nurse who went through countless uniforms as one after another became ruined by the blood of dying soldiers.
These men and women are the history of America. They have (I believe) much to offer us still, and certainly the lessons of their history should be heeded by all of us today.
I started this blog as a response to what I saw as the loss of conservatism. I promised to defend and proselytize the conservative faith, hence the name. Well…part of that faith’s defense has to be an understanding of the continued importance of history and the voices of those who lived it. So…from time to time I will be posting on historical subjects that I believe are relevant to the defense of my country and my conservative faith.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Ten Cannots
Came across this again today...thought I'd share it with my fellow conservatives.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves
William J.H. Boetecker-1916
Stay Strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves
William J.H. Boetecker-1916
Stay Strong.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Trying the scum in NYC
What gives Eric Holder the RIGHT to GIVE these scum who have admitted they attacked the World Trade Centers OUR civil rights? Having access to our judicial system should only be for those of us who are Americans. This will be a circus and give these nuts a grandstand that they simply dont deserve.
This is nothing more than politics. Holder and Obama say we have nothing to worry about, he wont be acquitted and "failure in not an option". Obama said that those offended by the legal privileges given to Mohammad by virtue of getting a civilian trial rather than a military tribunal won't find it "offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him." So they're saying there IS NO WAY for him to get off from these charges? If that be the case why will we be going thru this nonsense? This is nothing but a ploy for Obama so when it comes time for him to run for re-election he'll be able to say "See, I'M the one who brought justice for these attacks, ME. When in truth it was Bush and his cronies that rooted this bastard out of some God forsaken hell hole on the other side of the world.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators need to be shot and tossed into the ocean for shark bait and we need to be done with this crap.
This is nothing more than politics. Holder and Obama say we have nothing to worry about, he wont be acquitted and "failure in not an option". Obama said that those offended by the legal privileges given to Mohammad by virtue of getting a civilian trial rather than a military tribunal won't find it "offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him." So they're saying there IS NO WAY for him to get off from these charges? If that be the case why will we be going thru this nonsense? This is nothing but a ploy for Obama so when it comes time for him to run for re-election he'll be able to say "See, I'M the one who brought justice for these attacks, ME. When in truth it was Bush and his cronies that rooted this bastard out of some God forsaken hell hole on the other side of the world.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators need to be shot and tossed into the ocean for shark bait and we need to be done with this crap.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Fake Jobs of Obama's Stimulus
Just read an EXCELLENT article about the stimulus package.
Did you know that Obama's camp is claiming they've created or saved jobs in Minnesota's 57th, New Mexico's 22nd and Arizona's 15th congressional districts? Did you know that NONE of those places exist?
Read this HERE
Did you know that Obama's camp is claiming they've created or saved jobs in Minnesota's 57th, New Mexico's 22nd and Arizona's 15th congressional districts? Did you know that NONE of those places exist?
Read this HERE
Monday, November 16, 2009
European History
Sometimes I forget exactly how young America is in comparison to the rest of the world’s nations.
In my readings of late I have become interested in the Great War (WWI) so I picked up a copy of “A World Undone” by G.J. Meyer. It’s a narrative history of the war and I have to say, so far (159 pages in) it has been a phenomenal read.
But, it has been very odd as an American who has studied primarily American history to read sentences like “for almost 1000 years the Ottoman Turks had ruled….” or “since the fall of Rome the British Isles…” and to suddenly realize the depth of European history in comparison to our own.
A good analogy would be that here in southern Georgia there aren’t any really tall buildings. So a kid growing up around here has no appreciation for height. They have no idea how massive something can be until they get next to a skyscraper and it blows their mind to go to someplace like Atlanta where there are a couple of skyscrapers. If they went to New York first they would probably enter a state of shock which is why you see people wandering New York looking up instead of where they are going. The height that New Yorkers take for granted is a new experience for these people.
Even the cursory study of European history found in the historical side notes of this book has done the same thing for me. Growing up in America, learning only those parts of European history that were part of American history, the sheer volume and expanse of history left untouched by my studies is mind boggling. We are a scant 233 years old if you count from the Declaration of Independence. If you count from the founding of Jamestown we’re only 402. If you count from Columbus we’re only 517. Some of today’s most powerful European nations were in their ascendency over 1000 years ago or longer.
The history that has shaped Europe and is (I’m sure) taken for granted by its people is nothing short of amazing when seen for the first time in this way.
And even though it remains to be seen whether it will hold my attention for any length of time, to suddenly have my mind’s eye glimpse and absorb a whole new world of history has been nothing short of a thrill.
In my readings of late I have become interested in the Great War (WWI) so I picked up a copy of “A World Undone” by G.J. Meyer. It’s a narrative history of the war and I have to say, so far (159 pages in) it has been a phenomenal read.
But, it has been very odd as an American who has studied primarily American history to read sentences like “for almost 1000 years the Ottoman Turks had ruled….” or “since the fall of Rome the British Isles…” and to suddenly realize the depth of European history in comparison to our own.
A good analogy would be that here in southern Georgia there aren’t any really tall buildings. So a kid growing up around here has no appreciation for height. They have no idea how massive something can be until they get next to a skyscraper and it blows their mind to go to someplace like Atlanta where there are a couple of skyscrapers. If they went to New York first they would probably enter a state of shock which is why you see people wandering New York looking up instead of where they are going. The height that New Yorkers take for granted is a new experience for these people.
Even the cursory study of European history found in the historical side notes of this book has done the same thing for me. Growing up in America, learning only those parts of European history that were part of American history, the sheer volume and expanse of history left untouched by my studies is mind boggling. We are a scant 233 years old if you count from the Declaration of Independence. If you count from the founding of Jamestown we’re only 402. If you count from Columbus we’re only 517. Some of today’s most powerful European nations were in their ascendency over 1000 years ago or longer.
The history that has shaped Europe and is (I’m sure) taken for granted by its people is nothing short of amazing when seen for the first time in this way.
And even though it remains to be seen whether it will hold my attention for any length of time, to suddenly have my mind’s eye glimpse and absorb a whole new world of history has been nothing short of a thrill.
GM Doubles Down
Even with the much ballyhooed “Cash for Clunkers” program, General Motors STILL showed a loss of $1.2BILLION dollars recently and yet have now committed to paying back the government $1BILLION a quarter till the loan has been repaid.
So does that mean the next report of “losses” will likely be $2.2BILLION? I’m not a math wizard, but doesn’t that seem…ummm… STUPID?
I don’t blame GM for wanting to get out from under the government. I really don’t. I DO think this may be another in a series of stupid moves on GM’s part. If you’re posting losses…why in God’s name would you double them on purpose?
Someone needs to explain this to me.
So does that mean the next report of “losses” will likely be $2.2BILLION? I’m not a math wizard, but doesn’t that seem…ummm… STUPID?
I don’t blame GM for wanting to get out from under the government. I really don’t. I DO think this may be another in a series of stupid moves on GM’s part. If you’re posting losses…why in God’s name would you double them on purpose?
Someone needs to explain this to me.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Obamacare Passes
The House passed Obamacare last night. (STORY HERE)
As soon as it gets signed into law it will be illegal to NOT buy insurance with fines up to 250,000 dollars and possible jail time if you ignore the government mandate.
My God, what have we done?
As soon as it gets signed into law it will be illegal to NOT buy insurance with fines up to 250,000 dollars and possible jail time if you ignore the government mandate.
My God, what have we done?
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Man Who Said "No" to Wal-Mart
Wanna read a GREAT story about an American made quality product that has kept its honor in tact by not selling out?
Read THIS
Read THIS
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Ford Again
I’m back on the Ford thing.
I just read an article on how the Bailouts at GM and Chrysler are holding Ford back in some ways. You can read the article HERE.
I find it interesting to note that the analysis of Ford’s success mentions that since it has returned to profitability, the Unions are going to hold the company up from further success by not making concessions being given to GM and Chrysler. They were forced to make the deal with GM and Chrysler or face 300,000+ unemployed union workers, but Ford is making money and should have to pay.
This, by the way is EXACTLY why I don’t like unions. They punish companies for success by holding them for ransom to get their way. And they completely do not see that a principle reason for the huge overhead that is helping to bankrupt companies is that they demand wages out of proportion with sales and production.
Unions served a good and useful purpose once upon a time…that time has passed.
I just read an article on how the Bailouts at GM and Chrysler are holding Ford back in some ways. You can read the article HERE.
I find it interesting to note that the analysis of Ford’s success mentions that since it has returned to profitability, the Unions are going to hold the company up from further success by not making concessions being given to GM and Chrysler. They were forced to make the deal with GM and Chrysler or face 300,000+ unemployed union workers, but Ford is making money and should have to pay.
This, by the way is EXACTLY why I don’t like unions. They punish companies for success by holding them for ransom to get their way. And they completely do not see that a principle reason for the huge overhead that is helping to bankrupt companies is that they demand wages out of proportion with sales and production.
Unions served a good and useful purpose once upon a time…that time has passed.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Was it a referendum?
Big wins for the GOP in “old Virginny” and Joisey last night as Republicans pulled off a sweep of Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General in Virginia and got the Governorship of Blue Collar Blue State New Jersey.
The question on everyone’s mind now is…was yesterday a referendum on President Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The New Jersey governorship can be seen as a big win for Republicans. NJ is traditionally a blue state but even with Obama stumping for him right up until election-day the Democratic candidate Corzine lost. A week or so ago Corzine even complained that Obama’s campaigning may have been hurting his chances at the ballot box, which caused a terse exchange from the White House to the Governor’s Campaign.
In Virginia, even though in 2008 he was the first Democrat to carry Virginia since 1964, Obama stopped campaigning weeks ago because the governor’s race had become a lost cause. Obama knew he wasn’t making inroads and so he cut and ran. The nearly 20 point difference between the Republican and Democrat votes proved him right last night.
In both NJ and VA the independents who swept Obama to power in 2008 voted solidly Republican. Yesterday moderates and independents in both states voted Republican in droves based on things like the economy and government interference. (In the interest of intellectual honesty, I have to say that many people who were fed up with the Republicans after the ’08 election registered as “Independents” this year so it may not be the shift we think it is, but it is enough for me to say the trend is encouraging.)
Unlike most pundits now talking, I think that the President and his party should be most worried about the election in upstate New York. NY23 was a closely contested race. Granted, the Congressional seat had been a GOP held position for a very long time, but it was always held by a RINO (Republican In Name Only).
RINOs have become anathema to many in the GOP. This is markedly different from a year ago when a RINO was selected as a candidate for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention. So when a true conservative ran as a member of the Conservative Party of New York he knocked the socks off the Republican candidate in the 23rd District. The Republican candidate was forced to withdraw (though her name was still on the ballot) and then throw her endorsement over to the Democrat. Even so, the Conservative party nominee came within a few points of winning and had the Republican’s name not still been on the ballot, he would have won.
So was yesterday a referendum on Barack Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The question on everyone’s mind now is…was yesterday a referendum on President Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The New Jersey governorship can be seen as a big win for Republicans. NJ is traditionally a blue state but even with Obama stumping for him right up until election-day the Democratic candidate Corzine lost. A week or so ago Corzine even complained that Obama’s campaigning may have been hurting his chances at the ballot box, which caused a terse exchange from the White House to the Governor’s Campaign.
In Virginia, even though in 2008 he was the first Democrat to carry Virginia since 1964, Obama stopped campaigning weeks ago because the governor’s race had become a lost cause. Obama knew he wasn’t making inroads and so he cut and ran. The nearly 20 point difference between the Republican and Democrat votes proved him right last night.
In both NJ and VA the independents who swept Obama to power in 2008 voted solidly Republican. Yesterday moderates and independents in both states voted Republican in droves based on things like the economy and government interference. (In the interest of intellectual honesty, I have to say that many people who were fed up with the Republicans after the ’08 election registered as “Independents” this year so it may not be the shift we think it is, but it is enough for me to say the trend is encouraging.)
Unlike most pundits now talking, I think that the President and his party should be most worried about the election in upstate New York. NY23 was a closely contested race. Granted, the Congressional seat had been a GOP held position for a very long time, but it was always held by a RINO (Republican In Name Only).
RINOs have become anathema to many in the GOP. This is markedly different from a year ago when a RINO was selected as a candidate for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention. So when a true conservative ran as a member of the Conservative Party of New York he knocked the socks off the Republican candidate in the 23rd District. The Republican candidate was forced to withdraw (though her name was still on the ballot) and then throw her endorsement over to the Democrat. Even so, the Conservative party nominee came within a few points of winning and had the Republican’s name not still been on the ballot, he would have won.
So was yesterday a referendum on Barack Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
Was it a referendum?
Big wins for the GOP in “old Virginny” and Joisey last night as Republicans pulled off a sweep of Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General in Virginia and got the Governorship of Blue Collar Blue State New Jersey.
The question on everyone’s mind now is…was yesterday a referendum on President Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The New Jersey governorship can be seen as a big win for Republicans. NJ is traditionally a blue state but even with Obama stumping for him right up until election-day the Democratic candidate Corzine lost. A week or so ago Corzine even complained that Obama’s campaigning may have been hurting his chances at the ballot box, which caused a terse exchange from the White House to the Governor’s Campaign.
In Virginia, even though in 2008 he was the first Democrat to carry Virginia since 1964, Obama stopped campaigning weeks ago because the governor’s race had become a lost cause. Obama knew he wasn’t making inroads and so he cut and ran. The nearly 20 point difference between the Republican and Democrat votes proved him right last night.
In both NJ and VA the independents who swept Obama to power in 2008 voted solidly Republican. Yesterday moderates and independents in both states voted Republican in droves based on things like the economy and government interference. (In the interest of intellectual honesty, I have to say that many people who were fed up with the Republicans after the ’08 election registered as “Independents” this year so it may not be the shift we think it is, but it is enough for me to say the trend is encouraging.)
Unlike most pundits now talking, I think that the President and his party should be most worried about the election in upstate New York. NY23 was a closely contested race. Granted, the Congressional seat had been a GOP held position for a very long time, but it was always held by a RINO (Republican In Name Only).
RINOs have become anathema to many in the GOP. This is markedly different from a year ago when a RINO was selected as a candidate for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention. So when a true conservative ran as a member of the Conservative Party of New York he knocked the socks off the Republican candidate in the 23rd District. The Republican candidate was forced to withdraw (though her name was still on the ballot) and then throw her endorsement over to the Democrat. Even so, the Conservative party nominee came within a few points of winning and had the Republican’s name not still been on the ballot, he would have won.
So was yesterday a referendum on Barack Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The question on everyone’s mind now is…was yesterday a referendum on President Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
The New Jersey governorship can be seen as a big win for Republicans. NJ is traditionally a blue state but even with Obama stumping for him right up until election-day the Democratic candidate Corzine lost. A week or so ago Corzine even complained that Obama’s campaigning may have been hurting his chances at the ballot box, which caused a terse exchange from the White House to the Governor’s Campaign.
In Virginia, even though in 2008 he was the first Democrat to carry Virginia since 1964, Obama stopped campaigning weeks ago because the governor’s race had become a lost cause. Obama knew he wasn’t making inroads and so he cut and ran. The nearly 20 point difference between the Republican and Democrat votes proved him right last night.
In both NJ and VA the independents who swept Obama to power in 2008 voted solidly Republican. Yesterday moderates and independents in both states voted Republican in droves based on things like the economy and government interference. (In the interest of intellectual honesty, I have to say that many people who were fed up with the Republicans after the ’08 election registered as “Independents” this year so it may not be the shift we think it is, but it is enough for me to say the trend is encouraging.)
Unlike most pundits now talking, I think that the President and his party should be most worried about the election in upstate New York. NY23 was a closely contested race. Granted, the Congressional seat had been a GOP held position for a very long time, but it was always held by a RINO (Republican In Name Only).
RINOs have become anathema to many in the GOP. This is markedly different from a year ago when a RINO was selected as a candidate for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention. So when a true conservative ran as a member of the Conservative Party of New York he knocked the socks off the Republican candidate in the 23rd District. The Republican candidate was forced to withdraw (though her name was still on the ballot) and then throw her endorsement over to the Democrat. Even so, the Conservative party nominee came within a few points of winning and had the Republican’s name not still been on the ballot, he would have won.
So was yesterday a referendum on Barack Obama?
I don’t know for sure, but yesterday showed that conservative principles can win. Not only that, but they can win in places you wouldn’t expect.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Gotta Give It Up To Ford Again!
I gotta give it up to Ford again.
I know I keep harping on how good Ford is doing…but it needs harping on in the face of the current anti-business administration.
Ford has posted a profit for the 3rd quarter. They posted a $1 billion dollar profit to be exact.
That is a $1billion dollar profit despite not having taken the government bailout money this time last year like GM and Chrysler. That’s $1billion dollars in profit thanks to redesigning their lineup, trimming costs where they could and going back to the solid business principles that any company should have.
Ford has become a good example of what a lack of government interference can achieve.
If you’re thinking of buying a new car from a US automaker… BUY FORD, BUY FORD, BUY FORD!
I know I keep harping on how good Ford is doing…but it needs harping on in the face of the current anti-business administration.
Ford has posted a profit for the 3rd quarter. They posted a $1 billion dollar profit to be exact.
That is a $1billion dollar profit despite not having taken the government bailout money this time last year like GM and Chrysler. That’s $1billion dollars in profit thanks to redesigning their lineup, trimming costs where they could and going back to the solid business principles that any company should have.
Ford has become a good example of what a lack of government interference can achieve.
If you’re thinking of buying a new car from a US automaker… BUY FORD, BUY FORD, BUY FORD!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Obama's Do Nothing Defense Bill
I just read that Obama signed a $680 Billion defense bill that cans the F-22 and other projects he considers “outdated” relics of the Cold War. Then, completely ignoring the fact that this bill doesn’t actually provide any money for anything (it just says how the money they haven’t got yet should be spent), Obama goes on to brag about expansion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that will take place thanks to the scrapping of the F-22 and other projects.
The official White House line has been that the F-22 was ill suited to insurgent wars in desert environments, which I will admit is a legitimate argument. Members of the Pentagon have also said they believe the termination of the F-22 project was a good idea considering our current military situation.
But while the F-22 is not suited for what we’re doing now, I can’t help but wonder if it was suited to what we will face in the future. While we will be battling the radical wing of Islam for many more years to come, and Islam fights insurgent wars, there is a growing threat of real military power from the Chinese and the Russians. I’ve already mentioned on this site that the Russians are running subs off our Atlantic coast and long range bombers in South America. Thanks to security lapses in the 90’s Chinese engineers are turning out better and better military projects, even going so far as being able to track our subs underwater(thank Slick Willy for that).
Fighting a military style war against military opponents means you have to have things like fighter jets. And with the way technology’s growth is exploding all over the world, we’ll need advanced fighters with advanced avionics and systems just to be able to compete, much less WIN a war.
So, what did Obama’s bill signing do today for future Americans who (I believe) will most assuredly be faced with the threat of military style combat at some point in the next 10-15 years?
It weakened their chances. It weakened our country.
The official White House line has been that the F-22 was ill suited to insurgent wars in desert environments, which I will admit is a legitimate argument. Members of the Pentagon have also said they believe the termination of the F-22 project was a good idea considering our current military situation.
But while the F-22 is not suited for what we’re doing now, I can’t help but wonder if it was suited to what we will face in the future. While we will be battling the radical wing of Islam for many more years to come, and Islam fights insurgent wars, there is a growing threat of real military power from the Chinese and the Russians. I’ve already mentioned on this site that the Russians are running subs off our Atlantic coast and long range bombers in South America. Thanks to security lapses in the 90’s Chinese engineers are turning out better and better military projects, even going so far as being able to track our subs underwater(thank Slick Willy for that).
Fighting a military style war against military opponents means you have to have things like fighter jets. And with the way technology’s growth is exploding all over the world, we’ll need advanced fighters with advanced avionics and systems just to be able to compete, much less WIN a war.
So, what did Obama’s bill signing do today for future Americans who (I believe) will most assuredly be faced with the threat of military style combat at some point in the next 10-15 years?
It weakened their chances. It weakened our country.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wage Czar Slashing Wages
Okay fellow capitalists…According to the AP News Wire Obama’s Wage Czar has decided that companies that took the bailout money last year who haven’t paid it back yet, must cut executive salaries by at least half and in some cases up to 90%.
The feds have their fingers in corporate pies and are starting to exercise control. I figure that should a company resist the government (at the point of a figurative gun which is the only way government can operate in business), that business will be flat out taken over by the US Government. Or worse, it will be broken up and management fired then sold off piecemeal if the assets are good enough.
Once again, this proves why business should NEVER HAVE GOTTEN INTO BED WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE. To the corporations and executives who now have to face this, good luck with that…you should have known better. And to anyone who last year said that people like me were exaggerating about the outcome of government interference in business needs to read up on what’s going on in Corporate America, it is being dismantled wholesale by this administration. Washington is full of looters.
The feds have their fingers in corporate pies and are starting to exercise control. I figure that should a company resist the government (at the point of a figurative gun which is the only way government can operate in business), that business will be flat out taken over by the US Government. Or worse, it will be broken up and management fired then sold off piecemeal if the assets are good enough.
Once again, this proves why business should NEVER HAVE GOTTEN INTO BED WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE. To the corporations and executives who now have to face this, good luck with that…you should have known better. And to anyone who last year said that people like me were exaggerating about the outcome of government interference in business needs to read up on what’s going on in Corporate America, it is being dismantled wholesale by this administration. Washington is full of looters.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Things are looking up....right? Right?
Polls are beginning to show that most Americans are starting to breathe a little easier these days and employment (August) and consumer spending (September) has gone up recently…so things are looking up right?
Umm…no.
Consumer spending was up, mostly due to Cash For Clunkers. That’s gone now…so now what?
Yesterday CBS had a news story here saying that unemployment claims have gone back up. Wall Street had predicted 180,000 jobs to be cut but 230k were cut instead. Up from August by 29,000 which had been hailed as a sign the economy was getting better but which had only been REVISED down, so it just beat expectations, it wasn’t actually down.
Also, three days ago CBS had a story here talking about Credit Card Companies jacking up their interest rates gearing up for the 800 pages of new rules laid out by the Fed due to take effect in February 2010. Barney Frank is so mad about it that he wants the rules implemented December 1st of this year and is crafting a bill to do just that.
The last paragraph of the story is the only part that’s interesting about it…”The banks are also under mounting pressure. Discover's credit card losses were up 8 percent in August, while Bank of America's were 10 percent and Citigroup's 21 percent. But that's not generating a lot of sympathy from consumers or congress”, illustrating beautifully the thinking of Frank and others. Let’s hinder them going into their biggest season so their losses get even higher for the year. The CC companies never really faltered much last year, despite the fact that the number one consumer debt outside of housing is their credit cards. People are beginning to default on their cards and it’s only going to get worse as unemployment goes up. The companies will panic and raise rates (the new rules just say we have to be told they’re raising them) in huge increments and start collections on people who even smell like a deadbeat. Soon we’ll have a landslide on our hands just like last year and Frank will never admit he helped bring it about at all.
And finally, I found an article here about an economist who is making a lot of sense by saying that the second quarter losses of this year has caused some damage that’s not been felt yet. The article somewhat dismisses him (big surprise since it’s from the Huffington Post), but don’t take it as lightly as they did. I read an interview with this guy a couple of years back where he talked about the coming crash of the housing market. However, not many really believed him much at the time. I believed him then and I believe him now. He’s the one who got me started looking at the housing issue, and I believe he’s one of those that got Glenn Beck looking as well.
Look, the bottom line is that no matter what the Obama backers are saying, we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet if you ask me. We haven’t seen it all and while it may get temporarily better from time to time, there is still more to come.
Umm…no.
Consumer spending was up, mostly due to Cash For Clunkers. That’s gone now…so now what?
Yesterday CBS had a news story here saying that unemployment claims have gone back up. Wall Street had predicted 180,000 jobs to be cut but 230k were cut instead. Up from August by 29,000 which had been hailed as a sign the economy was getting better but which had only been REVISED down, so it just beat expectations, it wasn’t actually down.
Also, three days ago CBS had a story here talking about Credit Card Companies jacking up their interest rates gearing up for the 800 pages of new rules laid out by the Fed due to take effect in February 2010. Barney Frank is so mad about it that he wants the rules implemented December 1st of this year and is crafting a bill to do just that.
The last paragraph of the story is the only part that’s interesting about it…”The banks are also under mounting pressure. Discover's credit card losses were up 8 percent in August, while Bank of America's were 10 percent and Citigroup's 21 percent. But that's not generating a lot of sympathy from consumers or congress”, illustrating beautifully the thinking of Frank and others. Let’s hinder them going into their biggest season so their losses get even higher for the year. The CC companies never really faltered much last year, despite the fact that the number one consumer debt outside of housing is their credit cards. People are beginning to default on their cards and it’s only going to get worse as unemployment goes up. The companies will panic and raise rates (the new rules just say we have to be told they’re raising them) in huge increments and start collections on people who even smell like a deadbeat. Soon we’ll have a landslide on our hands just like last year and Frank will never admit he helped bring it about at all.
And finally, I found an article here about an economist who is making a lot of sense by saying that the second quarter losses of this year has caused some damage that’s not been felt yet. The article somewhat dismisses him (big surprise since it’s from the Huffington Post), but don’t take it as lightly as they did. I read an interview with this guy a couple of years back where he talked about the coming crash of the housing market. However, not many really believed him much at the time. I believed him then and I believe him now. He’s the one who got me started looking at the housing issue, and I believe he’s one of those that got Glenn Beck looking as well.
Look, the bottom line is that no matter what the Obama backers are saying, we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet if you ask me. We haven’t seen it all and while it may get temporarily better from time to time, there is still more to come.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Minor league baller playing in the Majors
Our president is so far out of his league that it’s not even remotely funny. While he may be able to speak well he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. His foreign policy is ridiculous. He kowtowed to Russia, who is not our ally, and pulled the missile defense shield from those who are our allies. The defense shield was doing several things but the biggest thing it was going to do is keep Russia in check and not let them run ruff shot over eastern Europe and NATO nations. Then while at the U.N. summit it comes to light that Iran has a secret nuclear plant that they’ve had for several years. As soon as they are called out on it they fire off a new missile that is capable of carrying a warhead and capable of reaching Israel and U.S. bases in the middle east.
Instead of handling the problems at hand our clueless leader has now placed his hat in the ring for bringing the Olympics to Chicago, his home town, while the murder rate in Chicago is as bad as some middle east war zones. Last year 34 school kids were KILLED and another 290 SHOT. That’s some damn good community organizing you got going on there.
Now while Rome burns the president has only spoken to the commander in Afghanistan, the war that we HAD to win, his words, only once in the past 2+ months. He’s only spoken to him once! Casualties have continued to increase, the commander has requested more troops, and he’s only spoken to him once. This is unbelievable.
Oh, let's not forget that children are being “trained” to praise this guy in schools…
God help us, and thank you for reading my rant-o-the-day
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Healthcare ---- Another slant on a similar topic
We live in a world of goods and services. We go to work, where we either provide a good or a service and make money so that we can go and consume goods and services. Now when I say consume goods and services I’m talking about everything. I mean the car we buy, the gas we put in our car, the electricity we buy, the food we buy, and all the games we play. We also buy one very important service that people don’t necessarily consider to be a service. It’s healthcare. In many respects it’s the most important service because like the old saying goes, “If you don’t have your health what do you have?” When I got my job part of my compensation that we agreed to was health insurance. I chose to take health insurance as part of my payment for the work that I do at my job. That health insurance helps considerably to offset expenses that I or my family may occur when we need to be seen by a doctor.
Now speaking of doctors. When I was a kid in school I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. It was true to most extents. I didn’t choose to be a doctor but others did and I'm thankful. They took the initiative to go to the schools, pay the incredible expenses for going to those schools, work unbelievably hard in those schools, work ridiculous hours at the hospitals after they got out of those schools, and take the almost unthinkable responsibility for the lives of those they treat and people have the audacity to complain when they get high medical bills? WTH?? The hard truth of the matter is most health problems that doctors treat can be prevented if we only took better care of ourselves. So we go to a doctor because we’re not feeling well. The doctor tells us that we have high cholesterol and blood pressure because we’re not eating right and we don’t get enough exercise. He puts us on medication to get that back under control and tells us that we need to eat better and get more exercise so that we can be more healthy and not have to come see them as often. We then complain when we get the bill for the pills that we’re taking to keep us 6 feet over instead of 6 feet under? We should be thanking the doctor for treating us AND thank the doctor for telling us what we need to do to better ourselves.
Consider doctors mechanics for the body. People will pay a mechanic $75.00 an hour to fix a car they’re paying $400.00 a month on but bitch and cry and raise holy hell at the thought of paying for our own health insurance. I’ve got an idea. Ditch the $400.00 a month car payment and buy $400.00 worth of health insurance for you and your family! That car's not going to do you much good when you’re dead! Remember like that old saying goes, if you don’t have your health what do you have?
Now speaking of doctors. When I was a kid in school I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. It was true to most extents. I didn’t choose to be a doctor but others did and I'm thankful. They took the initiative to go to the schools, pay the incredible expenses for going to those schools, work unbelievably hard in those schools, work ridiculous hours at the hospitals after they got out of those schools, and take the almost unthinkable responsibility for the lives of those they treat and people have the audacity to complain when they get high medical bills? WTH?? The hard truth of the matter is most health problems that doctors treat can be prevented if we only took better care of ourselves. So we go to a doctor because we’re not feeling well. The doctor tells us that we have high cholesterol and blood pressure because we’re not eating right and we don’t get enough exercise. He puts us on medication to get that back under control and tells us that we need to eat better and get more exercise so that we can be more healthy and not have to come see them as often. We then complain when we get the bill for the pills that we’re taking to keep us 6 feet over instead of 6 feet under? We should be thanking the doctor for treating us AND thank the doctor for telling us what we need to do to better ourselves.
Consider doctors mechanics for the body. People will pay a mechanic $75.00 an hour to fix a car they’re paying $400.00 a month on but bitch and cry and raise holy hell at the thought of paying for our own health insurance. I’ve got an idea. Ditch the $400.00 a month car payment and buy $400.00 worth of health insurance for you and your family! That car's not going to do you much good when you’re dead! Remember like that old saying goes, if you don’t have your health what do you have?
Almost But Not Quite
So I’m scanning the online headlines this morning, like I always do, and I see something that makes me stop. The headline reads “Obama to world: Don't expect America to fix it all”.
When I saw it I thought, “Holy Crap! He said something I agree with!”, so I clicked on the article to read it. And sure enough, he said “Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone”. “AMEN!” I thought.
If he’d just followed out the logic of that one statement we’d have been okay and I would have finally found common ground with him on something. But then he blew it by talking about global initiatives, world communities and the like.
This “world community” stuff is a bunch of hooey. There is no “world community”. Frankly, the world has been treated like an American community for far too long.
Whenever earthquakes, floods, tsunamis or other natural disasters strike a foreign country, who is the first group they call?
When the U.N. needs humanitarian workers and peacekeepers to enter an out of control African country where people are dying and rioting in the streets for lack of food, to whom does the UN turn to bring order from chaos?
When a disease breaks out and begins to eradicate people by the thousands, who steps in and not only develops the vaccine, but delivers and administers it to keep the disease in check?
When a country’s economy begins to collapse, who is asked to loan it money and prop it up?
When genocide begins somewhere in the world, who are the first people called upon to put a stop to it?
Who are the people chastised most if they let genocide continue?
When someone flees a country because of despotism, torture and rape, where do they go?
When and Indian, Pakistani, Saudi, Sudanese, Egyptian, African, Chinese, Korean or Russian national wants to give their kid the best college education in the world so they can come back and help out their village or nation, where do they send them?
Obama was right when he said, “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility”. It’s time the world starting taking on its share of responsibility. It’s time these countries, who take our money, use our education systems, use our generous spirit and the lives of our young men started solving some of their own problems and stopped begging us for help then turning on us once they’re back on their feet.
It’s time America focused its efforts on AMERICA, not the world. We’re having problems on a scale unprecedented in our history. Between the war on terror, natural disasters, the energy crisis, the collapse of the economy, out of control congressional spending, a growing national debt and a shrinking national product we’ve got a lot on our plate.
We can make the world a better place, by dealing with the log in our own eyes before removing the splinters from the eyes of the world.
And Obama should have said so.
When I saw it I thought, “Holy Crap! He said something I agree with!”, so I clicked on the article to read it. And sure enough, he said “Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone”. “AMEN!” I thought.
If he’d just followed out the logic of that one statement we’d have been okay and I would have finally found common ground with him on something. But then he blew it by talking about global initiatives, world communities and the like.
This “world community” stuff is a bunch of hooey. There is no “world community”. Frankly, the world has been treated like an American community for far too long.
Whenever earthquakes, floods, tsunamis or other natural disasters strike a foreign country, who is the first group they call?
When the U.N. needs humanitarian workers and peacekeepers to enter an out of control African country where people are dying and rioting in the streets for lack of food, to whom does the UN turn to bring order from chaos?
When a disease breaks out and begins to eradicate people by the thousands, who steps in and not only develops the vaccine, but delivers and administers it to keep the disease in check?
When a country’s economy begins to collapse, who is asked to loan it money and prop it up?
When genocide begins somewhere in the world, who are the first people called upon to put a stop to it?
Who are the people chastised most if they let genocide continue?
When someone flees a country because of despotism, torture and rape, where do they go?
When and Indian, Pakistani, Saudi, Sudanese, Egyptian, African, Chinese, Korean or Russian national wants to give their kid the best college education in the world so they can come back and help out their village or nation, where do they send them?
Obama was right when he said, “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility”. It’s time the world starting taking on its share of responsibility. It’s time these countries, who take our money, use our education systems, use our generous spirit and the lives of our young men started solving some of their own problems and stopped begging us for help then turning on us once they’re back on their feet.
It’s time America focused its efforts on AMERICA, not the world. We’re having problems on a scale unprecedented in our history. Between the war on terror, natural disasters, the energy crisis, the collapse of the economy, out of control congressional spending, a growing national debt and a shrinking national product we’ve got a lot on our plate.
We can make the world a better place, by dealing with the log in our own eyes before removing the splinters from the eyes of the world.
And Obama should have said so.
Monday, September 21, 2009
50,000 Muslims at the Capitol
I just read about a gathering of 50,000 Muslims that is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. on September 25th, 2009. Apparently, in response to Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks about finding a way forward with Islam, a man named Hassen Abdellah got a permit to hold a national prayer gathering at the Capitol. His hope is that 50,000 Muslims will gather near the Capitol building and pray for the “soul of America”. Mr. Abdellah says that “most of the time when Muslims go to Washington, D.C. it is to protest. This is not a protest.” He wants America to know that there are Muslims who love America. He also says that any and all are invited to come.
I am about to go out on a limb here and run the risk of alienating friends and dissuading people, but I hope it works out the way he has portrayed his intent for it to be.
Mr. Abdellah’s decision to lead a national prayer of his faith is what America is all about. Freedom of religion is a sacred principle to the cause of America and I believe this man’s exercise of that right is a good thing. And just as I hold that I have the right as a practicing Christian to express my faith in whatever public setting by organizing friends and fellow members of my faith to pray for the soul of my country, so I acknowledge his right under the law to do the same.
More than that, I hope it goes well for this man because I believe his intent is an honorable one of simple faith in his God. I hope that no one gets harmed or does anything to foolishly endanger the lives of anyone at the event. And I hope that Christian America will take hope from a show of love, strength and tolerance from moderate Islam. The radical extremists of Islam are only a portion of what Islam is, just as the radical extremists of Christianity are only a portion of what we are.
There are a great many of us on the conservative side of things who talk a good game about freedom of religion and how intolerant others are to Christianity. We decry any slight to our religion and cry foul because we’re supposed to have freedom of religion and free speech in this country. Well, this is our opportunity to put our money where our mouth is and show that we believe in religious freedom not just for ourselves but for all Americans.
And then we should hold a prayer vigil of our own on the Capitol lawn… 100,000 strong.
I am about to go out on a limb here and run the risk of alienating friends and dissuading people, but I hope it works out the way he has portrayed his intent for it to be.
Mr. Abdellah’s decision to lead a national prayer of his faith is what America is all about. Freedom of religion is a sacred principle to the cause of America and I believe this man’s exercise of that right is a good thing. And just as I hold that I have the right as a practicing Christian to express my faith in whatever public setting by organizing friends and fellow members of my faith to pray for the soul of my country, so I acknowledge his right under the law to do the same.
More than that, I hope it goes well for this man because I believe his intent is an honorable one of simple faith in his God. I hope that no one gets harmed or does anything to foolishly endanger the lives of anyone at the event. And I hope that Christian America will take hope from a show of love, strength and tolerance from moderate Islam. The radical extremists of Islam are only a portion of what Islam is, just as the radical extremists of Christianity are only a portion of what we are.
There are a great many of us on the conservative side of things who talk a good game about freedom of religion and how intolerant others are to Christianity. We decry any slight to our religion and cry foul because we’re supposed to have freedom of religion and free speech in this country. Well, this is our opportunity to put our money where our mouth is and show that we believe in religious freedom not just for ourselves but for all Americans.
And then we should hold a prayer vigil of our own on the Capitol lawn… 100,000 strong.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Public Schools and Indoctrination on September 8th
On September 8th, the President is holding a direct to public schools meeting with students across America.
The White House spins it as a “Value of Education” speech aimed at helping students set and achieve goals in their educational life. It will be aimed at all ages from Pre-Kindergarten to High School Seniors. That means that the generation being talked to in this meeting is easily the most media aware group on the planet.
They are also the most media influenced generation and are far more likely to believe the television version of events than any evidence to the contrary. Studies are done all the time showing that today’s school children are not critical thinking enough to differentiate truth from rhetoric. I just read a case study done a couple of years ago regarding the story of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. The vast majority of students who saw the Denzel Washington movie sided with Carter’s version of the events. When read a partial transcript of the trial revealing facts not mentioned in the movie that did not line up with Carter’s or the movie’s version of events, 90% of the class continued to believe the movie’s premise that Carter was innocent regardless of the new evidence presented to them.
Couple this lack of critical thinking skill with the fact that these kids will be a captive audience, to an inarguably eloquent speaker with an agenda to push and this meeting should scare the crap out of you.
The White House sent out a packet to schools across the country giving “suggestions” for how to handle the students before, during and after the speech.
You can read these instructions HERE and HERE.
Look at the questions the teachers are supposed to ask 4 year olds (Pre-K) to 12 year olds (6th grade), “What is the President asking us to do? Does the speech make you want to do anything? Are we able to do what the President is asking us to do?”
Or the questions for 13-18 year olds (7th -12th grades), “What lines/phrases do you remember? How are we as individuals and as a class similar? What is President Obama inspiring you to do? What is he challenging you to do?”
These instructions sound like a “How To” manual for indoctrination.
And I have a few questions as well.
What is he asking them to do? I’ve looked and can find no transcript for what he’s going to talk about or what he’s going to say. (And a man that reliant on the teleprompter has this scripted somewhere.)
Will there be “equal time” given on this in any way? If not, why not?
Personally speaking, I don’t think I can let my kids participate in this. So is there an option for a student being excused if a parent doesn’t want their children to attend? If not, why not?
If schools don’t have enough participation, will they stop receiving federal funds?
And how come this has only come to light now, just 6 days from the event? I watch politics like a hawk, and this has been NOWHERE on my RADAR.
I plan on calling the BOE in my county and asking them these questions. I want to hear what they have to say. If need be, I may keep my kids from watching this on Tuesday. But whether you have kids in the schools or not you should be VERY worried about this. It is an unprecedented step and one that is so easily prone to manipulation it boggles the mind. For God’s sake, get out there, rattle the doors of sacred academia and tell them to stand up and say, the education and future of our children does NOT belong to Barack Obama.
The White House spins it as a “Value of Education” speech aimed at helping students set and achieve goals in their educational life. It will be aimed at all ages from Pre-Kindergarten to High School Seniors. That means that the generation being talked to in this meeting is easily the most media aware group on the planet.
They are also the most media influenced generation and are far more likely to believe the television version of events than any evidence to the contrary. Studies are done all the time showing that today’s school children are not critical thinking enough to differentiate truth from rhetoric. I just read a case study done a couple of years ago regarding the story of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. The vast majority of students who saw the Denzel Washington movie sided with Carter’s version of the events. When read a partial transcript of the trial revealing facts not mentioned in the movie that did not line up with Carter’s or the movie’s version of events, 90% of the class continued to believe the movie’s premise that Carter was innocent regardless of the new evidence presented to them.
Couple this lack of critical thinking skill with the fact that these kids will be a captive audience, to an inarguably eloquent speaker with an agenda to push and this meeting should scare the crap out of you.
The White House sent out a packet to schools across the country giving “suggestions” for how to handle the students before, during and after the speech.
You can read these instructions HERE and HERE.
Look at the questions the teachers are supposed to ask 4 year olds (Pre-K) to 12 year olds (6th grade), “What is the President asking us to do? Does the speech make you want to do anything? Are we able to do what the President is asking us to do?”
Or the questions for 13-18 year olds (7th -12th grades), “What lines/phrases do you remember? How are we as individuals and as a class similar? What is President Obama inspiring you to do? What is he challenging you to do?”
These instructions sound like a “How To” manual for indoctrination.
And I have a few questions as well.
What is he asking them to do? I’ve looked and can find no transcript for what he’s going to talk about or what he’s going to say. (And a man that reliant on the teleprompter has this scripted somewhere.)
Will there be “equal time” given on this in any way? If not, why not?
Personally speaking, I don’t think I can let my kids participate in this. So is there an option for a student being excused if a parent doesn’t want their children to attend? If not, why not?
If schools don’t have enough participation, will they stop receiving federal funds?
And how come this has only come to light now, just 6 days from the event? I watch politics like a hawk, and this has been NOWHERE on my RADAR.
I plan on calling the BOE in my county and asking them these questions. I want to hear what they have to say. If need be, I may keep my kids from watching this on Tuesday. But whether you have kids in the schools or not you should be VERY worried about this. It is an unprecedented step and one that is so easily prone to manipulation it boggles the mind. For God’s sake, get out there, rattle the doors of sacred academia and tell them to stand up and say, the education and future of our children does NOT belong to Barack Obama.
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Rise Of "The Bear"
You know, 15 years ago I got a lot of flak from my more liberal Massachusetts friends regarding my supposed paranoia over what I considered the imminent return of Russia. Even some of my Conservative friends thought I was crazy because I believed “the Bear” wasn’t dead he was asleep.
10 years ago I wrote about a resurgent “Bear” and what I thought its new alliance with the Germans was going to bring about for the world.
5 years ago I wrote about Vladimir Putin and his work in putting the old Soviet Military back on the map.
3 years ago I wrote about the then newfound spirit of co-operation between Russia and Iran regarding oil production and sales.
2 years ago I wrote a brief blurb about British fighters being scrambled because of Russian bombers in British airspace.
Less than 1 year ago I wrote about the Russian bombers being sent to Venezuela.
Less than 1 year ago I wrote about Russian President Medvedev’s assertion that he would invade Georgia if he felt like it and whether NATO liked it or not.
3 days ago I wrote about Venezuela’s attempts to gear up for war with Colombia and mentioned Russia’s increased military presence.
Today I found an article HERE about 2 Russian Akula class subs patrolling our Eastern Seaboard.
“The Bear” is on the rise again and we are sinking under the weight of our own crap.
10 years ago I wrote about a resurgent “Bear” and what I thought its new alliance with the Germans was going to bring about for the world.
5 years ago I wrote about Vladimir Putin and his work in putting the old Soviet Military back on the map.
3 years ago I wrote about the then newfound spirit of co-operation between Russia and Iran regarding oil production and sales.
2 years ago I wrote a brief blurb about British fighters being scrambled because of Russian bombers in British airspace.
Less than 1 year ago I wrote about the Russian bombers being sent to Venezuela.
Less than 1 year ago I wrote about Russian President Medvedev’s assertion that he would invade Georgia if he felt like it and whether NATO liked it or not.
3 days ago I wrote about Venezuela’s attempts to gear up for war with Colombia and mentioned Russia’s increased military presence.
Today I found an article HERE about 2 Russian Akula class subs patrolling our Eastern Seaboard.
“The Bear” is on the rise again and we are sinking under the weight of our own crap.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Cash for Clunkers
This is yet another government program that is destined for failure, while dragging us deeper and deeper into debt. This is a prime example of a buy now pray later attitude that has gotten us into the financial situation we’re in. This program promotes us and encourages us to live beyond our means under the guise of “saving the environment”. What a crock.
Lets look at this. The cash for clunkers deal encourages us to throw away a car when there’s nothing wrong with it other than it makes crappy gas mileage. They then have to DESTORY perfectly good vehicles so that it meets the requirements from the govt. We’re in a BAD economy and the govt wants us to destroy perfectly good vehicles just because they don’t meet some sort of “green” philosophy? My truck that I drive everyday would be a prime candidate for this program. I need a truck to do the things I do so I go in and get $4500 for my truck, then have to buy a $20,000 truck (very low estimate) to replace it. I’m still spending $16,000+. How is that smart in this economy? Especially when there is nothing wrong with the truck! Taking on debt like that now seems really dumb to me. This is the government’s recommendation for me? Go deeper in debt during a bad economy and get rid of a perfectly good vehicle because it doesn’t make the best gas mileage. This is the philosophy that our congressman, senators, and our president has. Just spend more money and it will all be okay. We’re being governed by idiots!!!
Lets look at this. The cash for clunkers deal encourages us to throw away a car when there’s nothing wrong with it other than it makes crappy gas mileage. They then have to DESTORY perfectly good vehicles so that it meets the requirements from the govt. We’re in a BAD economy and the govt wants us to destroy perfectly good vehicles just because they don’t meet some sort of “green” philosophy? My truck that I drive everyday would be a prime candidate for this program. I need a truck to do the things I do so I go in and get $4500 for my truck, then have to buy a $20,000 truck (very low estimate) to replace it. I’m still spending $16,000+. How is that smart in this economy? Especially when there is nothing wrong with the truck! Taking on debt like that now seems really dumb to me. This is the government’s recommendation for me? Go deeper in debt during a bad economy and get rid of a perfectly good vehicle because it doesn’t make the best gas mileage. This is the philosophy that our congressman, senators, and our president has. Just spend more money and it will all be okay. We’re being governed by idiots!!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Venezuela...again.
According to the Associated Press, Hugo Chavez has called for his military and citizenry to get ready for combat with Colombia and possibly even the United States. His reasoning is simple enough, the Colombian Government has agreed to lease 7 military bases to the United States. He claims the U.S. will destabilize the region and that the Colombian military has already made an incursion into Venezuelan territory.
I am far from concerned about Hugo Chavez or his country’s military prowess. What DOES bother me is that last September the Russians made an alliance with Chavez allowing the Russian military to perform exercises with long range bombers in Venezuela, even stationing them there if necessary. The Russians claimed it showed their renewed global reach and Chavez hoped it would keep the U.S. in check in his region.
Last September I said that South America was becoming our next hotspot and that the next President would have to deal with it. Well, it has now come up a second time in less than 12 months.
If we get involved in a short range war with Venezuela through our soon to be bases in Colombia.The way this thing plays out could have a catastrophic ripple effect on our hemisphere and our country.
And, if Russia takes VZ's side things could get ugly.
It could conceivably become another Vietnam for us.
It could lead to a renewed cold war with the Russians.
Ultimately it could lead to a limited nuclear exchange followed by an invasion of the U.S. from the south. Caspar Weinberger, Alexander Haig and Henry Kissinger all warned of just such a scenario back in the 1980s. (The mediocre mid 80’s movie “Red Dawn” was based on one theory being put forth.) And while these predictions looked unlikely in the 80’s and somewhat unlikely now…things have a way of changing from bad to worse rather quickly in geopolitics.
And Chavez strikes me as the kind of guy who can change them in a hurry.
I am far from concerned about Hugo Chavez or his country’s military prowess. What DOES bother me is that last September the Russians made an alliance with Chavez allowing the Russian military to perform exercises with long range bombers in Venezuela, even stationing them there if necessary. The Russians claimed it showed their renewed global reach and Chavez hoped it would keep the U.S. in check in his region.
Last September I said that South America was becoming our next hotspot and that the next President would have to deal with it. Well, it has now come up a second time in less than 12 months.
If we get involved in a short range war with Venezuela through our soon to be bases in Colombia.The way this thing plays out could have a catastrophic ripple effect on our hemisphere and our country.
And, if Russia takes VZ's side things could get ugly.
It could conceivably become another Vietnam for us.
It could lead to a renewed cold war with the Russians.
Ultimately it could lead to a limited nuclear exchange followed by an invasion of the U.S. from the south. Caspar Weinberger, Alexander Haig and Henry Kissinger all warned of just such a scenario back in the 1980s. (The mediocre mid 80’s movie “Red Dawn” was based on one theory being put forth.) And while these predictions looked unlikely in the 80’s and somewhat unlikely now…things have a way of changing from bad to worse rather quickly in geopolitics.
And Chavez strikes me as the kind of guy who can change them in a hurry.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Community Organizer
I would like for someone to point out to Nancy Pelosi, MSNBC, ThinkProgress, President Obama (and all the others joining the bandwagon of decrying the conservatives at Town Hall meetings as being an organized oppositional movement) that the President himself started out as a “community organizer”.
You know what a community organizer is right? It’s someone whose professed goal is to organize members of his/her community for change in social policies and create a united power to assure that change.
This is such double standard crap it makes my head hurt.
You know what a community organizer is right? It’s someone whose professed goal is to organize members of his/her community for change in social policies and create a united power to assure that change.
This is such double standard crap it makes my head hurt.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Obamacare 2
Some quotes I found tremendously disturbing from the anointed one last night.
“Now, the truth is that, unless you have a — what's called a single-payer system, in which everybody is automatically covered, then you're probably not going to reach every single individual”
The avowed stance of the left has been and continues to be that not enough people have access to health care and that 1 person without it is too many. I believe that he and the other Dems are actively working towards a single payer/socialist system. Once this version is passed and the insurance industry starts to crumble (and it will) the Dems will complain complete nationalized healthcare for every American is the next logical step in the process.
He goes on to say “no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition”
While this sounds good in a sound bite, the reality is that he’s freezing insurance company’s ability to operate with the sound business principles it takes to stay profitable. If a business is not profitable, under any system, socialist or capitalist, it cannot continue to operate. In the novel “Atlas Shrugged” there is a scene where the government declares a freeze in every aspect of every business pending review by a government appointed board with a Czar. The law prohibits companies from producing less, selling less and firing anyone or allowing anyone to quit without federal oversight or permission. All this does to businesses (in the novel) is quicken industry’s collapse and the resultant collapse of that society. Obama’s similar limitation on the freedoms of the insurance industry does NOTHING but move us further toward a single payer/socialist healthcare system.
And in the biggest big brother moment of the speech he is asked, “Do you think…the American people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen?”
Obama’s A: “They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier.”
He makes a similar statement later about a nutritionist seeing a diabetic to “make sure” he eats like he’s supposed to eat. Couple this with the momentum for sin taxes on junk foods, sodas and other things and sooner or later they’re going to try and do all of our thinking for us. But what disturbs me is that right now we seem willing to let them.
We are on a rocket sled to hell with this program and the fuse is being lit as we speak. The only way to stop it is to call your Congressional representatives and give them hell for taking us down this path.
“Now, the truth is that, unless you have a — what's called a single-payer system, in which everybody is automatically covered, then you're probably not going to reach every single individual”
The avowed stance of the left has been and continues to be that not enough people have access to health care and that 1 person without it is too many. I believe that he and the other Dems are actively working towards a single payer/socialist system. Once this version is passed and the insurance industry starts to crumble (and it will) the Dems will complain complete nationalized healthcare for every American is the next logical step in the process.
He goes on to say “no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition”
While this sounds good in a sound bite, the reality is that he’s freezing insurance company’s ability to operate with the sound business principles it takes to stay profitable. If a business is not profitable, under any system, socialist or capitalist, it cannot continue to operate. In the novel “Atlas Shrugged” there is a scene where the government declares a freeze in every aspect of every business pending review by a government appointed board with a Czar. The law prohibits companies from producing less, selling less and firing anyone or allowing anyone to quit without federal oversight or permission. All this does to businesses (in the novel) is quicken industry’s collapse and the resultant collapse of that society. Obama’s similar limitation on the freedoms of the insurance industry does NOTHING but move us further toward a single payer/socialist healthcare system.
And in the biggest big brother moment of the speech he is asked, “Do you think…the American people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen?”
Obama’s A: “They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier.”
He makes a similar statement later about a nutritionist seeing a diabetic to “make sure” he eats like he’s supposed to eat. Couple this with the momentum for sin taxes on junk foods, sodas and other things and sooner or later they’re going to try and do all of our thinking for us. But what disturbs me is that right now we seem willing to let them.
We are on a rocket sled to hell with this program and the fuse is being lit as we speak. The only way to stop it is to call your Congressional representatives and give them hell for taking us down this path.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Obamacare
I continue to be fascinated by the number of otherwise reasonably intelligent people who are duped by the whole “we need socialized healthcare” mantra being spouted by members of the Left.
A Democrat Senator from Nebraska named Conrad asked the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) chair whether what he sees in the current plan will actually “bend the curve”. (BTW, “bend the Curve” is Obama’s term for how applying federal pressure will make the market costs go down and save us money in the long run bringing lower health care costs and lower deficits in years to come.) The answer was “No, Mr. Chairman. On the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.” He goes on to say “Over time, accumulating debt (from budget deficits and increased national debt) would cause substantial harm to the economy.”
Meanwhile liberals everywhere are trumpeting the greatness of socialized medicine in Europe. As an example… I was listening to a radio show where one of the show members went to Europe during the 4th of July break they took. Their kid got sick so they took him to a hospital in a small European town. The healthcare for the kid was free and the prescription was filled for about $4. So socialized healthcare is great right?
Umm…no.
What the host of this show forgot to mention was that the citizens of that country PAID for that healthcare while the show host dished out nothing.
For example, in France, through taxes the government forces about 19% of the average income from a family for their “nationalized healthcare plan”. So 1/5th of a family’s income is going towards paying for state run healthcare, not just for the family, but for ANYONE. The part you DON’T hear is that the plan is so bad the citizenry, in order to get better coverage and freedom of choice, is forced to get private insurance. For the average French tax-paying family this means 13% MORE of their income goes towards healthcare.
And like ALL tax based spending plans it depends entirely on those who are WORKING to pay for it. Worse than that, for the French working class the progressive tax rates means those who earn the most are paying the bulk of THAT while the bottom percentages pay nothing (just like we’re proposing/doing here). Couple this with the fact that France currently has a 10% unemployment rate and you have to ask is it any wonder France is shedding jobs, companies and people?
This brings me back to the United States plan currently sitting before congress.
Congress currently plans to pay for “Obamacare” with a healthcare surtax. And when added to what we already pay in taxes (state, local and et cetera) this raises us above FRANCE for the top marginal tax rate (according to CBO). Even worse…if the planned “savings” in the other areas that “bending the curve” promises to produce do not materialize by 2012, the surtax legislation gives congress the power to raise the rates even further to compensate.
The House Ways and Means committee has cleared their portion of the “Obamacare” program by Okaying the measure to raise taxes on couples making more than $350,000. Never mind that this figure encompasses a HUGE percentage of small businesses in this country that pay taxes not as corporations but as individuals. Never mind that this tax burden will cause the economy to shed jobs at a shocking rate heretofore unseen in this recession (nationally we’re at 9.5% unemployment, in Michigan it’s 15.2% and rising). And again…never mind the fact that those job losses will mean less income to the government forcing them to raise taxes even further, this time on a wider range of people.
How can ANYONE, left or right think this is good for America?
All facts and figures used here were gathered by reading stories on AP and Reuters news services.
A Democrat Senator from Nebraska named Conrad asked the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) chair whether what he sees in the current plan will actually “bend the curve”. (BTW, “bend the Curve” is Obama’s term for how applying federal pressure will make the market costs go down and save us money in the long run bringing lower health care costs and lower deficits in years to come.) The answer was “No, Mr. Chairman. On the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.” He goes on to say “Over time, accumulating debt (from budget deficits and increased national debt) would cause substantial harm to the economy.”
Meanwhile liberals everywhere are trumpeting the greatness of socialized medicine in Europe. As an example… I was listening to a radio show where one of the show members went to Europe during the 4th of July break they took. Their kid got sick so they took him to a hospital in a small European town. The healthcare for the kid was free and the prescription was filled for about $4. So socialized healthcare is great right?
Umm…no.
What the host of this show forgot to mention was that the citizens of that country PAID for that healthcare while the show host dished out nothing.
For example, in France, through taxes the government forces about 19% of the average income from a family for their “nationalized healthcare plan”. So 1/5th of a family’s income is going towards paying for state run healthcare, not just for the family, but for ANYONE. The part you DON’T hear is that the plan is so bad the citizenry, in order to get better coverage and freedom of choice, is forced to get private insurance. For the average French tax-paying family this means 13% MORE of their income goes towards healthcare.
And like ALL tax based spending plans it depends entirely on those who are WORKING to pay for it. Worse than that, for the French working class the progressive tax rates means those who earn the most are paying the bulk of THAT while the bottom percentages pay nothing (just like we’re proposing/doing here). Couple this with the fact that France currently has a 10% unemployment rate and you have to ask is it any wonder France is shedding jobs, companies and people?
This brings me back to the United States plan currently sitting before congress.
Congress currently plans to pay for “Obamacare” with a healthcare surtax. And when added to what we already pay in taxes (state, local and et cetera) this raises us above FRANCE for the top marginal tax rate (according to CBO). Even worse…if the planned “savings” in the other areas that “bending the curve” promises to produce do not materialize by 2012, the surtax legislation gives congress the power to raise the rates even further to compensate.
The House Ways and Means committee has cleared their portion of the “Obamacare” program by Okaying the measure to raise taxes on couples making more than $350,000. Never mind that this figure encompasses a HUGE percentage of small businesses in this country that pay taxes not as corporations but as individuals. Never mind that this tax burden will cause the economy to shed jobs at a shocking rate heretofore unseen in this recession (nationally we’re at 9.5% unemployment, in Michigan it’s 15.2% and rising). And again…never mind the fact that those job losses will mean less income to the government forcing them to raise taxes even further, this time on a wider range of people.
How can ANYONE, left or right think this is good for America?
All facts and figures used here were gathered by reading stories on AP and Reuters news services.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Kudos To A Democrat!
I don’t do this often but I am sending out Kudos to a Democrat Congressman. His name is Alan Grayson (D-Fl).
In May of this year he was questioning they Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, Elizabeth Coleman and asked her where the Trillions were going and how they were being spent. Her answer was that she didn’t know and was not investigating it.
So he asked about the Fed’s expansion of its own “balance sheet” by more than a Trillion dollars. She said she had not reached any conclusions as to why it has happened and has no idea who got the money.
Grayson then asked about the “off balance sheet” transactions totaling into the trillions guaranteeing Citigroup and BoA and AGAIN Ms Coleman had no idea.
Grayson was appropriately shocked to find out that no one was keeping track of these HUGE loans and guarantees. He is audibly flabbergasted. You can watch this HERE
So, KUDOS go to you, Congressman Grayson. Keep up the good work! I wish more of your colleagues on EITHER side of the aisle would ask more questions like that. Now you and everyone else in Congress need to take it a step farther and DEMAND answers on these things.
In May of this year he was questioning they Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, Elizabeth Coleman and asked her where the Trillions were going and how they were being spent. Her answer was that she didn’t know and was not investigating it.
So he asked about the Fed’s expansion of its own “balance sheet” by more than a Trillion dollars. She said she had not reached any conclusions as to why it has happened and has no idea who got the money.
Grayson then asked about the “off balance sheet” transactions totaling into the trillions guaranteeing Citigroup and BoA and AGAIN Ms Coleman had no idea.
Grayson was appropriately shocked to find out that no one was keeping track of these HUGE loans and guarantees. He is audibly flabbergasted. You can watch this HERE
So, KUDOS go to you, Congressman Grayson. Keep up the good work! I wish more of your colleagues on EITHER side of the aisle would ask more questions like that. Now you and everyone else in Congress need to take it a step farther and DEMAND answers on these things.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Difference.
Good story I heard from Newt Gingrich.
In the 1970's gas rationing was done by the last number of your license plate.
Well, every morning this kid's dad would send him out to change the license plate on his car so he could get gas everyday when he needed it.
The difference between a liberal and a conservative is this.
A conservative thinks that if you have a law so dumb that you're teaching 13 year olds to break it, change the law.
A liberal thinks you should have someone at every gas station to monitor the license plates.
In the 1970's gas rationing was done by the last number of your license plate.
Well, every morning this kid's dad would send him out to change the license plate on his car so he could get gas everyday when he needed it.
The difference between a liberal and a conservative is this.
A conservative thinks that if you have a law so dumb that you're teaching 13 year olds to break it, change the law.
A liberal thinks you should have someone at every gas station to monitor the license plates.
A Sea Change In Political Scandals
Anyone else notice that the world of political scandals has reversed course?
It used to be that you could count on the nature of scandals in politics falling along party lines.
For most of my life, if a Republican was caught in a scandal it almost always had to do with corruption and/or money. Watergate, Iran Contra and all of that were about corruption and money.
The flip side was that the Democrats were all caught with their pants down…literally. From John Kennedy to Gary Hart to Bill Clinton, for years sexual affairs were the order of the day for Democrat scandals.
Now things are different. There has been a sea change in political scandals. A Scandal Paradigm Shift going on for a while now.
For Democrats I cannot pinpoint exactly when the shift began, but it may have started with the whole “Webster Hubbell” deal in the mid 90’s.
Then there was the whole “Illegal Campaign Contributions” from China supporting Al Gore and Bill Clinton.
Then there was Jim Trafficant (financial corruption), Robert Toricelli (illegal campaign contributions), Sandy Berger (removing classified documents), and my personal favorite William Jefferson of Louisiana who had $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer.
For Republicans, I think the shift started after the whole “Lewinsky” deal. It’s almost as if there became a drive by the left to catch Republicans doing the kinds of things they had accused “Slick Willie” of doing.
Newt Gingrich was the first to fall. He was caught having an affair with the girl he eventually married (his 3rd wife, Calista).
Then Strom Thurmond (who was dead) was accused of having an illegitimate child with an African American maid.
And we can’t forget about Mark Foley and his hitting on a congressional page boy.
And now the Governor of South Carolina, who disappeared for a week and thought no one would notice, has been caught. He was busy getting his freak on in Argentina.
I have said repeatedly that now it seems like things have been turned upside down in the past 10-15 years. Like maybe the sun got too hot in the early 90’s or something and we lost our minds. This country is weird and getting weirder by the day and sometimes I don’t even recognize it anymore. For Pete’s sake you can’t even count on politicians to have the same scandals anymore!
It used to be that you could count on the nature of scandals in politics falling along party lines.
For most of my life, if a Republican was caught in a scandal it almost always had to do with corruption and/or money. Watergate, Iran Contra and all of that were about corruption and money.
The flip side was that the Democrats were all caught with their pants down…literally. From John Kennedy to Gary Hart to Bill Clinton, for years sexual affairs were the order of the day for Democrat scandals.
Now things are different. There has been a sea change in political scandals. A Scandal Paradigm Shift going on for a while now.
For Democrats I cannot pinpoint exactly when the shift began, but it may have started with the whole “Webster Hubbell” deal in the mid 90’s.
Then there was the whole “Illegal Campaign Contributions” from China supporting Al Gore and Bill Clinton.
Then there was Jim Trafficant (financial corruption), Robert Toricelli (illegal campaign contributions), Sandy Berger (removing classified documents), and my personal favorite William Jefferson of Louisiana who had $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer.
For Republicans, I think the shift started after the whole “Lewinsky” deal. It’s almost as if there became a drive by the left to catch Republicans doing the kinds of things they had accused “Slick Willie” of doing.
Newt Gingrich was the first to fall. He was caught having an affair with the girl he eventually married (his 3rd wife, Calista).
Then Strom Thurmond (who was dead) was accused of having an illegitimate child with an African American maid.
And we can’t forget about Mark Foley and his hitting on a congressional page boy.
And now the Governor of South Carolina, who disappeared for a week and thought no one would notice, has been caught. He was busy getting his freak on in Argentina.
I have said repeatedly that now it seems like things have been turned upside down in the past 10-15 years. Like maybe the sun got too hot in the early 90’s or something and we lost our minds. This country is weird and getting weirder by the day and sometimes I don’t even recognize it anymore. For Pete’s sake you can’t even count on politicians to have the same scandals anymore!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Term Limits.
So… Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) has proposed a repeal of the 22nd amendment limiting a President to 2 terms.
I’m not going to start a spiel about it opening the door to a “leader for life” title for Obama. Repealing the 22nd Amendment has been proposed lots of times over the past 20 years, by both Republocrats and Demicans. Rep. Jose Serrano has done it 7 times since 1997. Steny Hoyer (D-MD ), Barney Frank (D-MA), David Dreier (R-CA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (and others) have all proposed this very same repeal over the past 10-15years for whatever reason. (All according to snopes.com by the way.)
It never actually gets debated, or makes it to the floor for a vote, much less gets passed.
But I just have to ask anyway. Why? Why have so many of these clowns proposed this? It seems especially goofy when you consider that so many Americans are in favor of “Term LIMITS” across the board. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll 67% of people polled favor term limits, with some states polling as high as 75%. That’s a pretty big chunk of folks to get behind anything.
Personally, I’ve decided that Term Limits is going to be one of my “litmus test” issues for candidates (along with their stances on the 2nd Amendment, Taxation, Education, Regulation and Tort Reform if you want to know what matters to me). I’m sick of the lot of them in Congress. Republican or Democrat, I’m not going to back a congressional candidate, anywhere, anymore, who doesn’t believe in Congressional Term Limits.
And I want to see it proposed, debated and voted on in Congress. If Republicans are beginning to put together another “Contract With America” type of movement, then I’d like to see this be one of the points they put forth. I’d even be okay with a Congress who would enact term limits starting when they end their term of office. Anyone who is currently in Congress could be exempt…that’s okay with me.
But I’m tired of the same group of corrupt idiots being in power all of the time. It’s time for Term Limits and frankly the bastards deserve it.
I’m not going to start a spiel about it opening the door to a “leader for life” title for Obama. Repealing the 22nd Amendment has been proposed lots of times over the past 20 years, by both Republocrats and Demicans. Rep. Jose Serrano has done it 7 times since 1997. Steny Hoyer (D-MD ), Barney Frank (D-MA), David Dreier (R-CA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (and others) have all proposed this very same repeal over the past 10-15years for whatever reason. (All according to snopes.com by the way.)
It never actually gets debated, or makes it to the floor for a vote, much less gets passed.
But I just have to ask anyway. Why? Why have so many of these clowns proposed this? It seems especially goofy when you consider that so many Americans are in favor of “Term LIMITS” across the board. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll 67% of people polled favor term limits, with some states polling as high as 75%. That’s a pretty big chunk of folks to get behind anything.
Personally, I’ve decided that Term Limits is going to be one of my “litmus test” issues for candidates (along with their stances on the 2nd Amendment, Taxation, Education, Regulation and Tort Reform if you want to know what matters to me). I’m sick of the lot of them in Congress. Republican or Democrat, I’m not going to back a congressional candidate, anywhere, anymore, who doesn’t believe in Congressional Term Limits.
And I want to see it proposed, debated and voted on in Congress. If Republicans are beginning to put together another “Contract With America” type of movement, then I’d like to see this be one of the points they put forth. I’d even be okay with a Congress who would enact term limits starting when they end their term of office. Anyone who is currently in Congress could be exempt…that’s okay with me.
But I’m tired of the same group of corrupt idiots being in power all of the time. It’s time for Term Limits and frankly the bastards deserve it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Critical Thinking and Accountability.
Critical thinking skills are an important part of understanding the world around us. In a political context, asking “thinking questions” about things we are told or see is the only way to truly assess a situation and deal with it effectively.
I found the following quote in a Reuters article talking about Obama’s numbers beginning to sag.
“While Republican criticism of the Democratic president's policies may be scoring points with voters, the strategy does not appear to be benefiting the party.”
What exactly was the author trying to say? If Republicans are “scoring points with voters” doesn’t that mean, by default, that the strategy is benefitting the party?
You may rightly say that most people would have ignored this statement since it was buried in an article about half way down, and I agree, which is precisely why I’m bringing it up.
Critical thinking requires paying attention.
We seem to have a national obsession with distraction. Our collective attention span grows shorter every year as we text each other about last night’s American idol while driving 65 miles per hour hurrying to get to our next destination because we’re bored.
All of history’s greatest swindles, con jobs and power grabs have come as a result of people not paying attention. The mortgage meltdown, Bernie Madoff, the TRILLION dollar deficit all happened because people weren’t paying attention.
It was a failure on the part of the American public to pay attention and to think that lead us to where we are today. It was the blind eye we turned toward our leaders that has gotten us into this mess. We didn’t pay attention to our mortgage contracts. We didn’t pay attention to the warning signs that accompany every “get rich quick” scheme. We didn’t pay attention to what our government representatives did behind closed doors and in the middle of the night.
The pain this country is in right now could all have been avoided if we had paid closer attention.
Critical thinking requires paying attention to the words being used.
Words matter. Word choice matters. Word order matters. Finding the right word, to convey the right thought, does matter.
How can we ever hope to hold accountable the press, the politicians or anyone else if we allow them to get away with making nonsensical statements (like the one above)? How can we possibly begin to think critically about an issue if it is unclearly described to us? Or worse, how can we possibly begin to think critically about an issue if those who describe it purposely use unclear language?
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity”- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946
The only reason to use purposely vague language is to separate your words from your actual beliefs.
I would like to point out that an unthinking public is easier to dupe and control than those who can think critically and are able to express those thoughts in a clear and concise manner. In fact, that’s the whole issue addressed by the “free speech” and “petition the government for redress of grievances” parts of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. The founders knew that a well informed public that could articulate its concerns would help to avert the disasters of an out of control government by holding their elected representatives accountable for the gap between their words and deeds.
Critical thinking must re-enter our national consciousness before we can begin to have accountability. And accountability is becoming ever more necessary as we watch an out of control government run this country, its economy and its future into oblivion.
I found the following quote in a Reuters article talking about Obama’s numbers beginning to sag.
“While Republican criticism of the Democratic president's policies may be scoring points with voters, the strategy does not appear to be benefiting the party.”
What exactly was the author trying to say? If Republicans are “scoring points with voters” doesn’t that mean, by default, that the strategy is benefitting the party?
You may rightly say that most people would have ignored this statement since it was buried in an article about half way down, and I agree, which is precisely why I’m bringing it up.
Critical thinking requires paying attention.
We seem to have a national obsession with distraction. Our collective attention span grows shorter every year as we text each other about last night’s American idol while driving 65 miles per hour hurrying to get to our next destination because we’re bored.
All of history’s greatest swindles, con jobs and power grabs have come as a result of people not paying attention. The mortgage meltdown, Bernie Madoff, the TRILLION dollar deficit all happened because people weren’t paying attention.
It was a failure on the part of the American public to pay attention and to think that lead us to where we are today. It was the blind eye we turned toward our leaders that has gotten us into this mess. We didn’t pay attention to our mortgage contracts. We didn’t pay attention to the warning signs that accompany every “get rich quick” scheme. We didn’t pay attention to what our government representatives did behind closed doors and in the middle of the night.
The pain this country is in right now could all have been avoided if we had paid closer attention.
Critical thinking requires paying attention to the words being used.
Words matter. Word choice matters. Word order matters. Finding the right word, to convey the right thought, does matter.
How can we ever hope to hold accountable the press, the politicians or anyone else if we allow them to get away with making nonsensical statements (like the one above)? How can we possibly begin to think critically about an issue if it is unclearly described to us? Or worse, how can we possibly begin to think critically about an issue if those who describe it purposely use unclear language?
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity”- George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946
The only reason to use purposely vague language is to separate your words from your actual beliefs.
I would like to point out that an unthinking public is easier to dupe and control than those who can think critically and are able to express those thoughts in a clear and concise manner. In fact, that’s the whole issue addressed by the “free speech” and “petition the government for redress of grievances” parts of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. The founders knew that a well informed public that could articulate its concerns would help to avert the disasters of an out of control government by holding their elected representatives accountable for the gap between their words and deeds.
Critical thinking must re-enter our national consciousness before we can begin to have accountability. And accountability is becoming ever more necessary as we watch an out of control government run this country, its economy and its future into oblivion.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
FDA to Control Big Tobacco
This is like something out of a nightmarish dystopian novel.
The federal government is giving sweeping control to the FDA over tobacco companies. The FDA now is able to control production and marketing for the tobacco industry. Not just cigarettes but everything tobacco related is coming under the control of the federal government.
I don’t want people using tobacco. It’s not good for them. It’s not good for anyone. I say this because the straw man argument used to distract us from the erosion of our rights will be…”yeah…but don’t you think tobacco is bad for people?”
Slowly but surely, team Obama is dismantling capitalism, property rights and individual liberties while we the sheeple sit idly by and do nothing. I hate to sound like Howard Beale here but we cannot just continue to sit and watch this begging our government “Please…Please….Just let me have my toaster and my tv and my steel belted radials and I won’t say anything.” Because soon it won’t matter. Soon they will be inside our homes. Soon they won’t leave us alone and then where will we be?
Where are the damned watchdogs? Where is the media? Where is big business lobbies, once thought too powerful, to stop this downward slide? Where is accountability for anyone at any level of government? And finally where the HELL are the American people?
We are standing on the tracks and the lights are flashing and we can hear the horn…WHY WON’T WE MOVE?
The federal government is giving sweeping control to the FDA over tobacco companies. The FDA now is able to control production and marketing for the tobacco industry. Not just cigarettes but everything tobacco related is coming under the control of the federal government.
I don’t want people using tobacco. It’s not good for them. It’s not good for anyone. I say this because the straw man argument used to distract us from the erosion of our rights will be…”yeah…but don’t you think tobacco is bad for people?”
Slowly but surely, team Obama is dismantling capitalism, property rights and individual liberties while we the sheeple sit idly by and do nothing. I hate to sound like Howard Beale here but we cannot just continue to sit and watch this begging our government “Please…Please….Just let me have my toaster and my tv and my steel belted radials and I won’t say anything.” Because soon it won’t matter. Soon they will be inside our homes. Soon they won’t leave us alone and then where will we be?
Where are the damned watchdogs? Where is the media? Where is big business lobbies, once thought too powerful, to stop this downward slide? Where is accountability for anyone at any level of government? And finally where the HELL are the American people?
We are standing on the tracks and the lights are flashing and we can hear the horn…WHY WON’T WE MOVE?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wake Up America!
I’ve been watching a lot of things lately.
I’ve been watching the Republicans scramble around after their November ass-kicking. The Republican leadership is in a sorry state of dissolution searching in vain for any remnants of the Reagan revolution it can find. They all echo the refrain of “Reagan this” and “Reagan that”…sounding like wounded children whose big brother is no longer around to protect them.
I’ve been watching a president with whom I cannot tell whether he is grossly inept or downright out to tank this country on purpose. I’ve watched him and his party pushing forward policy after policy that is antithetical to my country’s beliefs and that are quickly and surely marching my country towards Marxism. And now, even some of the most ardent supporters of Barack Obama from 2008 avoid answering questions about him or his policies.
And I’ve been watching my country, my poor, poor country. Dear God…we are lost. There is little political discourse around the water cooler. No one wants to think about it or to see it anymore…they just want things to get better but when you ask them how their faces become blank and they mutter something about the problems being too big for one person then change the subject. It’s frightening the amount of disengagement present in the American mind.
After having watched this for the past few sobering months I have some things to say.
To the Republicans:
Wake UP! Quit quoting Reagan and start doing the things that need doing. For 2 election cycles in a row you’ve had your ass handed to you by the clowns currently in power and it will be a 3rd if you don’t get yourselves together and start moving forward. The mainstream media is correct in their assumption that you lost because you’re ideas were wrong and wrong-headed. But they’re wrong about why your ideas stunk…it’s not because you don’t think enough like them, it’s because you think like them too much. For God’s sake it’s not about image, it’s about ideas and principles. Arm yourselves with sound ideas and truth and then fight the bastards tooth and nail. Margaret Thatcher said “First you win the argument then you win the war.” It’s time to man up, admit to the stupidities of the past and START MOVING FORWARD.
To the President and his party:
Wake UP! Take a look and see what’s going on around you. Do you really believe in the things you are doing? Do you really believe that the government should care for all the people all the time? Do you really believe that the American Constitution was a failure?
To my Country:
Wake UP! Wake UP! Wake UP! This is the greatest nation on earth and the last stand for the hope of millions. If democracy and capitalism fail here, there is nowhere left to go! Get your minds in gear, engage…engage before it is too late! Pay attention to your rights begin stripped away from you! Pay attention to a government that is running rampant with YOUR MONEY and the POWER YOU LOANED IT! Get up! Get Mad! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and let the whole world know how mad you are!Wake UP America! Before it's too late...WAKE UP!
I’ve been watching the Republicans scramble around after their November ass-kicking. The Republican leadership is in a sorry state of dissolution searching in vain for any remnants of the Reagan revolution it can find. They all echo the refrain of “Reagan this” and “Reagan that”…sounding like wounded children whose big brother is no longer around to protect them.
I’ve been watching a president with whom I cannot tell whether he is grossly inept or downright out to tank this country on purpose. I’ve watched him and his party pushing forward policy after policy that is antithetical to my country’s beliefs and that are quickly and surely marching my country towards Marxism. And now, even some of the most ardent supporters of Barack Obama from 2008 avoid answering questions about him or his policies.
And I’ve been watching my country, my poor, poor country. Dear God…we are lost. There is little political discourse around the water cooler. No one wants to think about it or to see it anymore…they just want things to get better but when you ask them how their faces become blank and they mutter something about the problems being too big for one person then change the subject. It’s frightening the amount of disengagement present in the American mind.
After having watched this for the past few sobering months I have some things to say.
To the Republicans:
Wake UP! Quit quoting Reagan and start doing the things that need doing. For 2 election cycles in a row you’ve had your ass handed to you by the clowns currently in power and it will be a 3rd if you don’t get yourselves together and start moving forward. The mainstream media is correct in their assumption that you lost because you’re ideas were wrong and wrong-headed. But they’re wrong about why your ideas stunk…it’s not because you don’t think enough like them, it’s because you think like them too much. For God’s sake it’s not about image, it’s about ideas and principles. Arm yourselves with sound ideas and truth and then fight the bastards tooth and nail. Margaret Thatcher said “First you win the argument then you win the war.” It’s time to man up, admit to the stupidities of the past and START MOVING FORWARD.
To the President and his party:
Wake UP! Take a look and see what’s going on around you. Do you really believe in the things you are doing? Do you really believe that the government should care for all the people all the time? Do you really believe that the American Constitution was a failure?
To my Country:
Wake UP! Wake UP! Wake UP! This is the greatest nation on earth and the last stand for the hope of millions. If democracy and capitalism fail here, there is nowhere left to go! Get your minds in gear, engage…engage before it is too late! Pay attention to your rights begin stripped away from you! Pay attention to a government that is running rampant with YOUR MONEY and the POWER YOU LOANED IT! Get up! Get Mad! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and let the whole world know how mad you are!Wake UP America! Before it's too late...WAKE UP!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunshine Dodge
SUNSHINE DODGE
I just received a letter from a guy down in Melbourne, FL who is losing his Dodge dealership as of June 9th. The dealership’s franchise rights will be transferred to another family AT NO COST to them as of that date. The letter claimed the current dealership was sitting on a few million dollars in debt from financing inventory (like all car dealers) and a recent re-vamp of their location because Dodge insisted since it was a 5-STAR dealer, and the only one in the Melbourne area. The letter claimed they would lose all this money, and transfer rights with no compensation.
Like most things I receive in my inbox, I thought it was suspicious so I checked SNOPES first. It did not have anything, so I decided to “leg it out” myself. I called the dealership. Unfortunately, the letter is real, this IS going to happen.
This scares the CRAP out of me. We are now taking away property rights from established businesses to transfer them to other people. This is NOT the way it’s supposed to work. This guy’s family bought the franchise in 1974. He is 2nd Generation Dodge Dealer and one of their best considering his 5-STAR rating. So let’s toss him overboard?
The complete idiocy of what is happening with government interference and influence in business is astounding.
Chrysler is being sold part and parcel to FIAT and is apparently shutting down dealers of 30 years to give licenses to someone new. All of this while keeping the unions in place…the unions BTW which cause most companies to be 10-15% less profitable than their non-union competitors.
Today GM announced it would close 9 plants and idle 3 more in the United States. It also announced it would close parts warehouses across the country. It is being asked to decrease production of Cadillac Escalades and Chevy Silverado pickups (their 2 best sellers) in favor of the “VOLT” electric car. The Volt costs $40,000 on the market while the Toyota Prius sells for $25,000. Gee…which one will people buy more of in the beginning?
And FTR, I said “in the beginning” because I can’t imagine it will be long before the government says you MUST by US cars and US cars only. And if you don’t believe it can happen, then you should read the letter below that I just did.
Letter to the Editor
My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.
We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed ove r 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.
I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as "new," nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.
Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler’s insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.
HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.
This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.
This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
George C. Joseph President & Owner Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
I just received a letter from a guy down in Melbourne, FL who is losing his Dodge dealership as of June 9th. The dealership’s franchise rights will be transferred to another family AT NO COST to them as of that date. The letter claimed the current dealership was sitting on a few million dollars in debt from financing inventory (like all car dealers) and a recent re-vamp of their location because Dodge insisted since it was a 5-STAR dealer, and the only one in the Melbourne area. The letter claimed they would lose all this money, and transfer rights with no compensation.
Like most things I receive in my inbox, I thought it was suspicious so I checked SNOPES first. It did not have anything, so I decided to “leg it out” myself. I called the dealership. Unfortunately, the letter is real, this IS going to happen.
This scares the CRAP out of me. We are now taking away property rights from established businesses to transfer them to other people. This is NOT the way it’s supposed to work. This guy’s family bought the franchise in 1974. He is 2nd Generation Dodge Dealer and one of their best considering his 5-STAR rating. So let’s toss him overboard?
The complete idiocy of what is happening with government interference and influence in business is astounding.
Chrysler is being sold part and parcel to FIAT and is apparently shutting down dealers of 30 years to give licenses to someone new. All of this while keeping the unions in place…the unions BTW which cause most companies to be 10-15% less profitable than their non-union competitors.
Today GM announced it would close 9 plants and idle 3 more in the United States. It also announced it would close parts warehouses across the country. It is being asked to decrease production of Cadillac Escalades and Chevy Silverado pickups (their 2 best sellers) in favor of the “VOLT” electric car. The Volt costs $40,000 on the market while the Toyota Prius sells for $25,000. Gee…which one will people buy more of in the beginning?
And FTR, I said “in the beginning” because I can’t imagine it will be long before the government says you MUST by US cars and US cars only. And if you don’t believe it can happen, then you should read the letter below that I just did.
Letter to the Editor
My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.
We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed ove r 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.
I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as "new," nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.
Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler’s insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.
HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.
This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.
This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
George C. Joseph President & Owner Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
Friday, May 1, 2009
KUDOS to Ford Motor Company
Their sales fell 32% in April compared to last year’s numbers. Normally I would say that’s bad news, but that’s an INCREASE over the month of March which was an INCREASE over the month of February. In fact this is the 6th TIME in 7MONTHS where they’ve gained market share.
The success of Ford’s “Advantage Plan” is due the credit along with booming sales in their top quality midsize lineup that is getting the best gas mileage in its class. The Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan are doing better than they could have dreamed. Consumers are eating it up.
And notice I said their “PLAN”. Not the government bailout money, because they didn’t take any. Not Obama’s car czar, because there isn’t one. NO… it’s FORD’S PLAN and it’s kept them alive and moved them forward while GM and Chrysler are floundering.
So I say to any of you who value American industry, ingenuity and common sense… if you need a car, BUY A FORD.
The success of Ford’s “Advantage Plan” is due the credit along with booming sales in their top quality midsize lineup that is getting the best gas mileage in its class. The Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan are doing better than they could have dreamed. Consumers are eating it up.
And notice I said their “PLAN”. Not the government bailout money, because they didn’t take any. Not Obama’s car czar, because there isn’t one. NO… it’s FORD’S PLAN and it’s kept them alive and moved them forward while GM and Chrysler are floundering.
So I say to any of you who value American industry, ingenuity and common sense… if you need a car, BUY A FORD.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Parallels
I don’t know if any of you have ever read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. It’s a novel that talks about America becoming a socialist state in incremental stages. Political correctness, government intervention, government bailouts and social sanctioning of “emergency measures” in the name of the “public interest” are all a growing part of the book’s society. Slowly but surely the government wipes out capitalism in the name of the “needy”.
There are many, many parallels to the policies being put forth now by politicians.
At one point the government passes a disastrous directive called “Directive 10-289” in the interest of the “public welfare”. It’s a series of new rules called “points” that destroys industry almost overnight.
“Point One: All workers, wage earners, and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jail.”
In the book, the labor unions argue for this point to be included to protect their workers from the greedy corporations who will fire them to keep profits high in a flagging economy. “Those workers “need” their jobs” is the defense used by the Labor leader for “Point One”.
A couple of weeks ago, Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania called for Sunoco to rescind their layoff of 750 employees because the profits from last year for the company had been good. Those 750 people “needed” their job. Sunoco has taken no bailout money of any kind, nor does any government entity own any stock or guarantee any of Sunoco’s financial status.
“Points Two, Three, Four and Five” establish that no business is allowed to close, nor its’ management leave without permission of the government, that the government has control over what is produced by businesses and that it must produce those goods at the rate specified by the government.
Having gotten money in the bailout, GM is in exactly this situation. Their CEO has been forced to resign, the administration has made it known they will require certain cars be produced (in this case hybrids or cars with certain CAFÉ standards), and Obama has assured both the unions and the businesses that would be hurt from the fall of GM that it will guarantee GM will continue to produce.
“Freedom has been given a chance and has failed. Therefore, more stringent controls are necessary.”
This is a line uttered by government controller Wesley Mouch just before launching Directive 10-289.
“We tried that, and it didn’t work,”…Obama speaking of tax cuts in the past. He then started touting his plan with greater welfare payments, government spending and higher deficits than the Bush deficits he decried so vehemently during the campaign, PLUS tax cuts.
The day I read the passage wherein Wesley Mouch talks about the heads of banks playing ball because they know that they’ll be gone if they don’t, Tim Geithner put the CEO’s of banks on notice that they will have to play ball or else. “…there will be new rules of the road” he said, when it comes to the regulation of business in today’s climate.
If you want to see a perfect model of creeping socialism that parallels the same things going on in our country today…read “ATLAS SHRUGGED” by AYN RAND.
There are many, many parallels to the policies being put forth now by politicians.
At one point the government passes a disastrous directive called “Directive 10-289” in the interest of the “public welfare”. It’s a series of new rules called “points” that destroys industry almost overnight.
“Point One: All workers, wage earners, and employees of any kind whatsoever shall henceforth be attached to their jobs and shall not leave nor be dismissed nor change employment, under penalty of a term in jail.”
In the book, the labor unions argue for this point to be included to protect their workers from the greedy corporations who will fire them to keep profits high in a flagging economy. “Those workers “need” their jobs” is the defense used by the Labor leader for “Point One”.
A couple of weeks ago, Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania called for Sunoco to rescind their layoff of 750 employees because the profits from last year for the company had been good. Those 750 people “needed” their job. Sunoco has taken no bailout money of any kind, nor does any government entity own any stock or guarantee any of Sunoco’s financial status.
“Points Two, Three, Four and Five” establish that no business is allowed to close, nor its’ management leave without permission of the government, that the government has control over what is produced by businesses and that it must produce those goods at the rate specified by the government.
Having gotten money in the bailout, GM is in exactly this situation. Their CEO has been forced to resign, the administration has made it known they will require certain cars be produced (in this case hybrids or cars with certain CAFÉ standards), and Obama has assured both the unions and the businesses that would be hurt from the fall of GM that it will guarantee GM will continue to produce.
“Freedom has been given a chance and has failed. Therefore, more stringent controls are necessary.”
This is a line uttered by government controller Wesley Mouch just before launching Directive 10-289.
“We tried that, and it didn’t work,”…Obama speaking of tax cuts in the past. He then started touting his plan with greater welfare payments, government spending and higher deficits than the Bush deficits he decried so vehemently during the campaign, PLUS tax cuts.
The day I read the passage wherein Wesley Mouch talks about the heads of banks playing ball because they know that they’ll be gone if they don’t, Tim Geithner put the CEO’s of banks on notice that they will have to play ball or else. “…there will be new rules of the road” he said, when it comes to the regulation of business in today’s climate.
If you want to see a perfect model of creeping socialism that parallels the same things going on in our country today…read “ATLAS SHRUGGED” by AYN RAND.
Monday, March 30, 2009
The NRA and Congressional Accountability
There is an article today by AP writer Julie Hirschfield Davis talking about the NRA and its sway over congress. The article mentions specific examples of NRA clout and quotes both the Brady Campaign and the NRA-ILA heads talking about the effectiveness of the NRA as a political machine.
Whether you stand by the NRA (and I do) or not (the Brady Campaign does not) the article makes it pretty clear that the motivated members of the NRA still have enormous power over Congress. It also makes clear that the source of that power is the fear of those members not giving their political support to any congressperson who doesn’t vote the values of the NRA. The NRA-ILA “grades” the congressperson based on what votes they cast. The implied threat is “We’re watching you, if you vote the wrong way, there will be consequences”.
The NRA it seems, holds Congress accountable for its votes.
Frankly, I wish that there was someone else out there actually keeping tabs on who voted for what and when on every single vote by every single congressperson. To my knowledge, there is no organization that does this at present, not one in the private sector anyway. While votes are a matter of public record, it is exceedingly difficult to find and compile the information and those organizations who do this are usually partisan organizations like the NRA or Brady Campaign who are keeping tabs only on the votes that count towards their agendas. And let’s not forget about the various rules and regulations in the house and senate that allow for secret votes and the like.
There is probably money to be made for any organization that would undertake this behemoth task in a “non partisan” way. And frankly, I don’t understand why someone is not out there doing it. While most voters are single issue voters, there are some of us who would like a report on exactly what our congresspersons are voting for and against.
And where is the press on this? Isn’t this their “actual” job? Shouldn’t they be the watchdogs out there keeping tabs on this kind of thing? Why isn’t there a weekly or even daily report from someone out in the field over who voted for what? Are you telling me that in today’s technologically advanced day and time we can’t have individualized reports of who voted for what sent to our emails if we wanted?
The way things are now, if the first step to holding someone accountable is obtaining the facts bringing them out into the open, then the American people will never be able or willing to hold Congress accountable for their actions. Meaning we’ll get the same old idiots doing the same old idiotic stuff year after year forever. Amen.
Whether you stand by the NRA (and I do) or not (the Brady Campaign does not) the article makes it pretty clear that the motivated members of the NRA still have enormous power over Congress. It also makes clear that the source of that power is the fear of those members not giving their political support to any congressperson who doesn’t vote the values of the NRA. The NRA-ILA “grades” the congressperson based on what votes they cast. The implied threat is “We’re watching you, if you vote the wrong way, there will be consequences”.
The NRA it seems, holds Congress accountable for its votes.
Frankly, I wish that there was someone else out there actually keeping tabs on who voted for what and when on every single vote by every single congressperson. To my knowledge, there is no organization that does this at present, not one in the private sector anyway. While votes are a matter of public record, it is exceedingly difficult to find and compile the information and those organizations who do this are usually partisan organizations like the NRA or Brady Campaign who are keeping tabs only on the votes that count towards their agendas. And let’s not forget about the various rules and regulations in the house and senate that allow for secret votes and the like.
There is probably money to be made for any organization that would undertake this behemoth task in a “non partisan” way. And frankly, I don’t understand why someone is not out there doing it. While most voters are single issue voters, there are some of us who would like a report on exactly what our congresspersons are voting for and against.
And where is the press on this? Isn’t this their “actual” job? Shouldn’t they be the watchdogs out there keeping tabs on this kind of thing? Why isn’t there a weekly or even daily report from someone out in the field over who voted for what? Are you telling me that in today’s technologically advanced day and time we can’t have individualized reports of who voted for what sent to our emails if we wanted?
The way things are now, if the first step to holding someone accountable is obtaining the facts bringing them out into the open, then the American people will never be able or willing to hold Congress accountable for their actions. Meaning we’ll get the same old idiots doing the same old idiotic stuff year after year forever. Amen.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
How I Became A Conservative
It’s funny how we almost always assume the people we know and/or like are the same as we are. We believe they think the same as we do, share the same beliefs as we do, and we’re a little taken aback when we find out they don’t.
Over the years, many of my friends from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (where I graduated high school) have been shocked to find out that I am a political conservative, which is funny to me because I thought that everyone knew it. I was once paid the compliment from a very liberal friend “If you were any more conservative you’d be a damned rock.”
I often wonder what goes through my liberal friends’ minds when they come to the realization that I don’t think like they do about political issues. Do I lose their respect? Is their opinion of me diminished in some way? Does it color everything I say in their eyes? Do I become easier to dismiss? Am I automatically lumped in with the other people they consider crazy like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck?
But beyond that, when I think about my friends from Billerica, it occurs to me that I might not be nearly as conservative and certainly not as well versed in conservatism if it hadn’t been for my time in the Commonwealth.
I will be honest. I never thought much about politics until I moved to Mass. Reagan had just ended his term as President and GHW Bush had just begun his when I arrived in Billerica. I had no idea that Mike Dukakis had been governor of the commonwealth, nor did I know of the attachment so many people had to the man. Where I came from, Georgia, no one even registered Dukakis on their radar unless the word “idiot” was muttered under their breath. Politics had been a no brainer for me, Reagan was it. There were no questions.
So I moved to Mass in the latter part of my 8th grade year. One of the first people I met was Larry Frost, the liberal lion. His family had voted for Dukakis and he was proud of it. Larry would lecture me about the evils of George Bush and the glory that was Mike Dukakis. It was like talking to someone from Mars for me. Even in California I hadn’t known anyone who was as liberal as Larry. Or at least I hadn’t noticed them.
I have to admit, Larry made me think. I suddenly was being challenged by Larry (and a few others) to explain my penchant for liking Republicans.
Then Tiananmen Square happened. There was talk of a walk out. People were going to protest what was happening in Red China. Oh the excitement! Oh the thrill of sticking it to the man! This would show the adults we meant business! We would NOT tolerate oppression!
It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.
I really became suspicious when I found out that some of the leaders were the biggest goof-offs in school who couldn’t have cared less what was going on in the next room much less in China. Then I remembered that about a week before the “walk out” rumors started going around the Marshall Middle School, an episode of “The Wonder Years” came on where Fred Savage leaves a classroom to go to the bathroom and inadvertently triggers the “walk out” protesting the Vietnam War. To this day, I believe that this is where the “protestors” got their idea.
At any rate, I refused to walk out, whether the whole school left or not. I was not going to join a group of “Wonder Years” wannabes. To his great credit, Larry said he wouldn’t either.
That afternoon after putting the “kibosh” on the walkout, the faculty called an assembly. So the whole 8th grade went in the auditorium and got lectured about the proper channels for such things. We were encouraged to write our congressmen and tell them how we felt. Congress would help if we really felt that strongly about it. They asked for questions and comments. A few hands were raised and a few questions asked about how to contact congress and that sort of thing.
I couldn’t resist, I stood up and told the principal and superintendent “You keep telling us to write our congressmen about it, but to my knowledge our congress doesn’t have the power to do anything to China. And even if they did, they’d just sit around on their butts until every student in Tiananmen Square had been run over by tanks.” (I distinctly remember toying with the use of the word ASS instead of butt just to see what would happen, but refrained.)
I got quite a lot of looks. Actually, it felt like the whole auditorium turned around in unison to look at me. Then everyone started clapping and whistling and et cetera. Everyone that is, except the faculty and administration, who immediately asked Ms Olson my name. From that day forward I was a marked man at Marshall Middle School who could do nothing right in the eyes of the Principal and Vice. I lay as low as possible for the remainder of the year, till I moved on to High School.
In High School I had my next run in with liberals. It was the Gulf War. Older (sophomores, juniors?) Hippie chicks were wearing shirts saying “no blood for oil” and “No WAR in the Middle East”. Being a military kid I had an interest in the goings on over there. I used to get into arguments with one Hippie chick in particular. We had study hall together. She would tell me we were a war mongering imperialist nation whose only concern for Kuwait was oil. I would tell her to keep driving her ‘76 Impala getting 10 gas stations to the mile while lecturing me on how oil was not worth going to war over.
From her I learned, by the way, that when you point out people’s hypocrisies to them, they don’t like it. She said she never wanted to talk to me again. I pointed out how open minded that was of her to exclude talking to someone because they disagree with her. She said I drove her insane.
A few years went by of only occasionally arguing with people about politics. In 1992 I was not 18, so I couldn’t vote in the election, but if I had it would have been for Perot. I had to say that people had a point about Bush, yet I still was not comfortable with pulling for Clinton.
Then came graduation and I lost touch with a lot of people from High School. I read more, listened more and talked less for many years. I took an “argument” class taught by a card carrying member of the American Communist Party. I was shouted down by the professor and his converted students, me and a guy named Tim were the only two holdouts who refused to join the party. He told us we’d flunk if our final paper was on “Communism vs. Capitalism” so I naturally wrote about Ayn Rand’s version of Capitalism “Objectivism” or capitalism on steroids. I made an A-.
The only other significant political argument I got into in the 1990’s was with my future wife, who while in college was a liberal. (She has since converted.) We argued about Clinton, education, economics and Elian Gonzales.
In 2000 I really got into politics. I was excited for a change. I was passionate that Gore should not win. I was foaming at the mouth and said so. I got one friend so mad at me he didn’t want me to send another political item to him ever again. I vowed I wouldn’t, and to this day, I haven’t.
Then September 11th happened, and I got back up on my soapbox beating the drums for a war well executed. I wrote an essay called “War! What is it good for?” in favor of war in general and the Afghan war in particular. I got an email from my first girlfriend who said she questioned why we had ever dated in the first place since we were so diametrically opposed politically. I told her it was because she was brilliant and hot, but she never responded to that.
Today, in my office I am the “go to” conservative. Whenever someone wants to talk politics they come to me. Whenever they want to shut down one of our liberal co-workers, they come to me. I am the guy my liberal colleagues won’t engage if they don’t have to do so. I sort of feel like Darth Vader a little bit. It gives me a warm feeling inside.
All of these experiences are what has sharpened my conservativeness. I have been forced to think critically about my opinions and thoughts for years and it has given me a focus that I believe very few people have. Most people, after a few minutes, give up talking politics. Not me. I love it. I love the exchange. I love to challenge other people’s opinions and even more to be challenged. I love to reconsider an opinion, turn it over and see if it still holds true. It makes me a better thinker and a better conservative.
And I like it that way.
Over the years, many of my friends from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (where I graduated high school) have been shocked to find out that I am a political conservative, which is funny to me because I thought that everyone knew it. I was once paid the compliment from a very liberal friend “If you were any more conservative you’d be a damned rock.”
I often wonder what goes through my liberal friends’ minds when they come to the realization that I don’t think like they do about political issues. Do I lose their respect? Is their opinion of me diminished in some way? Does it color everything I say in their eyes? Do I become easier to dismiss? Am I automatically lumped in with the other people they consider crazy like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck?
But beyond that, when I think about my friends from Billerica, it occurs to me that I might not be nearly as conservative and certainly not as well versed in conservatism if it hadn’t been for my time in the Commonwealth.
I will be honest. I never thought much about politics until I moved to Mass. Reagan had just ended his term as President and GHW Bush had just begun his when I arrived in Billerica. I had no idea that Mike Dukakis had been governor of the commonwealth, nor did I know of the attachment so many people had to the man. Where I came from, Georgia, no one even registered Dukakis on their radar unless the word “idiot” was muttered under their breath. Politics had been a no brainer for me, Reagan was it. There were no questions.
So I moved to Mass in the latter part of my 8th grade year. One of the first people I met was Larry Frost, the liberal lion. His family had voted for Dukakis and he was proud of it. Larry would lecture me about the evils of George Bush and the glory that was Mike Dukakis. It was like talking to someone from Mars for me. Even in California I hadn’t known anyone who was as liberal as Larry. Or at least I hadn’t noticed them.
I have to admit, Larry made me think. I suddenly was being challenged by Larry (and a few others) to explain my penchant for liking Republicans.
Then Tiananmen Square happened. There was talk of a walk out. People were going to protest what was happening in Red China. Oh the excitement! Oh the thrill of sticking it to the man! This would show the adults we meant business! We would NOT tolerate oppression!
It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.
I really became suspicious when I found out that some of the leaders were the biggest goof-offs in school who couldn’t have cared less what was going on in the next room much less in China. Then I remembered that about a week before the “walk out” rumors started going around the Marshall Middle School, an episode of “The Wonder Years” came on where Fred Savage leaves a classroom to go to the bathroom and inadvertently triggers the “walk out” protesting the Vietnam War. To this day, I believe that this is where the “protestors” got their idea.
At any rate, I refused to walk out, whether the whole school left or not. I was not going to join a group of “Wonder Years” wannabes. To his great credit, Larry said he wouldn’t either.
That afternoon after putting the “kibosh” on the walkout, the faculty called an assembly. So the whole 8th grade went in the auditorium and got lectured about the proper channels for such things. We were encouraged to write our congressmen and tell them how we felt. Congress would help if we really felt that strongly about it. They asked for questions and comments. A few hands were raised and a few questions asked about how to contact congress and that sort of thing.
I couldn’t resist, I stood up and told the principal and superintendent “You keep telling us to write our congressmen about it, but to my knowledge our congress doesn’t have the power to do anything to China. And even if they did, they’d just sit around on their butts until every student in Tiananmen Square had been run over by tanks.” (I distinctly remember toying with the use of the word ASS instead of butt just to see what would happen, but refrained.)
I got quite a lot of looks. Actually, it felt like the whole auditorium turned around in unison to look at me. Then everyone started clapping and whistling and et cetera. Everyone that is, except the faculty and administration, who immediately asked Ms Olson my name. From that day forward I was a marked man at Marshall Middle School who could do nothing right in the eyes of the Principal and Vice. I lay as low as possible for the remainder of the year, till I moved on to High School.
In High School I had my next run in with liberals. It was the Gulf War. Older (sophomores, juniors?) Hippie chicks were wearing shirts saying “no blood for oil” and “No WAR in the Middle East”. Being a military kid I had an interest in the goings on over there. I used to get into arguments with one Hippie chick in particular. We had study hall together. She would tell me we were a war mongering imperialist nation whose only concern for Kuwait was oil. I would tell her to keep driving her ‘76 Impala getting 10 gas stations to the mile while lecturing me on how oil was not worth going to war over.
From her I learned, by the way, that when you point out people’s hypocrisies to them, they don’t like it. She said she never wanted to talk to me again. I pointed out how open minded that was of her to exclude talking to someone because they disagree with her. She said I drove her insane.
A few years went by of only occasionally arguing with people about politics. In 1992 I was not 18, so I couldn’t vote in the election, but if I had it would have been for Perot. I had to say that people had a point about Bush, yet I still was not comfortable with pulling for Clinton.
Then came graduation and I lost touch with a lot of people from High School. I read more, listened more and talked less for many years. I took an “argument” class taught by a card carrying member of the American Communist Party. I was shouted down by the professor and his converted students, me and a guy named Tim were the only two holdouts who refused to join the party. He told us we’d flunk if our final paper was on “Communism vs. Capitalism” so I naturally wrote about Ayn Rand’s version of Capitalism “Objectivism” or capitalism on steroids. I made an A-.
The only other significant political argument I got into in the 1990’s was with my future wife, who while in college was a liberal. (She has since converted.) We argued about Clinton, education, economics and Elian Gonzales.
In 2000 I really got into politics. I was excited for a change. I was passionate that Gore should not win. I was foaming at the mouth and said so. I got one friend so mad at me he didn’t want me to send another political item to him ever again. I vowed I wouldn’t, and to this day, I haven’t.
Then September 11th happened, and I got back up on my soapbox beating the drums for a war well executed. I wrote an essay called “War! What is it good for?” in favor of war in general and the Afghan war in particular. I got an email from my first girlfriend who said she questioned why we had ever dated in the first place since we were so diametrically opposed politically. I told her it was because she was brilliant and hot, but she never responded to that.
Today, in my office I am the “go to” conservative. Whenever someone wants to talk politics they come to me. Whenever they want to shut down one of our liberal co-workers, they come to me. I am the guy my liberal colleagues won’t engage if they don’t have to do so. I sort of feel like Darth Vader a little bit. It gives me a warm feeling inside.
All of these experiences are what has sharpened my conservativeness. I have been forced to think critically about my opinions and thoughts for years and it has given me a focus that I believe very few people have. Most people, after a few minutes, give up talking politics. Not me. I love it. I love the exchange. I love to challenge other people’s opinions and even more to be challenged. I love to reconsider an opinion, turn it over and see if it still holds true. It makes me a better thinker and a better conservative.
And I like it that way.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Defending Rush
Defending Rush.
I’m trying to figure out why those who have most often told me they would defend my right to free speech with their lives, are the same people who are now vilifying Rush Limbaugh for saying he hopes that Obama fails and then turning on me for defending him. The consensus from the vast majority of these people are that Rush should definitely be silenced and that I probably should be.
Isn’t this hypocrisy?
I know Rush has a million people better equipped and with a larger mouthpiece than my simple blog who are defending him right now. Also, Rush does a good job of defending himself on a daily basis and this has been no exception*. But as resident right wing type in my office, I’m often compelled by left leaning types to speak on Rush’s behalf, because God knows they won’t listen to what he has to say, because after all, they can’t stand him.
So…for the record…Rush does in fact want Obama to fail, and frankly, so do I.
Once you get your panties unwadded, read further to learn why.
Most of the insults and arguments tossed at Rush from both the left and the (supposed) right comes in one of three forms and all three make assumptions that have yet to be proven true.
1st- Rush is an arrogant idiot unable to admit defeat.
This is nothing more than a personal attack. Ad hominem arguments are all “sound and fury signifying nothing”, so mostly I let them go. I bring it up here only because personal attacks are so rampant throughout this arena, and usually by those who are said to be the most sensitive to unjust impugnation of character. I will also point out that personal insults are the perfect argument for those with no actual facts with which to argue.
2nd- Obama is our PRESIDENT, and the PRESIDENT should have our support.
This argument makes me want to laugh. Since 2001, after Bush became President, the shrill voices of the left over every little thing the man did had me ready to throw up on my shoes. Just after September 11th, I heard “what did he know and when did he know it” and various other slogans chanted at me by the anti-war, anti-Bush crowd and 7 years later it was no better.
That’s okay, they had that right. They had the right to disagree with the President and hope that he failed. I do not fault them for that. I do fault them for being hypocritical now that the shoe is on the other foot. I saw no signs of support for Bush from the same lefties who are now condemning Rush for not supporting their President. And that “my friends” is hypocrisy.
Furthermore, I would like to know where it says anywhere in the Constitution that I or they or anyone have to support the President in every single thing he does. In fact, it kind of says the opposite in the much ballyhooed First Amendment where it says I have the right to take umbrage with the government and exercise the right to free speech (Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech) by calling for change when I don’t agree with it (“petition the government for redress of grievances”). In this case, some people seem to have forgotten those things.
3rd- If Obama fails, then that means the country fails.
Ummm….says who?
This argument begs the question. It assumes that Obama’s plans are the right plans for the country. But, are his plans for the country the right course for us? Are they the only course for us? When all is said and done, if his plans succeed will America be better off?
Rush doesn’t think so. Neither do I. Neither does a lot of people.
I won’t argue every single policy here. There’s not enough space and you probably wouldn’t read it anyway. But I will say that to me and to Rush and to those lots of other people I mentioned, Obama’s plans mean socialism bordering on communism. They mean a bigger government. They mean more government interference in our everyday lives. Obama’s plans mean the government doing our thinking for us and THAT scares the crap out of us.
For better or for worse, people are a compilation of their decisions and their actions. Obama’s decisions and actions seem to be taking this country down a road that I (and Rush and others) don’t approve of for our country.
You’re dang skippy we hope he fails.
*(For Rush’s own defense of the “fail” statement go to American Rhetoric (www.americanrhetoric.com) and download the CPAC speech. Or read the transcript. I did both.)
I’m trying to figure out why those who have most often told me they would defend my right to free speech with their lives, are the same people who are now vilifying Rush Limbaugh for saying he hopes that Obama fails and then turning on me for defending him. The consensus from the vast majority of these people are that Rush should definitely be silenced and that I probably should be.
Isn’t this hypocrisy?
I know Rush has a million people better equipped and with a larger mouthpiece than my simple blog who are defending him right now. Also, Rush does a good job of defending himself on a daily basis and this has been no exception*. But as resident right wing type in my office, I’m often compelled by left leaning types to speak on Rush’s behalf, because God knows they won’t listen to what he has to say, because after all, they can’t stand him.
So…for the record…Rush does in fact want Obama to fail, and frankly, so do I.
Once you get your panties unwadded, read further to learn why.
Most of the insults and arguments tossed at Rush from both the left and the (supposed) right comes in one of three forms and all three make assumptions that have yet to be proven true.
1st- Rush is an arrogant idiot unable to admit defeat.
This is nothing more than a personal attack. Ad hominem arguments are all “sound and fury signifying nothing”, so mostly I let them go. I bring it up here only because personal attacks are so rampant throughout this arena, and usually by those who are said to be the most sensitive to unjust impugnation of character. I will also point out that personal insults are the perfect argument for those with no actual facts with which to argue.
2nd- Obama is our PRESIDENT, and the PRESIDENT should have our support.
This argument makes me want to laugh. Since 2001, after Bush became President, the shrill voices of the left over every little thing the man did had me ready to throw up on my shoes. Just after September 11th, I heard “what did he know and when did he know it” and various other slogans chanted at me by the anti-war, anti-Bush crowd and 7 years later it was no better.
That’s okay, they had that right. They had the right to disagree with the President and hope that he failed. I do not fault them for that. I do fault them for being hypocritical now that the shoe is on the other foot. I saw no signs of support for Bush from the same lefties who are now condemning Rush for not supporting their President. And that “my friends” is hypocrisy.
Furthermore, I would like to know where it says anywhere in the Constitution that I or they or anyone have to support the President in every single thing he does. In fact, it kind of says the opposite in the much ballyhooed First Amendment where it says I have the right to take umbrage with the government and exercise the right to free speech (Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech) by calling for change when I don’t agree with it (“petition the government for redress of grievances”). In this case, some people seem to have forgotten those things.
3rd- If Obama fails, then that means the country fails.
Ummm….says who?
This argument begs the question. It assumes that Obama’s plans are the right plans for the country. But, are his plans for the country the right course for us? Are they the only course for us? When all is said and done, if his plans succeed will America be better off?
Rush doesn’t think so. Neither do I. Neither does a lot of people.
I won’t argue every single policy here. There’s not enough space and you probably wouldn’t read it anyway. But I will say that to me and to Rush and to those lots of other people I mentioned, Obama’s plans mean socialism bordering on communism. They mean a bigger government. They mean more government interference in our everyday lives. Obama’s plans mean the government doing our thinking for us and THAT scares the crap out of us.
For better or for worse, people are a compilation of their decisions and their actions. Obama’s decisions and actions seem to be taking this country down a road that I (and Rush and others) don’t approve of for our country.
You’re dang skippy we hope he fails.
*(For Rush’s own defense of the “fail” statement go to American Rhetoric (www.americanrhetoric.com) and download the CPAC speech. Or read the transcript. I did both.)
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