"Blood in the Streets"

I wanted to write one more blog before the election, but it seemed like everything has been said.

Then today I heard about an interview that author Erica Jong gave in Italy this week. Erica Jong is an author of many "feminist" (erotic) novels and a well known liberal who not only hates George Bush, but believes the conspiracy theory that the 911 attack was an "inside job" orchestrated by the Bush administration. I would normally not waste time writing about Erica Jong, especially since one of her best friends is our famous "patriot" Jane Fonda.

But Jong made an interesting comment during this interview. She said, "If Obama loses, there will be a second civil war in the USA, with blood in the streets". Wow...that is even worse than those of us that will be called a "racist" if Obama loses.

At this time it looks like Obama may win, but I am an optimist and I still believe the voters on Tuesday will THINK about this country and where it would go under an Obama/Pelosi/Reid administration. Even the polls this weekend seem to be changing slightly toward McCain.

But if the Democrats win; and if they take full control of the House and Senate; Republicans will not riot, and there will be no "blood in the streets". We will regroup, try to move the Republican party back to their conservative roots, and work on getting this country back on the right track; hopefully with young conservative leaders like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jendal, Governor of Louisiana. And I believe that over time, the Democrats will prove, like Jimmy Carter did, that a socialist program will never defeat the American spirit, and Conservatism will rise again.

"Sprint to the Finish"

As a former runner and triathlete I remember how important it was to have some energy at the end of a race; to make a final "sprint to the finish"; and sometimes that was enough to win or at least move up several positions in the final standings.

This week is the final sprint in the election and both sides are sucking it up and pouring out all their final energy heading for the finish line.

The pollsters are doing the same thing. It's hard to tell during the campaign season what polls are accurate and what are phony because they go all over the place. But most experts agree that the pollsters "get focused" during the last week and the polls start becoming accurate. After all, the polling companies have to keep their reputation. Isn't it interesting that the polls are starting to close. Obama still has the lead, but that lead is getting smaller.

Now the candidates are "focusing" also. Last week Obama said "Everyone making under $250,000 will get a tax break". This week he said "If you make less than $200,000 you will not see your taxes increase" And also this week Joe Biden said, "Everyone making less that $150,000 will see no change in their taxes. Hmmm...it appears the Obama campaign are also starting to "focus" in on a final number for tax cuts - keep your hand on your wallet.

I have finally become a racist

I grew up in upstate New York and I give my parents credit for being the most tolerant human beings I ever knew. Yes, I did grow up in an all white neighborhood and went to (almost) all white schools, but I can honestly say that I never heard the "N" word until at the age of 15 we moved to a small town in Florida. Then I experienced what segregation was all about. But it was too late, by that time I thought of blacks as human beings just like me.

So here we are now in a historical campaign that could produce the first black President. To those on the left this is an opportunity for the country to finally bring the civil rights movement to its "peak". But is that going to happen?

- If we criticize Obama for his looks (big ears), his middle name "Hussein", or his comment, "Oh by the way they will say I am black", we are racist.

- If we criticize his wife's comments about the USA being a "mean country", or that "for the first time she is proud of this country", we are racist.

- If we criticize Obama's friends; Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, Tony Resko, Louis Farrakhan, Reverend Phlegar, we are racist. But are not your friends a reflection of your character?

- Last week a black Congressman said that even the word "socialist" is a code word for racism. I wrote a Blog on that a few weeks ago...hmm.

- And tonight Jonathan Alter, a far left ideologue stated, "At this point if Obama loses the election, the results will be because of racism".

So here I am after a lifetime of being tolerant; a history of hiring black employees (without ever considering their color); and by the way, I have fired black employees because they have not performed; now I have become a "racist".

We are told that Obama is the candidate that will bring the country together. I predict that if he becomes President we will continually be faced with accusations of "racism" whenever we criticize his actions or decisions. I wonder if in the weekly White House press sessions, if a "President Obama" will ever get the tough and sometimes ridiculous questions that George Bush or other Republican Presidents have been submitted to.

The way Obama and his campaign have run this campaign, pointing everything toward racism, I believe the end result will be to put race relations in this country back instead of forward. I have never been a racist until the Obama campaign defined me as one.

Obama's Tax Scam

We have heard it over and over and over from the Obama campaign: "We will reduce taxes for 95% of Americans". This is the classic Democratic populist promise going back to LBJ's "Great Society". Who does not want a tax cut, who does not want to feed the poor, who does not want to take care of the elderly, who does not want their college tuition paid for? All of these are the classic Democratic promises. But there are some subtle mistruths in Obama's "tax promise":

1/ 40% of Americans do not pay income tax, so they cannot get a "tax cut". What they will get is a $500-1000 welfare check from the government. A welfare payment provided from the earnings of other Americans. The Democrats argue that these people DO pay taxes since they are charged payroll taxes on their job. What they don't say is that these payroll taxes are the employees contributions toward Social Security and Medicare when they retire...and their employer matches it. Anyone that studies our Social Security system can easily see that if this person is an average (or below average) wage earner who retires at age 65 and lives a normal life span, those payroll taxes paid in, will never even cover their Social Security and Medicare expenses.

So in summary - Under Obama's plan 55% of Americans MAY get a tax cut and 40% will get a welfare check provided by other Americans.

2/ Obama proposes to raise the Capital Gains tax to 29% from the existing 15%. More than fifty percent of Americans invest in the stock market, and if they trade stocks, many of those "95%" will get a tax increase.

In addition, a little known "proposal" of Obamas that will never be talked about during an election season is to eliminate the $500K exclusion for married couples when selling a house ($250K for singles). Instead, sellers would simply pay Capital Gains tax on all of their profit from selling a house.

Other tax proposals talked about by the Obama campaign:

- Obama may let the estate tax law expire, so it will revert back to a one million dollar exclusion, and after that inheritance taxes will increase to 55%. Good luck if your family owns a business, farm, or real estate in any metropolitan area of the country.

- Obama proposes a "windfall" profit tax on corporations. I was President of three different corporations during my career and believe me, any "windfall" tax will simply be passed on in the form of higher prices to the "95%" that he claims to represent. Corporations are responsible to provide a return for their shareholders. If they don't do it, the shareholders will go somewhere else.

There is also a cultural effect in play here. Even though we would all like a tax cut, many Americans; even those that are not so fortunate (yet); have a problem with the redistribution of people's income to other people that haven't earned it. This is so basic to American culture, I predict Obama's comment to Joe-the-Plumber about "spreading the wealth" may come back to haunt him.

So even though things look good for Obama right now, I am an optimist and believe as we get close to the elections, "smart" Americans will see through the Obama tax scam; even though he probably has the "not-so-smart" vote locked up.

"Locked and Loaded"

There has been much discussion this election season about voters "real" feelings concerning Barack Obama and whether or not these feelings are reflected in the polls. In the previous blog my son, as a guest contributor wrote about the "Bradley Effect".
I had an experience this morning that was interesting...

I swim at a club three days a week and like most people, am a creature of habit usually arriving for my workout at the same time. As a result I swim with many of the same people week after week. This morning I swam next to a young man that I have seen at the pool regularly during the past several years. He is a quiet guy and we usually exchange small talk like the weather, etc. After this morning's workout we were in the locker room discussing various subjects mainly concerning the election and economy. I recalled that he once told me he had a small construction company, so I asked if the construction business was as bad as we have read about. He said that the activity had dropped to almost zero and that he had to close down his company and lay off his three employees. He said that his wife was a nurse with a very good job and if it were not for her job they would be in serious trouble. He also mentioned that they were concerned that if socialized medicine were introduced, she might lose her good job or have her pay reduced significantly. As we talked about small business he wanted to know what I did. I described the business I started back in the 1970's and we laughed about how 10 hour/six day work weeks was one of the "benefits' of owning your own company. Then I said: "I would like to ask Obama if we spread the wealth around, who is going to pay us small business owners for all those long hours working for nothing, building the company."

That comment triggered some suppressed feelings because he got quiet and then said, "I know this is controversial, but if that son-of-a-bi*** gets elected, we are going to learn what the second amendment is all about. There will be a revolution, and I am locked and loaded baby". He then walked out of the locker room.

I did not say anything because I was somewhat stunned. In thinking about our conversation, he did not refer to Obama as that "black SOB", so I don't believe this is an example of the "Bradley Effect". But obviously he blames the loss of his business and his wife's concern about losing her well paying nurse's job on liberal policies. I would have reminded him that this is a democracy and we change things by voting, but to see such change in this quiet young man left me speechless - his feelings obviously ran deep.

"Bradley Effect and Cause"

A "guest" blog by my son who lives and works in New York City...

"Bradley Effect and Cause"

If you've tuned into the news during the past week, you've probably heard about the "Bradley Effect." This term refers to the alleged behavior by white people to say in polls that they're voting for a black candidate to avoid the appearance of racism, but then to vote for a white candidate in the privacy of the polling booth. The term takes its name from the 1982 California governor's race, when Tom Bradley appeared to have the edge over George Deukmejian in pre-election polls, only to lose the election by a narrow margin.

It angers me to see the media throwing this term around in reference to the current McCain-Obama race. It serves no useful purpose, and fans the flames of racism. Setting aside the question of whether this is even a real phenomenon, I can't imagine it has much strength left now. This country has made great progress since 1982 in terms of race issues, and most reasonable Americans can judge a political candidate based on his or her qualifications, not skin color.

Though, if anything, the pendulum may have swung to the other side, and we may see a "Reverse Bradley Effect" (Obama Effect?), where a percentage of Americans do vote preferentially based on the skin color of the candidate -- but in this case for the black candidate, not against him. The Bradley Effect holds that white voters may be ashamed to admit they're not voting for a black candidate; in this election, we're seeing many white voters proclaiming their support for Obama because he's black, because his very skin color symbolizes "change."

It's that perceived shame of not voting for a black candidate that sickens me about the Bradley Effect. Voters may have perfectly valid reasons to vote against a black candidate (such as qualifications, stances on issues, etc.), but in the climate of political correctness that has taken over our country since the 1980s, these voters might be accused of racism if they were to admit they were not voting for a black candidate. In the world of the sound bite, the reasons why white Americans are not voting for a black candidate would not be the story; the simple fact that they are not voting for the black candidate would be the story, with the implicit suggestion that it is because of race.

Finally, in a time in which the issue of race, while still important, is not what it was in the 1980s -- and in an election where, if anything, race will work for the minority candidate -- it's disingenuous and irresponsible to report on the Bradley Effect when there's no evidence that it's even in play. To people who have never heard of the obscure term, it gives the appearance that the phenomenon is alive and well, and working against Obama in this election.

More importantly, it reinforces the false stereotype in the minds of blacks that all white people are against them. While I waited for the subway today, I overheard a black man talking to his friend about the Bradley Effect and the election in general. In his opinion, the Bradley Effect was real and a big factor, and that no white person would ever vote for a black man. He didn't seem to be much of an Obama fan, though, commenting that Obama and McCain are the same: "one dicks you with a frown, one dicks you with a smile, but they all keep us [black people] down".

I certainly don't think this guy represents the average black voter (I hope not), but it makes me wonder if media reports of the Bradley Effect are feeding the fears of racism surrounding this election -- or, rather, creating fears of racism that don't really exist outside the fringe.

Michael Strickland
Guest contributor and son of Chuckie D

'so·cial·ism'

'so·cial·ism' : "Social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members".

The Democrats are running their classic "populist" presidential campaign and Obama with his smooth approach, is the perfect messenger. Their platform includes a tax cut for 95% of citizens, with a tax increase only on "rich people" making more than $250,000 per year. They fail to disclose that 40% of people do not pay taxes - those folks will get a "free check" from the government. They promise an increase in welfare, food stamps, help with college tuition, along with free child care and preschool for the needy. These are the classic promises made by Democrats every election and who can argue about helping poor people? But the Democrats never promise to create the opportunities that will give poor people the chance get out of poverty.

Barack Obama let the "cat out of the bag" today during a discussion with a small business owner. The discussion was caught on tape. The business owner had a small plumbing company and he explained to Obama that he had worked long and hard to build up his business and the proposal to increase taxes on people making more than $250,000 would hurt his business. Obama's response; "It's not that I want to punish your success, but I believe that spreading the wealth around is good for everybody".

This statement of his philosophy along with his other promises needs no further explanation when comparing it to the definition above.

The "Perfect Storm"

Those that read this blog know that I am a Conservative Republican and all that goes with that philosophy - small government, less regulation of our lives, low taxes, and free enterprise.

But it appears that we are in for a big change. The party in charge always takes blame for existing conditions and this period in time has turned out politically to be the "perfect storm" for Democrats. Here are some reasons why:

1/ People are "war weary". Whether you were for or against the IRAQ war, it has turned out to be a mess and poorly managed. I was against the war - for financial reasons, and after being the parent of a son involved in the first Gulf war I did not think it necessary to risk American lives going after this maniac when we could have kept him under control with bombs. Saddam had thumbed his nose at thirteen UN resolutions, and I am sure he would have reconstructed his nuclear and chemical warfare programs given the chance. But I believed spending $300 billion on this "tin pot" dictator was ridiculous. As it turns out, the Iraq war will probably cost a trillion dollars before we are through...a "trillion" we don't have.

2/ The Republicans had full control of the government during the beginning of the Bush presidency and blew it. They spent money like they were Democrats, increasing the national debt to the largest in history and as a result lost the House and Senate. Now they do not have a leg to stand on when talking about fiscal restraint and "small government".

3/ The recent crash in the stock market is a phenomenon that even I have not seen in my lifetime. Much of the blame for this debacle goes to the Democrats and the Clinton administration. Allowing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to promote ridiculous mortgages to people who simply could not afford them; trying to push poor people into the American dream - home ownership. Bush claims that the Republicans raised concerns several years ago about Fanny and Freddie's dangerous lending policies. If that is the case he could have stopped it, even if he had to shut down the government to make his point. So the blame falls at his feet. As Harry Truman once said, "The buck stops here".

4/ And finally, the Republicans have fielded a weak candidate this year and although Sarah Palin has added some "fire" to the campaign, she has been unable to overcome John McCain's lack of fire. He would probably be a competent President, but his performance in the last debate was not good, and Barack Obama seems content with just "stalling the game" until the election. If McCain says "my friends" one more time I will choke.

If John McCain can somehow pull out this election, I will be the first to applaud him as a miracle man, and applaud the American public for being smarter that anyone thinks. An Obama presidency along with a Nancy Pelosi House and Harry Reid Senate would be the most left leaning government this country has ever seen. But as of now it looks like the Democrats have the "perfect storm" working for them.

If they win it all, I predict the American electorate will look into the mirror in a few years and say "What have we done?"

"Show me the money"

As of this date the national debt is more than $10 trillion, and increasing at a rate of $3 billion/day. I am a businessman with some financial experience, but I cannot even comprehend these numbers.

Governor Paterson of New York recently announced the state has a $2 billion deficit and is in deep financial trouble. But Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of our great state of California makes Paterson look like a financial genius as our state deficit reaches $16 billion.

Congress recently bailed out AIG to the tune of $85 billion and then followed that with a $700 billion "bailout" bill, even when 65% of Americas were against it. Congress responded to the citizen complaints by telling us "The bailout is needed and the 777 point drop in the stock market on the 29th 0f September is proof ". So Congress approved the "bailout" and the market responded with an 800 point drop the first two days of this week.

And now our governor is the first to run to the government and say, "We need help, bail us out too". I have read that California needs $7 billion just to get through the next few months. And believe me, many states will follow suit with this request for a "bailout". Incredibly the Democrats are still campaigning on the "populist" promise of more for everyone and "We will fund these programs by raising taxes on rich people". I am not rich, but during my career as a small businessman we provided jobs for several hundred hard working employees. No one ever got a job from a poor person.

We are doing all this "social engineering" and unlimited spending starting with a $10 trillion national debt.

Can anyone "Show me the money"?

"Joe: Say it isn't so"

In 1919 "Shoeless Joe Jackson", one of the greatest baseball players in history was accused of fixing the World Series that year and was later banned from baseball for life. He was never proven to be guilty, but the phrase from his fans "Joe: say it isn't so" became part of baseball legend.

Tonight in the debate, Sarah "Barracuda" used that line against Joe Biden when he spewed more of his untrue liberal rhetoric. For us die hard baseball fans that was a beautiful "middle America" moment - I wonder who gave her that line? By all accounts Biden made many outright lies in his responses, but it landed on deaf ears. Most will agree she was the star of the show.

But more important, she erased the main stream media's image that has been created by way of "gotcha" questions and clever editing. Tonight even die hard liberals had to agree that she was "Vice Presidential" material and believe me, she knows how to relate to the pulse of this country. The Barracuda was in her element tonight, speaking directly to the American people, and she made Joe Biden look like what he is - an old entrenched typical Washington politician; and after the events of this week do we really want more of the same in Washington?