Saturday, December 11, 2010

Twas the 36 Days Before Christmas

Do you remember the 2000 election? Those 36 crazy days of counting and analyzing punch-card ballots, "hanging and pregnant chads", vote-a-matic machines selected by Democrats (but confusing to Florida democrat voters), legal challenges, and mass confusion over what was one of the most dramatic political dramas of our time.

The Bush/Gore election was one for the books and had the nation on the edge of our seats until the Supreme Court stepped in and stopped the madness. People will argue forever whether Bush or Gore won the election, but looking back neither turned out to be a very good choice. Bush was a disappointment, but at least he was honest and tried to do his best. But can you imagine Al (global warming) Gore as President and John (the adulterer) Edwards as Vice-President. Those two are classic examples of why many Americans have such a negative image of politicians.

But this blog is not about politicians it's about that crazy election. I heard recently that Hollywood is even making a movie about it. So as we approach Christmas I though it might be fun to revisit a version of the famous Christmas poem that I wrote after that '2000' election was over:

December 2000

'Twas the Night Before Christmas II
By Charles L. Strickland

‘Twas the night before Christmas at the White House this year,
the Demos had gathered to all shed a tear;
Carville, Jesse, and Al Sharpton were there,
hanging their heads by the chimney with care.

Bill Clinton was nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of Monica danced in his head;
And Hillary in her kerchief, and Chelsea her cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
They rose from their beds to see what was the matter.
When what to their wondering eyes should be seen,
But Tipper and Al Gore with a Vote-a-matic machine.

"We flew in from Palm Beach, and guess what folks?
I think we have found some more votes!
Look at these ballots with hanging chads pushed through,
and I even have dimpled and pregnant ones too!"

"Oh please Bill, can we count them once more,
you promised the next President would be named Al Gore"
Bill settled him down and said, "Do I need to repeat?,
The Supremes have spoken, and you are dead meat!"

So they all went inside and gathered around,
to see if George W. Bush’s FBI file could be found.
And as Christmas drew near, you could hear them all sigh,
"Merry Christmas to Al, and to Al a good-bye!"

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Hands off my Estate

The debate on the "estate tax" is raging in Congress right now because at the end of this year it could change dramatically. The Bush tax cuts on estate tax have been progressively more lenient and this year there is 'zero' estate tax. But unless something changes, on January 1st the tax reverts to the previous level of a tax of 55% on all assets over $1 million. This may seem fair to some people, but if you own a small business, a family farm (or ranch) your heirs could have to sell the business or property just to pay these ridiculous estate taxes.

During an interview with Democratic Congressman Anthony Wiener today he was asked; "If a person works all their life to earn assets and pays taxes on those assets (like a business or farm), why should he pay taxes again after he dies?" The arrogant Congressman responded "He doesn't pay taxes, he is dead, and his heirs pay the taxes because this is "income" to them.

This one question to a committed liberal clearly illustrates their philosophical belief in "income redistribution". Liberals (progressives) believe that when someone with assets dies, a (major) portion of their assets should be distributed to the people in the country who are "not as fortunate". And of course liberals believe the government should be the ones to redistribute those assets.

It will be interesting to see what the politicians negotiate during the next few weeks, but there is no way the successful investor, or businessman, or farmer is going to tolerate 55% of their estate going to the government instead of their family. What I have earned in my lifetime (and paid taxes along the way) belongs to my family. If the government does pass this ridiculous tax we will figure out how to keep from paying it.

Old-time comedian Jack Benny who loved his money once said "If I can't take it with me, I'm not going to go". I say; "If the government tries to take 55% of it, we will give it away before we go".

Friday, December 3, 2010

Dancing with the "Stars"

This cleverly photo-shopped picture has been traveling the internet as a parody of the TV show and as a parody of our politics.

It seems like the only people you hear about in the news these days are Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. Now it's understandable that the (mainly) liberal media in this country would spend their time concentrating on Obama's activities - but why are they also so obsessed with Sarah Palin?

I'll tell you why - FEAR. I am not a Sarah Palin fan, especially as a presidential candidate, but if you look at the polls Palin's ratings are almost the same as Obama's - both positive and negative. Whether you like her or not, a lot of the "folks" do. I have a son who cannot stand Sarah Palin and shutters at the thought of her ever being president. So of course as a good father I forward every Palin article I can find to him (he is working on a "Palin" filter to stop my emails). He is also a Libertarian and cannot stand Barack Obama and would vote him out of office in a minute.

But what if his only choice is Palin or Obama in the next election? His response would be; "Then I won't vote". But not voting means the Washington "elites" that want to run this country win.

Palin is not an articulate speaker; she has little international experience, but has managed a city as a mayor and a state as a governor. Obama is an articulate speaker (as long as a teleprompter tells him what to say), and he had some international experience when he became president, but he had no management experience whatsoever and after two years his incompetence as a manager has risen to the surface and put this country in huge peril. Do any of the readers of this blog believe Sarah Palin or any other conservative could have done a worse job?

Palin in a recent interview was asked by Barbara Walters if she thought she could beat Obama in an election; she said "yes". You have to give her an "A" for self confidence. I don't think she will be the republican nominee in 2012 but if she decides to run it will be interesting to see if the "folks" can push her over the top. If they do, I believe one of my sons will start making plans to leave the country...but as Ronald Reagan once said; "If we ever lose our freedoms here there will be no other place to go".

As for Obama, to paraphrase one of my favorite commentators; "The Obama presidency will eventually be nothing more than graffiti on the wall of American history".

Friday, October 22, 2010

We need to "rescue" California

The state of California is sinking under its own weight and some big changes are needed.

California is a very "blue" state. To begin with, Conservative candidates start with a 16 point disadvantage compared to their Democratic opponents. But this is an once-in-a-lifetime election and if we don't change the course of this state - predictions will come true that California will slide into the ocean; not from an earthquake, but from a debt burden that we cannot sustain.

The fiscal problems in California are too numerous to detail in a blog but one thing is for sure, we need to try something radically different. So why not put some business people in charge and give them a chance at trying to rescue our state. Career politicians and our so-called "Republican" governor have failed miserably.

Senator Barbara Boxer has represented California for decades and has done nothing but help dig the hole deeper. Jerry Brown had his chance as governor in the past so why should we "retread" him and send him back to Sacramento. He is nothing but a career politician who has no experience running any business. Do we really want to reelect someone who has spent his whole life in politics?

I urge my California readers to give Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman a chance to get this ship turned around. Both accomplished business women who at least know what a balanced budget is all about. The men have had their chance; let's turn this state over to some Conservative women.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Socialism on the March

How would you like it if instead of giving you your paycheck, your employer sent it to the government who then would decide how much tax was to be taken out, and then wired the balance to your bank account? "The government would never try something like that", you say?

Well maybe not yet, but that is just what has recently been proposed in Great Britain. Instead of employers deducting income tax then paying net salaries to employees, the gross monthly payment would go to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs "tax calculator”, which would then pass the net salary to the worker's bank account.

The reform would mean the end of traditional monthly pay slips, because employers would no longer be able to tell workers how much tax they had paid each month. This would be called the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system.

It sounds crazy, but is being seriously considered in Britain because the British government says "There are too many errors in the system and we need more direct control of taxes". Do you think there might be a chance that the government themselves are making most of the errors? So of course the "socialist's" answer is to give the government more power?

I can't believe this proposal will ever become law, but just the fact that it has been proposed makes us Conservatives want to run for the hills. Liberals want power over our lives; it's as simple as that, because without control they have no ideas that will fly with the American people.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

We are still dumping tea in the harbor

The Boston Tea Party was an action by colonists against the British government when as a result of over taxation they boarded British ships and destroyed the British shipments of tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event in American history and other political protests often refer to it.

The liberal left (especially the media) made fun of the present "Tea Party" movement when it first started. They accused the movement of being composed of radicals, racists, religious fanatics, homophobes, etc....and wrote them off as just a bunch of "kooks". But then Tea Party candidates started winning elections and the movement became more than just a few people "dumping tea in the harbor". Glenn Beck had a non-violent "rally" in Washington and the media played it down as about 50,000 "right wingers" - it has been proven by photographic evidence that there were 300-500,000 people at that "rally" and as much as they tried, the liberal media could not come up with one incident to demonize those right wingers.

In recent primaries many inexperienced and unknown Tea Party candidates have won elections against the "elites" in the Republican party, to the shock of the "machine". I contend this election is different than any in my lifetime - people are pissed. They DO want so-called conservative "extremists" to go to Washington and stop the madness.

Liberals are worried about their future, but so are Conservatives; what is different is that conservative voters are not just worried about their future; they are worried about their kids and their grand kid's future.

The government is out of control and I believe we are ready for a group of conservative (even though inexperienced) legislators that are not part of the Washington machine, who will represent their constituents. Some of these recently elected Tea Party primary candidates may not win in November, but I believe conservatism will win in the long run. The media has made it a top priority to label us conservatives as "radicals" but in the long run it won't work. We are no different than those brave souls that dumped that tea in the harbor in 1773 and started a movement that resulted in the creation of the greatest country this world has ever known.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Islamaphobia?

I am watching a television program depicting the events that happened on that tragic 9/11 day nine years ago, and I am angry. The program brings back vivid memories of planes crashing into the World Trade towers, people leaping to their death, followed by a plane crashing into the Pentagon, and then that last plane that went down into a Pennsylvania field thanks to the heroes on board. Had those patriotic Americans not brought that last plane down, what might the terrorists have crashed it into?

Nothing will ever change 9/11 and all the events that happened after that. And to many that day seems to be a distant memory. But as I reflect on that terrible period in our history, I am struck at how things have changed, and how "political correctness" seems to be destroying this country. The latest controversies over the mosque at ground zero and the "Quran burning" are classic examples of the hypocrisy of this country and especially of the Obama administration.

No one questions that both of these organizations have their "rights" under our constitution. The Muslims have the right to build a mosque and the so-called Christian pastor and his church have the right to burn the Quran if they wish (after all, people burn American flags all the time and liberals emphatically support their "constitutional right" to do so). But I believe building a mosque at the hallowed ground zero or burning the holy Quran in both cases are stupid and insensitive ideas.

But the liberal left including our President are in a quagmire. Obama supports the mosque but condemns the Quran burning. Yes, the Quran burning was a stupid idea, and under world-wide pressure that small church in Florida has decided against it. But building the mosque at ground zero knowing that more than 60% of Americans are against it is stupid also; and it is a slap in the face to all those families who lost loved ones on 9/11. But our President shows his true colors by supporting one and condemning the other.

We are accused of being "Islamaphobic" for being against this mosque. But as I watch the events of 9/11 again tonight and am reminded of that horrible day I have to wonder about Islam. During the past year we have had the Fort Hood killing of 14 Americans, we have had the Christmas bomber trying to blow up a plane full of Americans, we have had the Subway Bomber and the Times Square bomber planning to kill more innocent New Yorkers....and these were all Muslims planning to kill in the name of Allah. So are we "Islamaphobic"? How many terrorist attacks during recent history have been attempted by Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Shintos, or Atheists?

Monday, September 6, 2010

The "Elite" disconnection

In a recent article in Newsweek Fareed Zakaria one of the New York "elite" journalists stated that Al-Qaeda was significantly more incompetent than Americans believed in the aftermath of 9/11, and the result is a “national-security state” that threatens civil liberties. And he goes on to say that “Al Qaeda is simply not that deadly a threat.” and that the USA "overreacted" after 9/11.

I submit that Al Qaeda is not a deadly threat now because our "overreaction" kicked their ass after 9/11 by killing or capturing most of their leadership. We could have killed Bin Laden had not political correctness kept our troops from attacking his caravan as it was leaving Afghanistan.

This Newsweek article struck me as another example of how the political elite and journalistic elite have completely lost touch with the average American.

As we approach the anniversary of 9/11, everyone I know remembers that day vividly and I know the families of the people killed do not think Al Qaeda is an enemy to be ignored. I believe this "elite disconnection" with the average American will rear it's head in November when I hope the American people send a majority of our political elites packing... the ones that believe they know what is better for us, even when the voting majority is against almost everything Washington has done the past few years. We cannot do anything about the journalists, but if we kick out the liberal politicians they support, the journalists will be nothing but a bunch of op ed writers left out in the cold.

Is it no wonder that Newsweek was recently sold for $1 because of low circulation and massive debt. The American people do not believe all the BS spewed out by the main stream liberal media anymore.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Spin, spin, spin

I have not been blogging a lot lately because so much of what I want to say about the Obama administration might get me arrested, or at least a visit from the FBI.

I have seen politicians "spin" all of my life and we all expect it. But this administration has taken it to another level.

Recently Larry Summers, Obama's chief economic adviser has stated; "Everybody agrees that the recession is over". In a separate interview Christina Romer, head of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers was asked if the recession was over, she responded; "Of course not". Romer has since "resigned"...was it because she told the truth? You make the call.

In July 130,000 jobs were lost and Obama makes a speech saying "We are making progress". In the meantime the federal deficit is exploding and the House has been called back into session during their vacation to pass another $26 billion bill to help the states with their budget problems - a "bailout" to the state teacher and public employee unions to keep them from laying off people. Yes this will save some jobs, but instead of facing up to the budget problems that most of the states are having, this bill will just "kick the can" down the road with more borrowed money because the democrats hope it will pick up some more votes in November.

I have never seen an administration that is so detached from the will of the American people and an administration that seems to believe we are all a bunch of idiots (probably an accurate call for a lot of the democratic voters out there).

But I believe the "spinning" is losing its effectiveness and if our lame Republican party can just get its act together we may turn this thing around in November. If not, we will hear the constant Obama spin for two more years as this country heads into the tank...but "spin" will never overcome real world economics.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

"Poetic Justice"

Obama has fired General McChrystal and replaced him with General Petraeus who will be responsible for turning around and (hopefully) winning the Afghanistan war. Many of us recall that during the congressional hearings on the Iraq war "surge" many top democrats including then Senators Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe "bite me" Biden, accused Petraeus of being a liar. Left wing organization MoveOn.Org also ran the famous "General Betrayus" full page ad in the New York Times. To their dismay, Petraeus was successful managing the Iraq surge and left those democrats looking silly.

Now all these top democrats are praising Obama for his "leadership" in firing McChrystal and his "wisdom" in putting Petraeus in charge. Typical Washington hypocritical politics.

Here is a scenario that would truly be a clear definition of "Poetic Justice":

General Petraeus takes control in Afghanistan, reorganizes, manages the Afghan "surge" and wins the war there. Then he retires in 2011, runs for president in 2012 and defeats Obama.

Could happen folks.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

"It's Howdy Doody Time"

OK, I'm giving away my age. As a kid after World War II living in the projects of Buffalo, NY one of my fondest memories was getting our first television set. Black and white of course, but it was magic because before that, our family sat together on weekend nights drinking sodas, eating chips, and listening to the radio.

And believe it or not one of the most popular dinner time programs was a puppet show called "Howdy Doody Time". I and my two brothers watched every night. It was also "live" and you never knew what was going to happen. I remember one evening when the arm came off the puppet and they just continued the program while Howdy commented; "Oh my, my arm just came off"...funny. This was the early 50's so why do I remember this program?

I remember because to me this memory is a metaphor for what we are seeing in our President. He is charismatic, he is an impressive speaker, but he is Howdy Doody...a puppet. We have all heard the jokes about how he cannot make a speech or presentation without a teleprompter, and I remember when he used a teleprompter to talk to some school children. But today after meeting with the BP executives, I was appalled when he came out to make "comments" about the meeting and talked from a teleprompter. This man cannot talk from his mind (or heart). There is a reason he has few impromptu press conferences and when he does, he limits the time and filibusters every answer. If he is a "puppet" I wish I knew who was operating the strings. Someone...maybe a left wing group of powerful people who recognized this guy's oratorical talent, and with the support of the liberal media have been able to pull all the right strings and now he is the leader of the free world. Or he is a "so-called" leader with no experience in managing anything.

I realize this sounds like a conspiracy theory and I don't believe that, but I think history will show that Obama was either a black "Howdy Doody", or the most incompetent president in our history. He and his administration are doing much damage to this country. I don't worry for us; but I worry for my children and grandchildren.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

"Drill baby drill"

There I've said it...and I am sure I will catch hell from my environmentalist friends.

In Obama's speech last week he jumped on the "clean energy" bandwagon and made his best argument to "rid ourselves of fossil fuels". We heard the typical anecdotes of "Joe the shrimp fisherman" whose livelihood has been destroyed because of oil - a classic political tactic to push through another big government agenda.

Obama was very disingenuous in one part of his speech saying that, "We are running out of places to find oil". That is pure BS. The reason that oil companies have been moving to deeper water is because of the power of the environmental lobby that have made it impossible to drill in shallow water and on land. There are billions of barrels of oil in Anwar that would only require a footprint of a few acres to drill and in the event of a "rare" blowout disaster (like we are now experiencing), the blowout could be shut down in a matter of hours or days.

The liberals (progressives) want "clean" energy, yet we haven't built a new nuclear power plant in more that 20 years. And remember, even though nuclear is "clean", can we recall the Three Mile Island accident or Chernobyl in Russia where the land around that failed reactor will be radioactive for a few thousand years?

We have all seen this picture depicting the tragedy of hundreds of birds being killed by the oil spill. It is emotional to anyone that looks at it...even me. But this is where the media, the environmentalists, and even this liberal administration of ours shape our opinion to fit their agenda. Here are some interesting statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service (http://www.fws.gov/birds/mortality-fact-sheet.pdf):


- Communication towers kill 4-5 million birds each year.
- Transmission power lines kill tens of thousands of birds each year.
- Cars kill 60 million birds each year.
- Pesticides kill an estimated 72 million birds each year.
- Domestic cats kill an estimated 39 million birds each year.
- And wind turbines (that magical "green" energy source); kill an estimated 33,000 birds each year.

Here's my point - I am not trying to minimize the oil spill disaster, just trying to keep things in perspective and show how the media can use a few well placed pictures of birds covered with oil to shape the emotional impact of a story.

The oil spill is a disaster and will affect many lives. But it is the result of the short cuts taken by BP to save money and get that well on line. I am not making excuses for the oil industry but I know something about that business and there is NOTHING that will replace oil for many years (maybe decades). This oil spill is the first major accident in 60 years of drilling in the gulf.
The problem is BP not oil.


The last thing we need is a new "cap and tax" energy program that will give the government more control over our lives, hurt the economy, and do nothing to help our dependence on foreign oil. What we need is a long range energy plan that explores every possible energy source, but for a long time we will need oil, and I believe we should drill for our own instead of being dependent on countries that hate us for our future energy supplies.

"Man-made-disaster"

President Obama, now 57 days into this oil spill disaster is down in the Gulf proving that he is "engaged", while at the same time trying to determine "whose ass to kick". It's comforting to finally see our leader taking control of the situation. Not only is he now an expert on tar balls, but ate a shrimp salad for lunch yesterday to "prove" that seafood from the Gulf is safe.

Tonight he will address the nation and you can be sure that as Rahm Emanuel has said many times; "This administration will never let a crisis go to waste". And I predict Obama will use this crisis to try and push forward his global warming/climate change/energy bill and all the new taxes and government control that go along with it.

So this evening from the oval office we will have one "man-made-disaster" reporting to the nation on another "man-made-disaster".

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

"Did the Robot Plug the Hole Daddy?"

Now that Obama has had his photo op on the beach, and enjoyed his oil field "fifteen minutes of fame" last Friday as he showed us all what a tar ball looks like, it's time for him and the rest of the government to get the hell out of the way, and let the oil experts do their job.

As a former President of a company that pioneered underwater robotics, and someone that worked in that business for 30+ years, all I can say is what BP and their support companies are trying to do is amazing. Yes, the blowout should not have happened, and yes the oil spill is a once-in-a-lifetime disaster, and yes it will probably get worse. But it "is what it is" and the problem they are trying to solve one mile underwater with just robots, is truly impressive.

To put things in perspective, we have all seen astronauts leaving the space station on a 100 foot tether cable and working in a weightless environment. We have seen how difficult that is, and how long it took for the astronaut to do each task. Can you imagine trying to do what those astronauts have done, with just robots? And instead of the problem being 100 feet away, try solving it underwater and a mile below the control station.

The robots working on that oil leak are working in a weightless environment just like an astronaut, probably with not a lot of visibility, and the man operating the machine is a mile above and controlling everything while looking at a TV screen. The water temperature is freezing, and the water pressure is more that one ton on every square inch of that robot.

BP is to blame for this oil spill, and so are the drilling company and government regulators that monitor drilling operations, but instead of directing anger at the people that are trying to stop the oil leak we should be amazed at the technology that can even try to solve this problem, a mile underwater where no man, not even in the most sophisticated space suit could ever survive.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

"Did you plug the hole Daddy?"

Obama's press conference last week was a disgrace. He believes his "golden voice" will always carry the day, so instead of answering questions directly and to the point, he filibusters to simply use up time. It's a classic tactic for a blowhard politician - set a specific time for the press conference and then use up the time by giving long meaningless answers to limit the questions. And Obama is a master at it. It took him 30 minutes in a one hour press conference to answer the first two questions - both about the oil spill.

And then to use these stupid anecdotes to show how the problem is foremost in his mind; like his daughter coming into the bathroom in the morning and asking "Did you plug the hole daddy?" It reminds me of the Democratic Representative during the Health Care debate telling the story of the old lady that had to use her dead sister's false teeth because she had no medical insurance. These politicians must think the American people are just plain stupid.

And then our "leader" goes to the Gulf for a photo op shown picking up tar balls on the beach. He looks at the camera and explains: "See these tar balls, they are actually from the oil spill". Thanks Mr. President we did not know that.

Then he's off to Chicago for a long weekend vacation rather than honor our dead soldiers at Arlington on Memorial Day. As one crusty old veteran put it; "I'm glad he's not going to Arlington, it would soil that hallowed ground". I suspect most of the military feel the same way.

So to those who read my Blog that are Obama fans, I apologize if this is harsh. But the hole I would like to plug is his mouth; when he opens it we all know it's more of the same - all talk and no action.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I am sick...

I am sick of this weak, left wing socialistic President of ours apologizing to the world for our country's faults. He not only stood next to Mexican President Calderon and criticized the Arizona immigration law today, he then stood by while Calderon criticized and "advised" us on how we should change our immigration laws - I almost came out of my chair watching this spectacle.

And then President Calderon went before Congress and criticized our immigration laws, and our gun laws, and we watched the Democrats give him standing ovations. As they say in professional sports "You do not come into my house and disrespect me". The Republicans should have acted like a bunch of NBA thugs and put Calderon in his place. All the while our lily-livered President stood by and let him put this country down while the "Demos" gave Calderon "standing o's".

Excuse this blog - I have had a martini and am fuming at what I saw on the news today. How did we ever elect this lightweight as our President?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Read the G D bill!

A majority of Americans were frustrated when the monstrous Health Care bill was passed and most of us suspected that the politicians who voted for it probably never read it. The bill is 2000+ pages long. I have tried to read it and I guarantee that not one of those politicians read the complete bill. It is a bureaucratic, legal nightmare, and it would have been impossible for anyone to read it completely in the short time they had before voting. Someone once said; "A camel is a horse designed by a committee". There must have been a hundred committees that designed this Health Care bill.

We send these politicians to Washington to represent us because we think they are smart and then they behave more like moronic ideologues and "political lemmings" rather than representatives of the people.

But what is inexcusable are the recent events when the administration's key people including the President, publicly condemned the Arizona immigration bill and then in an embarrassing set of events Attorney General Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and even State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley all admitted on national television that they had not read the bill - all 17 pages of it. Yet they have all condemned the bill and accused Arizona of discrimination and racial profiling, following the lead of their President.

And the main stream media are complicit by not reporting that 70% of Arizonans and 65 % of the country are in favor of this bill which explicitly prohibits racial profiling.

From the Health Care bill, to this response to the Arizona bill, it is obvious that our politicians simply have lost touch with the "main stream" of this country and I hope that in November American voters "clean house" - whether Democratic or Republican, and elect politicians that will start representing the people and move this country back toward the Republic our founders envisioned.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Big Ben Busted

"Big Ben" Roethlisberger has singlehandedly contributed toward improving race relations in this country by proving that it doesn't matter whether you are black or white, you can still behave like a moron.

His six game suspension will cost him more than $473,000 per game or almost three million dollars. In addition, the Pittsburgh Steelers team will be fined several hundred thousand dollars, and there are rumors that he is being offered in trade for a top ten draft pick. The Steeler organization has always been very conservative and very professional, and are fed up with athletes that act like this. That's why they sent Santonio Holmes packing.

Three million for a "roll in the hay" (or should I say "booty in the bathroom") - Ben could have hired all of Tiger's mistresses for a year with money left over.

Friday, April 9, 2010

"No mo money"

The traditional Democratic method of getting votes has been to promise to "take from the rich and give to the middle class and the poor". It is basic Socialism philosophy and very difficult to argue with. We all want to provide for the disadvantaged, but human nature distorts this Socialism philosophy and tends to create an "entitlement culture" whereby many people feel that rather than take responsibility for themselves, they "deserve" a share of the pie, even if they took no part in earning it.

But Socialism has never been successful because those that work hard to make the pie quickly lose their incentive, while the entitlement culture continues to grow as they get used to receiving their free welfare check, food stamps, health care, housing subsidy, etc. etc...

Former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher once said; "The problem with Socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other peoples money".

At the federal level we have not reached that point for one simple reason - the Fed simply prints more money whenever they need it, resulting in a debt that is staggering and will effect generations to come. But the states cannot print money so they are now "running out of other peoples money":

- The city of Los Angeles is contemplating reducing all but essential services to three days a week because they are out of money.

- The state of California, $21 billion in debt recently announced that their state employee pension funds are "underfunded" by almost $500 billion.

- Ten thousand residents of New York City have recently been told that they will not receive their housing subsidy...the City is broke.

- Today 33 states have reported that they do not have enough money to fund their unemployment obligations.

These examples are just the "tip of the iceberg" as our entitlement culture is starting to see the reality of a socialistic society. When the "takers" outnumber the "producers" the society begins its collapse. Or as one wise person put it the other day; "When the number of people riding in the wagon outnumbers the people pulling the wagon, the wagon stops".

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Moody "Blues"

No, this is not a blog about one of my favorite 60's rock bands.

The national debt and uncontrolled spending in Washington is one of the least understood and at the same time the most serious issue affecting every American today. But why should you worry about the country's debt as long as you get:
your social security payment;
or your Medicare subsidy;
or your welfare payment;
or your food stamps;
or your free government housing;
or your children get their free school lunches;
or you get your free "stimulus" check from the government;
or you get subsidized for your college education;
or cash back from the government if you buy a car;
or cash from the government to buy a home;
or two years of unemployment benefits;
or cash from the government to help pay the mortgage you cannot support;
and soon a government subsidy to help you buy health insurance ?

How can anyone criticize such a compassionate and "giving" government? As one Detroit recipient responded when asked where she got her free stimulus check; "Obama give it to me, from his stash". Unfortunately, I have news for Obama and his Administration - "THE GOVERNMENT 'STASH' IS GONE".

As a result we are about to get the "Moody Blues". Most Americans have never heard of Moody's Investors Service. Moody's are the world-wide recognized authority in bond ratings. In layman's terms when a country, or a state, or a company sells bonds to finance their debt, Moody's rates the risk of those bonds being paid back. Throughout history the USA has had a gold-plated credit rating of AAA for their Treasury Bonds. But in a recent report Moody's made some interesting comments:

Regarding our AAA bond rating they said: "The rating is 'stable', but the 'distance-to-downgrade' has substantially diminished". In layman's terms, for the first time ever the USA is getting closer to having their Treasury Bonds downgraded. Why is this a problem? Because if Moody's reduces our bond rating we will pay higher interest rates to finance our staggering debt. And this higher interest rate will affect all aspects of our economy and could drive us into another recession, or worse.

In analyzing our massive debt burden, Moody's also made another interesting statement: "Growth alone will not resolve the USA's increasingly complicated debt equation. Maintaining a AAA bond rating will invariably require fiscal adjustments of a magnitude that in some cases will test social cohesion". In layman's terms Moody's are predicting that we will not be able to "grow" our way out of this massive debt problem - meaning spending cuts and higher taxes could be so severe that it could result in "public unrest".

Could we be seeing riots like they are having in Greece...citizens upset because they cannot get their welfare, or food stamps, or pension payments? Or upset because Obama has had to break his promise of, "no new taxes on the middle class"?

My parents always told me: "There is no such thing as a free lunch"...and if Moody's are accurate in their predictions, Obama's free lunches will soon start to disappear and if he truly is the Messiah he will have to start "feeding" the multitudes from an empty pot.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The "Statist" revealed?

When Obama was running for president many of his opponents called him a "Statist" because of his long associations with many left wing radicals and associations, and his past socialist views. But Obama's campaign attributed these accusations to the right wing and convinced the American voters that he was a "centrist" and would pull this country together.

What is a "Statist"?
Wikipedia defines Statism as an ideology that advocates the use of government to achieve goals both economic and social. Economic statism promotes the ideology that the government should play a major role in directing the economy by heavy regulation or by government running major segments of industry (such as owning the country's auto industry). Social or political statism promotes the ideology that individual freedoms and rights are less important than the right of the government to"level the playing field" and insure that all citizens share equally in the productivity of the state - i.e. "redistribution of income". Historically, the classic examples of statism were the societies of Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union where the central government controlled every aspect of individual life.

I will not call Obama a "Statist" but look at what has happened since his administration was elected:

1/ The government bailed out many of the major banks and now owns or controls much of the financial industry. Government owned Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac control more than 50% of the mortgage market and many say are responsible for the housing "meltdown" by issuing mortgages to tens of thousands of unqualified buyers who eventually defaulted. Both of these government owned mortgage companies continue to lose massive amounts of money, yet are bailed out annually with taxpayer money.

2/ The government bailed out the failing auto industry and now along with the auto unions owns two of the three US auto companies.

3/ The 700 billion dollar stimulus program has resulted in few new private sector jobs but an increase of thousands of new government jobs. Government unemployment stands at half that of the private sector.

4/ The expansion of unemployment and welfare programs during the past year has been unprecedented resulting in many more citizens relying on the government for support, and has contributed toward pushing the national debt to the precipice.

5/ This new Health Care Bill gives the government unprecedented control over most aspects of the medical profession and in the opinion of many experts is just the first step toward elimination of private health care. The "statist" believes in "single payer" nationalized health care with government controlling all aspects of the medical industry. It is estimated that the government will need to hire 16,000 new IRS agents just to administer the mandates in this new bill.

6/ In addition, hidden in this Health Care bill is a complete government takeover of the College Student Loan Program which up to now has been administered by private companies.

7/ And finally, one of the next items on Obama's agenda is "Cap and Trade" - government regulation of carbon emissions, which could result in complete control of the energy industry and it's affect on each of our lives.

Is Obama a "Statist" - you make the call.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

It's not "sausage"

Pundits refer to this health care madness as "making sausage" because the bill includes so many special earmarks, new rules, and backroom deals; many of which have nothing to do with health care. Believe it or not the final bill even includes a government takeover of the Student College Loan Program...health care?

Even though a majority of Americans are in favor of health care reform, that same majority are against this bill as it is written. It appears the bill could become law this weekend and possibly with a margin of just one Democratic vote changing one fifth of the economy of this country; and it will give government more control over our lives than any time in history.

Because of the financial "trickery" being used to present this bill to the American public, I don't call this sausage, I call it a sweet cookie with a poison pill inside. Many of the good aspects of this bill are "front loaded" while the negative aspects are delayed until after Obama's first term as president.

1/The democrats are "giddy" because the CBO reports that the bill will reduce the deficit over one hundred billion dollars the first ten years. They do not tell us that this deficit projection includes ten years of taxes but only six years of benefits since most of the plan costs do not start until 2014 - part of the "sweet cookie".

2/Mandatory coverage for pre-existing conditions begins immediately for children, and parents will be able to carry "children" on their own policy until those children are 26 years old. Both sides are in favor of this part of the bill - part of the sweet cookie.

3/Income taxes on individuals earning over $200,000 or couples earning over $250,000 go to 44% under this bill; not including state or local income taxes. These are "Jimmy Carter" tax rates and if you were alive during that period you can remember what happened to the economy. Since most of the beneficiaries of this new entitlement are lower income people or people who rely on the government to take care of them (and are probably Democratic votes), this is also part of the sweet cookie. But since most of these high income people are small business owners who create jobs, the future effect on the economy could be disastrous.

There are many other provisions in this bill that are part of the sweet cookie but in 2014 the "poison pill" will be reached as the costs start up and some economists predict the national debt will then explode. If you add that to our existing debt this country could be heading for bankruptcy or massive taxes on EVERYONE, not just the "fat cats". Then we will get a close up look at what out-of-control entitlements can do to an economy. It is easy to "sell" another entitlement - after all, everyone wants something for free. It is another thing to pay for those entitlements.

There is an old adage proven throughout history; "When people who are taking out of a society outnumber those that are putting in, that society collapses". This new Health Care entitlement along with our bankrupt Medicare and Social Security programs could be taking us to the edge of that cliff.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Obama fatigue

Is anyone besides me sick of seeing Obama on television EVERY day making a speech? This narcissistic orator believes all he has to do is stand up, turn on his golden voice and all the country's problems will get better. On the contrary, the more he spews his line of BS the more this country continues down the wrong path.

The financial madness in Washington is beyond anything I have seen in my lifetime and the spending just seems to continue with the national debt approaching $13 trillion. Who will pay the bill? Obama says that only people making over $250,000 will see their taxes increase. In one of his latest blustering homilies he informed us that a "Commission" has been formed to come up with recommendations on how to reduce the out-of-control national debt. The reason for this Commission confused me so I decided to go back and read again that document that our President and Congress seems to have forgotten about - the US Constitution.

The constitution states that; "the Congress shall have the power to borrow money, collect taxes, and pay the country's debts". We elect 435 Representatives and 100 Senators to manage the country's finances; supposedly our best and brightest people. Then why do we need a special Commission to tell them how to do their job? I'll tell you why - FOR POLITICAL COVER.

There is no way our national debt can be reduced without drastically reducing spending or increasing taxes on everyone. But Obama has promised that "No one under income levels of $250K will see their taxes go up one dime". Since the government is the only part of this economy growing and with Democrats in charge, do not expect to see any significant spending cuts. I predict that this Commission of 10 Democrats and 8 Republicans will recommend tax increases on everyone in the form of a "Value Added Tax (VAT)"...similar to what they do in Europe. And Obama will respond by making another speech and telling the American public; "I promised not to raise taxes, but I must follow the recommendations of this Commission". He will do this to hopefully get him, his administration, and Congress off the hook - it won't work.

I predict a VAT is on the horizon folks, probably 5-10% on top of everything you buy...in addition to state and local sales taxes. Ironically this will have the most damaging effect on the poorer citizens of this country; the citizens that the Democrats claim to protect the most. And the effect on the overall US economy could be disastrous.

VAT - watch for it.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

"Color Correctness" - Update

Under mounting pressure from the Asian community, Atlanta's rapid transit district MARTA has changed the name of the "Yellow Line" to the "Gold Line". Phew...another monumental problem solved by our politicians. What would we do without them.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

"Color Correctness"

Forget about political correctness; color correctness seems to be the latest controversy.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is under fire for naming one of their main routes the "Yellow Line". Since this route goes through an Asian community local Asian-Americans in Atlanta are up in arms and demanding the name of the route be changed.

MARTA also has a Red Line, a Green Line, and a Blue line. How insensitive of the city of Atlanta having the gall to name a route the "Red Line". If I were an American Indian I would also demand a change. And to further complicate the situation we understand Al Sharpton is planning protests in Atlanta because they do NOT have a "Black Line", and even though some may think that would be discriminatory, he believes the African American community are being left out.

When I started thinking about this story I became upset. I have traveled the world, Tokyo, London, Paris, New York and almost all their subway systems are color coded...yet I have never seen a "White Line" and like Al Sharpton I am pissed.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

"Lone Survivor"

I normally would not write a book review on my blog but since my last blog was about the Taliban this continues that subject.

I just finished "Lone Survivor" -The eye witness account of Operation Redwing and the lost heroes of SEAL Team 10. The book was written by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. Marcus was the 'lone survivor' in this true story of a tragic SEAL team operation in Afghanistan that went bad.

During my career, I had the opportunity to work with the SEAL teams at their training base on Coronado Island, San Diego. We were developing underwater communications equipment for them and I was one of the topside engineers working with these crazy underwater military men. I was impressed then and after reading this book which details the training they go through, I am even more impressed. You may ask what are Navy SEALs doing in land locked Afghanistan. Even though they specialize in underwater operations, the name SEAL comes from sea, air, and land Navy special forces.

The book is both uplifting and heartbreaking and after reading it you will have a lifelong appreciation for what our military men go through. You will see the political side of war where "political correctness" as applied to Rules of Engagement can literally handcuff and impair our troops from doing their job against a ruthless enemy. And you will get a true insight into the culture of the Taliban and the Afghans - both good and bad.

Whether you are for or against this war or any other war, this is a must read. These guys are not the ones who make war, they just follow orders with unwavering dedication to our country. I understand that Hollywood is making a movie of this remarkable story; let's hope they will portray the military like this lone survivor does - read the book.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

A kinder gentler Taliban

Those that have followed the history of Afghanistan know that it has had a tumultuous history. From Buddhism to Islam and mostly local tribal rule it seems like war is part of the culture of the country. They were at war with the Russians for ten years before the Russians left with their tail between their legs. Then in the mid 1990's the Taliban took control of the country and instituted the strictest version of Islamic Sharia law.

Women were not allowed to leave their homes without a male escort, and when out of their homes they were not allowed to be seen; having to wear a "chadri" which is a full covering including their face. Women that attempted to go out in public without a chadri risked having acid thrown in their face or being intentionally disfigured. Girls were not allowed to go to school. Thievery was punished by cutting off a hand; adultery was punishable by public execution.

After taking control of the country and installing strict Sharia law which prohibits idolatry, the Taliban leaders issued an edict that all statues with even the remotest religious significance were to be destroyed. This included priceless ancient Buddhist and Hindu Statues located in many Afghan museums. Museums around the world offered to take these priceless artifacts but the Taliban refused and destroyed them.

The Buddhas of Bamyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. Built in the fifth century these statues were worldwide tourist attractions and being the largest ancient statues of their kind were priceless artifacts. They were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban on orders from their leader Mullah Mohammed Omar after the Taliban government declared that they were "idols".

After the 9/11 attack the US and its allies drove the Taliban out of Afghanistan into the northwest mountainous regions of Pakistan. The US and NATO established a fragile democracy which turned out to be not as violent as the Taliban but just as corrupt. So we have been mired there for 8 years as the Taliban try to re-establish their power in the country.

This is the enemy the US and NATO are now fighting. The Taliban insurgency although growing stronger, has been losing favor in Afghanistan because of their random violence which has killed many innocent civilians. But the Afghans are not enamored with being "occupied" either and are simply war weary. This is what our troops are facing and I wonder if the problems in Afghanistan will ever be solved - after centuries of war it seems to be in their blood.

But the height of hypocrisy, coupled with their 6th century mentality, is the recent directive from Taliban leader Omar. The Taliban's spiritual leader in hopes of creating a kinder gentler image to the local Afghans outlined a new code of conduct for the Taliban. The dictates includes: “Bans on suicide bombings against civilians, burning down schools, or cutting off ears, lips and tongues"

I'm pleased to see that these enemies of ours are finally becoming civilized.

Friday, January 15, 2010

"Miracle in Massachusetts"

Last year we had the "Miracle on the Hudson" and this year it is the "Miracle in Massachusetts". Scott Brown a Republican has won the Massachusetts senate seat held by the Kennedy's for the last 45 years. This was more than just a win in a "state" election. With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans 3:1 the voters sent a clear message to Washington that "enough is enough".

Americans cannot stand to be pushed around by other countries, and they will not stand being pushed around by their own government. Critics say this win in Massachusetts was a referendum against the policies of the Obama administration - cronyism, false promises, special interest payoffs, nationalization of the auto industry, massive deficit spending, the proposed "Cap and Trade" tax bill, and especially a partisan Health Care bill negotiated in secret after all of Obama's promises to "keep an open process and post it live on CSPAN". This health bill is loaded with special deals, payoffs, and borders on pure Chicago style political corruption. A majority of Americans have been against it from the beginning and after sending a message in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections this Republican win in Massachusetts is a true indication of how fed up the public are with this administration since Brown had to secure many Independent and Democratic votes to get the win.

This was a particularly important election because the Republican winner eliminates the Democratic filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Brown did not just win, he won in what could be called a "landslide" in Massachusetts. But even with this strong message sent to Washington, I predict the arrogant Obama administration and Congress will still "play games" and somehow try to shove this partisan health bill down our throats.

The Massachusetts power base in Congress must be very concerned: John Kerry has to be wondering if his wife's money and his heroism in Vietnam will be enough to get him elected again; and Barney Frank must be shaking in his little pink boots.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

More...."Madness"

I watched Obama's speech today about "how we need to increase our security" along with another dozen platitudes, and my head was ready to explode. His speech was so canned, I could predict within a second when he would turn from one teleprompter to the other. He now claims to get serious with these "few extremist Muslims" that are trying to kill Americans.

Think about it...during the past year a Muslim extremist killed an Army recruiter in Arkansas, then a Muslim Army officer at Fort Hood killed 14 innocent people (including one unborn child), and now the Muslim "crotch bomber" came close to killing almost 300 people in the air, and who knows how many on the ground. All of these terrorists are being given the "rights" of American citizens and will go through jury trials as ordinary criminals instead of military tribunals which have always been this country's wartime tradition. Most Americans will agree that we are at war with these Muslim extremists.

After his arrest the "crotch bomber" started to talk about his training in Yemen and he even hinted that future attacks were being planned against the USA. But then when he was detained as a common criminal instead of a wartime combatant, he was given a lawyer, and he shut up. No longer can we interrogate him.

The final straw was when NYC Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday that the civilian criminal trial of Sheik Khalid Mohammad and his associates would cost New York City $216 million for security the first year and an estimated $206 million per year thereafter. This will be a "show trial" that will give AL Qaeda and Khalid a world stage to promote their Jihad philosophy. Here is a terrorist that has claimed total responsibility for the 911 planning and has even requested to be executed. He should be taken out to the back lot at Guantanamo, reminded of how he beheaded Danny Pearl, and then given the same treatment.

I have thought all along that Obama was just stupid and incompetent, but I am now starting to believe that he and his cohorts know exactly what they are doing and want to change this country from the bottom up. They believe this country should be taken down - we are Imperialists, we control too much of the wealth of the world, and they want to maintain control by making the average American slowly becoming dependent on the US government.

It's "madness" Obama, but it is not going to work. Every day I talk to more people that are just getting fed up and disillusioned at his socialist mentality and his glorious but empty speeches. And if there is one more attack on this country, one that kills a lot of people, I predict Obama's golden voice will turn to stone.