Yes dear reader your Cranky Conservative is even crankier than usual. Maybe even crankier than he has ever been. First of all, I admit that I completely misread (well, maybe not completely) the election. I wasn't crazy about Romney at first. But he did well in the debates. He seemed to be getting clear of the Democrat smear campaign. It looked like his timing was perfect going into the last two weeks. I was expecting a full on attack at the end. But poor old Mitt got nervous. He was probably afraid of seeming impolite. So he just hid in the closet and whispered through the door.
But he had a great deal of help in his debacle loss. His old line advisers had him convinced he was a winner and didn't want him to make a mistake and blow it. So they took no chances, kept a quiet tone and blew it. And, of course, you can always rely on those to the right of the political mid-stripe to ignore the good, insisting on the perfect. What on God's good green earth were you people thinking? He wasn't conservative enough? He was a Mormon? He missed a couple of gotcha questions? He was too rich? He was too successful?
Well I have some information for you, just in case you missed the news broadcasts. You have managed by staying home to turn the country over to the most out of control liberal ideologue in the political arena today and maybe ever. And he cares not a wit about you or this country's great history. He cares about converting this country into a socialist Eden where the government controls your life, cradle to grave.
Am I overstating my case? I dearly hope so. There are many out there that share my view. Most of us continue to fight with the one weapon we have. The printed word. We try to persuade as best we can. So much of the big media is controlled by the liberal supporters a lot of the task falls back to us little guys that reach out to a small audience. And too many times we are preaching to the choir. But if enough of us push on we may make a difference.
But now that the deed is done and the election is over I watch the news expecting those faithful Republicans who retained control of the House with the help of those that live on in the Senate to stand up and be "the country's loyal opposition". To make their voices heard and to stand like a granite boulder in the path of the liberal juggernaut. Well I seem to be in for another disappointment. Your average Republican seems to have about as much spine as a night crawler. I know what I do with night crawlers. I use them for trout bait. That is about all they're good for. That and oxygenating a compost heap.
So here we are friends. I'm cranky and with good reason. I have fought this fight in one way or another since 1960. I even ran for office myself a couple of times. I've been a campaign manager and a ward committee chairman. It sometimes gets difficult when you see people toss the hard work of others away like a used tissue. It makes me cranky.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Random Thoughts - Fourteen
The Republican should stand firm on taxes. Then let the world know Obama wouldn't deal. It won't be easy and they will get a lot coming back on them but the base will understand. A line has to be drawn. I doubt that they will, but they should.
What middle class tax cut? There is no such thing.
Obama's truth is what he wants you to believe. No more, no less. No responsibility. No apology.
Are you ready for six dollar gasoline and ten percent unemployment. The road we are on goes right through that area.
Does anybody really believe that the Democrats will cut back spending if they get their tax hike. Please. In this case past performance is an absolute guarantee of future results. Remember Lucy with the football or the scorpion on the frog's back? They are what their nature forces them to be.
The United States, under Obama, will not deter Iran from building an atomic bomb. Israel is on their own, and they know it. Shame on us.
I am truly depressed thinking about what the next four year will bring. And what is worse, what the American people will accept. I fear the American people will discover the true definition of "buyer's remorse".
Actor Jamie Foxx referred to Barack Obama as "our lord and savior". I think insanity has become a contagious disease.
I wish I could be a little more upbeat coming into the Christmas Season. But it is difficult to be light hearted and joyous when I see so many good, hardworking people hurting. From the victims of Sandy to the victims of the job market, too many of us will have little joy this year. The government that has promised you so much to help you get back on your feet has done little but show up for photo-ops and to congratulate each other on what a great job they are doing. Sad, but there you go. Please, never rely on those that can just walk away from your problems. Trust yourselves and be strong.
When I sat down to write this piece, I didn't intend it to be such a downer. Although I clearly see the faults in the body politic, I can generally face them with a smile and confidence in the innate strength of the American people. This last election has shaken that confidence. I must wonder if we are becoming Europeanized. Dear God I hope not.
What middle class tax cut? There is no such thing.
Obama's truth is what he wants you to believe. No more, no less. No responsibility. No apology.
Are you ready for six dollar gasoline and ten percent unemployment. The road we are on goes right through that area.
Does anybody really believe that the Democrats will cut back spending if they get their tax hike. Please. In this case past performance is an absolute guarantee of future results. Remember Lucy with the football or the scorpion on the frog's back? They are what their nature forces them to be.
The United States, under Obama, will not deter Iran from building an atomic bomb. Israel is on their own, and they know it. Shame on us.
I am truly depressed thinking about what the next four year will bring. And what is worse, what the American people will accept. I fear the American people will discover the true definition of "buyer's remorse".
Actor Jamie Foxx referred to Barack Obama as "our lord and savior". I think insanity has become a contagious disease.
I wish I could be a little more upbeat coming into the Christmas Season. But it is difficult to be light hearted and joyous when I see so many good, hardworking people hurting. From the victims of Sandy to the victims of the job market, too many of us will have little joy this year. The government that has promised you so much to help you get back on your feet has done little but show up for photo-ops and to congratulate each other on what a great job they are doing. Sad, but there you go. Please, never rely on those that can just walk away from your problems. Trust yourselves and be strong.
When I sat down to write this piece, I didn't intend it to be such a downer. Although I clearly see the faults in the body politic, I can generally face them with a smile and confidence in the innate strength of the American people. This last election has shaken that confidence. I must wonder if we are becoming Europeanized. Dear God I hope not.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Just Another Rock In The Pile
If you have a rock that you want to hide, where is the best place to hide it? Obviously enough, in a rock pile. This is a concept that Obama has found greatly to his liking. Bill Clinton once complained about not having a major crisis during his administration so he could look more presidential. I think he just didn't take advantage of what he had. Obama, on the other hand has had more crises than a bunch of administrations.
I booted up my word processing program the other day and started listing the crises, large and small, real and manufactured, that have occurred over the past four years. I did this from memory. No research. I admit that I do not have the best memory in the world but I still came up with twenty-eight. That is more than one crisis every two months.
Some of these were inherited, like unemployment and the bank failures. Some were grabbed onto as a political ploy, like the automotive failures and the housing bubble. Some were manufactured, like demonizing Mitt Romney, the war on women, and the war on the Catholic Church. Some were just consequential, like Sandy and the Petraeus scandal. Finally some were a result of inept management, like Benghazi, the follow up stories on Benghazi, and the kill list.
One benefit of all these crises is that the last crisis gets lost in the coverage and concern about the newest crisis. The administration can put older crises on the back burner and let them simmer. They can later claim to have solved some of them or that there is an ongoing investigation of others. Of course, the results of any investigations never become public. I wonder, is the investigation of "Fast and Furious" still ongoing.
They claim to have fixed the automotive crisis. They poured billions of our dollars into it. They flipped the rule of law on it's back to protect the unions. Now one American car company is owned by an Italian company and the other, while being touted as a grand success, is still only borderline and still may not recover. This with billions of your money unrecovered.
Some of the crises we live with day to day and appear to have become the new normal. Have we accepted the price of gasoline? Have we accepted that this administration is never going to make us energy independent even though we have the resources. Have we accepted good Americans being sacrificed in the middle east. Have we accepted a president digging us ever deeper into a financial hole based on what he sees as fairness. Have we, finally, given up the Republic.
I booted up my word processing program the other day and started listing the crises, large and small, real and manufactured, that have occurred over the past four years. I did this from memory. No research. I admit that I do not have the best memory in the world but I still came up with twenty-eight. That is more than one crisis every two months.
Some of these were inherited, like unemployment and the bank failures. Some were grabbed onto as a political ploy, like the automotive failures and the housing bubble. Some were manufactured, like demonizing Mitt Romney, the war on women, and the war on the Catholic Church. Some were just consequential, like Sandy and the Petraeus scandal. Finally some were a result of inept management, like Benghazi, the follow up stories on Benghazi, and the kill list.
One benefit of all these crises is that the last crisis gets lost in the coverage and concern about the newest crisis. The administration can put older crises on the back burner and let them simmer. They can later claim to have solved some of them or that there is an ongoing investigation of others. Of course, the results of any investigations never become public. I wonder, is the investigation of "Fast and Furious" still ongoing.
They claim to have fixed the automotive crisis. They poured billions of our dollars into it. They flipped the rule of law on it's back to protect the unions. Now one American car company is owned by an Italian company and the other, while being touted as a grand success, is still only borderline and still may not recover. This with billions of your money unrecovered.
Some of the crises we live with day to day and appear to have become the new normal. Have we accepted the price of gasoline? Have we accepted that this administration is never going to make us energy independent even though we have the resources. Have we accepted good Americans being sacrificed in the middle east. Have we accepted a president digging us ever deeper into a financial hole based on what he sees as fairness. Have we, finally, given up the Republic.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving!
Those of us that are political/news junkies may feel like we are a little deprived this Thanks giving. But I am here to tell you that while there may be a shadow over the land and the background music may have a more mournful tone, the ongoing drama of our lives is still aimed at a happy ending.
We still live in the greatest and freest country in the world. There are, indeed, those that would change that. But they haven't won yet. So keep fighting the good fight.
Political commercials have gone away for a while. Both our ears and our souls needed a rest from lying liars screaming lies about other lying liars. I realize that it is just a hiatus but let's be thankful and enjoy it while it last.
Our king-like lecturer in chief and master celebrity suck-up has cut back his twice daily lecture schedule designed to make us poor incompetents understand life under the new rules. In fact I have only heard it's Bush's fault once in the past two weeks.
Even with a reluctant press the over-reaching and incompetence of our present administration is coming to the attention of the general public. It's kind of fun to hear the nice folks that voted for Obama say with a surprised expression on their faces "I didn't know that".
But, all kidding aside, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Our daughters and our grandkids all live close by so we get to enjoy the holidays with them. But I prefer the calm of Thanksgiving over the frenzy of Christmas. A great turkey dinner, some conversation, and a football game or two make for a perfect day.
I hope all of you kind people that come here to read my blog have a wonderful holiday too. And for my readers from ,now, fifty-one other countries, I wish you the joy we feel at this time of year that is so special to us.
And God Bless The USA.
We still live in the greatest and freest country in the world. There are, indeed, those that would change that. But they haven't won yet. So keep fighting the good fight.
Political commercials have gone away for a while. Both our ears and our souls needed a rest from lying liars screaming lies about other lying liars. I realize that it is just a hiatus but let's be thankful and enjoy it while it last.
Our king-like lecturer in chief and master celebrity suck-up has cut back his twice daily lecture schedule designed to make us poor incompetents understand life under the new rules. In fact I have only heard it's Bush's fault once in the past two weeks.
Even with a reluctant press the over-reaching and incompetence of our present administration is coming to the attention of the general public. It's kind of fun to hear the nice folks that voted for Obama say with a surprised expression on their faces "I didn't know that".
But, all kidding aside, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Our daughters and our grandkids all live close by so we get to enjoy the holidays with them. But I prefer the calm of Thanksgiving over the frenzy of Christmas. A great turkey dinner, some conversation, and a football game or two make for a perfect day.
I hope all of you kind people that come here to read my blog have a wonderful holiday too. And for my readers from ,now, fifty-one other countries, I wish you the joy we feel at this time of year that is so special to us.
And God Bless The USA.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
My Crystal Ball is Cracked
I seldom write about personal things. But I think I have to now. My wife and I have four grandboys. Two in high school, one in middle school, and one in grammar school. They are all smart as can be. They do very well in school. I will be surprised if all of them don't end up with advanced degrees in college. But I honestly fear for them more than I can express.
When they complete their education they will not be entering the world that I grew up in. The next four years, unless something changes, will alter this country in ways that we could never have foreseen. We have always been a three class society. But the lines were blurred and people were upwardly mobile. If they got an education, worked hard, and didn't mess up, they moved up. One could literally start in the mail room and end up on the board of directors.
If my crystal ball works, in the future we will still have a three class society. But the lines will harden. The differences will become larger. Upward mobility will be rare. There are the rich and there are those with power. Those with power are seldom poor. Power is a commodity. The rich and the powerful will take control of the upper class as it was back in the nineteenth century. They will do this because there will not be enough "good" jobs to go around. Higher education at the best schools will be so expensive that it will be the ticket, once again, into the elite upper classes under the control of the rich and powerful.
Business will be so ravaged that good middle class jobs in the private sector will be limited in quantity. There will be so much competition that wages will go down. Prices always go down in a buyer's market. The sought after jobs will be the middle tier government jobs at any level available. Of course, federal is preferred. These government employees, although middle class, will be pampered because they will represent the voting bloc that will keep those controlling the country in power. One does not vote against their employer.
The poor will be in better straits than ever before. Not that the life of the poor is terribly desirable. But if you are willing to lower your standards and take what the nanny government offers, you will have a roof over your head, something to eat, a TV to watch, and plenty of time to enjoy life. Not my choice, but then, for some.........
This is the world I fear my grand kids and their kids, and maybe even their kid's kids will inherit. I fear that the next four year of insane spending, poor tax policy, terrible international relations, and weakening the military will alter America so badly that a generation or more will be needed to take us back from the abyss. As I said, my crystal ball has a crack in it. So maybe I'm reading it wrong. I do so hope that I am. But I fear that I have nailed it.
When they complete their education they will not be entering the world that I grew up in. The next four years, unless something changes, will alter this country in ways that we could never have foreseen. We have always been a three class society. But the lines were blurred and people were upwardly mobile. If they got an education, worked hard, and didn't mess up, they moved up. One could literally start in the mail room and end up on the board of directors.
If my crystal ball works, in the future we will still have a three class society. But the lines will harden. The differences will become larger. Upward mobility will be rare. There are the rich and there are those with power. Those with power are seldom poor. Power is a commodity. The rich and the powerful will take control of the upper class as it was back in the nineteenth century. They will do this because there will not be enough "good" jobs to go around. Higher education at the best schools will be so expensive that it will be the ticket, once again, into the elite upper classes under the control of the rich and powerful.
Business will be so ravaged that good middle class jobs in the private sector will be limited in quantity. There will be so much competition that wages will go down. Prices always go down in a buyer's market. The sought after jobs will be the middle tier government jobs at any level available. Of course, federal is preferred. These government employees, although middle class, will be pampered because they will represent the voting bloc that will keep those controlling the country in power. One does not vote against their employer.
The poor will be in better straits than ever before. Not that the life of the poor is terribly desirable. But if you are willing to lower your standards and take what the nanny government offers, you will have a roof over your head, something to eat, a TV to watch, and plenty of time to enjoy life. Not my choice, but then, for some.........
This is the world I fear my grand kids and their kids, and maybe even their kid's kids will inherit. I fear that the next four year of insane spending, poor tax policy, terrible international relations, and weakening the military will alter America so badly that a generation or more will be needed to take us back from the abyss. As I said, my crystal ball has a crack in it. So maybe I'm reading it wrong. I do so hope that I am. But I fear that I have nailed it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Random Thoughts Thirteen
It was my intention to write something more on Benghazi this morning. But every time I look at the TV or turn to my computer there seems to be just a few more things coming out. Now it is Benghazi/Petreaus. So I spent the last three hours putting together a cast of characters and a time line for future reference.
But I will make a few observations. First, you could not make this stuff up. The raid and all surrounding it is a pure tragedy. There must be complete hearings. The country deserves the truth. But everything since then is pure comic opera. The country's premier General of the Army and his biographer, who is also a Military Academy graduate, have an affair while they're flying around the world at taxpayer expense. Two hot cougars, one being the mistress, get into an email cat fight. The other hot cougar gets her FBI pal involved. An FBI guy that sends her topless pictures no less. At that point it probably was not an FBI issue. But the agent was a guy, and you know how guys think when there's a hot cougar involved. And now he is in deep hot water. So, anyway, they start digging into the email thing and what do they find? They find 20 to 30 thousand pages of emails from another big deal general to hot cougar number two. Do you know how much time it takes to create that much email. The man obviously had no time to do any generaling due to time constraints caused by email creation. If you saw this in a movie the reaction would be wonderment that any one would believe that people at that level would act like that. Bizarre.
As for the original Benghazi debacle, I have looked at that whole sequence in all of the news reports I could find. In my opinion, everyone of note that had anything to say about this whole mess has either lied or been so far out of the loop they believed the lies of others. That is the only way I can understand both the differences between what people say, what people say at different times, and the reality as observed on the ground. It has to be a cover up. That is the only thing that makes any sense. But a cover up for what? I can think of three things that they would want to cover up. One is so far out there that I won't even mention it. The least likely of the two remaining theories is that there was in fact a secret prison at the consulate and the cover up is to prevent that from coming out. Possible, but I don't buy it. My choice is that the raid was covered up so as not to interfere with the Obama re-election campaign. After all "Al Qaeda is dead". Obama destroyed them. So it couldn't have been terrorists. Except that Al Qaeda isn't destroyed and it was terrorists. But whatever the outcome, all involved must testify under oath before congress. Everyone, or the stench will remain with this administration forever.
The Obama administration is producing sixty-nine new regulations a day. That, I'm sure, will go a long way toward helping businesses come back from the recession. I was afraid of four more years of the same. Now I fear four more years of worse. I think we'll be looking back on the good old days of only eight per cent unemployment.
Conservatives, stop buying print newspapers or magazines. The media has supported our opposition, why should we support them. Get your news on line and you will be better informed. The loss of our business will hurt them as they have hurt our country. Time for payback.
But I will make a few observations. First, you could not make this stuff up. The raid and all surrounding it is a pure tragedy. There must be complete hearings. The country deserves the truth. But everything since then is pure comic opera. The country's premier General of the Army and his biographer, who is also a Military Academy graduate, have an affair while they're flying around the world at taxpayer expense. Two hot cougars, one being the mistress, get into an email cat fight. The other hot cougar gets her FBI pal involved. An FBI guy that sends her topless pictures no less. At that point it probably was not an FBI issue. But the agent was a guy, and you know how guys think when there's a hot cougar involved. And now he is in deep hot water. So, anyway, they start digging into the email thing and what do they find? They find 20 to 30 thousand pages of emails from another big deal general to hot cougar number two. Do you know how much time it takes to create that much email. The man obviously had no time to do any generaling due to time constraints caused by email creation. If you saw this in a movie the reaction would be wonderment that any one would believe that people at that level would act like that. Bizarre.
As for the original Benghazi debacle, I have looked at that whole sequence in all of the news reports I could find. In my opinion, everyone of note that had anything to say about this whole mess has either lied or been so far out of the loop they believed the lies of others. That is the only way I can understand both the differences between what people say, what people say at different times, and the reality as observed on the ground. It has to be a cover up. That is the only thing that makes any sense. But a cover up for what? I can think of three things that they would want to cover up. One is so far out there that I won't even mention it. The least likely of the two remaining theories is that there was in fact a secret prison at the consulate and the cover up is to prevent that from coming out. Possible, but I don't buy it. My choice is that the raid was covered up so as not to interfere with the Obama re-election campaign. After all "Al Qaeda is dead". Obama destroyed them. So it couldn't have been terrorists. Except that Al Qaeda isn't destroyed and it was terrorists. But whatever the outcome, all involved must testify under oath before congress. Everyone, or the stench will remain with this administration forever.
The Obama administration is producing sixty-nine new regulations a day. That, I'm sure, will go a long way toward helping businesses come back from the recession. I was afraid of four more years of the same. Now I fear four more years of worse. I think we'll be looking back on the good old days of only eight per cent unemployment.
Conservatives, stop buying print newspapers or magazines. The media has supported our opposition, why should we support them. Get your news on line and you will be better informed. The loss of our business will hurt them as they have hurt our country. Time for payback.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pols Need to get a GRIP.
OK, sorry I shouted. But I am angry and frustrated. I really wanted to write on Benghazi. Lord knows it's a mess and getting worse. But I have time for that. As I have some background in economics, I do enjoy writing on that subject since most people, even those that should, don't know their butt from page eight about it. I have also spent a great deal of my life in sales. Which means I have acquired some negotiation skills.
Enough about me. Let's talk about Barack Obama and John Boehner. It seems to me that what both of them call negotiation is "my way or the highway". Bad tactic. Even if you are the President of the United States, in all your self aggrandizement. Mr. President, you may think that you are the power player here. I am sure that those around you feed right into that image. And Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you feel since you were able to keep the House, that you are the one with the mandate. You are both wrong!
What the two of you do in the next forty-five days will determine the complexion of the country for the next generation. I have some suggestions which, if you will stoop to listen, may help. First, both of you ease up and actually listen to the other side. We are all Americans and will have to live with your results.
Mr. President, you do not have a mandate to raise taxes, but I understand why you feel that you do. Take your lower limit back from two hundred thousand to a million, a million five would be even better, and raise the rate one percent. Listen to the Republican plan to close loopholes. Cut spending. Mr. president, spending is out of control. This needs to be done. It is more important and more helpful than a tax increase. Pass a bill for at least one year, two would be better.
Mr. Speaker, you must accept some tax increases. Wounds must be healed. Negotiations must be entered honestly. You have power, Mr. Speaker. But the power that you have is to destroy the Republic. Make it work. The burden is on you more than it is on the President. Fail and your name will be Anathema.
After the two of you get this done pull "Simpson-Bowles" out of the drawer and get some serious budget controls in place for the long term.
Mr. President, your ideas about regulating energy and business are stultifying the economy. That is all on you. Continue down this road and the burden of a destroyed economy will be your history.
I see young people getting an education with the hope of a bright future. The power plays of politicians seem to do more harm than good in spite of their grandiose speeches. How about doing what is right for the future and right for the country for a change.
I would like those of you that think my blog is worth your while to pass the link along to others that may enjoy it. Although I gain nothing by an increase in readership it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I feel I am being successful in my modest efforts. Thank you all.
Enough about me. Let's talk about Barack Obama and John Boehner. It seems to me that what both of them call negotiation is "my way or the highway". Bad tactic. Even if you are the President of the United States, in all your self aggrandizement. Mr. President, you may think that you are the power player here. I am sure that those around you feed right into that image. And Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you feel since you were able to keep the House, that you are the one with the mandate. You are both wrong!
What the two of you do in the next forty-five days will determine the complexion of the country for the next generation. I have some suggestions which, if you will stoop to listen, may help. First, both of you ease up and actually listen to the other side. We are all Americans and will have to live with your results.
Mr. President, you do not have a mandate to raise taxes, but I understand why you feel that you do. Take your lower limit back from two hundred thousand to a million, a million five would be even better, and raise the rate one percent. Listen to the Republican plan to close loopholes. Cut spending. Mr. president, spending is out of control. This needs to be done. It is more important and more helpful than a tax increase. Pass a bill for at least one year, two would be better.
Mr. Speaker, you must accept some tax increases. Wounds must be healed. Negotiations must be entered honestly. You have power, Mr. Speaker. But the power that you have is to destroy the Republic. Make it work. The burden is on you more than it is on the President. Fail and your name will be Anathema.
After the two of you get this done pull "Simpson-Bowles" out of the drawer and get some serious budget controls in place for the long term.
Mr. President, your ideas about regulating energy and business are stultifying the economy. That is all on you. Continue down this road and the burden of a destroyed economy will be your history.
I see young people getting an education with the hope of a bright future. The power plays of politicians seem to do more harm than good in spite of their grandiose speeches. How about doing what is right for the future and right for the country for a change.
I would like those of you that think my blog is worth your while to pass the link along to others that may enjoy it. Although I gain nothing by an increase in readership it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I feel I am being successful in my modest efforts. Thank you all.
Friday, November 9, 2012
The Necessaries are Necessary.
As Obama starts into his second first term, there are some things that are necessary for him to do if he does not want to be remembered as the most failed president ever. The first thing necessary is for him to fold up that huge ego of his and stuff it in his back pocket. He should leave it there until he gets out of office. He has not lived up to his own self image regardless of what his mirror tells him every morning. Mirrors lie.
The second necessary item on the list is to actually reach out to the Republicans. When first elected, Obama said, "I am the president for all Americans". He then governed or ruled if you wish, from the far left. He explained to the Republicans, "I won". From that point there was no place for the Republicans at the table. For any kind of success, that must change.
Necessary item number three is to stop blaming other people for every bad thing that happens. In particular, stop blaming George W. Bush. The problems at the end of his administration had two root causes. The first, and most ignored, is that for the last two years of the Bush presidency the Democrats controlled Congress. It was they that indulged in a wild spending spree. The second cause was that Bush could not find his veto stamp. That is where he is culpable. He allowed the rash of spending and never said, enough.
My next item of necessaries is for the president to get some control over Harry Reid. His pugnacious, "my way or the highway" attitude does not make for co-operation. He may control the Senate but the country has a right to see both side's ideas discussed in a reasonable forum. The United States Senate was once called "world's greatest legislative body". Under Mr. Reid no one would repeat that reference.
The next necessary is to encourage the replacement of Nancy Pelosi as minority leader in the House. Some of her bon mots are less than helpful and she doesn't play well with others. I think that with a more out reaching minority leader and an attitude adjustment by Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Boehner might be found to be less obstreperous. Nobody likes to be ignored.
While we are on necessary changes in relationships, a weekly invitation to the combined leadership to the Oval Office for coffee and conversation might work well to loosen up the gridlock. A little team building and sharing of ideas might be helpful. To put it bluntly, stop acting like a dictator in a bubble.
One last necessary. You do not understand business. If you really want to create jobs, stop what you are doing. Find out from successful people with real world experience what is needed. Then do it. Continue on the same path that you are on and you will fail. Guaranteed.
I don't expect that you will ever see this, Mr. President. If you should see it, I don't think that you will either heed it or even believe it. That does not prove that it is not good advice. Nor does it prove that it wouldn't work. What it might prove is that you are so rigid in your ideology that you cannot tell good from bad and might not even care.
The second necessary item on the list is to actually reach out to the Republicans. When first elected, Obama said, "I am the president for all Americans". He then governed or ruled if you wish, from the far left. He explained to the Republicans, "I won". From that point there was no place for the Republicans at the table. For any kind of success, that must change.
Necessary item number three is to stop blaming other people for every bad thing that happens. In particular, stop blaming George W. Bush. The problems at the end of his administration had two root causes. The first, and most ignored, is that for the last two years of the Bush presidency the Democrats controlled Congress. It was they that indulged in a wild spending spree. The second cause was that Bush could not find his veto stamp. That is where he is culpable. He allowed the rash of spending and never said, enough.
My next item of necessaries is for the president to get some control over Harry Reid. His pugnacious, "my way or the highway" attitude does not make for co-operation. He may control the Senate but the country has a right to see both side's ideas discussed in a reasonable forum. The United States Senate was once called "world's greatest legislative body". Under Mr. Reid no one would repeat that reference.
The next necessary is to encourage the replacement of Nancy Pelosi as minority leader in the House. Some of her bon mots are less than helpful and she doesn't play well with others. I think that with a more out reaching minority leader and an attitude adjustment by Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Boehner might be found to be less obstreperous. Nobody likes to be ignored.
While we are on necessary changes in relationships, a weekly invitation to the combined leadership to the Oval Office for coffee and conversation might work well to loosen up the gridlock. A little team building and sharing of ideas might be helpful. To put it bluntly, stop acting like a dictator in a bubble.
One last necessary. You do not understand business. If you really want to create jobs, stop what you are doing. Find out from successful people with real world experience what is needed. Then do it. Continue on the same path that you are on and you will fail. Guaranteed.
I don't expect that you will ever see this, Mr. President. If you should see it, I don't think that you will either heed it or even believe it. That does not prove that it is not good advice. Nor does it prove that it wouldn't work. What it might prove is that you are so rigid in your ideology that you cannot tell good from bad and might not even care.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Thoughts on the Morning After
My first thought is "thank God it's over". If I never see another political ad it will be too soon.
I am disappointed by the result, of course, but not terribly surprised. It is awfully hard to beat a candidate when he has eighty percent of the press as a sales force. While they trash the opposition, they cover their favorite's back. There is no way to beat that kind of power.
Chris Christie's, Mr. Rogers moment with Barack Obama as they strolled, arm in arm, on the New Jersey shore helped Obama beyond gold. Christie should have had better sense. He gained nothing except an open Republican nomination in 2016. Gee, was that the point?
Obama won, but that does not give him a mandate for carte' blanche liberal ideology. I doubt that he believes this. Remember, the Republicans still control the House. The public has shown that they do not want Obama to have infinite power. The House is in the best position to control excesses by the President. They haven't had the stomach to exert those controls before now. Maybe it is time to stand up and be counted. They control the purse strings, use that power.
In the name of human sanity, could we put a time limit on political campaigns?
As I write this, the Dow is down about 180 points. No surprise.
Yesterday the country took another giant step to Eurofication. The "hand out" part of society is now equal to the "hand up" portion of society. I still hope for a return to American exceptionalism. But, I fear, it will take some time.
In my humble opinion, financial matters will not improve in the foreseeable future. More government deficit spending, more taxes, more regulation, and Obamacare are going to force businesses to continue holding cash and not expand either work forces or facilities. Continued "quantitative easing" (printing money) will keep interest rates down and force the value of the dollar lower.
Has four dollar a gallon gasoline become the new normal? Stand by for six.
In spite of the wind in his face, Romney ran a beautifully timed campaign. He peaked out perfectly. Where he failed was in defining himself and his product. His campaign became background noise as Obama was heard shouting from the roof tops of America. While the Democrats were running a campaign like aliens from outer space come to drain your blood, the Republican ran their campaign like the Polite Young Men's Debating Society. That is not today's politics.
I am disappointed by the result, of course, but not terribly surprised. It is awfully hard to beat a candidate when he has eighty percent of the press as a sales force. While they trash the opposition, they cover their favorite's back. There is no way to beat that kind of power.
Chris Christie's, Mr. Rogers moment with Barack Obama as they strolled, arm in arm, on the New Jersey shore helped Obama beyond gold. Christie should have had better sense. He gained nothing except an open Republican nomination in 2016. Gee, was that the point?
Obama won, but that does not give him a mandate for carte' blanche liberal ideology. I doubt that he believes this. Remember, the Republicans still control the House. The public has shown that they do not want Obama to have infinite power. The House is in the best position to control excesses by the President. They haven't had the stomach to exert those controls before now. Maybe it is time to stand up and be counted. They control the purse strings, use that power.
In the name of human sanity, could we put a time limit on political campaigns?
As I write this, the Dow is down about 180 points. No surprise.
Yesterday the country took another giant step to Eurofication. The "hand out" part of society is now equal to the "hand up" portion of society. I still hope for a return to American exceptionalism. But, I fear, it will take some time.
In my humble opinion, financial matters will not improve in the foreseeable future. More government deficit spending, more taxes, more regulation, and Obamacare are going to force businesses to continue holding cash and not expand either work forces or facilities. Continued "quantitative easing" (printing money) will keep interest rates down and force the value of the dollar lower.
Has four dollar a gallon gasoline become the new normal? Stand by for six.
In spite of the wind in his face, Romney ran a beautifully timed campaign. He peaked out perfectly. Where he failed was in defining himself and his product. His campaign became background noise as Obama was heard shouting from the roof tops of America. While the Democrats were running a campaign like aliens from outer space come to drain your blood, the Republican ran their campaign like the Polite Young Men's Debating Society. That is not today's politics.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
One Last Shot
This will be my last blog before the most important election in my lifetime. We are existing with a failed president who is desperately trying to win a second term. A second term that he has not earned and does not deserve. He came into office after standing majestically in front of Greek columns and with supporters that saw a golden aura about their boy king. He came into office on a grand promise of "Hope and Change". The hope soon became hopelessness and the change was for the worse.
Obama came into power as the most powerful leader in the world. He had the House. He had the Senate. He had the Presidency. But even this was not sufficient unto his needs. He immediately appointed forty some czars subservient and answerable only to him. He endowed his agencies with extra-legal power and allowed laws to be ignored to allow himself to circumvent the Constitutional balance of power.
Then faced with a dying economy he devoted the first and most powerful two years of his administration to a government takeover of health care and doling out largess to his biggest supporters. The country needed jobs. The administration gave us Obamacare and having our money passed out to green energy companies on their way to bankruptcy court. Two years gone. Two years wasted.
When the Republicans took over the House of Representatives in 2010, Obama and his minions shifted gear. With a presidential election coming up in a mere two years, Obama went full time on the campaign trail and the Senate was left behind to make sure that nothing was passed for which the Republicans could take credit. Which essentially means that nothing of consequence was passed.
All the while the administration is passing out money at a record pace. With the highest deficits of any president and a National Debt of sixteen trillion dollars the country is on the edge of a financial cliff and all the administration can devise to do is continue to print and borrow. And what is their plan should they be given another four years. More of the same. Insanity.
But it won't be just more of the same. It will be more of the same on steroids. The IRS will be requiring more personal information from the people because they will be administering the financial parts of Obamacare. The EPA will be able to shift their regulatory machine into high gear as there will be no limits. And Obama wants to appoint a "Secretary of Business". Businesses do not need somebody in government to tell them how to run their businesses. They need the government to get out of the way.
Finally, there is "taxmeggadon". Obama has stated that he will let the country go over the cliff with tax increases because that will let him "own the Republicans". They either cave to his wishes before his second term or if they don't he can blame them for just about any problems that occur in his second term. And we all know how Obama loves to have a scapegoat to blame.
For the sake of the country, Obama must not be given a second term. If he is given a second term, it will take a generation to repair the damage. As I have said, I am an independent conservative. I started supporting Romney because I feared four more years of Obama. As the campaign progressed I came to appreciate Romney as a candidate and as a man. I admit that he is somewhat lacking in the charisma department. But do we need charisma or competence. I say, competence every time. Right now to get the country back on track we have to get business back on track. This is Romney's area of greatest expertise. He doesn't need a Secretary of Business because he understands business. Large or small. Romney is the man we need now for President.
Obama came into power as the most powerful leader in the world. He had the House. He had the Senate. He had the Presidency. But even this was not sufficient unto his needs. He immediately appointed forty some czars subservient and answerable only to him. He endowed his agencies with extra-legal power and allowed laws to be ignored to allow himself to circumvent the Constitutional balance of power.
Then faced with a dying economy he devoted the first and most powerful two years of his administration to a government takeover of health care and doling out largess to his biggest supporters. The country needed jobs. The administration gave us Obamacare and having our money passed out to green energy companies on their way to bankruptcy court. Two years gone. Two years wasted.
When the Republicans took over the House of Representatives in 2010, Obama and his minions shifted gear. With a presidential election coming up in a mere two years, Obama went full time on the campaign trail and the Senate was left behind to make sure that nothing was passed for which the Republicans could take credit. Which essentially means that nothing of consequence was passed.
All the while the administration is passing out money at a record pace. With the highest deficits of any president and a National Debt of sixteen trillion dollars the country is on the edge of a financial cliff and all the administration can devise to do is continue to print and borrow. And what is their plan should they be given another four years. More of the same. Insanity.
But it won't be just more of the same. It will be more of the same on steroids. The IRS will be requiring more personal information from the people because they will be administering the financial parts of Obamacare. The EPA will be able to shift their regulatory machine into high gear as there will be no limits. And Obama wants to appoint a "Secretary of Business". Businesses do not need somebody in government to tell them how to run their businesses. They need the government to get out of the way.
Finally, there is "taxmeggadon". Obama has stated that he will let the country go over the cliff with tax increases because that will let him "own the Republicans". They either cave to his wishes before his second term or if they don't he can blame them for just about any problems that occur in his second term. And we all know how Obama loves to have a scapegoat to blame.
For the sake of the country, Obama must not be given a second term. If he is given a second term, it will take a generation to repair the damage. As I have said, I am an independent conservative. I started supporting Romney because I feared four more years of Obama. As the campaign progressed I came to appreciate Romney as a candidate and as a man. I admit that he is somewhat lacking in the charisma department. But do we need charisma or competence. I say, competence every time. Right now to get the country back on track we have to get business back on track. This is Romney's area of greatest expertise. He doesn't need a Secretary of Business because he understands business. Large or small. Romney is the man we need now for President.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Americans at Risk
When did it become acceptable for the sitting administration in Washington to make political decisions to kill Americans? When did the media decide to allow this to happen without a word of dissent? What is happening to our society that there isn't a general uprising among the populace calling for the resignations and impeachments of those responsible?
There are three things in the news over the past four years that I find extremely troubling. The first of course is "Fast and Furious". For anyone who has been living in a cave lately, that was the government's plan to allow firearms to be bought in quantity and shipped into Mexico to the drug cartels. They were to be tracked to locate where these weapons were going. The problem is that nobody in the government bothered to track them. Many people were murdered using these weapons. Ultimately a United States Border Patrol agent was gunned down. His murderer was just convicted.
For three years the Obama administration has been trying to stonewall this, denying responsibility and claiming executive privilege . The blame was pushed onto low level ATF agents. Members of the House of Representatives persevered, with little or no help from the press, and slowly brought out that the scandal went beyond ATF into the Justice Department itself. Again, slowly but surely, more information has shown that it goes much higher in the chain of command. Possibly right into the office of the Attorney General himself.
The second and equally troubling program for killing Americans goes right into the oval office. There has been some small amount of publicity about the President's "Kill List". Apparently the President maintains a list of evil doers on foreign soil that he, using armed drones, can put in his sights and blow them to smithereens by remote control. That is, even if these evil doers are American citizens. It strikes me that there is something terribly un-American about this. We always used to send the CIA or some military Special Operations Group out the capture these people and question them. Perhaps getting additional intel to further the "War on Terror". Now we just blow them into tiny pieces and walk away.
My final example and the one I find most troubling is Benghazi. I have written a great deal about Benghazi both in this blog and in "comments" to on-line news articles. Most of the media hasn't learned to spell Benghazi apparently. If you want coverage you have to go to Fox News. They have been on top of it from the beginning and have done a commendable job.
The US Ambassador to Libya and three other American heroes were killed on American soil inside the American consulate for what I believe were political reasons. They were attacked by an Al Qaeda franchise group. They called for aid three times. That help never arrived even though they could have had an AC-130 Specter gunship there in one hour. The battle lasted seven hours.
The administration handed out dumb cover-up stories. They tried to sell that it was just a mob action with no organization. That they didn't have enough information from the drone overhead and boots on the ground. In my opinion, they didn't want to send help because it would give lie to the administrations story that Libya was a success and everything is normalizing. There are rumors floating as I write this of e-mails from the White House ordering a "stand down" on rescue operations.
There you have it. Americans dead on our own and on foreign soil for no reason other than political expediency. The press has been ignoring it or belittling it. But there are those of us out here in the blogo-sphere that take these thing seriously and feel their importance. I know the I and those like me reach a small audience. But if enough of us keep trying, I like to think we can make a difference. The public needs to be reminded on occasion that the government is far from perfect and needs constant watching.
There are three things in the news over the past four years that I find extremely troubling. The first of course is "Fast and Furious". For anyone who has been living in a cave lately, that was the government's plan to allow firearms to be bought in quantity and shipped into Mexico to the drug cartels. They were to be tracked to locate where these weapons were going. The problem is that nobody in the government bothered to track them. Many people were murdered using these weapons. Ultimately a United States Border Patrol agent was gunned down. His murderer was just convicted.
For three years the Obama administration has been trying to stonewall this, denying responsibility and claiming executive privilege . The blame was pushed onto low level ATF agents. Members of the House of Representatives persevered, with little or no help from the press, and slowly brought out that the scandal went beyond ATF into the Justice Department itself. Again, slowly but surely, more information has shown that it goes much higher in the chain of command. Possibly right into the office of the Attorney General himself.
The second and equally troubling program for killing Americans goes right into the oval office. There has been some small amount of publicity about the President's "Kill List". Apparently the President maintains a list of evil doers on foreign soil that he, using armed drones, can put in his sights and blow them to smithereens by remote control. That is, even if these evil doers are American citizens. It strikes me that there is something terribly un-American about this. We always used to send the CIA or some military Special Operations Group out the capture these people and question them. Perhaps getting additional intel to further the "War on Terror". Now we just blow them into tiny pieces and walk away.
My final example and the one I find most troubling is Benghazi. I have written a great deal about Benghazi both in this blog and in "comments" to on-line news articles. Most of the media hasn't learned to spell Benghazi apparently. If you want coverage you have to go to Fox News. They have been on top of it from the beginning and have done a commendable job.
The US Ambassador to Libya and three other American heroes were killed on American soil inside the American consulate for what I believe were political reasons. They were attacked by an Al Qaeda franchise group. They called for aid three times. That help never arrived even though they could have had an AC-130 Specter gunship there in one hour. The battle lasted seven hours.
The administration handed out dumb cover-up stories. They tried to sell that it was just a mob action with no organization. That they didn't have enough information from the drone overhead and boots on the ground. In my opinion, they didn't want to send help because it would give lie to the administrations story that Libya was a success and everything is normalizing. There are rumors floating as I write this of e-mails from the White House ordering a "stand down" on rescue operations.
There you have it. Americans dead on our own and on foreign soil for no reason other than political expediency. The press has been ignoring it or belittling it. But there are those of us out here in the blogo-sphere that take these thing seriously and feel their importance. I know the I and those like me reach a small audience. But if enough of us keep trying, I like to think we can make a difference. The public needs to be reminded on occasion that the government is far from perfect and needs constant watching.
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