Friday, February 28, 2014

Random Thoughts - Thirty Three

Democrats enjoy claiming that Republicans are racist because they want photo ids for voting. Let's examine some history:
     Republicans freed the slaves.
     Democrats started and populated the KKK.
     Republicans passed the Voting Rights Act.
     Democrats fought the passing of the Voting Rights Act.
     Republicans support school choice.
     Democrats are against school choice.
OK, I think that I now understand who the racists are.

Harry Reid claims that anyone that has a story that they have lost care or had their premiums go up under Obamacare is a liar. Harry has just called an awful lot of good American citizens liars. Does anyone believe poor old Harry? Of course not. We all know, he is a liar.

Good old wacky Uncle Joe Biden. At an NAACP meeting, he announced that he is a "white boy" but he can still jump. I would like to make three points. I would hate to hang by my thumbs since he was a boy. At his age, if he jumped, he would break his hip. Finally, if a Republican had said that, they would have thrown him out and he would be called a racist in every newspaper in the country.

I didn't intend to write on racism so much but it is the big topic this week. Representative James Clyburn the Democrat from South Carolina has claimed that expecting a black candidate to get fifty percent of the vote plus one, is racist. What is he expecting? Maybe like T-Ball. You get a trophy if you just show up. 

It must be a full moon this week or something. Harry Reid did it again. He accused the Koch brothers of trying to buy the country. That is impossible since the Democrats have already sold it to George Soros.

I am tired of cold weather and I am in sore need of watching a Red Sox game. I know that nobody cares. I just had to say it. And, once again, it is snowing.

Russia gave each of it's Olympic gold medalists a new Mercedes. America wants to tax our gold medalists ten thousand dollars each. I think that says something. I think it says, we have too much government and it really doesn't care about anything but itself. Pride in country? Forget it.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The Department Of Making Suggestions

As has been said,"time marches on". What is old becomes useless and must be tossed aside into the scrap heap of history. We live in a brave new world, with new ways and new ideas. Things that once seemed etched in stone grow pale in the dawning light of a new era. Great minds come to the fore to lead us down roads the we more humble beings never new existed.

To that end, I have a suggestion. I suggest that we change the name of Congress to the Department of Making Suggestions. Back in the olden days (olden days being defined as before the Obama Presidency) the House of Representatives and the Senate met separately, laws were proposed, debates were held, joint committees were established, differences were worked out, votes were held, laws were signed by the President and became the unequivocal law of the land.

In the new world order, we have been shown the error of the old ways. They are far to slow and cumbersome. Worse than that, these two very factional bodies actually, on occasion represent the will of the people. True the process has been more difficult lately. Also true that sometimes laws passed in Congress conflict with our Constitution. This is even greater proof that the old system is far to slow for our modern high speed political minds.

In the olden days, if a law was found disagreeable to some, they could petition the courts for redress. On occasions where this hope for redress started at the Federal District Court and had to go all the way to the Supreme Court, years would pass and the country might suffer under bad law. Never more

Now the Department of Suggestions can pass all the laws they want. The President and the Attorney General are now the supreme law of the land. They allow what suggestions fit in their governance style and apply those. The rest are just ignored. If they need a law that doesn't exist, the President just takes out his "pen and telephone". I get the pen part. The telephone thing still confuses me. If the Constitution gets in the way, ignore it. Now that's dictatorial Presidential power.

And if the Supreme Court dare challenge one of these bits of Presidential legislation by fiat, a President can always sit them down at the State of the Union speech and publicly humiliate them. Yessir it is a brave new world having the smartest man ever as President. 

Too Soon Old

I was thinking of a phrase that I first heard in my youth. "We are too soon old, and too late smart." The truth of that short sentence has occurred to me many times over the years. But never as much as now. 

President Obama was carried into office on the votes of idealistic young people, who hadn't yet come to appreciate the greatness of America and the free enterprise system along with the votes of the elderly who succumbed to the scare ads posted by Democrats. Remember throwing granny off a cliff.

Obama preached "hope and change" in vague and grandiose terms. But his agenda came to be one of hopeless change in no uncertain terms. The press had so vilified George Bush that most everyone believed that any change would be for the good. We have spent five years discovering just how wrong we were.

Recall, in his first Presidential campaign, Obama extolled the virtues of government controlled healthcare and made huge promises that, we now know, he never intended to keep. Just about everyone I know has had their healthcare turn into turmoil because of Obamacare. And it will get much worse before it gets any better.

He never told the young people that supported him that the cost burden of the sick and the uninsured would fall on their shoulders. They can't get jobs because Obamanomics has destroyed the job market. They are paying off loans on overpriced college educations that don't fit the needs of whatever job market is left. Many are forced to move back home and live in makeshift apartments in their parents basements. But our President signed a law, of his design, that forces them, under penalty of the law, to purchase a health care plan that they do not want nor can they afford.

Now he wants to gut social security and medicare leaving the elderly hanging. COLAs are cost of living increases to social security. They are figured annually based on the percentage rise in prices. But the government decides what price categories are involved in the calculation. In Obama's first two years when the cost of fuel doubled, seniors got no increase. Federal employees, however, did. What a surprise. Now Obama also wants to reduce payments through Medicare Advantage programs. Hey, Barack, that's OK. They're old anyway. Don't worry about it.

Obama likes to target the low hanging fruit. Those that are not organized enough or wealthy enough to fight back. The AARP won't fight back even though they claim to represent retired people. Their support is for Obama not the people that support them. Never forget, the AARP exists primarily to market insurance of various types to the elderly. It would be nice if the press picked up on this and ran with it, but they're on Obama's side too. Yup, we are too soon old and too late smart. 

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Third Grade Redux

When I write my blog, I look for new and odd things in the news. I look for economic policies that I feel are ill fated or confusing. I look for changes in policy that I disagree with. That includes almost everything lately. I do not look to pile on when people have embarrassed themselves either through speech or behavior. There are more than enough people out there willing to pick up that cudgel.

I admit, I was almost ready to suspend that rule for Ted Nugent. Mr. Nugent and I have some common ground on the Second Amendment, but other than that I just don't care enough about him to bother, other than to say, he must had all of his stupid cells working overtime when he made that remark.

The point that I ultimately wanted to make is that the news out of Washington lately is like a repeat of a rerun. Our President has been in the White House, make that been in office, for five years now. He actually doesn't seem to spend all that much time in the White House. Like many zealots, he came in with a game plan. It hasn't worked. But he is going to keep using that game plan until it succeeds.

He is beginning to remind me of the dumbest kid in the third grade. Remember this. The teacher asked little Jimmy to spell cat. He stood up and proudly said, "kat". The teacher corrected him and told him the correct spelling is "cat".

A couple of days later, there was a pop quiz. Of course, one of the words was cat and little Jimmy, true to his nature, spelled it "kat". His kindly and loving teacher took him aside and explained to him that the proper spelling was "cat".

A few days later they had an in class spelling bee. Who doesn't remember those exercises in embarrassment? And once again little Jimmy is asked to spell "cat". And once again he said kat.

Barack Obama reminds me of little Jimmy. No matter how many times a plan fails he tries and tries again. Because in his mind, his way is the only way. Tax, spend, and regulate. It is all about the power of government. His agenda is that government rules. What freedoms that we have come from our rulers.

The IRS, the NSA, and now the FCC, they think that they exist to bestow on us the freedoms that our betters allow us. Wrong! We are the power. We are free Americans, and no politician should ever forget that. I am a Constitutional Conservative. Our ranks are growing. We will not be a third party. God willing and common sense prevail, we will be the new party.

Monday, February 24, 2014

My Qualifications For An Ambassadorship

I have never been to the Ukraine. Therefore I am as qualified to speak on this subject as Obama's most recent appointments to United States Ambassadorships. Actually I may be more qualified. Growing up, one of my best friends was Ukrainian. I attended many of their family get-to-gathers and got to know them well.

The Ukrainians are good, smart, industrious people. The adults that I knew tended to educated or skilled. The younger people did well in school. And they always had great food at their parties. Always a plus for me in those years. These were people that I would welcome into my home at any time.

When I turned the TV on the other night and saw Kiev burning, I was appalled. The Ukraine needs to be independent. More important, no people should be controlled by the Russian thugocracy. This insanity is occurring only because Vladimir Putin wants to restore the "glorious" days of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 

Vlad, if I may call you that, give it up. Those days are gone now. Actually you come across as pretty creepy with your posturing and photo ops. I realize that you see an opportunity, as the American President is weak and incompetent. Those glorious days that you remember oh so fondly, were really not all that glorious. Why do you think so many that you worked with in the KGB wanted postings in western capitols and never wanted to come home.

Those at the top of the food chain lived well. It didn't take much of a drop in status to live a life of deprivation in the old USSR. Why do you think that cheap vodka was so popular. Here's a clue. It wasn't because of the sophisticated taste.

If you put as much effort into improving the Russia that you have, as you put into ideas of expansion, it would be better for all concerned. You know as well as anyone that the only world class manufacturers that Russia has is the Mikoyan Design Bureau and the many companies that build your AKs. 

Vlad, the opportunities there and you're stuck in the Cold War era. Do Russia, the Ukraine, and yourself a favor. Mature your thinking. Russia is a great country with unlimited potential. Effective progress will get you far more than blatant opportunism. What it comes down to is, how do you want to be remembered in the history books? Remember, soon enough we are all history.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Sex And Politics

The United State may go bankrupt. Jobs may completely disappear. Our children may become the worst educated in the civilized world. Violent gangs may rule the streets and the malls. Every political leader in the world may laugh at us. Our military may become the least feared in the world. We may, in fact, become a third world nation.

All of that does not matter. All of that is second place compared to the truly important factors in American life. So what is more important than the survival of our country and the success of it's people. The number one subject that seems to control public opinion in American politics is abortion on demand at any time. And it must be free. If you so much as question this, along with free contraceptives for women, you are accused of waging a war on women. Your reasons for being against abortion matter not at all. You simply do not have a vote in the matter.

A subject almost equally important is "gay" rights. If you do not go ecstatic when the homosexual community insists on marching en flagrante' in parades that are heavily attended by families with small children, you are obviously a homophobe and unfit for reasonable society. God forbid you should be for the tradition of marriage being exclusive to a man and a woman. Horse whipping is not sufficient for such moral turpitude. 

Only a neanderthal would not realize that the United States should be a beautiful park from coast to coast. No drilling. No fracking. No mining. Green energy only. Electric cars. No green house gasses. No manufacturing. Let those strange foreign countries that use child labor and have dirty air deal with all of that industrial type stuff. We'll have green trees with deer gamboling in the fields. It will be a virtual Utopia. The Garden of Eden writ large.

The problem is, the things that are really important to our country do not have pressure groups with huge amounts of money to attract the attention of our politicians. And we do have the best politicians that money can buy. They are a flexible group that will accept the rightness of any position that fills their campaign chests.

I can remember a time when politicians could come out of the mold on occasion to be statesmen, when the good of the country was at stake. It seems that those days are no longer. Civility is lost. Today, it is all money, power, and agenda. 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Little Ado About Nothing

I have been writing five or six blogs a week for a while now. Usually, when I sit down to write, something has me annoyed enough or enthused enough that there is no effort. The words just flow. Well, sort of flow. I have poor typing skills.

I normally write my blog in the late morning to be posted the next day. Here it is, the middle of the afternoon, and I am totally uninspired about anything. Granted that I am in the February doldrums. So enthusiasm is pretty much out of the question.

I wrote one of my "Random Thoughts" yesterday. Which people seem to enjoy, by the way. When I write one of those, it seems to get my juices flowing and ideas start popping. Not this time.

My main source of inspiration is the news. I spend most of my morning reading news and a chunk of my afternoon and evening watching it on TV. Today's news almost seems to be a rerun. Our President still over reaches domestically. He seems to be more concerned with tee times than foreign policy. With all the trouble going on in Kiev, he has sheriff Joe Biden make a phone call. I'm sure that was helpful.

I just read an article that the President wants to put a representative from the FCC in newspaper newsrooms to discuss what news should be printed. I have not confirmed the truth of this assertion yet, so I will only say that if it is true, the President has forgotten everything he ever knew about our Constitution. (It is now six hours later and I have confirmed the story. When did America turn into the Soviet Union?)

Breaking news. No decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. Don't kid yourself. There is a decision and it is no. They just don't want the public to know yet. An election coming you know.

Also good for a chuckle are the antics of Jean Francois Kerry. Our almost French Secretary of State. While he tries to dazzle the world with his brilliance, they baffle him with their BS. The ayatollahs have his number. It is zero. 

So here I sit. No great events to inspire me. So I think that I will take a clue from the old Seinfeld TV show and write a blog about nothing. 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Random Thoughts - Thirty-two

I am in the middle of my mid-winter depression and the only thing that gives me hope is that pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training.

I wish I could understand why liberals hate the Koch brothers so deeply when they good American that just differ in opinion, while they adore a Hungarian, money grubbing, globalist like George Soros.

I am reading where Hillary Clinton is the natural successor to Barack Obama. This is true. Other than a short stint in real world jobs both have lived off of political largesse. Neither has had any previous management experience. The are both far left ideologues. The question is, why in the world would we want her as President.

I must give Barack Obama credit. When ever the question of jobs comes up, he can change the subject faster than I would have thought humanly possible. Mr. Obama, we are not interested in income inequality or climate change. Americans need to get back to work and have an equal opportunity.

So our new Secretary of State has now proclaimed global warming more dangerous than terrorism. Right now I think more people are afraid of freezing to death than heat prostration. Hey, don't let the facts upset your agenda.

And aren't the talks with Iran going well. They haven't even started and Iran is declaring that the United States lost. What is frightening is that they are probably right.

There is no question in my mind. The Republican party needs new leadership. The present leadership has a mindset stuck in the 1980s. Times have changed and it is still your fathers GOP.

Not allowing the Keystone XL pipeline is the predominant sign that this administration does not have America's best interests at heart. It would cost no public money. It would create jobs. It would add to energy independence. It is far safer than transporting oil on Mr. Buffett's tank cars.

In the latest chapter of "Buy a Party", a very rich man named Tom Steyer has pledged one hundred million dollars to the Democrats that will support his anti-American green agenda. This agenda includes voting down the Keystone XL pipeline and fighting "Global Warming". I'm sure that the Democrats, being loyal America first types, will turn him down. Sure they will!

I have been quiet about Benghazi lately. That is because there seems to be a slow but steady leak of information surfacing. I think, soon someone will have an attack of conscience and spill the rest. We are a long way from the end of this story but we are making progress.

There is a recent quote from the White House that "the economic picture is much brighter thanks to Obama". Not so much. While unemployment figures have gone down slightly, fewer people are working than since the early seventies. Many are just no longer looking for work. They have given up so the administration no longer counts them as unemployed. Many that are employed have had their hours cut back to part time. On top of this, we are sitting on a financial bubble that could burst at any time. The big money is moving into protective mode. No the economic picture is not bright.

By the way, Obamacare is still a mess.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Settled Science!

Science is never settled. In the late 17th century, Isaac Newton described his Laws of Motion, which included the force of gravity. There are new discoveries that increase our knowledge of gravity even today. It is not settled science. Einstein wrote his General Theory of Relativity around one hundred years ago. While this treatise opened new territory in the study of physics,research still goes on today and will for many many years. Settled science? No.

True scientists realize that no science is ever settled. It is always subject to peer review and new knowledge.  But those great and famous scientists, Al Gore, Barack Obama, and John Kerry tell us that the science of "Climate Change" is settled. So you should just shut up and let your betters handle it. Forget peer review. There will be no new knowledge. So there is no need for debate.

There are some strange things here. A very few years ago it was "Global Warming", that we were assured was settled science. But a funny thing happened. It stopped getting warmer. In fact, it got cooler. We were told, in no uncertain terms, that it was still actually getting warmer just in secret places that we are too ignorant to know about. So who are you going to believe? The feeling that you are dragging out the heavy coat earlier in the year and wearing it longer, or those three world famous scientists. But just to cover all the bases, it now became "Climate Change". But, according to the three world famous scientists the science is still settled.

So how was global warming discovered in the first place? It wasn't. It was extrapolated. What does extrapolated mean, you may ask? That is scientist talk for a flaming wild ass guess. Around 1999, Michael Mann, a professor at East Anglia University, a school hidden someplace in Great Britain that nobody ever heard of, developed a computer program. This program was to do two things. By taking past planetary temperature data it was supposed to predict the future. Kind of a computerized crystal ball. And it was undoubtedly supposed to get the good professor a grant. 

As anyone who has ever written a computer program will tell you, if you pre-decide the results, you can easily manipulate the data to prove yourself right. Is that ethical? No. Is it done? Of course. When people purport to have made a scientific breakthrough and the supporters of this new theory will not allow the rigor of peer review, one must be skeptical.

Well, a terrible thing happened. Suddenly it became the cause celebre  for quasi scientific committees from the UN to public administrations around the world. Almost every committee of politicians with climate or ecology in the name of their committee jumped on board, knowing they had found a path to tons of public money to spend. Hence they billed themselves as scientific bodies and declared the science settled.

As I sit here going through my mid-winter depression waiting for today's blizzard, aided in my depression by the third coldest winter on record, I think about how carbon dioxide is a perfectly normal gas in the atmosphere. In fact plants require it to live. I contemplate that CO2 levels have been much higher than this during past eras. I dream of the ancient time when Greenland was really green and the land there could be farmed. I also think of the phony, made for TV reasons, that getting colder is proof of global warming. And I think, settled science indeed.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Not Only Chickens Get Fried

It is becoming clear to me that the Obama administration hates birds. Most people, especially those that have perused the wonderful art of Jame Audubon, appreciate the beauty of even the least of these creatures. But the majesty of the large, taloned,  predatory birds is just amazing. Especially our national symbol, the bald eagle.

I have written in these pages before how the the Obama administration turns a blind eye to the damage done to birds by the whirling sword like blades of windfarm generators. The operators of these monstrosities are given a free pass to do what would land you or me in a dimly lit room listening to the charges that were going to be brought against us by the government.

In spite of the cost, ugliness, and inefficiency of these "green energy sources", they are favored by this administration that loves that which is politically correct.

But wait. It gets worse. Remember those, much touted, solar farms. Those that are even uglier, more costly, and less efficient than the wind farms. And why do they call them farms? Farms are nice places with fields of wheat or corn or some other goodies. They are picturesque and a joy to the eye. They are everything that energy farms are not.

But back to solar farms. From the Bureau of Unexpected Results. It seem that all that heat reflected upward by those nice shiny solar panels accumulates in the air immediately above. And this air warms up. Really warms up. To temperatures in the realm of 1000 degrees. And surprise surprise, the birds can't read the warning signs. Not that they have warning signs. So you get fried duck or eagle or barred owl or what ever flies over. I hope it is never some dude in one of those little ultra light planes. Zap.

President Obama is out on the road making more speeches about spending more money to defeat global warming. Why doesn't just save us all a few bucks, and a few birds too, and just shut down that massive solar oven. Green energy, indeed.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Oh My! They Must Be Racists

In the five years that Barack Obama has been President the liberals, media, talking heads, and politicians, have been wearing out their race cards. There has been no such thing as a disagreement on policy or a dislike of planned results. If you disagree with Obama you are automatically a racist. Why else would one not cheer every word he speaks.

I do not agree with most of what Mr. Obama does, while not caring a whit about his skin color. He talks too much and says too little. He over extends his reach but not his grip. He procrastinates but does not plan. To his credit, he seems like a good father to his daughters. That goes a long way with me as my wife and I had all daughters. But that does not make him a good President.

Republicans have been vilified and insulted. Not only in their public persona but their private character. The liberals have taken the politics of personal destruction to new levels. It is no wonder that the Republicans have become a little uncooperative. If the President and his party treated me in the same manner they have treated Republicans, I would be loathe to have any part of them. The day he took office, the President forgot his promise to be President to all Americans and became President of liberal Americans.

Now the President's poorly constructed healthcare plan is causing turmoil, even among those he tried to protect with his "get out of Obamacare free" cards. More jobs are disappearing. Economic growth is lagging. People are starting to realize that we never even started into a recovery. In other words, the man with the soaring rhetoric has now become a mill stone to his party.

So now the secret racism of Democrats and liberals is surfacing. While they had the upper hand they could pretend to be just one big happy family where everyone was blue state blue. But when the crunch came and Obama's popularity went down, all those that provided the amen chorus are separating themselves. They are throwing the President off of the cliff. Even the CBC is taking a dislike to some of his policies. Will they start calling him some of the vile names that they have assigned to conservative blacks. If Republicans were racist for disagreeing with Obama, then the Democrats that disagree with him must be racist also.

So the liberal Titanic has hit an iceberg. You know that they must be sinking because you can see the rats abandoning ship.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Not His Country, My Country

I am an unabashed jingoist and proud of it. My country, right or wrong. America the beautiful. The greatest country ever. Just so you know where I am coming from. 

I come from an era where tall smokestacks belched real smoke. Production lines produced and anyone that wanted to work had work available. People, by the millions, shed poverty and became middle class.

Families bought automobiles. Families no longer had to live with multiple generations under one roof. Towns and cities moved outward as public transportation became less necessary.

Over the years, the country remained a manufacturing power, but electricity replaced steam as the energy source that drove the machinery. Smokestacks disappeared but production grew. Skills became more important than brute force. Mechanics, machinists, and welders made more money than common laborers. 

Education and training became more accessible to the average person. Many took advantage, so the average salaries increased. Many families became home owners rather than renters. During the Eisenhower years the interstate roadway system was so improved that peopled were traveling more than ever, and doing it in American made cars.

About this time the attitude became prevalent that all the young'uns need a college education. Our intellectual elite at the time (politicians consider themselves intellectual elite) decided that we no longer needed a manufacturing economy, we could have an information based economy. For the record, I never said politicians are smart. I said, "they think they're smart.

From that point on growth slowed. We ended up with way more lawyers and insurance salesmen than we needed. But we still needed things so a coalition of business people and pols farmed out our great manufacturing empire to foreign countries where people that we don't understand work for practically nothing.

The intellectual elites, (yes, them again) decided that internationalization is the way to go. One world. Everybody equal. End worldwide poverty. So the American middle class is being sacrificed on the alter of globalization. 

The thing is that the sled that we have been taking a downhill ride on, has suddenly gone over a cliff with the present administration. Up until now, the middle class has improved their lot in life. But suddenly in the last five years, while the rich and the politicians have gotten exceedingly richer, the poor and middle class have lost ground.

The rich are, by nature, financial globalists. Business is global, Finance is global. Therefore those that work in those areas must be globalists. American politicians, particularly American Presidents, should not be globalists. They should be America first, devil take the hindmost. In my, sometimes less than humble opinion, a President that isn't America first is a traitor to his country.

Just as a footnote, President Obama just brought John Podesta back to the White House to help straighten out the political mess brought on by Obamacare. Mr. Podesta was most recently assisting the UN in developing a radical new global agenda. I rest my case. 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Two Worlds Of America

Liberals are different from you and I. They have different expectations. They see things differently. Their logic seems to be firmly anchored in the clouds. Trying to be fair, I understand them, but I don't understand them.

Let me explain. I hear their words. They speak in English. Except John Kerry, who sometimes speaks in French to prove he's smart. And I understand the words. It is their logic path that I don't get. Sometimes it seems like they get from point A to point D without going through points B and C.

It is examples you ask for. OK. Global Warming is always a good example of weird logic. The global temperature hasn't risen in seventeen years. The polar ice caps have been restored and then some. Two thirds of the United States is under a blanket of snow with more on the way and we are freezing our backsides off. But our liberal friends tell us that Global Warming is unquestionable. Who are you going to believe, reality or a bunch of semi-scientists that are making a ton of money from government grants. Their newest theory is that the trade winds are pushing the warm water in the oceans down to the bottom and the colder water is coming to the surface. Hence, freezing your butt is Global Warming. I mean, that is just silly.

Another example? I can do that. Lets say you are an average middle class family. You have two point three children and you are getting along on sixty thousand a year with health insurance as part of your benefit package. Now most of us in the real world know that that is just about making ends meet. All of a sudden, because of Obamacare your job just became part time. You have lost your health care insurance and you are now making forty thousand a year. You are required by law to buy your own health insurance. So you go to the government exchange and purchase their terrible bronze package. Those ends that barely met no longer meet at all.

But you should be thankful and happy because your all knowing government just freed you from the bonds of labor. You now have time to enjoy your hobbies or learn yoga or spend more time at the beach with your family. Don't let the fact that you can barely afford food and rent deter you from your happiness.

Liberals live in big cities for the most part. The look down on conservatives that live in fly over country so they tend to avoid them. They live in a world of unproven ideas that they discuss interminably among themselves. When they are involved in national politics they go to Washington. Here, once in power, they can make their dreams a reality. But those that create this reality isolate themselves from it. They have created their own world. In Washington no one gets cut back to part time. No one gets fired in the political class. Listen to them. Pay attention to their words. They are always talking about nuance, so listen to their hidden meanings. You will find there are two worlds of America.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Somebody Out There Hates You

Yes, somebody out there hates you. That is if you are named Hillary and are married to a guy named Bill. The rumor being spread was that Hillary wanted to run for high office. Now, Hillary comes with a lot of baggage. Back a long time ago, when she was lawyering, she was involved in some very questionable activities. When she was questioned about these activities by some Congressmen, she had a sudden attack of dementia praecox, and couldn't remember a thing. 

Fortunately, Hillary recovered from this tragic, or maybe not so tragic, loss of memory and she started a new career as co-President, when Bill was elevated to our highest office by an adoring press and a policy of everything being "for the children". Bill certainly enjoyed his time in office. He thought about it kind of like going back to college and living in a co-ed dorm.

Bills term in office was less kind to Hillary. It is rumored that she didn't particularly care for her husbands exploits. But boys will be boys. She took on the first major attempt to usurp the medical care industry with Hillary-care. Hillary and her close friend Ira Magaziner wrote a health care law the was equal in size and convolution to Obamacare. And after spending years in the creative process, it blew up in her face. These were not good years for Hillary. She was also embarrassed when it became public that she was playing crony capitalism with the White House Travel Office.

But times change and many admired her tough stand by your man attitude. To many Democrats, she had paid her dues. She hung in and kept herself in the core power structure of the party. Most Democrats seemed to be willing to put the Benghazi scandal behind them and anoint her as the next Presidential candidate. The liberal press seemed to be right there willing and able to do their part.

But suddenly there seems to be articles showing up that do not paint such a glowing portrait of Hillary. These articles seem to be gnawing away at the edges of the carefully crafted Hillary image. Two thing are surprising. These articles don't seem to be coming from Republicans and this is awfully early in the election cycle to be going negative. 

It looks like someone doesn't want Hill and Bill back in the White House. And it looks like that someone has juice and a large bucket of black paint if they are starting now. All I can say is watch your six Hillary because it looks like somebody out there hates you.   

Monday, February 10, 2014

Do You Know Who We Owe?

I was thinking about the national debt. I was primarily thinking about how much we owe China, because it rankles me that our numb butt politicians would have so little self control that they would put us in this position. So I Googled it, and I came up with this link.
http://beforeitsnews.com/financial-markets/2012/12/how-much-money-does-the-united-states-owe-china-2484234.html  I was astonished. These figures are a little old. We owe even more now and our President wants to push the ceiling up again. The people in Washington do not understand restraint

I am not only upset by the amount of debt our politicians have put on us, I am astonished at the number of countries and organizations that hold that debt. How can the United States be honest brokers and peacekeepers in a world where so many own a piece of our action.

Between the National Debt and the financial bubble the Fed has built, this country is in serious trouble and we need solutions not people digging the hole we are in deeper. Why the smartest President ever doesn't recognize this I cannot understand. I mean, we really need those solutions now.

My basic premise is that no matter how big the problem, there is always a solution. The difference being that some solutions are more palatable then others. So in all modesty, I have a suggestion for Mr. Obama. It may not be the best solution, but if we can prime the pump of ideas perhaps something will come of it.

I am thinking that we could trade some property for our debt. To be practical it could not be on this continent. In fact it should be distant. It must have enough value to settle what we owe and maybe even pick up a little profit. I'm thinking the Hawaiian Islands. Not all of them of course. Maybe just a few of the smaller ones.

What does Hawaii have? Military bases, tourists, and pineapples. We could still buy the pineapples. One of my favorites, by the way. We would keep the islands with the best military bases. The tourist trade would certainly be a selling feature that would bring our creditors to the table.

"The longest journey starts with a single step." Now I have taken that first step for our President. The rest of the journey is up to him. But he'd best hurry. Time is getting short.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Once Again, Down Is Up

I have been listening to the chattering class on TV, holding forth on Obamacare. In spite of what I hear those in obeisance to the President say, it is beyond a train wreck. It is more like "The Last Days of Pompeii", with Vesuvius shaking and smoking and spitting up lava. It is all going to flow downhill, as most problems do, and bury us. Those that created the monster will shrug their shoulders and walk away, unaffected.

The thing that hasn't been spoken about yet is that this has become a totally elitist plan. Obamacare was sold as a plan that would give inexpensive quality health insurance to those that couldn't afford protection today. But it has gone upside down and backwards.

In the Obamacare exchanges there seem to be four basic categories. They are the gold plan, the silver plan, the bronze plan, and medicaid. The names alone should pretty much define the problem. The gold plan is for the rich folks. It is expensive. But it has low co-pays and a low maximum out-of-pocket expense. Not a problem for the rich to pay for and since they are rich, what the insurance doesn't supply they will pay for in cash.

The silver plan is for those not quite rich but doing well. They will pay less for their policy and pay a little more out-of-pocket. But they can probably afford what ever they need. Maybe they won't be happy about it, but they will cover the tab.

Then there is the bronze plan. Cheaper still, but still not cheap. Higher co-pays and a much higher out of pocket maximum expense. This is the plan that most middle class families will purchase. What this amounts to is cataclysmic health coverage. What was supposed to improve health care for those that have a problem with cost will ultimately ruin their health because the plan cost along with the out-of-pocket expense will force many families to forgo more expensive treatment and testing, should they be required.

Finally we have medicaid for the most indigent. Many doctors are bailing out on the medicaid program as the payments are low. So if you are poor, and you can find a doctor still in the system, and you can get an appointment soon enough to help you, it will probably not be with one of your towns prime physicians.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have paid a lot of hard earned cash for this turkey. And there won't be a Thanksgiving. The politicians will just tell us to "get stuffed"

Friday, February 7, 2014

Feed Your Cow Brussels Sprouts

I am tired of looking at white. All I see when I look out my window is white. I am not alone in this. Two thirds of the country are looking at white. I have come to hate white. I like green. I like buds and leaves and grass.  

I expect some of this. After all, I live in New England. Southern New England, but New England none the less. I expect any day to hear news of the glaciers moving south once more. I've never been enthused about winter, but the older I get the less I like it.

I have a plan. I want to bring back global warming. I know, some of the numb brained politicians (that may be redundant) will tell you that global warming is an ongoing problem. Bull. That's just another way to extract money from you to give to their friends and supporters.

But think of the advantages. Longer growing seasons would mean more and cheaper food. More beach time. Nicer clothes. No big coats and mukluks. Warm sun to cure the chilblains. The advantages are endless. 

I have never believed that human activity contributed much to any possible global warming. But if we made a concerted effort I'll bet we could. And, would you believe, I have an idea how we, together, might get this done. First, if you have one or more cows feed them Brussels sprouts. Our government claimed, and who could doubt them, that cow flatulence was a large contributor to global warming. In my experience, nothing creates flatulence any better than a good bowl of sprouts. 

If you have teenage boys feed them legumes. Lots and lots of legumes. Your sons will appreciate your efforts, as it give them all kinds of opportunities to be inappropriate and yuk it up at awkward times. And that is a teen age boy's joy.

Buy larger vehicles and drive, drive, drive. I know gasoline is  expensive, but we must all sacrifice. American people are clever. I know all of you out there are already thinking of more and savvier ways to increase your carbon footprint. Thank you all for your efforts. Together we will be able to push that glacier back and once again grow corn in Greenland. 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Skills Required

For the past five years, we have had the political equivalent of a shopaholic in the White House. As he walks down the liberal version of Rodeo Drive, there is no social program that he will not purchase. The price tag doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter if some peoples lives are harmed in the process. If it sound good, it is good. "Just toss that right into the shopping cart, please.  We're spending other peoples money so just load us up."   

"Green energy? You bet. So it doesn't work now. It will some day, maybe. Electric cars? Sure thing. So people don't want them. I'll explain it to them and change their minds. Health care? We can work wonders with that. I picture a beautiful website where everyone will want to go and spend hours examining options and filling out forms. It will be just lovely. I'll mention that to my people. They will have that up and running in no time".

Then the dream faded and reality struck. They spent money that we can't afford. The green energy companies went bankrupt. The people could not be convinced to buy electric cars. The Obamacare website was and still is a disaster. Obamacare is costing more money, jobs, and confusion than it is worth. And now on the horizon Obama has spotted "climate hubs". This will, of course, be another black hole into which our wealth is poured.

So, why did this mess come about? We all know, but I'll say it anyway. Obama was not properly vetted as a candidate. That is the job of the press. But instead of doing their due diligence, they immediately took him to their pathetic little liberal hearts based on cool. It is so cool to have a President that is cool. I prefer the other "C" word. Competent. The man had neither skills nor experience, and now we pay the price.

The 2016 Presidential campaign is already starting to crank up. Most of the press and, apparently, most Democrats are already deifying Hillary Clinton. The only difference that I see between her and Obama is the pastel pant suits.

Her greatest achievement to date was marrying Bill and learning to sing "Stand by Your Man". Her career as a lawyer leaves some major questions. She had a major failure with Hillarycare. She was a so so Senator. She accomplished little as Secretary of State and allowed the debacle at Benghazi. Not exactly a sparkling resume to be President.

We cannot afford another eight years of mismanagement. So the Republicans better get their act together. Re-enact Reagan's eleventh commandment. Find a solid conservative with positive management experience and unify behind that person. This is not a game and we need a serious person with the skills required.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

It's Cruel To Lose Your Cool

It hurts to lose your cool. If you don't believe me, ask Peyton Manning. He will never be able to look at Tom Brady again without thinking, "he's has three and I have one". Life is tough.

It is bad enough when this happens to a star quarterback. It is far worse when the President of the United States loses both his cool and his groove. Sitting across from Bill O'Reilly, Barack Obama looked decidedly uncomfortable. But when the man that is supposed to be the most powerful man in the world blames his failings on a news channel it is downright embarrassing. He looked extremely uncool.

When asked questions about other scandals and his management of them, he rambled and equivocated. In other words, he has also lost his groove. Next week the President is going to Saudi Arabia. He is in trouble with the Saudis too, and he is surprised by it. What more can an American President do? He bowed as low as he possibly could in a gesture of deep respect. He has done all that he can to make sure America doesn't become energy independent, stopping the flow of American petro-dollars into Saudi coffers. He has done everything possible to weaken Israel and their strong allied relationship with America.

Wait a minute. Doesn't Saudi Arabia rely on the existence of a strong Israel. This is never spoken out loud, but you bet they do. A strong Israel is the only player in the neighborhood that can keep Iran in check. That strength is multiplied by the support of the United States. Without Israel to provide balance that whole area would be a tinder box.

One might ask, why don't the Saudis build up their own military? Simple. Saudis don't do work. Their military is for show. The Saudi princes love to fly those cool American jet fighter planes so they have an air force kind of as a hobby. But all is show. You will not see a Saudi prince getting his posterior shot off in a dogfight. The Saudis import workers to do their manual labor, and that includes fighting. America has always picked up the slack for them so we would have access to their oil. For decades now America has been the de facto Saudi military.

But now we really don't need their oil. We can be energy independent. This scares the hell out of the Saudis. Without Israel and the United States, working together, times will be very tough in the mideast. But a grooveless President lacking cool seems to be at sea in the Arabian Gulf. You cannot appease both Iran and Saudi Arabia by dumping Israel without creating a monstrous mess. I think our President is beginning to understand that foreign relations is way more complicated than he thought it was. In a hot dry place like that, it is a bad thing to lose your cool.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Behind The Broadsheet Curtain

From the time that he got his drivers license, the President has lived behind the broadsheet curtain. To be more precise, he has lived in big cities and in liberal conclaves. From Boston in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts to Chicago to Washington D.C., he has never lived out among the people.

Our President has not had the experiences that have molded most of us in the country. He has never had to climb up on a roof to fix a leak. He has never hiked in woods that didn't have man made paths and signs to prevent one from getting lost. He has never gone out and caught, cleaned, and cooked his own dinner.

In a news article last week, we were told that the President has an 80 % approval rating in Washington D.C. That is the bubble in which he lives. It is also the bubble that he takes with him when he travels. He is surrounded by handlers and protection. He hears what they tell him and read what is in the Washington Post and the New York Times. All else is just background noise to be ignored.

Out here in the cities and towns, among people that will get their hands dirty, the experience of living is far different. We know that we are not people of privilege. We know that we are the working stiffs that just want a decent job and a chance to get ahead. We also know that it is successful companies that give us opportunity, not the almighty government.

We have learned through life experience, something that hasn't penetrated the broadsheet curtain. We have learned that government does not give, it takes. We and the country are successful when it takes less. We fully realize that a government that cannot restrain it's own baser instincts causes, sometimes irreparable, harm. That is what we are facing today.

A President whose horizon is no farther than the sound of his own voice, is not a President for the ages. A man who hears only the voice in his own head, is not a visionary. Circumstances, both foreign and domestic, are closing in on us. And what solution is presented to us. Even more of what has so far failed. The only happy place is behind the broadsheet curtain. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

I Hope I Wasn't Wrong

Over the past few years, I have heard and seen in print, where many people think Barack Obama is a Muslim. I have denied it. Although I was not a fan I felt that he deserved the benefit of the doubt. I now wonder if I was mistaken.

It is well known that Obama was first schooled in a madrassa. That would mean that he studied the Koran. In fact it would mean that, even as a small boy, he was required to memorize parts of the Koran.

Also, as part of Islamic schooling, I have no doubt that he is familiar with the practice of taqiyya. That is a tenet of the Islamic faith that allows the faithful to lie to infidels. To live as infidels. To do virtually anything that allows them to advance Islam. There is also another tenet called kitman that is less well known. Kitman allows Muslims to withhold information that may harm Islam. In other words, when among infidels, they have a free license for any behavior they declare necessary.

There were a number of early signs that increased my suspicions. It was fine to hold out the hand of friendship to those in the middle east that hate us. I didn't, for a minute, believe that it would work. One would expect a new, avowedly liberal, president to try. But an American President, bowing that low, to a Saudi prince. Not right, just not right. An American, particularly a President, bows to no man.

Then came the comment about the beauty of the muezzin's call to prayer. Not that much all alone but one more rung in the ladder. Add to that the fact that CAIR representatives are welcome in the White House in spite of CAIR's well known affiliation with HAMAS and alarm bells must go off. Along with the President's concern over Arab interests he has shown a decided disrespect for our closest ally in the area, Israel.

I have to ask, how many American adults that read the news and are aware of international politics would allow Iran to play us like our President has? They have been doing it for years and"the smartest President ever" hasn't caught on yet. Obama celebrates the complexity of international diplomacy by reducing the sanctions on Iran. Now they even have the temerity to threaten us with a devastating war that would bring about our destruction. But our President looks the other way, plugs his ears, and they march on to nuclear weapons. Once again Iran won. We lost. Well, not we. He.

If you don't understand just how dangerous that is, look up the legend of the "Twelfth Imam". Read it carefully and in reference to current history. I think that will make my case.

Then there is energy. It would seem to me that our President would do anything he could to make America energy independent. For the immediate future that means fossil fuels. The time is not here for green energy. The technology cannot handle the load. Wasting money on failing companies, as Obama has done, will not accelerate the process. Obama's administration has done everything possible to stifle American energy production. The only people that profit from this is Warren Buffett and his railroad hauling Canadian oil that should go through the Keystone pipeline and middle eastern sheikhs.

No one has seen the President leave a mosque with a Koran and a prayer rug. But the circumstantial evidence built up here at least gives me pause. Where ever his loyalties lie, they don't seem to lie with the majority of the American people. And in that, he is so wrong. I just hope I wasn't wrong.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Has The World Stopped Spinning?

I really wanted to produce a blog today that was hard hitting and gave my readers important insights. Something that would educate and anger the electorate. Something that touched on the hottest news stories of the day. So before I even had my morning coffee, I went through the Drudge report and three national newspapers to see what was moving the world.

It seems that the world, this weekend, is moved by the latest crisis in Justin Bieber world. That far off and foggy sphere where there is no reality to grasp on to. Then there is the ongoing saga of the Chris Christie bridge extravaganza. I heard a rumor that there may be a movie deal on the way. I think they are planning to call it "The Bridges of Essex County".

In the national arena there is the constant and ongoing picking at the weakest State of the Union message in history. In my mind, that is much ado about nothing.  Along with that, we have the ongoing debate over the Keystone XL pipeline, will he or won't he. He's the President of the United States for heavens sake. It would be good for the country. What? Is he afraid it will offend the Saudis.

Then there is the Super Bowl. I will be honest. My football season ended two weeks ago. It is not just that the Patriots are out. It is also that I wish both of these two teams could lose. For the last week I have been trying to decide which team I disliked the least. It ended as a no decision. I dislike both equally. Did I hear there is a "Little House on the Prairie" marathon on some remote and distant channel. Maybe I'll seek that out. 

To be fair, I went back looking for news updates a half a dozen times through the day. Nada.  Nil. Zip. So I can't think of anything to write about. Could it be writers block? Bloggers block? My wife suggested a blog about Groundhogs Day. Maybe that has some possibilities.