Random Thoughts - Twelve

I cannot support a professional football team that wears pastels. C'mon guys!

A few thoughts on the morning after the final (thank God) debate:

     Bob Schieffer was far and away the best of the moderators.

     Barack Obama still got more time than Mitt Romney, as he did in all three debates.

     Romney came across as presidential and adult.

     Obama came across as rude, snarky, and mean.

     Close on points, but in the end I felt Romney came out looking far better.


Confession; Every once in a while I flipped over to the football game. Two reasons. I like football and my brain was starting to hurt after watching three previous debates.

Suggestion; Two debates. One three hour debate with an intermission for president. One two hour debate for VP.

It is only two weeks to what I consider the most important election of my lifetime. I truly feel that the future of our country and the quality of life for the next generation rests on the results. I hope all voters see it that way. I also hope that the illustrious politicians to whom we have entrusted this great nation realize just where they have left us. They should all be ashamed.

Obama's greatest talent in the debates was to speak as if he had all of the facts and planning stored in his head and was speaking as the final authority, when, in fact, he was wrong about so many things. He was wrong on the military's needs, sequestration, Benghazi, etc. But the question is, was he wrong because he made a mistake or was he lying?. Either case is bad.

While we are on the president, I remember every president since FDR. I do not remember any president who so loved the sound of his own voice that he would bombast some place every day and get it covered on TV. Silence will be golden.

I admit that I get annoyed as I see the country speeding toward financial collapse and I hear people voting for president based on gay marriage or free contraception for women.

Squeeze Play

Back in 1970 the government formed the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, commonly known as OSHA.  They were given the right to send their inspectors into businesses to be sure that they were operating in a safe manner and protecting their employees from harm. 

At the time I was working in the electrical industry. It appeared that there was going to be a great deal of OSHA's enforcement focusing on my business. As they were putting on seminars all over the country to explain to those interested the purpose and methods of OSHA. I took it upon myself to attend one. It was quite an experience.

The young engineer giving the seminar seemed very well versed in the rules and regulations of OSHA. He did not seem to know much about business in general. As he detailed the list of failings they  would be looking for in the businesses they inspected he also gave a list of the fines that could be accrued. The fines seemed rather steep. I did ask two questions. First, "Are the fines going to happen on the initial visit?". Second, "What if the business cannot afford these fines?".

The answer to the first was that the fines would be immediate. There would be no attempt to help the business fix any problems. The answer to the second was "I'm sure they can get a loan to cover the fines or they will have to close their doors". Wow, that was informational.

I realized at that point that OSHA was not about safety or health, It was a profit center. It was just another way for the government to squeeze money from business for politicians to spend. The insatiable appetite of the non-productive class to spend other peoples money strikes again.

Today we have an EPA gone wild. They are doing the same type of thing but to an even greater degree. They are grabbing control of peoples private land if they have standing water or a ditch along a road. If you use soap to wash your car in your own driveway and that soapy water runs off your driveway watch out for the EPA.

The EPA is increasing control on mines. Particularly coal mines. Thousands of coal miners are being put out of work in areas where coal mining is the only work available. Unfortunately, in this case it is as much ideology as money.

We are losing control of the government and the government is gaining control over the citizens and destroying business en route. This is wrong. The group that is supposed to prevent this, the congress, has allowed themselves to be neutered. Those that see and understand this must spread the word. We are citizens, not subjects. There are those that would trade their rights for a cradle to grave nanny government. They are wrong. There is no greater end than personal freedom.

Promises, Promises

When I was a young lad of eleven years, there was something that I wished to do that my mother was against. That was not an uncommon situation in our house. I was a typical boy and my mother was very overprotective. She was also extremely controlling and manipulative. She knew how to push all the right buttons. In those days few women worked outside the home. It was common for a woman to get dressed up and take the bus downtown and go "shopping". In the midst of our mental tug of war, that is exactly what my mother did. She arrived home toting a bunch of bags from various downtown stores shortly after I got home from school.

As she entered the house she cried out in a cheery voice, "I bought you something". I was a little kid. I liked it when people bought me things. So my immediate response was "What?".
"I'm not going to tell you, but it is really nice" was her answer. "It's something you are going to love." Suddenly I realized this was not a loving gift from Mom. Instead, we were in negotiations. "Give up that idea we discussed and you can have it." she said. To make a very long story short, she won. She made that gift sound as if it were a bag of gold coins. It was a wallet. I didn't need a wallet. I didn't even want a wallet. I got conned. Hey, I was only eleven. I agreed, I was told, and you can't go back on an agreement. Game, set, match. I lost.

So here we sit, four years into the Obama administration. Four years ago we were given a whole bunch of promises. Peace would reign in the middle east, unemployment would be down to six percent, there would be no lobbyists in the administration, politics would be transparent, this would be a post racial administration, that the deficit would be reduced and on and on. Just how many of those promises have been brought to fruition. By my count, that would be exactly none.

Then we have been through the last two years of campaigning (actually, I think it is four years) interspersed with rounds of golf, expensive vacations, and campaign trips on Air Force One. We have listened to endless speeches about how difficult the job is, how his inability to achieve results toward keeping any of his promises is someone else's fault, usually George Bush, and how, in spite of what we see with our own eyes, the future is bright. Really folks, just another four years and another five hundred billion dollars and you can have it all.

Just let him keep borrowing money that we have to borrow to pour into bottomless rat holes, keep covering up for terrorists, keep governing like a despot with no respect for the rule of law or the constitution, and keep destroying what little energy base that we have left. Just do that and the promised land will be ours. Promises, promises. Your trying to press our buttons Mr. President, but we are not eleven years old. And frankly you're not as good at it as my mother.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire (A Fantasy)

I woke up this morning and I remembered hearing this interview, but I don't remember where I heard it. It went like this:

Reporter; Mr. President, Benghazi has been an important topic for the past month and we have heard conflicting stories. Can you explain what happened?

POTUS; Well Chris, this is a very complicated situation involving the State Department and the intelligence community. The White House, of course, was never involved. We are doing an in depth investigation right now as we speak. I can tell you this. Our preliminary findings are that Romney lied. And I think I can say with some surety that will also be the final conclusion. But I must remind you once again Romney lied.

Reporter; Thank you Mr. President for that profound analysis. Thank God we have you in the White House. A lesser intellect may not have been able to unravel this complicated problem. Now Sir, this thing called "Fast and Furious" keeps coming up in the lying conservative media. Can you tell us anything about that?

POTUS; Of course I can Chris. As you know, I am more expert on any subject than all of the experts working for me. So I am able to lecture at length about anything you might bring up. "Fast and Furious" was invented by the Bush administration and left in place to embarrass me. But we were able to keep it isolated to the lowest levels of ATF. Of course the White House never knew about this. So this whole thing was created by the misdeeds of a couple of the cleaning personnel at the Phoenix office. The only reason it is still news is because Romney lied.

Reporter; That is truly amazing sir. The lengths that those evil conservatives will go to embarrass your own sacred self is disgusting. There are some misguided individuals out there that claim that you didn't do well in the first debate. Have you any comment?

POTUS; Of course I do Chris. As you know, I am a brilliant and thoughtful person and also extremely polite. I prefer to ponder my answers for a few moments and think about the nuances of the words that I use to frame my profound answers. So it is obvious to me that I won the debate. Especially when you consider that through the whole debate Romney lied.

Reporter; I understand sir. Basking in the light of your brilliance has me practically vibrating with excitement. Sir, have you any comments about theVice President's debate?

POTUS; First, let me say he is a great Vice President. But he gets excited when he is on stage. When ever he goes out in public, we make him wear a dark suit. You know, just in case. Thank God he had one on at the debate. He really didn't want to interrupt so much but he got upset that other guy was getting a chance to talk. We felt that that was unfair as the VP was so much older. Also both Ryan and Romney lied.

Now you must remember that I woke with this interview firmly in my thoughts but I couldn't remember if I actually saw it or if I dreamed it. But it seemed real when compared with most of the reporting I have seen of late.

Timing is Everything

When Mitt Romney started his run for president, I sort of supported him, as I felt that four more years of Obama would be harmful for the country. I was not happy with Romney's campaign style. He was letting the opposition define him without any serious counter-moves  I was so bothered that I wrote an open letter to him on this blog.

 Although I have doubts about the accuracy of polls they can show trends. Romney was losing ground. I did have some thoughts that a man as smart as Romney could not ignore this. A good business man does not let his ego get in the way of his decisions. And above all thing we know Romney is a good business man.

 Along came the debate, Romney cleaned Obama's clock and left him staggering into the ropes. The old Mitt had left the stage and the new Mitt entered stage left and gave a premier performance. Now I think I understand. As has been often said, "timing is everything".

Obama has been the victim of a con job. Romney played the part of a bumbler and Obama's people bought it. They based their constant, ad hominum attacks on that image. In beating on Romney's straw man they completed their own image as people without new ideas that have only a message of berating the opposition. It has made them look small and smug.

Romney's exhibition of quiet competence, knowledge of the facts, plans for the country and good humor during the first debate left the Obama supporters reeling. Romney and the people around him are skilled in the political arena. They have seem many political campaigns peak out a month before the election. I think they have this campaign as timed and scripted as a Broadway musical.

In other words, don't expect anything less out of Romney in the next two debates than he gave in the first. He will come loaded, locked, and ready for bear. ( If you haven't noticed, I like to mix metaphors).

It hasn't been widely publicized, but the Obama's have purchased a beautiful ocean side estate in Hawaii. It is supposed to be ready for them in early January. That gives me thoughts of handwriting on walls or lights at the end of tunnels. I can't decide what metaphor to select. How about just a nice simple aloha. 


Since I finished writing the material above a couple of things have happened. One is the vice-presidential debate. I thought that was one of the most bizarre spectacles that I have seen in politics. Biden, a heart beat away from being president, scares me. Even if you gave them a tie on the debate itself, Biden blew it by his actions. It seems that a lot of people agree.

The second thing is that I got hit with a Trojan Horse virus. And it was a nasty one. It took a number of hours over two days working with the Cox technicians to clean everything up. It not only locked up my computer but also corrupted my anti-virus software and my web browser. I will say that the Cox techs are my heroes. Folks, be careful what you click on. If it has to do with someone un-friending you on facebook, don't do it. As a matter of fact, don't click on anything that you don't initiate.

Trickle Down Economics Examined

I know that most of you regular readers understand basic economics and more. But there are always new people joining us that haven't been exposed to some of the basic ideas. Besides I enjoy writing on economic subjects from time to time. One concept that has been much maligned of late is that of "trickle down economics".

It seems to give our president great pleasure to stand, surrounded by his teleprompters, looking down his nose at his audience, and exclaim in his most condescending professorial voice, "it's been tried before and it doesn't work". It has been tried before, a number of times. JFK tried it and it worked. Reagan tried it and it worked. George W. tried it and it worked. Actually, it always works. It is Obama's plan that Romney labled "trickle down government", which is the opposite of "trickle downeconomics", that never works.

So let's examine both methods. Let's say that the tax rate for couples earning over $200,000 is 40%. Also, let us say that the economy is stagnant and in recession. New mortgages are down and orders for durable goods are down.

A president believing in "trickle down" will decide to lower the tax rate across the board by ,maybe, 5%. All of the tax paying population will benefit. (Please see my other posting, "Skin In the Game". It ties in nicely.) But those that earn over $200,000 are the ones that are important as they will be the ones that break the downward spiral. Why, you ask, are they so important? For two reasons. First, as they see money stay where it was earned, in their pockets, they are encouraged to spend. Much of that spending will be on durable goods like new cars and new appliances. Some may take advantage of a housing market that is still depressed to buy a new home. This will kick start the economy.

Reason number two is that many of the folks earning over two hundred grand own small businesses. A lot of these businesses are S Corporations. Those are privately held corporations where the profits are shown as the owners income. In other words, if an owner wants to hire more help or buy new equipment it comes out of his personal profits or his bank account. If the government doesn't take the money as taxes for the politicians to spend the business owner can use it to expand his business.

Business improves from the top. As things get better and more people get good jobs consumer confidence goes up and the economy blossoms. The state of an economy depends a great deal on the state of mind of the earners in the economy. If they're happy the economy's happy.

Obama's theory, I've also heard it called "trickle up", seems to have three components. First, let half of the working population pay no income tax. Second, pass out a dole in the form of increased time for unemployment payments and get more families on food stamps. Third, tax heavily those making over two hundred thousand dollars. As I write this, it really gave me a feeling that this shows dismal outlook on the economy.

The problem is that the people on the low end of the economy must spend their money on things like food, fuel, rent, and clothing. They buy the basic needs not durable goods. And as the cost of food and fuel rise to meet any extra money available there is no net gain to the economy.

The politicians will tell you that there is a lot more to "trickle up" than that. Yes, there is, the politicians take part of the earnings of the American people as income tax and "invest it". What they can't get in taxes they borrow. So how do they invest it? They created 87 duplicate job training programs when there are no jobs. They invested in car companies where the only ones that came out ahead were the unions. They invested in "green energy" companies run by their supporters that were already on the way to bankruptcy court when the government so kindly gave them your money. The president thinks this will boost the economy? Really?

Now is the time to say "no more". The hole is already too deep. Stop the digging. It is time to back fill and move onward and upward.

Unaccountable, That's What You Are

Remember the old song lyric "irresistible, that's what you are"? Well, if that song were written for Barack Obama, they would have to have written "unaccountable" instead of irresistible. Someone tried to pin the name "the Teflon president" on Ronald Reagan. Because, they said, nothing sticks to him. Then Obama must be the fog president because everything seems to pass right through him and it never leaves a mark.

As I watched the first debate I was amazed that the president would play so loosely with the facts when he must have known that Mr. Romney would be there with facts and figures at his fingertips. In short, Mr. Romney came prepared. Mr. Obama did not.

There are two other things that I found strange if not borderline offensive. The first is that Mr. Obama would not look his opponent in the eye and try to rebut the points that Mr. Romney rather soundly made. The second is that the day after the debate, when he had the stage to himself and his best friend, the teleprompter, by his side, Mr. Obama seemed to be doing his best impression of Richard the Lionhearted. Where he never said boo during the debate now he was all fired up and making accusations of lying and distortion. My theory is, if you're not man enough to say these things to your opponent's face, you shouldn't be saying them behind his back.

But, just for fun, let us examine some of Mr. Obama's lies and distortions. He said that, in spite of taking $716 billion out of medicare, seniors would get the same quality of coverage. Except that if a senior is released from the hospital after treatment, the hospital will be heavily fined if they re-admit that patient within thirty days. So if you are that patient pray  that all goes well with no bad reactions or follow up required because you may not get the help you need.

Also, that fifteen member panel that is "just looking into ways to make health care more effective" is going to be disallowing certain treatments to the elderly as not within their cost/benefit analysis. After all, the elderly are less productive.

Of course, Obama's famous promises to bring back jobs and reduce the deficit have long since been forgotten.

Obama promised to turn the problems in the middle east around. That didn't work so well. It's more of a mess over there now than it has been in my lifetime. Speaking of the middle east, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the current debacle in Libya. It was a 9/11 attack by Al Queda or one of it's spin offs. Four great Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens were killed at an insecure consulate in Benghazi. They were not given the security team that they requested. In my estimation, that is on the Secretary of State. But almost immediately the whole Obama administration was out spreading a story, blaming it on a dumb movie trailer that had been available for weeks. Just more lies.

OK, the final untruth for today. Obama has publicly proclaimed his love for an "across the board" policy for energy. Now, look at the truth, Coal mines are being shut down by the EPA. Oil licenses on public lands are not being issued. The Keystone XL pipeline still languishes. But there is plenty of our money to pass out to Obama supporters running failing solar energy companies and those companies that kill our great American symbol ,the Bald Eagle, with huge wind farms.

Misplaced loyalties, displaced facts, and Chicago style politics. I'm ready for a change.