Obamonomics

Obama is once again making the creating of jobs “Job One.” Unfortunately, this is his fifteenth try at Job One. He rows against his own tide of oppressive government interference (i.e. the Gulf moratorium, hindering Alaskan oil progress) and wonders why unemployment is so high. Business sits on its money, not due to greed, but to the uncertainty of tax hikes, EPA rules and  “wet blanket” regulations that stiflingly makes new hires a risky prospect at best.

During the last debt “crisis” Democrats pushed for raising the debt limit like a bankrupt man trying to qualify for one more credit card. In the end, fear of the unknown won out over rational thinking. Funny how the last time this happened in 2006, a Senator Obama claimed raising the limit was a sign of failed leadership and he voted against it.

What was missing from this whole mess was how we got here. The Tea Party pointed this out and they were soundly chastised as raving extremist terrorists holding us hostage. It is amazing to me how some believe increasing the debt limit by which Washington sucks money out of the private sector as it competes for borrowed funds is a good thing. No matter what you think, there can be no denying that we are in trouble in every sector of the economy. Capitalism made us the greatest nation on earth, and now it has become our scapegoat. We have gone further and perfected economic cannibalism by taxing unemployment benefits, Social Security and penalizing those seniors who want to work and can continue to pay into the system.

When our nation was founded, the English made the greatest strides in advancing the colonizing of America after they recognized that a communal sharing of goods would not work. The British trumpeted individual achievement and the hard work reaped benefits. It is only when they tried to control things to tightly that there was rebellion. It is not different today.                               

What makes America great is the collective efforts of individuals engaged in enterprising pursuits that create wealth and jobs. There is no job that government can create, there is no shovel ready project, and this is why Obama’s efforts to focus on jobs go wrong every time. He equates wealth with evil, poverty with virtue, and taxes as the key to improve America. Sure capitalism has been abused but capitalism itself has virtues. There is no doubt that politicians greatly helped to pave the way for today’s situation by misrepresenting the dire strait of Fanny and Freddy. One corrupt Congressmen does not mean you shut all of Congress down until everyone is checked out. Actually, hey…

Government is like that obnoxious uncle who wants to help but just gets in the way, creating new problems. Taxes come from doing business and Obama needs to take the governor off our economic engine and let business go do its thing. The state of Texas has done this and more jobs have been created than all the other states combined. If more tax money is desired, raising taxes is fool’s gold. A demand for more revenue should also be accompanied by an equal opportunity for business to create wealth that can then be taxed. That is the American Way.

Bin Laden and Garcia Law Firm

Two recent executions are certainly cause to ponder the meaning of justice. Two men, Osama Bin Laden and Humberto Leal Garcia, recently met their just ends. Though they never met, they have become intertwined. It cuts to the heart of the whole issue of exactly what justice means.

We certainly know the history of Bin Laden, who was called the most evil man on earth. Most everyone cheered loudly when the Navy Seals hastened Osama’s meeting his Maker. Presidents Bush and Obama had sworn to get this man, and America was behind them. Despite no legal sentence having been passed down on Bin Laden, his death was a cause for national celebration.

Yet these same two presidents also attempted to use their political sway to prevent a justly convicted man from being executed in Texas. Their reasoning? The integrity of an international ruling on reviewing the convictions of all Mexican national death row inmates was at stake. There was no doubt as to his guilt; Garcia brutalized and murdered a sixteen year old girl-- a guilt he never denied. Appeal upon appeal was processed through our courts until nothing stood between Garcia and his execution date.

The protest from Bush and Obama was that Garcia should have received legal counseling from the Mexican consulate before his legal remedies could be considered to be fully exhausted. The problem here was that Garcia had in been in the U.S. since age two, and that neither Obama nor Bush was able to get this ruling passed through Congress was compounding the issue. Where is the concern for the victim and her family?

Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor Texas Governor Rick Perry was standing for any of this nonsense and Garcia was executed on schedule. Here is the puzzler: Bin Laden is killed with no trial and his death is cheered while Garcia is justly convicted and his death is cause for insane pleas of clemency based on an illegitimate legal basis. This makes about as much sense as North Korea taking the chairmanship of the U.N. Nuclear Disarmament Panel conference-- the same North Korea that is a rogue nation thumbing its nose at the continuing international outcry about its lawless nuclear policy.

When Congress won’t pass this boondoggle legislation, why should U.S. courts even hear the illegitimate pleas of Obama and Bush? Yet this inane manner of thinking has precedent. The Kyoto Treaty, a “forward” thinking way to control global warming, was passed at an international conference and submitted for approval to the U.S. Senate by the Clinton Administration. Internationally, it would place the greatest burden (meaning we pay money) on the United States to get their carbon-controlling act together. In a nail biter vote of 95-0, the treaty was rejected. When will we learn?

That Which We Would Not

A small article buried in page six of June 20th Herald-Palladium caught my eye as a pharmacy in Medford, New York was robbed of prescription medication and four persons were killed. They likely followed their store policies right to their death. Now cut to Benton Harbor, MI on May 28th of this year where pharmacist Jeremy Hoven, carrying a registered concealed weapon, fired after almost being fired upon by a robber. In hindsight, did he do the right thing? Not according to Walgreens, who fired him. Mr. Hoven had a choice: follow store policy by waiting for the gunman to clear his jammed gun and then be shot or do all he can save not only his life but those under his stead. In times of great stress, we do not what we wish to but that which we need to do.

Many times a situation comes down to facing the devil and our nation is under great stress right now. Our proverbial financial pants are busting at the waist due to the weight of our national debt and we have two choices: get bigger pants (higher taxes to spend more), or cut (also called fiscal sanity) our spending to solve the problem. The answer seems obvious, but there are those who would rather get the bigger pants (a.k.a. soak the rich) and go on as if traveling to Oz. There is not enough tax revenue to satiate their lust.

What we fail to understand is that it all comes back to us in the end. I mean, we sure got BP to pay for all the expenses of the oil spill in the Gulf last year, right? No. They wrote off billions on their taxes, and coupled with higher gas prices, who pays the bill? More taxes means more spending which means more borrowing because Congress never has enough which means higher costs on products which means you pay more.

Benton Harbor has gone through a great deal of pain because things just haven't been right. City managers were fired when they tried to do anything of substance to fix the problem. Now, under the guidance of Mr. Harris, Benton Harbor has endured the tough love and is the better for it financially. It’s never easy to take the hard road but, like Mr. Hoven, sometimes we have to do that which we would rather not. God bless America.

What The...?

What the...

What the heck happened on the way to Afghanistan? To hear Obama speak in the 2008 election it was the right war and was dubbed the Obama War. Today, it has not taken shape as it should have and we are already speaking of exiting the country with the outcome far from certain. Things don’t seem to be getting much better and what gains we do have are fragile at best.

 

One would think with advancements in the war, we would have a greater net of security and less casualties as Afghan forces begin to take over, as in Iraq. No such luck. The loss of American service men is happening at a rate five times the rate when Bush was in office. Without even putting his full attention on Afghanistan, Bush was doing a better job than Obama is today in a war called the “right war” or the war we should be fighting.

 

The half hearted surge was done with less troops than Obama’s advisors called for in a painstaking 80 wait for the obvious answer everyone knew was coming. It did not have the full effect a surge should have and was retarded by the slow decision to make the move to increase force levels. For being the right war we sure have been making all the wrong moves.

 

We have not even been able to get ourselves out of other wars we are fighting and we are heading into Libya under the guise of the UN- a force that we are providing 75% of the firepower and is no more than a smokescreen to try and keep Obama from having to admit we are in a third war. Qadaffi does not seem to be capitulating any time soon and the air war is not going to win a war and never has in the history of war.

 

It is hard to figure out just what our foreign policy is anywhere and we can imagine all the horrible atrocities that “might occur” as in Libya to justify war but we are left with nothing less than a mess to clean up. When we break Libya we may have to fix it with money that we do not have. This is the real puzzler: how to pay for a war we don’t call a war and how to get out of a war we aren’t in.

 

This seems to be the norm for Obama as he practices his version of what a real foreign policy should be and is nothing but a hodge-podge of this and that and really leaves you wondering, what the...?

 

To put our troops in harm’s way should be done with a serious thought and committing our resources makes any president accountable and one can only imagine the outcry if Bush was conducting himself as Obama is. The Code Pink would see red; Cindy Sheehan would have another son so that she could decry the injustices done to him. But we get nothing; why no outcry? It’s all political, it’s all a sham and it is all pathetic. What the...?

I'm Glad I'm Not an Oscar Mayer Weiner

Wouldn’t it be nice to create your own reality? You commit regrettable actions and then just wish them away through denials as if you don’t have a clue what people are accusing you of. As Rod Serling would say, “Exhibit A, Mr. Anthony Weiner, portrait of a troubled man caught in the spider web of his own making”. In this day and age of instant communication, to think that one is hidden away is to pretend we don’t have a problem with Medicare and Social Security-hey, wait a minute that is what Anthony Weiner does in interview after interview!

His trail downward has sadly been previously trod by other sad sacks including President Clinton when faced with his tawdry affairs while the Commander in Chief. Pres. Clinton tried to deny and when cornered his aides spun it as “it’s all about sex”. Really? What about undermining witnesses, abusing power to keep all hidden, messing with the White House sign in sheet for all visitors, lying under oath (yes that is perjury), etc.

The sad fact is that demoniacs like Clinton and Weiner are devoid of all ethics and are morally bankrupt while trying to set an example for all of America. Without a higher power in their lives, they are left to their own devices spurred on by the feeling of power that comes with their respective offices. Nearly all Republicans resign when faced with such a situation as fellow Republicans shun them and are excommunicated. Not so with the high and mighty Democrats, they spin, they explain, they rationalize, they lie and do anything to keep their office because that is all they have.

Valuable time was spent on these corrupt activities and some still don’t see that the problem is: like with abortion and such. The activity cannot be judged as they too are morally bankrupt. This moral bankruptcy is how Weiner can be interviewed saying that Social Security is running a surplus because of the bogus T-Bills in the “lock box” which may soon be worth more as wallpaper product than convertible currency.

The majority of the nation does an abhorring to what he has done yet still he wishes to remain in office cloaked in his own filth. This is survival of the dumbwittist. My personal belief is that he will have to resign but knowing his wife is working for Hillary Clinton, anything is possible. Time will tell but what has been told so far is pretty telling about Mr. Weiner. They say there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats but say you have George W. Bush and John McCain in one room and Clinton and Weiner in the other: who would you let your 18 year old daughter have dinner with in a room locked for two hours? That is what I thought.

Vultures of a Feather Flock Together

Well, it is good that Roman Polansky now has some company worthy of his crime. The man who, like Al Gore, was already almost president (of France), and was the current head of the International Monetary Fund. Dominque Strass-Kahn was arrested in New York for the attempted rape of a hotel employee while in his room. Polansky, as you may remember raped a underage girl in the 1960s and was not even arrested until very recently. Polansky, a child molester, had hidden in “safe countries” and was only arrested when he left his safe haven to collect an award (his ego needed constant feeding even at his age).

The French press who could only run stories as to how badly DSK was being treated and railroaded with bogus charges somehow forgot to run any stories empathetic to the plight of the victim in this crime. Funny how the perpetrator is often twisted in some sick way and made into being the victim. DSM was a womanizer who, also like Al Gore, liked women more than they liked him. Gore’s wife left him last year and a professional masseuse had the gall to resist Gore’s advances while giving him a personal massage in his room. There must be a feeling of importance that supersedes reality to allow someone to even think of doing such a deed. Evidently, she did not take kindly to the kind of global warming he had in mind.

Of course, how could any talk on this subject be complete without mentioning Bill Clinton who by all accounts also thought more of his prowess than he actually had? Clinton’s advances knew no bounds and was only exceeded by the willingness of aides and his wife to help cover his predatory tracks. If only half of what he is accused of is true, no woman is safe when they are alone with him. I ask again for those who just love Clinton, “Would you leave your eighteen year old daughter alone with this man for any amount of time?”

Arrogance is not limited to liberal freaks. Newt Gingrich, whose White House run has turned into an embarrassing belly crawl, also stated that he cheated on his wife because he loved his country too much. He worked so hard that he literally cheated because he was doing the people’s work. With fairy tales such as this, you wonder what mentality it takes to come up with a thought process such as this.

These side issues take so much away from the real issues of the day that not only are they unfortunate but they also show just how power can change people to the point where they think the rules don’t apply to them. The rules do ultimately apply to everyone and DSM will also find this out real fast when all the facts are brought out. The Bible says “Avoid even the appearance of evil” and DSM would have done well to remember this verse.

Financial Insanity

Imagine if financial genius Dave Ramsey comes to your house and tells you to cut up your credit cards, pay cash for what you can afford while eating beans and rice until you are debt free; you would hail him as an economic Messiah. Finally, imagine if a freshman Senator Ramsey goes to Washington and gives the same advice: Tea Party freak! Right Wing Extremist! Suddenly, Dave goes from Messiah to a conservative punching bag.

I am so tired of being told that higher taxes are the answer when Congress cannot even handle the budget it currently has. Call Dave and ask him what he would think of a plan to give your irresponsible broke son a new credit card with a $100K credit limit-I dare you. Congress has looted the Social Security System while replacing the money with I.O.Us and calls it solvent. Medicare has no budgetary limits and yet Paul Ryan is considered a pariah for calling attention to a financial Hindenburg about to burn and crash. Congress can give itself pay raises and raise its own credit limit. I think so little of Congress’s ability to handle money that to give them any more credit on any level is to applaud failure.

I am all for helping someone in need but when that someone will do nothing to help themselves, I can give nothing more. The whole problem stems from the belief that we need to keep Washington going at all costs when lean Uncle Sam has become sloppy Uncle Lou. When the master serves the servant, something is very wrong. Will more taxes really solve the problem? Do you actually believe this? It will only result in more spending and an escalation of the crisis.

I would favor higher taxes when Congress has cut all they can and repeal Obama’s massive wasteful spending which includes our owning of more federal limos than ever and a hiring spree that should never have taken place. Does anyone hire more when income is down? More money does not mean better education for our kids, does not mean Washington is suddenly full of sound financial stewards, nor does it equate compassion. The War on Drugs has been called a failure but the 1960sWar on Poverty is the biggest failure known to man.

I wish President Obama would give the same support to sound financial concepts as Michelle gives to sound nutrition. There is no viable economic plan which makes as much sense as seeing the Obama’s eating in burger, rib and hot dog joints while on the road. Great P.R., but also a great example of not walking the walk. Why not highlight Helen’s Healthy Hut? I am not an advocate of tax evasion but I also choose to not be a financial enabler. Let’s give Washington D.C. a tough love financial intervention they need.

Here, Here, President Obama

David Tyree. The name lives forever in New York Giant history for the catch he made during Super Bowl Forty-Two against New England. On third and five deep into the fourth quarter, Eli Manning called “76 Union Y Sail” and threw the ball to Tyree, who was breaking his route to help Manning. He literally leaped into glory by grabbing the ball and pinning it to his helmet as he was being tackled. The rest was history with the Giants scoring a touchdown and winning the game. Tyree enjoyed a moment of elation everyone dreams of having.

In like manner, President Obama made the tough call to get Osama bin Laden when he had the chance. No matter what else Obama does he has sealed his place in history for making this gutsy call; a call President Clinton wouldn’t make in 1998 which would have crippled if not stopped the 9-11 plot. It is very true that I have no love lost for many of Obama’s policies, but when I hear Republican Ron Paul say he didn’t agree with the call, I was glad Obama was President. It matters not that Obama has been the beneficiary of many policies and operations left in place by Pres. Bush; he had to make the call to authorize professionals who got it done.

Monday morning quarterbacks are questioning how things went down and the overall effect. Our justifiable anger at Pakistan’s harboring of Bin Laden is likely the reason the Chinese have our disabled helicopter today. Too much information has leaked out about the mission and could even endanger lives, but can you imagine the adrenalin that was flowing when the operation succeeded? Success was far from certain but well worth the risk.

President Bush was right in calling these people evil and Obama made good on Bush’s promise to get those responsible. I also applaud Obama’s choice to go after the number two man shortly after. They must know that there is no safe haven.

David Tyree is now retired after an otherwise below average career. My hope is that Obama will likewise be retired at the next election for his lack of performance but I urge him to spike the football and take a victory lap; the world is a better place without Osama bin Laden in it.

Big Oil

So let me get this straight…Congressmen are lecturing Big Oil on how much they earn without asking how they spend it. Big Oil should have asked the Congressmen how much they spend without earning it! That would make more sense. One thing I have learned is that just because these clowns get elected does not mean that they should be considered authorities on anything. Big Oil makes a lot but boy do they spend a lot on reinvestment. The price of oil is so multi-faceted that to blame one segment is just wrong.

 

Let's see who is to blame. Big Oil sure likes the price of oil but remember that Exxon controls only 3% of the world’s oil. That is still a lot but consider the big players like OPEC. Yes Exxon made hundreds of billions but their net profit is only 9% or 10 billion. Suddenly things look very much like GE who made 14 billion in profits but paid nothing in income taxes. Big Oil benefits from high prices but does not set them.

 

The consumer does not control prices because even when we cut back our use, the price remains high. It is amazing to see just how many different things rely on oil to make their products. Demand and supply are defied here because oil is a unique beast. So many different things make up the price. Sherlock Holmes said by finding where something is not, you can find where it is…

 

One factor is world instability. If our access to oil is threatened by world events, the price of oil goes up even when we don’t import much oil from the hot spot: see Libya. World events are such a big factor because we import so much oil. We are sitting on the world’s largest reserves of oil but CHOOSE not to go after them. This makes the price go up because our inability and unwillingness to get our oil play heavily here.

 

Another factor is the many blends that are needed to keep up with various state’s requirements which often are affected by their locale. Summer blends are different than winter blends as they do better for starting in the heat but don’t do well in the winter. Then there are those states who just have higher requirements. Oil companies let inventories go down in very early springs so that they can start fresh with the summer blend.

           

The pressures of inflating the money supply is also driving up the price. Oil is indexed to the dollar and when dollars are cheaper (and they are now) it takes more to buy the same amount. Yes, the Obama Administration’s attempt to keep up with the debt is driving up the price of oil.

Bottom line is that it is easy to blame Big Oil  but it is also very simplistic to do so as well. Still, knowing this does nothing to ease the pain at the pump but it would help those in charge to stop making fools of themselves on a national stage.

Of Birther's Bush and England

I am so relieved! To think that the President of the United States would not be a legal citizen was indeed as beyond belief in reality as it was in thought. Of course, I was just as relieved when I found out Christine O’Donnell was forced to admit she was not a high school Connecticut witch. I did not do much research on the birther’s claims as I felt the matter lacked serious merit. The fact that this “important” matter is now behind us may allow us to concentrate on making the President come clean on how bad the deficit is and how much Obama Care will actually cost.

Liberals hammered the birther movement as an illegitimate ploy to make the president look bad. They called the whole idea of believing Obama was not a U.S. citizen beneath the dignity of a response. To whatever extent they are accurate, they must also remember a time in the not too distant past when a similar incident was called freedom of the press at work. In September of 2004, shortly before the Bush-Kerry vote, CBS broke a story that Pres. Bush had deliberately not fulfilled his Texas Air Guard duties. Despite a questionable source, lazy fact checking and a lack of corroboration, CBS ran with the story supported by bogus documents and liberals rejoiced.

An investigation into the matter revealed that the paper trail was weak and questionable at best as to its authenticity and despite insurmountable evidence to the contrary, Dan Rather stuck by the story’s false accusations and it eventually cost him his job as evening anchor. To this day Dan Rather refuses to acknowledge that the documents are a fake. Bush’s reputation was run through the ringer and it was clear, as with the anti-war movement which is non-existent today, that it was done with malicious intent to swing the election for Kerry. In the zeal to publish the matter, truth was sacrificed on the altar known as the ends justify the means.

For liberals to try unduly influencing an election is just as abhorrent as the revulsion they feel when the president’s citizenship is questioned. Yet there was no outcry when Pres. Bush was vindicated; he was not innocent; he was just not proven guilty. To make matters worse, Bush cooperated fully but to no end.

Just recently we were able to relax a little and enjoy a royal wedding worthy of the attention it garnered. Two billion people watched the union of the likely next King and Queen of England. The history and the pageantry were all there but with no controversy. So voices from both political aisles cast the whole thing as silly and ridiculous. They went so far as to say, “Who cares?” I found it rather disheartening to know that we cannot even come together to witness history in the making without some blog or tweet having to engage in nay saying. I for one enjoyed the whole matter and to their credit the happy couple remained above it all.

I can only hope that in the future we take greater care on all issues and try not to prejudge a situation before all the facts are known. There should be innocence until guilt is proven.

Alternative Fuel Fantasies

It seems that despite the fact that we live in the world of today, we have a leader in the White House who insists on emphasizing yesterday and tomorrow. Our President says that we can't invest in the fuels of yesterday but need to invest in the alternatives of tomorrow. This makes perfect sense because we paying the today's national debt with tomorrow's money and still haven't even paid yesterday's bills. Just what is wrong with facing today's reality? We're caught in some futuristic Star Trek episode donning our Klingon outfits to escape the real fact that not doing anything yesterday makes today suck and tomorrow don't look much better.

Two percent. Since the Department of Energy was created in 1977 to get us off of oil, we've cut our reliance on it by two percent. Thirty-four years later, Obama gives a speech to pacify Americans looking to some far off unrealistic future where we will resemble Holland with the dearth of wind mills to power us into the 22nd century. Well, Mr. President, thanks for the glimpse into the future but oil still rules the day and dreaming about tomorrow doesn't do a thing today for our economy. If I hear one more time about how green jobs are the wave of the future...

All along we were told the it was Bush/Cheney driving up oil prices but now that they're gone, the new boogey man is the evil speculator. Why don't liberals just man up and admit that the drive to kill domestic oil production is really behind it all. World conditions would not matter if we could supply our own oil (and we can) and then we could afford time to find alternatives. Instead this two percent of alternative fuels in use today is treated like the holy grail of future energy. In like manner, it is always that two percent that opposes public prayer that ruins it for everyone.

This all makes as much sense as Obama pushing healthier foods in a time of food inflation. What kind of food will people buy? The cheapest which is not the healthiest for you. Who can afford solar panels? Who can afford a 40K electric car? We need a speech that will bring relief today and help Americans who are out of work, out of money and out of patience. We should put Obama out of a job.

The War That Is Not A War

In light of President Obama’s conduct during our entry into Libya, the question must be asked: does Barack Obama suffer from ADD? His entry into the conflict seems so disjointed and haphazard that it is still hard to rationalize why we are involved. This may also explain why he has given no justification to Congress, even though he is legally obligated to do so by the War Powers Act of 1973. Can it be he just can’t concentrate long enough to make this “kinetic action” legal? How is Libya a threat to our national security when Obama will do nothing to secure our borders? We can’t even get a straight answer on if Quadafi must go. Oh yes, Obama was for his removal before he was noncommittal about his removal.

He has displayed the same haphazardness during the health care debate and the list grows. It began with a big statement of intent but then fell short on action. The stimulus fizzled out after a short term boost to state governments, who are now back to where they were before it passed. Even during budget talks, the result is nothing but short term extensions. This short term thinking has our national debt crisis spiraling out of control.

Contrast this to President Bush’s entry into Iraq. Hussein was in violation of 15 U.N. Resolutions and it was only after Bush got authority to act by Congress that he invaded Iraq. Agree with the action or not, he did it by the book. So many of his “evil” policies that were derided by Obama and the Democrats are strangely still in place today. The biggest change Obama could make to the Homeland Security Threat Level announcements was to say that the color code would no longer be used. We still have the Patriot Act, secret surveillance, Guantanamo and many more. Just who is the real Wild West cowboy picking yet another fight in Libya that will not end soon?

Democrats are no more prepared to lead America now nor have they ever been. Our energy policy is filled with “fly in the face of reality” hopes for a green economy. Witness our skyrocketing fuel prices. This will short circuit any economic growth on the horizon. Watch out for inflation. This short term form of thinking is why Obama is destined to be a one term president.

Libya

Say “Ahh,” Mr. President, here comes another dose of reality courtesy of Libya. In the 2008 campaign Obama was big on talking without preconditions to world leaders. Even Hillary couldn’t support that one. Fast forward to 2011: Libya. We don’t consult Congress, a minority of Americans support military actions, we take a “coalition” of 29, and we have no cohesive mission so we logically invade Libya. Did Obama’s daddy have it in for Libya too?

Fast reverse to 2003. Seventeen U.N. mandates, Congressional approval, a strong coalition of that included Syria, and Saudi Arabia, massive slaughter by Hussein with strong suspicions of weapons of mass destruction, and so Bush “illegitimately” invades Iraq to avenge daddy. Hmmm. The elder Bush had Hussein by the throat in 1991 and let him go to adhere to the stated U.N. mission. Seems that daddy could have taken care of this himself after all.

There are always reasons to get into a fight. By Obama’s reasoning of preventing mass murder, he has unknowingly validated Bush’s going into Iraq. Obama cannot get the credit for pushing the envelope in Libya. France had to drag him in. Of course, this is like the Boy Scouts taking the lead in a civil disturbance calling on the National Guard to help.

I cannot wait for Cindy Sheehan to jump in and squat at Obama’s home in Illinois. Code Pink should be all over this and Harry Reid should be shrieking in the hallways of Congress, “We’ve lost the war in Libya!” Why isn’t any of this is happening? Could it be that the opposition to the war in Iraq was (le gasp) politically motivated?

To use Pres. Obama’s reasoning for entering Libya, we should be invading North Korea, China and Darfur. His reasoning for risking American lives in Libya is weak at best. Now we are handing over control of the no-fly zone but we will still have a major say on what goes on at ground level. It is hard to believe that we can depose of Quadaffi (can’t spell that wrong) without boots on the ground.

I say this because Obama said Khadafi (or whatever) must go. So anything short of him being deposed will be a defeat for us. Sanctions and such won’t work- it didn’t with Hussein. I challenge anyone to give a coherent reason for going into Libya, and then explain it to our boys, please?

A Slick Problem

Gas prices in the United States have taken a turn for the worse and show no signs of abating anytime soon. The situation has been a grim one for U.S. households already struggling to make ends meet now having to deal with high gas prices. So what have we learned from all of this-we can take lessons from this expensive education lesson.

We learn that we are doing next to nothing about alternative fuels and that oil still rules the day despite a Department of Energy created in 1976 to get us off of oil. Why is this? Like it or not, going green has proven to be nonviable from an economic sense. Spain tried to create a green economy and is in the process of dismantling it. Unemployment skyrocketed and cost more jobs than were created. All the tax credits in the world can’t make anyone green up enough to make it affordable to produce or to use.

We now know that the price of oil is not related to who is in the White House. When poor Pres. Bush was in the Oval Office and gas hit $3 a gallon there were calls from Democrats for hearings to investigate Bush’s role in making this happen for selfish profit. Where are those calls now? Surely Obama also is colluding with Bid Oil as we are nearing $4 a gallon. These calls were purely political ploys designed to hurt Pres. Bush plain and simple.

It is a certainty that despite calls for alternative fuels, we still love our oil. In fact we love it so much that we are willing to give money to countries like Venezuela and Mexico to feed our oil needs. Thus, it becomes a matter of national security and leaving ourselves open to having our supplies threatened. We import about 75% of our oil and almost none from Libya. Just imagine how expensive oil will be if the situation in Mexico literally goes south.

We have also learned that Pres. Obama is willing to let ideology rule over the economic recovery. He has come around to seeing the light on Guantanamo, on Iraq, on tax cuts, and needs to see that all he needs to do is say we will do all we can to safely drill for more oil and the price would drop. Sure we would not see a drop for years but the industry moves on news like this. What is saddest of all is that Obama is not even allowing oil in the Gulf Coast to recover on a meaningful basis. Instead of creating jobs, the oil situation has cost jobs in the Gulf and is stifling the alleged economic recovery.

We have subordinated so many things to environmental concerns to the point that we are serving nature in all aspects of our lives. We think nothing of depriving quality of human life for progress through eminent domain but conversely we also think nothing of stopping that same progress for some obscure insect. It is hard to believe that we think of abortion as a “choice” but it is just as hard to believe that we have no choice as to our energy resources. Unfortunately the state of our nation today reflects the twisted thinking of an ideology hell-bent on trying to guilt trip us into believing we are to blame for everything. I for one refuse to take this trip. What about you?

Health Care Check-Up

"Mr. Healthcare, thank you for coming in for your annual checkup. It's been a couple of years since we have seen you and your records indicate a lot has happened to you since Nancy’s gavel brought you into this world. Let me just get the light to have a look and...

"Whoa, what the heck happened to you?! You look like a Mack Truck ran over you, then backed up and hit you again. I know this doesn’t sound very professional but when we put you in Room #2, I didn’t know you would resemble that number. Wow. Sorry.

"Anyways, looking at your financial weight, you have gained quite a bit since your birth. Daddy Obama said you would stay trim and weight neutral but it seems that time and light are not doing you justice. You seemed to have hid your excess pounds well but they sure are showing now.

"You really need to get your act together and we need to find out what your long term prognosis really is. Looking at your x-rays, it seems that you are being pulled 26 different ways as to the validity of your very existence. I see that the Supreme Powers that be will ultimately decide your fat, er, I mean your fate and there is likely no antidote for this. Though I guess what else can you expect when you plan to sit there like a death panel deciding who gets rationed care and it may just serve you well to be subject to such a panel yourself. This is survival of the fittest and not of the fattest.

"My, my, no wonder you’re so unpopular with everyone. Just look at the size of your chart- over 2,000 pages long. A fellow could spend a medical career just trying to sift through this whole wordy montage of double talk. I have a feeling that before this is all over, you may have gone through a legal version of plastic surgery that may leave you unrecognizable. To be honest, at this point that may not be a bad thing.

"I see from your history that you do have some good things to offer in regards to health but a few positive tests do not make for an overall positive outlook on your condition. There seem to be too many negatives about your overall picture and that leaves me troubled. Sure, people like ice cream, nachos and fries, but that would not be a good reason to like or dislike an eatery. The same with you, certain good things about you don’t mean that you're in overall good condition to really be helping people.

"We’ll just have to wait and see if we should schedule another appointment for next year as there is a chance that you will not be around to see it. I would truly suggest a total body makeover so that you look more presentable in public and such a makeover may be coming whether you like it or not. Once we get a good look at you, we may find out just how much “free” really costs. Take care."

As the healthcare debate makes its way through the courts, Obama is urging the Supreme Court to wait to hear the case until it has been adjudicated by the lower legal layers. I have always been against healthcare as Obama has presented it because it is just another way for government to own us. No amount of compromising on his part may be enough to save this train wreck. If the court system is true to the law, healthcare will be struck down and then maybe sanity can be restored. Few believed this to be even a remote possibility but each day the debate lives, the chances for Obama care dying grow in legal strength and public popularity. Rassmussen Polls have 62% of Americans opposing Obamacare. I believe this number will grow as time continues to pass. Wisconsin unions said of the Republicans that voted to do away with collective bargaining that they were thieves working in the night; health care was passed in the late hours on Christmas Eve. Hmmm.

To Quote You...

Liberals really are the gift that keeps on giving. It’s not just every word that proceeds from Joe Biden’s mouth because liberal gaffes and ridiculous beliefs come from so many places. Let’s look to see what we can find…

“We have to pass it, before we know what’s in it”- This gem came from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi when blindsided at a news conference about what was in the health care bill. Apparently she had just come from an appointment with her proctologist and just repeated what he said when summarizing her report as it came to her mind. Unfortunately for us, what was passed both personally and legislatively ended being pretty much the same thing... a load of crap.

“9.9, 9.4, 8.9, 4.5”- If these were marks for an Olympic event Barack Obama would have the first three scores and a gold medal while George Bush would have the last one and be out of contention. Unfortunately for Obama, these are unemployment rates and, like Mr. Obama should know very well, this is like golf and low score wins.

“I was actually against Guantanamo before I was for it”- John Kerry is the inspiration for this one. Suddenly, the Bush backed plan of incarcerating terrorists and trying them at Guantanamo is a great idea. To reference Biden’s remarks about Iraq, Gitmo should be one of Obama’s crown achievements.

“Justice is Blind” (and apparently so are liberals)- So, after all the terror attacks and trying to connect the dots, looking for a profile, and spot possible trends,  it is just as silly to suspect one likely group as the source for terrorist plots like it was silly to believe Nazis were actually supporters of Adolf Hitler. 80 year old Kentucky grandma, get over here and prepare to be scanned and body searched!

“The theory of evolution is based on solid science”- So they make fun of me for believing a Supreme Being can create the earth in six days, but what do they offer? Something created from nothing for no reason that can magically know it has to adapt to its environment. Wow, after being told that, I guess I feel pretty silly now believing in creationism.

“It Cuts Like a Knife”- Liberals are the only ones who think inflating spending by the trillions and cutting by the billions Republicans want are Draconian in nature. This is like believing that a paper cut is equivalent to a couple dozen vampire bites.

“Global Warming Deniers are Like Flat Earthers”- So now we are down to calling it "climate change" and falsifying information to suit a “scientific theory.” What would you think of a shoe store that only sells size 8 shoes and tries to make it fit every foot? Yes climate change now means any change in climate- wow. Well, you say you’re a size 12? What will really fit you is a size 8! We’re the Size 8 store!

What is most unfortunate is that the liberal mindset often times does not work in reality. Witness now the high gas prices and our environmentally driven energy policies. We all pay for what they think and we sacrifice national security on the Green altar by importing too much oil. Think about it.

The Mess in Wisconsin

Isn’t is interesting that we often don’t practice what we preach? Look no farther than the union mess in Wisconsin to see it-

Truancy- Students get in big trouble for skipping school but Wisconsin teachers sure don’t think anything of doing it. A fine example they’re setting for the kids!

Faking an Excuse- I guess getting a fake excuse for an absence is okay if you’re anyone but a student. What’s next? Dogs eating the teacher’s employment certificates as a backup excuse?

Bullying- So using aggressive tactics to get your way is a grassroots movement when you’re a teacher, but when a tea party member is out protesting peacefully that is an Astroturf movement. Can anyone say "double standard"? There are a few people protesting while the majority of Wisconsin disapprovingly looks on.

Not Sharing- Unions are always after a bigger share of the financial pie but when it comes time to giving some of that pie back there is no interest in sharing. Sounds like Bobby and Sandy don’t want to set a good example and share in the pain with others!

It’s all About the Kids- When they say it’s all about the kids, they really mean it's the money. What have students gotten out of this protest? Have you seen the performance records for Wisconsin schools?

More money please!- Throwing money at education is not the answer for improving public education- it's finding ways to improve public education. If Wisconsin’s governor gives in, they’ll just be back for more.

Look for the Union Label- Like the federal government’s bloated size, today’s unions are showing more and more that they only exist to nourish themselves and not the members.

It’s Lunch and Recess Time!- It seems that these teachers show no inclination to come in from playtime. With three months off already and holidays as well as vacation and sick time, this only adds to their time off. Sure they have stress, but what about doctors, nurses, etc.?

The whole deal is Wisconsin is about unions facing the fact that they can no longer have it all. This will be a hard lesson to understand but the fact is that too few people have had it good for too long. They complain about give backs when many Americans have nothing to give in the first place. Welcome to reality, Wisconsin unions. It stinks, doesn’t it?

Barack, You Ain't No Reagan

In true Democratic fashion, the Dems are once again trying to steal from the rich to give to… their poor pitiful selves. President Reagan has the wherewithal to stand on his own legacy and take his rightful place in history as one of our greatest presidents. He created his own history and no one need embellish it with the fanciful tales of a president long since gone. Barack on the other hand has trouble standing on his own even before his first horrible, and hopefully only, presidential term.

Let’s see now first he was…oh yeah, that’s right, made in the mold of Kennedy. Yes, that young fresh face with so much hope for America that gave it the gumption to follow Jackie Gleason’s threat and go to the moon. Yes, I remember now, Michelle was the next Jackie O with her hideous, er, daring fashion statements that left a lot to be desired. Yeah, he’s Jack Kennedy all right.

No wait, I remember now, people next said Barack was the next FDR. Now we got it right. Yes, he gave Americans hope when there was no hope in the midst of a depression. He did so much through government to make a bad situation worse… yep just like Barack. Maybe there is something here. But thankfully, Obama cannot serve, or be served, for four terms. Yes, that’s the way it really was, Obama is the next FDR.

Just a cotton pickin’ minute here. No, Obama is really the next Reagan, because what he does and how he speaks is so Reaganesque. Yes, the similarities are startling. Both lived in the United States, both spoke American English and both lived in the White House… they’re practically twins joined at the hip. Unfortunately, Reagan is on the right and Obama is on the left. Makes perfect sense to me. If Reagan is like Obama, no wait, if Obama is like Reagan, then it makes perfect sense to award Obama the Nobel Peace Prize because that too was undeserved and very premature and oh so inappropriate.

I really think that if we want to peg Obama right there must be some rethinking here. I truly believe Obama should be compared to that great President Jimmy Carter… yeah, the guy that nearly drove us not into the ditch but over the cliff. The way Obama is spending he’s doing a great Jimmy Carter in trying to ruin this nation. Maybe he should be compared to Michael Dukakis who ran against Bush in 1988 and looked so ill at ease in that tank… like Obama trying to throw a baseball as the first pitch honoree (incidentally, he should be compared to his daughters on that one because he sure threw like a little girl- look it up on the internet and you’ll see what I mean).
        
Maybe he should be compared to Al Gore, who makes things up as he goes and still tries to convince people that global warming is real. Just like Obama tries to convince us that health care won’t make us sick and that the stimulus really worked. Thinking of all of this I see why he wants to emulate the guys he does; they were at least presidential. Yeah, Barack, stick with Reagan- even though your policies are a lot like W’s. Pres. Reagan, your legacy is safe especially with boneheads like Obama.  Happy Birthday Pres. Ronald Reagan, we miss you very much.

Is it Just Me or is this Room Shrinking?

With little or no surprise to anyone, the utter amateurishness of the Obama Administration is coming through loud and clear.  Only now there are, like with any misbehaving child, consequences. Take Obama for example… no please, really… take him. Seriously, it is hard to watch as Obama teeters on the brink of incompetency into irrelevance. First, he acts as an outsider watching the events in Egypt unfold; after all, I am sure he believes in Egyptian exceptionalism like he believes in American exceptionalism.  Then he is suddenly the power broker trying to ease Mubarak out and usher in a new government. This on the heels of our beloved VP Joltin’ Joe Biden saying that Mubarak is not really a dictator-- there’s that foreign policy know-how we still haven’t seen!

As Obama must act like a President instead of a Messiah, I am sure this is a humbling experience for him. I mean, why doesn’t he just go over there, orate his magic words to the people of Egypt and all is better? Hmmm. Reality is coming back to bite him in the butt again. Now he must act accordingly to avoid being seen like that evil George Bush who cozied up to corrupt people like China’s leader Zhou—hey, wait a minute, wasn’t Zhou just here with the royal treatment from Obama? Nah, couldn’t have been. Then Zhou was that guy?

 Look at health care, now. I know it hurts, but just look at it. It now appears to be a house of cards that is one judgment away from going the way of the dodo bird. At least the dodo bird showed some sign of viable life while it was here. If the Supreme Court somehow doesn’t manage to put a stake through health care’s heart, the states, at least 26 of them, are working to stop it in the courts any way they can. It must really hurt to be the national legal piñata, Barack.

On Wednesday, a court ruled that the Obama Administration (I use that last term loosely; should be more like clown car) showed contempt in reimplementing the oil moratorium after it was struck down in court. Yep, Barack, that judge just gave you a beat down!

Now unemployment is back up, inflation is rearing its head, Egypt is in chaos, Social Security is going broke for sure by 2037… Good thing we have such a smart guy in the White House.

Walk Like An Egyptian

Remember the good old days when Obama said if he was elected gasoline would never go over $2 a gallon because, unlike the evil W, he was not beholden to the oil industry? Remember when he said his very nomination would cause the oceans to heal? Remember when he said that all we had to do was talk to everyone, even our enemies and with a handshake instead of the gun we could come together to solve all the world’s problems like gentlemen?
          
Well, if Obama has proved one thing, it's that talk is cheap. These days he’s letting predator missions do his talking in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He’s letting his attorneys talk for him in court against 26 states vowing to overturn the health care law-- it seems they’re only a Supreme Court decision away from doing that very thing.

He agreed to meet unconditionally with any world leader and by simply showing up, he could regain the respect and admiration for the United States. There would be no need to display a cowboy attitude to the world, as this obviously got President Bush nowhere. Meet, greet, sip a little wine, dazzle them with Michelle, talk. Problem solved. Of course, after this meeting he would then wake up and have breakfast, but he is the only president to be able to so effectively “work” even while he is sleeping.

Now he is facing Egypt and is scolding the leaders for not showing greater restraint and giving the protesters his Presidential Seal of Approval. Respect them, work with them, and come to an agreeable solution. Remember the health care negotiations when Republicans were shut out of the process, told that Dems knew better, and how dare they go against his holiness? Now that the Republicans hold court in the House, Obama suddenly wants to work with them to “improve” (aka hold losses to a minimum) health care.

Back to Egypt. Funny how when Iran was holding protests, Obama said nary a word for days, and even then gave no hope to the protesters who were literally beat back into a controllable submission. His “Reagan Polish Resistance” moment came and he idly stood by like the commoner on Royal Grounds. When the time to take history by the horns comes, he is led by events and reacts to them. That is leadership at its weakest and just shows how when the chips are down, all Obama knows how to do is eat them.

George vs. Keith

Isn’t it amazing how saying good-bye can be such a hard thing to do in some cases and not so hard in others? Good friends can meet for a good visit and leave on great terms feeling satisfied. Those who are insecure must get as much as they can out of visits and feel a void when the visit is ended.

Last week MSNBC mini-star Keith Olbermann “quit” the network; at least, until it was revealed that he was actually fired. So much time was spent giving his show maximum exposure only to find that the network pulled the rug out from under him. So unhappy was he that he turned the bashing of President Bush into an art form. Each show seemed devoted to making sure that Bush was roasted over the coals on a daily basis. Now who knows where he will turn up? There are rumors that he may actually run for public office.

Compare this to the exit of Pres. Bush in early 2009. He was ready to leave office after eight years of daily stress. He left a content man who believed he had done the best job possible. Love him or hate him, he is now enjoying life with few regrets anxiously looking forward to doting on grandchildren. He has done all in life he wants and he will, alongside his wife, promote projects that are near and dear to his heart. He, unlike Olbermann, will be content with each waking day. Poor Keith on the other hand will be desperately looking for an audience, much like a high school senior looking for a prom date two hours before the dance.

Liberalism needs to bash in order to thrive while conservatism can stand on its own and leave nothing to want. As a former liberal, I thought it was cool to lower my head when the Pledge of Allegience or the National Anthem was being played to serve as a quiet protest against the wrongs of this country. I dwelt on the past perceived injustices and really just looked for the latest thing to complain about.

As a conservative of over thirty years, I have been very content and very stable in my beliefs and see the bright side of things. I say the Pledge with pride and hold my hand over my heart while singing the National Anthem. No matter who is in office I remain constant and want for few things. I  look beyond myself to help others and am quite happy with myself. I can only hope that Keith one day comes close to finding this kind of contentment in his life. God bless America.

Obama Care

I just read about a Cuban dissident who spent many years in a Cuban prison while enduring an equal amount of time being tortured. I am sure he received “free” Cuban health care, but at what price? He now resides in California while extolling the evils of the Cuban government. Wait. Isn't this the same government praised by Michael Moore as the envy of the world?  If you check your freedom and individuality you can enjoy free health care.

 

The irony is not lost that Guantanamo Bay holds terrorists guarded by the U.S. and they do receive great health care and keep their dignity. What of health care here? The “debate” was rigged and despite overwhelming majorities Democrats were still barely able to pass the legislation. Now that there may finally be a sincere debate we are told that it would be criminal to revisit this monstrosity of a bill.

 

Obama has signaled that he wants to meet Republicans half way, but what if he had won? Conservative would have been relegated to the back seat being told, “We won, you lost”.

Let’s do a reset and this time pass legislation that will be healthy for America.

 

(This editorial was submitted to the South Bend Tribune on Jan. 22, 2011- they have a 200 word limit.)