Quick Note: Obama's Racist Criticism of Kanye West

It has been reported that President Obama called Kanye West a "JackAss" for jumping up on stage to claim that Beyonce was slighted of an award, interrupting Taylor Swift who did win it. I am sensing racist overtones in Obama's criticism of West. After all, Obama unlike West is of split ethnicity. Since Kanye West is black, he is immune from ever doing anything worthy of criticism so it is obvious that Obama's outburst is a subtle racist remark masked in pseudo criticism. He must secretly resent West for being fully black and found a controversial event to shroud the outlet of his secret bigotry.

Has the US Leftist Press Ever Gotten a Crowd Count Wrong Favoring the Right?

I have been following for years the Leftist press in this country time after time distort crowd counts on behalf of their bias. They boost crowds for leftist rallies/protests and artificially lower crowd counts of conservative rallies/protests. Of course that assumes they even cover the conservative gatherings at all or get the message accurate if they do. Looking across several news sources you get:


The Wash-Post gives the number "Thousands"
The New York Times gives an ambiguous number "Sea of Protesters" and later mentions "tens of thousands".
CNN reports "Tens of Thousands"

Then oddly enough the Dailymail from the UK of all places lists the crowd as "up to 2 million". I guess only domestic news sources got the memo.

I did see in two of the sources comments on the lack of an official count. CNN states "An official crowd estimate was not available, but reporters at the scene described the massive crowd as reaching the tens of thousands." The NYT states "the police declined to estimate the size of the crowd". I will have to pay closer attention in the future, but I never recall seeing such comments for Liberal leaning gatherings. Were the police told not to get an authorized count?

I don't ever recall the media getting a crowd count wrong that slights the left or favors the right. I have seen numerous times where the count slights the right or favors the left. I guess this goes along the lines of whether the bank or IRS ever makes a mistake in your favor. Not likely.

As for the numbers. Here are a few pics to give an idea (from Newsbusters and WorldNetDaily):

No Lauer You Got it Wrong

Newsbusters quotes Matt Lauer in an interview with Howard Dean trying to define the health care public option. He says:

MATT LAUER: Let, let's start by making sure people understand exactly what we're talking about when we say this public option. This is a government-run insurance agency that would give people greater choice, some say break the monopoly held by the private insurers and, thus, drive down costs. Is that fair?

How can anything so ignorant come out of the mouth of somebody who styles himself as being informed? First, he displays an ignorance of the word Monopoly. The 's' at the end of his word insurers should tell him there is no monopoly. While there are some dental insurers in the list to ignore, ehealthinsurance.com has a long list of health insurance companies:

(long, ugly list moved to comments for aesthetic reasons)

Hardly evidence of a monopoly. What Matt Lauer misses in his quest for the forest (due to so many trees blocking his view) is that the Public Option instead of breaking any monopoly, will most likely create one leaving Government Health Insurance the only insurer standing. While real life insurers must contend with the hard constraint of the necessity of bringing more money in than they actually distribute in order to survive, the Public Option will have no such constraint. They just go to the taxpayer and say "Oops, this costs bunch more than we thought and we need more money".

Share the Health

I am thankful for my health care. In the last two years my family has really needed it. I wish everybody had it. That said, I am against my government forcing me to share a portion of my piece of the pie so others can have it.

Obama has stated for the record that he supports a single payer health system. A single payer health system means all health care payments come from a single source. That can only be a source that IS the government or is controlled by the government. In spite of White House efforts to blur / hide / distort the truth, Barack Obama has never to my knowledge come out and denounced his support for a single payer health system, so I can assume he still supports it. If the ObamaCare plan is passed, it will easily in the future be changed into the single payer system he wants. This plan's clear hostility to existing employer based health care benefits makes their future obselescence a near guarantee.

Setting aside the complete farce that my taxes will not go up to pay for this program, the fact is that this program will result in "Share the Health". Whether it is share the wealth or share the health, liberals always conjure plans based on the notion there is a finite pie. In order for others who do not currently have any pie to obtain some, they want to force me and others to give a portion of our slices to be shared. Setting aside the unfairness of taking from me something that
I earned, the fact is that I will have a smaller slice of pie.

Today I have a very good health care insurance program. My insurance will help me keep more of what I have worked hard for by reducing my risk exposure. My insurance will enhance my quality of life by providing thorough and timely care when me or my family needs it. In the end, my insurance provides care that will likely help me to live longer. When we are on a single payer system, my health care will certainly be less thorough and less timely leading to risks that have a good chance of reducing my life expectancy.

On a final note: watch out for the words "comprehensive reform" regardless of whether it applies to health care or immigration. Fix the root causes first. In this case, fix the causes of health care spiraling costs. The reluctance to do this is obvious. So Democrats are asking us to foot the bill for their package because the do not have the courage to fix the problems. Instead we are being asked to accept a "share the health" scam that will ultimately lead to more bearacracy and government control, higher deficits and higher taxes. No thanks.

P.S. If this post happens to make it onto the White House "Fishy" list, I have a special message for them: Talk about fishy, your propoganda machine puts out a stench worse than a seafood processing plant.

Birther Bashing

I understand those who are hesitant to get on the Obama Birth Certificate bandwagon. There are several reasons I can name not to spend any time addressing it:

1) Self-preservation: If conservatives get loud and animated enough to "force" a move from the Obama camp and a long form birth certificate materializes showing a US birth with attending physician, it could be the biggest, most elaborate, most expensive "rope-a-dope" ever to be pulled off by an elected official. With a willing media, it could take years to wipe off all the egg from their faces.

2) Futility: If at this point Obama was proven not to be a natural born citizen, it would not matter he is already in office. This may be true. One explanation states that it is up to each representative to certify eligibility of the President. Simply by saying so, he is whether or not he should be. This would be similar to electoral representative casting a vote for somebody other than the one with highest votes. They can do that and if enough did that to sway the election, it would be legitimate. On a second note of futility, the best that could happen would be to force the issue.

That would result in either a retroactive eligibility from a Democratically controlled Congress OR Joe Biden would become President. At the end of a protracted legal fight, we would be in the same position or worse.

3) Importance: Some may suspect there is an eligibility issue, but that given the large amount of effort it would take to bring about any forced action, it would detract from more important issues. Too much political capital would be expended resulting in important legislation not being passed or being too weak to block malignant legislation.


These are valid reasons not to join the bandwagon. However, I have a few points to conservatives regarding those who do choose the fight:

- Don't short circuit claims by "Birthers" by saying Obama has proved he is a citizen. This is dishonesty at a very high level. The claim is that he is not a NATURAL BORN citizen. This dishonest approach is equivalent to the notorious claims that conservatives are "against immigration" and against "stem cell research". WRONG. We are against ILLEGAL immigration
and EMBRYONIC stem cell research.

- Don't join the dishonest ranks that claim Obama has proven he is a natural born citizen. The short form birth certificate has information gaps that come short of putting this issue to rest with confidence. There is no hospital name and no attending physician name.
- Conservatives should not join those on the Left in disparaging those who choose to make it an issue. So far the three I have heard getting insulting are: Bill O'Reilly, Michael Medved and Neal Boortz. Others simply bow out with silence or brief civil commentary.
- Conservatives should not paint "Birthers" as wackos. The term Birther is here to stay. It is not the most descriptive of terms but not worth fighting the term, so I will use it. The word and the way some spit out the word is an obvious equivalence to 911 Truthers. It is ludicrous to compare the notion that the government staged the 9/11 crisis and blew up the twin towers with explosives to those who simply want real proof that Obama is a natural born citizen. There are
several facts that would cause a rational person to believe something may be amiss here and want to see hard evidence:

1. It is much easier to prove Obama's natural born status by simply providing the long form birth certificate.

2. The Obama camp has spent at least $1 Million for legal representation to fight supplying the long form. Other than "creating or saving jobs" the rational person would wonder why Obama is willing to have that large amount of money wasted.

3. There were two different hospitals named by the White House as the place of Obama's birth. The reason for this conflict has not been explained.

4. A soldier in the army reserve refused orders of deployment on the grounds Obama was not eligible to be Commander in Chief. He was not court marshaled and his deployment orders were revoked. However, pressure was applied to the defense contractor the reserve soldier worked for to fire him from his civilian job.

So where do I stand? Am I a Birther? I admit a strong curiosity to know the truth. I scratch my head over the ease with which this issue can be put to rest vs. the great lengths the Obama camp goes through to avoid putting it to rest. I lean toward the Birther argument, but have little interest in championing it or beating a war drum here on it. I think there is a good balance with key politicians and conservative media being silent or low key on it. However, I am quite angry with those who are making Birthers out to be kooks. That is not a fair assessment. My final thought is that one way or another I hope we get to the bottom of this however it turns out.

Please Go Green So I Don't Have to Turn Blue

Most times that I go out to a dining or entertainment establishment, I am amazed at how COLD they keep the temperature. I brought my son to I-Hop Friday night and by the time I left, I was chilled to the bone. This is very common in other restaurants, in movie theaters, in stores at amusement parks and many other establishments. What is the deal? I estimate they keep the temps anywhere between 55-65F. While I am able to tolerate these temps, it is very uncomfortable. My wife, however, practically needs a hypothermia blanket. Many times we are out, she jumps in a hot bath to warm her core. I prefer 75 but would be ok with 70 or above.

All the establishments across the country that combined could be saving a lot of energy by laying off the excess air conditioning. I am not advocating Obama putting on a sweater and pushing for government to regulate our thermostats. With a little common sense we could self-regulate. I am the kind of person that can be comfortable in a temperature range. I just know when I turn blue, it is time for somebody to go green.

Quick Note: Obama Says Porkulus Doing a Heckuva Job

Sometimes I wish I could act like a liberal and play hardball with no sense of fairness or honesty. That is the way I am wired though. Those who know me often get extremely frustrated at my deep sense of fairness. Last week I was contemplating how long it took for Reagan's tax cuts to finally kick in and begin an economic revolution that lasted over two decades. While waiting for the results, the liberals were at his throat taunting his voodoo economics plan. Even now those same libs will not give his policies credit even though they have seen tax cuts under three presidents result in an economic recovery (JFK, Reagan and W. Bush).

Then just as I am thinking about this Obama comes out and claims that Porkulus is working as intended. My first snarky thought was to post that I guess his plan was to destroy the country after all and that it is working; however, I will avoid that approach. Obama explains his claim the stimulus is working by pointing to the number of jobs "saved" and proposing that state budget deficits would be twice as much as they are now. I know other bloggers have thumped Obama for brazenly using the "created or saved" rhetoric when it comes to jobs. I would point to the shame of the media and pundits because weeks later Obama is still using references to "saved" jobs with a straight face and no fear of ridicule. If they had one ounce of consistency, they would have universally ridiculed him just as they would have if Bush had made such an asinine statement. Shame on the media for deriding Bush for his misguided "heckuva job" praise and turning a blind eye to Obama making an equally foolish statement by praising a plan that has and will continue to make things worse.

GOP Sex Scandals and the Charge of Hypocrisy

They say all is fair in love and war. Is it fair game for liberals to make hay about the GOP sex scandals? Of course. Democrats can certainly overlook the many, many sex scandals past and present and claim that because of recent GOP sex scandals that it is better to vote for Democrats. Since they are fully aware of the long history of Democrat sex scandals, they have come up with the claim that the GOP are hypocrits for espousing moral values and then some of their rank become embroiled in some of the most salacious sexual affairs. Is this hyocrisy? It is certainly hypocrisy on the part of those elected officials that partake in these activities - whether they are caught or not.

The actions of others will determine if they are being hypocritical. For instance, if I am vocal in claiming that the GOP is better at espousing moral values and I defend or turn a blind eye to immoral scandals of members of the GOP; then yes, I would rightfully be considered hypocritical. I personally believe that political leaders should hold a high moral standard. This is especially true when somebody has made a lifetime commitment of marriage to another and then they break that trust. I don't really discuss moral issues on this blog but I hold the position that every political leader that breaks a marriage vow while in office should resign. Period. Those who espouse moral positions but then make excuses just because they are GOP are hypocrites.

The fact is that many in the GOP (like me) are not vocal at all on issues of morality. Sure there are enough to be heard, but many others are really more interested in fiscal responsibility, limited government, economic and military strength, rugged individualism, lower taxes. So basically hypocrisy can only come if those who trumpet moral values are engaged in immoral behavior or support the retention in office of those who are. There are approximately 55 million registered voters affiliated with the GOP. How many of those meet my proposed definition of hypocrisy? Only by painting with a broad brush and stereotyping the entire GOP can the charge of hypocrisy be made. Of course who are the ones that are always denouncing stereotypes? The Democrats. Now that looks like hypocrisy to me.

Quick Note: Liberal Reaction to Passing Climate Change Bill

NOW: Yay! Sock it to those big bad energy companies and save the earth from catastrophe!

SIX MONTHS AFTER IT TAKES EFFECT: Hey! Why is gasoline skyrocketing. Why is my heating and electricity bill so d*mn high! Those evil corporations!

1 YEAR AFTER IT TAKES EFFECT: We need to pass a tax hike so we can help the poor pay for all these high energy bills.

Ok, it might not take a full year for that last one. Let's hope the Senate stops this "pile" as Boehner calls it.

Hey eight GOP Reps. that voted for the pile. Did you wake up this morning, look in the mirror and see a bullseye on your forehead? Believe me, it is there. Here are their names:

Mary Bono Mack (CA)
Mike Castle (DE)
Mark Steven Kirk (IL)
Leonard Lance (NJ)
Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ)
John M. McHugh (NY)
Dave Reichert (WA)
Chris Smith (NJ)

Overspending at the Economic Peak

We are seeing many references in the news about the severe budget shortfalls in states with most focus on California and New York. Without getting into a discussion about Federal deficit spending, I would point to city and state level as a clear government level that requires strict budgetary discipline. At this level, there should never be significant deficit spending. Yet what we see is that at the economic peak where revenues are highest, states are spending at lease as much as comes in and often more.

For decades we have seen economies rise and fall in a constant cycle. Economies can never sustain unending growth, eventually succumbing to a recession where revenues crash back to earth. While we enjoy the spring, summer and fall of each cycle; there is always a winter. Each time we hear of state budget woes. Attempts are made to raise taxes to make up the difference. When wiser minds prevail, cost cuts are made instead; although too often the wrong areas are cut.

During the economic highs, nobody is ever wise enough to prepare for the fall. States should set aside at least 10% of their revenues during the good times to tap into during the bad times. States should retain a reserve from the fruitful seasons to fall back on during economic winter. Unfortunately, this does not happen. There is no serious pressure for budgetary restraint. Instead there is a hand out at every corner. Instead votes are purchased from public coffers.

We are always hearing about looking for solutions to societal problems. Unfortunately, the best time to find and enact a solution is before the problem occurs not after.

Sorry Liberals, but being more like you is not the GOP key to winning elections

Gallop has a poll out showing "Conservatives" as the single largest ideological block with 40% willing to label themselves as conservative or very conservative. 35 % claim to be moderates and only 21% own up to being liberal or very liberal.

I have been sickened since the election by disingenuous members of the media and liberal bloggers claiming that GOP's only hope of survival is to become more liberal. I have difficulty telling whether they really believe this tripe or if they are merely making it up as a talking point to convince people to believe it. I lean toward the latter.

This poll shows that this is still a very conservative country. I also believe the number to actually be higher. Many people might espouse an ideology, but do not want to be labeled with either brand. Each brand has been successfully stigmatized to some degree. I talk to people all the time that claim to lean left and vote Democrat. Yet when you discuss things issue by issue almost always you walk away thinking the person is not only a conservative, but a strong one. Usually there is one issue they lean left on but the rest they are strongly to the right. I've said to more than one person "Dude, you don't realize it but you are a conservative." Their initial response is horror and often the conversation is over.

The biggest shortcoming of the Bush Administration is that they did not take the opportunity in political battles to educate the people. They could be very slick and cunning at times and somehow get their agenda through, but they did not use the process to draw the distinction between conservative and liberal principals. The key to winning elections in the future is not becoming more liberal. The key to winning elections in the future is educating the people and getting them to realize that they are actually conservatives. I think that the biggest voting block that is very, very conservative but votes Democrat are Hispanics. Karl Rove and the Bush Administration courted Hispanics, but they did it in a way where they acted like Democrats instead of making the conservative case.

Of course the education strategy is dependent on one key factor: Republicans as a whole must, must begin to act like conservatives. The "big tent" strategy has destroyed this party. That does not mean we exclude people. We make it clear that in certain groups many agree with 80% of conservative principals. They should be welcome in the GOP but don't expect the GOP to cater to your 20% liberal views.

The Obama Administration has handed us a case study where we can clearly draw the distinction between conservatism and liberalism. We must take this opportunity to educate. We cannot wobble. We cannot muddy the waters with "bipartisanship" and "reaching across the aisle". I have always maintained that when there is an opportunity to clearly debate the two sides without spin and without heavy handed tactics that conservatism wins the debate every time. We must win the debate.

Quick Note: The Murder of Dr. Tiller

It was clearly wrong for Dr. Tiller to be murdered by an abortion foe. I certainly do not condone such actions. That said, I will point out that the media is going overboard with their coverage. There are people murdered every day for one reason or another: a robbery gone bad, a cheating spouse, wealth envy, or mere inconvenience. The tone of the media that this murder is somehow worst or a graver injustice than others is nauseating. To put things in perspective, I have only found one source regarding the murder of an Army Recruiter in Arkansas and the wounding of another. I doubt we will see the sensational coverage they are using in the Tiller murder. Even when a police officer is killed in the line of duty we do not see such outrage.

Update: Surprise! Army recruiting assistant killed my new Muslim convert who disagrees with our presence in Iran and Afghanistan. This story will not only lack the sensational coverage of the Dr. Tiller murder; it will get buried.

Update II: Liberals blaming Bill O' Reilly rhetoric for death of Dr. Tiller. So who's rhetoric do they blame for the Army Recruiter deaths? Oops, they are silent on that so far.

Update III: Michelle Malkin points out the difference in the statements by Obama about each murder.

Obama's strong statement on the Dr. Tiller murder:
I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

Obama's weak statement on the William Long murder:
“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”

Quick Note: White Roofs

I have yet to hear anybody speculate on my theory that suggesting that people paint their roofs white has anything to do with Google Earth. At worst, it would allow the government to mark those fanatically convinced of the GW Hoax that they would take such a silly measure. At best, I see Obama's folks on a slow day going on Google Earth and snickering at all the suckers they were able to dupe into doing it.

Also, while I follow the theory that reflecting the heat will reduce running AC, I have not heard about the effect of heating in the winter. Would this not require more fossil fuel usage to heat homes in Winter further driving up the cost of energy and throwing more CO2 in the atmosphere?

PT Barnum would be proud.

American Idol Finale - 2009

Tuesday night we will more than certainly see great performances by the the finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. Most know by now that Adam Lambert is gay. I for one could care less. Issues of morality do not interest me when it comes to entertainment. We have had a number of gay contestants on American Idol and none of them have had the talent it takes to win. Adam does. If Adam does win it, he will be deserving of the recognition of his singing and performance talents.

I will say that in the past few weeks, I have not been as impressed by Adam as in weeks before. His high, piercing notes (as his tongue flies out) was pretty impressive the first few times but has been overused. Adam had such strong performances in the first half of the season I think it was hard to top. Kris on the other hand has been growing each week in his performances. I for one was quite irritated with some of his early output. I was even more irritated that the judges and my wife did not share my opinion. About two weeks ago, though, I began to see strong promise and actually began pulling for him. I really did not care who would be the top two as the top three were fantastic.

In summary, I am neutral on the gay issue. I will not share the world's shock, however, if Kris pulls off an upset. Adam has been static or sinking for several weeks, while Kris' star has been rising. I just hope we don't have to hear a bunch of claims of homophobia if Kris does win.

Quick Note: Jon Huntsman a Setup?

I have not had time for long drawn out write-ups, so I am introducing the Quick Note to point out some quick observations.

I am noticing that Obama has tapped GOP Jon Huntsman to be Ambassador to China. When I read this, it jumped out immediately that this is a setup to make a Republican the fall guy for when relations with China go south. With China being the biggest underwriter of our debt and being on record they are wary of absorbing more; the huge Porkulus Stimulus package and insane budget deficit will be a recipe for disaster when it comes to China. I expect a resignation before 2012.

The Economy is Barack Obama's Katrina

Note: During my illness the last few weeks I have been slowly writing this post. In that time, I lost the opportunity to be the first to name the economic tide of devastation Obama's Katrina. In the last week it has cropped up all over. For the record, I thought of it long before. Ahh well.

In 2005 Hurrican Katrina brought devastation to New Orleans and the surrounding area. George W. Bush did not cause Katrina to happen, yet Katrina is judged as one of his administrations greatest failures. Why? He is judged on his administrations response to the disaster. While we can argue over the exact causes of our current economic crisis and which side of the aisle is to blame, one thing is certain: the Obama Administration did not cause it. Like Katrina, as far as the Obama Administration is concerned, it is something beyond their control that happened. A disaster.

The question now is: how is the Obama Administration going to handle this disaster? What are they going to do to reduce it or make it go away? The components of the economic disaster are:

- The failing financial institutions (risk of massive failure; reduced confidence; difficulty to obtain loans)
- The ailing housing market (prices sinking, massive mortgage defaults)
- Rising Unemployment
- OPEC continuing to cut oil production threatening another rise in fuel prices (either now, or if the economy begins to improve)

Financial Institutions - Obama's actions during his terms as Senator, during the campaign and as president have only led to a policy of throwing billions of dollars at the financial institutions without very little oversight or accountability.

Obama insisted on nominating a tax cheat as Treasury Secretary. Now through blunders in the vetting process and focusing on 'not wasting a good crisis' Obama has not filled the positions that will support Geithner to address the greatest financial threat of our time since the Great Depression. In spite of Geithner's troubles, Obama seems to think he is doing a 'heckuva job'.

Housing Market - The only thing I can say is that without fully recognizing the root causes of the housing market crash, there is little hope of achieving a sustainable solution. Since Obama and his pals at ACORN are at the heart of the housing crisis, there is zero chance of owning up to the root cause. The New York Times recognized the problem in 1999 and predicted the crash during an economic downturn. Of course they had amnesia during the actual crisis. Read about it here.

Rising Unemployment - Obama has done nothing to address the unemployment issue. In fact his actions have been interpreted as hostile to the greatest job creator - the small business sector. We have seen no signals from the Obama camp since taking office other than hostility: higher taxes, higher regulation. If you are a business owner, what are you going to do? Hire and hope things get better? Lay off or hold to save on cash flow until it is safe again?

Fuel Prices - Obama moved very fast to reverse all the domestic drilling policy changes enacted before the election to help quell the raging rise in oil prices. The oil bubble burst last fall under the pressure of the policy changes and the economic downturn, but since that time Obama has only enacted policy to send oil prices back in an upward direction. In addition to the policy reversals (putting all domestic hope off limits), Obama sits idly by while OPEC continues to cut production. The final spike in the coffin of affordable oil, is the weakening of the dollar by Obama's massive spending and printing more money to pay for it.


The actions Obama has taken in response to this financial disaster can be classified in one of two categories:

1) Bumbling baffoonery that will not solve the problem
2) Enact targeted actions that have nothing to do with the economy, but will bring a complete paradigm shift in the political landscape.

Initially, it looked like Obama and team were doing #1 and simply throwing money at the problem hoping it would help. As time goes on, however, it is becoming clear that the actions taken are tarketed at very specific social change. Instead of fixing the problem, the Obama Administration is choosing to take the opportunity to ram a liberal/socialist agenda down our throats. In the end, we will have a weaker economy, a weaker military, a weaker dollar and be no stronger economically than before.

Obama has taken careful steps to drum it into the record that he inherited this recession. Granted. An acorn has been left in his lap. Obama cannot take steps that will turn that acorn into a tall oak, then blame his predecessor. He can try, but even if the MSM holds the line there are not enough wagons to circle Obama on something this big. Unfortunately for Obama, the MSM is beginning to go wobbly on him.

Obama Two Week Report Card

Two weeks into the Obama Presidency, I still do not fully know the direction Obama is taking us. Sure I have a better idea than before, but I need a little more time to fully resolve. There are three things that are shaping his decisions:

1) Who Obama is at the core
2) The people he owes for getting him in office
3) What he wants his legacy to be

I wanted to add a fourth factor - his desire for the good of the country, but I don't know him well enough yet - nor seen any evidence that he takes that into consideration.

I have been disturbed by what Obama has chosen to focus on in the first days in office. One of the first things he does upon waking up after the Inauguration festivities is to call Palastinian President Abbas making it a point to ensure he was the first foreign leader that was called. Later Obama would grant his first Presidential TV interview to the foreign Arab News al-Arabiya. This is a telling sign that Obama believes that if we kiss enough terrorist behind, that it will make us safer. This is the kind of liberal thinking that will get Americans killed. The Saudis have stated they like Obama's new tone. What we did not hear was the laughter behind closed doors.

Speaking of more Americans getting killed, next Obama signs the Executive Order to close Guantanimo Bay within a year. This is a bone to the nutroots who got him elected. There are no details of where the detainees will go. Read some stories here of released detainees that have been caught later in terrorist activities. One day in the future we will be seeing loved ones of victims decrying the closing of Guantanimo because one of the released terrorists pulled off an attack.

Speaking of mass murder, another item at the top of Obama's agenda was to restore funding to foreign groups that perform and support abortions.

Obama signed another executive order banning aggressive treatment of detainees such as waterboarding. Of course, there was some legal hocus pocus that actually leaves the door open to allow it if it really is necessary.

Finally, Obama has spent a lot of effort and energy to promote the trillion dollar stimulus package. This package mostly consists of wealth redistribution (for rebate checks to those who don't pay taxes) and a boatload of pork. Some of that pork includes $4-5 billion for top voter fraud organization ACORN (quite an expensive thank-you note), $50 million for "the arts", $25 million to repair damaged ATV trails (cool, but I don't want to pay for it), $650 million to help people switch to digital TV, $335 million for STD prevention, $70 million to help people stop smoking (will Obama take advantage of that?).

It is thoroughly disgusting that every time the GOP wants to cut taxes, the media comes out with all the hand wringing about how we cannot afford it, asking how we are going to pay for it. So far I have seen next to nothing like that from the media over the addition of a trillion dollars to the debt load for our children and grandchildren.

That is my summary of Obama's first two weeks in office. I truly tried to find something positive to say about him, but could not find anything. Sure, there are a few things he has not (yet) done wrong but there is still plenty of time. So far, Obama gets a D- from the Logic Lifeline.

Gran Torino Review

Yes, I know it has been out a few weeks. My wife and I finally went out last night and saw Gran Torino starring Clint Eastwood. Sometimes when seeing previews of a movie you just feel it in your bones that it will be good. Such was the case with Gran Torino, and I was eager to see it. Our schedule just would not allow it until last night. I must say the movie by far exceeded my expectations. While there are many movies that are good, but have moments that are so-so as the next climax is built; every moment of Gran Torino was enjoyable. Clint Eastwood was absolutely fantastic! There was a small bonus during the roll of the credits at the end, too that I won't give away. If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It was the best movie I have seen in months. Ok, the recent dry spell in quality doesn't make that statement stand out like I would wish. The bottom line is that this is a must see.

AICS will remain on hiatus until PEBO becomes POTUS

I hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Years holiday. I enjoyed my trip to Japan to see my son. Unfortunately, my wife and I became sick during the trip. I was sick but functional while my wife was bedridden all but one day. We got to visit our son, but other than going to a few local establishments including "American Village", we did not really get to sink our teeth into the place like we normally do when we travel. Maybe next time.

I am going to continue on hiatus until after the Inauguration. The current events are leaving me disgusted instead of inspiring me to write. I also have a few other things to focus on at work and home and do not have the time to write at the moment. All for now.

Merry Christmas to All

To those who keep coming here only to find that I have not added anything new, I apologize. Sometimes in life, we have little time because we work hard. While I have had some of that, most of my time shortage lately has been due to playing hard. My wife and I departed Thanksgiving weekend, on a Caribbean cruise. This is our second cruise where both have been on Norwegian Cruise Line. I highly recommend them. We saw some beautiful sights in the ports of call: Samana, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. We had a closeup view of some deep poverty in Samana. I wish my son "Chip" were with us to see how much opportunity we have in the US. In St. Thomas we went on a "helmet dive" where they put a 70 lb. helmet on your head for oxygen and you do a walk on the bottom about 30 feet down. Very cool. We had a great Catamaran ride and snorkeling in Tortola and spent a relaxing day on the beach in Great Stirrup Cay. The food and entertainment was very good. We had a great time. We got to relax a lot. It took me 1.5 days to get my mind settled down to relaxing, but I did it. Now I can't get my mind back to working mode :)

Last weekend my wife and I celebrated our 24th Anniversary. I used a weekend deal with my timeshare to spend the weekend in Phoenix. We had a very, very good time.

With the last remaining vestiges of vacation time, we have decided we want our family together for Christmas. The difficulty is that my oldest son is stationed in Japan. So...Olive Oyl, Chip and I will be spending Christmas with him in Japan. We leave in the next few days and get 3 solid days with him. I wish I had more time, but it is what it is.

So, now you all know some of what I have been up to. I have almost written a post or two on the political developments. Here are a few brief political comments:

It is fun that the liberals seem to be more upset with Obama than conservatives. Not sure how long that will last, but it is fun for now. Looks like the Dems are going to steal a Senate seat in MN and I have yet to find a Lib that is upset about it. Our Illinois governor has really stepped in it. My prediction at this time is that he will get away with it. The only reason he may not is the concern over embarrassing Obama. The question is - what does Blago have on Obama? The Global Warming skeptics seem to be growing in strength. There is a sense of desperation to act on Global Warming now. The question is - can the auto industry take a costly hit right now in the name of junk science? Can the economy take a carbon penalizing tax? How soon before Obama burns capital harming the Coal industry, or angering the Left more by supporting more nuclear power? There is not a lot of wiggle room to do anything about Global Warming (except talk). By this time next year we will have another year of cooling under our belt due to the lack of solar activity. We will have more scientists flip to the skeptic side. We will have more talk of a little ice age. Even now in their panic, the global warming crowd is blaming warming on the cooling trend. If that is so obvious why didn't they predict a cooling trend due to the warming? They are beginning to sound like Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.

All the political commentary until I get back from Japan. Everybody have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your Friend,
AICS

Obama Makes a Great Pick in Rahm Emanuel

The reaction of some conservatives against Obama's selection of Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff is leaving me scratching my head. Sure, he is a Democrat and a fierce opponent. I also get the angle that this does not represent 'change' and they are preparing to underscore by each and every selection that Obama's administration will be a bunch of old guard hacks. I get it.

However, the Emanuel pick has its positives. The Chief of Staff according to Wikepedia is "the second highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President." It says they are often dubbed "'The Second-Most Powerful Man in Washington' due to the nature of the job." So in theory Emanuel will have the most influence on the Obama Administration than anybody else.

Guess what? Rahm Emanuel is a very strong supporter of Israel. WorldNetDaily has a fascinating article on the selection called "Obama's chief a closet hawk?" Consider the following nuggets from the article:

- He has strong roots in Israel
"Both Emanuel's parents are citizens of Israel. His Jerusalem-born father, Benjamin Emanuel, fought for Israel's independence, even helping smuggle guns to the Israeli underground. He later served as a medic in the 1948 Israeli battle for independence."

"...served as a captain in the Israeli army"

- He is a strong supporter of Israel
"Emanuel also staunchly believes in Israel's right to exist and is not as conciliatory as Obama on the issue of Palestinian rights."

- He supported and continues to support the Iraq War, the War on Terror and the removal of Saddam Hussein

"Asked in 2005 by late NBC host Tim Russert whether he would have voted to authorize the war knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction, Emanuel replied yes. (Emanuel was elected to Congress after the authorization vote.) 'I still believe that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, OK?' he added."

"In his 2006 book, 'The Plan,' Emanuel devotes a whole chapter to 'the War on Terror,' in which he asserts that Democrats should not be afraid to 'take the fight to the enemy.' 'We need to use all the roots of American power to make our country safe,' he added."

"Among other things, he proposes creating a new domestic counter-terrorism force like Britain's MI5 to protect the homeland."

Rahm Emanuel was selected by Obama because of his positions, or in spite of them. Either way, his selection is a poke in the eye to groups like Code Pink. It is certainly a back hand at the radical Islamic groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda that offered their endorsements prior to the election and their congratulations afterward. Like I have maintained, the Obama victory is an oppotunity for unlimited fun for the conservative blogger. This is only the beginning.

Political Spinach: Political Discourse

Post-election there are two camps of thought: one camp wants to focus on Unity and the other wants to focus on their agenda. The Unity camp looks at the divisiveness created during the terms of the last two presidents and wants that to go away. The picture here is the desire for all the country to get together, hold hands and sing Kumbaya. The Agenda camp looks at the 50% (or so) that disagree with them in this country and wants to keep shoving their agenda until it successfully goes down the throat of the opposition. The picture here is two people arguing, screaming and swearing at each other with neither listening. Both camps tend to disgust me.

For the Unity camp I would dispel the notion that there are many truths. Usually there is one truth for each and every issue in life. Sure there are areas that may not be worth fighting over, but there are some areas that are worth engaging in debate to determine the one truth. As a conservative, I too often find that those promoting Unity are merely pushing conservatives to be more like liberals. Randall Hoven recently stated:

"There's a joke where the husband wants a dog and his wife wants a cat, so they compromise and get a cat. With Democrats, every "compromise" is a cat."

So it is when it comes to unity in Washington, the conservatives / GOP are always considered the ones that need to compromise. There are two components to governance: ideology and application of ideology. The purpose of political discourse should be to determine ideology. Upon solidly determining ideology, the next step is the application of ideology.

It is in the application of ideology that as a last resort compromises may be made. The Unity camp wants to compromise right out of the starting gate. Instead of a last resort during application, they push for compromise during discourse. Only when one believes there are many truths can they compromise during the discourse stage. When the ideology is properly communicated, one can then say "This is the best course of action. We have been unable to convince everybody of that fact, so for now we have reached a compromise to step toward the final goal". Compromise must only be to implement a portion of the ideology, not a mixed and corrupt ideology.

For the Agenda camp I would also point to the value of clear political discourse. There is no room for venomous division during the discourse stage. Both sides of the isle have been guilty of venom when debating ideology. This makes it very unlikely that any actual listening will occur. The most venom usually comes from the side of the isle out of power. So it has been over the last eight years. The Left literally became Unhinged when they were continually denied power. Sometimes the Right responded in kind. Other times they took the high road. Now that the Right is completely out of power, it may be seducing to follow the same path and substitute political discourse with venom and rage. Now is the time to continue to take the high road. With the Left in power, it is conceivable their rage and invective will subside a bit and if we retain civility, there is a good chance more listening will take place.

If somebody has a clear sense of their ideology and succeeds in applying it, there is no reason for venom, hatred or attack on that person. It is like many sports games. There may be players or teams that have cultivated their talents and enjoyed success in implementing those talents. There is no reason to hate those players or teams, but rather it is better to cultivate your own talents and compete to win.The last eight years, political discourse has greatly suffered. The Bush Administration had many political victories. However, usually they were not preceded by strong successful political discourse by the administration. The most successful example of the proper approach is Ronald Reagan. Reagan communicated ideology to the American people and then implemented it. "This what I want to do and why I want to do it and this is what I expect to happen when I do it." Only during the process of productive political discourse can we clearly educate the people what and why decisions need to be made. After they are made, we can look back to the discourse and see if the communicated result actually occurred or not. Only by political discourse can we make history and later see which history is worth repeating.

One good way of maintaining civility is to give credit when it is due, regardless of party. The Left chose the last eight years to deny George W. Bush any point of credit whatsoever for anything. We cannot repeat that low performance. If Barack Obama does well in any area, I hope to be there granting kudos. By remaining civil, we can raise the level of political discourse and educate the people on good and bad policy. That is more powerful than the electoral success of your party. As we have seen, a party can succeed in becoming elected but the people who supported them can lose.

Political Spinach: Introduction

I am introducing a new concept on this blog called "Political Spinach". In keeping with my Popeye theme I am using spinach as a symbol for something good that will make us stronger. I have entertained the thought for over a year now to create a website (not a blog) called Political Spinach that would contain more static types of information and theory instead of posts being driven by current events. Blogging is great, but it is always a moving picture and often that which is written is virtually lost soon after posting. Most posts will never be read by anybody after about a month or so.

For now instead of the website I will be adding posts. The Political Spinach Posts are designed to be referred to again and again. It is like putting up a tent. The stakes hold various portions of the tent in place. Without good stakes, the tent can come down in one or more areas. These posts are designed to be good stakes to solidly keep various positions I support nailed down so that the rest of the tent can be fully supported. Hopefully this will make more sense as I begin posting. I will still, of course continue with my current events driven posts, but I hope to have a good mix. Since I will be adding a 'Political Spinach' label to each of these posts, it will be easy to find them in the mix with the others by using blogger's label functionality.

Congratulations President-Elect Barack Obama

Today I offer a sincere congratulations to the new President-Elect Barack Obama. He was not my choice, but I offer my hope and support that he may somehow turn out to be a good President. The things I fear about an Obama Presidency have not yet occurred. Until they begin, I will not attack him personally. I am not fool enough like some to be willing to cut off my nose to spite my face. I do not wish bad on this country so that Obama looks bad. If good comes from Obama shown by clear cause and effect principles, I will give him credit.

I believe the margin of victory both in the electoral count and the popular vote give Obama a modest mandate to implement the things he clearly defined - not a blank check. For instance, he ran as a tax-cutting moderate and he has the mandate to be a tax cutting moderate as President. He ran as a friend of Israel, he has a mandate to be a friend of Israel. He ran as a supporter of Nuclear Power and Clean Coal as part of his energy plan, he has a mandate to expand Nuclear Power and Clean Coal. He ran on building a stronger military, he has a mandate to build a stronger military. He ran on reconciling faith and politics, he has a mandate to reconcile faith and politics. He ran on securing our borders, improve legal immigration, and require illegals to pay fines, learn English and go to the back of the citizenship line; he has a mandate for this approach. He ran on restoring fiscal discipline to Washington, he has a mandate to balance our budget (while keeping all his promises on national defense and national security). In short, he has a mandate to govern from the Center-Right as this is where he ran his campaign regardless of past record and in spite of many of his supporters.

There are good things I expect from an Obama Presidency and Democratic Congress. I expect the Left and the World Body to knock off their venomous rhetoric that has filled our political discourse for years. I expect the media to knock off the gloom and doom reporting on the economy filling consumers with fear instead of confidence. I expect either the people in general or the Left to feel betrayed when President Obama chooses whether he will govern from the Center or the Left. I expect some to feel the same disappointment I have felt at the results of my preferred party "getting it all". I expect some fun when there is conflict between Reid, Pelosi and Obama when Obama tells them the way it is going to be and they disagree. I expect to have some fun watching how very long it will be before Obama gets out his veto pen in the same way George W. Bush was criticized at the length of time it took him to use his. I expect it to be more fun to go on the offensive against liberal policies than defend conservative policies that rarely exist. I expect it to be fun to observe others try to defend poor decisions. I expect it to be fun when the new administration does things the old administration was heavily criticized for and suddenly it will be ok. Overall, though, I expect at least a small time where divisiveness in politics takes a break. How brief that break is depends mostly on the actions of the new leadership.

In summary, today it is congratulations to Barack, Nancy and Harry. I congratulate all Black Americans who see hope in this man's ascension. I celebrate the offical end of racism in America and all the silly charges that accompany it. Sure there will always be one yahoo or another trapped in prejudice, but today any last vestiges of institutional racism and bigotry can be offically declared dead. Black America can now break free of the surly bonds of oppression. They can now embrace the power of individual achievement and discard the false notion they need the government to accomplish their desires. As a whole they can look to those of their brothers and sisters that took their destiny in their own hands and broke free years prior this moment. They can look to their fellow minorities in the Hispanic, Asian, Indian and Arabic communities for the template to achieving the American Dream by their individual efforts. I truly wish them well.

Others are already declaring war. I choose to give them their days of celebration. I hope I do not have to join, but just in case I will sharpen my tools and prepare in private. In public I will hope for the best and that somehow good can come of this until proven wrong. Country First and May God Bless America.