The Decade of our Discontent

It is with a sigh of relief, and hope for the future, that we are saying goodbye to 2009, and a decade from hell. The fall of the Soviet Union ushered in an era of peace, and with that era of peace came the peace dividend. Going into the new millennium, the United States was running a government surplus, and the economy was booming thanks to the advent of the digital age and the resultant increase in productivity that blew corporate earnings estimates through the roof. The stock market soared, and we all got rich.

Politically, the country was worried about sex in the oval office, and sharks going up the east coast of the United States. Europe was free and reuniting. Freedom and democracy were in ascendency. The United States was the sole world super power. It was a brief, shining moment in American history.

Things turned south starting with the 2000 presidential election. A constitutional crisis loomed as Bush and Gore brought us to the brink through legal maneuvering as to who won Florida’s electoral votes, and the presidential election. Sensing a pending doom, the Supreme Court of the United States cherry picked the case, and awarded Florida’s electoral votes to Bush, although Gore won the popular vote nationally. I believe the Supremes were on firm legal ground for what they did and the conclusion they reached, but it tore the country apart.

The following September, we learned that the fairytale world of peace and security was just an illusion, as radical Muslim fundamentalists succeeded in the most devastating attack ever on the American homeland by a foreign adversary. This time the enemy wasn't a country, but a bunch of religious fanatics; a much stealthier foe.

It seemed downhill from there. The stock market crashed. The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to almost zero setting the stage for what would become the financial collapse of September, 2008, which almost brought down the entire world economy. Between now and then, Enron collapsed causing turmoil in the energy markets. And other American business icons pounded on the government door for survival money, as Lehman Brothers bankrupted itself, along with General Motors and Chrysler. The pillars of American capitalism crumbled around the carcass of once mighty Wall Street.

Financial, political and cultural scandals headlined the news on an almost daily basis, culminating the largest financial scam of all, Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Billions of dollars just disappeared, and his wealthy investors, many of them retired, ended up broke and living on social security checks.

In the meantime, the country went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq as nuclear proliferation among radical Muslim countries made the cold war look like a walk in the park. Even as those wars continue, the country now faces deadly turmoil in Pakistan and Yemen, and the big Kahuna of Islamic nut cases…Iran.

In the midst of all of this, America elected its first black President chanting a charismatic mantra of hope and change. What we got was an ideological despot who seems hell bent on carrying out a radical, liberal agenda through extreme health care and environmental policies as the economy continues to head south. Obama's popularity ratings have fallen farther faster than any other President in United State history. The extreme politicization of our government processes will play out again next fall when America will most likely, and reluctantly, turn right again, causing gridlock in the Washington…which almost sounds attractive.

As we enter the last year of the old decade, or the first year of the new decade depending on which pundit you are listening too, there is one thing about which you can be sure: the old Chinese adage of "may you live in interesting times" applies to us. Maybe that's why they have so much of our currency!

God bless America, and here’s hoping for better times ahead.

Ohio's Lump of Christmas Coal

If you want confirmation of the adage “nice guys finish last”, you need look no further than how Ohio, and for that matter most of the other states, got screwed in the Senate version of health care “reform.” In case you were sleeping, which wouldn’t be surprising given that the vote to end filibuster took place a 1:00 AM, Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska threw his principles out the window for thirty pieces of silver, giving Harry Reid and his progressive cabal the 60th vote needed to move the health care onto the Senate floor for final passage.

Senator Nelson is a conservative Democrat elected on the bluest of blue dog Democrat principles rooted in fiscal responsibility with a dash of strong anti-abortionism. 57% of his constituency opposed passage of this version of health care reform. Nelson did his dog and pony show waiving the pro-life flag; that is until Obama and Reid waived some green in front of his face.

Included in the quid pro quo for his vote was an exemption for Nebraska doctors from regulations prohibiting doctors from referring patients to hospitals that they own. It also provided a grant of $100 million for construction of a new university hospital. Finally, and this is really the one that you should be concerned about, it guaranteed that the Federal government would pick up 100% of Nebraska’s Medicaid costs for new Medicaid clients under the reform bill IN PERPETUITY.

Among many of the new hidden costs in the health care bill are federal mandates to the states to increase their Medicaid costs. Medicaid is federally mandated, but paid for and administered by the states, with state taxes. In Ohio, I believe it is the single biggest line item in the budget. California is on the verge of bankruptcy in large part because of unfunded Medicaid mandates. The same is true for New Jersey and New York. This is on top of a lesser, but still very expensive, $500 million deal made with Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana…also based in the Feds covering Louisiana’s Medicaid costs.

What that means, of course, is that the taxpayers in the rest of states, like Ohio, will not only be paying our Medicaid costs, but the costs of Nebraska and Louisiana.

So…..wither Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio? What did he get for Ohio? What did he get for his vote? There is an Italian word for it that is perfect…but I’m afraid you would look it up. And “up” is exactly where Ohio got it!!!

On the other hand, at least we know that Sherrod Brown isn’t a whore…or maybe he is, and he just was too stupid to establish the price. Either way, this year Ohio got a bunch of coal in its Christmas stocking. Maybe we should all move to Nebraska.

Mr. President: Don't Tell Me It's Raining When You're Pissing on My Leg.

One could not have written a script on how not to achieve health care reform any better than Obama and his Democratic cohorts in Congress. The hubris of these folks verges on the incomprehensible. Just as it’s not nice to full Mother Nature, Congress and the President should never fool the American public. Ask Richard Nixon (Watergate), Bush 1 (Read my lips, no more taxes), Bill Clinton (I did not have sexual relations with that woman), and Bush 2 ( let’s go get those weapons of mass destruction).

The latest contestants in the game of “Let’s Fool the American Public” have attempted a ideological coup to take over 1/6th of the American economy. The issue for these folks was never reform. It was always control.

First they thought they could pass it before anybody was paying attention. Then they thought they could lie to the public about the cost. Then they thought they could lie about how to pay for it. Then they thought they could lie about how health care would be administered. Then they lied to the seniors about Medicare cuts. And when they couldn’t lie anymore, they simply and literally shut the doors to any outside scrutiny of the negotiating process with the Democratic caucuses, and pushed ahead with reckless abandon to pass a left wing health care takeover that the American public clearly doesn’t want. Sooner or later the public would catch on, and it did.

Will some version of health care plan pass sometime in the next few months? I suspect it will; but not in the form that these guys tried to foist on us. For right now, we would be better off with nothing.

What President Obama should have done is spell out to the public in simple understandable terms the problems our health care system faces, and a number of alternatives to solve those problems with associated costs. An issue as personal as health care deserves a straight forward statement of problems, solutions, and costs. Two thousand pages of legislation loaded with boards and bureaucracies and coercive mandates and hidden taxes and fees and flimsily disguised health care standards review boards (the death panels) is NOT the way to go. And you NEVER make deals with the major players in the game and then renege on what you agreed to do for them in exchange for their support. After agreeing to help him, Obama stuck it to big pharma, the hospitals, the AMA, the insurance companies, the doctors, seniors, and just about everybody else. As the saying goes, don’t tell me it’s raining when you are pissing on my leg.

We all know that health care reform is needed, and buried in these massive bills are some potentially good ideas. The real shame in all of this is that Obama is missing a golden opportunity to show real leadership in an honest discussion of the issues, solutions, and costs. Instead, in a bid to get the long term Democratic dream of a single payer health care system ala Britain and Canada, he and his colleagues have resorted to chicanery and trickery and lies, all while the American people are dealing with a major recession and massive unemployment.

They assumed the American public, blinded by the light of the Messiah Obama, would not see what is going on. Lesson # 1 for any President: the American public may be many things, but it is not stupid. It appears that Barack Obama is now the next in a long line of Presidents who have learned that lesson the hard way.

The Importance of Losing

We are living through a teachable moment courtesy of President Bush and President Obama. Through political correctness, America has lost its ability to lose. If ever there was a time to learn anew the importance of losing, it is now. It is only through losing that we learn to win. Nothing motivates the desire to win than a good shellacking. Losing causes us to work harder and work smarter. Losing teaches us how to correct what we have done wrong.

In this age of bailout, and “too big to fail” politics, one wonders how we got to this point? It is not the function of government to determine winners and losers. It is the function of government to provide the rules under which the game is played, and to provide for an orderly exit for the loser. Government is not the mommy and daddy telling their children to start the game over in hopes of a different result.

But why should we be surprised when that is exactly what we have been teaching our children in our schools these past twenty years. Teachers can’t fail anybody because it will hurt the student’s self esteem. Children are prohibited from keeping score in intramural athletic events because “they all should be winners.” Communal thinking has permeated our education system, and it is getting worse instead of better.

Rather than teach children that there are no winners and losers, wouldn’t it be better to teach our kids that in life, there are winners and losers. More importantly teach these kids how to win and how to lose. There is no shame in losing. There is only shame in not trying.

This is important to society on a number of different levels. Allowing winners to succeed provides for efficiency in our economic system, and allows the best and the brightest to rise to the top. From winning on the sports field to winning in business, within reason, is the driver behind our economy from which our entire society benefits. You can’t do all of those social programs without someone making the money to pay for them.

But teaching kids to lose is even more important to our society. It teaches kids perseverance. It also helps to steer kids back into the right direction. For example, if a kid does not do well in football, you don’t keep beating him over the head to do well in football. Maybe he/she belongs in baseball, or golf, or choir, or music. One will naturally gravitate to where one does well and succeeds.

It does no one good to be allowed to coast. Why should I work for an A when I know teacher will give me a C if I do nothing? Why should I work to overcome whatever deficiency is in my background when doing nothing will provide the same result? That attitude translates into real life, and society is producing more and more people who enter adulthood with a sense of entitlement. We can only afford so many of those folks.

That doesn’t mean the government shouldn’t provide a safety net. But the definition of the safety net needs to be radically revised. A safety net does not mean the government should be providing breakfast, lunch and dinner to the offspring of irresponsible parents. A safety net does not mean that the government should be paying for clothing and shelter for people when their money is being spent on cell phones and electronic gadgetry. That isn’t a safety net. That is a lifestyle.

Likewise, the government should not reward companies who have acted badly with massive amounts bailouts. It should, instead, be rewarding those companies that acted prudently.

The gravity of America’s financial crisis in September, 2008, was obvious. But do you really think that AIG or Citigroup will change their ways? Yes, they are paying the government back. But I will guarantee you their company culture and method of operations will not change. It is even worse with GM and Chrysler. We, as a society, need to learn what happened here and the wisdom, or lack thereof, of the response. No company should be too big to fail. Those companies should have been broken up or allowed to sink.

America needs to change its culture. From pre-school to Wall Street board rooms, the motivation to win and the importance of losing should be re-introduced into our approach to life. If things keep going the way they are now, we will be increasingly called on to continue to morph our social safety net into a society of social entitlements that is unsustainable.

Obama's Achilles Heels

President Obama’s administration is finally seeing what happens where the rubber meets the road. His charisma is nice, but he is the Democratic donkey with four Achilles heels. Any one of them can bring him down. The front two heels are the economy/deficit and his health care initiative. Enough has been said about those. The hind heels, however, are looking more and more tenuous. Climate Change and Afghanistan are festering. It doesn’t look good.

Last week, the entire climate change debate collapsed when hackers hacked into the computers at Britain’s East Anglia Climate Research Unit. Just in case you aren’t familiar with what the CRU is, let’s say it is to Climate Change proponents what the Vatican is to Catholics. It is the proverbial belly of the beast.

The emails and reports are stunning in their display of manipulation of scientific research to achieve a political end. It is worth taking the time to read some of them. The CRU operatives discard studies that don’t agree with their view. They demonize legitimate scientists whose work contradicts their political agenda. And even scarier, they gin up… translate: fudge…the data to match what they think the data should show. In an even worse case scenario, these guys “lost” the basic research data, and only kept records of the “revised” data which had been massaged to reach the proper conclusions. In effect, global warming aka climate change is a manipulated hoax.

The CRU operatives responded by saying that other scientists have arrived independently at the same conclusions. Unfortunately, many of them used studies and data provided to them, or that had been sanitized, by the East Anglia CRU. Scientists wanting to do contra-studies have been “frozen out” of the scientific communities and research money. The debate about global warming is over! The only issue is to how to stop it! So there!!!

Unfortunately, Obama has taken the same position. Global warming is scientific fact. There is no disagreement. We must press forward or the earth will be destroyed. That was the tenor of Press Secretary Gibbs statements relating to the rapidly collapsing global warming house of cards. They just can’t admit it. Hello! Carbon Dioxide is plant food. The earth has natural warming and cooling cycles, and we are going into a cooling cycle…and the CO(2) levels in the atmosphere during the last two ice ages were higher than they are now, or projected to be, in the future.

If Obama presses forward with his Cap and Trade legislation, and other such initiatives based on punishment of the United States and the transfer of billions upon billions of dollars of wealth to third world countries, he will be run out of Washington on a rail. Even worse than the anger that will be directed towards him as utility and petroleum bills skyrocket, he will be trivialized. He should go to Copenhagen get his Nobel Peace prize, and skip the climate change conference which is now a joke.

In the midst of everything else, a President whose political roots are in social justice/peacenik activism now has to send soldiers into war. According to Obama, Iraq was a war of choice and Afghanistan was a war of necessity. I guess it depends on who is sitting in the Oval Office and when. While our troops are dying on the Afghan/Pakistani border, Obama was out playing golf and being President of the world, ignoring troop level requests from his hand-picked general.

What is he worried about? A corrupt Afghan government! Do ya’ think? There is no good choice in Afghanistan. The mission of smashing the enemy hiding in the mountains stands separate and apart from nation building. Our troops are going to be there for a long, long time. A corrupt Afghan government is a given. The American military presence is required in case the semblance of government that is there collapses. The Taliban can never be in charge of Afghanistan again. At the end of the day, the bigger problems are a collapsed nuclear Pakistan and a nuclear Iran. For that reason alone, Afghanistan will on our radar for years to come.

On this issue, Obama loses on the right, which believes he will never do enough; and the left, which believes he will do too much.

The only remaining question is which one of Obama’s four Achilles heels will bring him down. Any bets?

Dear Congress:

I remember when President Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox and the simultaneous resignation of Attorney General Elliot Richardson on a Saturday night. It was quickly dubbed the Saturday Night Massacre. The press took the story and ran with it, and never relented until the day Richard Nixon died.

Now, in the tradition of Richard Nixon, we have witnessed two major health care votes and a $300 million bribe take place Saturday nights. If the Democrats are so proud of this legislation, why are they taking key votes on Saturday nights? It’s because these folks are flipping the bird to the American people. They are sneaking it through. They are thieves in the night, gutting Medicare; stealing your tax money, and your health care, and your children’s future.

First, they tried to ram it through with no debate. Then they lied about it. Then they tried to change it behind closed doors. When the truth became obvious to anyone that can read, they stopped lying about it, and are now trying to sneak it through in under the darkness of a weekend night.

And when it looked like the Senate did not have enough votes to bring it to the floor for debate, they put in a $300 million dollar bribe for Senator Mary Landrieu and Louisiana. Now we know what Mary Landrieu is…and her established price. As an Ohio boy, I would like to ask my Senator Sherrod Brown…where is the $300 million for Ohio?

Meanwhile, out in the real world, the popularity of this type of health care reform is sinking like a lead weight. Currently, only 37% of the American people support this bill, and a full 70% believe that this bill will raise their taxes, raise the insurance premiums, and raise the cost of health care.

The Senate vote to bring this bill to the floor was pitiful if you were watching. Those old decrepit men hugging each other hopefully out of the eye of the camera was disgusting. Those that voted for it wouldn’t show their enthusiasm to the public with applause. At least the House showed their glee to a disbelieving public. The Senate hung their heads and quietly slinked away.

Joe Lieberman said it best. In this country, we don’t take things over. When the private sector fails, we litigate and we regulate; both of those approaches would have been a good step to alleviating any perceived wrongs in our health care system.

Instead, we are on the verge of passing a financial debacle that has already failed in Massachusetts and Tennessee. It guts $500 billion from Medicare and makes Medicare taxes a source of revenue to the general fund rather than the Medicare program. It forces you to buy expensive health insurance or go to jail. It will increase the deficit. Taxes will go up, and it collects them for 4 years before the benefits of the plan kick in, and then it pays for only 6 years of benefits. At the end of the first ten years, the cost falls off a cliff. It will dictate what health care you are entitled to, and more importantly, what you aren’t entitled to.

Bill O’Reilly gave good warning on his television show the other night. If this bill passes, there will be open revolt in this country. I hope Congress comes to its senses before it’s too late.

Dear Congress: You are elected to serve the people, not your pipedream ideology. If you insist on flipping the bird to the public that sent you to Washington, the public just might flip the bird right back at you.

Bowing Out

As the name of the old television show so aptly proclaimed: That Was The Week That Was. In a period of seven to ten days, we have witnessed Barack Obama sacrifice his presidency on the altar of radical liberalism. If he is nothing else, he is a true believer; ready to fall on the sword to gain his vision of a changed America. He said so in an interview with CNN tonight. He may get his wish. The coalition of left wing Democrats and moderate independents is collapsing, and the events of these past days will hasten the process to the point Obama will be politically neutered.

1) Moving Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s trial to New York City is the single worst decision I have ever seen a politician make outside of issues of war. It is opposed by 65% of the population. It paints a bigger terrorist bull’s eye on NYC. The trial itself will be a circus. Obama thinks the public will be upset about President Bush’s alleged abuses. He is wrong. What the public will be upset about is Miranda rights becoming an issue for that scumbag murderer.

2) Obama’s bow to the Emperor of Japan will become the poster for any Republican candidate running against him 2012. Obama may think it is deferential and showing American respect. Dude, he is there because MacArthur needed him to help pacify Japan at the end of World War II. Otherwise, he would have been shot with the other masterminds behind the invasion of Pearl Harbor. Americans sense weakness, and so do our enemies. The mood of the country has gone beyond another apology tour.

3) The Chinese shoved it up Obama’s you know what. Perhaps he truly believes the old adage if you owe the bank $10,000.00 the bank owns you. If you owe the bank $1,000,000.00 you own the bank. They told him in no uncertain terms that they will pull the plug on the American bond purchases and our currency unless Obama gets the financial house in order. They will call in the loans!!!! They obviously got his attention. Obama told Fox News that the deficit needs to shrink or we will risk a double dip recession. Let me add to that high interest rates and high double digit unemployment.

4) And the Senate continues to move forward on the Congressional dubious health care bill. With the Congressional approval rate at 14% while it tries to pass a health care bill that frankly pisses off everybody, and will include federally funded abortion, it is clear that Obama continues to be held hostage by the far left of his party who are hell bent on self destruction. Meanwhile, unemployment continues to climb while the halls of Congress and the White House ring with ideological debate irrelevant to the American public.

The Rasmussen Poll, for a number of successive weeks, had Obama’s popularity at a -4. Today, it dropped to -14. Don’t be surprised to see it at -20 by the end of the month. Obama may be willing to fall on the sword, and the American electorate will be happy to oblige him.

Obama, the Terrorist, and the Berlin Wall

Obama’s swing to the left becomes more pronounced by the day. It has reached the point where the question can now be asked: Whose president is he? Somebody should tell him he is President of the United States. He is supposed to represent all of us. Two incidents this past week now clearly demonstrate that he is only concerned about his ideological agenda…the rest of the country be damned.

Last Thursday afternoon, the nation was shocked when an Islamic nutcase psychiatrist shot and killed 13 American service people waiting to be deployed at Fort Hood, Texas. The President was scheduled to give remarks to a Native American gathering, and advised the press he would make a statement about the Ft. Hood incident. The cameras cut to his event, and instead of beginning with even the most basic of statements about the sympathy for the families of the fallen soldiers…he does a several minute long fluff introduction giving “shout outs” to various people in the audience. It was almost bizarre. I thought I was the only one who believed this was odd. The press was so stunned it took two days before it sunk in and commentary began to appear. Why would he do that?

The second incident involved our “world” president refusing to attend the ceremony commemorating 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This event, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, represented the ultimate triumph of democracy and freedom against the evils of totalitarianism. The Berlin Wall was conjoined to the institution of the American Presidency as borne out by Democratic President John Kennedy’s famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, and Republican President Ronald Reagan’s equally famous “Mr. Gorbachev…tear down this wall!” speech. Obama can go to Copenhagen to promote the Olympics, but ignore one of the most significant events of our time?

What the above two incidents show is that Obama is either ignorant, or doesn’t care. I would hope for the former, because that is fixable. But I suspect the latter; because everything else he is doing bolsters is ideological view of the world, which is so far to the left the American psyche has yet to comprehend it.

Barack Obama is a committed leftist. If he believes that America is the source of all that is wrong with the world, rather than the source of all that is good, he will simply be flippant with any event that contradicts that view. The historic nature of the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the grand socialist experiment, and is not to be celebrated but mourned. An Islamic terrorist, whether acting alone or in concert with someone else, is only a symptom of America’s sins to the world, and must be viewed “in context.”

No one should be surprised at his insensitivity. Barack Obama believes in one thing: redistribution of wealth. It is his goal to achieve it through a health care takeover and climate change legislation, both so draconian in scope and breadth it will “change America”. Everything else is subordinate and irrelevent to those two goals, including his re-election, and the re-election of his party. Unfortunately, he will be long gone before America finally wakes up and understands that not all change is good, and then it will be too late to undo the damage he is doing.

The Slippery Slope

The slippery slope has almost become cliché; but it is the foundation for the slippage in support of Barack Obama and his health care plan as defined by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. When the slippery slope argument is made relating to health care, those making it get poo-poo’d. “Don’t worry about it, that’s not what it does!” we are told. Anyone over the age of 25 has learned by experience that when we are told not to worry, that’s when to worry.

A case in point is smoking. Now I don’t smoke. It is a bad habit that leads directly to cancer, stroke, and heart and lung disease. But look at the progression. Of course it only seems natural that the tobacco companies would be forced to put warnings packs of cigarettes just in case people missed the steady barrage of smoking warnings in every media venue for the past 40 years. Of course, given that second hand smoke can kill you also, it only seems fair that we should have smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants and bars, and restricted smoking areas in buildings and the workplace.

But that’s not enough. You know the smoke permeates those barriers, and should be banned completely in the workplace, and restaurants and bars. Of course, who wants to go into a smoke filled hotel room, and hotels should ban it all together. Then it is just too big of a nuisance to allow it any public buildings, or any work buildings, so it is banned indoors altogether. Smoke outside, but not in front of the doors. Stand at least 15 feet away. No, make it 30.

But smoking is so bad, and such a burden on society and our health care costs, perhaps it should be banned in all public areas. No smoking in parks or sidewalks. If you smoke in your house, that smell could reach the house next door, so indoor smoking should be banned in your house; not to mention the car in front of you if the driver is smoking with his window down. And of course, if you have children, it is downright abusive if you smoke in your car with your kids…or smoking in your house if you have kids, so the kids should be taken away from you. Of course, if you smoke at home, why should an employer hire you? You may get sick and cause him to lose money, so it is okay for employers not to hire people who smoke…or drink. In fact, let’s just make entire cities smoke free zones, and you go to jail if you are caught smoking in your home’s bathroom.

Sound funny? It isn’t. All of that has happened, and is happening as we speak. Now let’s pretend that Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill passes, and the government is now in charge of, and paying for your health care. What if you are ten pounds overweight? What if you are 100 pounds overweight? What if you like eating red meat? What if you are eating too much pizza?

Do you listen to the food do-gooders on television telling you what to eat and what not to eat and why? Those do-gooders are ready to become the food police. They have done it to smoking, they will do it to food, all in the name of good health and driving down the cost of health care that government, translate the taxpayer, will be paying for.

What makes you think that if you put the government in charge of your health care…those same do gooders aren’t going to do the same thing to every aspect of your life if you don’t meet their criteria? The government will monitor everything you do, everything you buy, everything you put into your mouth. Those bad habits cause death and are a burden on society. They know what is best for you.

It is a slippery slope…and it is coming to you if America doesn’t wake up to what it means to give away your freedom to government. Do you really want the U.S.Supreme Court hearing cases to determine if a ban on you eating 2 Twinkees in a week is a violation of the Constitution? Scary, isn’t it?

You Can't Vote Present in the White House

President Obama was inaugurated last January with bushels full of goodwill. He offered to transcend politics; to open a new era of dialogue and compromise. After some window dressing efforts, what he has given us is San Francisco liberalism enforced by Chicago thugery. During the election last fall, I wrote that I hoped Obama would live true to his word although I doubted it would be possible. Extreme left wing beliefs die hard. Ideologues by definition are not pragmatic. Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, could care less if they get re-elected. This is their moment in history to shove the political beliefs of 20% of the American public down the rest of our throats.

But now they are running into trouble. As time ticks by, and the 2010 mid-term elections begin to play an increasing role in the country’s body politic, those folks who do care about re-election, translate doing what the constituents want, are beginning to back off and stand up to the radical left bullies. As I write this, it has gotten so bad, or good depending on your point of view, in the Senate, there are strong doubts that health care reform based on government takeovers will even reach the floor of the Senate for a vote. Without Olympia Snowe, who the Senate leadership played for a fool, and Joe Lieberman, who left wing Democrats tried to unseat in the last election, the issue is dead in the water. The chickens, to quote Reverend Wright, are coming home to roost. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Obama needs to follow Bill Clinton’s example and move to the middle. Oh yes, and try to actually act like a President. While he is off playing golf or traveling the world pontificating, his left wing cohorts in Congress look like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off trying to do what the American public is resisting. Harry Reid looks like an idiot shifting from thing to thing, all the while knowing he faces the fate of Tom Daschle when he goes back to Nevada for next year’s election. He is weak and whiny. Nancy Pelosi is just plain goofy, and has lost not only all credibility with the American public, but only maintains a 34% approval rating in her home state of California.

Meanwhile, people and our troops are being blown up in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Obama is still trying to figure out how to vote “present” on his Mideast war policies. Mr. President, you cannot vote present in the White House. Make a decision. Either go in there and win this thing, or get the hell out. But what we will get is Vietnam all over again with military decisions being micro-managed by weak politicians in Washington. There is no compromise in war, only dead people.

Finally, quit dissing Fox News. How pitiful and small you look. You have surrounded yourself with the most radical among us to the point where it is scary. You cannot bully the truth. It’s those people you need to get rid of if you want to move this country in a positive direction. There is no place for animal rights whackos, environmental extremists, communists, socialists, NAMBLA sympathizers, euthanasia proponents, and pot heads at the table in the White House. The truth about these people will come out no matter how much you whine about a news organization actually doing investigative reporting and telling us what is going on.

Mr. Obama, I hope you look in the mirror and learn before it is too late for you, and too late for us.

TO RESTORE AMERICA: FIX ENERGY! FIX CHINA!

What to do with America? Midst all of the ideological claptrap from both the left and the right, serious issues about the future of America and our competitiveness must be addressed. One thing both sides of the political spectrum can agree upon is the need for jobs, jobs, jobs!! Unfortunately, all the politically orientated considerations are taking precedence. It’s time to put those other considerations aside, and concentrate only on what is good for America and its citizens. Without jobs, all of the government programs from the left and the financial manipulations from the right are for naught. Here are the two things that American must address in order to salvage our future.

1) ENERGY: It’s all about energy. There are many reasons for the financial meltdown last fall, but the tipping point came from energy prices. The economy just couldn’t handle $150.00/barrel oil. And given the recent run up in oil prices these past few months, it could happen again.

Energy has been lost in the debate over the ideological tenets of “climate change” from the left, and “drill here- drill now” from the right. Hey, you jack asses, it isn’t an either/or thing. We need it all. We are the 3rd most populous country in the world, and our population is increasing. We need oil. We need natural gas. We need wind. We need coal. We need bio-fuels. We need solar. We need nuclear. We need batteries. We need hydro-electric. If we can achieve this, then we are freed of unwanted foreign entanglements and assured of an independent economic future. It is the bedrock of our economy.

What we DON’T need are ideological lectures about climate change. Global warming was recently debunked in a recent BBC analysis which concluded the problem is actually global cooling. Energy policy based on climate change beliefs isn’t energy development, but political wealth redistribution rooted in the new environmental religion.

What we DON’T need are free market lectures from the oil companies and associated political cronies. At the end of the day, the oil will run out. There is not an infinite supply of carbon based fuels in the world. What makes complete economic sense today will not make economic sense 100 years from now, and we better start now because we are going to go broke or get blown up dealing with dangerous Islamic states, the crazy Russians and Venezuelans, and engaging in bidding wars with China and India for ever scarcer natural resources.

There are going to have to be tradeoffs across the board. The left is going to have back off its climate change rant, allow for offshore drilling and back off environmental extremism when it comes to production of any kind of energy. Ted Kennedy has gone to his reward, and maybe now we can put a wind farm off the Hyannis coast. The left is going to have stop worrying about minnows and the use of water for hydro-electric power. No, that doesn’t mean we forget we need to be good stewards of our environment. It means we have to use some common sense.

The right is going to have realize that if there ever is a time to promote massive government intervention; it is in the pursuit of alternative energy sources. Through direct spending and tax incentives, the government should be actively promoting things like rebuilding the electric grid; assisting infrastructure development for natural gas and hydrogen pumps and electric recharging stations along our highways. There should massive subsidies for solar power and battery development. There should be substantial tax incentives for those who purchase fuel stingy cars and retrofit their houses to take advantage of the new technologies the government is promoting.

The technology is there for all of the above. What is lacking is the political will to compromise on our ideological beliefs, and the inspiration to overcome entrenched special interests.

2) China is sucking the oxygen out of the world. They have unlimited labor, and apparently unlimited financial resources. But it didn’t get to where it is today being honest. Its dictatorial political system allowed it to develop the purest capitalist system in the world, with no political dissent, no labor unions, no freedom of movement, no benefits, minimal pay… and it kept its currency valued 30% below the value of the dollar. It used predatory tactics to usurp most of the base manufacturing from the United States built on the backs of Chinese slave labor. It is a totally export oriented economy. You cannot compete with people who cheat without impunity.

As a result, China has amassed unlimited amounts of currency, especially the dollar, which it is now using to buy up any natural resource it can get its hands on, driving up the prices on basic commodities for just about everyone else in the world, including us.

We have all seen the pictures of modern China, with the massive factories and buildings in Shanghai and Beijing. It looks like America. It is not. This is a communist dictatorship that realized there is a lot of money to be made in a capitalist world. With no checks and balances, it has developed a two tiered system of wealthy Chinese, and very poor workers. And we have turned a blind eye dazzled by the possibilities of doing business in China and its huge population. It is a false dream. China is for China, and will exclude and regulate foreign businesses operating within its borders, and throw them out if it suits them.

America must bite the bullet. There can be no free trade without fair trade. The United States must devise a workable and enforceable plan to insist the Chinese let their currency float along with the other major currencies. We must insist that China move to rapidly expand its domestic market for Chinese produced goods and services and limit the amount of its exports in favor of that domestic consumption. That means that Chinese wages are going to have to go up in order to stimulate demand. There is insufficient space here to discuss the issues of the total lack of health care in China, from the government or otherwise.

Unless these issues are addressed, our standard living will approach theirs rather than the other way around. Unless these issues are addressed, we should rethink our policies of free trade until we can get fair trade.

China and Energy are the two most important issues facing the United States today. Failure to address these issues will result in failure in all other American endeavors, and we will be the poorer for it.

American Fear

The latest Rasmussen poll shows for the first time since polling began; we as Americans believe our children will have worse life than us. This is a stunning reversal of the traditional American view of the future. Rasmussen states the reason behind this is that something is askew. One obvious source of the current pessimism is the economy. The other is more disturbing. Americans believe that Washington has ceased being responsive to them. Washington is not listening and is going about implementing an agenda that Americans don’t want. Included in this are radical adjustments to our cultural mores, bailouts, and yes…health care reform.

This is ironic given that Obama got elected on a platform of “hope”. Instead, Americans are feeling hopelessness in ways Americans have never felt it before. Rasmussen says it is something intangible. Rasmussen is wrong. It is very tangible. What Americans are witnessing is the executive and legislative branches of the government running amok, serving ideological goals and fringe interest groups rather than the American people as a whole. Americans are frightened, and they should be.

1) Hollywood Morals: Elite academic social workers might not know why a group of black gang thugs would beat up and kill a black honor student. But those of us living in the heartland do. Turn on your television to any MTV awards show, and then come and talk to me. Violence is EVERYWHERE. And in the process of shoving that crap down America’s throats 24/7, the ACLU and its Hollywood cronies have removed religion in any public discourse and replaced it with secular humanism. Anything goes. Feel good. Live for the moment…unless you happen to be a black honor student walking home from school in Chicago.

2) Special Interests: The left wing leaders in the House and Senate and the Supreme Leader in the White House have totally ignored large segments of society in their ideological driven efforts for the government to take over our health care system. Seniors know they are going to get the short end of the lollipop, and just wait until the 20 somethings realize the government mandate to purchase health care or go to jail to be monitored by the IRS. Obama has jumped into bed with the worst of the health care lobbies, including big Pharma, and select health insurance companies which will benefit directly from the cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage. The AARP, which is an insurance company first and senior advocacy group second, stands to make billions.

3) Government selected winners and losers: Ask the workers of Saturn about how winners and losers are chosen in this country. Ask the employees of closed auto dealerships the same question. Ask the GM workers in Ontario and Dayton, Ohio, about who wins and who loses. Ask the white collar employees at Delphi who gets punished and who gets rewarded. Ask the unemployed factory worker vs. the selected union elite as in the Service Workers Unions or in the Public Employee Unions. Then talk to the chronically unemployed worker in East Liverpool.

4) Climate Change: Isn’t it funny how the same people who advocate income redistribution are the same people who are harping on this now debunked theory of climate change. The same scientists who said we are going to burn up by next summer are now saying we are in for global cooling…which is what they were saying 20 years ago; also accepted as dogma. No, it has nothing to do with global warming, and everything to do with shifting the means of production to other parts of the world and lowering the standard of living here in the United States. Yes, the US, consumes 21% of the world’s energy. Bad United States!!!. But it also produces 27% of the world’s GDP. How do you spread the GDP figure around to other countries? Force us to use less energy!!! HELLO!!!!

5) Foreign Policy: GET ONE!

Unrest is brewing in the country. It is an unrest the likes of which I have never seen before. The middle class and working folks of this great nation are at the breaking point. If the current administration truly wants to foster “hope”, then it needs to listen to the people the administration is supposed to serve. Serve is the operative word.

A Civics Lesson Well Learned

While I watch the Obama administration self destruct as it lurches violently to the radical left, it has accomplished what our schools have failed at for years. It has given America a long needed lesson in civics. This is better than the sixties. The children of Nixon’s silent majority, who have watched their jobs dissipate, their savings evaporate, and their health care eradicate have finally waken up, and are examining the very fabric of America.

All of a sudden, discussions about the nature of our federalist system are de rigueur. The wisdom of the founding fathers is being quoted. The relationship between the governed and the government is being re-examined. People are finally learning the Bill of Rights. People are examining anew just what it means to be an American. It is exciting watching the country re-energize itself and refreshing the roots of democracy and the rights of the individual.

Americans are standing up and holding public officials accountable. Town hall meetings are open season on non-responsive elected representatives. Who do they serve? The serve the American people, not their Washington political and idealogical cronies…and we are letting them know it in no uncertain terms.

The nature of different political systems is being discussed in earnest. People are learning again the definition of a republic. People are actually contemplating what they want our government to be and the role it is to play in our lives. President Obama’s flaw was that he thought he could lead the public around by the nose, in awe of his brilliance and oratorical skills. He was wrong. His view of the Constitution does not ring true with the American public. The American public understands once again that the Constitution protects the individual against an intrusive government which wants to regulate every aspect of your life, and determine for you who is to bear the fruits of your labor.

The urgency displayed by certain members of Congress to pass the radical left wing agenda "now" is rooted in their understanding of the resurgence of the individual and capitalism in this country. The left's "moment" is rooted in a fluke in the economic dialectic, but the roots are shallow. If the most radical elements of their agenda are not passed by the end of this year, they are finished! They know that America will reject their socialist agenda in favor of the sanctity and freedom of the individual in the next election. We will not trade our liberty for 30 pieces of silver.

America is slowly coming to its senses. Seniors are the first to walk away knowing a lie when they hear it. Next will be the young, who can’t find jobs and will be “ordered” by the government to purchase health care insurance or face a felony charge with a year in jail, not to mention a $1900.00 fine. That is NOT they change young folks voted for in. The suburban middle class will soon the definition of a Value Added Tax, the middle class tax hike Obama said would not happen. They will walk away. Non-union blue collar workers will fall away next, as they watch their union “brothers” reap the benefit of big government while they barely make ends meet. Self-respect will diminish as the government tries to make them wards of the state, but the government will fail. These folks are the backbone of America. They are America’s greatest blessing.

So I want to thank Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, and Van Jones, and Reverend Wright, all of the czars, and all the rest…for reminding me, and America, of what we stand to lose if they prevail. This is a civics lesson well earned, and America is getting an A plus.

Make Refrigerators! Not Burgers!

My first belief as relates to economics is that a nation’s wealth is determined by how many refrigerators it makes rather than how many hamburgers it flips. So what’s the problem? We don’t make that many refrigerators anymore.

Here are the facts. Approximately 10% of the American workforce works in manufacturing jobs. Currently, 12 million Americans work in some manufacturing capacity. That is down from 20 million in 1980. The last time the manufacturing work force equaled 12 million was in 1940, when the population of the country was less than half of what it is today.

That doesn’t mean our manufacturing base is declining. Total manufacturing about continues to grow as a result of technological advancement and rapidly increasing worker productivity. The total value of manufactured goods in the United States equals the total GDP of Russia. The total amount of manufactured exported goods from the United States equals the total GDP of India. These are incredible figures. Nonetheless, the number of Americans working in manufacturing as a percentage of the total workforce has been in steady decline, with no end in sight.

What does that mean? Well, it means that we have turned into a service and consumption economy…and you can’t eat service and consumption. It means that more and more Americans are working at lower paying jobs. It means that our income is stagnant or declining. It means that we aren’t creating tangible wealth…only paper wealth. Created tangible wealth means you make something, and you sell it. Paper wealth is fleeting, witness these past 10 months.

The decline in American manufacturing is disturbing. It has been ignored equally by Democrats and Republicans. The Democrats, in the guise of unions and environmental extremism, have done a good job of sacrificing American manufacturing jobs on the altar of the new religion worshipping Mother Earth. Republicans, in the guise of free trade agreements and tepid currency policy particularly with China, have equally decimated the manufacturing base. Who stinketh the most?

America’s wealth as we know it is rooted in World War II when we were the only intact manufacturing country in the world. We reaped the benefits for more than 30 years. Now world demographics have caught up with us. Those unionized jobs paying wage and benefit packages of $50.00/hour plus are now competing the worker in China making $2.00/hour; and one India making even less. Guess who is going to win?

Here are three common sense things our government could do to at least stabilize the manufacturing base.

1) Bring common sense to environmental issues. Put ideology aside and be realistic rather than dogmatic in dealing with some of these issues. Humans, and human needs, need to come first.

2) Implement fair trade agreements rather than free trade agreements. I am not anti-NAFTA because all of us in North America are on the same ship, so to speak. On the other hand, China building its manufacturing prowess on the back of the United States consumer rather than the Chinese consumer is intolerable. It should be the policy of the United States to promote the growth of the Chinese and Indians through domestic consumption rather than exports to the United States. And by the way!!! China!!! LET YOUR CURRENCY FLOAT!!!!

3) The United States should have a sane energy policy based on both petroleum products and alternative energy sources, rather than the either or approach of the Obama and Bush administrations. It can’t be either or, it has to be all inclusive. Global warming needs to be identified for the scam that it is. And the oil dudes have to realize that sooner or later, the oil will run out, and we should start planning for it now. Notwithstanding, it is just plain good for not only domestic policy, but foreign policy.

But don’t bet the rent that any of the above will happen. Ideologies are hard to crack. I’m mad as hell….are you?

Get Behind Me Satan!!

Is being conservative anti-God? Our sermon in church last Sunday centered on a Gospel story in which Jesus equated Peter to Satan. Jesus asked the Apostles who he was. His followers stated that He was a prophet. Jesus then corrected them as to his true identity, and asked that they keep it a secret. Peter took Jesus aside, and I assume told him to cool it with the Messiah stuff. Jesus then told Peter : “Get behind me Satan.” And that was the end of that.

The minister equated this with each of us carrying our cross, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. He said that we must deal with the issues that make us vulnerable. He then turned political when he said insuring 40 million uninsured people makes us uncomfortable, and that showing mercy to 11 million illegal aliens also makes us uncomfortable, and we must take up the cross and deal with these issues. Wow!!!

Since the days of Richard Nixon, liberal media types have continually portrayed conservatives as dark, and cold, and heartless. We have no compassion. We are interested in only money. We don’t care about the poor, or the hungry, or the uninsured, or illegal aliens. Maybe we are Jesus’ modern day Peter. Is Jesus telling us to “get behind me, Satan”?

I view things somewhat differently. Conservatives, first and foremost, believe in the dignity of man and the sanctity of freedom and individualism. We are believers of the old adage give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish; he will eat for a lifetime. We believe you should give a hand up, and not a hand out. Have you had enough of the tacky clichés?

Conservatives aren’t blind to the issues of the uninsured and illegal aliens. But conservatives firmly believe that government isn’t the answer. Conservatives believe government only makes things worse. You only have to spend a day at Family Services at the old South Side Hospital to see how government fails those most in need in our society. A barely sustenance existence is not the answer, and that is what many of these folks have. It is heart breaking.

Shifting government policy toward the collective condemns those involved to a life of meager existence. Should the vast, vast majority of people receiving outstanding health care be brought down to the level of barely adequate in order to solve the problem for a few? Should those living in poverty or political turmoil legally attempting to enter the United States be pushed to the back of the line in order to accommodate those who broke the law? Empathy for one group is always balanced by antipathy for another. Is one group’s suffering worth more than another’s?

The question that must be addressed is whether the answer to society’s problems lies with the government which does a good job of making everybody equally miserable…or in private enterprises which allows those in poverty the chance to climb the ladder to a good life?

I believe that we are better off with a private health care system regulated by the government to accommodate the specific issues of pre-existing conditions, excessive premiums and plan termination. For the hard core uninsured and uninsurable, the government can extend existing Medicare and Medicaid programs. It is as simple as that.

Ultimately, nothing will work unless the government allows for growth in our economy in a meaningful way. If people don’t have jobs, they can’t pay for health insurance, and neither can the government. That is the bigger problem. And the current administration is on the wrong track on this one.

So to my minister, I guess I would say that the “devil” is in the details. The Satan hidden in the collective is much more dangerous than the Satan hidden in free enterprise, freedom, and liberty. I want Satan to get behind me…just the right Satan.

For Health Care, Truth Matters

By the time you read this, President Obama will have made his speech to a Joint Session of Congress. The fact that there had to be a joint session at all shows how much trouble Obama is facing. Even his media foot soldiers are reaching the intolerance levels. Several of the networks bulked at his effort several weeks ago for prime time air time, but dutifully fell into line. In that speech, he offered absolutely nothing new, and the networks lost millions upon millions of advertising revenue. A joint session of congress is a gimmick way to get them to carry yet another of his speeches.

One pundit, I forget who, said it best. Obama doesn’t have a communication problem. He has a substance problem. He communicates just fine, and often. Unfortunately, he told some lies and tried to fool us. The disdain the progressive movement has demonstrated for the masses is stunning. Obama and his followers have learned a lesson. Even in Iowa, people can read. They can even read a government bill, which is apparently more that Obama and some in Congress can do.

He lied about the AARP endorsement of the plan. The AARP had to come out and correct him. He lied that it would be revenue neutral. The Congressional Budget Office had to correct him. He lied that it wouldn’t decrease benefits to seniors. They understand cuts in physician reimbursements. He fibbed about keeping your current policy. You can…but only if it doesn’t change in any way whatsoever, or your employer decides to opt out and pay the 8% penalty if it turns out to be cheaper…and it will turn out to be cheaper.! He lied about the death panels. The Army Veterans manual, which Obama reinstated, also offers end of life counseling…and asks wounded veterans if life is really worth living being sick…seriously. He lied about doctors gauging patients. He lied about the number of uncovered Americans which is closer to 15 million rather than 45 million. It does reach 45 million if you include illegal aliens, which he says it does not…unless, of course, it’s his intent to make them legal. Then he lied about that, too!

Mr. President, truth matters. And you have failed to tell the truth, and squandered the goodwill the American public was offering to you. At the end of the day, this is not about health care reform. It is about health care control. It is an ideological attempt to take health care over rooted race, class warfare, and oppressed people’s revenge.

The sad thing is that true health care reform is needed. If you had been honest about what you were proposing, a legitimate and robust health care debate could have been had on the merits. The discussion could have centered on expansion of existing programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It could have centered on insurance regulation and increased private competition. It could have centered on how to handle pre-existing conditions. The individual needs of the uninsured could have been defined, and those needs could have been met.

Finally, and most disturbing of all, can anyone please tell me how Obama could try to sell a bill he didn’t write? I am not sure he even knows what is in the House bill, and there are several House bills…and there is no Senate bill. And in the midst of all of these non-bills, he tried to set a deadline of a few weeks to transform 1/6 of the American economy? That is just plain stupid!

Here is my advice. Mr. Obama, quit giving speeches and do some work. Show some leadership, and for once in your political life, get off your ass and make a bold decision. Legislation written by Nancy Pelosi with an approval rating of 20% doesn’t cut it. It is your presidency. Take some responsibility.

Youngstown City Schools

Youngstown has a lot of things about which we can be proud (notice I didn’t end in a preposition). One issue, however, that has dogged this community is the plethora of political subdivisions surrounding the center city. Most major cities in Ohio annexed territory over the years as city services, such as water and sewer, were provided to the outlying areas for expansion. Not here. Youngstown kept its borders, resulting in most of the prosperous parts of our community being located outside of the city limits. The highest income tax in the state stops people with jobs outside the city from moving into the city. This results in a high number of economically disadvantaged folks making up the bulk of the city population which, in turn, skews statistics. While there has been some decrease in the area’s population over the years, Mahoning County’s population still hovers around 350,000. At one time, 180,000 of that population lived in the city. Now it’s only around 80,000. The rest live in the surrounding townships, tax free.

A Vindicator headline recently screamed that Youngstown City schools are the worst in the state. Of all Ohio school systems, Youngstown City scored the worst on standardized tests. Not a good statistic for any business thinking to locate here. The flip side of the headline is that systems such as Boardman, Canfield, South Range, and Lowellville are among the highest in the state. Of course, that doesn’t make for a good headline.

Notwithstanding, the Youngstown City School System is a study in the fallacy of the approach to education in this country. The system has had money thrown at it for years from the state and the feds, and it has gotten systematically worse. It recently spent a truck load of cash on tearing down relatively new schools, and replacing them with newer schools. The most obvious example was the tearing down and replacing of Volney Rogers Junior High School In the past several years, the system has closed three of five high schools: Rayen, North, and South High Schools, and consolidated them into the two remaining but brand new high schools…Chaney on the west side and East. The effect of this was to marginalize the remaining relatively prosperous west side of Youngstown, causing its already depressed housing market to plummet.

The Youngstown City School System has the highest per pupil expenditure in the area at about $9666.00/pupil. This compares to Boardman: $8861.00; Canfield $8105.00; Poland: $8401.00; and Lowellville: $7336.00. Lowellville, by the way, is among the lowest per pupil expenditure systems, and consistently scores the highest among the area schools in test scores. Even more interesting is that while Lowellville is not particularly a poor community, it is far from rich consisting mainly of blue collar working class folks. This is hard working mid America personified.

So, what does this show? It shows what every teacher knows deep in his/her heart. Money isn’t the answer. You could be spending $20,000.00/pupil in the city school system, and although it might nudge the scores a bit, it wouldn’t be by much. The indicator of the success or failure of a school system is not based on how much money it spends, but how it is able to deal with a socio-economic structure which presents insolvable problems. These are societal problem, and schools simply aren’t equipped to handle them, nor should they be expected to. The schools' job is to educate and teach. Yet we continaully ask them to find solutions that our society in general can't find.

Sure, there will be some anecdotal success stories, mostly individual in nature. But I fear the most we can hope for is that highly trained teachers can spot those showing promise, and can concentrate on helping them break the cycle. A culture of violence, drugs, broken homes, hip hop music, gangsta rap, and poverty are overwhelming our school systems.

I am not sure what works. I only know that throwing money at this problem doesn’t work, or minimally reaches a point of diminishing returns. Maybe the answer lies in churches or community self help groups or organizations like the YMCA or Boys Clubs or Big Brother/Sister clubs. Inspiring people to learn starts in a strong family that can overcome peer pressure and guide young people into the proper path.

In this time of tight money and massive budget deficits, schools need to tighten their belts and spend money smarter. The same goes for the governments that are funding them. If spending more dollars isn’t the answer, maybe a hand out to help someone up is the answer. And that doesn’t cost a dime.

Demonize...Politicize...Nationalize

I really want to understand this. Scotland is releasing terrorist prisoners. We are racing forward to close Guantanamo. Obama is quietly releasing terrorist prisoners back to their native countries. If a terrorist is detained in a military action in Afghanistan, the military is required to read them their “Miranda Rights.” Obama now requires the Red Cross be notified within 14 days of any terrorist detention in Afghanistan. And Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, with the approval of the President no matter what Obama says, has decided to investigate those who interrogated the terrorists. In the meantime, we have an ex-felon, an avowed communist who openly advocated the overturn of the United States government, serving as Green Czar in the White House.

In the meantime, the government has run up such massive amounts of debt we are in danger of losing dollar currency supremacy in the world, and possibly our triple AAA credit rating. Cap and Trade will in effect stymie any future growth in the country that would generate tax revenue to pay for what we owe. The government has nationalized the car industry. It has nationalized the banking industry. It is attempting to nationalize the health care industry. It is demanding information from private businesses with no legal basis or probable cause for doing so. We now have a “pay czar” whose job is to look at who is getting paid what in America…not only for TARP beneficiaries, but all business. And the White House is asking Americans to spy on other Americans and report to the White House any “fishy” information. He has neutered Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The rapid buildup of troops in Afghanistan isn’t even on the media radar. Finally, he has moved the census from the Department of Interior, where it can be controlled by Congress, to the White House, where it is now in the control of political operatives.

The question I have is “why?” I can’t think of any possible reason for this other than Obama is setting up a structure for the destruction of the United States. From its collapse, he can then build his utopian, socialist America. He is a creature of extreme left wing politics, and it has taken 6 months for the nation to begin to experience a sense of unease about what they are seeing. The anger at the town hall meetings may have been sparked by the health care debate, but it is being fed by the queasy feeling being felt in an electorate which can’t process what it is seeing because it is so foreign to it. We have NEVER seen anything like this in the history of the nation.

What is that smiling, easy going manner hiding? He is either an extremely smart leftist, or a puppet of a group of leftists who are pulling his strings. I haven’t figured out which is the truth. But these folks have a disdain for Democracy. They have a superiority complex which demeans the electorate. They don’t care what the electorate thinks as long as they can fool the electorate.

I think what is going to happen next is a reality check with the polls by Obama and Congress. If Obama is sinking, Congressional approval ratings are non-existent. But the left wing ideologues are still in charge, and I believe they will continue this breaking down of America as fast as they can, to achieve as many of their goals as they can, until the 2010 election tells them to stop.

Look for them to try to ram through a government insurance plan for health care. But also look for them to try to nationalize one, maybe two, more industries. Look for them to attack the oil industry, and possibly the broadcast industry, trying to shut down dissent. That is what socialist governments do.

As you watch this travesty unfold, look for the socialist modus operandi: Demonize…Politicize…Nationalize.

Time to Get to Work and Fix Health Care

One of the advantages of health care being run by private insurance companies is that government can regulate it. That is a much better option than the government itself running health care because who would regulate the government? You can always sue the insurance company. If the government screws up, you’re stuck. There are no options when the government is the ultimate decision maker.

President Obama may be coming to his senses and may or may not be considering the so called public option. Reality is meeting his ideology, and they don’t mix. Maybe now there can be some serious based effort to fix our health care system based on what is needed rather than what ideological beliefs dictate. Here is what they have to do:

1) Define the people who are uninsured so you can get a truthful idea of what reforms are actually needed, how many people are involved, and the cost of fixing the problems. He will discover that this is not a one size fits all problem.

2) Allow insurance companies to sell nationally based products as opposed to state based products to equalize the pool and the costs.

3) As a condition of being allowed to sell health insurance, the insurance companies shall contribute to a cooperative non-profit venture whose sole purpose will be to insure folks who can’t buy regular policies at affordable rates because of pre-existing conditions.

4) Require all citizens to purchase health insurance. No insurance, no driver’s license. The government can set standards for a basic, high deductible policy with health savings accounts and require the insurance companies to offer such a policy to those under the age of 30.

5) Allow the formation of insurance cooperatives with basic care standards for those who feel straight insurance policies are too expensive.

6) Make sure that all citizens who currently meet the qualifications for existing government programs get signed up.

7) For those who fall through the cracks, expand the existing Medicare program (perhaps to those over 55 who lose their jobs either through layoffs or plant closings) and Medicaid for those who simply can’t afford it. This should be paid for by increased Medicare contributions from those working…such is the price of keeping out of a single payer, government system.

We, as Americans, have indicated these past few weeks that we believe our health care system is the best in the world. We want to keep our choices and the government out of our medical decisions. By the same token, we must realize that nothing is free. We may have to bite the bullet of increased Medicare/Medicaid taxes in order to achieve the above. I think it is worth the price…to stay away from single payer, rationed care.

I Read the Health Care Bill

Midst the shouting and the accusations over the proposed change in health care, one thing has been conspicuously absent: what does the House bill do? The bulk of the problem lies in the undisputed fact that the Democrats have attempted to rush a bill the Congress that no one has read. Not only haven’t they read the bill, those out selling the thing are clueless as to what is in it. That includes Barack Obama who hocking ideology rather than hard details.

Of course, there are those who contend that Obama and his cronies know exactly what is in the bill, and they also know if the public knew what they know, it would be dead in the water. Better to keep the folks back home focused on the evil insurance companies.

So, I decided to read the bill to see for myself who is telling the truth. It is long, but it is not insurmountable. Minimally, you can read through the Section titles and first paragraphs and clearly understand what this thing does. You can also reference directly, through a little homework online, the various sections of the bill that are under fire.

I can tell you that this bill is as Draconian a piece of legislation as I ever seen. It does exactly what the critics say it does. It is voluminous. The process is detailed to the point of incoherence. I think it is patently unconstitutional, and the many of the key provisions would be overthrown if challenged in court. Obama said today that this is not the Canadian plan. Well, it is minimally a cousin. The Canadian Supreme Court came close to throwing out the entire Canadian system in 2005, saying the right to health care does not mean the right to stand in line. Here is what I found out relating to the most offensive parts of the bill.

1) I have written for the past two weeks that if you have private insurance, you can keep it. BUT, if it changes in any way, or you are fired, or your company cancels insurance for all employees, private insurance companies will not be able to sell you a plan directly. You will have to go to the government insurance clearinghouse, and buy plans that have been crafted by the government and approved by the government…it is one size fits all. It may be through a private company, but it would be like Ford, GM, and Toyota all selling the identical car. THIS IS THE AMERICAN EQUIVILENT TO WHAT THE CANADIAN SUPREME COURT THROUGH OUT, RULING THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT LIMIT PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS FROM ACCESSING INSURANCE OFFERED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES.

2) The government has to be granted access to your bank accounts.

3) The government will establish an extensive and intrusive end of life “counseling” plan that even I can't even figure out. You and your family will spend the last days dealing with a government bureaucracy.

4) Comparative effectiveness, that theory which will limit your access to the best drugs available, is specifically written into the bill. It has a whole section dedicated to it. It will “effectively” remove any incentive to drug companies to develop new drugs. If they can’t sell them, what’s the point?

This is a scary bill. You should be afraid. You should be outraged. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THE TIME TO READ THROUGH THE BILL.

A Dangerous, Imperial Presidency

When President Obama was elected President, I was skeptical. He seemed like a nice guy. Although his history was one of interesting associations out of the mainstream re: Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright to name just a fes, maybe it was just politics. His initial appointees, the ones who had to be approved by Congress, seemed to be centrist. I thought maybe he would surprise folks. I was wrong.

After six months in office, I have concluded that Barack Obama is a leftist radical, hell bent on shaping America to fit his view of “social justice”. He is a socialist. Slowly, but surely, his true beliefs are emerging. Previous statements now coming to light highlight his lies and contempt for the American electorate. His appointees (“czars” appointed outside of the Congressional confirmation process) are extremists. We should be outraged and concerned at the fraud he has perpetrated on the American public wrapped in his smiling veneer. No other President, including Richard Nixon, has done more to move almost dictatorial power to the White House. His is THE imperial presidency. His sole goal is to right his perception of 400 years of oppression, the Constitution be damned. There is a reason he is a Constitutional expert…that is how he learned to get around it, manipulate, and ignore it.

Item 1: His ties to Acorn are strong and alive. He is attempting to move the census out of the oversight of the Department of the Interior into the White House. He is hiring Acorn to do the counting. He believes in census computer models. If he doesn’t like what the actual count shows, he will not hesitate to attempt to use the computer model instead. He can manipulate computer models to fit his vision of reality. That is dangerous. That is how the Communists work.

Item 2: Eric Holder, Obama’s Attorney General, is a committed black leftist. How committed? He recently dismissed Federal charges against the new Black Panther Party for voter intimidation at Philadelphia polling places in the last election. For God’s sake, they have the intimidation on tape. The Black Panthers failed to answer a Federal suit against them thereby admitting the charges. If you aren’t familiar with the new Black Panther movement, you ought to be. These are weapon wielding thugs, and you should be afraid of them. Barack Obama should go after them. He won’t. He approves.

Item 3: Obama’s “Green Jobs” Czar is an admitted communist and felon. Van Jones is also a committed black activist who has stated numerous times he is a communist and black nationalist. He is about as radical as one can get. He has done jail time. His views are beyond “out of the mainstream” bordering on treasonous. And this is who Obama appointed? This guy should be in jail. We should be running from people like this. And yet Obama has chosen to make him an unconfirmed White House “czar”.

Item 4: Obama is outright lying to the public about his health care reform to solve the health care “crisis”. What crisis? He stated overtly, numerous times, and on tape in 2003, that it is his clear goal to establish a single payer, government run, health care system, and to eliminate private health insurance companies. You can watch him say it on my web page this week. Barney Frank has said that the current bill will pave the path to a single payer system. Former Senator Tom Daschle, one of the chief architects of Obama’s health care has written numerous times seniors need to learn to live with their infirmities and accept the reality of the “end of life.” Is this what you want to hear when you are over 75?

Item 5: As his lies become more evident, he has demonized health care professionals, accusing doctors of ROUTINELY over treating people, and prescribing unnecessary medications or more expensive medications. This has come out since the violent reaction by the public against his health care policies. What is his reaction to these health care plan protests? On the White House website, he has asked people to inform him of those that disagree.

Item 6: His attack on the Cambridge police department in an unscripted comment shows a chip on his shoulder. That chip is the dominant factor in all of his decisions. He can drink all the beer he wants. Those comments were wrong. They were uncalled for, and were made in defense of his Harvard professor buddy. The pattern continues.

Item 7: While loudly proclaiming he is not anti-business, he is slowly but surely nationalizing every aspect of our society. He is inserting government into every aspect of your life. He is big brother personified. If you doubt what he wants to do, read the now removed disclaimer from Cars.gov relating to your computer and what is on it. This is scary stuff.

Item 8: His cap and trade bill will control every aspect of your life, more than you can possibly imagine. Couple that with his health “reform”, he will control every single thing you do, from how far you can drive to how much light is allowed in your house to how much natural gas you will be allowed to treat yourself to computers monitoring you home’s energy useage to how much food you will be allowed to eat.

Item 9: He strong armed his buddies in the press into carrying yet another news conference last week…the health care one… in which he said absolutely nothing new. By the way, while the health care debate rages everywhere else, the lead stories on the mainstream media aren’t about health care, they are about Michael Jackson. Folks…that is how it is done in Russia! The state controlled media simply doesn’t report the news of consequence. Why churn the pot and cause fear?

This is not a new story. History shows time and again this is how socialists move into power. Banks are evil. Corporations are evil. Rich people are evil. They are the tools of racism and oppression, and must be eliminated or destroyed. He can say what he wants, reading platitudes of democracy from his teleprompter; but look at what he does, not what he says. You won’t like what you see. Wait a minute. Take the time to go back beyond 2008, and you can read what he says. His views are perfectly clear.

End of the Magnificent Obsession

While the American obsession with Barack Obama may not be over, it may finally be descending from the stratosphere. How can I tell? Just watch the mainstream press. The man who was raised to Messiah status over the past 12 months, the man who could do no wrong, the one who was going to save us all…has been dropped like a hot potato. Or maybe the press is following my number one rule of life: when you are in trouble…lay low!!

Last week, Obama had a fiasco news conference about his government health care takeover, offering little new in the face of a Congressional Budget Office report which has blown the plan out of the water. He even declined to be covered by the same policy he hopes to foist on you. He finished with a flourish calling the Cambridge Police Department stupid vis-à-vis his friend, Harvard professor Dr. Henry Gates who decided to right 400 years of racial oppression on his front porch while surrounded by police sent there to protect his property.

So with racism abounding, and his legislative agenda limping around in circles, and his poll numbers plummeting, the mainstream press decided to lead off the news with a flurry of Michael Jackson stories and a bride and groom doing a dance down the aisle to get married (actually, it was pretty good!!) I guess the rule is “out of sight, out of mind.”

Barack Obama is learning a political lesson. If you are going to tax and spend, sooner or later you are going to run out of people to tax. In the case of health care, it is the suburban, middle to upper class independents in the northeastern part of the country that are experiencing buyer’s remorse now that he is going after them. It’s really not a good idea to raise the specter of government health care when 85% of Americans rate their health insurance as good to excellent, and the health care crisis is at bottom of the list of country concerns; especially after spending the country into oblivion his first 12 weeks in office.

More importantly, I think the country is beginning to see him for what he is. He is a radical tax and spend liberal/socialist with a chip on his shoulder. He gives a good speech with the tele-prompter. Take it away, and his true beliefs come out. Consider the following;

1) He was elected to be a post partisan president, who could bring people together. He has been the most partisan president I can remember in my lifetime. Even “W” could find common ground with Ted Kennedy. Obama’s entire legislative agenda has been so radical, it could not garner more than a few Republicans votes, and now the Blue Dog Democrats have come to their senses and are running towards the door. You won’t get re-elected in West Virginia supporting a San Francisco agenda. The Democratic tent just isn’t that big.

2) He was supposed to be a post racial president. But his off the teleprompter comment about the police and Dr. Gates show his true beliefs. You can judge a man by the company he keeps. President Obama had a penchant for racists and radicals, Dr. Wright, Dr. Gates…and Bill Ayers. He is certainly the president of black America, and to a degree Hispanic America, but when will be President of the people in the America who are pulling the freight?

3) He has failed to lead. Who is running the country? Obama is busy partying in France, in Hawaii, in Martha’s Vineyard while Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod are calling the shots. Obama is the black guy in the White House being told what to do by the radical left. His purpose is clear, cheerlead and sign what is put in front of him.

4) His foreign policy is a fiasco. The President of the World has lost the respect of the Europeans who have shifted to the right. The Russians ignore him. The Chinese lecture him. The Iranians, the Venezuelans, and the North Koreans laugh at him. God knows what the Arabs think. He bowed down to the King of Saudi Arabia. And the same press, who criticized Bush for military action in Iraq and the surge, is barely covering the rapid build of troops in Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires. Where are the peaceniks now?

This guy had better shift to the center and shift fast, or his presidency will implode and then we will have a problem. Of course, ideologues don’t care. Notwithstanding, the old Silent Majority is still there. It will destroy him.