Obama's Legacy: Progressive Collapse; Right Resurgent

I am continually astounded at what I see happening in our great country. Barack Obama’s election marked the biggest shift to the left in the United States in my lifetime. This guy was, and is, an avowed progressive. A fluke in economic circumstances rooted in the misdeeds of both political parties allowed a leftist Congress to follow him to Washington.

For two years, these folks bullied into law some of the most radical legislation passed since the early days of FDR…and like FDR, much of it will eventually be found to be unconstitutional. In addition, Obama stacked his advisers and staff with some of the most radical individuals we have ever seen in Washington, bypassing the Congress by making these special executive appointments. He silenced Hillary Clinton, his main adversary in the Democratic Party, by appointing her Secretary of State, and burying here like no other Secretary of State I can remember.

It’s ironic therefore, that Obama’s legacy to this country will be the single biggest jolt to the right in its history, the dismantling of 80 years of growth of Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the gutting of the last vestiges of the American labor movement which is found in the public employee unions.

State by state, a new America is being born with power reverting to the states. The weight of the massive increase in the size of the Federal government is too much for the system to bear, and it is collapsing from the top down. With a weak central leader, the states are reasserting their rightful place in the governance of the country.

While the events in Wisconsin are the most visible of this seismic event in American history, a more serious example is found in Alaska, where the Governor Sean Parnell announced last week that Alaska is simply refusing to implement Obamacare in its state. He announced that his state will not comply with the terms of the legislation. Using the Florida federal court ruling declaring the Health Care Reform Act unconstitutional, and more importantly citing the financial ruin that will be thrust upon his states by the unfunded Medicaid mandates in the law, Governor Parnell just said no. And what is the Federal Government going to do? Send in the troops? March into the governor’s office and throw him out? Take over the operation of the state? I don’t think so.

Obama’s vision of utopia is so cumbersome and so top heavy it is almost physically impossible to implement. His administration is overtly granting “waivers” to his friends and friendly states. Do you think for one minute the rest of the country will sit idly by? They will just say “no” also.

Meanwhile, part of the impetus to the states to dismantle public employee unions is based not only the huge deficits currently on the state books, but also what they are facing under the new mandates from the Washington. Obama’s best friends, the unions, are bearing the brunt of the problem. In Wisconsin, it isn’t union pensions that have caused the deficits. It isn't union employee salaries or benefits that have caused the deficits. It isn’t those no good school teachers that has caused the problems. IT IS MEDICAID, AND THE NEWLY PASSED MEDICAID MANDATES. Translate: Obamacare is the root of the problem of Wisconsin. It is the straw that is breaking the camel's back across the nation.

The law of unintended consequences is raising its head in Alaska and Wisconsin. One state is simply refusing to comply. The other is forcing the cost onto the only place it can, public employees. And as cronyism grows geometrically in Washington, non-compliance with these cumbersome edicts will grow in the country.

If Alaska just says no…what do you think will happen if everyone just says no? Such are the rewards of having a law school professor constitutional scholar President who taught how to get around the Constitution rather than reverence for it.

Nitwits in Charge

Are there any leaders left in America? Look at the country. Look at the world. This is what things look like with America floundering like a rudderless ship. All groups need a leader in order to function. Whether it is the family of nations worldwide, or your local card club, someone has to be in charge. Since the November election, America seems to be MIA. This lies directly in front of the door of Barack Obama who seems to be shell shocked.

Obama apparently can’t come to grips with the political reality of the country. Liberal ideas often look good on paper, but when the rubber hits the road, it becomes like the television sitcom Boy Meets World. What looks good on paper often doesn’t translate well.

Domestically, with his agenda DOA in Congress, and what he passed over the past two years in jeopardy, he is acting like he doesn’t know what to do. His reaction to the crisis in Egypt was tepid and somewhat indecisive, although it is still too early to tell how things are going to work out. Domestically, his budget proposal was universally panned by Republicans and Democrats…and he actually picked up some criticism from the press. Now, with the mess in Wisconsin, he retreats to his usual union posture rather than trying to do something creative which might actually be helpful.

Outside of Egypt, things have never been more dangerous in the Mideast than they are right now. This is what happens when dangerous nations perceive weakness. Iran is attempting to move warships through the Suez Canal for the first time since the Islamic revolution. The Egyptian upheaval has opened the door to the Muslim Brotherhood entering the political mainstream. Other allies such as Jordan and Bahrain have entered the danger zone. This isn’t good. Bahrain is particularly dangerous with major United States military installations at risk if it falls the Shiite control.

South of the border in Mexico, violence is escalating. Americans are being shot. There is complete anarchy the length of the Mexican/Texas border with whole towns deserted. Instead of addressing the rapid Mexican descent into chaos, Obama's Justice Department continues its merry way suing states that attempt to close their borders.

Domestically, the country is drowning in debt. While he gives lip service to wanting to get it under control, his actions speak louder than his words. States and some municipalities are on the verge of bankruptcy…and he is off visiting tech plants in Washington State and giving pep talks in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the states are collapsing, and reports are tonight that Obama's Organizing for America political arm and the Democratic National Committee are underwriting this mess in Madison, Wisconsin. Any doubts about an Obama move to the middle should be dispelled tonight. His comments relating to Wisconsin are inappropriate, but certainly in character.

The Republicans aren’t doing much better in the leader department. John Boehner is a nice guy, and boring. Among the array of potential presidential candidates, Chris Christie of New Jersey seems to have caught the fancy of party operatives and the media…but he says he is not running and apparently means it (right!!). But the rest of the field is non-inspiring to downright annoying. (I luv Sarah Palin...but for President?? I think not!!)

Right now, for the first time in my lifetime, the fate of America rests with the people. All political movement and activity seems to be grass roots oriented and moving by osmosis. Let’s hope that the collective wisdom of the nation moves the country in the right direction inspite of the nitwit political leaders with whom we are currently blessed.

School Daze

In a recent article in Newsweek Magazine, George Will examined American education. He focused on Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education. He came to the job with an impressive resume. His family is rooted in college academia, his father being a professor of psychology. His mother ran an after school center for mostly disadvantaged mostly African American children in a economically challenged Chicago neighborhood.

Duncan, himself, is a magna cum laude Harvard graduate with a degree in sociology. After graduation, he went Australia and played professional basketball for a number of years, succeeded by a stint back in Chicago in mentoring underprivileged children. That, in turn, led to numerous other government social work type jobs, culminating in being appointed CEO of the Chicago Public School System. His success there is either praised or vilified, depending on one’s point of view as is all things in education.

But his stint was viewed as a success by Chicago’s favorite son, Barack Obama, and he is now the top gun educator in the United States.

George Will states that Duncan takes a realistic approach to the status of American education believing the most American students are unprepared for college. His is also aware of the anomalies in our system. For example, although we spend more on education per pupil than any other nation except for Luxemburg, performance levels of American students only equal those of Estonia and Poland which spend ½ as much per pupil.

He also apparently realizes that class size is irrelevant as to the learning ability of students once they get passed 3rd grade. I wrote last week that I learned more mathematics in a Catholic school setting with 50-60 in a class, than I did in a public school setting which then had class sizes around 30. Mr. Will commented that the class size argument made continuously today are fed by unions hoping schools will hire more teachers that will pay more union dues. I’m not sure Mr. Duncan is that cynical, and neither am I, but then again one never knows!!

Mr. Duncan and Mr. Will seem to agree on one thing. While one can argue about class size until the cows come home, the quality of the teacher at the head of the class makes a difference. Singapore ranks 2nd internationally in math performance for 15 year olds while American rank 25th. In Singapore, you must be in the top 30% of your academic class to be accepted into its education schools. Translated: all teachers in Singapore are in the top 1/3 of their class! In the United States, only 23% of our teachers come from the top 1/3 of their academic class. In fact, the average student entering an education school ranks only the 41st percentile in math and the 46th percentile in critical reading on applicable college boards. This, in turn, leads Mr. Duncan to the conclusion that he would rather have a top notch teacher teach a class of 30 than a mediocre teacher teach a class of 20.

As in any such debate, statistics can be slanted one way or the other. Anecdotally, they may be right, especially when looking at the hiring practices of various school systems which seems and abortion between hiring sports coaches, bus drivers, secretaries…and oh yes…someone to teach science.

At the end of the day, the problems in education are more likely rooted in the decline in our culture as a whole, a decline in the American family structure, and the legalities imposed on schools by the courts. How does one fix that?

Reference is made to MR. DUNCAN'S SMART LESSON PLAN by George Will; Newsweek Magazine; February 7, 2011; Page 16.

Bastardi's Weather

How bad have we been duped by the global warming crowd? Probably more than you know, and more than the government will eventually have to admit. Joe Bastardi, chief meteorologist for Accuweather, gave a compelling anti-global warming rant this morning that should be sufficient to give all global warming whackos pause…even AlGore.

Commenting on the massive winter storm which a 1/3 of the nation has just experienced, he stated that this is just the beginning. He believes that we are in for a prolonged period extremely cold winters that might even approach the mini-ice age status of the late 1700’s/early 1800’s. Huh? He went onto to state that the rise in global temperatures has reversed itself, and will continue to trend downward over the next thirty years due to three events: La Nina and a natural change in something called the PDA which occurs every 20-30 years; a change in sunspot patterns; and increase volcanic activity. He went on to say that cold is worse than warm, because it takes substantially more energy to heat than to cool…not a good thing in a time of rising energy costs.

He further commented that the purveyors of global warming have taken ownership of all answers to unanswerable questions about climate and weather. Whether it is too many hurricanes or too few hurricanes; too much snow or not enough snow; flooding along the Mississippi or drought in Georgia…the answer is ALWAYS global warming.

Just a year ago the global warming crowd was saying the amount of snowfall was going to decrease to the point where there would be next to none. Now they are explaining the excessive snowfall in recent winters by claiming the global warming is causing evaporation of water which is manifesting itself now in snow. It reminds of the story that the reason people were told to use the revolving doors in department stores was to generate electricity to run the escalators.

It is clear to me that America needs to get its head on straight when dealing with issues of so-called climate change. The exposure of doctored test results last year from the center of all things global warming muted the discussion. But the advocates still walk among us…mostly in Washington.

These folks are not environmentalists. They are social justice advocates who are using the issue to redistribute wealth…mostly from the United States. You hear very little about China and India, who are the worst offenders of all sorts of pollution. In fact, we are supposed to give them a pass… much like health care exemptions which are being handed out like party favors to Obama’s cronies.

The Obama administration is still hell bent to end fossil fuel use. Congress will block his cap and trade global warming legislation. But watch what Obama does with his EPA trying to accomplish the same thing by decree.

We would do well to listen to Joe Bastardi…and closely watch the machinations of Barack Obama and his EPA. Global warming ideologues don't take no for an answer, even if the snow is up to their ass.

The Mahoing Valley Matters

In case you didn’t notice, this past week the Mahoning Valley was privileged to host two distinguished visitors. Both the newly sworn in Governor John Kasich and the newly sworn in Attorney General Mike DeWine made highly visible stops in our area. Kasich visited Lordstown, the home of the highly successful GM Chevy Cruze. DeWine visited St. Dominic’s Church, the scene of two vicious murders this past year. I don’t know about Governor Kasich, but this was Attorney General DeWine’s first official visit to anywhere in Ohio, and he chose here. What a testament to our community. The Mahoning Valley matters, and in a big way!

Notwithstanding our 11% unemployment rate, Youngstown was listed as one of the top ten places in America to find a job. It is listed as one of the top ten places in America to start a business. It is one of two cities in Ohio that have shown job growth and a decline in the unemployment rate. The British view of Youngstown can be viewed by clicking here. If you haven’t seen this 2010 BBC story, it’s worth a look. The unemployment in the area is structural, based in deep sociological problems, and for the most part appears to be not fixable. But business is alive and well here, and for the most part, folks have good jobs here.

Lordstown is the heart of the automobile industry in Ohio. It is the one of the lead plants in the GM family. Kasich came here to warn us not to be complacent. His conversations with Detroit automakers shows there is a strained relationship between the Big Three and Ohio. Those of us who follow those things know that already with massive plant closing in Mansfield, Dayton and Toledo. We have to do better. Most of the problems are based in the state’s tax structure and overall cooperation level with incoming businesses. Lordstown is an example of how cooperation between business, labor, and government can make a difference, and shine as an example for the rest of the state.

DeWine came to look at crime at a very personal level. Hopefully it will help keep the AG Youngstown branch open as DeWine’s staff looks for way to save money in these lean times. Better law enforcement, better and faster BCI operations, better urban planning and development are three ways to keep the bad guys away from our doors. I’m not sure exactly what the Attorney General can do, but it is nice to know that he is there when you need him, and not afraid to come out and talk to the folks. He didn’t have to come, but he did.

The Republican sweep in Ohio was breathtaking. All of us here in the Mahoning Valley, even us Republicans, are concerned about how Republican officials will react to the one area of the state that produced the highest percentage Democratic vote in the last election. But we all live here together, and political affiliation notwithstanding, the entire state stands to benefit as we accelerate our financial and manufacturing base in this area. Those of us in the Republican party will be more than willing to join hands with our Democratic officials to continually pound the table about economic development for Youngstown and all of northeast Ohio.

I concluded at the beginning of the economic crisis that Youngstown would fare better than most. We have been fighting adversity for over 35 years, and we have emerged as smart, sophisticated, technologically relevant, lean, diversified, and with cooperative governmental bodies which are working hard to make our early 20th Century political structure work in a 21st Century world. While the rest of the of the country was falling down, we were standing tall with 3 shifts at Lordstown, the V&M pipe mill project, numerous call centers…and a world noticing technological business incubator in downtown Youngstown putting us on the world technological map.

I am so proud of this area I could bust. I was 28 when the mills went belly up. I am now 61. It has been a joy to see Youngstown emerge as a modern economic force in Ohio. There is much more work to be done. Keep it up. The Mahoning Valley matters.

Play Hardball with China

Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Washington this week. China wants to oust the dollar as the international currency of choice in favor of a basket of currencies, or better yet, replace it with the Chinese yuan. There is nothing less at stake than the future of the supremacy of the United States as a world power. The United States must play hardball with China.

China has moved swiftly from the depths of the Cultural Revolution to the economic miracle of Asia. Shanghai, with its twenty million people, is the show place of China and Asia…the place where China flexes its economic muscle as it moves from a communist society to a capitalist one. Well, sort of. At the end of the day, China’s economic system is “state capitalism” still governed by an authoritarian government. People are routinely displaced and moved with no say in their future. For many Chinese, for the bulk of the Chinese still living inland out of the economic zones, it is still a subsistence living. The Chinese miracle has been built on the backs of low wages, no benefits, a privileged wealthy class, and an artificial currency.

The Chinese currently have $2.7 trillion in foreign currency reserves, with close to a trillion in United States dollars. Compare that with the $14 trillion debt facing the United States. Big corporations, in cahoots with the American government, are willing participants in this dubious Chinese miracle. There is a reason we have unemployment at 9.5% while corporations are making record profits. We are willing participants in the Chinese flim-flam for cheap goods made by cheap labor working slave hours. We salivate over the billion Chinese market. That has been the American dream for 150 years. I have news for American corporations and our government…the Chinese will NEVER concede its home markets to western business. It will use western corporations so long as it is advantageous to it, then blow them away.

I have seen the commentators from the government, business and the media try to rationalize this away. It may seem like there are big business deals coming from this trip. It is hollow. These deals, no matter how many zeros, are chicken feed…crumbs the Chinese have chosen to throw our way to appease a restless public. You can’t dress this pig up.

The Chinese have deliberately built their economy on a currency that is set artificially low in a world trade system that demands floating currencies to cure trade imbalances. We can’t win with Chinese currency currently set approximately 30% below the value of the American dollar. The Chinese government has allowed it to rise a percent or two. Big deal!! All other nations in world trade organization have to let their currencies float, except the Chinese. Enough is enough.

The only way we can regain our manufacturing footing is to end this charade with the Chinese communists and their brand of state capitalism. Our government won’t do it. We are trading our future for cheap light bulbs.

There is one bright note. While our government has failed to act under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the Federal Reserve is doing an end run. Many questions have surrounded the second quantitative easing (tr: printing money) by the Federal Reserve. Many commentators say we don’t need it. But either deliberately or by accident, it is giving the Chinese fits. When money is printed, it has to land somewhere…and apparently it is landing in China. The Chinese rate of inflation is almost 10%. The Federal Reserve has apparently taken the position that if China won’t inflate its currency, we will deflate ours, making their foreign reserves worth less and less, and causing inflation in China as commodity prices begin to skyrocket. It is a dangerous game. It will work if the inflation rate in the United States remains less than in China. If not, we are in deep do-do.

Whatever the Fed is doing, President Hu has been in Washington this week screaming about it. Let him scream. And add some tariffs to muffle the noise.

The Tucson Tragedy

My first experience with violence in American society was the assassination of John Kennedy. I was 12 years old. We were watching a movie on how to eat healthy in Phys. Ed. Class when the announcement was made over the loudspeakers that the President had been shot, and we were being sent home early. I remember getting on the bus, and looking over my shoulder. My mother drove to the school to pick me up, along with anxious parents of half the school. Three days later I watched them shoot Lee Harvey Oswald after coming home from early mass at St. Dominic’s Church.

The violence seemed to escalate from there. It was rampant all through the 60’s. The Vietnam War was brought into our living room every night on Walter Cronkite, along with the body count. More assassinations! Race riots! University riots! Shootings at Kent State! It was a never ending cycle backed by a soundtrack of rock and roll, the British invasion, heavy metal, Motown, and folk music. Sonny Bono summed it up in The Beat Goes On.

What can we do about domestic violence? I often think that had Lee Harvey Oswald missed on that November day in Dallas things might have been different; that as a society we would have be more civil. Maybe yes. Maybe no.

Assassinations are part of our history. From Lincoln to McKinley to Garfield to Kennedy, assassins are not new to American culture. That doesn’t take into consideration the attempted assassinations of the likes of Jackson, Reagan, Nixon and Gerald Ford twice, and numerous other attempts.

Whether we like it or not, there are wing nuts and whack jobs walking among us. While some assassination attempts may be politically motivated (John Wilkes Booth), others are simply the manifestation of illogical madness (John Hinkley). The attempt on the life of Congresswoman Giffords is an example of the latter.

Jared Loughlin had been obsessed with Giffords since 2007. With a library that included the writings of Adolph Hitler and Karl Marx, he certainly was an eclectic nut job. The guy would laugh maniacally at the drop of the hat. The political commenting Sheriff of Pima County admitted he was aware of death threats made by Loughlin to other people. (And the sheriff did what about those?) His community college demanded a certificate of sanity before it would let him back in after throwing him out. And let’s not forget the skull altar in young Jared’s back yard. For a 22 year old, this guy needed some serious head work.

Trying to explain what happened in political terms is interesting, but useless. This type of tragedy is not politically motivated. Loughlin’s obsession and madness would be focused on something else if not Congresswoman Giffords. Mental illness like this will manifest itself in one form or another, none of it good.

Our prayers are with the victims of the Tucson shootings; and double prayers for that little girl. Our hope is that we can find a way to stop another senseless tragedy like this one. I know that our prayers will work. I’m not so sure about our hope.