All the News That's Fit to be Tied

I have an axe to grind, but unlike the New York Times, I freely admit it.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

America Must Have Energy Reform

It is time for a drastic change in America’s energy policy. For too long we have penalized the most cost efficient forms of energy while subsidizing the more expensive, least efficient forms. Whether the reasons are scientific or political the outcome of the policy is bad for our economy and our standard of living. The most efficient forms of energy (fossil and nuclear) have yet to find equals in the emerging solar and battery powered alternatives. To help grow our economy and create jobs. To create the wealth we need to lift ourselves and our neighbors out of poverty we must have a moratorium on government spending for alternative energy sources. We must end the subsidies for ethanol, wind power, solar energy and battery technology. This alone would equal the $100B the Republicans would like to cut in the upcoming budget. The government must issue permits for oil and gas exploration off all U.S. coasts and government property. It must end all moratoriums on oil, gas, coal, oil shale and nuclear energy. It must establish one nation-wide gasoline standard and it must reduce the federal tax on gasoline. The government must do for fossil fuel what it has been doing for alternative fuels. A reformed energy policy that focuses on efficiency instead of philosophy can help America’s economy recover.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Bulletin: The world is not running out of oil.

If America wants a recovering and expanding economy it must declare a moratorium on alternative energy and return to the cost efficiency of oil. The Oil Depletion crowd of the 1970’s was wrong. The world is not running out of oil and there will still be plenty left when we have moved on to a more efficient source of fuel. But for the near future oil is the most organic, diverse source of energy ever discovered by man. It is more useful than almost all other forms of organic material and is the residue of all organic life that ever lived on the Earth. Unlike coal whose versatility stops at burning and diamond making, or natural gas, which is a little more flexible, oil is the most versatile of all existing energy sources. The list of products derived from oil would fill a book merely by listing them without an accompanying text. Some of the basic categories include fuels, solvents, plastics, fabrics, resins and medicines. Within each of these categories are many of the things we use in everyday life that are cheap and widely available. It is the secret of the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed and the secret to the wealth of modern society. More expensive alternatives merely rob us of that future. Alternative sources of energy are still in the infantile stages and will remain that way for a long time. We should not abandon them, but we should be more realistic about what is good for our future and our country. Congress must lift the moratorium on oil drilling. The government must permit the refining of oil, oil shale and other oil-based alternatives on federal and private land. States must reduce the level of bureaucracy and increase the number of permits issued for oil exploration and production. America began its search for alternatives to oil when it was thought we were running out. The environmental movement began as a vehicle to support the move from oil to other fuels. It is now almost forty years later. We use more oil than ever and more is being discovered everyday. The world is not running out of oil and America should not suffer because some people think it may happen someday.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Living and Selling the Lie

The Obama administration and its mainstream media lackeys have spent the entire weekend trying to convince the American public, which follows politics sparingly, that the Tax Deal passed last week was a victory for the new, more pragmatic Barack Obama. They would have you believe that he is triangulating in the Bill Clinton tradition and tacking to the center. Those of us who watch closely know the truth. The Tax Deal was an utter defeat for Obama, the Democratic Congress, and the class warfare special interest groups. The Democrats spent seven years trying to end the Bush tax cuts of 2003. They went as far as to add the tax that was never collected to the National Debt, to make it seem the tax cuts, and not excessive spending were the reason the debt had become so large. Obama campaigned on the promise he would end the Bush tax cuts. Not only did he fail to end them for another two years, but he also had to admit that increasing taxes would have a negative impact on the economy. In return for this devastating outcome and admission he was able to extend unemployment benefits, add a 2-percent social security cut, and get some continuation of already existing tax cuts that were part of the stimulus plan he enacted. The Tax deal was a total victory for the Republicans in Congress and all Americans. The Obama Administration and the media will try to spin it as an Obama victory, but the truth is there for everyone to see. The Tax Deal is a total repudiation of Obamanomics and further proof that cutting taxes increases tax revenue.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Republicans Must Stop Omnibus Spending Bill

The Omnibus Spending bill being put up by the Democrats must be stopped and a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) must be passed in its place. We are about to enter the second quarter of the 2011 budget, which the Democrat Congress has so far failed to pass, and they would like to make this 2,000-page Omnibus bill their final spending party. The Omnibus Bill includes thousands of earmarks and is just another wish list of Democratic programs that have so far failed to pass on the merits. Everyone in America, except the Democrats in Congress and their supporters, knows we must cut spending and we must start now. The $55 billion in Democratic goodies in the Tax Deal are miniscule when compared to the larded-up Omnibus catch-all budget bill, which is well-over $1.1 Trillion. Congress must pass the Tax Deal, pass a CR, and get out of town.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Obama Tax Deal: Take It and Run

It is often said that if both sides hate it must be okay, and maybe that's what has to be said for this latest deal on taxes and unemployment benefits. Liberals are mad because it prevents income taxes from being increased on the wealthy and Conservatives are mad that unemployment benefits are being extended. People on both sides think they could have done better. Perhaps just the right balance was achieved. Consider the consequences of no bargain. Income taxes will go up over $300B in 2011 and unemployment for millions of people would end. Thanks to the deal, if it passes, the Federal government will not collect that money. You will get to spend it. That also means the total value of the deal is about $100B a year, not $400B as some are saying. In addition people who are unemployed get an opportunity to collect a subsistence level income until the economy improves. Finally if you are working your FICA tax will be reduced by 2-percent, which translates into a little more take-home pay. If the lame-duck Congress can close this deal and go home America will be very lucky indeed. The new Congress can be sworn in January and serious work on the 2011 budget can begin. In the final analysis the $300M will not boost a $14T economy very much but at least the government will not get the money and business can plan ahead. Republicans should take this deal and run.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Can Obama and the Republicans Find Common Ground?

Funding for the extension of unemployment benefits can be found in the funds being distributed under Quantitative Easing II by the Federal Reserve. Now that the dust is settling and the charade-playing is almost over it's time for the President and the Republicans to come to terms that can help them both instead of always looking for an edge. The President has the pulpit and veto power and the Republicans have the purse strings. The Senate will have to pick its poison. The President is in the perfect position to help the country out of its economic doldrums, and the Republicans are in the perfect position to control the budget and act as a brake on program expansion and deficit spending. Can they do it? This week the discussion will be the extension of the Bush Tax cuts, or implementation of the Obama Tax increases, for all income brackets. Whether you seem them as Bush cuts or Obama increases depends entirely on your political perspective. Also included in this discussion is the further extension of unemployment benefits. Funding for the extension could easily come from the funds being used for QEII by the Federal Reserve. This would resolve the issue of funding and take those benefits out of the upcoming budget discussions. The President and the Republicans are in the perfect position to do this. The question becomes will they?

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Obama's Best Laid Plans

Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men fail. This is one of those times. After having to wait for eight exhaustive years for the Bush Tax cuts to expire, the Democrats are now in the position of having to support them. It should be remembered that the Democrats fought George W. Bush and the Republicans to include the sunset provision in order to prevent the cuts from being made permanent. So from 2001 until now the Democrats have looked forward to reclaiming the $3.7 trillion in tax revenue they were never able to get. The Democrats have always referred to them as the Bush Tax cuts, but the truth is the money was never the governments in the first place. The Bush Tax cuts simply allowed working Americans to keep more of the money they earned and were an attempt to get government to spend less. Now after eight years of anticipation and two years of failed economic policies under Barack Obama the Democrats are being forced to reconsider their position on the tax cuts. They would like to let them to expire and begin collecting them in 2011, but the ailing economy and an uncertain future have them reconsidering. Today they are staging votes to keep them in place for earners making less than $250,000. It will be followed by a vote to preserve them for people earning up to $1,000,000. Most likely both votes will fail and Democrats will be faced with the choice of letting them expire and impose the Obama Tax increase or maintain the cuts for all wage earners. Most experts think the Democrats and Obama will cave on this issue and maintain the status quo, which is probably the right choice. However, it should be noted that maintaining them is the last thing Democrats want to do. As a party the Democrats hate cutting taxes unless they can control how you spend the money they would otherwise take. President Obama wants the cuts to expire because he had planned to use the money to disguise the deficit and increase spending. In the end the Obama tax increases of 2011 may well be avoided, but not before those that do not support them are described as supporters of rich millionaires. It should be noted that $3 trillion of the $3.7 trillion total goes to people earning under $250,000, so in truth the Bush Tax cut was a middle class tax cut.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

DOS the WikiLeak Website

If the U.S. really wanted to shut down the WikiLeaks site, it merely needs to run a Denial-of-Service attack, which is done all the time by quack hackers and ne're-do-wells in the computing universe. It is the stuff of elementary programming and it's only real requirement are a large number of personal computers. That being the case you have to ask yourself why it is not being done. A simple declaration from the President could make it happen so the only believable answer is that there are those in the Administration, the State Department and our National Security apparatus who secretly support the WikiLeaks endeavor. The American people should know who they are, so we can tell them where to go.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Stop the Obama Tax Increase

Letting the Bush tax cuts expire is an Obama tax increase no matter how they try to dress the pig. This was thenewnarrative's first tweet today. It was inspired by a news story that noted the Democratic House and Senate have not yet considered extending the so-called Bush Tax Cuts. However this view is meant to imply that if taxes are increased it will be Bush's fault, which has been the typical Obama strategy on most thorny issues since he was elected. It has been a great fallback position for every Obama failure and shortcoming. It would be the ultimate coup to blame an Obama tax increase on George W. Bush. Obviously his supporters in the mainstream media and press want to assist him in that goal. The American people must remember it was a Democratic filibuster than put the sun setting provision in the original tax cut bill. The Republicans were forced to compromise. Now as the time for ending the tax cuts approaches there is widespread agreement it will hurt the economy and be the largest income tax increase in the history of the nation. Stop the Obama tax increase.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Global Warming Unvarnished

In order to get rich one has to burn coal, oil or gas. That is the conclusion of Ottmar Edenhofer, a German economist and member of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He said climate policy has almost nothing to do anymore with environmental protection. The goal of "climate policy is redistributing the world's wealth," he said. During the IPCC convention in Switzerland, Edenhoffer unveiled a study that demonstrated a correlation between the production of greenhouse gas emissions and the growth of the world economy. "So far economic growth has gone hand in hand with the growth of greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "One percent growth means one percent more emissions." Only one conclusion can be drawn from this speech. The goal of climate policy is to slow the growth of the world's economy and as an unintended consequence everyone's standard of living will be reduced. While this may not to be terrible in developed nations, emerging nations will suffer greatly. The growth of all nations will be retarded and wealthy nations will be unable to provide support to poor ones. The choice is clear. Climate change has not only been proved to be poor science, but it is also proving to be an inferior economic and political policy as well. Until alternative forms of energy are more plentiful, reliable and less expensive, our failure to use fossil fuel is not only foolish, but economically untenable for the future of the planet. If you have any doubt you can read all this at
http://thegwpf.org/ipcc-news/1877-ipcc-official-climate-policy-is-redistributing-the-worlds-wealth.html

Monday, November 22, 2010

Al Gore and Arnold Speak Truth to Power

Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks "climate gate" was a setback. Al Gore finally comes to the realization that using ethanol for fuel was a mistake. Just last week the Chicago Futures Market reported it is considering a shut down of its carbon trading desk. These are all signs that America is beginning to come to its senses on the entire climate catastrophe concept. There is no catastrophe taking place. People have been taking cruises to Alaska for at least 50 years to watch the glaciers melt. Using that annual event as a prop to support a theory designed to make money has finally been exposed. The simple fact than ethanol requires more energy to create than it provides is reason enough not to use it for fuel. Considering it has driven up the price of food for people and livestock substantially is another reason. After years of supporting ethanol in the Congress Al Gore finally realizes it’s a mistake. It should be clear by now to all but the most obtuse individuals that the warming and cooling of the planet is a natural process and while humans are smart to discover and use clean energy it only makes sense when the energy being used is more efficient than our current sources of power. This is not the case for the current crop of alternatives including wind, solar and battery-power. None of these energy-producing methods are as efficient as fossil fuel. The one source that is as efficient requires extensive and complicated systems to use it: nuclear power. Even coal, the most polluting fuel is more efficient than any of the so-called progressive alternatives. Now it is up the U.S. Congress to reign in the environmental fanatics at the EPA at both the federal and state level. America’s economy must be allowed to recover so it can have the resources to continue the search for cleaner, more efficient energy.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Are You What's Wrong with America?

You know what's wrong with America? You! That's the damn problem. All you do is complain about taxes and fees. So what if the government adds a surcharge to everything you buy and every service you use. You don't like all those little extra charges on your phone bill. Stop using your phone. You don't like being treated like a suicide bomber when you go to the airport. Stop flying. You don't like having to buy health insurance. When you get sick just stay home. What's that? You don't like paying half of your wages in taxes. Are you kidding? Your lucky we don't take it all and make you walk to work.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Rangel Should be Expelled

When I heard Charlie Rangel's response to his conviction I almost lost it. When I heard he may only get a reprimand and not be expelled I did lose it. You have got to be kidding? He misused multiple rent-stabilized apartments while people without homes paid full price. He neglected to report outside income and income on his villa in the Dominican Republic. He was convicted of eleven counts of breaking ethics rules. He walked out of his own hearing and then blamed the ethics committee of not letting him defend himself. Ethics Committee members should find a way to put off Rangel's punishment until the new Congress convenes in January so he can be expelled and disgraced in the manner in which he deserves. Rangel's abuse of the public trust is disgusting and unforgivable. He deserves to be drummed out of the Congress for his transgressions. Charlie Rangel has committed the greatest crime of all. He took the trust of his constituents and all the American people and treated it badly.

Baby Steps to a Balanced Budget

This is the first real choice the new Republican majority will have in the House to affect next year's budget. As noted in a previous column the Republicans have a great opportunity to put the country's budget on the right track, but only if they recognize that opportunity does not come until the new Congress is convened in January. All pronouncements about reducing spending, cutting programs, streamlining regulations and reducing the national debt should be holstered and replaced with the development of a political strategy that can bring those many goals to fruition. Currently not one of the thirteen appropriations bills required to run the government has been passed by the current Democratic Congress. As a result the current Congress is likely to use the Omnibus bill option, which adds a percentage to all of last year's spending and is passed by both bodies and signed by the President. The other option is to operate by Continuing Resolution, which continues current funding for short periods of time and requires re-authorization. The Republicans should go for this second option. They have the votes in the Senate to stop the Omnibus bill and force the Congress to use a continuing resolution. This puts them in a position to offer up new appropriations bills based on previous budgets or entirely new budgets with the cuts they want to achieve. This strategy permits them to put the onus to support cuts on the Democratic Senate and the President.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Paul Ryan: You have been given a great gift

"George - You have been given a great gift. A chance to see what the world would be like if you had never been born." - Clarence to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.

From 2006 until now incoming Budget Chairman Paul Ryan has similarly been given a great gift; a chance to see what the Federal budget could be like without conservative stewardship. During the Bush years the Republicans drifted away from the budget principles they had begun in 1994. They became the fat cats and let it get away in 2006 when they lost the Congress and then the Presidency. Since then Democrats have added $3.5 trillion to the national debt with the exception of TARP, which they can still blame 0n Bush. Many department budgets have doubled since 2008, not to mention the new spending items in the 2009 budget and 2010 budgets. The voters have given the Republicans a huge victory and opportunity to put the country on the right track. They must reduce taxes and reduce spending. Then they must begin to peel back regulation so entrepreneurs can create jobs and put Americans back to work.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

America Salutes Its Veterans

On this Veteran's Day we salute the men and women who serve throughout the world and we pay homage to those who have given their lives in the defense of our country and the principles of our nation.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

What’s Wrong with the Harley-Davidson Deal?

President Obama has identified the Harley-Davidson deal as a great one for America that will increase jobs in our country. In fact it will result in new jobs in India and result in no decrease in the current tariff India’s consumers pay on fully assembled motorcycles from the U.S. For the average India consumer the import tariff imposed on Harley-Davidson motorcycles doubles the cost. Rather than convince the Indian government to reduce their tariff in support of lowering trade barriers the Obama solution is help Harley open a production facility in India that create jobs for the Indian economy and does nothing to reduce the existing trade barrier for American goods in the Indian market. It’s hard to see how this is a win-win for America. It’s just another example of poor negotiating by Obama’s trade team. People often complain about call-centers for American products being located in India. How will they feel when their Harley-Davidson motorcycles come from India too?

Friday, November 5, 2010

Let's Compromise

In the thrill of victory Democrats say “We won the election.” In the jaws of defeat they say “Let’s compromise.” It is entirely laughable to listen to President Obama say he’s willing to compromise in the face of a two-year lockout of Republican ideas. It is almost incomprehensible that Obama could think the resounding defeat of Democrats is only a repudiation of them, and not a repudiation of the President’s major policy accomplishments and poor management skills. He has failed to navigate the nation out of its economic doldrums and his policy accomplishments are all designed to increase costs and discourage job creation. The President is still convinced that he has not communicated well enough, when he has communicated perfectly. The problem is not what he is saying about his policy choices, but the policies themselves. His willingness to talk with Republicans to test their willingness to compromise is a charade. It is just a replay of the last two years. Saying one thing and doing something else. It’s not a forgone conclusion that a foreign trip will help him see more clearly. Americans can only hope.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Where’s my Purple Ink?

More important than last night’s astounding victory in the U.S. House of Representatives is the trashing of the electoral system. In New York, where mechanical voting machines have been replaced with electronically-scanned paper ballots, voting took a step back to the early 1900's. I was ready to ask for purple ink like the citizens of Iraq. If politicians really wanted a cheat proof voting system it could be easily designed using the online banking system and the U.S. Postal Service. But that isn't want machine politicians want. In machine politics manipulating the vote is a common practice and is done using fraudulent registrations, absentee ballots, provisional ballots and outright submission of incorrect statistical results, or if you prefer, lying about the numbers: It easy to see why the voting process is flawed. For national and state-wide elections there must be a uniform system for the way votes are acquired and tallied. This can be done using the Post Office, and the nationwide ATM system. Data is locally collected. Except for the process of registering voters, local precincts have no further interaction with the voter. Registered voters are given a unique number on a credit card blank that they can insert into any ATM kiosk and vote. Votes are collected electronically with no human interaction. Every voter is given a paper record of their vote, that is then collected by a national clearing house. The results are relayed back to the precinct. This is oversimplified for brevity but the concept in not difficult. Going back to paper ballots is not the solution we are looking for. We want voting options that are easy to use, understandable and trustworthy.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Why Tina Brown’s Obama Plan Will Fail

Daily Beast editor Tina Brown thinks that a good public relations plan and pretending to like the public and big business will remedy all of Obama’s woes and put him back in the good graces of the American people. You know the ones she means: the stupid ones in flyover country. Those in the progressive intellectual class will realize it’s a rouse, but in general the dimly-lit, bible-clutching, gun-bearing Americans wouldn’t be the wiser. For example, Brown says “I’d like the President to stop being so high-minded about avoiding corny symbolic theatrics and start playing to win. The absurd myth, for instance, that he's really a Muslim would be easier to knock out if he strode from the White House every Sunday with a big old Gutenberg Bible and marched his family—with the first daughters in adorable Sunday best—to the nearest Episcopalian church.” For Ms. Brown’s information Obama does play to win. His orchestrated events with its hand-picked audiences, well-placed cheering squads and phony fainting epidemics are the height of corny symbolic theatrics designed to fool the American people into thinking he is some kind of miracle worker who can transform the world with a wave of his hand. A little aside on the Muslim thing: it was Obama who wrote that the Muslim “call to prayer” was one of the most beautiful sounds he ever heard. In the Audacity of Hope he wrote: “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” In my view marching around Washington on Sunday morning with an over-sized Bible will not fool anyone. Also, TB is wrong on several counts: Obama has not ended torture; he just has other people do it (The Rendition Program). We are not out of Iraq and won’t be for several more years. Health care has not been extended beyond giving additional benefits to people who already have insurance. Those without it will still be waiting for several years before they get it. The claim that he prevented another Great Depression is pure speculation and based on wishful thinking, not economic reality. Finally, TB overlooks the main reasons why Obama’s policies have failed. His policies are designed to change America, not fix it. His economic policies have failed to jumpstart the economy. His foreign policy has made the world more volatile. His domestic policy choices are designed to redistribute the wealth of America’s productive citizens and give it to those he perceives as his constituents. TB may think it’s a simple as “the President has forgotten to bring the people along,” but the truth is Americans don't want the ride that is being offered.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tea Party Bizarro World

The Democrats are employing several strategies to maintain their majority in the House. In a new twist to the plain old stealing the vote techniques of the past, this year Dems are creating pseudo-Tea Party candidates to siphon votes from Republican primary chosen candidates. Some examples include Congressional races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida. The basic idea is put up a candidate identifying him or herself as part of the Tea Party. They redirect votes for Republican primary winners to the pseudo Tea Party candidate resulting in a victory for the Democrat. This technique has been revealed and confirmed in the four states listed above. Unfortunately it is not illegal. But knowing that the voting process is being whittled down to who cheats the best is enough of a reason to vote out the practitioners of these techniques. Namely the Democratic candidates in the races mentioned above. This little bulletin has resulted in pushing the upcoming Obama trip to India below the fold, but you should read it. “The Obama’s Trip the Light Fantasitic.”

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Obamas Trip the Light Fantastic

A few days after the election the President and his entourage will be taking a deluxe trip to Mumbai, India to recover from Democratic elections losses and the victory of his Republican enemies. When they arrive they will be taken to the five-star seaside Taj Mahal Hotel, where they have booked all 570 rooms of the resort, as well as all banquet rooms and restaurants at the hotel. In addition, they have booked 125 rooms at Taj President and an additional 80 to 90 rooms each in the Grand Hyatt and The Oberoi hotels. The president's convoy for the trip includes 45 cars including the President's Lincoln, all of which are being transported by Jet. The President will be seeing the 26/11 Memorial to India's devastating massacre and fire by terrorists and visit the National Centre for Performing Arts. The First Lady is planning to meet with a group of "commercial" sex workers during the two-day visit. Americans taxpayers are footing the bill for what some have called the President’s narcissistic and self-aggrandizing behavior. The White House will not provide a cost estimate for the trip.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs

It’s no secret that jobs are the major issue for this election. Unemployment is high and not going down for a while unless some policy changes are put in place. It is fashionable for the Obama administration to blame the “previous” administration, but a close look at the statistics demonstrates that Democratic control of Congress and the election of Barack Obama are the real culprits for the jobs collapse. In 2008, the last year of the Bush Presidency, the unemployment rate was 5.8-percent. In the eight years he was President the highest rate ever was 6-percent and the average over eight years was 5.2-percent. In the year Obama took office the rate rose to 9.5 percent. The mainstream media tried to talk down the Bush economy for his entire Presidency. They kept predicting that the economy would falter. They put negative spin on every job statistic and hinted it was only a matter of time before the Bush economy collapsed. But any fair analysis demonstrates George W. Bush kept unemployment low and it has skyrocketed under Barack Obama. The Bush economy collapsed when the 2006 Democratic-run Congress under Speaker Nancy Pelosi forced the Mark-to-Market rule on the investment industry, which included banks and insurance companies. The effect of the rule led directly to the collapse of the banking system and the mortgage market. Americans have had to stand by and watch the U.S. Treasury looted and our National Debt increased by $3.7 Trillion. These are things to remember on Election Day.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Will NPR Finally Get Theirs?

Until yesterday I felt almost alone in my personal campaign to get NPR off the taxpayer dime. NPR always says they do not get very much money, but everybody on the government dime says they don't get very much; so what else is new? Over the years NPR has discussed the wonder of Fidel's Castro's Cuba and the forward looking leadership of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and the righteousness of the progressive movement in America. They have portrayed America as a nation mislead by an irrational conservative leadership and have almost always taken positions that put the nation in a precarious position. They support radical anti-American movements around the world and believe that America is the cause of all the world's problems. Fortunately their influence has been limited to the small audience of public radio, but their pernicious goals can be felt throughout the country. They want Americans to feel they live in a terrible country when it goes against what they think is righteous foreign and domestic policy. It's obvious that Vivian Schiller and Ellen Weiss got in over their heads when they fired Juan Williams. It will be interesting to see how they feel when their turn to be fired arrives. Goodbye Vivian. Goodbye Ellen. Say hello to the $2 million dollar man; Juan Williams on Fox News

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Out of Sight, but Not Unnoticed

Far from the glitz and glitter of $200 million dollar election campaigns like Fiorina versus Boxer or Whitman versus Brown, is the mostly unnoticed contest in New York’s Second Congressional district. Democratic incumbent Steven Israel and entrepreneur John Gomez are locked in a heated battle for a Congressional district that has both conservative and liberals voters. It gets little play from the local and regional media, almost as though it was being avoided by a liberal press that hopes lack of exposure will kill Gomez’s candidacy. However, Gomez supporters are mobilized and doing all the right things to pull him over the top to a win on Election Day. You can attend a John Gomez fundraiser on October 26, at Madison’s Steak House in Hauppague, NY. It’s $75 a person and you can RSVP to Kathy Brand, (631-695-5151.)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Politics Ain't Standup

Yesterday I twittered that Carl Paladino should not let Andrew Cuomo drag him into the gutter and focus on his failure, as part of the current administration, to do anything to help the state in the current fiscal dilemma. And further to tie him to the sub-prime mortgage debacle and the related financial crisis, which was in part a direct result of policies he supported as Director of HUD. Instead the New York Governor's debate turned into an audition for a comedy club. If offered a variety of tasteless and morbid jokes unfit for people who are serious about running for office. It reminds us that governing is serious business and while most of us appreciate a smart sense of humor it is not a replacement for a solid election strategy or coherent government policy. This was as aptly demonstrated a few weeks ago when Rep. Zoe Lofregn (D-Calif.) invited comedian Stephen Colbert to speak on immigration reform. It demonstrated clearly that picking vegetables for day doesn't make you an expert on immigration. It also demonstrated that too many politicians don't take our problems seriously enough. It's time to forget the one-liners and clever aphorisms and get to work. Politics ain't beanbag either.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Real Problem with Foreclosures

Despite all the harang over foreclosures, the efforts to stop them and the efforts of the various banks and government authorities to determine whether the foreclosures are fair and just, the real problem is being hidden from the public because it hides something much more critical than the foreclosure process. At the bottom of the process is the simple fact that it is difficult to determine who the real owners of a property are. For example, when the Bank of America forecloses on a homeowner it doesn't really know who owns that house because the original mortgage has been bundled into a CMO (Collateralized Mortgage Obligations) or other financial instrument. Chances are a bank sold that mortgage (and others) to a broker who combined it with a thousand other mortgages and sold it to an investor as a package that included a variety of properties as part of its contents. The millions of foreclosures now in the pipeline have a negative effect on that investment bundle, as well as the banks and the housing market. So the result is a triple-whammy that is likely to reverberate and result in yet another downturn in the housing market, a further deterioration of bank stocks and yet another false bottom bolstered by a terrified President and the incompetent management of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD. Most experts will tell you that the problem with the housing market is the inability to find the bottom. As long as it is propped up by scared banks and terrified politicians the market will not settle. Until it does the average homeowner and homebuyer has no idea what the true value of any home is. The market is likely to remain unstable until we know. The mortgage and housing market must be allowed to find the bottom so we can get on the path to economic recovery.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Who Wins Matters

There is both excitement and fear as we approach Election Day 2010. This column started as a pitch for gridlock, but unfortunately if we do not get the Congress to agree on a few fundamental issues our country will be at great risk in the coming decade. We must repair the housing market, stabilize tax policy and establish a security and energy policy that is good for the nation. Each of these is a monumental task in and of itself. It took several years of mismanagement to create the collapse of the housing market. Bad policy and greed in both public and private institutions lead to a collapse, which may persist for years if policy corrections and reform do not take place. It doesn't matter whether you call the required tax cuts the Bush cuts or the Obama cuts. You must stabilize tax policy so people, both individuals and businesses know what to expect. It is clear that the security and energy policies currently being tried will not lead to a more secure military situation or energy independence. These policy decisions are the most crucial for the country in the short term, although the problems will take some time to resolve. The voters will have to decide the direction they favor because each of the parties offers a different path. Over the next week or so The New Narrative will explore each of these issues. There are plenty of professional opinion makers to help the voters. What is needed is a referee. Keep watching for the discussions. It can help you figure out how to vote to satisfy your own vision and help the country at the same time.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Just Another Plouffe Piece

I have asked in previous writings whether or not David Plouffe is on drugs or does he just think that way naturally? Today he said in the Washington Post that anything short of a full sweep of the Congress and all the Governor's races would be a "colossal failure" for the Republicans. To be precise he said this: "By their definition, success is winning back the House, winning back the Senate and winning every major governor's race. When you've got winds this strong in your favor, that's the kind of election you need to have - or it should be considered a colossal failure." Not so fast Mr. Plouffe. The Republicans just need to take control of one chamber to be in a position to temper some of the policies being proposed by the President and Democratic special interest groups. The Democrats do not get to decide what is required to declare victory. You do not get to decide whether or not it is a disgrace. The American voters get to decide. Many of them would be happy to just have some adults in the room.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

I Like Latinos More Than You

Now that the Meg Whitman/Jerry Brown Hispanic debate is over California’s Spanish-speaking citizens must put their money where their mouth is. They must choose a governor who will reform state government and use the political system for the good of all the state’s residents. Jerry Brown would have you believe that even though he has been Governor, Mayor of Oakland and State Attorney-General he has had no part in developing the policies that have created the current state of affairs. He would have you believe he doesn’t know Gloria Allred, whose lawsuit, announced just five weeks before Election Day, is nothing more than a dirty trick to portray Whitman as anti-Latino. He does know Allred and they have an extensive history. As far as Jerry Brown is concerned Nicky Diaz is just like the other illegal aliens that cannot vote and he would like legal-residents who can to vote for him. Meg Whitman is right. Jerry Brown is just more of the same. His promise to clean up the mess he helped create is just a platitude. Today’s Spanish-speaking American is no fool. Those who have chosen to become legal citizens and have successfully assimilated have earned the fruits of this great country. Those who have chosen to act illegally, as they old saying goes, get what they pay for. Voters must choose wisely; our country depends on it.

Friday, October 1, 2010

When Will Andrew Cuomo Come Out of Hiding?

Carl Paladino, the Republican hopeful in the New York Governor's race, is having a hard time getting Andrew Cuomo to come out and play in the state's political sandbox. You have to empathize with the Democratic would-be Governor, whose fingerprints are all over the Housing collapse and the financial collapse that followed in its wake. As the former Director of HUD he made many decisions that, in hindsight, have proven to be mistakes. Except for his revenge-motivated campaigns against David Patterson and Elliot Spitzer, he has done very little for those he is sworn to protect. Paladino deserves a fair up and down debate with Cuomo. The Attorney-General and the Republican nominee must not be allowed to replace serious discussion of the issues with vicious personal attacks and clever one-liners. Politics ain't beanbag.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bring in the Adults

The modern Democrats have taught American voters in four years what the Republicans and Conservatives couldn't teach them in fifty years. A government out of control serves the purpose of no one. Not those who govern or those who are governed. It is not the privilege of government to penalize its citizens. Conservatives, who tend to be Republican, are likely to get a chance to once again try and lead the nation out of the current morass. Without going over old ground most experts seem to agree the recession started in the middle of 2007. Coincidentally, that is five months into the new Democratically-led Congress under Pelosi and Reid, whose first serious legislative victory was the institution of the now legendary “Mark to Market Rule,” which led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the mortgage meltdown. At this time U.S. unemployment was 4.6-percent. By the middle of 2008 it had gone to 5.8-percent. One year later the unemployment rate was 9.5-percent and that’s where it is today. Three Trillion dollars in spending has not put a dent in it. The Congress has left town with no budget in place and the smart money says those waiting for the extension of the Bush Tax cuts are living in a dream world. The Democrats have wanted to repeal the cuts for years, but have had to wait for their expiration. It should be noted that the Democrats insisted on a sunset provision before passing the tax cuts in the first place. The Republicans in contrast have fought to make them permanent, but were stymied by a filibustering Democratic Senate even when the Republicans had the majority in both houses. There are many people who feel the country is in great danger. They will be coming to the polls to vote this year. Americans want their government back. They want to have their voices heard. They want to the government to do what many of them have had to do. They want government officials to act like adults. They want them to be grown-ups. America is not a tinker toy for the amusement of would-be egomaniacs who think people are the fodder for their intellectual escapades. A new Congress will have to face many legislative obstacles to improve the economy and get our financial house in order. Over the next few weeks the new narrative will try to cover these issues. Keep watching.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

It’s Hard to Believe Your Own Ears

The Democrats and the President would have you believe that the Republicans, who have supported the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts since 2006, are now the ones that are stopping them from taking place. House Minority Leader John Boehner surprised everyone by saying he would accept Obama’s offer of a tax cut extension for those who make under $250,000, and then work to make them permanent for all taxpayers in the new session. It undercut the entire Democratic argument of Republican intransigence on the tax cut issue. The Democrats wanted to argue that Republicans were against tax cuts for the middle class because the “rich” weren’t included. Boehner called their bluff and if it wasn’t for Mitch McConnell’s blunder (saying he would filibuster any bill that doesn’t include all taxpayers) the Democrats would be dead in the water on the tax issue. Once again the Republicans shoot themselves in the foot when they are in front. However, on the tax cut issue there is no dispute. Republicans have supported them since they were passed in 2003. The Democrats have refused to make them permanent and until two weeks ago Obama was going to let them expire. The media is cooperating with the White House and the Democratic Congress to help create the illusion that Republicans are against tax cuts for the middle class, while favoring those for the rich. The American people are getting more media savvy everyday. They won’t be fooled this time.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Hello Mrs. Faisel Daisy-Kahn Rauf

It was just a few weeks ago that TheNewNarrative exposed the relationship between Daisy Kahn of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the director of the Ground Zero Mosque: Who is Daisy Kahn, August 15th? Early coverage of the Ground Zero Mosque cited both Rauf and Kahn in the same story and often omitted the fact they were married. Since our "Did you Notice" piece almost every mention of Daisy Kahn on radio and television mentions her relationship with Rauf. It is a true victory for those of us against the building of the Ground Zero Mosque. It makes apparent the fraud the Rauf's and their friends (our enemies) are trying to perpetrate. For this and many other reasons the Ground Zero Mosque will never be built. As has been said; We are fair, we are not foolish.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Why Infrastructure Spending Is No Stimulus

The President's Labor Day announcement of infrastructure spending will not provide the kind of spending needed to boost the economy because such projects take years implement. Any infrastructure plan developed on the basis of new spending will not be built for at least a year so any immediate impact is impossible. It will not help create jobs, the money will not be spent until sometime in 2011, and there are already billions in infrastructure spending in the works so any new projects will be years in development. The one sure thing the President could do to help spark the economy in the short-term he refuses to consider; Give working Americans a temporary payroll tax holiday. Let people keep the taxes withheld from their paychecks. It puts extra money in people's hands immediately. It can be implemented in two or three weeks and it will boost consumer consumption, which is the real key to our economic recovery. Consumer spending, not government spending is what is needed. That's would be a real stimulus package.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Surprise: Obama is an Atheist

President Obama is neither Muslim nor Christian. America's Atheists will be happy to learn that President Obama is one of them. In him they have a champion against crèches in public squares, the Ten Commandments in public spaces, In God We Trust on the dollar and religion in public life; Especially the last. Even though he believes the Muslim call to prayer in one of the most beautiful sounds he ever heard and never heard any of the sounds of his anti-Semitic and anti-American Christian mentor the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, he is hard pressed to admit he is a non-believer. In a speech he once said we are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers. He will not say he is Muslim even if he wants to. If the Reverend Wright is his only connection to Christianity he cannot admit to believing and agreeing with the Reverend’s anti-American views. So there he is; stuck between a rock and a hard place. Put away your Bible Mr. President. There are no dog-eared pages in your book. Put away your Koran until your Presidency is over. In the meantime you can hold on to your Atheism. It will protect you from the Christians and the Muslims and you can still say you agree with the non-believing minority. This will permit you to continue deceiving the American people and playing golf as often as you like without guilt. And you will never have to answer the question “When was the last time you went to church?”

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Duplicity and Dishonesty Go Hand in Hand

There is so much discussion in the media about the Ground Zero Mosque, but in my view the questions being asked are wrong because they miss the important points. For example the President implied to the attendees of a Ramadan dinner at the White House that he supported the idea of building the so-called Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero. The next day he said he was talking about the right to do it, not the wisdom of doing so. He was accused of backtracking. That is the wrong accusation. He should have been accused of duplicity because he said one thing to a Muslim audience and something else to the American People. Had he indicated that he questioned the wisdom of building it to his Muslim audience the entire issue of backtracking and saying different things to different groups would have never come up. The President's duplicity is the issue. Let’s move on to the Mosque itself. The founder of the project, Imam Faisel Rauf, named the project the Cordoba Initiative. For the average American Cordoba is the Spanish explorer who discovered the Yucatan Peninsula. For Muslims it represents the Islamic conquest of Spain in 711. The project is named Cordoba as a signal to all American-hating Muslims that they were victorious in the 911 attack and the Islamic Center is a testament to that victory. Americans did not name the project. Imam Rauf did. Americans do not agree that we were complicit in the attack on the World Trade Center. The Imam Rauf does. It is the Islamic tradition to build Mosques over enemy ground that has been destroyed. Eventually Americans will have to decide what is worse: The duplicity of our President or his support for our avowed enemies.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Did You Notice; Who Is Daisy Khan?

I always try to bring new stuff to the table. I do not want to regurgitate things you have been hearing over the last two days, but instead wait a day or two and try to add some insight that hasn't already been said and is still pertainent. For example in coverage of the June 6th protest at the site of the proposed Ground Zero Mosque the article provides positive quotes for the Imam, Islam and the Mosque by Daisy Khan of the Ameican Society for Muslim Advancement. That article does not report that Daisy Khan is the wife of Iman Faisel Rauf, who is the chairman of the project. Does that make you go ...UMM...?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Democratic Disdain for Americans

The level of disdain for the American people demonstrated by our (big D) Democratic leadership is so astonishing it staggers the imagination. It's as subtle as a sledgehammer. From Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's remarks about the smell of Americans as he passed them in the Halls of Congress to his most recent comments about conservative people of Spanish heritage. (I despise the term Hispanic and will try very hard to use an alternative.) House Speakers Nancy Pelosi who got a minimum-wage waiver for a constituent with a factory in American Samoa so dark-skinned islanders could be paid less than minimum wage. And finally the Obama's who prefer, it seems, to act and be treated like celebrities instead of serious people responsible for our nation's well-being. People who would rather be traveling than greet visitors to the White House. Talk show appearances seem more important than press conferences to this President. Exercise and golf are more important than honoring our dead or celebrating our country's important historic events. A man for whom hob-knobbing with Tiger Woods or Paul McCartney is more important than talking to Mr. John Smith or Ms. Jane Doe. The first ladies love for the extravagant needs no further explanation. It speaks for itself loudly. America needs a change.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Why are all the stupid people on our side?

Why are all the stupid people on our side? And why do they keep getting ahead? That is what I really want to know. As a conservative I am deeply disappointed that we cannot seem to find one intelligent, thoughtful, logical, person who can defend our positions whether it be an immigration law, gay marriage, politics, taxes, legislation, economics, education or even entertainment. All we get are stereotypical nut balls whose greatest success is winning for the opposition. For example take John McCain. When the aging John McCain had an opportunity to defeat Barack Hussein Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign, he declared that Obama was an honorable man, would make a good President and that he (McCain) would not use Obama’s relationships with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, William Ayres and Bernadette Dorn or other America haters to win. So he lost. When Senator Lindsay Graham voted for Elena Kagen he said this was to show that he could be fair despite Democratic efforts to destroy almost every significant appointment to the Supreme Court made by Republican Presidents (Robert Bork and Miguel Estrada come to mind immediately. There have been others.) Graham has been a weak-kneed Republican his entire Senate career yet he seems to get reelected over and over again. Conservatives need the kind of men and women that Democrats get; People who do not wilt in the line of fire. People that hold their positions come hell or high water. I hope we are in for a change in the upcoming November elections or it will just be more of the same; lots of lip service and very little action.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Muslim Victory Monument Approved in NYC

"The US and the West must acknowledge the harm they have done to Muslims before terrorism can end," said Muslim Cleric Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, chairman of the Cordoba Initiative and the major force behind the Mosque near the WTC. It is a great irony that the Park Place tribute to the terrorists will rise to the sky and be visible for miles, while the 911 Memorial will be completely underground except for the reflecting pools, which bear no outward evidence that they are anything but a water feature in an office building complex. It is almost beyond belief that the NYC status quo would approve an above ground tribute to the nineteen Muslims who killed 3000 Americans and at the same time accept the invisible, underground memorial crypt as a tribute for the innocent who died that day. Championed by Mayor Bloomberg, the ACLU, the Landmarks Commission and the District One board, the Cordoba Initiative is a slap in the face to the victims of 911. It is meant to be a victory monument signifying a Muslim conquest, not unlike the Dome of the Rock, which was erected over Solomon's Temple and Mount Herod as a sign of victory over Christians and Jews over 1400 years ago. The tradition continues.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Obama Says Believe Me, Not Your Lying Eyes

Today President Obama declared America's combat role in Iraq will end this month. However you should not think that this means an end to "the conflict or U.S. military casualties," he added. In an address at a Disabled American Veterans convention in Atlanta, the President said "Already, we have closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of bases. We're moving out millions of pieces of equipment in one of the largest logistics operations that we've seen in decades. By the end of this month, we'll have brought more than 90,000 of our troop’s home from Iraq since I took office." He also said that, as agreed with the Iraqi government, the US would maintain a transitional force of about 50,000 troops until the military withdrawal is completed at the end of next year. For the uninitiated 50,000 troops is about five divisions and enough power for an invasion force. The President continued: "During this period, our forces will have a focused mission: supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraqis in counter-terrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts. These are dangerous tasks. There are still those with bombs and bullets who will try to stop Iraq's progress, and the hard truth is we have not seen the end of American sacrifice in Iraq," he said. "But make no mistake; our commitment in Iraq is changing – from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats. And as we mark the end of America's combat mission in Iraq, a grateful America must pay tribute to all who served there," he added. So despite his claim that the combat mission is over American troops will still be involved in combat, they will still be getting wounded and killed and they will still be there at least another year. Who do you believe: The President or you’re lying eyes?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Ghost of Slavery Past

I have always been afraid of the day when conservatives would become so frustrated at the tactics of the socialist, liberal, progressive left that we would take their example and go the dirty tactics route. Despite my joy is seeing progressives at their worst, flailing at moving targets and getting it wrong every time, I am disappointed with Andrew Breibart's latest video scoop on USDA's Shirley Sherrod because in its entirety the video paints a different picture than the edited portion. However, in Andrew's defense the video's most disturbing aspect was Mrs. Sherrods preoccupation with how the white farmer was trying to assert his superiority. How she was in fact the power player in the situation and because he was white did not do everything she could have. During this little sequence the audience chuckled and laughed at her coded statements meant to mock what she perceived as "white superiority." This unspoken, barely hinted at attitude seems prevalent among some African-Americans who seem to rely on the "Ghost of Slavery Past" to justify the continued perception that all whites, even those they like, are naturally racist.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

NAACP DELEGATES UNANIMOUSLY PASS NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY AMENDMENT

NATION’S OLDEST AND LARGEST CAUCASIAN RIGHTS GROUPS ASK NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY TO REPUDIATE RACIST FACTIONS
(KANSAS CITY, MO) – Over 2,000 National Association for the Advancement of Caucasian People (NAACP) delegates today unanimously passed a resolution—as amended—called “The New Black Panther Party Movement,” asking for the repudiation of racist New Black Panther Party leaders.
The resolution condemns the bigoted elements within the New Black Panther Party and asks for them to be repudiated. The NAACP delegates presented this resolution for debate and passage after a year of vitriolic New Black Panther Party demonstrations during which participants used racial slurs and images. In November of 2008 members of the New Black Panther Party wielded weapons and intimidated voters who wished to enter a voting center. One of their leaders, Samir Shabazz, called for the killing of “cracker” babies at a Philadelphia Street fair. They were charged, but a new Justice Department policy, stating that black defendants cannot be tried for racial bias, made their admission of guilt unnecessary.
“We take no issue with the Black Panther Party movement. We believe in freedom of assembly and people raising their voices in a democracy. What we take issue with is the New Black Panther Party’s continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements. The time has come for them to accept the responsibility that comes with influence and make clear there is no place for racism & anti-Semitism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry in their movement,” stated NAACP President and CEO George Rudolph. “Last night after my speech, I was approached by an African American member of the NAACP and the New Black Panther Party. He thanked me for speaking out because he has begun to feel uncomfortable in the New Black Panther Party and wants to ensure there will always be space for him in both organizations. I assured him there will always be a place for him in the NAACP. Malik and Samir Shabazz and the leadership of the New Black Panther Party need to do the same.”
The resolution was amended during the debate to specifically ask the New Black Panther Party itself to repudiate the racist elements and activities of the New Black Panther Party. It comes on the heels of NAACP President and CEO George Rudolph's announcement of the “Nation Working Together” Movement culminating with a national march on Washington.
The resolution will now go to the NAACP National Board of Directors for a full vote when they meet in October 2010 in Baltimore, MD. A formal copy of the resolution will be released at that time.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Hispanics and Immigration

Let me start by saying I loathe the term “Hispanic.” It is a meaningless classification designed to give groups of disparate people an identity for political purposes only. Unlike the terms Caucasian and Negroid, which are based on morphological features, Hispanic is based purely on surname. If it sounds Spanish, then you are Spanish. For example, Gonzalez, not be confused with Gorgonzola. One is obviously Spanish, the other not so. And in truth, people of Spanish descent do not call themselves Hispanic. They say I am Spanish. I am Puerto Rican. I am Cuban. I am Mexican. I bring this up because in order to get a good feel for how people of Spanish descent feel about immigration and illegal immigration you must honor the nationalities of the various Spanish-speaking peoples and see them as discrete cultures, not just last names. A recent poll in Colorado showed that over 60-percent of Hispanics in that state favored Arizona’s new immigration law. The mainstream pollsters have taken several more polls to show that nationwide Hispanics-there goes that word again-do not favor the law. But that is to be expected these days as the media continues the role of giant PR machine for the radical left. It makes sense to me that 60-percent of Spanish-surnamed people would favor tough immigration laws. Not only does it show they that want to live in a lawful society, but it reflects their belief in the value of citizenship. Spanish people are often described as conservative, religious, family and community-oriented etc. Why would anyone believe such people would favor illegal activity whether it be smuggling drugs or people? Why would anyone believe that most Spanish people who achieve citizenship through effort and hard work think it should be given freely to anyone? I have trouble with that; so should you. Special interest groups and their allies on the liberal left can say anything they want about illegal immigration. At the end of the day it is still illegal, an unfair burden on the taxpayers and a threat to national security. The Justice Department must butt out, the Congress must fund the fence and Arizona must do what the Federal government will not; Enforce immigration laws.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Obama's War on Caucasians

It may not be fair to accuse the White House and the President of fostering a permissive attitude towards racism, but that is exactly what is happening in the supposed post-racial Presidency of Barack Obama. We have a New Black Panther Party member espousing the killing of Caucasian adults and children. This man stood in the entry way of a polling place in Philadelphia and was charged with election law violations. The Justice Department, under the direction of terrorist defender Eric Holder, dropped the charges after being awarded summary judgment. According to congressional testimony given last week the Justice Department now takes the position that minority individuals cannot be prosecuted for election law violations against Caucasian victims. It is clear that Justice under the direction of Holder and the President are now engaged in race war politics and the politics of racial revenge. Throughout President Obama's campaign he talked of moving forward. It appears now that a few steps back is what he really has in mind.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Is Obama Lost in Space?

As many people are saying lately: You can't make this stuff up. In a recent interview with al-Jazzera marking the one year anniversary of President Obama's Cairo speech, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has stated that "reaching out to Muslims" is now a prime responsibility of the space agency. NASA will no longer boldly step into the future. Now it will help "Muslim nations feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering." Under Bolden and Obama NASA will no longer be a can-do agency. Instead of reaching for the stars, developing new technologies and leading the way into the future, NASA will become a vehicle for leading America to third-world dependence. Instead of leading the world into a bright future we will go willingly onto the path of a new dark age of mediocrity brought about by those who despise freedom and independence. By those who think that plantation living is preferable to independent living. By those who think we must be led like livestock. By those who think we cannot think for ourselves. It is they, Obama and Bolden among them, who are truly lost in space.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Arizona Suit on Flimsy Ground

The U.S. Justice Department's suit against the Arizona immigration law will be on very flimsy ground. It demonstrates an inept attempt by Justice to redefine immigration law by saying only the Federal government has the primary prerogative in establishing and enforcing immigration rules. In order for this argument to succeed the federal law would have to permit illegal immigration and accuse Arizona of invading its prerogative to establish immigration rules. Then any attempt by Arizona to establish a new immigration rule could be called an "illegal intrusion on Federal prerogatives." However Federal Law, while it may tolerate illegal immigration, does not make illegal entry within the law. It is still illegal to enter the U.S. without the proper documentation. So the Arizona law does not illegally intrude on a Federal prerogative, it merely defends the law on more stringent grounds. For example the Federal Law requires immigrants to produce documentation on demand, while the Arizona law requires an already occurring incident before documentation can be requested.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Are Kristol and Hayes Stuck on Stupid?

After listening to Steve Hayes and Bill Kristol on FOX News Sunday you have to believe that they are either rewriting history or just conveniently forgetting the past. The view that Michael Steel, Republican Party Chairman, should resign because he called Afghanistan Obama’s War is just their failure to recognize how we got to a full-blown military campaign there in the first place. Do Hayes and Kristol really think that Obama wants to fight a war in Afghanistan? A thoughtful look at the 2008 Presidential campaign clearly demonstrates that in an effort o criticize Bush 43’s war policy Obama said Iraq had nothing to do with 911 and that the war we should be fighting was in Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Obama claimed he wanted to fight in Afghanistan in an effort to convince the American voting public he was not anti-war, just anti-Bush. In truth, Obama like the Democratic Party in general was and is anti-war. This truth is beginning to show in the Congress where Democratic criticism of the Afghan strategy is becoming more vociferous. Back in 2009, on Inauguration day I asked the question: Will they (Obama voters) still be thrilled when the war in Afghanistan becomes bigger than the war in Iraq? This was a time when Guantanamo Bay would be closed, the war in Iraq would be over and the stimulus bill would ensure that unemployment would never be higher than 8-percent. Eighteen months later Guantanamo is still open and the war in Iraq continues. Unemployment is well over 8-percent and likely to continue climbing as Obama moves to shut down the fossil fuel energy industry. The war, once an effort to hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden, is now a nation-building exercise, much like the one Democrats and Obama criticized President Bush for in Iraq. Hayes and Kristol insisting that Republicans must support the war in Afghanistan are asking conservatives to provide their leadership with the same type of blind support that the anti-war movement has provided to the Democrats. The purpose of war is defeating your enemy. If you are not prepared to do it then don’t start one.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Republicans Surrender Kagen Nomination

It looks like the Republicans will back down in the Elena Kagen nomination squabble. I would call it a nomination battle, but that would be incorrect. For a battle both sides have to fight and the Republicans have decided surrender is the better option so they won't have to contest Elena Kagen's anti-constitutional viewpoints, her lack of judicial experience, her questionable reasoning and intellect and most of all her unwillingness to do the very thing that she suggested in an article about the nomination process: answer questions. So the Democrats, who never fail to take advantage of a situation, are using the hearings as a way to attack the Supreme Court for its recent decision that permits corporations to openly contribute to elections. This ruling has the Democrats in a tizzy because corporations will now openly have the same level of influence as unions, a playing field the unions and the Democrats would like to leave uneven in their favor. It's too bad that Jeff Sessions had to stand alone.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

That Sweet Feeling

Geral Petraeus must feel certain amount of sweet revenge having a President who treated him badly and failed to show any support for him as a Senator now having to call on him to head up operations in Afghanistan after the bush league antics of General McChrystal and his Merry Men. What a bunch of dopes. Airing the inside view on Obama and others in his Administration in the presence of a Rolling Stone reporter. They should all be fired just for that. If it's plain to almost everyone else in the country that the Obama Administration has no idea how to manage anything, it must be very clear to the Military. The question really is will General Petraeus let the military fight and win or will he continue to support a losing strategy that can never win? Last year I penned a column called Let 'Em Fight or Bring 'Em Home; the question remains the same.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Put A Bag on Obama's Head

It’s a good thing there are no paper bags in the Oval Office. If there were Obama would already know he doesn’t know how to get out of one. This is an American President that appears incapable of anything remotely related to problem solving of any kind. Obama seems absolutely out of his depth. It’s hard to know how he can kick somebody’s ass, when it appears he can’t fight his way out of a paper bag.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Didn't Change a Thing

Tonight's speech by the President did not change a thing. The leak is not stopped. The President can't get out of his own way. Alternative energy as he understands it is a myth. He may never seal the oil leak, but he has sealed his own fate. He will not run in 2012.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Tinkering with America Obama Style

In an act than can only be called a paltry effort to cover his own ass before it gets kicked the President will do the overnighter to the Louisiana coast to make up for his failure to act decisively on the Oil Spill. He could have temporarily repealed the Jones Act and let non-American flagged vessels help out. He could have told the environmentalists to hold their water while oil is being burned off the ocean surface. He could have permitted American entrepreneurs who have crowded YouTube and television with thousands of ideas to clean up the oil from surface water, marshes and tributaries. He could have done some of all of these things, but he didn't. Instead he dithered, made excuses and tried to find others to blame while claiming to take responsibility. Does he really think the solution is to regulate BP and the oil industry out of business? Does he really think that further starving the nation's energy supply will improve our ailing economy, create jobs and keep the nation moving? We need more oil not less. We need more shallow water and land-based drilling. If the White House is serious about decreasing our dependence on foreign oil it will authorize exploration and drilling throughout America. We have the land, we have the oil. The spill proves we have vast amounts, so saying there isn’t enough to be significant is just sophistry. Stop fooling around. America is not a tinker toy so stop tinkering and get to work.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Wrong-Way Obama

When a course of action is considered to be unsustainable most people would stop. Not President Obama. When he determines something is unsustainable he does more of it. For example, last year he said the deficit spending pathway we are on is unsustainable. So what did he do? He increased spending and will continue to do so until our national debt is larger than our gross national product. Yesterday, in a conference with Mahmoud Abbas, a man without standing in Gaza, Obama said the current situation in Israel is unsustainable. So what does he do? He gives $900 million of taxpayer money to Abbas for the people of Gaza, most of which will wind up in Swiss banks for use by the Abbas and his friends, much in the same way as the previous billions given to the PLO have found their way into the bank accounts of Arafat’s widow. Then Obama puts the onus on Israel to solve the problem by removing its naval blockade of Gaza, which will result in the transfer of weapons from other Middle East nations to continue the offensive against the Jewish state. So the Obama solution, despite his rhetoric, is the obliteration of Israel, a goal he may share with Iran, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Syria, Louis Farrakhan and Reverend Jeremiah Wright, among others. The most unsustainable part of this entire fiasco is the Obama Presidency. A Presidency that is apparently capable of making the wrong move almost every time.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Helen Thomas and the Media

Now that Helen Thomas is gone from the White House press room it comes to light that nearly every reporter knew she was an anti-Semite. Her anti-Israel politics were apparently well-known. What is even worse is she was given a front seat in the press room as a reward for her longevity despite the fact she had not reported straight news for more than a decade. She was an opinion columnist in a sea of active reporters and her abrasive style was extremely unprofessional. Despite this the reporters in the room, like those in the 60's who knew JFK was sleeping around and never reported it until years later, never voiced a complaint or had the decency to tell the American public who was working in their White House and had access to the President. Maybe it's not a surprise that the White House Press Corp was so close-mouthed about it, but it is disappointing and makes me wonder what else they are not telling.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cordoba's D-Day

What is the phobia among some Muslims that makes them think that Americans think all Muslims are evil or our enemy or whatever it is they go on and on about. Most Americans do not think that all Muslims are our enemies: only the ones that have tried or succeeded to kills us. What about Muslims that call America the Great Satan or beheaded Nick Berg on the internet; are they the enemy? What about those who burned the bodies of contract workers in Iraq and hung them from a bridge. What about the Muslims that flew planes into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and were thwarted by brave Americans over the skies of Pennsylvania? How about Major Hasan? And what about the ones who seem to be planning violence or murder over and over again? At the June 6th Mosque protest in downtown Manhattan Daisy Khan of the American Society for Muslim Advancement told CNN "There is a lot of ignorance about who Muslims are." She called Cordoba a "community center with a prayer space in it." She called it an opportunity for Muslims living in New York to "give back" to the community. Many Muslims view Cordoba as victory over non-Muslims. Plots, plans and conspirators are caught almost every week planning against American people and American cities. Yes Daisy, we may be ignorant about "all" Muslims, but we are not stupid. We know when the proverbial thumb is being thrust in our eye. We recognize when someone wants to put salt on our wounds. We recognize when someone wants to defile our dead and spit in our face. Cordoba is nothing short of all of these things and attempting to gloss over it by saying it is Americans who are ignorant about Muslims only proves that Muslims like you really think we are stupid.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

D-Day 2010

On June 6, 1944, the Allies assaulted the beaches of Normandy and began the battle that preserved a free world. One June 6, 2010, the 911 Hardhats and friends of America meet at Park Place to protest the presence of the Cordoba Cultural Center, a shrine to Islam a mere two blocks from Ground Zero. Our government seems unable to recognize our emermy. Perhaps we can help them.

Message to Congressman Steve Israel

I received an email from my U.S. Congressman noting his concern for the Gulf oil spill and its potential effect on our environment. As he is a Democrat he is using the oil spill as a rationale for more regulation and higher energy taxes. I sent him the following response: I hope that drilling for oil on land and closer to shore is part of the solution. Nuclear power should also be included. If this explosion, which is suspicious if only because oil is so difficult to ignite in the first place, had occurred in 500 feet of water instead of 5000 feet it would have been plugged on the first day. It is the current level of federal regulation that has pushed oil developers into such deep water. I know you disagree. I am just disappointed that you will not do anything to be better informed or buck your party.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Obama Slanders Deceased Vets

After 500 days of this President you must ask yourself "how could a guy with such big ears be so politically tone deaf. Earlier this week he used the phrase "on behalf of a grateful nation" when he presented a music award to Paul McCartney. This phrase is recited in national cemeteries everywhere when family members of a deceased veteran are giving the American Flag that adorns his or her coffin. It is not some lackadaisical phrase used to thank people for mowing the Whitehouse lawn or giving a music award. It is a sacred phrase. A phrase of honor and respect reserved for those who have served in the armed forces of the United States. In typical fashion Obama tried to cover all the bases and since he failed to say it on Memorial Day, when it would have been appropriate, he decided to stick it in the McCartney speech, where it was entirely inappropriate. We can give McCartney a pass on his tasteless comments about George Bush, since Obama and McCartney’s belle Michelle went to such great lengths to insult the Queen of England. It’s to bad McCartney didn’t have the courage to mention their lack of etiquette. All this just proves that people with big, finely tuned ears don’t always hear best.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill - Whose Fault Is It Any Way?

When the analysis is finally done and all the participants are fully investigated it will show that the BP is not the only culprit at fault for the Gulf oil spill. Analysis will show that the EPA and Federal regulators whose exploratory restrictions pushed oil developers into mile-deep water are at fault as much as the developers themselves. If this accident had occurred on land or in a few hundred feet of water the well would have been capped the same day it blew. An investigation will also show that the environmental lobby made the situation worse by stopping the burn-off of oil in the absence of an impact study.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Obama has the Seinfeld Tell

Obama has the Seinfeld Tell. When he lies he touches his face with his index finger. The higher the touch the bigger the lie. Watch the tape. Any tape.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wailing with Justice -

You would think the police chiefs of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Salt Lake and other illegal immigrant havens meeting with AG Eric Holder would recognize that they would have a lot less crime to worry about if illegal immigration was stopped. I guess they prefer to drive a wedge between law-abiding citizens and themselves rather than enforce immigration laws.

WTC Memorial Horror

How will you feel when the Muslim call to prayer echoes five times a day in the air over the WTC Memorial?

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

The BP oil spill off the Louisiana Coast is a twofer for the defenders of drilling our own oil and fighting the environmental menace, whose goal is too prevent progress through regressive taxes and environmental restrictions. The oil spill aptly demonstrates the quantity of oil off and on the shore of our country is far greater than anyone knows or can even imagine. Let's digress for a short lesson in biology: Oil is the by-product of all organic matter so simply put it can be seen as the ultimate waste product or a totally natural fuel for life. Secondly, if the well had been in more shallow water or on land it would have been easier to repair. Good guys two, environmentalists zero.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Arizona Immigration Law- Act or Shut Up

It's time for the Obama Administration to act on Arizona's new immigration law or step aside. They have had almost a month to consider filing a suit or taking other legal action if they think it is unconstitutional. The truth is the Arizona law is less strident than the Federal statute upon which it is based. It's very possible that Obama knows it will wind up in the Supreme Court and he wants to get Elena Kagen confirmed before it gets there. The Federal Government has abdicated its responsibility on our Southern Border and no matter what side of the issue you are on you are probably not happy about it. So let's get the new law into a court and see how it comes down so our government can be compelled to act responsibly and safeguard our borders.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tuesday's Primary: Don't Count Your Chickens

You've heard that old saying: Don't count your chickens before their hatched. Yesterday's primary may have had some glitter for conservatives, but down in the pit, where all the real action takes place the Democrats won big. Yea the Tea Party won big in Kentucky, the Democrats and Republicans got smacked around little, but in the seat that really counted (a vote in the House) the Democrats prevailed. They kept the seat of the recently deceased John Murtha, who disgraced himself when he accused the U.S. Marines of cold blooded murder in the Iraqi Haditha shootings. Murtha proved to be wrong on all counts and the all the Marines have been exonerated.(Semper Fi) However, despite Happy Jack's corrupt political life the Democrats have managed to keep the seat until at least the upcoming November elections. The only saving grace is that the candidate had to basically disavow virtually all Democratic positions to get elected. Let's see how he votes. If he supports the Obama agenda the test will come in November. Unlike many I do not think the Republicans can take back either body in the Congress. However, gaining seats in both would be very beneficial and provide Republicans with a better chance of slowing down the Obama agenda without Democratic help.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Declaring a Crime to be Legal

It is not without irony that supporters of illegal aliens in America staged their protest on Mayday. It permits them to confuse the immigration issue with those who celebrate the ever-hoped-for emergence of socialism and make it appear that the world is on the side of America’s illegal aliens. But let’s analyze the underpinnings of the illegal immigrant support effort, by comparing it to other crimes. The FBI estimates that there are 15 million reported burglaries committed every year in the U.S. Using the rationale offered for legalizing illegal aliens in America the FBI would conclude that the most sensible thing for dealing with burglary would be to make it legal and to forgive all those currently convicted or in hiding who have committed burglary. Of course if the FBI offered such a proposition they would become a laughing stock and no one would take them seriously. Yet this is precisely what illegal alien support groups are asking our government to do. Ignore the laws that were broken in crossing the border illegally. Ignore the dishonesty inherent in working without proper, and in some cases, false documents. Ignore the inherent crimes involved in using government services by dishonestly claiming citizenship. And perhaps worst of all are government officials who condone this illegal activity and behavior under the premise it is humane and just. Government officials who would say to all those immigrants who are playing by the complicated rules established by our Congress that they prefer to give citizenship to those who have ignored the rules because they are represented by powerful Hispanic groups who can bring their vote if they are granted amnesty. Yes the Mayday protests were only about Mexicans. There was no call to gives illegal Irish immigrants amnesty. There was no call to give non-Hispanic visitors who have overstayed their visa’s amnesty. There was no call to give ethnic Chinese, Koreans or Vietnamese immigrant’s amnesty. The only amnesty discussed over this Mayday was amnesty for Mexicans who illegally crossed the border of Mexico into the U.S. As long as the border remains open and Americans provide material support for illegal aliens there can be no amnesty. Declaring a crime to be legal does not make it so.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Obama's Mayday In Michigan

President Obama gave the commencement speech at Michigan University today and among the things he said were he's troubled by the angry rhetoric of those who are trying to make the case that government is "inherently bad." I'm sorry. Didn't Bill Ayers say that? Didn't the Reverend Wright say that? Didn't Michelle Obama say that? He talked about getting outside your comfort zone and then proceeded to show that he cannot. "(It) troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad. One of my favorite signs from the health care debate was one that read "Keep Government Out Of My Medicare," which is essentially like saying "Keep Government Out Of My Government-Run Health Care." Isn't it funny that he only remembers signs carried at Tea Party gatherings? "For when our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it conveniently ignores the fact in our democracy, government is us," he added. I guess he forgot that his supporters, Ayers, Wright, Farrakhan, Castro, Chavez, the fawning mainstream media and almost every Anti-American group all believe America is a "menacing, threatening foreign entity." Conservatives generally do profess love for our country, while it is the President’s compatriots who do not. And last but not least Obama continues to describe America as a Democracy. He is only partially correct when he says "We, the people, hold in our hands the power to choose our leaders, change our laws, and shape our own destiny." Actually we are a Representative Republic. We get to choose our leaders and those we select get to write and change our laws and determine the destiny of the country. The difference between a Democracy and a Republic is easily demonstrated by the recently passed healthcare bill. If this was a Democracy the bill would have failed because more than half the people of the nation (in many polls) were against it. The bill passed because the representatives we chose passed it even though they knew it was supported by less than half the citizens. It will be interesting to see if Obama can take his own advice: "seek out and listen to opposing views on the issues of the day." He hasn’t done it yet. Maybe he will start today.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Giannoulias, Goldman-Sachs: Bookends

Many are now saying the Federal shutdown of the Broadway Bank in Chicago is the end of Alexi Giannoulias' campaign for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama. While he might be right in saying "There was no bailout for my father's bank," the closing of the bank exemplifies the entire banking problem that led to the mortgage meltdown: "This bank has helped thousands of people when no one else would give them a chance," Giannoulias said. You can find many culprits in the financial meltdown, but the basic problem stemmed from lending money to people who had no prospect of ever paying it back. In practical terms the Giannoulias family-owned bank made loans that could not be repaid and sold those loans to brokerage houses who sold them to investors. Each person in the chain took his piece of the action and the last guy on line was left holding the bag. In the end the Giannnoulias family will lose millions and the taxpayers of American will pay the rest. Sound familiar? Ever hear of Goldman-Sachs, AIG, CitiBank, Fannie-Mae?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

You have been Enronned

As usual the President never fails to disappoint me. Behind the soft chatter and the wagging finger pointed at Wall Street traders Mr. Obama once again spoke to a crowd in Cooper Union’s Great Hall consisting mostly of supporters and students. Unlike President Lincoln, Obama prefers to speak to children and others who will not object to his meaningless blather that is merely salve to a nation that has been savaged and Enronned to death by Wall Street and worse, by a government that once belonged to the people of the United States. From the Wall Street Journal: “While the crowd, comprising mostly students and supporters, was largely receptive, the Wall Street executives filling the first three rows were considerably more subdued. Their hands remained in their laps when the president spoke of a bank fee to recover outstanding bailout funds and his plea to call off the industry lobbyists.” The Streets giants like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and others partnered with pseudo “private” agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell their debt equity to unwary investors in a way that made analyzing the entire investment bundle impossible. It worked until the housing bubble burst. The house of cards began to fall and with it all the financial bedsores became visible. In came the American taxpayer. Asked to make the sacrifice that was required to keep the fat cats alive and system afloat the American taxpayer complied and will now have to pay for the next twenty years while the Nero’s of the world play on. It is clear to most of the financial experts that a sloth-like government will never catch a fleet-footed Wall Street trader unless it ties them up. It’s hard to believe that a President who has taken a Million in campaign contributions and a Democratic Congress that has taken $4.5 million in contributions from Goldman Sachs alone will produce any legislation that will bind the hands of Wall Street’s giant traders. It is clear that many small firms are headed to the chopping block, but those that made the greatest profits and biggest bonuses with taxpayer money will continue to borrow cheap and go long. America your President has sold you out. You have been Enronned.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A Funny Thing Happened

Just this past weekend two funny things happened. The first thing was that the President lied on his census form. According to an article in The New York Times the President claimed he was black on his census form and made no mention of his mixed raced heritage. It seems to me that at the very least the President should fill out his form honestly if he expects others to be honest also. The second thing was that less than a week after it was revealed he and his family had not chosen a church since they moved to Washington he showed up with his family for Easter Services at a "historically" black church in a southeast section of the District. Both these things seem out of character for the Obama that has inhabited the White House. We were lead to believe this is not a man who wears his race on his sleeve. We were wrong. We were also led to believe he was man who could be fair. His failure to note his mixed racial heritage on his census form shows he is not.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Citizenship for Sale

If America really wanted to solve all of its financial problems in one fell swoop, all the President would have to do is create a risk/reward program for American citizenship. If you accept the lowest illegal alien estimate of 11.5 million, which includes illegal aliens of all countries, then consider this: We sell fully-fledged American citizenship that takes affect immediately and provides an instant right to vote. It includes full participation in the American economic system. If we sold citizenship to 10 million illegal aliens it would generate $110 trillion and that is enough to payoff the entire $14 trillion national debt, provide full coverage of the $46 trillion in currently unfunded Medicare liabilities and almost a $60 trillion surplus for future needs. In order to encourage illegal aliens to sign up we establish a cash reward system for those that provide information about the location of other illegal aliens, who can then be encouraged to sign up or return to their native country. After all it usually cost several thousand just to get here and now we could get the money instead of it going to some loathsome border-crossing coyote. I know this may be distasteful to some. The ACLU might say that the selling of American citizenship is unseemly and certainly illegal or at least unconstitutional. Supporters of illegal immigration would be insulted that we would ask these poor folks who live in the shadows to come up with $10,000 each, completely ignoring how much they paid to get here in the first place. Selling citizenship could be a very profitable enterprise. People would have skin in the game. Maybe we could have a better country. All we have to do is sell it before it gets taken away.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Washington Healthcare Alert

The Democrats and their willing lackeys in the mainstream media are putting up a good fight for the Senate version of the Healthcare Bill. And make no mistake the Senate version is what they are voting for. The entire reconciliation process in the House is just a diversion. It is designed to keep the press busy so the Democratic leadership can strong arm members into voting for it. If the House passes this bill it will become law. It will include the Louisiana Purchase, The Cornhusker Kickback, The Senator Dodd Hospital in Connecticut, the Cadillac Plan payoff for the Unions and the other unappetizing deals Senator Reid made to get the bill through the first time. The provisions of the House “deem to pass” bill will be dismissed outright or ruled out of order by the Senate because there is no way another version of this bill is coming up for a vote. House members will never see the changes they are voting for. The Senate has the bill it wants and the betrayal of your member will be overlooked. The truth is that this bill is the foundation of single-payer. Once passed the mechanism for government controlled healthcare will be in place. Make sure your House member knows he or she is voting for Senate Bill as is.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Next To Last Stop

The Obama Traveling Medicine Show has been busy lately peddling the latest witches brew in his quest for universal healthcare. Yesterday's stop in Ohio was under-attended by his own standards. For a man who could draw 80,000 a mere 200 was a paltry effort. But at least it was a small hall. His audience of supporters was pushed to the walls to make it look crowded. His podium placed in the center like theatre in the round. He looked over his adoring audience. Not one enemy present. They were his cheerleaders. He could feel their admiration. Clapping and screaming at very cue. Even fainting is allowed in this moment of crisis. His pronouncements about Obamacare are being disproved and discredited; any method to turn the tide is acceptable. The staging of events for the consumption of a naive public is within the bounds of Obama's morality because, as Lincoln said, "you can fool some of the people some of the time." He just needs to fool enough to win.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Screw You America

The House leadership is busy trying to convince its members that they can trust the Senate to permit Reconciliation to go forward after the House approves the Senate version of health care reform. Pelosi and Clyburn are having a tough time. They do not have the votes and what is even worse; almost fifty Democrats are against the Bill. In addition, there is no love lost for members of the "other" body. If the House approves the Senate bill it can be signed by the President and become law. Why would the Senate amend a bill they have already passed? If they liked the original House version they would have approved it and there would be no debate. What’s more the Senate has not even agreed to consider reconciliation. If they do not take it up it's over. The House is stuck with a bill it hates. The Senate laughs until Election Day, the American people get screwed and the President gets his long-sought victory. After all it's all about him, isn't it?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Can the Blue Dogs Save the Democrats?

That is the big question as we enter yet another “we almost have the votes” weekend in the nation’s Capitol. There is a whole lot of twisting of arms and gnashing of teeth in the offices of the House of Representatives. There is also a lot of rule changing being tried. For example, it has been reported that the White House wants the Louisiana Purchase and the Nebraska Corn Husker deals removed from the Senate Bill before the House votes on it. Pardon me. Don’t changes in the bill already passed by the Senate have to be voted on again? The House and Senate must agree and vote on the same bill before it goes to the President. If the House modifies the Senate bill both versions are not the same, so therefore there must be additional votes and discussion. So the only real path to passage is for the House to pass the current Senate bill and trust they will not be double-crossed by the President and the Senate. The question is whether or not the House leaders, in the names of Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn, are in the know on the double-dealing or are they in the dark also? It is widely believed that the if the House passes the Senate bill, the President will sign it and changes be damned. Obama will have his and the Congress will get theirs on Election Day 2010. Can the moderate Democrats and the Blue Dogs save the party’s hide? Can they stop the House from doing the inevitably stupid and prevent the passing of the Senate health care bill?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Will Reconciliation Be Skipped Over?

It is being suggested in some corners that if the House signs the Senate bill the President may skip reconciliation and just sign it. Does the President think that members of the House are as stupid as he and his administration think the American people are? Is the promise of reconciliation being held out as a ruse to trick the House into signing first? He has already asked them to put their re-election at risk. If he skips reconciliation he gets credit for putting single-payer in motion and the members are still at-risk. House members will have to be extra careful to not shoot themselves in the foot on this one. The Democrats do not have the votes to pass it, but the arm-twisting and deal-making may pull enough together to get it through. If they sign it before the reconciliation bill is agreed to, the President only needs to add his signature to make it the law of the land. Doing so eliminates the possibility of failure in the Reconciliation process. For Obama it is just another broken promise. Failing to keep them hasn’t bothered him so far so what’s one more broken promise?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Medicare for Everyone

New York junior Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's view of healthcare reform is "having a public option, similar to a Medicare-for-all program." This is what she included in an email response to a letter from one of her constituents. It is what conservatives have been saying for more than a year. The road to single-payer is paved with this kind of meaningless, cheap and unaccountable rhetoric. If you are one of those who believe that Medicare is free you had better wake up. The reason people on Medicare and Medicaid like it is because compared to commercial health insurance it is cheap. It's cheap because it is taxpayer funded. It's cheap because the people on it only pay a small portion of the real cost. It's cheap because it pays service providers less than other insurers. It's cheap because the cost is passed along to future generations. If you love America and your children you will tell your representatives and senators to vote "no" on healthcare reform.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Is Healthcare Reform Torture?

In the wake of last week’s Blair House Summit on the takeover of healthcare the question of torture really does rise to the surface. Last year around this time President Obama signed an executive order banning torture, which is the use of repetitive and unfair tactics to get a predictable result like getting information through water-boarding. When I was a kid we had this game called “Chinese water torture.” It was usually done to new kids in the neighborhood who do what all young kids want to do: Make friends and fit in. You would hold him down and drop water on his forehead until he said “okay, I give up.” We had all heard the story about a Chinese warlord who had tied up a man beneath a water faucet and drove him crazy by dropping painless, but incessant drops of water on his forehead every few seconds for days at a time. In the end the man became a babbling idiot and served as a living example of the failure to cooperate. The American people have been subjected to a similar type of incessant dropping and it raises the question of whether it is torturous for the President and the Democratic leadership to constantly drop the subject of healthcare reform onto the foreheads of the American people? They do not have the votes for the contentious package that now exists. And, truth be told, there is very little prospect for the Democratic House to pass the Democratic Senate package, because the ability to get an agreement is inversely proportionate to the number of days until election day 2010. The closer we get to Election Day the more difficult it becomes to pass a bill. Is that torture?