Since my early postings on this site during the 2008 election, our national debt has been increase by $5 trillion. Trillion rolls of the tongue easily, but it is an incomprehensible amount of money. This make Obama the biggest spender in world history. Like everything else he has done - unprecedented! revolutionary!
Our country is headed for a fiscal cliff, for bankruptcy just like Greece. How could this be possible for the most prosperous, wealthy, free country that mankind has ever seen? Who is responsible for this? Let's see now, who is it that has the responsibilty to raise revenues and spend? Ding, ding, ding ,ding ,ding!! Yes - it's Congress! Another gold star for them!
I used to think they were just mislead or incredibly stupid or something. I mean what are the odds of electing 535 people election after election who are such unqualified idiots that they could financially destroy the greatest nation on the face of the earth?
I have concluded that most of them are just plain evil. They set up their own little kingdoms to perpetuate and increase their power. Many of them come into office with nothing or very little, but leave as multi-millionaires by profiting from inside information. They don't care about America, only their power and money.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Is It Possible to Lie to Congress?
Today baseball great Roger Clemens was completely exonerated of all charges of lying to Congress. During this whole farce, it has always amazed me how a criminal charge could be levied against anyone for lying to a bunch of people who lie for a living - Congress! As the old joke goes, "How do you know they're lying? Their lips are moving!"
I hold Congress in very low contempt, right next to Obama. So does that mean I could be held in contempt of Congress? Come get me. Guilty as charged.
I hold Congress in very low contempt, right next to Obama. So does that mean I could be held in contempt of Congress? Come get me. Guilty as charged.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Of Goats and Rattlesnakes
Jack Richards was one of a kind for sure. I called him Uncle Jack, even though he was really my Dad's uncle, my great uncle. And he was a real practical joker as most of the clan was in View, Texas.
On one of our many trips to View, I had a great time playing with one of Jack's young goats. I would grab it by the horns and push and it would push back. We had a real tug-of-war. Uncle Jack took special note of this and I'm sure that wheels started turning. Shortly after we arrived back home in Pasadena, a shipping crate showed up, unannounced. I don't know how much it cost Uncle Jack to ship that goat, but I'm sure it was worth every penny when he got a reaction out of my Dad.
The goat was really fun for a couple of days, but then our next door neighbor, Rex Hart, complained that he hadn't slept for two nights. When the goat bleated it was really loud and sounded like a baby crying. The goat was taken out to our horse pasture in Pasadena, at least that's what Dad said he did. On the next trip there, the goat was nowhere to be seen. Dad said it might have run away or maybe dogs got it. I believed him, but later in life started doubting his story when I got my first taste of cabrito.
As an addendum, there is another goat story that happened many years later in Kerrville. When we bought our first little house in Kerrville, our next door neighbor was Ricardo Gonzales, a naturalized citizen originally from Mexico and professional crazy man. Suffice it to say that his exploits are legendary in Kerrville. To make a long story short, I did him a favor by helping him one year with his tax return. A couple of days later, a goat kid appeared in our backyard. Ricardo brought it in from his ranchito as a way of thanking me. Drawing from my vast reserve of prior experience with goat-related debacles, I told Ricardo "thanks", but I could not keep the goat right there in town. It took a lot of arguing to convince Ricardo to take that goat back. He could not understand why anyone would turn down such a wonderful gift.
This is the same guy who came to our house at supper time one evening with a brown paper grocery sack. As Verna, baby Ben and I were sitting at the table he empties the contents of the bag on the floor right at my feet. That turned out to be a live rattlesnake. I froze as the rattler coiled up in striking position about six inches from my right foot, rattler buzzing threatenly. Verna screamed, grabbed Ben, and either stood up in her chair or on the table (can't remember which now). We were at a bit of a stand off when Ricardo kneeled down on the floor by the snake and started sticking his hands out taunting the snake. It was striking at Ricardo trying to get him he but was too fast (his martial arts training being indispensible in this situation). After a display of his bravery and agility, Ricardo casually reached down and picked the snake up. He held it up right in my face and said, "See, I sewed its mouth shut." Sure enough I could see the stitches. And he was also in stitches at his great practical joke, but I remember just marveling at what kind of sick SOB would do such a thing.
I know we kind of shifted abruptly from goats to rattlesnakes, a minor breach of Texas etiquette, but thought you might find it to be an interesting story. There are other great stories about Ricardo the Psycho that could be told, but that will be at another time.
On one of our many trips to View, I had a great time playing with one of Jack's young goats. I would grab it by the horns and push and it would push back. We had a real tug-of-war. Uncle Jack took special note of this and I'm sure that wheels started turning. Shortly after we arrived back home in Pasadena, a shipping crate showed up, unannounced. I don't know how much it cost Uncle Jack to ship that goat, but I'm sure it was worth every penny when he got a reaction out of my Dad.
The goat was really fun for a couple of days, but then our next door neighbor, Rex Hart, complained that he hadn't slept for two nights. When the goat bleated it was really loud and sounded like a baby crying. The goat was taken out to our horse pasture in Pasadena, at least that's what Dad said he did. On the next trip there, the goat was nowhere to be seen. Dad said it might have run away or maybe dogs got it. I believed him, but later in life started doubting his story when I got my first taste of cabrito.
As an addendum, there is another goat story that happened many years later in Kerrville. When we bought our first little house in Kerrville, our next door neighbor was Ricardo Gonzales, a naturalized citizen originally from Mexico and professional crazy man. Suffice it to say that his exploits are legendary in Kerrville. To make a long story short, I did him a favor by helping him one year with his tax return. A couple of days later, a goat kid appeared in our backyard. Ricardo brought it in from his ranchito as a way of thanking me. Drawing from my vast reserve of prior experience with goat-related debacles, I told Ricardo "thanks", but I could not keep the goat right there in town. It took a lot of arguing to convince Ricardo to take that goat back. He could not understand why anyone would turn down such a wonderful gift.
This is the same guy who came to our house at supper time one evening with a brown paper grocery sack. As Verna, baby Ben and I were sitting at the table he empties the contents of the bag on the floor right at my feet. That turned out to be a live rattlesnake. I froze as the rattler coiled up in striking position about six inches from my right foot, rattler buzzing threatenly. Verna screamed, grabbed Ben, and either stood up in her chair or on the table (can't remember which now). We were at a bit of a stand off when Ricardo kneeled down on the floor by the snake and started sticking his hands out taunting the snake. It was striking at Ricardo trying to get him he but was too fast (his martial arts training being indispensible in this situation). After a display of his bravery and agility, Ricardo casually reached down and picked the snake up. He held it up right in my face and said, "See, I sewed its mouth shut." Sure enough I could see the stitches. And he was also in stitches at his great practical joke, but I remember just marveling at what kind of sick SOB would do such a thing.
I know we kind of shifted abruptly from goats to rattlesnakes, a minor breach of Texas etiquette, but thought you might find it to be an interesting story. There are other great stories about Ricardo the Psycho that could be told, but that will be at another time.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Turn the Tables on Congress
A while back it was Scooter Libby then, recently, it was some baseball player getting hit with charges of lying to Congress. Real people who make the real world work are regularly hauled before Congress to suffer verbal abuse and criminal prosecution for problems actually caused, many times, by their inquisitors. The Congress is running a kangaroo court and it is a mockery of justice. Many of them lie every day about almost everything and do so with impunity (think Bawney Fwank). We can accurately call these people in Congress the neo-Pharisees. They put heavy burdens on others but exempt themselves. Since Obama is on a crusade to change Washington why don’t we make the following changes with respect to Congress:
First, every elected or appointed official must be questioned by an independent prosecuter once every year, under oath, about what they know and when they knew it, whether they have taken drugs, etc. Anyone caught in a lie, or even misspeaking due to a bad memory should be charged with lying to the American people and sentenced to stiff prison terms (the same as they do to their victims). They should be banned from ever holding public office again. This would virtually guarantee that there would be a quick turnover to bring in fresh blood - and the new team couldn't be any worse.
Second, Congress should be given two random drug tests per year, no exceptions. Those found to be on drugs or steroids will immediately lose their office.
Third, Congressional pay raises and fringe benefits should be voted on by the people, not just put on automatic pilot to always go up, up, up. A significant part of Congressional pay should be a bonus that is tied to a GDP index. Their retirement pay would also be tied to and very sensitive to the same index. In good economic times, this would produce extravagant bonuses (which, of course, would be capped at $500,000). In bad years, though, the index could produce a negative bonus and the Congress would have the opportunity to make a patriotic investment in America by paying money back into the Treasury. They would experience the satisfaction, like the rest of, of going into the red because of their bad decisions and over-regulation. They might even go broke and have the pleasure of experiencing first hand the bankruptcy laws they created. I believe this would do miracles in bringing our servants in Washington back to fiscal sanity.
Fourth, members of Congress should be fully audited by the IRS every year and made to pay any taxes due immediately or forfeit their offices. Any penalties and interest should be mandatory and three times the rate for an extraordinary citizen. Audit findings should be open to the public and be published in the local newspapers of record for the Congressman's state or district.
Fifth, every member of Congress should have a non-removable GPI device attached to them so their movements can be tracked and recorded. Of course, this is for their own safety.
Sixth, since they are doing the people's business and are on the clock for us, recording devices should be recording all conversations in their offices, on their phones, cell phones, home phones, in their cars, and just about everywhere . This, of course, would be to record their wisdom for posterity and provide a historical record of their great words and deeds.
Seventh, no member of Congress may publicly refer to another member of Congress as "my esteemed colleague," or the "honorable blah blah blah." We will no longer tolerate the cruel gagging effect this produces in small, defenseless maggots.
I don't know about you, but I am tired of being ruled over by a bunch of puffed up, elitist, incompetent buffoons. These people are supposed to be our servants, they work for us, not the other way around. Time to turn the tables and set things aright.
First, every elected or appointed official must be questioned by an independent prosecuter once every year, under oath, about what they know and when they knew it, whether they have taken drugs, etc. Anyone caught in a lie, or even misspeaking due to a bad memory should be charged with lying to the American people and sentenced to stiff prison terms (the same as they do to their victims). They should be banned from ever holding public office again. This would virtually guarantee that there would be a quick turnover to bring in fresh blood - and the new team couldn't be any worse.
Second, Congress should be given two random drug tests per year, no exceptions. Those found to be on drugs or steroids will immediately lose their office.
Third, Congressional pay raises and fringe benefits should be voted on by the people, not just put on automatic pilot to always go up, up, up. A significant part of Congressional pay should be a bonus that is tied to a GDP index. Their retirement pay would also be tied to and very sensitive to the same index. In good economic times, this would produce extravagant bonuses (which, of course, would be capped at $500,000). In bad years, though, the index could produce a negative bonus and the Congress would have the opportunity to make a patriotic investment in America by paying money back into the Treasury. They would experience the satisfaction, like the rest of, of going into the red because of their bad decisions and over-regulation. They might even go broke and have the pleasure of experiencing first hand the bankruptcy laws they created. I believe this would do miracles in bringing our servants in Washington back to fiscal sanity.
Fourth, members of Congress should be fully audited by the IRS every year and made to pay any taxes due immediately or forfeit their offices. Any penalties and interest should be mandatory and three times the rate for an extraordinary citizen. Audit findings should be open to the public and be published in the local newspapers of record for the Congressman's state or district.
Fifth, every member of Congress should have a non-removable GPI device attached to them so their movements can be tracked and recorded. Of course, this is for their own safety.
Sixth, since they are doing the people's business and are on the clock for us, recording devices should be recording all conversations in their offices, on their phones, cell phones, home phones, in their cars, and just about everywhere . This, of course, would be to record their wisdom for posterity and provide a historical record of their great words and deeds.
Seventh, no member of Congress may publicly refer to another member of Congress as "my esteemed colleague," or the "honorable blah blah blah." We will no longer tolerate the cruel gagging effect this produces in small, defenseless maggots.
I don't know about you, but I am tired of being ruled over by a bunch of puffed up, elitist, incompetent buffoons. These people are supposed to be our servants, they work for us, not the other way around. Time to turn the tables and set things aright.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Go Back to the Constitution and State Sovereignty
There are about 20 states that now have some form of sovereignty resolutions going in their legislatures to assert their rights against the federal government. What could be clearer than the 10th amendment to the Constitution, in the original Bill of Rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." For a long, long time the federal government has pretty much steamrollered the states in plain and direct violation of the Constitution. So how were the feds able to exceed the very limited powers given to it by that document?
Well there’s the Supreme Court with its hallucinogenic “emanations of prenumbras” and all that, but I believe it began with the income tax that, in itself, is probably unconstitutional since the ratification of the 16th amendment is questionionable. Illegal confiscation of our property (money) gives the federal government its illegitimate power. The Democrats just pulled one of the biggest power grabs in the history of our republic by taking a few trillion dollars of our money to buy power – not for our country, but for themselves, their cronies, and the Democrat party. This is the exercise of raw, absolute power. It is also pretty much akin to theft. There was no discussion, no debate, Republicans were not allowed to participate, and there was no time for anyone to even read the bill before they were forced to vote on it. As Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is not the American Constitutional process; this is what is done in dictatorships and banana republics.
The federal government, and especially the Congress and President, are really not in touch with the people across America. They are too far removed to govern effectively. Our voices are not heard; in their eyes we are irrelevant. Their contempt for us is reflected in the latest approval ratings of them by us. They are the lowest since the inception of the poll, and are probably going to go even lower as the so-called Stimulus Bill starts be revealed.
This is why we need the states to reassert our Constitutional rights to govern ourselves on a more local basis. The federal government is important to fulfill its limited role under the Constitution, but it is time to strip these arrogant Washington legislators of their air of royalty and illegitimate power. It may take a few generations to accomplish, but we need to get started now. One of my ancestors, George Read, signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution needs to be dusted off, read and revived. If not, then, as a last resort, the other document must come into play.
Well there’s the Supreme Court with its hallucinogenic “emanations of prenumbras” and all that, but I believe it began with the income tax that, in itself, is probably unconstitutional since the ratification of the 16th amendment is questionionable. Illegal confiscation of our property (money) gives the federal government its illegitimate power. The Democrats just pulled one of the biggest power grabs in the history of our republic by taking a few trillion dollars of our money to buy power – not for our country, but for themselves, their cronies, and the Democrat party. This is the exercise of raw, absolute power. It is also pretty much akin to theft. There was no discussion, no debate, Republicans were not allowed to participate, and there was no time for anyone to even read the bill before they were forced to vote on it. As Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is not the American Constitutional process; this is what is done in dictatorships and banana republics.
The federal government, and especially the Congress and President, are really not in touch with the people across America. They are too far removed to govern effectively. Our voices are not heard; in their eyes we are irrelevant. Their contempt for us is reflected in the latest approval ratings of them by us. They are the lowest since the inception of the poll, and are probably going to go even lower as the so-called Stimulus Bill starts be revealed.
This is why we need the states to reassert our Constitutional rights to govern ourselves on a more local basis. The federal government is important to fulfill its limited role under the Constitution, but it is time to strip these arrogant Washington legislators of their air of royalty and illegitimate power. It may take a few generations to accomplish, but we need to get started now. One of my ancestors, George Read, signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution needs to be dusted off, read and revived. If not, then, as a last resort, the other document must come into play.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Too Stupid to Vote?
I was astonished that so many people voted for Obama. I was thinking, "Naw, people are not going to fall for this garbage." But they sure did - hook, line and sinker. Lapped it right up. If you have watched any "man on the street" interviews lately, no more proof is needed to conclude that Americans are actually "too stupid to vote." We have more freedom, more liberty, more security than any other generation and culture in history, but a large number of us have no idea how we got it, what to do with it, how precious it is, or how to keep it. I think many of our fellow citizens are so devoid of rational thought that they can't even grasp the concept of liberty.
We praise the "genius of the Founding Fathers" in setting up our republic, but where did we get off track? Back in the day, the Founders only allowed male landowners to vote - people who had some skin in the game. Nowadays, any fool who can find their way (or be bussed) to a polling place can vote. And the morons far outnumber the informed people who can cast an intelligent vote and who have property which, by the way, can be taken by vote of said morons to be distributed among aforesaid morons.
The Intercollegiate Studies Insitute, an organization that adminsters a civic literacy test, confirms that the US is in real trouble: 71% of Americans fail the test with an average score of 49%. Elected officials score even lower than the general public with a score of only 44%. This is absolutely apalling and dangerous for our survival as a free republic. A quote from Thomas Jefferson: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Go to http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/summary_summary.html to take the civic literacy test yourself. It's not a pushover - I only answered 93% correctly.
Besides the election of Obama, another incredible event is the Minnesota senate race. I have to say a word about Minnesotans here: they are total idiots, they are stuck on stupid. First, they elect Jesse Ventura as govenor, a wrestler who has taken too many blows to the head. Now, they are within about 100 votes (in a recount) of electing Al Franken as their Senator?? Franken is a vulgar, immoral, no-nothing, low-life clown - so he would blend in well in Washington - but what a disgrace for the state of Minnesota.
Somewhat less than metaphorically, the barbarians are at the gates as our society seems to be in search of the lowest common denominator. If we don't fight, if we do nothing, we may go the way of past great civilizations. But what is the course of action, and who will take it, to move our country from the low road to the high road? That will be the subject of a future blog - something like "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Civilizations." I was going to offer some solutions in this blog, but I have hemmed and hawed around long enough that Walter Williams beat me to the punch and published an article that is right down the line of this post. Even though I will now be accused of plagiarism by some, it is an honor to be thinking even remotely along the same lines as a really smart guy like Mr. Williams. But if he publishes "The Seven Habits" I will know he is somehow hacking my site and is the real plagiarist. Again, what an honor that would be!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
A Very Dangerous Man
Lord Barak Hussien Obama the Magnificent: The One, the Messiah.We have thrown around the term "brave new world" to describe events that remind us of Aldous Huxley's book about a debased, utopian futuristic society. And, in matters of public policy we sometimes refer to George Orwell's novels 1984 and Animal Farm which portray totalitarian societies where Big Brother is watching or where we are all equal (it's just that some are more equal than others). If Obama wins the presidential election, we will have the worst of all these worlds.
Does this statement seem a little over the top? Read on to see why it is right on the money.
In an article today in the Telegraph, Obama humbly declares he is going to "change the world." To quote one of his earlier campaign speeches:
"I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal... This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation...Yes, he controls the universe. He is the great savior of the nation and, actually, the entire planet. He comes, walking on the water, and says to the stormy seas "Peace, be still." Who is this man that even the wind and waves obey him?
The definition of megalomania: "An unrealistic belief in one's superiority, grandiose abilities, and even omnipotence. It is characterized by a need for total power and control over others, and is marked by a lack of empathy for anything that is perceived as not feeding the self." Does this not sound like our man, Fearless Leader Barak Obama? Unfortunately, it also sounds like Adolph Hitler who was another megalomanaic. I am not saying (yet) that Obama is Hitler, or that he is officially mentally ill like Hitler, but it is very, very dangerous for such a man to come out of obscurity and to suddenly be promoted to the most powerful position in the world. I say "obscurity" because we really don't know that much about Obama; but what we do know is very ominous.
The fact that a man like Obama has come so far so fast and could actually be elected President is astounding. That such a man would even have much of a following in this country is incredible. I suspect that there are Puppet Masters behind Obama. We cannot see them now, but they will try to take control of the country through him if he is elected. We don't know who these people are, but consider some of his past associations: Tony Rezko (sleazy Obama confidant, convicted felon), William Ayres (unrepentant terrorist), Jeremiah Wright (delusional racist, anti-semitic, hate-monger), Acorn (Obama-supported organization now under FBI investigation), to name a few. Another one that may be lurking in the shadows is George Soros. Oh, and don't forget his current campaign financial advisor, Franklin Raines, who brought us the financial meltdown.
I realize that the Puppet Master idea is conspiracy theory stuff, but it is not totally implausible. At the very least, his past associations give some clue as to the caliber of person he is and that he would appoint in his administration.
It is hard to carry a theme on Obama in one blog entry because there is too much to say. But, in summary, a megalomaniac like Obama, with or without malevolent Puppet Masters, could easily take us down the path to Socialism, Marxism, or Totalitarianism. We saw how, within a week, the financial crisis resulted in a huge power grab by the government, nationalizing businesses and making us much more of a socialist country than before. Two hundred years of the rule of Consitutional law and free market tradition trampled in the dirt. Just think what an unfeterred Obama could do with the predicted full control of Congress by Democrats. The Progressive Liberals are salivating out there!
To date, on many critical issues, Obama has flip and flopped like a fish, seeming to have no real inner principles. I think this is only because his real principles are very radical (think Jeremiah Wright) and, to get elected, he is having to feel his way through to find positions that appear reasonable and moderate. But, if elected, how many milliseconds would it take for him to revert back to his true, radical, Marxist principles - you know, the ones that sneak out when there is no teleprompter? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
So what does OldWeirdDad see if there were, God forbid, a President Obama?
Economy
Higher taxes and higher spending (even over the current ruinous levels) will prolong our economic downturn, possibly taking us from recession to depression. Higher taxes on large and small businesses will slow expansion and cause many to fail; it will encourage more of an exodus of capital to other more tax-friendly countries. A quick example: a business is planning on taking $250,000 of its profits and expanding its production facilities. These facilities would employ 5 people on a permanent basis. But, Obama takes the $250,000 in higher taxes and the government squanders it on things that produce nothing (it excels at this). Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Supreme Court
If elected, Obama would probably get to appoint between one and three justices. He has stated, in so many words, that he will appoint judges who follow their (liberal) hearts. He perceives that there is somehow a lack of justice now for certain classes of Americans. Rather than basing court decisions on the Constitution and the Law, Obama prefers justices that make decisions based on their individual feelings and emotions and have "the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges." I guess if you don't fit into one of Obama's personally chosen categories you are out of luck - especially if you are an unborn child.
Bottom line - he will appoint very young, very radical, very Marxist-Socialist justices who will keep this county in turmoil for many years. Remember, these vermin serve for life.
Abortion
Obama the Monster has said that his first action if elected would be signing the Freedom of Choice Act. This Act would make unlimited abortions throughout any stage of pregnancy the national law, superseding any current state limitations. The Act would also coerce Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortions through their tax dollars. Obama even favors withholding medical attention to living babies who survive an abortion. Now that's cold-hearted infanticide!
Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, was interviewed after the debate he held between Obama and McCain. He mentioned that he was dying to ask follow up questions but the rules of the debate prevented it. I know what he was referring to. When Pastor Warren asked Obama what his favorite Bible verse was, Obama's reply was a paraphrase of Matthew 25:40 where Jesus said "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Obama is too blind to see that his actions, desires, and stated beliefs about abortion cannot be reconciled with this verse.
In the final Presidential debate, Obama complained that people in the audiences at McCain/Palin rallies were shouting "Kill him," referring to Obama. After the debate, Obama's statement was proved to be a lie by the Secret Service - no one ever said it. However, I will tell you what did really happen - Obama has stood up in State and National legislatures, and has spoken and voted regarding innocent, unborn children ("the least of these") and said, "Kill them!" And they did.
(Editorial note: Anyone reading this who has had an abortion: God forgives you and I forgive you. This is the time of God's favor; he does not condemn. And I, for sure, am not qualified to throw the first, or any, stone. We need to do whatever is possible to turn the tide on abortion, not expand it as Obama wants to do.)
Second Amendment - The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Toast.
Freedom of Speech
Liberals policies and positions are mostly illogical, unpopular, and sometimes bordering on insanity. They continually try to replace Godly virtues, or just plain common sense, with their own wacky social engineering ideas. Their ideas cannot be defended for more than 3 seconds in a debate with normal people. Therefore, they do everything within their power to prevent dissenting points of view from being heard.
Consider poor Joe the Plumber, an unsolicited Obama detractor, one of "the least of these." It took less than 48 hours for Obama's minions to do a full anal exam and frontal assault on this little nobody and tear him to shreds. What will happen to people who question Obama's policies if he has the full power of the federal government at his beck and call? Could this put a chill on political speech?
In St. Louis, the Obama campaign enlisted District Attorney Robert McCullough and local law enforecement to threaten with criminal prosecution anyone running ads against Obama that were deemed to be untruthful. Obama's campaign has threatened legal action against several news outlets demanding they "cease and desist" from airing opponents ads they object to.
Obama would use the FCC to squelch public debate and opinion. He, and the possible Democrat majorities in Congress, would do their best to reinsitute the Orwellian "Fairness Doctrine" that would limit free speech on radio stations to the point of killing it.
First amendment - toast.
Energy Policy
He will kow-tow to the Greens and not allow nuclear power plants. He has said something to effect that he would "consider" "safe" nuclear energy. Code words for "it will never be safe. I will consider that and put every possible roadblock up to keep it from happening. This will help me retain the Green vote." Maybe some day he will learn more about France than "merci beaucoup" and realize that they use nuclear energy extensively. After all, don't we want to be more like those decadent Europeans?
He said he will "take a look" at drilling off the continental shelf. Code words for "not a chance."
He has no energy policy that will help with our needs for the next few years. Instead, his ideas are to focus on unproven, nonexistent, or currently impractical sources. So, we keep buying from other countries, weaking our currency, when we could be producing our own energy and doing a better, cleaner job of it than the other countries. Makes perfect sense (to a liberal)!
The War
His first instincts will probably take over here - a precipitous retreat from Iraq, calling it a great victory for the Wise and Merciful Commander and Chief Barak Hussein Obama. The country will then be attacked and overtaken by Iran and Syria in the name of Allah and his prophet Mohammed for the furtherance of whatever it is they are furthering. The U.S. will defer to the Europeans to solve the mess and they will promptly convince Iraq and Syria to retreat and restore order once again. And everyone will live in peace and harmony. Then the Easter Bunny . . . . oh, forget it!
To appear Presidential, the Great Commander Obama will send a few more troops to Afghanistan and then invade our ally, Pakistan, who, uh, just happens to own a few nukes. This is Obama's stated plan - to go into Pakistan with or without Pakistan's permission to try to get Bin Laden. I hope it works without a very large explosion going off somewhere. However, if it takes more than a couple of months or we have a few casualties, Obama will freak out and unconditionally surrender to either one or both countries. We will send them billions or trillions in reparations (loaned to us by China) and Jimmy Carter will apologize.
There are many other areas that Obama would radically change, but I just don't have the time or the stomach to talk about this any more.
For all the reasons above, and a lot more, everyone who reads this please vote for John McCain.
P.S. If Obama wins, help me remember to delete this blog. Or, at least, come visit me in prison.
Friday, October 3, 2008
George Read From Delaware
My son, Greg, mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that a guy named George Read was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. My middle name is Read, from my Mother's maiden name, but I had never heard any discussion in the family about a connection to George Read. I called my aunt E.J. and she confirmed that we are descendants of this man. I have not had a lot of time to study his life, but, in addition to signing the Declaration, he was a delegate to the Constitutional convention from the state of Delaware and was one of the signers of the U. S. Constitution. He was a Congressman, Senator, President of and Chief Justice of the state of Delaware. Another interesting fact is that his father, John Read, came to America from Dublin, Ireland.
In my view, the liberals in our country hate the founders and the founding documents. They are ashamed of our country and think they have superior ideas. In my humble opinion they fall into to two basic categories: 1) idiots or, 2) mentally ill.
Because of the genius and wisdom of our founders, the free spirit of the American people, and the blessing of our Creator, our country has excelled far above any other in history. On the other hand, liberalism/socialism has always predictably failed and brought our country down in some way.
Maybe this explains why I get very upset when Supreme Court justices and others do harm to the Constitution - it's in the genes.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Financial Meltdown
Boy, this one's got me buffaloed and I am trying to figure out what happened and what is going to happen. There is a lot of information floating around, but you have to take most of it with a grain of salt. Reporters are famous for getting the facts completely wrong. And, there are people out there with their own agendas who are promoting misinformation or trying to avoid blame.
I am going to just jot down my thoughts quickly and come back and review them in a month or so to see if I am on track.
I have seen some ups and downs before, but this one could cause a paradigm shift in our society. It may be my age and finely developed attitude of cynicism, but our standard of living may have just dropped a notch or two. If you don't believe me, just go out and try to get a loan for something.
The symptom of whatever the root problem is seems to be a liquidity crisis. People are withdrawing funds, liquidating money market accounts, and financial institutions are having to come up with the cash. The markets have been like a roller coaster ride, but I've seen worse. It reminds me a little of 9/11. After that event, the markets were in free fall for a few days. At that time, I stayed in the market. This time I got out - a while back near the top.
And what is this "bail out" crap?! Back in (I think it was) October 1987, there was "Black Monday" when the stock market dropped 20% in one day! But the government did not step in and bail everyone out. In case you are unaware, you and I and all other Americans just spent a trillion bucks to pay the bill on the current mess - and we were forced to put ourselves in debt to do this. This is America, not Russia! We don't do that kind of thing in a capitalist society.
So what happened? Here are my thoughts, although they are probably too narrowly focused:
When Bill Clinton became President, the socialists were pretty much in control for a while. The pent up tendencies of these misguided, overzealous folks went into high gear and they used their newly found power in very stupid and destructive ways.
Over millenia of human existence, practical principals of living have been developed that work hand in hand with so-called natural law, interacting with our inborn human desires, to produce a good and orderly society. This a Godly thing, aka capitalism. But the liberals, when they had the power, arrogantly swept this aside and instituted their own rules. This is an un-Godly thing, aka socialism.
They opened the floodgates for home mortgages so that everybody could own a home, whether they could pay for it or not. Lenders - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, et al - were rewarded to violate commonsense underwriting principles; they were punished for trying to maintain their integrity. To facilitate the horror show, the Congress pledged the backing of the United States to guarantee these loans. It was a mutually rewarding enterprise: the lenders made big money by making bad loans as fast as possible; key members of Congress (Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, et al) were given fat contributions to help them stay in power. They put our necks on the line, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make.
This system really went into high gear starting in about 2003 when Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan took interest rates to historic lows. Minimal underwriting standards plus adjustable rate mortgages took the housing industry to new highs. People could buy big homes with big mortgages because of the low rates. At that time, I saw the danger and realized that when the interest rate started to rise, as it surely would at some point, things would fall apart and there would be massive foreclosures.
Well, it happened pretty much as I had foreseen. And I was ready to do my part as a patriotic American to throw a little liquidity into the game and buy some real estate at a bargain price. But then, the bail out. Apparently, the unholy alliance of lenders and Congress got so greedy that they did real damage to the country. The government guarantee of the bad loans was called; Fannie and Freddie were nationalized like we were in Russia or some banana republic. Congress succeeded where bin Laden failed.
So, let's recap -
I am going to just jot down my thoughts quickly and come back and review them in a month or so to see if I am on track.
I have seen some ups and downs before, but this one could cause a paradigm shift in our society. It may be my age and finely developed attitude of cynicism, but our standard of living may have just dropped a notch or two. If you don't believe me, just go out and try to get a loan for something.
The symptom of whatever the root problem is seems to be a liquidity crisis. People are withdrawing funds, liquidating money market accounts, and financial institutions are having to come up with the cash. The markets have been like a roller coaster ride, but I've seen worse. It reminds me a little of 9/11. After that event, the markets were in free fall for a few days. At that time, I stayed in the market. This time I got out - a while back near the top.
And what is this "bail out" crap?! Back in (I think it was) October 1987, there was "Black Monday" when the stock market dropped 20% in one day! But the government did not step in and bail everyone out. In case you are unaware, you and I and all other Americans just spent a trillion bucks to pay the bill on the current mess - and we were forced to put ourselves in debt to do this. This is America, not Russia! We don't do that kind of thing in a capitalist society.
So what happened? Here are my thoughts, although they are probably too narrowly focused:
When Bill Clinton became President, the socialists were pretty much in control for a while. The pent up tendencies of these misguided, overzealous folks went into high gear and they used their newly found power in very stupid and destructive ways.
Over millenia of human existence, practical principals of living have been developed that work hand in hand with so-called natural law, interacting with our inborn human desires, to produce a good and orderly society. This a Godly thing, aka capitalism. But the liberals, when they had the power, arrogantly swept this aside and instituted their own rules. This is an un-Godly thing, aka socialism.
They opened the floodgates for home mortgages so that everybody could own a home, whether they could pay for it or not. Lenders - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, et al - were rewarded to violate commonsense underwriting principles; they were punished for trying to maintain their integrity. To facilitate the horror show, the Congress pledged the backing of the United States to guarantee these loans. It was a mutually rewarding enterprise: the lenders made big money by making bad loans as fast as possible; key members of Congress (Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, et al) were given fat contributions to help them stay in power. They put our necks on the line, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make.
This system really went into high gear starting in about 2003 when Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan took interest rates to historic lows. Minimal underwriting standards plus adjustable rate mortgages took the housing industry to new highs. People could buy big homes with big mortgages because of the low rates. At that time, I saw the danger and realized that when the interest rate started to rise, as it surely would at some point, things would fall apart and there would be massive foreclosures.
Well, it happened pretty much as I had foreseen. And I was ready to do my part as a patriotic American to throw a little liquidity into the game and buy some real estate at a bargain price. But then, the bail out. Apparently, the unholy alliance of lenders and Congress got so greedy that they did real damage to the country. The government guarantee of the bad loans was called; Fannie and Freddie were nationalized like we were in Russia or some banana republic. Congress succeeded where bin Laden failed.
So, let's recap -
- Fat cat lenders make tens of millions (Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick)
- Liberal social activists' agenda implemented (and failed as always)
- Democrat congressmen rich and powerful (and now blaming it all on George Bush)
- Housing prices artificially propped up (diminishing the little guy's ability to profit)
- I, and my fellow Americans, are left holding the bag for $1 trillion (our dollar devalued, our standard of living lowered)
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