Economic Crossroads

This country, along with much of the Western World, stands at an economic crossroads. This critical time may be unmatched in our country's history, including the Great Depression. The downturn started before the 2006 mid-term elections, triggered by post-Katrina gas prices, sub-prime mortage lending, and Democrat verbal attacks on the economy (to help them take control of Congress). Obama's coronation and two years of unchecked attack on the economy by him, Reid, and Pelosi has us falling into a double dip recession, and we now stand at the brink of a depression.

Democrats continue to give lip service, saying the economy is recovering. It is not. There are no indicators that indicate anything better than a slight leveling off. There is no recovery taking place.

Obama's lunatic spending spree is causing this. Out of control Federal spending has dug us a debt hole that the country may never be able to crawl out of. Repeated issuing of new dollars without anything to back them has devalued the dollar and eroded confidence in our currency all around the world. Obama is now planning another round of money printing, which will make the problem much worse.

Our government, Obama primarily, is roadblocking Republican efforts to cut spending and reduce our deficit. They are doing this to help their relelection chances next year. They don't want any of their voting block hurt by budget cuts prior to the election, for fear of alienating them. Keeping their power is much more important to them than our country itself.

As I said, we are at a crossroads.

If Obama continues his current path, we will be in a Depression that makes the one of the last century look like happy days. The liberal text book of economics does not work - it has never worked. Yet, their only answer is to double down on their beliefs, which drives us closer to the edge. Their only answer is to spend and tax more and more. They will never admit they are wrong - to do so would admit that their vision of government being all powerful and controlling is flawed.

If Republicans in the House can block Obama's efforts, and start to reign in some of the damage, it will send a positive sign to our country and the entire world. If Republicans can take control of the Senate next year, as is predicted, the negative tide will turn. If Obama can be kicked out of office and replaced by a fiscal conservative, we are set up for a tremendous recovery.

It seems to me that America is fed up with being in the shit. Our country is just waiting for a sign from its leaders that sanity will return. Once the sign is there, I fully expect the economy to come roaring back. Business will expand, business will build, business will hire if business has a reason to believe it will be allowed to succeed. Business and the private sector will rescue this country, not Obama and the socialist utopia he is trying to create.

We need a government that understands this, and gets the hell out of the way.

I don't know about you, but I think it sure would be nice to feel good about the direction of our country once again.

More Taxpayer Money Going Down The Federal Toilet

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has just released a report "The National Science Foundation: Under The Microscope". It is a scathing report on the incredible waste of our money by this Federal Government Agency.

I am not pretending to say that this waste has all taken place under Obama. I'm sure it started long ago. However, the burning of our money has continued and expanded under his watch. For someone who pledged to oversee each and every line item to purge the waste in government, this is a perfect example of how he hasn't done a damn thing to stop waste.

Give this article a quick read. WARNING - if you suffer from high blood pressure, make sure you've taken your meds before reading!

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=8a114193-dcf7-4ae8-ae8b-146797e5c162

Die, Mouse ... Die!!!!

I call on my massive reading audience out there (all 3 of you) to boycott all things Disney.

The move by Disney to Trademark the term 'Seal Team Six' hours after the raid that killed Bin Laden is one of the lowest, dirtiest money grubbing actions a corporation has ever done. There is absolutely no valid reason for the company to have done this, except for profit. For them to profit from the actions of the brave service members who performed the action is obscene.

I understand there is some legal action being pursued to invalidate the Disney claim - I hope it doesn't come up in a northern CA court!

Where is the outrage from the left about this? Their panties are all in a wad over evil Big Oil making money for a product they actually produce and sell. Why aren't they more upset at this blatant ripoff by a big corporation?

Disney can go to hell. They certainly won't be getting anymore of my money!

This sure ain't Walt Disney's Disney ... he's got to be turning in his grave ...

Update - The US Navy announced that Disney had withdrawn their filing. No comment from Disney itself yet.

I take full and complete credit for this. My boycott obviously scared Disney into backing down. The US Navy's previous efforts had nothing to do with Disney's decision. It was Me, My, I ...

(sorry, had to put my Obama hat on for a moment there ...)

PoW - The Video

Because sometimes, horrendously gross people are pretty funny!




Update - Had my own PoW moment this past Saturday afternoon at the local Wally World. 4:00pm in the afternoon. As I approach the front doors, a person exits, pushing a shopping cart. White, military style haircut. Thin as a toothpick. Guy has a tatoo of something on his upper arm. Wearing 4 inch black high heels, and a low cut, mid-thigh length solid black dress.

Wish I had a camera with me so I could share this awesome image with you!

Why Do American Jews Vote Democrat?

I have never understood the insistence of the majority of Jewish people in this country to consistently vote Democrat. Their unfailing allegiance to Democrat candidates is always counted on and taken for granted by Democrat leaders. Those same leaders have consistently shit upon Isreal. I just simply don't understand it.

Consider the last three Democrat Presidents:

Jimmy Carter - while in office, very much pro-Arab. He did broker some peace agreements during that time, but they almost all were to the detriment of Isreal. Since he has left office, he has become one of the most bitter anti-Semitic people who have ever been in high office in this country. His pro-Palestine, pro-arab, anti-Isreal stance on everything is legendary.

Billary Clinton - The Clintons weren't as out and out anti-Isreal during their tenure. However, what little was done about the Middle East during the 90s was also to Isreal's detriment in order to benefit the arab nations around the Jewish State. The most use the Clintons had for Isreal was around election time, when they hit up rich American Jews for hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars.

Barack Obama - This man just hates Isreal. That is plain to see. He has consistently chastised the Isrealis, demanded they make concessions, sided with Palestinians, arabs, and anyone else who stood against Tel Aviv. His demand today on TV that Isreal drop back to within its pre-1967 borders, without receiving any concessions from its enemies, is a slap in the face to that country, and it should be taken as such by all Jews in America. This man is sucking up to Islam, sucking up to the arab world, sucking up to terrorists, and trying his best to punish our best ally in the region. I truly believe the Barack Obama thinks the world would be a better place if Isreal didn't exist.

Now consider how Republican Presidents, all the way back to Richard Nixon, have treated Isreal. They treated the country like a valued ally, not a simmering enemy. They have defended Isreal, its right to exist, and its people in the face of overwhelming arab hatred. They have made sure that isreal has received the weapons, technology, and other aid it needs to continue to thrive in spite of being surrounded by enemies.

I'm not a Jew, so I may not be able to understand the finer points of this. But, it sure seems to me that American Jews would support candidates of the party that has consistently treated the Jewish Homeland as a friend, not a roadblock, an enemy, or just a source of campaign contributions.

Two Faced Weasel

It is a difficult decision, but I'm going to award the 'Two Faced Weasel of the Year Award' for 2011 to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

Senator Reid has been leading the fight in the Senate to get tax breaks for oil and gas companies rescinded. The logic has been that they are making so much money, they don't need the tax breaks. They should be paying a full share of taxes, and more, to help pay for all of Obama's social programs. Big Oil is making record profits, so why should they get tax breaks?

OK, that is a legitimate point for discussion. (I'm not a fan of Big Oil, and I don't see any reason for tax breaks, as long as the same rules are applied fairly to other companies as well.)

However, this same Senator Reid has put into place and has consistently defended huge tax breaks for gold mining companies based in Nevada. Why? Because they paid him to do so.

Mining companies have 'contributed' 3/4 of a million dollars to Reid's election campaigns over the years. This includes 127,000 from the two largest gold mining companies in Nevada for his 2010 re-election. These two companies made $5,000,000,000 off the gold they pulled from public lands, and paid next to nothing to the government for the public land mining leases, and no taxes on their profits or operations, courtesy of Reid's protection.

In these days of soaring gold prices, why is Senator Reid delivering tax breaks to companies who are making fortunes that make Big Oil look like a non-profit outfit? Follow the money. As always, just follow the money.

I have not seen any public statment from Reid's handlers trying to explain this. My guess is that he is trying to ignore it and hope it goes away.

Poor Ahhnuld ...

The CFL Scam, Part Deaux

How do you feel about paying $50 for a light bulb?

An update on the CFL scam I wrote about recently.

As of Jan.1, 2012, it will be illegal for anyone to manufacture or import 100 watt incandescent (normal) light bulbs. On Jan. 1, 2014, that ban will apply to all incandescent light bulbs of 40 watt ratings or higher. The light bulb as we know it will be illegal, and unavailable, courtesy of your wonderful federal government.

Compact Flourescent Bulbs have been touted as the successor, but don't give out as much light, don't last as long, and requirte a hazmat team to (legally) clean them up if they break. They cost up to 1000% more than incandescent bulbs.

Another technology that has been eagerly awaited is LED. This will give as much or more light for considerably less wattage (which is a good thing), and will definitely last longer, but get this ... the TARGET price for retailers, the price they are trying to get the LED bulbs DOWN to, is 45-50 dollars per bulb!

Some industry analysts are predicting that LED bulbs may drop in price down to $12-15 apiece by 2015.

If you like your old fashioned cheap light bulbs, better stock up now. The closer we get to these dates, the harder they will be to find. Some stores and manufacturers have already stopped restocking them.

Isn't it amazing how everytime the Federal Government steps in and regulates something, something that they absolutely have to control because we everday citizens are too stupid (in their minds) to make our own decisions, it ends up costing we everyday citizens a bunch of money?

I mean, really ... in two years, I'm going to be paying 1500 percent more (or higher) for a replacement for a perfectly good lightbulb.

There has NEVER, EVER been a government regulation that has resulted in savings to the taxpayer. PERIOD!

Update - Edmund Contoski over at The American Thinker has some thoughts on this that show some even more critical concerns about CFLs than their cost. Worth a read ...

www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/the_dangers_of_cfls_even_great.html

USS Cesar Chavez? WTF???

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that the Navy's newest dry cargo ship will be named the USS Cesar Chavez.

This is the same Secretary Mabus who stood up and cheered when Pelosi decided to name a ship after John Murtha.

What's next? The USS Malcolm X? The USS Mao? The USS Castro?

If the Navy wanted to honor HIspanic contributions to our nation, they could have chosen one of the Hispanic MOH winners from WWII. Or for Sgt. Raphael Peralta, a Marine killed in Iraq who has been nominated for the MOH.

Time Cops Got Bin Laden!

A German newscast has unveiled the secret about SEAL Team Six that no one in the government wants us to know about: They're time travelers!

Mike Locher, anchor for N24 News, had no clue he was being spoofed when he was trying to explain this logo as the official emblem of SEAL Team Six. It is actually something made up by a fan of Star Trek, as the emblem of a fictional partisan group called the Maquis. Those of you into Star Trek will know what that means. Those of you who aren't, don't worry about it, it's just science fiction. Someone apprently, as a joke, added the Team Six wording. Somehow, these news clowns ended up with it, and believed it to be real.

Mr. Locher even went so far as to try and explain the items on the emblem; "They don't have the skull on there for nothing." For some reason, he failed to explain the phaser, the Klingon skull, and a Klingon sword, not to mention the name 'Maquis'.

This is too funny. It's almost as stupid as the crap that comes out of MSNBC.

A Complete Pet Peeve

While perusing the local book store recently, I happened across a selection that reminded me of a particular pet peeve I have in relation to printed material, particularly books of a historical nature.

The item that caught my eye was a 100 page magazine format glossy publication entitled 'The Complete History of the F-86 Sabre".

To the non-military and non-aviation fans out there, the F-86 Sabre was a swept winged jet fighter of Korean War vintage. It was a very successful aircraft with a long history in many services around the world.

I skimmed through the book. It did have some very nice material in it. However, it was in no way, shape, or form a 'complete' history of the aircraft. A complete history of the Sabre has never been written. I would estimate that it would take dozens of volumes, thousands of pages, and tens of thousands of photographs to document the aircraft, and then it couldn't be termed 'complete'.

A more accurate title for the book I saw would have been 'Some Nice Stories and Pictures of the F-86 Sabre Jet'.

I know I'm nit picking, but this offends me. I am a big history buff, particularly military history. If I see a book that has 'complete' in the title, I dismiss it - it is not worth looking at, for the author is misrepresenting it. I can't tell you how many efforts entitled 'The Complete History of the United States Air Force' have polluted book store shelves across the years - most of which are well under 200 pages. How can you take a book seriously that spends a whopping 20 pages on the USAF in Vietnam, and dares call itself 'complete'?

Just one of those little things that rubs me the wrong way ...

Now We Know ...

Thoughts on Bin Laden

I am not going to spend a lot of time bloviating about the extermination of Bin Laden. Everything that can be said has been said multiple times already ... but there are a few things I just need to say (and besides ... these are MY electrons!)

Obama:

I watched the news live as this was happening, and saw Obama's address to the country. I will give him credit for an excellent speech. I acknowledge his skillful handling of the situation. I acknowledge that he made a difficult decision, and he made the right one. This is probably the one and only time I will ever be proud of him as our President.

The only problem I had with his speech was his constant 'I, ME, MY' ... but this is normal for him, and expected.

It was a class move for Obama to call President Bush (who was out eating at a Dallas eatery with his wife) and inform him of the action. I would loved to have heard that conversation! It was also a class move to allow President Bush to prepare a statement for immediate release upon the death announcement. (I wonder if Obama, or Hillary for that matter, called Slick Willy before the announcement.)

It was a class move by President Bush to be low key in his statement, and lack of live comments since. This was Obama's moment, even though W played a big part in it.

The next step Obama needs to take (but will not) is to publicly recognize the groundwork that was laid years ago by the Bush Administration that directly led to this moment. Will he recognize that the intel that led to his moment in the sun came from enhanced interrogations that took place at Gitmo - hell no, he won't.

Military Intelligence:

I am impressed with the plan for dealing with this animal after his extermination. I am sure this was thought out long in advance. Gather evidence, take his carcass away, and quickly dispose of it where no one can find it. It's all done and over with before the public (and especially the Muslim world) know it had happened. Perfect.

40 SEALs would seem like overkill to some, but it was appropriate. Even as a non-military person, it is obvious to me you want to go in with overwhelming force to accomplish the mission and minimize (or prevent) casualties on your side. Even the loss of one of the helicopters at the landing site was planned for as a contingency and dealt with efficiently.

I question the amount of information we are being given access too, and how fast. I know the public wants to know every detail (myself included), but some of the things I've heard could prove to put personnel in danger of retribution, and close off future sources of intel. I'm not sure the public's need to know trumps (sorry , no pun intended) OPSEC.

The hints of the intel gathered from Bin Laden's compound are tantalizing. Documents, hard drives, phones, etc. The potential gold mine of information contained in them could lead to wholesale trackdowns of a great deal of Al Qaeda leadership. We can only hope ...

Politics:

Those on the hard right are already screaming that this was justification for enhanced interrogation, the left was wrong to oppose it, and we should use it more. While I agree on that, I find it tasteless to bring it up as a major talking point so soon. 'I told you so' should have come a little later on down the road.

I've heard very little from the hard left about such interrogations and Gitmo in the aftermath. It will be interesting to hear how they counter the cat calls from the right.

How long will it be before the ACLU announces its outrage that Osama wasn't arrested and given his Miranda rights, instead of being executed on the spot? Will Holder and his DoJ launch an investigation into this gross violation of Bin Laden's civil rights?

It wasn't an hour after the announcement that political pundits were analyzing what it would mean for Obama's reelection chances. Republican whiners and mainstream media have been declaring Obama now unbeatable in 2012. Well, a history lesson is in order: President Bush 41 won the most decisive war in our nation's history, and enjoyed 90% approval ratings in the aftermath of Desert Storm. A bit over a year later, he lost reelection to an unknown Governor from Arkansas. Killing one man, even Bin Laden, won't be decisive for Obama's hopes in 2012.

Our government is going to have to tap dance around Pakistan for a while. It is clear to the world that they, or at least a large faction of them, were active in hiding the animal. A million dollar compound built for him in 2005, in a city dominated by an Army base - it would take a true idiot to believe that factions in the Pakistan government and military were not directly involved in shielding him. However, we can't call them out on it too loudly, or we risk losing the cooperation we do get. It is also clear that Pakistan's government isn't exactly thrilled at a US military operation taking place inside of their border.


I truly hope that Bin Laden realized an American was killing him before his brain exploded.

One thing I do know ... Bin Laden is lying in a pile of fish shit at the bottom of the ocean, where he belongs.

Update 5/8 - Juan Williams is a middle of the road liberal who regularly appears on Fox News and elsewhere as a political commentator.This is the same Juan Williams who was fired by NPR for not being liberal enough.

On one of Fox News' Sunday evening shows, Williams was involved in a roundtable discussion with some other commentators. The subject was how Republicans were trying to take too much credit for the Osama resolution for President Bush. Williams was livid, defending Obama. IN the heat of the moment, he lamented that Obama was not getting enough credit for the 'murder of Osama Bin Laden'. YES, he said the MURDER of Bin Laden. You could hear the gasps from the other commentators.

I think this was a slip fo the tongue from him, he's usually not nearly this off the wall. However, for it to have been said, he has to be thinking it. So, Juan must believe that Bin Laden should have been arrested, placed in handcuffs, read his Miranda rights, and brought back here for a civilian trial in NYC, run by Holder's DoJ.

I'm sorry Mr. Williams - you have lost all credibility. Fox News should fire your ass.

Why The Donald Is Good For America

Donald Trump is good for American politics, and good for the Republican Party.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think he has a prayer of being elected President. In truth, I hope he doesn't run. However, he is serving an important function, and I believe will continue to do so.

His personality and 'I don't give a damn what people think' attitude allows him to bring up and address subjects that mainstream Republican candidates don't dare touch. Obama's birth certificate, for instance. If Trump hadn't forced this issue, we still wouldn't know for sure. Obama would still be twisting the birther knife into his political opponents. Now, the issue is dead, except for a few diehard conspiracy nuts. If any Republican candidate had pursued it at all, much less with Trump's zeal, their candidacy would have been pronounced dead.

I hope Trump continues bringing up subjects that are sore points to Obama and the left. I hope he keeps punching their buttons and making them respond.