Feb 15
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REGIME’S BUMBLING TREASURY SECRETARY SAYS OBAMA’S BUDGET PROPOSAL IS ‘FAIR’ Timmy Geithner told Congress Tuesday that not only did he think Obama’s new $3.8 trillion spending plan, which would impose new taxes on only the top 2% of the nation’s income earners, is “fair,” but also that it would be preferable to spending cuts. The bumbling [...]
Feb 1
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If you feel uncertainty in confidently refutin the politicians and economists selling spending to save us (from overspending, yet) this modestly short and simple article will provide the ammo to do so, even in the presence of experts. And to absorb it, you need no economics; just common sense. (Often lacking in economists, unfortunately.) If interested [...]
Jan 9
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Kodak is going under after a hundred years as the beating heart of photography in much of the world. Like the makers of buggy whips and all others who fail to face and master new technology, the film giant has fallen into bankruptcy, a hapless victim of digital picture-making. But shed no tears for this [...]
Jan 7
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The sky is falling! The earth is warming! The End is here! The defense budget might be cut!!! Yeah right, we can only wish. Any currently touted cuts will likely disappear in the upcoming budget negotiations, or near enough not to matter. Too much in campaign contributions depends on keeping President Eisenhower’s “military-industrial complex” happy, [...]
Jan 6
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Noting how much money disappeared in the direction of government led to wondering what we’re getting for it. Unlike our governors, we have to earn our money; we can’t just point a jail at someone and demand it. A big item is military defense. Defense from who? A few Seals and drones have returned al-Qaeda to just [...]
Jan 4
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We read of pricey New York hotel rooms for the mighty but they’re cheap compared to hospital room rates these days, right? But the Big Apple hospitals that have gone into competition with the hotels aren’t charging hotel prices let alone hospital rates, they’re free. A good thing, too since the guests are illegal aliens who [...]
Jan 3
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What’s gonna happen, ya think? That’s easy for someone who’s not always right but is always opinionated: 1. The stock market and its cousin in flimflamary, real estate, have both been floating above their real market values on a sea of Fed funny money and credit, much of it pumped into sinking banks to keep them [...]
Dec 25
Here’s a swamp of corruption or if you prefer, Sarah Palin’s Crony Capitalism. It’s a Venn diagram from the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and it needs no explanation. It’s all facts, no opinions and it’s thoughtfully provided in swamp green ink. You can add any opinions you wish for yourself. Enjoy: Note: To be [...]
Dec 21
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The monetary system is failing because today, the government is the emperor and the money is the emperor’s new clothes, a scam perpetrated by government. It began in 1932 when Franklyn Roosevelt decreed one night that Americans owning gold were criminals and substituted worthless paper for gold and silver. Like so many others, it’s a something-for-nothing con, based on [...]
Nov 29
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The U.S. government’s number one priority is–obviously–returning to manageable finances before it reaches economic collapse, threatening everything that has been built in this country. No other single government goal can compete with that; all else must take a lower place until the clear and present danger passes. Setting any different priority is not only irresponsible, [...]
Nov 19
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Greeks who moved their savings to Swiss banks seeking safety are watching the E.U. and their government leaning on the Swiss to send the money back to the tottering Greek banks whether the money owners like it or not. E.U. Officials Negotiating Forced Greek Capital Repatriation With Swiss Banks is the report. Reminiscent of the 1930′s… [...]
Nov 17
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Republicans want to stop Democrat spending, right? If you believe that, I have a really big bargain for you on a bridge to Brooklyn…Under GOP Controlled House, Federal Debt Has Increased $6,766 Per Household will explain what’s actually happening as opposed to what politicians are saying. Quite different subjects, unfortunately. See, all the big banks are [...]
Nov 6
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Suppose a hard-working rich guy, a reliable mddle-class guy and several poor bums went into business together. That’s the Euro; Germany is the hard-working, rich guy, France is middle-class and the PIIGS-Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain–are the poor bums. The bums don’t want to work, save and build for later; they want to live off [...]
Oct 27
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The Obama Energy Department is really creating jobs; it just loaned a carmaker $529 million of taxpayer money so it can start building cars…in Finland. Car Company Gets $529 Loan; Builds Cars in Finland tells about it. That sort of targeting likely explains why the stimulus missed and maybe accounts for some of the faith that [...]
Oct 26
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Europeans’ boogie-man remains resurgent Germany; the E.U. came with that country tied down in treaties like Gulliver immobilized by the Lilliputians. Germany was to supply money; France and its followers were to make policy and keep the mighty German economy fenced. In Europe, New Fears of German Might explains. Reality being as unfortunate as usual, finds [...]
Oct 19
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China has just put the first 8.5 tons of its planned 60 ton space station into orbit as the U.S. abandons spaceflight. American space shuttles are headed into mothballs and any manned missions will depend on Russian vehicles; it seems likely the current space station will be closed down. Now it’s true that China can’t [...]
Oct 13
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One can’t accuse the Federal government of failing to create jobs; from 2000 to 2010 it hired 1,692,000 more employees. Of course, everybody enjoying the private sector’s unemployment trend gets to pay for them with their taxes. Federal Employment Grows Despite Downturn tells the story. Why don’t the Dems just have government hire everybody and put [...]
Oct 7
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Romney Unveils Keynesian Stimulus Plan describes the Republican front runner–or not front runner’s–plan for the economy, which seems a page out of Obama’s book. Maybe if you’re a politician, everything appears to you as a blank check? Drawn of course, on someone else’s bank account.
Sep 29
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Once, North America was enriched by skilled ex-European workers benefitting from cheap resources, energy and transport, unconstrained by government and freed of the limits imposed by the frozen-in-place societies they left behind. Government not only left them alone; it encouraged education, agriculture, mining and transportation with cheap land. Wealth was created like never before in [...]
Sep 27
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Iraqi PM Nouri Al-Maliki Iraq’s cost is approaching a trillion dollars now; deaths are approaching 5,000 and those injured are coming up on 30,000 as The Trillion Dollar War of Choice explains. What hasn’t been explained, at least where I can see and understand it, is what has been gained by paying this price.
If the government creates a debt so big that persons who are not old enough to vote or have not yet been born will have to pay for it, is that not in effect, Taxation Without Representation? just sayin’…
Sep 21
Of late on any number of conservative blogs, commentators and those responding have correctly railed against the White House’s “stimulus” programs, aka the Recovery Act and all peripherals. Grants.gov lists all federal government grants and on that site, it is not difficult to see how a good amount of that cash has been spent on [...]
Sep 18
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Behind the Poverty Numbers: Real Lives, Real Pain is an Associated Press (AP) exposition of real, formerly middle-class but now poverty-stricken people and their often hopeless appearing travails. As the AP points out, it’s a steadily growing group with no visible end to the economic tunnel trapping them. The writers seem to disaprove of the politicians attempting to restrict [...]
Sep 18
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Republicans avid to repeal ObamaCare dig in their heels on the unfunded future trillions tied to the Medicare drug benefit they added during the Bush Administration. Beneficiaries pay 1/4th of the cost of prescriptions; the rest comes out of the government’s general fund with no specific tax to pay for it. This recalls the cold [...]
Sep 18
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner flew to Poland to advise the Euro finance folk on their debt problem. He’s qualified; he’s borrowed more than they have, which is too much on both sides. Think of a drug rehab group receiving advice from the local pusher. Geithner’s Message Irks Europeans explains. Timmy borrows money whether or not it [...]
Sep 18
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Politicians who’ve borrowed and spent more than they can force their citizens to repay sit paralyzed as said citizens throw street tantrums at the idea of spending less. Workers Take To The Streets As Debt Summit Concludes explains more. While politicians and public posture for photo ops, the creeping virus called reality is spreading through the world’s developed [...]
Sep 14
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1. Politicians can save the economy… False. Politicians can and repeatedly do trash it but only private enterprise can provide the wealth generation needed to to save a sick economy and to keep one healthy. The last President who said that–and proved it in the recession of 1920-1921–was Republican Warren Harding. He held off his [...]
Sep 14
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B of A apparently isn’t feeling too well; not only is it divesting itself of some 30,000 workers, it has suddenly started to upchuck a slew of the sick mortgage loans that have been roiling its financial stomach through the bank bailouts and then the robosigning scandals. Its foreclosure rate has suddenly ramped sharply up. [...]
Sep 12
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Romney and other liberals object to candidate Perry’s characterization of Social Security or actually, probably more to Perry’s ability to be interesting to voters. That fits Romney, representing the Terminally Bland wing of candidates; anyone being interesting is taking unfair advantage. Ponzi was a real crook with a real scheme today really illegal; how could Social [...]
“Free Wood Program Halted” was the Albuquerque Journal’s notice that New Mexico no longer allowed citizens to cut free firewood on state grazing leases. In the past, three such sites were open each Fall.
Why no more? Too expensive, said the State Land Commissioner; “we’ve been spending $75,000 a year administering the program.”
OMG!!! Any bureaucrat who can spend that much letting citizens cut free wood in three rural locations for three months a year ought to be up for: Creative Bureaucrat of the Year!
No wonder our government has gone broke “helping” us…
Sep 5
45% OF WORKING AGE RESIDENTS UNEMPLOYED; HOW’S THAT HOPE AND CHANGE WORKING OUT? Before we get to the sorry state of the sorry state, a few words about our beloved president and his policies are in order. (I know it’s beginning to look like I can’t write an article without ranting about Captain Downgrade, but [...]
Sep 2
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Congress and Bill Clinton passed the Community Redevelopment Act forcing banks to lend to low income homebuyers and then Senator Chris Dodd (D) and Representative Barney Frank (D) and cohorts leaned on those banks until they did it. Too many such loans weren’t repaid, giving us the housing bust. Now, in a bid to shift the blame from the government [...]
Aug 31
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Government funded Miracle Hands, Inc. to convert a warehouse into a training facility for AIDs patients but was instead handed a miraculous transformation into a strip club. HIV/AIDS Group Charged With Diverting Funds to Strip Club tells all about it. The government folk are predictably shocked, SHOCKED that such a thing could be perpetrated upon them in [...]
Aug 30
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Our American middle class has been decimated, shrinking 10% since 1980 and the shrinkage continues as the low income class expands with the displaced middle folk. 34 Signs That Point To A Rapidly Shrinking American Middle Class provides a depressing plenty of evidence. Worse, the evidence says clearly that the trend will not reverse within the lifetime [...]
Aug 28
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All the imperiled European governments and the U.S. are in trouble because all their political leaders put their own benefit over the good of their countries. They’re still doing that instead of moving back to solvency. A move back toward solvency would reduce spending by definition; that would require cutting spending on military adventures, social [...]
Aug 22
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Are you aware that $1 taken from taxpayers actually costs the economy from $1.40 to $3.00? That tax increases cause government to grow? That increasing Federal spending reduces national output? That welfare is harmful to economic growth? You might not expect to see things like that explained by two economics professors on the staff of [...]
Aug 17
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The middle class’ share of U.S. income has been shrinking, the share going to the wealthier has been increasing. Recently, the rate of shift has increased. Extending the trends, if there is no change the country could be a two-class society within a couple of generations. The chart shows the trends. Incomes rose with inflation [...]
Aug 7
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USPS POSTS $3.1 BILLION Q3 LOSS; WARNS OF DEFAULT With all of the name calling, accusations and counter-accusations, and charged debate at a fever pitch over the budget, deficit crisis, and Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, the equally-pathetic condition of the United States Postal Service hasn’t gotten much attention of late. It [...]
Guess what: the IRS looked through it’s database and has declared that there are not enough “rich” people out there to pay off the debt or really make much of a dent. The Daily Mail article IRS: Not Enough Rich to Cover the Deficit says it all. Enjoy!
The debate seemed to be: Raise the Debt Ceiling or Don’t Raise the Debt Ceiling?
Really? How about: This Whole Thing Could have Been Easily Avoided If We Stopped Buying DEBT! Pay it down. Zero Debt NOW. Mandate: All pork barrel spending automatically goes toward the debt until its Gone.
Step One: Last Years Revenues? THAT’s your baseline budget. No more legislating dollar amount spending:The NEW deal is a percentage of Last Years Revenue. Shave off -I dunno- 20%? off the top for the debt. The other 80% is what congress has to work with. The amount is decided, only how big of a slice goes where is left to decide. End of story, Morning Glory.
Jul 31
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FLORIDA SENATOR HANDLES LIBERALS WITH POISE AND CONFIDENCE – Are Republican members of Congress that bad at articulating conservative positions and philosophies, or is forty-year-old Florida Senator Marco Rubio that good? Um – it’s both. Not since the days of the Great Communicator has the Republican Party had a point man with the communication skills of Marco Rubio. Obama [...]
Jul 31
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ARE YOU BUYING THE ‘SKY IS FALLING’ NONSENSE? IF SO, BARACK OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS HAVE PLAYED YOU LIKE A FIDDLE!!! Financial Armageddon. A fiscal crisis of biblical proportions. Seniors starving to death without their Social Security checks. Stock markets crashing around the world. And of course, from San Francisco’s favorite loon: the end of the world [...]
Jul 30
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“REALLY, REALLY STRANGE BEHAVIOR” In his latest attempt to manipulate the American people into doing something that this ineffectual president cannot do himself, Barack Obama asked his supporters to “keep the pressure on” Republican Congressional leaders by tweeting, calling or emailing their offices. The result? Obama lost in excess of 40,000 Twitter followers in one [...]
Jul 29
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I’ve been toying with a post on the whole budget/spending soap opera. Everyone else is doing it, why not join in, right? My angle was going to be defense spending and that so many of the cuts on the table are defense related rather than entitlements. See, in the sky-high view of things, defense [...]
Jul 29
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“WE’RE TRYING TO SAVE LIFE ON THIS PLANET AS WE KNOW IT TODAY” “What we’re trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We’re trying to save life on this planet as we know it today.” –Nancy Pelosi The woman is nuts. While she’s made more than her share of hyperbolic statements in [...]
Observe the European Union and Learn- Before it is too Late.
Today, while reading my morning dose of news, I came upon two articles on the European Union’s ‘desperate’ attempts to stop the financial meltdown (which they call a ‘contagion’) of Greece. I knew I would find something there, but the first article only gave the outline of events. So I read the second article. And there it was. Just like I knew it would be. But later about that. Let’s start at the beginning. The article opens with:
“BRUSSELS — Euro zone leaders were set to give their
financial rescue fund sweeping new powers to prevent contagion and help Greece
overcome its debt crisis, according to the draft conclusions of an emergency
summit on Thursday.”
The way I describe ‘instinct’ to my children is to have them imagine two antennae on their foreheads. I tell them, “When they wiggle, trust them. The more you trust them, the better you will come to understand them.” Well. My antennae not only wiggled, but they danced the two-step! “Sweeping new powers”, huh? That is never good. I read on. continue reading..
Jul 16
Does anyone else remember when saving energy was Dad walking around the house turning off lights? Or waiting until the last possible day in June before caving in and turning on the AC? Or having a single window unit and mom and dad, all the kids and the dog sleeping in the same bedroom during [...]
Jul 16
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‘THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SOLD ON MY PROPOSAL.’ REALLY, MR. PRESIDENT? How can a man, who is highly intelligent by most accounts, interpret recent polling data and come to the conclusion that 80% of the American people favor tax increases – tax increases to fund his insatiable addiction to big government and entitlement programs? In [...]
QUESTION: Can an increase in the unemployment 
rate be viewed as positive proof that Barack Obama’s “stimulus” package has worked?
ANSWER: Of course it can. On Planet Obama, that is. Just three days after the Labor Department announced that unemployment rose to 9.2% in June, Obama said that the loss of more jobs proved that his $830 billion “stimulus” plan worked.
“Now, without re-litigating the past, I am absolutely convinced and the vast majority of economists are convinced that the steps we took in the recovery act saved millions of people their jobs, or created a whole bunch of jobs. And, part of the evidence of that, as you see instances of the recovery act phasing out.”
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THAT DITCH DOESN’T LOOK SO BAD AFTER ALL, DOES IT? Every time I write an article on Barack Obama and the sorry state of the economy, I tell myself, “This will be the last one – at least for awhile.” And then? I renege. Why? New unemployment data comes out, our buck-passer-in-chief says something ridiculous, or as luck would have it today – both things happen at the same time. That’s when the fun starts.
UNEMPLOYMENT RISES TO 9.2%; HIRING AT A STANDSTILL
Today’s unemployment rate is bad news for the Obama Administration and American workers alike. Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month, as employers added the f fewest number of jobs in nine months. Oh – and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2%.
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OBAMA’S HAND-PICKED ECONOMISTS POO-POO ‘STIMULUS’
The presidency of Barack Obama would be hysterical – if it were not so dangerous to the United States of America. Now, the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, (a group of three economists who were all handpicked by Captain Awesome himself), reports that Captain A’s “stimulus package” has added or saved just under 2.4 million jobs – whether private or public – at a cost (to date) of $666 billion. That’s a cost to taxpayers of $278,000 per job.
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Jun 25
It still amazes me how the media beat up on Sarah Palin for her lack of experience back in 2008, when in reality, she had more experience at running a government, making budgets and other administrative experience than Obama did. She had as much experience as Bill Clinton, I mean, my gosh, he was Arkansas’ [...]
OBAMA REGIME EDITS LAUGHTER OUT OF TRANSCRIPT
At a Monday evening fundraiser, Barack Obama claimed that his administration has created 2.1 million jobs under his “stimulus” plan - and DNC donors laughed out loud.
“Over the last 15 months we’ve created over 2.1 million private sector jobs.” (Laughter)
Here’s this morning’s official press release from the White House:
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Jun 20
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Out here in flyover country, all summer, quite a number of us have been playing a game of sorts – how far can we make $20 worth of gas go. Honestly. Once a week, I put $20 worth of gas in the tank, combine trips as much as possible and leave the windows open when [...]
CHINA’S HU JINTAO CALLS FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE WITH INCREASED ROLL FOR CHINA AND RUSSIA OVER WORLD’S ECONOMIC SYSTEM
The Rat must once again admit his ancient beginnings. When I read this story, my mind wandered back to an old Bob Dylan song – from a simpler time, when its meaning was less foreboding – and easier to accept. The times are a-changin’ and it’s a sobering thought. Read the rest of this entry
The United States is Broke: Stop Sending Billions to Pakistan & States Who Hate Us.
If I send $500 to my sister and she turns around and robs my household, I don’t think I would send her any more money. Would you?
I have learned that common sense, honor, trust, and all ‘the old verities’ William Faulkner talked about can only be found in the individual, not the group. The only human characteristics that seem to ‘bubble’ up to the larger, group entity are the bad ones. Like greed & self preservation. But also, a kind of stupidity that lacks any common sense- the group has no instinct whatsoever.
The United States sends billions of dollars to states around the world that hate our guts. The individuals hate us and the body of government hates us. They laugh with glee as they pocket our money, use it for nuclear weapons to threaten India & us with, and humiliate us as.. continue reading..
May 27
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SHRIMP ON TREADMILLS AND ANTARCTICA JELLO-WRESTLING – Those zany scientists at the National Science Foundation are at it again, and U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, (R-Okla.), isn’t real happy about it. Coburn’s report, ”The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope,” was published this week, following months of warnings from Republicans that the agency would be targeted for [...]
May 27
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In the United States, for some odd reason, we’ve adopted French nomenclature for where one stands in the wider range of political opinion. That would be left, right and center. Short history lesson – that terminology came from 1789 around the beginnings of the French Revolution in the National Assembly of France. Those who supported [...]
Apr 30
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“HOPE AND CHANGE” PROTEST GAINS MOMENTUM ACROSS THE COUNTRY Tens of thousands of ordinary Americans are joining in a silent protest against Barack Obama by placing sticky notes on gas pumps, grocery shelves, and anywhere else that will get your attention. Clever, huh? Simple too. That’s what makes it so ingenious; it’s not destructive, it’s cheap, [...]
Apr 28
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FROM THE “NOW WE’VE SEEN EVERYTHING” DEPARTMENT Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. Democrats have voted overwhelmingly to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of their collective right to bargain over health care. This is not a misprint, nothing is wrong with your computer, and the Rat’s not lost his mind (yet). [...]
Apr 15
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This guy, Barack Obama, is a piece of work. Whether he’s pontificating about how America would not be a great country without crippling entitlement programs, rushing to a microphone to claim credit every chance he gets, or his insistence on turning eulogies and policy statements into campaign speeches and attacks on upper-income Americans, corporations, and [...]
Apr 8
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Mr. Speaker, you’re no Ronald Reagan. I’ve been wondering what Ronald Reagan would think of the current budget debate, and how he might respond to the scare tactics of Barrack Obama and the Democratic party. After revisiting some of my favorite Reaganisms, doing a bit of “cut and paste,” and adding a few words of [...]
Apr 8
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THE DEMOCRATS CONTROL THE MESSAGE ONCE AGAIN In a recent post on the budget fight, I wrote of the Democrats’ historical ability to win the war of words in Wahington; and therefore, control the debate. It’s been that way since Ronald Reagan jetted off to California. Their latest effort is impressive indeed; Democrats and their [...]
Apr 3
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Since the rise of the Obama administration, virtually the only organized group to forcefully call for a return to limited government, fiscal responsibility/sanity, balanced budgets, and a reduction is government waste, fraud, abuse, and deficit spending has been the so-called Tea Party. And in response to their plaintive cries that maybe the United States should [...]
Apr 1
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DEMOCRATS WINNING WAR OF WORDS WHILE REPUBLICANS LOSING BACKBONE The Republicans won an historic victory in last year’s mid-term elections as angry voters sent a crystal-clear, no-doubt-about-it, get-your-act-together message to Congress, Barrack Obama and everyone else who matters: THE DEFICIT IS TOO DAMN HIGH. Reinvigorated Republicans talked of a mandate while shell-shocked Democrats sounded like born again [...]
Mar 1
Forgive me, but I feel like shoving this in front of everyone who chants the liberal “Faux News” mantra. There’s plenty of blame to go around about government waste, and FOX News isn’t afraid to report it, regardless of who was president at the time. As members of Congress fight over what to cut in [...]
Courage is the stuff that leaders are made of. Abraham Lincoln had it. Winston Churchill had it. Ronald Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” rebuke of communism was more than a speech read from a teleprompter. Reagan’s words were accompanied by courageous actions. Courage is an attribute of most succesful people. It’s an attribute that Barrack Obama lacks.
Leadership is ultimately about getting things done. A crisis or monumental event is often required before we learn the true mettle of a leader. Such was the case with Lincoln during the Civil War, or Churchill as Britain faced the onslaught of Adolph Hitler.
I recently wrote of Prime Minister David Cameron’s courage in standing up to the threat of multiculturalism on the European continent. Sarkosy of France and others are now following Cameron’s lead.
Barrack Obama is an ideologue who lacks the courage to step away from his socialist mindset and make the hard choices that are right for this country. His budget proposal is a good example. He called Governor Walker’s plan to end unions’ right to collective bargaining an “assault.” An assault Mr. President? Is the massive burden of ever-increasing debt we face not an “assault?”
Obama’s political operatives at the Democratic National Committee are fanning the protests against public union benefit cutbacks in Wisconsin. Is this not an assault on the taxpayers? Democrats are hiding out in another state, thus denying the democratic process to the people of Wisconsin. Is this an assault?
Scott Walker remains steadfast in his challenge to Democrats who fled the state to avoid a vote on his budget proposal. “We’re broke,” the governor said, adding that his campaign promised “bold changes” and that‘s just what he intends to do. The governor also had strong words for Obama, effectively telling him to butt out of the Wisconsin debate:
“I think we’re focused on balancing our budget,” Walker said Friday morning. “It would be wise for the president and others in Washington to focus on balancing their budget, which they are a long ways from doing.”
Barrack Obama would do well to listen from time to time instead of talking. Scott Walker is a good place to start. Perhaps he might acquire some of that thing called courage, which he sorely lacks.
The ruckus continues in Wisconsin but the tide of public opinion seems to be turning against the mob now occupying the state legislature. The days of stuffing oneself at the public trough have to come to an end and Republican governors and legislatures are watching this play out with interest. If WI Republican governor Scott Walker and an allied legislature are able to de-fang the public unions in a state that helped birth the ‘progressive’ movement then it can be done most anywhere.
“The accelerating clash between the private and public sectors obviously involves ideology, but a lot of it is simple economic combat. The people who pay for government are struggling with, and beginning to fight against, the unsustainable demands of the people who get paid by government.” – Co State Sen. Shawn Mitchell
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Imagine what you would have thought when you were learning about government in grade school if the teacher had explained, “if a bill is brought before the Senate and your side doesn’t have enough votes to win…the correct thing to do is sneak out of town so that a vote cannot be held.”
As Wisconsin Republicans tried to begin Senate business Thursday, observers in the gallery screamed “Freedom! Democracy! Unions!” Opponents cheered when a legislative leader announced there were not enough Senators present to proceed. Democracy in action? Hardly. More like mob mentality rules.
Some on the left glowingly compared the “day of rage” in Madison to the uprising in Egypt. Nonsense. The correct parallel? The riots in London, where thousands of students protested the government’s plan to increase college tuition rates. Until 1997, British students paid little or nothing to attend college because the government footed the bill through the national budget.
In 2010: France experienced wide-spread demonstrations over a plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, while angry Greeks rioted over the government’s decision to cut spending and increase taxes to prevent the country from going bankrupt.
Obama’s initial take on the events in Wisconsin? Governor Walker’s bill is “an attack on unions.” Much has been written of the president’s desire to remake the United States in the image of Europe. Does he naively believe in the ideals of Noam Chomsky or does he understand the implosion of the European welfare state? Either answer is frightening.
Nanny states are precarious entities at best; once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s hard to get it back in.
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