Comrade Obama

Who is the leader of the new U.S.S.A.? Our new president of course.
I don't listen to Rush on the radio, I often disagree with some of what I do hear him saying, but I certainly hope that President Obama fails at turning this country into a socialist state.

United Socialist States of America

Here we go. Trillions of dollars to give health care, jobs, reduced mortgages, education (unless you wanted a choice) and much more for those who do not have a job. Screw those of us who have a job that pays more than $30,000, and watch out if you make more than $250,000! I don't make enough to pay for my kid's college education, but apparently too much to qualify for Pell grants or any other government help. I make my mortgage payment on time each month - because it is about 15% of my family income!!! (NOT 50%). I have a job that includes health care benefits (though I contribute monthly and have significant co-pays), thus I don't qualify for free health care.

The idea of everybody having equal everything will mean we as a nation will have nothing. I regularly contribute to charities that help feed the hungry and house the homeless. Social justice is helping those who have less than you in some area of need. I volunteer in the inner-city regularly. But now Social Justice is being re-defined to mean the government does everything for everybody who needs it, by taking away what we earn. I have never trusted the government to run anything well. And every socialist state in history has failed miserably at caring for the poor, but they have all managed to enrich the party faithful!

I do not want my government telling me what car to drive, what temperature to set my thermostat, what products my business should sell, etc. etc. etc.

Welcome to the good ole U.S.S. of A.

Voting 2008

So I sit down with my ballot and the lady in the seat next to me starts talking. She says is this some kind of electronic ballot? How can they count this? (In Michigan for the past DECADE we have ballots where you connect the dots (draw a straight line from point A to point B) to mark your ballot which is then read by an electronic scanner ballot box. Apparently she was a new voter although I would guess her to be my age! I just scooted up closer in my chair, poked my head in, and ignored her.

Of course I voted for Obama (see my previous posts) ... I can't wait for my checks to arrive!
Weeeeeeeeeeeee socialism is FUN!!

Why I'm NOT Voting For Obama

Here is a partial list of why I'm NOT voting for Obama.

1. He WILL raise my taxes (unless I lose my job and earn no money). No matter what he says now ... he WILL (as he has done EVERY time he has had opportunity to vote for a new higher tax).

2. He will return our government to the FDR (new deal)/ LBJ (great society)/ Carter (just an idiot) years of socialist big government. Redistributing YOUR wealth to those without any. Now ... I am all for the government, and NGO (non-government institutions), and individuals having and exercising responsibilities toward those who are the "have-nots" of our society. But the government should have a very limited role in that, if for no other reason than because it does a horrible job of efficiently helping anyone.

3. He does NOT understand the true threat of Islamic-Fascist terrorists. Those who hate us because we are infidels. They do NOT want to talk to us ... unless that gives them a better chance to kill us! I predict (as did his VP pick Biden) that within the first year we will have an Al Queda attack on U.S. soil. I also believe that we are very likely within his first term to experience a NUCLEAR attack from an Islamic terrorist group. Believe it or not, the Bush policies in the Mid-East have had incredibly good results ... Kaddify giving up Nukes, removing Sadaam, Syria's Nuke facility removed (without them uttering a peep), on and on and on.

4. He is pro-abortion. Fighting hard to destroy babies still alive after late-term abortions failed, leaving a baby born alive. Being FOR such late term abortion techniques as partial birth abortions.

5. His associations with some nasty folks in his Chicago political machine (Daley) days. Until 2005, Obama was in communication with Bill Ayers by e-mail and phone, despite Ayers reprehensible braggadocio in 2001 that he remained an unrepentant terrorist. Rev. Wright was an invaluable spiritual advisor — until spring of 2008. Father Pfleger was praised as an intimate friend in 2004 — and vanished off the radar in 2008.

6. In 1996 Obama took the extraordinary step of suing to eliminate all his primary rivals by challenging their petition signatures of mostly African-American voters. In 2004, there was an even more remarkable chain of events in which the sealed divorce records of both his principle primary rival Blair Hull and general election foe, Jack Ryan, were mysteriously leaked, effectively ensuring Obama a Senate seat without serious opposition. These were not artifacts of a typical political career, but extraordinary events.

7.He not only wants to appoint extremely liberal Supreme Court judges who will be empathetic to individuals rather than the greater good of our nation, he is disappointed that the Warren Court (Roe v. Wade, School bussing, etc.) that they did not choose to get involved in redistributing wealth in our country!

8. Within the last year, Obama has completely changed his positions on every major concept he talks about (or so he says). FISA (the court that oversees tapping phone calls of terrorists from other countries), NFTA (free trade agreement), guns, abortion, capital punishment, clean coal, nuclear power, drilling for oil, Jerusalem, Iraq surge ... on and on. Who is the real Obama? The one who was totally consistant for 25 years being the most liberal senator ever, or the one who has been running against Hillary and McCain?

I'm done ... without mentioning Rashid Khalidi, Tony Rezko, or ACORN!

Why I'm Voting For McCain

I hope everyone goes out and votes next Tuesday.I'll be voting for McCain .... here's why

1. He understands what it will take to continue to take the fight TO the Islamic-Fascist terrorists around the world. We can fight them over there with our military or over here with our unarmed civilians.

2. He will appoint Federal Judges and Supreme Court justices who will decide whether the laws passed are in accord with the Constitution of the United States, not people who will be empathetic to those perceived to be downtrodden and poor. Justice is supposed to be blind not have empathy for someone because of how they look or because of their life's circumstances. (I DO want my local judges to be empathetic and caring for me when I'm up against state and federal laws). Federal judges should be deciding whether or not written laws violate the constitution.

3. He supports the ideas of free enterprise. He wants to LOWER taxes on businesses and keep the capital gains tax where it is. He does not want the government to redistribute wealth.

4. He will drill for oil and build Nuclear power plants now, while working to develop future energy sources that will be more friendly to our planet.

5. I believe he will continue to build a secure border with Mexico, AND provide a path to citizenship for those already here among us.

6. McCain is pro-life.

7. He is fiscally conservative and will keep the government spending LESS of my money.

These are some of the major areas in which McCain differs completely from Obama.
Be sure to exercise your responsibility to vote.

Mortgage Meltdown Mess - Who's Responsible?

The roots of today's sub-prime mortgage meltdown run back to the early 90's in the Clinton administration. They wanted to end discrimination in the mortgage industry ... a worthy goal by the way! HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros teamed up with AG Janet Reno (the enforcer!) and the Fed Reserve's Comptroller of Currency Eugene Ludwig to force the nation's banks to write loans for those who could not afford them (by normal underwriting standards). Rather than attempting to re-adjust those standards, they were simply thrown out the window. Everyone gets a loan! And if the Feds find that a bank denied a loan to a low-income minority they would be aggressively prosecuted for discrimination under the Fair Lending and Equal Credit acts.
Intentional discrimination (helping white applicants fill out loan papers properly, but not giving such help to minorities) and subtle discrimination (setting standards in underwriting that make it more difficult for qualified minorities to be accepted) should and must be eliminated ! Ceasing to run your mortgage business by fair underwriting procedures is asking for trouble.
Well my friend we have trouble, that starts with T which rhymes with B, and that stands for BAD lending policies forced onto the banking industry by the Clinton administration!
Let me ask you, if there was some Republican around town who was clearly responsible for this mess, don't you think they would be in front of some Congressional committee being crucified right now? Barney Frank, chairman of House Financial Services Committee, who opposed (and defeated) the Bush administration's attempt in 2003 to regulate how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are run. Rep. Frank said that Freddie and Fannie are not facing any kind of financial crisis! Article
Maybe Barney Frank should be looking in the mirror and holding hearings on how we got here!!

Check out this article from 1993 National Review

Name Theme For The Palin Kids

I have a therory on Gov. Palin's kids names ... since they are a bit wierd.
I want to put this in print before it becomes known.
Piper, Trig, Track, Willow, and Bristol
I see an "outdoors theme". Rugged Alaskan outdoor motiff ... hunters, fishers, snowmobile racer, small airplan flying Alaska outdoorsman theme. Ready?

Piper - they own a small piper airplane that they park and fly from their backyard in Wasilla.
Trig - short for "trigger" of most or all weapons of choice for hunting.
Track - snowmobile racing track ... other possible snowmobile parts maybe.
Bristol - NOT a town name ... it is one of the most popular models/brands of crossbows used for hunting game (moose, deer etc.)
Willow - a very popular "walking stick" brand used by outdoor rugged hikers ... also a bigtime hunting "outfitter" store all across the great North.

I believe there must be something "common" in this naming scheme ... this is my thought.

A cool post has a Palin baby name generator.

My name would be Khaki Salmon Palin. (Catchy I think)

The Bell Tolls For Thee Michael Vick

Millions of people watch on national TV, wagering millions of dollars on some animals competing against each other while ladies in big hats parade around just to be seen at the event. One of the animals is injured and is killed while the world watches. Anyone going to federal penitentiary? Millions watch as human beings savage each other on national TV every week, and I'm certain no one bets on Ultimate Fighter. Anyone going to federal penitentiary? Millions watch and wager weekly during football season while big men run as fast as they can and slam into each other. Anyone going to the pen?
I am sorry for Eight Belles, and I am sorry for the dogs at Michael Vick's fight kennel. I am sickened by the double standard (and snobbery at the best, and racism more likely) that sends Michael Vick to sit in the Federal pen because he owned a kennel that promoted dogs fighting each other while people bet on them. We celebrate the breeding, betting, and abusing of horses. We honor those who can beat the crap out of their opponent. But we can't tolerate those who want to watch or facilitate dog fighting. Hey, I don't think people who breed dogs so they can attack each other are very nice people. I was never a Virginia Tech football fan, I don't follow the Atlanta Falcons, I've never been a huge fan of Michael Vick, but 10 years in Leavenworth??
Free Michael Vick!!

Tuskegee Tragedy

The year was 1932, the U. S. Public Health Service began a study on the treatment of Syphilis. They chose some 400 African American sharecroppers with whom they would study the progress of the disease without treatment. The men, who already had syphilis, were told they would receive free treatment for their disease. Instead they were NOT treated in order to determine whether the current treatments were possibly worse than not treating the disease. It seems horrifying that this would be done in our country, but that may reveal the true mindset of white America in 1932 as it pertains to black Americans.

As terrible and despicable as this experiment was, it needs to be pointed out that these men were NOT given syphilis by the study doctors, they already were infected. It also may need to be pointed out that penicillin was not to be tested or marketed for treatment of any diseases for another ten years. So for at least the first decade of this terrible study the known cure was NOT being withheld. This does not speak to the following 30 years of the study, nor does it in any way reduce the tragedy and horror of this terrible and bigoted experiment.

I share these facts in light of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's use of the Tuskegee experiment by the USPHS to show that today the US government is very capable of being responsible for creating and distributing HIV/AIDS into the African American community. As disgusting as Tuskegee was, it did not involve infecting people with disease, and of course did not involve the government creating syphilis! Rev. Wright's example also completely ignores our nation's moral shift in how it thinks about and treats African Americans since the days of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement! Need I point out that it is our government that has put up the funding for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and has spent billions of dollars to bring that treatment free of charge to the poorest in Africa, thanks to President Bush!

Wright and Wrong

I have attended many, many worship services and special meetings in many African American churches. I have never heard ONE black pastor say any of the things that Rev. Wright proclaims from the pulpit. I understand that in those closing "hoops" it is easy to get carried away ... but Rev. Wright now has made it clear that these are ideas that he believes and embraces. U.S. government producing HIV and spreading it in the black community, Judaism being a gutter religion, U.S. government and Israel being leading terrorist states, the list of his hatred for the U.S. government and white America seems endless.
I understand and believe that the policies of our nation have been horribly hurtful toward the black community for 400 years (first slaves imported to Jamestown in 1608). I understand and believe that today there is racism in this country. I understand and believe that there continue to be racist and hurtful policies enacted and promoted by aspects of our government at all levels, local, state, and federal (justice system, criminal laws, voting rights, enforcement of local regulations that profile young black men etc.). I understand and believe that there is not yet equality achieved, realized, or assured for black Americans. I understand this because I dialog regularly with many black friends who are able to express those concerns and hurts without engaging in any of the untruthful extremes of the Rev. Wright.
I did not experience the mindset of African American culture or church a generation ago. However, I have talked with many blacks, who like Sen. Obama, grew up in this country as the beneficiaries of the hard work of the civil rights movement. A generation ago there was much Afrocentric, anti-white, anti-government sentiment in the black community. Obviously it still exists today in older blacks, and seemingly in the young hip-hop generation as well. But the majority of black America rejects the concept that the white businessman or white government is behind the inferred racist attack of putting the pepper on the lower grocery shelf underneath the salt because the white power structure hates the black man and wants to demean him! That sentiment, and those of Rev. Wright, are from a past generation, that in today's world - as imperfect as it is - sees the rantings of Rev. Wright as just as racist as the past Jim Crow generation.
I grew up in some churches that proclaimed that God had cursed the black race, that we should put all black people on ships and send them back to Africa, that black people could not be as intelligent as white folks etc. As a pre-teen and early teenager I was outraged by those statements, and when I became old enough to choose my own church I left. But even as a young child (who spent plenty of Sundays sleeping in church) it didn't take long (far less than 20 years) to come to the realization that those were views regularly espoused by the pastor of that church in the '70's. Therefore, I find in extremely difficult to believe that Sen. and Mrs. Obama could sit in a church like Trinity for 16 years and somehow want me to believe that they did not know what the pastor believed, when after 6 weeks and never once setting foot in his church, I now know beyond a doubt what Rev. Wright believes about race in America.
The NYT published some of the conversation that is supposed to have taken place between Sen. Obama and Rev. Wright the day before the announcement of the senator's bid for the presidency of the United States. Sen. Obama decided just hours before, to disinvite Rev. Wright from speaking and giving the invocation (prayer).

Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him
from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone,
“The Radical Roots of Barack Obama.” According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then
told him, “You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.” (italics mine)

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times in March 2007

See the Rolling Stone article here

See the entire sermon of 10 Essential Facts About the United States (not for the squeemish)
When asked about that yesterday, Rev. Wright said ...

Oh, I was not invited because that was a political event. Let me say again: I'm
his pastor. As a political event, who started it off? Senator Dick Durbin. I started it off downstairs with him, his wife, and children in prayer. That's what pastors do.
So I started it off in prayer. When he went out into the public, that wasn't about prayer. That wasn't about pastor-member. Pastor-member took place downstairs. What took place upstairs was political.

see the full transcript of Rev. Wright's remarks onMonday April 28, 2008.

It would seem apparant that Sen. Obama was well aware of what his pastor believed, and often said in public. This is not what the senator is telling us.

Just A Picture of Me

A Fluke Of The Supreme Court?!

Alright ... I like Eleanor Clift (but not her political viewpoint). But she demonstrates herself to be a Democrat who is stuck in a past fantasy world. Today at Newsweek.com she says this

Al Gore is the most obvious and perhaps the only contender who could head off a complete meltdown in the party. After all, he already won the popular vote for the presidency. It was only because of a fluke at the Supreme Court that he was denied his turn at the wheel. (http://www.newsweek.com/id/119851)

A fluke of the Supreme Court?? Has Eleanor not read ANY of the detailed studies of the recount effort that was halted by the Supremes?? All of those studies and countings of the ballots with or without chads that were done by all of the groups showed the outcome to be the same! Bush won. Granted not the popular vote nationwide, but he clearly won the electoral majority needed. There was no fluke. There was no Gore victory - in Florida or national!!

Wake up and smell the coffee Eleanor!

Evangelicals For McCain

Sen. McCain is pro-life, pro-marriage, fiscally conservative, and probably the only candidate that understands the threat of radical Islamic facism. John McCain is likely the only Republican candidate that can win in November! He is conservative where he should be ... and moderate where we ALL should be!
A little compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves is a godly virtue.
The Republican party is going to alienate every latino voter for the next 50 years if it doesn't get it's act together and show some compassion for those who have come here trying to find a better life! Seal the borders? YES Round up and deport 12 million people? NO
The opportunity for someone who doesn't have big money to equally influence the campaign for the presidency of the United States? Sounds fair and equal to me.
The hard-line conservatives would want us to move back to the days of the Third Reich rounding up unwanted people, and positioning themselvs as the elitist million dollar givers who know best who us little guys should elect.

Cement, Cigarettes and Other Basic Goods

So the Gaza Palestinians break through the border into Egypt ... who doesn't want them ... and what are they after?  Stockpiling the basics for Gaza life - cement, cigarettes, and other basic goods.  ?????   I personally can go YEARS without those basics.  Maybe I am on a permanent fast and didn't know it?

Egypt dislikes Hamas being the leadership of Gaza as much as Israel does ... interesting.  Shooing them back into Gaza using riot police and armored vehicles doesn't sound much nicer than what the Israelis do.

I have to get back to my life now .... smoking cigarettes and making something with cement.

Prison Not The Answer!

Let me say that I love dogs. I grew up with a dog as my pet. I have owned a dog for 18 years of my adult life. People who abuse dogs, or encourage dogs to be mean and hurtful are not nice people.

That being said, I do not believe that owning or operating a dog fighting kennel is an offense that should send someone to federal prison! Federal prison (any prison for that matter) is a great place to learn to be a bad person. Federal prison on average costs the U.S. tax-payer $25,000 per year per inmate.(based on the 2003 DOJ budget report) Michael Vick will learn NOTHING constructive to becoming a better person in prison, nothing! Being mean to dogs is bad. Fine the owner of the kennel in such a way as to take back all the money that he/she earned from operating the kennel. Make it non-profitable. Send him to a local jail for a week to make him think about it, and realize that society says "bad man, bad man, sit stay!" Put him on doggie probation for a year or two. The federal pen is not the appropriate response to this crime.

The NFL is way more concerned about the GAMBLING connected with dog-fighting than it is about the violence toward dogs. However, it would seem to ME that the NFL has little moral high-ground on either gambling or violence! Don't get me started on gambling and the NFL (or NBA).

Free Michael Vick!

Climate Change? Yes -- Al Gore? No

Alright, it seems there is climate change happening duh! Warming of the climate is of course a good thing at least to some extent. I personally do not wish I was living during the Ice Age. CO2 as a pollutant? That makes you, me, and every Supreme Court justice a polluter. Not to mention the major CO2 source - our oceans! There also seems to be some serious question about the connection between warmer weather and CO2 content of the atmosphere. Seems that when the air gets warmer the oceans let off more CO2, not that more CO2 causes the air to get warmer.
Mr. Gore mentions several evidences of global warming in his book/movie/PowerPoint which seem to be exaggerations at best, and flat out wrong often. Seems more likely that Al will be sucked into a weather vortex somewhere in the universe, than his being right about global warming.
James Taylor, senior fellow for environment policy at Heartland Institute points out some of those.

Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame."

Gore claims the snow cap atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro is shrinking and that global warming is to blame. Yet according to the November 23, 2003, issue of Nature magazine, "Although it's tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit. Without the forests' humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine."

Gore claims global warming is causing more tornadoes. Yet the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in February that there has been no scientific link established between global warming and tornadoes.

Gore claims global warming is causing more frequent and severe hurricanes. However, hurricane expert Chris Landsea published a study on May 1 documenting that hurricane activity is no higher now than in decades past. Hurricane expert William Gray reported just a few days earlier, on April 27, that the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined in the past 40 years. Hurricane scientists reported in the April 18 Geophysical Research Letters that global warming enhances wind shear, which will prevent a significant increase in future hurricane activity.

Gore claims global warming is causing an expansion of African deserts. However, the Sept. 16, 2002, issue of New Scientist reports, "Africa's deserts are in 'spectacular' retreat . . . making farming viable again in what were some of the most arid parts of Africa."

Gore argues Greenland is in rapid meltdown, and that this threatens to raise sea levels by 20 feet. But according to a 2005 study in the Journal of Glaciology, "the Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins and growing inland, with a small overall mass gain." In late 2006, researchers at the Danish Meteorological Institute reported that the past two decades were the coldest for Greenland since the 1910s.

Gore claims the Antarctic ice sheet is melting because of global warming. Yet the Jan. 14, 2002, issue of Nature magazine reported Antarctica as a whole has been dramatically cooling for decades. More recently, scientists reported in the September 2006 issue of the British journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, that satellite measurements of the Antarctic ice sheet showed significant growth between 1992 and 2003. And the U.N. Climate Change panel reported in February 2007 that Antarctica is unlikely to lose any ice mass during the remainder of the century.

Bush Might Be The 2nd Worst ... Yeah That's What Jimmy Meant To Say

So if former president Carter thinks that the current Bush administration is the worst in history, it can only be because Carter himself set him up!

Who screwed up Iran? Jimmy Carter

Ayatollah Khomeini, Hezbollah, suicide bombers, Islamist fascism

Who laid the foundation for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Jimmy Carter

Taliban, Osama Bin Laden

Who screwed up North Korea? Jimmy Carter

1994 nuke agreement giving away the nuclear farm

Who messed up the US military? Jimmy Carter

Missle programs, B-1 bomber, desert death rescue

Who messed up the US economy? Jimmy Carter

Gas & oil prices, regulation, price fixing, refusal to cut capital gains etc.

History has already decided that Jimmy Carter was the worst president in modern times. So if he thinks that the current President Bush is the worst ... it can only be because Jimmy messed up Iran, N. Korea, Afghanistan, etc. long before Bush came along and had to try and fix his mess!

Finally A Newspaper Editorial Board That Gets It

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today published an editorial that shows there are some in this country who are actually figuring out that there are two very different viewpoints within the world of Islam. The good prophet and bad prophet if you will. And recent polls show that an alarming percentage of Muslims believe that violence against civilians and soldiers of America and the Western world is legitimate! Wake up America! We have an enemy that wants us dead.

Read the editorial here.

Theological Battle

I fear that we still don't get it!
We do have an enemy ... they hate us ... they believe with all their life that we are the enemy of Allah. They will do anything, anywhere to destroy us. Yet we want to disengage, and appease.

My friend Bill Bennett likes to quote Hannah Arendt’s aphorism, “Nothing so inoculates a person against reality than the hold of ideology.” If we want to understand why we are at risk from cells in places like Cherry Hill which have no ties to known foreign terror groups, and if we want to learn what authentic, moderate Muslim reformers are up against, we need to open our eyes to what
motivates jihadists. It is powerful, enduring and frightening because it is a doctrine, not an organization.—

Andrew C. McCarthy directs the Center for Law & Counterterrorism

A View From Inside Baghdad

An interesting viewpoint from inside the city ... written by a regular citizen!

By MOHAMMED FADHIL

Thursday, May 10th 2007, 4:00 AM

Be Our Guest
I wasn't surprised when I saw Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appear on Al Jazeera to announce America's defeat last week, not long after U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did. Zawahiri claims Al Qaeda has won, and Reid claims America has lost.
But from here in Baghdad, I see only a war that's still raging - with no victory in sight for Al Qaeda or any other entity. In fact, I see Al Qaeda on the ropes, losing support among my fellow Iraqis.

The world should ask them to leave our land before asking the soldiers of freedom to do so.
The cost of liberating Europe in the last century was enormous in blood and treasure. In fact, it took half a century of American military presence thereafter to protect those nations from subsequent threats. If that made sense during a Cold War, and it did, then I don't understand why anyone would demand a pullout from Iraq (and maybe later, the entire Middle East) when the enemies are using every evil technique, from booby trapped dead animals to hijacked civilian aircrafts, to kill innocents.

With America's help - and only with its help - the decent people of Iraq can still prevail.
Fadhil, a dentist in Baghdad

Read his entire article here