The Coming 3rd Iraqi War

Barack Obama has declared the war in Iraq over, and has withdrawn American troops. There was a ceremony in Iraq that was not attended by Iraqi officials. American troops were ingloriously moved to one of our bases in Kuwait. Here in the United States, there was nothing. Obama gave a speech, the press gave it a day’s worth of headlines, and life went on as normal…oblivious to all things Obama.

What am I missing? I am not a military planner. I have no experience with anything military. I have degree in international relations, but for the most part that was the Vietnam era. I am not privy to any classified information, and my general knowledge about both Iraq wars is limited. But it seems odd to me, and should to you, that America has now fought for Iraqi territory twice, and we have absolutely nothing to show for it but huge loss of American blood and treasure.

And what is worse, the existing government in Iraq is not particularly friendly to the United States even though its very existence is owed to the United States. Immediately upon withdrawal of American troops the sectarian violence in Iraq resumed with a vengeance. The government in Iraq is weak, and its former deadly enemy Iran is salivating at the border, ready and willing to fill the vacuum that the United States has left.

What is Obama doing? It seems to me that no country should have to fight for the same territory twice, and give it up a second time. In February of 1991 American troops were within 150 miles of Baghdad, and Bush the Elder unilaterally stopped the advance and withdrew American troops back to Kuwait. We had the sneaky bastards and the Iraqi Republican Army on the verge of collapse…and Bush withdrew.

Now Obama has done it again. It is Obama, not our troops, who is unilaterally leaving Iraq with his tail between his legs making whining noises about nobody better not ever try anything or else. He is leaving without one drop of oil, or not one petro dollar to repay the United States for disposing of the despot Saddam Hussein. What is he thinking?

What is really upsetting is Iran is still rushing headlong to make a nuclear bomb and wipe Israel off of the face of the earth. Obama has decided to sell some twenty odd fighter jets to Iraq. I hope Obama is smart enough to get paid in advance, because you can be sure that within a year or two those fighters will in the possession of Iran.

This is the single dumbest foreign policy move in a series of dumb foreign policy moves by the Obama administration which is acting on ideology rather that practicality and reality. The showdown with Iran is coming. It is just a matter of when. And our troops will have to fight for Iraq a third time. Only this time they will be fighting Iranians on Iraqi soil. Thank Mr. Obama for such a bright future. No American soldier should ever have to risk his/her life fighting for the same piece of land twice, let alone three times. And oh yes....

For those of you who will complain that we shouldn't have gone into Iraq the second time in the first place...you may or may not be right...but that doesn't make the withdrawal policy of the Obama administration any less lame!!!!!!

Punch Payroll Tax Here / Push Mortgage Tax There

Once again the old adage robbing Peter to pay Paul is rearing its ugly head in American fiscal policy. In the quintessential example of government "planning" gone amuck, the government extension of the payroll tax holiday for another month or for a year, depending on which politico is pontificating, is being paid by a $15.00/month tax on new mortgages backed by everybody's favorite Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac. And that's 90% of all mortgages currently being issued in the United States. Barack Obama has done a good job of making sure the private mortgage market is dead. 

Here's the skinny. As you have heard, 48% of all wage earners pay no income tax. It's tough to give a tax reduction to those who pay no taxes. However everybody pays a "payroll" tax which funds social security. As part of Obama's stimulus package, the payroll tax, although Social Security is going broke, was reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%. Unless Congress acts, the payroll tax will go back up to 6.2% January 1. The Senate bill extends the cut until February 28, 2012.

This effort is opposed by the House which wants to extend the payroll tax deduction for a full year, and the Republicans in both the House and the Senate have mixed in the construction of the Keystone Pipeline from Canada to Houston for good measure. This was done in an attempt to back Barack to the wall to approve the pipeline, a shovel ready project that would create a minimum of 20,000 jobs and help assure North American energy independence, that so far he has refused to approve placating the global warming environmental whacko bunch.

Notwithstanding, the payroll tax reduction needs to be paid for. Although the payroll tax reduction is temporary, Congress has decided to pay for it with a $15.00/month permanent tax on new home mortgages. Isn't that special? And you thought Super President promised not to raise taxes on the middle class. Of course, he can say he really isn't raising taxes since no new mortgages are being issued anyway. Who knew?

This is pitiful. If you want to know why this country is going down the toilet, look at the policy these jack asses are implementing. You can poke it, shake it, reshape it, bend it, and squeeze it....but at the end of the day.... when dealing with these kinds of temporary fixes to the economy, you are always robbing Peter to pay Paul.

And don't forget to go and borrow money to buy a house to make sure you pay your fair share with that new $15.00/month tax!!!

Jon Stewart's Vile Comments About the Shroud of Turin

The war on Christmas took a particularly ugly and highly visible turn last week when Jon Stewart did “comedic” commentary re: Bill O’Reilly and other Fox News figures’ criticism of Rhode Island’s Governor Chafee who called the statehouse Christmas Tree a Holiday Tree. Stewart quipped that calling it a Holiday Tree is “not akin to wiping your ass with the Shroud of Turin.”

For those of you not familiar with the Shroud of Turin, it is a relic believed by many Roman Catholics to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. On the shroud is an imprint of a man who was crucified bearing all of the wounds described in Jesus’ crucifixion. Even more interesting is that while image is only faintly visible on the cloth, it is actually a photographic negative.

Experts are divided as the authenticity of the shroud. Carbon dating puts the origins of the cloth back in the middle ages thus making it impossible to be the burial shroud of Christ, but the carbon dating was done on a small sample, and the cloth had been almost destroyed in a fire during the middle ages. Scientists now feel that the carbon dating may have been skewed with carbon residue on the cloth from the fire. The cloth itself seems to be authentic to the time of Christ. Some scientists have claimed to have duplicated how the image on the shroud was created…but those claims have been unverified. The Catholic Church has taken a neutral stance on the shroud, but millions of Catholics and other faithful believe the image was created on the shroud at the moment of Christ’s resurrection.

To many, apparently Jon Stewart among them, the shroud is a fiction. But most matters of faith aren’t provable. That’s why it’s called faith. Is the shroud any more of a fiction than the Dome of the Rock where Mohammed mounted his horse, leaving his foot print in the rock, as he began his ascent to heaven?

So while Muslims attack and kill Christians throughout the Mideast, and fly planes into our buildings, and issue death sentences to those who bring Bibles into Saudi Arabia…Jon Stewart worries about Fox News complaining that Governor Chafee called a Christmas Tree a Holiday Tree.

The hypocrisy of the left is unending. Those who preach tolerance are the most intolerant of all. I can guarantee you that Jon Stewart would never use similar phraseology when commenting on Islamic issues. God forbid you print a picture of Mohammed and death edicts are issued by Muslim clergy while people riot in the streets for weeks.

Even more disturbing is that there is no outrage anywhere outside of the blogosphere about Mr. Stewart’s comments. The hate of Christianity from the left has become so prevalent in our society even vile comments like this are greeted with a “what’s new” shrug of the shoulders.

To be honest, I don’t know what can be done. I don’t watch so called liberal gurus like Jon Stewart and the hate mongers on the View. I stopped watching Bill Maher on HBO when he began to call President Bush a douche bag...over and over and over again. These folks claim to be comedians to shelter their vile and hateful comments.  But at the end of the day, they expose themselves for what they are: vile and hateful human beings who reveal the true face of American liberalism.  Shame on Jon Stewart.

Lynching Herman Cain

My first choice for the Republican presidential nominee is Newt Gingrich. My second is Chris Christie. And my third is…was…Herman Cain. Do you want to know why we don’t have better candidates running for office? Look at what they did to Cain. A rabid, liberal press, fearful of a black conservative presidential candidate, vilified a fine man on the word of some floozy bimbos not even alleging sexual misconduct…just that maybe he made some advances if that.

The credibility of these women was zero. They either had overt ties to the Democratic Party, or were in such terrible financial condition it was obvious they were looking to cash in on either money or their fifteen minutes of fame. Wolfe Blitzer media types, eyes bulging as their tongues wagged, jabbered on and on and on and on, never questioning anything these women said.  This was the same press that looked the other way on John Edwards, Bill Clinton, and the Kennedy brothers…especially Ted.

Here is the liberal segment of our society, the supposed champion of the downtrodden and racially oppressed, leading the charge for a public lynching of a black candidate because he didn’t fit the mold. They pulled the worst kind of racism out of their collective hats…black men having sex with white women. The Dems and their media supplicants called out the dogs to keep the uppity black man on the plantation until he learned his place. Shame on them!!! It is disgusting and vile. What have we come to in this nation?

I think we all can agree Herman Cain was not the best choice for a Republican presidential candidate. Although a shrewd businessman, he lacked governmental experience and political savvy. I don’t think even he believed the press could be guilty of such contemptible conduct, and was unprepared for the frontal assault. Now he has withdrawn to try to heal the wounds and repair damage to his marriage based on innuendo…and not much innuendo at that.

Even if just half of the accusations were true, they wouldn’t rise to the standard of sexual tolerance of public officials established by Bill Clinton: oral sex in the oval office with a twenty year old intern…then lying about it under oath parsing words. Let’s not forget all of his other indiscretions, one of which approached if not crossed the line of rape. Of course, for Bill Clinton, it was the women who were the evil ones. Not him.  The press still treats it as a joke.

What happened to Herman Cain is the true racism that exists in America. It is racism in its worse form perpetrated by those who claim to be enlightened. Whether it is Herman Cain or Clarence Thomas, raising up the myth of black sexual prowess in order to defeat an African American with whom the liberals disagree is wrong.

Like I said, you wonder why we can’t get good people to run for office.

Obama's America of Hate

Dennis Miller is a regular guest on Bill O’Reilly’s television program. For those of you who don’t know, Dennis Miller is a comedian/humorist who is actually pretty good in reaching the core of any issue. He struck a chord with me the other night. Commenting on Barack Obama he said that he doesn’t like Barack Obama anymore. He didn’t vote for him, but he liked him. When Obama was elected, Miller felt like me. I like the guy. What a great moment for America electing the first African American President. Let’s give him a chance. Miller then said that he has changed his mind about Obama. He doesn’t like him anymore, because Obama has made it clear he doesn’t like Miller; not Miller personally, but Obama has made it clear he does not like successful white guys.

And that is the message that is resonating through America now. Obama has fueled the flame of class warfare. It is a nasty business. In an article today, the uber liberal New York Times stated Obama is writing off working class Americans; translate those white blue collar Americans. You know…the ones we don’t need any more jobs for.

Can you imagine? Obama has made clear who the enemy is, at least according to him. And why are we surprised? These beliefs are absolutely representative of the radicals that were his friends prior to being elected. He can’t hide his spots anymore. He tried, but he just couldn’t do it. So now he is going to piece together a coalition based on hate…and race…and gender…and sexual preference…and class. Never did I think I would ever see a presidency based on hate.

Obama’s America is the Occupy Wall Street who are blocking people from going to work, disrupting small businesses trying to sell hot dogs or coffee, and defecating in public places. These are people whose moral compass is rooted in statism, secularism and relativism. They are anarchists, communists, socialists. Look across the tent settlements and you will see what a community organizer does. This is Obama’s America. How do you like it?

Meanwhile, he continues to sue states trying to enforce the law. He continues to fund risky ventures with public money that belong to his political cronies and are ideologically pure. He has shut down oil drilling in the gulf, stopped the Canadian pipeline to Houston, attempting to stop shale development in Ohio. This is Obama’s America of hate.

Do you have the sense that things are spinning out of control? I do. At least he isn’t trying to fool anyone any more. Now we know where he stands. If the putative unemployment is 9% and the actual unemployment is 25%, so be it. He just doesn’t care if it disrupts all that he perceives to be evil with the United States.

We now we see Obama’s vision of Hope and Change…hate for those who have…anarachy for everybody else.

Tax Tax the Christmas Trees

T’was the nite before Christmas and through the White House,

the tax planners were planning our spirit to douse.

Obamama in his kerchief was sending a fax:
"I spent us to broke. We need a new tax."

What new ways to find government coffers to please!

A brand new tax on Christmas trees.

You just can’t make this stuff up. In one of the most politically boneheaded moves I have ever seen by any administration in my lifetime, the Obama administration decided two weeks before Thanksgiving that it should tax Christmas. Can you believe it? These numb skulls actually decided to impose a 15 cent tax Christmas trees.

When I read the story for the first time on Drudge, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Obama’s administration has a reputation for being tone deaf, but taxing Christmas trees? Really? What were they thinking?

The actual story is somewhat less titillating, but disturbing none the less. A group of large Christmas tree growers decided it wanted the US Department of Agriculture to run a public relations program ala "got milk?"promoting the purchase of live Christmas trees. It lobbied the USDA to do so, and this past week the USDA decided to go along and fund this through a 15 cent per tree tax. Of course, not all tree growers wanted this. Small growers were downright opposed to it. But as in all things Obama, pick the winners and to hell with the losers. So the USDA forged ahead right into a public relations nightmare.  They could have at least waited until January to announce it for next year...like on New Year's Day when everybody was hung over.

The Obama administration retreated within forty eight hours, and put the tax on “hold” as the story began to grow legs. From the time this type of story appears on the Drudge Report to when it makes the mainstream news is usually 3 – 5 days, and this one was on the cusp. The White House issued a statement stating that this was all just a big misunderstanding…a basic Roseanne Rosanadana “nevermind” moment.  The story has since died an inglorious death it didn’t deserve and Obama and crew can now sleep at night with visions of taxed sugar plums dancing in their heads.

The tax on Christmas trees is absolutely indicative of how the Obama administration works, geared for the propagation of government programs and taxes to feed the beast. The public is secondary. Good sense is secondary. Of course there would be a tax on Christmas trees. Why not if the do-gooders can do some more of the good that the do-gooders do at your expense?

But stop and think…if they are willing to tax Christmas trees going into an election year, just imagine what they will tax after the election if he wins! But then again, they will probably say they aren’t taxing Christmas trees. They are taxing Holiday trees. Nothing like a dose of political correctness to go with your new Obama tax!!

Joyeux Noel!!!!!

NCAA Pimps and Whores

George Bernard Shaw once found himself at a dinner party, seated beside an attractive woman. "Madam," he asked, "would you go to bed with me for a thousand pounds?" The woman blushed and rather indignantly shook her head.

"For ten thousand pounds?" he asked. "No. I would not." "Then how about fifty thousand pounds?" he contined.

The colossal sum gave the woman pause, and after further reflection, she coyly replied: "Perhaps." "And if I were to offer you five pounds?" Shaw asked.

"Mr. Shaw!" the woman exclaimed. "What do you take me for!" "We have already established what you are," Shaw calmly replied. "Now we are merely haggling over the price."

I noticed during a commercial during the LSU - Alabama game on Saturday that "I'd rather see ya in a Kia" is the "official" car company of the Southeast Conference. Wow!! Who knew that the Southeast Conference needed an official car company? The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but one can surmise that it was more than a grand or two.

This piggy backed on Saturday's report that Penn State's former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested for years of sexual abuse of minors. Along with Sandusky, the Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schulz, Vice President for Finance and Business, were also charged for covering up the incidents. Coach Joe Paterno was aware of some of this, and made a single report to his boss, which he was required legally to do...then did nothing. My oh my oh my.

Let's see. This is on top of an NCAA investigation of the University of Miami related to big money prostitution excursions provided to Hurricane football players by a man serving extended prison time for running a Ponzi scheme close to, but not quite as big, as Bernie Madoff's.

To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw...NCAA, we've already established what you are. Now we are negotiating the price.

Now let me see, while the SEC is selling itself to Kia Motors, and Penn State is pimping young boys, and the University of Miami is providing high priced hookers to players....Ohio State is forced to sack Jim Tressel because several of his players exchanged memorabilia that they owned for tattoos.

I rest my case.

The Most Vile Kind of Racism - The Caning of Cain

I intended the topic of this week’s Rant to be how I “got” the Herman Cain's smoking television ad that everyone was dissing this past week. (See the video on the MKIA page) It’s abstract political art and genius. In thirty seconds, Cain tells the do-gooders to shove it where the sun don’t shine. That ad, smoking and all, represents the American spirit…Don’t Tread on Me!!!!

Then the ugly hit. The Politic, in what was nothing less than a hit piece, wrote a story about Herman Cain’s alleged sexual harassment of two female employees of the National Restaurant Association. Wow. But then it went on to say that the allegations were based on physical gestures that may, or may not, be interperated as being sexual. It was clear there was no touching. There may have been some verbal communication, and perhaps a gesture. The Association settled with these two ladies for what CNN called a "five figure" settlement, approximately $10,000.00 to make the problem go away.

This story is so wrong on so many levels, it would laughable if it weren’t a racist hatchet job of the worst kind. Ann Coulter said it best. Nothing threatens the liberal establishment more than a successful conservative black man. It shakes the very foundation of plantation liberalism that believes the African American community has to be taken care of, and they in turn will give the Democrats their unending homage and votes. I find it personally disgusting.

All of the innuendo was second hand hearsay at best. The worst claim was he propositioned these women. Have you ever propositioned a woman? Hey, babe, how about coming back to my apartment. No? Really? That is not sexual harassment. That is called hooking up, and is as American as apple pie. Cain claims the gesture he made was telling one of the women that she was as tall as his wife, lifting his hand to his chin. Okay…but even if it was worse…maybe giving someone the finger. Or maybe dropping the F bomb in an office setting (one of my favorite things to do…seriously)…none of this merits what is going on right now. That, my friends, is how most of us live today.

Even at that, I have written that the standard for this type of behavior is oral sex in the oval office, sitting at the Presidential desk, with a 20 year old intern (not to mention the alleged rape of another and more sexcapades with still another). That is where we as a nation have set the bar as to what is acceptable sexual behavior. Teddy Kennedy driving a girl to her death then leaving the scene of the accident is okay. Martin Luther King’s peccadilloes are okay. We won’t even talk about Jesse Jackson. John Edwards cheating on his dying wife is okay (but not using campaign funds to cover it up…that is not okay).

Once again, as with Clarence Thomas, the way to derail a powerful conservative black man is to raise the specter of sexual impropriety of the worst kind. Watching CNN tonight I was physically sickened as Wolf Blitzer interviewed the author of the Politico article completely ignoring that even according to the article he wrote, what happened was open to interpretation. Even Fox News commentators had jumped to a “cover up” mentality  forgetting that for there to be a cover up, there has to be something to cover up!!!!

When this type of base politics rises to the surface by a bunch of pig reporters that is when I am sorry that I am involved in our political system if only in a minimalist manner. With all that this country is facing, the Politico and other media that is propagating this racist bile should be ashamed.

Warrior or Assassin?

Do we have a warrior President? I have to give credit where credit is due. I honestly didn’t think the guy had it in him to go after bin Laden with the shoot to kill directive these guys obviously had. His drone attack on al-Awlaki was another surprise given that he was an American. And of course, last but not least, the participation in the capture and disposition of Qaddafi was a little fall surprise given that we were “leading from behind.” All of these are great achievements. Nothing like a little Chicago justice to make the world a better place. And his liberal base must be shaking in their shoes wondering what happened to their soulmate?

But individual “take outs” like these do not a foreign policy make. And American foreign policy has been positively bogus since the Korea. It’s time for America to stand up, grab its crotch and strut its stuff around the world. Enough already. If we win a war, for once in a century lets act like it!!!!!!

Obama’s diplomatic fiasco in Iraq necessitating the pull out of all American troops by January 1 is a complete foreign policy blunder. Oh…we didn’t go in there to conquer. Oh…the Iraqis should be able to decide their own destiny. Horse manure. How many times do we have to fight for the same piece of real estate? HELLO. Iran is right next door, and they are ready to move in for the prize won by our blood and treasure….TWICE in 15 years. What are we doing? The bad guys are across the border. The oil is right there. For God’s sake, can’t we just once act like a conquering country and do what conquerors do…set up shop and run the joint? My God, we are still in Japan, Germany, and Korea…and we are leaving Iraq to the radical Mullahs of Iran?

And things ain’t much better in Afghanistan. Karzai said that if there was ever a war between the United States and Pakistan, he would side with Pakistan. His bony Arab ass is sitting there in Kabul due to our largesse, and he is making deals with the devils that surround him; Pakistan to his west and Iran to his east. HELLO AGAIN. Our troops are already there and there are bad guys all around with nuclear bombs…and Obama wants to pull out by next fall? Is he nuts?

These are two of the most boneheaded, ideological election based foreign policy decisions I have seen in a long, long time. Reagan had it right: it should be “We win. You lose.” But not Barry. He can’t even negotiate a lease like we have in Cuba where our troops would stay in a self confined area like Guantanamo. Nope. Get them out of there.

So, when Pakistan implodes, and that nut case in Iran finally gets the bomb, what are we do? Float around in the Gulf of Persia holding our ass? Beg the Turks, the Chinese, and the Russians to use their airspace? How many Americans will have to die AGAIN to get back in to where we already are so we can pursue the Pakistanis and Iranians?

Obama is a sneaky little assassin who is going around the world in 80 days taking out those individuals who would do us harm. That is a noble gesture, and will ultimately cost him the election as his base runs the other way.  But the real risk to America is in Iran and Pakistan, and right now Obama is giving our strategic advantage away. I say stay there, and we should do a little pillaging and plundering just to let them know we are serious.

And oh ya, don’t forget the oil to pay for all we have done for these people.
UPDATE:  The head of Libya's Transitional Council has announced that the new Libya will be based on Sharia law.  He is already banning banks from charging interest and reinstating polygamy.   Oh joy!!!!  This is what we paid for? 

Foreign Aid to China?

As part of an aside on a news program today, the moderator of a discussion group happened to mention that the United States is still giving foreign aid to China. Really? The discussion panel chuckled. I didn’t. So I did some research, and here’s the skinny.

China still receives $2.6 billion/year in foreign aid from western countries. These sap countries in order of decreasing aid are Japan, Germany, France, Britain, then the United States. Our country gives to China $65 million/year. You heard me. We give China, the second largest economy in the world, $65 million. Can anyone tell me why?

We are in hock up to our necks…with a good portion of the blame resting with massive trade deficits with China. Consider the following: China spends $100 billion/year on its military. It spent billions on its Olympic extravaganza. It spends billions on a space program. It is second only to the United States in the number of billionaires in its country. It holds $2.5 trillion in foreign reserves….most of it in dollars. It is the largest borrower of money at preferential rates from the World Bank. All of this while it is sticking it up our ass in Iran and Africa, propping up some of the most brutal regimes in the world…and don’t even mention North Korea.

In addition, India receives $126 million; Russia $71.5 million; Brazil $21 million; Mexico $316 million, and Egypt $1.5 billion. Israel is in a class by itself at $3 billion.

Let’s leave Egypt and Israel out of the equation where foreign aid is predicated on things other than actual economic need. But look at the rest. None of these are poor countries. Sure, there is poverty within those countries, but that is a result of individual government policies. Russia, Brazil and Mexico are natural resources rich…and nobody seems to know where the money goes. India is not exactly poor either. Sure, there is huge amounts of poverty in India, but they are a linchpin in the BRIC powerhouse (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

So while we are borrowing our way to the poor house, while our infrastructure is collapsing, while entitlements are being whacked….we borrow money from China to give money to China?

If this isn’t an outrage, nothing is. And while the government seems to be looking at the issue, and has cut back this year from last…much of this should be gone all together outside of military aid to countries who are our FRIENDS, and who are strategically important to the United States.

And you wonder why the United States are broke!!!!!

(Thanks to Investors.com editorial Why Does The U.S. Still Give China Aid? for source material)

Dudes. Let's Occupy Wall Street...got a joint?

So the now the truth is out as to just where the President hangs on the issues. His class warfare rhetoric, either by chance or design, has rallied his “peeps” under the banner of “occupy Wall Street.” Thousands of leftists and anarchists and God knows who else, have taken up residence in front of the New York Stock Exchange calling for an end to capitalism and worse. Supporters like Michael Moore and Roseanne Barr have made such incendiary comments saying all of the bankers should be beheaded, and the people should march into the banks and take what they want. It is going to get worse.  Today they are going to march on the private homes of the "rich".  Shame on them.

The press has gone gaga at the gogo of these folks. The glory days of the sixties are back again with the radicals marching in the streets. They call these folks the left wing Tea Party. Nice sentiment, but far from the truth. While the Tea Party people brought their families, and sang patriotic songs and prayed…these folks are outrageously vulgar, have no clear vision other than hate, and are vile and violent. Seven hundred were arrested last week on the Brooklyn Bridge, and now they are suing New York and Mayor Bloomberg. Pardon me while I smirk about Mayor Busy Body. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!!! Hey Mayor, want some salt for your burger? Why not require the "movement" to post calorie counts on whatever it is they are eating.  Are you arresting them for smoking in a public place?

Add to the mix an assortment of Obama supporters feeding the beast. George Soros and Moveon.org have thrown their financial support behind these folks, especially as the “movement” spreads to other cities. And guess who else showed up!! Why it’s the public employee unions and SEIU…Obama supporters all. Add the mix Obama’s radical friends like Van Jones, and it is just one big happy socialist “let’s go blow up the Pentagon” family.  How about those pre-printed signs!!  Look for the union label.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that this group blossomed from Obama’s hate the rich rhetoric. And given the presence of the unions and Soros and a plethora of Acorn-esque organizations, this is community organizing in its purist form. This is what these people do, and no one can tell me that Obama is not behind these marches. This is the change and post partisan politics promised by this president.

This piggy backs on the comments by the Democratic Governor of North Carolina who said that we should forego elections this time around so Congress can work in a non-political atmosphere. Sounds goods…except the scandals are growing. Both financially busted Solyndro and the Fast and Furious gun scandal is going to reach right into the inner circles of the White House. These are serious issues that had they occurred in a Republican White House, the mainstream press would be shouting for the impeachment and special prosecutors. Here, the fair hair boy and his posse barely get a mention on the news, right behind the story about a sign on Rick Perry’s father’s rented ranch allegedly naming part of the landscape "Nigger Rock", which may or may not have been there six months ago or longer…depending on whose story you choose to believe.

To paraphrase Herman Cain, if these folks aren’t rich, don’t blame the people who are They should blame themselves.  Don't steal somebody elses Cadillac.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Dave Betras?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that Dave Betras, the Democratic Party Central Committee’s choice to fill the vacant seat on the Board of Elections, was rejected by Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State. Husted cited Betras’ involvement with Mark Dann, the now disgraced former Ohio Attorney General as part of the reason for the rejection. Betras was his former law partner and campaign treasurer. The Central Committee was given a week to come up with a new nominee, or Husted will appoint a Democrat of his choosing to fill the slot.

Some strange bedfellows have popped up out of the woodwork. The Vindicator’s Bertram de Souza and former Mahoning County Republican Chairman Bill Binning jumped to Betras’ defense. On the other hand, many Dems as well as other residents of Mahoning County have quietly applauded the decision.

Dave Betras is a Youngstown original. Binning referred to him as Bombastic Dave. He certainly lived up to that reputation in his full frontal attack against the local Chamber of Commerce. The focus of his attacks was Tom Humphries, President of the Chamber, raising money for John Kasich in the last gubernatorial campaign. Of course, there was no objection when Humphries raised similar money for Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan. I have written several times that attacks on the local Chamber of Commerce in tough economic times was probably not a good idea, but nobody asked me.

In response to all of the above, Betras has taken a somewhat reserved public response stating that he is now considering options available to him, including a possible lawsuit and/or appeal of the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is controlled by Republicans…probably not a good idea.

I have known Dave Betras for many years. I ran against his father for Boardman Trustee too many years ago, and lost by a few hundred votes in a three way race. Dave has always been an interesting person, and the few times I dealt with him professionally, we got along well. He is a tough lawyer, but then again he is representative of how many of the lawyers practice law in Mahoning County.

He has been a tough Democratic Party Chairman. He has raised lots of money for lots for candidates at all levels of the political spectrum, from national all the way down to Board of Education. He is mentioned as a possible candidate for state party chairman, and has been awarded Democrat of the Year awards from the state party several times.

Maybe the problem is that he represents a different kind of politics. His style is Don Hanni-esque. No matter what you think of it, it apparently appeals to a certain strain of politics peculiar to the Mahoning Valley, a strain that produces a certain type of politician…think Jim Traficant. There is a reason why this area is called Little Chicago.

Unfortunately, the state is changing, and so is the Mahoning Valley. The steep decline in the population over the past 10 years has cost us two Congressional seats. We are now competing not with China or Korea, but with states like Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee, all right to work states with low taxes and limited state governments. As Ohio begins to reinvent itself, political attitudes are also beginning to change. While the dreamers envision a tech belt in Youngstown, the reality is that we are becoming a center for oil, gas, and coal production and are returning, to a degree, to our manufacturing roots. Except the rules are different!!!!

Folks who are still here tend to be more serious. They are entrepreneurs who have chosen to stay here against all odds, or are willing to pioneer into the areas of Marcellus and Utica shale development. The rewards are huge, and this Valley does not fully comprehend what is coming down the pike. But the folks in Columbus do, which is why you see so many Republican politicians continually visiting one of the strongest Democratic areas in the country. And maybe, just maybe, the Betras style is one that is becoming passé as the state and the Mahoning Valley move forward.

I don’t know the legalities of what happened with the Betras nomination. That will be a matter sorted out by people a lot smarter than me. But I do know that sometimes style does matter over substance, and perhaps Bombastic Dave isn’t what the doctor ordered for a Board that is traditionally low key and whose focus is fair elections.  

On the other hand, don't be surprised to see the state Democratic Party choose him  as its leader for the very attributes that may have contributed to his Board of Elections problems.  There is only one question.  Is Ohio ready for Bombastic Dave?

Here Comes Herman

Take off your slippers and put on your marchin’ shoes…here come Herman. Wait a minute. That’s Obama. Never mind about the footwear…but here comes Herman nonetheless. Herman Cain, the Republican answer to Hope and Change, the anti-Obama, a car in every garage and a pizza in every pot, has hit a homerun in Florida winning the straw poll with more votes than Perry and Romney combined.

I am thrilled. I got a tingle going up and down my leg. Here is a guy that can finally relate to people. Here is a businessman that understands retail politics. Here is someone with a definitive yet simple plan for turning around our economy…and actually knows how to make money. I don’t care whether you sell pizza or airplanes. At the end of the day, business is business. You make 1% on every sale. You know, buy it for $1.00 and sell it for $2.00…1%.

In all seriousness, Herman Cain is number 2 on my presidential hopeful list. He has that certain charisma combined with a can-do attitude that is appealing to people. Like Ronald Reagan, he talks in simple terms. He puts out simple solutions to what he perceives to be, at the end of the day, simple problems. The press, both from the right and left, scorn him.  Conservative pundit Bill Kristol said the Florida straw poll victory was a fluke. Rather than a vote for Cain, it was a vote against Romney and Perry. Left leaningSaturday Night Live has already started on him. They did a parody of the last debate making him sound like Steppin’ Fetchit.

What they are missing is here’s a guy that understands people. While Romney and Perry are hobnobbing with political bigwigs, Cain is on a bus meeting the people in Florida. He is telling them things will be alright. He has put forth a plan he calls the 9-9-9 plan in which the tax code is completely overhauled. Corporate tax rates go to 9%. Individual tax rates are 9%, and there is a national sales tax of 9%. That way, everybody pays their fair share to quote Barack Obama. It is simple. It will bring huge amounts of revenue because finally, everybody is paying something with no special deals for a few. Even the drug kingpins pay under this plan when they go to buy one of those fancy cars and the bling.

Do I have reservations about Cain? Of course I do. He has had NO government experience. But then again, there are those who think that’s a good thing. I am also concerned about his foreign policy experience. He doesn’t have any. On the other hand, neither did George W. Bush. That’s why he had a Dick Cheney.

I don’t really think Cain can win the nomination, but stranger things have happened. His message is resonating with the public. A more likely scenario is that with his showing in Florida, the former CEO of Godfather Pizza probably secured the VP slot on the ticket. I don’t anyone that doesn’t like Herman Cain.

Now if we can only find someone for the top of the ticket. Chris Christie…where are you?

They Went Hiking Where?

From time to time I have to vent about people who do stupid things. So these three “it’s all about me” types decide they want to go hiking on the Iraqi/Iranian border two years ago. How stupid is that? They stray over the Iranian border and get arrested. Who'd of thought that would happen?

The girl of the bunch got released for “medical” reasons on $500,000.00 bond. She flies back to the States and leaves her fiancé and buddy in an Iranian prison. They are put on trial…and sentenced to eight years in prison for spying. But wait….there is still hope. As I write this, the whole world is waiting to see if the Iranian government will suspend the sentences in return for payment of a million dollars. Supposedly the plane is standing by at Tehran’s airport to whisk these twenty something gems home to America, after the judge gets back from vacation.  Maybe he went hiking in Yellowstone!!

So here’s the deal. Assuming they are released, who has paid the 1 ½ million dollars paid to get these idiots out of Iran? You know what? Let them rot. If they wanted to go hiking, we have some lovely hiking trails right here in Mill Creek Park. The most you have to worry about here is getting mugged if you are out after dark.

What are we doing? Who are these people who go off to be fulfilled only to get in trouble and have to be bailed out somebody else’s expense? Here are some rules. Don’t go mountain climbing if there is going to be a snow storm or an avalanche. Don’t go vacationing in a war zone. Don’t go deep sea diving in shark infested waters. Don’t go hiking where the bears are. Use your brains for once. You go looking for trouble, you are going to find it!!!  And it's time people stopped bailing these Bozo's out.

Then there’s that babe who is stuck in an Italian prison. She supposedly killed one of her lovers. This chick is portrayed as the Virgin Mary on television suffering at the behest of some pimped out Italian prosecutor. She is no Virgin Mary. She goes to Italy to go to school, but ends up on the party circuit doing God knows what while high on God knows what…you get the picture. Then this guy is found stabbed to death in her apartment. Her and her boyfriend are arrested. She blames some black dude. That turns out to be bogus. The press forgets about the boyfriend, but rapidly decides this little darling is not guilty of anything, which may or may not be the case. 

Enough!!! The folks who find themselves in these situations know exactly what they are doing and the dangers involved. Aruba should be off limits. It’s too bad about Natalie Holloway. On the other hand, what is she doing going off with some foreign guy at one in the morning. And where were her parents…and where was the school? You mean they couldn’t find anyplace else within the borders of the United States to go on a school trip? Noooo!!! They choose a party central island to send these girls…complete with booze, drugs and gambling…when some of these little princesses were just 17. What were they thinking? The pres or anybody else has yet to question the so called chaperones on the trip. What were they doing?  Pardon me if I don’t cry too much.

Then there’s 50 something bimbo who goes to Aruba with some guy she meets on the internet. He turns out to be an abusive whacko who bought all sorts of insurance on this lady’s life before they left the airport. On top of it, she was supposedly engaged to somebody else. Next thing we know, she is dead in the water…literally…as he male friend climbs out of the ocean and onto the beach and immediately call the insurance company to tell them she was swept out to see. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. But you know what? It’s not too sad. It IS funny. What was she thinking? She can’t find enough horny guys to jump into bed with here in the states…she has to go to Aruba???

It’s time the press stopped giving some of these whack jobs so much air time. It’s time the press started asking these folks what kind of responsible people would do these things. Sound cruel? What is cruel is somehow glamorizing this type of behavior, putting others at risk who might be dumb enough to try some of these stunts themselves.

As for those Iranian hikers, they may be out of jail by the time you read this. Stick them and their idiot families with bill for bailing them out.

I feel better now.

Rosewood Bitters - Why We Have No Jobs

MICHAEL STANLEY BAND SINGS THE ROSEWOOD BITTERS

Here are more examples of regulations strangling American jobs. If these stories make you want to rant…they should. Welcome to :progressive" America.

1) The California Department of Fish and Game was on the losing end of a lawsuit filed by various environmental groups against it for failure to do environmental impact studies on fisheries, hatcheries and stocked ponds operated by the Department. While promulgating regulations for itself, the CDFG decided it would be a good idea if it would regulate private fisheries and ponds also. This was not required by the court order, and went way beyond the scope of the lawsuit. It is now proposing draconian restrictions on privately run hatcheries, private fishing lakes and ponds. The impact statements now foisted on private hatcheries and fisheries will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per company and require impact evaluations right down to the grass and weeds around the pond. Translate, there will be no trout stocking in California. If implemented, it will in effect end fishing in California, and cost thousands upon thousands of jobs. The private fisheries have banded together and have filed suit against another whack job agency with not enough to do in hopes of blocking these regulations. What a shame.

2) You have probably heard the story about Gibson Guitar Company, the largest guitar manufacturer in the United States. The Nashville based company uses rare woods in its products, specifically rosewood and ebony which it buys from India and Madagascar. Federal agents raided several of its facilities and seized millions of dollars of these imported woods. The Feds claim Gibson violated United States law claiming that Gibson cannot import wood from a foreign company that may have violated a foreign law. Huh?  Gibson, as well as just about every stringed instrument maker in the country, uses the same agents to purchase these woods as well as the same compliance agents. There is a debate as to weather a 2009 rosewood shipment was exported to the United States by an exporter that violated Madagascar law. The raw wood could not be exported legally, but Madagascar law states that a finished product can…and the wood was precut into specified lengths prior to shipment, and received the stamp of approval from the Madagascar government. But our crack Federal officers determined that it did violate Madagascar law notwithstanding what the Madagascar government said. Yes….you read that right. Funny thing, none of the other guitar companies were raided, all of whom did the same thing. Gibson, however, is a non-union shop, and its owners are Republicans who donate substantial sums of money to the Republican Party. What do you think? Mmmmmm?

Both of these stories would be funny if they weren’t so sad. This is how our country has degenerated…a bunch of bureaucratic thugs. In California, a pissed off agency who decides to take it out on private industry with NO authority. In Tennessee, the United States government has decided it can interpret Madagascar law better than Madagascar, and do a little political persecution at the same time.

And you wonder why we have no jobs.

Jerry Lewis and the Mean and Nasty 30 Somethings

I know that the world didn’t grind to a halt, but in case you didn’t hear about it, Jerry Lewis did not host the Muscular Dystrophy telethon this year. So much for Jerry’s kids! It apparently was not an amicable breakup. From I was able to glean from those reliable entertainment news sites, someone in the MDA got a burr up his/her butt and unceremoniously fired him, except someone forgot to tell him. For awhile it looked like they would kiss and make up for another year, but that too collapsed as air time approached. Instead of an icon running the show, there was an amalgamation of stars in a truncated show after an announcement on air that Jerry Lewis had “retired.”

Time marches on, and change is inevitable. One of my pet peeves is old war horses that don’t know when to pack it in and move on. But this was different. Jerry Lewis was the Muscular Dystrophy telethon. Those WERE Jerry’s kids. He was so identified with the organization it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Maybe that was the problem.

Or maybe not!!! Why do I sense a thirty something smart ass in the wood pile? Not that I have any inside information or anything, but my experience with folks between the ages of 20 – 35 has not been good these past few years. This generation is the most narcissistic, arrogant, and self centered that the post war baby boom has produced to date. Raised on tech, they have no social skills and rely entirely on technology as a moral compass. 

People this age have always elbowed their way into positions of authority in show business, espcially in television. I have had some interaction with show business types as of late, and I can tell you to watch out. It is a culture like none I have experienced before. No patience. No understanding. No social skills. No decorum. No loyalty. And everything centered on “me”. It is scary.

I have also experienced it in some of the locals around here. They’re not all that way, but more than a goodly portion of them have no respect for anyone or anything but themselves. I can’t tell you how many times I have bumped into young adults of that age group who don’t even have the social grace to say hello. They just stare at you, and when they speak, it usually turns into some kind of chronic whining. They are entitled. Unless you are there to serve them, they want no part of you.

I would like to think that sense of entitlement comes from the government, but mostly it comes from over indulgent parents who have given these kids everything they want when they wanted it. Now the kids want more. There is no working for the future. Everything in their life has to be instant gratification whether it is communication, houses, jobs, or sex. If it is not provided to them, watch out. And if they can’t get a job after college, Mom and Dad better get used to supporting them in the style to which they are accustomed.

Next year, mention Jerry Lewis around telethon time and you will get “Jerry who?” Fame is fleeting no matter how long you may have had it. But I can just see some smart 35 year old account executive sitting at an MDA meeting this past year saying “Time to get rid of the old goat. That senile dude is bringing us down, man.”

And if that’s case, shame on them. And if we don’t start to clean up our act with another generation of self absorbed, self centered tech junkies with no social skills coming down the pike, shame on us.

YSU Faculty Non-Strike: The Frog and the Scorpion. Vote YES on Issue 2!

A scorpion was standing by a river trying to get to the other side. Looking around, he called upon a frog to carry him to the other side. “No” said the frog. “You will sting me and surely we both should die”. The scorpion replied that he was certainly not suicidal, and the frog had nothing to worry about. So the frog allowed the scorpion to climb on his back and they proceeded across the river. ½ way across, the scorpion twitched his tail and stung the frog. “Now you have done it” shouted the frog. “Why would you sting me knowing that we will both now drown?” “It’s my nature!” replied the scorpion as they sank to the bottom of the river.

I am so impressed by the largesse of the Youngstown State University faculty. Their decision not to go out on strike warms the cockles of my heart. And the news media is positively batty over their generous decision to allow the students to resume their very expensive education this week. Look how reasonable the local union is acting.

This past summer, Youngstown State instituted ANOTHER 3.5% tuition increase supposedly to make up for cuts in this year’s Ohio state budget. But the unions saw that money, and decided they wanted a raise. A “fact finder” decided that all of the money should be awarded to the faculty union, even though other unions had yet to have their shot at the gold ring. When the Board of Trustees said no, the union voted to strike, and gave the university its 10 day notice. Then almost immediately after giving the notice, the union abruptly changed its mind and agreed to work under the old contract until a new one could be worked out

Nowhere and I mean nowhere, did I see anything mentioned anywhere about State Issue 2 (SB 5) being the motivating factor behind all of this union civic mindedness. These folks aren’t this way by nature. The unions at YSU are just the opposite. In fact, public employee unions in this area are among the most strident in the country, going out on strike before it was legal for public employees to strike! Ask the folks in Boardman.

I would have loved to been a little bird in the room as the frantic calls poured in from the Democratic Party and the union bosses’ telling them now is not the time to go on strike. This strike would have been the topic on every radio talk show in the state, not to mention SB 5 supporters’ commercials. This kind of behavior is exactly what SB 5 was designed to prevent. How is the media missing this story? Can you imagine? A strike by state university professors right before a statewide referendum designed to prevent this type of public employee “behavior”?

Issue 2 is the referendum on Ohio Senate Bill 5. Here are some easy questions to determine whether you support Issue 2 (Senate Bill 5) or oppose it.

1) Do you believe public employees should have the right to strike? If you say no, vote yes on Issue 2.

2) Should public employees be required to participate in a uniform health care plan as provided for by the state rather than negotiate individual plans? If you say yes, vote yes on Issue 2.

3) Should public employees be required to pay at least 10% of the cost of their health care plan like employees in the private sector? If you say yes, vote yes on Issue 2.

4) Should public employees be required to pay at least 10% of their pension costs like employees in the private sector? If you say yes, vote Yes on Issue 2.

5) Should public employees be allowed to accumulate sick days and vacation days and be paid a lump sum for them when they retire, sometimes in excess of a $100,000.00? If you say no, vote Yes on Issue 2.

6) Should teachers’ job security and pay be determined by seniority or by their effectiveness as teachers? If you think the latter, vote Yes on Issue 2.

7) Should employee pay be based on the ability of a political subdivision to pay salaries, or based on an outside arbiter telling the subdivision they have to give raises, and put a levy on the ballot to pay for it? If you believe the former, then vote Yes on Issue 2.

The professors at YSU have dodged the bullet by heeding the story of the scorpion and the frog. But without Issue 2 being on the ballot this fall, school's out for summer, and all fall too!  Remember, that trip across the river is a two way trip.  The scorpion might not sting going across, but coming back is a different story. 

Vote Yes on Issue 2.

A Safety Deposit Box in the Cayman Islands

It gets frustrating week after week pleading for Obama and his liberal henchmen to do what is right for the country. I am personally sickened by his tone deafness evidenced by the foreign made bus fiasco last week and his millionaire Martha Vineyard vacation this week and next. His aides are attempting to frame it as a “working” vacation, which it probably is to an extent. But the visuals of him and pies and golf and his wife’s insistence that she go there separately at the taxpayer expense is downright disgusting.

In the meantime, we are supposed to sitting around waiting for his “C U in September” jobs plan. Where the hell has he been for the last three years? I don’t want to hear he is “entitled” to a vacation. He wanted this job. Now he’s got. He cavorted around the world right after his inauguration. You couldn’t tell where his apology tour ended and his vacations began. They all ran together. Not to mention his wife’s sortie to Spain. He has played more rounds of golf than any recent sitting president. His idea of leadership is to wait for Congress to call him and tell him what to do. Now enough is enough. Go back to Washington and at least look the part.

Those of you who know me know I like to dabble in the stock market, so I watch the business news…A LOT!!! This morning one of the CNBC guests was Mark Faber of the Gloom, Doom and Boom report. His analysis of things has been spot on for the past several years as he raised the hue and cry while the rest of Wall Street frittered.

This morning he talked about gold. He said that gold is too high to buy right now, but you should grab it on the dips. And he didn’t mean gold stocks or ETF’s. He recommends that you hold physical gold, like bars or coins, and keep them in a safety deposit box. He then went on to enumerate a whole list of nations and cities you where you might want to maintain a safety deposit box. The United States was not on the list. The interviewer pointed that out to him, and he again listed the places he would store gold and refused further comment.

If there is any indication how distrustful business is of these jackasses in Washington, it can’t get any clearer than this. He says 30% of your portfolio should be in physical gold maintained outside of the country. Without saying it, he confirmed what many of the “right wing whackos” have been warning about. They know how people like Obama and his crew operate. If they view anything as a threat to their economic philosophy, they move to crush it.

Marc Faber apparently remembers Executive Order 6102 signed by Franklin Roosevelt criminalizing the ownership of gold as he moved forward with his New Deal. His rationalization was that hoarding gold impeded economic development making the depression worse. Over the next few years numerous orders were issued to replace previous ones declared invalid by the courts…but the net effect was that it wall illegal to hold physical gold until Gerald Ford's administration. In the mix, there were rumors of Roosevelt’s enforcement arm raiding banks and seizing safety deposit boxes to get those horrible gold hoarders. The record is unclear as to exactly what the government did and didn’t do seizing private safety deposit boxes…but the conclusion is that something happened. Where there is smoke, there is fire!!

Has the nation reached a tipping point when respected financial planners tell clients to buy gold and get it the hell out of the country? The answer is a very clear yes. Obama has lied over and over and over again as to his intentions and content behind his legislative initiatives in the first two years of his presidency, and his regulatory initiatives he is using now to circumvent the Republican House.

I repeatedly say that when it comes to Barack Obama, don’t look at what he says. Look at what he does!!! And you, too, may be looking for a safety deposit box in the Cayman Islands.

Youngstown State Faculty Strike and SB 5

Let me understand this. In Ohio, the Republicans took control of all state level elected positions, plus both houses of the Ohio congress, and the Ohio Supreme Court. Governor Kasich faced a multi-billion dollar shortfall in the state budget which must be balanced as required in the Ohio constitution. As part of his effort to balance the budget, and to bring sanity to all levels of government in Ohio, Kasich supported a piece of legislation which came to be identified as Senate Bill 5, or SB5.

This bill returns the law to where it was 20 years ago, prohibiting public employees from striking. It requires that all public employees pay a part of both their health care costs and pension contributions. It also eliminates binding arbitration from third party arbitrators who have had the propensity to order wage increases based on everything BUT the current fiscal situation of the government entity at issue. In other words, they can’t order a pay increase based on a supposed future tax hike.

It was a contentious battle in the Ohio legislature, but it passed and was signed into law. Next, the public employee unions took their over the top behavior and filed for an initiative to repeal SB 5 in the November election. The SEIU showed up in Ohio and hit the inner city neighborhoods for signatures, not telling these folks that their taxes would go up if SB5 is repealed, and that the only ones who benefit from the repeal are the unionized employees.

They also hit the university campuses telling the students that SB5 “destroys the middle class.” But it doesn’t tell them that it could cause their state university tuition to go up because it would give back to their faculty members the right to strike and cause another tuition hike.

The effort to repeal SB5 was particular virulent in Youngstown, Ohio…home of Youngstown State University and one of the strongest Democratic enclaves in Ohio, if not the United States. The Chairman of the Democratic Party just about destroyed the local Chamber of Commerce because it supported SB5 making a jack-ass out of himself in the process.  Youngstown State is also a hot bed of public employee union activity with a hair trigger propensity to strike.

The final piece of the picture occurred last spring when the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees raised tuition another 3.5%, as they have done almost every year, the maximum allowed by state law.

Here’s the fun part. The YSU faculty is currently negotiating its new contract, the last it can negotiate under pre-SB5 rules. And these idiots have voted to give the university a 10 day strike notice. The arbitrator looked at that 3.5% tuition hike and decided that just about all of it should go to the faculty. Of course, it only makes sense because the administration of the university has been giving themselves hefty raises “to keep up with comparable positions in other parts of the country.” Ya…like New York or San Francisco where the cost of living is 10 times higher than here. Of course, the tuition hike was actually instituted to replace reduced funding from the state to the university, or so they say, which has nothing to do with salary increases.

Do I understand this correctly? The faculty at Youngstown State University is going to go out on strike to get salary recommendations from an arbitrator who wants to award an unpopular 3.5% tuition hike to one set of wage increases benefiting faculty members who are already grossly over paid…AND they want to strike right before a vote to repeal the piece of legislation that was designed to prevent this very scenario from happening in the first place…AND in a part of the state where the repeal effort needs the most support…AND effecting a group who might otherwise vote to repeal it but for their tuition hike and their teachers going on strike as the students have to get a third job to pay for all of this? Sweet!

As my Aunt Josephine said…some people are so smart they're stupid.

Downgrade: The Death of Keynesian Economics

Those of you who have ever taken an economics class probably learned like me to hate those graphs with all of those intersecting lines. To me, equilibrium was something that kept me from getting dizzy. Economic equilibrium had just the opposite effect on me. I wanted to run out of the classroom screaming as those graphs started spinning round and round.

One of the first words out of the mouth of my first economic professor was the name John Maynard Keynes, a British economist who died in the late 1940’s, and came up with some clever economic theories during the Great Depression. At that time, political, business and economic leaders were trying to make sense of what was happening in the world economies. Of course, they were looking in the wrong places. Much of the Great Depression was due to political reasons in Europe (the train track gauge from country to country was different, for example) and bad policy by the Federal Reserve Bank here in the states which continually upped reserve requirements for the banks to the point where over 90% of American currency printed by the Federal Reserve was being held in the banks.

Keynes, however, decided that what the world needed was a new economic theory. Communism and National Socialism (Nazis) were running amok in the world, and he attempted to come up with a theory that would allow the democracies to take a more activist role in their respective countries’ economy. Thus Keynesian economics was born.

It is not hard to understand. Keynes theorized that governments could circumvent normal business cycles by trying to achieve more efficiency in a nation’s economy. Although he admitted that if left alone, any problems in any economy would eventually correct itself in the long run, he also believed that in the long run, we would all be dead. This type of thinking during the Great Depression gave political cover to those who were caught up in the socialist utopian theories of the day without having to actually call themselves socialists. Massive government spending and debt in areas of the economy that needed correction was better than extended periods of displacement and discomfort. It would speed the normal correction along.

And it worked once. Keynes propounded his theories in the 1930’s, and the massive government spending resulting from World War II proved his point. My economics teacher was quick to point out that it was the huge deficit spending to build the war arsenal that ended the Great Depression. He was right. Massive spending on hard assets….tanks, airplanes, steel, concrete, trucks, jeeps, bombs and guns absolutely ended the Great Depression…and don’t forget all of those unemployed men enlisting or being drafted into the army. The economy was humming.

So American politicians decided that Keynesian theory was a winner, and it gave them an excuse to continue to meddle in the economy. If you were a leftist or a progressive or a liberal, you found your hero and justification to mold America into the place you thought it should be…a reflection in the social democratic eye of nations. Keynesian theory sanctified the ever increasing national debt.

Unfortunately, World War II was the only time Keynesian economics worked. Of course it worked…look at what they made with the money!!! But since then, government spending has been directed at everything BUT hard national assets. It has been directed towards social justice programs, welfare, entitlements…NOT roads, bridges, energy development, or as Obama has recently admitted, shovel ready projects that weren’t as shovel ready as he thought.

Less than 10% of Obama’s stimulus package went to those kinds of projects. What wasn’t sopped up the states to pay their bills and pension funds was directed towards liberal causes that produced little if any ripple effect through the economy. As one Democratic Congresswoman said: “We don’t need any more white blue collar construction jobs.”

Obama has now learned the hard way that is exactly what we needed. The downgrade by Standard and Poors, no matter how unjustified or justified it may be, is a stunning rebuke of Obama’s socialist policies hidden in the camouflage of Keynesian economics.

And it is not only Obama. Bush the 1st and 2nd, Carter, Johnson, Clinton, and to a lesser degree Nixon and Ford, all practiced Keynesian economics. Only Ronald Reagan saw it for what it was…a phony excuse to spend money where it ought not to be spent.

Those that practice Keynesian economics always forget one important thing. It’s not only how much you spend, it’s what you spend it on. The downgrade of American debt may finally mark the end of Keynesian economic theory. The country rejected it in last November's election. The European Union and the Euro are on the verge of collapse. China is attempting to end the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Standard and Poors simply is telling us enough is enough.

Maybe Keynesian economics will be buried once and for all.

And That, Mr. Greenberg, is Why Americans Tune Out Democrats

A recent article in the New York Times asked the rhetorical question: Why do voters tune out Democrats? It was with a dose of vinegar that Stanley Greenberg, author of the piece, stated: “I see clearly that voters feel ever more estranged from government — and that they associate Democrats with government.” Really? He is just figuring that out? But then he goes off the road. He further states: “If Democrats are going to be encumbered by that link, they need to change voters’ feelings about government.”

His premise is that the American people see government as corrupt. They see government representing all of those big, bad corporations and wealthy Wall Street types to the detriment of the little guy on the street. The Democrats have to change the perception, and go after all of those bad guys in order to get the confidence of the people back.

Of course, let’s start with the struggling little guy who pays NO federal income tax. In 1975, the percentage of American who paid no federal income tax was 17%. Now it is 53%. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that the little guy is getting a pretty good deal, even if the big guys might be getting a better one. Case in point: General Electric.

But that’s just an aside. Americans have an innate distrust of government. What they are feeling is an oppressive government smothering them to death at the behest of whack-a-doodle special interests. It interferes in every aspect of their lives. It hinders their ability to make a living and provide for their families. Every new regulation, every new rule promulgated, every new compliance requirement, kills jobs. It costs the public money. And there is no more money.

I had a box in the back seat of my car with melted glue all over it and warnings in big black letters going up and down every side of the box. You had to see this thing. I was afraid to open the box to see what was inside the warnings were so dire. You know what it was? One of those squiggly light bulbs! I have kept the box to bring it with me when I give speeches as Exhibit A.  God forbid you use a regular light bulb you earth destroyer!!!!

The EPA has just stiffened ozone particulate regulations from 75 ppb (parts per billion) to 60 ppb. What does this mean? For the energy industry, it means about $90 billion over the next few years; for American drivers it means about $1.00/gallon. That is really going to encourage job growth.

The EPA is now attempting to impose by regulation the cap and trade bill defeated by Congress last year. Even the Democrats voted against that one. Yet the Obama EPA refuses to listen to the will of the American people and is implementing these horrendous provisions where lots of people will make trillions of dollars trading air credits at your cost and mine.  The money will come right from Joe Bag of Donut's pocket.

They want to regulate what you eat. They want to regulate how warm or cool you can keep your house. They want to regulate what you can drive. They want to regulate how you raise your children. They want to regulate, regulate, regulate…all of which is done by legal coercion. My favorite is the attempt to regulate water usage. Why? Conserve water for what? You take a shower. It goes down into the sewer. It goes through water treatment into the Mahoning River into the Beaver River into the Ohio River into the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico where it evaporates and flies through the air back to Meander Reservoir when it rains into the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District system into the water storage tank into the pipes then back to my shower. And the cycle starts all over again. Water is NOT a limited resource. It recycles NATURALLY. But some do-gooder in Washington…probably a Democrat….knows what is best for you.

In fact, if you look at all of the whack-a-doodle legislation that we have to deal with in our daily lives, you will find some do-gooder Democrat leading the charge with some pie in the sky cause that absolutely must be shoved down our throat to save the world, or make it fair.  God forbid life might be unfair.

And that, Mr. Greenberg, is the reason Americans tune out the Democrats.