Is the Left Turning on Obama? A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

Oliver Stone is the producer of the Showtime television series and book entitled The Untold History of the United States. He recently sat down for an interview with RT which aired on December 28. He commented on Barack Obama this way:

“I think under the disguise of sheep’s clothing he has been a wolf. That’s because of the nightmare of the Bush presidency that preceded him, people forgave him a lot. He was a great hope for change. The color of his skin, the upbringing, the internationalism, the globalism, seemed all evident. And he is an intelligent man. He has taken all the Bush changes he basically put them into the establishment, he has codified them. That is what is sad. So we are going into the second administration that is living outside the law and does not respect the law and foundations of our system and he is a constitutional lawyer, you know. Without the law, it is the law of the jungle. Nuremburg existed for a reason and there was a reason to have trials, there is a reason for due process – ‘habeas corpus’ as they call it in the United States.”

Left wing historian Peter Kuznick, also appearing in the interview, said this:

And the other side of what you are asking is about the constraints upon political discourse in this country. Why are people so uninformed? That is what we are to deal with in the series. If people don’t understand their history, then they don’t have any vision of the future and what is possible. If they think what exists now – the tyranny of now – is all that is possible, then they can’t dream about the future. They can’t imagine the future that is different from the present. That is what I am saying – people have to understand the past because if you study the past then you can envision a future that is very different.

Make no mistake about it, both of these guys are avowed leftists.  You can read the entire interview here and see what I mean. Mr. Stone is not known for historical accuracy. His movie credits include cinematic docudramas such as Nixon and JFK, both of which he acknowledges play fast and loose with the truth. Other movie credits include Wall Street, Born on the Fourth of July, Natural Born Killers, Platoon and Reversal of Fortune which is one of my personal favorite movies. He has been described as by the British publication The Guardian as “one of the few committed men of the left working in American cinema.”

Here is a dirty little secret about those whose politics are firmly planted in the right and those planted firmly in the left. There is more in common than one would think. There is a strong libertarian streak on both sides…and it is that libertarian streak that is uniquely American. Both sides are deeply afraid of an intrusive government and value our individual liberty and privacy. We value rule of law. We understand that without it, there is either dictatorship or anarchy.  And more importantly, we value honest discourse.  That is the American tradition.

Mr. Stone has finally stumbled across the truth. Although he is coming from a different direction than folks like me, he has finally come to the ultimate conclusion about Barack Obama…he is a liar with an agenda that is anathema to both the right and left. And he is not afraid to use an Imperial Presidency whose antics have far surpassed those of Richard Nixon. He has hidden his true agenda from the public and has fooled everyone. Even those on the left are beginning to sense there is a problem here.

It is ironic that as the interview was being done, Obama’s EPA Chief, Lisa Jackson, resigned. She used the usual excuse of spending more time with her family, but the true motivation is she was caught using secret and/or alias screen names to conduct government business circumventing the Freedom of Information Act. We know of at least 12,000 emails. There are probably more with still more alias email accounts. What are they hiding…perhaps ways to circumvent the Congressional rejection of Cap and Trade or submitting the United States to the whims of the United Nations? Who knows? We will find out.

Although the focus of Oliver Stone’s concerns is somewhat different than mine, his concern about privacy is close to the top of my list with maybe a different nuance. On the other hand, he and I agree 100% on one thing, Barack Obama is a liar. Behind that winning grin is something else. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Those of us on the right know what his fundamental change to America is. Oliver Stone, and those like him on the left, are just now discovering that traditional liberal American values are also under attack. That’s a really scary thing.

Coming for Your Guns

The government is coming to get your guns. In the words of the current administration, never let a good crisis go to waste. The Sandy Hook massacre is the mother lode of crises. Wayne La Pierre, President of the National Rifle Association, today gave a detailed position statement on behalf of his organization. In it, he listed the elements of the cultural crisis that faces our nation: Inadequate and declining mental health policies; violent video games; violent television, violent music; a culture that celebrates violence…and I will add my own personal comment to his list…if you take the Thou Shalt Not Kill out of the schools, where are the students supposed to learn it?

He also commented that none of the proposed gun controls would have stopped the massacre of those innocent children. A mentally deranged individual went to the gun store to buy a gun and was denied after a background check. Next he did what most nut cases would do, he stole a gun. Then he went to a completely undefended group of people and killed them to make whatever point he wanted to make.

He further commented that had there been an armed guard in the school guarding the main entrance, this never would have happened. Further, in my opinion, if the school principal was schooled in firearms and had one available to her, when she heard the gun blasting through the windows, she could have grabbed her gun and shot the son-of-a bitch. Further, again from me, why didn’t the school secretary have a panic button to the police department?

I find it appalling and hypocrisy at its worse when those who advocate gun control are the very people who are peddling violence to the children they feign to protect. Mr. LaPierre used as an example a video called Kindergarten Killers available to anyone on line. I point to programs like any of the CSI television series with graphic portrayals of murder and death. And let’s not even talk about the gangsta rap music which simply accepts gun violence as a way of life and glorifies it in the nth degree in its recordings.

Folks with serious mental disease are walking among us because they have “rights”. It is next to impossible to get someone committed for observation unless they have already done a violent act. The hoops are unending. In Newtown, the mother was going through the arduous process of getting her son to a place where he could get some help. He killed her, too.

The second amendment is there to protect us from an intrusive and invasive government. Look at it, folks, and what do you see? Governor Cuomo of New York said today that the government should take control of semi automatic weapons. He said “Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option.”

If you want to know what that means, look at the picture at the top of the beginning of the article. That was Janet Reno sending Elian Gonzales back to slavery in Cuba. Your tax dollars at work!! That is when I joined the NRA even though I don’t own a gun.

Think hard, America. Freedom is slowly slipping away to those who know better than you and aren't afraid to tell you so.

Right to Work Ascending

Union thug attacks Fox News contributor Steven Crowder

Union thuggery is alive and well. And if you are a Fox News contributor, beware. The union thugs will beat the crap out of you. Thus are the lessons coming out of Michigan! The state that gave birth to the United Auto Worker Union has laid the union bugaboo to rest. This past week it became the 24th Right to Work state in the union.

Contrary to popular belief, Michigan did not outlaw unions. The Michigan law reaffirms collective bargaining rights as guaranteed in Federal statutes. What it does do is hit the union where it hurts…in the pocketbook. There are no more closed union shops where you have to join the union to get a job. Workers are now free to politely say “no thank you” to sign up invitations. Less union members mean less money for the unions to spend on….let’s say….political campaigns? The union thugs went down fighting, literally.

In a way, unions are victims of their own success. Rooted in our dreary industrialized past, unions brought about better working conditions, job security, good pay and were the building blocks for working Americans to join the middle class. But then was then and now is now. It’s a different world. In the world marketplace, American manufacturers are stymied by union work rules, some of which verge on being ridiculous. In addition, many union members really don’t want to be union members. Dues are not cheap, sometimes approaching close to a $1,000.00 per year. American statutes and regulations have eliminated much of the overt issues which gave rise to unions in the first place.

The percentage of the workforce which is now unionized is in the 12% range, including public employee unions. That’s down from close to 40% during the union glory days. Modern attitudes have changed. Employers work hard to keep employees satisfied and to meet cultural expectations as to how the employer/employee relationship should be. Employees of Honda, Toyota, Walmart, and numerous other companies have routinely turned down efforts to unionize. Notwithstanding, the threat of unionization is the hammer over non-union companies keeping ‘em honest, so to speak.

The real problem for unions will be decreased political influence. Money is the mother’s milk of politics and the delivery man just stopped coming to the union door in Michigan. In state after state, fully a 1/3 of current union members opt out of the union when given the chance. That has sparked the violence seen in Michigan this past week by the union central core. Losing a major source of funds is a major problem for these guys.

On the other hand, unions aren’t going away. Unions will have to learn to market themselves to potential union members in ways that are relevant to today. The advantages of union membership can be found in job training and placement, insurance plans, benefit and discount packages such as one gets through the AAA, working for common political goals, and yes…even collective bargaining if things start to go south in a company.

One thing unions SHOULD do to protect American workers is look to unionize labor overseas. That is the heart of the real threat to American unions. If overseas labor begins to unionize, the benefits to making things there and shipping things here will go away. It would do things American tariffs and taxes can’t do. As the rest of world moves into the modern digital and industrial age, unions should be looking at the rest of the world as a source of new members.

Or…they can just punch out another Fox News commentator, and slip into irrelevance.

Congrats Mr. President: 30 Things You Now Own!

Comments from John in Orlando after article appearing on CBS Philly website:

Congratulations to the Democrats and Young People! You now own it and you can't blame Bush.

1) The next terrorist attack you own it.

2) Can't get a job after graduation, you own it.

3) Sky rocketing energy prices due to Obama's EPA shutting down the energy producing states, you own it.

4) A nuclear Iran, you own it.

5) Bowing to Russia, you own it.

6) Another severe recession, you own it.

7) A volatile border with Mexico, you own it.

8) Trouble getting good health care, you own it.

9) Higher health insurance costs and health care costs, you own it.

10) No budget, you own it.

11) Our allies mistrust, you own it.

12) Another trillion of debt, you own it.

13) More Benghazi situations, you own it.

14) No one willing to join the military, you own it.

15) Trouble getting a loan to buy a home, you own it.

16) More dependency on food stamps, you own it.

17) Trouble finding good employment, you own it.

18) Several part time jobs instead of a good job, you own it.

19) A World Government, you own it.

20) The UN governing the United States instead of ourselves, you own it.

21) A Senate that will not bring any legislation to the table even if it is "Dead on Arrival", you own it.

22) China controlling our world trade trampling all over us, you own it.

23) Loss of our freedoms as we have known it in the past, you own it.

24) A dictatorship instead of a democracy that follows the Constitution, you own it.

25) Less take home pay and higher living costs, you own it.

26) Driving a car that looks like a toy, you own it.

27) More government corruption and lies, you own it.

28) More toleration of extreme and fanatical Islamists, you own it.

29) Terrorist attacks called work place incidents, you own it.

30) Your revenge instead of love of country, you own it.

President George Bush is out of it now, and there is not another good man for you to vilify and lie about. In a way, I am relieved that another good man will not be blamed when it was impossible to clean up this mess you voted for. Have a good day.

God bless the United States! God is our hope now.

Rutgers....Really?

                                                        

Once again my faith in college football is shattered. Last week the Big Ten which is actually the Big Twelve announced that it is now the Big Fourteen with addition of the University of Maryland and Rutgers University. Rutgers…really?

Rutgers is also known as the State University of New Jersey and is the largest public institution of higher learning in the state with three campuses.  The largest is in New Brunswick.  It is a blue blood university founded in 1766 by the Dutch Reformed Church and named Queens College.  It was closed for a period of time because of financial difficulties, but re-emerged as Rutgers College in 1825 named after an American Revolutionary War hero.  Like Ohio State, Rutgers became a land grant college in 1864 with a strong emphasis on agriculture.

The major football conferences have been on a re-alignment binge. The big loser is the Big East which, in addition to Rutgers, has been gutted with the loss of schools like Miami, Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Of course, it now has Boise State which is what…east of California which is also home of new Big East Conference member San Diego State which is east of the Pacific Ocean. The University of Maryland was a charter member of the ACC and is about to pony up $50 million to leave the ACC to join the Big Ten. Its students are shocked asking the big question….

Why???? At the root of all the conference moves is money. Maryland in particular seems focused on increased revenues from lucrative television contracts. Rutgers, in addition to money, is looking for the cache of the Big Ten to compliment its new and improved football program in the making these past ten years.

More curious is the Big Ten which apparently sees a media market of 14 million people in the DC and New Jersey areas. This casts a large Big Ten shadow which stretched its Midwest boundaries east when Penn State joined the conference and west with Nebraska last year. But at least those schools made sense.

If the Big Ten thinks for a minute those on the east coast are going to be sitting on the edge of their chairs anxiously awaiting Big Ten football…it will be sorely disappointed. Start with the basic mindset of those who live in the DC and New Jersey/New York media markets. They don’t think much of Midwesterners. We are viewed as a bunch of rubes. We live in fly over country. There are no ties. There are no traditions. There are no common values.

Jump to Indiana. Do you really think the Hoosiers…right wing conservatives…are going to identify with eastern liberal snobs? Maryland? It is such a tiny state. And Rutgers? How do you spell it? State school not withstanding, it's NEW JERSEY! Who is going to watch? That ultimately is the determinant of what these media contracts are worth.

Boundaries have disappeared in the modern digital age. The world has shrunk. But within our United States there are still regional loyalties and sensibilities. Midwesterners who could identify with Penn State and Nebraska will not identify with Eastern schools with which there are NO ties and NO common identification. Just because you put a football game on television doesn’t mean anyone is going to watch. Rutgers and Maryland will always be the add on schools…the poor relations.

I give the union between the Big Ten and these two eastern schools about ten years, if that, before Maryland and Rutgers search for ways to rejoin their traditional conferences. Better fits for the Big Ten would have been Missouri, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, or Notre Dame. But those schools got away.

But what would you expect from a conference that named its two divisions Leaders and Legends. Nobody said they were smart!!! Go Bucks.

Shell Holidays - Running on Empty

The political season is over. Now it’s time for a break. The weather is getting colder and the nights are getting longer. This time of year is steeped in tradition. Thanksgiving is upon us and Christmas is just around the corner. We look forward to Thursday and a sumptuous turkey dinner and football and family and then the Christmas rush begins in earnest. This year Thanksgiving is at its earliest date making the Christmas season a full four and half weeks. It’s going to be a long haul.  I am looking for after Christmas sales already.

Lost in the stories about the fiscal cliff and Mideast violence are retailers pushing the envelope once again as they attempt to push Black Friday into Thanksgiving night. I am actually a Black Friday fan. When my son was smaller we used to get up at 5:00 AM to be at the electronics stores when they opened at 6. Then we had to get up at 4 to be there when they opened at 5. Then they made the quantum leap to open at midnight and I said to hell with it and slept in. But this year they have crossed the line. Several of the big box stores have decided to open at 9:00 PM…and then others tried to outdo them by opening at 8 on Thanksgiving night.

I am a free enterprise kind of guy. But enough is enough. I listened to these jackasses boohoo about how tough business is right now. Do they really think that 3 extra hours on Thanksgiving night is going to make a difference to their bottom line? Do they really really think that? They very self righteously say that they don’t force their employees to work on Thanksgiving. It’s voluntary, they say. We have people lining up to work, they say. Really?

I remember years ago when Kmart tried to stay open on Thanksgiving morning. I went there to get out of the house while my wife and crazy mother and crazy aunts cooked. Kmart had a cafeteria at the time, so I bought a piece of pie and cup of coffee. When I went to pay the bill, the waitress looked at me and said it was because of people like me she had to work on Thanksgiving. Her kids would not have a Thanksgiving Day dinner because she could either work or cook. The boss said she had to work. I left her a big tip and slinked away.

America has always had great traditions. Unfortunately as our society has secularized, what’s left are the shells of the traditions. The guts have been eliminated. Thanksgiving Day is for thanks. Now it is for football and shopping. Christmas celebrated the birth of Christ. Now we are obliged  to leave the religion out in the cold. It is all Santa and presents and parties. Watch the Christmas movies and the birth of Christ is all but ignored except when a sappy ending is needed and town folks sing Silent Night in the town square…fine for the movies but would result in a lawsuit by the ACLU if it really happened.

It’s like watching all of the Say Yes to the Dress bridal shows. Out comes the white dress and the big wedding…and the bride either has kids already, has lived with the guy for three years, or is pregnant. And the white dress tradition lingers because…..

This year I am going to try to lose at least some of the trappings of the holiday and concentrate on restoring part of the guts. Shell holidays look good, but I think I want something more at the core than a holiday running on empty. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and don't forget to thank God for your blessings. 

Where's the Celebration?

This past election was an election of hate. The Democratic campaign strategy was simple. Demonize Mitt Romney to the point that no matter how bad Obama was, Romney would be worse. It worked. Politics is hard ball and you either play the game or get out. In politics, it’s not really helpful to be a nice guy. They finish last. So we had a war on women. We had a war on blacks. We had a war on the environment. We had a war on just about everything by a rich country club type whose sole goal was to make the rich richer while throwing the rest of the country out the window. None of it was true. And all of the problems are still here. And the country has been riddled with messages of hate and class warfare for a year.

That probably explains why there hasn’t been much celebration in the country. There is going to be a lot of bad stuff happening over the next several years. The deficit is not going away. Entitlement solvency is non-existent. FEMA has actually topped its Katrina debacle closing offices because of the storm. Iran is shooting at our drones over international waters. Our ambassador was murdered in Libya. Health care is going to put the economy in reverse. All of the platitudes and feel good rhetoric don’t make the problems go away as the country will continue to splash about rudderless in Obama’s ideological sea of academic clap trap.

Is there going to be thunder coming down from the heavens smitng America? Probably not. It will be a slow process over a period of years as the economy steadily goes south. More likely than not there will be some resolution of the fiscal cliff that is permeating the media right now. Taxes will go up now. Entitlement cuts will come later if at all. Addiction to spending is hard to conquer.

But 1/5 now approaching1/4 of the population is reaching complete dependency on government assistance. The country has reached the tipping point. Those who are working under the yoke of government regulation are becoming smaller in number. There will come a time when those taking will crush those that are working, and that will be a bad day.  The average value of government assistance per household receiving it, excluding social security, is $60,000.00.  How many of you working are making that much money?

And it’s not the fault of those who find themselves is dire circumstances. Most people by nature are not slackers. It’s government policy that has forced many of those from the work roles to the welfare roles. And the health care bill is going to multiply that even more. Full time employment for folks with college educations will be hard to come by, and not available at all to those with just high school diplomas…and they will all be paying their own health insurance cost out of their own pocket under the watchful eye of the IRS.

You see, Obamacare may be rooted in the best of intentions. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The end result is a shift of the cost of health care from business to the individual. Can a family of four making $60,000.00/year afford a $4,000.00 a year hit in out of pocket health insurance cost?

The end result is that these folks will ultimately be exempt from having to comply with the mandate, leaving 45 million Americans still uninsured and a big mess in our health care system with fewer and fewer working Americans picking up the cost. It is a recipe for disaster.  But I can tell you who won't have to worry about it, government employees.

The rich will always have their ways of skirting the system. It’s the shrinking middle class that will ultimately pay the bill. And that’s too bad. And that’s why there is no sense of celebration in the country after this past election.

The Media, Politics, and Dead Americans

I was in Panera’s over this past weekend enjoying a cup of hazelnut coffee and a bear’s claw with a friend of mine. We were discussing the political topics of the day mostly focusing on Libya and the Benghazi debacle. My friend is a well informed individual, but mostly gets his news from NBC. That made the conversation difficult because as I made references to various things, he just looked at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about. He knew that something had happened there. He knew the ambassador plus three members of his support staff were killed. The immediate topic was that live streams from the drone flying above the event…watching…were being fed in the White House situation room along with real time emails from those poor souls directly involved in the attack. He didn’t know that. He also didn’t know that America had air bases in Italy with rapid response planes on stand-by which could have given support to the embattled Benghazi staff within an hour.

Sitting at the table across from our booth was a very nice almost senior lady drinking coffee solo. She looked over to us and said she couldn’t help overhearing some of our conversation and just had to speak up. The pain in her eyes was visible. She said she was in the navy when she was young, and then worked at Boeing on the west coast. She went on to say that the events in Libya had deeply disturbed her and repeated some of what I said and wondered aloud, tears swelling in her eyes, why America just sat by and let those folks die. My friend just looked at her with a blank expression. It wasn’t computing.

My friend and I joke around a lot about political issues, but lately I have come to the conclusion he is just plain uninformed and can’t draw conclusions because he doesn’t know the facts. I don’t joke around about dead Americans killed in the line of duty. He wouldn’t either, but he just doesn’t know the facts.  He gets his news from NBC and AOL online blurbs from the Huffington Post and cannot admit that Matt Lauer would tilt the news.

As the Benghazi story unfolds, it becomes more and more disturbing. The latest is downright chilling. As the Ambassador and staff were under attack, urgent requests, in real time, were sent to the CIA for assistance. CIA agents a mile from the initial attack were told to “stand down”. They ignored the order and went to the consulate and rescued survivors and retrieved the body of Sean Smith, a member of the diplomatic corps. They could not find the Ambassador. When they returned to the CIA annex, the wired Washington for military assistance as the CIA annex itself came under attack. It was also denied. They were then killed by a mortar hitting the CIA annex about 4:00 AM.  Those poor dead people requested assistance three times that night, and were denied.

While this was going on, the Situation Room in the White House was monitoring the attacks on live video from the drone, as well as the live correspondence between the folks under attack and their DC superiors. President Obama then went to Las Vegas for a fundraiser…and his staff for the next two weeks blamed an obscure video for the Benghazi attacks.

Barack Obama is who he is and will do as he pleases. It's the press that has provided cover for him in ways that are almost culpable. But for Fox News continuing to investigate the story, those watching any other news outlet would not know that anything had happened. The information was readily available to those who looked or asked. Instead, the main stream media lambasted Mitt Romney for speaking the truth right after the attacks occurred, and CNN in the form of Candy Crowley gave Obama cover in the second debate notwithstanding that we all heard the video excuse story from his UN Ambassador, his Secretary of State, his Press Secretary, and from himself both on the View and in his speech to the United Nations.

America should be outraged at the President and his tactics, but should be livid about a suppliant press that has abandoned its repsonsiblity to report the news in a fair fashion in favor of becoming a propoganda machine for an incumbant office holder.

The truth about what happened in Benghazi is ugly. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that Obama decisions were political, and not in the best interests of this country or its overseas representatives. He is a liar.  In response to the latest revelations, he said the death of the those four Americans have nothing to do with this election, and he shut down a local TV interview. In the meantime, the headline on CNN’s online service this morning is a huge deified picture of Obama. The story: How the Presidency Change Obama’s Faith. Not even a major hurricane can pull CNN’s, and NBC, CBS and ABC’s noses out of his ass.

This makes Watergate look like a walk in the park. The question now, as then, is what did the President know, and when did he know it.

Vote Early! Vote Often!

So…here we are 23 days before the election. Except that here in Ohio the election has been on for over a week now. Early voting has been the hot button issue in our state this year. In addition to absentee ballot requests mailed out by our Secretary of State, you can go to the Board of Elections and vote just because. Early voting is supposed to end in Ohio on Friday, November 2nd, except if you are in the military in which case you can vote anytime as required by Federal mandate.

The Democratic Party sued Ohio in federal court claiming that the early shutdown to early voting violates the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. The Democrats cherry picked a local Democrat appointed federal judge to pursue their endeavors and prevailed. Ohio is taking the case to the United States Supreme Court claiming that Ohio has some of the most liberal voting access laws in the Union, allowing folks to vote a full month before the election either by absentee or at the local Board of Elections. My money is Ohio will win, but who knows in this crazy world.

Early voting on its face sounds like a good idea. Who doesn’t want citizens to vote? But things aren’t always what they seem, and there are unintended consequences. Election day, by federal mandate, is the first Tuesday in November. Heretofore, campaigns were geared towards that particular day in which a collective snapshot of public opinion could be had, and our officials elected. You had to apply for absentee ballots, and needed a good reason NOT to be able to vote on Election Day.

With voting expanded out in excess of a month in certain states, including Ohio, it has complicated the process. I am familiar with both ends of the stick. For those running for office, it has expanded the need  for even larger sums of money to cover campaigns that have to be ready for voting at the beginning of October. It means lots and lots of more money. The cost of get out the vote efforts alone has jumped dramatically, particularly with the Democrats who literally hire buses to bring people to vote from their churches. The cost then expands to Republicans who intensify their efforts at nursing homes. It goes on and on.

But the bigger danger is to the country. With early voting out of control, there is no collective consensus. Those who voted on October 2nd in Ohio voted before the debates. How can these folks make an informed decision? In this election specifically, the whole problem with the Libyan raids was not even in the news in a meaningful manner on October 2nd. What if something happens and you want to change your mind? You are out of luck.

And let’s not even talk about voter fraud. In the northwest part of the country, they don’t even have Election Day voting. It is all done my mail in ballots. On its face, that is an invitation to fraud.

If for no other reason than the size of the population, I am not opposed to early voting, but not like it is being done now. For example, they could expand Election Day to two days. I would feel more comfortable if voting was not allowed at least until after the 2nd Presidential debate so folks can see what the candidates have to say. Absentee votes should be exactly what they are supposed to be. If you are sick or out of the area on election day, then by all means vote absentee…but not as a simple matter of convenience.

People can go pay their water bill and electric bill in person. People can go get their drivers license renewed. People can go out to eat. Why am I the only one that thinks people should be able to take a few minutes out of their lives over a seven day period to go vote?

Early voting is becoming a red hot button issue. Parameters need to be established at the Federal level for early voting nationwide…just so thing stay fair. Vote early and vote often is being raised to an art form.  It's time to step back just a tad.

The Obama Phone

Who’s paying for your cell phone? I know what I pay. For my wife, myself, and my son, including minutes, texting and data tagged to two smartphones out of three: $230.00/month. This past week a video has been making the rounds about a Cleveland voter who said all of Cleveland has an Obama Phone. It took me more than a few seconds to realize she was talking about cell phones which the government is now providing to folks. She also offered this political commentary: Romney sucks. What’s really scary is that one million Ohioans, a little under 1/10th the population, are using Obama Phones at a cost to you and me of $26.9 million/quarter and rising…or $107 million/year…just for Ohio.

You pay for this bit of government largesse through a line item on your phone bill marked FUSF, or the Federal Universal Service Fund, as calculated by the FCC to 1) help keep local telephone rates affordable for all customers; 2) support telecommunications services in schools, public libraries, and rural health-care facilities, and 3) subsidize local service to high cost areas and low income customers. Oh yes…and to pay for Obama Phones.

To the government’s credit, it has supposedly been trying to cut back on this particular expenditure by reducing duplicate and/or fraudulent phones. But the amount of phones given out in Ohio seems to be on the rise notwithstanding. $26.9 million in the first quarter 2012 vs. $15 million in the first quarter 2011 which the government says is due to the ballooning population on food stamps, one of the Obama Phone criteria.  Of course the telephone companies are making out like bandits. They are basically charging for bandwidth (re: air). No skin off their backs. The more customers the merrier so long as somebody pays the freight. And hey….Ohio is a battleground state. What better state to hand out the Obama Phones?

In all seriousness, nobody begrudges folks in need of help a cell phone. The limits imposed on usage are stringent. These kinds of “conveniences” are almost necessities today especially if there are children. On the other hand, there is something unsettling about a woman appearing on You Tube screaming the praises of Obama because he gave her a phone.

At the end of the day there is no free phone. Somebody has to pay for it. Therein lies the problem. This woman got a free phone. Chances are she is getting lots of other government assistance. She is probably getting food stamps. If she has kids they are probably getting free lunches, breakfasts, and maybe even dinner notwithstanding the food stamps. In Mahoning County, she could probably get free transportation on the WRTA. Medical services are likely provided by Medicaid…on and on and on.

What these folks really need is a good paying job.  Obama and crew are making sure government dependency is on the rise by destroying free enterprise and giving people phones. Phones are nice.  Jobs are better.  All of us need help from time to time, and there are certainly some that need it on a regular and permanent basis. But to encourage it as a lifestyle…cradle to grave dependency is to destroy hope, not give it. Hope is defined as looking for a better future.  Cradle to grave government dependency is not hope.  That is despair.

We, as a nation, cannot afford to keep this up. As Margaret Thatcher said, sooner or later you run out of other people’s money. Meanwhile, maybe I should tell Verizon to cancel my plan.  Maybe I can qualify for an Obama Phone.

Just a Spoonfull of Sugar...

Bill O’Reilly had it right tonight. In a normal world, Barack Obama’s numbers would be in the dumper. The economy is bad…it is getting worse. Gas is high. The middle class is being squeezed in all directions. 47 million Americans are now on food stamps compared to the 17 million when Bill Clinton was president. Gas is close to $4.00/gallon (I paid $4.25 tonight).

In Ohio, median income is down to 17% to a 27 year low, 39th in the union. The unemployment rate is over 8.2%. So…why is Obama pulling ahead in states like Ohio to the point Rush Limbaugh said today Romney will lose Ohio? O’Reilly said it’s because Americans are living in a fantasy world rooted in the internet, cell phones and tablets. They are mesmerized to the point they actually retreat into an alternate universe totally unaware that Rome is burning. Add to it cable television with 150 channels, you can go through life completely oblivious to what is going on around. This is more than a spoonful of sugar. It’s the whole freakin’ bag.

The news media is the icing on the cake of this faux world in which Americans find themselves. They simply don’t report the news. The Mideast is in turmoil after a 9/11 terrorist attack that killed our Ambassador who was tortured for hours....and the media did reported on Romney’s tax returns. Those that did report the story bought Obama’s line about it being rooted in a video on You Tube. Really? Worked for CNN and NBC…end of story!! This is dangerous stuff. Americans have always had at least an “idée” about what was going on around them. Now they have given up and retreated. Too many baby boomers…let them die. People unemployed, who cares? The campaign ads are just plain lies. But they are on television so they must be true.

This is a dangerous course. Sooner or later things will spin so far out of control the American public will have to take notice. By then it will be too late. The most obvious comparison is Germany in the 1930’s that danced away as the National Socialists came to power, living in a world of night clubs and beer halls, not exactly the internet but the equivalent of the day. Things were so bad the country went on a toot while the Nazis were left to fix things as best they could.

Obama isn’t a Nazi, but he is a socialist. The left uses the same approach to politics. Tell the lie long enough and everyone will believe it. Start up the propaganda machine. Find an enemy on which to focus public opinion. For Obama, hate the rich. They succeeded on your back. You didn’t build that. Threaten those who oppose you. Meanwhile, he is cavorting with some of the richest people in the world with towers of golden champagne bottles at his fundraisers and his wife and her entourage taking extravagant vacations. It’s the oldest trick in the book, and Americans are falling for it hook, line and sinker. If Obama says blame the rich while courting the rich…you can bet your bottom dollar, and you are, that you will be paying the price.

Folks…America needs to wake up from its Obama stupor and look at the facts. There is no good end to this story. By the time America reaches the end of the story, it will be too late. The spoonful of sugar will no longer be able to mask the horrible medicine America will be facing.

Notre Dame Joins the ACC



Life is too complicated. As I get older I have more and more difficulty in following stuff that used to be simple but now is “complicate" as my grandmother used to say. Football conferences are a case in point. Those of you who know me know that I am not an avid sports fan. But I follow, or used to follow, college sports on some level. But now I can’t tell the players, literally, without a program. Schools have been shuffled in and out of conferences like so many pieces of fruit. Add to that the scandals and who is eligible to play in what bowls, what’s a body to do?

Notre Dame is the latest example of schools doing the Teaberry Shuffle. Notre Dame is traditionally an independent when it comes to football, but has floated in and out of conferences for "everything else." It was in the Big East, but announced last week that it is leaving the Big East for "everything else" and joining the ACC (the Atlantic Coast Conference for those who are blissfully ignorant about such things). But its football schedule must include five ACC teams which may cut into its traditional rivals mostly in the Big Ten which now has twelve teams, two of which are under some sort of NCAA sanctions. I don’t get it.

Conferences used to be geography centric. Big Ten schools were in the Midwest; Pac 10 along the west coast. The Big East was mostly northeastern schools; the ACC along the central east coast and those along the southern east coast were in….you got it…the Southeast Conference. There was a reason for this, including school travel arrangements as well as time zones to fit school and limited broadcast schedules.

Conferences also exhibited different styles of football, most notably the Big Ten which had a reputation for old style, big bruising football…the Woody Hayes “three yards and a cloud of dust!” The Southeast Conference was noted for fast paced passing football.

Now it is all jumbled as schools jockey for positions and money. Below is how the Big East and ACC conferences will look in 2014 after the shifts in and out.

ACC: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Florida State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Notre Dame

Big East: Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Marquette, DePaul, Rutgers, Temple, Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Connecticut, Rutgers, Villanova, Memphis, UCF, SMU, Houston, Boise State, San Diego State

Boise State and San Diego State in the Big East…really?

I always thought Notre Dame would eventually end up in the Big Ten. But the conference has a long and historic tradition of revenue sharing and program integration that would never fit into Notre Dame’s school centric view of sports (translate: its broadcast contract with NBC for $20 mil plus/year). That may change as the conferences continue to slosh their way through the muck to a true national championship game based on conference playoffs rather than poll rankings incorporating the traditional “bowl” games as playoff venues. How long will other schools tolerate Notre Dame as an independent?

But what do I know? Can anyone tell me what conference Youngstown State is in? I think I need a Bloody Mary.

Post Democratic Convention Thoughts and Fears

The conventions are over, and maybe America will begin to pay attention to the serious issues we are facing. This election cycle has been marked by some interesting twists. I know that polls are notoriously inaccurate, but this cycle is the first time when I have noticed that the polls are being purposely skewed. What is even more amazing is not only are the pollsters not hiding it, they readily admit there are problems with the methods and numbers.

Adding to the problem are folks who are fearful this year. The public being polled has wised up, and is simply either refusing to participate or outright lie to the pollster because one never knows who is at the other end of the poll telephone call really. I trust Rassmusen, and that’s about it.

Obama gave his speech claiming he is going to spend money saved on war to build bridges and cut the deficit. Uh? The money we are spending on “war” is off budget and is borrowed. So where is Obama going to find the phantom peace dividend? And he hauled Clinton out to give a speech…you know, the convicted felon who has been disbarred who has prostituted his wife to Obama after a filthy dirty primary four years ago. Did I say that? Hey America….Clinton is NOT running for President, and we know he is a liar.

Beware of Obamacare. For those of you who currently have insurance under your current employer, you can be sure unless you are among Obama’s chosen few you will not have the same insurance policy after 2014. The number of companies quietly saying that they will drop health insurance as a benefit when Obamacare goes into effect is rising. If the penalty for NOT offering health care is $2,000.00 per employee and it is costing the employer $7,000.00 per employee, one doesn’t have to be a genius to see that one coming.

I am fearful that America doesn’t fully understand how bad an Obama second term will be. EPA regulations will issued like sand in the wind. Gasoline prices will soar. Utility prices will “necessarily” rise as Obama promised several years ago. Inflation will take over. The health care you currently enjoy will not be there. The war on religion will be intensified. Those were Democrats booing God at the Democratic Convention. The Middle East will explode in war as Israel, abandoned by the United States, will attack Iran with unforeseen consequences. The dollar will begin to lose its place as the world’s reserve currency. If you take into consideration those folks who have stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate is actually 11%. If Obama is re-elected, look for it to push 20%. You can poo poo me, but I am right. Gold will soar as the world looks for a safe haven. And those who are suffering now will learn there is no free lunch. “Free” can be very expensive! And the standard of living provided by the government is low.

I talked with a senior lady the other day who can’t come to grips with what is happening in America today. She kept repeating over and over again that she is Democrat, and she has no one to vote for because the current “Democratic” president doesn’t seem quite right. I tried to explain to her that this isn’t her father’s Democratic Party. This is something else. The ideas are foreign to America. They were rejected with George McGovern. They were rejected with Jimmy Carter. They were rejected the first two years of the Clinton administration. I am not sure the country will reject this social cancer this time around.

I heard a talking head on television say that the press has made Obama’s re-election a moral issue. The unfinished part of the statement is it is a moral issue based on race. The job numbers announced this past Friday clearly show that this is a “moral” imperative we can’t afford. Obama’s post convention bounce seems to as tepid as Romney’s. This is scary stuff and we should all be concerned.

A Broken Press

The American press has failed America. As I watch them “vet” Romney and Ryan, I wonder where they have been for the last 5 years slobbering all over Barack Obama. While screaming for Mitt Romney’s tax returns, the press failed and continues to fail asking even the most miniscule question relating to Obama’s background. His relationships with terrorists, radical preachers, and extreme left wing thinkers are left unchallenged. The dirty middle of the night politics while passing Obamacare were ignored. His miserable economic record is all but ignored…and his discarding white male blue collar voters is appalling is probably the least reported political story of the year. And he really should release his school records. 

The press climbed into bed with Barack four years ago and has been there ever since. He is wise beyond all of us. He is charismatic more than any of us. He has insights into a utopian world none of us can see. In reality, he is a Chicago thug who is an intellectual light weight. I used to think he was a devious genius. I changed my mind. He is an empty suit.

Unfortunately for us, Obama is betting on an uninformed electorate and a press that is willing to deliver his message. Two journalistic events of note this past week criticized the press. Mark Halperin, the liberal editor of Time Magazine, stated the press is more than willing to do Obama’s bidding. And Newsweek Magazine, on death’s door as it ceases print publication, featured a cover article about how it’s time for Obama to go, this after asking about Romney’s wimp factor several weeks ago. Where did that come from? The liberal Newsweek editor quickly disavowed the story his magazine ran as shoddy journalism. Huh?

Watching the press is like watching the Keystone Cops. True investigative journalism is dead. People don’t know about Fast and Furious other than as a movie title. People don’t know about the crony deals Obama made to the benefit of his political friends costing the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. People don’t know that Obama looked into the camera and lied to the public during the Obamacare debate claiming you can keep your health care plan if you like it. It was a lie. He knew it. The press refused to cover it.

I am not sure what this infatuation is. They have to look around and see things aren’t good. They have to notice the gas prices. They have to notice the unemployment rate. They have to notice young adults moving back home with Mom and Dad saddled with student debt and no job prospects.

Or not! These folks live in a bubble. They only talk to each other in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. They can’t be bothered with the rest of the country. My favorite story is the journalist who expressed surprise when George Bush beat John Kerry. She said she didn’t know anybody who voted for Bush. Exactly my point.

So now the press is carrying on Obama’s story about Romney’s war on women; Romney’s war on seniors; Romney’s war on the environment; Romney’s war on unions; Romney’s war on immigrants. Is there anything out there Romney is not at war with? The press is nuts.

At the end of the day, as the election approaches, the American public will finally ask the only question that counts: are you better off now than four years ago. And if they truthfully answer the question, maybe then they will turn the press off.

Bye Bye Joe! Here Comes Hillary!!

Several weeks ago I wrote that Barack Obama would replace Joe Biden on the ticket this year. Today I am doubling down on that prediction. In the last election folks joked about Sarah Palin. The real joke was Joe Biden. The vice-president seems to be an okay guy. It’s hard not to like Joe. He has had a difficult life and has faced adversity that is beyond the comprehension of most of us. But he is intellectually bankrupt with gaff after gaff after gaff.

The Drudge Report today was almost comical. First he imitates the lady signing for the deaf. Then he tells the good folks of Virginia that they can win North Carolina. Then he raises the specter of racism claiming the Republicans are going to “put y’all back in chains.” This was all in one day.

Obama and his cadre Chicago have got to be shaking in their shoes. Paul Ryan is an intellectual heavy weight respected by both houses of Congress. He is young, attractive, amiable, and the smartest guy in the room. He is unflappable under pressure, shaking Obama up in the “for show” debate over health care in Blair House. And he will be debating Biden in October. Ouch!!!

That is a recipe for disaster. Ryan will clean Joe’s clock. More than that, it will make Obama look stupid…and make Sarah Palin look smart. Horrors!!!! What’s an incumbent President with the economy in the toilet to do?

I am always proud when people smarter than me, and are in a position to know such things, agree with what I said a while back. Sean Hannity, on his radio and television program today said that he believes Biden will feign illness and drop out of the race prior to the convention opening the door for Hillary. When all else fails, go to the Clinton’s. Never mind that Hillary was named Secretary of State then shoved out of the country on a continuous world tour that has yet to end. Out of sight, out of mind!! But Obama has to be concerned about Joe Biden.

And Hillary would be dumb enough to do it. Unfortunately for them, I think the bloom is off the rose for Hillary. She looks like a sellout, and frankly hasn’t done a very good job. She is a light weight compared to Condi Rice, and hasn’t been around stateside long enough to really know what is going on.

Paul Ryan has put Obama in a difficult position. Is Joe Biden the kind a guy you want one heartbeat from the presidency?

Mayor Bloomberg: A boob by any other name....

This would be funny if it weren’t so sad…or scary. If you want to know what life would look under those progressive do-gooders that seem to be permeating the fabric of our life, look no farther than New York City. Mayor Bloomberg is in his third term. Maybe he has gotten older and is getting daft. Maybe he believes his own propaganda and has decided that while Mayor is good, dictator is better. Or maybe he is the poster child for whack job extreme progressives who truly believe they know what’s best for you.

The latest in his string of edicts is that women who give birth in New York Hospitals will be lectured on the virtues of breast feeding and be allowed formula only if there is “medical reason” for it. What? He has gone from cigarettes to trans-fats to prohibiting giving food to the poor outside of a city agency to removing salt shakers from tables to banning Big Gulps and now to baby formula. Mayor Bloomberg has now entered the wonderful world of child birth and rearing, deciding in his eternal and infinite wisdom that he knows what’s best for you….and you better do it or else.

What is even more amazing is that New Yorkers appear to be dutifully lining up behind him nodding their head in agreement. What is Bloomberg’s vendetta against modern life? Perhaps he would like to ban the size of hamburgers next, or perhaps have you drink tea instead of coffee. And by the way, those of us who are baby boomers were not breast fed, and we have done fine….Thank you very much.

Here’s the plain truth. He is a nut case with an oral fetish that is coming out wrapped in some sort of warped napoleon complex. He is the textbook case for term limits which the NYC changed to allow him a third term.

This is American progressivism at its worst. It isn’t funny. This is serious business. Do you want government making these types of decisions for you? Are you ready to relinquish your freedom to a bunch of whack jobs that are, at the end of the day, nothing but thugs and bullies who just like to shove people around?

People are being shot to death in the street. The NYC school system is on the verge of collapse. Businesses are deserting NYC in droves. And he is worried about baby formula? And what about his fellow mayors in Chicago and Boston and Washington DC who have decided that only those who agree with them politically can get building permits? Do you have to pass a “politically correct” litmus test to sell chicken sandwiches?

These political litmus tests are dangerous.  If you are Condi Rice, you are not black enough.  If you are Clarence Thomas, you are not black enough.  If you are Sarah Palin, you are not woman enough.  And if you don't breast feed, you are not mother enough.  Bull!!!!

America, you better wake up, and wake up fast. If you don’t think it can happen to you, think again. The speed by which we are losing our basic freedoms is increasing. This is dangerous stuff. This is what they do in Communist China. Bloomberg and politicians like Bloomberg need to go, and go now. We are running out of time.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg, grow yourself a pair and go breast feed yourself.  

Moments of Candor

Kim Strassel’s column in the Wall Street Journal today hit the nail on the head. If you want to know the measure of a man, look for rare moments of candor. Barack Obama gave us a moment of candor last week when he dissed small business. His “you didn’t build that” moment gave America a glimpse behind the curtain…and we saw that the great wizard was really an angry, jealous socialist with a disdain from American business. If you are successful, you didn’t do that yourself. You didn’t work harder. You are not smarter. You couldn’t have done it without…..government.

Since his moment of candor, Obama has been trying to explain the comment away. He was only talking about roads and schools. Okay…right!! He has it half ass backwards. Obama believes that business is here to serve government. He doesn’t understand that it government exists because business pays for it. In America, government is here to protect and support free enterprise, not the other way around.

Obama has had other moments of candor. Joe the Plumber was told that money had “to be spread around.” Then there was his characterization of mid-Americans clinging to their bibles and guns. Why is everybody surprised? Actions speak louder than words, and his actions are continuous moments of candor from his choice of friends like Bill Ayers to his choice of social justice religion with a racist minister preaching sermons Obama claimed he never heard, to various organizations he belonged to.

You can also look for moments of candor in his appointments to government positions. From his chief of staff to his attorney general to his energy secretary to his head of Health and Human Services, he has appointed the MOST radical and leftist ideologues this country has ever seen to posts of power and position to do damage to our American system.

People want to believe in that attractive family man with a winning smile and beautiful family. They trust that engaging smile. But look to his actions. Look to his friends. Look to his unscripted words. Americans don’t want to admit that this guy has snookered them. But find those moments of candor, and you will see the truth…and the truth shall set us free.

America the Fearful

Over the past few weeks WRAG PAC has been spearheading an effort to mount an anti-Obama campaign in the Mahoning Valley. To date, we have raised a substantial amount of money and we are shooting for much more. There is a recurring theme among prospective donors….and that theme is fear.

Politics is a nasty business. It’s not for the weak in spirit and faint of heart. On the other hand, those of us who have been politically active in every sense of the word know how it works, and we gird our loins and press forward knowing that something can come up behind us and bite us in the ass when we least expect it.

But this year it’s a different kind of fear. It’s a two headed monster of fear of the future and fear of our government. I have had NUMEROUS folks who are over sixty years old express fear that they will not be able to pay for their senior years. These are folks who have saved all of their life and now fear the government will take what they have accumulated leaving them at the mercy of government “largesse.” They aren’t asking for a handout. They are afraid of being forced into taking handouts. These are the evil “rich.”

Even more disturbing are those who are afraid to express an opinion because they are afraid their name will appear on a donor list making them vulnerable to retaliation from the government. Some of these folks are justified in their fears. I have seen the thug politics to which some of these folks have been subjected simply because they made a donation to a particular candidate, including picketing of homes and picketing of their places of business. Mix into this the deliberate lies folks are being told that don’t mesh with the reality they are seeing around them…George Orwell anyone…and we have a real problem.

Those of us who fancy ourselves being amateur historians have seen this in history before. I am actually afraid to make the analogies here because of possible criticism or retaliation or accusations of the worst type. But there is nothing new here. Divide and conquer…the overt policy of the current administration…is as old as the hills. The politics of hate whether directed at an ethnic/racial group or an economic class has been around for thousands of years.

The result is an atmosphere of fear and distrust as the administration in power tries to stir up the angry mob. We have seen the angry mob. Do you really think that Barack Obama, the community organizer, didn’t have his hand in the Occupy movement?

My message is simple. America, don’t be afraid. Truth…and standing up for what you believe in…will set you free. Stand up for your own economic future. Stand up for the truth. Stand up for America.

A Rant Potpourri!!!

So much has happened this week it’s hard to choose a topic for the rant, so I will rant over several.

1) The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses has issues guidelines that are used by Homeland Security to identify potential terrorists. These include Americans who feel their way of life in under attack; are nationalistic; are anti-global; are suspicious of a central authority; are reverent of individual freedom; and believe in conspiracy theories. I kid you not!!!! Where do I turn myself in? It would be funny if it weren’t so scary…this is what our government is using.

2) The June jobs report was a disaster. The economy only produced 75,000 jobs last month. Obama claimed it was the fault of the Republican congress which should pass his jobs bill which hires teachers. That’s his solution to unemployment…hire teachers? Really?

3) Chico, California is now providing free breakfasts and lunches to anyone who cares to show up for them…no proof of need is necessary….or proof of citizenship. And you wonder why California is broke. By the way, if Obama is re-elected, guess who will be paying for the free lunch? As the saying goes, there is no free lunch.

4) A Hallandale Beach lifeguard was fired for rescuing a drowning person that was outside of his “zone”. His private company employer claimed that it was because of “liability issues”. But the firing was rescinded after an investigation (where the employer realized the liability that would have accrued to the company would have been worse if the lifeguard had done nothing by staying in the “zone”). They offered the guard his job back who politely and rightfully refused it. Good for him.

5) Barack Obama came to the Mahoning Valley today, and ended up talking at an elementary school in Poland. Could they have found a more out of the way venue? Only 250 tickets were issued to the invitation only event. Obama rode in the bus made in Canada…good for international relations. While a few lined the motorcade route, it was the second, not the lead story on WKBN evening news. But to add insult to injury, sometimes a politician can’t catch a break. The female owner of the restaurant in Akron where the President unexpectedly stopped for breakfast had a heart attack after the President left the establishment and died. Thoughts and prayers for the owner’s family…and for President Obama who I am sure wish he would have stayed in Washington.

C ya next time!!!

Health Care Debacle

This is a sad day for America and America's freedoms.  The Affordable Health Care Act is a bill that was passed against the will of the American people.  It is still against the will of the American with 67% of the population believing the individual mandate is unconstitutional.  It was passed with representations by Obama and his administrative thugs that it was NOT A TAX.  The word tax is not mentioned anywhere in the legislation, and was never mentioned at any time until it got into the courts.  Yet that is the basis upon which Justice Roberts cast the swing vote affirming this monstrosity.

All of the representations made by Obama have been lies.  He said your insurance rates would go down...not up.  A like.  He said you can keep your insurance if you have it and like.  A lie.  He said there are no death panels.  A like.  This bill represents the essence of Barack Obama, and ideologue who will lie and cheat and bully to get what he wants, and we are left to pay the price.

Those in Obama's scope of "friends" will receive exemptions from Obamacare.  This will be crony capitalism on steroids.  He will maintain his enemies list, and not be afraid to use it against those who defy an Imperial Presidency never before seen in this country. As for the rest of us, get ready for the do-gooders.  Government will now intrude in every aspect of your life with health care as the excuse.  The American public has NO IDEA what will be coming down the pike.  If you want a sample, look at what Mayor Bloomberg has done in New York City.  Latest "health" related edict is the elimination of cranberry juice is schools because it has too much sugar.

Unless this bill is overturned, you will be forced into mandatory weigh ins, taxes on "unacceptable" foods; forced into purchasing goods that are determined to be socially acceptable as Obama and his intrusive government continue to the force a path to an oppressive governmental dictatorship in ways beyond you can imagine. 

Now it is time to stand up and say enough.  This election will determine the future of the United States in ways not seen since the Civil War.  If Obama and his regime are allowed to stand along with this massive piece of beaurocratic pastiche, then we are not only on our way to European style socialism, we are already there.

Obama's Lore

The birther issue has gone away for now.  I am sure it will be back.  It has been trivialized by the liberal press, and somewhat marginalized by the conservative press.  It has been characterized as being "dirty" or "whacko" with the proponents of the issue vilified to the point of irrelevance. 

Unfortunately, the real message about the birther issue has been lost across the board.  We will never know as long as Barack Obama is president whether he was born in Hawaii or Kenya.  The folks in Arizona seem to have been placated by information sent to them by Hawaii.  But the investigation by Sheriff Joe Arpaio still raises many questions. 

Notwithstanding, we have established one thing: Barack Obama is a liar.  He has either lied to the American public in his election bid, or he lied to his public when trying  to sell his book.  One way or the other, he lied.  And that goes to the character of the man who is aloof, elitist, and seems above the law.  Do you want a liar as President?

In 1991 his literary agent Acton and Dystel published at a great expense biographies of those authors it then had under contract.   Obama was to write a book for them entitled Journeys in Black and White.  It its promo piece it stated that Obama was born in Kenya and raised in Hawaii.  Others in the promo booklet included Ralph Nader, Joe Montana, and Tip O'Neill.

Breitbart News broke the story.  It reported that it had no luck in talking with the agents directly involved.  But that sources told them that the non-athletes under contract most likely approved the content of their bios prior to publishing.  Notwithstanding, nothing was done to change or correct the content of the promo.  I would guess that a person with Obama's ego more likely than not had more than several copies lying around, no pun intended.  

This story has been in the news for a few weeks.  Breitbart News stated that it believes that Obama was born in Hawaii.  But content aside, how come we are only now just hearing about this?  Where was the investigative press in 2008?  The Washington Post ran a story about how Mitt Romney hazed a classmate when he was in high school...and they couldn't find this?

The fact that these issues continue to flow beneath the surface shows that whether or not Obama was born in the United States still is an important issue.  For most of us, it's irrelevant because too much time has gone by and nothing can be done anyway.  Conventional Wisdom has made its decision.

That being said, I still cast a jaundiced eye to the story concluding that Obama is either a liar or incompetent...or both.  It is clear that he was a pothead in his youth.  It is clear he associated on a regular basis with known radicals, some of them violent.  It has now been disclosed that his love interest in Dreams of My Father was non-existent, rather an amalgamation of various girls he dated, a standard literary trick for sure...but one not expected of the President of the United States. And it is clear he either lied to either the American public during the campaign, or to his potential book purchasers back in 1991.

Playing fast and loose with the truth is a political hazard to all politicians.  Look at the babe in Massachusetts running for Senate claiming she is a native American...and she isn't.  She is still making those claims...and the press lets her get away with it.  It's in her "family lore", she says. 

What is Obama's lore?  And what is the truth?  We will never know until he is out of the White House and the press comes to its senses once again.  I only hope it is sooner rather than later.