Youngstown's Own Chicken Little

Winston Churchill once said: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Apparently this is a lesson Congressman Tim Ryan needs to learn.

Congressman Ryan was scheduled to attend a meeting on health care at the Youngstown Community Health Center on Wick Avenue this past Tuesday. He was a no show. Several of the Ohio TEA Party organizations got wind of the visit, and sent some protestors to the site to express their displeasure over Mr. Ryan’s health care vote. His visit was posted on at least one of the TEA Party web sites.

Poor Timmy. He was a’feared. He got some threats, or so he says, and was a-shakin’ in his shoes. Can you believe this guy didn’t show up because he was afraid to see maybe a maximum of 15 protesters at an average age of 60 plus? He made some lame excuse that it would disrupt the medical services at the building, and there wasn’t any security to protect the patrons and others. Is he serious?

Well, it’s clear there is no profile in courage here. The entire health care debate has been done in secret and behind closed doors. The public opposes it, and the coup plotters in Congress who shoved this monstrosity through did most of the voting at midnight on the weekends and Christmas Eve...no courage there.

Town Hall meetings were canceled, except for those where the audience was “invited” so they wouldn't have to answer to their constituents. That is what Ryan did. Then there was Charlie Wilson’s on-line Town Hall meeting. That one would have been hysterically funny if it wasn’t so pitiful. Anything not to face the voters. No courage here either.

So Tim Ryan wimping out because of a few senior picketers is absolutely in line with how he, and his fellow Democrats, have played this whole thing.

On the other hand, he probably got the Democratic memo. The Dems have been using a theme of violence in their attack on anyone who opposes them...calling those opposing violent...and racist. Yes, they must be racist. If he didn't have a threat, he had to manufacture one. Maybe he isn't a wimp. Maybe he is just a hack

Congressman Ryan…be a man and grow up. Your predecessor did many things of questionable nature, but he never turned out to be a chicken like you; nor would he have bought into party dirty tricks maunfacturing violence where there is none. Timmy...you got to do better than this.

Health Care and Violence; A little rebellion now and then...

President Obama, the post partisan president, has become the most divisive President in American History save for Abraham Lincoln. Here is a guy who ran for office saying he would bring America together. His soaring rhetoric tricked independents and moderate Democrats, looking for hope and change, into overlooking his extreme leftist background . What they got was a far left ideologue that used the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and the Democratic super-majority in the Senate to ram through the most leftist, verging on socialist, agenda the country has ever seen.

He did it notwithstanding clear majority opposition to his policies as those independents and moderate Democrats finally realized that they had voted for a fraud. His obsessive compulsive focus on health care while the nation’s economy collapsed is beyond disbelief. His tone deafness to America’s call to moderate his positions, both in polls and the ballot box, is beyond comprehension. Instead of bringing us together, he wagged his finger at us. He or his proxies called us Nazis and racists and astro-turf. Even after his health care abomination passed, he still wanted to fight some more, daring those to come forward and change what he did.

While the polls show that there has been somewhat of a bounce in Obama’s approval ratings, that very tiny bounce is due to left wing Democrats who were upset he couldn’t get 100% of what they wanted. Inside the poll numbers, his approval ratings among independents continues to decline.

You can only flip the bird at the American public for so long. He and his Congress are at the limit. The wonder isn’t that there has been some violence. The wonder is that there hasn’t been more. And the Dems rushed to the microphone and cameras to play it for political gain…asking for money to oppose it. Never mind that shots were actually fired at a Republican Congressman’s office. That doesn’t count. He had it coming.

People of Obama’s ilk have used violence over the years as standard operating procedures. His Chicago buddies have blown up government buildings and incited people to riot in the streets. His leftist cohorts at Code Pink have thrown urine on churchgoers. Leftists on college campuses routinely use violence to silence those not deemed worthy of being heard (tr: those who oppose their views). The latest example was at the University of Ottawa where Ann Coulter was forced to cancel an appearance last week when the left threatened violence. Of course, it was her fault for “inciting” violence. Really? What am I missing?

What do Obama and his friends expect? The American public can only take so much of their continuous arrogance. They can only take so much of their “fundamental change” which turned out to be socialism rather than bi-partisanship.

I take that back. There has been bi-partisanship. It has been in moderate Democrats voting against some of the outlandish Obama legislation. We have bi-partisanship in opposition to debt which will reach 90% of GDP in the next few years, putting us into third world financial status and the threat of collapse of currency.

I oppose violence of any kind. But if Obama and crew continually disenfranchise 60% of the American public opposed to his whacko policies…there will be more. I fear it will get more serious than what we have seen. It is scary that many will sit back and silently agree. It’s the quiet ones that can spell trouble.

Mr. Obama, move to the center. As Thomas Jefferson said: "A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing." There are Americans who would take that advice to heart.

Barry and the Supremes Present Health Care Constitutionality (or - It's Not Nice to Diss the Chief Justice)

As I write this, I don’t know whether or not Congress has manipulated things sufficiently to have passed the alleged health care reform. But I’m not worried. 37 states have already stated they will sue the federal government immediately on constitutional grounds claiming the individual mandate to buy insurance is unconstitutional; and the special deals for specific states violates equal protection provisions. If by chance Pelosi attempted to pass it using the “deemed passed” or “slaughter” method, several non-profit conservative groups have also drafted law suits saying a direct vote by the house on the Senate bill is required, not optional. The House of Representatives cannot “deem” a bill passed without voting on it.

Yes, this is confusing and I know many people who are clueless as to what is going on…not out of ignorance, but because of the complexity and sheer volume and hubris of what these guys are trying to do.

Although I voted for John McCain, I was a depressed voter. When he passed the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, I thought it was the most unconstitutional piece of legislation I had ever seen. It stopped people like me from running ads or buying air time against an incumbent for a period of 30 days before the election. It also cut off all corporate advertising. I was right. Over a period of years, the Supreme Court neutered the legislation, the final nail in its coffin happening over the past 2 months. But it took years to get rid of.

I have no doubt that this health care reform abomination will also eventually be declared unconstitutional. The question is how long it will take. Will it take years…or months?

Under normal circumstances, my money would be on years. But these aren’t normal circumstances. Once this bill gets entrenched, it will be hard to roll back notwithstanding what the Supreme Court decides. There will be an urgency to look at it before too many of its provisions are implemented, unless an injunction is ordered pending the outcome. I think that is unlikely.

What may happen is that Barack Obama will learn the lesson of his arrogant and superior life. He will learn it’s not nice to “diss” the Supreme Court in front of the entire nation during the State of the Union Address and joint session of Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts has already tactfully let it be known he is not a happy camper with Obama’s oratorical antics. Justice Alito mouthed his disdain right on the floor. And instead of apologizing or trying to smooth things out, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs arrogantly chose to use a White House briefing to make the point a second time.

Now, when the health care lawsuits hit the federal court system, and go through the first round of hearings, here is what John Roberts is going to do. Like he did on the remaining portion of McCain Feingold last year, he will reach down into the system and pull the case up to the Supreme Court on his own motion, stating that because it's a matter of such national importance, the Court cannot wait for the usual lower court proceedings. He did it with the last part of the McCain Feingold. But a clearer example would be the Bush v. Gore proceedings in the 2000 presidential election.

Like all court cases, there are two sides to every story, and a Supreme Court Justice often could fall easily on either side of an argument. But given the history here, and that Justice Roberts is human as well as divine, on what side of the coin do you think he will land?

I believe he will shove it up Obama’s rear end so far that that unconstitutional piece of crap legislation will pop out Barry’s big ears!!!! Our constitutional law professor/President will learn once again that there are three separate but equal branches of government. And the Supreme Court is always more equal than the others.

There. I feel better now. Would you like me to tell you how I really feel?

I'm Not Nuts...Really!

No, I am not nuts. I have been political all of my life. But in the category of “you know you are in trouble when...", lately my friends have been going the other direction when they see me. Let’s not even mention all of the spam rules I must be violating when I send my blog out every week. Who wants to read what I have to say?

But at the end of the day, I am right. Our government and our lives are being taken over by a bunch of do-gooders hell bent on making sure that we do what they think is right for us. A case in point is the effort by New York City and New York State to eliminate salt in food. Mayor Bloomberg is proposing that salt shakers be taken off of tables and that restaurants be limited in the amount of sodium that goes into their food preparation. A bigger whacko in the state legislature wants to eliminate salt from food altogether. Although this seems ludicrous and funny on its face, the fact that it is being considered at all is scary.

Case in point: a school tries to expel a six year old boy for having a GI Joe ½” plastic gun in school. Case in point: a school accuses a 13 year old of using drugs while taking a picture of him in his bedroom using a remotely activated camera on a school computer place in his bedroom. Case in point: the United States is going to be preparing reports outlining all of our human rights violations to give to the United Nations. Case in point: the Attorney General of the United States wants to try the terrorist mastermind behind 9/11 in a civilian court in NYC to show the “strength” of our justice system…after reading everybody their Miranda rights…of course.

The biggest do-gooder boondoggle is Obama’s health care reform plan. The President of the United States stands ready to destroy our Republic by legal machinations which could result in the health care bill being “deemed” passed without a vote. It is legalistic and complicated. He and his cohorts are hoping you don’t understand it. I do. It makes me physically ill and emotionally sad to see what they are doing to the country…in the name of do-gooding. I think it borders on treason, and I believe that history will show I am right.

In the meantime, in the name of do-gooding, the government death panels are already in place outlining which procedures will be allowed under Medicare, and which won’t, based on the cost of the procedure and the age of the recipient. These are the worst kind of death panels because they operate in a bureaucratic fog allowing us to see only their edicts…not their faces.

No, I am not nuts. I am sixty years old as the government moves in to take over my health care in ways unimaginable just a year ago, and wonder if I will die five years early because Obama’s cost effectiveness panel thinks I may be too old for prostate surgery, or a hip replacement, or cataract surgery…and the government outlaws private insurance to pay for it, and puts doctors in jail for operating outside the system. The current proposal doesn't necessarily do that, but comes close. Hillary-care did include those types of provisions.

No, I am not nuts. I am a lawyer who knows how these things work. No matter the intention of the do-gooder at the start, it morphs into something evil.

So if my friends want to walk away as I watch this travesty in Washington, I know they will be coming back to me in 10 years complaining about the results of what is happening today. One thing I have learned in my profession, it’s always better to stop these sorts of things before they start than it is to try to fix them later. They may be unfixable…and I may be dead. For that reason alone, I am not nuts.

The True Threat; No Reconciliation

America beware!!! Obama’s threat of using reconciliation could be the ultimate screw job for members of his own party. Reconciliation is a parliamentary process that is somewhat complicated, and relies on trust and faith. Obama has managed to back stab pretty much everyone to whom he has made promises. House Blue Dog Democrats are next. The real danger for these folks isn’t reconciliation, it will be the lack of reconciliation.

Here is how it works. The House and the Senate have passed radically different versions of health care reform. Under normal circumstances, the differences would be sent to a joint to committee who would iron out the differences and then send the revised bill back to the House and the Senate for passage. But the Dems have lost their super majority in the Senate, and the revised bill would be subject to filibuster thanks to Massachusetts’s Scott Brown.

Since the Senate is now stopped, the House would have to pass the Senate bill exactly as it is written. There are insufficient votes to do that for numerous reasons, including the more liberal abortion provisions in the Senate version.

So to get around that, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are telling the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill exactly as it is written, and they “promise” to make changes afterwards under the guise of budget reconciliation, which only needs 51 votes in the Senate to pass.

But there is a big problem here. If the House passes the Senate bill as written, that is an irrevocable act. There is no guaranty that any of the promises made to moderate Democrats would be kept. In fact, given the track record of these folks, it is highly unlikely. All Obama has to do is sign the bill, and it is law. This is a really great political slime ball trick.

Oh, they would put on a good show, but the first excuse Obama and his cabal of progressive cronies get to scrap the process, they will do so and the Senate bill becomes law. They could say too many Republicans are standing in the way of reform, so we will just have to take the bill as it stands.

He screws the Republicans. He screws the public. But mostly, he will screw the moderate wing of the Democratic Party. I know this; Obama knows this; and the Blue Dog Democrats know this. It is a dangerous game, where everyone will end up losing except for Obama, and he doesn’t care. And America will pay the price.

A Megalomaniac in the White House

Main Entry: meg•a•lo•ma•nia
Pronunciation: \ˌme-gə-lō-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə\
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1887
1 : a mania for great or grandiose performance
2 : a delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
— meg•a•lo•ma•ni•ac \-ˈmā-nē-ˌak\ adjective or noun
— meg•a•lo•ma•ni•a•cal \-mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl\ also meg•a•lo•man•ic \-ˈma-nik\ adjective
— meg•a•lo•ma•ni•a•cal•ly \-mə-ˈnī-ə-k(ə-)lē\ adverb


I will be the first to say it. Folks, we have a problem in the White House. And I don’t mean this in a joking manner. The President of the United States, while the economy is falling down around us, is once again focusing on health care. He is obsessed. He is tone deaf to the will of the people. He is arrogant. He is ideological. And I truly believe there is a mental flaw that is dangerous to the country and to him personally. He is Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon all wrapped up into one, with an inflated view of himself and his own self importance to a danger point not seen since Watergate. The guy is nuts, and there are serious problems to our Constitutional system ahead.

Whether Mr. Obama and his cohorts want to admit it or not, the American public has turned away from Obama’s omnipotence. They have reviewed his health care proposals, and have overwhelmingly rejected them with only 27% of Americans now believing the Democratic plan should pass. The public has rejected the plan, and the corrupt and slimy process by which it was achieved.

Not only has the public rejected it, it has been rejected with a passion not seen in this country since the Vietnam War. Of more concern, is the transference of this anger to the government as a whole. A CNN poll released today shows that 56% of all Americans now think the rapidly expanding government monster is an IMMEDIATE threat to our freedoms. Among Republicans, 70% agree the government is an immediate threat, and the figure is 63% among independents, the group that put Obama into power.

Heretofore, although his policies are being overwhelmingly rejected by the American public, he held a strong degree of personal popularity. In my humble opinion, the arrogance and contempt for American concerns exhibited at the so called Health Care Summit will destroy even that. Yes, Mr. President, elections do matter, especially the upcoming one in November, 2010.

His comments at the end of the summit saying vote with him, or he will push it through by whatever means necessary won’t play well with an opposing public he is supposed to represent. If he tries his threatened parliamentary maneuvers, he will in effect give the American public the finger, and then we have a problem. His contempt for the American public is stunning, but we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he is among the elite. The rest of us are just clinging to our guns and religion.

How the anger of the American will play out is a major concern. He is not king. He is an elected official who ran on a centrist platform. He promised a new cooperative Washington based on consensus and compromise. What we got instead was a complete abuse of power by a bully in the White House and partisans in Congress. He couldn’t even get his own party to agree on his outrageous plan, and is now trying to blame Republicans who were literally locked out of negotiations run by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid behind closed doors. These folks passed the bill in the dark of night on Christmas Eve they were so afraid of public reaction. It doesn’t get more scummy than that.

We have seen Mr. Obama’s character flaw before. I strongly suggest he review Richard Nixon’s tenure in the White House. I also strongly suggest that his aids find this guy a psychiatrist to take care of his megalomaniac, narcissistic tendencies before it’s too late. If he wants to destroy himself, and his scummy friends in Congress, that is up to him. I fear for the country.

Hold Onto Your Wallets

Hold onto your wallets, folks. Here comes stagfalation. Reports today from the government today are giving pause to the inflation and commodity hawks. Monthly unemployment apps increased by 31,000 to 473,000. It was expected to decline by approximately 15,000. Even more disturbing was the 1.4% monthly increase in the PPI (wholesale Producer Price Index). That is an annual PPI inflation rate of 16%. That’s right…16%. As we all know, those wholesale price increases will translate sooner or later into retail prices.

Alright, so retail prices for produced goods will go up…what else is new? Well, commodity prices will start to rise as the investor class look for a hedge against the inflation. That means you will pay more for any commodity based product from gasoline to bread and cereal. In addition, gold prices will begin to rise; great for the gold investor and lousy if you want some jewelry.

The Federal Reserve, whose mandate by law is to control inflation, will have to act. It will raise interest rates and tighten the money supply by either increasing the reserve requirements for banks or simply taking the cash out of circulation. Watch the news. They do that by “selling bonds” and paying interest to people to park their money on the Fed balance sheet.

As interest rates go up, the government will have to pay more just like you and me. You know all that debt we just incurred? Interest rates will go up on that, and the cost of debt service to you and me for government debt will cripple all other government programs. Of course, they could just print money, in which case the dollar would collapse and we would have hyper inflation.

In addition, other countries will not want to buy our debt, forcing interest rates up even further. Taxes will have to rise to pay for basic government services. Folks, this is not a good thing.

Keynesian economics is an economic theory propagated in 1936, and came to prominence as economists concluded that World War II, and the associated massive government spending, pulled us out of the Great Depression. It believes that government is necessary to cure the inefficiencies in the economic system, and looks for private/public partnerships and massive government intervention into the country’s economic system to save us from ourselves.

The 2008 financial collapse is an example of what empowers Keynesians to up the intrusiveness of the central government. Maybe it was needed, but socialists use it as a simple power grab wrapped in intellectual mumbo jumbo.

The cure is often worse than the disease: stagflation. High unemployment, high taxes, high interest rates, high inflation combine to form the misery index. Those of us who lived through the Carter years know what this is.

Are we headed there again? The articles I read today seemed mixed and tempered fears. On the other hand, I am a firm believer that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Even money says this is beginning of something we don’t want to go through!!