Raise, Lower Or Adjust The Focus

I see where the New York Times is now equating Jon Stewart with the likes of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. My initial reaction was, “Oh My Gawd! How could they possibly compare this radically leftist comedian with two of America’s most storied reporters?” This must surely diminish the legacy of these news men. I mean come on, comparing Stewart to these two is like comparing sour cream to butter. You find them in the same section of the grocery (they were both on TV) but are decidedly different products (reporters vs comedians).

My next thought was that this was certainly elevating Jon Stewart WAY above his station. Again, he is a radically leftist comedian, and here is the New York Times elevating him to news icon status. Totally unjustified in my opinion. Again, he’s a COMEDIAN people! Yes, he has opinions and yes he has an audience, but come on now, let’s be serious. Iconic news figure? I don’t think so.

Then it hit me, maybe the NYT was absolutely correct in equating Stewart with Murrow and Cronkite. Maybe they actually hit the nail on the head, just a different nail than they intended.

By equating Stewart, Murrow and Cronkite, the NYT is allowing us to correct the focus downward on Murrow and Cronkite, rather than raising Stewart’s stature. 

By opening this door, the NYT has given us an opportunity to revisit the careers of Murrow and Cronkite. We get to look back and see that they were NOT the objective reporters they are held up to be, but rather, like Stewart, they were left wing advocates. 

I have no personal memories of Mr. Murrow other than vague ones of him on the nightly news when I was a child. I can recall the sound of his voice and the commanding quality it had. I don’t recall anything he said in particular. I do remember people assuming anything he said was fact.

As it turns out, not so much. While Joe McCarthy’s methods were dubious at best, he was correct in his belief that Communists had found their way into the government and Hollywood (much like the socialists of today). Murrow’s leftist positions in bringing McCarthy down may well have prolonged the cold war. 

Cronkite, on the other had, is a clear picture in my mind. So much so that when I saw him in the Airport one day, I felt compelled to do the “guess who I saw” thing with friends of my own age. He clearly stood out as the unimpeachable voice of “the NEWS”. If Walter said it, it must be true. Walter’s pronouncements about the Viet Nam war were taken as gospel. 

As it turns out, Walter was clearly shaping public opinion, not reporting! We know from Viet Nam’s own reports they felt they were losing the war but knew that if they let folks like Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Jane Fonda convince Americans they were fighting a lost cause, they would prevail in the end. 

In any objective look at Murrow and Cronkite, one could easily consider them to be aparatchuks for the left. Helping to shift opinion away from a more traditional conservative American posture to that of a more leftist socialist posture. Who was it, Lenin possibly, who said that one of the first things that needed to be done in the revolution was to control the media? Murrow and Cronkite were a couple of the early shock troops in the left’s drive to do just that. While he is a comedian, Jon Stewart is another cog in the wheel working to control public opinion. A very effective cog, but another cog none the less.

So thank you New York Times for giving us this opportunity to correct our view of both Murrow and Cronkite.

OBTW, I would like to thank Jon Stewart for his advocacy for those who gave their lives on 9/11. I believe the bill was a worthwhile bill, although I do have to ask, how do we pay for it? I believe that’s all the Republicans were really doing also. You know it’s kind of like the old saying goes, when you find your self in a hole you don’t want to be in, the first thing you need to do is stop digging. It seems like we are in a financial hole, maybe we ought to STOP SPENDING!!!!

Bumper Stickers

Bumper Stickers. You know them, the clever little signs on the back of cars. The ones where folks espouse political positions in catchy little phrases. I’m not talking about the Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin type of bumper sticker or the one where you support your favorite college or pro team. No, I’m talking about the self righteous political ones.

I see the one where they spell the word PEACE using the various world religious symbols. I just want to go up to these folks and ask them how sales on those are going in islamic countries. 

My personal opinion is, if your political beliefs can be summed up on a bumper sticker, you clearly haven’t given enough thought to your positions. You need to step back and ask yourself, “If my beliefs on X can be correctly stated on a 4” by 12” vinyl strip meant to be read at 40 feet, have I really given this enough serious thought?” Now my guess is that most of these simpletons would respond with one of their patent answers that are equally bumper sticker worthy, and equally simple.

Now understand, I believe this theory holds true whether we are talking about a conservative or a liberal bumper sticker. However, it does appear that the majority  of these bumper stickers are sported by liberals. Maybe it’s because I live in a college town and it is chock full of aging hippies and idealistic young dolts who know all the answers, neither of which have ever had to deal with the real world. (Kind of like the crowd our President has assembled to run our country.) 

But I guess, at the end of the day, I really kind of like having these folks sport these stickers, they are like a book jacket, they give you a pretty good idea of what your are going to find on the inside. And like many books, it tells me not to invest to much time or energy in them because they clearly haven’t fully developed a clear and consistent story line. One that has shown critical thinking and an understanding of the world.

Julian Assange - Hypocritical Assbag

Julian Assange is a hypocritical assbag!

Julian Assange claims he has no political agenda. He is not out to destroy or even damage the US. His only desire is to have the TRUTH be available to everyone. He wants every little embarrassing morsel of information he can find about the US put out there. 

Now maybe he has put out embarrassing info from Russia and/or China, but I sure haven’t heard about it. Nor have I heard of anything about Cuba, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Syria or any of the myriad of other despicable nations out there. They claim their focus is in these areas but I’ve never seen any big splashes concerning any other country. 

No, he chooses to target the US. One of the only nations to ever have willingly shed its citizens blood in order to protect and free another’s. We are not and never really have been an empire builder outside our own borders once the contiguous 48 were in place. Yet Assange has targeted the US for his loving ministrations, while claiming no political agenda. 

It appears clear to me that he DOES have an agenda. He seems to be an Anarchist of the first order. Someone who believes there should be no governments at all. To take a look at how things would operate if anarchists were to get their way, just look at how they behave when ever the G8 get together and they riot, loot and pillage the cities where the meeting is taking place.

You may be saying to your self, “Yes Farmboy, this may all be true but why do you say he is a hypocritical assbag?” 

I say this because for all of his bluster about openness and everyone needs to know everything, when it comes to him......well, not so much.

When he was receiving his bail to get out of jail, he asked the judge to not make his address public in order to protect his privacy! OMG, can it possibly get any more hypocritical than that? Then it was reported yesterday, that while a reporter was asking him about the charges against him, he didn’t like the direction of the questions and walked out on the interview calling the ABC reporter a “tabloid schmuck”.

So if I understand Mr. Assange’s actions correctly, exposing every little wart and pimple about the US equals good. Exposing a few warts and pimples about him equals bad.

Not sure about you, but in my book, that puts Julian Assange right at the top of the Hypocritical Assbag list, qualifying him for a prominent place on Dennis Miller’s shun list.

Freudian Slip

I know I’ve talked about this before, but the First Lady made a Freudian Slip the other day that reinforced what I and others have often said. That Liberals think they are the smartest kids in the room and the rest of us are to dumb to be left alone to make our own decisions. 

The FL, while talking about the nutrition bill she was able to get signed into law, said that our children’s nutrition was “to important to leave it up to the parents.” While the statement it’s self is appalling enough on it’s own, you need to take a step back and look at it again.

At a time like this, the passing of her signature issue bill, the remarks she makes will not be left to off the cuff ad libs. She will have spent a considerable amount of time preparing her thoughts. Not only that, but in the rarified circles she operates in, I feel safe in assuming she has speech writers help her and poor over every word and phrase. A veritable army of people (all liberal) reviewed what she was to say before she said it, and nary a one said “Wait a minute, do realize how this makes us sound?”

Why do you suppose that is?

My hypothesis is that it didn’t set off any alarm bells because from their position, they saw nothing wrong. It was self evident. You can’t let those rubes out there make important decisions. Important decisions should be made by the “smart kids.” If you let people who didn’t go to Harvard or Yale make decisions they just won’t make the “right” ones, and by “right” they mean the decisions “they” would make. 

Counter intuitive as it might seem, Liberals are not for freedom. Liberals are for an autocracy of the left. They are Fascists. 

Fascism, according to “Dictionary.com” is a government system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc. and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

So, what part of that definition doesn’t fit our current Liberals’ desires? If you change “Dictator” to “Ruling Elite” the rest rings true until you get to the very end. If you change the concept of nationalism to a one world government, the only part that doesn’t ring true is racism.

Look at what they have tried to do. They want to control business and industry. You see it in the extensive use of Czars for this and that, that don’t answer to anyone but the president. They are trying to force individual citizens to make purchases they may not choose to. They are trying to control the flow of information as they push to shut down radio and by extension the internet if they espouse a view different from them. They are starting with an attack on Rush, but if they can take him down, what do you suppose the chances are that any of us would be able to escape their control?

Thank heavens this past November, the American people have started to wrest control away from these folks. The Tea Party is the antithesis of the Liberal elites. They are all about what this country was founded upon. They are for individual freedom and responsibility. 

My general feeling is if somebody feels they are superior to you, they are anything but! 

Fool Me Once...

I was just writing about my feelings concerning how barbaric the strict islamic societies are and I stopped and deleted it. I just felt like I was being as judgmental and narrow sighted as they were. So I deleted the article. 

But the more I think about it, the more I feel that I am justified in my feelings. At this point I really don’t care if someone says “oh you just don’t understand” or “you shouldn’t judge” or any of the other hogwash we’ve been feed about being “multicultural”. Being multicultural is fine if the other culture is willing to be multicultural towards you. When the other culture is a 5th century barbaric theocracy that advocates stoning as a form of capital punishment, and wants to see your culture eradicated from the face of the earth, I say “f^&k it!”

It doesn’t deserve to be given any considerations. It should be shunned by all civilized people throughout the world. 

Yes I know that all practitioners of the muslim faith are not advocates of the barbaric behaviors demonstrated my millions of their fellow believers. However, until they take an active part in denouncing and subduing these virulent cretins, they should be viewed with a cautious eye. 

I keep hearing how “the majority of muslims are peace loving and tolerant”. Well, as the saying goes, money talks and bullshit walks. It’s time for these moderates to start putting the clamps on their fanatical brethren. Failing to actively turn against such fanatics is tantamount to supporting them. By not turning on them and calling them out, it allows them to have safe havens, from which they are able to attempt their nefarious deeds. That is equal to support.

Until the majority of muslims start shining a bright light into the corners of their religion to run the cockroaches out where they can be exterminated, it only makes sense for everyone else to eye them with suspicion. To wonder, “what do they do when we are not looking?” 

If we knew there was a strain of catholics who wanted to kill all protestants, we would be foolish not to profile catholics and view them carefully. Why should I give a group of people the benefit of the doubt when a significant portion of them would like to see me dead? That seems to be a foolish approach to the situation on my part. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not prepared to be fooled twice. 

When the majority of muslims actively show they are for peace and tolerance, then I will be happy to change my tune. Until then, for our own preservation, we need to keep a watchful eye.

Aaron Sorkin Is A Weenie!

Aaron Sorkin of "West Wing" fame, is a hypocritical pansy! Today he writes an article in the Huffington Post berating Sarah Palin for the hunting of a moose on her TV show "Sarah Palin's Alaska".

He posits that because he wears leather shoes and eats meat he is qualified to stand in judgement of her. That makes as much sense as a minnow saying he's a fish and thus can judge the actions of the shark!

Sorkin has probably never held a real gun in his hand, much less killed anything above a spider. How can he possibly think he can speak to the motivations of a hunter. He equates hunting to dog fighting and feels there is no difference between the two activities. He goes on to say he is happy every time he hears about a hunting accident and someone is shot. To me, this puts him much more squarely in the dog fighters camp than the hunter could ever be. He is finding pleasure in the pain of another creature.

The hunter does not hunt to inflict pain! The hunter has great respect for his quarry. In a hunters perfect world, he will kill his prey with one clean shot. He will inflict less pain to his prey than Sorkin wishes on all hunters.

Does the hunter "need" to hunt in order to survive? Of course not. He can go to the grocery store and buy meat just like the rest of us can. However, I would argue that a hunter is far less hypocritical than weenies like Sorkin. The hunter is willing to go out and match wits with his prey and do the actual killing and preparing of his meat for the table. People like Sorkin are really vegetarians who don't have the backbone to actually commit to it. They somehow feel that because they aren't directly involved with the act of killing what they are eating, they didn't have anything to do with it! Well, I call "Bullshit" on that. They are every bit as responsible for the death of the animal as the hunter is, they are just to lilly livered to do the job themselves. Do they think that people are just randomly killing these cows and pigs and that they are just helping clean up after these wanton acts of murder by eating the meat and wearing the shoes? If those woosies actually had the courage of their convictions, they would be living on bean sprouts and wearing their hemp sandals!

No, Aaron Sorkin is not anyone to listen to on this subject. As many or more animals go to their death because of people like him as ever do at the hands of hunters. The animal's life and death in this cause is much less noble than that of the one that dies at the hands of a hunter, after living it's life in the wild.

After reading this, you probably assume that I am an avid hunter. Quite to the contrary. I did grow up hunting, but switched from hunting with a gun to hunting with a camera when I was in my 20's. This was not done for any altruistic reasons or being anti hunting. It was because I didn't enjoy the taste of game any more than store bought, so I decided to skip all the extra work involved. For those of you who know me, "Yes, I was to damn lazy to get up early, tramp out in the cold and then have to cart and clean the beast." Instead, I could get up late, drive to the store and have a steak on the grill in an hour. Much easier for a slacker like myself. But I do understand that my hands are no less bloody than those of the hunter. The animal is just as dead either way and my desire to eat the carcass is the reason the creature died.

If you eat meat or use any animal based product or by-product, you are no more morally superior than the hunter, and in many ways, much less so!

Mayan Goddesses and Global Warming Charlatans

I see where the UN climate change (note the change from "global warming" as much of Europe is freezing it's collective ass off) folks are at it again in Cancun, Mexico.

They opened their meeting with a call to the Mayan Moon Goddess for guidance in "weaving a tapestry" with reason and creativity to form a climate change policy.

Where oh where do you start with something like this. I'm not even sure which is more offensive about this. Their statement or the news media reporting on it as if it were real news instead of as the unintended joke it is.

Let's start with the calling on the Moon Goddess. I actually don't have a major problem with the actual prayer. I'm more flabbergasted by the lack of protest on the part of folks like the ACLU and their ilk. Can you imagine the fuss that would have been raised if there had been a prayer to Jesus asking for guidance? We'd have been hearing about that for weeks. It would have been ridiculed by every university in the land and the MSM would have made jokes about it ad nausium. They would ridicule anything coming from the group like it had come from the flat earth society. But because it wasn't Christian centric, they would never THINK of belittling someone else's belief system.

Again, let me say, I don't really have a problem with the calling on Ixchel for guidance. I just don't believe that my God would have received the same reverence!

Let's move on to the "weaving of reason and creativity". Isn't this what exposed this whole global warming scam for the hoax that it is? The fact that they got "creative" in their playing with the facts and the way they chose what facts to use to best make their desired point. And when it became clear that they were playing fast and lose with the facts in order to justify their position, people started turning away from them in droves.

If they hadn't over sold their case and had tried a more subtle and measured approach, they might well have accomplished their goals. The majority of us would have been like the frog in the pan of water that they slowly raised the temp to boiling. We'd have sat there and not really noticed until it was to late.

And here they are, flat out telling us they are going to be "creative" with their reason. Isn't that kind of like the 3 card monte guy daring you to catch him as he cheats you?

And last, but definitely not least, why in the world would a legitimate news organization give this group of hucksters anymore attention than they would a gathering of gypsies? Hell, you'd stand a better chance of getting a straight answer from a group of gypsies than you would these clowns. And yet, there they are, hanging on every word, as if coming straight from the Oracle of Delphi herself.

The only reasonable explanation I can deduce is that they are in league with these charlatans. Both groups have the same political motivations. They want to see the US brought low. The only reason they could see the US being prosperous is so they could then take it from us and give it to others in the name of fairness. Well I for one call "Bullshit" on that. Fairness is when the person who uses their brains, brawn and capital to create something of value and then trades it for MORE capital. If alls they do is break even, they are doing something wrong. If others take from them unjustly, so they merely break even or worse yet lose ground, there is no incentive to continue to create.

Taking from those who earned their wealth to give to those who have failed to use their brains, brawn and capital wisely is not fairness! It is State sponsored theft! No more, no less.

There is nothing wrong with envying those who have more, so long as it motivates you to work smarter and harder. If on the other hand, all you do with that envy is try to get the government to give you someone else's, that's theft!

Clearly, many of those in the media have very socialistic leanings and thus hope that groups like this UN bunch of grifters is successful in stunting our progress.

On Growing Older

Walking from the car to the office this morning I was noticing just how many aches and pains I was feeling. Ankles. Knees. Hips. Back. Neck. And the list goes on and on it seems. My first thought was that I needed to get back on my high dose aspirin regimen. (I had stopped because my wife said aspirin causes ring in the ears and I've had that for years.) Then it dawned on me, "Hey, you ain't 22 anymore!"

It made me think of the old joke about how growing old isn't for sissies.

But I stick to my belief that growing older is mandatory while growing up is optional, and in many ways I've declined the option. This is visibly represented by the many toys I keep around me and my continued participation in activities generally suited to those in the younger age registers. I can't do all the jumps, spins and rolls of my younger counter parts but I do what I can and enjoy the camaraderie.

Growing older has given me a certain perspective I didn't have as a young man. I no longer live like I will live for ever. That simply means I don't take some chances that I used to. By the same token, I now take advantage of opportunities that come my way that in the past I might have said, oh I'll do that later.

I'm not in a hurry any more. I enjoy a cup of coffee with my wife on a Sunday morning. I don't have to be running off to this, that or the other thing. I can easily sit with my dogs and a computer or the boob tube for extended periods, just enjoying the solitude. Where I used to go to football games or a rock concert, I would now rather stay home and watch it on tv, avoiding the hassle of the crowds.

When I look back on my life I can point to many, many things that were impetuous, stupid, or worse. Several of these didn't turn out all that well. But for me, I don't regret anything I've done. I say that not out of arrogance, but because I was able to learn from each one, and the sum of these things have led me to be the person I am. And I am happy with who I have become. I believe my mother would be proud of me if she were alive. And who can really ask for more?

To look back and think about how differently my life would be if I had chosen differently. It is quite amazing. Coming out of high school, if I had accepted a different scholarship then the one I did, or if I had accepted the walk on offer at Iowa State, what alternate string of events would have followed. If I had taken the sports writers job I was offered straight out of college instead of going to graduate school, where would I have ended up? And on and on with a myriad of decision points.

I'm happy to say I didn't take any of those other options, for they wouldn't have lead me to this here and now. And I LIKE this here and this now!

(Well now, hasn't this been quite the little maudlin rant! It's a good think I don't have birthdays more often if this the type of tripe I turn out on such occasions!)

A Leader Speaks Out

Once again this morning I read where a Muslim extremist has tried to kill hundreds of Americans right here in the good old US of A. Again, the FBI and other intelligence agencies came through for us and saved the day. But that doesn't change the fact that we have plenty of these murdering bastards right here. And as good as our intelligence folks have been, we still have to be right 100% of the time and they only have to get it right once in a while.

The real thing I wanted to mention about this was the reaction from the Somali's at the UN. The official response was to condemn the attempted bombing and to encourage all Somalis to cooperate with the police and authorities. Hooray for this response! This is the position we need more muslims to take. For nearly ten years I've been hearing about the peaceful religion of Islam. And yet I've seen precious little public action by it's devotes to do anything to stop these murdering sons-a-bitches.

However, this is the second public pronouncement by a high profile individual against this type of violence in the past 6 months. The first by some Islamic leader in Canada.

Hopefully this is the small snowball being rolled over the lip of the hill and this will gain momentum. This is exactly what we need. More and more Islamic leaders need to stand up and speak against the barbaric factions within their religion. The hue and cry against this behavior in their own community must become deafening. They must not give these scum any safe havens to plot their chicken sh*t schemes. They must not celebrate their evil actions.

Those who preach this vile crap must be exorcised from their midst. It should be made abundantly clear how those who preach this type of act seldom get directly involved themselves. Their young radicals need to ask themselves, "If this is such a glorious act and I'm going to get such a great reward in the after life, why aren't these people encouraging me to lay down my life laying down theirs?"

So I say "Hail" to those lonely few who have stood up and said STOP within the Islamic community. These are the truly brave and admirable souls in that community. Until that becomes the majority position within that community it will behoove us all to follow Juan Williams lead and be concerned.

Just A Little Revolt

Here we are on the cusp of the epicenter of the political correctness season. Well, I say Happy Holidays my ass!

For 200+ years this country celebrated Christmas. Additionally, folks in Jewish communities celebrated Chanukah and people in other communities celebrated what ever religious holidays were important to them. All of these groups seem to have done so with no major set back to their religions. This is evidenced by the fact that virtually every religion has thrived over the history of this country.

The Constitution says that the government shall establish no religion. What they meant when they wrote that was that the government was not to have an "official" state religion. Clearly it wasn't meant that religion was to be erased from the country. The proof of this can be seen by looking at many of the writings by our founding fathers where God is openly referenced. Additionally, look at the Supreme Court building. The Ten Commandments are built right into it.

It was never intended that the Lord would be removed from the public. To do so goes against every precept this country was founded upon. It was founded so individuals could freely and openly practice their religion. Now, through the tyranny of a few anti religious zealots in conjunction with certain individuals who wish to weaken this country, we are now faced with our current situation. We find people saying "Happy Holidays" when we mean "Merry Christmas"!

Our country became great while acknowledging God! To acknowledge God does not "establish" a religion. It is not contrary to the Constitution. It isn't even anti science. It is merely acknowledging the general belief that the majority of Americans ascribe to.

Why should we bow down to the tyranny of a few and have OUR right to free expression as well as our right to freedom of religion be subjugated and forced to change because some minor group doesn't like it. This is so typical of these fringe groups. They get some bug up their butt about some issue and because they like it or don't like it, they want to force the rest of us to do things their way. Why can't they be like sensible people in a reasonable society. If I don't want to listen to radical left wing propaganda I don't listen to the channels that broadcast it. I don't try to get them to take it off the air. If I don't care to eat vegetarian I just don't go to vegetarian restaurants, I don't protest to have them closed. If I believe in the right to own handguns I don't try to force everyone else to own one.

I'm starting my own personal revolt. There will be no "Happy Holidays" coming from me. It's "Merry Christmas"! This is not meant as an offense to anyone but rather a free expression of my religious belief. By the same token, I pledge not to be offended by anyone wishing me "Happy Chanukah" or any other legitimate heart felt religious sentiment.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

The Biggest Game Of The Year.....

Well, the biggest college game of the year here in the five counties area happens this weekend. THE University of North Carolina vs North Carolina State University!

When compared to Michigan vs Ohio State or Nebraska vs Oklahoma this really isn't much of a game, but for the folks here in upper central NC, this is all we got. So.....we try to make it into something big. But as my grandmother used to say, "ya can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

This game will pit pretty OK teams against each other. Both of which have shown they can give up lots of points. Both of which have shown they are capable of scoring lots of points. Neither of which happens on a predictable basis.

I must admit, I haven't watched State play this year, but from what I hear from their fans, they will come and lay waste to the fabled (in our own minds) Kenan Stadium field.

I have, however, watched UNC on several occasions. At times they can look extremely good, see Florida State and Virginia. At other times they look like they placed a bet on the other team, see Miami and Virginia Tech.

In the Virginia and Fl St games TJ Yates looked like he could be playing on Sundays next year. In the Miami and VT games he looked like he shouldn't be playing in college THIS year. Some of my more reasonable State fan friends tell me that similar things can be said about Russell Wilson's performance.

UNC does have motivation in that the Sr's on this team have never beaten State and they don't want to leave with that on their resume. Plus, a victory here and next week at Dook might allow them to play in another bowl game besides the UNC Bowl, excuse me, I mean the Mineke Bowl, in a little more exotic local than Charlotte. (No offense ment to Charlotte, but let's face it, how exciting is it to travel to a town you can easily drive to any time you feel like it? Especially when you've played there the past 3 times they've been to a bowl!)

State does have motivation as well. Of course they would hate to lose to those snooty folks in Chapel Hill, that's a given. But they also stand an outside chance to reach the championship game for the ACC. (Granted it's a small chance but a chance nun-the-less. Then again, the ACC Football Championship is kind of the best of the rest game. It's not exactly like the Big Ten or Big 12 Championships stature wise.)

So...... Go Tar Heels, or Go State! Either way, come Sunday morning, outside of the Triangle area, you will find the score of this game on page four of the sports section....below the fold.

Only Time Will Tell

Now that the elections are past and the people have spoken it will be interesting to see what the professional Democrats will do. They are in a difficult situation. By in large the only ones who survived were either from radically left districts like San Francisco or they were Blue Dog conservatives.

So the question then comes, do the survivors cozy up to their radical base who came out and voted for them or do they move to the right where they will find centrists they could appeal to? My suggestion for them would be to move to the right. Try to look more like the country as a whole. Their radical left base will still vote for them. What choice do they have? They could vote for the Green Party, but they know that would be throwing their vote away.

If they move even further to the left, because that is who the majority of the survivors represent, they will become even more marginalized. Folks like Michael Moore are calling for this move to the looney bin area of the left. Just the other day he called for the President to "take off the little pink tutu". I feel certain he wasn't telling him to man up and get conservative. He was calling for him to be more like his idol Fidel.

We can see the struggle playing out before our eyes on national television. It is most vividly outlined in the battle for who will become the House Minority Leader. Heath Schuler, a Democrat from the mountains of NC has thrown his hat in the ring to try and wrest control away from Queen Nancy and the radical left of his party.

I don't know that much about Schuler other than he was a pretty good college QB at Tennessee. Could he be another Senator Sam Irvin of Watergate fame? I don't know if he has that type of stature. For the Democrats sake let's hope he does. If he can't oust Pelosi, the Democrats could be wandering in the political hinterlands for quite some time.

Now from my own personal perspective, I kind of want to see Queenie retain here leadership role. Now that the Democrats are no longer in an unassailable position of power, but are on the outside looking in, having Queenie at the wheel could be quite entertaining. Like watching a blind monkey trying to drive a Formula 1 race car. You can expect her to be going full speed as she drives them directly into the wall. Exposing even further the wackiness of the radical lefts position.

With folks like Pelosi, Sheila Jackson Lee, David Price and many many more, can the sanity brigade led by Schuler pull the Democrat party back from the brink? Or will the barking moon bats retain power and the Democrat Party become about as relevant to the majority of Americans as a bicycle is to a fish?

Only time will tell. Get a bowl of popcorn and get comfortable. This should be entertaining.

For Sale

I just heard China is trying to buy an interest in GM! This should not be allowed to happen. It is bad enough that the government has put the whole country in hock to China. We can't have them owning our businesses as well.

I say we can't allow this to happen, but I don't mean the government should be involved. The stock holders of GM should not let this happen. In mass they should refuse to sell any part of the company to China or any other country.

Yes I realize the point of a company is to make money for it's owners. It is for that reason that I don't blame GM's upper management for putting the idea to the stock holders. It is their responsibility to bring money making options to their owners, the stock holders.

However, I believe that the stock holders need to look beyond their next stock dividend, or their next portfolio report. They need to listen to a former Democratic President and ask themselves what they can do for their country. The obvious answer in this case is, Stop Being So G D Self Centered!

I thought I just saw where GM reported a $2 Billion profit last quarter. Come on stock holders, you are already making money. You don't have to sell the country down the river for a few extra bucks.

Despite what or President and his fellow leftist travelers have been spreading, this country can still be the major financial power in the world! We don't have to abdicate that position with a whimper, has they would have us do.

I say NO! We must fight it tooth and nail!

Don't be a Judas and sell our country out for 30 pieces of silver!

We live in the greatest country the world has ever seen. We have our brave young me and women risking their lives to protect our and the free worlds interests every day. It's time the rest of us start doing something. Refusing to sell our countries assets to foreign countries (and enemies at that!) just to make a few extra dollars for ourselves is a small enough price to pay when others are risking their lives daily.

Don't let them come home from risking life and limb to find that we've sold the country while they were off protecting it!

Maybe

I just read where our dear, sweet President says we can't afford to borrow $700 billion dollars from other countries in order to give millionaires the Bush era tax cuts.

Boy, if that isn't twisting the truth to the breaking point I've never heard it. Someone really ought to explain to the President that, unlike a "tax cut" like they give to people who don't pay taxes and then have to write them a check, if you give a tax cut to someone who actually pays taxes, you don't need to come up with any money.

Now had the President said what he really meant, he would have said something like, "If we let these rich people keep the same percent of the money they earn that they are presently keeping, I will have to borrow another $700 billion dollars in order to spend it on stuff the majority of Americans don't want." But that just isn't as compelling of an argument. He can't really gin up the class warfare sentiment by accurately describing what he wants.

By making it sound like the government will be giving these people all this money, he makes it seem as if all money is the governments and is just given to people. Then those of a more socialistic bent start thinking, "Why, they should give that money to me. Not some rich guy!" When in fact the rich guy is just keeping a percentage of what he earned. And a smaller percentage than you or I keep of what we earn.

This whole process of creating false premisses to rail against has been a favorite tactic of politicians for years. The liberals have not only done it themselves but they have had willing accomplices in the main stream media as well as the entertainment industry.

For decades now, we have been inundated by TV shows and movies where conservatives and business have been the villain. From the time we were kids and the evil bank owner Snidely Whiplash tied Little Nell to the train tracks, to the modern day Avatar, where the evil company is willing to kill the natives to get the mineral they live on top of. We are constantly feed a diet of conservative BAD, liberal GOOD! It makes the truth of a another false statement seem to ring true.

Another case of the big lie. Say it loud enough and long enough with enough conviction and folks will start to believe it. And thus the liberals have developed a whole subculture of anti business graspers. People who believe that those who have made better decisions or worked more efficiently or harder owe them some of what they earned.

Last week has given me hope. I believe Americans are waking up from a long political slumber. Maybe now is when the political pendulum turns back. Maybe now we can start to overcome the effects of years of liberalism. Maybe now we will see the resurgence of the "Christian Work Ethic" that developed this country into the greatest country in the history of the world.

Maybe........

Meeting Miss Keller

PresBO tells 60 Minutes that the election results are not the result of his policies being rejected but rather the result of failed communication about the policies. On the surface he is taking blame for not properly telling us poor, dumb heathens what is good for us in a way our little brains can absorb it. So really, in his final analysis, we're just to damned stupid to realize how wonderful he and his liberal cohorts are.

Hey Mister President! Guess what! We aren't the dumb ones here. We, the majority of voters who soundly rejected your policies, are intelligent folks. We are able to get up each morning, get dressed by our selves, and make it to work (assuming your policies have allowed our companies to stay in business) without any help from Big Brother. We are able to run our own finances (generally in the black, unlike the government), look after our families and generally due just fine as long as you leave us alone.

We came out by the millions last week shouting "STOP the madness!" Not because we didn't understand your policies but because we DID!

We told you loudly and clearly throughout your first to years that we see exactly what you are doing and we don't want it. But you and your fellow travelers went blithely on, self righteous in your belief that you were the smartest kids in the room and knew what was good for us!

You strong armed your doubting fellow liberals to go along. Buying them off with promises of things to come. Now where are they? Kicked out of office by their constituents for listening to you instead of listening to them.

No Mr. President, it wasn't a failure to communicate. It was a failure to obfuscate! We full understood what you have been trying to do. If we were as dumb as you think we are, you would have been able to fool us into believing your nonsense. But since we're not, you and your accomplices are now in the minority, out of work and/or discredited.

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.

Reach out your hand Mr. President, I'd like you to meet Miss Keller.

The New Cool

Sometimes you just read something and say to yourself, "Boy I wish I had written that!", and Monday's Gregologue by Greg Gutfeld was one of those. (http://www.dailygut.com/)

Greg's monologue titled "The Rally To Ignore Insanity" really struck home with me. He talks about his years in publishing where he was virtually the only conservative on staff and how all the libs felt about the rest of us. I have a very similar experience after spending 30 years in a college town where if you are not a raving left wing lunatic you are clearly to stupid to be left alone to make decisions on your own. (You see, in a college town, what would normally be considered to be the radical left is, in fact, the moderate center. In such an incestuous environment, some REALLY unusual logic can take root and grow!)

In his article, Greg points out the difference between the Tea Party rallies and the "Rally To Restore Sanity." He correctly points out that the Tea Partiers are reacting to real threats to this country's existence and supporting candidates who were willing to fight to change the course this country has been put on. The "Rally To Restore Sanity" on the other hand was more of the insipid attitude I've lived with for the past 30 years. It's very much a "ignore the man behind the curtain" attitude. Or maybe it's more of what the science fiction writers depend on for people to enter their created realities. I believe they call it the willing suspension of disbelief.

In order to hold the beliefs of the liberal left, one has to actively participate in denying the reality staring you in the face.

The liberal politician who argues against the conservative who is putting forth logical, common sense approaches to the problems we have been given reminds me of the Marx Brothers quote. "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

That's pretty much a liberal's response to any situation where logic has been applied and they are left wanting. They count on people wanting to be in with the "cool kids" while considering themselves cool. Their problem at the moment would seem to be that the lie has been put to their position and people are seeing them for the poser geeks that they are.

Realism is the new Cool!

PS: Be sure and read "The Daily Gut", it's well worth your time.

Knownothingism???

John Kerry accuses the Republicans of ushering in an era of know nothingism. He claims that folks like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are confusing the electorate making them think Dems are responsible for our current condition. This makes me scratch my head in total wonderment.

The Dems have been in charge of both the house and the senate since 06. They have been in control of all legislation that got passed. They controlled all of the sub-committees and thus in control of everything that would come up for a vote. Since 08 they have had the house, senate and the White House. Their numbers were so large that they were filibuster proof. There was nothing the Repubs could do against them!

Now this moron is claiming that our condition is not their fault???

Take a look at the states where they have been in charge for years. California, New York, Ohio, Illinois, all of them are in trouble because the Democratically controlled state governments were developing European style social democratic systems. Systems that punished success with higher and higher taxes so they could reinforce those who are not productive. All of these states are now on the financial shoals as they are having fewer and fewer folks they can rob in in order to support their socialistic schemes.

Now after 4 years of Dems being in total control of the entire country and them trying to implement the same policies for the entire country, we see ourselves headed down the same path. What is it they say? "The definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing expecting a different result."

Now this fraudulent Purple Heart, lying Viet Nam vet, opportunistic marrying slug accuses us of being know nothings because we believe the Dems are to be held accountable! I would postulate that the exact opposite is true.

The Dems are not in trouble because the public is uninformed. The Dems are in trouble because we are aware. For the first time since Clinton in '94 or possibly since the Carter era, the public has been forced to wake up and say "Whoaa! WTF are you clowns doing? This not what this country is about. We didn't become a great country through the efforts of government. We became a great country through the efforts of individuals!"

Americans are poised to tell the Dems to get the hell out of the way and let us do what we do!

The electorate is going to tell the Dems like Kurt Russell told Ike Clanton in "Tombstone", "You tell 'em I'm coming and Hell is coming with me!"

Democratic Shenanigans

I don't know where to start! I'm so flummoxed with the crap going on around the country. Clearly the liberals will do literally anything to win.

That sleazy, door to door vacuum salesman looking, Harry Reid, in conjunction with various unions are blatantly bribing folks for votes. If I didn't know better I might think that ACORN was involved. Oh wait, they probably were! I do seem to remember the ACORN in Chief being out in NV trying to help the little dweeb.

To think that in a state with around 15% unemployment, caused in large part by the actions and policies put in place by liberals and unions, they would literally try to buy votes with food giveaways and gift cards in exchange for votes. It is truly disgraceful.

No, wait, one must first have some semblance of honor before they can be disgraced, and clearly, the liberals have lost any honor they may have had.

On top of this Nevada debacle, in PA, one Democratic operative, during a taped interview, admitted to their using of the old time practice of giving out "walking around" money. Straight up votes for cash. A literal attempt to buy the election.

Already in NV and NC, reports are coming in of "malfunctioning" voting machines. Machines where voters will try to vote Republican but the machine keeps registering Democrat. Or when they open the ballot the democrat is already selected.

One might believe that this is just a random malfunction. But if that were the case, wouldn't you expect at least a few of these malfunctions to go the way of the conservatives? I don't suppose the fact that union folks are in charge of machine maintenance, at least in NV, would have anything to do with it, do you?

And then there is this topper to the whole cake. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the most liberal federal court in the land, has over turned the AZ 2004 law requiring voters to show proof of citizenship to vote. What a concept! To insure that the people who vote in this country's elections are actually citizens of this country! But Nooooo! The leg warmer wearing, tree hugging, worry about feelings over what is right, San Francisco based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would hate to put obstacles in the path of someone trying to vote.

Is it really asking to much of a citizen of this great country to verify that they are truly a citizen before participating in the selection of the individuals who will chart the nations course? Heck, you have to be a stock holder of IBM before you can vote on who the board will be. Shouldn't we be at least as vigilant about who makes the laws for our country as any company is about who will lead it?

When I look at all the horse squeeze going on out there, I truly fear for the future of this country if we don't have a course correction soon. That opportunity is next week.

Rand Paul

Wow! I just listened to Dr. Rand Paul talking to Dennis Miller on a clip from last weeks Dennis Miller Radio Show. I'm ready to move to Kentucky just so I can vote for him.

DM asked him to list the top 4 or 5 changes he would make if he could. They were:

1. He would require all Senators and Congressmen to read a bill before they would be allowed to vote on it. (What a concept!)

2. He would mandate a wait of 1 day for every 20 pages of a bill before it could be voted upon. (Had this rule been in place they would have had to wait 116 days to vote on the health care bill. How many of those yes votes would have been no votes if 116 days of revelations been allowed to surface prior to the vote?)

3. Every bill would be required to identify where in the constitution they got the authority to do what the bill was proposing to do. (Just imagine the mental gymnastics they would have to go through to connect many of these things they foist upon us to the constitution. The very document that is supposed to guide all things governmental in this great country of ours.) and

4. Congress should pass no bill that they themselves are exempted from. (How many of those yahoos would have voted for the health care bill if they thought they were going to have to use that gawd awful system for their own health care?)

The apple didn't fall to far from the tree here. Clearly Rand has inherited many political beliefs from his father, Ron Paul, the former Libertarian now Republican Senator from Texas.

Rand shows many Libertarian leanings. One of the clearest being his desire to have all bills trace their roots to the constitution. Libertarians believe that the central and state governments only have the powers enumerated in the constitution. All powers not specifically given through the constitution then reside within the people themselves. The sole role of government is to protect individuals life, liberty and property from being taken or impinged upon through the use of force or fraud! Period.

Go Rand, Go!

We need more folks like you and your father looking out for our individual rights!

And Now I Know

I have often wondered how in the world certain elections could have possibly turned out the way they had been reported. I now know. Read the following paragraph and do the math. I'm willing to bet the board of elections in this case is controlled by the Democrats.

"About 2,200 people had voted in the county by mid-day yesterday since the start of early voting. Slightly more than half the voters were Democrats, with Republicans making up 36 percent and unaffiliated voters making up another 15 percent, a board of elections official said."

This statement was given in the aftermath of the email that was sent out from the Winston-Salem State University's Student Affairs Office encouraging students to vote early and vote Democratic. Reminds me of the Chicago admonition to "Vote Early....Vote Often!"

So according to this Board of Elections Official over 50% of the voters are Democrats, 36% are Republican and 15% are unaffiliated bringing us to just over 101%. This makes me think of the old joke,"What are the 3 worst years of a North Carolina boy's life? ..... The 4th grade!" badump bump! Clearly the Forsyth County election board had a long 3 years.

But it is this type of math that allows Minnesota Senator Al Franken to lose the election on election day, but after 3 months of recounting and "discovering" votes, to eventually win! I seem to recall the very same thing happening in the Washington State gubernatorial election a few years ago also.

Funny how this revisionist math always seems to favor the Democrats.

As I believe the line from Alice in Wonderland goes ....... Curiouser and curiouser.

Another Viet Nam

The leg warmer, panty wearing, tree hugger set turned out to be right about the war in Afghanistan after all. Afghanistan is turning out to be another Viet Nam. And for the same reasons!

The politicians are not letting the soldiers do their jobs.

I remember guys coming back from Nam talking about their rules of engagement. They told me they would fly missions to the north and watch SAM sites being built and were not allowed to destroy them until they fired on our flights! That is a politician's decision. A soldier would never, ever, make such a rule.

Now I read about the rules of engagement our guys are laboring under and have to shake my head. Our soldiers are fired on from a position close to a village and they are not allowed to return fire because they might hit an "innocent". What a crock of horse squeeze.

Our soldiers actually see some dirt bag fire on them and then drop his weapon. They are not allowed to arrange a meeting with allah for this creep because he is no longer holding a weapon.

No wonder our soldiers are having troubles coming back from this type of idiocy! Our political class would rather our own boys die than possibly have some nominally innocent noncombatant get injured.

As John Stuart Mill so aptly put it, "War is an ugly thing...". It should be avoided and undertaken only after careful deliberation. However, once the decision has been made, the military should be given all of the support and supplies the nation can muster and then get out of their way. The purpose of the military is to break things and kill people. Once you unleash the hounds of war, let them do their best.

I submit to you that if we unleash all holy hell with devastating effect, we will actually save lives in the long run, both theirs and ours. By letting the politicians ham string our forces because they are worried about what others think we only make it easier for our foes to carry on the fight and encourage their supporters.

If, on the other hand, a withering attack is laid upon them, the will to fight can be taken from them. I give you Japan and the end of WWII as an example. They were prepared to fight yo the last village until the bomb was dropped on them. Yes, a couple of hundred thousand people were killed in an instant and that was terrible, however, millions would have lost their lives and the entire country would have been laid to waste had we gone about it in the way we had up to that point. As awful as Nagasaki and Hiroshima were, in the big picture they saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Not only does this unleashing of hell shorten the fight, it reduces the likelihood of someone else attacking us. If they see the destruction we not only can but are willing to loose on them, it will give them serious second thoughts before striking out at us.

Now our politicians make the decision to go to war, then worry about the PR aspects and proceed to handicap our forces so it makes their job WAY more difficult if not impossible.

Yes Afghanistan is becoming another Viet Nam, but it's not the military's fault. It's the fault of the lilly livered liberals and the weak kneed politicians!

What Did You Expect

Once again the headlines raise my "Boy ain't that ironic!" quotient. The first read "Teacher in oval office when Obama signed the educational stimulus bill.....laid off." the second read "CT Blue Cross/Blue Shield to raise rates up to 47%."

Now if these two headlines don't point out the ineptitude of the current PotUS to those who voted for him, nothing ever will!

PresBO spends millions and billions of dollars he had to borrow from China to "stimulate" the economy. This a patently bad plan on two fronts. First, government is not the engine that drives the economy. The economy is driven when consumers want products and have the resources to purchase them. This then encourages producers to increase their efforts employing more people, who then have more income to spend and so on and so on. Government throwing out one time buckets of cash does not affect this equation in the long run, it only makes a one time blip in the purchasing, not a sustained demand.

The second disastrous effect is that it puts us in debt which not only must we pay off, but it will be putting a drain on the economy for generations to come. And to make matters worse, we are indebted to one of our biggest enemies.

The second headline points to the true effects of government injecting itself into private business. PresBO, Pelosi, et. al. Told us how wonderful government mandated health care was going to be and how we were entering the golden age of high quality low cost health care for all. They assured us we would be able to keep our doctors and it would cost less. Now we are seeing the first stages of this wonderful universal health care. Doctors are leaving the business or refusing to see MediCare patients because of the low reimbursement rates and the high cost of non-patient time required to get the reimbursement. Insurance companies have to charge higher rates to stay in business now that they have to pay for things that were not accounted for in their actuarial tables. Companies are not hiring because of the high costs associated with having employees if the employee count goes to 50 or above.

This is what happens when you put somebody in charge who has never run so much as an lemonade stand in his entire life.

Socialism sounds real nice in theory. It's when it runs into reality that it all goes to you know where in a hand basket. Yet two years ago, with a large contingent of non-productive (college students, professors, professional welfare recipients, etc.) people with no experience at actually making anything work, put PresBO in charge.

Should anyone really be surprised at how that's worked out?

"Hey Dumby!"

I see where VP Joe B says Democratic candidates are not running on the Obama (their) record because it's to hard to explain. Now I don't know about you but it seems to me that Joe just called everybody who may not be fix'n to vote democrat stupid.

Now don't go gettin' your feathers all ruffled. It's nothing new. This is the way democrats/progressives/liberals have felt about the rest of us for years. The unusual part is one of them actually saying it out loud. Normally it is part of their internal monologue unless they are in a group of fellow travelers. At which point they feel quite comfortable belittling us about "clinging to our God and our guns".

Wait a minute, forget the "unusual that they would say it out loud" comment. Heck, he was with fellow travelers. He was speaking with the media. Of course he felt comfortable in talking about how dumb he feels we are.

But back to the point. This comment is a true "poker tell" on the way the liberals feel and why they believe in an all powerful central government. They don't believe we are smart enough to make the "right" decisions for our selves/country/world, so to save us from making a mistake, they will just relieve us of the burden of deciding.

How should we spend the money we worked all week for? This is not nearly the question it once was. Thanks to the liberal belief that they know better. Through the use of an over powering central government, they are taking more and more of your dollars to spend the way they want. They are doing it with little or no regard for how we want the money spent, because remember, we are to dumb to know what's best for us. They use the tax system for social engineering purposes. They tax behaviors they don't like and encentivize things they do.

I don't mean to say that I disagree with all of their positions. I agree that smoking is bad. But using the tax system to punish someone who chooses to use a lawful product is wrong. Taxes should only be levied as a source of revenue, not a means of behavior modification.

But then again, if you believe that the rest of us are to stupid to live our lives on our own, as the smartest kids in the room, it's really OK for you to decide. Because we just can't be trusted to make the "right" decisions on our own, don'tcha know.

Now The Republicans Hate The Middle Class

I just finished listening to a clip of VP Joe Biden. He was campaigning for the person running for his old seat in the Senate. In his talk he seemed to be saying that Republicans don’t hate just the poor people anymore. Now they hate the middle class also. Who knew?

He says if the Democrats lose the election “we will play hell keeping it (the middle class) from evaporating.” Apparently Republicans want everybody to be either poor or million and billionaires. 

Now help me out following Joe’s logic here. He says the Republicans want the middle class to disappear. I can only assume that he is saying he wants them to become poor, although I guess they could disappear by becoming rich also. He doesn’t really make it clear, but the implication is that they are to become poor. By extension, he also wants the rich to stay rich and become richer.

Now the majority of rich Americans become and stay rich through business. Nearly every business I can think of requires other businesses to supply them with goods and/or services to produce what they make. They require other businesses to get their products to still other businesses to sell their products. The majority of these businesses in this chain are small to mid-sized businesses. Nearly all of which are owned and operated by middle class folks.

Not only do these evil rich require all these small business to produce and deliver their products to market. They depend on a moderately well off population to be able to afford these products they are producing, because for them to remain rich they have to have someone buy their products. To merely produce them and send them off to a nonexistent market, it would be like starting up a buggy whip business today. Not having a market for your product is a  certain receipt for economic disaster. 

So the more folks there are in the middle class who earn enough money to have a modicum of disposable income to spend on these products and services equals more potential customers for these businesses. The more customers there are, the more they can sell and the more money they can make.

Just what part of this equation would suggest to you that the rich wants a small or shrinking middle class? Where is it in their best interest to not have a robust and growing middle class? Just who is it that seems to be taxing the middle class into the poor house and who seems to be trying to reduce the tax burden on all so as to stimulate the free flowing economy?

No, Joe! It’s not the Republicans who will destroy the middle class. It’s big government liberals who will handle that quite nicely without any help from free market conservatives.

Liberals Ain't Really Liberal

Just why do you suppose Liberals like government being in charge of everything. It seems rather counter intuitive to the name Liberal. With a name like Liberal you would expect them to be for each person looking after their own affairs. You wouldn’t expect a liberal individual to want to force their ideas on another person. You would expect a Liberal to want everyone to choose their own path. And yet that is not the case.

Liberals want you to be able to choose your own way as long as it’s their way, and to insure that it’s their way they want an all powerful government to enforce their choice on you.

For example, if you choose not to own a gun, a Conservative does not want the government to force you to own one. On the other hand if a Liberal doesn’t want to own a gun, he thinks you shouldn't own one either and thus wants the government to keep you from it.

A liberal wants a woman to choose her own path in life, but if a woman chooses to be something they disagree with, they ridicule and make life hard for them. You would think that they would support a woman who wants to be a housewife or an exotic dancer or a Hooters waitress if that’s what they wanted, but no. Only prescribed choices are acceptable to a Liberal. (I must also say that many conservatives would be against a woman being an exotic dancer or a Hooters waitress also.)

Being a conservative libertarian, I might not think that a woman being an exotic dancer or a Hooters waitress was their best life choice, I firmly support their right to choose it.

I seem to have gotten off on a tangent here, but the point is the same. Liberals want government to be in charge of everything and they want to be in charge of the government. They want it this way because they believe that we, the unwashed masses are not smart enough to know what’s best for us. They feel that they should make life’s choices for us so we don’t go making mistakes like owning guns or smoking or eating the wrong foods or any of a thousand other things. When government is in charge and they are in charge of the government they can legislate every facet of our life. That is why Liberals are in favor of big government.

I submit to you that Liberals/Progressives are the antithesis of their names. They have hijacked the name away from it’s meaning. Just as the Bolsheviks grabbed the name which means the larger or greater party when in fact they were the minority party during the Russian revolution, leaving the majority with the diminutive name of Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks then proceeded to take over the government and order how everyone was to live.

Hummm, do I see a pattern???

UNC's Football Coaching Question

The University of North Carolina’s football team is currently undergoing an exam that only a known drug runner crossing an international boarder could relate to. Do they deserve this level of an exam? Of course they do. They have done things that are against NCAA rules. One of their coaches (now ex-coach) had a close relationship with a sports agent involving some level of finance, which is strictly verboten! Players have received things of value from persons with connections to this agent, also verboten! Additionally, it seems that an academic advisor developed a relationship with some of the players and did some things they shouldn’t have done. Writing papers for them and stuff like that. So yes and double yes UNC deserves this investigation.

Having said that, the next logical question then is, should the Head Coach resign or be fired?

Well, my personal feeling is…..not necessarily.

Understand, I was a college football player myself. While I never played at this level and it was many years ago, I do have some experience with how things play out with college athletics. Coaches can only control players while they are in direct sight of them. Whatever period of time the player is out of sight from the coaching staff, they can do as they please. Yes, coaching staffs give players rules they are to abide by, but these are 18 to 24 year old males who believe they can do anything. Rules are viewed more as suggested guidelines. They can be followed at their own discretion.

You also need to understand that these are not a bunch of choir boys we are talking about. These are highly aggressive and competitive young men. Even at the level I played at, these guys were more aggressive than the normal population.

Any institution that decides it is going to have an athletic program that will compete inter-collegiately must knowingly decide that this is the type of individual they will be bringing into their midst. The higher the level you wish to compete at, the more competitive and aggressive the athlete you will need to bring in. And like any other population you look at, it will be distributed along a continuum. You will have a limited number of folks who are your Payton Manning and Walter Payton types on the positive end and your Lawrence Taylor and Ben Roethlisberger on the other end and everything in between. With this type of population, the only way a coach could hope to control their behavior would be to lock them up and only let them out to practice and play.

As far as the assistant coach is concerned, should Butch Davis have known about his dealings with an agent? Well only if he controlled the other coach’s finances. Some people are saying they were friends and thus he must have known.

Well think about that for just a second. If you are friends with someone for 20 years and you know he is in charge of making sure things are done correctly and you know you are not. Are you going to tell him you are breaking the rules? I think not. Now look at it from the reverse angle. You have been friends with someone for 20 years, you ask him if he’s doing things the right way and he tells you “yes”, what are you going to do? He’s your friend. You have no reason to doubt him. Of course you will believe him.

I feel that any college athletic program that strives to compete at the highest level in football as well as any other sport requiring high levels of physical aggression will have its share of athletes who get into trouble. That share will probably occur at a higher incident rate than you will find in the general population at the school.

I feel the coaching staff’s responsibility is to inform the athlete of what the rules are and tell them what the punishment is for breaking the rules. They must then follow through on this and not give the offenders a wink and a nod. If this happens you will have scenarios like the Barry Switzer era of Oklahoma football.

It is NOT the coaching staff’s responsibility to police their behavior. They should be active in reinforcing what the rules are, but these young men will chose to do what they will. Believe me, I know, coaches cannot control players when they are out of sight.

Customer Service Or The Lack There Of!

Customer service is at the top of my mind today. No, it's not just because this is Customer Service Week either. It's at the top of mind because I'm experiencing both good and bad examples of it centered around the same financial transaction.

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a condo. We have contracted with a buyers agent and are arranging financing through the bank my wife and I use for our businesses.

Now our agent has been wonderful. He has gone above and beyond in making sure he has done everything he can to expedite the process. He has even taken to calling us just to check in and see if we need anything. This behavior is made to seem even better when placed next to the poor customer service we are receiving from our lender.

As we try to schedule closing, utilities, moving and the myriad of other things along with scheduling time off from business, the bank has been passive aggressive in communicating with us. Case in point. Yesterday morning I spoke with our loan officers assistant and asked if we could get an approximate date we could work with, knowing that the loan had gone to the underwriter 3 business days prior. She told me that she would speak with the loan officer when he got in and have him call me...... I'm still waiting on the call. In my world, that is unacceptable.

We could have gotten the very same loan through the developer but chose to use the bank we had experience with. We seem to have jumped to the wrong lilly pad.

Understand that this is not a difficult loan to approve. We are purchasing at below bank appraised value, we are borrowing less than half the purchase price, and we have qualified for a loan over 5 times the amount we are borrowing. I fail to see where the big holdup is.

I spend a significant portion of my time teaching employees how to treat customers. To take ownership of their issues and solve them like they were their own. It is much easier to keep a customer you have than to attract one to replace the customer you lost through inattention.

Simple common courtesy goes a very long way when dealing with customers. Most business aren't like the DMV, they have competitors. It would do them and their employees well to remember that simple fact. Without the customers there is no income to pay employees or cover expenses. The customer usually has options, as my long standing insurance company discovered earlier this year. They lost my family business, my business' business and my wife's business' business (yes I'm aware of how many times I just used the word business in one sentence!). They have been receiving premiums for years. The same may be in the near future for a certain bank I know!

Some businesses learn the hard way!

Politicians vs. America

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like politics has taken precedence over the good of the country. As I watch the political posturing and back biting take place I have to ask myself, “How much of this do these people actually believe and how much are they doing to ‘win the game’?”
 
The politicians in this country all seem to have read Machiavelli and taken it to heart. The ends justify the means and the “ends” for politicians is winning and staying in power. Staying in Washington, or Raleigh, or Des Moines, or Sacramento, or where ever the seat of power is for that level.
 
And power has to be the final motivator. It’s not the money. The top job in the country only pays about $400,000 per year. What other explanation could there be for people spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a job that pays $400k?
 
Now I’ve never been rich or powerful so I can’t possibly explain the allure of either, but I can only assume it’s more powerful than a drug addiction. My only experience in that area is a current addiction to caffeine and a past addiction to nicotine. I can say without fear of contradiction that the drive for nicotine was a subtle but ever present one. One that had to be fed until I finally would not let it rule me any longer. I don’t know that you can go cold turkey on power, at least on your own.
 
By my outsider’s observations, it appears that politicians drive for power is all consuming. They will do anything, say anything to anybody to get it and to hold it. There seems to be some un-holy thrill associated with wielding power over others. This thrill seems to be shared equally by both the right and the left. These power addicts will sell out their morals and principals at the drop of a hat in order to maintain their power fix.
 
Case in point; Heath Schuler, Democrat from NC was reportedly not in favor of ObamaCare, yet, when pressured by Nancy Pelosi and undoubtedly offered some incentives, he voted for it. Now, he is up for re-election and he is distancing himself from his own vote on health care and Pelosi. Going so far as to say he may even run for Speaker of the House himself if the Democrats retain the majority.
 
What is one to believe when their representatives act in such a way? Clearly they are more interested in themselves and the power they can use over the rest of us then they are about what’s good for America.
 
This country needs people in government who don’t really want to be there. People who would rather be doing something else, but feel it’s their duty to serve the country for a limited period of time. Folks who are interested in, as John Kennedy so famously put it, what their country can do for them but for what they can do for their country.
 
For the good of the country, the professional politicians, both right and left, need to go!
 

Insanity Test

OK, I’m really confused about how to start this post. I am outraged at what I just read and can’t believe we have put government officials in place who will allow this to happen.
 
I just read that the US Border Patrol has actually abandon sections of the US Border with Mexico. Our political class has totally removed our presence from the area, leaving the residents to fend for themselves against well armed narco-terrorists, and the disadvantaged, low skilled illegals coming to America. (Yes I said low skilled. Let’s face it, we aren’t getting a lot of doctors and engineers sneaking across the border to work here.) And that’s not even to mention the Islamic Radicals who are undoubtedly crossing. I say undoubtedly because korans and prayer rugs have been found in the desert. I doubt your average low skilled Latin illegal would be toting either of those.
 
It’s clear that the political class in America is behind this abandonment. The rank and file Border Patrol personnel believe in their mission and would like to enforce our border, but are 1. ordered not to, and 2. Not given the resources to complete their mission if they were allowed to. And who is at the head of the chain that is ordering this retreat?
 
The President, that’s who!
 
When the President took office he swore the following oath:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
 
In the preamble of the Constitution it sets forth the following:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
 
Now the way I read that, it is the President’s JOB to secure the border and protect our citizens from foreigners entering our country illegally and interfering with our citizens securing the blessings of liberty. If these politicians are unwilling or unable to do this, they should leave. RESIGN! GET OUT! Let someone take the job who is actually willing to DO the job.
 
If they are unwilling to do the honorable thing, it is our duty as citizens to do it for them. Our first opportunity to do this is Tuesday, November 2nd. For everyone who believes the United States of America is and should remain a sovereign nation with the right of self-determination, your job is clear. To coin a phrase “Throw the rascals OUT!” for those of you who believe it is time for us to surrender our sovereignty, well, just keep putting the same old back in place.
 
They say the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing expecting a different result. I guess we are about to find out if the majority of Americans have gone insane.
 
 

The Liberal Response

So I see the Liberals (who are to afraid to use their real moniker and go by the stealth name of Progressive) tried a counter demonstration to the one Glenn Beck held a few weeks back. Now understand, I don't recall any professional groups getting involved with Beck's rally. Not the Republican party, not any business groups, nothing.

The Liberals' rally on the other hand had it estimated that 400 groups were involved. Unions hired buses and encouraged their members to attend. Gay and Lesbian groups rallied their supporters to attend. And as it was reported. They were able to get "thousands" to attend.

They didn't report tens of thousands, they reported thousands. But let's be generous. Let's say they got one hundred thousand folks there. That is still only a quarter of what was conservatively estimated to attend Glenn's rally.

When I think back to the scenes from Beck's rally, I see thousands of handmade signs being held by supports. Folks who cared enough to go out and buy the supplies themselves and make their own personal statement. At this event, I didn't see that many homemade signs. I saw lots of professionally designed and printed signs, but very few that showed people were invested enough to spend their own money and time to actually make a sign.

When the rally was over and the Capital grounds crew needed to clean up, what did they find. After the Beck rally, they found the mall in excellent condition. Very little trash scattered about. The majority of trash that was left was left in proper trash bins. When the liberals left, the Mall was a mess. Trash strewn everywhere. The pictures I've seen of the Mall after the two events couldn't be more different. And who is it that talks about how much they care for the environment and how they say the conservatives don't care about the environment? As my mother used to say, actions speak louder than words.

I guess this pretty much played out like the polls have been indicating for many years. True liberalism is only supported by 20 to 30% of the population of this country. If you are generous with the numbers of folks attending this weekends rally and conservative estimating the number of folks who attended the Beck rally, this weekend drew about 25% of what showed up before.

One has to ask, "How is it that Liberals EVER get elected?"

Giving vs. Giving Back

When did it become a bad thing in this country to work hard and get ahead? This country was founded on the concept of INDIVIDUALS working hard and by proper application of brain power and sweat, improving their station in life. As an American you were not placed in some ridged cast system so where you started determined where you would end. Our country has allowed anyone with the drive and acumen to reach their highest levels. Our history is replete with stories of individuals from humble beginnings becoming mega-successes, and due to the nature of an open system, there are just as many stories of individuals going in the opposite direction.

Now it seems like every time I turn around I'm hearing about the "lucky rich" or how folks should "give back" to society.

Well now I'm just sorry as hell that those who "wish" they had more but have made poor life choices and are now unable to have what some others may have, but my experience is that most of the "rich" earned their money. The idea that they were "lucky" or that somebody "gave" them something so there was some giving "back" in order is completely bogus.

When citizens of this country are given access to a free public school education, where no matter how modest their means, if they apply themselves and their families support them they can even get their college and grad school paid for. For those who are not academically inclined, this country has an extensive technical and community college system they can avail themselves of. Gaining skills that if combined with liberal amounts of sweat and savvy can make them successful.

Opportunity abounds in this country. For those willing to put in the effort they can change their station in life. For those unwilling to do so, I have little sympathy.

So the concept of luck and where people end up in life are seldom connected. Thus the concept of giving "back" is based on a faulty premise.

Having said that, I must also say that "giving" is not! And as is often seen in our society, those who have worked hard and become successful often give generously of them selves. This is evidenced by the many charities that flourish in this country. Everything from the ASPCA to the Salvation Army are funded by people giving, NOT giving back!

What I have said about people achieving on their own does not, of course, apply to those who through illness or injury are unable to successfully fend for themselves. I believe society should definitely step in and help to what ever degree is appropriate.

Understand I am not a wealthy man! I am not in the top 5-10% of wage earners in this country. But I have worked as hard as was necessary to live at the level a want. I could have worked harder and lived higher, but I made a quality quantity choice. Having done so, I don't feel a need to take from those who made a different choice just to improve my standing. To me, taking from someone who has earned what they have to give to someone else is robbery, not some noble act.

Or at least that's the way this old farm boy sees it.