Liberals Are Destroying America — A Response to a Liberal


In response to an uber-liberal poster on another site, I would like to “drill down” into the statistics she provided as being proof that conservatism is destroying America.

The article (from the Daily Kos) states that the ten states with the lowest average median incomes in America are all governed by Republicans. On face value, that appears to be a damning statement. However, the overall economy of a state is determined by the cities and localities within the state.

In reverse order…

Mississippi – The two biggest citiesin the state are Jackson and Gulfport.

The current mayor of Jackson, Mississippi is Frank Melton, a Democrat. He is currently running for a second term despite being labeled the worst mayor in America. The current unemployment rate is 8.6%. The average median household income was $31,177 which is lower than the state average.

The current mayor of Gulfport is George Schlogel, a Republican who was elected in 2009.  The current unemployment rate in the Gulfport is 9.4%. However, job growth in Gulfport has increased 26% over the last two years. The average median household income for Gulfport was $39,213 which is above the state average.

So, who’s hurting the economy? Moving on…

West Virginia – One thing the uber-liberal poster on the other site fails to mention is that West Virginia’s governor was Joe Manchin, a Democrat, until he chose to be a Senator. The current acting governor is Earl Tomblin, also a Democrat. So, according to the uber-liberal’s post, the Democrats would be responsible for the poor economic conditions in West Virginia?

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the entire slam piece she posted? Moving on…

Arkansas – The current governor, since 2006 and re-elected in 2010, is Mike Beebe, a Democrat.

Hold the phone!! What?? Two of the three states with the lowest average median household incomes have been led by Democrats since 2005, and conservatism is destroying America???

Liberals need to check their facts!!


Obama – Another Test of Leadership


As I had stated in an earlier post, Obama faced a test of his leadership when dealing with Iran and North Korea. Despite all of his bluster, both of those countries have continued down the same path toward nuclear capabilities despite Obama’s inexperienced and amateurish tactics.

One would always hope that the leader of your country would learn from past mistakes. The question becomes: Has he?

Let’s start with hot-topic national issues:

The funny thing about leadership is that people tend to follow and support a true leader. Well, it seems that the American people have chosen to not follow Obama’s lead on anything. Going as far as to return control of the House to the Republicans and narrowing the gap in the Senate in 2010. Obama’s polling numbers continue to slide to the point that people want someone to challenge Obama in the Democratic primary.

Let’s continue onto the international scene:

So, what is the president focusing on? What issue has he decided to demonstrate clear, unequivocal leadership on?

Another chance for Obama to show that he has the chops to be president, another clear display of incompetence and failure.


Miami Mayor Alvarez is clearly a RHINO


In this era of uber-partisan politics, a candidate labeling himself as a Republican places a bulls-eye on him by members of the Democratic party, especially progressives. The citizens of Miami-Dade County have removed “Republican”  Mayor Carlos Alvarez from office on Tuesday.

A sampling of a few websites that are trying to make political hay out of the Republican label:

Despite the label, the citizens of Miami-Dade county have judged Alvarez by his actions. The Associated Press article, which has been posted online by numerous websites, states that the two primary causes for his ouster are the increase in property tax rates and a salary increases for county employees.

Does any of this sound familiar? (Another one showing how Democrats are toning down the rhetoric.)

As one commenter on The Free Republic stated, Alvarez “acted liked a Democrat.” And THAT’S why he was recalled!


The Progressive Contradiction


As defined by Dictionary.com:

Progressive – adjective, favoring or promoting political or social reform through government action, or even revolution, to improve the lot of the majority.

Obama has on numerous occasions been referred to as a progressive. Obama has even referred to himself as a progressive.

By definition, progressives are seeking governmental intervention to improve the lot of majority. So, case in point, Obamacare – the name given to his universal healthcare law. Part of Obama’s selling point was that it would provide insurance coverage to 32 million Americans who did not have insurance.

(Please note that they still do not have insurance as the bulk of the law will not go into effect until 2014.)

So, this benefits the majority?? What is the current population of the U.S.? According to the U.S. Census, the answer is 308,745,538 people. So, that is a little less than 1/10thof the total population that is benefiting from this law. So much for the majority, huh?

What makes this even worse is that it still leaves 23 million people still uninsured by 2019. (That would be 1/13th who would still not have insurance.) And what’s really sad is those people would have to pay a penalty for not having insurance. So we have almost equal parts of this country benefiting and not benefiting from this law that is supposed to improve the lot of the majority.

To improve the lot of the majority requires that someone give up something. Obamacare requires higher income Americans to pay more in taxes – despite the fact that it will not be enough to cover the costs. Even the New York Timeshas called Obamacare unsustainable.

Massachusetts has had universal healthcare for the longest time frame in this country – that is a known fact. How much debt does it currently have? 61.5 Billion Dollars! And that’s not even a huge state.

Let’s look at another part of Obama’s progressive agenda – education.

Obama hailed the Making College Affordable for Everyone Act as the means by which America would remain competitive in the 21st century. Sounds good – that definitely would benefit the majority, right?

How can everyone make it to college if the public education system is failing so many children and is in desperate need of reform? (Again, note in the article that they are also lowering expectations in laying out their education agenda.) What effect would that have on colleges if the students aren’t prepared to do the work that college requires? Maybe, it’s me; but, from a theoretical standpoint, Obama has it backwards.

Nevertheless, what happens to all of these college-educated people who don’t get decent to well-paying jobs because another college graduate got the job they wanted? Let’s not forget to mention that businesses would have to raise the qualifications for jobs to screen people out. What used to take a high-school diploma would then take a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree would then be replaced by a master’s degree and so on. Is making college affordable for everyone really going to improve the lot of the majority?  

This isn’t politics. This is the cold, harsh reality of the real world.


The Death of Personal Responsibility


“…You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time…” – Andrew Shepherd from The American President.

           For those who may not have seen that movie, the context of that statement is that people would want to go back to the “good old’ days” when everything seemed to be better than it is now.

           So, the question is why? Why do people want to go back to when things were better? What is so different about today’s society from that of our parents’ or grandparents’ day? The difference is that people took personal responsibility for their lives. That is something in today’s political and social climate you don’t see enough of. And those who do are punished for it.

          The Declaration of Independence states that all men have the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Emphasis added.) Well, it seems that is no longer the case. Ambition and self-reliance have been replaced by an attitude of entitlement. People feel—no, they believe they are entitled to happiness, they are entitled to the comfortable life; and if they don’t have it, then it is someone else’s fault.

            During the campaign, Obama made the statement that we are “five days away from fundamentally transforming America.” His first and foremost plan was to pass universal healthcare legislation. The idea was the federal government was capable of providing healthcare for all Americans. The 2,000 page law is chock-full of rules, regulations, and restrictions that even doctors are no longer responsible for medical decisions they make when it comes to the care of patients.

Since the U.S. is new to the universal health care arena, let’s look at a few countries where it has already been implemented:

The average wait time for a Canadian awaiting surgery or other medical treatment is now 18.3 weeks…

…NHS patients wait an average of about eight weeks for treatments that require admission to a hospital, four weeks for out-patient treatments and two weeks for diagnostic tests.

According to a new healthcare law which came into effect in July 2010, Swedes should be able to see a doctor within seven days of first visiting a publicly financed health clinic.

Up to a seven day wait just to see the doctor?! And that’s a good thing?! From the same article:

 

 

In addition, the ‘care guarantee’ (vårdguaranti) stipulates that patients shouldn’t be made to wait more than 90 days to see a specialist and that any prescribed treatment, such as an operation, should be scheduled within 90 days of seeing the specialist.

Twelve weeks just to see the specialist and then another twelve weeks to schedule the operation. My recommendation – Don’t Get Sick!! Otherwise, you may die waiting. Especially if they determine that it is not cost effective to prolong your life as in the case of Barbara Wagner. The state of Oregon would not pay for the medication her doctor prescribed, but would pay for physician-assisted suicide.

This prevailing attitude of “it’s not my responsibility” only gets worse.

Parents are no longer even capable of making decisions about what their own children eat when they decide to have lunch or dinner at McDonald’s in San Francisco. There is even a commercial about the government intruding into everyday choices Americans make about the groceries they buy. Let’s not forget that Michelle Obama is on a personal crusade to end obesity in America. So, put down that Big Mac!!

            The “Nanny State” knows no boundaries on what it says it can and cannot do. Obama has continually referred to himself as a progressive. It is progressives who have created the most devastating examples of people giving up personal responsibility for the government handout.

            Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act during the Great Depression as a way to provide for older Americans who did not have the means to provide for themselves. On face value, this is humanitarian, so charitable; and considering the economic times, it had short-term benefits.

           Now, how is that working in today’s society? Social Security is on the verge of insolvency and some feel that it will bankrupt America. Remember, it is now an entitlement within the federal budget process (along with Medicare—which Obama said doesn’t work anyway) which means that it is automatically funded and the funding is increased annually. In spite of these alarming facts, some people have the attitude that it’s not their problem and they should retire as quickly as possible to ensure that they get what they are entitled to.

            People need to buck up and realize that social security provides no real support in maintaining a minimal lifestyle. It is up to you to provide for yourself.

          The current state of the economy is the most pressing issue on the minds of Americans. The unemployment rate is currently at 9.0% even though Obama had promised it would not go above 8% if the stimulus was passed. People have bought into the idea that it is the government’s responsibility to provide jobs for them, and Obama has fed into this attitude with the stimulus package. The Obama Administration has claimed that the stimulus created or saved 2 million jobs.

          So, why is the current rate of underemployment at 17.3% for December? Because people are still waiting on the government to provide those jobs for them! Didn’t Nancy Pelosi say universal healthcare would unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans? We have passed the stimulus. We have passed universal healthcare. We have even provided up to 99 weeks on unemployment benefits.

Yet, the economy is still floundering. Why? People aren’t taking responsibility for their own well-being, and why should they when the government is providing money and healthcare for them. Most of these people have to be wondering what else they can get for free.

            As Thomas J. Powell stated, “America is the land of opportunity mostly because it applauds the achievements of the individual.” It is time for every American to take personal responsibility for their own actions, their own well-being, and their own happiness.


Who is Jared Loughner?


            For those who haven’t paid attention to the news lately, Jared Loughner is the alleged suspect in the shooting spree that killed six and wounded more than a dozen including Congresswoman Giffords.

          Almost immediately, there were numerous attempts by people with a political axe to grind to pin this on their political opponents. As more information about the shooter is known, there are people who still want to make some political hay off of this tragedy such as Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California.

         The real question people should want to know the answer to is Who is Jared Loughner?

        The commonly known information is that Jared is a 22-year old who lives with his parents in Tucson, Arizona. It is also known that he is the alleged suspect in this tragedy. Beyond that, a lot of people do not know that much about him.

       One of the most common characterizations of Loughner is that he is a social outcast. He also did not handle rejection well no matter what form it came. He is a heavy abuser of alcohol and marijuana. This drug abuse was also the cause for being rejected for military service. One time during high school, Loughner drank tequila during school – probably lunch, went back to class drunk, and passed out.

        Loughner also had a tent set up in his backyard which contained a shrine of some sort. which consisted of a miniature altar with a replica of a human skull. As of now, one could only speculate at to the purpose of the shrine.

       Loughner attended a local community college where he came across as a mentally unstable individual. According to a series of e-mails sent to friends, Lynda Sorenson made the following statements about Loughner:

  • “…We do have one student in the class who was disruptive today…He scares me a bit. The teacher tried to throw him out and he refused to go…he will be out of class very soon, and not come back with an automatic weapon.”
  • “…we have a seriously disturbed student…they are trying to figure out how to get rid of him before he does something bad…Needless to say, I sit by the door.”
  • “…He is one of those whose picture you see on the news, after he has come into class with an automatic weapon. Everyone interviewed would say, Yeah, he was in my math class and he was really weird. I sit by the door with my purse handy. If you see it on the news one night, know that I got out fast…”

      Based on these disruptive incidents, Pima Community Collegesuspended Lougher until he hadmental health professional’s written assurance that his presence at college would not present a danger to himself or othersin September. Part of his suspension was based on the college discovering a YouTube video where he claimed the college was illegal according to the U.S. Constitution.

     Another major fascination is online gaming. Loughner spent a lot of time playing Earth Empires which was formerly known as Earth 2025. Loughner would use the forum posting feature to pose questions to his fellow gamers such as:

  •    “Does anyone have aggression 24/7?”
  •     “If you went to prison right now, what would you be thinking?”
  •   “Would you hit a Handy Cap Child/ Adult?”

He also talked about his inability to get a job or to have a relationship with a woman.

            Numerous people, like Paul Krugman, have used his actions trying to pin the blame on their political opponents. The most common reason is that he has political associations with The Tea Party, Sarah Palin, and Glenn Beck and “the violent rhetoric they spew.”

            Loughner had an eclectic mix of books he read including “Animal Farm“, “Brave New World.” Other books in the wide-ranging list included “Mein Kampf,” “The Communist Manifesto,” “Peter Pan” and Aesop’s Fables seemed to be out-of-place with the other books he listed.

            So based on his reading material, Loughner appears to be more of a fascist or a communist. Loughner’s friend said that he didn’t even watch the news, and didn’t have a political ideology. He thought that he wasn’t shooting at a congresswoman, but he “was shooting at the world.

            So, do not attempt to assign blame to anyone other Loughner. The one thing that seems to also be in agreement is that Loughner was a nihilistic, disturbed loner with no discernible ideology.


Using Tragedy to Score Political Points Is Embarrassing


             In the wake of the tragedy in Arizona, numerous people have used that tragedy in an attempt to some political points. So, before the victims have even been laid to rest, people are using this for their own gain. Before the entire story has been told, people are trying to pin the blame for this on their political opponents.

 

            What has happened to common decency in America? Despite statements to the contrary, people will actually remember what happened in Tucson. Once the victims are laid to rest, people will not suddenly forget what happened. There is a better time to talk about issues people want to tie to this tragedy. However, that time is not now.

 

            Representative James Clyburn, D-SC, is the third highest ranking Democrat in Congress. In the wake of the tragedy, he has placed the blame for the tragedy on the “vitriol in public discourse.” He has said that this country must rethink parameters on free speech. He wants the FCC to reinstate the “Fairness Doctrine” to ensure that there is balanced media coverage of tragedies like this.

 

            The “Fairness Doctrine?” What does the Fairness Doctrine have to do with the tragedy in Tucson? How will “balanced media coverage” prevent a tragedy like this one? He is not alone in trying to pin the blame for this tragedy on a political opponent though.

 

            Paul Krugman posted an editorial on the tragedy. Did he offer his condolences for the families of the victims? No. Did he speak of praying for the victims who were not killed? No. Did he think that it was a time for mourning? No. Did he even call what happened in Tucson a tragedy? No.

            So, what did he do? He pinned the blame for this on The Tea Party and Sarah Palin. He even states that “it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers,” because “violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate.”

           The suspect has not gone to trial. His full story has not been told, but Krugman has already decided that it was really the Tea Party’s fault. He has placed the blame on Sarah Palin’s shoulders.

            There seems to be such a prevalent attitude among the media to pin the blame on someone else. Now, with the Internet, any person can post their opinion online and do the same. So, obviously, anyone with a political axe to grind is going to try and blame this tragedy on their opponents.

            However, if any of those people had a shred of decency, they would simply keep their mouth shut during this time of grief and mourning.


The Many Failures of Barack Obama (Part 1 – #1-10)


According to the Progressives for America Facebook Page, Obama has clearly attained sainthood…no, that’s not right. Obama has clearly attained God-status. Yeah, that’s the ticket. He is the only president in history who has fixed everyone’s problems without even trying.

So, let’s take a look at Obama’s many failures and see if the Progressives have a clue, or if they are clearly intoxicated on the Obama Kool-Aid.

According to Jim Bruce of Progressives for America, Obama…

1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse.

Hold up!! Stop the presses! Let’s declare a national celebration!! Obama can actually write his name…in cursive no less!! OMG!! I need a moment to calm down. This is just too exciting.

Progressives can’t be serious. He should be credited with signing an executive order as an accomplishment. That’s all!

So, let’s compare:

Yet, I can’t recall any of them touting the signing of them as a success. Not one!! Yet, progressives want everyone to give Obama credit for signing an executive order.

Accomplishment?? Until you actually spell out what positive impact this order had, no credit shall be given.

2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers.

OK. In theory, this is definitely the moral thing to do. Equal work deserves equal pay. However, let’s delve into this, shall we?

According to Nancy Pelosi, all this act did was restore the longstanding interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. That’s it. Nothing else. There is no change in what would need to be done to pursue a discrimination case.

Accomplishment?? This is strictly a political move. It looks good and will garner some votes. But it is highly symbolic. Not much credit.

3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues.

Exactly what in the world is this supposed to mean? Obama can talk?! We already know that. Unfortunately, Joe Biden seems to talk even more than Obama does — and it’s usually a gaffe-filled event. (There are too many to link.)

What strategic issues? What is being disucssed? For a progressive worshipping at the feet of Obama, you would think he would actually list one example. (Yes, sarcasm was intended.) Instead, we are presented with a soundbite — and not even a good one at that.

Accomplishment?? I don’t think so.

4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq.

Here we go again!! Obama’s opening his mouth. Everyone needs to be quiet so we can hear such words of wisdom.

Weren’t we supposed to be out of Iraq already? I guess General Petreaus did not get the memo.

Branding U.S. forces in Iraq as non-combat also adds to the perception that the war has ended.

Didn’t Bush get raked over the coals for doing this same thing?

Besides, doesn’t every president announce a plan to end a military conflict once the U.S. has become involved in one?

Accomplishment?? Nope!

5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the bodyy arrives at Dover AFB.

This is NOT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT! It is simply the right thing to do. It is really tacky (and I am being ridiculously diplomatic) to score political points off of someone’s grief.

Progressives should be embarrassed to tout this as an accomplishment.

6. Ended media blackout of war casualties and return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB.

See point #5. Why in the world does the media need to be there? Is there an actual positive story out there? Or is it about Bush policy or Obama policy?

Sad, very sad.

*Need a moment to delouse.*

7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which has created 2.1 million jobs (as of 12/31/09).

*HAHAHAHA!! Must stop laughing. HAHAHAHA!!!!!*

Accomplishment — HAHAHA!! Still need to stop laughing.

8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.

This was the website that cost the government $9.5 million by January 2010 and will cost the government up to $18 million by 2014. Then it seems that tracking the money is not as easy Obama said it would be especially if the money is spent in non-existent congressional districts.

Accomplishment — Nah!! Especially since they aren’t even attempting to track the money anymore.

9. Announced the “Making Home Affordable” home refinancing plan.

Wasn’t that the problem in the first place? According to the a New York Times article, the collapse of the housing market could be traced back to a push by the Clinton Administration to expand home ownership. So, Fannie and Freddie started loaning money to people to buy homes they could not afford.

Obama’s fix — Pick up the bill for people who could not pay the bill in the first place.

Accomplishment — I don’t think so.

10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses.

Hmmm…so, let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The money is coming from the financial rescue package that was passed in 2008. So, the money would be use to bail out banks with bad loans so they could turn around and make more loans.

Did it work? I don’t think so!!


Obama: A Test of Leadership


The following headline is prominently displayed on FoxNation.com:

President Obama Faces Test on Korean Peninsula

It is another test of his leadership. It is another test to see if he is capable of taking decisive action to prevent an unnecessary military conflict.

Let’s look at his track record for taking decisive action.

Iran Building Nuclear Weapons - UN weapons inspectors formally accused Iran of attempting to build nuclear weapons in February of this year. Prior to the nuclear summit held in Washington D.C. in April, Obama announced that the U.S. would not rule out a nuclear response against armed nuclear states who did not comply with the non-proliferation treaty – implying that the U.S. may launch a nuclear strike against Iran if they continued to build nuclear weapons.

It was a clear case of saber rattling and Ahmadinejad called him on it by referring to Obama as an “…inexperienced and amateur politician.”

Obama then went with imposing sanctions on Iran with the condition of Iran having to prove its nuclear program was peaceful. The truly impressive part is that it took him another two months to actually sign them into law.

The question is: Did this policy work? Did he deter Iran from building nuclear facilities and/or weapons? The results are that it did not work and that his strategy of sanctions was a complete failure. Even today, Iran has been accused of building a secret underground nuclear facility.

Obama, the inexperienced amateur politician he is, failed to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

North Korea is another country that has continued its progress toward obtaining nuclear weapons. How did Obama fare in dealing with that country?

Obama went once again went with the policy of economic sanctions against North Korea. He added the usual bluster of “deep isolation” and that North Korea must show a seriousness of purpose about ending its nuclear program.

“We’re not interested in just going through the motions with the same result,” Obama said.

So, Obama employed the same strategy he used when dealing with Iran to deal with North Korea. Did he get a different result?

North Korea has ‘stunning’ new nuke facility

Now, North Korea shelled a South Korean island along a disputed sea border. The South Korean president has vowed:

“Enormous retaliation should be made to the extent that (North Korea) cannot make provocations again,”

So, as the leader of the most powerful country in the world, Obama must once again take decisive action to prevent what will probably become an extended military conflict.

Will he pass the test this time? 


Offender Profiling v/s TSA Pat-Downs


One of the hot-button issues currently dominating the news these days is examples of the new TSA policy of invasive pat-downs for people who do not submit themselves to the full-body scanners.

There have been many examples of TSA screeners conducting pat-downs of a wide variety of people. Here are a couple of examples:

The goal of these intrusive screenings is to ensure that our air travel is the safest in the world. Yet, is it working?

So, there doesn’t seem to be agreement on this issue.

Israel has been used as an example of excellent airport security. The difference is that they use profiling as their main security technique. So, what is meant by profiling?

Profiling – the use of specific characteristics, as race or age, to make generalizations about a person, as whether or not he or she may be engaged in illegal activity.

The type of profiling Israel uses is offender profiling. It is also known as offender profiling.

Offender profiling is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders.

So, why doesn’t the U.S. use racial profiling to prevent hijackings of airplanes? The only reason ever given is that it is wrong to single out people based on skin color or other unique characteristic.

This is simply a moronic statement if I have ever heard one.

Have you ever witnessed a crime and the provided a description to the police? What is one of the first things you said in your description? Race. When I was in college, I witnessed an individual rob the McDonald’s I was having dinner at. When I described him to the police, guess what I said:

He was a black man in his 30′s…

Based on the statements put forth by liberals today, I engaged in racial profiling. That is absurd! If I, as well as others, hadn’t given an accurate description; the criminal would have never been caught.

So, let’s go back to airport security. How would you describe most, if not all, of the people who have successfully hijacked, blew up, and/or used planes as a weapon to kill thousands of people?

The commonly used terms are:

  • Muslim terrorists
  • Muslim extremists
  • Islamic extremists

Is this racial profiling? Or is this a documented fact?

So, which technique is more effective at identifying and detaining potential terrorists? And which is more likely to detain and search a three-year old boy?