Decibels

Rangel, Waters to Blame for Dem Failure

2010-08-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

Rangel and Waters, exclusively responsible for Democrat’s poor performance, (whooping) in November’s Mid-Term elections.

I hear a lot being said about these two democrats unwise decision to forego the slap on the wrist in lieu of a public trial. How hard this must be on poor Nancy Pelosi. I think there have been back channel communications urging them to be the sacrificial lambs on the altar of the Progressive agenda.

When the Democrats get their butts handed to them they can say, it’s for the sins of the few or two, rather than because the American Electorate has no stomach for our big government schemes. It’s not because we went against the will of the American people. It’s not because despite being loudly, forcefully, sometimes scarily made aware of just how much the “little people” did not want Obamacare, we passed it by sleight of hand. Noooo, that’s not it, got nothing to do with that.

It’s not because the more we learn of the mess that was ramrodded through under the guise of reform, the more we understand just how incredibly incompetent the President, and the leaders of both houses of congress are.

It’s not the bail outs.

It’s not the massive deficits.

It’s not the muddled foreign policy.

If there is any blame left over when we’re done pinning it all on Rangel and Waters it’s probably Bush’s fault.

If You're Not Outraged, You're Probably a Democrat

2009-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Driving in traffic I saw a sign of our times. It was in the form a bumper sticker, actually two of them. One said “Obama ‘08,” the other one said, “If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention.” Hmm. So the only acceptable political outrage it would seem is liberal outrage. The kind that voted for hope and change. The license plate cover was “Loyola Marymount University Alumni” so perhaps the message was that only “Educated,” outrage is acceptable. He’s probably forwarding this to the thought police even now.

I am working six days a week, so I don’t get to go to a town hall meeting. I sent my Congressman, and Senators an email expressing my outrage about the proposed health care reform. Congressman Thompson was kind enough to send me a polite form letter in reply which basically said, “We are going to do it anyway but thanks for your in put.” At the bottom of the email it said, “Do not reply to this email.” Typical politician. In all fairness it did say that I could email him again with any concerns and he will probably send me another form letter that says, “Can’t you read, I said we are doing it with or with out your concern.”

I’m not edumacated, I know what I know if you know what I mean. I know that I grew up with tribal dental care. Yes, I’m Native American. It used to be that the health clinic did what they call quadrant dentistry. If you went in you got a cleaning, and one quadrant of your dental concerns dealt with in one visit. Say upper left quadrant, two fillings. Lower left, prep for a crown, etc. Now they are subsidized by the state. They get this subsidy based on “Visits.” So cleaning is one visit. Prep for crown. Filling. Crown. Filling. Check up. This has done wonders for the quality and availability of care. If you are unemployed and can call three times a day you can get an appointment in about three months. If you are working, they’ll see you if you are in excruciating pain, maybe.

I’m glad there are other dentists in the area that allow you to pay for your own dental care, they will see you as soon as humanly possible and do as much as they can to make sure that you keep coming back to see them. I may have to pay for my own dental care, what a concept, but personally I’m opposed to being in excruciating pain.

It’s probably good that I can’t attend town hall meeting, it would be infuriating if I got ignored in person instead of via email. One could be tempted to yell a bit, try to get their attention, then the secret service would be investigating me, the President would be keeping a file on me, hey, they may even search my medical records to see what health care I don’t need. Wait, they are already planning to do that any way, so I guess the only recourse I have is to vent a little of my pent up, “Outrage.” Thanks for indulging me, it was very therapeutic.

F-22’s and Your Healthcare Future

2009-07-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Take a good look at this debate. The left is dancing in the aisles because they saved the country from the premier fighter in the world. I’m not really a big fan of the huge price tag of a plane that is not necessary for our national security. I understand that many in side the military do not want more F-22’s at the cost of more immediately useful assets.

However if this is the trend, where advanced weapon systems are not developed, how long will we remain the most effective military power in history?

What does that have to do with health care? Simple, the Democrats are making a bid to make the Government the sole arbiter of what will and will not be paid for to sustain your life. Expensive innovations that sustain life, treat a few patients cannot be funded and will not even be researched. Medical researchers are funded because there is a hope that they will develop something that will be profitable. If the Government is unwilling to purchase these treatments, from doctors there is no motive to develop them. Sounds rational if its some one else’s child dying of a rare blood disease but when it is your child dying for lack of innovation you will realize what a colossal error universal health care is.

Malibu Barbie

2009-07-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

With all the speculation about what the aims, goals, dysfunctions of Sarah Palin are, I thought I might make a bid to draft her to the bigger stage. President? No, Governatress. Come again? For those of you outside of the great state of Cali-for-nea. That’s Schwarzenegger speak for the next governor of California.

Some of you may think that I’m joking, perhaps a little tongue in cheek, but since we’ve had a Mr. Universe, why not have a beauty queen. While Governor Schwarzenegger is a closet liberal, Sarah Palin could be an out of the closet conservative and you know how Californians love those who come out of the closet.

If she desires to be another Reagan she could come to the place where the biggest mess is, California, coming soon to the federal level. She could move from Wasilla to Malibu and clean up Sacramento as practice for cleaning up after the ravages of Obamanomics. Perhaps by then she will be viewed by most rational people as the perfect person to clean up after the Obamanation has run it’s course. 2012? Governor of California. 2016? First Female POTUS.

You may be laughing, I am, but you know what? She couldn’t possibly do worse than any of the home grown candidates, by the way the Governator is proof positive that carpet baggers are acceptable to the California Electorate as long as they are photogenic. I do believe in Sarah’s values and sincerity. We need her as much as she needs a stepping stone to Pennsylvania Avenue. Worked for Reagan. Could happen again.

P.S. Thanks for the inspiration Maureen.

Sarah Palin, Rock Star

2009-07-05T09:54:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin, political rock star. Not qualified to be county dog catcher, let alone serve a higher purpose on a national level. Sounds eerily like our current rock star President. He completely and totally obliterated all future quips about political qualifications. He was a community organizer, state senator, U.S. Senator for two years and now he’s doing a bang up job as president of the world and savior of the U.S. economy. Oh wait…

The thing that irritates me the most about the punditry is that they don’t get to choose Presidents, the people do. If the people are willing to ignore Obama’s lack of experience because they wanted a rock star president, there is no amount of political insider speak that will dissuade them from electing a political disaster in progressive, pardon me, political disaster in progress.

Sarah Palin appeals to me because she is fresh, folksy if you want to call it that. “There you go again.” I am not old enough to remember President Reagan delivering that folksy zinger and at the time I was as willing to be a Democrat as most children raised in union family America are. I remember all the jokes, I remember singing in chorus on the play ground, “My president has a first name it’s R-O-N-A-L-D. My president has a second name it’s R-E-A-G-A-N. And if you as me why I’ll say… Rotten Ronnie has a way of screwing up the U-S-A!” Think Oscar Meyer Bologna commercials. Where are the children who sang it with me? They don’t live here in logger country anymore, they moved to Idaho mostly.

As a matter of fact that elementary school is still there, barely, it’s student population has fallen by 50% and it is still a repository for leftist propaganda and environmental fallacy. President Reagan was elected in landslides. Against all the punditry. Folksy, cheesy, aw shucks, President who did more in eight years to transform America than any President since FDR. Only Reagan started the longest period of economic growth in U.S. history while FDR presided over the great depression.

Is Palin another Reagan? No, nor should we yearn for the past. Rather Palin embodies the optimism and “Shining City on a Hill” view of our nation as Reagan did and when compared to President Obama’s apologizing to the world for being American and our economy headed for possibly the worst down turn since the 1930’s, Sarah Palin could possibly be the next U.S. President because like President Obama she can run as the Un-Presidential candidate who will throw the D.C. bums out of office.

A Tale of Two Presidents

2009-03-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

I saw this thanks to PAPundits. It speaks for itself.

YouTube-TwoPresidents

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw

President Obama,

2009-02-13T13:29:00.001-08:00

Feb. 13, 2009

President Obama,

I am one of those people whom you wish to help with this stimulus package. I have a wife and three children, I made quite a bit less last year than in 2007. Tough times. Economic hardships are a very personal and poignant reality. This is no one else’s fault but my own, I claim my mistakes.

This new tone that you have brought to Washington leaves me just a little puzzled. A few years ago our nation rushed to war after only six months and two congressional affirmations of the President’s policy. That was clearly a bi-partisan issue. The fiscal policies of the last two decades are as bi-partisan as can possibly be. However the present circumstance is the result of eight years of President Bush’s failed economic policy.

Dissent IS Patriotic. I recall that being quite the rally point on the left in 2003 and all through out the war in Iraq. Now however the situation is so dire that no opposition can be brooked, any debate is delay and the cost of inaction is to terrible to contemplate.

Why can’t we wait six days to pass this package? Not six months, not six days. Because you know that this is not the change that the American People want. If you were confident in our support for this very important legislation you wouldn’t be opposed to giving us six days to look it over.

Not only are you quick to judge us incapable of comprehending the pressing necessity and brilliance of your stimulus package but there are calls for opposing voices to be silenced, with the fairness doctrine. Your policies will have to stand up to public critique sooner or later, unless you plan on censoring other forms of media as well.

“Buy American,” wasn’t so popular with our European Allies. That was quickly pulled from this legislation, when did their opinion become so much more important than the 46% of Americans who voted for the other guy. If 46% is too small a percentage for you to listen to, how about the nearly 60% of Americans who have serious misgivings about this legislation?

Six days, is that too much to ask?

Respectfully,

Nathan A. Steeves

WE WILL BE PHARAOH’S SERVANTS

2009-02-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, “Give us bread: for why should we die in they presence? For the money faileth.”
And Joseph said, “Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.” And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, “We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.” And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.
And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people, “Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for food for your little ones.”
And they said, “Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and WE WILL BE PHARAOH’S SERVANTS.”

President Obama said, “Companies sustained these people for years.” The people of Indiana were sustained by industry? Not the Government. Get out of here!

President Obama said that this stimulus package would, “Save or create four million jobs.” So what he’s saying is that he no longer believes that this bill will create four million jobs. He has to be able to claim that he “Saved” four million jobs. Pretty slick.

President Obama said, “Government is the only entity with the resources,” to save this nation. I thought that Government only has resources by taking them from the people. Taxation is the only supply of Government resources. So President Obama spending your money will stimulate the economy. You are not qualified to determine how best to spend your money, only he is. So there isn’t enough money in the U.S. Treasury to cover this bill, President Obama, has thought that out as well, this plan is, “For the future of our children and grandchildren.”

And we will be the federal government’s servants, we and our children, forever. I stand now and proudly pledge my tax support as well as that of my children and grandchildren to this stimulus package. Because I believe my job will be one of the four million jobs saved and that is worth my grandchildren paying for it.

Thank you, Mr. President, I’ll never be able to thank you enough.

State Employees, Want Some Cheese With That Whine?

2009-02-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

Fox News Story

California State Employees are a perfect example of why Government is not the solution to the Nation’s economic woes. The State of California is Billions of Dollars in the Red. When a Company is hugely in the red it cuts its workforce. The California unemployment rate is 9.3 and these furloughs will reduce state workers salary by 9.2 percent. This seems like a reasonable ratio.

NEWS FLASH! State workers if you worked for someone other than the benevolent State of California they would slash the workforce by 15%. If I were an employer I’d make sure the most discontent 15% were gone tomorrow, they are likely the least efficient of my employees.

Second point of note, although I really feel your pain, if I worked for a corporation that is in as bad a shape as California I’d be looking for another job because they would be in serious danger of shutting down, indefinitely, that could mean a reduction of your salary by 100%. No call back, no “Back to work on Monday” or any other day. You and thousands of other employees with comparable qualifications trying to find a place in an economy that is shedding jobs.

I’m sure that the 9.3 percent of Californians who are unemployed would gladly trade their status for your 9.2% reduction in pay.

"It feels like we're being punished because we chose a career in state government," said Shelia Byars, 47, a hearing officer at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Van Nuys.
Byars, who expected to lose $400 a month, was among about a dozen union members protesting outside the agency's office in downtown Los Angeles. She said it didn't make sense to close 180 DMV locations because they collect revenue for the state through licenses and registration fees.

Last point, to those of you who work at the DMV, those fees (taxes) you would have collected on Friday, they will be collected another day. You see as taxpayers we don’t get the option to not pay taxes, unlike the State which can decide not to refund overpayment of taxes.

Limburger, that’s a nice stinky cheese. Enjoy.

The Pursuit of Happiness

2008-12-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

The third unalienable right stated as the purpose of government is the one which explicitly requires citizens to put forth effort. While life and liberty will not be maintained with out a conscientious practice thereof, “The pursuit of happiness,” contains with in it the expression of an individual responsibility to strive for pleasure.

So often today people are expecting things to be handed to them. Whether necessary or frivolous everything should be provided by government. The events of the past few days should cry a warning to those who are paying attention that government help always has a negative quality to it.

Executives of the big three automotive industry are in Washington, hat in hand, hoping that the government will bail them out of the mess that they are in. They are responsible for their own short sighted management of their affairs. There are very real consequences for the mismanagement of a major corporation. Lay offs, loss of capital, harm to the national economic welfare. That is why executives receive executive pay.

So having failed in their duties to guide and manage their Corporations to profitability or even viability, these men are in Washington, begging for the government to help them out. The Congress says, “Sure, glad to help, let us just give you what you need to keep afloat.” Not. They are willing to help with the proviso of them being able to meddle in an industry for which they have no credentials. The only history that congress has in the economic sphere is negative. If you can think of a single instance where government involvement in an industry was ever anything but disastrous, please feel free to list the examples in your comments.

So in the pursuit of happiness it is incumbent upon the pursuers to do it in a self reliant fashion or the pursuit will be infringed upon by external forces, most notably government. Government ain’t in the happy business. There is no Department of Happiness, there is no Happiness depot that the government has the keys to. If you wish to be happy, get to it. You have been equipped with all that is necessary for this pursuit by the same creator who endowed you with the right to seek happiness.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Heavenly Father, that I was born an American Child.

Liberty

2008-11-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

My county tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.

Second only to Life, Jefferson listed liberty as one of the aims of American Independence, and yes, a God given right. Liberty is to the human spirit what air is to the human body. We inhale it’s fragrance and revel in it’s power.

As a child I learned of the horrors of communism, we were told that in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics people were tested as children and assigned to a job in which they would serve the republic. A drudgery relieved only by death or disablement. Perhaps my juvenile way of understanding magnified this terror but to believe that Government would chart your life from cradle to the grave seemed an abomination to all that I hold dear.

Our liberties in America are bounded by our government and we are free to change our Government and laws as we see fit. If a portion of our Constitution becomes onerous we have the means to change it as well. If we become dissatisfied with our station in life we are free to change it. If we dislike the weather we are free to seek a better climate.

Liberty is an awesome responsibility because it makes us all individually accountable for our actions. We are free to press to the pinnacle of success and we should be free to fall in the chasm of abysmal failure.

We are free to speak our mind, but with that freedom comes the power to impede the freedom of others. You are free to express yourself, but it is incumbent upon each of us to refrain from shouting down or stifling some one else’s free speech.

When I witness anyone stepping on another’s freedom of speech it screams louder than words that they do not believe in the superiority of their position. If your logic is unassailable then you allow your enemies to dash themselves upon the ramparts. The free exchange of ideals can only work absent physical or emotional intimidation. A majority achieved does not imply superiority and the lone voice of dissent may just be the only voice present with the solution to our problems.

Life

2008-11-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

People are eager to declare that this is the end of the line for conservatism in general and the pro-life issue in particular. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Jefferson said these were God given rights in the declaration of Independence. They are also the core of Conservatism.

What is Life? It is nothing more than this brief period during which we can determine our own end. The founding fathers thought that it was the paramount function of our government to ensure that every one gets that chance. It is the responsibility of all governments to ensure the safety of their citizens. Citizens of any state that does not value them will naturally seek a better state. Where do people go seeking a better state?
They overwhelmingly seek the United States of America.

A nation that devalues life will inevitably become a cruel tyrannical place.

When this value is placed upon unborn children people get all wrapped up in it. I’ve heard people come unhinged on both sides. The simple fact of it is, “If it is not a baby, you are not pregnant.” A bumper sticker slogan, but it’s true none the less. A woman who is pregnant has no constitutional right to kill the child to further her education.

Jefferson’s “Life,” does not have any addendums to it. Aged life, young life, fit life, paralyzed life, rich life, poor life, it simply says LIFE. My life. Your life. Think long and hard before you begin discounting any life, you may just forfeit yours.

If this is the issue upon which a political campaign is lost then I would lose a thousand before I relented. Principals are principals. If the progressives ever convince a majority of Americans that life should not be a sacred right, then our Nation will join all previous great nations on the dust heap of history.

Common Sense Consevatism

2008-11-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of hand wringing and soul searching going on in the conservative movement these days.

The Republicans are debating a move to the center which means a move leftward.

“Facts are stubborn things,” John Adams proclaimed in his defense of the British Soldiers indicted in the Boston Massacre. He was famously correct and the beleaguered soldiers were exonerated. Principals founded in facts are equally stubborn. At least they should be.

People talk of the Reagan revolution and Newt’s contract with America. These movements or platforms succeeded overwhelmingly when presented to Americans with clarity and conviction. Making things simple with out being simplistic, conservatism is and always should be able to be summed up, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Life requires security, a strong national defense. America is the shining city on the hill. It is in the limelight constantly, not every one will love us and see us in a favorable light. That’s their problem, doesn’t bother me a bit, unless they undertake to assault us. If the shining city on the hill is known to be guarded by the greatest military force in the world it deters nefarious deeds against it’s citizens.

Liberty also requires security, but with out life, liberty is meaningless. Being free to make your own decisions only has meaning if you feel secure in the exercise of your liberties. If you are coerced, leaned upon, encouraged in a particular path, are you really at liberty to decide for yourself?

The Pursuit of Happiness occurs when the first two conditions are met. If you are secure, if you are free, wouldn’t you naturally choose a path that will make you happy? The vast majority of people would, and if you get your kicks off of flagellation, self inflicted-pain, knock yourself out. When you look on your neighbors being happy in their pursuits, smack yourself harder, just don’t smack them. Your right to achieve nirvana by beating yourself up is your right, but you have no right to endanger the life or liberty of others in your misery.

There it is, conservatism in a nutshell. If we hold these truths to be self evident and facts are stubborn things, so should our fact based principals remain equally sure.

Happy 233rd Birthday Marines

2008-11-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

November 10, 1775, our Marine Corps came alive.

Ooh-Rah.

Semper Fi.

Mr. President

2008-11-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

I’m not a fan of Barack Obama. I am happy for his supporters and rejoice that our nation has moved beyond race in politics.

I believe fervently in America. We are a resilient nation, full of hope and ideals. So long as we remain free we will have the power to mend what needs mending and stand willing to walk the extra mile.

Barack Obama, America has placed her trust in you, keep that faith.

George W. Bush found that doing what is right has a price and failing to rein in rampant Gov. Spending has a greater than monetary cost. But you will have one thing (from me at least) that President Bush did not. A respectful opposition. You will be from Jan. 20, 2009 forward be referred to as, “Mr. President.” Wear the title well, the American people have bestowed it with their full faith and confidence.

Twas the Night Before the Election

2008-11-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is not original with me, it was forwarded to me from a friend, origins unknown, but I got a laugh out of it and thought I'd share.

Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political ....

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

On Fannie, on Freddie,
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi'
He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think
On this one final note-
IF YOU DON'T WANT SOCIALISM
GET OUT AND VOTE!!

It Can’t Be Over, I Haven’t Voted Yet

2008-11-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Nov. 4, 2008. I’m sick of being told that the election is over, I’m sick of being called bitter, racist, ignorant. I’m sick of my values being trashed for political expediency, I forgot to add “homophobe,” since I reside here in California.

Now I remember why I canceled my subscription to News Papers (all of them) about four years ago. That’s why I’m ignorant, how can I be informed if I don’t let the journalists tell me what to think? They’re doing a good job, too. I hear that circulation is really booming, hiring new generations of journalists at a blistering pace (chortle).

When my daughter was about five years old, she asked me, “What is a ‘black man?’” I stopped what I was doing and explained, “Well, that’s a what some people call people who have dark skin.” The church we attended was about 40% “Black,” so I was able to gently name people in our church, close friends, her playmates, her children’s church teachers until she had a grasp of the term “black.” When she understood the distinction she gave a delighted little giggle and said, “You mean a chocolate face?” I was pleased that she had come up for a term to describe her friends much more appropriately than, “Black.” Race isn’t an issue to me. I tear up when I hear Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” I’m not voting for Obama, it’s not the color of his skin, it’s the content of his character.

“Bitter.” I’m really trying hard not to allow the press to make that one true. I love America and people in general. My step father is “black.” I haven’t talked to Pops in about six weeks. He found out that I lean Republican and it was a very uncomfortable day at the drag races. Pops loves me enough not to argue politics with me, but his friends were not afraid to mutter epithets until pops had to physically subdue one of his close friends. Awkward, very much so. I hope after this election I’ll be able to visit my mother and Pops with out that elephant in the room. One could become bitter over all the animosity that has been fomented around this election.

In spite of all of this, and perhaps even partially because of it, I’m looking forward to voting on Tuesday. I want my voice to be heard. I am very optimistic about our Nation and it’s future. I think that all the differences will come out in the wash and that the biggest losers are the media who have declared this election repeatedly for Obama. I could almost hope that he wins in a landslide, like they are predicting, just to avoid crushing all his supporters. Almost.

People ask, “Who’s your man in the race?” I smile and say, “Sarah Palin.” Let the epithets roll, I’m still voting tomorrow and this election is not over yet.

The Play at First

2008-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Left handed pitchers fall away to the left side of the diamond, just like a right handed pitcher falls away to the right side of the in field. Natural pitching mechanics. If you are trying to bunt for a base hit off a left handed pitcher you want the ball far enough away from the catcher and close enough to the first base man that you are either in a foot race between the pitcher who feel toward third base trying to retrieve the ball and feed to the first baseman or you are trying to beat the pitcher to first base to receive the through from the charging first baseman. If the hitter rolls one down the first base line and digs hard, there usually isn’t a play at first.

In game three of the World series there was a play where Carl Crawford, a speedy runner, executed a perfect bunt down the right field line, hard enough to get away from the catcher, Ryan Howard the first baseman immediately recognized that he wouldn’t have time to get the ball and beat the runner or flip to the pitcher Moyer. He went to the bag because it was the only shot they had at getting the runner. It set up one of the most incredible defensive plays I have ever seen by a pitcher. Jamie Moyer displayed all the heart and athleticism you would expect of a 22 year veteran of the Major Leagues. In a race against a younger faster man, he some how got the ball, no way he can transfer it from his glove and make a throw with his bare hand, so flying through the air like Charlie Hustle (Pete Rose) he flips the ball toward first with his glove. Ryan Howard snatches the beautiful awkward toss with his bare hand just an instant before the runner’s foot hit first base. Leave you breathless kind of play. The runner is… safe. On the replay you can see the umpire is behind Ryan and watching the ball not go to his glove, there is no way he can see Ryan’s hand seize the ball, it looks like the runner is safe. That’s baseball.

The Play at First

I couldn’t help but draw the analogy. First of all they are playing in Pennsylvania. Young athletic guy who lays down a textbook bunt and is sprinting toward the inevitable base hit, Barack Obama. Old Guy dogging his steps toward the goal, John McCain. John McCain wasn’t my choice for President in this election cycle but you can not deny the determination and skill with which he has run against the younger, smoother Barack Obama. Odds are against him, he shouldn’t even have the ball in his glove right now, events have conspired against him, he doesn’t have time to retool and refocus, he needs to get his message to voters right now. He flips to the voters as Barack stretches for victory. And the call is… You make the call.

You can never deny that you have seen one of the greatest feats in politics, an old warrior and statesman following an unpopular president shouldn’t even be in the race, and yet there is a tenacity about him that refuses to be retired. He’s pushing hard and I think it will be a close play Nov. 4th. Forget the glove, keep your eyes on the ball and make the right call this time.

"Prop. 8 is Hate"

2008-10-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

I have a vivid memory of the High School Bully rearing back and firing a basket ball overhand down the hall at the Gay Kid. I can close my eyes right now and relive it’s every detail. That was hate. I’m not naming names because that’s not the point. I had great compassion and sympathy for the victim of this crime, a side from the normal human empathy for the victim, the Bully also picked on 110 lb. geeks (which included me).

A few years later I served with a very effeminate male Marine. I didn’t ask and he never explicitly told me, but he was gay. He was not warmly welcomed into the brotherhood of warriors but he was tolerated, treated with respect.

Tolerance of those with whom you disagree, politically, religiously, morally is always preferable to violence.

This is a letter to the editor that appeared in a local paper the
Eureka Reporter

"I’m disgusted, to say the least. For the second time in a week, someone has stolen/destroyed my neighbors’ “Yes on Prop 8” sign in their front yard. I’ve personally had my magnetic “Support Our Troops” decals stolen from the tailgate of my truck, and my truck “keyed” along the back quarter panel. Does this mean that the liberal left has resorted to this kind of behavior?
Here’s my view of what seems to be going on throughout our county. Acts of vandalism, destruction of private property — if you don’t agree with the liberal left, suffer the consequences.
As I drive around our county, I see yards with Obama, No on Prop 8, Mike Thompson, Peace not War, or Chesbro signs that have not been vandalized. Does this mean the liberal left is composed of bigots and the conservative right is tolerant? Whatever happened to freedom of speech?"

Free speech is constitutionally protected. At least it was the last time I checked.

This is from another local paper the Times Standard

“The Trinity Baptist Church in Arcata is the polling place for about 600 voters from two precincts.
But for months, church officials have proudly displayed “Yes on Proposition 8” signs on church property. Until Saturday, in fact, the church's marquee displayed the message: “God loves you. Protect marriage.”
But that message, along with several dozen small signs, fell victim Saturday to what seems to be an escalating battle between the two sides. Someone used brown spray paint to scrawl “8 is hate” across the church's sign, causing about $300 in damage.
Pastor John McCain -- who goes by Larry -- said he is within his legal rights to display that message, even through election day, since the sign is located more than 100 feet from the church's entrance.”

Radio reports indicate that a church worker was confronted and told that if any more “Yes on Prop 8” signs went up they would be torn down also. That is physical intimidation of your political opponents.

Proposition 8 defines marriage as between one man and one woman. My opinion is that it is necessary because I do not wish to have morals being decided by the government. Children were taught about gay sex when I was in High School so education is not an issue. What people who oppose Prop. 8 are seeking is a government endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle. Plain and simple.

Barack Obama of Sherwood Forest

2008-10-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever driven through a nice neighborhood and thought I wonder what that house looks like on the inside? Would you take the time to stop and admire one of the beautiful homes on the hill if it had an open house sign? It’s human nature to have an insatiable curiosity for how others live. Would you stop to look in the windows of a particularly beautiful home if you thought no one was home? What if you knew no one was home? Comfort level begins to go down a bit doesn’t it. Now you’ve gone from harmless curiosity to prying into someone else’s life. So what if you waited until night so you could see the lighted interior while you stand under cover of darkness. You wouldn’t have to actually get out of your car, you could just do a slow drive-by to get a peek inside that beautiful house. Wow, that’s a nice home isn’t it. I wonder how they got it?

They may have inherited more money than you. They may have a rich circle of cronies that help guide their career. They may have won the lottery. They may have earned it. It doesn’t really matter though does it? They have it and you don’t. It’s not fair. It’s not! It’s not! It’s not! Why should they live there and not you. Why should they get all the breaks and not you. Some body should spread the wealth around.

I wonder how many people think you have it better than they do? Are they justified then to take your possessions? That’s not fair, I’ve got what I have by legitimate means and it’s mine. Until somebody spreads YOUR wealth around, it sounds like a reasonable idea.

If you live in America you are wealthy. Face the facts. You have it pretty good compared to the rest of the world. Poor Americans have cable T.V., Microwave ovens, a car and a whole host of conveniences that others only dream of. Perhaps the UN should spread our nation’s wealth around, what? They already do? Well they don’t do enough of it or there would be no people in the world poorer than those here in America. What we really need to do is outlaw possession and then we could all share equally in the bounty of this rich green earth. Imagine all the people…

What if we just confiscate possessions from people who have more than me and give it to the poor people here in America and around the world? That sounds good. I like that idea, I can feed the poor and it doesn’t cost me a dime. It probably sounds good if you get your political news from Saturday Night Live.

What if the people who live on the hill don’t want to part with their possessions? What if they are unpatriotic enough to want to keep what is theirs? Should they be thrown in jail? Isn’t that already the penalty for tax evasion? The force of government already takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Fact of life is that you can’t get blood from a turnip, it isn’t there. Wealthy people pay taxes because they have the means to do so. Poor people don’t because they don’t have any money for the government to take. If you ever do become wealthy, I can assure you that Barack Obama or some politician like him will want to take it from you.

The Government doesn’t make money, it doesn’t create jobs, it doesn’t grow our economy. If it gives you something it took it away from some one else first. Some one who made money, created jobs, and grew our economy.

The funny thing about Robin Hood, he was still a thief. He was a thug, hoodlum, gangster, who took from the “rich,” and gave to the poor. Rich and poor all depend on perspective. I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.

Two World Views

2008-10-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

Teeming masses of people surround you, a thin slice of blue above you is the only thing in sight that is not the product of man. To be heard you have to clamor, to be noticed you have to do something out of the ordinary. Towering masses of steel testify to the power, intellect, and sublime sense for surreal beauty that reside in man. What is beyond us if only we apply our self to it?

The rich soft soil gives a little underfoot, immense trees vanish into the fog above you. All is quiet all is calm. This is an ancient place a timeless place, there is no denying how incredibly brief you are. This forest needs no company but welcomes you to share in it’s wonder. A tendril of mist brushes a wet gossamer kiss across your cheek as if to say, if you ever lose your perspective, come visit again.

One world, two vastly different experiences. If you’ve ever seen a visual representation of voting preference by precinct or county there is no mistaking that rural and urban voters have a different world view. Why is this? How could living among many others so radically alter your political perceptions and expectations?

Is it the relative anonymity which masks your eccentricities among the many? Possibly. Is it the desire to fit into a peer group? That really could influence persons in either sphere. Maybe that is trending toward the truth, could an urbanite seek to avoid individual responsibility by being part of a consensus rather than the sole proprietor of their own destiny? I think this is the root of modern liberalism.

In a rural setting an individual’s failures are easily understood and painfully difficult to blame on external influences there being so few people around to deflect blame to. Understanding this is helpful to retain control of one’s life. It breeds a discipline that is directly attributable to an observation of the natural environment. A creature that is unable to acquire sustenance from it’s environment perishes and it does so with out intervention or compassion from the natural world. Self sufficiency is the core of individual success in nature as well as being a founding tenant of American Conservatism.

In this ABC News story, John Stossel notes that rural conservatives are far more giving than their urban liberal counterparts. ABC Amazing that this story specifically cites San Francisco in this test of Urban (San Francisco) versus Rural (Sioux Falls) attitudes on giving, the same venue where Barack Obama made his infamous “Bitter Clingers,” comment. Rural people tend to view charitable actions as an individual responsibility while urban people view it as a function of government.

If you venture into the wilds of America you are a fool if you are not prepared for the worst. If you are able contact some one for help, it will take them a while to arrive. If you are mugged in the city, it’s not the availability of human assistance that is the problem, it’s finding someone who will recognize that you are in need and are willing to take time out of their day to see that you get it.

The goal of Liberalism is to divorce voters from the consequences of their actions or lack thereof. How can I say voter, and not individuals, you see individuals are of little consequence to liberals. Individual unviable tissue masses can not vote. The victim of their inconvenient appearance with in her womb should be able to rid herself of the burden because she, the potential mother, can vote.

Reading the left is important to understand the direction they would lead our nation.

“But the pro-life position, whether or not it is based on religious orthodoxy, is more ethically highly evolved than my own tenet of unconstrained access to abortion on demand. My argument has always been that nature has a master plan pushing every species toward procreation and that it is our right and even obligation as rational human beings to defy nature's fascism. Nature herself is a mass murderer, making casual, cruel experiments and condemning 10,000 to die so that one more fit will live and thrive.
Hence I have always frankly admitted that abortion is murder, the extermination of the powerless by the powerful. Liberals for the most part have shrunk from facing the ethical consequences of their embrace of abortion, which results in the annihilation of concrete individuals and not just clumps of insensate tissue.” Read the rest of Camille Paglia’s article here, Salon

The most troubling aspect of this quote is not that Camille is a pro-proponent of abortion, it is the ultimate disregard for the individual. So as people allow the government to assume their responsibilities they also relinquish their value as individual persons. Liberalism discourages individual success in favor of shared responsibility and collective control.

In rural places people are naturally valued for their scarcity. In urban places an abundance of people makes it easier for them to be viewed as a society instead of many individuals. Whether you walk among Redwoods or nameless crowds, the most telling perspective is not of your surroundings but of your self. Is government responsible for your welfare or are you? If your neighbor is in need do you offer assistance or more government? Think about it.

Media Matters, More Than They Should.

2008-10-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

I just watched a creation of Hollywood from the incredible imagination of one of my child hood story telling favorites. Stan Lee. Yes, I’m from generation X-Men. Iron man stirred me up, so does the media.

The big media complex is in the tank for Obama. They don’t think that a military hero and a hockey mom can get the job done. Forget their accomplishments. Belittle their intelligence, they didn’t walk the halls of the Ivy league. What could they possibly bring to the leadership of our nation. Our nation of uneducated boobs, teetering on the brink of economic collapse they want, no they need, the “One.” A maverick senator and a small town mayor do not fit into the media narrative, “The Era of Obama.”

I never walked the halls of the Ivy league either, and I don’t need a savior, I found mine on my knees not at the Presidential Debates. I’m one of the millions of people who make this nation work. I don’t do it here at the key board, I work with my hands. My hands hurt when the weather changes, tell tale signs of a dozen injuries and a thousand indignities that would never be suffered by a pair of Ivy League hands.

In my idiocy I’ve noticed a couple of things about the way that things work in the Media Machine. They scoff at people like me. They think that I need them to form an educated opinion of how things work in the world. What could I possibly know with out them. How could I possibly comprehend the horrors of the failure of the Bush presidency or the need for Obama to save us from ourselves.

I've noticed that the Media expresses a great interest in our military when they suffer defeat, when they can be cast as pathetic losers, when they don’t live up to their own high standards. Can you say Abu Ghraib? Of course you can, even with the foreign spelling and pronunciation. When they can be shown as victims of the Bush Doctrine. Belittle them, they deserve no better, if they had studied harder they could have gone to journalism school and made a real difference in the world. They deserve better.

Outside of Hollywood there are no super heroes. There are farm boys and city boys that stand on the frontiers of freedom even when it’s not politically expedient for the Media to cover their sacrifices. They were out there before Bush became President. They miss holidays at home, tender anniversaries, first steps and ballgames and sometimes, even when they’ve done every thing right, for the right reasons, they lose their lives. They are every day iron men, they don’t have a cool special effects driven heart that powers their super human strength. They only have strength of character.

They witness horrible things, they weep for their comrades, they accomplish a thousand small advances of humanity that are totaling up to success in Iraq, and they view the Media with well deserved trepidation that they will make them infamous. You think I’m exaggerating. Ilario Pantano. Look him up. Read in “Lone Survivor” how Navy Seals consider how the media will portray them even as they make life and death decisions in the hills of Afghanistan.

I digress, back to the issue at hand.

In the last 24 hours I’ve been exposed to a couple of glaring Media reports. “Hoovervilles are springing up across the nation.” “President Bush wants to bailout Wall Street.” In the latter report we hear the President’s voice saying that “People on main street are hurting and we need to take action.” It doesn’t quite fit the intro but, they think I am too stupid to grasp the incongruity of the sound bite. Every thing Bush has done, from how his global acts of pre-emption have turned the world against us, to his failed economic policies, are brought to us with a doleful solemnity due to such a disastrous President. Didn’t Pelosi say, “Failed economic policies,” on the floor of the House the other day? Funny how the left of center politicians and the objective media sound so much a like. The Media narrative of the Bush Administration, he has by his great bumbling ineptitude brought us to this precipice where the last thing we need is a gung-ho war hero to continue his unpopular policies.

I’m no Bush kool-aid drinker. He’s made mistakes, every president in our history has made mistakes, you know what I haven’t seen? Since 9/11/01 I haven’t seen my fellow Americans plunging 80 stories to escape a hell on earth brought about by holy warriors.

Perhaps it’s time to tune out the static, perhaps it’s time to ignore the pundits and pay attention to the candidates. What? President Bush isn’t on the ticket? Who would have guessed it, certainly not any one in the media.

We all deserve better.

Obama Is the Agent Orange of Change

2008-10-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama talks about hope. Barack Obama talks about change. Don’t look to close though, he’s really hoping that you won’t see past his empty rhetoric. He’s a very gifted politician. He also wants you to believe he’s something other than what he is. Socialism doesn’t make money. Socialism doesn’t create jobs. Socialism is the warm fuzzy bear hug that kills economies and smothers dreams. Barack Obama is a socialist.

Socialism is a utopian dream. You can have everything and some one else will pay for it. Tax cuts for 95% of Americans. You can have socialism but it will cost your individual liberty and it will bankrupt our Nation.

Our government got involved in the mortgage system and that went splendidly didn’t it?

Our government run schools are the envy of the world right? Even if you are raising a family in the inner city you don’t have to worry that your child will not receive the very best education that the Government can offer. Socialism smothers innovation by dictating via the dollar. You want federal money for your school? You had bettered believe there are strings attached.

Enron? Fannie Mae? They have nothing on the accounting practices of Social Security. The greatest ponsi scheme in American History has yet to go bust. But it will. Aside from the fact that socialism always promises more to its adherents than it can deliver, it also quashes choice. Liberty is the first casualty of socialism. I’m pretty sure I could manage to do better with 13%of my income than to send it to Social Security. I was never asked if I wanted to participate in it. I am forced to. So are you.

Say you want some pizza. You walk out your front door and find a gathering of your neighbors on the side walk, you overhear them talking about a community pizza party. You were wanting some pizza any way and it’s for the community so you decide to go in with them for a block party. You look in your wallet and the smallest bill you’ve got is a twenty, it’s more than other people are putting in, but it’s for your community so you shrug and put it in. It takes 15 minutes to decide which Pizza Joint to order from. Another 15 minutes to argue over what type of pizzas to order. Since it’s a large order, it takes 45 minutes before the pizza will be ready. Some one volunteers to go get the seven pizzas. They take their time and by the time the pizzas get there you are so hungry that you barely care that the pizza is cold. People from two blocks over come to share in the free food. By the time you’ve finished your first piece there are only six empty boxes left. You feel cheated. At least you didn’t have to go to the pizza place yourself right?

Socialism always leaves people hanging. It pools your individual choice with the collective concerns of the community and you always lose. You want socialized health care? Vote Obama. He’ll deliver that change and your grand children will wonder what you were thinking when you elected him.

Imagine You Are a Congressman

2008-09-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Facing re-election in five weeks. You know that you should vote for the bill to help salvage the mortgage mess because Congress is complicit in it’s creation and it’s what’s best for the American people. You’ve been getting e-mail that is 20-1 against the bill. You are going to bite the bullet and attempt to explain to your constituents that you did what was right for the nation.

You are in the chamber in a cold sweat because you may very well be committing political suicide when the Speaker of the House and one of the proponents of the bill gets to the podium and says very dramatically. “Seven Hundred Billion Dollars,” she makes point after point against the bill and calls for your vote. She just re-affirmed you constituents concerns over the bill and now she wants your vote.

What do you do?

We know what 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans did. They voted, “No,” and the rest is history.
Leaving off the Partisan claims and Pelosi’s calls for bi-partisan co-operation after she made blatantly partisan remarks, step back and view her floor exercise from the perspective that she was trying to get House members to vote against public opinion and ask if any rational person could believe that her comments made it easier for any Congressman to vote “Aye.”

Truly stupefying.

Obama Debates in Platitudes

2008-09-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Obama limped his way though the debate railing about greed and his proclaiming appreciation for the middle class. Bush is bad, really bad, McCain agrees with Bush. I hate to inform Sen. Obama that President Bush is barred by Constitutional Amendment from seeking a third term. His portrayal of Sen. McCain as a, “Yes man,” to the administration couldn’t be farther from the truth.

One thing that I thought was telling was his insistence that higher taxes will help the economic recovery. Taxes never stimulate an economy. He said he will tax the “Rich,” and corporations. Unfortunately he mistakenly believes that Corporations pay taxes at all. Any business entity that is regulated or taxed adds these expenses to the cost of the service that they provide. Consumers pay for government regulation and taxation. It always has been this way and it always will be. “Corporate greed. Wall St. Vs. Main St.” These are sentiments that are easy to demagogue. Tax a business long enough and you can cause it to go bankrupt. How so? You inflate their operating cost to the point where they can no longer compete in the global economy. They will either go somewhere else or they will cease to be.

Interfere in the Housing Market as the Government has and you can create a crisis that necessitates more government interference in the free market. Obama is on the wrong side of the Credit Crunch. He is a man who believes in the absolute purity of Government intentions regardless of the consequences. Wall St. is evil and Government is the solution. Government is the problem, not the solution. It’s easy to say that all of our woes are the result of “Greed.” It’s not nearly so easy to say that the current crisis was created by, “Well-intentioned but thoroughly misguided mandates which required lenders to extend credit to people who had not earned it.”

These mandates injected huge amounts of capital into the housing market which created the housing bubble. When the housing bubble burst, blame the people who were forced to make bad loans, rather than the people who did the Forcing. Politics as usual, certainly not “Change,” as Barak Obama has promised.

I do not think that McCain out debated Obama, but his foreign policy credentials tower over Obama’s. When Obama was confronted with specifics he deferred to McCain. Obama looked silly. Not in a Gotcha sort of sense. It was in a very real sense that anytime he was confronted with real world events his way out was to agree with McCain.

I can easily see how that people who do not dig into issues for themselves could say that Obama won the debate. It’s easy to spout platitudes, it is difficult to tackle the tough issues. When Obama attempted to respond to McCain’s bracelet comment he looked petty and hollow, the sad thing is that during the entire election he has come across as just that. It got him a primary win so why change now. The media is complicit in this success. They play gotcha with McCain and mouth anything that Democrats say. The scrutiny applied to Palin would devastate Obama and they well know it. That’s why it is so conspicuously absent.

Where are the Adults at the NY Times?

2008-09-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

NY Times Article

Paul Krugman asks, “Where are all the grown-ups?” I know that answer to that one. Not at the NY Times.
He rails against the need to fix this housing bust but he never mentions how we got here in the first place. He is either misinformed or he’s being intellectually dishonest.

The Carter Administration passed the Community Reinvestment Act. The Clinton Administration expanded it and the Housing bubble was created. Now the chickens have come home to roost. The Government created the problem and the Government must fix the problem. Adults can acknowledge that. Can Paul Krugman?

Democrats want 20% of the money to go to ACORN. Who spent two years as a community organizer at the behest of ACORN? Wasn’t that Sarah Palin? Republicans object to this and so do I. 700 billion should only be used purchase the sub prime loans that Government mandated the lenders to make. It’s only fair.

No wonder Obama wants to be as far away from this stinking mess as possible. Especially since he got a lot of money from Fannie Mae. Just thought I’d through that in there.

Why?

2008-09-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Anybody who has cared for or been even acquainted with a young child knows this three letter conundrum very well. It pops up at the most inconvenient times. Often it is easier to quash it than it is to answer. “Because I said so.” Then you realize you have become the ogre you have always despised.

I’ve got three children, the oldest just embarked on her teenage years, and I’ve become much more adept at fielding the “Why?” I still only manage to satisfactorily answer about twenty percent of them. Truly heroic I think because if I tried to field all of them, I would do nothing else. One thing I’ve discovered to be truly empowering is the simple admission, “I don’t know, find out for yourself.” Now my kids can look with in themselves and see if their burning curiosity warrants any action beyond the one word interrogative.

I know this is the political season and every one plays the blame game, “I did this,” “They did that,” “What I meant to say was…”

We are dealing with a volatile crisis in the financial world. I’m becoming more juvenile in my maturity. Why? Something must be done because something was already done to bring about the mess we are in. So how are we to be assured that any solution to the current crisis is not going to be the cause of another one some years down the road. We most certainly must intervene in the intervention and regulate the regulations but “Why?” Perhaps if I ask enough times some one will provide the answer to this and many other deep probes for satisfactory answers.

Social security needs fixing. Why?

Fuel Prices are out of control. Why?

Abortions must be provided regardless of a woman’s ability to pay for them. Why?

Public Schools need more money. Why?

A thousand government boondoggles beg the question, and yet it seems to me that no one is asking why the government is involved in these issues at all. I have to agree with my children that, “Because,” is not a very satisfying answer.

Perhaps we could all look deep with in our selves and see if our burning curiosity warrants finding out “Why?” to our own satisfaction.

Negligent Honor

2008-09-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Fox News Article

This story makes my blood boil. Sgt. Rafael Peralta performed his duties with great honor which reflect great credit upon his Nation, his Corps and his family. To have his degree of official recognition down graded on questions of detail and conjecture is the grossest injustice.

For those of you who say, “Sgt. Who?” I will briefly recount the story to the best of my recollection. During the intense room to room combat that was the second battle of Fallujah, Sgt. Peralta volunteered to be a part of a squad of Marines clearing houses. In the process they cleared a house save for one locked door. The Marines stacked up outside the door and Sgt. Peralta kicked the door in. He was shortly felled by rifle fire, bullet wounds to the neck and lower head. He fell to one side of the door as the Marines behind him exchanged fire with the combatants in the room.

A grenade was lobbed from the open door and landed beside Sgt. Peralta. He reached for it and pulled it under his body thus shielding his fellow Marines from grave injury and likely death.

Medal of Honor? I would think so. I thought so when I heard this story the first time, very briefly after it happened. It has been announced that he will instead receive the Navy Cross, which I do not in any way mean to impugn. In this case, it is an unjust honor.

The “Marine who witnesses say covered a grenade with his body to save comrades in Iraq,” deserves better, as does his family. He is being denied, “because the nomination was tainted by reports he was accidentally shot by a fellow Marine.” Whether or not he was felled, mortally wounded, by gunfire does not detract from the act of pulling the grenade under his body to shield his fellow Marines.

It was initially reported that he was wounded by AK-47 fire from inside the room, the origin of the rounds that gravely wounded Sgt. Peralta do not make them any less lethal. There is no such animal as “Friendly fire.”

“The question about whether to award Peralta the Medal of Honor centers on whether the mortally wounded Marine, who was shot in the head and upper body, could have intentionally reached for the grenade and covered it with his body.

There was conflicting evidence in the case of Sgt. Peralta as to whether he could have [pents,] Peralta lay mortally wounded on the floor of a house and grabbed a grenade lobbed by fleeing insurgents. His body absorbed the blast and he died immediately.”

Apparently these Marines have not read the account in, “Lone Survivor” of Petty Officer Second Class Matthew Axelson. During the fire fight which became the largest single loss of life in the history of the Navy Seals this brave warrior was wounded multiple times and indeed one of the wounds, most assuredly from AK-47 fire, was a most traumatic head wound. He fought on. When he and Marcus Luttrell separated the final time, he exhorted, “Marcus, you’ve got to live.”

In the aftermath of the battle, Marcus learned that Axelson was not found where they parted company. Instead he had managed to gain his feet and fought on until he had expended all of his ammunition. A great blow to Marcus.

It is pure conjecture then to assert whether or not Sgt. Peralta could possibly have consciously pulled the grenade under his body. “…Forensic analysis of Peralta's clothing and flak jacket show the grenade was underneath him when it exploded.” Does this board offer conjecture as to how this grenade came to be under Sgt. Peralta? Did the enemy combatants place it there for maximum effectiveness? Did one of the other quick thinking Marines push it there to save himself and his comrades? Of course not, any explanation beside Sgt. Peralta’s act of self sacrifice is absurd and not a little insulting to the intellect of anyone thinking objectively.

I will allow here that the board reviewing this matter felt honor bound by the regulations that are very strict in the awarding the Medal of Honor. If so, I hold them faultless, but it should not leave Sgt. Peralta’s family bereft of what should be bestowed with all pomp and circumstance possible.

Regardless of whether Rafael Peralta was mortally wounded by gunfire from questionable origin is a negligible detail to the level of honor displayed by his final act. We do not award the CMH to Marines for being killed in combat, but rather for conspicuous acts of courage above and beyond the call of duty.

This should not stand.

Obama Off Script

2008-09-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

When Barak Obama is not reading from a teleprompter he has the audacity to say some hopelessly stupid things. I don’t even need to list them here, there have been quite a few. You are thinking them now whether or not you support Barak’s bid for the White House.

Given Barak’s propensity for gaffes, what makes people think that he’d be such a great, “Leader of the Free World.” He would be a big hit in Europe, he’s proven that already. However, I would like to remind you that the President does more than read from a teleprompter, and so far that seems to be the only thing Barak’s good at.

I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. He’s boxed himself in by foregoing public campaign funds. I’m opposed to public financing of campaigns, if a candidate’s so great people will support him financially. I think that the only Campaign law necessary is transparency. McCain-Feingold just makes it harder to determine where the money comes from and it limits what individuals can do for a candidate they support. Who’s benefiting from an in depth knowledge of Campaign Law? Certainly not Obama.

Notice that there hasn’t been any benchmark legislation with “Obama” attached to it? I know he’s authored a couple of books about himself. Pretty well written I understand. Why hasn’t he applied this creative potential to reforming Washington? Why hasn’t he brought about change? He hasn’t even tried in the office that he currently holds why would he think that we should give him a higher one?

I’m not a journalist, I’m a blogger. From where I sit (In my bath robe) Obama doesn’t present a very convincing picture of Presidential eloquence, unless of course you compare him to the current occupant of the White House. I’m sure that that’s exactly what Obama wants because he doesn’t match up very well with either slot on the Republican ticket.

Obama is Risk Adverse

2008-09-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

During the early years of the Civil War Lincoln was greatly frustrated by a series of Union Commanders who were risk adverse. They risked nothing and they gained nothing but a brutal exchange of casualties between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Finally he turned to a natural leader named Grant whose greatest insight on military tactics was that the enemy was just as frightened of you as you are of him.

When Grant was given command of the Army of the Potomac the war ground to it’s inevitable conclusion. Because Grant was brilliant? Yes, but so were the Generals before him. The difference was that Grant understood the situation and he took the fight to the enemy, making blunders, but never retreating from imaginary peril, not overly timid.

Obama’s present to the Republican Party was his pick of Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s biggest selling point as a V.P. pick was that he was the “Safe” pick. The choice that could do no harm. John McCain saw an opportunity to take a risk on a little known Governor from Alaska. And the rest is historically consistent with leaders who are risk adverse.

From now until November Obama will continue to play it safe and McCain is going to win this war of attrition.

General Impressions of the RNC Day One (Two)

2008-09-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

I thought that the theme of the first night of speeches was well done. I enjoyed Fred Thompson's speech where he displayed his missing fire. I even enjoyed watching Lieberman. The McCains and Bushes came across very well. I wait with great anticipation for things to shift to the Palin show tonight.

I was at my brother's house when that odious gal was grilling the McCain aid. The McCain aid shouldn't have been addressing Sarah Palin's experience, but I'd love to see the same gal go after Newt, or for that matter Sarah. I think CNN would have canceled it's interviews with the McCain Campain after that exchange.

This is War!

2008-09-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

I am deeply angered by the MSM attacking Sarah Palin over her daughters pregnancy. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Remember that this may be a contested election but it is not “war,” both sides would do well to remember this. If you are angry, if you are passionate, use it wisely.

This video is of a U.S. Soldier being shot in the chest. He is a U.S. Medic. He survives thanks to his body armor. The shooter was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Guess who treated his wounds?

Ugly things happen in war. Ugly things happen in politics but in U.S. politics, people don’t shout praises to their deity as they pump hot lead into your body.

Ask yourself this question, do you view Hurricane Gustav as a tragedy or an opportunity to paint your political opponents in a poor light. Do you feel the same about War? If you don’t like your answers you need to re-evaluate what you are doing with your life.

Political discussion is the air that democracy breathes. Long live debate, long live passionately held views.

During Hurricane Katrina the Interstates were clogged, people were running out of fuel and becoming stranded in the storms path. A woman driving along saw another SUV with a family very similar to her own. She began to ease over onto the shoulder to see if she could render some aid. When she got close to the stranded vehicle she noticed a sticker from the 2004 election on the SUV. She was so enraged by it that she left the family stranded there. Sound farfetched? I only know of it because she was proud enough of her actions to post it on a popular political site. The controversy caused that site to pull the original post and the thousands of positive responses as well.

If this is a war, which kind of soldier do you want to be? One who shouts in exaltation as he tries to kill his neighbor, or one who disagrees yet still treats them as human.

Could we all agree to tone down the “War Room,” “Shell Shocked,” “In the Trenches,” “Bunker,” mentality and realize this is an election and after November America will survive and you’ll still disagree with your neighbor about politics. In the mean time if you must be a political “Warrior,” why not try to be like the soldier in the video above, who treated the wounds of the man who shot him.

This Is Politics, Not War

2008-09-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

I’m a person with passionately held political views. I don’t deny that and I do not intend to change it either. However, I think that some people are kind of confused about the distinction between Politics and War.

This video is of a U.S. Soldier being shot in the chest. He is a U.S. Medic. He survives thanks to his body armor. The shooter was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Guess who treated his wounds?

Ugly things happen in war. Ugly things happen in politics but in U.S. politics, people don’t shout praises to their deity as they pump hot lead into your body.

Political discussion is the air that democracy breathes. Long live debate, long live passionately held views.

During Hurricane Katrina the Interstates were clogged, people were running out of fuel and becoming stranded in the storm's path. A woman driving along saw another SUV with a family very similar to her own. She began to ease over onto the shoulder to see if she could render some aid. When she got close to the stranded vehicle she noticed a sticker from the 2004 election on the SUV. She was so enraged by it that she left the family stranded there. Sound farfetched? I only know of it because she was proud enough of her actions to post it on a popular political site. The controversy caused that site to pull the original post and the hundreds of positive responses as well.

If this is a war, which kind of soldier do you want to be? One who shouts in exaltation as he tries to kill his neighbor, or one who disagrees yet still treats them as human.

Bitter Clinger Votes for Palin to be Heartbeat from the Presidency

2008-08-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

I wasn’t sure I was going to vote for McCain until Friday Morning. I respect him, but if he had picked a squishy Republican or a Conservative Democrat, I wouldn’t have voted for him. I don’t want a squishy Republican being the presumptive front runner in four or eight years. I sure don’t want a Democrat to go along with Pelosi and Reed.

Sarah Palin is the kind of person a bitter clinger like me would campaign for. I read on a blog that McCain wants Forbes to be in his cabinet. “Fairtax,” may be a dirty word on the left, but people who want change kind of like it. It’s an “F” word we can rally around.

Enough’s been said about her experience to last a lifetime. The fact that the Republican ticket doesn’t include a lawyer is actually a big plus out here in the sticks. Harping on how unqualified real people are to being elected to high office ain’t helping the Democrat party with typical white people like me.

The fact that Palin is a Woman is supposed to put me off because McCain is pandering to the fact that as a man I like women. This is a problem to you on the left? Men like women. Let me check with my wife…
She likes men. Wow. Is she supposed to vote for Obama because he’s handsome? I won’t. He makes me feel fat in a pair of jeans.

Actually, I hope people don’t think that I want McCain to die, May he live long and prosper, (Just thought I’d throw that reference to high culture in there, so you wouldn’t think I’m ignorant) but Palin isn’t such a bad choice to make sure he’s still breathing. I will note that I don’t want Obama to croak either. Seems a lot of people want McCain to die though.

Rebuttal of “McCain’s Baked Alaska”

2008-08-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is a rebuttal to “McCain’s Baked Alaska,” as it appears on the New York Times website here: New York Times

Paragraph 2: Obama has commanded which states National Guard? He couldn’t even face wounded soldiers at Ramstein AFB in Germany.

Paragraph 3: You acknowledge that there is a resurgent Russian menace, I’d bet that Gov. Palin knows more about it than Barak Obama.

Paragraph 5: Reagan was a great leader. Commander of California’s National Guard before being elected President. I’m 34, the only thing I remember about his presidency was how much disdain my public school teachers had for him. The mention of Ferraro and Clinton were gracious and also a blatant grab at disaffected feminists. Good point on that one.

Paragraph 9: Imagine how men feel about Obama, an equally inexperienced man, who we are supposed to vote for because he has an attractive wife and family? It’s not fair that he is so slim and handsome, he makes be think of all my inadequacies (Do these pants make me look fat? Honestly now). In this modern era I am outraged, OUTRAGED!

“This year, Hillary Clinton took things to a whole new level. She didn’t run for president as a symbol but as the best-prepared candidate in the Democratic pack. Whether you liked her or not, she convinced the nation that women could be qualified to both run the country and be commander in chief. That was an enormous breakthrough, and Palin’s nomination feels, in comparison, like a step back.”

Being married to the Commander of the Arkansas National Guard really makes you qualified. And if the one answering the phone at 3:00 a.m. during the Lewinsky Affair isn’t qualified to be Commander in Chief, I don’t who is. Perhaps it was her allegation of the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.” Maybe it was the Success of the Great ‘93 “Hillary Care” campaign. Losing the 08 Campaign that was a sure thing to a man whose wife has no National Guard Commanding experience must have really put her over the top. Nothing symbolic about Hillary in a pant suit (Really, about the pants thing, I want your really sincere, most honest opinion.)

“If she’s only on the ticket to try to get disaffected Clinton supporters to cross over, it’s a bad choice. Joe Biden may already be practicing his drop-dead line for the vice-presidential debate: ‘I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine, and governor, you’re no Hillary Clinton.’ “

Thank God she’s not. (Go ahead, tell the truth, I won’t cry.)

(sniff, sniff)

Palin Pick Reveals Sexism Alive and Well

2008-08-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

When I heard McCain’s pick the only thing I knew of Palin was that she was suing the feds over the polar bear issue. That in itself spoke highly of her in my mind. People who demagogue environmental issues likely don’t know much about the real world. In the environmental world, Polar bears are cute and cuddly and are on the brink of extinction because Al Gore says that the polar caps are melting and polar bears will just be the first species of a massive global extinction. WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE! People who live in the real world know that we are all going to die and that it is a part of living. While we are here among the living we would like to focus on enjoying life, that includes not getting eaten by a Polar Bear. Yes, little Timmy, Polar Bears eat people when they can. Protecting un-endangered Polar Bears has real world consequences. Jobs are lost, millions are spent, people take second place to animals who, as I understand it, are thriving.

The more I learned of Palin, the more I came to admire her. She’s the mother of Five, that’s quite an accomplishment in it’s self, when they were all conceived with her husband it is. She’s got real world experience that Obama can’t dream to match and wouldn’t desire to. Tell me, has Obama ever done anything real in his life. Academic, Community Organizer, Legislator, Senator. Explain to me how any of that is real world experience. Out here in the Real World people have jobs and earn a living. John McCain is a creature of the real world. A son of privilege he didn’t avoid the dirtiest job in the world, that of warrior. Not an incidental, happened to be there warrior, one who was true to his brothers in arms under the most atrocious circumstances. Barry O may be just as true a warrior, but we will never know because Barry O would never deign to join the real world and actually take it upon himself to do anything. He certainly wouldn’t be working the rail of a commercial fishing vessel.

Palin fought corruption, Barry O pals around with corruption, terrorists, bigots, etc. If Palin were the known associate of Rezko, Ayers, Wright or individuals like them, I wouldn’t support her either. Is that guilt by association? No, it is an example of extremely poor judgment. Executives must exercise good judgment, if you have good judgment you can surround yourself with people who have the expertise to help you make informed decisions. There is no person in the world who possesses the experience of being the leader of the free world, except the very short list of former U.S. Presidents. How did they handle the job? By choosing a cabinet that reflected their world view like every other U.S. President in history. Judgment is key, experience reveals judgment. Every body makes mistakes, how do you handle them when you do? Barry O is resistant to even acknowledging he made a mistake, (Can you say Obama-Clinton 08?), he dodges anything that resembles controversy. How many times did he vote “Present?”

So the more I know of Sarah Palin the more I like her, this morning there are people all over the political spectrum fit to be tied that she’s a woman. Yes a woman, go ask your mom, Timmy, she’ll explain what a woman is.

If you haven’t picked up on it, I don’t like Barry O. You haven’t heard me here, or any where else mention that he is a person of color. Notice I didn’t say of a different race? Race is a social construct, gender is a natural construct, again, ask your mom, Timmy. Color is irrelevant, it doesn’t determine a person’s judgment, therefore it shouldn’t be used to judge another person.

Women are different than Men, feminists are fit to be tied about that, but those of us in the real world understand there are differences and we deeply appreciate that there are. I hope Timmy stopped reading before I said that. Women perceived things differently, react differently, love differently, but they are not inferior to men. There are jobs that women are ill suited to, but being an executive is not one of them. If you don’t believe a woman can exercise good judgment you need to go talk to your mother.

If you take a controversial stand, you had better be prepared to defend your position in an intelligent way, I’ve yet to hear Sarah Palin say, “That’s above my pay grade.” On that alone she is more qualified to be president than Barak Obama.

Server is too Busy

2008-08-29T12:14:00.001-07:00

John McCain's site is so overwhelmed with traffic that it can't keep up and who's talking of Obama's Convention today? This is awesome. I'm really quite pleased, it if you couldn't tell.

Palin, Palin, Palin

2008-08-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Blogs are popping all around the blogosphere. I’m happy to say that today it became absolutely certain that I will vote for the McCain-Palin ticket come November. Palin is articulate, clearly conservative, and as genuine as anyone in politics. If she were the Presidential Nominee I would vote for her. McCain is a man I deeply respect even though there are issues on which I disagree with him. Palin is a nominee much closer to my way of thinking and I can’t wait to vote for her beside John McCain.

A note of interest, people were not chanting her name when she was announced as the VP candidate, they were chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" and I don't think Sarah would have it any other way.

8/27/08 Musings

2008-08-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Life and love are both wonderful swirls of warmth and anguish, expectation and want. With out valleys the sun kissed peaks of our existence are with out significance. Where are you now? Do you expect to stay there long? If you are yearning for a better day, what are you doing to achieve it? If you are strolling the sun dappled path to a brighter place, enjoy it. If you are dancing at the summit of exultation, invite some one to share it with you.

Assassination Has No Place In American Politics

2008-08-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

I don’t care for Barak Obama’s politics. I don’t like the kind of political rhetoric that he uses, he annoys me to no end. However if these goons were trying to assassinate him, I hope they get hung out to dry. http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/25/feds-local-police-debate-whether-suspects-may-have-been-plotting-obama-assassination/ In one of my earlier posts I mentioned revolution, but I don’t advocate violence and violence has no place in American politics. Zero. Barry-O is not qualified to be President but the American electorate gets to decide that. Not some thug with a gun.

Constitutional Amendment or Revolution?

2008-06-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

When members of the Judiciary take it upon themselves to engage in legislation, they are usurping the constitutional right of Congress. Our Government is to have been an institution by, of and for the people. I believe it once was. When we were governed by our duly elected officials. Those days are behind us. We no longer bow to a distant King, now we pay homage to those who wear black. They are not of us, they are not for us and they simply can not abide our ignorant intrusion into the sacred realm they inhabit. They are above our laws, and we are beneath their contempt.
I long for the days when we were created equal. Now a hand full of the saints in black can determine our foreign policy, our nullify our right to pass laws with a scratch of their powerful pens. What recourse do we as citizens have? We can not impeach them. Congress has that right but Congress for better or worse is a partisan body. This is a non-partisan issue. This is above all other issues right now. Are we a nation of men or of laws? Are we a republic that treats all men equally under the law? If so we can not allow a usurpation of our liberty to a duly elected governing body. The judiciary must be directly accountable to the people of this nation.
Perhaps this seems extreme, but then so are the actions of the few when they exercise disproportionate power over the many.
This is not a new issue, it has dogged our nation from it’s founding and perhaps it will be until the end of our nation. When the loyal citizens of the British Colonies were tired of the oppression and more so perhaps of the arrogance of a distant power they rose to rebellion. Justly. Would an armed rebellion profit our nation now? Did it then? In that generation perhaps not, but most would agree that in the near decades they were allowed to prosper in their liberty.
Rebellion or an armed revolution should never be undertaken lightly, I do not lightly suggest such a notion, but perhaps even the mention of such a dreadful solution would cause those in the ivory tower to take note of the fragility of their position.
Far better, and yet not a desirable proposition is a constitutional amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowing for a direct impeachment of Judges who sit on the federal bench. The ones who now sit for as long as they draw breath or until they abdicate their lofty position, barring a congressional impeachment.
Whether or not this Amendment were to be ratified, the debate it would inspire may be just the thing to awaken our celebrity obsessed culture to the very grave danger our liberty now endures.

When Rush Was Relevant

2008-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

When Rush Limbaugh became a national sensation he was known as a Right Wing Populist, a man who believed that America’s greatness resided in it’s people not it’s Political leaders. Reagan recognized this, most individual’s with an ( R ) after their name realize this, it’s sad to think that somewhere along the line the All Knowing, All Caring, All Everything Maha Rushie has forgotten it.
“On the edge of societal evolution,” is different from just being sharp tongued toward those with whom you disagree. Now he suffers from a deafness induced by the “Rush Echo Syndrome.” Lately it seems only those who either can not articulate an opposing view or absolutely agree with the host are the ones who get air time with Rush. Is it because Rush knows that he is in an untenable stance that is destructive to the Nation? Is he truly deluded or is he just stubborn? We know that the duty of the caller is to “Make the host look good,” (For those of you in Rio Linda, Rush is the Host, you are the caller) perhaps Rush is not well served by this set up. We know that Rush is conservative, more importantly Rush knows he is conservative, he likes to say it and we like to hear him say it, it’s rather entertaining to hear him say it, if you never have listened to him you should give it a try. I advise that you wait until the Primary season is over and the man behind the Golden EIB microphone has returned to some level of sanity.
I submit proof of his rubber room credentials, his recent assertions that the Maverick John McCain and the Huckster are not conservative, “I don’t care what you call them just don’t call them conservative.” His callers do their duty by filling the blanks, they are liberals, John McCain was endorsed by the NY Times, ENDORSED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, that way if Hillary wins or if she loses to McCain they still get what they want, a Liberal in the White House. Perhaps I’m the one losing my mind but I don’t hear of men and women in the U.S. Military sounding a clarion call of overwhelming support for the Clintons. In an uncommonly cogent moment Gov. Romney said, “I don’t think the American People want Bill in the White House with nothing to do.” He of course immediately backed off of what he had said, but it is true that our daughters and grand daughters now know that Oral Sex is not sex and that you would never name your daughter Monica because that is now the name of the afore mentioned non-sex act. I believe that the interns and innocent ears around the world would be safe if the Huckster were elected. Big enough differences to allow me, a poor ignorant soul to be able to vote for either of these men if they were the Republican Nominee.
If Rush succeeds in his mission to demoralize the base, Hillary will sit in the White House in 2009. If he can fracture the base well enough along Religious, Economic, or Defense lines then there will be no party to stand against Hillary. Maybe Rush just wants a chance to speak as often as he did in second Clinton term of cigars in the Oral Office or perhaps another orifice.
Rush, we pray for you to have you hearing restored, figuratively and physically, but please, please don’t be hasty to destroy our conservative house. The big tent of Conservatism is big enough for the entire nation, Reagan knew this and we miss him, there will likely not be a leader of his caliber in our life times. But let’s not forsake the good and the admirable for the Reaganesque ideal of conservative perfection. We miss when you were relevant, when you spoke for us more often than you did against us.