My thoughts on the BP oil spill…

After having watched the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico for over a month plus now I think it’s as good a time as any to comment.

Most people out there, from all political corners, seem compelled to point fingers and look for a scapegoat. Which is understandable. Most of the finger-pointing has been pointed towards BP, which is also understandable, as they were the ones who let the explosion occur on their watch and are the ones who are undertaking a largely unsuccessful repair effort to date.

But yet what most people refuse to acknowledge but I suspect know it that it was after all an accident.  Sometimes things just happen in life. No matter how well prepared you are or the procedures out there, sometimes accidents just occur. Mother nature has a way of doing such things. It does not take anything away from the massive disaster that has occurred but it can lead to a better future.

The anti-drilling crowd is even quicker now with this oil spill to express their reasoning for stopping the expansion of offshore drilling.  And they are right to an extent. An oil leak of this magnitude does have a negative affect on marine life and the surrounding habitat. But those same critics will also never talk about all the positives that will come out of this. After this accident you can be sure that the new safety procedures, precautions, rules, governmental and industry laws that will arise from this disaster will create an even safer and better track record for offshore drilling.

And let’s be frank. The anti-drilling crowd does not have a long list of accidents in offshore drilling to point from. This current disaster is actually the first medium-major oil spill in the history of U.S. oil offshore drilling. We have been drilling for oil in the lakes and Oceans of the U.S. for over 119 years now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_drilling But yet with one accident the anti-drilling crowd would have you believe entirely something else and demonize every aspect of drilling without any regards for its safe and proven track history.

Just like the Exxon Valdez disaster(that was more due to human negligence than an accident) great positives and strides were gained after the accident than anything negative. Such as better and more constrained shipping lanes and protocols for transporting oil.

The negative dwellers out there will also never admit that oil related accidents are more frequently caused by the transportation of oil rather than the actual drilling of it. http://www.offshore-environment.com/accidents.html As it is now the ships used for transporting oil are limited and have to traverse greater lengths of ocean to deliver their product. Creating more oil platforms would only limit the lengths oil tankers have to travel and ultimately decrease the need for oil tankers. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/oil-rigs-and-reality/

I have also been watching in astonishment at the quick and real hatred being directed at BP. So many people seem happy to hop on the ‘Boycott BP gasoline bandwagon’. What good does that actually do for the thousands of American workers and their families that actually are employed by BP? Or the private business owners that own and operate BP gas stations. Is it their fault there was an oil leak? Any number of big oil companies could have had this accident happen to them, Exxon, Shell but yet people will still keep buying from them? Or how about all the people who will buy gas from lesser more generic named gas stations that actually get their gas from BP. I don’t think the boycott crowd has thought this boycott out very well. Which is usually the case when political ideology gets in the way of rational thinking.

O but wait they make obscene record profits right? Not really. All the major oil companies out there have a profit margin of about 9%. To put it into prospective, Microsoft, Apple, Ebay, Coca-Coca rake in much higher profit margins(30%-15%). Why are those people not boycotting their Ipads?

-The logic to stop offshore drilling is not based on any historical, factual list of events, but rather on political motivations, roused up by a recent, single accident.

-Secondly it is just an accident. Things happen. Us humans do not have complete control. Some people just have a hard time accepting such things in life. And by looking for someone to blame it makes it easier accepting such things.

-I’m an angler. I do as much fishing off the Florida coast and inter-coastal waterways as most do.  I share in the frustration and sadness everyone is feeling about the environment in the Gulf being damaged.  But yet I am optimistic that humans will ultimately stop the leak and confident that future procedures, laws and regulations will only make offshore drilling even safer.

And for those that can only demonize but offer no real solutions or alternatives. YOUR TIME IS NOW. The Democrats have had majorities in Congress since 2006 and Super Majorities since 2007 along with a Democratic, anti-drilling minded President in office since 2008. But yet they offer no real alternatives to offshore drilling or any specific solutions. If Green Energy is the future why has it not been seriously implemented?

I feel the anger and prolonged frustration of all of those on the anti-drill bandwagon. But at the same time I know the alternative to no more offshore oil platform expansions does nothing to fix our addiction to foreign oil, reduce our insane debt or stop foreign countries with less safety procedures and even perhaps less genuine care for the environment drilling for oil across the globe and in the Gulf.

Well that’s that. Perhaps I was a little hard on the anti-drilling crowd at the end…Hey look on the bright side. If you don’t like what I have to say. You can always join Queen Pelosi in blaming Bush for the oil spill. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/pelosi-blames-bush-administration-for-bp-oil-spill-95175304.html

Health Care, Education and Rights…..

As if the Health Care bill was not bad enough,progressives in Congress are adding legislation to it, to nationalize the student loan program.  http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/15/huge-student-loan-overhaul-tacked-onto-health-care-reform/ No longer will private lenders be the primary issuer of students loans. The Federal Government would take on that role. Is education a right? Is Health Care a right? Anything the Government can grant, it can taketh away. Last time I checked Congress had no authority to issue out rights. I was given my rights when I was born, by God. How about you?

The Progressive Democrats in Congress are quick to vociferate that ‘everyone has a right to health care’. But our founders knew that people did not get their rights from a Government. Instead a human right is something that we have by the virtue of simply being born. If it’s from God, or from nature if you prefer. The founders knew that whatever power the government had to distribute rights, they also had the power to take those rights away. If human rights are rights at all, then they cannot rely on the Government to exist.

Our Declaration of Independence States-”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness” We have the right to life because we are naturally alive, we have the right to liberty because we are naturally free, we have the right to property because we naturally make things. All of these are what we call negative rights because they are rights against infringement.

Health care and education can not be a natural ‘rights’ because it requires the government to create it. The progressives in this country as in all other nations sees all human wants and needs as ‘rights’. They do not see rights as something that you should posses as virtue of your own humanity. Instead they see them as something that can be ‘picked and chosen’ and granted at will by the Government.

I say that the rights the current Congress are trying to pass out now, are not rights at all. Instead they are just more entitlements that will in the end only make the people more dependent upon the Government. Unlike your inherit rights of Life, liberty, property and happiness the ‘rights’ granted by Congress come with a heavy price tag. They will cost us our Wealth, our standard of living and in the end our liberty.

The Soviet Union also had a Constitution. Within that Constitution, they said their citizens had a ‘right’ to health care, education. The ‘right’ to a job and a ‘right’ to a house. How did that turn out? The progressive mindset of ‘rights’ ignores the finite monetary situation, and in the end bankrupts a state. Further more it ignores the very concept of the founding principle of America. Which is that we get our rights by the our very existence of being born.

You many favor a free Nationalized Health Care system now. Or perhaps a free education. But what’s next? What else should the government be handing out for free? What else should the Government in all it’s power deem as a ‘right’ that we the people are worthy enough to receive? You may favor it now. But what happens down the road if the Government decides to take some of those rights away from you or your future kids or worse starts taking away your natural unalienable rights.

The Federal Government must promote the general welfare, it can not and should not provide the general welfare. It must provide the tools and healthy environment for the people to be able to get an education and to have health care. Charity goes a long way in America as well. Name a nation in the history of human existence where it’s citizens have been more charitable than those of the U.S.?

Finally Sen DeMint forces a vote on Constituitonality of Health Care.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/GOP-forces-vote-on-constitutionality-of-health-bill–79914142.html

I have been crying aloud this point for 6 plus months now. It almost seemed as if everyone in Congress, even most Republicans were not going to bring up the issue of the Health Care legislation being Unconstitutional.

I am thrilled to finally see a handful of Conservative Republicans arguing and defending that very point. I always thought Senator Jim DeMint was one of the biggest and truest Conservatives in Congress. He puts his money where his mouth is!

This vote should be very interesting and will paint a true picture on the very nature of how corrupt, unconstitutional and idiotic most in Congress have become. It will not surprise me if in the face of current proposed Health Care legislation being clearly Unconstitutional many Congressional members vote that it is indeed acceptable.

I said it last week before this was even news and I will say it again.  This will be the first time in American History(233 years since our founding) that the Federal Government will force it’s citizens to buy something. Then on top of that deem it illegal if they do not.  This is nothing more than modern tyranny and those in Congress supporting such legislation and voting for such legislation are tyrants. There is no middle ground. You either support and legislate based on the Constitution or you don’t. And if you choose the latter then you have no place working in Congress.

This is a Constitutional Conservative

I’ve been away from the blog scene for some time. There is a lot of things I want to comment on.

For now I just wanted to share a video that has been getting a lot of attention on Youtube. I was at the event when Lt. Col. Allen West made this speech at Revolution. He is running for a U.S. Congressional seat in a district near where I live.  This man talks the talk and walks the walk. You will not find a  stronger Constitutionally Conservative politician than Lt. Col West. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him speak three times now.

It will be a joy watching him defeat and take over the district from the far left liberal Ron Klein come 2010.

Let us remember Thanksgiving for what it is

”Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.

That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord.To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789′‘– President George Washington, 1789 (proclaiming and thus creating the first Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America.

The concept of ‘Thanksgiving’ to God has a deep rooted history in America, dating back to the early 17th  century. Pilgrims risked life and endured hardship to escape religious persecution in England in the hopes of finding a better life in new America.  Through the Amazing minds of our founding fathers , out of the American Revolutionary War, they created a United Stated of America deeply rooted in a belief of God. They ensured that no man of any religion or belief would be deprived of his religion.

So thus let us remember Thanksgiving for what it is. It’s more than just turkey and sweet potatoes. It’s about generations of men creating a nation where men could be free to practice whatever religion they so choose without being persecuted.  Perhaps we take for advantage that notion today. But there are still many nations in our world that deprive men of their religious freedoms.

Is Obama even on the same financial planet as us?

”As the economy recovers, I intend to take serious steps to reduce America’s long-term deficit.  Debt-driven growth cannot fuel America’s long-term prosperity, If we do, we will continue to drift from crisis to crisis, a failed path that has already had devastating consequences for our citizens, our businesses, and our governments” -President Obama during the Asia summit.

Perhaps President Obama’s words on reducing debtcould be taken more serious if he and his far left Administration were not trying to push a $1 trillion dollar plus Health Care Bill down our throats. Or trying to pass an equally expensive Cap and trade energy bill that will also see citizens energy rates rise dramatically if implemented.

Perhaps I would buy into the Presidents fancy talk if it was not for him presiding over  a $1.4 trillion dollar deficit in 2009 during  his term-the highest deficit since World War II. The Government spending in 2009 under Obama reached close to 25% of all GDP. And revenues fell bellow 15% of the GDP. His 2009 deficit is larger than the entire length of Clinton’s Presidency. And it’s well on pace to surpass the wreck less spending of President Bush.  Obama sure did a good job during the campaign Blasting Bush for his out of control spending-rightfully so. Obama has failed horribly to be any better.

Maybe I would feel more confident in Obama’s words if he did not support a $829 billion dollar Stimulus bill(that has done nothing to lower the unemployment rate, currently at 10.2%), give billions of dollars to bail out Banks, auto companies and failing Institutions.

The notion of being able to take politicians like Obama serious anymore is nothing more than a laughing matter. Everyone with the slightest sense of what is going on knows it’s all bull. But yet they keep on spending.

Sorry Mr. President your words have no merit or credibility.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574547492725871998.html

 

Remember Obama said he would not raise your taxes one cent during the Campaign?

Well sorry to disappoint you. But the New health care bill proposed by Sen. Reid yesterday does just that. And just like the House Health Care bill it also has a public option that will fine persons who do not buy into an acceptable plan. So not only do you get a tax increase you also get more Unconstitutional legislation.

http://www.atr.org/userfiles/111809pr-comptaxreid%282%29.pdf

But it’s also not the first time we have seen tax hikes since Obama took office. They have already announced that they will not be extending the Bush tax cuts. Love Bush or hate him, anyone will admit the Bush tax cuts saved people money and cut income taxes. So it does not take a math professor to realize that by ending the Bush Tax cuts you are naturally going to be raising taxes again..

Seems like common sense to me. You can’t have the Government push through a trillion dollar Health Care and Cap and Trade bills and expect the money fairy to pay for it. People either get taxed more somewhere or other programs are gutted to pay for it. In our case both are happening.

O and how’s that $175 dollar a year increase on your energy bill sound if the Cap and Trade bill passes? Sounds like more tax increases to me.

Will people hold the POTUS feet the fire on this one? Or will people continue to blindly give him a free pass?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124588837560750781.html

 

I’m still laughing after reading the latest coming out of the New York Times.  Looks like even they are starting to flee the high tax wonderland called NY.

Let me try and get this straight. The liberals  jack up the taxes in the state of NY so high that everyone is moving out in record droves.  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/tax_refugees_staging_escape_from_qb4pItQ71UXIc0i6cd3UpK . High income families, small businesses and millionaires flee NY and move to other states with a lower tax rate. Then the NY Times, the propaganda piece for progressive policitcs is now moving a portion of their editorial business to Florida, which has much lower taxes. According to them this will help them save 25 jobs and cut some cost.

Perhaps the NY Times should not have been the champion propaganda machine for the left and advocating the high tax polices the liberals  practice.  What goes around comes around I guess.

Lets see some of the highest Sates in the Country with steep taxes(income tax)

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0608/032-taxes-new-york-states-target-rich.html

1.Hawaii

2.California

3.Rhode Island

4.Vermont

5.Oregon

6.Iowa

7.New York

8.New Jersey

9.Maine

10.Minnesota

Except for the possible exception of Iowa all of those states lean  left-far left and for the most part have a  governing body that is liberal. The liberals sure do know how to do one thing right, tax. Perhaps one day they will figure out that taxing the hell out of high income earners and businesses is not the way to go. Or maybe they will just hand out IOU’s instead of checks, have Government styled garage sales and cut state employees salaries like California.

20th Anniversary of Berlin wall collapse-But no Obama

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin wall being torn down. Probably one of the single greatest events of freedom in our century.  If not the defining moment. It signaled the start of the demise of the Soviet Union. American President Ronald Reagan and freedom loving people across Europe put enough pressure on The Soviet Union at the time to force them to tear down the wall. Ronald Reagan’s famous words can still be heard. ”Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall”

In attendance for the commemoration of the 20th anniversary was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, most European Leaders and current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev along with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Gorbachev even went as far as walking down a bridge crossing where the wall once stool together to stand in solidarity.

I find it very troubling and frustrating that our President Obama was not there. He actually turned down the invitation from the German Government to attend.

So here you have 20 years later the current Russian President attending and the former Soviet President, a man who was  the direct opposition to Reagan and Freedom during the cold war attending the ceremonies but yet Obama could not find the time to come.

Obama certainly had the time to visit Berlin during the 2008 Presidential election and give a speech to Berliners. He also had the time to fly to Copenhagen to make a pitch for Chicago to win the bid for the upcoming Olympic games. But he could not find any time on his agenda to share in the remembrance of the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

President Obama could at least pretend to care about the values of freedom and human sacrifice.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091109/ap_on_re_eu/eu_germany_wall_anniversary

Obama likes to compare himself to past Presidents. I have got to tell you he does not even begin to represent the core values of Freedom and leadership that Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy represented.

Our generations liberty vs Tyranny test.

On this upcoming Saturday(or shortly some day after) America’s liberties, founding ideals and principles will be put to the test. The House of Representatives plan on voting for the Pelosi Health Care bill(House Resolution Act-3962, Affordable Health Care America Act).  This is probably one of  the most if not the most dangerous, Unconstitutional and just plain worst bills to ever come before Congress in the history of our Republic.  To allow this bill to pass is nothing more than modern Tyranny.

The bill is 1,990 pages long.  It was only just introduced in full and made public yesterday to the American people and most in Congress.  The American people are only given  little over 48 hours to try and digest one of the most significant bills in our history. That aspect alone just seems so wrong in nature.

The Congressional Budget Office says this bill will cost $1.055 trillion dollars. For a country already in debt $12 trillion dollars this hardly seems sane.

The bill will create over 100 different agencies and offices expanding the growth of Government. This Government run Health care plan will take over 1/6th of the private economy in America. Astounding. Through the creation of Government run plans and a Health insurance exchange, private insurance is all but doomed in the future.

Individuals and businesses will be taxed heavily. Individuals who refuse to purchase ”acceptable Health Insurance will be taxed 2.5% of their gross adjusted income. And businesses must contribute to the premiums of the government program for their employees or pay an 8% tax. The tax applies even if the employer offers a private plan. If for whatever reason individuals leave a private plan after 2013 they will be forced into a Government run plan.

Forcing American citizens to purchase Health Care and then taxing/fining them if they do not is about as Unconstitutional as the Government can get. It’s Tyranny in the fullest.

The Congress proposes to cut $426 billion in future medicare funding and to tax high income individuals in order to help pay for this bill. Astounding yet again.  Small businesses will suffer greatly under this, especially those that are organized as sub chapter S or limited liability corporations. There is no way a Private industry can compete with a Government run health Care plan. The Government needs not worry about financial limits, profits and loss nor answer to no one. This bill will only eventually ruin the private industry thus killing jobs within.  Doctors in droves are already threatening  to quit if this becomes law, add that to the simple fact that adding millions of Americans to a plan without adding any extra doctors or rational means to provide for the extra people will have a dramatic affect on the quality of care and services capable of being provided.

This only begins to explain just how awful this bill is. Health reform is certainly needed without a doubt. But this is not the way to do it. This piece of legislation has nothing to do with Health Care. It’s noting more than the Government trying to gain more control and power.  The CBO states this legislation will not cover all the uninsured as originally intended  nor cut cost, which were suppose to be the two main goals.

This goes beyond parties. This is about tyranny in the form of Government trying to impose itself on the American people. This is about the core values and principles of America being replaced by absolutism. This is about the free market and capitalism being brushed aside in order to allow Government run policies to take root. This is about our Constitution being ignored.

I’m not asking you to abandon your political beliefs. And I’m not asking you to agree with me on what the best approach is to reform Health Care. However I am asking you to stand up for liberty and stand up for everything our fellow countrymen in the late 18th century to our parents have created for us. Our Constitution can not protect itself.  You can no longer sit on the sidelines or hope that everything will eventually turn out ok. This is our generations big test. Will we allow Tyranny to slowly over take us in the form of our own Government or will we put aside the political differences and stand up against it?

‘‘Today we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. ” – John F. Kennedy

I’m not advocating that you take up arms. What I am advocating is that you use the  1st Amendment to tell Congress NO. This is not the way Government was intended to operate in America. Our Constitution protects against this type of tyrannical  Government. But the Constitution can not protect itself. It needs patriots. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Lincoln, Clevland, John F. Kennedy would all be utterly disappointed and shocked to see such a Bill written. All they had worked for and implemented towards the preservation of limited Government is being tossed aside at an epic pace.Those in Congress writing this bill and supporting this should be ashamed of themselves.

I do not write this because I enjoy writing as a hobby, wish to disapprove of the current administration or wish to spread fear. I only do this in the hopes of informing you about what gigantic test is on America’s door step.  In the end I only hope that you at least do the research. Look at what is happening. If you even feel uncomfortable in the slightest by this then I would hope you take action. For Americans can not afford to wait, nor can we afford to let hate of another political party divide us. This is about Tyranny. And Tyranny knows no boundary’s or party lines.

A bill must be passed through the Senate, House and then be signed by the President to become law. Sure this is only the first step. But Something so wrong, so Tyrannical should not even be written in Congress let alone go up for vote.

”Beware the greedy hand of Government, thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry” -Thomas Paine

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master”-George Washington

Robert Reich…Now here’s someone who knows ‘Death Panels’

Sarah Palin was instantly and vehemently attacked and demonized by the far left community the instant she mentioned the words ‘Death Panels’ in her facebook article several months ago when talking Health Care. I think most of the media and public figures attacking her on that article must have purposely ignored most of the article and only focused on the now two famous words, ‘Death Panels’.  Anyone who was not out from the start to automatically attack Palin could probably come to a sensible and realistic conclusion that Sarah Palin did not literally mean millions of elderly would be judged by a bureaucratic Health Panel and sentenced to death.

Instead they might have looked at the article and seen that under the proposed  H.R. 3200 Health Care bill forty some million individuals would be been added to the Health Care equation without adding one extra doctor. Simple Rationing at some point has to ensue. Those all to eager Palin critics didn’t look at the $500 billion plus dollars being cut from the medicare program that the elderly rely on so much. Nor did they look at the statistics coming out from Canada and the U.K. that show the elderly are indeed the  most impacted to feel the effects of rationed care under a Government controlled system.(These coming from confirmed studies and reports from English newspapers, ie, Daily Telgrapgh,Daily Mail etc not American mind you.)

But,  in the gullible and arrogant idiosyncrasy of the far left who suck up every Palin attack as the truth, facts have no room in their dialogue. It’s much easier to simply foray Palin. After all these are the same people who think Sarah Palin actually  said that she ”could see Russia from her House”. (Tina Fey actually made that remark, rewording what Palin actually said” They’re our next-door neighbours and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”)

Lets rewind to 2007. Before the Election, before Palin burst onto the scene and before the whole Death Panels Craze. A man named Robert Reich gives a speech at UC Berkley. But he isn’t just any man. He was the former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, current professor at Harvard University, Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkley and is one of President Obama’s advisers.

He also talked about Death Panels. The difference between him and Palin however. Sarah Palin talked specifics on how rationing to the elderly could come about under the proposed liberal Health Care legislation. Robert Reich on the other hand flat out says with all honestly that the best way to tackle Health Care is to have the younger generation pay more and have the elderly suffer rationing.

Reich’s statements on the video could not be any clearer. This is what he really believes. It’s what he would suggest any Presidential Candidate say if they did not care about winning an election.

And now here we sit almost a full year into President Obama’s Presidency. The Health Care debate is imposingly the main topic of discussion. Is it any surprise now that the present reality seems to be looking a lot like the vision of Robert Reich’s speech in 2007.  Is the far left’s proposed legislation not raising the cost of Health Care to the younger generation by taxing employers more, forcing more people the buy GAP coverage and by proposing that the Federal Government will be able to issue fines/penalty’s for people who do not purchase a Health Care plan? Are they currently not trying to cut the cost and care the elderly will receive by cutting future Medicare cost up to $500 billion dollars?  And are they not trying to push drug companies and Health Insurance companies out of the picture by imposing a massive Government control mechanism?

Perhaps most disturbing. Only an auditorium full of college students at UC Berkley could cheer and applause the notion of old people having their medicine and care rationed.

You make the call. Is it the so called inexperienced, fear mongering, right wing mother figure Sarah Palin or President Obama’s adviser , Mr. Robert Reich who was advocating ‘Death Panels?’

The long history of racism within the GOP

My head really just might explode if I hear one more liberal or far left commentator label the Republican party or Conservatives as ‘racist’.  Aside from their claims being void of all facts and evidence to begin with. They obviously purposely ignore the past 150 plus years of American History or are just too stupid to realize it.

Martin Luther King was a conservative, if not a registered Republican as some in his current family claim. Not only that the majority of African Americans during that time period were Republicans.

Most of the people in the south that were for segregation belonged to the Democratic party.  In fact the majority of the Congress that were  against the Civil Rights Acts the Republicans were trying to make law during the 1950′s and 1960′s were Democrats. Strom Thurmond a Democratic Senator at the time, gave the longest filibuster in U.S. history speaking for 24 hours, in an attempt to derail the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Even though the bill passed the Democratic opposition was so great that is was not until the mid 60′s when other Republican bills were passed that more African Americans started to vote and racial segregation and intimidation were made illegal.

It was the Democratic party that authored and passed the discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws.  Robert Byrd the Current Democratic Senator from Virgina actually was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Even rising to an Exalted Cyclops. Wait..What?? He has since apologized and regrets ever being a part of the Klan.

It was the Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower who strongly urged the passing of the 1957 Civil Rights laws and sent troops into Arkansas and other southern states  to desegregate schools. Even though JFK in my mind was one of the greatest U.S. Presidents in modern history as a Senator he actually voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Now here comes the part that will really get the far left mad.

The Republican party was formed just prior to the Civil War in 1854 mainly by anti-slavery expansion activist.  That’s right the Republican party was formed in large part from the anti-slavery movement. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican President. It was he who took the charge against slavery in the South and is remembered for being not only one of the greatest U.S. Presidents ever, but also a champion to African American freedoms during that time period. It was the Republican party who led the effort to add the amendments to the Constitution in the 1860′s that officially made slavery illegal in (Amendment 13), granted African Americans citizenship(Amendment 14) and granted people of all color the right to vote(Amendment 15).  Further they passed the civil rights acts of 1866 and reconstruction act 0f 1867 that made it fair to the African Americans living in the South. You see it was a Democratic controlled South that fought to keep slavery during the Civil war.

The NAACP was formed primarily by a group of Black Republicans in the early 20th century.

Here we are now in 2009.  Everyone from Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Jimmy Carter, Bill Cosby, Maureen Dowd and every far left progressive  in between is trying to label the GRAND OLD PARTY(GOP) as being the racist and bigots.

So what has happened since 1854? How has reality, facts and logic been allowed to be turned upside down? I don’t think racism exist to any large degree anymore within a party or within the Elephant and donkey political philosophies. In fact I think racism in general to any large degree is history in America. The last election proved that. But if any party needs to take a look at themselves and their past about being racist It’s the Democratic party.

”Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” -Abraham Lincoln. Gettsyburg Address

Great Times for the 2nd Amendment

I was excited to hear about some great news concerning the 2nd Amendment a few days ago. On Wednesday the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case McDonald vs. Chicago, which is a lawsuit challenging the cities handgun ban.  The lead attorney representing Mcdonald and the 2nd Amendment was also the same attorney who helped to end the D.C. gun ban just a year earlier.That was also a monumental case that the Supreme Court heard.

I expect a positive outcome. The D.C. verdict set a precedent which the Supreme Court should follow I expect according to Constitutional Law. The weapons ban in Chicago should end as a result and I expect the gun ban in New York city to also end in soon.

It’s simple. No city or state has the right to violate the people’s right to keep and bear arms. It’s a right protected under the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. And no city or area can infringe upon that right. It’s a shame that these cities were even allowed in the first place to pass such dangerous anti-gun laws.

Some might say that the states should have their own say. After all is that not what states rights are all about? Well in regard to this issue no. You see after the Civil war many states were passing strong laws.  These states especially in the south were targeting certain groups of people and issuing laws that were in violation to their Constitutional rights.  So in response  Congress added an Amendment to the Constitution in 1868.  Amendment 14 states that ”No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the Citizens of the Unites States; nor shall an State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,” So you see the States have a great deal of power and rights. But at the same time they can not violate the rights of the people that the Constitution already protects.  It was a simple but yet very powerful and brilliant concept.

It’s clear to me that Chicago and New York City are in violation of the 2nd Amendment as was Washington D.C.

O and the concept that banning handguns or guns in a certain city will lower the crime/murder rate is just absurd and not true. The violence and murder rate in those cities has only risen and in some cases doubled since the gun bans were enacted.  The Country of the United Kingdom is a prime example of the fallacy of gun bans. In 1997 their Government completely took away the rights of their citizens to own weapons. They completely banned them. Two years later the handgun crime rate was up by 40%. And a decade later the number of deaths and injuries from handguns skyrocketed to 340%.  Gun bans only punish good citizens. Criminals still obtain and use weapons.

Obama’s Afghanistan situation.

By now I am sure most of you are aware of the leaked report by the top U.S. General in Afghanistan,  Gen. Stanley Mcchrystal calling for an additional 40,000 more troops and/or a combination of new changes in the country. In summary the report continued to state that the current situation in Afghanistan is serious and unless additional troops were delivered or other serious options explored the war could take a sour turn and be ” un-winnable.” This report was reportedly sent to Obama in early August.

All throughout the 2008 Presidential Campaign and even further back to the last several years of the Bush Presidency Obama repeatedly stated that Afghanistan was the good war. He said over and over again that it was the war where the real bad guys were. The U.S.  should pull out of Iraq and focus all of it’s resources into Afghanistan.

But yet now Obama seems to be slipping away from that notion,  at least publicly. He has made no concrete commitment to listen to the wishes of General Mcchrystal. His recent public addresses about this have been very hazy and for the most part he has not said whether or not he would be sending more troops. Obama said that he only wanted to evaluate the situation more before making a decision.

Many on the far left  have been calling for the withdrawal of all the troops in Afghanistan after only months previously stating that Afghanistan was the only war America needed to put all it’s efforts into.  To be fair to Obama he did send an additional 20,000 troops to Afghanistan earlier this year. And he very may in the end decide to send those additional 40,000 troops.

Here’s my thing.

If Obama really believes in our cause in Afghanistan send the 40,000 additional troops. Give them the tools, resources and more importantly the support of the Presidents Office and the people back home. If you still believe this is the ‘good war’ and our cause is worth staying to fight then Obama must give the troops everything they need to win. We must fight to win and fight as hard and with all we have to win.

But if Obama is unsure or second guessing our stance in Afghanistan bring the troops home. If the President is not going to give the troops everything they need to win the war and give the General all the tools necessary then just bring the guys home. We have no business fighting a war where the President and several people in Washington are unwilling to give the troops all the ingredients and support necessary to fight a war. It’s immoral and just plan wrong to allow our troops to continue fighting a war in which our government is not willing to give them everything they need.

Troops will continue to give the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. But if our government is not 100% fully behind them then no other troops should have  to give their life for a cause that Washington no longer believes in. It’s already been close to 2 months since the General made his report. The troops should not have to wait any longer. Obama pushed a massive Cap and Trade bill down America’s throat over night that saw passage in the House. Obama along with Bush backed a massive Bankers Bailout, then  Stimulus package that was passed in less than a week before anyone even really knew what the bill contained. And now Obama is trying to push a large, extremely altering Health Care plan down Americas throat in record time. If they feel that those measures are ok to be rushed but yet not giving the war effort everything it needs in such quick fashion, something is wrong.

I’m willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully he is just taking the extra time to talk things over with his staff. But if he chooses not to fulfill the wishes of Gen. Stanley Mcchrystal bring the troops home.

This is what they face over there. The troops do this every day. They deserve to to it with everything they need.

Thoughts on the recent U.N. Assembly

It’s been almost a week since my last blog was posted. I’ve had quite a busy week! A lot has happened since then. But I just wanted to touch particularly on Obama’s speech to the United Nations Assembly.

I have to say that I am quite disappointed on the overall tone and direction of Obama’s speech.  This was the Presidents first real exposure and interaction with the world community.  At a venue where dictator after dictator voiced their platform I was holding out some hope that Obama would give a speech that really laid a solid and strong foundation for the goals and interest of America.  It simply didn’t happen.

Most of his speech seemed to be a reflection on America. He talked about our country in the past tense, as if what we have done in the past was not the best and that we should start over so we can be more appealing to the world community. It seemed to be a continuation of his previous speaking tours where he apologized for America to the world community.  Then the President went on a rather lengthy middle east topic dialogue.  Without saying it specifically it seemed as if Obama was trying as hard as he could to distance himself from Israel and move closer to the Palestinian effort. Line after line seemed to be a rebuke of Israel.  Never in our history have we had a President in either party that has been so openly cold to our ally Israel. I’m not even sure Jimmy Carter would have gave such a speech.

Some in the media world have started with the notion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now the leader of the free world because of the address he delivered to the U.N. assembly. I have to agree.  His speech was so powerful and moving. He held nothing back. He spoke 100% from his heart on behalf of Israel and it’s people. I only wish Obama could have done the same for America. Netanyahu, blasted the U.N. for their ill stance on the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the Hizbollah-Israel conflict.  Netanyahu spoke very clearly and direct about the conflict in the middle east and the role of his country and that of the U.N. Obama seemed to take the opposite approach in his speaking. He  spoke in his usual long, wordy sentences that never seemed to send any clear specific message.

The last thing that perturbed me was Obama’s spiel on Climate Change. It was as if he was giving a sales pitch to the U.N. trying to convince them to hop on board with the far left movement in America; supporting the man made Global warming theory. I thought he was trying to sell his Cap and Trade plan to the U.N. rather than America.

Obama has made his position on the world stage clear to me by now. Unfortunately I don’t think his approach is what’s best for America, especially at this time with a world wide financial down slope, on going wars and Iran’s growing nuclear threat.  I’m not suggesting Bush’s approach was the best either, it wasn’t. Bush was far from it actually. But America needs a spokesman who will put our country first no matter what the topic is. Who will send a very strong vocal opposition to terror, no matter where it comes from and will back our ally Israel. All the while trying to work with other nations to advance a peaceful and productive world community. But America’s ideals, principals, and goals must always come first.

At least Israel’s Prime Minister got it right.