Good Riddance

The end of Michigans long nightmare of Jennifer Granholm as governor ends tonite. Thanks for nothing Jenny. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Happy New Year everyone. Things are already looking up.

December Sundries

The 9/11 First Responders bill, aimed at providing additional healthcare coverage for the people who risked their lives in responding to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, is purportedly being held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).  I don't want to sound too Grinch-like here, but I have a few questions.

1) Why does this have to be done now?  This bill, or others like it, has been floating around Congress for nine years.  This should wait until it can be fully debated in a more responsible Congress.
2) The original price tag on this bill was for $9 billion dollars.  It's dropped to just over $6 billion to get more people to sign on.  The legislation covers approximately 50,000 workers and their families.  Have the needs of these people dropped by $3 billion dollars or was the price inflated to begin with?
3) The people this bill covers are public employees, mostly union, who have the best and most expensive healthcare plans available to anyone on earth (except for those serving in Congress).  Why are those plans now suddenly inadequate?
4)  When will Congress stop funding every perceived victim of every perceived disaster, like they are the nation's insurance company.  Stuff happens!  Nobody was wronged.  Reparations aren't always necessary.

I was watching CNBC yesterday and they were promoting a show to be aired later that night about the "looming crisis" of student financial aid.  From the promo, it was clear that the real target of this story was going to be "for-profit" schools, who apparently prey on the poor, and otherwise unsuspecting students, who sign up for expensive courses they can never repay.  The host of the show alarmingly claimed that the default rate for student loans in the "for-profit" industry was 48%.  Wouldn't that mean then that the majority of students defaulting on their loans were attending non-profit, government supported schools?

I was watching Fox News this morning and they showed a clip from Monday of ABC News' Diane Sawyer interviewing Obama's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.  She asked him about his thoughts on the seriousness of the recent arrests of 12 terror suspects in London this past weekend.  He was stumped.  Hadn't heard a thing about it.  Don't you feel safer knowing this man is in charge or our nation's security?

Professor Kelly on Economics

Full disclosure; I am not a trained economist nor a veterinarian, but I do think I learned enough in college to spot BS when I see or hear it.  I offer the following examples for your consideration.
(Warning:  I could be wrong (but I don't think so).

I keep hearing these bogus economic theories, espoused by the left and of course everyone on MSNBC, that for every $1 spent on unemployment benefits, another $2 is generated in economic activity.  Same for food stamps, says Nancy Pelosi and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.  They tell us that for every $1 spent on food stamps, another $1.84 is put back into the economy.  Last summer, one of Jennifer Granholm's DHS bureaucrats tried peddling the magical multiplier effect of food stamps here in Saginaw.  Well if that were all true, then why not put us all on unemployment and food stamps and watch our GDP explode to new and dizzying heights of prosperity!

The other morning I heard Donny Deutsch say that Barack Obama had "never run anything in his life", prior to being elected president.  Donny is a big supporter of the Bamster.  He was explaining why the president's negotiating skills might look weak to the uninitiated.  Another honest moment emerged minutes later when Democrat Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, while defending the Obama/Republican tax deal as a defense against the possibility of a double dip recession, said quite frankly, "because he country is going to hell in a hand basket."  Just a hunch, but Gov. Rendell's invitation to the White House Christmas, er Holiday Party, may get lost in the mail.

Here's another from Ed Rendell during the same segment.  He said that Bill Clinton raised taxes on the highest 2% of income earners in the '90's and as a result, we had the "best period of economic growth in our lives."  Once again, Democrats see the sanctioned confiscation of someone else's earnings (taxes) as "growing" our economy.  Yes Virginia, when taxes go up they expand the governments' pockets, but for the private sector, and certainly for the individual who's paying those taxes, there is a net decrease.  They had it, now someone else does.  No new dollars have been added, so where's the "growth?"

Along those same lines, how can the extension of the "Bush tax cuts", our current rate of taxation by the way, which have been in place for several years now, add to the deficit?  When they were first implemented, they were indeed a tax cut.  The government raised x and then after the taxes were lowered, the government would presumably make less of x, right?  (*See below) Seems simple enough.  Okay, how then, if everything else stays the same, can we they say that by extending our current rate of taxation, we will increase our deficit by another trillion dollars?  We weren't expecting the money in the first place!  Why are we counting something that's not there?  How can you raise an additional, and fictitious, percentage of money on an already fixed percentage?  If I make $50,000 in salary, even though I'd really like to make $100,000, have I created a deficit for myself?  Of course not.  Only if I spend money like I was making $100,000.  And that my friends is the problem.      

* However, supply-siders will tell us that in reality, smaller tax rates increase the supply of money to the government because lower marginal rates leads to job growth which leads to more taxes being generated and subsequently paid to the government.  At least that's the theory.  The real problem is that promised reductions in government spending never follow the reductions in the tax rates.  But I am getting way beyond safe territory here and what I wanted to try and explain.  

Selective Memory

Befuddled, impotent, and left seemingly catatonic by the elections, Obama and the Democrats have nothing to offer but excuses.  They still have their majorities mind you, in both houses of Congress, but their message to everyone is they just can't do it alone.  They passed the stimulus alone, Obamacare without any help, and their version of Wall Street reform all by their lonesome, but apparently tax policy and the extension of unemployment benefits are just too heavy a burden to withstand all by themselves.

Aren't we all just a wee bit tired of this selective memory that the Democrats and the media are trying to pass off on the American public.  Blaming the Republicans time and again for any stalemate, on any issue important to the left, would be laughable if it weren't so darned insulting.  Really Mr. President, Mr. Reid, Ms. Pelosi, you can't find enough Democrat votes to extend unemployment benefits even with Christmas less then a month away.  Can't seem to muster enough votes from defeated members of Congress to lift the the tax cuts on people making over a million dollars per year?  While both of these policies may be wrong for the economy, and are mostly opposed by the Republicans, these should be bread and butter issues for you progressives.  If you can't get these things done then shame on you.

Stop complaining.  Stop your whining.  Either act or get the hell out of the way.  In any case, the public has lost interest in your historic victories of '08.  We are beyond the story line of the transformational presidency of Barack Obama.  What we have learned over the last two years, at a very great cost, is that the emperor has no clothes and that progressives are bereft of useful and constructive ideas to sustain the American way of life.  We have also been reminded that experience counts, and that community organizers with too few years of any practical legislative accomplishments, or without a shred of executive experience, can or should lead a free nation.  Those are lessons we cannot afford to forget any time soon.    
          

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Hope your travels, and those of your loved ones, are safe and happy until your/their return home.  

Regime Change

Last Monday night, the Saginaw County Republican Party held their post election county convention to elect a new executive committee and officers for the next two years.  Having been elected as a county commissioner earlier this month, and having served our party as chairman for the last four years, I chose not to run for a third term.  Helene Wiltse, who had been our vice chair, was elected as our new chairwoman.  Greg Ostrom, was elected as vice chair, Randall Norton remains the treasurer, and Catherine Zemanek was elected as secretary.  Congratulations to all!

Since Citizen Leader's subtitle was "Thoughts, ideas, and reflections from the Chairman of the Saginaw County Republican Party," it has been changed to "Thoughts, ideas, and reflections from a Saginaw County Commissioner."  I hope that this change of status won't deter you from checking in from time to time.  Nevertheless, I will try to be more prolific with new posts.  There will be lots to share.

Memory Lapse

Nothing like a mid-term shellacking to improve one's memory.  This morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Vice President Joe Biden said that America needs to "remember who we are."  This was in response to a question about how we regain our competitiveness in the world market.  Forget for a moment that for the last twenty-two months his boss has tried in vain to erase our collective memories and diffuse our status as a superpower all around the globe.  Over the course of the last two years, Barack Obama has told the world that we are not a Christian nation, that we are no more exceptional than anyone else, and most recently that the U. S. was no longer in a position to "meet the rest of the world economically on our terms."

I agree with Mr. Biden that, we, as a country, should remember who we are and return to the policies and practices that have sustained us, and can continue to sustain our power and influence around the globe.  And for the most part, that would mean an abject rejection of the Obama policies.  Which again, for the most part, were rejected by the American electorate earlier this month.  So Mr. Vice President, instead of reminding us who we are, remind Mr. Obama.  Tell him to stop the apology tours and stop  the reordering of the world's dominant players.  Tell him to stop punishing our producers and stop rewarding our failures.  Tell him to listen to the American people and to stop ignoring us because we don't know what's good for us.  And finally, tell him that American's are comfortable with leading, even if he's not.              

Catching Up

It's been entirely too long since my last post so I will ease in gradually.  Lots to talk about.

Obviously this month's election was huge on many fronts.  I just hope that Republicans across the country will heed the message of the electorate and govern responsibly.  I think they will.

What was the message of November 2nd?  That America wants an end to big government enterprise at the expense of the private sector and capitalism.  We reject the progressive drive to be more like Europe.  We believe in the equality of opportunity, but not the equality of outcome.  Suck on that President Obama.

My first reaction to the initial report from the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is that both parties should adopt and pass their recommendations entirely.
Stop the demoguoging!

I share my brother's reaction to the onset of cold weather; I hate having to wear a coat too.




  



    

A-I-D-A

A-I-D-A.  It stands for Attention, Interest, Decision, and Action.  This message is on the the other side of the chalkboard that Alec Baldwin's character in Glengarry Glen Ross uses to hammer his pitch to the beleaguered salesmen about to lose their jobs.  "Attention - Do I have your attention?  Interest - Are you interested?  I know you are, because it's **** or walk.  You close or you hit the bricks.  Decision - Have   you made your decision, for Christ?  And Action."

Obama got our attention with the stimulus, the bailouts, Obamacare, and all the other harebrained ideas his administration has offered or concocted.  We are extremely interested in turning him and his cronies out through the elective process.  We have made our decision and remain enthusiastic about our choice to reverse his policies.  According to the polls, decisive action will be taken on November 2nd to set a new course for America.  ABC/AIDA.   Let's win that Cadillac El Dorado.  Vote!  Let's not settle for the steak knives.

ABC

In the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin's character berates the sales associates to "ABC", "always be closing."  Mickey Kaus, of Newsweek, reports that Barack Obama has changed the meaning of "ABC" to "always be condescending."  Apparently Mr. Obama has once again offended the electorate by claiming that American's "fear and frustration" is to blame for his and his party's downfall in the polls.  In a speech this past weekend to supporters, the president said, "Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared."  Remember that during the election of '08, Obama told a similar audience in San Francisco that middle Americans tend to "cling to their guns and religion" or otherwise show "antipathy towards people who are not like them," when confronted with a faltering economy as well.  Which makes me think, if indeed Obama is right about our fears and unclear thinking when we are scared, then that explains his election victory in "08.  He's so smart.

 

Liberal Arrogance is Authentic

In the latest issue of Time Magazine (from Real Clear Politics, remember I cancelled my subscription to Time), Joe Klein authors a piece entitled Ignorance as Authenticity, and  subtitled Why Do Some Idolize Ignoramuses Like O'Donnell.  Like a dog with a new chew toy, media elites just can't get enough of O'Donnell/Angle/Palin, or anything else that seems foreign to them, i.e., conservative women.  Just ask Meg Whitman.  Joe tries to explain to us that these "Tea Party know-nothings"are absolutely unqualified to join the Washington elite because they aren't really smart enough, and because they don't agree with him or Obama.

"There is something profoundly diseased about a society that idolizes its ignoramuses and disdains its experts," he writes.  "It is a society that no longer takes itself seriously."  Didn't our president just admonish us recently in a speech for not being serious about his transformational reform of government?  Mr. Klein goes on to say that we don't get Obama because his policies are "abstruse."  Abstruse is defined as difficult to understand.  In other words, it's not that we disagree with Obama's policies because they are an anathema to our values and ideology, it's the fact that we are simply too stupid to understand or comprehend them.  Further translation; the American people are too obtuse to grasp the wisdom of Obama.

Benchwarmers

What's scarier than the first two years of the Obama administration?  The next two years of the Obama administration.  Why?  Because for the first two years we were treated to the best and the brightest the Democrats could muster to help President Obama carry out his/their insidious plans and policies.   Now that a large number of his most key appointments and first string wonks have left the White House playroom, Obama now has to draw upon second and third choices for backfill.  This should make us all extremely nervous.  Then again, if his collection of valedictorians couldn't fulfill the promise of a progressive's dream, even with huge majorities in both houses of Congress, perhaps we can all sleep better knowing that a Republican majority in at least one chamber will thwart any further attempts at making us more European than Europe.

 


 

Obama's Animal House

Caught bits of President Obama's visit to Madison, Wisconsin on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  You know it's gotten really bad for BHO when even Jon Stewart makes fun of you.  The president's speech to the crowded quad at the University of Wisconsin was angry, confused, accusatory and belittling.  And those were the parts directed at his supporters!  He can't seem to get beyond the car-in-the-ditch scenario, and with each passing attempt he adds another layer of stupidity and silliness.  The latest version has Republicans drinking Slurpees as he and the Democrats continue to operate a stalled vehicle which incidentally, remains in the ditch.  I thought the stimulus, the bailouts, the buyouts, Obamacare and quarterly extensions of unemployment benefits had already pulled the car from the ditch?  Why are we still in the ditch Mr. President?

Meanwhile, a number of top, key officials have vacated or will soon depart Obama's broken down jalopy of hope, leaving behind a back seat full of empty promises, discarded dreams, and other progressive detritus collected along the way of their two-year road trip.  Back at the frat house, media pundits are speculating on which brother or sister of Phi Delta Obama will step up to repair the damage.  The reality is that nobody the White House names to replace the freshman class of 2012 will do any better.  How can they?  They all drink from the same trash barrel of ideas and their biggest supplier of grain alcohol is their leader Barry.

I'm sure Dean Vernon Wormer would agree that oblivious, deceitful and arrogant is no way to go through life either, unless of course your subjects can be kept fat, drunk and stupid on liberal bromides like universal healthcare, transfer payments, cap and tax, etc.  Thankfully, main street Americans have seen through the hazing and are poised to put Phi Delta Obama on double secret probation beginning this November.  

The Truth About the '08 Financial Collapse

Obama's Keynesian Juggernaut

My takeaway from President Obama's much heralded (if you pay attention to CNBC) economic town hall meeting with a live audience on CNBC is this; The Obama administration wishes to raise taxes on individuals making over $250,000, tax capital gains at least an additional 5%, and capture additional taxes through financial regulation of Wall Street, because they are going to continue to spend massive amounts on new and existing government programs.  If the president's visit was intended to deflate a growing sense of unease or that his administration is anti-business, I thing Mr. Obama sorely missed the mark.  Once again, a golden opportunity to reposition himself as a defender of free market principles was squandered.

Why Christine O'Donnell Will Win

Washington power brokers and media elites from both sides of the aisle are dead wrong.  Not only can Christine O'Donnell win a U. S. Senate seat in Delaware, she will.  Why?  Because in today's charged atmosphere, fueled by tea party activists' enthusiasm and zeal to roll back, repeal, or otherwise dispense of anything and everything that Obama has stood for, the last thing even the voters of purple Delaware will do is to secure another vote for Barack Obama.  So, not only will Ms. O'Donnell beat Democrat Chris Coons,  I would venture to say that she would very likely beat President Obama if he was on the ballot this November.

Washington and the media just don't get it.  They are stuck in the double standards and non sequiturs of liberal dominated group think.  So, all the sudden Christine O'Donnell's past tax problems are an issue?  Ask Tim Geithner if his past indiscretions with the IRS were an obstacle to his cushy job at the U. S. Treasury Department.  Or for that matter, that almost $1,000,000 is owed by 41 people who work in the White House for President Obama.  Or another $9.3 million is due the IRS from those who work on Capitol Hill.  How about the fact that a total of $1 billion is owed by federal workers!  Peanuts in comparison to what is estimated to be $11,000 owed by Ms. O'Donnell.

My advice to Christine O'Donnell is to take care of your past mistakes as quickly as possible.  Don't let the media hang things on you that don't seem to stick to others.  Stay upbeat, positive, and eager to do the right things now.  Big guns are pointed at your direction.  The good news is that they are useless against our fervor.    
 

The Kenyan

No he didn't.  Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich better not have called President Barack Obama a Kenyan, because if he did...oh boy...well, he just better not have.  What?  That was basically the response yesterday morning from the Morning Joe crowd on MSNBC.  Charles Blow from the New York Times, called Newt's statement "outrageous" and "incomprehensible".  He also said it was "one the most inflammatory things I have ever heard."  Time magazine's Mark Halperin questioned why Newt "keeps being allowed to say these things."  What for God's sake did Newt say to warrant such scorn and contempt?  

"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?"  - Newt Gingrich

Wow!  What?  Honestly, does this statement sound outrageous, incomprehensible, or even close to being inflammatory?  Of course not.  That's because you are a sensible human being and not predisposed to believing everything you hear from conservatives is either tinged with racism or just plain awful.  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that Gingrich was "trying to appeal to the fringe of people who don't think the president was born in this country."  Perhaps.  Better yet, maybe Mr. Gingrich was just agreeing with an article in Forbes.com, called How Obama Thinks, written by Dinesh D'Souza.  Dinesh D'Souza is the president of King's College in New York City and is the author of an upcoming book called The Roots of Obama's Rage.


The article opens with this paragraph: "Barack Obama is the most antibusiness president in a generation, perhaps in American history. Thanks to him the era of big government is back. Obama runs up taxpayer debt not in the billions but in the trillions. He has expanded the federal government's control over home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy. TheWeekly Standard summarizes Obama's approach as omnipotence at home, impotence abroad."  Yes, go on.  The author then goes on to explain that Obama's policies front a national and international agenda that is so "bizarre" it must be the result of Barack Obama channeling his deceased father Barack Obama Sr., an anti-colonial Luo tribesman who spoke out against European control of Africa.  "Anti-colonialism is the doctrine that rich countries of the West got rich by invading, occupying and looting poor countries of Asia, Africa and South America."

For my money, the article paints a pretty conclusive story on what makes Barack Obama tick, and why on earth he does the ridiculous and destructive things that he does.    

 

Word Up

"Enough is Enough!", is the tag line on Dr. Dan Benishek's campaign material, the Republican candidate for Congress in Michigan's 1st District.  He is running to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Democrat Bart Stupak.  His website http://danbenishekforcongress.com/ also proclaims "Read it...Reduce it...Repeal it...Reform it."  Sound advice if you ask me. 

Double Doocy

An unfortunate and scary trend in cable news is developing and should be nipped in the bud asap.  No, it is not the seemingly hip back-and-forth style "gotcha" segments between cable "news" shows like Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart, or whatever progressive miscreant on MSNBC has with Fox News.  No, it is much more hideous and detrimental to the American psyche than that.  I am talking about the extremely unnecessary and inane practice of putting the offspring of news anchors or personalities on the tube.  Maybe a good five cent cigar isn't what the American people need anymore, but I can assure you we do not need anymore Doocy!

I don't know how long Peter Doocy, the son of Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy has been an on air  contributor to Fox News, but seeing him yesterday was enough for me.  Ditto to the cherubic Luke Russert, the son of the late Meet the Press host Tim Russert.  What began innocently enough several years ago, with Fox News' Chris Wallace following in the footsteps of his dad Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes fame, has escalated into theatre of the absurd.  Why must the American audience be subjected to what anyone besides their immediate family see as the equivalent to a performance in an elementary school recital? Enough with the nepotistic practices of cable news programming.

Obstructed Vision

I just watched President Obama try and explain why the unemployment rate just went up, even after all the hard work that he has done to put the U.S. on a path to recovery and prosperity.  Like an overweight child, our economy just won't behave like it's supposed to, even after a strict diet of sticky sweet stimulus, additional rewards, and effusive praise for sitting on the couch and not going out to play.   Our President continues to plead with us to just bear with him, that this economy took years to get this way and it might take a similar amount of time to properly recover.  He remains confident that things are going in the right direction.  Really Mr. President, the right direction?  Based on what evidence?  A clear majority of Americans do not believe we are headed in the right direction.  I suspect a clear majority of those same Americans believe that if we continue with the policies of this administration, things can and will get considerably worse.

Honestly, how does he see that an exponential growth in spending will reduce the deficit?  How can he be trusted to curtail entitlements, when he expands them?  How can he cut unemployment when everything he's for encourages it?  None of this makes sense to us anymore and he and his party are feeling it.  But it's our fault.  In a column in the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson says the "American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats."  We just don't understand the wisdom behind Obama or his parties' policies or tactics.

Thank God that for many Americans, the beginning of the end of Obamanomics may be just a few weeks away.  The American electorate is poised to sweep away the Democrat majority who through their own policies have obstructed the path to their own sustainability.  Republicans offer a renewed vision for long-term economic growth and personal well-being.

2010 Republican State Convention/Reinvent Michigan Caucus

I delivered the following remarks to the 2010 Republican State Convention, at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan.  The convention was being asked to pass a resolution to oppose a constitutional convention.  State Republican party chair Ron Weiser, Michigan national committeeman Saul Anuzis, and Eric Doster an attorney for the state party,  each spoke in favor of the resolution.  State Senator Tom George, Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox, and I each spoke against the resolution.  The resolution passed overwhelmingly, but I remain convinced that holding a constitutional convention in a addition to electing Rick Snyder governor is the right course of action to repair our dismal state of affairs.   

"Good morning, my name is Tim Kelly and I am the chairman of the Saginaw County Republican Party and a candidate for county commissioner. The State of Michigan has had six constitutional conventions since 1835, the most recent being held in 1962.  While opponents of a con-con have said that a convention would be too costly, chaotic, and time consuming, I believe it is in the best interest of our citizenry, and would provide the single greatest opportunity to force the kinds of systemic and necessary reforms that could make Michigan a great state once again.

If we can all agree that Michigan is badly broken, and I think that we all can, then what better opportunity will present itself in the future to fix what desperately needs to be repaired.  If not now, when?  If not us, who?   If you had asked me two years ago if I were in favor or a con-con, I would have probably responded with an emphatic NO.  But, timing is everything in politics and two years ago, conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular, were in no shape to try and dictate their wishes upon anyone.  Now that we've experienced almost two years of Barack Obama, and here in Michigan we will finally put an end to eight years of Jennifer Granholm, we see where unbridled liberalism and excess can leave us.

A con-con would provide the opportunity to fix a whole range of issues, or none at all.  148 delegates would be elected to review the current version of the Michigan Constitution and decide on what changes, across a broad range of issues, should be made.  Things like a part-time legislature, term limits, local government configuration, right-to-work, public education options, and taxation could be addressed.  Even getting Michigan to adopt a budget or fiscal plan beginning on July 1, instead of Oct. 1, like 46 other states do, could make planning things like school budgets much easier for local school superintendents.

We have been told that a con-con would be a huge distraction to a new governor and legislature.  To be sure, Rick Synder and Brian Calley are the face of reinvention in Michigan.  And they will need all the support they can get from all of us here today and across this great state.  However, a con-con held in close proximity and concurrent with even a Republican legislature could provide a powerful catalyst for those with reinvention in mind, but more familiar with trivial aspirations. 

We have also been told that a con-con would invite unwanted guests like Jon Stryker and George Soros with a bevy of liberal needs and wants.  Honestly, who really believes that an electorate poised to sweep a plurality of Republicans into office in the coming weeks, would suddenly reverse itself and elect a plurality of liberals as delegates to a constitutional convention?  We are poised for victory, not defeat. 

A con-con would also be the perfect vehicle for the tea party movement and other conservative groups to weigh in and affect the changes we so desperately seek. The infusion of their energy and passion would very likely tip the scales in favor of putting Michigan on the right track to limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and economic opportunity.

I urge this convention to vote NO on the proposed resolution.  Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back the balance of my time to Sen. Tom George."

Biden's Not The Problem

Talk of President Barack Obama dumping Vice President Joe Biden for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the 2012 ticket might be intriguing to some, but it's a continuing sign that the Democrats have truly lost it.  As ungifted and as untalented as Joe Biden may be,  no one can seriously say that Obama's fall from grace can be attributed to old Joe.  Helped maybe, but Obama without Biden is still a disaster.  What was that saying from the '08 campaign that got so much mileage?  Something about lipstick on a pig?

Here's The Problem

In an article from the Washington Post, Matt Miller describes the latest $26 billion state assistance bailout from the Obama/Reid/Pelosi regime, as akin to the old Saturday Night Live ad parody "New Shimmer is a floor wax and a dessert topping."  He writes that borrowing money from China to bailout the auto industry is on thing (and a wrong thing), "but borrowing from China to keep runaway Medicaid programs in New York and California free from fundamental overhaul, and gargantuan unfunded public pensions untouched, seems mad. In California, more money is spent each year on compensation and pensions for 70,000 prison employees than on the state's entire higher education system!"  Washington has given us all 26 billion more reasons to end the Reid/Pelosi nightmare in November.

JJ Horgan

Saginaw County lost a good man earlier this week when former Democrat party chair J. J. Horgan died at age 72 of brain cancer.  Diagnosed in May, JJ was running in the Democrat primary for state representative up until his death.  A New Yorker by birth, JJ had the best interest of Saginaw/Bridgeport, Michigan in all that he did for his community.  He was quite a character and I counted him a good friend.

Despite our political differences, we often shared information over phone calls or lunches.  Like so many others, I often felt that I got more from these conversations then perhaps he did.  He had a great wit, abundant Irish charm, and I loved hearing about his days growing up on the rough and tumble of New York City streets.

He will be greatly missed by his loving wife Geri, his family and friends, and all those who came in contact with him.  As Geri wryly told me, "he's God's problem now."  Rest in peace JJ.

Gusher?

What's with all the wild assumptions and half-assed calculations for what might be leaking out of the busted well in the Gulf of Mexico?  Early estimates put the leak at 5,000 barrels a day.  At 42 gallons a barrel, that would be 210,000 gallons per day.  Now some are estimating that it could be a million or more  gallons per day.  Why is this so tough?  I am not an oil and gas expert, but how much oil was being produced daily before the blowout?  Someone, somewhere, has the answer to this simple question.

Some cursory research on the internet provided me with an average production for a typical oil well of between 100 and 300 barrels per day.  This seems kind of low to me, so for the sake of argument let's assume that the BP well was producing 1000 barrels per day.  That would equate to 42,000 gallons of crude per day.  I also learned that wells can produce a large amount of water along with the oil and gas that is produced.  How much of what we see on the ubiquitous gushercam is oil?  A spill is a spill, so no amount of petrochemicals in our waters are a good thing, but let's not go off half-cocked when trying to estimate the real size of the problem.  In any event, why should we care about the real size of the leak.  Our fearless president will keep his boot on the neck of BP until all is well.  Right?

Dis*con*nect

Following up on the 2+2=4 post, consider the following:

• First Lady Michelle Obama wants to fight childhood obesity.  A high percentage of poor and low income kids are overweight due to poor eating habits.  Mrs. Obama points to school lunch programs as a source for poor nutritional foods.  Free and reduced priced public school breakfast and lunch programs have served millions of kids for decades.  
• Extending unemployment benefits to ninety-nine weeks will not reduce the number of unemployed.
• Progressives want to shut down any BP drilling operations until the leak in the Gulf is stopped and investigated.  The Obama administration wants BP on the hook for untold liabilities.  Driving BP out of business will greatly reduce its ability to cover any and all claims.
• 1700 people work in the Minerals Management Service (MMS) that oversee oil drilling in the Gulf.  Democrats and the Obama administration want more regulation.  If 1700 can't do the job, what number of employees will?

2+2=4

I had the pleasure to hear Newt Gingrich in Mr. Pleasant the other day for a 4th Congressional District fundraiser.  Newt's simple message that day was for the audience to always remember that "two plus two makes four."  With President Obama in the White House it's difficult at times, especially when we are repeatedly bombarded with statements, actions, and policies that attempt to promote 2+2=5.  Newt gave the analogy to George Orwell's famous book 1984, where the state promotes obvious untruths as gospel in their attempt to brainwash the populace into submission and passivity.   Two plus two makes four becomes a kind of coda then for those who understand the real truth and will not be dissuaded by popular "truths."

Some examples of the progressives two plus two equals five dogma:

• For twenty-five years, we were pushed and prodded (with Republican help I might add) into the belief that your income need not be a deterrent to owning the home of your dreams.  No money down, interest only loans, and perennially low interest rates fed a voracious appetite that led to eventual collapse in '08.
• Finance reform without addressing Fannie and Freddie.
• That the trillion dollar Obamacare will reduce the deficit.
• The President will not sign a bill that includes congressional earmarks, then promptly and repeatedly does so.
• The President promises the most transparent administration in history, then presides over a series of midnight votes, back room deals and pay for play Chicago style politics.
• Blasts the State of Arizona for passing a law that essentially reinforces federal law and current U. S. policy.
• Dismisses the rightful ownership of a public company (GM and Chrysler) and basically divvies up their assets to powerful friends and allies.   

So for the next thirty-two months, remember two plus two always makes four.

P.S. Newt's daughter has determined that Obama's campaign slogan "Change we can believe in," should really have been "Change what we believe in." 

Summer Hiatus

To loyal followers of Citizen Leader, like my mother and brother, my apology for the drastic fall off in new posts over the last couple of months.  It is due to two things in particular, nice weather and my campaign for county commissioner.  The nice weather has provided a reason to pursue other interests as well as provide a more pleasant environment for door-to-door activities.  The coordination of my campaign and those of others in the county also takes its toll on the time I can devote to writing my blog.  I began this blog in early September of '09, just after the kids started back to school.  Although my campaign will hopefully still be going well into the fall (I have an August primary) I expect new posts to pick up when cooler weather once again sets upon Mid Michigan.  Until then, I will continue to visit these pages when I can.  Like this next post.

Stop This Train

No limits for government | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

Posted using ShareThis

2010 Lincoln Day Remarks

When we last met a year ago, we were just learning what an

Obama administration would look like.  A trillion dollar

stimulus had passed, two American car companies had been

nationalized, creditors paid with pennies on the dollar while assets and ownership were shared with powerful friends.  The president’s apology tour was playing to fawning crowds around the world; old allies were rebuffed while new tyrants were courted.  The White House began what would become a yearlong process to pass Obamacare, by hook or by crook, mostly by crook.   The administration reserved its strongest words for patriotic groups, while would be terrorists were simply identified as “misguided” and quickly provided with legal assistance from our own Justice Department.  Businesses and individuals who operate on a profit motive were dismissed as greedy and un-American and have been served notice that this administration will punish such behavior with increased regulation and higher taxes.  And US states that take responsibility for their own safety and welfare by clamping down on illegal immigration, when Washington won’t, are held up for presidential ridicule both foreign and domestic.  Speaking of illegal aliens, a majority of the American people are awakening to the fact that a socialist in the White House may not be all that good for the long-term prospects of these United States.

New elections, beginning last fall in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, and again this spring, continue to spell defeat for the Obama agenda and Democrats in general.  The electorate is fed up with politicians overspending, overreaching, and overstaying their welcome.   They are looking for honesty, integrity, and conviction in dialing back the excesses of government and seek those with the ability to make clear distinctions between want and need.   

Across Michigan and here in Saginaw County, Republicans are poised to make substantial gains across the political spectrum.  With the help of about 50 new precinct delegates, thanks to the TriCity 912vers and other tea party groups, conservative candidates will get the necessary help to organize and deliver the votes on August 3^rd and November 2^nd.  For the first time in many years, Saginaw Republicans are fielding candidates in 10 of the 15 county commissioners districts.  We even have a primary in the 95^th!  Although interparty primary’s can be wasteful and counterproductive, the fact that we even have them proves that we are just as viable and energized as ever before.

In case time gets short at the conclusion of our program, I would like to thank members of the executive committee in particular, Helene Wiltse, Don Milne, Randall Norton and Greg Ostrom for their assistance in putting together today’s program.   I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our elected officials for the many hours they put in in serving the people of mid Michigan.  The time they spend away from family and friends, in the pursuit of quality service and good government is a testament to the caliber and dedication of each of these individuals.  I encourage you to assist them and other candidates for office in any way that you can.  

Republicans On The March

The Saginaw News reported this week that the 30 candidates running for 15 county commissioner seats, constitutes the largest contingent since the 1990's.  The News blames an "anti-incumbency mood" for the number of challengers and I don't disagree.  Currently the Democrats have a 11-4 majority on the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners and their party have controlled the board for the last thirty years.  Three of their seats will be contested with Democrat primaries.  Republicans are putting up challengers in 10 of the 15 districts, the largest number put up by the GOP in years.  While they say that all politics is local, I maintain that in addition to the anti-incumbency mood of the electorate, the local voter is also extremely disgusted with Washington's expansion of government and unbridled spending, which will hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans.  In other words, it's looking like a strong year for Saginaw County Republicans.

Idiots on Parade

"We're Democrats because no one else will do it."  That's the take away message I get from Michigan Democrat hopefuls running for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, who were in Saginaw last week for a fundraiser.  Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, and State Senator Alma Wheeler Smith all vowed to fight to retain the governor's mansion for Democrats despite the fact that Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm has nearly buried our state over the course of the last eight years.  Here's a sample from the gang who can't shoot strait:

"We're the party who looks after Main Street and not Wall Street," said Bernero.  Mr. Dillon answered that with an unhelpful retort for either Mr. Bernero, other Democrat candidates or himself, by saying "no other state has lost more jobs or more people under eighteen who have moved away while pay rates have plummeted."  I guess that's how Democrats look after Main Street.  Not to be outdone, Sen. Smith may have uttered the most inane statement yet to come out of the mouth of a Democrat; "Government does what business does not do and we do it well."  Wow!  Unbelievable.  In other words, government has taken over parts of the automobile industry, healthcare, education, job training, banking, insurance, etc., only because the private sector doesn't do these things very well, if at all.  Really Alma?  Can't wait to not vote for any of these folks in August.  

Tax Revolt Continues

If you have been following the exploits of New Jersey's terrific new Republican governor Chris Christie, then you are well aware of his war on spending and bloated public sector expenditures. Just this week, New Jersey voters concurred with Christie and voted down property tax hikes, to increase school budgets, all across the state. State school boards haven't witnessed that type of rejection since 1976, when voters turned down roughly 50% of school district requests.

Score one for Jersey's tax revolt - NYPOST.com

Puss "N Boots

Two separate and totally unrelated events yesterday provided yet another window into the fractured soul of the Obama administration.  The walk-out by U.S. diplomats during Iranian president Ahmadinejad's speech to the U.N., and the daily White House briefing provided by press secretary Robert Gibbs.  While walking out of a room in a huff to show one's displeasure with either the speaker, the subject matter, or both, may be the tool of choice in the Obama foreign policy quiver, its harshest words were directed to those who represent true evil: private enterprise.  In a reference to the unfortunate and awful oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Gibbs reminded us that the Obama White House would keep their "boot on the throat" of British Petroleum in cleanup and compensation efforts going forward.  Empty and toothless gestures for those who threaten nuclear proliferation and possible Armageddon.  Tough talk and true disdain for those who just lost eleven men in a tragic and accidental oil rig explosion.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not in favor of eco-disasters like the one playing out along the shores of the Gulf coast.  On the contrary, drilling offshore has always been a risky business for both the driller and those who earn a living from the surrounding waters.  Physics tells us that oil and water don't mix.  But don't for a second equate the horrors of nuclear weapons, in the hands of Islamic extremists, with a temporary, albeit disastrous, economic and environmental mess.  One will get cleaned up.  The other could end human existence on our planet.







 

Apoplectic Over Arizona

A state which it believes is being overrun by foreign nationals wants to enforce our nation's immigration laws and everybody from former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo to the Reverend Al Sharpton wants to vilify them.  Why?  1) Because nobody wants to be seen as demonizing a whole race, and the fastest growing voting block, namely Latinos, and 2) Because the new Arizona law may be too effective.  There you have it.  America's debate/divide on immigration reform reduced to its simplest form.  Say what you wish about Arizona's new law to fight illegal immigration, but lawmakers abhor a vacuum and the only reason why the Arizona legislature has pressed this issue is because our federal government has failed to do so.

As silly and toothless as the Secure Fence Act sounds, that's exactly how the U. S. Congress chose to fight illegal immigration, international terrorism and drug cartels in 2006.  A $1.5 billion down payment was authorized to build a 2000 mile fence along the US/Mexico border.  Obama's stimulus added another $2.5 billion.  To date, roughly seven hundred miles of the fence, and another 28 miles of "virtual" fence have been grudgingly constructed.  But nobody is happy about it.  As recently as a week ago, Department of Homeland Security personnel have complained to Congress that the fence, and the whole Secure Border Initiative is a "complete failure."  Kinks, bugs, cost overruns and overall ineptitude has done little to stem the tide of illegal border crossings and violence from drug smugglers spilling into U. S. border towns and communities.  Is it any wonder then that some states feel the need to take matters into their own hands to protect their citizens?  Of course not.

So everyone just take a deep breath and allow the Arizona law to be vetted under practice as well as utility.  It will soon become apparent whether its practical application can be just or whether or not it passes Constitutional muster.  We don't need another rush to judgement like President Obama made after the bill was signed into law.  He called the bill "misguided" and "irresponsible", and even said that such a law might "threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness...as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe."  Like when he himself undermined the basic notion of fairness and the trust between police and the community of Cambridge, Massachusetts, by calling their arrest of a Harvard professor "stupid."

The his testimony before Congress, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin said that DHS is "reviewing each sector along the US/Mexican border to figure out what technologies would help them secure their areas against smugglers and illegal immigrants." Arizona state lawmakers and their governor just answered that question with SB 1070.

Who'll Stop the Rain?

Federal, state, and local lawmakers need to step up and end the protection, care and feeding of public sector unions.

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/12576

EDITORIAL: Public-sector unions bankrupting America - Washington Times

Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be

Once again I find myself, as do many others I'm sure, confused by the back-and-forth between the Democrats and Republicans in Washington over the proposed re-regulation of Wall Street's financial industry.  Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) says his reforms will do X, while Sen. McConnell (R-KY) says those reforms would do Y.  Bipartisanship is once again illusory even though our economy is now just emerging (maybe) from the (supposed) near collapse of our financial markets and their subsequent bailout less than two years ago.   I use the term "maybe" for obvious reasons.  Unemployment still remains painfully high, despite some signs of recovery, but no end in sight to the monstrous appetite for spending by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi.  I use the term "supposed" because I remain skeptical of the need for TARP when within months, the very firms that plead for their lives, and the very future of the world, were just as quickly reporting record profits, paying unseemly bonuses, and repaying their loans with interest, back to the government.  How do you get from there to here so quickly if the hole you dug was as deep as you said.  It just doesn't add up.  Same with GM and Chysler, but that's another story.

Then again, it's not hard to imagine that the two sides are still miles apart.  We just spent a year and a half arguing the pros and mostly cons of Obamacare.  And again, even after two years and a preponderance of evidence, there's no shared agreement on the reasons or culprits of the collapse.  Sure Wall Street firms created questionable products to sell even more questionable securities, but weren't they doing so at the behest and assistance of Washington?  Wasn't the social engineering of extending cheap credit to risky borrowers in the name of expanding home ownership behind the whole mess?  Sure it was.  And wasn't Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the originators of such trash, all the while being protected, aided and abetted by many in Congress?  Sure they were.  Remember Rep. Barney Frank and the House Democrats obstruction of Fannie and Freddie reforms in 2008?  How about the Senate Democrats, led by then Senators' Obama, Dodd, and Kerry?  Were those three in opposition to reform because they were in fact the three biggest recipients of campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie, and that one of them remains the biggest believer in the practice of social engineering?

Which reminds me, where are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the the Dodd bill?  Or the House bill for that matter.  Why are they not part of the discussion?  According to the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/22/why-fannie-mae-freddie-ma_n_508934.html) these wards of the state, paid out $40 million in executive compensation and bonuses without anyone batting an eye.   Additionally, their loans may ultimately cost U. S. taxpayers $380 billion and by most accounts will never be repaid.  So much for reform.  To paraphrase the words of economist Milton Friedman, if a service or product fails in the private sector it goes out of business, but in the public sector, a failure is usually rewarded, if not replicated.

An Environmental Avatar

James Cameron, the award-winning creator and director of Avatar, was on the set of Morning Joe this morning extolling the virtues of his film's influence on world environmental policies and practices.  He's currently in the process of fighting a dam project in Brazil.  Seems Brazil wants to join the modern world by supplying its growing population and emerging industry with abundant, non-fossilized, clean hydroelectric power.  But thanks to experts in the field of environmental energy and engineering, like Mr. Cameron, a large dam in Brazil could upset the delicate balance of Mother Nature and further inflame global warming.

Pat Buchanan, Morning Joe's conservative relief man and resident foil for liberal guests, questioned Cameron on why the people of Brazil shouldn't benefit from the same kind of cheap energy that helps fuel superpowers like the U.S. and China.  Indeed, we were told that since the western expansion of the U.S. and the massive displacement of Chinese to build their Three Gorges Dam, we have learned that wind and solar generated power are far superior, even if they do cost a little more to produce.  When Buchanan again intervened to question Cameron on the fraudulent science of global warming, as exposed by the East Anglia Climate Research Unit emails, Sam Stein of the Huffington Post, after a limp attempt to defend enviro geek science himself, redirected the attention back to Cameron with "you can comment better."  In other words, since you Mr. Cameron are an artist and a film director of Academy Award fame, disarm this conservative neanderthal with your vast experience and overwhelming knowledge of all things Al Gore.  As John Stossel says, "Give me a break!"

Mr. Cameron called for ending our addiction-like dependence on foreign oil.  I agree we should.  But not at the expense of ignoring our own proven reserves of oil and natural gas, clean coal technologies or nuclear power.  There is also a growing misconception being proffered by the left that if we end our dependence on foreign oil, the need for American soldiers fighting in the Middle East will evaporate.  Wrong.  While I  would agree that much of the money we pay Middle Eastern nations for our energy needs is being used against us in evil and deadly ways, we should reject the notion that without their oil there would be nothing to defend or fight against.  Unless Israel intervenes, because we won't, Iran will soon have a nuclear weapon.  This alone will require our presence and capabilities to fend off aggressive and hostile nation-states looking to expand their own nuclear programs or defend themselves from Iran.  While one day it may no longer be necessary to defend oil fields in foreign countries for our own consumption, the plight of freedom and democracy will forever endure.  Despite Mr. Obama's temporary injunction against it.

You Decide 2010

The Great Lakes Bay Area Republicans put on a successful forum for Republican gubernatorial hopefuls in Birch Run Monday night.  Three of the five major candidates attended the event which was held just of I-75 at the Expo Center.  Pete Hoekstra, a veteran congressman from Zeeland and the current leader in most polls attended, as well as Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, and State Senator Tom George from Kalamazoo.  David Kniffen, a young entrepreneur from Troy, also took the stage and was greeted warmly, if not enthusiastically, by the audience.  About 500 people came out to see the candidates in person, while thousands tuned in to a live simulcast broadcast by WSGW 790 and FM TALK 100.5.  CBS affiliate WNEM Channel 7, lent their anchor Sam Merrill as emcee, and Art Lewis of WSGW conducted additional interviews of other candidates in the audience.

For more information on the candidates who attended the forum, please visit these websites:
hoekstraforgovernor.com
bouchardforgovernor.com
georgeforgovernor.com
votekniffen.com

The Great Lakes Bay Area Republican Candidate Forum was organized and sponsored by the Saginaw County Republican Women's Club,  Republican Women's Conservative Alliance of Genesee County, 5th District GOP, Bay County GOP, Genesee County GOP, Midland County GOP, Saginaw County GOP and Tuscola County GOP.  Thanks to all of these groups for their efforts.  Special thanks to Sandra Kahn, president of the Saginaw County Republican Women's Club, for her extraordinary work in putting this all together.

Space Cowboys

While on vacation in Florida, I saw the launch of STS-131 from my vantage point in Tarpon Springs.  Even though I was 150 miles from Cape Canaveral, it was still spectacular.  The early morning launch of the shuttle Discovery, on April 4th, was clearly visible from the west coast of Florida and lasted a good nine or ten minutes before it rocketed out of sight.  Even then, the shuttle's contrail dominated the early morning sky for another two hours.

There are only three remaining flights of the Space Transportation System (STS), better known as the shuttle, before NASA scuttles the whole program.  The remaining shuttle missions are planned for May 14, July 29, and September 16.  After that, NASA plans to pay the Russian space agency Roscosmos $51 million for every U.S. astronaut they ferry to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard their Soyus spacecraft.     Currently, NASA spends about $450 million for each shuttle mission.  Despite the Obama administration cutting back on manned space flight, NASA still has a healthy budget to support.  I wonder how much the Russians will charge for the first piece of checked luggage?

Happy Easter

Hope you all enjoy the Easter Holidays.  Be back soon.

Moving The Needle

It doesn't take a Harvard Ph.D to figure out why in the last 149 years, ever since Republican Abraham Lincoln was president, that America has trusted a Democrat to run the country only one third of that time; It's just too costly.  19 Republican presidents have sat in the White House for 91 of those 149 years.  Only 10 Democrats have occupied the oval office in the remaining 58 years, and the multi-term duo of FDR and Harry Truman, whose combined 20 years in office skews even those numbers.  Inch by inch, step by step, though the country moves ever closer to the progressives dream for the government to take care of everything, for everyone, cradle to grave.

Medicare and Social Security have become staples of American society.  Even though they're close to insolvency.  Job placement, and training, until the '60's, was handled mostly by the private sector.  Now it's become an administrative nightmare of federal regulations, delivered mostly by the states, with horrible results.  Same with k-12 education.  Although American higher ed may be the best in the world, the typical four-year degree now takes five, six, or even seven years to complete.  Why?  Mostly due to federal involvement.  When the feds started backing student loans, tuition began to skyrocket.  It will get even worse now.  With the passage of Obamacare, the federal government has taken over the student loan business entirely, pushing out the private sector, while removing most penalties and interest for non-payment.

Of course the latest government takeover is Obamacare.  Believe what you wish, but the end result of nationalized medicine will lead to higher costs and more regulation, along with diminished and less effective care.  For proof, look to the countries that have already passed it.  I heard on the radio the other day a story about a women who makes a living arranging medical trips to the U. S. for wealthy foreigners.  Business is booming.  Medical care as an export.  Wait until Obamacare is fully implemented.  In another decade, wealthy Americans will be following their expatriated doctors to offshore facilities where they will be able to bypass the the byzantine medical monopoly run by Uncle Sam.  Here at home, the less fortunate will face poor and rundown medical facilities with equally dismal results.  But they'll learn to live with that disappointment.  Just like they've learned to live with government run public schools, government run job training, government run automobile companies, government run banks, government run.........  

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another

The Democrats are celebrating their passage (cramming down our throats) of Obamacare, while simultaneously thumbing their nose at the American people.  With their "we know what's best for you" attitude, who knows what kind of crap they'll subject us to next.  The conventional wisdom points to immigration reform where the Democrats will be able to nationalize tens of millions of illegal immigrants through amnesty thereby further increasing support for, and the expansion of, already runaway entitlement programs including Obamacare.  Or maybe we'll get cap and trade that will send gas prices soaring.  Or how about expanding the number and size of employee unions through card check.  Don't forget climate warming.  That is if you can find your car, buried under all that snow brought about by climate warming.  Whatever they have planned, you can darn well be sure that it won't be helpful to our economy, won't stop the insanity of reckless and unabated spending, or create very many private sector jobs.  What any of these things can and will do however is create more government bureaucracy, add further to our nations' soaring and suffocating deficits, and to cement the progressives stranglehold on American freedom and liberty.

Middle-East Side Story

Saif al Islam al Gadhafi, the second eldest son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, just convinced his dad to let several hundred members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group out of prison in Libya.  Why?  So they can fight their rival jihadists who are members of al Qaeda.  This Libyan Sharks vs. Jets remake is designed to thwart the growing popularity of al Qaeda and at the same time offer a Bronx cheer to Osama bin Laden.  "This was a big event," says Noman Benotman, a former commander in the LIFG.  "Al Qaeda leaders will not be happy about this."

Apparently, for years, ever since the two groups fought side-by-side (with American help) against the Russians in Afghanistan, the two groups have gone their separate ways.  One turned their attention to us infidels in the U. S., while LIFG fought the Gadhafi regime in armed conflict.  The leaders of both groups used to be very close.  As a matter of fact, Al Saadi, the LIFG's religious guide, was a close confidant of both OBL and his second lieutenant Ayman al Zawahiri.  Mullar Omar, the Taliban leader, once viewed Al Saadi, and not OBL, as "the emir of the Arabs."

Counterterrorism experts believe this new development could prove to be an extremely useful tool against al Qaeda.  A 417 -page religious document, "Corrective Studies," issued by LIFG, repudiates al Qaeda's ideology.   In essence a new code for jihad.  It states, "Jihad has ethics and morals because it is for God.  That means it is forbidden to kill women, children, elderly people, priests, messengers, traders and the like.  Betrayal is prohibited, and it is vital to keep promises and treat prisoners of war in a good way.  Standing by those ethics is what distinguishes Muslims' jihad from the war of other nations."  Indeed.  Take that al Qaeda.

Preserving Stupidity

This house is one of hundreds that the City of Saginaw wants to clear away with the help of $17.4 million in Obamacash.  Trouble is, this property is located within a formerly fashionable neighborhood which has long since fallen into ruin but still remains on a list of historic significance.  19th century homes have become 21st century crack houses.  In 2004, the city first requested permission from the State Historic Preservation Office to demolish this structure along with 40 others.  Six years later, this property and 30 more still pose a serious danger to area residents because the city cannot convince the preservationists that this house appeals to no one but druggies and prostitutes.

This story caught my eye not only for it's message of misaligned priorities and bumbling bureaucrats, but the inherent trouble that's always prevalent when dealing with government agencies and programs.  Several years ago, well-meaning citizens in search of loose and unregulated government change, appealed to well-meaning government bureaucrats for some extra dough to fix up rundown neighborhoods.  These places were special because rich people used to live there they claimed.  But like everything else that the government subsidizes, after their money had replaced any private investment, and well-meaning people lose interest, the government takes ownership of the remains.  I need the governments help and permission to fix my place up.....I need more government money, and again their permission, to tear my place down.  The cycle continues.

I know I'm just whistling in the dark here, since the Democrats have just further exploded our nation's debt with Obamacare, but please let's stop the insanity.  Let's turn things back around and make personal responsibility and homegrown solutions our path to progress.  Let's end the practice of seeking permission and answers from outside our own communities.  We know what's best for us so let's start demonstrating   it.

Meathead

Michigan's governor Jennifer Granholm has proclaimed Saturday, March 20th, as "Michigan Meatout Day."  The governor urges us all to eat a "plant-based" diet which would presumably be better for us and supposedly keep us safe from infectious pathogens like E. coli, salmonella, and something called campylobacter.  Sounds pretty icky.  Included in her proclamation is a plug for the "vegan" or vegetarian lifestyle which she promotes as superior to America's meat-based diet, proudly passed down to us from our knuckle-dragging forbearers.  This would all be very PC and harmless if it weren't for the fact that encouraging residents to not eat meat is a direct rebuke to our state's many livestock and dairy farmers.

Michigan's agriculture industry is $71 billion behemoth.  Next to our anemic automobile manufacturing business, Michigan farmers are responsible for generating and maintaining our state's second largest purveyor of profits.  So you better think twice before dissing a large portion of that economic engine of success.  Even more disturbing then the proclamation itself, according to the Michigan Farm Bureau, "is the Governor's nerve to declare Michigan Meatout Day on the same day as National Agriculture Day."  As Republican candidate for Saginaw County commissioner, farmer Ben Ritter said, "This is a nice way for the Democrats to end Michigan Agriculture Week."  As Ben rightly points out, former governor John Engler proclaimed March 20th, 1998 as Farmer Appreciation Day.  Governor Granholm uses the same date in history to boycott one of our biggest products.

In the spirit of good natured ribbing, and in response to green veggie Jenny, Saginaw County's own Ken Horn, who represents the 94th District in Lansing, has proclaimed tomorrow to be "Michigan Meat on the Grill Day."  He urges all Michiganders to "grill, baby, grill."

Race for County Commissioner

I officially filed today to run for Saginaw County commissioner, along with 7 other fellow Republicans.  Saginaw County Democrats have controlled the Board of Commissioners for the last 30 years and they currently hold an 11-4 majority on the 15 member board.  We expect to run Republican candidates in all 15 districts, yet we used today to announce what would constitute the core of a new majority if all eight of us are successful.  Out of these 8 individuals, 4 are incumbents, three are challengers (including myself) and one is currently an incumbent Democrat who has decided he's more conservative than the progressives who have hijacked his former party, and will run as a Republican.
If you read the press release from an earlier post, we are running to apply conservative principles to county government which will include shrinking the cost, size, and scope of county government at every level.   Follow along with me on these pages as we go forward with the campaign.  

'News from Saginaw County Republicans'

Big announcement tomorrow.  Follow the link below.

'News from Saginaw County Republicans'

Reckless

I read an article this morning that is extremely disturbing and at the same time very revealing of Barack Obama's zealotry in pushing his ideas for renewable energy and green jobs.  It seems that despite his campaign promises to be more transparent and to ban lobbyists from his White House, both promises are being violated with absolute abandon.

Remember Spain?  Remember how President Obama held them up as a shining example of green jobs and an economy flourishing under green empowerment?  Turns out it's all hooey.  Spanish academics and economists familiar with their country's green policies begged to differ, and offered up their own studies that showed just the opposite.  An embarrassed Obama administration quickly substituted Denmark, for Spain, in all their propaganda and went after the Spanish reprobates for spilling the beans.  When some in Congress got wind of all this, it was found that the attack was coordinated by members of the Obama administration's Energy Department, "Big Wind" lobbyists, and George Soros' Center for American Progress.  Apparently a number of people are still giving congressional inquiries the runaround.

What I found most disturbing in the article in the Washington Post, by Chris Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is the fact that in just one year, from 2008 to 2009, the Obama administration increased the budget of just one program in the Department of Energy from $1.7 billion to over $18 billion!  I don't care how much you adore unproven energy technologies, especially on this scale, but this is a perfect  example of faulty priorities and out-of-control spending.

Ouch!

This one has really got to hurt.  A majority of Americans, by a wide margin, now feel that the U.S. is less respected worldwide under Barack Obama than while George W. Bush was president.  Wow!  A major theme of Obama's campaign in '08 was that he would restore America's respect around the world.  A respect that he alleged was ruined by W's insistence on bullying global despots.  Interestingly, this poll was conducted by Big D pollsters James Carville and Stan Greenberg.  The poll also concludes that President Obama and the Democrats cannot be trusted on national security or keeping us safe from terrorists.  

Governor Bonehead

How's this for really bonehead thinking; Empty your own state prisons, and refill them with out-of-state prisoners.  Even dumber, charge them less than what it costs to keep the ones you just let out.  Welcome to Michigan's world under Governor Bonehead.  Sorry, I mean Governor Failure.  Either way it's spelled G-R-A-N-H-O-L-M.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that I am not a fan of Michigan's Democrat governor Jennifer Granholm.  For the last eight years she has been at the helm of a ship of state, that if it were a real boat, would be at the bottom of one of our beautiful Great Lakes.  She has witnessed no net job growth in either of her two terms.  None, zero, nahdah.  Only southbound moving vans.  Now she wants to release 7,500 of Michigan's best to make room for someone else's troublemakers.  Brilliant.

Last month, Pennsylvania began populating some previously shuttered Michigan prisons with the first installment of 1,300 prisoners.  But Tim, if the governor is opening previously closed prisons to make way for new ones, doesn't that mean jobs and new money for Michigan?   One would think, but Michigan doesn't do prisons well at all.  In fact we stink at it.  According to the National Institute of Corrections,  Michigan pays 70% more than the national average to run our prisons.  We spend 22% of our state budget, one fifth, whereas other states spend only 6%.  

Critics of her plan, and there will be plenty, suspect Granholm is only shifting the cost from the state to local law enforcement.  Republican candidate for governor and current Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, as well as Republican candidate for attorney general Bill Schuette, both agree that letting criminals out on the streets before they have completed their full sentences could be extremely dangerous.  According to a study by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, Michigan already has the highest crime rate among the Great Lakes states, but the fewest local law enforcement personnel per capita.  That's a real recipe for disaster.

      

Talk Is Cheap

The other morning, Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in rolling out a new $900 million initiative to fight the horrendous drop out rate in urban high schools, said President Obama is "committed to do the right thing by children."  He went on to say that "drop-out factories in low-income communities" are "morally unacceptable" and that Obama continues to show "tremendous courage" in standing up to intransigent forces like the teacher's union who have opposed similar efforts to force low performing schools to close.  Sighting high performance inner city schools like the Harlem Village Academy, that have narrowed the achievement gap between black and white students, Sec. Duncan said that "these are the projects we want to invest in."  I'm sure those are comforting words to the children and families living in the slums of Washington DC who's private school vouchers were just taken away by President Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress.

Once again the president's actions don't match his rhetoric.  What he says, or what anyone of his spokespersons attributes to him for saying,  should have a longer shelf life than the time it takes the words to leave their mouths.  Take this montage from Breitbart.tv » Obama ‘American Agenda’ Flashback: Dems Should Not Pass Healthcare With a 50-Plus-1 Strategy where Obama's own words contradict his latest attempt to pass healthcare over the objections of a majority of Americans.  Speaking of healthcare, again, I thought jobs were supposed to be his number one focus.  Again, ever since we learned that his administration would focus laser-like on jobs and the economy, all we've heard from the White House is that Congress must pass Obamacare.  Huh?

I am reminded of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, wherein he hopes that one day black boys and girls "will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  Likewise, the content of Obama's words and speeches should be judged on the   sincerity and commitment behind them, rather than the articulation and eloquence of their delivery.  If all we are looking for in our leaders is intelligibility, then let's elect James Earl Jones...."This is CNN."  

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

As part of his 100 Jobs/1000 Miles bike ride across the State of Michigan, he's picked asparagus in Hart, shook cherry trees in Traverse City, replaced worn out sewer pipes in Detroit, and helped skiers onto the high-speed chair lift in Boyne Falls.  Last night he tossed pizzas in Midland.  For the last twenty years, Pete Hoekstra has represented the 2nd District on the west side of the state in Congress, but what he really wants to do is become our state's next governor.  And judging by his work ethic, should he be fortunate enough to win, he'll not only have earned it, he'd probably do an outstanding job.

Full disclosure; I've had my doubts about Pete Hoekstra's gubernatorial campaign.  Still do in some respects, but I no longer count him out as a bona fide candidate in a strong field of Republican candidates.  In fact, according to the latest EPIC-MRA poll conducted between 2/22-2/25, Pete's currently running first in the field of five.  What has changed my mind about giving him a second look, is his continued presence and strong performance in the polls, along with the recent endorsement by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.  I am also proud of the fact that he follows this blog, but please don't hold that against him.    

Pete Hoekstra brings a solid background in business, as well as his many years in Congress to the table.  As the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pete helped restore our nation's intelligence network after 9/11 and remains an unapologetic and vigilant advocate against Islamic jihadists.  He has long defended states' rights and hopes to restore Michigan as an economic powerhouse.  If you were like me, and had previously overlooked Mr. Hoekstra, I urge you to take another look.  You can find out more about Pete Hoekstra by visiting his website at hoekstraforgovernor.com.

Gender Bender

I came across a story in the March 1st issue of Forbes magazine, written by Christina Hoff Sommers, about the National Science Foundation spending $135 million over the past several years on a "gender bias program" called Advance, that aims to improve the numbers and fortunes of women in the sciences.  Turns out that like the hoax of global warming, as perpetuated by environmental activists armed with shoddy and incomplete research, Advance may be doing more harm than good.  Not only does the program misrepresent the research done in this area of study, it may be doing irreparable harm  in the fields of engineering, physics and computer technologies.

The Advance program was funded after another $3.9 million NSF grant was provided to psychologist Virginia Valian, who started the Gender Equity Project.  The Gender Equity Project, housed within Hunter College, part of the City University of New York or CUNY, was designed to transform our nations' laboratories.  Ms. Valian and her colleagues believed that women were at a disadvantage because they did not always share with men, "the single-minded dedication and intense desire for achievement" that epitomized most practices in the laboratory.  She noted that "If we continue to emphasize and reward always being on the job, we will never find out whether leading a balanced life leads to equally good or better scientific work."  How's that for a rationalization.  Who's more at fault here, her for even thinking up such bunk, or the morons who wrote her the check?

Further research in this area, shows that bias against women in the sciences is extremely weak.  Studies point to data that indicate men and women simply have different tastes when it comes to areas of study.  For instance, women may be underrepresented in the fields of engineering, but thrive in the areas of sociology and biology.  As the author of the story points out, "Is this because engineering departments discriminate against women while biology departments do not, or is it because more women choose not to spend their lives with inanimate objects?'  There's a joke about husbands there somewhere, but I digress.  Another study, paid for by the NSF itself, found that "at many critical transition points in their academic careers (e.g., hiring for tenure-track and tenured positions and promotions), women appear to have fared as well or better than men."

For my money, this kind of ridiculousness in academia should not be rewarded and certainly not paid for by the American taxpayer.  That's what university endowments and private foundations are for.   Furthermore, this kind of wasteful spending is a glaring sign that Washington has more of our money than is necessary to operate essential government programs and way too much time on their hands.

Porky Pigs

Do you ever get the impression that Congress finds things to do just so they can quickly get to other things that might be more important to them?  Like spending money on projects and initiatives that will engender loyalty, or even immortalize themselves in their home districts.  Well duh, you say.  No, I'm not that naive.  In other words, working to pass legislation that may improve our lives, or rather what Congress perceives may improve our lives, is really just a trojan horse to pass what they really want.  Which is more pork for their own constituents and their own aggrandizement.  Take this latest attempt at a jobs bill.  Two weeks ago a much larger jobs bill, $85 billion to be exact, was pulled by Sen. Harry Reid for apparently being too big.  He felt that it contained too much pork and would create too few jobs, and that the Republicans would use that against him and his fellow Democrats in the fall.  Funny thing though, the Republicans were all for it.  Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), among others, are now livid that the pork they supported in the larger bill has been removed.  Hence, they no longer favor trying to generate jobs for out of work Americans.

That's an overstatement to be sure.  I'm not sure any jobs bill, or any bill for that matter, that is written and supported by this Congress and this president, is of any real value to Americans at all.  It just strikes me that a bunch of Republicans find themselves opposed to a tax holiday on payroll taxes for new hires over the loss of some pork for their own districts.  Maybe not forever, but just long enough to show Harry Reid how mad they are for not informing them of his new plan, which apparently turns "too big to fail" on its ear.  What the Democrats may have stumbled upon, at least Mr. Reid thinks so, could be termed "too small to ignore."  That is to say, that Mr. Reid is gambling that Americans aren't necessarily opposed to major change, they just don't like really big and expensive bills to try and accomplish said change.  So rather than try and pass behemoths like the $862 billion stimulus and the $1 trillion Obamacare, the new strategy will be to break these monsters down into smaller, more manageable portions.  Take the new $15 billion jobs bill.  Smaller numbers will attract less attention and therefore better digested at the state and local level.  Easier on the eyes and even more opportunity to spread the pork around.  The end result may still be hundreds of billions spent with little result, but you get the idea.

Physics Lesson

There was a game we played as children called crack-the-whip.  Kids would line up, shoulder to shoulder, hold hands and run around the playground making sweeping turns.  Invariably, the inertia caused by the connection with rotation from the center outward, or centrifugal force, caused the kids on the end to be cast off.  Sometimes harmlessly, sometimes not.  Today, that game is being played out on a larger scale in party politics and with equally benign or disastrous results.  It all depends on your perspective.

On the Republican or conservative side of the aisle, the whip as it were, is embodied in the form of the Tea Party.  The Tea Party hopes to strengthen the conservative cause by helping to cast off the more moderate voices of the Republican party in favor of those with more intestinal fortitude for what lay ahead.  The Tea Party recognizes that to do otherwise will inevitably lead to more spending and more intrusiveness and government expansion.  So far its hapless victims, and otherwise decent folk, may include Florida's governor Charlie Crist, Arizona's senator John McCain, Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Utah's senator Bob Bennett.  Many other politicians, both Republicans and Democrats alike, at every level of government, may be flung into the monkey bars as well.

President Clinton's declaration in 1996, that "the era of big government is over", albeit premature, will inevitably prevail.  Otherwise our future will be that of Greece's, Spain and Portugal.  These three countries are just the tip of the European welfare states' iceberg of debt.  Unless and until those in power recognize that the uncontrolled continuance of transfer payments, or the redistribution of wealth from those who produce to those who do not, will ultimately lead to financial collapse, then the attempted purge will undoubtedly roll on.  The all boats mentality, buoyed by an artificial tide, created by the gravitational pull of the welfare states' moon, will soon recede.  But it is important to remember, that unlike the sun, the moon does not generate its own light.  Real light and warmth comes from the sun.  Real strength and energy therefore is generated by oneself, not provided by others.  Temporary assistance may sometimes be required to regain our footing after a fall, but personal responsibility is the engine that propels us into the future.