How Can a Hispanic Be a Republican?

Harry Reid, the illustrious Senate Majority Leader, has made yet another inane statement.  He questions how anyone of Hispanic heritage could possibly be Republican.



Allow me to enlighten you, Harry.  The Hispanics I know are socially conservative.  Families are a priority for them, they are pro-life, believe in traditional marriage, i.e., between a man and a woman and attend church regularly.  That's why knowledgable and informed Hispanics vote Republican!

Tolerance: When Do You Draw a Line?

The self-righteousness of the political class is wearing very thin with me. This business of the mosque that is to be built just a few blocks from ground zero is such an insult. 

Mayor Bloomberg stands before a microphone and talks of religious tolerance.  Spare me the sermon; tolerance is supposed to be a two-way street.  Why must we always be the ones who tolerate the jabs and insults of radical Muslims?  Why, for once, can't they demonstrate respect for our sensitivities and build their mosque somewhere else?

I don't believe this locale was picked by accident.  Nor do I believe that it's an attempt to reach out and soothe relations between Muslims and others.  It's a poke in the eye and I'd be willing to bet my house that it's being funded by Saudi Arabia.  

Carmen bin Laden, former sister-in-law of Osama, has said that Americans think tolerance is a virtue.  Muslims believe it is a weakness and they will exploit our tolerance and use it against us.  When will our officials ever learn this lesson?    

National Enquirer - More Reliable Than New York Times?

The field of journalism is on life support.  Whatever happened to objective reporting of the news?  The "journalists" of today, as well as many of the people who pay attention to them, seem unable to tell the difference between reporting - delivering facts and information - and commentary, which is the expression of opinion.

The bottom line is that if the "New York Times", "Washington Post", "Los Angeles Times", ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC et al. are your media of choice, it's likely you don't know what's going on in this country. Stories of importance that reflect badly on Obama or refute the liberal agenda simply don't get reported at all on the above sources.



Fox News Channel has broken several stories recently that the other media wouldn't touch. Alarmingly, there are some liberal "journalists" and law professors who have called on the government to shut down Fox. It's obvious that these lunatics care nothing about our Constitution (remember the First Amendment?) or rule of law. I find it frightening that this would even be seriously suggested by anyone in this country.


It's a sad day for journalism when "The National Enquirer" turns out to be a more reliable news source than "The New York Times" or "The Washington Post".

Coming to Your Neighborhood: 'Obesity Rating for Every American'

According to CNSNews, every American is to have electronic medical records by 2014 and new regulations mandate that those records must include BMI (body mass index).  BMI is a comparison of height to weight and will be used to rate whether a person is obese. 

Having worked in the health/fitness field for 16 years, I feel qualified to comment on this.  First, BMI is absolutely useless for certain categories of people, e.g., athletes and those who are muscular.  Body composition (the percentage of a person's weight that is fat) is a much more meaningful tool.  I've performed fitness testing on people whose BMI indicates they're obese, even though they're lean and fit.  Similarly, I've seen people whose BMI falls within the normal range, yet their body composition indicates they're too fat simply because they don't have much muscle in comparison to their body fat.  My colleagues and I called them "skinny fat people". 

This leads me to wonder:  will the current surgeon general be classified as 'obese'?  Will the "leaders" in Washington point to Barney Frank's magnificent body as one to emulate?   Will Michelle Obama's sizable buttocks and hips push her into the dreaded 'obese' category?  Will I lose sleep at night worrying about this (NO!)? 

The biggest problem here is that the government is intruding more and more into our personal lives.  With the advent of Obamacare, is it any wonder that the government feels it has a right to do so?  Will they next be telling us what we must eat, what we cannot eat, and how much we have to exercise? 

We're reaching a tipping point where the American people simply won't tolerate any more governmental regulation and intrusion.  Where will we draw the line?

Answering Oprah Winfrey

I saw a portion of an interview with Oprah Winfrey a couple of days ago.  She asked the question: "What do people want him to do?", referring to Obama and the oil spill. 

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I'd like to take a minute to answer Winfrey's question.  Here are the things I'd like (but don't expect) Obama to do:

• Learn to prioritize.  Dragging BP CEO Tony Hayward before Congress was premature.  First priority should be plugging the gusher and cleaning up the Gulf Coast.  He should have reached out a hand to BP to offer governmental resources to help and then stepped out of the way.  After that's accomplished, then we can focus on what caused the explosion and how to ensure that BP pays its dues. 

• Put political ideology aside and do what's best for the country.  Everything this president does seems to be a political calculation.  Sometimes the right thing to do isn't what's best for a president politically.

•  Someone should remind Obama that he is the president of the entire country, not just the states that voted for him.  His slow response to the oil spill and his total failure to offer help to the victims of the flood in Tennessee were due in part, I believe, to the fact that these are more conservative states where he's not popular.

• Grow a thicker skin.  Obama has an extraordinarily thin skin, unable to tolerate criticism without pushing back.  He seems to waste a lot of time and energy bashing those who disagree with him instead of recognizing that people do have a right not to agree with him.

• Grow up.  This is the most immature administration in my lifetime.  It's comprised of a bunch of vindictive crybabies.  Obama should make clear through his own example that this is not professional behavior worthy of respect.  I won't hold my breath on this, though. 

• Drop the pretense of objectivity when it's clear that Obama's decisions are politically driven.  A good example is this commission of "experts" he has assembled to take a look at what caused the BP explosion and how to make offshore drilling safe.  This is a total sham.  None of the people on the commission has any experience or expertise in the oil business or in offshore drilling.  The "experts" are really a panel of environmentalists who are opposed to offshore drilling and who want to see us use only "green" energy sources. 

• Don't rely so much on academic "experts".  When help is needed, reach out to people who have real-life experience with the problem to be solved.  Obama simply has too much confidence in the ability of government and academia to solve problems.  Most of the booms that have been laid to hold off oil in the Gulf were laid by shrimpers!

• Face reality and start living in the real world.  Obama's pie-in-the-sky dreams of green energy may be a worthwhile goal for the future, but the reality is that we are dependent on oil and gas for the foreseeable future.  Face that fact and free up the oil companies to access the plentiful oil reserves we have available, both onshore and offshore. 

I could go on some more, but I think you get the picture.  We have a president who is devoted to fundamentally changing this country.  I have no doubt he will try to use the oil spill to smear Republicans in the November elections.  I believe American voters are smart enough to recognize his motives and not be swayed by his lies. 

I'm Not Mad at Him

Call me weird, but I'm not mad at Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP.  The CEO of a company doesn't make decisions on drilling rigs.  The person who should be grilled is the one who was on the rig and made decisions that probably led to this disaster.  The BP personnel on the rig argued with Transocean personnel about drilling decisions and rejected Halliburton's advice about placing centering devices before cementing the pipe in place.  

But, the guy on the rig who made the calls most likely didn't have the final word.  I'd bet he answers to someone in the Houston BP office who told him to save time and money and cut some corners.  I have no proof of this, but it's a strong suspicion. This is who should be the target of our wrath, not some CEO sitting in his office in London.  If Congress were interested in a real inquiry, this is whom they be grilling, not Tony Hayward.

Blame Time - Yet Again

Will Obama ever stop blaming Republicans for "obstructing" progress?  Now he's saying that Republicans are hurting the unemployed by their filibuster of a broad economic bill that would bloat the deficit even more. 

Someone should point out to the president that Democrats currently enjoy a majority in the Senate and House, so the "obstruction" is not coming from Republicans alone.  Perhaps if Obama were more skillful in negotiating with the opposition, he could get more things done.  There have been many presidents who worked with a Congress dominated by the opposite party, yet they managed to negotiate and compromise to make progress in solving problems.  This president seems to lack the flexibility and/or the "know-how" to do this. 

Obama's devotion to his political ideology and his habit of falling into the same pattern over and over are hurting him politically.  Is he smart?  I don't think so, but one thing is certain:  wise he is not.