Monday, September 28, 2009

An Inconvenient Foreign Policy

General Stanley McChrystal revealed yesterday that he has spoken to President Obama only once since taking command in Afghanistan 70 days ago.  Afghanistan was described by Obama during his campaign as "the necessary war", but it now appears he wants nothing to do with it.

What in the world is going on?  Probably several things.  Obama seems not to believe that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are a real threat.  It's obvious that our president is weak, indecisive and doesn't have the stomach for fighting a war.  In fact, he seems uncomfortable with the very idea of winning!  In this most macho part of the world, we have a pantywaist as commander in chief and don't think for a moment that the Arabs don't recognize this.

It's clear that Obama's domestic agenda dominates his priorities.  He evidently fears angering his leftist handlers who don't think any war is ever justified.  So he postpones making a decision and meanwhile our soldiers are dying.  Obama is a person who loves to talk, talk and talk some more.  But when you're president, the time comes when you have to stop talking, make a decision and actually take some action.  He seems incapable of making a decision and sticking to it.

Obama sees this war as a distraction from his power grab.  Reminder to the president:  as you yourself said during the campaign, a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. 

Politicians shouldn't run wars.  Yes, I know the president is the commander in chief, but especially with this president, every calculation is political, not tactical.  He should listen to his generals and follow their advice.  They actually want to win this war! 

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Defending the American Dream Summit

I'm honored and excited to have been chosen as one of the winners of a "scholarship" to attend the Defending the American Dream Summit next weekend! 

I've only recently gotten involved in politics and I have a lot to learn.  I'm thankful I'll have this opportunity.  I'll tell you all about it when I get back!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hellooooo - Do We Have Your Attention Yet?

President Obama, Congress, and the sideline media (can't call 'em mainstream anymore)  just refuse to get the message the American people are sending them.  They've tried their best to dismiss, marginalize, intimidate and insult us, only to see our ranks grow with each subsequent town hall and tea party, culminating in the gigantic march on Washington on September 12.

We're on a roll here, folks.  There's a great opportunity heading your way:  a chance to see, live and in-person, prominent conservatives from radio, TV and Congress, as well as take part in true grassroots activities and training. 

I'm talking about the 2009 Defending the American Dream Summit, brought to you by Americans for Prosperity.  This huge event will take place October 2-3, 2009 in Washington, D.C. and will feature  many prominent conservatives from radio, TV, and Congress.  Featured speakers will include Newt Gingrich, Laura Ingraham, Representative Michelle Bachmann,  Senator Jim DeMint and Representative Mike Pence, to name just a few.

In addition, on Friday, October 2, Americans for Prosperity is hosting a town hall rally on the steps of the Capitol while Congress is actually in session!

The future of our country is in peril right now.  In spite of the danger, it's exciting and gratifying to see Americans from varying backgrounds and affiliations come together, united in our love for our great country and determined to return to the Constitutional principles upon which the United States was founded.   

Don't miss out on this opportunity to stand up and be counted.  See you in Washington on October 2-3!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Trillion Here, a Trillion There....

With attention focused on the healthcare struggle, we need to be ever vigilant about the government's plans to increase spending of our hard-earned money in a variety of ways.  As usual, the government's cost forecast involves some very creative accounting.

The Wall Street Journal reports in its main editorial today the Obama administration is poised to take over the student loan market.  If Mr. Obama can convince Congress to approve his plan, the federal balance sheet will increase by one trillion dollars over the next decade.

For years, the main means of borrowing for college has been through private lenders who offered government-guaranteed loans.  Private lenders would raise money from private capital markets, make the loan, and pay a small fee to the government for each loan.  The government in turn covered most of the cost of defaults while allowing the private lenders to make a regulated return.

This system started breaking down in 2007 when Congress passed legislation that resulted in returns so low that private lenders could no longer afford to make these loans.  (Do I need to remind anyone that this was the year Democrats took over Congress?)  If Obama gets his way, starting in 2010, private lenders will be barred from making government-guaranteed loans and taxpayers will be supplying approximately $100 billion a year to lend to students

I would urge everyone to read the editorial in its entirety; it's quite revealing.  The WSJ says this legislation is certain to pass the House;  the only chance to stop it is in the Senate.  If it passes, parents will have no choices in borrowing for their children's college education and taxpayers will be footing one heck of a bill. 

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

If You Can't Beat Them - Lie to Them

We continue to hear from the President and Congress that we absolutely have to have healthcare reform to help control costs and lower the deficit. I'm insulted that they think we're so stupid as to believe this.

Past experience has taught us that the government can't run anything economically and efficiently. There's one thing that those within the Beltway simply don't seem to understand: we, the people, in ever increasing numbers neither trust nor believe them. We've been lied to and deceived so many times in the past that many of us are not willing to swallow the medicine they're pushing.

The President on several occasions has said he will save money by cutting waste and fraud from Medicare and Medicaid. I have a question for Obama: if you can truly do this, why aren't you doing it now? That would be a good start toward establishing a little credibility for yourself, because right now you have no credibility with me.

Nancy Pelosi has said a government option would be a good way to keep insurance companies honest. HAH - as if the conniving, two-faced Ms. Pelosi knows anything at all about honesty!

There are better ideas out there, but Obama and the Dems are ignoring and stifling them. That way, they can claim that Republicans are simply oppositional and don't have any new ideas about solving healthcare problems.

The ultimate goal of President Obama and his cohorts is not to improve healthcare or contain costs - it's to establish more governmental control in our lives. We're in for a long and, I fear, dirty conflict, but too much depends on this not to hang in there and fight.

Monday, September 7, 2009

New Movie

Michael Moore, or as I am fond of calling him "Fat Bastard", is at it again. He has a new movie coming out in which he calls capitalism "evil". The movie even features a couple of priests who claim that capitalism is evil for failing to protect the poor. Funny how liberals don't want anything to do with religion or clergy until they find a way to exploit it.

Capitalism is far from perfect; it's run by humans who are prone to weaknesses such as greed and dishonesty, but so is every other economic and social system. What Moore will never admit is that capitalism, with all its faults, still offers people the best opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty. There is a reason that people from all over the world want to live here, sometimes risking their very lives to get here. The American dream is still alive around the world and those struggling to achieve it recognize that it is "do-able".

I've always found it very odd that someone like Michael Moore condemns capitalism, the very system that has made him a wealthy man. Could it be that he doesn't want to share the wealth?

Friday, September 4, 2009

Intellectualism

I heard a professor on television recently criticizing Sarah Palin. The main thrust of his criticism was that she doesn't read much and isn't "intellectual". Presumably, he considers being intellectual an important qualification for holding high office.

Is intellectualism all it's cracked up to be? Certainly, we want leaders to be well informed and capable of exercising critical thinking. The problem with intellectuals, however, is that they too often live in ivory towers, and their opinions are derived from theoretical learning and not "real-life" experience. To complicate matters, they often look down on average, ordinary people and dismiss them as not being smart enough to come to good conclusions about how to run their own lives.

Barack Obama was hailed as being so very intelligent. Intelligence and wisdom, however, are two different things. Wisdom derives from learning life's lessons firsthand, not from reading books about life. Likewise, intelligence does not necessarily lead to the development of common sense.

If you had to choose between a president who was very intelligent, but not very wise, and one who had only average intelligence, but possessed a great deal of wisdom, which would you prefer? As for me, I'll take common sense and wisdom any day over intelligence alone.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Racism Dodge

Liberals really need to find a new accusatory term. The old word, racism, is starting to lose its punch.

A favorite tactic of liberals is to call anyone who disagrees with them "racist". If you're against illegal immigration, it's because you're racist; if you disagree with the President on anything, it's because you're - you guessed it - racist; if you seek to punish a black politican for malfeasance - well, you get the picture.

This tactic has worked in the past, but won't keep working forever. The whole purpose of throwing that term at another person is to put a halt to discussion of whatever topic is at hand. Liberals do this because they know they can't counter policy arguments with substance and logic, so they fall back on emotion.

Sooner or later, liberals and progressives will have to come up with something more substantive than name-calling. More and more people are beginning to see through these agendas and are not going to put up with it. Consider yourself warned.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Silver Tongues

The Democrats' research has revealed they should change their language in presenting their healthcare schemes. This happened recently, when they started calling it health insurance reform, rather than healthcare reform.

They must think the American public is as dumb as a box of rocks. They can call it whatever they want - it's still a piece of crap that will bankrupt this country and cause a decline in the quality of our healthcare.

The Wall Street Journal had an article this morning stating that the Dems are becoming more aggressive in their push for taking over the healthcare system. This doesn't make sense. If people are resisting what you're offering, pushing harder is only likely to make them more resistant. This whole debate, and especially the town hall meetings, has really made it evident how out of touch the people in Washington are. I think most of the Dems were truly shocked at how angry and mistrustful people are.

Don't be fooled by the change in language - they're still pushing for their agenda. Just watch them closely and don't quit fighting.