Change, Wonderful Change
Remember when the Beatles first toured America? The girls were more fascinating to watch than the rockers! They would scream, pull at their hair, and even faint. I guess this phenomenon is happening again, only the modern day rock star is Barack Obama. We as a country must be more ready for change than I thought. As I listen to Obama’s inspirational speeches, I too want to scream, pull my hair and faint. Every time I hear the word “Change,” what I really hear is “Cha-Ching.” That is the sound of the federal cash register ringing up more expense, more cost, more taxes. It must be nice to be a Democrat and be able to sit around and dream up these great sounding, generous programs that will save all those who can’t or won’t save themselves. On the other hand it is a real bummer to be the folks on the other side who keep hearing “cha-ching” knowing that we are the ones who must pay for their brilliant ideas. I am convinced that businessmen make far better President’s than do politicians.
There’s No Place Like Home
I have signed some really bad contracts in my life. Home loans, car loans, short term loans, you name it, I’ve been there. The one thing I can say for sure is that I’ve learned from each of them and have no desire to repeat the mistake. The tidal wave of sub-prime home foreclosures grows and grows. By some accounts it has tripled (probably from 1% to 3%). Most of us understand the hard truth. That is, most of these people should never have qualified for a home loan to begin with, and the rest are investors, who chose poorly. Now we are treated to a smorgasboard of politicians who want to ride in and save the day! What kind of nanny state is this? Has there ever been so few coddled by so many? How are these people of lesser intelligence ever going to rise to the esteemed level of average intelligence? Most people learn the hard way, and I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. I recently decided I was smart enough to put my life savings into the stock market. Now as I look at my portfolio, I don’t feel very smart. To be honest, I’m looking for some big hearted politician to make me feel better about things, you know, I’m an amateur! I had no idea what I was doing. There must be some kind of bail out available to average guys like me! After all, it just isn’t right that a hard working American like myself should watch my life savings dwindle. Oh well, I guess I’ll just keep learning the hard way. Every now and then I’ll look up to see if there might be someone on a white horse charging over the hill to rescue me.
Spineless Liberals
I recently listened to some liberal pundits debate which Democratic candidate would be the toughest on terror. After a few giggles, they engaged in perhaps the most ridiculous discussion ever on the subject. Even the liberal media treats this election issue as a joke. I’m not sure I can stomach 4 or 8 years of tough talk and no action. You know the words that Democrats just can’t get enough of: communication, understanding, dialog, negotiations, and of course (after innocent people die) renewed negotiations. These are the same people who would step on their own mothers throat to get a single vote. The same people who would destroy a good persons lifelong reputation to justify some silly entitlement. If you don’t agree, just hold that thought until the Democratic convention in Denver! I believe we shall see just how determined and vengeful they can be. So why, then, do these sentiments not cross over to the radicals who have sworn an oath to hate, kill and fight us to the death? Is it not as clear to them as it is to the rest of us? Nobody wants war. Nobody likes war. But if they are determined to attack and kill innocent people, I suppose something should be done! I say that Guantanamo should be doubled in size, and waterboarding the designated activity at recess. After all, that is what the Democrats would recommend for conservatives if they were to ask for budget cuts!
McCain vs. Reagan
Are we missing something with this whole “reaching out” thing? What about “crossing the aisle?” I’m trying to remember hearing Hillary or Obama speaking of wanting to reach across the aisle. I don’t believe those words have ever been uttered. Why is it that Republicans are so obsessed with this concept? When Reagan reached across the aisle, it was to slap the opposition. After he got whatever it was he wanted, he then reached across the aisle to pat them on the head, as if taking candy from a child. This is how the Democrats operate. The proof is in the fact that liberalism continues to progress slowly but surely in our culture. Why don’t they reach across the aisle? Why is it accepted that only Republicans must compromise? Why is it that conservatism takes the hit? When I see all of John McCain’s impressive endorsements, and all of his named legislation, I ask; is there a conservative name or principle among them? He doesn’t simply reach across the aisle as the liberals say. Rather, he crosses the aisle and sits his angry backside into a lazy-boy recliner with his name engraved on it! Don’t forget, he publicly entertained the idea of switching parties on two occasions.
“Let me tell you about my best friend”
It probably seems naive, but for the longest time I took pride in the fact that the Republicans never seemed to stoop to the level of the Democrats (Clintons) when it came to campaigning. Whether this was just my perception or not, no longer matters. The honest truth is that John McCain has reinvented the art of slimy politics. He and his friend Mike Huckabee have together lowered the bar to disturbing levels. Disturbing because of their false allegations and lies. When McCain uses facts and names from other Governors and tries to pin them on Romney, well, it’s cheap. Likewise when Huckabee assumes the role of spoiler in exchange for a goody to be named later. I know that we are all adults and politics is dirty business. I can live with that. What bugs me is that there was a time when this type of sleazy behavior had to be somewhat hidden. Now it’s thrown out there with a wry smile in hopes that it will stick. The denials fall short when they try to explain this unholy alliance. McCain’s tactics are crystal clear while his allegations toward Romney are about as clear as mud.
Psych 101
The psychological welfare of Americans is an interesting study. Why are we so eager to believe bad news, whether it be economic, political, racial, etc? Most of this information is fed to us via the media, and we all know how accurate and reliable they are. After some scrutiny, hard facts and figures are not usually so hard. Unemployment has been going down for years, then one quarter it rises less than 1% and it’s the end of life as we know it. It is still less than half then that of our beloved European neighbors. Gas prices are unspeakably high. However, compared to the rest of the economy the percentage seems quite reasonable when looked at over the past 40 years. It wasn’t too many years ago that a gallon of gas was cheaper than drinking water. Again, today it still remains less than half of the European price. According to the media, most Americans are losing their homes. In reality 96% of Americans are not only paying their mortgages, but paying them on time. Now I ask, is this really the greatest disaster ever? Home prices are falling and it’s not much fun to lose equity. However, most older Americans have been gaining and losing equity for decades and believed it to be normal. Falling home prices have allowed young people and some older folks the chance to get into the home market. This didn’t seem possible only two years ago. Positivity is one of the most valuable traits a person can posses. Liberals rely on Americans being negative; moaning and wandering about like helpless victims. They look at all of those who refuse to play along as being blind to reality, or out of touch dreamers. I believe we take the bad with the good, and go on dreaming.
Dirty Money
It’s no secret that money is what drives politics and political elections. Dirty money in the form of illegal contributions has also been a part of elections since the beginning. I believe that the problem has worsened over the years, and although scrutiny has increased, the politicians have become more expert at hiding dirty money. They get caught only often enough to make one wonder, how often do they not get caught. The penalty is quite severe and goes something like this: deny any knowledge of who or where the money came from, sincerely apologize, and give the money to a charity. I’ve never heard the end of the story. How, or if the money is ever transfered is anyones guess. And to which charity? Where did the millions of dirty Chinese money go? Did the Clinton’s donate it to an approved charity headed up by Chelsea? Maybe it went to the organization that takes care of Bill’s anger management or sexual addiction classes. Did Obama’s dirty campaign contributions go to his contractors favorite charity (the same contractor who will build his new mansion)? The point is, we don’t know and it should be made public.
Cash and Prizes
I’ve had just about enough of candidates running around from coast to coast promising goodies to whatever group that happens to be in front of them. I’m tired of Presidents and State of the Union addresses in which billions are promised to all the usual suspects: education, alternative fuels, Africa, and on and on. Their endless pandering makes me think of self appointed Santas looking down upon spoiled, whiny children standing around the tree. Today I heard a White House spokesman refer to the current rebate program as “giving some money back to the people”. Where does this money come from? Is there a treasury warehouse somewhere with cash stacked to the ceiling? Don’t get me wrong, I would like some of my money back, but not if its borrowed from Social Security or worse, China. Is this really economic stimulus? I really wish that I could stop all of this nonsense. I am one of the shrinking number of people who pay for the goodies, giveaways, and freebies, and I’ve never received a single invite to stand around the Christmas Tree.
Socialist Pigs
I am one of many fathers who have had children begging for a pet pot bellied pig. Many fathers have given in to the pleas of their crumb crunchers. I however, did some homework and found that these cute little pigs nearly always became not so cute gigantic pigs. Our liberal elected officials (and some conservative), are the same as these cute little pigs. Over the years our growth and affluence has allowed us feed these little pigs more and more. Pet projects and giveaway programs are lined up until there is no end in sight. Each time the pig squealed, we fed it. Now were find ourselves standing knee-deep in mud with a bunch of gigantic squealing pigs wanting more food. They are no longer cute. I believe the American people are more educated and involved than ever. Some very large pork barrel projects have recently been stopped thanks to public involvement. I hope the trend continues. I hope that the big Socialist pigs once again are made to realize that the Constitution gives rights and power to the people, and we with our votes decide how much to feed the pig.
The Liberal Cause
Ron, I hope you’ll forgive me for posting on your blog, but I had to get this out and there was nowhere else to do it. I heard on the radio this morning that “Americans United for Change”, a liberal advocacy group, has a year-long, 8.5 MILLION dollar ad campaign planned with one purpose: to make sure President Bush’s approval rating doesn’t go up in his last term of office. Here is the full story. You have got to be kidding me. This kind of %&$* has to be an all-time low for liberals. And it makes Bush-haters look stupider than ever. Do they realize that people are spending this kind of money just to make a guy look bad? Heck, you could make freaking Mother Teresa look bad if you spent 8.5 million dollars on it. What a joke.