Signs of the times

Last night's rambling kept me up later than I would have liked so tonight I'll offer a short commentary on a trend that is sweeping the nation and gaining momentum. No, it isn't wearing your housecoat backward and calling it a "Snuggie sleeve blanket" nor is it wiping up spills with a camping towel and calling it a Sham Wow! By the way, if I get any more emails from either of these to spamalot companies I will scream!

Sweeping the country are organized and peaceful protests about the actions being taken by the First African American president of the United States. The ONE and his practices of spending enough money to buy all the tea in China is drawing the ire of regular folks in cities big and small. These citizens are raising Cain like a tempest in a teapot and, with the help of bloggers and talk radio, are letting their voices be heard.

I normally share Groucho Marx's "I won't belong to any club that would have me" philosophy but I am hoping to be in a city where one of these demonstrations is brewing for I will join in. My cup is running over with fury about the direction the country is going. It is time we all dipped our teabags into the warm waters of political debate. Papers are covering the protests on a local basis but the National media seems lukewarm to the idea of covering this hot topic.

Glenn Beck will be having an event on March 13th (I think that is the date) but check at your local right wing fanatical super secret clubhouse for a rally in your hometown area. Or you could head over to MichelleMalkin.com as she seems to have tons of links to organizers all over the country.

If you want to see what a motivated and peacefully pissed off electorate looks like go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. I think you get the idea by now. GET INVOLVED!

Reasons 343 through 353 to not have children

It is no secret that Mrs. Bald Man and I prefer spending our time tending to four legged little ones than their two legged, drooling, diaper soiling human counterparts. In our house the pitter patter of little feet is instead the clickity clack of paws when we are remiss in clipping the dogs nails and late night cry fests are replaced with the occasional bark to be let in or a whine to go out from the dogs. The cats bitch about everything but they aren't too loud when they do it.

Knowing this, you'll realize my call to arms tonight is more self-serving than altruistic but I beseech you breeders out there to keep reading for this is important and has ramifications well beyond concern for the blood pressure of your humble follicly challenged author. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 and as of last December 193 countries of fertile loins and less fertile savvy ratified the convention and are now bound by it. As was bemoaned by the soon to be First African American President of the United States on the campaign trail last year, this count of countries includes every member nation of the United Nations with the exception of the United States and Somalia.

I can't comment on why the Somali warlords haven't taken a break from training the prepubescents in their country to fire RPGs at Black Hawk helicopters to hunt for a pen and scratch their illiterate X on the dotted line of the CRC but I am imagining the optional protocols banning the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second one prohibiting the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography may be giving Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his ilk pause. So that leaves just the good ole U S of About to be socialists left to pony up and make the world safe for children to eat ice cream and ride ponies.

You contributors to global overpopulation are probably at this very moment looking at your progeny wondering what is wrong with our country that it is not immediately jumping on the little red bandwagon that is the CRC so that we too can ensure this country, like the rest of the civilized world, is one big happy sandbox for the diapers and short pants crowd. Numerous Churches, from the American Baptists to the United Methodists support it as does nearly every liberal "every child is a wanted child" group. Picture that same chocolate covered urchin front toothlessly smiling up at you now as a self-serving unrestrained power hungry tween running roughshod over you in a Lord of the Flies like coup after you insist he do his homework in order to have the car on Saturday night. If you think it is hard to make Junior brush his teeth, take a bath and not paint the dog blue to match his recently painted sister now, it will be damn near impossible if the CRC is ratified.

Once ratified, the CRC would be an international treaty that, albeit arguably, would supersede our domestic constitution and would make parental rights the purview of an international court. That is not the drunken rambling of an empty nester. Yes, I have been drinking but only to sooth the dull pain in my head that arose reading the entire CRC while listening to heavy footed ankle biters in the hotel room above me running to and fro and fro and to and back to fro once again.

The obviously socially inept home schooling types have somehow banded together to educate the masses who don't happen to live with them on this bill and they point out that in Missouri v. Holland, (252 U.S. 416), the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the Supremacy Clause a treaty made by the President, with concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate present at the time of voting, would become the supreme law and take precedent over contrary state laws. Thus, the U.N. Convention would constitute legally binding law in all 50 states.

Ten things you need to know about the substance of the CRC.

1. Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children.
2. A murderer aged 17 years, 11 months and 29 days at the time of his crime could no longer be sentenced to life in prison.
3. Children would have the ability to choose their own religion while parents would only have the authority to give their children advice about religion.
4. The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
5. A child’s “right to be heard” would allow him (or her) to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
6. According to existing interpretation, it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than it does on children’s welfare.
7. Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure.
8. Teaching children about Christianity in schools has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
9. Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC.
10. Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent.

As if that isn't enough, how about this:

Article 7: In order to insure State and U.N. control over their development, all children must be immediately registered after birth.

Article 15: This article declares "the right of the child to l freedom of association." If this measure were to be taken seriously, parents could be prevented from forbidding their child to associate with people deemed to be objectionable companions. Under Article 15, children could claim a "fundamental" right to join gangs, cults, and racist organizations over parental objection. Parental rights and responsibilities are unmentioned.

Article 29: It is the goal of the State to direct the education of the people it governs toward the philosophy of the New World Order as "enshrined in the charter of the United Nations." Each child must be prepared to be a responsible citizen by having "the spirit of understanding, peace, toleration, equity of sexes, and friendship [for] all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups of indigenous origin," including, presumably, cultic, anti-Christian religions, and those regimes which embody authoritarianism and intolerance.

Article 43: An international committee of 10 "experts" is to be established to oversee the progress of the implementation of the Treaty.

If you are brave enough, there is even more here.

When I first found reference to this convention online I figured it could never happen here. In fact it took an hour of searching to find postings and articles opposing it. Recent actions by our newly elected leaders and the perennial governing class in the Congress are making me think this is right on course for the direction our country is heading. Nationalization, or whatever Harry Reid wants to call it, of our banking system is soon to come as are more restrictions on gun ownership. Why would the taking of parental rights and giving them to the Village Hillary says it takes be out of lock step for this crowd. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer has asked that this convention come to the floor of the Senate within sixty days as she feels the CRC would protect "the most vulnerable people of society." Of course in Boxer's world the most vulnerable are on their own from conception until they push their way in to the world. Once out, then we can worry about them.

The Family Research Council is warning that the man about to be named number two in the Justice Department is fully on-board with the CRC and the President will surely sign it once it reaches his desk and he is off the campaign trail where he is signing more spending packages.

There are groups trying to fight this travesty and they put forth excellent arguments. They even take the time to refute those challenging them. I suggest you lock the kids in a room in front of a properly parentally controlled newly HD converted television and take the time to follow some of the links on this post and decide for yourself if my concern is valid or just a flair up of rug ratitus caused by my having to cross through the children's section of WalMart on my way to buy a belt this morning. I think you will see I am not a hypochondriac and that, once again, we need to scream and yell like we are five year olds at a Wiggles concert so that everyone within the sounds of our voices hears us and makes it known to our representatives in that childlike city of power in the District of Colombia that this can not pass. If you don't, the next time you kid asks to borrow the car you won't be able to say, "go ask your mother or father". You will have to say, "go ask the UN." Then again, they won't even have to ask permission, it will be their right to take it.

S2

Boiled down to a fine stock

I've been taking notes on various issues to write about all day. Watching The ONE talk to Congress tonight has left me with way too much to say. Rather than try to analyze every utterance in an address that had 65 interruptions of applause from the thieves, liars, adulterers, tax cheats and nincompoops (wow, that was actually in my spell checker!) who were eating up everything he was serving up, I will just share a few of my gut feelings.

Today is Fat Tuesday. In honor of the folks in New Orleans busy debasing themselves for several cents worth of beads after consuming several gallons of alcohol I have simmered over the first African American President's first address to Congress to reduce it, like a fine Louisiana Roux fit for a fattening meal, to serve up this salient observation: Despite all his promises, Government can't and shouldn't do it all for us.

The recurring theme in my posts is one of self-reliance and the recurring theme from our President is one of government dependence. To say I am diametrically opposed to the vast majority of what he proposed tonight is like saying Octo-mom has her hands full at feeding time!

In the speech tonight, that hasn't been posted anywhere yet, The ONE spent 95% of the time announcing new programs, spending and initiatives to save us from everything from catastrophic illness (he is going to cure cancer) to hang nails. There wasn't an area of our lives that wasn't put on the plate of Washington programs. He is biting off as much as he can chew. Near the end of his speech, he made reference to a businessman who took millions and gave it to his employees (both current and former) as bonuses. He mentioned a young girl who, despite being educated in a poor quality school, was able to rise above and is working to get her school much needed support.

The amazing thing about both of these examples is that government didn't need to do anything in either case. The people did. We have a President and administration that honestly, hasn't done anything. Obama has never (unless you count running his campaign for President which was really run by people for him) met a payroll and has never been the one responsible for decisions. Biden, the idiot, is in the same boat without oars. This career politician is now in charge of reshaping our economy? The man in charge of the President's economic task force is the man who has run GE in to the ground and is turning the stock in to a penny stock. Almost no one on his Auto Bailout task force owns an American car and a few of them don't own any!

I'd go on but now I am rambling. This week, congress is sending a spending bill of another half trillion dollars to the President and he will sign it. This bill is, once again, full of pork projects soaked with the juices of salivating Democrats drunk, like Mardi Gras revelers, on the power of being in charge. The talk tonight by The ONE about reigning in Government is lip service and is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The announcers on CNBC, NBC, ABC and CNN are all saying what a great job Obama did tonight. True, the President can whip up a crowd with more flare than Emeril Lagasse "bams" out a Crawfish Etouffe but, like this high in fat meal, the taste is good but it is not good for you. Just like too much fatty food, too much government will be as harmful to the nation's welfare because of waste as a diet of Bananas Foster is to your waist.

If the spending package was the apertif for four years of gluttony, tonight's speech was a look at a menu of high calorie entrees that will leave our country bloated and out of shape. It is time for us to go on Weight Watchers and control our intake of government largesse. Like Governor's Jindal and Sanford in LA and SC respectfully it is time to say no thank you when the waiter offers the dessert tray.

S2

And now a word from our sponsors...

Writing of this blog is purely an act of selfless effort provided to you because I care that you are informed, educated, entertained and as pissed off as I am on a daily basis. That said, with Mrs. Bald Man in college and a leaky water pump in the Jeep, we have bills to pay.

As a free market capitalist I would never ask for a handout. So I am afraid I must turn to some sponsors. I am sorry for the inconvenience but I promise to only allow products I truly believe in to represent themselves and offer their wares in the hallowed confines that are the pages of No Mato Mi Pavo.

No comment.

I am no different from any other blogger. I scour the internet looking for stories to comment on, misquote and interpret incorrectly. The latter two results being purely unintentional, of course.

Sometimes two headlines catch my eye and I know for certain the stories belong together. Even though the topics are completely unrelated and in no other universe but here in the realm of the impossible that is the blogosphere would anyone see a connection.

Without any other comment then, I bring you this headline.
And this.

With friends like these who needs George Bush?

Regarding international relations and The ONE, I will paraphrase Winston Churchill: The election of Barack Obama is not the end of the world hating us. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning of improved relations.

During the years where the Bush administration was busy protecting us from the evils of Islamic terrorism we were told often by the media, opposition politicians and Hollywood types who attended dinner parties with dictators how much the rest of the world despised the United States. The former President's International trips, G7 summit attendances and shopping trips to Rome disguised as official business (oh wait, that last one is Nancy Pelosi) were met with protests covered in earnest by all forms of news agencies. Photos of Bush as Hitler, Bush as a killer and Bush as a cross dressing former FBI head noted for keeping secret files on everyone were splashed across television screens in Tel Aviv, as Newspaper headlines in New Delhi, blog posts in Beijing and on drums in the Congo. It seemed as though everyone in the world hated us. But Bush did what he had to. Churchill said, "A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality." He also said, "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. "

Once in a great while, and usually on page four opposite reports of good news stories from Iraq, there would be a photo of a smiling middle eastern woman free to pursue a life without worry of mass graves, rape rooms and torture camps run by her country's dictator or his two sons facing the camera mouthing "thank you George Bush". For some, no for millions, the actions taken by the last administration were not war crimes they were justifiable actions. These actions were taken primarily to protect us but a wonderful by product was the freeing of millions and a signal to the world that some actions have consequences. Even perennial thorn in our side Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libya behaved for a while. I guess opinions of the United States are all a matter of perspective. Perhaps the hateful opinions of the world were a product of home grown angst. Tossing once again to Mr. Churchill for comment: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

Obama's victory was heralded, in addition to being the end of racism and the end of politics as usual, as being a referendum on Bush's foreign policy and a signal to the rest of the world that we can be friends again. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief that Bush was being relieved of the power of his office and a collective of like minded thinkers was now breathing in the office's power. A new and great leader, The ONE was at the helm. Churchill said it well, "Great and good are seldom the same man."

Gone is the bumbler of words, replaced by an eloquent teleprompter proficient orator. The United States will end torture, close it's terrorist holding facility in Cuba, meet with fanatical rulers with no pre-existing conditions and flowers will begin to bloom everywhere. Instead of killing those who wish to kill us we will begin to understand their reasons for hating us.

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Winston Churchill

Thankfully, for the time being, Obama is a bit of a disappointment to the radical leftist apologists in regard to information gained in wiretaps and the rights of terrorists.

What is my affinity with the former Prime Minister of England today? It seems in his haste to make buddy buddy with our enemies, President Obama is pissing off our greatest ally. Where the media in the United States continue to fawn over our messianic leader papers in the United Kingdom are running headlines with less endearing intent. There still are signs of affection but having seen few successes in their own efforts they are peppered with questions on the wisdom of his stimulus package. They, more than our own lapdog media, see how his decisions fly in the face of historical experience. "Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft." - Winston Churchill

Headline (in the UK Telegraph): Barack Obama under fire for picking a crony fundraiser as his ambassador to Britain
It seems the Brits are a bit set back because once again Obama breaks his pledge to change the old ways of Washington by rewarding a fundraiser with a posh position. Perhaps he should have heeded Churchill's advice, "There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion."

This article on the Mail Online which mentions Obama's paraphrasing of a Churchill quote also refers to his returning of a bust (see below) of Winston and is littered with comments trashing our President.
One posting said, "if Obama, the USA and the world are lucky he will not be truly tested...don't hold your breath...there are many who don't share the ideals of 'western democracies' and they will use all their wily tricks and deceptions to 'play' him..then we will see just how astute and capable he really is..rhetoric may win elections but courage, resolve and fortitude wins battles".
Another says, "Seems to be a man with very few words (or idea's) of his own."

George Bush had a bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office that was loaned to him right after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Bush admired Churchill. Right after the inauguration, when every President remodels the office to suit his own personality, Obama removed the bust and returned it to the Brits. In its place now is one of Abraham Lincoln, a leader Obama tries constantly to have himself compared with but against whom he fails miserably in comparison. The English have mixed feelings on the signal the new American President is sending in this action.

George Bush has more in common with Winston Churchill than Barack Obama could ever hope to have in common with Abraham Lincoln. In his quest to be liked by everyone in the world, the First African American president would be wise to remember some of these words of wisdom from a man who truly was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known (and loved!). Reading these, I imagine President Bush was well aware of the man Churchill was and the importance of these quotes:

"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all."

"Do not let spacious plans for a new world divert your energies from saving what is left of the old."

"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."

"If you are going through hell, keep going."

"In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times."

"It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."

"Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen."

"Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all."

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

Obama seems to have learned one already:
"The first quality that is needed is audacity."

Before signing the Stimulus Package he should have thought: "To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day."

In naming this site, in addition to what I thought was a cool Mexican phrase, I did have this in mind: "Never, never, never give up."

In writing today's post I obviously learned this:

"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations."

S2

They know where you live!

Despite what you may think, I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh every day. I do enjoy his show on occasion but, being that I have a job, I don't get to hear him all that often. I heard a bit of his show the other day and he casually mentioned he was being audited by the State of New York. I don't know if he's made a big deal of this or not. Either way, I wonder how often he has been audited. How can it be audits happen to people of prominence much more frequently. If you think there isn't an enemies list sent to the IRS by every administration you are as naive as a chimpanzee's owner inviting a friend over to "calm him down".

I've been none too quiet in expressing my fears about the intrusions of this new administration in to every aspect of our lives. I am not worried about an audit. I pay my taxes and, since I am not a publicly elected official, I don't cheat on them. Still, just to be clear, I am not volunteering!!!!!!

Somebody who should worry about his upcoming audit is CNBC’s Rick Santelli. He is a financial reporter who went on a beautifully worded and wholly appropriate rant on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange about The ONE's recent housing bailout program. He went so far as to call for a new Tea Party. I will try to have more on that tomorrow but know that the White House couldn't let this spark of revolt ignite.

White House Press Secretary and Pillsbury Dough Boy double Robert Gibbs called out Santelli by name and, if he knew where he lived, he would have added his address. Here is the relevant snippet:



I dont' know about you but chills went down my spine more coldly than an Ice Fisherman on Lake Erie seeing the ice sheet he was on move farther from shore when Gibbs outright stated in his first sentence, "I’m not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives..." This threat was as thinly veiled as a Scottish Rail worker in uniform and, unlike what I think of the uniforms, I found it offensive.

The Obama administration has a dearth of CEO types but it has plenty of Politicians who play Chicago politics and will do anything to make sure their fearless leader is Untouchable. If his Frank Nitti-esque lackeys don't have Santelli's address already written on a matchbook with intent to pay him a visit, Mayor Daley will soon be able to watch him on his own basic cable network. I wonder if stimulus money will be paying for this and if he'll need to buy an HD converter? TSA is ready for a virtual full body cavity search should he try to flee. In addition ACORN is ready to move in to any house and I am sure are only awaiting orders. My guess is good old Dick is waiting for the President to pony up for his share of the election night bash and then he will have plenty to spend.

Gibbs encouraged folks to go read the housing bill. So I did. You know what? Santelli is right and the White House if full of it! We will soon be rewarding stupidity and poor choices. The lines will be long and the money will flow freely and the situation will not improve. I wish more folks, who find themselves in trouble, would do what this woman did and not look for Uncle Obama to bail them out. I am also hoping tomorrow I will wake up with a full head of hair but that will only happen if the cat sleeps on my head again tonight. No, I am afraid my country has become one of takers.

The calls to end disent are made by every administration and the party out of power always claims they are being silenced. Just remember, it isn't the right calling for everyone on TV who misspeaks to lose his or her job. It isn't the right that complained about a black official being made to look like a monkey. Condi Rice was brutilized but never uttered a peep. It is not the right that is going to soon try to silence talk radio through government control.

I hope someday my comments do draw the attention of those in power. I'd be happy to be the next Joe the Plumber. Not for vanity or narcissistic reasons do I want this. I want it because it will mean that cautions like this are getting out and being heard. None of us can be afraid to speak up. Tell two friends and tell them to tell two friends. In the days of the Revolution they didn't have email (shameless plug" you know you can sign up to receive this blog automatically don't you?) and always on internet connections. They didn't have phones and BlackBerrys and any of the multitude of communication devices. It is time for a Tea Party. Go to Michelle Malkin's page. She has photos of protests being conducted all around the country. Protests that you won't hear about in the main stream media. Find one near you and join in.

Just be sure to waive at the camera and smile. Personally, I will be waiving "one finger" at a time.

If your head is up your ass you will drown in waist deep water

A news story yesterday about The ONE's nearly $80 Billion plan to help homeowners stave off foreclosure focused on the ironic situation of Susan Orb, a California woman whose job it is to serve notices of eviction and is about to lose her own home. Central to the article were these facts: the home she purchased has declined in value by nearly half since it was mortgaged, her mortgage payment is increasing to a point where she can't make the monthly nut and she owes more on the house than it could be sold for. According to Barack Obama, this woman is like many thousands of others who are "underwater" in their mortgages. Not everyone surfed along on a wave of generosity from lenders.

The core of this newest of government incursion is help for these drowning homeowners in the form of a scuba tank full of money. Judges will be able to mandate mortgage holders refinance these at risk loans much like Neptune determines the rising of the tides. If the receding tide of investments on Wall Street is any indication, schools of financiers believe we are treading in unsafe waters. I agree.

Look at the premise of helping Ms.Orb mentioned above. What at all does it matter that the value of her house has declined by half? Does she need to sell it? The mortgage she signed was set to increase regardless of the fact the value of her abode has sunk deeper than the lost and recently found city of Atlantis. My question is, "What the hell was she doing taking a mortgage that she couldn't afford to pay?" The next is, "Why the hell do I want to use taxpayer money in the form of a government bailout to reward her water on the brain stupidity?"

Not all of homes in foreclosure are in such a state because of poor decisions by the owners. Some people do lose their jobs or are forced to move to keep or take a new job and must sell a house that they owe more on than they can sell it for. Let's help them. I think there are programs to do this already but I am not opposed to investigating some help for those who are swimming upstream to catch their paddless canoes.

This is the problem with the whole direction our country has been taking and has accelerated in since the First African American President of the United States has climbed to the lifeguard tower of government security. We are rewarding foolishness, stupidity, risky behavior and investments and failure is not an option. Perhaps in the calm Utopian waters of a communist or socialist state there is no failure other than the communist or socialist state but here in the good Ole' U S of A we as individuals are free to sink or swim. Well, we were.

S2

La la la la, I am not listening la la la (Fingers in my ears)

From an early age we are conditioned, Pavlovian like, to dread bad news. It starts in grade school when you hear your name and "come to the Principal's office" in the same sentence. Your pulse quickens and sweat stains grow to a point that the girl you like in the front row is sure to notice because you know the experience down the hall will not be good. In college the ringing phone which heralds the call from the Free Clinic with your test results sounds more like the metronome of a dirge than a pleasant ring a ding ding. The normally sweet sound of your boss' secretary's voice on the intercom asking you to come to his office for an unannounced meeting is as grating as Helen Thomas trying to sound sexy. And how far off the chart does your EKG go when your better half announces, "We need to talk".

Face it, sometimes no news is good news. I had a discussion earlier this evening with a liberal co-worker in which he stated those of us on the right just don't listen. I figure he just doesn't get it. None of us like to hear conflicting viewpoints. Like birds of a feather we tend to hang out on telephone lines crowing about with like minded bird brains rather than flap our gums with the flockers down the wire who have opposing opinions. But, just like Lindsey Lohan needs to hear the truth about her weight, drug abuse, alcoholism, partying, lack of talent, smoking, poor choice in women and poor choice in men, sometimes those in the media spotlight and public office need to hear it too. If only they would be open enough to listen.

I stated months ago that GM, Chrysler and Ford needed to live or die on their own merit. Even other conservative bloggers didn't want to admit this. Finally, with two of the three returning to Washington with empty porridge bowls like Oliver Twist facing the evil monk asking, "Please, sir, we want billions more", there are calls to let them eat cake. I doubt Congress will listen and there bowls will overflow until the next time.

The grossly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, commonly called Card Check, has been called outdated, bad for business and a mistake. The weirdly named blue dog democrats are questioning the wisdom of pushing this legislation amongst their own party. The hounds bark is reaching deaf ears as the bill against the right to work is working its way toward passage.

Hillary Clinton has been told that leaving North Korea with nuclear capabilities is akin to leaving your campfire burning and going to bed with a full bladder instead of properly dousing the final embers with water saving efficiency. Pyongyang is hot with radioactive desire to develop a bomb of its own and the former first lady needs to be adamant in her stance against the proposed missile test Lil' Kim Jong just announced. Think she will listen? Me neither.

Most in the main stream media have been telling those in the popular stream media not to worry about the return of the Fairness Doctrine. Recent chirping in the supposed unheard left of center media belie the veracity of the aforementioned advice of those who won't be affected. For years, free market free thinkers have been telling those who call for fairness that government regulation is not the answer. Megyn Kelly on Fox did everything but slap little heard Bill Press upside the head. If you want visual proof of someone who refuses to listen and just doesn't get it, watch this:



Governor Bobby Jindal is going to tell the federal government he and the state of Louisiana don't want their money and that they can stick it someplace else. If you read the Spendulus Law closely you will see the feds will not listen and will try to force the state to accept their generosity under penalty of law.

The hardest of hearing in this potentially long line of deaf and dead between the ears audiences is none other than Nancy Pelosi. After waxing ignorantly about the opinions of the Catholic Church on abortion a few months ago, she was taken to the proverbial Wood confessional to be set straight by none other than the man in charge. Emerging with Eggs Benedict XVI on her face after a 15 minute face to face with Il Pappa, our deer in the headlights, third in line to be leader of the free world seems to be seeking absolution in isolation. Her brief comments to the press make it seem like she and His Holiness attended radically different services as she made no mention of the disservice to the unborn that the Pope called her on. I've long wondered how self-proclaimed adamant Catholics can easily put aside their duty to the innocent and pull the lever for candidates who will push a pro-choice agenda. The fact Obama won the Catholic vote has my head pounding so hard I can't hear much myself. This dichotomy between spiritual and electoral rationals has to be addressed. Nancy will not listen. She owes too much to the Choice crowd to let a little thing like her religion get in the way of her political career and fund raising.

Finally, we were told of the importance of passing the Spendulus Bill to save our economy from the brink of collapse. Today, The ONE announced another $75 Billion to save home owners. Tomorrow, who knows? Monday the House will begin to deliberate on spending hundreds of Billions of dollars more just to get us through to the end of the fiscal year. Spendulus II, the sequel, will not be far behind. With all the thick skulls and auditorially challenged folks in Washington, perhaps it is time for us to start listening a bit closer to what is being said by our elected officials.

I urge you to listen. Our freedoms are at stake. Before it is too late remember,in almost every decent war movie, when the beloved Corporal is fatally wounded by sniper fire, he utters the same line, "I never heard it coming".

S2

The road to hell is paved with stimulus dollars

Just like those pictures you posted to your Facebook account, there is no turning back now; the Spendulus bill has become the Spendulus law. President Obama used ten pens and burned about 11 tons of fuel an hour flying from DC to Denver to spend nearly one trillion dollars of our hard earned money faster than former staffers and rejected cabinet members can become lobbyists. The First African American President and the nation's biggest boob of a Vice President took separate jets to a campaign rally in the mile high city that was sprinkled with Democratic spendlebrities and green-minded business people. I don't really blame The ONE for taking his own jet, I wouldn't want to be cooped up in a cross country ride with Biden either. But, this animal is now the President's.

Some White House staffer, who seems to be about as competent as Jessica Simpson's stylist, picked a businessman whose company has seen incredible growth over the past 7 years, in this the worst economy since the Great Depression, to introduce the President to speak before signing his economy saving plan. No mention was made that the President and his posse burned more energy getting to the signing than will be generated by the solar panels this company installed on the building's roof in ten years! I don't begrudge Obama for using Air Force The ONE. If I had my own plane I'd fly to the end of the driveway to pick up the mail but doesn't this action, once again, wreak of hypocrisy at an event where the implied economic hardship and belt tightening that is expected of us was stated in none too veiled rhetoric. A Rose Garden signing with a couple Bic Pens would have set an example that we are all in this together.

The ink hadn't dried on the signature line before Air Force The ONE was once again airborne and on its way to Phoenix where, tomorrow, The ONE will save the poor sweating Phoenicians from losing their homes with yet another government program. No mention of where Air Force Two took Number Two but I believe this was mainly due to national indifference. It took about this same amount of time for trial balloons around Spendulus II, the sequel, to launch. My how times have changed from the days when we had bootstraps of our own and a leader who understood(NOTE: Read this link) our Founding Father's intent for government instead of a prolific teleprompter reading, American Idolized, rhythm challenged President.

I put up a Photoshop image on Friday touting the End. Obama, in his speech today did his best Jim Morrison impersonation and said, "this is the end..." This package, now law, truly could portend to be the end of capitalism in the United States. I won't be so flip as others in the blogosphere and Internet news and say we are moving toward Socialism. We aren't. We are on the road to full blown Fascism. Remember a few months ago I advised "F 'em before they F' us".

Think about it, this new government and its programs include elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress and anti-supposed terrorism in combination with censorship of subversives and state propaganda. Yes, the previous sentence was taken almost verbatim from a site describing Benito Mussolini but every one of those elements is here today or being explored as very real possibilities. Follow the links if you don't believe me.

The passage of the Spendulus bill increases our government's spending to over 40% of GDP. Hell, France is at 47% but I am sure a fair portion of that is spent researching more efficient methods of surrender. GM and Chrysler are seeking more money. There is talk about banks being nationalized and Congress is chomping at the bit for Nancy to quit shopping in Piazza di Spagna and jet back to Washington in her private government jumbo to begin working on nationalizing our Health Care. Hugo Chavez has nothing on our government officials. It makes me think Sean Penn must be on The ONE's super secret BlackBerry e-mail list; right below George Clooney.

We are being told not to worry and to trust that this spending is temporary. Juan Williams forgot to take off his NPR hat today during an appearance on Fox News and stated just that. The government will cut back on these programs once the economy recovers. Remember, these are unprecedented times. If you believe that, I think you probably also think those idiots nipping at Miley Cyrus's heels and suing her for insulting Asians have a chance in hell of winning their four billion dollar lawsuit. Government never gives back and it never cuts programs. Recovery.com has been set up, and paid for with $84 million dollars in the Spendulus Law, for us to see where this money is going. I am sure this government run site will not be yet another campaign outlet for The ONE's 2012 election.

In the months and years to come I hope, instead of bipartisanship, the Republicans fight the Democrats more fiercly than I-fart is battling Air-O-Matic. I am upset with the Republicans and their "make the best of it attitude" so far today. Keep the fires burning.

So many stories, so little time

The hardest part about writing a, almost, daily blog is picking a topic. There is not a dearth of them. There are far too many to limit myself to just one story. Usually, I try to find a way to link several seemingly disparate headlines in to one cohesive, seamless dissertation on the stories that are quickening the pulse of the nation. OK, I just make crap up. Today I am fighting the flu and don't have the spare synapses to make the reach and link the headlines so I will take a quick look at those at the top of my surfing list:

Nancy "we have to vote now cause my plane is leaving" Pelosi is in Rome and the Vatican has confirmed she will be having an audience with the Pope. I hope His Holiness takes the opportunity to slap her upside the head for claiming to be a Catholic while misquoting Church doctrine to support her pro-choice agenda. I don't think a personally guided tour of the Torquemada wing of the museum is out of the question.

The takeover of our Health Care system that is in the Spendulus Package is the beginning of the end for the greatest healthcare system on the planet. I don't know where Canadians are going to go? Congress, in their effort to put in to place Tom Daschl's plan refused to look at how the same type of programs are not working across the big Pond.

As if you need any examples of how it isn't your money, take a look at Kansas! They are out of money so who is first on the chopping block to be cut out? Yeah, the taxpayer. Of course, New York is out of money too but that doesn't stop them from getting increases. Elected officials, they just aren't like you and me; they are special. It could be worse, in Australia even their crap is taxed!

The stimulus package, the one with no Pork in it, will be signed tomorrow in a campaign stop in Denver. I hope they have ham sandwiches. Thankfully, talk radio has been all over this and announcing to everyone what is in this crap sandwich. It might be soon that these voices are silenced. Democrats are all over liberal stations complaining about the lack of alternative voices in the media. Yeah, I know.

Finally, Happy President's day. Here is how AOL is acknowledging it:

Good things come to those who wait.

Wait a minute, I thought all was going to be put right with the passage of the Spendulus Package. The crisis that is our current economic condition required late night sessions and back rooms deals to be struck with expediency not seen since the courtship of Kenny Chesney and Renée Zellweger. Let's hope the effects of the stimulus are longer lasting and more positive than these two stars marriage. I don't have high hopes though. This package will herald the return of "W". Not George W, but the W of welfare.

For weeks we've heard how important it is that this pork laden bit of government intrusion be passed forth with and, now that the Senate, with the help of three turncoat Republicans, has passed it, the first African American President of the United States is taking a few days off in Chicago before signing the bill on Tuesday in a Campaign stop in Denver before a second Campaign stop in Phoenix. So much for hurry up. It seems this guy takes a lot of time off, doesn't it?

I've read quite a bit of this bill (which explains why I haven't posted much recently, I have been sleeping a lot) and seen in it's entirety it is a scary bit of legislation. And it is not going to have the desired effect of stimulating anything other than a growth spurt in the Federal Government bigger than a pre-pubescent Shaquille O'Neil.

Most economists, even those initially in favor of the stimulus package, have stated that, without a "fix" for the financial sector of the economy, the bill would be useless spending. Knowing that, I find it strange that in 1000 pages and a trillion dollars, nothing for the ailing banks is mentioned other than limiting the salary and bonuses of those in charge.

Of course, come Tuesday when the bill is signed in to law and the money has been officially spent, the Obama administration might get to work on what he admits is the real problem.

“To truly address this crisis, we will also need to address the crisis in our financial sector to get credit flowing again to families and businesses. And we need to confront the crisis in the housing sector that's been one of the sources of our economic challenges,” Obama said. “I'll be discussing that extensively soon.”

One picture is worth 1000 pages

I had several thoughts on how to address the passage of the Spendulus bill. My initial writing was going to be about the book reports students are required to do and how they can't possibly expect a good grade or to learn anything unless they actually read the books. Of course, nobody in Congress felt compelled to read the Stimulus Package before voting on it.

I thought about taking an environmental approach and asking how many trees died to make the paper required to print hundreds of copies of the bill in its 1000 page form. Don't even get me started on the ink.

I debated calling the hypocrites in the White House to task for using a government jet to fly a single Senator from Ohio to Washington just so he could be the 60th vote for passage. I guess private jets have a purpose and use if you are the government but not if you are trying to run a business.

Of course there is the breaking of even more campaign promises in the immediate vote on this bill before the public had time to read it. We were told all important bills would be posted on the internet for several days before the President would sign it. I guess the "fragility" (this seems to be the most astute word ever uttered by a sitting President if you watched any news today) of our economy demands concessions be made and everyone must go along.

I read as much of the Spendulus bill very late last night as I could before falling asleep. It scares me. It scares me a lot.

Being that I desire to keep this blog entertaining, light and fun, I best keep this short. I am in no mood for humor. Instead, I will let a picture fill in for the rest of my thoughts.....

There is no time like the present.

I give you fair warning: there may come a time when I contradict myself in this blog. I don't think it is likely as my opinion remains fairly constant but, since I plan these posts out with as much forethought as a 14 year old boy texting dirty pictures of his 13 year old girlfriend to all his buddies, the possibility exists. I should take the time to organize my thoughts, research my topic and maybe even make an outline but that would take too long. My thoughts need to get out and get out quickly. There is no time for discussion or planning. When you think about it, they are kind of like the stimulus package; so important that taking the time to read a few hundred pages that include spending close to a trillion dollars would be a waste of valuable time. We need this package passed now! Like me, I guess the government can deal with the consequences later. Unlike me, there truly are consequences in their actions. If I screw up Mrs. Bald Man just yells at me.

I am staying at my favorite Holiday Inn Express tonight and am looking forward to a breakfast of instant oatmeal and a banana. There isn't much better a breakfast in my opinion. Just add a bit of hot water, stir, and in a few moments, immediate gratification. We live in an instant age. Microwave dinners, 15 minute oil changes, downloadable movies (and not just porn, real movies, too) and instant messaging mean we don't have to wait for anything anymore. My oatmeal is filling and better for me than those award winning cinnamon rolls they tempt you with by putting them immediately beside the utensils and napkins on the breakfast bar. Both reside in the realm of immediate gratification though. I guess everything that is immediate isn't good. Again, kind of like an immediate spendulus package.

The immediacy of the move to socialism that is the stimulus has me wondering just how fast we will see results for it is evident that, when The ONE wants something, it gets done fast. Look at how quick he found a house for Henrietta down in Florida. I hear Julio got a one day furlough from flipping burgers under the arches to do play by play for the Ft. Myers minor league baseball team. It is so fitting their name is the Miracle. Caterpillar announced they would rescind the layoffs of 22,000 employees once the pork laden bill passes. (Thanks to the immediate results of an internet search engine, I was able to quickly discover that the company's Chairman, Jim Owens, is a member of The ONE's Economic Recovery Advisory board.) Caterpillar will wait for the spendulus to pass. There is still no mention in any of these articles about Intel is not waiting for the stimulus to make their multi-billion dollar investment. Intel is a bit more in tune with the do it yourself immediate nature of today.




If more companies decided to go forward instead of waiting to see what the government is about to do to and for us we probably wouldn't need the Congress to vote on a bill they haven't had time to fully read. Unforntately, government, even before they come in and screw things up, make life difficult for businesses. The most evil of all corporations, WalMart wants to expand in this time when business, according to The ONE in his press conference, has no money to expand and needs government to help. What WalMart needs is for government to get the hell out of its way. The world's largest retailer has one store currently operating in Chicago. It was like pulling teeth to get it open. Now they want to build six more and officials are resisting. I guess the elected ones in the first African American President's political home state would rather wait for the feds to send money instead of soiling themselves with cash from a bunch of Arkansas slave traders. This makes sense right? We all know that government run agencies do everything better. Just ask these people in India. They've seen the light but won't see anything else.

Unlike the faithful in Chicago, some cities aren't sitting around waiting for Uncle Barack. They are instead sitting on the side of the highway waiting for Uncle Gordon to speed on by on his way to Walmart. Yes, states and cities are getting their own immediate stimulus in the form of parking and speeding tickets. This isn't the type of recovery we need. Money doesn't need to flow to government. It needs to stay in the hands of individuals and businesses who can put it immediately in to this struggling economy. But, the folks in the beltway don't get it. They don't understand how business works. They only know how government works.

We won't know for some time if the spendulus package is working to help the economy recover. We may never know for sure if it worked at all. The economy, like it has several times before, could heal itself. There won't be an instant turnaround. There are signs of hope in the form of business leaders who refuse to abandon capitalism and succumb to The ONE's ideal of America. Focus on them and you may see there is light at the end of the tunnel. We haven't found the gold at the end of the rainbow but I have hope. I hear Selma Hayek may be coming to town and with my bald head I might be able to pass for an infant!


S2

If you can't say something nice....you must be trying to take over the economy.

If I may be so bold as to once again take a cue from Glenn Beck: My head is literally about to explode! Watching the beggars, whiners and women mouthing "I love you Barack" during The ONE's so-called Town Hall meeting and re-election campaign launch in Florida today, I nearly became sick. Is this what our country has become? 1200 supposed regular folk flock (say that ten times fast. Just not in front of the kids.) to ask for houses, health care and, I wouldn't be surprised, backrubs from the Savior in Chief. I hope he does one of these in Utah. I've been looking for a new car and, if I play my cards right, some government employees wife might give me one if I can just shed a few tears in front of the cameras. Hmmm... I wonder if I will have to pay taxes on my "gift"?

I am still reeling from last night's fear cast regarding our economy and the fact that "only government" has the ability to get us out of this mess. Obama was like Robert De Niro's character in Cape Fear tormenting those who got him elected. The protagonist in this remake believed his lawyer withheld pertinent information during his trial which led to his conviction. In a sick plot twist, Obama seems to be the one holding back and his "remake" of the New Deal is one sequel that shouldn't be made.

While lying about the spendulus package's pork laden loins and skipping completely the complete takeover of our health care system cleverly hidden between the lines, the first African American President painted a portrait of a future full of doom and gloom that only the broad brush strokes of an artistically wielded, (hopefully free of foreign dependence) oil brush of government stimulus and control could prevent. He deferred commenting on the new TARP program so as to not "steal the thunder" of his Treasury Secretary, Timothy "I can't use Turbo Tax but I can run the IRS" Geithner. Today Mr. Geithner outlined a plan to spend another target=blanktwo trillion dollars that is so undefined it makes a Monet look crisp. Wall Street reacted by dropping over 300 points.

Continually framing our economic situation as a crisis is working for the administration. The speed at which they say action needs to be taken is evidently a way to try to keep prying eyes from looking beneath the coats of spending to see the true image on the canvas. It is at though the only news reaching the beyond the recently ordained Pearly Gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is bad. But we know better.

Before grabbing his palette full of colorful White House reporters and their white washed questions and speaking before a country of Rose Colored Glasses wearing supporters about how business was incapable of getting us out of this crisis without government, the President called Intel CEO Paul Otellini to congratulate him on his company's announcement to spend $7 billion over the next two years building plants in the western United States. They are doing it without government funding. So much for the "fact" that the government is the "only" savior we have. Well, other than THE Savior recently elected that is. The free market can and will work if we continue to let it but the spendulus package is about to paint us in to a corner.

Headlines tout how Mr. Otellini supports the President's plan. Most bury this quote deep inside:

On the other hand, as an unabashed capitalist, I worry as government spending approaches 40 percent. At some point in time we look more like a European economy than a classic American economy. ... We’ve got to be cautious as the economy grows again that we try to let the private sector grow faster than the government sector and get it back to balance.

I guess it would have been a bit too much to ask for the President to share some good news with the masses. If he had we might have questioned just how much we have to sacrifice for this artful plan.

I sometimes wonder why I mention any of this. I should just up and run to a more free Caribbean Island. It is obvious you don't care. Just ask Chuck Shumer.



S2

The check is in the mail

I have this propensity to keep the pens from my hotel rooms and bring them home. Mrs. Bald Man has demanded that I cease the practice as our drawers are overflowing with them. With this stated fact I must beg your forgiveness for not taking notes during the first press conference from the first African American President of the United States.

Like most press conferences there was a lot of nothing said but much of it deserves to be commented on. Unfortunately, being flush with pens but sans paper, I must rely on the many thoughts flying around my scattered brain like so many kernels of popcorn exploding in one of Mr. Redenbacher's bags in the microwave. The hard part is, like this type of corn, my ideas are finished popping in about three minutes so I best type fast.

If you didn't watch this press conference in which the press didn't press much, you might not catch the relevance of some of these comments but press on through and I will try to provide you some things to watch for in the news.

The ONE's denial of the existence of "pork" in this stimulus bill was truly an outright lie. Call me an anti-semantic but just because the spending here isn't directly targeted by a specific office holder doesn't mean it is not an earmark. If it isn't pork by definition it still comes from a pig. Millions for a Frisbee golf course squeals more than Ned Beatty in Deliverance. The poke is further populated by sending a check to individuals who don't pay taxes and calling it a tax cut.

Much ado was made by the President about his having inherited this crisis and that, going forward, he wasn't going to make the same mistakes and follow the same failed policies of the past eight years. He commented that these past policies doubled the deficit in recent years. Well, Mr. President, if one of the problems of the last eight years was the doubling of our deficit, how will spending an amount equal to about two thirds of everything produced in the country last year help? Running up a deficit didn't work so let's run up an even bigger one.

About a year ago, checks were sent out to the majority of people in this country. These checks were going to help stimulate the economy and stop the economic skid. It didn't work. Our new plan is to send out bigger checks to the majority of the people in this country to help stimulate the economy and stop the economic skid.

I will let pundits and others with bigger brains than me wax eloquently about the inaccuracies in Obama's statements regarding the biggest crisis since the depression and Japan's lost decade. In neither of these situations did government spending work to solve the problems and turn around the economic slides. The ONE is happy to use his clever little quip about how a stimulus package "by definition" spends money. I'm not a Harvard grad but my dictionary defines stimulus this way:

n., pl. -li (-lī').

1. Something causing or regarded as causing a response.
2. An agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity or response.
3. Something that incites or rouses to action; an incentive

I don't see mandatory spending hinted at. Do you?

The lap dogs in the press corps tossed a few softball to the President about Iran, Afghanistan and A Rod's steroid use. In way of answering, Obama blabbered about how it would be somewhat of a bad kind of thing if somehow Iran were to become a member nation in the Nuclear weapon club. This milk toast answer is in stark contrast to the definitive "Iran can not be allowed to acquire or develop Nucular (sic) arms" statement by George W Bush. Regarding the A-Roid question, I have to wonder if it is any surprise the Washington Post is failing. In the midst of a press conference about the supposed worst economic crisis since Ceasar needed Jesus Christ to convince the taxpayers to render unto him what was his, their White House correspondent asks a baseball question? It should be strikes one two and three he is out of there!

Helen "I hate George Bush and I am a liberal" Thomas proved her significance ended sometime in the Nixon years by asking if "so-called terrorists" were in Pakistan. Huh? I think in addition to being in the bag for Obama she is one of those women thinking of him in the sack. Ewwww.....I need a bag just thinking about that.


Other than the fact that Nurses find it hard to read Doctors' handwriting I don't know that anything new was revealed during this press conference. However, read between the lines of Obama's reference to "electronic advancements in health care" and you will see the road to Nationalized Health Care is being paved with stimulus funds.