Keane Observations

Regarding Romney's Taxes

2012-01-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

In the recent debates trailing candidates attempting to trip up the front runner asked/demanded that he release his tax returns and since then it has been a growing issue. Whether it is bored media looking for something to fill air time or supporters of other candidates, there has been a a lot of discussion of whether Gov. Romney should release his past tax returns. Romney in response has shifted his position from "nothing to see here" to briefly discussing his tax situation and saying he'll release the returns at a later date.My feelings on this issue are mixed. I am not a Romney supporter because based on considerable research by a couple people (Tom Blumer & Dan McLaughlin) whose opinions I've learned to trust he is not someone we can rely upon to do the right thing and moreover his main selling point of "most electable" is clearly a myth. However, I can not get on board with the "Release the Tax Records" line of attack for several reasons. Primarily, I'm opposed to this as it reeks of the leftist nonsense of demonize this guy because his returns show he's rich or they reveal that his accountants properly applied current law to minimize his tax burden. As conservatives, do we want to attack someone for being successful? Do we want to criticize him for correctly following the law? Hopefully, your answer to both is a resounding NO!Secondly, what do we expect to learn from Romney's tax returns? Will we find out he is rich? Nope, that is already known. Will we find out that he pays a lower rate of tax based on the majority of his income being dividends, long term capital gains and other investment income as opposed to regular wages paid on a W-2. Nope, that also is already known.All Romney's tax returns should do is confirm that our tax system is a horrific mess which needs to be greatly simplified or abolished. Beyond that, the fact that everyone is clamoring for his returns shows what a gross violation of our privacy the mandatory income tax return entails. People over the last decade have denounced the Patriot Act over manufactured fears of loss of privacy yet they voluntarily provide all sorts of information to the government every year in hope of getting a tax refund. In recent years, I'll admit I joined in the laughter as released tax returns from various politicians confirm that most liberals (who believe charity starts and ends with government taxation) give very little to charity while those greedy conservatives turn out to be veryy generous. Thing is, it is none of my business whether my neighbor or a political candidate tithes to their church or gives to the Salvation Army, etc. Yet, because our income tax system has gotten so ridiculous all of that information is considered fair game. It is wrong. We should elect candidates based on their policy positions and readiness to perform the duties of the office they are seeking.

The USMC Urination Kerfluffle

2012-01-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

As you're likely aware a video was made public this week that shows some Marines peeing on what looks to be bodies of deceased enemy. Predictably, some people are rushing to pass judgment and condemn those Marines. In my opinion too much is being made of this and we will soon be excessively punishing these guys. Let me make a few points we should be able to agree upon:
- War is Hell. That is not just an old saying, but a profound truth.
- Our soldiers and Marines have made multiple war zone deployments since the start of the War on Terror. We have asked them to endure incredible hardships.
- They have killed the enemy and seen friends die and suffer severe injuries. That affects a person in ways the rest of us can not fully appreciate.
- During every war, combatants relieve stress in ways that would be abhorrent to those of us back in civilization.
- Desecrating a corpse is clearly bad, disgusting and wrong and they shouldn't have done it.
- Just as we didn't need to hear every misdeed in wars past (and don't doubt for a second that the war fighters in the "Greatest Generation" relieved war fatigue or stress in horrific ways as well), we did NOT need to find out about this minor transgression.
- In the 21st century anyone with a cell phone is a potential camera man ready to document the good and the bad.
- The video should never have been uploaded to the internet.

Having said all that, we are left with the fact that the video got shared online and you can't put that genie back in the bottle. Our politicians are certainly breathing down the military's neck demanding swift and dramatic justice. In a just world, the "buddy" who put the video online would be the only one facing any retribution as he not only betrayed his comrades, but also clearly helped Taliban recruiting and gave them justification for future actions on their parts. We don't live in a just world and this traitor will be hailed as a courageous whistle blower. BS! If he wanted to blow the whistle he could have gone up the chain of command and reported this misbehavior. If he had done the right thing those men would likely have been chewed out and given appropriate punishment (restriction to barracks, loss of pay or rank, etc) and they also would have been afforded counseling to see if they were adjusting properly to returning to civilization. Now, they will probably face career ending Courts Martial level punishment as the Generals will sacrifice these men to appease angry and appalled civilian "leadership." Our politicians will go over board to make the case that what these guys did is not in accord with our value system. well, no kidding. Guess what? Shooting people is not in accord with our value system either. We send our military people off to foreign lands to do ugly stuff and then act horrified to find out they did ugly stuff we didn't specifically ask them to do.

Lastly, so no one thinks I'm justifying war crimes and excusing any and all behavior let me be clear I definitely am not. There are of course rules of war to preclude raping, plundering and pillaging and to protect innocent civilians. Our soldiers should be re-instructed on those rules before deploying and violations should be dealt with when identified. However, I maintain this is not similar to My Lai where civilians were slaughtered. This was nothing more than stressed out men relieving themselves on dead enemy combatants.

Recess Appointments

2012-01-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

The last paragraph of Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states:

"The President shall have the Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

President Obama is clearly misusing and abusing this authority with his recent appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the appointment of Richard Cordray to head the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. None of these appointments were made to fill vacancies that happened during a Senate recess.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution says of the president:

Before he enter on the Execution of the Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:-"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

By his recent usurpation of congressional powers by ignoring the requirement of obtaining advise and consent of the Senate for these appointments is obviously in violation of the Constitution. These actions warrant serious response from the legislative branch. Making a few speeches denouncing this action is insufficient. The leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives need to make an unequivocal demand for President Obama to back down with the clear message that failure to obey the Constitution will result in initiation of impeachment proceedings.

Is There a Deadline for Entering the Presidential Race?

2011-08-20T03:26:00.000-07:00

Recently people have been agitating about Sarah Palin. "Why won't she declare that she is running?", they ask. "Why doesn't she bow out and endorse someone in the race?", they demand. I sense what "they" mean is why doesn't she get out of the way of my preferred candidate. To all of the various plaintive cries for her to decide immediately, I say what's the rush? Why are all these people rushing in to a race that is so far off? Other than Gov. Rick Perry who just declared last Saturday, all of the GOP candidates jumped into the fray way too early. At this point in 1951, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was still serving as Supreme NATO Commander in Europe. When did we start making a presidential campaign a two year process? If my memory serves me, it is a recent phenomenon of starting active campaigning prior to January of the election year. Why are candidates deciding to enter the fray earlier? In the 2008 campaign Fred Thompson was criticized for supposedly starting late. The complaints about Thompson's entry into the race centered on the notion that money had already been committed to other candidates. I could be wrong, but the money issue may not be as critical to a potential Palin campaign. A lot of campaign funds go towards staff and administrative concern (travel, etc), but by far the largest expenditure is on advertising to get the candidate's name out to potential voters. With her strong base of support and very active presence in social media Palin may be able to overcome some of those concerns. If Palin chooses to enter the race for the GOP nomination I have no doubt that even if she makes her announcement in October she will quickly raise enough money to wage an effective primary campaign.

Bottom line: people need to just relax. Sure, we all want Obama out of office. However, starting the primary season earlier doesn't bring the election or the next inauguration any sooner. Clearing the field for a nominee immediately just allows the extreme left wing media more time to undermine our nominee. Look how Perry has been treated since his announcement. Media attacks the one in best shape to beat Obama. Notice the media is not attacking Romney as he is their preferred candidate against Obama.

Regardless of who ends up our nominee, we need to ensure we have properly and fully vetted the candidate well ahead of the general election. Dem's and their complicit allies in the media will be doing opposition research and we don't need any October surprises (Bush DUI for example). Right now Palin is the only GOP candidate who has been vetted. Thoroughly check out the rest. They are applying for an important job so we need to give them a serious review.

A Vigorous Examination of Candidates During a Primary is a Good Thing

2011-08-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've heard a lot of comments on Twitter and at various blogs that run along the lines of condemning any criticism of someone else's preferred candidate as a sin of Republicans eating their own. There is some element of validity to that sentiment. It would be nonsensical for me to call anyone not 100% in agreement with me on the issues a RINO. I also think there are lines that shouldn't be crossed and things that shouldn't be said in an attempt to run down someone in your own party to bolster your preferred candidate. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with an open, honest fight for the nomination. You are not trashing Gov. Rick Perry by bringing up his stance on immigration as shown by the Texas version of the DREAM Act. You are not unfairly trashing Mitt Romney by bringing up the similarity of his health care plan to Obama-care. A candidates voting record is fair game. If that makes things difficult for people with long legislative careers, so be it.

There are some things that should not be regular parts of your case against a candidate. A candidate's religion or ethnicity should be off limits. I'd also say lay off Huntsman's service as Ambassador to China in Obama's administration. If the president asks you to serve our country and you can do so without compromising your values you should answer that call. A candidate's weight or appearance shouldn't be a disqualification and obsessing on it reflects poorly on those who do. For the most part the candidate's family shouldn't be fair game.

The better informed the electorate is about the candidates hopefully the better outcome we will get from elections. Let the people decide at the ballot box how relevant things are to fulfilling the duties of the office. Some may believe Perry's college grades are a big deal. Personally, if I'm hiring a 60 year old man for a job I'm looking at his accomplishments not his college grades from decades ago. Every knock on a candidate should be weighed in that manner. Each voter has to decide for themselves what matters most to them and vote accordingly. After the primary season is over the differences must be forgotten.

Please use the comment box to elaborate on this subject. What is appropriate or inappropriate in your opinion?

Who Exactly are the Terrorists here?

2011-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

After the attacks of 9/11 some apologists of Islamic extremists fought against certain people being labeled terrorists. Some repeated the cliche "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" which was coined decades prior during the conflict between British forces and the Irish Republican Army. Since then some on the left have used that phrase to excuse supporting murderous thugs like Che Guevara. The general gist of the phrase is meant to imply that if the people we are calling terrorists were on our side we wouldn't be denouncing their actions, but would rather celebrate their successes. Obviously, intelligent people can see through that flawed logic and dismiss it as nonsense. What brings the question up now? Well, today Vice President Joe Biden said the following: "They have acted like terrorists" in reference to Tea Party congressmen. So, let me get this straight, we have to be very careful about using labels like terrorist and must not rush to judgment in regards to crazy Muslims who kill people, but it is perfectly fine to equate citizens concerned with our national debt exceeding 14 TRILLION dollars with terrorists. No, Mr. Biden, it is slimy politicians of your ilk who have spent other peoples money to bribe voters with promises of never ending government largesse that are terrorizing our grandchildren with debt they'll never be able to realistically pay down with out creating an economy that will put the great depression to shame. Mr Vice President by once again refusing to deal with our nations debt problem, you and your colleagues in DC have only assured the problem will get much worse. Anyone who has ever paid for anything with credit knows full well that debt is not like wine or cheese it does NOT get better with age. The entrenched political hacks in DC failed again and some like Biden are attacking the only people who wanted to actually address the problem. Pathetic!

Nobody in Media Brings the Crazy Quite Like Ed Schultz

2011-06-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

From the fine folks at Accuracy in Media we get this side splitting line:

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz: “Republicans Should Also Show the Same Kind of Character that Anthony Weiner Did Today”

There are misbehaving politicians in both parties, but for Schultz to use the word character in the same sentence as Weiner's name is comical.

Is Bobby Abreu a Future Baseball Hall of Famer?

2011-06-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

Bobby Abreu is not a knock your socks off with amazing statistics type of Hall of Fame baseball player. It is easy to dismiss his case for enshrinement. He's never lead the league in any major offensive category. He hits for some power but doesn't have the totals to compete with the power numbers of his generation. He runs the bases well, but stolen bases don't get you in the Hall unless you're setting records. What Abreu brings to the conversation is incredible consistency and reliability. Ask a manager what they want from their players and pretty high on the list will be to know the player will always be available to play and will give predictably good performance. Since he became a full time player in 1994, Abreu has played more than 150 games every year. His 162 game average is Runs 103, Homers 21, RBI 97, SB 28, and BB 103. That is very valuable performance for a team to know they can count on. His career On-Base Percentage is a stellar .400 meaning he reaches base four out of every ten plate appearances. People may read this and laugh at the notion of Abreu as a Hall of Famer. To them I'd say consider Tony Gwynn. Gwynn was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but Abreu has actually provided more offensive value to his teams. The difference is in Bases of Balls (BB). Gwynn while garnering over 3,000 hits only drew 434 walks. By contrast, Abreu has already walked 1,387 times. That disparity is why Abreu has already scored more runs in his career than Gwynn. The object of the game is to score more runs than your opposition.

Abreu draws too many walks to reach any of the supposedly magic numbers like 3,000 hits. It is impossible to predict how players will age. Having said that, if Abreu can remain healthy and produce a couple more good seasons he will merit very serious consideration. He could finish with 300+ homers, 400+ SB's, 1,500 Runs, 1,400 RBI, and close to 600 doubles. Add them all up and you've had one heck of a career.

When is a Politician Truly Non-Partisan?

2011-06-08T04:33:00.000-07:00

When does a career politician lose their affiliation to a political party? That's right, when it is a Democrat being charged with a crime. Here is a link to an article about a councilman accused of stealing $300,000 intended to support youth baseball.

D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan has sued Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas alleging Thomas directed to his personal use more than $300,000 in city funds meant to support youth baseball in the District.

The lawsuit filed Monday in D.C. Superior Court asks Thomas to pay the cash back and requests damages totalling more than $1 million. It alleges that Thomas spent the cash on an Audi and trips to Las Vegas and Pebble Beach, among other items.

Read the entire article and let me know if you see either "Democrat" or "Republican" anywhere in the article. Since it is a negative story and party affiliation isn't listed you can be certain the crooked politician is a Democrat. I will admit that since this particular crook is a DC politician they may not be aware that there is more than one political party.

Did Your Opinion of Congressman Weiner Change Due to Recent Revelations?

2011-06-07T05:01:00.000-07:00

Rep Weiner (D-NY) has been in the news over the past week for his internet behavior. The newly married congressman has been sending flirty tweets and salacious pictures to various women for some time. A little more than a week ago he accidentally send one of the pictures through a public Tweet rather than through the Direct Message (DM) method. He quickly deleted his offensive picture of his crotch and made wild claims of being hacked. His story changed over the next couple days and he refused to request an investigation. Despite being ridiculed for avoiding an investigation, he was hoping the matter would just drop. However, yesterday more pictures he sent to other women surfaced as well as some of his internet chatting and he was forced to address the issue. Late yesterday afternoon, he admitted some limited misbehavior over the years with "about six women." The number of women is in scare quotes because I've done enough interviews of suspects to understand that words like "about," "approximately," etc. are used in order to minimize the quantity of their offenses. Now, if more than six women come forward he didn't lie because he did not definitively claim it was only six.

The title I used for this post was picked because of the different reactions I've seen online from people across the political spectrum regarding Weiner post-admission of misbehavior. For the last week or so, many liberals have been supporting Weiner with various versions of the "he's too smart to have done something so stupid." For those of us who have been disgusted with his political behavior over the years this episode was viewed not with surprise but rather as confirmation of his base character and lousy judgment.

My opinion of Weiner is no lower today than it was a year ago. This episode merely reinforces my opinion of him. Those who are surprised or shocked by his behavior have not been paying attention. Here is just one example, Weiner chose former president Bill Clinton to officiate at his wedding last year. If you have someone noted for being unfaithful throughout his own marriage officiate your marriage you are sending a message to your betrothed about your views on honesty and fidelity. By allowing him to pick Clinton, the bride was accepting that she was marrying someone unlikely to take his vows seriously.

Goofiest Global Warming Claim Yet

2011-06-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm going out on a limb with the title to this post as the global warming alarmists have said some real nutty stuff. Regardless, I'm confident that the article I'm linking to is far beyond past claims. Here's the link. Here is a snippet of the insanity:

It's Saturday night, and you want to catch the latest summer blockbuster. You do a quick Google search to find the venue and right time, and off you go to enjoy some mindless fun.

Meanwhile, your Internet search has just helped kill the planet. Depending on how long you took and what sites you visited, your search caused the emission of one to 10 grams of carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Sure, it's not a lot on its own — but add up all of the more than one billion daily Google searches, throw in 60 million Facebook status updates each day, 50 million daily tweets and 250 billion emails per day, and you're making a serious dent in some Greenland glaciers.

No, this was not pulled from TheOnion.com or other parody site. The kook who wrote this drivel, Alex Roslin is actually a paid journalist who has won journalism awards. Only good thing is he is Canadian so he (hopefully) doesn't vote in our elections.

Breaking News: Tressell Resigns

2011-05-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

In surprising news this morning, Jim Tressel announced that he is resigning as head coach of The Ohio State University football team. Tressel is a great man and has been a very good coach for our team. Sad to see him go and especially sad to see him go under a cloud of NCAA nonsense. I'm not going into detail about the players who broke rules and how in hindsight Tressel may have protected himself by going public immediately and getting rid of the players. Those players can carry the shame of bringing down a great coach without my elaborating further. Tressel did a lot of good for the school and the community. Unfortunately, as we all know, one screw up wipes out your entire slate of "At a Boys."

Goodbye Coach and thanks for the memories.

Rest in Peace - Harmon Killebrew

2011-05-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame baseball player and one of the greatest sluggers of the 1960's, Harmon Killebrew passed on this morning. Killebrew was sort of the Jim Thome of his generation as he was liked by all who knew him and you never heard a bad word about him.

Rest in Peace Killer.

Correct Way to Apologize

2011-05-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

Over the years we have gotten used to public figures misbehaving or saying something inappropriate and then when there is the predictable public condemnation they issue the "I'm sorry if I offended anyone" non-apology type apology statement. Most of those come off sounding as if the offended party is at fault for being offended. Well, today we have a politician/actor caught having fathered an illegitimate child and he actually gave an actual apology where he took responsibility for ruining his marriage and family.

Schwarzenegger told the Times in a statement that also was sent to The Associated Press early Tuesday. "I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.

"I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time," the statement concluded. "While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not."

He still deserves scorn for his actions, but at least he didn't go with the standard mealy-mouthed statement. The next ball player testing positive for steroids or celebrity caught driving drunk should follow Schwarzenegger's example and just admit they did wrong and take responsibility for their actions.

Why is the Obama Administration Afraid of Saying "I Don't Know"

2011-05-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we were informed about the killing of Osama bin Laden (OBL). At that time everything was positive as it appeared the military operation went very well. President Obama was being congratulated for making a decision that frankly many didn't think he was capable of making. Since the initial reports the administration has been snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with the inept handling of release of information about the military operation.

I understand that the "fog of war" can result in misinformation or confusion about specifics. However, if you don't know for certain that you are giving a correct answer there is nothing wrong with saying "I don't know" or something similar to end a line of questioning with a non-answer rather than a wrong answer. It is ridiculous the number of details of this military operation that they released and then retracted or modified. With it being a military operation they also had the plausible option of just saying specific details were classified and will be reviewed for later release. Presidential spokesman Jay Carney has accomplished the seemingly impossible task of making his predecessor Robert Gibbs look competent.
A partial list of key details that have changed include:
OBL was pointing a weapon when killed to he was unarmed.
OBL used a woman as a human shield or he didn't.
OBL's wife was killed. Now, she was just shot in the leg.
U.S. military was engaged in a lengthy firefight. Now, only one guy in compound fired a weapon and he was quickly dispatched.
Picture of OBL corpse will be released in a few hours to we've decided not to release the pictures.

The whole burial at sea nonsense and refusing to release the pictures undermines the primary reason to send in a live team rather than just bomb the place from the safety of a plane or ship. Why did we put sailors lives at risk to go in and get him? I assume it was because we wanted certainty that we got the guy. I don't doubt for a minute that we did actually kill the right guy. I believe they performed DNA tests and results showed they got OBL. Problem is, not everyone is as trusting as I am. This post-mission ineptitude plays into the hands of both the conspiracy nuts and those in the Muslim world who want to lead people to believe he may still be alive.

The lesson to learn from this is in the future it would be better to only release the key information: Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces. The other information, much of which was incorrect, did not need to be released immediately or at all in some cases. You can't go wrong with the truth and you can't lie if you don't say anything.

If You Needed Another Reason to Dislike the Pittsburgh Steelers Read This

2011-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

If anyone out there needs a better reason to dislike the Pittsburgh Steelers beside them being divisional rival, one of their players is a moron who doesn't believe Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall isn’t convinced Osama bin Laden was involved in 9/11.

Seriously.

Mendehall posted such things on his Twitter which includes:

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."

"I'm not convinced he was even behind the attacks we have really seen no evidence to prove it other than the gov telling us."

I won't root for an opposing player to get injured, but I'm sure rooting for NFL defenses to clean Mendenhall's clock every time he carries the ball from now on. Hopefully, Joe Haden or T.J. Ward can knock some sense into his head.

Tax The Rich!

2011-04-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

The mantra of "Tax the Rich" is being shouted frequently now by liberals wanting to deflect attention from our debt & deficit problems caused by decades of over spending. Our president won't come out and say it in those words. Instead being too cute by half, President Obama will say something like "I don't need another tax cut, Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut." Well, Victor Davis Hanson wrote a great column addressing the very notion of taxing the rich and in it he responded to Obama's misleading comments.

But Warren Buffett, unlike the building contractor or family dentist, is the world's third-richest man, worth nearly $50 billion. And Obama is probably the most privileged person on the planet, with all of his expenses covered -- from a nice free mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to a huge private jet.

The rich and the poor are not separated across an impenetrable barrier. The president's $250,000 line in the sand is actually quite fluid. Most of those who make incomes above it did not do so 10 years ago -- and they won't, on average, 10 years hence. The income of well-off professionals and small-business people fluctuates widely as they ascend, peak and descend in earnings -- given factors like health, age, and uncertainty in employment and business. It would be more accurate to say that raising taxes on the better-off is a sort of punishment for those who break into the top brackets for a few short years and try to be careful to save what they make and not spend what they don't.

That is the thing. When demagogues like Obama dishonestly rail against the "rich" and talk about fairness in taxation they are merely attempting to fool the uninformed people who get their political information from 30 second soundbites from useful idiots like Katie Couric or Bob Schieffer. If Obama was concerned about taxing the rich or in ensuring fairness in the tax system he would actually propose simplifying the system that Obama's friends like Buffett and GE's Jeff Immelt manipulate to minimize their tax obligations.

I'd cut and paste more of Hanson's column (it is all worth stealing), but I'd rather refer people to read the entire piece. Read it. Bookmark it. Print it out. And next time someone who is half smart but mostly uninformed says we can solve our fiscal problems by "taxing the rich" ask them to slowly read this article.

Bottom line to the whole situation is you could tax the rich at 100% and it wouldn't solve our fiscal problem. We as a nation owe more than FOURTEEN TRILLION dollars and it is increasing every day! A trillion is a thousand billions! A billion is a thousand millions! A trillion is a million millions. We are all going to have to pay more taxes at some point. However, until we convince the stink'n politicians to stop spending (which is just bribing us for votes with spending funded by borrowing against our future) it makes no sense to give them any more ammunition.

Palin on the Rising Cost of Gasoline

2011-03-15T17:08:00.001-07:00

Today, Sarah Palin had a Facebook post regarding the rising cost of gasoline and how President Obama's actions/decisions are contributing to the rise. Ever the optimist, Palin referred to Obama as "The $4 a gallon president." I say optimist because based on his stance on domestic drilling and past comments about preferring more expensive fuel to encourage greater reliance on mass transit, Obama is aiming for a price much higher than $4. Here is the opening paragraph, click the link above for the rest.

The $4-Per-Gallon President by Sarah Palin

Is it really any surprise that oil and gas prices are surging toward the record highs we saw in 2008 just prior to the economic collapse? Despite the President’s strange assertions in his press conference last week, his Administration is not a passive observer to the trends that have inflated oil prices to dangerous levels. His war on domestic oil and gas exploration and production has caused us pain at the pump, endangered our already sluggish economic recovery, and threatened our national security.

The evidence of the President’s anti-drilling mentality and his culpability in the high gas prices hurting Americans is there for all to see. The following is not even an exhaustive list:

Is it 2012 yet?

Is Another Continuing Resolution Defensible?

2011-03-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

We are about six months into the current federal fiscal year yet we are operating without a budget. When the legislature is unable to get a budget passed and signed into law, there is no authorization to continue to fund the government. When that happens the legislature passes a stop gap measure to keep essential government functions running. That measure is called a Continuing Resolution (CR). The CR is supposed to be for a short time frame while the finishing touches are put on the budget. Well, like anything with the government, it has grown to be quite different from what it originally was intended. Not only are we nearly half-way through the year for which the budget is for, but we are not close to a finished product.

A number of new members of congress are opposing the idea of approving yet another CR. They correctly believe no real effort to pass a budget will be seen as long as the CR's keep getting approved. Support those members. They need to understand that the media will by and large paint a government shutdown as a negative and will assign blame to Republicans. They should not pretend it won't happen. Instead they must get out front of the issue and educate the populace. Some people will not understand no matter how well it is explained. However, if they leave it to the media to educate the man on the street you can be certain they will misunderstand the situation. Also, don't lecture as though speaking to a masters level economics class. Stick to the basics. Make sure people understand this is a budget that should have been passed last year before the elections were held. Explain that Dems had both houses of congress, but were afraid to pass a budget that could hurt them in the mid-term elections. Explain the danger of the ever expanding debt. Don't talk trillions. To people struggling to pay for a tank of gas, a million, a billion and a trillion might as well all mean the same thing. Instead of trillions, explain how many thousands they personally owe as their share of the debt. People understand thousands.

What Unions Do To Industries Plus Number One Reason There Should Be NO Public Sector Unions

2011-03-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Shamelessly stolen material (h/t Don Surber):

The U.S. Postal Service will post a deficit of $8 billion this year.

That is to cover its union promises to union workers for pensions and other post-retirement benefits.

So what did postal management do?

From the Washington Post:

The U.S. Postal Service and one of its largest labor unions have reached agreement on a new 41/2-year contract that would give raises to about 205,000 workers but force them to pay more for their health insurance.

The tentative deal with the American Postal Workers Union would provide workers with a 3 1/2 percent pay increase over the life of the contract, starting with a 1 percent raise in November 2012, the union said Monday. Postal clerks, mechanics, truck drivers and maintenance staff will vote in coming weeks on the contract, which would run through May 2015.

It is one thing for a union to destroy a private company or industry as the UAW has attempted to do with the auto makers. Individuals have an option whether or not to buy a car and who to buy one from if they decide to make that purchase. Likewise, when management of a private company negotiates a deal with a union they are risking their money (or money of the shareholders they represent). However, when public sector unions negotiate their lucrative compensation packages the other side of the equation has no choice in the matter. I can decide to not buy an overly expensive car. I can not decide to refuse to pay the taxes to fund other people's generosity. A side issue in these incestuous negotiations in staffing requirements. How are decisions made on how many policemen or fire fighters are needed in a particular municipality? Those decisions are based on recommendations of "experts" who usually just happen to be former policemen or fire fighters. Any guess on whether they will err on the side of greater efficiency or on the side of greater redundancy? You got it. Have to be able to cover multiple emergencies simultaneously. Never mind the unlikelyhood of multiple fires or the fact that neighboring communities can help if it happened. Problem is people making those recommendations have no concern for the cost impact especially the long term obligations.

Some people claim that debt is a non issue since taxes haven't gone up. Ridiculous! That makes as much sense as someone telling their spouse that their credit card debt isn't an issue since they aren't currently paying it. Financial pain deferred is financial pain magnified.

Japanese Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami

2011-03-11T04:30:00.000-08:00

Over night a major earthquake caused massive damage to the island nation of Japan and has caused a tsunami which is moving across the Pacific Ocean. As with any event of this nature, the initial damage and death reports are meaningless. Since starting to type this post, CNBC has updated the "official" death toll twice. Sadly, we can expect that to happen many more times throughout the next several days.

Please keep the people of Japan and all those in the path of the tsunami in your prayers. We are of course focusing on major population centers like Hawaii and the United States west coast. However, there are many small islands between Japan and the United States.

Call Your Congressman!

2011-03-01T20:02:00.001-08:00

Do you have five minutes? Everybody has a few minutes to spare. Take the time to call your representative in DC. Never forget that they work for you. Doesn't matter how high and mighty they appear they still are your employee. If someone works for you then you have an obligation to occasionally give them direction and feedback.

I called my representative's office this morning and gave them my two cents on three matters that were bugging me and was able to look up the number, get through to a live voice, and get things off my chest in less than five minutes. The trick is know what you want to say. Write a couple notes and keep to your script so you don't ramble. Tell them the problem or your concern and what you'd like done.

The three things I complained about today:
1. Ridiculous & convoluted tax system. Simplify it! Give us a flat tax or national sales tax.
2. Eric Holder, the Attorney General made a blatantly racist statement this week in explaining why the Justice Department won't enforce the law evenly while he is in office. I want him to resign or be fired. My congressman can't make that happen, but he can call for it.
3. The Navy announced that a warship will be named for John Murtha, the late crooked congressman from Pennsylvania. Besides being a worthless crooked politician, in 2006 Murtha maliciously without facts accused Marines in combat of committing cold blooded murder. Nothing any more important than a latrine should be named for that wretched fool.

Will my congressman (Rep. John Boehner) fix those problems? Probably not. However, at least he knows a constituent is concerned about those issues. What he does will let me know if he listens to his constituents.

If your representative hears similar complaints from lots of constituents they are more likely to take action.

Cranky Conservative Returns to Blogging

2011-03-01T14:24:00.001-08:00

Paul Zummo aka The Cranky Conservative, one of the more insightful conservative bloggers took a hiatus last August. I'm glad to report he has started a new blog and is back in action. Visit his blog for commentary on sports (Mets fan), U.S. history, current events, religion (Catholic), and politics.

If you want some deeper reading, Paul also is a contributor at Almost Chosen People where he has been (slowly) reviewing the Federalist Papers.

I Guess He Forgot to Knock on Wood

2011-02-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

You know how you cringe when hearing someone say "I've never had an accident?" We tend to assume people are jinxing themselves when they make pronouncements of that sort. Well, ever since VISA started running commercials of the four jerks bragging about never missing attending the Superbowl football game I've been waiting to hear that one of them missed their flight this year. Well, wasn't a missed flight, but one of the four guys won't be there tomorrow.

Family members say 79-year-old Robert Cook, of Brown Deer, Wis., is hospitalized and has sent his two daughters to Dallas instead. Cook's wife, Sarah, tells The Associated Press they were packed and ready to go Thursday, but her husband became very weak and ended up in the hospital. Sarah Cook says her husband is very depressed that he was unable to make it to Dallas.

Robert Cook and three other men who've been to every Super Bowl since 1967 created the "Never Missed a Super Bowl Club" and gained recognition in a recent Visa credit card commercial.

Get well soon, but you're no longer a member of the club.

What Do We Buy With All That Foreign Aid?

2011-02-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

The United States government takes a lot of money from tax payers. A good deal of that confiscated money gets given away in foreign aid. I've heard several different arguments in favor of this expenditure. Whether the argument is humanitarian needs or political considerations I haven't found any of them to be all that persuasive. Primary reason I haven't been sold on the idea is my belief that if you attempt to buy friends you will wind up with no money and no friends.

What brings the issue of wasteful foreign aid up today is the deteriorating situation in Egypt. We have been giving Egypt more than a billion dollars of aid every year for decades. There is word today that their embattled president Hosni Mubarak is getting prepared to go into exile. As part of the story on his impending departure Bloomberg News talked about his net worth being between 40 and 70 billion dollars! Hmmm, wonder where he got all that money? Oh yeah, we took it from our tax payers and gave it to him.

End all foreign aid now! No additional foreign aid should be allocated until we have budget surplusses and then all aid should be direct humanitarian aid.

Today's Political Comedy

2011-02-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

In an article about who a New Hampshire Republican party official will support in 2012 we get this snippet:

“He’s a nice guy. But there’s a number of guys I’d vote for. He’s not one of them,” Wrobleski said of Pawlenty. “I don’t think he’s conservative enough.

So, Wrobleski, a supporter of Mitt Romney, in explaining his reasons for not voting for Tim Pawlenty says he's not conservative enough. Pawlenty is not charismatic. He's not exciting. He's probably not one of my first choices, but Pawlenty is about as conservative a candidate as you're going to find from Minnesota. What makes this funny is the comment coming from a Romney supporter. However Romney is selling himself these days don't let anyone fool you into believing he is an arch-conservative. Heck, when he ran against Ted Kennedy for the U.S. Senate he tried to position himself to Kennedy's left on some issues and then as governor of Massachusetts he led the way to enactment of a state health care overhaul used as a blueprint for Obama-Care. You can support Romney for various reasons. Whether you like his business acumen or you think his competent demeanor would be a sharp contrast to President Obama, there are legitimate reasons some might choose to back his doomed run for the presidency. However, claiming his potential primary opponents are not conservative enough will just get you laughed at as a fool.

On that point, if, as it appears, the health care nonsense is going to be a key issue in 2012, then Mitt Romney would be the worst candidate for the Republicans to run. How will House and Senate candidates reconcile support for the national ticket with hammering their opponent on their vote for HCR. It is very difficult to beat an incumbent president, but you don't pick a nominee who will undermine down ticket candidates.

Next Time Some Fool Calls Palin Stupid Remind Them of This Comment

2011-01-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

I'd hope most 5th graders would know basic civics better than your average Democratic U.S. senator. If Sarah Palin had made this comment it would be the lead story on MSNBC all week. Since this nonsense was uttered by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) no one will hear about it on ABC, NBC, CBS or CNN. The fact that some percentage of the population still gets their filtered news primarily from those networks is why it is important to note the bias in mainstream news.

In case any liberals are reading this post and don't understand Schumer's ignorance, the three branches of our government are Executive, Legislative and Judicial.

UPDATE: Not really an update, more of an "And Another Thing." We require that applicants for most government jobs take a civil service exam. Why don't we require candidates for federal office take an exam. Is delivering mail that much more important than writing our laws?

Proof Exercize Isn't Good for You Afterall - Jack LaLanne Edition

2011-01-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96. LaLanne used to joke that he couldn't die because it would ruin his image. Hope he was wrong on that count.

Jack LaLanne - Rest in Peace

First Major Mistake of the 2012 Election Cycle

2011-01-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

I realize the year 2011 has just begun, but Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) has provided us with a revealing sound bite that should be played at every opportunity in the 2012 election ads:

Clyburn called for the Transportation Security Administration, which administers airport security checkpoints, to interact “a little better” with the Capitol Hill Police.

“We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

Nothing quite shows the arrogance of congress as clearly as a complaint about being treated like those miserable wretches known as citizens (or considered subjects to Clyburn). Now, I won't pretend to be confident that we can unseat Clyburn as he is a longtime fixture in the House from a very safe district. However, some of his more vulnerable colleagues have to be aware his remarks will used to paint them as equally arrogant.

We do NOT need to take legislative action to further protect members of congress in response to the Arizona attack. We have been a country for over two hundred years and the shooting of Rep. Giffords is one the only shootings of a sitting member of congress. We are a nation of over three hundred million people and statistically odds are some of them are nuts. More special treatment and privileges for our pampered ruling class is not a proper action to take at this time.

Sargent Shriver - Rest in Peace

2011-01-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

R. Sargent Shriver passed away today at 95 years old. He has suffered from Alzheimer for that last few years and has been a widower since his wife died two years ago.

While he was an in-law to the Kennedy's, Shriver should not just be lumped in with them and dismissed. By all accounts, Shriver was a good and decent man. He was the first director of the Peace Corps and his heart was in the right place as the leader of LBJ's misguided "War on Poverty."

It is easily forgotten that he was a candidate for national office. He was George McGovern's running mate in 1972 and ran on his own in 1976 but was an afterthought in the primaries and quickly dropped out of the race. He was the last pro-life candidate on a Democrat national ticket.

Sargent Shriver - Rest in Peace

Haste Makes Awful Legislation - Tucson Edition

2011-01-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

I understand the more common saying is "Haste Makes Waste." However, our congress has shown time and again the haste make for awful legislation. Often the worst abuses from our government comes in response to tragedies or disasters. Egotistical politicians feel that if they don't do something - anything then they are not doing their job. Problem is bad things do happen. You could never pass a law that will ensure nothing bad will happen. In the wake of the recent shootings in Arizona one of my concerns was what sort of nonsense would congress come up with in response to this event. I expected a renewed call for gun control. I expected some would call for full time security for congress critters. Our Washington DC overlords did not disappoint as there has been various silly ideas bandied about in the last few days. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) takes the cake with his stupid proposal:

New York Republican Rep. Peter King said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation to ban the carrying of any firearm within 1,000 feet of what he described as “high-profile government officials.”

What!?! Not only would his stupid idea be impossible to follow or enforce, but it also would have done nothing to stop the crime it was in response to. Would that nut have stayed 1,000 feet away from the congressman just because of a law. Well, considering that the law against murder did not stop him from murdering several people I doubt new law saying stay away from the VIP's with a weapon would stop him either.

It does seem like our "friends" in DC are taking this shooting a lot more seriously than they take most mass shootings. Are they saying it is worse to shoot one of them than to shoot a regular citizen (known to congress as subjects). I deplore what that nut did in Arizona. However, if I have to choose between having the people scared of the government or the government scared of the people . . . . it is a pretty easy choice.

UPDATE:

Since I wrote this piece yesterday critical of Rep. King ridiculous legislative proposal, Chris Moody of the Daily Caller wrote a column titled "Washington’s top five most ridiculous reactions to the Arizona shooting
. Click the link.

Along the lines of stupid responses, Jonathan Last noticed that it didn't make much sense for President Obama to send the Director of the FBI to visit Arizona and then . . . . . . have the FBI set up a dedicated task force on the case involving “hundreds of FBI agents.” Don't get me wrong, this was a horrendous crime. However, the criminal was caught immediately after committing the crime.* Last makes a valid point that the FBI has finite resources and tying up "hundreds of agents" on this essentially solved case means they are not doing whatever they would have otherwise. Additionally, considering our federal deficit and growing debt it appears that decisions continue to be made with no regard for cost. Basically, we spent millions to get a task force to the scene so the administration could pretend to be doing something.

* Disclaimer: If you are a lawyer, or journalist or just the sort of person to get all worked about semantics then please feel free to pretend that I used the word "allegedly" at various points in the above post.

Feminism Explained

2011-01-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

(H/T KISP)

Slippery Slope? What Slippery Slope?

2011-01-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

Next time someone on the left asserts that the idea of a slippery slope is just a boogie man of the imagination of conservatives trying to slow progress, think of this:

Transgender People Also Demand Right to Serve in Military

National Bad Reporting Day

2011-01-08T17:44:00.001-08:00

It wasn't noted on my wall calendar, but apparently today was National Bad Reporting Day.

Around noon today an Arizona congressman was holding an event to meet with constituents and a nut shot her and quite a few other people. What followed was a textbook example of lousy journalism in action. Whether out of a competitive desire to be first or out of reflexive assumptions based on inherent biases reporting and commenting the rest of the days was inaccurate at best and intentionally false and misleading at its worst.

The number of people shot went from five to eleven to ten within a half hour. Last number I heard was eighteen. Hey, get it that counting is hard - like math. Here is an idea if you don't know the correct answer say something vague, such as several, a bunch, dozens, etc.

Worse than getting the number wrong was reporting that the congressman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was deceased when she was still alive. NPR and several other outlets reported she had died. A few hours later I'm in my car hearing a doctor talk about being optimistic about her chances after surgery. Dead or alive is a pretty deal to get wrong. How many of her friends and family heard the incorrect report of her dying?

The last part of the lousy reporting/commenting was the rush to speculate on the motivation for the criminal to attack the congressman and others in the crowd. Rep. Giffords is a Democrat so immediately those on the left decided it must be a right wing tea party activist motivated by the rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Sarah Palin. Unfortunately, for those attempting to advance that nonsense, the killer appears to have been a leftist Obama supporter who probably has never listened to Limbaugh's show. Disgusting.

Prayers go out for those shot and their families.

Condemnation goes out for those who rushed to use this crime for political gain and for those in the media who enable that action.

Last point on this issue: When a Muslim Army officer yelled Alluh Akbar shot a bunch of people at Fort Hood all of the media was quick to say it wrong to rush to judgment about what might motivate him to do such an act. They are terrified of the idea of identifying Islamic radicalism even when it's obvious. No evidence is necessary to connect a crazed shooter with tea party folks mostly concerned with government spending. What made it even less likely that the shooter was a right winger is the fact that Rep Giffords is a relatively conservative Democrat. She is pro-life, for greater border security and recently voted for someone besides Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Dems.

Breaking News: Robbie Alomar and Bert Blyleven Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

2011-01-05T11:45:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to two very deserving new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robbie Alomar who had three of his best seasons with the Indians was elected with 90% of the vote on his second time on the ballot. Bert Blyleven who played for Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Texas, Cleveland and the California Angels was finally elected on his 14th time on the ballot.

Alomar was considered one of the greatest second basemen in baseball history. Tremendous in the field with his glove work and dangerous offensively both at the plate and on the base paths.

Blyleven is 5th all time in strikeouts and 9th in shutouts with 60. Voters initially failed to warm to Blylevens career due to a less than eye popping winning percentage and a lack of understanding on the writers part that wins are more correctly a team stat than an individual one. A pitchers job is to limit the number of runs the opposition scores by keeping them off the bases. When measuring his effectiveness at performing that job, Blyleven is clearly one the top 20 starting pitchers all time and clearly deserving of this honor.

Former Red Barry Larkin made considerable progress towards eventual election by garnering 62% of the vote. With Alomar and Blyleven off the ballot and no great players among next years new candidates, Larkin has a chance to be inducted next year.

Very disappointed with Jeff Bagwell's poor showing. Bagwell was an absolutely fantastic hitter and a great base runner. It can be argued that prior to Albert Pujols coming along Bagwell was the best National League first baseman ever.

Breaking News: Cleveland Browns fire Head Coach Mangini

2011-01-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

News just out of Berea is that Mike Holmgren has fired Eric Mangini as Browns coach.

The Browns finished ugly losing their last four games including getting trounced by the Steelers in the season finale. Despite the awful finish I saw signs of improvement. In 2009 they hardly seemed competitive until the last month of the season. This season the only two blowouts were the two losses to Pittsburgh.

I thought there was a chance they could bring Mangini back with some changes to his coaching staff. No matter what the decision was going to be with Mangini it was clear that offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was not going to be retained. Some of the other coaches have a chance to stay.

Obviously, there is still a talent gap between the Browns and the top teams. Making things worse were the ankle injuries suffered by the quarterbacks. Starter Jake DelHomme and his backup Senaca Wallace both incurred ankle injuries forcing the team to play rookie Colt McCoy sooner than desired and then McCoy also went out for several games with an ankle injury of his own. Another injury that really hurt was a knee injury to LB Scott Fujita. Fujita was a leader on defense. This team is not that far away, but must have another good draft to close the talent gap. Good teams become great when they have the depth of talent to weather injuries.

Rest in Peace - Bob Feller

2010-12-15T19:21:00.001-08:00

Bob Feller (aka Rapid Robert) the Cleveland Indians greatest pitcher died this evening. Feller had been in declining health for months and entered hospice last week so his passing is not too surprising. Sad to hear nonetheless. Feller was one of the last ties to the last World Championship Indians team of 1948. While best known for his performance as a Hall of Fame baseball player, Feller was proudest of his service in the Navy during World War II. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Feller enlisted in the Navy and served until hostilities ended almost four years later. Feller attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer and served in combat on the battleship Alabama. He lost four seasons in the middle of his prime to the war. His career total of 266 wins is impressive on its own. However, when you consider what he likely would have accomplished in the four lost years you get a better sense of his domination of his era. The years before WWII he won 24, 27 and 25 games and then won 26 and 20 in 1946 & 47. Even a conservative guess at what Feller might have done in the missing years would have gotten him well over 300 career wins.

Rest in Peace, Bob and thanks for your service.

Urgent Weather and Traffic Bulletin

2010-12-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

A snowflake does not mean people have to drive like idiots.

Need Another Example Why Some Republican Senators Need to Face Primary Challenge?

2010-11-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

Some say it is unproductive to challenge incumbent GOP Senators. I could agree if a senator got the great majority of votes right, but differed from my point of view on one small matter or another. I get the concept of building a large tent party. However, a minimum standard for admission to the tent has to exist. I would hope we can agree that our party should be opposed to further expansion of the federal government. With that in mind how does reconcile the fact that 15 Republican senators voted for a massive federal power grab. I'm referring to Senate bill 510 - FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

Spanning some 150 pages, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act would authorize the FDA to dictate how farmers grow fruits and vegetables, including rules governing soil, water, hygiene, packing, temperatures, and even what animals may roam which fields and when. It would also increase inspections of food “facilities” and tax them to do so. And, fulfilling the dream of a long line of agency officials, the bill grants the FDA unilateral authority to order recalls.

In addition to the inevitable costs to consumers, expanding the agency’s regulatory reach would require additional spending of $1.4 billion between 2011 and 2015, according to the Congressional Budget Office.[1] The costs to the private sector have not been calculated but would likely reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. (Ed. I'm quite certain that these estimates like all estimates of damage caused by legislation is vastly under what the eventual costs will end up being)

While there have been a couple of very high profile cases of food borne illness in the last year or so, the truth is the actual number of cases has decreased markedly over the last decade.

This (like a lot of nanny state BS) brings to mind a quote from the late H.L. Menken:
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule."

Oh, you want to know which 15 Republicans think now is the time for a massive expansion of the federal government? Here is a list of the sorry wretches:

Alexander (R-TN)
Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Collins (R-ME)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH) *
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Snowe (R-ME)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH) *

Two are retiring in a month or so, the rest need to be retired when their current term expires.

UPDATE:

Want another reason? From the Foundry.com:

Republican Sens. Bob Bennett (UT), Thad Cochran (MS), Dick Lugar (IN), Susan Collins (ME), Jim Inhofe (OK), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Richard Shelby (AL), and George Voinovich (OH) all just voted against an amendment in the Senate that would have banned Congressional earmarks. This is terrible public policy for their states, for their constituents, and for our country.

Harvard research shows that states that experience an increase in earmark spending suffer from decreases in corporate capital expenditures and employment. Earmarking also robs money from local government transportation priorities to pay for Senator’s vanity projects.

You'll notice several names on both list of mistaken votes.

Memo to Establishment Republicans

2010-11-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here is some free advise to former senator John Danforth and other establishment Republicans: You are not helping your friends when you say they shouldn't face a primary challenge because they've been in DC for decades. Being in DC for decades is a major reason to kick a politician to the curb. What precipitates this post is a New York Times article praising Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN). Of course, if the NYT praises a Republican it must mean he is taking positions at odds with other Republicans. In the article, we get this statement that is very revealing about the political mindset:

“If Dick Lugar,” said John C. Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, “having served five terms in the U.S. Senate and being the most respected person in the Senate and the leading authority on foreign policy, is seriously challenged by anybody in the Republican Party, we have gone so far overboard that we are beyond redemption.”

Funny thing is, before reading this I would have laughed at the idea of Lugar facing a challenge. Now, I expect he will not only face a challenge, but the challenger will be raking in donations. While the Tea Party movement is thought to be mainly against the excessive government spending, which it is, it also has grown to be against the entitlement mindset of career politicians. For decades people have complained about not having a choice in elections. Between gerrymandered congressional districts, establishment backed candidates getting all the funding, and primaries being decided before your state gets to weigh in, people had valid complaints, but no recourse. The 2010 elections showed the electorate they can have a choice if they demand a choice. Prior to seeing Sen. Bob Bennett lose in Utah, I assumed that absent a major scandal no incumbent senator could be beaten in a primary. Shortly thereafter, Alaska Republican voters decided Sen. Lisa Murkowski didn't deserve their nomination. All incumbents need to understand they are subject to performance review and dismissal if warranted.

REMINDER: Don't give one thin dime to the national Republican apparatus. Whether it is the RNC, NRSC, or NRCC the goal of all is the same - Incumbency protection. Public service in elected office should not be a career!

Taking Crazy to a Whole New Level

2010-11-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

I've met some crazy folks over the years. However, there's nothing to compare with this nutty racist broad in the Kansas City area. A teacher slapped her child in school because he was misbehaving. Worse than that, it was a white teacher who slapped her perfect child. I could cut and paste the evidence of her nuttiness, but that wouldn't do justice to the level of crazy she brings to the table. To get the full effect of her derangement you have to read her 40 page complaint and list of demands. She sent her manifesto to the school board and copies to dozens of other folks including the president, vice president, their wives some senators and various other officials.

Here is a link to some serious crazy talk.

Lastly, I assume and hope Curtis is a nice kid. I can only pray his nutty, racist mother has not warped his mind into thinking like she does.

Another Complaint About a Commercial

2010-11-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Windows Phone has been running a TV commercial which mocks how wrapped up some people are in their current phone. A catch phrase in the commercial is someone else in the phone users life saying "Really?" out of exasperation. I buy it in some of the scenes. Something is wrong with a guy obsessing with his phone while his pretty wife is in lingerie awaiting attention. However, one scene has a guy using the phone at the urinal. I'm fine with that - multi-tasking is all the rage. However, the guy drop the phone into the urinal and bends over and picks it up. Another guy using a urinal says "Really?" as the other guy retrieves his phone. What, did he expect him to leave it there? Sure, it got wet. So what! Wipe it off. Those high end smart phones are not cheap. Might just be me, but that segment of the commercial is stupid

Which Party is Dumber - Republicans of Democrats?

2010-11-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Some days it seems the two major political parties are vying over which should be considered the dumber of the two.

The Democrats just got shellacked in the mid-term elections. A key strategy of the Republicans was to nationalize House races and make individual elections more about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi than the local candidate. Ads ran in nearly every competitive district showing Pelosi saying "We had to pass the bill to find out what's in it." That quote spoke volumes about Democrat arrogance and helped Republicans gain control of the House. Well, that's not how Democrats see it.

Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) leadership had "nothing to do" with Democrats' losses in last week's election, the No. 3 House Democrat said Monday.

"It has everything to do with an environment that we found ourselves in that had nothing to do with Nancy Pelosi or the people that we had on the field," Clyburn said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"We're very introspective about this, and we are having discussions as to how we should go forward," the South Carolina Democrat explained. "And I think that my party feels that this had nothing to do with Nancy Pelosi's leadership.

Okay, keep telling yourselves that it had nothing to do with Pelosi. Please keep her as the primary face of your party in congress.

The Republican party just finished an election cycle where they gained control of the House of Representatives and picked up several seats in the Senate. So, how do they respond? Some fools speaking for the establishment wing of the party have spent the past week trying to assign blame rather than passing out credit. The latest is a fool congressman from Alabama named Spencer Bachus (sounds like a cousin of Thurston Howell III) declared that Sarah Palin is to blame for the GOP not winning the Senate. Let me get this straight, Palin and the Tea Party movement generated enthusiasm for conservative candidates all over the country leading to gains in both houses and instead of saying thank you, he decides to blame her for not winning five more seats. I have one question for Rep. Bachus. Just what the heck did YOU do to help elect anyone besides yourself?

Can Portman Replace Voinovich Tomorrow, Please?

2010-11-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

As he heads towards a long overdue retirement, Sen. George Voinovich is demonstrating once again why he will not be missed.

Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, are proposing a fuel tax increase to address two looming fiscal problems -- a burgeoning budget deficit and a shrinking highway trust fund.

In a letter sent Friday to the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Carper and Voinovich proposed a 25-cent-per-gallon increase in the fuel tax, to be gradually rolled out over the next three years. The two senators say the levy would raise $200 billion over five years.

All this does is show his ignorance of how the economy is impacted by taxes. Voinovich's idea would cripple the economy at a point it should be rebounding. It also show the career politicians completely failed to comprehend what last Tuesday's election results mean. They think the answer to all questions is more taxes. NO! The answer is cut the spending. Every item in the budget should be examined and if it doesn't meet requirement of both being necessary and being a federal responsibility they should cut it.

The Overlooked Lieutenant Governor Candidates

2010-11-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Leading up to the recent elections we focused on congressional candidates for senate and house seats and to a lesser extent candidates for governor. However, very little attention was given to the candidates for lieutenant governor. In Ohio I don't think anything was said during the election regarding Mary Taylor who will be sworn in as lieutenant governor in a couple months. Taylor is finishing a successful term as state auditor after serving in the Ohio House of Representatives. Unlike most politicians who tend to be lawyers, Taylor's background is as an accountant (CPA). Somewhat more attention was paid to Jennifer Carroll, the second seat on the GOP gubernatorial ticket in Florida. However, that is only because her son, Nolan Carroll is a rookie with the Miami Dolphins. Like Taylor, Carroll had a different path to politics. She enlisted in the Navy out of high school. She went on to serve 20 years retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.

Faces of the future of the Republican party?

Rest in Peace - Sparky Anderson

2010-11-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hall of Fame baseball manager Sparky Anderson passed away today. Anderson lead the Reds and Tigers to the World Series five times winning three championships. He was respected by his teams as a player's manager who could be firm when necessary. He was also an optimist who would often (wrongly) declare in spring training that some young prospect (Howard Johnson, Matt Nokes, etc) was the next big superstar.

Rest in Peace.

Election Night Reactions to Results

2010-11-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

6:00 PM Polls close in parts of Kentucky and Indiana. Initial returns very positive for Rand Paul. I expect this race to be called within an hour.

6:43 With less than 2% of returns CNN already projecting Republican wins in 3 House races. KY 5, IN 5 & IN 6. 215 more needed for control of the House.

7:00 FOX is projecting Dan Coats has won the Indiana U.S. Senate seat. One gain

7:01 FOX is projecting Rand Paul will be the next U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Hold.

7:08 Incumbents senators Jim DeMint (R) of South Carolina and Patrick "Leaky" Leahy (D) of Vermont both projected to win easily.

7:15 CNN now projecting 11 House winners for the GOP and 1 Dem.

7:30 Ohio polls close and immediately Rob Portman is projected the winner of the U.S. Senate seat currently held by George Voinovich. Guess my vote helped.

8:00 Jeopardy break over

8:01 Marco Rubio projected to win Florida's U.S. Senate seat. This is a man to watch in years to come.

8:02 Kelly Ayotte projected to win New Hampshire's U.S. Senate seat.

8:08 Connecticut and Delaware vote to continue Obama's failed policies by elected the dishonest Dick Blumenthal and the marxist Chris Coons to their open senate seats. Bad case of voter fail.

8:11 Current House projections 32 GOP & 8 Dem. I expect GOP to reach the 218 necessary to have a majority around 9:45 PM.

8:32 In Arkansas Republican John Boozman unseats Sen. Blanche Lincoln. GOP pick up.

8:33 House at 57 GOP and 18 DEM. Next hour will be very interesting.

9:23 Ohio governor's race looking ugly. However, as more precincts report the margin is tightening up.

9:41 Sadly CNN is projecting Barney Frank will win reelection again. Once again the voters in Massachusetts showed they are incapable of making a good decision. Disgusting!

9:54 In a night of ups and downs, there is some good news for our country. The next congress will not include the absolute most despicable member of the last congress. Alan Grayson lost his reelection bid.

10:03 CBS just projected the Republicans will get control of the House in the next congress. That will most likely lead to my congressman John Boehner serving as Speaker of the House.

10:05 Col. Alan West, USA(ret) of Florida will join the next congress. Another big improvement over the last congress.

10:11 Longtime incumbent Rep. Paul Kanjorski lost tonight. I like seeing any DEM incumbent lose, but particularly ones with hard to spell names.

10:26 Hickenlooper declared winner in Colorado governor race. This race is exhibit A in why vetting of candidates needs to happen prior to primaries. The losing Republican nominee should never have survived a thorough vetting process.

10:39 FOX is now projecting Ron Johnson is defeating Russ Feingold! No surprise, but good to see. One half of McCain/Feingold is gone.

10:40 Great news. Nikki Haley is now projected to win the South Carolina governor race. This contest got particularly ugly with nasty accusations of infidelity and other garbage. Glad to see she overcame the nonsense to win.

10:53 More good news: 20 year incumbent John Spratt and the awful Debbie Halverson are losing.

10:56 A commenter on twitter just made a great point that some of the tea parties biggest wins this year have been made coincidentally by women and people of diverse ethnic and racial background. Hmmmm, that tends to undermine the BS line from the DEM's/mainstream media that the tea party is racist. Nope. An understanding of economics and math and a desire to adhere to our nations Constitution is not a trait that belongs to any one race or gender.

11:04 As soon as the polls close California is called. Disgustingly, but not surprisingly, the idiots in California have rewarded incompetence. Sen Barbara Boxer was reelected to another six year term and Jerry Brown was returned to the governor's office. That state will continue to spend themselves towards insolvency with an expectation that they will be bailed out by the rest of the country. That must not happen! Irresponsible states being bailed out by monies confiscated from citizens of responsible states is morally reprehensible. We will be left to wonder if Chuck DeVore would have given Boxer a better challenge if he had won the primary.

11:40 Pennsylvania Senate seat is finally called for Pat Toomey!

11:50 John Boehner, the presumptive next Speaker of the House just gave a contrite and heartfelt speech. Keep him in your prayers as the attacks will only get more visceral.

11:52 Illinois congressman Phil Hare who infamously said who cares what is in the Constitution was rightfully kicked to the curb. Also Renee ELmers beat the violent and aggressive incumbent Beb Etheridge.

11:53 John Kasich has won the Ohio governor race over incumbent Ted Strickland. Let's hope his lead stays outside the margin of fraud.

12:28 Another victory for corrupt politicians and unions results in Sen Harry Reid returning to the senate. Sad news for our country. Reid remains the negative face of Obama policies.

12:35 Bed time. Night.

Election Predictions

2010-11-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of election predictions out today. Here are links to a few:

We have the wildly optimistic from Kathleen Lopez of NRO. She sees Republicans picking up 80 seats in the House and 9 in the Senate including the California seat currently held by Maam Boxer.

We have very detailed predictions from Jim Geraghty. He predicts every House race and every contested Senate seat.

Winners and Losers is a collection of predictions from various experts at a NRO Symposium.

Don Surber toyed with the idea of doubling his months old prediction of 51 House and 5 Senate seat gains for Republicans. While noting some numbers that could lead to the double down, he stuck with his original prediction to avoid any chance of disappointment tonight. His 51 and 5 are the bare minimum gains I could see for the Republicans.

For laughs, here is a link to Meghan McCain's predictions. They are predictably nonsensical. She only predicts five races and my guess is she gets all five wrong. Particularly amusing is her idea that Gov. Charlie Crist will win the Florida senate seat. He'll be lucky to avoid third place after the silliness of the past week where he and Bill Clinton tried to push the Dem nominee to drop out of the race. This race will be called for Marco Rubio within minutes of the polls closing.

My own predictions: In Ohio, Rob Portman will win the senate seat easily. In the governor race Kasich will win, but won't be outside the margin of fraud/recount shenanigans. Strickland's ads have been effective both in painting Kasich as a Wall Street big wig and as being anti-gun rights. My congressman, John Boehner will win easily and will be the next Speaker of the House as the Republicans gain 60+ seats. I don't see the Republicans getting a majority in the Senate. It will be close, but I don't trust California voters doing the right thing and kicking Boxer to the curb. A side note to that prediction is the Democrats actually have a lot more Senate seats to defend in 2012. At least two senate races will go into a protracted recount process. There will be at least five long term incumbent congressmen who were perceived safe that will get beaten. Let's hope Barney Frank is one of them.

Tonight's drinking game? If watching MSNBC drink every time a host cries or says the word disaster. If watching FOX drink every time they say historic, unprecedented, or better than expected.

Tomorrow's Election

2010-11-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's election and the impact of the Tea Party movement can be summed up in one simple thought:

More Government = Less Freedom
Less Government = More Freedom

Our problem of excessive government did not happen over night. No, it developed over decades. Every time something bad happens and people respond by saying "government ought to . . . . " it leads to a government response that grows government and reduces freedom. Government has legitimate roles to play. Government is a necessary evil to do collectively what we need but can not do individually. Interstate highways can't be built by individuals. National defense is not a personal responsibility. However, much of what our federal government has decided to do and fund are not federal responsibilities. Tomorrow is the first step to fixing the problem. Some of the people elected tomorrow will fail. They are human and human beings make mistakes. The concerns of the Tea Party movement are not getting different people elected, but rather about changing the culture of spending in congress. The Republicans will be the majority party in the House in the next congress and will have between 48 and 52 senate seats. If the Republicans don't fight all wasteful spending then a lot of them will face primary challenges in 2012.

Congratulations to World Series Champion San Francisco Giants

2010-11-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Giants beat the Texas Rangers 3 to 1 to win the fifth game of the World Series and close out the series 4 games to 1. Edgar Renteria hit a three run homer off Cliff Lee in the 7th inning for the deciding score. Oddly enough, 13 years ago, Renteria drove in the winning run in the 1997 World Series for the Marlins against the Cleveland Indians.

149 days until opening day. 105 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Poll Numbers Shifting as Election Nears

2010-10-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

As the 2010 mid-term election is now only a week away you will start seeing polls narrowing. I am not referring to individual races getting tighter which may or may not happen. No, the narrowing I expect to see is polls from the various polling agencies getting closer. It is one thing to play with the demographic make up of those being polled to prop up a campaign a month or so out from election. However, once you get close to the election the pollsters need to play straight as their reputation rests on being close to the real results. A website titled Expose Liberal Bias has watched the New York Times adjust their House of Representatives map over the last couple weeks. Here is a link to a post from 14 October showing 155 Solid Democrat Seats and 168 Solid Republican leaving 112 in play. Now, here is a link from 23 October showing 152 Solid Democrat Seats and 174 Solid Republican leaving 109 in play.

There will be a couple more updates between now and election day. Watch it shift. Pollsters can only sell their services is they are perceived as credible. The last polls will be fairly accurate.

If you know someone unsure about voting in this election, refer them to this website It is ugly and getting worse quickly.

An Overdue Idea: Defunding NPR

2010-10-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

In the wake of NPR's hypocrisy in firing Juan Williams while keeping Nina Totenberg on the payroll, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) have said they intend to introduce legislation to stop government funding of NPR. While I agree with the idea of defunding NPR, PBS, etc. it is a shame that it will correctly appear to just be done in response to the Williams firing. Is funding a radio station a proper government function? NO! Of course not. Whether Juan Williams is being paid by NPR or not should have no bearing on whether taxpayer monies should be used in that manner. Whenever conservatives attempt to put NPR, PBS, NEA, and other wasteful government spending on the chopping block some minimize it as just being a drop in the bucket compared to other spending such as defense or entitlement spending. That is a BS answer. All wasteful government spending needs to be eliminated regardless of its size. If you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves.

Associated Press Fails Simple Math

2010-10-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

I can understand reporters having trouble with serious math. I'd want a couple weeks warning before doing complex algebra. However, I'd like to think even a leftist reporter could do some adding and subtracting and be pretty close with the answer. Tonight I was reading the AP obit on Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver on TV) and something just didn't add up. Here is the first paragraph:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Barbara Billingsley, who gained supermom status for her gentle portrayal of June Cleaver, the warm, supportive mother of a pair of precocious boys in "Leave it to Beaver," died Saturday. She was 94.

I bolded the age intentionally because one of the last paragraphs said:

Born Barbara Lillian Combes in Los Angeles on Dec. 22, 1922, she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced. She and her first husband, Glenn Billingsley, divorced when her sons were just 2 and 4.

How can someone who was born in 1922 be 94 years old? My mother-in-law was born in 1918 and she is a spry 92. Without taxing my brain too much I have to assume someone born after her would be younger than her.

Congratulations Badgers/Post Mortem Buckeyes

2010-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Wisconsin Badgers on their upset of previously number one Ohio State Buckeyes. This loss wasn't much fun to watch, but it was not as bad as others in recent years in championship games. The main reason this loss is less troubling is I was not sold on this years version of the Buckeyes. Sure, I was rooting for them to win and didn't like seeing them lose. However, the inability to run the ball in the first few games left me wondering if they'd be able to run when they would need to in conference games. When your leading rusher is your quarterback in most games it's just a bad sign. I have to give it up to the Badgers. They just flat out played a better game. They were enthusiastic and controlled the line of scrimmage especially in the first half. Ohio State needs to win out to end the season near the top five of the rankings. That's about the best they can hope for this year. Having said all that, I wouldn't want to face them the next few weeks as I expect they will play a lot looser the rest of the way.

The real winner from tonight's results are the Michigan State Spartans and Boise State. MSU already beat Wisconsin and doesn't play Ohio State this year. They now have a clear path to a Big Ten title. Boise State had no chance to get into the BCS title game if there were two or more undefeated teams from major conferences. A one loss team might keep them out, but it is unlikely.

I Guess Obama is Saying We Should Just Throw Away the Recruiting Manual

2010-10-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

The guy who should not have been elected president in 2008 tweeted the following today:

Anybody who wants to serve in our armed forces and make sacrifices on our behalf should be able to. DADT will end & it will end on my watch.

About 20 years ago, I was on recruiting duty. Contrary to popular opinion, recruiting is not just about doing whatever you can to get anybody to enlist. A recruiters primary function is to screen out unqualified applicants and focus on those who will pass the entrance exams and be able to serve. To help recruiters do their jobs the Navy issues recruiters a great big book called the Recruiting Manual. I assume the other services do likewise. We also have give the doctors who perform the entrance physicals a book called the Manual of the Medical Department. Both books are full of disqualifiers. Depending on the economy, recruiting goals and other factors our qualifications change. Oddly enough when we have a draft the Navy can be a little more choosy. When the economy is doing great we are not quite as picky. The changing standards usually involve scores on the entrance exam. Some standards don't change. Regardless of whether we are talking standards of moral turpitude (police involvement, etc) or physical standards (asthma, cancer, HIV, etc, etc, etc) we can not and must not do what the president said: "Anybody who wants to serve in our armed forces and make sacrifices on our behalf should be able to." No, Barack, a lot of people are just not qualified to serve in the military. While on recruiting we said "Thanks, but no thanks" to people for hundreds of reasons. In fact, Mr. President, if you had entered my office and applied we would have said no thanks. That is, if you would have been honest about your drug usage (not that honesty is your strong suit). Experimental pot smoking is waiverable. Regular cocaine usage is not.

Apparently, our commander in chief has just voided all enlistment requirements. Glad I'm not on recruiting now a days.

Which Should Be a Greater Concern; Witchcraft or Marxism

2010-10-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

In the Delaware race for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Vice President Biden some odd allegations are being tossed around. The Republican candidate, Christine O'Donnell is being mocked as a witch because on some idiot's "comedy" show years ago she said she dabbled in witchcraft in high school or knew kids that were involved in it or whatever. The Democrat candidate, Chris Coons once described himself as a bearded Marxist and claimed it was the instruction of Marxist professors that lead him to become a Democrat.

Okay, for this exercise, let's assume both allegations are true. Which is a bigger issue? My first inclination is to give a flippant answer like well since there is no such thing as witches and there is such a thing as Marxists I'm more concerned with the Marxist. Or alternatively, I thought about looking at the job they want and whether the Senate is more likely to vote on sorcery or legislation which could lead to socialism, communism, marxism etc? However, I decided that isn't serious enough for the matter being discussed. The better way to look at this question is to look back at the last century. How many people were killed by witches or warlocks in the 20th century? Huh, how many was that? Okay, then how many were killed by communists? Holy crap! Over a hundred million!

Bottom line: I'm not too concerned about imaginary witches. I am concerned about the evil that is done in the pursuit of communism. Remember most socialists believe the only reason communism hasn't worked in the past is the wrong people were in charge.

Words That Rhyme Are Now Proof of Racism

2010-10-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

In the Illinois race for U.S. Senate there is now a controversy over the Republican candidate Mark Kirk using the word "jigger" in reference to potential vote fraud. A key quote from the link above:

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says "jigger" does mean "to alter, re-arrange, or manipulate" and has been used by many politicians to describe election fraud.

"The problem I had is that it sounds so much like another word," Rev. Albert Tyson said.

So, it is offensive to some because of their weak or limited vocabulary. Pathetic. Truth of the matter is these folks making an issue of this likely know it is a false charge but are counting on the ignorance of the population at large that attended failing Chicago schools. It is borne of desperation over the corrupt Dem candidate falling in the polls.

It reminds me of a couple instances in recent years where people got in hot water for correctly using the word "niggardly" in reference to financial austerity. In other words, they were raked over the coals due to the ignorance of other people.

H/T to Legal Insurrection who has examples of others using the word "jigger" in recent years including that guy who was supposed to be a post-racial president.

An Open Apology to Michigan and Fishing

2010-10-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Being an Ohioan and an Ohio State Buckeye's fan, I've made more than my share of disparaging comments about Michigan. Also, as a sports fan I've mocked the notion of chess, hunting, fishing or driving a car in circles being considered sports.

Well, after spending a terrific week up in Manistee, Michigan fishing for salmon I owe an apology to the state of Michigan (not the university) and the sport of fishing. Get away from Detroit, Flint, etc and Michigan is a beautiful state. The leaves were changing color this week and gave the scenery great backdrops. The wildlife was bountiful. The streams were clean and clear. Most importantly, the people we encountered were friendly and helpful. So, Michigan if you are reading I sincerely apologize for most of my past insults. I still will root against your football teams, but will curtail my criticism of the state at large.

Fishing is more of a sport requiring experience, skill and determination than I ever realized. So, I will now concede that fishing is a sport. A third or fourth tier sport, but a sport nonetheless. Sorry, Nascar fans, but I still can't buy driving a car around in circles or ovals as being a sport.

Funniest Thing on Internet Today - Lisa Murkowski Edition

2010-09-28T09:39:00.001-07:00

What really makes this funny is that it is all true.

Most Disgusting Politician in America

2010-09-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

There are lots of politicians in both parties with whom I disagree strongly on various issues. In most cases those politicians are not bad people just misguided on the proper role of government. Once they migrate to Washington, D.C. a lot of politicians succumb to temptation and become corrupt to varying degrees. However, the politician this posts title refers to is much worse than a John Murtha or Duke Cunningham style of pol who enriches himself, friends and family through abuse of office. No, the miserable wretch I'm referring to, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), is truly despicable. You may remember his disgusting comments on the House floor last year that "the Republican plan for health care is don't get sick and if you do get sick then die quickly." Well, that was mild compared to the ugly campaign ads he is running in his reelection campaign. His opponent, Daniel Webster did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War. So, Grayson runs an ad denouncing him as a draft dodger:

Thing is Webster got standard academic deferments while in college and actually was a ROTC driller. After college he reported for duty and failed his entrance physical exam. I was in recruiting and saw hundreds of applicants rejected for some physical problem or another often times the disqualifying condition was something the applicant was completely unaware of before the physical exam. Our screening doctors are very thorough for a several reasons. Primarily, you don't want someone in the service becoming a liability during a conflict or needing medicines or treatments while deployed. So, basically Grayson (who also never served by the way) is questioning his opponents patriotism because he failed a medical exam. Grayson who was 15 when the draft ended claims he would have put his education on hold and served if he was older. Yeah right, could-a, would-a, should-a, whatever. Don't blow smoke up my skirt with hypothetical answers to unasked questions. Grayson could have joined the military if he was disposed to do so. Harvard had ROTC when he attended. Military service is NOT a prerequisite to elective office. However, don't claim you would have served if, if, if, while at the same time criticizing your opponent for not serving because he was disqualified.

Grayson's next campaign ad shows a snippet of his opponent quoting scripture without context and compares him to the Taliban.

The tiny bit of biblical scripture he quoted "a wife should submit to her husband" comes from the St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians and is preceded by "Wives and husbands be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ." I'm not going to retype the entire passage, but the most important sentence to me is later in the passage when it says "So husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." This reading has nothing to do with misogyny such as that seen from the Taliban and in fact is often chosen as a reading for wedding ceremonies.

It would not speak well of his district if Grayson gets a single vote for reelection. If he actually wins reelection then there is no hope for them at all. Mind you, there are some decent folks in that district, some of them even started a website titled MyCongressmanIsNuts.com It is subtitled: Created by Floridians outraged and embarrassed by Alan Grayson's leftist positions and childish behavior.

If you have some extra money you want to put to good use here is a link to Daniel Wester's campaign website where there is a donation button to click in the upper right hand corner.

For clarification purposes, this Daniel Webster is a different one than the more famous Daniel Webster who was a Whig politician who ran for president in 1836, 1848 and 1852. He lost every time by the way. Twice he declined an offer to run for Vice President and both times the president he chose not to run with died in office. Oddly enough during Webster's long political career he was Secretary of State under three different presidents (Harrison, Tyler, and Fillmore) and represented two different states in Congress (New Hampshire and Massachusetts). Despite being dead 158 years, Webster would still be a vast improvement over Grayson.

UPDATE: Well, it gets even more despicable. I was not sure when I posted this what the context was when Daniel Webster said "she should submit to me." I had a nagging suspicion that there was a chance that he was in the middle of an ugly rant. However, I figured if it really was as bad as Grayson was alleging the they'd have played more of the clip. Well, thanks to the fine folks at RedState we have the rest of the clip and once we see the comments in context it is 180 degree opposite of the allegations of misogyny. If anything it further cements Daniel Webster as a good guy who loves his wife. Watch the clip and judge for yourself.

There is no politician more deserving of a resounding electoral loss in November than Alan Grayson. He should be shunned by all decent people. However, he is lining himself up for a prime time slot at MSNBC.

UPDATE #2:
The Other McCain declares that Grayson is not scum. After reading his argument, I have to agree it unnecessarily defames scum to compare it to Grayson.

CNN, NBC and ABC All Dump Top Boss

2010-09-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Oddly coincidental announcements today signal that Jeff Zucker is out at NBC, Jon Klein is out at CNN and this follows news a few weeks ago that David Westin is "resigning" as president of ABC News. Apparently, they were all pushed out for failing to maintain President Obama's popularity above 40%.

Actually, the stations did not cite failure to make the presidents policies palatable as a reason for the executive being shown the door. However, they did not deny it either. Using media standards, failure to deny is same as confirmation.

Utterly Clueless TV Host Has An Epiphany

2010-09-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have always been irritated when politicians or commentators talk about tax cuts as though they are giving people money. No, if anything they are just taking less than they previously planned to take. Amazingly, Chris Matthews, an extreme left wing media sycophant, broke away from standard liberal talking point and challenged the class-warfare language used by President Obama on this issue. Here is the link to Newsbusters.com's piece on Matthews revelation.

Maybe even more surprising, the MSNBCer told the object of his affection, "Stop saying that giving people tax cuts is giving people money. It`s their money!"

The unashamed liberal host continued, "A tax cut is when the government doesn`t take our money. It`s an important distinction"

Poorly Thought Out Advertising Idea

2010-09-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

There is a TV ad that has been running lately which shows a couple people pool side. Guy is struggling to read his electronic book presumably due to glare and says to the woman "Excuse me, how are you able to read out here?" She replies with something like "Oh, this is a Kindle and I got it for just $139. I actually paid more for these sunglasses" What sort of moron would take shopping advise from someone who said they were foolish enough to spend over a hundred dollars for sunglasses?

Separately (and at the risk of being considered a dinosaur), what the heck is wrong with regular books that people need an electronic book?

Headline of the Day

2010-09-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit it is more of a blog post title of the day, but that doesn't have the same ring as Headline of the Day. Anyways, there is a lot of truth in the title Jim Geraghty used to discuss the latest political scandal in Cleveland:

In Cleveland, the Opposition Party Is the FBI

Problem for my hometown is there is little humor in that title. Politics in the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga county are monopolized by Democrats and rife with corruption. I may be overly pessimistic, but in the grand scheme of things I don't think it matters if Jimmy Dimora, Frank Russo and their various accomplices rot in prison. I'm not arguing against their prosecution just asserting that in a year or so the Democrats controlling Cleveland politics will just have different crooks running things.

Breaking Baseball's Unwritten Rules

2010-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

From time to time, certain things happen in baseball and someone will claim it is a violation of the unwritten rules of the game. In most cases they are referring to an act that is slightly unsportsmanlike. One example is stealing bases when having a sizable lead late in a game. I usually dismiss those complaints believing that since the other team has not stopped trying to mount a comeback they have no right to expect their opponent to stop growing their lead.

However, some of the rules are strategic ideas that should be followed for very good reasons. In each of the last two games between Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees a player has made the third our at third base late in a close game. Monday night Brett Gardner made the third out when he attempted to steal third. Tuesday night Carl Crawford returned the favor by being thrown out at third. An old axiom in baseball is never make the first or third out of an inning at third base. To the casual fan that doesn't make a lot of sense. However, if you look how runs are scored it makes a great deal of sense. If there are already two outs it doesn't matter whether you are on 2nd or 3rd it will take a hit to knock you in regardless and you will be off an running on contact. Conversely, if there are no outs there are several ways for you to score that you don't need to take excessive risk to try to get to 3rd on your own. I don't know if those mistakes were solely on the base runners or if the coaches share some of the blame. Regardless of who is to blame, it is surprising to see that kind of screw up in back to back games in September. Final word on the rule: the team that made the mistake lost the game in both cases.

Remember, I Said NEVER Donate to RNC

2010-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Several times I've made the case that no one should ever donate to the national Republican organizations (RNC, NRSC or NRCC). They constantly back "moderate" (translated as liberal) candidates over more conservative candidates out of a misguided sense of electability. They think fence sitting voters and independents are more likely to vote for Republicans who are Dem lite than for Republicans who actually believe in the party platform. Today's example is from the state of Delaware. The Republican establishment was all set to support financially Rep. Mike Castle who votes with the party around half the time and is actually nutty enough to buy into global warming and vote for the Cap and Trade scam if he won the primary. Now, that he lost the primary to Christine O'Donnell who is more conservative the national party apparatus is financially sitting out the general election. When I see endorsements and actions like we've seen in primaries over the last decade or so I'm more and more convinced that for most of the politicians it is more about maintaining the status quo than about advancing conservative principles.

Remember the geniuses who know better than the rest of us supported Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate seat from Florida and Dede Scozzafava in her bid for an open congressional seat from New York only to see both of them abandon the party. Crist saw he would lose the primary and decided to run as an independent and has indicated he would caucus with the Dems. Scozzafava just went ahead and switched to Dem to match her already far left political positions.

If you have money to give away give it to individual candidates who will support your positions. NEVER give money to a committee. I've sat on committees and seen how they make decisions. It isn't pretty. Remember a donkey is a thoroughbred horse that was designed by a committee.

Best Governor in the Country

2010-09-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are issues on which I would disagree with Gov. Christie. However, I greatly admire his ability to speak directly and clearly to his constituents. Far too many politicians get mealy mouthed when discussing potentially touchy subjects out of fear of offending one voting block or another. Christie just comes out and calmly addresses the issues leaving no doubt where he stands and why.

Having said all that, I do think it is very premature to discuss the notion of Christie running for president in 2012. His style and positions on fiscal matters is sufficient to support him as governor. I want to know a lot more about him and his positions before I could vote for him for president. Don't just tell me that he would be better than the incumbent. That is setting the bar too low for that important position.

Moral Hazard

2010-08-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Moral Hazard in Politics is the title of Thomas Sowell's latest column. Like all of Sowell's work it is spot on. I'm not cutting and pasting part of the column as I don't want to dilute his message. Click the link and read the whole thing.

Latest Example of Why You Should NEVER Donate to the Republicans Nationally

2010-08-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've been critical in the past of the Republican National Committee for being more concerned with reelecting moderates (RINO's) than with actually advancing conservative principles. We've seen them get involved in contested primaries most egregiously in the case of supporting the very liberal Sen. Arlen Specter over Rep. Pat Toomey in 2004. This year the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) endorsed and provided funding to Gov. Charlie Crist and he re-paid them by running as an independent when he saw polls reflecting he would likely lose the primary to Marco Rubio.

Now from AllahPundit at HotAir.com, we get another reason not to trust them to make good decisions. Joe Miller won the Alaska U.S. senate primary over incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski. So what does the NRSC do? They sent lawyers to advise Murkowski on how to challenge the results.

Sean Cairncross, the general counsel of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is headed to Alaska at the request of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) to help provide guidance to the GOP incumbent who finds herself trailing attorney Joe Miller (R) by roughly 1,600 votes.

Committee sources insisted that too much should not be read into Cairncross' presence in Alaska -- only that the NRSC is an incumbent-retention committee and, as such, provides assistance when Senators ask for it.

If you want to financially contribute to advance causes you believe in just send money to individual candidates. Never send money to a committee! Not one dime to the RNC, NRSC, NRCC.

Why I Love Extra-Inning Baseball Games

2010-08-24T20:57:00.000-07:00

Roy Oswalt is now in left field for the Phillies in the 15th inning against his former team the Houston Astros. Oddly enough, outfielder Ben Francisco is still available on Charlie Manuel's bench.

McCain No Longer Needs to Pretend He's a Conservative

2010-08-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

I had no prior comment on the Arizona U.S. Senate primary. The incumbent Se. John McCain had an honorable career in the military but has been unpredictable and often misguided as a senator. His opponent, J.D. Hayworth, was a relatively good congressman. He was strong on some issues but hardly a fiscal conservative. Because of the strong antipathy to the out of control spending in DC, Hayworth was unlikely to beat McCain. McCain's weak point was his support for open borders and no enforcement of immigration laws. McCain did a couple TV ads pretending to care about border security and based on tonight's voting he fooled enough people to secure the GOP nomination. Now, that the primary is behind him don't be surprised to see McCain tilt back to the left on several issues.

Beyond my distaste for McCain's incessant need to be loved by the media, I'm just personally opposed to career politicians in general. With six year terms of office, the Senate is more prone to this problem. McCain is better than Bob Byrd or Ted Kennedy but I'm equally opposed to any of them holding office for life.

Philadelphia Wins NL East

2010-08-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

It is unusual to declare a division race over in early August. It is even more unusual to declare the second place team as the division winner. However, I can state with some confidence that the Phillies will win the NL East despite being 2 games out of first.

Why? For several reasons.
1. Last few years they have played better down the stretch.
2. They have several key players due to return from injuries.
3. Their last two games seem to indicate they have something going. One was a great outing by mid-season acquisition Roy Oswalt. The other was a come from behind victory over the Dodgers scoring eight runs over the last two innings to overcome a seven run deficit. Those sort of victories tend to inject extra confidence in a team.
4. Most importantly, the team in first place, the Atlanta Braves, saw their future Hall of Fame Third Baseman make a great defensive play last night only to see him go down with a knee injury after completing the play.

I didn't think the Braves were legitimate contenders this year. The loss of Chipper Jones convinced me they are not going to maintain their lead. Bobby Cox is retiring after this season and should be applauded for getting this team as close as he has to a division title.

Media bias? What Media Bias? Presidential Coverage Edition

2010-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

After the Associated Press opened an article with this sentence: "WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is capping his birthday week with an afternoon of golfing on Saturday and a barbecue on Sunday." Jake Boot of Bigjournalism.com asked, "Does Anybody Remember Reading about George W. Bush’s ‘Birthday Week’?"

Now watch this video as author Andrew Klavan reveals how economic news was presented during the George W. Bush administration as compared to the current administration:

Think back to that video and consider the recent "Journolist" scandal (A scandal by the way which was essentially ignored as much as possible by the lamestream media) next time someone downplays media bias. During both the Bush and Obama administrations the media on multiple used nearly identical language to frame the economy in a way favorable to liberals. There is no doubt that there is message coordination from Dems to the media.

(H/T to Curmudgeonly & Skeptical)

Mitch Miller - Rest in Peace

2010-08-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Mitch Miller most famous for his series of records titled "Sing Along With Mitch" passed away this morning at 99 years of age. My parents had several of his albums and we got countless hours of enjoyment from his music.

The New York Time obituary for Mr. Miller was pretty interesting. It includes an anecdote regarding him helping local girl Rosemary Clooney get her start:

Ms. Clooney was making a mere $50 a recording session when Mr. Miller asked her to record “Come On-a My House,” an oddity based on an Armenian folk melody written by the playwright and novelist William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian, who later went on to create Alvin and the Chipmunks. Ms. Clooney was dubious. “I damn near fell on the floor,” she recalled.

They had a heated argument. But in the end Ms. Clooney agreed to record the song, and it became a giant hit, establishing her as a major artist. “Nothing happened to me until I met Mitch,” she later said.

The obit also mentioned how Miller's music fell out of favor with the younger generation and was later played by shopping malls to keep teenagers from hanging out and was used by the FBI to try to get the Branch Davidian cult to leave their compound.

Miller is the second famous person born on the 4th of July to die within the past month. George Steinbrenner was also born on that date.

Rest in Peace Mitch.

Honesty is Taking a Lengthy Vacation

2010-07-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

We are just over 100 days away from the mid-term elections and it is getting obvious that honesty will be on an extended vacation until after the elections are held. There are several recent examples showing the Democrats desperate to stave off massive losses will be engaging is even more lying than usual.

First this past weekend DNC chair Howard Dean was on the various Sunday shows lying both about the economy and the episode involving Shirley Sherrod. I could almost give him a pass on lying about the economy since he may stupidly believe the blame Bush rhetoric he was spewing. However, his claims that the Sherrod silliness proves FOX news is racist was a lie that reeked of desperation.

Then you have Rep. Joe Sestak D-PA (who I must sadly admit is a former Navy guy) had the gall to say with a straight face that he didn't know if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a liberal or not. (H/T King Shamus)

This isn't limited to Democrats. Though Democrats have greater reason to be desperate this November, some Republicans aren't being exactly honest either. For example, facing a stiff primary challenge from J.D. Hayworth, born-again conservative John McCain is pretending he cares about border security. The long time advocate of an amnesty based comprehensive immigration policy will likely fool enough voters with his recent conversion. Once he gets past this election, I fully expect him to return to being a regular pain in the neck to conservatives.

Always remember to look further than their words. Verify their claims. Examine their past votes and actions. Don't believe a claim of fiscal discipline if their votes were almost always for more spending.

Andy McCarthy - A Voice of Reason in the Shirley Sherrod Situation

2010-07-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

As anyone reading this blog is likely aware, in response to the NAACP falsely accusing the Tea Party movement of being racist, Andrew Breitbart published a tape a few days ago showing some Agriculture Department official speaking to the Georgia NAACP. The taped portion of her speech included an admission of past racist actions on her part which was applauded by the NAACP audience. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack quickly moved to ask for her resignation. Then the tap[e of her entire speech turned up and it slightly mitigated her racism as she further explained how she transitioned from pure racism to a modified form of Marist classism/racism. Obviously, she did not explain the transition using the same labels I just used. So, all of a sudden the Obama administration and Secretary Vilsak are now falling all over themselves trying to apologize to Sherrod for jumping to conclusions. Coincidentally, this is the one year anniversary of President Obama jumping to conclusions and declaring the Cambridge Police "acted stupidly" in arresting his racist Harvard buddy who was acting nutty. Anyways, Andy McCarthy of National Review has a different view on this than all the folks (on both the left and right) who are now praising this woman.

So, in Sherrod World, mean-spririted, racist Republicans do nasty things that "we" would never do because we have a president who, being black, is above that stuff. Still, we have-nots need to band together for "change" because a cabal of haves, desperate to keep their power, is still imposing their centuries old capitalist system of institutionalized racism — the same racism that courses through the Republican Party and surfaces on "us versus them" issues like healthcare.

Pardon me, but I think I'll stay off the Canonize Shirley bandwagon. To me, it seems like she's still got plenty of racial baggage. What we're seeing is not transcendence but transference. That's why the NAACP crowd reacted so enthusiastically throughout her speech.

Read the rest.

Post script to this mess is the administration is compounding their mistake of rushing to fire this woman by rushing to rehire the woman. The lesson they continue to fail to learn is to get facts before reaching judgments or taking action.

An Important Question to Ask Before Voting for a Republican

2010-07-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

While I'm opposed to most of the policies of the current party in power, don't assume all Republicans are necessarily a big improvement. Some will pay lip service to being concerned about spending and then will move to DC and then play along to get along. One question to ask to get some insight into the candidate is to ask them whether they will listen to former senator Trent Lott (lobbyist on behalf of the ruling/spending class) or Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Here is an article to get a sense of what Lott thinks of the Tea Party movement.

Any possible shred of doubt remaining in anybody's mind about former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott's true allegiance have now been definitively removed: Lott is a paid tool of the Washington Establishment who hates the Tea Party and all other insurgents who have had it with politics-as-usual.

"We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples. As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them," Lott told The Washington Post in an incredibly revealing story.

Sen. Jim DeMint, of course, is the South Carolina conservative Republican who last year formed the Senate Conservatives Fund to back precisely the kind of insurgent conservative Senate candidates most feared by the Lotts of the world. . . . . It's the same old story that such GOPers want the votes of "the base" but they don't want to do what the Tea Partiers and a clear majority of their fellow Americans, want them to do.

Several of the Republican senators are of Lott's ilk and not much better than the Democrats. John McCain and Lindsey Graham among others will talk the talk every few years when concerned about reelection. However, once safely back in DC they go back to thinking they know better than the rubes who voted for them.

Two American Heroes Pass On

2010-07-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

This morning, Medal of Honor recipient Nick Bacon, 61 died from throat cancer. Bacon was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry in combat during the Vietnam war. Here is a brief description of his actions:

On Aug. 26, 1968, while commanding a squad of the first platoon of Company B, 4th Battalion in an operation west of Tam Ky in Vietnam, Bacon destroyed several enemy positions with hand grenades. When his platoon leader was wounded, Bacon led the platoon to destroy remaining enemy positions. Bacon also took command of a second platoon (3rd Platoon, Bravo Company) when its leader was killed and rallied both platoons against the enemy. Providing cover for evacuation of wounded, Bacon climbed a tank to fire at the enemy, a move that exposed himself to enemy fire. He was credited with killing at least 4 enemy soldiers and destroying an anti-tank gun.

Rest in Peace, Sergeant Bacon and thank you for your service

Earlier this week Medal of Honor recipient Vernon Baker, 90 died from brain cancer. Baker was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry in combat during World War II. At great risk to his personal safety Baker took out several German machine gun posts. Here is a brief description of his actions:

While serving as second lieutenant in the unit in 1945, he and his men were ordered to launch an assault against Castle Aginolfi, a mountainous German post near Viareggio, Italy. After executing the attack, his company was bombarded with fire from several machine gun emplacements. Baker crawled to one of the posts and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Thereafter, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two of its occupants.

After teaming up with another soldier in the company, Baker attacked two more machine gun posts, killing or wounding four enemy soldiers who were occupying it. He then organized the evacuation of all of the wounded soldiers in his unit by situating himself in an exposed position and drawing the enemy’s fire.

The following day, Baker led a battalion advance and finally secured the mountain for American soldiers. Baker and his platoon killed a total of 26 Germans and destroyed two observer posts, four dugouts and six machine gun nests.

Rest in Peace, Lieutenant Baker and thank you for your service.

On a related note, we have less than 100 living Medal of Honor recipients and none from our current conflicts. We have been at war since 11 September 2001 and I can not believe that no soldier, sailor or Marine has merited our highest award for bravery. I have read hundreds of accounts of incredible bravery in the face of enemy fire over the past nine years some of these awards need to be reviewed and considered for upgrading.

Today's Stupid Congressional Speech

2010-07-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we had a moronic congresscritter from Georgia warning us that stationing more U.S. military personnel in Guam could cause the island to capsize. Today we get more words of wisdom from a different moron congresscritter this one from Texas. I must caution you that there is a distinct possibility that you endanger your brain cells if you listen to her very long. If the state of Texas has any pride (and I've heard they have boatloads of pride) she will be replaced in November. However, gerrymandered districts make her reelection a near certainty.

Um Rep. Jackson-Lee, I'm not sure how to break it to ya, but there is no South Vietnam anymore. They were overrun and taken over by the North after our cowardly politicians in DC refused to let our military win. Also, FYI your commie friends in Vietnam killed millions in the south after getting control of the entire combined country. Sadly, this probably isn't even close to the dumbest thing she has said in her decades in office.

(h/t BaseballCrank)

Today's Must Read Articles

2010-07-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

In an article titled: Obama succeeded only in creating uncertainty, Thomas Sowell explains why the stimulus did not lead to job creation. I can sum it up by explaining that every time a business considers increasing hiring they evaluate the risks and decide whether or not the costs of the employee will be outweighed by the value gained from his work. Uncertainty over what the government may impose makes it impossible to calculate the costs of doing business causing companies to wait to make expansion decisions until they can have some confidence in their calculations. One thing Sowell neglected in his article is fear of the looming Cap and Trade scam legislation.

Our second Must Read is an article by Karl Rove discussing his biggest mistake in the Bush administration.

A couple of the founders of the Tea Party movement wrote an op-ed piece about being labeled as racist by the racist organization called the NAACP. At some point the lefts weapon of choice - crying racism - will lose its power if enough people fight back instead of cowering at the charge.

Speaking of racism, Newsbusters has a piece showing how MSNBC's Chrissie Matthews is race obsessed and confused.

Perplexed Matthews: How Can South Carolina GOPers Vote for Indian-American But Not Support a Black President?

I think Matthews honestly believes that opposition to Obama's policies must be based on race and can't understand how the "clearly racist" South Carolina GOP can turn around and support a candidate who is the child of Indian immigrants. The left floated the idea a few years ago about Bush being in a bubble of people all in agreement with him. I think the same can be said about Matthews and his ilk. Everyone he knows believe in liberal policies so the disagreement with Obama's liberal policies must be about race instead of policy. Matthews needs to get out of his bubble meet some ordinary Americans and find out we have opinions on hundreds of subjects and the vast majority of us don't form our opinion based on racial considerations.

UPDATE:

Here is another MUST READ which ought to be read by the president's advisers. Victor Davis Hanson has a column titled: A Ten-Step Reset Regimen for the President. The only thing that could save President Obama from going down in history as the largest failure as a president would be to back off his desire to radically re-make America into a socialist "utopia" and instead move towards the center. The Republican take over of congress in 1994 forced Bill Clinton to move to the center thereby saving him from destroying his presidency. In fact, he later was able to take credit for the things he didn't want to do. Well, Hanson's columnis in a similar vein, but more specifically tied to changes Obama needs to make personally to save his presidency. Here is one of the ten suggestions click the link for the rest:

10) Take a breather on the green agenda. Al Gore imploded, both from revelations about his personal life and the labyrinth of his financial machinations. Climategate discredited academic finger-pointing. Promises about “skyrocketing” power bills don’t go well with a recession. The old “millions of new green jobs” wonkery is a bad joke from a college bull session. Nuclear, natural gas, clean coal, and drilling in ANWR have more resonance than subsidized wind and solar jobs at a million or so in federal subsidies each.

Will Obama adopt any of my suggestions? No, of course not. Why? Because he is pushing an agenda that 55-70% of the American people do not want, and so it is necessary to evoke the kitchen sink to get it across: Bush did it, the oil cadre did it, racialist America, Islamophobia, “them,” a cool hip president, raise the bar — all that is a desperate (albeit doomed) way of venting, threatening, pleading, and pushing a blueprint that on its merits goes nowhere.

Sadly the last paragraph quoted above is most likely correct. This president is too arrogant and certain he knows what's best for the rest of us to bother listening to advice.

Someone Arrested for Choosing a Late Term Abortion! Where are the Protests from NOW & NARAL???

2010-07-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

A 21-year-old in Oakland was arrested for choosing a late term abortion and yet there haven't been any protests from the National Organization for Women (NOW) or National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). Wonder why? Could it be because it was a male that chose a late term abortion? It can't be due to the babies age. Once you decide killing a little kid is okay then the age shouldn't be a big issue.

A 21-year-old Oakland man is in police custody after he threw his baby daughter into the path of a moving car, according to cops.

Police say an off-duty officer saw the man, later identified as John Taylor, shake the 18-month girl and throw her into oncoming traffic on Fifth Avenue near East 15th Street around 5:39 p.m. Saturday. A Volkswagen Jetta almost hit the toddler, police say, and the car's undercarriage burned and scraped the girl.

Thankfully, the child somehow survived the abortion attempt. Sadly, the child will likely be returned to the same environment and remain in danger.

A quote from later in the article showed the child's "mother" is a real winner as well:

"I'm hurting now because I know my baby's father is in jail facing charges and I don't feel that it is reasonable," the girl's mother, Alena Bartholemew told NBC Bay Area.

Breaking News: George Steinbrenner Has Died

2010-07-13T06:52:00.001-07:00

Cleveland native and longtime Yankee majority owner, George Steinbrenner has died. As an Indians' fan and lifelong Yankee hater it is tempting to recap the negatives of Steinbrenner's tenure as Yankee boss. However, I'll resist that temptation and instead wish his family well as they mourn and just bemoan the fact that he was unable to buy the Indians instead of the Yankees. Many people are unaware, but Steinbrenner tried to buy the Indians years before purchasing the Yankees but was slightly out bid by Nick Mileti. A years or so later CBS was strapped for cash and wanted to get out of ownership of the Yankees and sold the team to Steinbrenner for around ten million dollars. The value of that team today is probably close to a billion dollars.

I'm not jealous of the money he has made, but rather the championships his teams have won. While I'd of course prefer that the Indians had won I have to admire his single minded drive to acquire the best players and field the best team over the years. Others can debate whether the Yankee dominance is good for baseball. The National Football League is in stronger shape as an overall entity because all teams have a relatively even playing field. Baseball clearly gives an edge to teams with stronger financial bases. That wasn't Steinbrenner's concern. His concern was winning and his teams won more than they lost.

George Steinbrenner - RIP

Damn Yankees! (Hey, I had to include it)

LeBron James Leaves Cleveland - Owner Speaks for Entire Fanbase

2010-07-09T06:49:00.001-07:00

Last night in a ridiculous TV event on ESPN, LeBron James declared he was leaving his hometown team in free agency and going to go play in Miami.

After James announced his decision to betray his hometown the owner of the Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert issued a scathing open letter to the fans. Good for him. Many in the national sports media have criticized Gilbert for the tone and content of the letter. Personally, I'm glad to see him respond and show real emotion. For too long we have had team owners sit in the background and act like they could barely care. To me the key part of Gilbert's letter was this prediction:

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight: "I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA Championship before the self-titled former 'king' wins one."

I have no idea if he'll be right in this prediction. We just saw in this past post season that anything can happen in the playoffs. The Cavaliers had the best regular season record and they ended up getting bounced in the playoffs by an inferior team mainly because their best player quit on the team.

As far as James and the Miami Heat go, . . . well I can not bring myself to root for an injury. So I will just hope he continues to choke at the key moments of big games. Boston showed in their playoff run the importance of depth and quality bench players. With the money the Heat have tied up in three players their bench will include players like me and I'm no good at basketball. No bench means their keys players (Wade, Bosh, James) will be running on fumes in the playoffs.

Today's Example of Man's Inhumanity Toward Fellow Man

2010-07-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

We are all appalled by the big headline grabbing examples of inhumanity. The Holocaust of the 1930'2 and 1940's. The starvation in Rwanda. The killing fields of Cambodia. And so on. Often overlooked is the inhumanity in our local communities and neighborhoods. Sadly, a disgusting example was discovered in the Cincinnati area. Prepare to be disgusted as you read this article:

Oven-like attic was her prison
Neighbors say couple often kept mother, 59, locked up

WEST PRICE HILL – She was given some saltines, a small bottle of water, a pillow, a sheet and a bucket for a toilet. Two doors were then padlocked as her daughter, Adrienna Daniels, 28, and her boyfriend left their Dewey Avenue home June 23 for Daniels’ planned C-section at University Hospital.

For three days, while Greater Cincinnati simmered in a heat emergency, 59-year-old Mary Daniels baked in a sweltering third-floor attic as outside temperatures simmered in the 90s.

She could not get out.

Help came Saturday when she broke out a window and began yelling. “I can’t take it anymore,” Mary Daniels cried out to 13-year-old Victoria Klein, a neighbor who stood peering up at the kind lady whose normally stark white skin had turned as red as a lobster.

Firefighters raced to the duplex, up the stairs and past a family dog who slumbered in the cool air of a nearby air conditioner.

The key elements of this story is of course the miserable daughter and her druggie boyfriend who mistreated an elderly lady. However, there is much more to the story. The sub-headline say the neighbors knew they kept the woman locked up. All evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing. Problem is when you read deeper into the story you find that neighbors had reported the situation:

Klein said she and her sister called agencies that advocate for the elderly at least three times to report what they thought was abuse but were told that Mary Daniels was a year shy of their services.

They said they called the landlord, who never came by as he promised.

It is always easy to look back after a situation comes to light and say "should of done this or that," but I'm not sure what else the neighbors could do without directly witnessing physical violence. I am concerned about the government bureaucrat who refused to help solely because of her age. People age at different paces. Dismissing a cry for help because of an arbitrary age cut off is nonsense. We have seen reports of people in their 30's and 40's developing senile dementia or Alzheimer's. Conversely, there are other stories of people being active past 100 years of age.

There is nothing funny about this story, but there is a punch line. The miserable excuse for a daughter is attending college to become a medical assistant. Great. I'm sure she will be very compassionate.

Don't Try This at Home!

2010-06-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

I'm a big believer in self-help projects. In fact I'm tempted to set up rain collection barrel as described in a recent post at Bob's Brainstorms. However, sometimes it is better to leave the do-it-yourself (DIY) kit on the shelf at Home Depot and hire a professional. Here is one example: Doctors replace woman's missing thumb with big toe transplant

General McChrystal Needs to be Canned

2010-06-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

General McChrystal is currently serving as Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan. The issue of Rolling Stones magazine coming out this week contains a profile of the General including quotes from his staff. In the article Gen. McChrystal is critical of both his civilian counterpart in Afghanistan, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and the president. In discussing the president, Gen. McChrystal described being disappointed in President Obama in their first meeting despite having voted for him.

Obviously, voting for Obama reflects poorly on McChrystal's judgment. Worse than that is a senior military officer even disclosing who he voted for in any election. An officer remains a citizen with a right and duty to vote. However, an active duty officer should not engage in active politics for several reasons. Our national has been well served by having separate and distinct civilian leadership over the military. A military clearly subordinate to elected officials protects us from the coups seen in other young nations and should make us less likely to enter into military action unnecessarily. Additionally, it can be argued that revealing which party or candidate a senior officer supports could overly influence his troops.

Beyond all that, this situation also reflects poorly on Gen. McChrystal's job performance. How's that you ask? He is leading troops in a war zone and now he is being called to DC to answer to his boss about some stupid magazine article. Rather than leading his men he has become a distraction. He and his staff are now more engaged in saving their own bacon then the war effort. This was an unforced error and his troops deserve better.

I'm not a fan of President Obama, but this issue is bigger than the man currently holding the office. He needs to fire Gen. McChrystal to maintain our concept of civilian leadership over the military. We can always get another general. It is much harder to reinstate a chain of command structure after allowing it to break down. This was true when Truman was forced to relieve MacArthur and it is still true today.

Mere Healing

2010-06-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Greg Wallace has returned to blogging after a lengthy hiatis with a new blog titled "Mere Healing" which can be found on the blog roll to your right. Give Mere Healing as view now and then for his unique perspective.

Today's Example of Why No Intelligent Person Takes the New York Times Seriously

2010-06-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Read this opening paragraph from an article in the New York Times:

The most anticipated American sports event in many years, perhaps decades, is about to take place. Since last December, many Americans have been looking forward to Saturday’s World Cup match with England in South Africa. Finally, it is happening.

As the Cranky Conservative right pointed out, World Cup soccer isn't even the most anticipated sporting event this week. I'll go further and say it isn't in the top hundred. People were anticipating the hockey finals which were won by the Blackhawks. People are anticipating the basketball finals between the Celtics and Lakers. People are excited and anticipating Steven Strasburg's second major league start to see if he is for real. Heck, I'm anticipating my 13 year old son's baseball game tomorrow more than some boring soccer game. When ESPN goes on with their overblown excessive coverage of soccer all I'm anticipating is them moving on to a sport we have some interest in watching.

Sadly, it seems we've reached the point were the Times sports section has as little credibility as their hard news department.

Gov. Daniels No Longer a Presidential Contender

2010-06-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has shown up on most "short lists" of contenders for the 2012 Republican nomination for the presidency. He just fell of my list with his recent comments:

Daniels told the conservative publication the next president "would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues."

"We're going to just have to agree to get along for a little while," by casting social issues like abortion aside so the next president can focus on fixing the beleaguered economy.

Many politicians will take positions based on calculations over how it will play with the electorate. I'm sure that is true of some "pro-life" politicians. The easiest way to tell how strongly a politician holds a position is by seeing how quickly they modify their stance. If Daniels believes we "just have to agree to get along for a while" on an issue that decent people consider a grave evil and as great a stain on our nation as slavery then I doubt he was ever pro-life except out of political expediency. His contention that social issues like abortion should be put on the back burner because of economic concerns does not hold water. Economic troubles will come and go. True beliefs would not be put aside over temporary issues.

Good thing we didn't have someone like Daniels instead of Lincoln. Could you imagine Lincoln saying "I'd really like to confront evil in our time, but gee unemployment is at 11%. How low does the unemployment rate need to be for Daniels to hold true to his "beliefs?"

Equal Protection Under the Law?

2010-06-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

The 14 Amendment of the United States Constitution provides for equal protection under the law. Specifically, the first paragraph of that amendment says:

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This amendment came to mind when reading two news articles this weekend.

First from Chicago we have this story:

Erick Lagunas' family came to court Friday morning clinging to the slimmest of hopes.

But their 2½-year quest for justice ended in bitter tears, as the Chicago Police officer they say killed Lagunas and his friend, Miguel Flores, in a Thanksgiving Day 2007 drunken-driving crash walked out of the 26th and California courthouse a free man.

Prosecutors made two attempts to prove that Ardelean did. After the two-vehicle fatal crash Nov. 22 in Roscoe Village, Ardelean was charged with misdemeanor DUI -- later upgraded to a felony. But those charges were dismissed when Cook County Judge Don Panarese ruled there was "no indication" Ardelean, who was off-duty at the time, was drunk. Prosecutors reinstated charges after saying they had a lengthy surveillance videotape showing Ardelean drinking five shots and other drinks at a North Side bar shortly before the crash.

Prosecutors also suggested in pretrial hearings that police the night of the crash turned a blind eye to Ardelean's intoxication. Among other things, he wasn't arrested or given a Breathalyzer until seven hours after the crash. But Gainer ruled in April that the supervising officer who ultimately made the arrest didn't have strong enough evidence to do so. Gainer's ruling also suppressed key blood-alcohol evidence.

Then from Maryland we get this example:

Tyrone Brown, a 32-year-old former Marine from East Baltimore, was out with his sister and her friend enjoying the Mount Vernon club scene early Saturday when he may have taken one of his trademark jokes too far. Glancing at a woman in an alley off East Eager Street, he put his hands on her behind.

Police said the woman's companion, an off-duty Baltimore police officer, got into an argument and physical confrontation with Brown after they left the club Eden's Lounge. His sister said there was no fight, and that her brother apologized and tried to walk away. What happened next is not in dispute — the officer pulled out his department-issued Glock handgun and fired at the unarmed Brown 13 times from just a few feet away.

Brown, struck at 1:30 a.m. by six bullets in the chest and groin, fell to the pavement and died 45 minutes later at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The shooting by Gahiji A. Tshamba, a 15-year veteran of the city police force, has left his commanders publicly questioning whether the Eastern District patrol officer legitimately thought his life was in danger before firing.

Mind you, no doubt Brown was in the wrong. You should not touch the backside of a woman you don't know. However, that rates a push or a punch not a shooting. My real concern here is how the murderer is being treated/handled differently than a murderer without a badge. That was an execution and the officer is not in jail. Anyone else would have been immediately locked up and good luck on making bail anytime soon.

I am a supporter of law enforcement and acknowledge that police officers have a tough job. I accept that professional courtesy will result in police cutting fellow officers some slack just as a McDonalds' employee probably doesn't pay for some nuggets. This far exceeds the bounds of acceptable slack. Professional courtesy should go no further than letting a guy off with a warning for speeding after he flashes his badge.

John Wooden - Rest in Peace

2010-06-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

The greatest college basketball coach ever, John Wooden passed away tonight at the age of 99. Others will talk about the number of victories and championships his teams won. Personally, I was most impressed with the man's impact on his players as men. He is the only coach I'm aware of that is universally loved by his former players. Long after playing for him, his players would speak reverentially of him. They didn't talk about his game plans or his coaching. No, they always mentioned his affect on them as young men.

While Wooden is best known for his coaching exploits, he was also a great player. He led his high school team to the state championship three straight year winning once. He played college ball for Purdue University leading them to one national championship. He played professionally for several years before enlisting in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is one of only three men elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player later enshrined again as a coach.

More importantly as he moves on from this life, Wooden was a man of faith. Hundreds of his sayings and quotes are repeated. However, the one that struck me most had nothing to do with sports. He frequently said: "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me." You have to read that a few times for the essence of his faith to sink in. We should all pray to have that much faith.

Rest in peace Coach Wooden your impact on the world will last for years to come.

Coincidentally, a long time friend of Wooden's and the chairman/co-founder of the John R. Wooden Award, Richard "Duke" Llewellyn also passed away today at 93.

What's the President Been Doing While the Oils Been Leaking?

2010-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

I don't begrudge a man some rest and relaxation, but wow he plays a lot of golf for a guy who supposedly has a full time job.

(Shamelessly stolen from Grouchy Old Cripple)

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

2010-06-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Lost in the outcry over a blown call costing Armando Galarraga a perfect game was the news that Ken Griffey Jr. announced his retirement as a major league baseball player. People can and will argue about his place in the all time rankings as it is a very subjective matter. I consider him easily one of the top 25 players all time. However, early in his career he seemed destined to be in the argument for second or third best player of all time. Then he was traded to his hometown Cincinnati Reds. In a way he had two careers. One as an all time great prior to that trade. And a completely different career after the trade where he hardly ever justified his paychecks.

From his debut in April 1989 until the end of the 1999 season Griffey's numbers were phenomenal. He was second in homers during that period with 398 (McGwire 438), first in RBI with 1,152, and third in runs scored with 1,063. If, like Kirby Puckett, he had suffered a career ending injury at that point he would have been elected to the Hall of Fame. However, instead of a career ending injury, Griffey suffered several season interrupting injuries and never reached the career numbers we expected.

From his trade to the Red until yesterday, Griffey in 11 seasons managed one great year a couple very good years and a bunch of forgettable years marred by injury. Over that period he was 33rd in homers with 232, 55th in RBI with 684 and only managed a .262 batting average. Sadly, the lasting memory for younger fans will be the second half of his career. Personally, I prefer my memories of him to be from when he played a great centerfield and was one of the most feared hitters in the league.

Of local interest, Griffey and Barry Larkin both attended Moeller High School here in Cincinnati and both should be in the Hall of Fame within a few years of each other. I doubt many high schools can make that claim. Another Moeller alumni, Alex Wimmers of The Ohio State University is expected to go very high in next weeks amateur baseball draft.

Lastly, it is interesting to point out that two of the greatest players ever - Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr. were both born on 21 November in the same small town - Donora, Pennsylvania (49 years a part).

H/T to Baseball-Reference.com and Baseball Musings for statistics used in this post.

A Lesson in Class and Sportsmanship

2010-06-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers pitched the game of his life. He dominated the Cleveland Indians. He did not allow a batter to reach base through the first eight innings. He retired the first two batters in the ninth inning. The first out in the ninth was recorded with the great catch that all no-hitters seem to have in the late innings. The 27th batter of the game, Jason Donald hit a grounder to the right side. The first baseman ranged to his right and threw out Donald. The umpire, Jim Joyce immediately and inexplicably called Donald safe. Galarraga retired the next batter to end the game. Instead of a perfect game and baseball immortality he was credited with a one hit shut out.

The class and sportsmanship alluded to in the title occurred after the game ended. Joyce wewnt into the umpires dressing room, saw the replay, realized he got the call wrong and sought out Galarraga and apologized. Galarraga accepted the apology and said ironically enough "Hey, no one's perfect." The two men actually hugged after the apology. How many of us would be able to calmly accept the blown call and finish the game let alone be gracious enough to accept the apology and be more concerned about the umpire who has to live with the blown call.

A lot of lessons in this situation.

A Japanese Role Model for President Obama?

2010-06-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm as xenophobic as the next guy, but sometimes we can learn somethings from examples provided by leaders of foreign countries. Consider what our president might learn from the Japanese Prime Minister who resigned today:

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday he was resigning over his broken campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa.

His government came to power amid high hopes in September after his party soundly defeated the long-ruling conservatives in lower house elections.

But his public image has tumbled amid a political funding scandal and perceived inconsistency and indecision

Any of that sound familiar?

Today's Surprise Celebrity Break-up: Al & Tipper Gore

2010-06-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

In a surprising announcement Al and Tipper Gore sent out an email declaring they were separating. Sorry to hear that news. Politics aside, I hate to hear of any marriage ending and particularly one that lasted this long (40 years). Al Gore may be a fraud and a snake oil salesman on the global warming scam, but I assumed his home life was fine. Since Al lost the 2000 election, Tipper has mostly stayed out of the public view while her husband peddled his environmental ideas (ie: conservation for everyone but him). Let's hope they are able to patch things up and reconcile.

Tell Me Again, Which Side is Full of Racists

2010-05-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

Liberals (especially when losing an argument) like to call conservatives racist while ignoring the obvious racism in their policies and positions. Occasionally, they will say what they really think. Here is liberal extremist Bill Maher:

"I thought when we elected a black president, we were going to get a black president. You know, this [BP oil spill] is where I want a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt where you can see the gun in his pants. That's -- (in black man voice) 'we've got a motherfu**ing problem here?' Shoot somebody in the foot."

Yet, that clown will be one of the first to call others racist for having different point of view.

Here is a link to the video (if you can stomach watching).

Congressman Sestak, Were You Lying Before OR Are You Lying Now?

2010-05-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

During the run up to his primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) stated that the Obama administration offered him a job in the administration if he would give up his run against Specter. This became an issue when people realized it is a felony to offer compensation to induce someone to quit a race. Since people realized his original claim amounted to an accusation of a crime, both Sestak and Obama spokeman Robert Gibbs have been evasive at best when asked about the situation. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has been pushing the issue hard for the last month or so. Yesterday, President Obama held his first actual press conference in close to a year and he was asked about Sestak's claim. Obama did his best Nixonian self-finding of no personal wrongdoing and said a full report will be forthcoming shortly. Today, a report was issued which mostly refuted Sestak's claim that they attempted to bribe him to get him out of the race. Basically the report (here's a link) says former president Bill Clinton talked with Sestak and recommended he drop out of the race for the good of the party and told him that if he wanted to stay in government service he could be appointed to some executive branch advisory board position. The memo makes a point to clarify that the advisory board positions are uncompensated (no pay). Now Sestak is saying "Yeah, sure that's about right."

Nope. Doesn't pass the smell test. This guy is a congressman trying to get a job as a senator. In other words he makes $174,000 and looking to keep making that kind of money. You don't convince him to drop out of a race with an offer of an unpaid board position. My guess is he was offered something more substantial (ambassadorship or a cabinet position) and this memo specifically modified that to an unpaid position to sanitize the crime.

Bottom line, I don't think the initial act was all that out of the ordinary in DC. The underlying crime is now less important than the cover up. Integrity should matter to voters and both the administration and Sestak have shown they are lacking in that department. Will Pennsylvanians care?

Reporters should continue to attempt to get Sestak to answer whether he was lying months ago or if he is lying today. My guess is reporters will buy the administration's spin on this and quietly move on to other matters.

An American Hero Lost - Rest in Peace - LT John Finn

2010-05-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

Our nation lost a great man yesterday as John Finn took his last breath. You may not have heard about Finn as culturally we tend to mainly celebrate singers, actors and athletes. However, we would be better off if our children got to know about men like Finn as much as Miley Cyrus or LeBron James.

John Finn enlisted in the Navy in July of 1926 and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor he was a seasoned Chief Aviation Ordnanceman. On Sunday 7 December 1941, Finn was at home when a neighbor alerted him that he was needed at his squadron. From his Medal of Honor citation this is what followed:

“ For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Finn fully recovered and returned to duty with a bombing squadron onboard USS Hancock (CV-19). After the war, he remained on active duty retiring as a Lieutenant in 1956.

I met Finn a couple of times where he was the guest of honor or speaker at Navy balls or Dining-outs. Despite his past heroics he was a modest and unassuming man. He did not like being labeled a hero and would respond with this comment:

"That damned hero stuff is a bunch crap, I guess. [...] You gotta understand that there's all kinds of heroes, but they never get a chance to be in a hero's position."

Finn turned 100 years old last July. A life well lived. Thank you for your service Lieutenant Finn and may you rest in peace.

IYAOYAS!

Rest in Peace - Art Linkletter

2010-05-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Art Linkletter passed away today at 97 years of age. Linkletter is best known for a skit he did at the end of his show called "Kids say the Darnedest Things."