The Fine and Very Qualified

I wrote a posting a while back called “A Fine, Unqualified” with a simple premise. I compared the qualifications of our current President with previous Presidents (going back as far as Teddy Roosevelt).  There was a different posting I had planned that I had planned on calling “2 Years Later” but didn’t. Why? As fast as I felt things couldn’t get any stranger, they did get stranger to a point of disbelief. Are we REALLY hearing the things that we thought we heard? We know what we heard and can’t believe what was said. So that posting has been delayed since I’m not sure how I want to put this out.

Fast forward to this week. While the moderator was not so great, my belief is that America (in particular, Conservatives) got its first glance at some of the Republican candidates for the 2012 nomination. The televised debates gave me some decent insight into the candidates. As a whole, the candidates were considerate and made their points well. Then it hit me, why don’t I do a posting and call it “The Fine and Very Qualified” about the Republicans who (at this time) are actually running for President. The list will break down what each did up to this point.

The list is in alphabetical order:

Michele Bachmann- Three years ago, I had no idea who she was. Now if life goes the way I think, I may be moving to her state. As the vision of TARP and “ObamaCare” became reality, she was one of the earliest and loudest opponents. Pro-Life, Constitutional conservative and leader by example. It was her who brought “Gangster Government” to the masses. She became one of the early faces of the modern Tea Party. She by training is a tax attorney, earning both a JD and LL.M degree. Elected to State or Federal office since 2000. First Republican Woman elected to the US House from Minnesota (from what I understand, the state is fairly liberal). If all else fails, she beats Franken in 2014. She and her husband are also business owners.

http://bachmann.house.gov/; http://www.michelebachmann.com/  

Herman Cain- I heard Herman Cain years back but didn’t really appreciate how brilliant this man is. This man was a ballistics expert in the Navy, an business executive with some very respected companies (e.g., Burger King, Coca-Cola), made a failing pizza chain profitable in 14 months (Godfather’s Pizza) and former Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Chairman and Board member.  He has also served in leadership in various industry associations. By training, he is a mathematician and computer scientist. As you can see, Cain was ahead of the game as it relates to Health Care reform as the video shows below (if you never saw this, you need to look. He’s putting the math skills to work. This video is a MUST SEE):

http://people.forbes.com/profile/herman-cain/2151; http://www.hermancain.com/

Newt Gingrich- Like Cain, he is from Georgia. He served 20 years in political office and served as the Speaker. He was part of the “Contract with America” movement, which tried to make government small and more open. Thrice divorced, 30 years ago he could never have been elected. For some, this could be a deal breaker.

 http://www.newt.org/get-involved-now

 Ron Paul- This is one guy I can honestly say I’m not sure how to read him. Libertarian, not Conservative and there is a difference. On one hand, he’s a strong pro-lifer, pro second amendment and fiscally conservative. On the other hand, he was against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (felt it wasn’t needed) and for legalizing drugs (specifically marijuana). Doctor by training and over 10 years experience in elected office.

http://www.ronpaul.org/; http://www.ronpaul.com/welcome.php;

Tim Pawlenty- Like Bachmann, he is also from Minnesota. He served 2 terms as Governor and served in the Minnesota House (replacing Jesse Ventura in both positions). By training, he is an attorney (his wife was a Judge) but did start his political career not long after getting his law degree.  Problem- he did vote for a form of Cap and Trade, which he eventually rejected. Also served at State and local level politics.

http://www.timpawlenty.com/; http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?id=10512

Mitt Romney- Lengthy consulting and venture capital career before elected office. Like Cain, he lead a failing business (Bain & Company) and brought it back to profitability. CEO of the Salt Lake City Olympic committee. Served 1 term as Governor of Massachusetts. Problem- RomneyCare, which he will REALLY need to sell conservatives on him not doing that if elected President (you think after HillaryCare some would know better ). By training, Romney has an MBA and JD. Father was the Governor of Michigan.

http://www.mittromney.com/; http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Mitt_Romney

Rick Santorum- Served as US Senator for 12 years and in the US House for 4 years.  Socially and fiscally conservative. By training, he also holds a JD and MBA, having worked as an attorney, providing  strategic and business counseling, Senior Fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.  

http://www.ricksantorum12.com/; http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000059

Now my original premise from “Unqualified” was to something about past Presidents. They ALL had length experiences in at least one of three areas: military, government office (elected or appointed), or business. You take a good look at this list, you will see that each candidate had experience in at least 2 of these areas I mentioned. All of these people have not only advanced degrees but the experiences in their given areas they studied. All except Cain had finished at least 1 term in Federal office. All but Gingrich spent some time in business. Paul is the only Doctor of the current candidates. Romney is a second Generation Governor (although in a different state than his Dad). Santorum and Gingrich both have solid experience in public policy. Bachmann is well versed in tax law.

All of these people spoke clearly on what they believe. Each one during the recent debate was civil towards each other candidates. No name calling or trying to talking over each other. This was a simple but honest debate. These candidates really need to be looked at closely. The stakes are too high. If one of these people doesn’t get elected in 2012, the United States could (no WILL) face some SERIOUS repercussions such as all the taxes in ObamaCare. The 2012 election is vital since this is the way we can at least slow this madness down. At the very least, we stall the implementation of ObamaCare and its related taxes until 2014. Then in 2014, we get conservative voices in the Senate and then undo all the damage this administration has done. Now is the time to find the very conservative voice that sadly, the GOP has silenced (see former US Senator Peter Fitzgerald if you doubt me).  Please friends, pay CLOSE attention. Know who you’re voting for. Know where they stand and stand with those who speak your convictions.

 

 

A Fine, Unqualified: The Sequal

A while back, I posted "A Fine Unqualified" discussing President Obama is unqualified to be President. The title was inspired when I heard a Pastor mentioning the we now have "a fine...qualified...African-American named Barack Obama" running for President (this was said during the primaries just before he took the lead). Now for the record, I don't hate the President (I do pray for him). I've never met him. The gist of that posting was simple. The intent was to look at our President and the qualifications of those before him. If you check it out, I explained that there were three areas where past Presidents had some lengthy experience which prepared them for office- those areas being military, business and government (via appointment or election). Each area is connected to the other two, some ways moreso than others. For example, as an elected or appointed official, you set the policies that could help business or assure the security of this nation. My feeling is that compared to past Presidents, President Obama's experiences in these areas doesn't come close to those before him.

Now, I am going to provide examples of how he's acted incompetently. An elected official make decisions that result one way (good) or or another (not good or none at all). One such example is the oil spill in Louisiana. By all accounts, that was a fluke. Sadly, many people lost their lives on this rig. What got me was the response. I am a BIG fan of Bobby Jindal, who I hope will run for President one day (if he keeps doing what he's doing). Days after, Governor Jindal wanted to get the oil spill cleaned up and actually had a plan to get it done. If you want an example of his leadership, do an engine search of his name and Hurricane Gustav and see what you find. Only one problem with this oil spill. Jindal could do nothing because it happened in the Gulf of Mexico, which is under federal control. The EPA and the White House did NOTHING but point a finger at BP. Governor Jindal faced being placed in jail if he took matters in his own hands (skimmers and other resouces to control the oil flow and stop futher spreading). Domestic and foreign vessels were ready and waiting to come help in the Gulf. One problem- President Obama refused to lift the Jones Act (preventing foreign ships operating in U.S. Territorial waters). Governor Jindal didn't speak about blaming BP because that wasn't imporatant at the time. Former President Clinton even said that emphasis of blaming BP was not the correct thing to do at that time (stop the oil from spreading, stop the leak, etc). As it relates to fault, former President Clinton said there would be a time to address that. What resulted? Over 100 days , oil spread from Louisiana to Florida, wetlands and wildlife ruined, and what's worse is that those people who could have been of help were basically ignored. What's the real shame here? A Hollywood actor (Kevin Kosner) had a solution before the leader of the free world (1). OK. Set up a fund to help the people of the Gulf. OK. Fine BP. OK. Punish BP? Check your 401k or other retirement accounts after that happened.

Here's a clip early on and other videos relating to this subject. This is an example of leadership (aka "get out of the way"): (2)


Forget about the fact that he's never run a state, platoon or business for a minute. Louis Farrakhan said something that was very interesting. Even he saw something didn't add up. While I agree with VERY little of what he says, he did make a very strong point. He asked "who selected a Junior Senate, who barely got his foot whet in the US Senate, and made him that he (from that position) could become President" of the United States (3)? VERY good question to ask. The example I mentioned here is just one. Other than running for office, what did President Obama do to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The clip is below so you may hear what was said (he addressed a few things and you might catch some of this as curious but even HE asked a question; the quote I mentioned comes in about 1:30 mark):



How about bank/financial reform? The hope was to make banking more fair for all customers. On paper and in theory, it's not a bad idea. Here's the problem. Banks will make it up revenue in other ways from where they did before. For example, I went to my bank one day because I needed to address my overdraft protection (I did have a small balance at the time). There was either a $25.00 annual fee (it was waived if I didn't have an overdraft balance by anniversary date). I decided to keep the overdraft mainly because I used that account more as a back up. I was informed by the bank that for EACH OVERDRAFT PAID, I would be charged $34.00 to cover the payment. Now think about this (and this happens to people every so often). You go to the store, make a series of purchases, and make a mistake where your balance goes below $0.00 (for some it happens more than others). The last purchase that put you under balance was that $15.00 pizza you picked up nights before.

Before this "reform", you'd have the overdraft as a safety net, pay off the balance and all was well. Now, your $15.00 pizza just cost you $50.00 when it's said and done with an overdraft. I can't imagine trying to get credit or a loan un this "reform" as it's so called. Did I mention that banks were FORCED to make loans to people who couldn't afford to pay them. They used race as the culprit, saying minorities were being denied loans because of race. While there were some cases where that was true (if we're brutally honest), others were just not qualified to pay that loan off. The Community Reinvestment Act (4) has great intentions but somewhere down the road, someone twitsted. Now, what's the result? Mass foreclosures. Oh, did I mention the number of banks failures this year? From January 5 through March 26, 2010, a total of 40 banks failed alone. What's worse is that that number exceeds the number of failed banks (a total of 24) from June 25, 2004 (none failed from that date until February 2, 2007). The list has grow as this year has gone forward (5).  

Now health care. Several LARGE companies announced 2011 charge-offs due to the Health Care Reform bill passed. Among them are Boeing, AK Steel, 3M (you'll see more later), John Deere, Verizon and Catapiller. So much for making insurance cheaper and being able to keep your Doctors. In fact, two of these companies announced charge offs the day after it was passed. Fast forward a few months after and people are now trying to find out what coverage can be purchased, how much it will cost and what exactly will it cover. I am still a bit concerned about our Presidents comments about "go home and take a pill" as a "solution" for coverage. Fast forward to September 23, 2010- I hear people angry about how their rates went UP, anywhere between 15-30% (and in some cases, covering less than what they had before).  That's not all sadly. More large companies are either ending coverage or dramatically changed for all current employees and retirees. More companies may follow the examples below. Thnk I'm kidding? Here are some examples below:
a. McDonalds considering not to offer health care coverage to its 30,000 employees (6). Think about this. One of the most profitable companies on the planet not being able to offer health insurance to its people. Does that sound odd? I know for a fact the McDonalds has (or at least had) very good benefits (having known some people who worked for them).
b. In less than 7 days after this, 3M announces changes to retirees benefits plans. Not to mention that several Health Care providers have discontinued "Child Only" coverage plans (7).

What inspired me to close here is a woman named Velma Hart and sportscaster Steven A Smith. How is she? She is the woman who went to a CNBC Town Hall meeting and said that she was tired of defending the Obama Administration. These clips will set the table on how I feel:

Velma Hart at Town Hall (8)


Steven A Smith & Mark Levin on 2 segments (9):


About 1 year ago (10),


President Obama and this Democratic legislative majority passed a stimulus and said that unemployment rate would stop at 8% and steadily drop. He also mentioned that we would control spending. Well, as it stands now, unemployment is still hovering around 9.7% and the GDP/Debt ratio JUMPED to 98% (11), both numbers nearly doubled from 10 years prior. Our stock markets are coming back. Yes, there was a big jump in the Dow & NASDAQ. The problem is the average daily volumes are much lower than moving averages. A 5-10% drop would be bad enough but 25% (seen August to September), not good. The closer a stock stays to its average, the more stable things are (lower average means the money isn't flowing in and the obvious buyers aren't buying). I think the markets will be ok to end 2010 but 2011, should the policies this administration put into place aren't stop, things can get very ugly. Gold is at over $1300/ounce (some think it could reach $2000 or more in 2011- only time will tell us what happens).

I hate to be negative here but I'm only telling you what I see. Do you see the same thing I'm seeing? Why is it that people are missing here? Is this an illusion? I hate to think Americans still think all of this "hope and change has (and actually will) work. I only reflect on comments made by Velma Hart and Steven A Smith (listed above). They represent a growing number of people who see this Trojan horse for what it is. Mrs Hart asked a simple question- "is this my new reality"- for her and for America while we're at it. Steven A Smith dealt with the issues very directly. While he is best known as a sportscaster, he has a basic understanding of what's going on now (I think the videos prove it). Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton among many who said he wasn't ready for the job. They tried to warn America but failed to listen (let's remember that the Clinton tried to do this National Health Care back in the 1990's but Republicans managed to stop it). They saw what Hannity and others saw and most of America failed to heed their warning. The next 22 days have a level of importance that many understand but some don't. We have not only the opportunity but the duty to remove the people who put these policies in place. If the powers that be remain there, the examples I mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg and the American society is the Titanic. Any questions? I didn't think so.

1. "BP oil spill: Kevin Costner's oil-water separation machines help with clean-up", Guardian.co.uk, June 16, 2010  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/16/kevin-costner-oil-spill-machines
2. "CNN: Bobby Jindal Press Conference video", June 1, 2010, taken from MoxNewsDotCom's YouTube page.
3. "We Count" Conference", March 20, 2010, moderated by Tavis Smiley, taken from Keywiki YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zw-1Eu4v_g
4. "Community Reinvestmet Act" taken fromthe Federal Financial Institution Economic; Council: http://www.ffiec.gov/cra/
5.  "FDIC Failed Bank List" taken from the FDIC Internet site, http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html
6. "McDonald's Says it May Drop Health Plan", Janet Adamy, Wall Street Journal Online, September 30, 2010: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703431604575522413101063070.html
7. "The Emerging Obamacare Massacre", David Hogberg, Inverstors Business Daily Online, Octobor 4, 2010: http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/2108-the-emerging-obamacare-massacre
8. "CNBC Town Hall Meeting", September 20, 2010, taken from GordonWayneWatts YouTube page.
9.  "Mark Levin Show audio", July 1, 2010 radio segment, taken from the MrTimotheus85 YouTube pge.
10. "Mark Levin Show audio", September, 2009 radio interview segment, taken from theWelovesarahpalin YouTube page.
11. "The Worlds Biggest Debtor Nations", Paul Tuscano; September 30, 2010; CNBC Internet site, http://www.cnbc.com/id/30308959/The_World_s_Biggest_Debtor_Nations

A Fine... Un-Qualified..........

Before your read this, play the video about Barack Omama below. In this youtube video (taken from the RNC's YouTube page), you will notice that even DEMOCRATS understood what was about to happen. His own party saw what could happen if this man became President.




If we think about the oil spill alone, I think that underscores the incompetence in Washington. In fact, I can recall a preacher talking about a fine leader (and that’s up for debate). But then the preacher goes further. He erupts in to mentioning “but now we have a fine…..qualified…..African American…..named Barack Obama”, with a more than enthusiastic congregation joining in. Canada, Denmark and several other countries have offered help with this oil spill, yet this President won’t accept it. As this saga goes on, I think back to the quote I just mentioned. This preacher (recently retired at 87 years old and over 60 years in ministry), had an indirect connection to Saul Alinsky through the Woodlawn Organization. Alinsky was a consultant through his Industrial Areas Foundation (1).


Over the last few months, I looked back at past Presidents and compared their resumes with our current President. In fact, I went a bit further and compared some key players in the Democratic primary race. What I found was that there were 5 Senators with at least 8 years (Hillary Clinton was the least experienced but the rest had been Senators 13 years or more).  I noticed until this President, something was different. Sure, his academic background (which to this day still hasn’t been verified) is equal to past President (if we take it at face value alone). I noticed that each President of modern times had a lengthy background in at least one of the follow areas:

a. Military- lengthy career achieving officer status.
b. Government experience- elected or appointed to a major office in the federal or state level.
c. Business- this would include owning or running a business at the executive level.

You think I’m wrong. Let’s go back to the start of the 20th century. Again, I will do this by list only. Thess are the things they did BEFORE they took office and the years of related experience:
-Teddy Roosevelt - former Lt Colonel, Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Governor, Vice President, President- 13 years (2).
- William Taft - extensive international experience and served as Secretary of War, served as an Appellate Judge, Superior Court Judge, and Governor General of the Philippines and Cuba- 17 years (3).
- Woodrow Wilson- former President of Princeton University, Governor of New Jersey ( also showed “Birth of a Nation” at the White House, typical Democratic form of that time; ole Woody was a swell guy)- 13 years; LENGHTY academic career (sound familiar) (4)
- Warren Harding- owned the Marion Day Star newspaper (which was broke when he bought it), Ohio State Senator, Ohio Lt Governor, US Senator- 15 plus years (5).
- Calvin Coolidge- State legislator, Governor of Massachusetts, Vice President- 20 plus years (6).
- Herbert Hoover- Mining engineer and manager, US Secretary of Commerce- 30 plus years (7).
- FDR- State Senator of New York, Asst Sec of the Navy- 13 years (8).
- Truman- National Guard, Judge, US Senator – over 30 years (9)
- Eisenhower- I shouldn’t need to do this but I will- the radio edit. 5 Star General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Educated at West Point, President of Columbia University-38 years (10).
- JFK- Naval Officer, Massachusetts House of Representatives, US Senator – 17 years (11).
- Johnson (LBJ): Naval Officer, House of Representatives, US Senate (served as Minority & Majority Whip), Vice President- 20 plus years (12).
- Nixon: Naval Officer, US House of Representatives, Vice President- 20 plus years (13).
- Ford: Military, House of Representatives Member, Vice President- 31 years (14).
- Carter: US Navy Officer/ US Naval Academy, Farm Owner, Governor- 29 years (15).
- Reagan: Governor- 8 years (16).
- GHW Bush (41): Military Officer, Business Owner, US House of Representatives, US Ambassador to the UN, CIA Director, US Liaison Office (China), Vice President, Director of Council of Foreign Relations, Vice President- 30-plus years (17).
- Clinton: Rhodes Scholar, Attorney General, Governor- 13 years (18).
- GW Bush: National Guard, Energy and Oil Sales, Business Owner (Texas Rangers), Governor- 13 years.
- Obama- Illinois (State and US) Senator 13 years total (barely full time US Senator for just over a year).

Now I'm not trying to sway opinion one way or another about the men listed above (those are issues onto themselves). These are the men who served as President going back to Theodore Roosevelt. If you take a look at this list, you may notice an interesting pattern. I counted 3 former Governors, 4 former Vice Presidents, several with extensive military experience, and a few business owners. Obama was a US Senator for barely 1 term. One year private sector business experience and no foreign policy experience. No experience with the military (not even at an ROTC level). There is nothing on this President resume that says he should be President. I can think about the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan when he said these words- "Who selected a Jr Senator who handn't even got his feet wet in the US Senate & made him believe that he from that position could become President of the United States (20)." While I'm no fan, for him to say what he did should turn a head or two at the very least.
 
I have no problem with a man who wants to make his community better. The world would be a better if people cared more about the people and helping those in need. So you ran a community, and organized local organizations. No public sector experience. First Lady Obama at least worked for the University of Chicago hospital and has some private and public sector business (she was a member of the Treehouse Foods Board of Directors as well as the Chicago Board of Global Affairs). For the record, he wasn't even a tenure track Professor at the University of Chicago but a part time lecturer, as the video below will prove (22):
 

 
Every day, I wake up and HOPE I am wrong about everything that's happened in the last 18 months. This last campaign was ugly enough. What worries me is the future. My concern is that a qualified African American (and for that matter any minority) with a strong, documented track record may not get the chance because of what this man has done. In my entire life, I haven't seen the level of brute force (in passing bills and spending among other things) to the level this current administration and Congress is going now. If you're a person of prayer as I am and haven't been doing so, now may not be a bad time to start.
 
Works Cited:
1. Woodlawn Organization Internet Site: http://www.areachicago.org/p/issues/6808/woodlawn-organization/

2. Theo. Roosevelt Bio: http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/biotr.htm

3. Taft Bio: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/lib_hist/courts/supreme/judges/taft/wht-bio.html

4. Wilson Bio: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/woodrowwilson/

5. Harding bio: http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/harding/essays/biography/1

6. Collidge bio: http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/coolidge/essays/biography/1

7. Hoover Bio: http://www.historycentral.com/Bio/presidents/hoover.html

8. FDR Bio: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1578.html

9. Truman Bio: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hst-bio.htm

10. Eisenhower Bio: http://www.dwightdeisenhower.com/biodde.html

11. JFK Bio: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy

12. FDR Bio: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000160

13. Nixon Bio: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon

14. Ford: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000260

15. Carter: http://www.cartercenter.org/news/experts/jimmy_carter.html

16. Reagan: http://reagan2020.us/biography/ronald_reagan.asp

17. Bush (41): http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001166

18. Clinton: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamjclinton/

19. Bush (43): http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewbush

20. Obama: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=o000167

21. Farrakhan: Obama was Selected Before Elected: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UthglMvQQyA

22.  Professor John Lott interviewed on Mark Levin show.

Political Slogans from 2008-2012

2008- Hope and Change. Yes. Utopia. Euphoria. The promise for something new. The "redistribution of wealth" and various other pipe dreams.  Typical politician making promises and the American public that believed. Think about this. From 1988-2008, the United States was run by two families- the Bushs and Clintons. Each had their mistakes some more costly than others. People felt that was enough. The last Bush that ran couldn't run again (2 terms). In my opinion, the Clinton's slit their own throats in 2008. She had a lead (pretty clear one) and one mistake. The Jerimiah Wright Tape, which had been done a few years back, released just as the primary was tied. John McCain, a retired miliary officer and Senator fom Arizona, could have won this thing but pretty much gave little or nothing to sink his teeth in. Sarah Palin gave him some credibility. The rest as we know is history.

2009-Hoaxed And Changed. So many promises, so little delivered. What was delivered, the American public didn't want. Promises? How about the promise of allowing 15% or up to $15,000 from retirement accounts to help stimulate the economy (normal taxes would apply). Nope- that got lost in the shuffle. We'll put a man back on the moon by 2020. Nope, scratched that plan this spring. Now shuttle launches will end as of the end of 2010. Open and honest debates along with a 5 day review of all bills posted on the Internet for all to read. Open debates and discussions on C-SPAN. Right. Lets see. They take a bill that had 600 plus pages that grew to over 2700 pages almost overnight. They expect us to read 2700 pages in 5 days. Where's Evelyn Wood when you need her? Open and honest? If you're being open and honest, why is it that the powers that be expect a document of this magnitude to be read that quickly? Well how about they're trying to hide something from the people (such as those who passed this monster are EXEMPT from this). This is the bad news. The level of the US government's control is a a level I thought would never see. The intention is to nationalize as much as humanly possible. And I'll stop here because I could go on. But there is hope. The tea party!!

2010-Change it Back. Here is the good news. The Tea Party, various conservatives media and those once called middle of the road understand what is at stake here. This government has gone totally out of control. This is the year that the estate tax, which was ended years back, will return with a vengence to the tune of 45% as of 2011. Think about this- 45% of what YOU own and already paid taxes and will need to give more. People are starting to wake up and see what's about to happen. The proposal of a nationalize health care system- which those countries that have it see that it's not cost-effective (not to metion that the leaders of these places come to the USA for major treatments). In other words, we're not having this redistribution of wealth talk at all.

Conservatives have spoken. We no longer want big government imposing its will on us as citizens. Conservative candidates has generally done well in elections but now isn't the time to stop. Two years ago, I had NO IDEA who Michele Bachmann was. Now, I like her and would back her if I lived in her district. Better yet, she is the liberal public enemy #1 as dubbed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (just another reason to support Bachmann). In fact, I hope she runs for Senate down the road. JD Hayworth, Sharron Angle, Mark Rubio among many have had enough and have set out to change this mess the current so called "leaders" have gotten this country in to. Now, with revived conservative leadership running for office, we can do one thing- change it back (or at least get the ball in motion).

2012- Change No More. This President is a 1-term President. If we, the people, can get those who support what has happened over the last 18 months or so, our lives will be better for it. Wealth returns to it rightful owners (those who earned it)!! Good bye, Stalin.

GOP is Partially Responsible for Obama becoming a Senator

I had a fun exchange with @imsure (who’s a fine follow) on Twitter last night. She posted a video on Chicago and prompted a conversation about President Obama and the Chicago Machine. He won the Senate seat after a scandal broke out and the rest is history. While I can’t “prove” the Machine’s involvement with this election, there are a few things that need to be made clear. In other words, some serious facts need to be visited. How the Illinois (and national) GOP is partially at fault for this happening. I hope this blog post will at least create some food for thought and make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m going in reverse (somewhat) so please work with me here. I have taken the time to really look back at this and documented my claims. See if you agree with me.

Before I explain this, I need to set the table a bit and refresh some important things. Barack Obama won the Illinois US Senate seat in 2005. But who did he beat- Jack Ryan or Alan Keyes? Both and I will discuss this later. So where did the Illinois GOP mess up? Peter Fitzgerald. Who is that you may ask? Fitzgerald was the Illinois US Senator that held the seat before now-President Obama. He beat Carol Mosley Braun, who was the first African American female to hold that seat. This guy was a solid conservative Senator. Here is a page to show where he stood on the issues (1). I think it speaks for itself. Here are his views on bailout, made after 9/11 (2). Why did he fall out of favor? He often broke ranks with the Illinois GOP. What really got him in trouble (among other things) was Fitzgerald insisting on an out of state US attorney to investigate corruption in state government. This initiative resulted in several indictments including the last two Governors’ (Blago and George Ryan). The GOP made a mistake because they didn’t back him in his first run and let it be known they weren’t behind him in his re-election. He decided not to seek a second term and decided to go back to the private sector. This is another detailed not only detailing how he fell out of favor with the Illinois GOP but the National GOP as well, but still was known as one who “stood for principles” when deciding not to run (3).

Here’s the breakdown and what resulted. Barack Obama explored the opportunity to run for this seat in 2002, with the likes of David Axelrod as his consultant. He announces his candidacy in 2003. He had a HUGE list of people running in the Democratic Party primary. Below are the results of the Democratic Primary for US Senate (4). Unless you live here in Illinois, this may not make sense so I decided to write in whom some of the other faces are in “( )”:

Democratic Primary, United States Senate, March 16, 2004

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic

- Barack Obama 655,923 (52.8%)

- Daniel W. Hynes (former Illinois Comptroller) 294,717 (23.7%)

- M. Blair Hull (worked at the CBOE, now runs Madlock Capital). 134,453 (10.8%)

- Maria Pappas (Current Cook County Treasurer). 74,987 (6.0%) 

- Gery Chico (Lawyer, today named the new Chairman of City Colleges of Chicago; former Board Chairman for the Chicago Public Schools; former Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley) 53,433 (4.3%)

- Nancy Skinner (nationally syndicated talk show host). 16,098 (1.3%)

Majority 361,206 29.4

Turnout

1,242,996

Now this is going to get sticky. We know Barack Obama beat Alan Keyes for this seat. We all know that Jack Ryan was the GOP front-runner for that seat. Then scandal broke from his divorce due to sealed records (agreed by Ryan and then-wife Jeri Ryan, aka Seven of Nine from “Star Trek Voyager” and Ronnie Cooke from “Boston Public” among other roles). This was the tip of the iceberg. While the Machine took advantage of Ryan’s missteps, it was actually the GOP candidates that wanted the records unsealed (5) along with local media. Another Illinois GOP misstep- get everyone in step. Those records were sealed for years before the need for this sudden disclosure. Ryan also opposed to the unsealing of John Kerry’s divorce from his first wife (during the 2004 Presidential Election). Ryan steps down as a result. Who came in the picture? Alan Keyes, who at the time didn’t even live in Illinois. Last time I check, it would be a good thing to live in the state that you decide to run for office in. In fact, I thought it was required. While then-Illinois Senator Obama was a rising star, I think Senator Fitzgerald would have given him a run for his money.

This is a result of a party without any identity, at the time anyway. Here was a guy in Peter Fitzgerald who was by definition conservative (more so than those who were calling themselves conservatives). The state and national GOP wanted him out and they got what they asked for. Then the one candidate that may actually win the seat has to step down. Why? Dirty laundry sought by liberal media outlets and those who ran against Jack Ryan. Now the two most legitimate candidates were no longer and had to scramble to find a candidate. Now, Illinois got what we deserved or at least what too many asked for. What's happen since? We now have Mark Kirk in the Senate, who decided to vote for the “Cap and Trade” mess. It’s a shame because Kirk is now the lesser of the evil this time around because Alexi Giannoulias (who’s running opposite Kirk) is from the same liberal cloth as the current President. I hope Patrick Hughes decides another run for Senate because my home state deserves better….no the best. He’s the closest thing to Fitzgerald. It’s a shame Hughes got to the party so late.

A word of advice for the GOP. If we get a legitimate candidate, get behind them- don’t try to bury them.

Works Cited:
1. Peter Fitzgerald: “On The Issues” Internet site: http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Peter_Fitzgerald.html.S.%20Senator%20Peter%20G.%20Fitzgerald


2. “Who Will Bail Out the American Taxpayer”, Peter Fitzgerald speech: http://www.illinoisgop.org/archives/storys/issue_90.html

3. “Retiring Senator Stood Up for Principles”, Radley Balko, Fox News Internet site, 2/14/2004.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111159,00.html

4. Democratic Primary, United States Senate, March 16, 2004: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Illinois,_2004

5. Chicago Sun-Times archive: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Senate%20rivals%20urge%20Ryan%20to%20unseal%20divorce%20records)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Senate%20rivals%20urge%20Ryan%20to%20unseal%20divorce%20records)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

"Education, Self-Government and Our Current Crisis"

This was one heck of a speech. Check this out as time permits to do so. I can't take credit for this speech, given by Larry P. Arnn President, Hillsdale College. Check out the Hillsdale College's YouTube page

"The Bill" & the Bible

Ok. Something strange came to me earlier today and I decided to share it here. You might look at the subject and ask what the two have in common? Am I going to say "the Bible" says...X.... about this bill? No chance. One, I'm not trained enough to make such a statement. Frankly, other than abuse of power, I see no other real connection to it until now.

I use the NIV (New International Version) Bible, which I have owned for almost 2 decades now. I noticed that my version from Genesis to Relelations has a grand total of 1148 pages. Now anyone who has read the Bible knows there is A LOT of subject matter covered in this. People spend years trying to tie together each book along with each character and related events or principles. I've know people who have studied the Bible at an academic level for years. Many Doctor of Divinity programs run as long or longer than some MBA or Law programs. There is so much to learn and apply as it relates to Biblical subject matter. It takes years to get a grasp on some very touchly subjects, understand what context they came from and how it can apply today.

Now this brings me to the point of how the Bible and "the Bill" are related. As I mentioned earlier, my Bible from start to finish has 1148 page. This bill has 1990 pages. I can tell you right now there is no chance on earth that I know every inch of the Bible. Sure, I may have some understanding of this of the main characters and stories but really may not grasp every principle. So how is it that those in the House and the Senate can HONESTLY say that they know what's in that bill? Every inch and line by line I bet they can't do it. That bill is like trying to read the entire NIV Bible from Genesis to Revelations, then starting at Genesis again and reading until finishing the book of Amos. In other words, after Amos there are only 36 pages left in the Old Testament to read. THAT give you an idea of what 1990 pages looks like. Imagine someone saying you have 72 hours to read the ENTIRE Bible plus 30 of 39 books in the Old Testament. Good luck, partner.

Then you had to give a report on that. You can't do it, can you? I don't think God expects us to read the entire Bible in such a short period of time. I believe He wants us to read it slowly and understand the entire work. This happens over years, as He intended. So how can someone say they read the entire monster known as "the Bill" and know everything that's in the bill? How is it that people believe that our politicians actually know what they're (trying) to sign into law? Make matters worse you commit a Saturday evening to do this?? Come on now. You can not do it. No chance!! Let me guess. They're speed readers, graduates of the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Dynamics course of something of the like. Get real, politicians. Wake up citizens before the damage is done. Correct me if I'm wrong. For now, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

1990........Pages..... in 72 hours??????

Now, I am a bit concerned here. Think about this. If someone walked up to you and said you have 72 hours to finish a 500 page book, what would you think? You'd think this person crazy to accomplish this. Or maybe they would read it, accept it and miss some VERY important details in the book. A teacher would not expect a student to do this. A Manager would not expect his staff to do this. A decent parent would not expect a child to do this. I doubt a Carpenter, Welder or Electrician would be expected to complete their apprenticeships in 72 hours because the process takes 4-5 years.

You get the theme here, I would imagine. SO WHY then would a member of congress be expected to read a bill THAT large and expect to have ANY level of comprehending the bill in a 72 hour period??? That is IMPOSSIBLE to do. I have never seen anything on this level before. What are those who created this bill (and the various incarnations of it) trying to hide. Those in power tell banks to make their lending and terms easy to understand. That's fair enough to ask. You tell car dealers to be more open in the sales process of a car. Fine. I'm with you. I hate to see anyone get cheated. So why is it that when those who ask for clarity, why are the the last to do it?? If they are making things "more clear", I must have missed it somewhere.

These videos pretty much tell the story better than I can alone. You decide for yourselves. Pick one, any or all:

Rep. Tom Price (an orthopedic surgeon by trade) should understand this better. THIS is what 1990 pages looks like:


Rep. Michele Bachmann:


Rep. Dan Burton:


Sen. Joe Lieberman: