Six Days and Counting

Only six days until the first votes of the 2012 presidential election cycle begins. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Ron Paul take Iowa? Or will Mitt Romney prevail? Of course only time will tell. I won't make any predictions on the outcome. After all I said some things about Herman Cain having a good chance to be the nominee and look what happened to him.

What I will say is that I like some of what I hear from all that remain in the race. Like most normal folk I think that Ron Paul needs to wake up about foreign affairs and realize that Iran can and will be a force to be dealt with, especially if they come up with a nuclear weapon, but cutting the size of our federal government sounds good to me.

Mitt Romney will have trouble with Romneycare in Mass. and Gingrich will have trouble because he is Newt Gingrich. Three marriages and admitted infidelity, plus sitting on the couch with Nancy Pelosi. Michele Bachmann is polarizing and Santorum and Perry don't have a chance.

Still, like Sean Hannity said, I would vote for a potted plant over Obama. As long as whoever wins the nomination vows to repeal Obamacare, cuts the federal budget and has a solid plan to get this country back on track they will win. We've seen how the current administration has done nothing to further our nation. Any of the Republican candidates would do a better job.

What I'm really happy to see is that the primary season is finally getting under way. It will cause some to drop out and narrow the field. Most will hang on for the first few state primaries,but before long Huntsman, Santorum, Perry and Paul will drop out. Now that I've said that, let's see what happens. I think Bachmann will hang on until the bitter end.

I wish we could find someone that is a combination of Romney, Gingrich and  Bachmann all rolled into one. That would be a great candidate and would easily beat Obama in November. No matter what, Obama will look silly in any upcoming debate because any of these three are certainly more experienced than Obama in the ways of the world and government.

Our current Prez has not done well trying to learn as he goes. 

Maria to Sean, "Communist"

I just finished listening to a radio interview done by Maria Conchita Alonso about her recent run in with Sean Penn at the LA airport. It's no secret that Maria does not care much for Sean's politics or his man love for Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. In the past Ms. Alonso put an open letter to Penn on the internet chastising him for his position. So now I'm sure that the consternation goes both ways.

During the interview Maria says that their conversation started reasonably enough but soon voices were raised. She then admits that she called Penn a "communist "@$$hole." Good for you, Maria. If I was wearing a hat I would give you a tip of said hat. No one could have said it better if you ask me. And you must have because here you are.

Now in fairness Ms. Alonso went on to say that Penn is a gifted actor, although she said that it was a shame he was. She mentioned that it is difficult for her to watch a movie that he is in. She also mentioned voting, I'm not sure what she would be voting on, but she votes for something that Penn is involved in. I would have to agree that it would be hard to watch a movie that Penn was in, because I refuse to watch his movies. If Maria can, then she is probably better person than me because she can put her personal feelings aside. I just find it difficult to patronize someone that I don't care for. I'm not saying anything about his acting ability, but about his personal opinions.

So why is Chavez such a fan of Penn's? Didn't Penn win an award for playing openly gay San Francisco councilman Harvey Milk? I think he did and in his acceptance speech blasted folks that oppose gay marriage. Now Mr. Penn's views are certainly liberal, but I didn't think that commies were cool with homosexuals. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm not as up on what commies like as I should be.

I don't harbor any illusions that either of the participants will read this, but I can only hope they do. Sean Penn would know how conservatives see him and Maria Conchita Alonso could see the praise I at least am sending her way. I know nothing of Ms. Alonso's politics, but I'm guessing they are not near as left as Sean Penn's.

But then again, who's are?

Another One Bites the Dust

Is that too harsh? The title I mean. Of course I'm referencing the death of Kim Jong-Il of North Korea. I just heard that he recently died. Now the country seems to be in the hands of his youngest son Kim Jong-Un. Kim light? Now that's too harsh, I'll erase that. Better? Ok.

Kim Jong-Il was a madman of the first order. Of course that's just my opinion and probably the opinion of most of the world too. Here was a guy that reminded me of a villain from a James Bond movie. That hair, those glasses and his elevator shoes. Plus his total lack of any regard for his people. His people starved while he built nuclear weapons. Yet they loved him. Crazy. The people of North Korea are completely brainwashed. This can happen when the rest of the world is totally cut off.

Now we have to wonder what will happen next. Will it be worse? Will it be better? Who knows. I just hope that we don't have a repeat of what's happening in Egypt at the moment. Can you imagine if some rouge General in the military decides to try a coup and gets his hands on the nukes? What if civil war breaks out?

We can hope that the folks of North Korea deify the latest Kim as they have the last two and nothing major happens. Then Kim III can start to bring his country into the 21st century and begins to have normal relations with the rest of the world.

It seems that the North Koreans have also just test fired two ballistic missiles. I wonder if this was just to let the world know that they are still there. I'm sure it was. And I'm sure the Chinese said it was okay to do. I doubt that Kim III is Chinese, but I would bet tons of dough that they will have his ear. Maybe he won't listen much.

All I know is that another nutty dictator is dead. This one seems to have died by natural causes instead of his own people rising up against him. Lucky him. Now his son gets the throne.

I wonder if the DNC will challenge Kim III's ascension to the throne and want a recount.

Payroll Tax Cut Extension

I just couldn't leave this alone any longer. As I watch the news this evening I see a clock behind Barry counting down the time until the payroll tax cut expires and taxes go up for working class folks like me, and probably you, if Congress does nothing. WTF! Really, Mr. President? Have sunk so low that this is all you can think of?

First of all let's get some things straight. According to the items I have heard from our wonderful national media if the payroll tax cut does not get extended the average family will pay about $1,000 more in taxes. BS is my response to that. Isn't the average salary about $40k? Well, doing the math that comes out to about $38 a paycheck if a person gets paid every two weeks. Nothing to sneeze at for sure, but no one is getting "rich" because of this either. Now I was fortunate enough to make a little bit more than this last year. When the payroll tax cut went into effect my paycheck went up only $30. I do get paid every two weeks. So I think the first figure of $1,000 a year is inflated. Plus, plus, it did not reduce my overall tax burden at the end of the year. I broke about even after my deductions.

I know this sounds callous, but people making $40k or more won't miss $30 a payday if it doesn't reduce their overall tax burden. Just reduce the amount people need to pay the government by reducing spending and balancing the Federal Budget. I don't expect my government to make money, but I expect them to spend what I send them wisely and do not spend more than they take in.

Barry also wants to extend unemployment insurance. I hate to sound cold, but come on, how long is long enough? 99 weeks is the limit now, what does he want it to go to? I think two years in plenty. How many folks are just sitting on their collective behinds collecting tax payer dollars instead of taking what they can get. Just because you have a trade, skill or college degree you are not guaranteed a job in that field of endeavor. More than once I've taken jobs that I really didn't want while I continued to look for a job in the field I wanted. Sometimes working multiple jobs at the same time.

Now here comes the shocking part of this. The Republicans are trying to attach the Keystone Pipeline plan to this bill. Barry said he would veto any bill about the tax cut and unemployment extensions if it contained the pipeline plan. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that this "has no place" in this bill. I can't believe I'm about to type- Mrs. Pelosi is right. I just shuddered after typing that. But I have to admit that Mrs. Pelosi could not be more correct. I also have to give the President a tip of the hat on this as well. I'm surprised my computer hasn't blown by now.

But really this is part of the problem of the political system. This idea isn't about liberal vs. conservative, it's about just concentrating on one thing in a bill. Not putting pet projects in with things that have no connection. If the Keystone Pipeline plan is to pass the Congress, then let it stand alone and have it's merits be judged.

So let the tax cuts expire, do not extend unemployment and look at the Keystone plan separately. 

When to Kill A Cop

This seems to be the theme of a flier at the Occupy Phoenix rally found this week. In the flier it suggests that if a person believes his/her rights are being violated that the only things a person can do is submit or resist. Now resistance means that the police are going to call more members of their "gang" and you will either be subdued or killed. So the only resistance is to kill the police officer.

Do these sound like the words of peaceful protesters to you? They don't to me. I've been a police officer for right on about 15 years now and have had more than one person seriously try to kill me. Neither time did I enjoy myself much, but as you can tell I survived the encounters. This is something I take very seriously. As should anyone else, not just the police, that runs afoul of these cretins.

I know from experience that there are officer that overstep their bounds and use too much force or believe that the rule of law does not apply to them. Fortunately, the department I work for has been successful in ridding itself of these types. I believe that departments across the country do their best to do the same thing.

The problem with most people who think they "know the law" is that they get their information from movies, TV and their ex-con friends. I can't count how many times I have heard, "I know my rights" from some brain dead idiot that could not have been more wrong. Most of the time I have been able to explain why I was doing what I was doing and the person would calm down and realize that I was right and would go along. There are always a few that no matter what can't seem to grasp the situation and will struggle against the police.

The point is, what if all the "I know my rights" folks had decided to violently resist me for what they perceived as a violation of their rights? Well, for starters alot of them and maybe even myself would be dead. That's a potential outcome of a violent encounter with the police.

One of the "almost" shootings I was involved in was with a person that thought the police had illegally entered his home and he thought that he had the ability to resist such an intrusion.  For starters, we were well within our authority to enter and arrest this person and by law a person does not have the right to resist an arrest even if it is illegal. At least that's what I got out of the court proceding. During the struggle to arrest this person, he attempted to disarm the other officer I was with. Had that officer communicated that fact to me the outcome would have been different than this person just going to jail.

I don't have to worry about the "occupiers" in the city I work, but I have a few words of advice for the people that are protesting around the country. If the police tell you it's time to move on, just go. The police will not back down. They will gather in larger numbers until they have a superior force and will remove you by the means necessary. The police will not purposely violate your civil liberties and certainly have no interest in doing so. If you raise your hand against a police officer chances are that officer will defend him/herself ferociously.

And then the others will come to assist.

Comments

Each one of my conservative views that gets posted here seems to be read by a few people. Do you want to know how I know that? Okay, I'll tell. Since Blogger went to a new interface I have the ability to see from what country people are seeing my blog. That's it, just the country. I have no idea from where in the country, it only tells from what nation.

I seem to have a fairly regular reader or two in Russia. That surprises the hell out of me. But I have to tell you my Russian friends that I am grateful you take the time. The same goes for the reader in India. I never would have thought that I would have someone outside the US read this blog. But again, I thank you.

I used to have a regular reader in Finland and in South Korea. They haven't been back in a while. That's too bad. They must not have liked what they read or got tired of the same ol' theme. I hope they pop back in and give it another try.

There have been readers is Romania and Germany and Thailand and even Malaysia. Wow! I thank all of you. And I would be rude if I didn't include those from Canada and the UK. Of course the majority of the readers have been from right here in the USofA. This blog is about American politics after all. I try not to meddle in the affairs of foreign countries. That is unless there is a direct correlation between our countries.

What I'm getting at here is that I would like to hear what you think about all this. I'm not so arrogant to think that my opinion is the only one worth listening to. If you agree with me, great. If you don't, that's fine too. Tell me, let's have a conversation about this. I'm willing to listen to other opinions and we can have a great, open, honest discussion about the direction of this or any other country.

Thank you again for honoring me by reading my blog. I look forward to hearing from you.

Frank

Drone On

That's exactly what I would tell the President after hearing that Anwar al-Awlaki had a hellfire missile shoved up his tailpipe. It's no secret that I don't have much nice to say about Barry, but here I will change tack and give him credit since it is due.

Most thought that Obama would be soft on the war on terror, but to my surprise, pleasant as it may be, he has actually been a bit of a hardass. Good for you Mr. President. Keeping sending those drones when we get could intel about where the bad guys are. The world is a better place with these guys rotting in the earth. That is if the vultures don't get them first.

The one thing that really didn't surprise me much was the reaction of those on the lunatic fringe left. The A(merican) C(riminal) L(overs) U(nion) appears to be a bit peeved that Anwar has been sent to the after life. After all he was an American citizen. So what? He turned traitor and was actively trying to recruit folks to kill innocent Americans for no reason other than they are American. Since we are at war, the sentence for treason is a bad case of dead.

Bad guy Anwar gave up his ability to be tried in the American criminal justice system the first time he tried to get someone else to do his evil work. Remember that this POS influenced the Underwear bomber and Nadil Hasan to commit their deeds. So why would the ACLU care that some Airmen second class sitting in a room half a world away let loose the missile that finished Anwar?

Because that's what they do. These clowns think that everyone should have their day, week, month, year in court before being set free because they are misunderstood. Well, I guess they missed out on another high profile case.

The President, Leon Panetta and Gen. Patraeus should be lauded for their decision to wipe this scum off the face of the earth. Let the crybabies at the ACLU scream about how Barry played judge, jury and executioner and killed an American citizen. They don't care that he was a member of a terrorist organization. They only cared about getting their name mentioned on TV today.

Drone on Mr. President, drone on.

The Straw Poll

A few days ago Herman Cain won a straw poll in Florida. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Cain, you will be now. He is the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a conservative. He is certainly someone worth taking a look at as the Republican candidate for the presidency.  He is the winner of the second straw poll of the season with Michele Bachmann winning the first in Iowa.

Why were these two so far down in the Gallup type polls, but winning in these two states? I can't figure that one out, but there is something I will say about these two. They are certainly not apologetic about being hardcore conservatives. I love that about both of these folks.

Let's get back to Herman, shall we? I've listened to Mr. Cain on the radio when he has filled in for Rush Limbaugh, I've read some of his writings on his website and I have to tell you that I like what I see and hear from the man. When I heard that he was running, I got a bit excited.

Herman Cain is no career politician. That scores big points with me. Herman Cain knows how to run a business. Something our current president knows nothing about. Herman Cain will speak his mind and pull no punches. I like that too. He also seems to be a darling of the TEA party. Even though I don't consider myself a TEA party person, I like a lot of what they stand for.

One thing I would like to hear from Mr. Cain is that he would repeal Obamacare. If he would do that, then I believe that would really get things going for Herman. He is already taking it straight to Obama and not the other candidates, just tell me that you will repeal that awful law.

I think that Herman Cain has a better chance than the two current front runners, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. I believe that the folks will start to see that they are politicians, nothing more. Both of them have good qualities, but they are tearing each other apart and that will eventually turn people off. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not. Only time will tell. In the interim, watch out for Herman Cain. He could win this. I wouldn't mind. He would be so much better than what we have now.

Oh yeah, Morgan Freeman, go back to making movies and shut the hell up. When you have evidence to back up your claims, come talk to me. Until then.....................

An Execution in Georgia

Last night the state of Georgia executed convicted cop killer Troy Davis. He was convicted for the 1989 murder of an off duty police officer. It matters not to me that the Officer MacPhail was off duty, he was still a police officer trying to help a person that was being assaulted. Finally, justice for the victim.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I support the death penalty. If you kill another human being without just cause, then you too should forfeit your life. It's as simple as that for me.

Now I realize that there are those who would like nothing more than to abolish the death penalty. That's fine. They are entitled to their opinion. The fact that there were hundreds gathered outside the prison protesting the execution was expected. I have no problem with these folks voicing their displeasure. From what I saw on the news it seemed that the crowd was orderly and wanted the Georgia authorities to know that they did not approve.

This execution seemed to be more controversial than most. Lawyers for Davis were claiming that witnesses had now recanted their testimony and that there was sufficient doubt on the guilt of Davis. My question is, when did these folks recant? Should we now convict them of perjury and throw them in prison while allowing Davis to go free? I think not.

At the time of trial witnesses came forward, said their piece and Davis was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. A case like this is automatically appealed to make sure that no errors were made. Apparently none were found. It was appealed again. Same result. Davis' execution date was stayed on several occasions before yesterday in an effort by his lawyers to try to win either a new trial or his freedom. In other words, Davis had his chances.

What this says to me is that the court that convicted and sentenced Davis got it right. So if you are a religious person you believe that last night Davis stood before his maker and was judged. This was going to happen at some point anyway. Everybody dies eventually.

The state of Georgia just made it happen sooner rather than later.

Eat the Rich

Was anyone surprised? I wasn't. Barry takes to the Rose Garden and announces that he has a plan to pay for his Jobs Bill by taxing the wealthiest of Americans. I should say increasing their taxes. Barry said that he would veto any bill that came to his desk that put the burden on the middle class. My question to the Prez, how much more is enough for you and the radical left?

Barry claims that he has already given a tax break to the middle class, excuse me, the working class. Yes, my payroll taxes decreased by about $30 a paycheck, but at the end of the year I still owed money to the Feds. How does that happen? Oh yeah, I had to help pay for the folks that don't pay any taxes at all.

As it is, only about half of Americans pay any tax at all. Now why don't we require something from everyone instead of all from some? I've said it before, I'll say it again, I don't mind helping those that are unable to help themselves, I refuse to pay for those who refuse to do for themselves.

If the Prez really wants to bring more money into the federal coffers then he needs to consider a flat tax. It just might be that simple. %10 of my paycheck can be divided by the Feds and the State (that means the State I live in) and they have to make it work. That would reduce my burden by about $25,000. Just think how I could set myself up for retirement with that amount of extra money every year. Or maybe I could be reckless and just spend that money. That would mean more money into the economy, more taxes flowing to Washington. Doesn't he get it? Obviously not. Now if everyone that had a job had to pony up something, can you imagine the amount of money the government would collect? Or should I say, everyone that was willing to work?

No more deductions, for anyone or any entity. That means that if you make a dollar that 10 cents was your tax liability. Period. Simple. The IRS could actually shrink in size. Tax forms could be so simple that anyone with a calculator could file their own taxes.

Just look to Europe if you want to see our future with Barry in charge. Greece on the verge of economic collapse. Italy and Spain not too far behind. As I type I hear that S&P has just downgraded Italy's credit rating. What does it say that it happened to us first?

Eat the rich, eat the rich
Out of the gutter and into the ditch

The Most Popular Person in Washington

The other day I saw the results of a poll that claimed that Hillary Clinton was the most popular person in the government.I found that rather amusing. But it wasn't all that surprising. After all, she has been keeping a low profile lately. I can't remember the last time I saw her on the news. Any news, not just the networks. And who can blame her?

I wonder if Queen Hillary is considering another presidential run. It would make things interesting. I bet there are a fair number of folks that would like to replace Obama with Clinton. She wouldn't be as far left as Barry, but who is?

Or maybe she is just trying to distance herself from the radical policies of The One. She has had to have noticed that his poll numbers are falling a bit. In the beginning Hillary had to tout Barry' ideas. After all, Barry made her Sec. State to try to keep her in check and from running in 2012. I mean, Barry is her boss and her new job had to pay quite a bit and she needed to show a little appreciation. Then again, she would be away from Bill quite a bit. I would appreciate that, wouldn't you?

Maybe the poll results were because Hillary isn't quite the witch that she wants everyone to believe she is. Now just because she is a successful, forceful woman with a strong personality doesn't mean that she is witch. I don't think she is. I know that the woman is misguided, that's obvious, she's a Democrat after all. Ken Starr did crawl  up her backside and she still didn't go to jail, so I have to give her the benefit of the doubt on Whitewater.

So why is Hillary so popular? I think I have the answer. Hillary is the only one that isn't trying to make policy and fighting about the out of control government spending, the debt ceiling and now the Jobs Bill. So Hillary has done herself a huge favor by staying out of the way. Will this translate to votes in the next election? Or is she just waiting for 2016?

I would almost bet that it's the former, not the latter. Barry has to know that this is coming. I wonder what he has planned. Something nasty no doubt. He can't deride the job she has done for him. He won't make a big deal out of Bill. It's been too long. 

But Bill would be a better first lady than the one we have now.

Pass This Bill Right Away

Barry wanna cracker? Pass the bill, pass the bill, sqauwk! Is that mean of me? Probably, but so what. The Prez just sounded like a broken record the way he kept parroting the phrase, "Pass this bill". I just reviewed my previous post, and you know what? I was more than half right.

For starters Barry wants to spend about $450B ($450,000,000,000) on this new bill. My question is, where is this bill? Did you leave at the beach house on Martha's Vineyard? Has it been written yet? Do we need to pass it so we can find out what's in it? That would be a familiar tactic.

My bet is that this was a rough draft. By the time that the number crunchers get through with Barry's ideas, it will be in the neighborhood of Stimulus I. Did I just use the forbidden stimulus word? You bet your behind I did. Because folks that's exactly what this is.

Stimulus II, Son if Stimulus, Li'l Stimmy, whatever you want to call it, this is just more of the same old crud that Barry and the far left loonies have paraded out before. Take a look at the last two plus years. What did the last $867B ($867,000,000,000) get us. Further in debt? Yes. An unemployment rate of %9? Yes. 2.4M (2,400,000) jobs lost? Yes. So what in the hell makes you think that it will work now? Remember about doing the same thing expecting different results? It's INSANE.

The part I liked best, Barry saying that in about 10 days he would let us know how it was going to be paid for. Ha! So does that mean that he doesn't know yet? Yes. But he did trot out the old "eat the rich" mantra that is a favorite of the far left. He wants the evil rich to pay their fair share. How about making others pony up something instead of just taking?

I especially liked the part when Barry said that there were folks that thought the way to get things going and reduce the debt was for the government to quit spending and relax regulations. That's exactly the right way to start. But then he said that he wouldn't allow regulations to be rolled back as to make the workplace unsafe. Well, duh. Barry then showed his pro labor side. He said that he didn't think that people should lose their collective bargaining rights. Well, Mr. Prez, you couldn't be more wrong. Organized labor is a big problem in this country with the demanding of more pay for less work, not to mention sweet retirement benefits.

And you wonder why the economy is stagnating. , 

The President's Jobs Plan

Tomorrow night Barry unveils his new jobs plan. Nice. It only took three years, 7 Trillion dollars ($7,000,000,000,000) in new debt, two world apology tours and who knows how many vacations for Barry to produce one. And he thinks he deserves another four years in office. Ha!

I wonder what is in this new plan of his. Maxine-the TEA party can go straight to Hell-Waters (D-CA) thinks that the plan should include another trillion bucks ($1,000,000,000,000) in spending. My question to Ms. Waters is, why should it cost anywhere near that much at all? Is it another infrastructure jobs plan? If so, just take a look at the original stimulus spending plan. It obviously did not work, so why do it again? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Maybe the folks that think liberalism are right about it being a mental disease.

Remember Bobble Head Joe Biden saying that we were going to spend our way out of debt? Well, the Libs are giving it one hell of a shot. Can I still say that? Anyway, you have to give them credit for trying. How is it going Joe? Are we succeeding? Is the unemployment rate still above %9? I think it is, so just what have you accomplished? In a word - nothing.

I think I have an idea of what we are going to hear tomorrow. Barry will pontificate on how the government has created millions of jobs over the last three years, but they aren't finished yet. We will need to spend more money to create more opportunities for companies to put folks to work. (I think Maxine let the cat out of the bag when she made her comments last week.) More shovel ready jobs for the working man. More and better benefits for the poor and middle class Americans. In other words it will just be more of the same. These guys can't come up with anything that will satisfy their far left base and work well for the country.

If you heard Jimmy Hoffa on Monday, he was just repeating the word jobs, jobs, jobs. Well, what do expect from organized labor? The thing that Jr. doesn't get is that if you keep bleeding the host, that is the job giver, eventually they quit hiring or close their doors. That's economics 101 Jr. You went to college, didn't you? Of course you did, you're a lawyer, right? Really, you're just another pinhead that knows nothing of business or how it works.

It was wrong of me to say that Jr. was just saying the word jobs, he also called for taking the "sons of bitches" of the TEA party "out". Really Jr.? Take them out? Sounds more like the people that your dad hung out with than a person that is trying to get his union layabouts jobs that they can half-ass and make you even wealthier with their union dues.

So with Barry's normal way of thinking and the mental midgets that he hangs out with, nothing that he says tomorrow will be new or fresh or even surprising. He will give another campaign speech, the left will praise him, the Republicans aren't going to respond and will still be excoriated for being uncaring about the working man and the debt will continue to increase.

All Barry really needs to do to get this economy going again is to do get off the backs of business. Less regulation, less of a tax burden, forget this "green economy" crap, and allow business to do what it does best. That is, create and sell goods and services, make money and they will grow on their own. The less the government does, the better we all will be.

Or better yet, keep doing the same things. You will be out of a job before too much longer.

Fantasy Land

I heard a couple of sound bites today.One made me laugh and the other made me a bit angry. The first was by that darling of the loons in San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi. The second was by Indiana congressman, Andre Carson.

Let's laugh first. Good ol' Nancy was at a fundraiser about ten days ago trying to convince folks of the great things that the Obama administration has done. She spoke about raising the minimum wage within the first 100 hours of this regime. She went on to say that the Republicans had not raised the wage in order to keep those earning this wage to keep borrowing against their mortgages, keeping them perpetually in debt and the banks would keep making money. ROFLMAO!

For starters Ms. Pelosi, if a person is only making $7.50 an hour probably doesn't own their own home. Especially in the People's Republic of California. That wouldn't get the basement of an outhouse there. Yes, I can say that since I am originally from SoCal. Even here in Utah, it would be difficult to own a house on $7.50 an hour. So I guess what I'm getting at is, how in the hell do people that don't own a home borrow against it? They can't! Do you listen to yourself when you speak? Do you think before speaking? It's fairly obvious that you don't.

The worst part of it all, you could hear people in the background agreeing with Pelosi. I realize that this was being held in San Francisco, so I gotta figure that there were a few hippies in the crowd. Somebody had to be stoned to think that this was somehow based in reality and not in just political rhetoric.

And speaking of rhetoric...........Now we get to Congressman Andre Carson (D-IN). The day after Ms. Pelosi made her ridiculous comments, Mr. Carson topped her.

It seems that Mr. Carson, a member of the Black Congressional Caucus, was somewhere in Florida, I believe, speaking to which group, I don't know, but by his comments I would guess it was a group of African Americans.

Mr. Carson was doing the fashionable thing these days and bashing the TEA Party. In his comments, Mr. Carson said that there were people in Congress today that wanted to see them as second class citizens. He went on to say that there were people in Congress today that wanted to see them swinging form a tree.

This buffoon actually accused other members of Congress of wanting to lynch blacks! WTF? I wonder what Allen West thinks of this. He is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and a TEA Party member. I can't wait for his response.

What Mr. Carson has said is reprehensible. What he and others like him continue to do is keep the wedge between the races. And yes, I mean whites vs. everybody else. If there is ever to be an end to racism in this country this type of vitriol must stop. Question:  What happened to the civility that the post racism president asked for this spring?  Answer: It has never materialized.

The left can't run on their record so they run out the old tried and what used to be true, race card. Everyone that is white, or conservative, or that just doesn't agree with the far left has got to be a racist.

I've said to the others I will say it to you, Mr. Carson. If you want to see the real racist in this country these days, look in the mirror.

Hatch vs. Chaffetz

Ladies and Gentlemen- Are you ready to Ruuuuuuuuummmmmmbbbbbbllllllleeeeee? (Sorry Mr. Buffer, I couldn't resist) In the right corner, the senior Senator from Utah, singer, songwriter and  remnant of the Federal Government left over from the Carter administration, six time incumbent, Orrrrrrriinnnnnn Haaaaaatch.    

And in the far right corner the two time Representative from southern Utah, BYU placekicker, darling of the TEA party and sometime waffler, Jaaaaaasssooooonnn Chaaaaaaaaafeeeetttzzz.

Wow folks, what a battle we have tonight. There's the bell for round one, they meet in the center of the ring, touch gloves and Chaffetz goes down. It doesn't look like he's getting up. And he's out. A knockout for Senator Hatch. His seat is safe for another six years.

Okay, that's not that funny, depending on how much you've had to drink or if you don't like what Jason Chaffetz has done.

I'm sober as I type so by the processing of elimination, guess which camp I'm in. It seems that as soon as Sarah Palin endorsed Senator Hatch, after he made a hard turn to the right in an act of political expedience,  Chaffetz threw in the towel. Why? I'm not sure. I have a few ideas. Oooohh, let's look at them, shall we?

First, maybe it was discretion that made Chaffetz bow out of next years Senatorial showdown. With the endorsement from Palin, money will be coming in, which means more advertising and that might be tough for Chaffetz to overcome. Idea the second, a back room deal was struck. Maybe Hatch told Jason that this would be his last run and if Chaffetz backed off this time, Hatch would endorse him in 2018. That is if he survives that next three elections as Representative. Then again it could be that Chaffetz lacks the intestinal fortitude (that means guts) for the fight. After all, Jason did describe the upcoming "battle" as a "bloodbath."

If it's the first, okay I understand that you shouldn't beat your head against a brick wall, that can cause brain damage and a turn to liberalism. I know that's harsh, but the truth usually is. If it's the others, then Jason don't even bother running again next year for term. If you made some backroom deal, then you have become just another politician and we don't need that. If you don't have the guts, well there's really no shame in it, but quit acting like you're a true believer and just quit now.

Carl Wimmer would love that.

You remember Carl, don't you. He's been riding your coattails, hoping to run for either your seat, if you took on Uncle Orrin, or maybe he would run for the now fictional fourth US Congress seat that Utah has been hoping for. Wimmer is a sufficient self promoter, but he comes across as a bit if a yokel. But I digress bringing Wimmer into the conversation.

But don't look now Jason, It won't just be Wimmer after you now. The liberals can smell your weakness. And by backing off Hatch...............who knows?

The President's Vacation

My suggestion to you Mr. President, stay on it.

Okay, I know that's a bit harsh, but he deserves it, doesn't he? The job of POTUS has got some inherent stress built into it and anyone would need a bit of a break. The man does have two young children that he needs to spend some quality time with. I certainly don't begrudge Barry that. Plus, he has an economy in the toilet, along with his poll numbers, a declining national credit rating, amnesty for illegal aliens and Joe Biden looking to pick on his political carcass. Who wouldn't want to get away?

Look, nothing this man has done for the economy has worked. Unemployment is still high, the latest unemployment numbers were on the rise, spending is still out of control, Obamacare will most certainly keep employers from hiring and we've even had a tax increase during a recession. So how as the stimulus helped us? In short, it hasn't.

So if Barry wants to work on his golf game, let him. The longer he is away from Washington, the less damage he does. The only problem while he's away is the cost to those of us that pay taxes. His 40 car motorcade is a bit much. How much do you think it cost to keep The One and his family safe on Martha's Vineyard? Yes, I believe that any siting president deserves a security detail, but come on, how much is too much?

Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten? He also needs this time to work on his job creation proposal that is due  next month. Or at least he said it would be ready next month. Isn't this something he needed to have, or at least have a reasonable facsimile of, the day he ascended to the throne? I think so. Ooh, maybe Barry and Huntsman are working on this project together. Wouldn't that be great?

So Mr. President, enjoy your time away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

With any luck it won't be your address much longer. 

Military Retirement Pay

The other day I heard something from the Washington that irritated me more than just about anything those clowns have proposed so far. Instead of starting to give 20 year military veterans a pension immediately upon separation from the service, these idiots want to put the money into a 401k type account and then the retired service member can start to draw that money upon reaching "retirement" age. Wow, what a deal.

It's obvious that people that come up with these brilliant ideas have never put on any type of uniform in their lives. Well, maybe an SEIU uniform, or one of some other communist organization, but certainly not one of the Unites States military. We must also remember that these folks are also receiving some benefits after having served only one "tour of duty" in the US congress. I don't see them reducing those, do you?

So what they are now telling our service members is that you wont get your retirement eventhough you have sacrificed the prime of your physical life, time away from family, going to the ugliest parts of the world to do difficult and dangerous work on behalf of your fellow country men and that you are now going to have to wait for another 20 years probably for the benefit that was promised to you the day you swore to defend this great nation. Outstanding. I bet it makes you want to stay for another enlistment, doesn't it?

What these people don't understand is that it is only 50% of a service member's base pay that is the benefit. There are plenty of other things that are added to a paycheck that are not considered base pay. I remember that I was receiving extra rations along with BAQ (sorry, I can't remember what that stands for) because I was stationed at a place where my wife couldn't join me. That was not considered part of my $700 a month base pay. Yes, I was a private and this was in the early 1980's. No, I did not retire from the military and no I do not receive disability payments from the government even though I received a medical discharge.

Now a person that serves 20+ years gets a monthly check for the rest of their lives. I have no problem with that. Neither should you. This is not a great amount in the grand scheme of things and it should be considered a "thank you" from a grateful nation. Because if it wasn't for fine folks like this, being willing to go fight and maybe even die for all of us, who knows what this country would look like.

We aren't talking about a great deal of money either. My maternal grandfather served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. Remember Mr. President, the "r" and the "p" are silent. Grandpa fought at Gudalcanal in WWII and in Korea. He and my grandmother lived in a double wide trailer after he retired. He wasn't living in a big house on the hill. He worked a normal job after getting out of the Corps, as did my grandmother, and they had a decent life, but the benefit didn't create an atmosphere of tremendous wealth.

Besides, from the news report that I heard, this would only reduce the the total cost by only $250B ($250,000,000,000) over the next ten years. So what is that? I think that's about three weeks of overspending by the current government.

How about we look at reforming the welfare system? How about we eleminate the benefit of our current crop of legislatures? How about we look at reforming Medicare and Medicaid? How about we look at reforming the tax code and making more people pay taxes?

How about we look at changing the addresses of the Obama's and Harry Reid in 2012?

Photos

I'm happy that bin Laden is dead. It was a long time coming, but at least it's done. Now we know why it took so long. The Pakistani government was hiding the bastard. Yeah, I said it. The reason being is that the truth rolls comfortably off my tongue.

Barry has been about breaking his arm slapping himself on the back for the last few days. And the media has been praising Him for his bravado in going after the worlds most wanted man. At least here in America anyways. Now don't get me wrong, Barry had to approve going into Pakistan to get bin Laden and I'm glad that he did. Barry knew that not giving his blessing would have been a huge nail in his political coffin. Now I'm not saying that Barry didn't want to catch UBL, I just bet he's relieved that it happened while he is still president.

I would say that the groundwork to catch UBL had been laid in the Clinton administration, but we know what a bunch of BS that would be. After all, didn't Slick Willy have a chance or two to take care of this problem, but was worried about his image? Or maybe it was his soft sensibilities that wouldn't tolerate some collateral damage. We all know that it was in the months following 9/11 that the chase for bin Laden really started. At least Barry gave George Bush a passing reference and has invited him to the party at ground zero on 5/5/11. Even money says Barry makes this into a We got him/Cinco De Mayo affair.

All of this aside, I'm disappointed that we don't get to see the photos. We've been subjected to the images of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, the towers coming down, the Pentagon, the USS Cole and the Embassies in Africa, just to name a few, but we can't see the photos of the guy that put all that into action. Yes, the pictures might disturb some. Yes, there are those that don't care to see them, but a lot of us do. I know that the last thing that went through bin Laden's mind was a .223 caliber round and that makes a bit of a mess, but.......... Besides I think it would be a bit of a catharsis for most.

So come Barry, go back on your word (not that you haven't done that before) and release the photos. This BS of not wanting to offend the Muslim world is growing old. It seems that whenever you make a decision it always leans towards the "We can't offend the Muslims" instead of what the people of America want.

Remember, you are the President of the United States of America, not the lackey of the Muslim world. 

Taxes

Today I wrote out the check to pay my federal income tax. After the governments at both the state and federal level automatically took a full %38 of my wife's and mine combined wages, the federal government had the audacity to demand more. That's right, demand more. I'm fed up with it. The federal government is spending money like there is no tomorrow and expecting folks like you and me to pay the bill. Well, as long as you are one of the ones that actually pay taxes.

In February the federal government ran up $223B ($223,000,000,0000) in debt. That was for only a month, and a short one at that. If I do the math correctly, and thanks to my Casio calculator I know I will, that's $7.96B ($7,964,283,700) a day of overspending by the Feds. How in the Hell can they do that? Remember, that's overspending, or in other words, spending more than they are taking in. Incredible.

But when we have 200K plus of new government employees, needing to pay for Obamacare, needing to pay for a sweet spring break trip for the kids and Auntie M, plus getting us involved in another military action (Libya) I guess only overspending by nearly $8B a day is getting away kind of cheap. I realize that the trip and bombing Libya happened in March so our deficit for this month should be much higher.

Since I mentioned Obamacare, my premiums have gone up in the last year and coverage has gone down. Was that the way it was supposed to happen?

Also I mentioned if you were one of the folks that paid taxes you were also footing some of this bill. I thought that taking %38 of my gross pay would have been enough for this government. But then I got to thinking about all the people that don't pay a damn thing. As a matter of fact, they take what I am required to give. It's about time to tell these folks that the teat has run dry and it's time for them to get off their lazy butts and do something productive.

Man, can I hear the liberals screaming at that comment. Look Hippie, those that are physically incapable of working, I don't mind helping, but those that can work, should. And I don't think that drug and alcohol problems are diseases and that these clowns deserve disability payments from social security.

Case in point. About three weeks ago I arrested a woman with open warrants for forgery and child endangerment. In Utah that means you exposed a child to illegal drugs. She was in the process of cashing a SSDI check. I asked how she was disabled. She told me that she had a bad back. I asked if she wanted to see the scar on my back or the x-ray of my neck where the six screws and plate had recently been installed. She didn't seem to get it. She was half my age, high when arrested, no more disable than the man in the moon and cashing a government check. Guess what she was going to do with the money.

It's time we go to a flat tax. The state can have %5 of what I make and the Feds can have %5. Period. Oh yeah, that goes for everybody else too. Even those on government assistance can pay taxes. That way they are actually helping themselves a bit. No more deductions, no more "tax credits" for buying an electric car, that no one seems to be buying anyway, no more hiding money,  no more BS. The tax code could fit on one piece of paper. Everyone, every business pays %10.

I'm not really sure if the people in Washington can grasp the concept, but at least we can try. 

The New Hope

Earlier in the week the latest unemployment number came out. 8.9% is the new number and the White House and the liberal media are just giddy. Listening to some talk, you would think that all conservatives have committed a mass suicide. But after all, we know that it is the liberals that are the kool-aid drinkers.

Now that unemployment is under 9% again people think that the recession is over and Obama saved the world. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? First of all after Barry committed us to a one trillion dollar ($1,000,000,000,000) democratic wish list spending spree and claimed that unemployment would not go over 8%. With the stimulus it would surely climb over 10%. Even with the stimulus, unemployment still climbed to 10%. Did he not notice that? Then the administration told us that we could expect unemployment to stay there for an extended period of time. The new normal we were told.

Did anyone take into consideration the number of people that have quit looking for work? Has anyone noticed how many folks have finally run out of 99 weeks of unemployment insurance? I bet not. These numbers should be looked at to determine and accurate account. I don't look at the number of underemployed because at least these folks are working. I realize they might not be working in a field of their choosing or training, but they have a job.

I saw that the stock market lost over 80 points that day that the new numbers came out. How does that happen? One would think that the market would go crazy of such good news. But when the Dow in artificially high this is what happens. Artificially high, you say incredulously? Two words, oil futures. Need I say more?

Speaking of oil. I have noticed a sharp increase in oil prices lately. The other day I paid $3.29 a gallon for mid-grade. I realize that's low compared to some, but substantially higher here. Then I noticed the price for my groceries started to increase. Weird, huh? Guess what come next. If you guessed layoffs, well you win the prize. If it cost more to do business, then business has less people to do what needs to be done. Unemployment goes back up and we are told that this is again the new normal. What a bunch of BS. Or should I say the normal for this administration?

I wonder how Barry is going to blame GWB for this.

The 2012 Federal Budget

Is anyone surprised? $3.9 Trillion (3,900,000,000,000) dollars for the next fiscal year? Is it just me or does anyone else grasp the enormity of that number? How in the world are we supposed to stand for this? I know we can't, so do plenty of others, but still we allow our government officials to drive us off the financial cliff. Obviously the last election was not a strong enough message. In two years when we get the opportunity, we need to vote them all out. If we don't, then we can blame no one but ourselves.

Barry seems to think that we can spend our way out of debt. If you ask me, and you did by reading this, that is delusional. A case can certainly be made that Obama is clinically insane. That's a nice way of saying that he is completely nuts. I believe that's that technical term for the affliction he suffers from. But then again, it's pretty normal for our pompous politicians these days.

Barry had a chance to do something this year. He completely blew it. All he had to do was to eliminate unnecessary entitlement programs. He wouldn't do it. In this budget his version of an unnecessary entitlement is home heating oil subsidies for the poor. If a Republican votes for that........I can see the headlines now about how the Republicans are all for freezing the poor by cutting their heating oil. It's a can't win situation on that. So it won't happen.

Barry also said that he was going to cut the federal deficit by 50% at the end of his first term. That would have required a reduction of almost $6,000,000,000,000 over that time. During his first three years he has raised the deficit by almost $5,000,000,000,000. He has no grasp of basic math. I'm sure there is someone in the White House who knows how to do simple arithmetic. I wish one of them would show their father how to add and subtract.

The Big "O" has said that he would rather be a great one term president than a mediocre two termer. Well, he's been a lousy one termer to this point. It's up to us to make sure he doesn't get another chance to ruin our economy, our reputation and ultimately our entire way of life. 

Pepsi Max and Michelle Obama

As I was watching the Super Bowl last week I was struck by one of the Pepsi Max commercials. It was the one where a woman continually was taking food from her husband because it is what we consider "junk food." Towards the end of the commercial the man is sitting on a park bench drinking a Pepsi Max when his wife comes by. The man gets a horrified look on his face until he notices that his wife is also drinking a Pepsi Max. Things are fine until the man notices a jogger and the wife trows the can of soda at him. He ducks and the can hits the jogger in the head knocking her out.

The commercial was only mildly amusing because the wife reminded me of our First Lady, Michelle Obama, heretofore referred to lovingly (sort of) as Auntie M. It reminded me of how Auntie M is on her healthy eating campaign and trying to get her hubby and the rest of us to go along. This ad would have made more sense if it showed folks jogging or exercising another way and having a cold Pepsi Max after they were finished. This way was nothing more than a homage to Auntie M.

Now, Auntie M needs her cause, just like every First Lady. Nancy Reagan had her anti drug message, Laura Bush had literacy, Hillary Clinton had self promotion and now Auntie M has childhood obesity. Okay, let's help the kids stay a bit leaner, get them off the couch and outside a bit more, but leave us grown ups alone. If she let Barry be then maybe the rest of us could catch a break. Probably not, he's not stupid enough to say anything against his wife, at least I don't think he is. Well, I hope not anyways.

What it all comes down to is choice. I want to able to decide what I eat and how much. I don't need the liberal media or the government telling me what to do. Or at the least trying to make me feel guilty if I decide to eat a cheeseburger like the poor fellow in the commercial.

Now that Obamacare has been declared unconstitutional by the Federal Courts maybe Auntie M will start to lay off a bit. I realize that it's only a pipe dream, but a guy can still dream.

So after all that, I think I will head out to one of the many local burger joints and get me a double bacon cheeseburger and salute Auntie M and Pepsico while I eat. 

I'm Baaaaaack

As the title says, I'm back. I have been in a self imposed exile waiting to have something nice to say about the left. Needless to say, I wasn't able to find a thing. So now I will return to my, at least bi-weekly harangue about the lunacy of the liberals in this country.

Let's start with Sheriff Dupnick from Pima County in Arizona. I heard Rush Limbaugh refer to Dupnick as "Dipstick" today. That moniker is much too kind in my estimation, but then I had to remember that Rush was on the radio and could really go no further with his assessment. Even here I will refrain from going that far. Too bad me thinks, but what else can I do?

So here we go. Sheriff, I would say from one cop to another, but you haven't been a police officer since you first ran for office. So from a current officer to a former one, shut your damn mouth. You are doing your best to make people thing that all police officers, especially from the south or southwest, are a bunch of redneck yokels. You epitomize the stereotype of a Sheriff with the IQ of an eggplant and who is probably married to his first cousin. I'm sure that neither is the case, but when I hear you speak, that is exactly what comes to mind.

You keep saying that you have 52 years of law enforcement experience. That says to me that you need to retire. It's obvious by what you say that you no longer have a clue. How can you say that it is the political "flamethrowers" that have created nuts like Jared Loughner, and then immediately say that you have nothing to back it up? If the PIO (public information officer) from my department said something like that, we would be looking for a new PIO. Of course you have a personal opinion, but keep it to yourself.

But it seems that you have gotten your 15 minutes of fame, well, more really. After all here I am typing about you more than a week after you started appearing on TV. I hope you're proud of yourself. You've been able to support the leftist agenda and take shots at, can I say that?, people like Limbaugh, Beck and Palin. You yourself have fanned the flames of political rhetoric and vitriol with your comments.

Way to go, Clarence.