Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wistful and Self-Absorbed, Obama Needs to be Interrupted by Pelosi

It’s a sad day when the most regal person on stage at the State of the Union is Nancy Pelosi, but that’s exactly what happened last night. And despite the media accolades, the fact that Barack Hussein Obama’s first entrance into the US House of Representatives had all the pomp and circumstance of Hugo Chavez at the racetrack was as clear as day.

Most of it was Obama’s own fault. Yes, whoever decided to divide up the announcement by the Sergeant-at-Arms of his arrival to the House with a split introduction that contained ten seconds of pause in between did no favor to the Office of the Presidency. But far more pitiful was the fact that a dreamy, wistful and arrogant Obama with his head held up in the air and his eyes seemingly gazing at the stars was so self involved that he forgot to allow the Speaker of the House to introduce him.

The announcement by the Sergeant-at-Arms, which last night seemed like a sad joke, (leaving us to wonder why the same genius who split the announcement between two people didn’t go one step further and divide each of the eight words “Madame Speaker, the President of the United States” among the Sergeant-at-Arms and seven dwarfs for theatrical effect) and the Speaker’s announcement are usually the most regal part of the presidential address to Congress. But instead of allowing for the introduction to take place, Barack Obama was so enthralled with his own self that he rose to the podium, yelled “thank you” to the crowd, stretched out his hands to the masses and looked every bit like the two bit thug dictator that many feel he aspires to be. When he finally started with “Madame Speaker,” Pelosi had to interrupt him and hastily introduced him with the most nervously uttered few words ever to emanate from that podium.

This set the tone for the rest of the speech. Joe, who apparently “no one messes with” was asleep, or close to sleep, for most of the speech. Pelosi, probably still shocked by the debacle at the onset, seemed to be perusing the Complete Works of Charles Dickens. Either that or Beach House Monthly; take your pick.

The media, however, would have you believe otherwise. Charlie Gibson was not content with Obama alone being popular, he claimed that the stimulus bill was popular too. Even George Stephanopoulos, who moments earlier had exaggerated Obama’s popularity (perhaps unwittingly, using last week’s figures), seemed taken aback by the level of Gibson’s pandering. They were worse than the guy at MSNBC who almost started cursing on air at the commencement of the Republican response. At least the audience knew where he stood. Gibson’s disdainful inflection before the speech, that there would be a Republican response, was more subtle.

To the media Barack Obama is intelligent and inspiring. So inspiring that he managed to descend from Air Force One without missing a step, after almost banging his head upon exit from the aircraft. So intelligent that he tried to enter the Oval Office from a window that he mistook for a door. And so regal that he needed to be interrupted by the Speaker of the House at the onset of his first speech to Congress. Yet all of that goes unreported, much like his assertion on the campaign trail that this nation is comprised of 57 states or that kids with breathing problems need breathalyzers (Republicans prefer giving them ventilators - Obama self corrected himself on that one).

The media may not want to cover any of this, but to the American people, a picture is emerging. Namely, that the only thing historic about this administration is that the president has an IQ score under 70, or as Barack Obama might say “the age that children begin to collect Social Security.”

The Invisible Senator Gregg and Other (Disappearing) Stories

Has anyone noticed that the man least mentioned by the media in the last few weeks was Senator Judd Gregg? The winner of a 5th grade mousetrap car contest in Concord, New Hampshire made more headlines than did the Senator-Commerce Secretary-Senator.

While scientists may well be close to inventing a cloak of invisibility, at least according to media headlines from last year, I doubt that the purpose of this experiment was for the final product to be used exclusively by one senator from New England (and if it is, why can’t that Senator be Leahy?). More to the point, we all know what the media’s reaction would have been had a senator agreed to an appointment by the Bush Administration, only to retract a few days later citing irreconcilable policy differences. We’d still be hearing about him today.

In fact, when much of President Bush’s cabinet resigned after the first term, as is the case with all administrations, the media sold the public a picture of cabinet secretaries running off like rabbits in despair. These were people who had signed on for four years and who wanted to reenter the private sector. Their numbers were equal to those of other two term presidencies. Many remained in close contact with the Bush Administration even after their departure and all had supported President Bush for reelection. Yet the same media that spun that non-news event into a story was nowhere to be found after respected Senator Judd Gregg found that the policies of the Obama Administration were too offensive to his logic to allow him to serve.

Other Stories

Earlier this month, President Obama demanded that the “stimulus” bill be rammed through Congress. Not one representative had been able to fully read any of its versions and no senator read the final version either. (One senator, Charles Grassley, read an entire draft. The only senator to do so, he voted against the bill. For his efforts Grassley was awarded an invisibility cloak of his own by the media.)

Yet umpteen senators who admittedly did not read the entire bill went on a media blitz about how needed this bill was. I hadn’t known that clairvoyance was now a prerequisite to being elected to Congress. On second thought, the fact that those who touted how great and needed the stimulus bill was are at a loss to tell us what’s in it would show that being Miss Cleo is still not essential to holding elective office. One just needs to be indolent and tow the party line.

The story gets even better. After Democrats demanded that the bill be rushed through Congress and made a day’s delay seem like reckless procrastination, Obama decided to whisk off to Chicago for Valentine’s Day, scheduling the signing for that Tuesday. I understand that time was needed to read the bill, but in that case, why not use the extra time to allow elected representatives to look it over and vote on Tuesday morning?

In reality, the so called “stimulus” bill was not only loaded with pork, it also contained a healthcare provision that would penalize doctors who go above and beyond in saving critically ill patients, something that’s referred to simply as “cost effective guidelines,” proving that government run healthcare is essentially no healthcare at all. So far, only the former Lt. Gov. of New York, Betsy McCaughey, and Florida’s past Chief Medical Officer and current US Senate candidate, Dr. Marion Thorpe, are the only Republican voices to clearly layout the dangerous effects of this measure. And the media, those ever alert conveyers of information to the public, are asleep at their desks and ignorant of all things regarding this matter. After all, what’s the big deal about the government dictating to personal physicians what they can and can’t do in their treating of patients?

And so marks Obama’s first month in office. While the media may still be drooling over him, they are finally alone with their gobble cups. The question most of the public now asks is simply: “can we trade him in for a Chevy?”

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Just How Low Have Democrats Sunk – Is Killing Seniors Now Not Beyond Limits?

This is despicable. And as a writer who prefers calm and reflective analysis, when such a course is possible, I’m shocked at having to write the above headline. But far more important than mannerism is the profound obligation of every citizen and active US resident to scream out against the despicable “healthcare” provisions in the “Stimulus” Bill.

The so-called “Stimulus Bill” has in it a provision to establish a “National Coordinator of Health Information Technology.” The Coordinator would primarily establish cost cutting guidelines that doctors would be bound to follow or face penalties determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

England has also taken steps to destroy healthcare for the elderly and to concentrate all resources (which are extremely limited - being a government run bureaucratic nightmare that does not incentivize doctors) on the young and able. Those who’ve paid into the system for their entire lives are now viewed as useless burdens, not as human beings. In Canada, cuts to seniors are less pronounced. They are simply built into the system. The result: An average wait of 14 months for a hip operation. And that’s just a minor example. Despite the abysmal nature of Canada’s health care in general, seniors suffer the worst.

A lot of the health policies that somehow made their way into a package that’s purported to deal with “economic stimulus” were written with the advice of Tom Daschle (no, evil doesn’t just walk away). Daschle’s book on health care states that seniors should sacrifice advancements in care so that resources can be spent primarily on the young. The free market system that values and encourages advancements for young and old alike has no place in the heart of a man who, were it not for a matter of back taxes, would have fancied himself the Grinch Who Stole Healthcare.

It gets worse. Daschle goes on to say that those who have received what he terms “hopeless diagnoses” should just accept it. According to the man whose antics in the Senate earned him the distinction of being the only party leader to be voted out of that body since 1950, Americans should “forego experimental treatment” and adopt a more European attitude of acceptance.

That resilience in fighting disease has helped save the lives of many tens of thousands who’ve received dire prognoses from doctors is of no interest to Daschle. Nor is the fact that smart Europeans do not just give up. They seek alternative treatments, something that do in part because of the fact that their standard medical system is too inadequate to be relied upon.

And instead of using those views to gain acceptance to a mental institution of his choice, Tom Daschle wants them enacted as policy. We already know who was receptive to his views; some man who promised hope and change and who did not tell us that those involved killing seniors and the very ill.

Obama’s team of despots has turned a Stimulus Bill into a Kill the Elderly bill. And the Democrats in the Senate, including Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter and the two nitwits from Maine are too stupid or too reckless to put up a fuss. We, as citizens of the United States of America, can’t be. Our nation was founded on better morals than this.

The Democrats have declared war on the elderly. And they will suffer the shame of history as a result.

These are not compassionate people. These are not good people. These are despicable and outrageous beasts and the time has come to finally call them what they are.

Here America, here are the “leaders” you just elected. Cry and pray, but also take action. This nation was built on better stuff than that.

It’s a sad day when even columnists who’ve engaged “liberals” (henceforth to be called fascists) in dialogue and discussion, end up having to sound like Michael Savage, who, quite frankly, seems to be right about the uproar he’s been raising for years. But it would be an even sadder day if no one spoke up in outrage against this brutality.

To paraphrase Martin Niemöller:

First they came for the elderly, but I was not elderly, so I did not care.

Then they came for the disabled, but I was not disabled, so I did not care.

Then they came for the infirm, but I was not infirm, so I did not care.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to stand up.

I may be 31 years old, but as someone who served as a chaplain in hospitals and who’s worked with the elderly, I see the difference between the care given in this country and the abject neglect that is the hallmark of the system in other countries with government run and government rationed so-called “health care” that is anything but. We cannot bring that to America.

To readers: One message: ACT

- Call radio show hosts, especially Dr. Laura, who will likely mobilize her active listening audience of mothers, daughters and concerned listeners to act against this atrocity.

- Call your congressmen and senators and express your profound outrage at a National Coordinator of Health Information Technology whose system can be used to “penalize doctors who do not submit its cost cutting guidelines.”

- With regard to whoever is nominated to the position of “Health and Human” Services: Start a letter campaign to them as soon as he or she is nominated, to withdraw from consideration due to reprehensible acts that the Obama administration is seeking to perform in the area of “healthcare.” No reputable person should agree to head a department that under this plan would in effect be a Department of Killing the Elderly.

- Understand that the party of Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Scoop Jackson is no more. It’s been co-opted by the same radical lunatics whose German and Russian ideological cousins brought untold devastation to their countries and is supported by hapless fools who do not know enough to speak out even against this.

This is America. We don’t take kindly to destroying health care for the elderly. More to the point: We don’t take kindly to people proposing to kill the elderly. This is America. We fight back. So please, right now, speak up and act!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Business Owners: Team Up, Buy Local and Be Upbeat (a Recipe for America too)

Turn off the radio and sell your TV on ebay if you have to. No, not because times are too tough for one to have such things, but in order to avoid the doom and gloom that have become the drumbeat of the news media.

My experience with the media has been this: When they tell you to buy a stock, commodity or whatever, you’re usually better off selling it. When they tell you to sell, it’s often a good time to buy.

Now that contrarian theory holds true within reason. And even when it does, it may take months or even a year for the reverse of their advice to come to fruition. But in general, the media is often a day late and a dollar short. They look to the past and present it as the future. Their outlook may be true in the short term (except when they actually tell you that they’re making short term predictions – you can usually do the opposite of those quite safely), but the general trend is usually about to go in the opposite direction.

Now, I’m not making any predictions here. What the point of all this is, is that we are not tied to the media. Our individual fates lie within the domain of our Creator and are helped by the paths that we follow, not by some talking head with a red tie who’s shouting that the price of Jell-O is about to go to $500 a pound or that the Icelandic Krona is the new Swiss Franc. Okay, no one is saying exactly that, but you get my drift. When the media tells you that all is lost, it’s time to put a smile on your face.

Business owners generally do need to be mindful of the general monetary climate and economic trends, but only in so far as they help in planning a business model, services and pricing structure for the short term. What business owners don’t need to do is to start becoming depressed by a media that reports that all is lost, which they typically do only at the very end of a recession, or run around sniffing daisies when the media hypes a great economy, something they do most intensely at the very end of an upturn.

Being a contrarian isn’t always right. That said, being positive always is. Keeping a positive outlook is also essential to good business practices and to having a motivated outlook. No matter what one’s political stripes, we can all appreciate how Rush Limbaugh sums it up: “There may be a recession. But I’m not participating and I suggest that you don’t either.” Business owners need to adapt their models based on prevailing economic conditions, but they don’t need to be distraught or resolve to be affected by them. In fact, in certain economic climates, they should resolve not to.

To succeed in this economy, one thing is crucial; business owners must band together. They must do business with each other and they must go beyond just doing business as well. They must band together in order to strategize, learn from each others’ experiences and, yes, do business. The perfect model for this is quite possibly the Association of Entrepreneurs, an organization that BusinessGrowthTrends regularly promotes. The Association combines learning and business training with networking and allows each member to share and discuss his or her business issues with other members so that all may gain strategic insights and advice. When one owner has a particular issue, he or she can often find the answer from another entrepreneur who dealt with the same issue in the recent past. The Association is a perfect conduit to this type of collaboration.

This model holds true for America as a nation, and therein lies the best program for its economic recovery. The focus must be on small businesses, the backbone of jobs and the area of industry that most readily has an affect on the lives of Americans. Strengthening small businesses by concentrating on how to get their owners the resources that help them succeed should take priority over furthering international agreements or to bailing out large companies.

This idea is not new. Presidents Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley spoke of the need to protect American workers and their standard of living over a hundred years ago. This idea should be of paramount importance to America as a nation. But whether it will or won’t be, our business models can and must be based on local cooperation and locally centered trade. Looking to local small businesses for your products and services is a good idea. All business owners and service providers benefit when we resolve to do so.

President Obama Speech to the Nation Nominating Howard Dean as Vice President

TEXT OF SPEECH:

“We are a nation with bad comedy writers like Letterman, who now thinks that the President of the United States is off limits. Well, let me tell you this. The time has come to end all childish things. And so, starting Mon., anyone who voted for me gets a free CAT scan and a 4 year supply of Zanax, not because you all need it, which you do, but for the good of the nation. I’m also ditching the entire Cabinet and replacing them with Weird Al Yankovic, Pee Wee Herman, George Michael and Kanye West, so that the idiocy of you people is put on display.

Am I worried about being thrown out of office over this? Not a chance. We just traded Biden to Pakistan as part of a piece deal between them and India. I’ve nominated Howard Dean to be my Vice President. If he’s not confirmed, my back-up consists of a toss up between Cindy Sheehan, Lindsay Lohan and the Energizer Bunny. As of this moment, I’m leaning toward the rabbit.

This new Cabinet will ensure the greatest level of transparency in government in the history of the nation. No more pretensions. The results of letting amateur rap stars, drug addicts and college kids vote 3 times and of having ACORN register Mickey Mouse and Goofy to vote, with one of them actually being given a provisional ballot by a poll worker who was sipping something in a bottle covered in masking tape that read “I can’t believe it’s not water” must be made clear. Here, America, is the government you just elected. Do I want all these fools with me on a daily bases? To be frank without mentioning Barney, no. But we’re a package deal. It’s their party and they’ll cry if they want to. It’s about power sharing.

And with that I introduce to you my new Secretary of Homeland Security (yes, Napolitano's gone too). He comes with credentials that surpass all of his predecessors, including a stint as assistant professor at Berkeley. His friends call him Ted. But you may know him as the Unabomber.

His nomination is assured. Even Republicans like him. The new Senator from New Hampshire has praised his innovative spirit and ingenuity. Now are there any questions from the media? (PAUSE... SILENCE...) I didn’t think so.”

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Republicans Fight Back: A Bold Party Once Again With Michael Steele and Sharon Day

When all seemed lost conservatives found their voice. Since the election, turnout at GOP clubs throughout the nation has increased dramatically. Those who attend are more enthused than ever. Just as the Carter years acted as a catalyst to the Reagan Revolution, the scent of change is in the air and it’s not the kind of change you’ve been hearing about from the left. Republicans are back, better than ever.

It was the worst of times. The majority party just two years ago, Republicans have lost the Presidency, the House as well as the Senate, where they may well be reduced to 40 seats after Republican leads on election night in three races were each reversed (more on the mathematical probabilities of that happening under normal guidelines in another column) and a vulnerable incumbent is offered a prominent cabinet position. (Note: Those who have not yet emailed Sen. Gregg to encourage him to stay on are urged to do so by going here – Also email Senate Leader McConnell and ask him to offer Sen. Gregg a leadership role of some sort to keep him on.)

It was the best of times. As in the Carter years, when the dawn of a new conservative movement was set in motion, conservatives today are enthused, reinvigorated and ready for action. It’s not so much that we’ve gone back to our roots, though we have. It’s that we’re back to educating, back to playing offense and back to sharing our side of the story without finessing over half of our message for the sake of diplomacy. Leading us into battle is a new, bold and innovative team, lead by new RNC Chairman Michael Steele and RNC Secretary Sharon Day.

Michael Steele was by far the best choice for the job. One needed only to watch the RNC Candidates for Chair debate to see as much. Every time he spoke, his demeanor commanded the audience’s wrapped attention. He’s fast, to the point and can take on any Democrat in a one on one battle in a way that is rarely seen. His affable fighting style is, in many ways, Reaganesque. As a side note, Ken Blackwell, who helped push Steele over the edge at the convention, emerged from that debate as the most intelligent of the group. His strategic insights should be sought out by the RNC and they’d do well to retain his talent in some prominent capacity. But Steele, a smart man himself, was the most vibrant of the group by leaps and bounds.

Chairman Michael Steele is to media relations what his former brother-in-law Mike Tyson was to the boxing ring. And he brings with him a great team. In fact, our new RNC Secretary could give Tyson a run for his money.

RNC Secretary Sharon Day is a proven fighter. Words do not do justice when describing this true conservative who had her car wrapped for the Republican presidential nominee in each of the last three cycles. She did this while living in a county that is a bastion of liberalism and did not back down even as some Democrat supporters targeted her car in threatening and menacing ways, at times jumping off of bus benches to surround it.

Day was unanimously supported by all three founders of Rebuild the Party and by Top Conservatives on Twitter. Her online outreach campaign for RNC Secretary exceeded that of most candidates for Chairman of the RNC. In Day, the GOP has a proven fighter and a leader who will reinvigorate the party as no previous Secretary has before her. Her campaigned centered on drastically overhauling technology and on opening the lines of communication to the grassroots. Democrats watch out. In our new Secretary, there's a fighter in the room.

And on a state by state level, the GOP is assembling a team of winners like never before. In Florida, the most critical of swing states (as well as the largest), Dr. Marion Thorpe Jr. is recruiting thousands of minority voters to the party based solely on the strength of its ideals. That and the fact that during his tenure as the state’s Chief Medical Officer, this current candidate for the US Senate was instrumental in bringing the dynamic research of Scripps Health to Florida, an accomplishment that few others in either party can match. On the US House front, Republicans have recruited a war hero with the ability to convey true conservative values to voters from across the political spectrum. Lt. Col. Allen West has a Reaganesque ability that may well be unmatched by even the RNC dream team.

Nationally, Gov. Huckabee, another top ranking communicators of conservative values, has taken a page out of the Reagan playbook and is using the media as an outlet to convey his message during the off years, at a time when movements are shaped and molded. Across the nation, activists are demanding better and the party is becoming stronger, more aware and ready to fight its message with greater strength than ever before.

So America, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The Republican Party is strong, as are the ideals on which it stands. Sometimes there’s nothing like a good kick in the pants to reinvigorate and better a movement. We’ve been kicked with the hind legs of a donkey. But that’s no match for an elephant.

With Daschle Out, Let's Hope it's Not Dean

It probably won't be. I hope it won't.

Or maybe I should hope it’s Howard Dean, that foolish and crazy loose cannon would likely be ineffective.

I WANT HEALTHCARE!! AND THE SUCKY GOVERNMENT RATIONED TYPE TOO!! FOR EVERYONE!!! AND I’LL TAKE THAT MESSAGE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!! AND SOUTH DAKOTA!!!! AND MARYLAND!!! AND PITTSBURGH!!, er PENNSYLVANIA!!! AND CANADA!!!! AND UZBEKISTAN!!!! AND ALL THE OTHER 50 STATES!!!! AAAGH!!!!!!!

Doctor Cuckoo would be funny in Cabinet. But it would be sad for the country.

HEY OBAMA!!! BIDEN!!!! HILLBILLY!!! GET OUT!! I’M IN CHARGE!!! JOHN KERRY STOLE THE NOMINATION FROM ME!!!

Reuters Mar. 7, 2009

Health and Human Services Secretary Propels Self Out of White House Windows

The rambunctious Howard Dean made news again today as he jumped out of the top story windows at the White House for the purpose of filming a health adversary for kids. Dean escaped with minor injuries due to the size of his propeller cap and the fact that wrestling legend Jesse Ventura was on hand to catch the flying doctor.

When President Obama was asked to comment, he blamed the lack of security latches on the White House windows on the previous Bush administration. “President Bush knew for three months that I was bringing my team of lunatics into the White House. That’s more than ample time to order security locks.”

Asked whether he’d ask for Dean’s resignation, as the Secretary almost landed on and nearly killed a passing cat, earning the Administration the wrath of PETA, Obama insisted that child proof locks were going up on all White House windows and that he does not foresee a repeat of this act in the near future.

Al-Quada spokesman Ali Abba Dean says that he could not, and would not, have picked a better HHS Secretary for America himself and wishes the other Dean a long reign at the helm.