Beck

Glenn Beck is the new face of the Right? Beck isn't even close to Limbaugh in terms of leading a movement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090917/pl_politico/27282

Why me?

Ever get the feeling you're never caught up?

You Lie!!

During Obama's speech, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) blurted out "You lie!!" when Obama was telling the Congress that his health care plan will not cover illegal immigrants.

Rep. Wilson is on the right track. Even if the plan does not explicitly cover illegal immigrants, they will have access to it if they need it. Also, when Congress and Obama pass comprehensive immigration reform, those 12-20 million illegal immigrants will become citizens and have full access to health care.

Polls

Obama's approval numbers have dipped below 50%. Not a good sign. He needs to do something to get his numbers up.

Fiscal Insanity

In a nation of over 300 million citizens, how can the federal government justify receiving over two trillion ($2,000,000,000,000+) in tax revenue/receipts and still run a deficit of $1.58 trillion ($1,580,000,000,000.00) for the current fiscal year. The federal government has lived well beyond its means for too long. The 1970s, 80s, most of the 90s, and this decade were marked by ever growing deficits that nobody in Congress or the White House had the resolve to reduce.

We now have a president who, instead of limiting the spending in the federal government, believes that the government is the sole solution to all our problems and must spend in order for the economy to recover.

When Senator McCain called for spending freezes during the presidential debates, candidate Obama said, "The problem is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel." Now that he is President, Obama states that he is a man of fiscal restraint. Where has he been able to cut any money in the federal budget? The deficit has risen due to bank bail-outs and stimulus but the economy has taken a nosedive. Obama has done nothing to reduce the deficit by cutting spending. To extend the metaphor, Obama has thrown away the scalpel and pumped the patient (economy) full of blood, hoping that it will recover from a massive heart attack.

If that was not bad, now we have health care reform that will either balloon the deficit, force the Congress to raise taxes, or limit health care to those who need it. The public option, a.k.a. government-run health insurance, will be a great burden for the federal budget and a bureaucratic nightmare for the millions of people who would be on the public option to receive basic care. Is this true reform that we can afford at this time?

It is time to reconsider our fiscal priorities. We must eliminate any program that is not a priority. Washington must be able to live within the means that We, the People provide them. The “hatchet” method must be deployed to eliminate huge amounts of money that Washington does not need. Fiscal insanity has gripped Washington for too long. Our government must return to the simple concept of staying within its own budget.

http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090830/OPINION01/908300317

Why is Moccasin Creek so polluted?

The answer is simple: COAL TAR!! Northwestern Energy is cleaning out the contaminants from an old manufacturing plant. Now we know why the water tastes bad!!

Northwest Energy's article
http://www.northwesternenergy.com/display.aspx?Page=Moccasin_Creek

Wikipedia on Coal Tar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_tar

Article on Coal Tar
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-coal-tar.htm

Family Guy, Rove, and Limbaugh, oh my!!

Rumor has it that Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh will be on a future episode of Family Guy. I understand Limbaugh going on the show, since he was on the Star Wars: New Hope spoof. However, Rove on FG is questionable. Will they portray him as Palpatine as they always parodies him as?

FG has gone downhill for a while. By the time this episode airs, will they still be on FOX?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/14/rush-limbaugh-karl-rove-family-guy

Montana and health care

Hey everybody! I got back from Montana on a vacation that took me through southwest Montana, into places like Anaconda and Philipsburg. It was great!

Obamacare is dominating the headlines. This bill needs to be radically changed or scrapped for something that reforms health care without government stepping in to make a mess.

Here's an analysis on the bill going through the House by a Duke professor.
http://www.classicalideals.com/HR3200.htm

Book Review

Just read "National Sunday Law" by A. Jan Marcussen. The premise is that the Catholic Church messed up by making Sunday the day of worship. Something tells me this came from a person with tinfoil on their head. It also states that the Pope is evil, that Satan corrupted the Church when Constantine made Christianity the state religion, and that any attempt to enforce Sunday worship as law is the "mark of the beast." To be quite honest, I was disappointed. I expected their explanation for everything in Revelation to be more complex, with microchips and the "Left Behind" stuff included. Oh well, I guess not everything can be sensational.

Middle class taxes?! Sounds like 1993

Obama might have to break a campaign promise to get his wish of government run health care. His advisors are stating that a middle class tax hike might be necessary to fund Obama's health care legislation. How can the government target tax increases at certain people within our progressive tax systems that punishes achievement?

Obama's advisors are now worried about the budget deficit. Where was this concern when he passed the stimulus bill and everything else that was passed by Congress this year? This concern should have made a long time ago, before the government took over two auto companies, bailed-out of major banks, and everything else.

It's Clinton 1993 all over again. He promised a middle class tax cuts but raised marginal rates on the middle class in order to reduce the deficit.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-Obama-officials-No-apf-2491158742.html?x=0&.v=7
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090803/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_economy

Twitter

Sarah Palin is writing poetry on her Twitter. At least she found her calling.

Fraud

Who is more of a fraud - President Obama or Alex Rodriguez?

Health Care

We don't need health care reform. We need the gov't. to stay out as much as possible. Give health care an incentive to lower its own costs in the private sector.

Friday

It's Friday, time to go outside and enjoy the good weather because winter will be back and it will be a bitter one with mountains of snow, cold, and discontent.

Summer does not last long enough and winter last too long. Where's global warming? Algore makes millions off this hoax. Why?

Waiting

One more week of summer school. Then a week wait and then a two week vacation. WOOHOO!!

Health Care Reform?

Obama wants to nationalize health care. This is the mess he wants to create

http://docs.house.gov/gopleader/House-Democrats-Health-Plan.pdf

Why do we need this change?

Defict hits $1 trillion

Budget deficit for the fiscal year has gone over $1 trillion for the first time, biggest deficit ever and we still have 2.5 months to go. By September 31, the Obama Adminstration predicts a $1.84 trillion deficit. I bet it goes even higher.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090714/D99DSUG00.html

Fat and Lazy

Rome had Bread and Circuses, America has toast and DVDs. What the difference?

Palin

As a lot of people are aware, Sarah Palin will resign her position as governor of Alaska later this month. This was a surprising move. It's surprising that she is not running for re-election. It is also surprising that she has not announced her future plans or ambition. The 2010 election cycle is coming up and the Senate seat in Alaska, currently held by Lisa Murkowski, is up for grabs.

Personally, I am not a fan of Sarah Palin. She comes off as slightly dumb and ignorant of the world beyond Alaska. Statements like seeing Russia from her house makes her an expert on foreign policy, that incident where he gives an interview in front of a turkey killing machine, and the infighting between her and the McCain campaign staff makes one question the depth of her intelligence.

However, Palin is a better role model than David Letterman, a bitter old man trying to boost his ratings. Letterman has dropped from being a smart, funny guy to being a mean old s.o.b.

Palin's future within the Republican Party and national politics will be an interesting thing to watch in the next couple of years. If she runs in 2012, everybody will be going after her on both sides of the political divide. It will be fun to view it from a distance.

Al Franken and the doom of the country

This week, Al Franken was certified the winner of the Minnesota senate election. The Democrats have obtained the mythical 60-vote majority to kill any Republican filibuster.

The Democrats own the House, a filibuster-proof Senate, and the White House. It doesn't matter what happens to the Republicans. They are powerless to stop anything Obama wants.

The Democratic agenda: socialized medicine and health care, higher taxes, bigger and deeper deficits, a worsening recession, cap and trade that will cripple the economy and do nothing to combat global warming/climate change, losing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and handing over our sovereignty to the United Nations. The problem is, there is no checks and balances to counter any of this agenda.

Cap and Trade

Since when did Congress get to the point where a representative voted for something they did not read? That is part of their job, to read legislation being considered, understand it, and vote. However, when it comes to major legislation, our elected officials base their votes on its title.

I applaud the House Minority Leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, for standing up against the effort of the Democratic majority in the House to ramrod a piece of legislation, The Cap and Trade Bill, that would hurt both our economy and our environment. Boehner stood on the House floor and read a 300 page amendment for an hour. The amendment, written by Representative Waxman of California, was given to the members of the House at 3 am of the same day it was to be voted upon by the full House. A 300-page amendment added to a 1500 page bill that seeks to crush our economy and ruin the environment all in one motion.

Despite Boehner’s efforts, the House passed the amendment and the bill on a narrow vote, 219-212. The Democratic majority, along with eight liberal Republicans, had enough members to allow 44 of their most vulnerable members to vote against this bill, shielding them from the political fallout of this bill. Representative Herseth Sandlin voted no on this bill, which gives an indication that she is planning to be seeking elected office next year.

This Congress will go down as the one that oversaw the biggest expansion of the power of the federal government. We are sinking ourselves into a massive fiscal hole that will take many generations to recover. Yearly deficits will be more than $1 trillion for the foreseeable future. The government owns two automobile companies that are bankrupt. A stimulus bill that nobody read and is now controlling our lives. With the Stimulus bill, Cap & Trade, and the health care reform bill coming this fall, President Obama will eventually have the power to control the lives of every person in the United States. Where is John Galt when we need him?

People need to wake up and realize that the government is taking over. We need to reverse Obama's policies before they become permanent in law and in the fabric of society.

The roll-call vote of Cap and Trade:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll477.xml


http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090712/OPINION01/907120304/-1/opinion

No Hope, No Change

Last year, fiscal year 2008, the deficit was $455 billion, the worst deficit of US history. However, this year, that record could be crushed as the Obama White House and Congress project could be $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, if not more. National Debt is currently over $6 trillion and going up.

The fiscal mess we are in today is caused by those in Washington that promise their constituents

everything to get elected and cannot make the hard choices to keep the government fiscally strong. It also does not help that the current President preaches fiscal discipline but has already sign a huge stimulus plan that won't stimulate anything and other legislative bills that spend even more.

When Obama promised hope and change, the change was the money we will have to pay to the government in forms of higher taxation, while the hope was for government bureaucrats who will delight in an ever expanding national government.

http://zfacts.com/p/461.html

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1213.htm

Tiller, abortion, and "Government of Laws"

"The Government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws, and not of men. It will certainly cease to deserve this high appellation if the laws furnish no remedy for the violation of a vested legal right." John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison

The situation in Kansas is a case of taking justice into your own hands. A doctor in Kansas, George Tiller, was murdered while attending church. The suspect is under arrest and in custody in connection with the murder. Dr. Tiller, nicknamed "Tiller the Killer," was known for performing late-term abortions. Tiller performed thousands of abortions, a majority of the fetuses being viable outside the womb and/or unnecessary.

Although pro-life myself, I believe that this murder was a despicable act of domestic terrorism. Dr. Tiller was within the law to perform these abortions. The Supreme Court has made it legal to have an abortion at any time of the pregnancy. Tiller was working within the law to help women in certain situations. Although I believe that abortion is wrong, what Dr. Tiller did was legal and medically ethical.

The person that killed Dr. Tiller must be punished. A society cannot survive if a person can kill another based on their opinion and beliefs. If we allow personal killings like this, then we have descended into a government of men and not of laws, where upholding the law is impossible. Without a government of laws, man will descend into a state of war, as described by Hobbes as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" (Leviathan). We must maintain the rule of law and counter any act of injustice with a measured response.

One final thought, the killing took place in a church where Tiller was an usher. If the killer had read Hamlet, a rational person does not kill a person in the confines of a church, the holiest of sanctuaries. Apparently, the killer's only concern was to murder Dr. Tiller wherever he had the opportunity.

Obama, Sotomayor, and California

Busy day today. New Obama pick for the Supreme Court and California keeping the ban on gay marriage.

First, Obama picked Sonia Sotomayor, an appeals court judge for the Second Circuit. Sotomayor is famous for ending the baseball strike in 1995 as a District Court Judge. She is considered a centrist by many. However, it's too early to tell.

The other big story is that the California Supreme Court affirmed the will of the people last November in upholding the ban on gay marriage. In a 6-1 decision, the California High Court ruled that the constitutional amendment was valid. However, they allowed the 18,000 gay couples that were married before the ban to remain legal. At least the California High Court got this decision mostly right.

California
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98E2DO00&show_article=1
Sotomayor
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090526/ap_on_go_su_co/us_obama_supreme_court

My Response to Blanchard's op-ed

In reading Dr. Blanchard's most recent op-ed in the American News, I am a little bit surprised that people actually believed Obama's rhetoric of "hope and change." Maybe since I voted for the other guy in the last election because I did not like Obama, does not allow me to be stuck in the mindset of an Obama voter who wanted to rid the United States of anything that resembled George W Bush's work.
Nevertheless, anybody expecting to see radical changes within the first year of the Obama Administration would most definitely be disappointed by how this presidency has shaped up. Most of Obama's appointments have been either part of the Clinton White House (especially Hillary) and/or tax cheats. The Secretary of the Treasury owed tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS even though he was part of the Federal Reserve and now responsible for the $350 billion part of the Bail-Out approved last fall.

Dr. Blanchard stated that the Obama presidency is looking like a third Bush term. Isn't that what Obama tried to pin to McCain during the election? Besides, I don't see Obama as a mythical third Bush term. I see Obama as a second term that Jimmy Carter never got. America is going back on the defensive, trying to refocus our efforts on reclaiming our moral authority. By releasing the "torture" memos and other actions, Obama is trying to distance himself from the past and trying to reboot our relations with the rest of the world.

However, those on the far left want Bush hung upside down for his "crimes" that occurred during his presidency. Those are the people Dr. Blanchard refers to that expected a different Obama presidency. They will get what they want in time, just not as fast as they wanted.

The problem with any changes Obama makes is that the massive executive bureaucracy in place follows Newton's first law of motion: An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force changes the motion. The bureaucracy is huge and slow-moving. Any changes Obama makes have to be massive and fast paced to have any effect on the bureaucracy.

As we get deeper into his presidency, Obama will make decisions that in time will reverse the Bush policies in matters of foreign policy and we will see the distinction between the two. For now, the decisions of the previous president are in effect until Obama has time to reverse it.


Dr. Blanchard's Opinion-Editorial in the American News:
http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090520/OPINION02/905200316/-1/opinion

Star Trek review

I just recovered from watching the JJ Abrams' version of Star Trek. This movie, although a good movie, destroys the continuity that was built over the years by the Star Trek series. Abrams, as typically, did his trademark of writing a new timeline where the old one was sufficient. A planet disappears into a black hole, certain people that are seen in the original series are killed, and the storyline redone to make it more "mainstream." Also, since when do the Romulans look like Nero (right)?

Despite these objections, it was an enjoyable movie. I understand that they needed to change the story to redo the series after Star Trek: Enterprise and the last two movies (Insurrection and Nemesis). The special effects were good, the plot was good, and the acting was superb. The movie, despite its flaws, was a good way to "reboot" the series.

Although the Star Trek universe that Gene Roddenberry created was killed and buried in this film, the demise of Roddenberry's vision hopefully will be replaced by a new generation of Star Trek, boldly going where no one has gone before.

For a better review of the movie, read Dr. Schaff's review of the movie:
http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/2009/05/star-trek-a-review.html

NBA Playoffs

Stepping away from politics, the NBA playoffs are getting interesting as it moves into the 2nd Round.

The Orlando Magic battle the Boston Celtics in the first main matchup. The Magic, with defensive player of the year Dwight Howard, face off against the defending champion Celtics, who have Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, but no Garnett yet (if ever). I predict Magic in 6.

The next matchup is Denver v. Dallas. The Nuggets, with Carmelo Anthony, face off against the Mavericks led by Kidd. The Nuggets will win in 6.

The interesting matchup will be the Lakers and the Rockets. The Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant, want to get back to the Finals. The Rockets, led by the communist Yao Ming, the gangster Ron Artest, and the injured, overrated Tracy McGrady, will not make it to the Conference Finals. Lakers in 5.

The last matchup, as yet to be determined, will be the Cleveland Cavaliers against the winner of Atlanta-Miami. Either way, Cavaliers in 5.

*Moving on with my predictions, Cavaliers-Magic should be an interesting match-up featuring

LeBron James, the irrestible force, versus Dwight Howard, the immovable object. Cavaliers in 7.

*The other Conference Finals will be the Lakers and Nuggets. Lakers in 6.

*The NBA Finals will be LeBron v. Kobe. LeBron gets his first ring, Cavaliers in 6.

*Those are my predictions sure to go wrong.

Stephen Colbert and the art of satire

Getting away from serious politics, I watch the Comedy Central "fake news" team of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as often as I can. It is an enjoyable hour of news and comedy.

I understand Jon Stewart. He's liberal and his comedy is based on lampooning the news networks. He's trying to expose the goofiness, the hypocrisy, and crap that is called the news.

Stephen Colbert, however, is a mystery. He spouts conservatism in his words but how he conveys them is making fun of conservatives. He makes fun of Bill O'Reilly and others by acting stupid, self-centered, and narcissistic.


Colbert is a pseudoconservative, a fake conservative. He acts conservative but is message is making fun of those he portraits, namely conservative talk shows. His show is pure satire.

I watch Stewart and Colbert not because of their politics (they're both liberals) but because they are funny and a lot of the tv shows on today are clusterfucking their way to the poorhouse before being cancelled.

Arlen Specter and the Senate

Today, Arlen Specter, a Senator from Pennsylvania, has decided to transfer his allegiance from the Republican to the Democratic Party. This comes off the heels of an election where Republicans lost many seats in the House, the Senate, and the primary seat in the White House

Specter, along with the two Maine Senators, were the only Republicans to vote for Obama's stimulus package that is sinking our nation into permanent deficits. His views have not been aligned with traditional Republican views and have slowly lurched to the left over the years.

With Democrats holding 59 seats in their caucus (56 true Democrats, 2 Independents, and Specter), plus the Minnesota seat being litigated in court for the next millenium, the Democrats have everything in place to implement their radical agenda of higher taxes, more spending, and more dependence on federal government for everyday needs.

Earth Day

Earth Day has come and gone for another year. It's one of those days you wonder why people take this day seriously. It's not a federal holiday and its purpose to clean up the planet is a joke.

Earth Day was created by a Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, who was concerned about the planet. In 1970, the concept of Earth Day became official. Every April 22, we hear about how people are trashing the planet. Al Gore makes another bucket of cash while wasting a lot of energy in his home and using gas-guzzling jets to tour the world.

If people were really concerned about the Earth, they would clean it up on their own initiative. Creating a day of awareness and then scare people about environment doom and gloom gets us nowhere. In an economic recession, cutting our carbon emission will result in less jobs, stagnant economy, and a loss of money.

President Bush was called evil and cold-hearted for not implementing the Kyoto Protocols. However, it made sense to not sign it because our economy would suffer from limiting our production due to limits on emission, China and India were exempted, and the standards were unreasonable. No wonder the Senate voted unanimously in 1997 to tell President Clinton to not be a signatory to Kyoto. It was a good decision for Bush to not ratify Kyoto and we should be grateful.

We should get rid of Earth Day, Arbor Day, and any other holiday that is a worthless gesture for environmentalism.

Saudis and Venezuelans and Obama, oh my!!

The Obama Apology Tour has taken a dramatic turn. He bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. The leader of the Free World should never bow to a oil monarch. We refused to dip our flag for an Earthly king, but if it will do anything to "restore' our prestige, Obama will do anything to sell out American principles.










Then President Obama met up with the next Castro - Hugo Chavez. The Venezuelan dictator has already nationalized everything possible in his country and has called President Bush "el diablo" (The Devil) on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly. Obama shook hands with that snake and Chavez even gave Obama a book that "exposes" the imperial raping of the Americas by European settlers.


President Obama has been apologizing to the world for what happened for the past eight years under Bush. The European hated Bush and everything he stood for. They saw him as a reckless cowboy. Now that the European got an American President who thinks like they do, now they should be happy with the direction America is going. Europeans will now complain about how America is wrecking the economy via the stimulus and endless spending, how not everybody is on board with the Euro currency, and how much France really stinks.

Herseth-Sandlin: Indepedent Voice or Pelosi's Lapdog?

Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin has campaigned in South Dakota as the person able to stand up occassionally against her party when South Dakota values collide with Democratic interests. However, her profile on the Washington Post states that her voting record is 96.6% with her fellow Democrats.

Herseth, who is a Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Democrats, has become a lapdog for Pelosi. Herseth has supprted the Stimulus Bill, the Union Card-Check bill, and Obama's massive budget.

In these votes, that Blue Dog don't hunt.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/h001037/

North Korea

Yesterday, North Korea test launched a rocket that went over Japan. Every nation concerned told the backward country not to do it. However, Kim Jong Il and his lemmings decided to test the new adminstration's will to deal with the communist state.

North Korea stated that the rocket was used as a communications satellite to further their space program. Millions are starving in North Korea, while the leadership gets fat and lazy while shooting a rocket to further their space program. I hope they can reach another world where they can find some food.

Seriously, this test firing should be met with some type of force short of war. We are doing all we can to discourage North Korea from doing this activity. However, sometimes the best way to change a country is to get rid of its leadership.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090405/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_missile

Iowa

Today, Iowa's Supreme Court allowed same-sex marriage. This means that Iowa will become the third state to allow homosexuals to marry each other.

This is another example of an activist judicial branch looking to be politically correct.

What surprises me is that the Iowa Supreme Court stated, "The Legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification." The Court is saying anybody and anything can marriage each other. What's next?

In the upcoming months, many people will be moving to Iowa to make their gay relationship a state-protected marriage with all the same benefits as a marriage between a man and a woman.

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/04/06/state_nation_and_world/doc49d62b3cd3489700349385.txt

Ted Stevens

Yesterday, Ted Stevens, the defeated Senator of Alaska, was able to be relieved of the charges that dogged his re-election campaign. The Justice Department, under Attorney General Eric Holder, has asked a federal judge to drop all charges against the former Senator due to the fact that the prosecution did not give the defense the evidence that they were using to prosecute Stevens.

It is a disgrace that the Justice Department prosecuted a person on charges that should have been dealt by the Senate Ethics Committee. Now Stevens' seat is occupied by a Democrat who benefited from a false conviction.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/04/01/DI2009040101558.html

G20 and Gov't. Spending

As Obama and the rest of the G20 meet to deal with the global crisis, the economy is continuing to sink deeper into the hole. What the economy needs is for the government to cut spending and start to regulate the financial industry so that this does not happen again. The politicans don't need to mess with the tax code until they can get a hold of their spending binges.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/g20_summit

Greetings

Hello and Welcome to my new blog.

This blog will cover the political scene and expose the fallacies of the Obama administration and his liberal cronies. I will also cover non-political events when I'm interested. Enjoy!!