The bottom line and more

The bottom line

I read a lot of article and try to bring to you the best of what I’ve found. In reading as much as I do, I form certain opinions and I thought I would start off each entry with a section called “THE BOTTOM LINE.” This will give you my overall view of what’s going on. I hope you enjoy this new feature.


There are TWO MAJOR MOVEMENTS GOING ON TODAY. You have the UPRISINGS IN THE MIDDLE EAST in countries like Egypt, Libya, etc. I look at what’s happening there as a crisis but I FEAR IT WILL NOT BE USHERING IN A PERIOD OF PEACE AND DEMOCRACY. I see it more like the revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848. They occurred, but accomplished very little.


At home we have THE PUBLIC UNION CRISIS. Its focus is Wisconsin, but you can plan on it spreading to Ohio, Indiana, etc. The Unions know they are in trouble and seem to be adopting the strategy of Otto von Bismark. Bismark saw the social revolutions in Europe in the 1870s and tried to blunt their effect on Germany by providing the changes the Social Democrats were promising such as old age pensions. THE UNIONS ARE CONCEDING THE INCREASE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THEIR RETIREMENT AND HEALTHCARE IN THE HOPES OF HOLDING ON TO THEIR RIGHT TO USE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.


No matter what either side says, this is a fight over power and who will wield it. Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, is TRYING TO SHIFT THE POWER AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS BACK TO THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. The Unions know if they can hang on to their right to collective bargain any of the give backs they are agreeing to can be changed in the future when they have more friendly government officials. Right now the final outcome isn’t known, but it is a very important issue.


But what is interesting and known are the tactics of the left. If you are a conservative and you are AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, THE LEFT BRANDS YOU AS ANTI-IMMIGRATION. If you are a conservative and AGAINST PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS THE LEFT BRANDS YOU AS ANTI-UNION. The Alinsky tactics are in effect and on display in Wisconsin.



Time to go for the whole enchilada?

…Seems to me that Governor Walker is asking for adjustments that are WAY TOO MODEST and would leave in place — perhaps solidify — a situation that is only marginally less unjust and untenable than what Wisconsin has now. Under his proposal, citizens working in the private sector would still be paying more for public-employee pensions and substantially more for public-employee health insurance than those citizens pay for their own comparable benefits. He would exempt many public employees from even these modest adjustments. (And for what? Did you see the firefighters out there yesterday, joining the taker-class’s demonstrations against the public?) Furthermore, Walker is being very cagey when asked WHETHER HIS GOAL IS TO BREAK THE PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS — he won’t say yes, but his statements have an undertone of “WOULDN’T BE THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD . . .”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260601/gov-walkers-strategy-andrew-c-mccarthy


The question we need to address is do we actually need Public Sector Unions? The Unions are already out there with their horror stories of what would happen to everyone without UNIONS, but we aren’t talking doing away with unions. We are talking Public Sector Unions.



Democrats and the new Populism

The Obama campaign and other liberals are looking to tap into the populist current of today's politics and turn the Wisconsin union fight into a national issue in the 2012 election. While the liberals can wield rhetorical pitchforks and light political torches, they should realize that IT'S THEIR GUYS WHO ARE LIVING INSIDE THE CASTLE TODAY. Specifically, public-sector unions -- by many measures the most entrenched special interest in American politics -- are not fighting against The Man, which is to say the entrenched powers of government. In this struggle, THE MAN IS THE GOVERNMENT UNIONS, which are sitting in the smoky back room divvying up the spoils of a crooked racket. And CRONYISM -- NOT WEALTH -- IS THE OBJECT OF TODAY'S POPULIST IRE.


The Left has misread the postbailout populist sentiment all along, assuming public anger was directed at the rich. BUT AMERICAN ANGER, I SUSPECT, IS DIRECTED NOT AT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE MONEY OR SUCCESS, BUT AT THOSE WHO PROFIT THROUGH CRONYISM AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO POWER.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/02/democrats-wage-populist-fight-against-their-allies#ixzz1Es8F7xVc

This is an interesting way of looking at what’s happening. It rings true for me. What about you?



Liberal Facts

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: But, if you look at like the last election cycle, OF THE TOP TEN PEOPLE DONATING MONEY IN THAT ELECTION, SEVEN OF THEM WERE GIVING TO REPUBLICANS. It was all corporate interests and right-wing PACs and stuff. Seven of the ten were all right-wing. AND THE ONLY THREE THAT WEREN'T WERE UNIONS.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/02/23/rachel-maddow-lies-leno-about-republican-political-contributions#ixzz1EsigPr9a


What I have discovered is that liberal facts aren’t necessarily real facts, but things liberals feel should be real. Maddow’s claim is utterly debunked if you go to the link and read. In fact, only one of the top ten contributors was Republican and four of the top ten were unions.



Washington: The Senate Democrats refuses to entertain cutting spending

When Congress returns next week, HOUSE REPUBLICANS PLAN TO INTRODUCE A TWO-WEEK CR THAT WOULD CUT FEDERAL SPENDING BY $4 BILLION, which is essentially a pro-rated amount based on the $61 billion in cuts (over a 30 week period) contained in the CR passed by the House last week.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader HARRY REID (R., NEV.) PROPOSED A 30-DAYS “STOP-GAP” SPENDING RESOLUTION TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENT FUNDED AT CURRENT LEVELS while a longer term deal is negotiated. The current continuing resolution expires on March 4.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said this was unacceptable, arguing that even a short-term continuing resolution must contain spending cuts. “The only people who refuse to consider any spending cuts in the short-term CR are the Senate Democratic Leaders like Sens. Reid and Schumer,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement. “With a massive federal deficit and record-setting debt, the idea that we can’t cut one penny worth of federal government spending is indefensible.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260574/house-republicans-offer-short-term-cr-4-billion-cuts-andrew-stiles


Boehner’s staff has met with Reid’s staff and there has been no movement. The Democrats claim they have already cut spending by $41 billion since they didn’t enact President Obama’s budget but continued spending at the 2010 rate. The logic here is similar to your spouse coming home loaded with shopping bags and proceeds to tell you how much money s/he has saved you.


Here’s a fact check on what’s being claimed by the Democrats and Repubicans

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/02/harry_reids_illusory_41_billio.html?hpid=news-col-blog



Failure to preserve, protect and defend …

Notable examples in the scant couple of years The One has been in office include: REFUSAL TO ENFORCE VOTING LAWS AGAINST INTIMIDATION AT THE POLLS IN CHICAGO, EFFORTS TO USE THE REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF THE FPA TO CIRCUMVENT THE SPECIFIC LEGISLATION OF CONGRESS to ban cap-and-trade, REFUSAL TO ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS, and attempts by the FCC to regulate matters banned from its jurisdiction by law.

We need not even mention the UNDEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS AND OUTRIGHT BRIBERY USED BY OBAMA AND HIS ALLIES TO RAM THROUGH THE UNPOPULAR AND CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL OBAMACARE BILL -- without it even having been read by most Congress members.

On the judiciary side, we witness the executive IGNORING A FEDERAL COURT RULING ON OBAMACARE'S UNCONSTITUTIONALITY, the refusal -- to the point where an order of compliance had to be issued from the bench -- to refrain from imposing an illegal moratorium on oil drilling; and, now the clearest and most blatant power grab of all. Obama has arrogated to himself, in the matter of DOMA, the power to declare that law unconstitutional and order his Justice Department not to contest lawsuits challenging it.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/obama_completes_his_trifecta.html


Obama’s record is getting worse and worse.



The War on Terror—in case you forgot

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas ON A FEDERAL CHARGE OF ATTEMPTED USE OF A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.


The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division

http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-terror-suspect-arrested-in-lubbock-texas-20110224,0,5306188,full.story


We owe a debt of gratitude to those who are front and center in this war. Lest we forget, we have our freedom and our safety from those who go into harm’s way.


Green Energy begets a House probe

…..He (Obama) said high-tech facilities LIKE SOLYNDRA WOULD HELP "LAY A NEW FOUNDATION FOR LASTING GROWTH."

Then came last November, the day after the midterm elections when everyone was focused on the historic shift to Republican control of the House. Solyndra announced then that not only was it not going to create those 1,000 full-time jobs so eagerly hailed by Obama and Biden, but it also was GOING TO CLOSE AN OLDER FACTORY AND ACTUALLY LAY OFF 175 FULL- OR PART-TIME WORKERS…..

….But now Fred Upton and Cliff Stearns, chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Oversight Subcommittee, have been examining the company's financials and the possibility of waste and fraud. Since its 2005 founding, IT SEEMS THAT SOLYNDRA HAS NEVER MADE A PROFIT AND ITS OWN AUDITOR HAD RAISED SERIOUS QUESTIONS that did not slow or stop the immense guarantee's approval by the Obama administration……

……Oh, one other thing: The majority owner of Solyndra is George Kaiser. He's an Oklahoma billionaire. He was also a bundler, a major fundraiser, for the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

But that's probably coincidence.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/02/solyndra-obama-biden-stimulus-waste.html#more


Green energy reminds me of alchemy. For thousands of years people have dreamed of being able to turn lead into gold. The modern day version of this is green energy’s dream of replacing oil with solar and wind. The science isn’t there in either case.