Democrats Save Bankers But Sweaty Union Workers Hang

It seems odd that the Democrats, the party of Unions and the Working People, are so quick to bail out banks while they are willing to let the automakers hang out to dry.  The automakers embody everything good and bad about union labor in this country.  Why force them to cut back and eliminate contracts when banks do not have to?  Then it came to me in a flash.

 

Does anybody remember this Senator Harry Reid gem from December?  “My staff tells me not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.”

Conservative vs. Liberal and a World Turned Upside Down

Today we live in a world full of labels.  As a rule, this blog is not about the labels of the current political parties.  There is a set of labels which are worth discussing, the labels of “Conservative” and “Liberal.” 

 

Today a conservative can be seen as many things.  Often conservatives are seen as believing in a strict, or at least more strict, interpretation of the Constitution.  They favor smaller government, less government spending, and lower taxes for all.  Conservatives are also identified with a series of religious, moral and ethical ideals.  The most decisive of these issues include topics such as abortion.  Their economic views are more towards unbridled capitalism.

 

Need Of A Symbol

With more and more tea parties and other displays taking place, it seems like we need a symbol for the growing Conservative re-emergence.  We need something that can be displayed publicly on our homes, our cars, our web sites and our persons to show who we are.

 

A lot of people have been using “Don’t Tread on Me” as one symbol.  I have also seen people flying the flag upside as a sign of distress.  To me symbols like these have tow problems.  First, they are sometimes used by militia

Don’t Freeze Spending – Grow Good Spending While Freezing the Budget

There is talk about working on our current government spending problems by freezing spending.  Freezing spending is not enough.  All that will happen is the bureaucracy will stay the same or grow while the services they are supposed to provide will shrink.   Once the craze to freeze the budget ends, they will just point to all the bad that has happened and demand more money to fix things.

This needs to be done like a business.  In business when times are tough you cut overhead and focus on the porudcts or services you provide.  Government has to finally stop looking at themselves as above the rest of us, and manage themselves like we do.  The goal should be no increases in revenue allocated to any department for 4 years  Each deparmtent will then

Obama Administration and High School Politics Compared

I watched the Press Conference last night.  Not all of it, but most.  I paid attention part of it, but not all.  It was a bit boring.  As I sat there with my mind wandering, I had another one of the moments of clarity.

 

President Obama has been drawing criticism lately for things like TV appearances, use of Teleprompters and other non-policy related issues.  All of these items have one thing in common, they are campaigning tools.  Obama is still more in Campaign Mode than Executive Leader Mode.  The reason is simple.

 

Insecurity.

 

Yes President Obama is a very smart man.  Yes he is an excellent public

Media Quiet On Growing Conservative Grass Roots Movement

What does it take to get media attention these days?  We all lived with the media bias in favor of Obama for the last two years.  It made the sting a little less that they turned on their own and ruined Hillary to get what they wanted, but only a little once we saw how they tore into Palin.  Now that we are in the promised land of Obama one would have hoped that they would return to reporting the news like real reporters and not star struck fans.  No such luck.

 

During the Bush years, if more than 5 hippies were seen hanging out in front of a Starbucks the media called it an anti-war protest.  Typically they would use a multiplied and report that gathering as about 1,000 people.  Today Tea parties are breaking out all over the country.  The media is virtually silent. 

A Modest Green Proposal

I saw two very interesting stories on the environment yesterday made me stop and think.  One was about the UK, and a projected need for their population to shrink by half to be sustainable in a green manner.  This recommendation was made by one of the Prime Ministers leading Green Advisors.  The other story was about Oregon and how they have lost jobs due to green regulations shutting down the lumber industry.  In attempts to recover some jobs, they had also attempted to put wind mills in those areas which were also shot down by the green movement because the power lines would be an eye sore and the windmills can kill birds and bats. 

 

At first I reacted to these stories with a narrow minded indignation on the government and action groups getting involved in issues where they should not be.  How can you have liberty where a government advocates population control?  How can green groups oppose replacing a non-green industry with green power?  Then I had an epiphany.  My thought process was not Conservative at all.  I was locked into a narrow mindset based on past, false assumptions.  My eyes opened to a way that we can reduce government

Explaining the Fed Cash Infusion Comparing the US Mint and Franklin Mint

There was a barely reported news item last week about the Federal Reserve committing to buy $1 trillion worth of Treasury Bills.  There was a light mention that the Fed knows they have to be careful to avoid this action leading to inflation.  The reality is, a little inflation is the least of our problems when you are dealing with trillions of dollars.  With so much money, the amounts are hard to understand and people just let the news item slide by.  This may help people understand it more.

 

The Federal Reserve operates the US Mint, which prints money.  For the Fed to buy these Treasury Bills, they will have to print that $1 trillion.  To put this in easier terms, think of the US Mint like the Franklin Mint.  Like beautifu

Our Celebrity President

There has been much ado about the President and his little “Special Olympics” comment on Leno.  Personally, I think it was an off the cuff and cliché kind of crack that lots of people make.  A little un-PC, but not intended to hurt anybody.  I would make a comment about his selection of Geihtner as Secretary of Treasury being proof he is fine with the mentally disabled, but will refrain in the interest of good taste.

 

My concern is simple and to the point.  If we wanted a celebrity President we

The Declaration of Indepence Applied to the Government Today

It is of great concern to me how readily the Congress has decided to skip out on the Constitution in reacting to the AIG bonuses.  To me it is a move farther in the direction of a government that is out of touch with the electorate and drunk on their own power.  This is not a party issue either, as both sides voted for this violation of the Constitution.  The actions the government is taking are starting to read like a litany of the Kings violations in the Declaration of Independence.  I thought it would be interesting to look at this important document and see where any similarities can be drawn.

 

“He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of Pretended Legislation.”

“For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Government.”

I think in ways these both relate to our current governments desire to pass laws that serve themselves, not the people.  The AIG bonus issue is clearly a

How We Can Create Real Change Together

We have spent two years talking about change.  Both sides promised a change from politics as usual.  In the end, the country chose what looked like the most drastic of the two options, switching parties and ideologies.  The change we got was nothing more than no more talk of change and back to business as usual.  The beauty of our system is that it allows us to create real change.  The problem of our system is that it relies on us not being too lazy to do something.  Here are some changes we need to make.

 

The first change is the easiest.  We need to toss out as many of our current elected officials as possible and start fresh.  When push comes to shove most people take the attitude that their representative may be bad, but not as bad as the others.  Let’s make one thing clear, saying your official is better than the others is like saying that they are the top turd in the pile of dog turds.  In

Obama Says Don’t Just Say No

I heard an interesting quote from President Obama last night.  To me, there is another meaning to be read into it that is not what he wanted to say.  On Tuesday the President said “’Just say no’ is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs.  It is not an acceptable response to whatever economic policy is proposed by the other party.”

 

This set in my mind an analogy regarding the Administration’s idea of economic policy and drugs.  It starts of course during the Bush years.  We needed to give some bail out money to various companies to help prop them up.  Nothing too big, just a little taste.  It is all in fun, nothing we are going to do all the time.  Next came TARP.  We liked the taste so much, when we came back we invested a lot more and went big.  Nothing to worry about.  It

AIG Bonus Tax – Does Anybody Else See Problems Here

It is all over the headlines about various Democrats in Congress strutting about threatening to take back the AIG Bonus money through passing special taxes.  I guess it is no surprise that the media is not raising any red flags on this issue.  I have a few points I want to raise here about why this action frightens me.

 

First and foremost is the fact that I do not even think this is legal.  I know the Democrats are really not that into the whole Constitution thing unless it is convenient.  In case any do want to give the Constitution a glance they should look under Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 where it is stated  “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.”  Now I never took Latin in

How We Can Correct AIG Without the Government

People are mad at AIG.  This week it became public that despite billions of dollars in bailout money being paid to AIG to keep them alive due to poor decisions, they are paying out millions in bonuses.  Personally, I am not buying the indignation from the Obama Administration.  To me it sounds like they have known for a while that this was coming, but did not let it out to the media until after the checks went out.  This story is not about that however.  This is about how we do not need the government to be able to fix this.  This is about not relying on the Government when we can fix this without them, and do a better job at it.  Instead of relying on them, there are steps we can take ourselves to correct AIG.

 

AIG is an insurance company.  They sell a variety of insurance and investment services for individuals as well as companies and other groups like pension funds.  The President, Congress, Treasury and Federal Reserve are not customers.  They are more like sugar daddies at this point.  We the people are their customers.  Like all customers we have a way to show a company

Another Step in the Right Direction – The 9-12 Project

How many people tuned in Friday night, or Saturday for the repeat, of Glenn Beck’s special on Fox News?  Hopefully everybody.  Beck has recently pulled together a list of 9 Principles and 12 Values that he supports as being vital to what makes our nation great.  He is creating a non-political movement to bring people who believe in the promise of America as it was founded together.  If you have not visited his new web site, go to http://www.the912project.com/ to see the whole thing.  I think Beck has hit on something of genius with what he is doing.

 

Right now there are a lot of people who feel that the country is spiraling out of control.  Most feel that there is little or nothing that can be done about it at our level.  We see these “leaders” seemingly so powerful and so far away.  How do we live up to what our Founding Fathers did?  Sure with a basic public school education it seems that the Founders just woke

What I Have Learned on Political Blogs

I have been writing my little blog since January, and thought the weekend is a perfect time to reflect on what I have learned.   Not only do I write my little entries, but I also make lots of comments on other blogs.  That serves two purposes for me.  First, I tag my address to draw traffic.  Second, it gives me a chance to read what other people think.  I read and comment on Democrat/Liberal/Left as well as Republican/Conservative/Right blogs.  Here is a nutshell is what I have learned.

 

While once computers were the realm of intellectuals, there are now a LOT of stupid people online.  I do not mean a little dumb.  I mean so screamingly ignorant that to call them retarded is insulting to the mentally disabled.  The i

China Being Worried About US Loans Has Me Freaked Out

When did anybody ever think they would see a day when China has worried about our financial stability and wanted to make sure we were doing well.  It is like having President Obama have a press conference to say he is worried that Rush Limbaugh’s ratings are sliding.  Yet here it is from China’s Premier Premier Wen Jiabao.

 

“We have made a huge amount of loans to the United States. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I’m a little bit worried,” Wen said at a news conference following the closing of China’s annual legislative session. “I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets.”

 

China, a nation that traditionally does not really like us a whole lot holds so

The Problem With Education Spending Explained

There is lots of talk about what needs to be done to fix education.  The big push is that we need to spend more.  I do not totally disagree, nor do I totally agree.  The bigger problem right now is not how much we spend but how we spend it.  To me it is like a trip to the grocery store.

 

Lets say you are on the way home from work when your spouse calls.  They need you to stop by the store on the way and pick up toilet paper and light bulbs.  You have got $20 on you, so it will be no problem.  As you pull in to the store you realize you forgot to ask what type of bulbs are needed, but figure it is OK because you have enough to get both regular 100 watt and 3 way bulbs.  When you get there, you grab a cart and head in.  On your way to the TP and light bulbs, you pass the beer aisle.  Mmmmmmm…. Beer. 

Michelle Obama On GMA – A REAL Revelation

This morning I had Good Morning America on the television while I got ready for work.  They had their big interview with First Lady Michelle Obama on.  They were interviewing her at Fort Bragg, so they focused on the fact that she is making military families one of her priorities.  In the interview she had a bomb shell.

 

She discussed how there are many problems facing military families that Americans in general are not aware of.  One of these issues is the fact that military families often move around several times during a career.  This causes the children to be uprooted every few years as they move from state to state and school to school.  They have issues with transferring grades, and the general issues of moving a child around.  What a shocking revelation.  I think

Other Conservative Principles, Values, Platforms, and Objectives Lists

Since I posted my latest installment on my list of Principles and Objectives today, I thought it was a good time to post a few other similar lists I have found.  Given their sources they are all more eloquent than mine, and all worth a visit.  Hopefully, we will get enough conservatives all thinking along the same lines.  We need to focus on our goals and message as we approach 2010.  I think projects like this are a huge start in the right direction.

Glenn Beck

This is his We Surround Them project which starts with his 9 Principles and 12 Values.  He has a special on this coming up on his Friday March 13 2009

Conservative Principles and Objectives Continued

I have been working to update my Principles and Objectives list on a weekly basis.  I feel this is a vital step needed by Conservatives and the Republican Party growing forward.  Reagan accomplished all that he did because he clearly articulated his vision, principles, and objectives.  Once you move to a group of leaders, you need some sort of statement to keep all involved together.  That was the genius of the Contract With America by Newt Gingrich in the 1990’s.  This is my attempt to get a ball rolling in that direction. 

 

This week I just have two objectives to add.  As always I then will end the

I Certainly Hope He Doesn’t Succeed – A Story You Will Not Likely Hear In The News

When will it end?  Why can’t Republicans stop making comments like “I Certainly Hope He Doesn’t Succeed,” or They don’t want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails.”  It is divisive and destructive for people to make such public statements hoping for President to fail for their political gain.  Too bad that statement was from Democrats not Republicans.  The fact that it this statement was made by Democrats is why you have not heard it yet, and never will outside of a few narrow sources.  Forget too the fact that the right has never said they want President Obama to fail, just his policies.  These statements from the left are far more damning.

 

Bill Sammon just broke this story on FoxNews.  Here is an excerpt from the story and link to the whole article:

 

Is Democrat Maverick an Oxymoron

Who here misses the use of the word “Maverick?”  I know I never thought that I would long for the day where I heard it on the news again.  That was before Democrats had control of Congress and the White House.  Now, I would be happy hear about a Democrat Maverick.  At this point, I would be happy to hear of a Democrat having an independent thought. 

Say what you will, but Republicans still have people out there bucking the party.  There may be times with things like the Stimulus that it is upsetting, but Republicans do it.  Three Senators bucked and voted for the Stimulus because they felt the money their constituents would get outweighed the overall negatives of the bill.  Many Republican Governors have stepped up

2010 and Beyond – When To Get Ready For Mid-Terms

There is already talk of the Presidential election in 2012.  I have seen PACs formed for Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney advertised on various websites.  I felt the last election was just a tiny bit long at two years of constant campaigning, four will really be a bit overboard.  More importantly, we have 2010 to worry about.  If there is anything vital to the survival of Conservative politics and the health of our country it will be the 2010 mid-term elections.  I sincerely believe that that party needs to start looking at locations for battlegrounds to take seats away from Democrats now and begin selecting and grooming potential candidates.  Here are my top reasons why the political landscape will be ripe for change.

 

Economy

As James Carville once said “It is the economy stupid.”  Current optimistic projections say that the economy will continue to slide a while longer and

Pretty Please Rush

The media is pushing another Rush feud this week.  Once again they are trying to draw a fight between Rush and Newt, and Rush is taking the bait.  If I could speak with Rush personally I would ask that he remember the words of Ronald Reagan when he said “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” 

 

The recent comments made by Newt should not have really caused any problems taken in their context.  Newt basically said that it is irrational to hope for the failure of President Obama because it will mean a failure for America.  He then acknowledged that there are a lot of policy issues that he does not hope succeed.  That is basically what Rush has said.  He would love

Are Bailed Out Companies Turning Into Spoiled Children

This morning there is an interesting story about the latest round of bail out begging from AIG.  ABC News obtained a copy of a draft presentation for the Treasury Department about their need for more bail out money.  The original story can be found here at the ABC News page.  I have also downloaded a copy of the presentation to try to avoid the link going dead.

 

The current approach of bailing out failing businesses is similar to a parent repeatedly bailing out a spoiled child.  Many of these companies made bad choices like a spoiled teen that always gets what they want in the end.  The Government has given them money to bail them out, but the businesses have not changed what they are doing.  They keep making the same bad choices in

McCain and Shelby Support Letting Businesses Fail

This morning I published my second blog entry on the value of letting some of the troubled businesses out there fail.  To give myself a little free time Sunday, I actually had written it Saturday afternoon and scheduled it to publish later.  ( As a note for prospective bloggers that is a great trick to make yourself look a lot more hard working and dedicated than you really are.  ) You can only imagine my surprise to hear that two Senators are coming around to a similar point of view.

 

I was thrilled to see Senator Shelby on this week advocate letting some of the troubled banks just fail.  I was so excited I actually Tivoed back and watched

Too Big Too Fail Is Too Big To Fix – A Solution To The Problem

Decades of bad decisions seem to be coming together in an incredible, perfect storm of trouble.  Now we are bailing out large companies left and right because they are “Too big to fail.”  If you or I have a small to medium business going under, tough luck.  Looking at what is happening, throwing money at the problem is not fixing anything.  We are just dragging out the death of ineffective companies.  The solution to me is pretty obvious.  We need to remember who the government is here to serve.  They do not serve corporations, but “We the people.”   If we borrow a page from Teddy Roosevelt we can save the business for the people.  Here is my idea.  Maybe you will love it, maybe you will hate it.  The key here is that it is an idea.  Washington has no ideas on how to fix anything right now, past throwing our money around and hoping the problems go away.

 

Let GM die.  Obviously it is too big to manage.  The bureaucracy and bad decisions of the past have just gotten too big.  We can not save all the people

Notes From the Intersection of Wall Street and Main Street

Who doesn’t like the idea of some of the abusive “fat cats” on Wall Street who so clearly mismanaged their companies for personal gain being punished?  I am a Conservative and I do.  I believe that all officers of a company have a responsibility to their stakeholders to manage the business well for both the long and short term.  Managing to max out your bonus and screw everybody else was not in any of my business ethics books back in college.  The problem is, beating up Wall Street is not just beating up those guys.  It beats up most of us.

 

The administration seems to think Wall Street is an exclusive club of the wealthy.  The people with skin in the market are all part of a country club elite.  The rest of us work our jobs, go home where the wife greats us at the door in her apron to give us a cocktail before we go check on Wally and the

President Obama Is Not Breaking Promises, Just Redefining Them

There is a lot of talk already about the Administration breaking promises.  Since all of those on the left keep saying Conservatives are just being negative, I wanted to try to be upbeat.  The President has not broken any of his promises, he is merely redefining what they mean.  It is not his fault that we misunderstood.  Here are some examples and their current translation.

 

We want to work together in a spirit of bipartisanship.

The Democrats are certainly willing to work together with Republicans.  They never said they wanted input and dialogue.  They will let us vote for their