Hope, Change, and leftist washington insiders

Somewhere along the way, Americans are going to realize how foolish they were to believe that President-elect Obama would be any different than any other mainstream Chicago-style politician. He still has a couple months left before becoming our president, and yet his newly forming cabinet already tells a tale of Washington insiders, Clinton junkies, and partisan leftists. If this is any indication (which surely it is) of Obama's administration, we can expect anything but hope and change. If you don't believe me, I suggest you learn a little more about Obama's new cabinet.

Rahm Emanuel (Chief of Staff):
-After helping Democrats win congress in 2006, he is quoted telling his colleagues that republicans can go "f*** themselves."
-His favorite expression for republicans is "knuckef***s."
-In the 1980s he sent a dead, rotting fish to pollster whom he quarreled with.
-He sat on the board of Fredddie Mac and pocketed over $200,000 in fees after he and his board encouraged risky, sub prime mortgages, and then subsequently blamed republicans for Freddie's collapse.
-As an investment banker in Chicago, Rahm made over $18 million by working on merger deals that caused thousands of layoffs.

Read more here.

Eric Holder (presumptive Attorney General):
-Known for his extreme anti-gun positions, supporting hand-gun bans and believing that the 2nd amendment does not protect an individual's right to own a gun.
-Under the Clinton administration, he supported the controversial presidential pardon of fugitive Marc Rich which was decried by republicans and democrats alike (Marc just happened to be a Clinton campaign contributor).
-"The Attorney General is the one Cabinet member who's different from all the rest. The Attorney General serves first the people, but also serves the president. There has to be a closeness at the same time there needs to be distance." (What about the oath to protect and defend the constitution?)

Read more here.

Janet Napolitano (presumptive Secretary of Homeland Security):
-Represented Anita Hill in controversial sexual harassment case in an attempt to derail Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Later, she was unable to confirm certain details and facts when two testimonies presented did not corroborate and Janet was accused of stonewalling.
-Defended a legislator, Alan Stephens, who illegaly accepted bribes and later appointed him as co-chief of staff.
-Big supporter of more bailouts and federal stimulus packages aka as big a federal government as possible.

Read more here.

Tom Daschle (presumptive Secretary of Health and Human Services):
-“As majority leader, Daschle was a notorious opponent of every pro-life measure,” the Family Research Council said. “He blocked the partial-birth abortion ban, voted for taxpayer-funded military abortions, and supported a measure that would have forced Americans to pay for the distribution of the morning-after pill to young school girls.”
-Has no direct experience or qualification in the health care industry.
-His appointment will cause a direct conflict of interest, one that Obama promised to avoid, by Daschle currently working for a firm that will be effected by his future jurisdiction.

Read more here.
And here.

And then, of course, there is Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Secretary of State. Need I say more?

Come on Obama, I mean... really?? I can't say that I am surprised at all these appointments, but I certainly am disappointed.

What do you think?

Founding Father quote of the day

A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.

Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779

Global warming and Bigfoot

Now here is a meaty subject. I realize that there is a lot of passion that goes into the debate of this subject. I mean, have your heard Al Gore give one of his $100,000 speeches when he's not relaxing in a mansion that uses more electricity than my entire neighborhood? That is serious passion. But I mean, it's cool, because he buys the rights to use all that energy. Nevermind that he buys it from his own company, thus increasing demand and generating higher profits for himself.

I digress. I just can't help but to praise Al. Ok, let's get serious here. You can believe whatever you want. You can believe that we are destroying our planet and that it is helpless to defend itself. That is fine. Just don't try to tell me that you belief is rooted in fact. It's not. Here is the hard truth: man-made global climate change is about as scientifically proven as aliens and bigfoot. I mean, there are believers, sightings, even some evidence that both aliens and bigfoot exist. Have you seen that video from the 60s? Yeah, tell me that isn't true.

Fortunately, we don't spend tax money on "The Bigfoot Preservation Acts" or "The Department of Extraterrestrial Affairs", and yet our congressmen want to take heap loads of our hard earned money to supposedly prevent an unproven man-made global climate change. Why aren't more people outraged? I mean you want to donate your own money to a private fund somewhere, go for it! Save the world! Just don't expect me to go along.

But you've heard so much "proof" that global climate change is real, right? The debate is supposed to be long over, a done deal. And once the world was flat too... Look, anyone that tells you that they can accurately create a computer model the mimics the infinitely complex climate system of our planet, punch them in the face. It's just not possible. The models are always changing. Every week they come up with different predictions and conclusions. There just isn't anyway for us to accurately predict these things.

To me, the funniest thing is the idea that any amount of tax money could stop/prevent billions of years of natural occurring cycles in our earth's climate. Are you kidding me? The bottom line is that any congressman or government that supports global climate change initiatives is probably only interested in one thing: power. Since the dawn of time power and influence have been gained quickest when fear creates a need for people to depend on one person or one group of people in order to survive. Politicians know this, they aren't completely stupid. So what's the point? Don't be afraid, don't buy into the hype, and don't be willing to give up your money and liberty for global warming, aliens, or bigfoot.

For further enlightenment, check out these articles:

MIT scientists baffled...

Global warming or ice age?...

It's cold!..

Bigfoot sightings...

Founding Father quote of the day

A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 70, 1788

I just have to ask then, what the heck where we thinking electing a president with zero executive experience?

Animals and Cages

I am not an animal person. I have never really had a pet, and never really wanted one. Zoos are fine as long as I don't have to pay. I have noticed, however, that animals in the zoo really behave nothing like their counterparts in the wild. They are fed, bathed, and provided for in just about every way possible. It seems like the perfect life, but is it? I remembered when they tried to free "Willy", the famous whale from the movies, back into the ocean. Despite their best efforts to get him ready for the wild, "Willy" died within a year. He just couldn't survive on his own. He couldn't feed himself, interact with rest of the wild whales and seemed to have lost all motivation to live.

What's the point? Zoos and cages, while they provide almost everything an animal could ask for, also rob them of their most important attribute- the ability to survive on their own. With "Willy" the trainers actually tried several times to release the whale, but it kept coming back hungry and lethargic, unable to fend for itself. And so they took care of it and tried again until it died. Is that so different from what is happening between us and our government today?

We used to be a people with impenetrable will, capable of overcoming and surviving any challenge that came our way. Heck, we defeated the world's greatest empire (at the time), just so we could taste liberty. If any people knew how to survive in the wild, it was the us, the Americans. But look at us now. We are facing serious challenges, sure, but what are our solutions? Beg the government to bail us out? Are you serious? I wonder if we aren't just walking into a cage. And what's worse, I don't think we even realize what we are going to have to give up in the process.

It seems to be one sad cycle. Even conservatives said that the first federal bailout was our only option. But why? Why had we gotten ourselves into that position in the first place? Are we not capable of surviving on our own? Maybe we have already been in a cage longer than we thought. It maddens me that liberals constantly deny the tremendous price that must be paid to simply turn our problems over to the government for them to "solve". That price is liberty. Oh and by the way, their solutions are awful.

Occasionally you hear of animals successfully being reintroduced into the wild. It is a difficult and risky process, but in the end the animal is going to find a much more fulfilling life in the wild. It's hard, no doubt. There are casualties, sure. But I don't think anything can adequately replace the satisfaction that accompanies one who has learned how to survive on their own, and that seems to hold true anywhere in the animal kingdom.

So the question is, when are we going to break the cycle? When are we going to make the difficult choice to reject the zoo that is our government and trust ourselves instead? When are we going to embrace the ideal that life in a cage is really no life at all?

What do you think?

Founding Father quote of the day

The reformation was preceded by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home should afford neither friendship nor safety.

Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

Founding Father quote of the day

I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766

Dear President-elect Obama...

I will start by saying that I didn't vote for you. I think there was just a part of me that believed a man should be able to keep what he earns, or maybe I was just a little afraid of socialism. Either way, I hope you can forgive me. The other day as I sat in my small basement apartment, studying my minuscule bank account, and thinking about the many expenses of the future, I was suddenly overcome with an exciting sense of excitement. I realized that I didn't need to worry about anything at all. How could I have been so blind? The answer to all my problems lay before me in the forms of hope and change. I would like to thank you in advance for all the wonderful things you are going to do for me.

I was planning on attending medical school. Can you believe that? I was willing to work my butt off for a decade, mastering an extremely difficult profession, only to turn around and work my butt off the rest of my life. I even had the nerve to think that such work would make me deserving of my financial dues. How silly. I realize now that I don't need to worry about all that. Thanks to you, I may not even need to work at all. I am so excited to be apart of the many social programs you are undoubtedly going to put into place.

I certainly don't want to be greedy. So I write you that you will know that I ask for very little. A prepaid mortgage to a home of my choice will of course be necessary in todays finanical crisis. I would love to be recipient of an alternative fuel vehicle, with the alternative fuel being, of course, subsidized by you. Groceries are pretty expensive, so I will need you to take care of those for me. Other then just some discretionary spending money, I really don't think I could ask much more for you. At least for now.

Being poor, I am so grateful for the thousands of hard working Americans who are going to have their wealth redistributed my way. It's hard for me to say that I deserve it, but I will just trust you that I do. Again, thank you for making my life so easy. This is the America I have always dreamed of, and now I won't even have to struggle to have it. You are going to be the greatest president ever.

Sincerely,

Trevor

Founding Father quote of the day

The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.

George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

President George W. Bush

While the majority of the country is celebrating "change" and "hope" with the belief the our newly elected president is going to fix the last eight years worth of mistakes, I think it is important that we take a moment to remember the good man who accomplished some extraordinary things in the face of some horrific challenges. I found this article on the WSJ and thought it was so good that I would post it here in its entirety.

"Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House."

See the original article here

The Power of the People

I think one of the things that attracts me to conservatism is the idea that the American people will always be greater than their government. The idea that We the People can solve nearly any problem on our own resonates with me. We don't need the government to tell us what to do or to solve our problems for us. We just need them to protect our liberties and get out of our way.

In spite of everything liberalism tries to teach us, that we are weak, that we need government in order to be successful, that we are victims and are incapable of finding happiness on our own, I just don't buy it. We are the greatest people in the world. We have accomplished more than any other people in the history of the world. So why are so many people convinced that the only way to solve our current problems is to hand over a portion of our liberties to an extreme liberal government?

Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to exercise a great power that our founding fathers gave and trusted to us, the power to vote. We have to make our voices heard. It doesn't matter where we live, whether or not we think our vote will count, or how inconvenient it may be to make it to the polls, we have to vote. It is not just our right, but our duty. I am convinced that the legislation that is being passed all over the country does not really represent that desires of the people, but if we don't use our voice, how can that be made known?

Don't listen to the polls, don't listen to the political commentators, and don't listen to the news anchors, just vote your conscience. Study the issues, check your gut, pray about it, and don't sacrifice your moral convictions. Choose candidates and issues based on what will be best for your children and grandchildren, not just what will be best for you. I truly believe that if every American does this, we will always remain the greatest country in the world.

What do you think?

Founding Father quote of the day

It is sufficiently obvious, that persons and property are the two great subjects on which Governments are to act; and that the rights of persons, and the rights of property, are the objects, for the protection of which Government was instituted. These rights cannot well be separated.

James Madison, Speech at the Virginia Convention, December 2, 1829