It's All Global Warming

From ABC News on Jan 21, 2011:

(Linsey Davis)
"If this winter seems especially brutal, scientists say you're right. ABC News contacted 10 climate scientists to ask their take, if an extreme winter like the one we're having is the way of the future. The consensus? Global warming is playing a role by shifting weather patterns in unpredictable ways. Many say the forecast for the future calls for record-breaking precipitation and extreme temperatures year round. And that means winters with more snow."

(Diane Sawyer)
"...millions of people across the East saying enough already with the snow and ice and cold. Another winter storm roared through today. More records were toppled, and it heightened that question: Do the leading scientists now agree that this is global warming? "

Wait a minute!!!  Al Gore and others specifically told us that global warming will cause warmer winters and less precipitation.  I read a lot about global warming and its effects and if I put all the claims stated by "scientists" from various media, I can draw the following conclusions:

• Warmer than normal temperatures are due to global warming.
• Colder than normal temperatures are due to global warming.
• Temperatures that are approximately average for a given area for a given time is proof of global warming.
• Dry conditions and droughts will be common due to global warming.
• Heavy precipitation is due to global warming.
• Places reporting average amounts of precipitation indicate global warming.
• Ice melting in the Arctic is due to global warming.
• Ice sheets increasing in size in the Antarctic is proof of global warming.
• The imminent rise of ocean levels will be an indication of global warming.
• The ACTUAL non-significant rise of ocean levels is due to global warming.
• An expected increase in the number of hurricanes and typhoons and the expected increase in their intensity will be proof of global warming.
• The reality of six consecutive years of a normal or less than normal frequency of hurricanes and typhoons is also a strong indication of global warming.
• Recent earthquakes in Haiti and Pakistan are due to global warming.

The real question is:  Why are so many trying to convince us that disaster is imminent and no matter what the data is, it gets twisted into the same conclusion?

This is something I am exploring this year.  Think about an answer to the question above.  It's not really that hard to find the basic answer.

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Merry Christmas to All!!!

May we all enjoy the Christmas season and remember the reason for the season.

The Month before Christmas
Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS!

not Happy Holiday !

Please, all join together and wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

(Thanks to my Uncle for sending me this.)

New Rules of Feminism - Addendum

In case you missed the original change in rules, look here:

New Rules of Feminism

Now, "rich businesswomen" (as the L.A. Times refers to them) Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina have won Republican primaries and are taking on incumbent Democrats (Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer, respectively) in my State of California.

The L.A. Times already revealed how it wants us to perceive these women. Of course, Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer aren't exactly poor. Boxer started out as a stock broker and married a very successful lawyer and lived in the very rich Marin County, Ca until 1994. Yet I have never seen her referred to as "rich".

Meg Whitman arguably has a more impressive background. She worked her way up the corporate ladder before marrying a successful neurosurgeon. She comes across as much more of a self-made woman than Boxer. She's rich because of her own doings.

But of course, media pundits refuse to see her as a feminist because of that (R) next to her name.

Tina Brown Slams Female GOP Primary Winners

Carli Fiorina has a similar story. Starting out as a secretary, she worked her way up to becoming CEO of Hewlett Packard. This was at a time when a female CEO of a hot tech company was unheard of. If only she had been a Democrat, she would probably stand above Hillary Clinton as the benchmark feminist that all our daughters should aspire to be.

Of course, had she been a Democrat, that would mean that she didn't have the internal convictions to have been a successful CEO in the first place so it was a moot point.

A Night at the Hollywood Bowl

The Show

Last night, Michelle and I went to the Hollywood Bowl and saw Carole King and James Taylor perform, both individually and as a duet. These are two of Michelle's favorite artists. I always liked James Taylor, although I was never what you would call a fan. I had barely heard of Carole King before I met Michelle but I found out she had performed written, and co-written quite a few songs I knew and liked. I had no idea she had co-written "The Loco-motion" or "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" until last night.

Getting to the Bowl almost requires taking a Park & Ride as the parking at the Bowl is really bad in terms of space and accessibility. It gets rather cool there this time of year and the seats are wooden park benches - towards the back of the arena anyways. Despite all that, it was very enjoyable. James Taylor has not lost anything in his voice at age 62. His voice sounded like we were in the studio with him in 1970. King was also impressive and the chemistry between them was great.

I tend to prefer rock and roll with more substance than these two offer. I like layered instruments, tempo changes, and lyrics with obscure or double-meanings. Taylor and King make very personal music with simple melodies. Their lyrics are straightforward. You know what they are conveying. However, these two artists do their thing so well that I found myself enjoying the show quite a bit. Michelle was enthralled. When it was over, we both agreed it was a great show.

One Observation

I realize as I write this that this is going to come across as completely inappropriate to some people. I had a good view of a horde of people just arriving and getting to their seats just before the concert began. The thing that struck me was... ready... They were almost all white! As I then looked across the mass of people, I realized that at least 98% of the audience was white. I spotted a couple of black people amongst the thousands. I saw no sign of a Latino or Asian whatsoever. Is there something wrong with this? Of course not!

I imagine that some black performers are going to attract mostly black audiences, the same with Latinos. It's apparent that some performers have broad, cross-racial appeal such as Madonna and the late Michael Jackson. While others don't.

What's my point? It is that if this were any kind of political event, it would have been blasted by the mainstream media. I'm sure someone at MSNBC would have called this some kind of "Klan" or "Nazi" event. In the case here, it was a collection of people who shared a similar taste in music and that's okay. In the case of a Tea Party event, it is a collection of people who are concerned about tax dollars being wasted on corporate bailouts, possibly jeopardizing the future prosperity of the United States. Apparently to the mainstream media, this is not okay. By the way, I certainly hope the black people at the concert weren't "uncomfortable" as I am sure, they were as welcomed as anybody else.

Has it ever occurred to anybody in the media that the reason so many people attending the Tea Parties are white because black people don't want to protest a black President? I'm sure many blacks are concerned with the same things the Tea Party is about as their children are in jeopardy too. The media seems to want to believe that only white people are concerned with skin color. I don't believe that's the case.

The Game We Wanted

Seemingly, every NFL season has a prominent NFC team and a prominent AFC team that appear destined to face each other in the Superbowl. Just about every NFL season has one or both teams taking an unexpected early exit in the playoffs.

Not this season. This time, we get the Saints and Colts that were dominant and even undefeated late in the year. This time, we get to see Peyton Manning vs. Drew Brees, Reggie Wayne vs. Marques Colston, Joseph Addai vs. Pierre Thomas, Dwight Freeney vs. Darren Sharper.

The sentimental choice of course, is the Saints. With them carrying the hopes of a whole recovering city on their back, and with them never having gone to the big game before, it's hard not to be happy for the team and New Orleans. They have the means to pull off the dream too. Drew Brees is a smart and accurate passer. He has plenty of weapons to throw to. Reggie Bush is a threat to score every time he touches the ball (admittedly, he is also prone to fumbling the ball too.) Their defense is quite underrated. They pummeled Brett Favre in the NFC Championship game and they are quite adept at creating key turnovers.

Then you have the Colts. They've been here before, they're experienced, tough, and explosive in their own right. This is a team determined to build a legacy as a winner. Had it not been for the incredible run by the New England Patriots in recent years, it would most likely be the Colts with the multiple Superbowl rings. Peyton Manning, time and time again, has shown an incredible ability to read defenses and find their weaknesses. He is one of those players who makes his whole team better. He is the face of the franchise and is the driving force behind the determination and dedication to their success. Their defense is quick and fierce and underrated like the Saints.

This has been the Colts' season. They are one step away from capping it off and being perceived as one of the greatest NFL teams of all time.

The only problem is, the Saints will win.

Memoirs of a "Racist"

The Past

Over a year ago, Barack Hussein Obama rode into the Presidential Election campaign and quickly became the Democrat front runner. His confident and powerful voice promising hope and change wooed citizens across the country. The mainstream media swooned over him. Some journalists lost all pretensions of objectivity and almost reported Obama's victories in the primaries with glee.

It all seemed a bit odd to me. When listening to Obama promising to end the war in Iraq, shelf the Bush tax cuts, raise minimum wage, establish universal health care, and deal with countries like Iran and North Korea with a diplomacy-first attitude, I wondered what was so different about him than the other Democrat candidates. Hillary Clinton seemed to have the same agenda and John Edwards was running on a virtually identical platform.

What's more, it was soon revealed that Obama was toting baggage. He had stated that the Constitution was a "flawed" document that was about what the government cannot do. He was friends to Bill Ayers, a radical whose method of protesting government was to bomb buildings. Obama also was a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ headed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It was revealed that Wright had a very anti-American attitude and blamed the U.S. Government for the 9/11 attacks. Yet Barack Obama referred to Rev. Wright as his "spiritual advisor" and Wright even performed the Obama's wedding ceremony and baptized Barack and Michelle Obama's two daughters.

With Clinton and Edwards having similar agendas but not having anywhere near the potential problems Obama had, one would think that one of them would have been selected as the Democrat candidate of 2008. It didn't happen. Why?

By the way, Barack Obama is half black. That wouldn't have anything to do with it would it? After all, it is the Democrats who are always claiming to be so tolerant and blind to racism so obviously that wasn't the reason.

Yet Bill Clinton seemed to think otherwise as he accused the Obama campaign of playing the "race card". The one-time media darling got basically shunned by the media for making such an accusation. In fact, the mainstream media didn't report on Ayers or Wright. They didn't seem to think it was newsworthy.

If you heard anything about Ayers or Wright, it was most likely from talk radio or Fox news. The Obama supporters decided that Obama was beyond reproach. Anybody who questioned his candidacy or his policies did so without any merit. If the criticism against Obama was without merit, then what motivated those to critique Obama? There could only be one answer: Racism!

Obviously, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and the host of others who daily expressed concern over an Obama Presidency were nothing but racists. They couldn't see the magic in Obama that ordinary people see because they were blinded by racism.

9 Months Later

Obama has shown he meant what he said by a "flawed" Constitution. He bailed out and seized control of failed banks and auto companies - spending billions of taxpayer's money in the process. Call me crazy but federal government control of companies is outright Socialism if I recall. According to the left, I'm not crazy. I'm racist.

Obama is always talking about re-distribution of wealth. Hard-earned money by those who studied, got an education, and worked hard should distribute their wealth to those who didn't but feel they are entitled to the same benefits anyways. I don't think it's fair at all so that makes me a racist.

Similarly, Obama wants Universal Health care. A notion that sounds lovely on paper but has been shown repeatedly to be a failed system. The United States has the best health care system in the world and the statistics support that. Yes, it could be even better but I have every reason to believe that Obama's policies will worsen it and cost us more. I'm told that that sort of thinking is that of a racist.

When traveling abroad, Obama is always apologizing for past actions of the United States. Hey wait a minute! Doesn't that justify and promote more terrorist attacks? Isn't Obama proud of the nation that allowed him to come from humble beginnings and become its leader? Isn't Obama a living testimony to the power of Democracy and our tolerant culture? Apparently not. We should all be ashamed of ourselves for having so many racists like me in the country.

Obama actually told the Arab world "...we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation." Later in the same speech, he called the United States a "Muslim nation". Did he state this for appeasement or was it just an oversight? If it was an oversight, why was it on his teleprompter? For those of us who question Obama's motives concerning the Middle East, we are wrong and should stop judging Obama by the color of his skin.

Obama has waffled on talks with North Korea and Iran. He has stated that these fledgling nuclear powers can be talked with without pre-conditions. Then he's stated otherwise. Do I feel comfortable with a President who is so unsure of how to handle nations like these? No, I don't but that's just the racism talking.

ACORN, the group that supported Obama and registered over a million voters for him has been caught for many illegitimate registrations. Furthermore, recently it was discovered that ACORN is willing to support prostitution of underage girls from El Salvador. Obama claims no knowledge of the goings on at ACORN yet has funded them over $50 million in taxpayer-funded bailout money. The mainstream media does not seem to want to report on this. Something seems fishy here but that must be the racist in me.

What about Iraq? Obama promised an end but that doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. Where are all the protests against that war that we used to see during the Bush Presidency? Did racists like me quell them?

Obama keeps appointing Czars. One of them is out to suppress Fox News hosts Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, not to mention Rush Limbaugh and others. Media control by the federal government? I find it scary and tyrannical. Apparently racists like them and myself should have no voice.

The bailouts and health care reform will lead to unprecedented deficit spending - something Obama condemned in his campaign. Yet, the only way to deal with it at all would be to raise taxes everywhere - something else Obama said he wouldn't do. Remember what happened to George HW Bush when this happened? But then again, he was a racist like all us conservatives.

Obviously, I have issues with our President. I am being told repeatedly from members of the Democrat Party, the media, and even a fellow blogger that my issues aren't real and that racism is the root of it all. How insulting! Strange how it seems that it is the left that is hung up on Obama's skin color while I feel like I and others who don't trust him are judging him by the content of his character. Strange indeed.

Godlessness and Science

I finally got around to reading Ann Coulter's Godless:The Church of Liberalism. This is a book that I really wanted to like. I usually agree with Ms. Coulter's points of view even though I don't always agree with how she presents them. My biggest beef is she has the bad habit of grouping the entire opposition to her point of view and making broad and grand statements about them. Coulter's works are littered with phrases starting with "Liberals think..." as if she wants us to believe not only that she knows what everybody thinks, but why they think this way. In taking such a stand, she sets herself up for scrutiny.

On the other hand, her sharp wit, while irksome to many, is one reason I like reading her. Some of these topics can get a little dry but Coulter always manages to keep it interesting. It is also very apparent that she researches her material. Just about everything she points out can is referenced in her notes. Evidence of her accuracy can be found in the fact that virtually all criticism of Ms. Coulter seems to be in the form of personal attacks.

Now to the book. Chapter one explains the title of the book and why she calls liberals "Godless". She goes on to call liberalism itself, a religion, complete with its own dogma, priests, accounts of creation and human destiny. Chapters two through six explore common points of argument between the right and left - topics like crime, education, and abortion. Here, Coulter really shines. She does a great job of pointing out why the views of the left on these issues are just ridiculous. For the most part, she didn't really go into linking liberal beliefs to religion. In other words, she didn't really stick to her primary topic, but nevertheless, the arguments were spot on.

All this was just a warm up session, though. The rest of the book is where it seems to me that the real drive behind the book is. One of the common arguments of the left is that the right doesn't believe in science. Coulter is determined to turn that argument around. Today, most of this argument concerns global warming, er climate change. In Godless, Coulter doesn't get into this. Instead, she goes into the long debated argument regarding evolution versus creationism.

This was the part I really looked forward to. Coulter, one by one, defeats just about every argument of Darwin. She does this with facts about research others have done. Personally, I knew about some of the problems with Darwinism but the body of evidence Coulter presents is compelling.

I don't dispute any of her arguments. What I do dispute is her conclusion. Darwinism may not be true but that doesn't mean that science or evolution cannot account for the reason we are here. She doesn't actually say it, but I get the feeling that Coulter feels that since there are so many holes in Darwinism, that must mean that science has failed in explaining creation and therefore, we must just accept that "God did it." Coulter falls into her own trap where it's obvious that she doesn't understand science either.

Just as those who accuse creationists of being anti-science or say things like "evolution is a fact", it is equally incorrect to say that science doesn't work because of a theory being disproved. That's the whole point of science. Science isn't truth. Science isn't fact. Science is a path to discovery that is based more on failure than it is on success. Darwin's assertions may be largely disproved, but in the very least, they put us on a path. Because of this path, we know a hell of a lot more than we used to and more importantly, we understand more about what we do not know. Science will come up with better theories based upon knowledge of the failed ones.

Let's imagine a conversation in the middle ages where a budding scientist meets Anneth of Coulter. Anneth believes in the traditional "God painted the sky blue." dogma.

Scientist: Have you heard the latest scientific theory about why the sky is blue? We now believe that there is a giant sapphire in the sky. Our instrumental readings indicate that the sky color is consistent with that of a sapphire.

A of C: There are many holes in that theory. Haven't you heard that some scientists have discovered gravity and that means it would be impossible for a sapphire of the mass required to fill the sky with a blue color to exist?

Scientist: So you are saying that I need to account for gravity and come up with a better theory?

A of C: No, obviously science can't explain why the sky is blue because God did it.

Again, Godless is a worthwhile read. I just don't agree with its conclusions.

Economic Recovery

I found an interesting tale on the Internet. It had a European flavor so I changed a few details and embellished the story a bit.

There is a small town in Ohio where the recession has hit particularly hard. The local factory had closed. Few are working and everybody is in debt.

An out-of-towner driving through the town sees Harriet's Antique shop and stops. He sees a 1950's era Wurlitzer jukebox and asks Harriet how much it costs. Harriet says it's in perfectly working condition and the price is $20,000. The man winces a bit but really wants it. He sighs and agrees and writes a $20,000 check.

Harriet cashes the check and pays her landlord, Hank $10,000 in back rent she owed. She also pays 5 other people she owed money to a total of $5000. Then Hank pays the local restaurateur, Ellen the entire $10,000 and squares away his debt.

Ellen, with much of the town out of debt, does very good business that week at her restaurant. She does so well that she is able to pay Harriet, the $20,000 she owed in antiques decorations for her restaurant.

At the end of that week, the out-of-towner returns to the antique shop and says his wife won't let him keep the Wurlitzer. Harriet returns the $20,000.

There was no profit or income.

But everyone no longer has any debt and the small townspeople look optimistically towards their future.

The Death of Journalism

http://www.mediamalpracticemovie.com/

When I read about John Zieglers Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted, I knew I had to get this DVD. The news coverage of the 2008 election was very disturbing to me. I was curious if Ziegler's film would reflect my own personal observations. It did.

Let me summarize the argument. In late 2007 and even early into 2008, it looked like the two major candidates were going to be Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN were all nervous over this as most of the people at these networks desperately wanted the next President of the United States to be a Democrat. They were so uneasy about Clinton's chances that they derailed her candidacy and put the spotlight on a young, articulate, African-American who was in better position to get the young vote, the moderate vote, and the liberal vote. It would potentially hurt the female vote but the news media felt the trade-off still favored the Democrats. Meanwhile, these same networks did everything they could to convince America that Giuliani was unelectable and John McCain, as a moderate, would have a better chance. They knew that the soft-spoken McCain would look timid, old, and weak next to Obama. The scheme worked as suddenly, McCain and Obama started winning primaries.

Remember the stink Bill Clinton made about how the media was treating Hillary? Remember how the once-adored Clinton was berated for his accusations? That was just the beginning.

Everything was going as planned for the Obama campaign and the news media. The polls in mid-summer 2008 clearly favored Obama. Then suddenly and unexpectedly, McCain dropped a bombshell in August 2008. This bombshell was the choice of an outspoken, much truer conservative Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. Palin frightened the bejesus out of the news media as conservatives and many ex-Hillary supporters rallied behind her. Suddenly the McCain campaign was a real threat to the Obama campaign and the hopes and dreams of the news media. What did the news media do? They launched a barrage of attacks on Sarah Palin. They attacked her family. They picked on where she shopped. They accused her child of not being her child They got Saturday Night Live to spoof her incessantly. They got Katie Couric to interview her and Couric relentlessly attempted to "gotcha" Palin. When all was said and done, enough damage had been done to the McCain/Palin ticket to get Obama elected. It was an amazing display of contrast how Obama's running mate - Joe Biden, got virtually unnoticed during the entire campaign. Also, since the news media was doing Obama's dirty work by smearing McCain and Palin, Obama looked like a saint. His campaign never had to say anything bad about the opposition. Meanwhile, whenever McCain or Palin attempted to show a negative aspect about Obama, (Rev. Wright, Bill Ayres, willing to negotiate with Iran, etc.) the news media spun it as a negative campaign by desperate candidates.

John Ziegler's Media Malpractice reviews the 2008 campaign. It shows examples of everything shown above. Ziegler presents news clips, screenshots from blogs, and newspaper headlines that provide damning evidence that the news media was behind the Obama campaign all the way. In this regard, the presentation succeeds and should anger anybody who believes in fair journalism.

While I thought it was all worthwhile, I couldn't help but want more behind the scenes material. I would have liked Ziegler to have directly challenged the media organizations concerning the 2008 campaign. I would have liked some statistics to support and further drive home the whole point being made. In these areas, the presentation falls short. Nevertheless, the material shown here is disturbing to say the least and anyone who honestly believes the news media was fair should watch this DVD.

Hate Speech

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised." -Carrie Prejean (Miss California)

“She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage, she lost because she’s a dumb bitch!” - Perez Hilton (Miss USA judge and blogger)

I don't usually comment on the media hits of the week but I do want to point out one observation.

The mainstream media in general, is treating one of the above comments as hate speech. In our politically correct, appease everybody society, it's obvious which one it is.

Congratulations! We all just bought a new car

When it was time to purchase a new car, are you one of those who drove past the Chevy dealership on your way to look at a Honda? Did you read Consumer Reports and decide that you couldn't trust the reliability of a Dodge? Did you purchase a Toyota Yaris because the "Big 3" didn't offer anything competitive? Did you decide on a Nissan 370Z because it appears and feels more modern than a Ford Mustang or Dodge Challenger?

Well guess what? Even though you stuck your nose up in the air as you passed by the Saturn dealership, they still got your money. These companies may have not made the cars, SUV's, and trucks you wanted, but you and your children just bought their product anyways thanks to our Federal Government that is so generous with our money.

Not only that, our government is now running General Motors and Chrysler. They dangle billions of dollars in front of their chairmen and quickly pull it back and say "Uh, Uh, Uh, you don't get this unless you do what we tell you to do. Let's start by...oh...how about firing your CEO...That's a good company. Oh, and you too Chrysler. Get together with Fiat and we may just keep you solvent."

Who out there really thinks the Federal Government can run the auto industry successfully? Unfortunately, this is only the beginning.

For those of you who agree with this;

Wake up! We are slowly but surely becoming a Socialist Police State where the Federal Government controls everything!

They're doing this by making us fearful and villifying corporate executives. Corporate executives can be bad but they can be ousted due to poor performance. Once the government comes in, there is almost no way of getting them out.

This Is The New America

Those folks who cheered and celebrated a "new America" at the inauguration of Barack Obama may want to consider how this "new America" is going to look. Aren't these the "green" people? The one's who complain about businesses dumping trash into the air, water, and ground? I guess none of the people who attended the inauguration were boy or girl scouts where you are supposed to leave a place in better condition than the way you found it.

Maybe cleaning up this mess is where those new "green jobs" Barack Obama promised are going to come from.

George W. Bush: My Perspective

So the eight year Presidency of George W Bush ends. Bush's tenure was unlike any other in many ways. I am quite sure that there had never been a President so openly hated by the mainstream media and others. The others include most of Hollywood and a multitude of pseudo-intellectuals who would daily post blogs and comments on the web spewing utter hatred at the 43'rd President and his Vice President.

With all this hatred on the web and all the news people from CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN openly criticizing seemingly every single policy Bush invoked, it had become the norm for many Americans to just assume that Bush was a terrible President. It's practically become the background noise of America.

Why all this venom? I'm not completely sure but I have some thoughts about that. The mainstream media adored Bill Clinton. Clinton had agendas that agreed with Hollywood and the media - namely ideas awash in pure liberalism that empowered Hollywood. These same people were sure that Al Gore would continue what Clinton had started. The problem was, Gore didn't win. Instead, we got this Republican and his semi-conservative ideals. Hollywood and the media went on the warpath immediately to ensure a Democratic victory in 2004. When that didn't work, they re-doubled their efforts in his second term.

These attacks included:

Vilifying the tax cuts: Bush inherited a recession and immediately put forth the John F. Kennedy/Ronald Reagan idea of lowering taxes to stimulate the economy. Media pundits and Hollywood figures bashed this idea by constantly chanting "tax cuts for the rich - Bush only cares about the rich!" Much to the gall of his critics, Bush's tax cuts worked brilliantly and the economy flourished for years. Yet Bush never got any credit whatsoever for the incredibly strong economy America and the world experienced from 2003 to 2007. Remember all the credit Clinton got during the dot com boom? Yeah, like that had anything to do with Clinton.

Faulting Bush for 9/11: Ever since America supported Israel, much of the middle east has hated America. Generations of poor Arabs were taught that the reason they were poor was due to Israel and the United States. The hatred grew and spread and no President ever really did anything about it. Remember the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 and how Jimmy Carter sat on his ass and did practically nothing? Reagan didn't do much either even though embassies were bombed during his Presidency. George HW Bush at least took on Iraq for invading Kuwait but left Saddam in power. Clinton did very little despite his claims after 9/11. So when the **** hit the fan on 9/11/2001, that is when the anti-American hatred in the Middle East finally hurt Americans on our own soil, the only culprit the media could find was one George W. Bush. Bush reacted with the Patriot Act to help prevent this from happening again. All he got in response was how it violated our rights.

Iraq: The intensity of criticism and hatred of George W Bush over his decision to invade Iraq is a national disgrace. The mainstream media conveniently forgot that virtually every politician in Washington, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright, and Al Gore, upon hearing the evidence from the CIA Director George Tenet, was convinced that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling chemical, and possibly biological and even nuclear weapons. This was in 1998 and nobody did anything about it! Remember the ridiculous UN inspections? Remember how they were not allowed access to certain "restricted areas" (there were not supposed to be any "restricted areas" in Iraq according the the treaty Saddam Hussein signed)? Remember how Saddam Hussein dictated to the UN inspectors as to where and when they could do those inspections? At the time, this was outrageously scary yet no one seems to remember this. All I hear and read now is how the UN found no weapons of mass destruction and how Bush lied us into the war. The invasion led to the capture of Saddam Hussein - the killer of thousands (some reports suggest millions) of his own people. The media downplayed this and almost acted disappointed that the invasion had this positive result.

The Surge: The Iraq invasion didn't go smoothly. There is no question that Bush and his administration underestimated the level of insurgency the troops would encounter. In my opinion, the method and hubris of the invasion was an area where Bush was rightly criticized, especially when the premature "Mission Accomplished" sign was put up. Bush, in realizing this mistake, took the advice of his generals and campaigned for a "surge" - a dramatic increase in troops to finish the job. Not surprising, he was criticized and ridiculed. Of course, it worked. Where's the credit?

Waterboarding: Bush has been criticized heavily for allowing waterboarding. Is it torture? I can't say but I wonder if prisoners who suffered unbelievable pain, lost body parts, caught diseases, and starved half to death in other countries would regard this relatively mild procedure that does no permanent damage as torture.

Osama bin Laden: The funder of the 9/11 attacks has been hiding in caves and living meagerly in fear of being caught and/or killed for over seven years. We've had troops in Afghanistan hunting him and the rest of the Taliban. The media mostly ignores this and asks why Bush never went after bin Laden.

Corporate Bailouts: I'm with the critics on this one. Bush panicked and gave unbelievable sums of our money to the irresponsible clowns who mishandled it. In other words, Bush acted like a liberal would have.

What if Bush hadn't done these things?

What if the recession of 2000/2001 lingered due to no breaks for businesses? Don't forget the tax refunds we all got. Do you think Bush would have been congratulated for this?

What if Bush had closed the airports and called the national guard in early September 2001 due to warnings that Al Qaeda was planning an attack? What if he did this and 9/11 didn't happen? He probably would have been impeached for violating our rights. What if there was no Patriot Act and Al Qaeda struck on U.S. soil again?

What if we ignored Iraq? Saddam Hussein would have at least continued to shoot at our planes and kill more people. What else might have he done? After all, he did hire nuclear scientists and had communications with North Korea.

You've probably heard this before but what if we had not waterboarded the operative into revealing the Al Qaeda plot of bombing transAtlantic planes? What if had happened and the mainstream media found out we had a prisoner that knew all about it?

Don't you think the highlight of Bush's Presidency would have been the capture of Osama bin Laden? Do you really think he ignored him?

Farewell George Bush, you were a far from perfect President but you dealt with many difficult situations. You never whined or backed down. I hope that as time passes, you will be remembered for much of the good you did during a very difficult Presidency.

Out on a Limb

My daring NFL predictions for the rest of the season.

Cardinals over Eagles
Steelers over Ravens

Superbowl Pick:

Steelers over Cardinals

Format Change

Happy New Year!

I decided this year to treat this blog a little differently. I've been having the problem with this blog where I feel obligated to post for the reason that it had been too long since my last post. Subsequently, I've hurried together some posts that I never really felt fully satisfied with.

My attitude concerning this blog will be different this year. I want to concentrate on creating more robust posts that fully and truly convey whatever point I want to make. This is going to mean fewer postings but the postings I do produce should be a bit meatier than before - at least I hope so. I will probably occasionally sprinkle in a few quickies like sports predictions and such also.

So be patient, I'm not going anywhere. Thank you for your attention.

Robert

Afternoons Will Never be the Same

On Thursday, December 11, 2008, Larry Elder announced his departure from TalkRadio 790 KABC.

For 15 years, Larry Elder has stood out as the conscience of America (for those who would listen, anyways). I've listened to him for years on KABC and found his calm demeanor and no-nonsense approach to political and economic issues refreshing. While I didn't always agree with him, he always made sense and I could always see his point of view - even if I occasionally disagreed with it.

There are many out there who won't be sorry to see him go. These individuals are those Larry termed "victicrats" - people who feel sorry for themselves and feel they got a raw deal in life and its out of their control. Larry preaches that the road to success or failure begins and ends with the self. Do you see the world as a place of opportunity where high moral values and hard work get rewarded? Do you see the world as a dark place riddled with hatred where only certain select fortunate people get the advantages? One of these points of view will lead to success, the other to failure.

If you've never seen it, take a look at Larry Elder's Personal Pledge.

Also, take a look at his weekly articles at TownHall.com

Larry, I will miss your daily broadcast. I don't know why you had to leave so suddenly but I wish you all the best in whatever endeavors you pursue.

The One Way Street

USA Today published the following article today:

President-elect Obama's actions perk up stock market

Today, the Dow lost 7% of its value by plunging 679.95.

I'm sure, President Bush will get the blame for that.

Your Bond-quote quotient is exceptional!

Your Bond-quote quotient is exceptional!

James Bond 007 One-liner Quiz

Guess Who?

Read the following statement and try to guess which organization wrote it. The link to the answer is at the bottom.

[Our organization] views the 2008 elections as a tremendous opportunity to defeat the policies of the right-wing Republicans and to move our country in a new progressive direction.
The record turnout in the Democratic Presidential primary races shows that millions of voters, including millions of new voters, are using this election to bring about real change. We wholeheartedly agree with them.

[We] endorse and join in the anti-Bush/anti-right wing sentiments that are driving so many people to activism. The fact that the Democratic frontrunners are an African American and a woman speaks volumes on how far the country has come. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has attracted large numbers of supporters, especially women. Other Democratic contenders presented some excellent proposals to reverse the devastation caused by the Bush administration’s policies. Barack Obama’s campaign has so far generated the most excitement, attracted the most votes, most volunteers and the most money.

We think the basic reason for this is that his campaign has the clearest message of unity and progressive change, while having a real possibility for victory in November.
...
We will work with others to defeat the Republican nominee and to end right-wing control of the new Congress. The activism growing out of this election will help guarantee a progressive mandate no matter who is elected. It is critical to our country’s renewal and future. We think this election is a great opportunity to bring an early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. It can mean job creation and relief for those who are losing their homes or unable to pay their bills. This election can set the stage to advance the interests of working people; of those excluded because of race, gender, sexual orientation and immigration status. This election can begin to turn the tide: it can help bring universal health care, save the environment and start the restoration of our democratic rights.

The Answer

Spread the Wealth Part 2

The gist of the story below is not mine. I have embellished it a great deal, though.

There are five guys who went to high school together and remained friends long after. Arnold became a very successful businessman and makes a very good living. Benny owns his own small business and works very hard to keep it and manages to make a decent living. Charlie is an employee of Arnold and makes a nice living as a manager in Arnold's company. David has struggled and is also an employee of Arnold albeit a low end one. Edward has been in and out of work since high school.

Now in their thirties, the five of them get together once a month at Clinton's restaurant. Through an agreement with the owner Clinton, the bill comes to $100 which Arnold, being the most well off, pays $60 of it. Benny and Charlie each pay $20 and David and Edward pay nothing. This arrangement goes on for some time and everybody is used to it.

Eventually, the restaurant is taken over by new management. Bush, the new owner decides he can increase business to the restaurant by lowering prices. This includes making a new arrangement with the five men who come every month. The total food bill at Bush's restaurant is reduced to $80. Bush decides that since the bulk of the bill had been paid by Arnold, he should get the biggest break. So the new arrangement is Arnold pays $50, Benny and Charlie each pay $15, while David and Edward still pay $0.

Arnold is delighted with the price cut. Benny is also very appreciative. Charlie is unsure how he feels. Yes, he is paying $5 less but is somewhat jealous of Arnold paying $10 less. "Why does the rich guy get the biggest break?" he wonders. David and Edward are frustrated as to why they didn't benefit from the price cut at all. For the first time, there is an uneasiness in the group as three of them felt they got the short end of things. Benny tries to explain that it's only fair that the people paying the bulk of the bill deserve to benefit the most. Charlie, David, and Edward refuse to see it that way. They feel the new arrangement is unfair. Meanwhile, Bush's lower prices attracts a lot of new business and the restaurant booms profits for years.

All good things must end and it is discovered that some staff at the restaurant made poor investment choices with the restaurant's profits. Instead of the restaurant being a model of financial stability, it is a wreck and Bush and his executives struggle to keep the restaurant in business. What's more, this occurred just as Bush was ready to hand over the restaurant to a new owner.

There are two prospective new owners. One of them is McCain. McCain has similar philosophies as Bush. He tells the five men he will maintain the current pricing and the breakdown. He also knows he will have to keep a better eye on what the staff is doing than his predecessor if the restaurant is to stay in business.

The second prospective owner is Obama. Obama has his own ideas on how the restaurant should be run. He is going to "change" things. He talks to the five men and tells them that he will return back to the $100 total price of the Clinton era, but, he will offer the majority of them a better break. Arnold will pay $90, but Benny and Charlie will now only pay $10 each. This allows David and Edward to actually receive $5 each.

David and Edward are thrilled about Obama and passionately hope he becomes the new owner. Charlie likes Obama too as he relishes paying less and feels good about the thought of how David and Edward would benefit from this. "So what if Arnold has to pay more, he can afford it. It's only fair that he share his wealth."

Arnold and Benny, both with business experience shake their heads at what Obama is attempting. Arnold can't believe he will be required to pay such a huge percentage of the bill and be outright paying David and Edward as well. Benny, being the smart small business owner recognizes that even though he is paying less, Obama's vision won't work. Bush already demonstrated that the restaurant does better with lower prices so why does Obama want to go back to the Clinton price? Also, Benny realizes that Obama's plan will hurt Arnold and if Arnold is hurt, he will be subsequently hurt also as he will get less business from Arnold and people employed by Arnold, like Charlie.

In the end, Obama becomes the new owner - much to the delight of Charlie, Edward, and David. Unfortunately, Arnold leaves the group leaving the $100 bill to be paid by the four of them. Benny, Charlie, Edward, and David can't pay. The harmony the five men once had is shattered and the restaurant is eventually shut down.