Sucking Hope and Optimism from Life
Posted by oceanguy | January 29, 2010
This afternoon I’m doing something I have never done before. I am actually investing time watching and listening to President Obama speak. Today it’s to the Republicans at their annual retreat.
The man is on such a different plane, he seems to live in another time and place. He is completely incapable of acknowledging a mis-step let alone a mistake, and he just sucks the life out of me. He actually believes that the Democratic health care bill was done in the most open way of any other big legislation in history… He even said it was a moderate, not left-leaning Bill.
When the President’s “reality” is so far removed from what my eyes and ears have actually seen, how can I possibly have hope that he can govern? He continues to prove he can’t lead, but still I continue to hope that he can put a team together than can satisfactorily govern. That is I try to continue to hope, but after listening to him speak, with his words guided by a warped sense of reality and continuing to witness his refusal to admit any sort of error, I have no more reason for hope… not from him nor his Administration. The only hope I have left is that the 2012 election gets here without him doing much more damage to our American freedoms and our American dreams.
Topics: As a Democrat | 2 Comments »
Wealth
Posted by oceanguy | January 23, 2010
Our supposedly brilliant President and his Administration seem ignorant of the simplest of concepts when it comes to the wealth our government needs to function.
Wealth is created when a person or group has a product or a service which they can sell to a willing buyer for more than it cost them to produce it. In other words, wealth creators take One Dollar and turn it into something more than one dollar. The profit… or a percentage of the profit… is what the government takes to provide services for the common good. Without profit there is no wealth.
Government, on the other hand, takes One Dollar, and redistributes something less than one dollar, as it must pay the costs to keep the bureaucracy running. In other words, one dollar investment results in less than a dollar’s worth of benefit.
Throughout the past century, well meaning people… who are afraid of the profit motive of individuals, or are envious of those who figure out how to create vast wealth… have tried to figure out how to make a wise or benevolent government profitable. That has been done through various limits on private property and even government ownership of business. The problem has always been that the government STILL could not become profitable. The governments ALWAYS drained the wealth and consumed it. The dollars going in have ALWAYS exceeded the dollars going out. That’s right, Government is a CONSUMER, not a PRODUCER of wealth. It’s not that difficult a concept to understand… at least not until it’s clouded up with good intentions.
I know it’s a huge leap for some folks to take, but recognizing the simple fact that government cannot produce wealth, and it’s corollary that it only consumes wealth, will lead the thoughtful to see that larger government consumes more wealth than smaller government. That says to me, “Small, limited government is good, and big intrusive government is bad.”
We are approaching the point where government consumes more wealth than can possibly be produced. It’s no wonder that we morons in the hinterlands, clinging to our guns and religion, are angry at our government. President Obama (pbuh) ignores that at the risk of his political career… ALL politicians ignore it at the same risk.
It doesn’t take an Ivy League diploma to recognize that government spends what others have made. Businesses’ business is maximizing profit by producing goods and services as inexpensively as possible. Government’s business is maximizing its influence over the most people possible. businessman is rewarded for streamlining processes and making them more efficient. A Government functionary is rewarded for creating more complicated processes thus making them inefficient by nature. The measure of a businessman is how much he can maximize profit, the measure of a bureaucrat is how much work she/he can cause others to do. Why then would anyone want more government involvement and more government interference in any industry?
It makes no sense, regardless of the “goodness” of the intentions. But our brilliant President and his Administration full of self-proclaimed intellectuals seem blind to the simple fact, Government CONSUMES wealth. If one wants a wealthier nation, government can help by consuming as little as possible, not consuming as much as possible, as this crew wants to do.
Topics: As a Democrat | No Comments »
Thank You Massachusetts
Posted by oceanguy | January 19, 2010
Tonight there’s new reason for optimism. The end of the Democrats super majority, should mean the slowing of the Obama far left policy push. Time for a breath, but there’s still a long way to go.
Topics: As a Democrat | 1 Comment »
Nat Hentoff
Posted by oceanguy | December 19, 2009
Tipping my hat to Bookworm, here is a collection of quotes from Nat Hentoff from an interview during which he discusses our Dear Leader.
“I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had.”
“I am beginning to think that this guy is a phony. Obama seems to have no firm principles that I can discern that he will adhere to. His only principle is his own aggrandizement.”
“Obama is a bad man in terms of the Constitution.”
“So all in all, Obama is a disaster.”
“Obama has little, if any, principles except to aggrandize and make himself more and more important. You see that in his foreign policy. Obama lacks a backbone—both a constitutional backbone and a personal backbone. This is a man who is causing us and will cause us a great deal of harm constitutionally and personally. I say personally because I am 84 years old, and this is the first administration that has scared me in terms of my lifespan.”
“This is a dishonest administration, because it is becoming clear that the unemployment statistics of the Obama administration are not believable. I can’t think of a single area where Obama is not destructive.”
Topics: As a Democrat | 2 Comments »
Tres Cool
Posted by oceanguy | December 13, 2009
When I lived in England, one of the things I enjoyed on one of the three channels on British TV… or could it have been 4?… Anyway, one of the silly shows, that I found strangely compelling was a season of competition among sheep dogs herding sheep. That’s it, just dogs chasing sheep, guiding them through an obstacle course of sorts while the shepherd stood and simply barked and whistled at his dogs to guide the sheep through the course. So, with that memory, that I was extremely amused by this:
Hat Tip: Maggie’s Farm
Topics: Life | No Comments »
God Bless America
Posted by oceanguy | December 6, 2009
Topics: Life | No Comments »
Musical Chilly Sunday Morning
Posted by oceanguy | December 6, 2009
check out the whole project at playingforchange
Hat Tip: Maggie’s Farm
Topics: Life | No Comments »
So Unnecessary..
Posted by oceanguy | November 18, 2009
President Obama (pbuh) and his Attorney General and all of their supporters on the left defend their decision to try KSM in an American civilian court by holding our legal system up as a model for the world to admire. With no rationale based on reality they are simply saying, “Look at us, aren’t we fair? Please like us!!!” It’s baffling that they dismiss the whole part of our legal process that led to the creation of the tribunals… not American civil court… to handle this unique situation.
Maybe it shouldn’t be baffling, I should not be surprised by the juvenile way Obama and his Administration dismiss and ignore anything of value if it can be tied to George Bush. So what can one conclude about Obama as a result of the decision?
1. He has a knee-jerk reaction to erase Bush from all memory of anything that might be considered good or effective. Conversely he has a knee-jerk reaction to blame Bush for everything that isn’t perfect.
2. He has an unnatural and unhealthy need to be liked… and to be liked on his terms. He’s going to give birth to a new name for extreme narcissism… something like Barackissism.
3. He is either extremely naive about the nature of our Islamist enemy or he shares some of their agenda… The result is the same.
The decision is so wrong and so disturbing to me, but I’m not alone, some of Holder’s supporters agree.
A third signer of the letter [in support of Eric Holders’ appointment as Attorney General] who leaves no doubt about his opposition to the decision is Joseph DiGenova, former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. “It’s insanity, absolute insanity,” says DiGenova. “I think it’s a reckless decision borne of ideology, absolutely bereft of any reason for it happening. It’s just mind boggling.” DiGenova cites a long list of reasons for not holding the trial in an American civilian court: “It’s going to be extremely difficult to make a case against him. The litigation involved in the case is going to be lengthy. You make New York a target again. The judge is going to have protection for the rest of his life. Some of the jurors may want protection for the rest of their lives.”
Both DiGenova and his wife, former Justice Department and Senate Judiciary Committee official Victoria Toensing, signed the letter endorsing Holder. While DiGenova does not say he would not sign the letter if he had it to do over again, the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed decision is troubling. “It would have raised serious questions,” DiGenova says. “This type of thing is really important — it’s very disturbing and so, so unnecessary.”
Yes it is… very disturbing and So Unnecessary.
Topics: Countdown to War | No Comments »
Denying the Obvious
Posted by oceanguy | November 16, 2009
I’m exploding with frustration over Barack Obama’s (pbuh) and his Administrations, unwillingness or inability to acknowledge that some significant portion of Islam is at war with western liberal democracy, with America being directly in the cross-hairs. His decision to to grant KSM the rights and privileges of a United States citizen is just the latest evidence of his… of his… naivety? ignorance? weakness? hostility to America?… whatever the reasons, the decision is appalling.
Reading Mark Steyn over the weekend, I was struck by his final observation, and how it applies so perfectly to President Obama’s (pbuh) perspective:
Ezra Levant, my comrade in a long battle to restore freedom of speech to Canada, likes to say that the Danish cartoons crisis may one day be seen as a more critical event than 9/11. Not, obviously, in the comparative death tolls but in what each revealed about the state of Western civilization. After 9/11, we fought back, hit hard, rolled up the Afghan camps; after the cartoons, we weaseled and equivocated and appeased and signaled that we were willing to trade core Western values for a quiet life. Watching the decadence and denial on display this last week, I think in years to come Fort Hood will be seen in a similar light. What happened is not a “tragedy” but a national scandal, already fading from view.
We are… he is… weaseling, equivocating, appeasing, and trading core Western Values for a quiet life. Of course he and they will say, “Au Contraire! we are holding fast to core values.!” There’s the rub.
President Obamas’ core value seems to be “To Be Liked.” That’s all. To…Be…Liked. He seems willing to go to almost any extreme to be liked. He’s like a man feeling excluded from the most exclusive, most respected Country Club in the land. Only he’s not excluded… he’s the Club President, and instead of reaching out to more members he decides to destroy the club to make it’s members more like everyone else. Well Mr. President… the members are catching on.
Some members are still proud of the President’s decision to try KSM and his fellow terrorists in a civilian court, but even their eyes will be opened… let’s hope it’s soon enough.
Topics: Countdown to War | 2 Comments »
Wrong Debate
Posted by oceanguy | November 14, 2009
All the news coverage I am reading and watching is focused on the upcoming trial for KSM and the other enemy combatants being held in Guantanamo. It’s the wrong debate.
It’s silly to debate whether or not they will get a fair trial and, though true, it is just as silly to speak of the circus show the trial has the potential to become. Neither side is addressing the real issue which SHOULD be at the heart of the matter.
The question is… or rather should be… are these terrorists criminals or are they enemy combatants? By arguing the effects of a trial and granting them all the rights of citizens, we are conceding the real debate to the President who obviously cannot see them as enemies.
TURN the Debate. Don’t ask whether or not we have a great system of justice, don’t whine about giving KSM a public platform for dissing America. Instead debate the hard issue…
Are KSM and the others enemy combatants or are they criminals? If we agree with KSM, who sees himself as an enemy combatant, then we have a different problem… How do we deal with enemies who are not acting as part of a recognized sovereign State?
Of course Obama will avoid that debate at all costs because if he is honest with himself and his intellectual integrity, he will be led down the same path that George Bush was. Trying to cope with a new enemy in a new situation… new in the laws of war… led the Bush Administration to hold the prisoners at Guantanamo… and led them to conclude, that as non-state actors, they did not deserve the protection of the Geneva Conventions, let alone the protection of the Constitution. It is important to continue that debate… Instead we are agreeing with Obama and the left that All of Bush’s decisions were All Wrong.
The left is winning the argument by redefining the issue and conservatives are falling for the ruse.
Get the issue back on track… are the terrorists enemy combatants or are they criminals?
Topics: Countdown to War | 1 Comment »
They are NOT Criminals
Posted by oceanguy | November 14, 2009
Enemy combatants most certainly do NOT deserve the protection of the US Constitution in judicial proceedings to “deliver justice” for their crimes. The psychotic psychiatrist, the angry convert in Little Rock, and the 9/11 jihadists were, certainly in their minds, committing acts of war. There is NO reason, and there is no sense in giving them the privilege of a trial including all of the constitutional protections that come with it.
The failure of Barack Obama to recognize the distinction is a monumental shortcoming. Whether it is naivety or whether it is part of his “fundamentally changing America” from the country he is endlessly apologizing for doesn’t matter. The damage is the same. Barack Obama has no appreciation for, no knowledge of, and absolutely no respect for the Profession of Arms. (The same might also be said of his position on our Intelligence services… which he seems to see as a political arm of the Executive Branch).
Simply put, Barack Obama is doing great harm to our National Security. I’m encouraged to see that James Webb is also critical of the decision, though not as completely critical as I am. This from Senator Webb’s web site:
The precedent set by this decision deserves careful scrutiny as we consider proper venues for trying those now held at Guantanamo who were apprehended outside of this country for acts that occurred outside of the country. And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons.
I have consistently argued that military commissions, with the additional procedural rules added by Congress and enacted by President Obama, are the most appropriate venue for trying individuals adjudged to be enemy combatants.
Topics: Countdown to War | No Comments »
Fundamentally Changing America
Posted by oceanguy | November 13, 2009
Attorney General Holder has the attention of the news organizations today with his announcement that a group of Islamic Fascists… whether or not they actually “belong” to Al Queda… are going to be tried in New York.
Holder and the left argue:
I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years.
HOLDER: The alleged 9/11 conspirators will stand trial in our justice system before an impartial jury under long-established rules and procedures.
I also want to assure the American people that we will prosecute these cases vigorously, and we will pursue the maximum punishment available.
These were extraordinary crimes, and so we will seek maximum penalties. Federal rules allow us to seek the death penalty for capital offences, and while we will review the evidence and circumstances following established protocols, I fully expect to direct prosecutors to seek the death penalty against each of the alleged 9/11 conspirators.
The right answers back that it’s wrong because KSM will use the platform to disgrace us, and the “debate” devolves into how good or bad the trial will come out. The larger point is being ignored… the fact that 9/11 was NOT a crime, but was an act of war.
Whether or not the current Administration believes it, there is a movement within Islam that is at war with the United States. That movement is transnational and untraditional and doesn’t fit neatly within the laws of war. But they are at war with us.
Some of the movement uses the trappings of State power, as the leadership of Iran, to wage a series of proxy wars against us. Supporting groups, including Al Queda, are part and parcel to that aim. Other groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood, and it’s American cousins, The Muslim Students Association, Muslim American Society, Islamic Society of North America and the American Muslim Council, are just as hostile to western society and wage their war politically and demographically… but war it is. At least in their minds.
In America’s view, much of the war is proudly, even joyfully celebrated, as a demonstration of our multi-cultural tolerance. The rest of the war is simply a series of crimes… an unrelated series of crimes. Today, President Obama and Attorney General Holder publicly denied the war in the most public and powerful way possible… they have turned enemy combatants into federal defendants.
This Administration is granting Americas’ enemies, all of the hard earned rights of American citizens. This Administration has fundamentally changed the nature of the war our Armed services are trying their best to win. We no longer have enemies in this war, instead we have fugitives who the President has just granted, the rights but not the responsibilities of the rest of us. This decision is a very steep and very slippery slope which will begin to bind the arms of our warfighters…
This fundamental change has nothing to do with the ability of our legal system to render justice and has everything to do with denying that an enemy exists. That same denial was demonstrated through BHO’s anti-war action and rhetoric. He has simply never met an enemy, certainly not one he won’t try to appease.
Today’s decision was wrong and will be harmful, because of the damage it will do to our ability to wage war. He is setting the precedent, our laws will change, policy will change and we will be less secure for it, and it has nothing to do with these particular defendants and everything to do with the underlying assumptions and denials that BHO used to make the decision.
Whether or not KSM is convicted… I believe he will be… but regardless of how the trial plays out, the damage is in giving an enemy combatant the right to our court system.
It’s a boneheaded, naive decision that will be dangerous to our Armed Forces, will hurt our intelligence agencies and will coddle those who wish us harm.
We’ll have a wonderful show of American Justice for the world to see. BHO will hold it up as a world model… and even in success… especially with the success of the trial, the real damage will be done. A body of law affecting warfighters for decades will have been set through this dangerous precedent. It’s the biggest slap in the face that the President has, so far, delivered to the Profession of Arms. I only expect it to get worse.
Topics: Countdown to War | No Comments »
CBO on the Republican Option to Obamacare
Posted by oceanguy | November 5, 2009
CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that the amendment would reduce federal deficits by $68 billion over the 2010-2019 period; it would also slightly reduce federal budget deficits in the following decade, relative to those projected under current law, with a total effect during that decade that is in a broad range between zero and one-quarter percent of gross domestic product.
Lower Deficit…
Adding millions to the number of insured…
Modest Tort Reform…
Increased consumer choice…
Lower insurance premiums…
BUT…
because it’s a Republican plan, it won’t even see the light of day in this “great debate” over healthcare reform that our media is reporting… or not reporting… Whatever they write seems to be far, far from reality and even further from the truth.
Topics: As a Democrat | No Comments »
Is it REALLY about Garlic Blossoms?
Posted by oceanguy | October 29, 2009
One of the funniest moments in the 6 seasons of Top Chef begins at 2:24 in the video.
Topics: Top Chef | 1 Comment »