SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

It's been over seven months now since I put this blog into hibernation and it's still in hibernation, but I couldn't help dropping in to observe that some things never change.  

Obama is not to blame for the jobs situation, the economy or Solyndra.  Holder is not to blame for Fast & Furious.  Congress is not to blame for failing to get anything done or coming to grips with what ails the nation.  

I always own up to MY mistakes, but it's a fact that there is not one politician or government employee who will ever stand up and say, "I'm sorry, I made a mistake.  Let's work together to correct it."  

Yeah, I know...what am I smoking?  

WHO IS TO BLAME NOW?

Everybody is saying they are not to blame.  Fingers are wagging in the White House while the Democrats blame the Republicans, the Republicans blame the White House, the Tea Parties blame all three and S&P blames everybody.  

Who do YOU blame?  See the poll.  

TO THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED WITH HONOR

THANK YOU

HIBERNATION

Over the past weeks, I've been inundated by requests to return to the former daily format of BURNEY MOUNTAIN HERMIT.  Upon great reflection and consideration, I have decided to do just that.  Unfortunately, the reason I changed that format was lack of time. 

I so much enjoy writing these blogs.  But, push is coming to shove when it comes to available time.  And, so it is that that I have decided to put this blog into hibernation in order to squeeze out enough time for the daily HERMIT.  At some point in the future, I may be able to resurrect this blog; only time and circumstance will tell. 

Until then, enjoy my other blogs:  BURNEY MOUNTAIN HERMIT, MY AMERICAN OPINION, ZINGER, & TODAY'S BEST EMAIL. 

Hasta la vista.   

YOU'RE TOO FAT

SPECIAL POST

I get more than a little ticked off when I hear those words, "You're too fat."  Frankly, it's none of their damned business how much I weigh.  It's none of their business what I eat or what I drink or how much exercise I get.  This is my body, my bones, my skin. 

I'm no more to blame for what you look like than you are for what I look like. 

No one, including Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, has any right to tell me what kind of car to drive, how much I must weigh, or what doctor I must visit.  I am sick and tired of other people and our government sticking their damned noses in my business.  

I've had enough.  ENOUGH!

HOW DEMOCRATS THINK

We're still mired down in the budgetary battle in the halls and on he floor of Congress.  The Republicans want to trim $61 billion off the budget and the Democrats want to trim only $4.7 billion.  There are three issues I have with all of this. 

First, and most important, we're $14 trillion in debt and climbing.  $61 billion is about .004 of that amount.  $4.7 is .0003 of that amount.  In either event, we're talking chump change here and we're hearing nothing but anger, nasty words and endless rhetoric.  

Second, neither party is talking about how much we will be spending with their proposed cuts and whether or not we will have enough revenue to cover that amount, whatever it is.  So, that tells me we're still spending more than we're raking in, or they'd be talking about it.  

Now, those are two major issues, it seems to me.  The third and more significant issue is that the Democrats are digging in their heels on that $4.7 billion figure.  Ladies and gentlemen, this country spends that much money every single day.  The Democrats think they can placate the people who are sick and tired of the endless debt and the unending spending by shaving one day's spending out of 365.  That's how they think.  

Tell that to one of the 20% of the people in this country who are unemployed or under-employed.  Tell that to the people who live below the poverty line.  Tell that to the business man who is about to close the doors on a family business that's been around for 100 years.  Tell that to the housewife who is trying to put food on the table with food costs going through the roof.  Tell that to the truck driver who has to buy fuel.  

Those idiots, Republicans and Democrats alike, need to get it through their thick heads that we mean business.  We know why we're in the mess we're in, and it's because of financial mismanagement by our government as a whole and by Congress in particular.  We're sick and tired of it.  $61 billion for a cut is peanuts; $4.7 billion is outrageous.  

Cut the damned spending, or get out.  

GROSS INJUSTICE

SPECIAL POST
Seth Daniel, an illegal immigrant from Cambodia, was involved with several other teens in the brutal beating and stabbing to death of a 15-year-old cerebral palsy victim.  He got  plea deal, served a short period of time in jail, and was released back into our society rather than being deported.  Prison officials had released him into the custody of ICE, but ICE is under Court order to release anyone who is being detained for over six months while pending deportation.  

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to identify more than 800 criminal alien convicts eligible for deportation before they were released from U.S. prisons, including “many” of  “the most egregious criminal aliens, who pose a significant pubic safety risk,” according to a report by the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Illegal aliens murder 12 U.S. citizens every day.  


Our government is to blame for this horrid situation.  This is one more reason why we need to take our country back.  

BRING GADDAFI BACK HOME TO U.S.

There are those who want to bring Muammar Gaddafi to the United States to put him on trial for the Lockerbie airplane bombing. But, I happen to think we should bring him here for a far better purpose.

Obama seems to be losing his grip in the absence of Rhambo as his Chief of Staff, and Gaddafi would make an ideal replacement. He has charisma, he’s distinguished looking, he has an impressive resume, and he has said many times over that he admires President Obama as being the Muslim leader of the United States. Moreover, the absence of the iron-fisted Rhambo has prompted some of the White House Czars to wander; they need to be refocused and Gaddafi has the ability to command attention.

He would be an ideal interface between Obama and SEIU Union President Emeritus Andy Stearn. He would certainly be able to bring recalcitrant Senators and Congressmen back into line over ObamaCare issues and I’m certain he would take total control over the Congressional budget as well. The odds of ever seeing another Joe Biden gaffe would be slim and none.

The economy would most certainly kick into high gear, especially in the funeral industry. He’d be ideal to lead services in the new New York City mosque. I’ll guarantee you that, had Gaddafi been in the job two years ago, we would have won that Olympic bid.

Now, you might think that I’m being a loon, or that my sarcasm has taken an ugly new twist, but I think it would do the country a whole lot of good to be forced into military service and to do a few marches down Pennsylvania Avenue. I’ll bet he could trim the fat off of all Americans and make Michelle into an extremely happy woman. The price of gas would be no problem, because we’d all be riding camels.

I’m sure that, if you put your mind to it, you can think of more than a few good reasons of your own to have Gaddafi in the White House. He may not invite anyone over for a beer in the garden, but I’m sure nobody would mind.

And, as far as blame goes, I don’t know about you, but he could blame me for anything and I’d take it. 

ARE WE A "SIT-DOWN" NATION?

SPECIAL POST

When you stop and consider it, you have to agree that this nation no longer stands up for anything. We don’t stand up against violence along our southern border, we don’t stand up against illegal aliens crossing our borders and becoming burdens on our society and we don’t stand up against the Ahmadinejads and Jong-Ils of the world. Instead, we bury our heads in the inevitable quagmire of “political correctness” as we shuck and duck our way through challenges that we should be facing head-on.

It’s no wonder that we have lost esteem among other countries, nor is it a wonder that we have lost our own sense of identity and purpose as a nation.

Given the fact that our ship of state is floundering, we need to pause and ask ourselves just when the country started this downhill slide. Frankly, I think it started with George H.W. Bush and that it has been escalating itself ever since under Clinton, Bush II and now Obama. Obama seems to exemplify the problem, but he did not originate it. One thing is certain: neither Kennedy nor Reagan would have allowed this country to get itself into the mode that it is currently in.

Is it a healthy mode? One might argue that avoiding conflict at all costs is worth the price we pay. But, history has proven that the weak get trampled on and, if you are perceived as being weak, you’re asking for it. That does not mean that you have to be the bully on the street. Surely, we should be keeping our noses clean and out of the businesses of other countries except for the basic issues of human rights. But, we should not allow the bullies on the street to run all over us, either.


Deal from a position of strength. That is a philosophy I learned from an ex-wife and it has proven itself to be correct time after time. Others respect your position of strength and tend not to challenge it. In the course of human events, mutual respect should be the cornerstone of the day. We have allowed our perceived strength, gained at the close of World War II, to erode into perceived weakness and that is the reason why others do not hesitate to cross our borders illegally or to spit at us on the world stage.

As Americans, we have lost our pride as a nation by allowing the erosion of our national perception. We need to spend more time examining what is going on with our country and less time wondering whether or not Lindsay Lohan is going to end up in jail. It’s basically our responsibility because it is, after all, our nation, and we need to be the ones in charge of running it.

The next time we step into the voting booth, we need to be prepared to make our choices based on what is right for our country in the long run as opposed to the sheer emotion of the moment in time. 

THE TEA PARTY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN WISCONSIN

It’s been four months since the November elections. When that day was over, it was as if a big head of pressure had been deflated, what with the Tea Party and the fact that it had every single Democrat and liberal Republican as nervous as cats on hot tin roofs. The days leading up to that event provided growing and ominous tension. Looking back on those days, I suspect that most Obama supporters were surmising that the Tea Party days were finally going to be over.

Indeed, it seems to me that Obama, Reed, and Pelosi have attempted to move forward as if no Tea Party existed. They certainly have continued to spin, lie, cheat and grapple for more power as the last four months have gone by. But, the fact is that the Tea Party is very much alive and the American citizens who give it its impetus are still very interested in what is going on in Washington.

There they are in Wisconsin, damned Tea Partiers. 12% of the state’s work force is on strike refusing any benefit cuts, refusing copayments and demanding raises. They have been behaving badly, much like their counterparts on The Hill in Washington. They are refusing to listen to reason or to engage in meaningful discussion; instead, they are yelling and screaming like the stuffed pigs that they are. “Who cares what condition the state treasury is, who cares how many people are out of work, we want and we demand our pay and benefits.”

Were it not for the fact that the damned Tea Party showed up to represent the other side, they well could have won by default. Yeah, the Tea Party is there, those racist, sexist old fogies that don’t know shit from Shinola… they’re there. I guess the unions, the S.E.I.U. in particular, and the “former” ACORN members thought that the Tea Partiers had all gone home after the elections.

I guess they didn’t learn their lessons.

Let me set the record straight: WE did not authorize those state workers to get enormously high pay and benefits. WE did not create the financial crisis that Wisconsin, or the country, is in. WE are not the ones who ran up the national debt. But, WE ARE THE ONES who intend to see that the problem gets fixed and, if you guys in Wisconsin and on The Hill in Washington don’t want to be part of the solution, then get out of town and don’t come back until we’re finished.

We, the majority of the citizens in this country, whether we are Tea Party Members or not, want the damned problems fixed. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next Congress… we want the problems fixed now. And, we ARE the majority and, like it or not, we WILL prevail. If you want to have a say so in the process, quit your damned bellyaching and come to the table. Do it now, or shut up and get out of the way.

THE WEENIE IN THE WHITE HOUSE

SPECIAL POST

I suppose we all knew what was coming when our President started his term of office by scuttling off to foreign lands and bowing to despots everywhere.  Two years later, the world is a tinderbox, with North Korea, Iran and all all of the Middle East ready to erupt in full-scale war at any second.  And, I suppose I shouldn't leave Wisconsin out of that equation.

We have a President who does not like to make the tough decisions, as demonstrated by the fact that public opinion had his back to the wall when he finally agreed to send more troops into Afghanistan.  He is far more likely to hop onto Air Force One and leave the country during a time of crisis than to face up to it.  In that sense, he is definitely not a leader, and the world needs a leader.  We need a leader.  

The radical Islamists point the finger of blame at the United States for the problems of the world.  Using that as their justification, they seek to exterminate every last American, Christian and Jew and we do not have a President who is willing to stand up to it.  We should be dealing with these situations from a position of strength, because strength is the only thing that is respected by these enemies of peace. 

Does the man stand for anything?  He has more postures on more issues than Carter has Little Liver Pills, (not the same Carter,).  He says one thing and does another.  He sticks his nose in where it does not belong and fails to stick his nose in where it does belong.  

Let's face it.  He's a weenie and, as long as he is in the White House, we're at risk. 

THE BUDGET, ENTITLEMENTS & THE DEFICIT

Excuse me, Mr. President, I know I’m stupid and you don’t want to waste your time with me, but I have a couple of questions.

First, I’d like to know why, if we’re not spending that $2 trillion or whatever it was that we blew on TARP and stimulus in 2009 and early 2010, why is it, sir, that our expenses are still UP in 2011? Would you mind telling me, in simple layman’s terms, where is all of this money going, anyway? Maybe you could just lay it out on a chart so we can all see it? Just give us a line-by-line explanation, without the spin, if you please. 

Second, Members of Congress and Mr. President, there is a whole lot of flack floating around about cutting entitlements, mainly Social Security and Medicare. What I don’t really understand is, if entitlements have to be cut, how do we end up with ObamaCare? Isn't that a brand-new entitlement? Can you explain your rationale for that? The way I read it, this isn’t about redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor, it’s about shafting senior citizens so you can have your God-damned health care plan. So, fill me in; I’m all ears.Let me know how I'm wrong. 

Maybe you wouldn’t mind explaining your $53 billion fast rail plan from nowhere to nowhere, while you’re at it.You really should re-fund that Alaskan bridge to nowhere, first. 

Another major question I have is this: Your emissaries are out there saying that it is impossible to reduce spending in less than 10 years because it will cause all kinds of hell and we need to “cushion things.” If it only took you 2-1/2 years to ramp up spending to these horrible levels, how can it then be impossible to cut it in 2-1/2 years? I’m all ears.

Just as a side note, how did your illustrious Bernacke and Geithner team set it up so that GM could pay bonuses when they haven't paid us back yet?  I don't mind them paying bonuses with their own money, but I sure as hell don't appreciate bonus money going out the door when they still owe us.  Or, do we matter? 

Our debt is at an all-time adjusted high in comparison to our Gross Domestic Product. Your Debt Commission has told the whole country that we cannot continue doing this. Just why is it that you have totally ignored what your debt commission is telling us? Either you appointed a bunch of incompetents to the commission, or their recommendations are not politically expedient for you. Which is it?

Have you considered taking a pay cut? The rest of America is either unemployed or making much less. How about it, Mr. President? Nancy? Harry? Any takers?  Any at all? 

My fellow Americans, don’t you get the idea that Barry, Harry and Nancy would like each and every one of us to empty what bank accounts we have left, sell our houses and cars, empty our wallets, and drive by the White House and throw it all over the fence? Isn't that what they really want? 

SONIC ROXIO SOFTWARE SUCKS

SPECIAL POST

Although you paid for it in the hidden costs of buying a computer, usually a Dell, Roxio software  is a nuisance.  After a few months, you get notice of an update, which you allow to self-install.  Then the problem starts.  Every time you start your computer, you get a message about UM.MSI installer not working.  When you try to cancel the message or "X-Out," it just keeps popping back up; you cannot get it off your screen.  It tells you there is a file missing.

Yes, you can give it the three-finger salute and get rid of it that way, but when you go to click your photo software, such as Corel, it will bounce right back. 

No, you can't go to the Internet and download the file.  If you have another computer with Roxio installed, you can find it, copy it, and put it on the original computer.  Otherwise, they do offer some option of removing the "installer" and downloading a fix.  However, when you go to remove the installer, you get that same UM.MSI message again and you're stuck.  

In looking on the Internet, you can see that people have been pestered with this problem for several years.  You would think that they would fix it, but they haven't.  I sent them an email and got one of those canned replies, but no help.  This is one piece of software and one company that belongs in the trash can.  When they eventually go out of business, they'll probably blame the buying public.  Dell and other companies that load this crappy software onto their computers should be ashamed of themselves.  

THE AUDACITY AND THE HOPE OF THE HALF-WIT

Every single last soul in this country is aware of the fact that we are spending ourselves into oblivion. The November elections were about Health Care, government intrusion into our lives, jobs, the economy and about spending. Our eminent President, outwardly catching the drift of the message in his rhetoric, has purportedly jumped on the bandwagon of spending restraint and reduction of the zillion dollar deficit. That’s what he is saying.

As he usually does after making such remarks, he is heading off into the exact opposite direction, now calling for spending $53 billion in government money on a high-speed rail system. Well, it may be that a high-speed rail system would benefit the country, but I hasten to suggest that if anyone in the rail industry thought for one minute that it would be profitable, private money would already be on the table to build it.

So, what is it all about? Why does he want to add to the deficit when the country wants to trim the deficit and why does he pick a high-speed rail system? Could it have anything to do with his cronies in the unions? Now let’s dwell on that question for one quick sentence or two. Obama crammed down ObamaCare on a nation that did not want it and then immediately exempted the unions. So, what do you think?

This grandiose plan of Obama’s will create jobs. I agree with that premise. Who will get the jobs? Union members will get the jobs, the ones who don’t have to abide by ObamaCare. The average American working stiff will once again get the shaft, and royally speaking.

Do you think the government is going to make one dime more on this project than they are making with AMTRAK? If this was about creating jobs, helping the economy, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and maybe making some money, don’t you think it would be better spent on nuclear reactors? 

How can we reduce our debt by even a paltry trillion dollars if we keep adding spending: $40 billion here, $50 billion there, $50 billion everywhere?  

Just to show you that he is in outer space when it comes to what Americans really want, his Administration is now geared toward making low interest loans to states that are facing serious financial problems.  Although that would help the states, sStop and think about that one for a moment. The biggest problem that most states have is the funding of pension plans. Who are the members of pension plans? Union members. So, he lets the states off the hook, takes more money out of the treasury right now, (even if it is ever paid back), the states don’t learn their lessons to bring their spending under control, and you and I end up holding the well-known bag yet once again.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it dozens of times. WE are not to blame for the ugly mess this country is in, but Washington dipshits like Barack Hussein Obama are.I get so mad... so mad that I could just cuss.  

WHO'S TO BLAME FOR SUPER BOWL?

SPECIAL POST

Well, neither team should be in the game, as far as I am concerned.  But, there they are, the Steelers vs. the Packers. 

I think that the problem originated with the American Tea Party.  The Tea Party, as you know, has been pushing for less government spending and they were very influential in the November election results.  This all makes it difficult for Obama or Geithner or Bernanke to bail out and take over a football team this year.  So, this is what we get.  

Personally, I think the Seahawks should have been there, or maybe the Buccaneers. 

THE LIST BEGINS

Here's how your Senator voted on Obamacare repeal:

Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Yea Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska: Begich (D-AK), Nay Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Yea
Arkansas: Boozman (R-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Nay
California: Boxer (D-CA), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Colorado: Bennet (D-CO), Nay Udall (D-CO), Nay
Connecticut: Blumenthal (D-CT), Nay Lieberman (ID-CT), Not Voting
Delaware: Carper (D-DE), Nay Coons (D-DE), Nay
Florida: Nelson (D-FL), Nay Rubio (R-FL), Yea
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Yea Risch (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Nay Kirk (R-IL), Yea
Indiana: Coats (R-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Kansas: Moran (R-KS), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: McConnell (R-KY), Yea Paul (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Nay Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Nay Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Massachusetts: Brown (R-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota: Franken (D-MN), Nay Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Missouri: Blunt (R-MO), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Nay
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Nay Tester (D-MT), Nay
Nebraska: Johanns (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Nay
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Yea Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire: Ayotte (R-NH), Yea Shaheen (D-NH), Nay
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Udall (D-NM), Nay
New York: Gillibrand (D-NY), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Yea Hagan (D-NC), Nay
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Nay Hoeven (R-ND), Yea
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Nay Portman (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Oregon: Merkley (D-OR), Nay Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Nay Toomey (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Nay Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Yea Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Nay Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah: Hatch (R-UT), Yea Lee (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Nay Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia: Warner (D-VA), Not Voting Webb (D-VA), Nay
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Nay Murray (D-WA), Nay
West Virginia: Manchin (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Wisconsin: Johnson (R-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Enzi (R-WY), Yea

Now you know who to vote against in 2012. 

WE ARE AT RISK: OBAMA’S INTELLIGENCE FAILURE

Remember back when a few planes got commandeered and steered into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania? It may seem like it was 200 years ago, but it just happened 9-1/2 years ago. That was right after George Bush took office, if you might recall correctly. And the resulting investigations confirmed that Clinton knew, or should have known, that the attack was in the works. An intelligence failure failed to pass the message on to Bush in such a manner that he understood and could react to the threat.

Here’s Egypt, all of the sudden blossoming out into protests and demands for a change in government. Here’s our intelligence community, again caught flat-footed; this time, we all know that Obama has been anti-CIA from the git go. And, when the uproar started in Egypt, we had every Administration official on the planet weighing in on what they thought was going to happen, because no one really had the slightest idea of who the players were.

Does this point to another disastrous intelligence failure? Doesn’t it make you wonder what is in store for us on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, September 11, 2011? Do you think that anyone in the intelligence industry is legitimately working on this problem? Yeah, I hope so, too.

Obama has created the atmosphere that sets us up for intelligence failures by going after intelligence agents and trying to get them charged, tried and convicted of war crimes. Yes, we are told that he has backed away from that stance, but I submit that the damage was already done. What undercover agent in his right mind would really want to stick his nose into Iran, North Korea or any country in the Middle East if he or she felt that their career and reputation were at risk under current Administration policy?

I feel that Obama has done more to put our country at risk than any President in the history of the nation. Furthermore, I suspect that he is aware of the ramifications and has chosen to do so anyway.

Why didn’t we know that Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan were on the verge of political revolt? Why were we not prepared for what has happened? If we couldn’t figure this stuff out, how can we successfully deal with the radical Muslim threat to the security of our nation here at home?

Well, we certainly know who is to blame here. Now, what are we going to do about it? 

CUTTING: SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, VETERAN’S BENEFITS

SPECIAL POST

Slice the cost of government by 50%. Each and every Department, including Congress and Administration, gets cut by 50%. They need to show us that they are serious. Get rid of the dead wood. Cut lavish spending on things we don’t need and things that are ridiculous. Only the prisons and the Supreme Court go untouched. At the same time, keep the level of spending on front-line services intact.

Does this mean we have to cut a lot of high-paying jobs in Washington and shift our spending to actual provision of service to the American public? Yes, let’s empty a lot of those high-rent government office spaces. Let’s bring some troops home from places where they are not needed and let’s get rid of a whole slew of officers while we are at it. We can keep the troop levels as they are and significantly cut expenses at the same time.

Until they do these things, they’d better leave Social Security, Medicare and Veterans benefits alone. They have no right to saddle the people who use these services with the costs of repaying a debt that was created by gross negligence and horrible mismanagement. We’re not the ones to blame here; they are.

It’s just that simple. Cut the government and cut costs by 50%... and then we’ll talk about some adjustment of these benefits. 

JOE WILSON TOLD IT LIKE IT STILL IS

A year ago, Joe Wilson stood up in the House of Representatives during the State of the Union speech and accused President Barack Hussein Obama of being a liar. He was correct on that occasion and nothing has changed.

I am at a total loss to understand those who now contemplate that, since the November election debacle, Obama is moving to the right and we can believe his new rhetoric. This guy has never told the truth about anything to anyone at any time. He is a pathological liar and a dedicated manipulator. His chief accomplishment in politics has thus far been standing up in the Illinois Legislature during key votes and voting, “Present.”

He lied about Wright; he lied about all of his past associations. When Americans questioned whether or not he really was born in the United States he gave us the finger; whether or not he is a citizen no longer is the issue, your right to know IS the issue, and he wins. So there.

He lied about what he was going to include in the ObamaCare bill. He lied about government money going to pay for abortions. He lied about “transparency.” He lied about his relationship with "ACORN." He looked you and me straight in the eye and told the nation we were spending too much money and he turned right around and sucked Congress into an $800 billion “stimulus” bill that has lined everyone’s pockets except yours and mine.

He has flagrantly violated the law by having his own Executive Branch enact rules and regulations that Congress has refused to enact. Take Cap & Trade, for instance. That issue is, rightfully so, dead in Congress, but Obama is maneuvering EPA Rules and Regulations to make it a reality anyway.

This is the kind of guy who drives down the road, signals a right turn and steers left. He’s now telling the nation that we need to quit spending and to create jobs. He’s been saying that for two years and has taken no steps to accomplish either. As a matter of fact, if you remember correctly, this is the guy who bragged about the statistics that showed that his Economic Recovery Act programs were creating tens of thousands of jobs and, when it turned out that the government website containing the “statistics” had listed jobs being created in dozens of Congressional Districts that don’t exist, he shrugged it all off by saying that statistics don’t matter anyway.

Now you want to believe what this six-faced tap dancer has to say? 

RNCC SENDS OUT COLLECTION NOTICES

SPECIAL POST

NRCC

320 1^st St SE

Washington   DC   20003

In re: Dun

You amateurs have a lot of guts sending out letters requesting contributions that have “SECOND NOTICE” printed on the outside like a collection notice from a finance company.  Now, I suppose, my mail lady figures I’m a deadbeat who doesn’t pay his bills.  What comes next, Guido in a black limo? 

You talk about all of the seats YOU won.  You didn’t WIN a damned seat; WE gave you those seats to get rid of the idiots who held them and to take back our country.  Now, YOU have to prove to us that you have the ability and intent to do your jobs the way they should have been done the last time you held the House. 

You’re not going to get one dime out of me until 2012 and I see what you are going to do this year.  If you step up to the plate the way you should have done before, I’ll gladly contribute.  But, you need to show some class first, and quit sending out trash mail like this last piece.  

WILL STATES DECLARE BANKRUPTCY?

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The NEW YORK TIMES is reporting that “policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.”

Unlike the Federal Government, states are not able to print money to pay their way out of debt. Some states are so burdened with debt and obligations to employees that it is impossible for them to work their way out; obviously, this is due to poor fiscal management, both past and current. Added to this problem is the fact that the states cannot issue bonds at favorable rates, because potential bondholders are afraid they will not get paid or will not get paid on time. The fear of destabilizing the municipal bond market with the words “state bankruptcy” has the bond markets watching closely.

Theoretically, a modification to the Constitution may be necessary to accommodate state bankruptcy. Such bankruptcy would not eliminate debt, but would restructure it and would allow states to renegotiate pensions and government wages.

It appears to me to be part of the American culture to run up all of the debt that we want and then to run from the consequences by finding a way out of repayment. It’s the same culture that infests Washington, where they enact laws without reading them and then shuck and duck when things go bad.

And, who is to blame for that?

THE TRAGEDY OF BRIAN AITKEN

Brian Aitken was an entrepreneur and a media consultant who is now incarcerated in a New Jersey prison for seven years for obeying the law.

He was in the process of moving back to New Jersey from Colorado. He had three handguns and he was concerned about complying with the law when making the move, so he contacted the New Jersey State Police who properly advised him to unload his weapons, lock them and then lock them in the trunk of his car. He complied.

Once in New Jersey, he stopped by his mother’s house. Concerned about his mental state because he was going through a divorce, she called 911 after he left her place to continue his journey, thought better about it and hung up. Police responded anyway and she related her concerns. They contacted Aitken on his cell phone and asked him to return to his mother’s house, which he did. They subsequently searched his car and discovered his handguns and then arrested him for unlawful possession.

Once in court, the Judge disallowed testimony about the fact Aitken had contacted the State Police to determine how to legally move the guns. The Judge also disallowed testimony about his searching the web for the law. The Judge also ruled that the term “moving” as applied to his transport of the guns from Colorado to his new home in New Jersey had not been met. He was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison,

It should be mentioned that Aitken had no prior record. He had taken cautionary steps to comply with the law in the move from Colorado to New Jersey. Had he gone directly to his new home and dropped his guns off there, he would evidently have been okay, but he instead opted to visit with his mother enroute. As I understand it, the Judge is an anti-gun freak.

What in the Sam Hell is this country coming to? 

WHAT’S BEHIND THE “FAIRNESS DOCTRINE?”

On the face of it, the “Fairness Doctrine” sounds fair: opposing views on politics, religion and government deserve an opportunity to be heard. I think we would all agree on that as a premise in free speech, print and broadcast media.

No so quick. I’m going to switch for a moment to ObamaCare. There is not a sane soul in the country that wants ObamaCare. Yet, our illustrious government, led by our illustrious President, saw to it that ObamaCare became a “cram down;” they crammed it down our throats whether we wanted it or not.

Well, this “fairness doctrine” issue is the same thing.

The liberals have discovered that no one wants to listen to them. They even launched their own network, which has gone nowhere. How can you sell advertising when no one wants to listen? What these guys want to do is to herd everyone into a giant coliseum and start broadcasting the liberal agenda over loudspeakers until everyone there has become indoctrinated. That’s how they did it in the Soviet Union and that’s how they did it in Germany.

The airwaves are free. People can listen to opera, symphony, bluegrass, rock, pops, news radio, NPR, religion, and liberal or conservative radio. The fact that most people are listening to conservative talk radio and very few are listening to liberal talk radio just frosts the gizzards of the left wing.

In short, we’re to blame for the ills of the nation because we refuse to listen to and adhere to the liberal agenda. That’s why the subject is being talked about in the halls of Washington yet once again, because Pelosi, Reid and their pals want to silence the conservative voice. They see it in a more practical light; if they require broadcasters to give equal airtime to their liberal views, broadcasters will stop their conservative programming because they won’t be able to sell any advertising while the liberals are on the air.

You might think that this is a figment of my imagination, but you also know they are doing everything possible to shut down bloggers. The only reason they are not going after the newspapers is that the print media is already in the pocket of the liberals. The fact that sales of newspapers is drastically down underscores my argument; the few conservative news outlets still around seem to be holding their own quite well.

So, the fairness doctrine is not about assuring the freedom of speech at all; it’s about controlling what information the people are allowed to hear, just as ObamaCare is about controlling what type and quality of medical service you can get.

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In a side bit of news, British Petroleum… you might remember the guys who caused that giant oil spill in the Gulf… has always been close to the Russians. In fact, BP has been engineering Iran’s oil fields for years and the Iranians have been selling their oil to Russia. Now, BP is selling out to Russia; in a very low key announcement over the holiday, BP says it is selling the bulk of its corporate stock to them. Now, I ask you: when BP refuses to cough up monetary damages for what happened in the Gulf, are we going to sue Russia? Think about that the next time you pull into a BP ARCO station to gas up.

NRA MEMBER DISCUSSES TUCSON TRAGEDY

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Too often, when there is a shooting or tragedy involving a gun, the fingers of blame immediately point to those of us who legally own and operate guns.  Many of us are members of the NRA and/or other gun organizations and we are automatically assumed to be behind the misfortune in some sinister way.  The talk is always about that "nasty NRA," or the "ugly gun lobby."  I guess they spontaneously feel that anyone who owns a gun is a crook, murderer or terrorist. 

Very rarely, if ever, does a reporter or talking head come to a legal gun owner, a member of the NRA, to ask us how we feel about these terrible events.  What is our position?  Who is to blame?  How do we stop these things?  

Let's just start with the premise that from now on, guns are illegal.  Will that stop shootings?  No.  Thugs and mental cases will still have guns or access to them.  Then there are knives, baseball bats, slingshots and other weapons of convenience that can be used to inflict bodily harm or death.  The truth is that the crime rate goes down when gun ownership goes up.  

Every single one of us who is a member of the NRA, or who is otherwise a responsible gun owner, dreads the day when we might have to use our weapons for something other than hunting or target shooting.  Those of us who carry concealed weapons do so not with the hope that we will have the opportunity to use the gun and become a brave hero, but with the hope that the gun will never have to come out of the holster to save a life or stop a crime.  

So, what is the answer?  Well, we gun owners all agree that anyone who owns a gun should have the training in how to safely use it.  We sponsor shooting events and safety events designed to sharpen skills in gun safety and use.  We all look at the guy who uses a gun to commit a crime or who brandishes his gun whenever he gets ticked off about something as being someone who needs to be punished and their actions stopped.  While it is totally illegal for felons to have access to or own a gun, the majority of gun crimes are committed by felons.  

There comes a point when the restrictions you place upon gun ownership in order to reduce the possibility that a crook or terrorist or murderer or nut case might get a gun and use it in the commission of a crime, interfere with the rights of a legitimate, law-abiding gun owner.   You can make it illegal for a mentally deranged kook to have a gun, but that does not mean that the kook cannot get a gun and use it, and it does not mean that a legitimate gun owner won't suddenly go around the bend and and start shooting.  But, those general rules apply to knives and beer bottles, too.  

We are all sick about Tucson; there's not a one of us who is jumping for joy.  Yes, the guy should have been under psychiatric evaluation.  No, he should not have been able to purchase the Glock at a legal gun store but, given his mental state, he probably would have gotten one illegally anyway.  

I could be glib and suggest that all law-abiding citizens carry guns; if someone had been there with a weapon, they may have been able to shoot the guy before he killed and wounded so many people.  He may have thought twice about committing the crime if he knew, or had reason to suspect that he would be surrounded by gun toting citizens.  In fact, that is probably the real answer, but I don't suggest that everyone runs out and gets a gun, either; some people just can't handle the gun or the responsibility that goes with it.  

What we do need is better ways to identify potential problems and better ways to deal with them.  This applies not just to gun ownership, but to behavior in general, because we could be talking about a stabber or a karate expert or someone else who has "lost it."   If we encounter someone who brandishes a weapon, he should be reported.  If we suspect criminal activity, we should report it.  We have to stop "not getting involved" because the guy next door just might be a terrorist or kook and who is going to know unless we say something to the authorities?  

In closing, we gun owners are just as unhappy with these crimes as everyone else is.  We are not to blame for the events; society in general is, and the social fabric of our society has been worn thin by a multitude of factors.  So, we have to be alert and we have to get involved. 

WE ARE NOT FALLING FOR THIS, ARE WE?

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For years, every time you tried to discuss anything on a reasonable basis with a liberal, their reaction was to start screaming, yelling, name calling and attacking on a vile and vicious basis.  When they did not get their ways,  they got vindictive and downright nasty.  

Now, we're getting right back in their faces and we're winning the battle.  

What's their reaction to that?  

After turning around and blaming us for the deaths and tragedy in Tucson, they are now telling us to tone it down, talk reasonable and be nice? 

Bullshit.  I can see right through this and I, for one, am not falling for it.  It's just more of that "sit down and shut up" that we have been hearing ever since we started to stand up for ourselves.  

Oh...and let's get rid of the Tea Parties while we're at it.  

THE ENEMY MUST BE SILENCED

Well, this is not going to be a nice, polite attack on some daily facet of life brought on by the enemy. This is going to be a rant, and they are the enemy.

People who tear at the fabric of our society are the enemy. People who openly avoid constraints of our Constitution are the enemy. People who subvert American ideals are the enemy. People who assault patriotism and its tenets are the enemy. People who bow to our country’s enemies are the enemy. And, people who do not have the guts or the courage to stand up and defend our country, its citizens, its Constitution and its foundation… are the enemy.

Politicians who refuse the will of the people are the enemy. The press and media who refuse to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth are the enemy. Judges who defy the Constitution and established law are the enemy. Members of government at any level who accept bribes and who enact regulations or legislate for their own personal gain are the enemy. And any person in the position of power, be it governmental, business or personal, who seeks to impress his will upon the will of the nation… is an enemy.

Now, I guess that doesn’t leave a whole lot of people who are not the enemy? Believe it or not, less than 30% of our citizens fall into the category of enemy, and yet they seek to tell the rest of us how to live our lives, how to vote, how and when to worship and when to go to the toilet.

The poor woman was barely on her way to the hospital when the enemy started to blame me and my friends for the tragedy. She lies in a coma in a Tucson hospital and the enemy claims to speak for her: guns injured her, right-wing extremists injured her, talk show hosts injured her, and Tea Party members injured her. But the son-of-a-bitch who pulled the trigger had a poor family upbringing; it wasn’t his fault!

Yes, he is a son-of-a-bitch and the people who seek to shift the blame from him to me and you and guns are the enemy. And we are at war right here in our own country. Anyone who does not understand that the enemy seeks to destroy us from within needs to step back and take a close look at what has happened to this nation in the last forty years and who is responsible for it.

I blame the enemy for our economy. I blame the enemy for our prisons being full. I blame the enemy for the immigration problem. I blame the enemy for our nation’s health costs. I blame the enemy for our civil unrest. I blame the enemy for fanning the flames of racism. I blame the enemy for allowing other nations to challenge us. Virtually every ill that has best our nation can be laid at the feet of the enemy. 

Most of all, I am fed up… fed up with the enemy who has perpetrated these wrongs to our country and who seek to blame us for it. Shame on them. They are un-American bigots. They come from another planet and they should return there. Yes, the enemy is the target of my anger and I will take shots at them every chance I get in every blog post I write or speech I make.

It’s way past time for someone to shut the enemy up and to put them in their place.

MORE GUNFIRE; WHO IS TO BLAME?

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The shooting of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a Federal Judge, and several others in Arizona has been solved, but the question remains as to why this tragic event happened.  The anti-gun lobby will be quick to blame guns, but the simple fact is that guns don't have the ability to pull their own triggers.  They will then counter that, if guns were not available in this country, the shooting could not have occurred.  But, they will be the first to insist that knives are needed in the kitchens of America. 

What I find incomprehensible is that there apparently were no citizens in the immediate vicinity who were carrying concealed weapons and who could have fired on the assailant and saved some injuries and maybe some lives.  The fact is that in locations where larger percentages of citizens are carrying guns, the crime rates are lower.  I agree that the shooter appears to have some mental issues and should not have had a gun in the first place, and I will be interested to find out where he got the gun.  Still, sane people who are slicing onions suddenly go berserk and stab their husbands.

There is no justifiable excuse for pulling out a gun and shooting someone other than fear for one's life or self-defense.  Yet, these things happen.  My position is that having more trained and capable citizens carrying guns would reduce such violence.  That's why I carry mine wherever I go, except where it's against the law.  Thank God I have never had to use it; I don't want to.  But, had I been there during this shooting, mine would have been out and it would have been used.

AMERICANS MUST NOW STEP UP TO THE PLATE

I was watching Hannity on Fox last night. He had the freshman Representatives on for a discussion about where they want to take the 112th Congress. It was very refreshing. I’d like to have the same group back on at the same time next year and get an update on their views and how they were received and treated during their first year.

They have a real tough job ahead of them. The Pelosi regime has not left; it’s still intact and most likely will stay awake most nights while looking for ways to trip up the freshmen. They have high objectives and lofty ideals, but they are going to be facing long-time fellow Congressmen on both side of the aisle who are tainted by the processes that have become the culture of cavalier corruption in the Capitol.

The question on everyone’s mind is whether or the new kids on the block can stand up to the “resistance.”

To be honest about it, the situation as it exists in Washington is our fault. We’re the ones who were not paying attention to what was going on in the kitchen; it was that lack of attention that created the atmosphere and the opportunity for things in our nation’s Capitol to become what they have become. In recognizing that reality, it is our duty now to support these freshmen in every way possible as they go about their daunting tasks.

Already, the Pelosi regime is positioning itself against the looming repeal of Obamacare and the end of runaway spending. I’ve heard it said so many times that the Republicans are in charge of the House now and it’s up to them to right the endless wrongs that have been perpetrated over the past 22 years by Democrats and Republicans alike. But, that is an untruth. The fact is that it is up to US to police our government. They work for us; we do not work for them. And those who would obfuscate and refuse to get on the train need to be targeted for removal in 2012.

We simply have to accept that these problems are our fault and we now have to step up to the plate and clean things up. One thing is an absolute certainty: we cannot allow our government to get away from us again… ever. 

NO ONE IS TO BLAME TODAY...

BECAUSE IT'S A NEW YEAR!