The Best of Below the Gnat Line 2011

- The Top 10 in '11 -

Happy New Year!


I hope we all have a wonderful year and because it's New Year's Eve, it's not only time to look forward to next year, but also to reflect on 2011. Listed below are my favorite Below the Gnat Line posts from 2011. These are the posts I enjoyed writing the most or for different reasons became most proud of the result. I hope you enjoy them.

Ken


10. Cracks in the FunHouse Mirror, Part I - January 12th - After the Tucson shootings, the left wasted no time in assaulting the Bill of Rights and the Tea Party, proving once again the progressives are not just opportunists, they are also just plain creepy. Excerpt:

Here’s a reality check question for you: Since the Tucson shooting, have you seen more verbal attacks on the presumed shooter, Jared Loughner, or on the Tea Party movement? Just ponder that for a moment. Does this strike you as people upset that lives were violently taken, or does it appear more likely that political hacks are not allowing “a good crisis go to waste”?

9.The Top 10 Things About the Obama Administration - August 4th - My top things are likely different than the ones the Progressives would select. Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.

8. Democrats and the Art of Doing Nothing - May 26th - What have Democrats done to help the budget crisis? Why the same thing they have done to help the economy; nothing.

7. 14 Hours, 29 Minutes, 49 Seconds of Democrat Sacrifice - March 14th - Putting Democrat spending cuts in perspective. Excerpt:

In February alone, the US had a deficit of $222.5 billion. To put things in perspective, the Democrats could only suggest $4.8 billion in tax cuts for the entire year. If you do the math, these cuts would have balanced federal spending in February for just 14 hours, 29 minutes and 49 seconds. Let’s be clear, this is only the difference it would take to make up for the deficit, not actually pay for anything.

6. Eric Holder's Sleazy World - December 19th - I've enjoyed writing about Eric Holder this year, and I'll continue to enjoy writing about him in 2012. Of the several posts I've written about Barack Obama's Attorney General, this was my favorite. Excerpt:

Caught with his hand in the cookie jar, crumbs on his lips and a tattoo that says, "The Pillsbury Dough Boy is My Bitch," Holder denies everything, including knowledge of anything.

If he is to be believed, Holder knows so little about activity at the Justice Department (DoJ) that at the next round of questioning, I suggest Representative Darrell Issa ask Holder, "Are you now, or have you ever been, the Attorney General of the United States?" 

5. Ignorance, Arrogance and Government Meddling - December 14th - There are a few things the federal government does well and the rest are disastrous and expensive. Starring Chris Dodd and Maxine Waters, this Progressive Tragi-comedy illustrates why "Democrat" is simply the mispronunciation of the word "Socialist".

4. Reagan Said, "Nyet!" - February 5th - This was written in honor of President Reagan's 100th birthday. In hindsight it all seems easy now, but it wasn't. This is how it was when Ronald Wilson Reagan told the Russians something other American Presidents forgot how to say - and he said it in Russian.

3. OWS: Return of the Useful Idiots - November 5th - If you remember the Cold War, then you remember the terminology. I got to see the Hippie-crits up close in Washington. Here is an excerpt:

So, blatantly standing in our public places, incredibly arrogant in their ignorance, we see the newest version of the Useful Idiots. The people whose knowledge is without fact, whose assumptions are asinine and whose very existence raises questions about the validity of the theory of survival of the fittest.

2. One Thing to Know About Fast and Furious - December 9th - Subtitled "And Two Important Things We Do Not Know". "In the meantime, just remember that Eric Holder is to justice what Michael Moore is to competitive bodybuilding." You may have seen this on Twitter, but this is where it originated. Often, the mainstream media misses the obvious, but it's handled here.

1. Dear Hollywood: You Piss Me Off - December 11th - A classic rant in the key of Dennis Miller with some Groucho Marx throwbacks and genuine moral outrage. It was a really cleansing experience and readers agreed.

Thanks for reading. I am convinced that when people are informed they make good decisions. I'm simply trying to help people become informed and do it in a way that's entertaining.

I would ask that if you enjoy my blog, hit the +1 button or the "Like" button or better yet, do both and then follow my blog in your favorite news reader. Happy New Year and bring on 2012 - November is coming.

Written by Ken Carroll

Why 2012 is Dangerous to the Republican Party

- And Why the United States Senate Will Be Responsible -

There comes a time when promises must be met with actions. Words and sentiments, even sincere sentiments, are not enough and additional words are nothing but insults to the listener.

For the past three years, the Republican Party has promised to reduce government, reduce taxes and listen more carefully to the wishes of those who pay their salaries. Their excuse has been that the Democrats have controlled the White House and the US Senate. For the first two of those years, Democrats also controlled the US House of Representatives.

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Image via Wikipedia

Republicans took control of the US House at the beginning of 2011 and have fought a strong rear-guard action to slow the Obama Administration's assault on the US Constitution. It's slowed the non-stop push from the left, but it has not reversed it. This brings us to the 2012 election.

The Republican Party can satisfy the more reasonable members of its base because it has not had the power to make things better. At this point it appears that the GOP may win both the US Presidency and the majority of the US Senate to complement their US House majority. Then they must deliver.

If I am correct, those victories may be the bane of the Republican party. The reason is a combination of history and expectations.

Why 2012 Is Even More Important Than You Think 3

- Taking Failure, Incompetence and Class Envy World-Wide -

If you have been focused on economic conditions, I can't really blame you. It's like driving past an endless chain-reaction car wreck. You can't help but stare. The carnage has been sickly fascinating as we watch the destruction of businesses and industries and the tightening of government-applied vices to the dwindling American middle class.

Image via Wikipedia

In the meantime, not only have other economies suffered, there is a leadership vacuum across the globe. Do you remember when the President of the United States was automatically considered the Leader of the Free World? I cannot imagine any person with a modicum of political knowledge and a good dose of common sense describing Barack Obama as the Leader of the Free World. Let's face it, Obama could not be an effective leader of Candyland. Consequently, there is no world leadership and the world is floundering.

Importance of Iowa Caucus Poll and Fast and Furious Poll Results

The Iowa caucuses receive a lot of attention because those caucuses award the first delegates to presidential contenders. Are they that important in determining the next President? How do you feel about it? Here's your chance to let people know!

New Poll: How Important is Winning the Iowa Caucuses?
 - Extremely important
 - Somewhat important, but overrated
 - It all depends on the candidate
 - It's good to get delegates, but that's it.
 - Not important, could be a negative

Please vote in the poll which is in the right column near the top of the page. You may vote once, and in this poll you may vote for only one answer. The poll will close at Midnight, the morning of January the 5th.

Poll Results: What's Your Opinion? Operation Fast and Furious:
    0.0% - What? Never heard of it!
    0.0% - is overblown and the GOP knows it.
    4.9% - will make a difference to some people
  14.6% - was a naked power grab by Holder and/or Obama.
  80.5% - is a VERY big deal and undermines the US Constitution!

Please note that this is not a scientific poll and is used for entertainment and to generate discussion. Do you have more to say? Add your comments below. I'd like to hear them.


Ken 

Why 2012 Is Even More Important Than You Think 2

- Neither a Healthy Populace, Nor a Healthy Economy -

While we can't help but recognize that the United States is struggling financially in both public and private sectors, it's time to point out that Europe is struggling even more. The fact that a European-style economy appears to be President Barack Obama's model for the fundamentally changed United States is seldom mentioned.

Like the act of socializing medicine in Europe, the goal was not about medicine; it was about socialism. In the United States, Obamacare is not the end; it is a means to an end. The purpose of Obamacare is to squeeze out private insurers and then private medical providers. In the end, the quality of medical care must decrease as surely as the costs must increase when efficient competition ends and healthcare by bureaucrat begins. If there is a second Obama term, then this will be the future. 

Look at Europe where decades of promises are dying with the whimper of occasional street riots. It's as though a lie, that everyone knew to be a convenient fiction, was finally exposed. There is little real outrage, but many will go through the motions because it is expected.

Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts
Image via Wikipedia

Europe is simply another example of socialist economies failing to live up to socialist promises. The ability to pay for early retirements, universal "free" healthcare, stringent regulation of everything but workers' behavior and opulent employee benefits are dependent upon an eternally growing population and a constantly growing economy or payment by future, currently voiceless, generations. 

The problem is that socialist and mythical "third way" economies stifle themselves with burdensome costs and regulations that guarantee a sluggish economy that cannot compete on the world market. What makes socialism appealing to the uneducated and gullible is what makes it always fail.

Why 2012 Is Even More Important Than You Think

The Supreme Court of the United States
Image via Wikipedia

- Courting the Future of Our Nation: The US Supreme Court in Obama's Hands -

You think you're taking the 2012 elections seriously. You're already paying attention. You're months ahead of your neighbors and friends. This makes you, my friend, an opinion leader. So you need to grow into your burdensome responsibilities.

Four more years of a Presidednt Barack Obama and a US Congress that, regardless of majority, hungers for re-election at the expense of good policy may cause repercussions for decades.

What if the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) approves Obamacare? Four years to implement this resounding death knell for American business and it will be too late to make the needed corrections without a chain reaction of tumultuous results. Are you counting on the SCOTUS to save our bacon? Look, I don't care what your local Constitutional expert says, there have been enough questionable decisions in the past few years that I am dubious, e.g. Kelo vs City of New London, Connecticut.

And speaking of the SCOTUS, how many appointments will be made in the next four years? Are you ready to see an Eric Holder court? Four of the nine justices are septuagenarians. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be 79 in March just a few days after Justice Antonin Scalia turns 76 and just four months before Justice Anthony Kennedy's 76th birthday.

Neither Gold, Nor Frankincense, Nor Myrrh

Neither gold, nor frankincense, nor myrrh was the first Christmas gift. The most precious gift had already been given.

The Visit of the Magi ¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
 ⁶ ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULERWHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
 ⁷ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
 ⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
     - The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, Verses 1-12, NASB version

The Magi
Image by Wonderlane via Flickr

The Magi gave Jesus gifts of great value. Many will tell you that these were the first gifts of Christmas and that our tradition of exchanging presents began with them. And, perhaps, the giving of gifts on Christmas did descend from the offerings those Wise Men gave, but none of those was the very first gift of Christmas.

The first gift was to all mankind from our Creator. It came in the form of a babe in swaddling clothes who was born in a lowly manger. It was God's gift of eternal life.

Though the temptation is great, do not despise your enemies, for any among us might turn our gaze to Heaven at any time and ask for that one gift; that gift which has already been given freely; the gift we can never repay, but may only embrace. It is the gift of God's love, made manifest in the form of a child born in Bethlehem who assumed both the form of man and the weight of our sins.

   ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.     - The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, Verses 16 - 17

Merry Christmas!

Ken

 

The Second Democrats' Lie About Voter Fraud Refuted

Previously in this series: The First Democrats' Lie About Voter Fraud Refuted

While it's not necessary to read the previous installment in this series, it will help with some background information. There are two states, Georgia and Indiana, that currently have photo voter ID. So why do Democrats not refer to the actual vote results? I'm a native Georgian and a current resident of the Peach State, so I'll refer to Georgia's voter ID law that has already been tried and tested.

Lie #2a: Voter fraud does not exist . . .

Challenged ballots
Image via Wikipedia

Not so fast. According to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, hundreds of voter fraud cases are prosecuted in Georgia alone every year. Just one month ago 12 Democrats in Brooks County, Georgia, were charged with committing voter fraud using absentee ballots in 2010.

Democrats will, I'm sure, point out that photo voter doesn't help with absentee ballot fraud; completely overlooking clear proof that the desire to commit voter fraud exists. And, knowing the desire exits, would we make the mistake of believing that those who would steal elections would stop at absentee ballots?

So what was the beginning of catching the Democrats? Officials reviewed the high number of absentee ballots cast in the election. Without real voter ID requiring a photo ID, more of the fraud would have been committed face-to-face with no way to stop it. An ID is required to pick up an absentee ballot from the Registrar's office.

Fast and Furious Poll and Iowa Debate Poll Results

Republicans are set to make Operation Fast and Furious aka Operation Gun Runner an issue in the 2012 Presidential election. How do you feel about it? Here's your chance to let people know!

New Poll: What's Your Opinion? Operation Fast and Furious:

 - What? Never heard of it!
 - is overblown and the GOP knows it.
 - will make a difference to some people
 - was a naked power grab by Holder and/or Obama.
 - is a VERY big deal and undermines the US Constitution!


Please vote in the poll which is in the right column near the top of the page. You may vote once, and in this poll you may vote for only one answer. The poll will close at Midnight, the morning of December the 29th.


Poll Results: Who Won the Fox News Iowa GOP Debate?

  1.1% - Michele Bachmann
22.1% - Newt Gingrich
  2.3% - Jon Huntsman
64.0% - Ron Paul
  9.3% - Rick Perry
  1.1% - Mitt Romney
  0.0% - Rick Santorum


Please note that this is not a scientific poll and is used for entertainment and to generate discussion. Do you have more to say? Add your comments below. I'd like to hear them.


Ken 

The First Democrats' Lie About Voter Fraud Refuted

- The facts you need to argue the case for Photo Voter ID, Part One -

There are things that Democrats want you to believe about voter fraud and about the drive for photo voter ID laws by the states. Are any of those things true? In a word: No.

Ballot casting
Image via Wikipedia

To date, eight states have passed photo voter ID laws. I live in Georgia, one of two states that has conducted elections under the law. The numbers and facts destroy the arguments of the progressives.

The reality of life under a photo voter ID is very different from the self-serving helping of fear-mongering Democrats have manufactured. Briefly, here is the first lie, followed by the truth.

Lie #1: Photo Voter ID is discriminatory and will suppress all votes, but especially minority votes.

The Truth is in the numbers: Compare the Georgia vote levels of the 2004 and 2008 elections and the 2006 and 2010 elections. The more recent election of each pair used the new voter ID laws. If the Democrats had been right, vote totals for both minorities and whites would be lower. After Georgia implemented its new voter identification requirements, the number of votes cast increased across the racial spectrum, but increased the most among minorities.

Around the World in 80 Lines or Less - December 21, 2011

Pyongyang, North Korea

Kim Jung-il is dead and odds are that Hell has a new, very short, very strange resident. The late, not-so-great Kim kept his people on the brink of starvation, both physical and spiritual for years, while he enjoyed his seven floor pleasure palace. His death made the world a better place.

Image via Wikipedia

Kim Jung-il's son Kim Jung-un, is the new dictator and was proclaimed "the Great Successor" by Pyongyang's finest public relations firm - We Have Turnips Comrade. For those asking what young Kim will be like; don't ask. I'll tell you all you need to know: This is the son of Kim Jung-il who did NOT want to go to Disneyland. I don't think it was just because he bears a striking resemblance to a Disney animatronic Grumpy dwarf with a bad dye job.

The younger Kim is gifted; having already received the rank of Daejang (General) in the North Korean Army. Next year he is due to receive another increase in rank so that he can begin deploying actual Chinese knock-off G.I. Joe dolls.

Eric Holder's Sleazy World

We've established that Eric Holder is a political hack with the scruples of a Big Mac-gorging vegan who flashes kiddies from beneath a full-length fur coat as he laughingly kicks their puppies. He is not America's Attorney General; he is Barack Obama's Attorney General. You should remember this because Holder never forgets it.

Eric Holder
Image via Wikipedia

Caught with his hand in the cookie jar, crumbs on his lips and a tattoo that says, "The Pillsbury Dough Boy is My Bitch," Holder denies everything, including knowledge of anything. If he is to be believed,

Holder knows so little about activity at the Justice Department (DoJ) that at the next round of questioning, I suggest Representative Darrell Issa ask Holder, "Are you now, or have you ever been, the Attorney General of the United States?" 

Samuel Johnson, one of the great early British conservatives, famously said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Alas, scoundrels have found yet another haven. If the melanin content is high enough, villains will play the infamous race card with the same drunken enthusiasm college frat boys reserve for a wild-card deuce filling an inside straight. So when people point out that Holder is, logically, either a complete incompetent or involved in a cover-up that will make Watergate look like a neighborhood swap meet - and not even the kind of swap meet that includes drunken wives - because it already involves hundreds of murders, Holder says it's all because he is black.

Hey, Politicians: No One Leads the Tea Party

Leading the Tea Party is not like herding cats; it's like herding cats who possess and love using flame throwers. There might be some singed fur in the mix, but if you insist on pushing them; you'll get burned.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Image via Wikipedia

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a once and perhaps future Tea Party favorite is learning that. Glenn Beck, a stand-up guy who may have taken agreement in most matters for acquiescence in all, is learning that. Smart politicians are paying careful attention. Politicians who underestimate the Tea Partiers will likely suffer their wrath.

While - call it what you will: the liberal press, main stream media, word-processing cretins who understand less about the world than a boy raised by commie wolves - have ridiculed and pigeon-holed the Tea Party, the reality is quite different.

People who have been active in the Tea Party didn't become active because of politicians, they became active to spite politicians. The Tea Party members are people who were paying attention all along, unlike the sheeple who hang on every syllable from Brian Williams or Anderson Cooper. The Tea Party became a collective expression of a large group of independent-thinking Americans.

So, for the people who are upset with Nikki Haley or Glenn Beck; it's alright. By all means explain to them why they are wrong in a nice way, but their influence is not the wide-ranging catastrophe you may be imagining. After all, the other people you have worked with in the Tea Party and similar groups are just as independent as you. They will arrive at their own conclusions in their own time.

In the meantime, rabidly support the Republican candidate of your choice and keep the 2012 election in your sights. November is coming. 

The US Department of INJustice

 - Barack Obama's Attorney General - 

What do you get when a leftist political hack is elected to the United States Presidency and appoints another leftist political hack as his Attorney General? The quick answer is that you get Barack Obama and Eric Holder. The lengthy answer is much worse.

Barack Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder
Image via Wikipedia

When I call Eric Holder "Barack Obama's Attorney General" then that is exactly what I mean. As far as I'm concerned the position of United States Attorney General has been vacant since Holder's appointment, but the top law enforcement official in the United States belongs completely to Barack Obama and the Democratic party. As I have said before, Eric Holder is to justice what Michael Moore is to competitive bodybuilding.

When Obama picked Holder to head the US Department of Justice (DoJ) he knew exactly what he was getting based on Holder's sleazy record. Holder's past actions have demonstrated that, though he was born in the Bronx, inside he was another Chicago-style hack who continually pursues political aspirations and favors over justice.

As Deputy US Attorney General under President Bill Clinton, Holder was up to his eyeballs in obtaining the pardon of convicted felon Mark Rich. Rich, a huge Clinton donor, was still a fugitive when Holder began assisting his attorney in finding a way to obtain Rich's pardon. This was against all normal procedure as was the submission of Rich's name directly to the White House.

Holder was the person who suggested to Rich's attorney that he avoid standard procedure and go directly to Clinton. A subsequent Congressional investigation found that Holder directed Rich's attorney to the politically well-connected Jack Quinn for assistance. More importantly, Holder failed to inform prosecutors that a pardon was in process for Rich, denying them the opportunity to intervene. All of this was done while Holder was Deputy US Attorney General.

Why Rick Perry Won and Michele Bachmann Lost the Iowa Debate

 - Review of the Fox News Sioux City GOP Debate - 

I watched most of last night's Fox News Sioux City GOP debates twice. Once to analyze the statements and positions and the second time to observe the ebb and flow of the debate itself. In the beginning it was a relative picnic, but it became the knife fight I had predicted as the debate progressed. Unfortunately for Michele Bachmann, she got careless with her blade and a lot of the blood on the floor was her own - or it will be in tomorrow's news cycle, anyway. Bachmann's analysis is the longest by far, so if you make it through there, you're home free.

Prior Fox News Debate
Image via Wikipedia

My take on the debates by candidate:

Michele Bachmann: Minnesota Congressman Bachmann made three key strategic errors last night. First, her credibility is not an established fact and attacking more than one candidate last night stretched it beyond the breaking point. Bachmann weighed in on both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, but her biggest error was different; one that could have easily been avoided.

People without heavyweight credentials of their own cannot challenge Newt Gingrich's conservative credentials, which is why Mitt Romney surrogates such as Bill Bennett and George F. Will do so but Romney seldom does personally. Bachmann is a conservative, but compared to Gingrich her political resume is both thin and short.

Iowa Debate Poll and Old Poll Results

Image via Wikipedia

New Poll: Who won the Sioux City Iowa debate?

Michele Bachmann
Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman
Ron Paul
Rick Perry
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum

Please vote in the poll which is in the right column near the top of the page. You may vote once, and in this poll you may vote for only one answer. The poll will close at Midnight, the morning of December the 22nd.

Old Poll Results:Why is President Obama blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline?

 69.8% - He fears angering the left-leaning Green movement.
 25.5% - He is using it as political leverage.
   7.5% - He hates Canadians.
 33.0%  - He wants no new oil-related jobs.
 16.0% - Someone in Texas might benefit.
   5.7% - He is confusing oil pipelines with surfing pipelines.


Please note that this is not a scientific poll and is used for entertainment and to generate discussion. Poll results will add up to more than 100% because each voter was allowed to choose multiple answers in this particular poll.


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Sioux City Me, Sioux City You Blues

 - Preview of the Fox News Sioux City GOP Debate - 

I'll be blogging tonight's Fox News GOP debate; watching for political blood and gore. Sioux City, Iowa, is hosting the event which will likely need ring girls, a referee, a ring and a house doctor. I will be surprised if it does not get ugly. I've made a few notes on what I will be watching for during the debate and thought I would share them with you.

After the debate, I'll open up the online poll on who you believe won the debate with civil comments welcome. Then, I'll add my after-debate opinions to the mix.

Things to watch:

Historic downtown Sioux City, Iowa
Image via Wikipedia

Michele Bachmann: Bachmann is one of two candidates who must do well here to be taken seriously for the remainder of the campaign. Her campaign has trumpeted her Iowa ties and organization too loudly and too broadly for her to fail and mount a comeback later. Whether she realizes it or not, this is make or break for her. She does not have to win, but anything less than third in the Iowa caucuses is a major problem and less than fourth is a death knell for her campaign. She is likely to be very aggressive and should self-monitor to ensure she does not sound shrill.

Herman Cain: Most regular debate watchers may be surprised at how much they miss Cain's presence.

Newt Gingrich: As the current poll leader, Newt will again be the focal point of his fellow candidates. Look to see if he handles attacks with calm, rational ripostes or if he looks mean. The manner, rather than the substance of his remarks will be more important. Look for attacks on Gingrich's past moves to the left. Critics want you to see them as revelatory; Newt wants you to see them as anomalies. If he is smart, Gingrich will point out how he differs from President Obama rather than his fellow Republicans.

The Do-Nothing Senate's Pipeline to Hell

An oil and gas pipeline
Image via Wikipedia

Article first published as The Do-Nothing Senate's Pipeline to Hell on Technorati.

President Barack Obama likes blaming a "do-nothing" Congress for his sad record as president. But is that entirely fair? Blaming all of Congress for the US Senate's failure to act would be like Achilles blaming his entire leg for his vulnerable heel.

Speaking of heels, it’s the Senate leadership that is sitting on the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, aka the payroll tax cut bill. The bill would continue payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans, and require approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline (KXP). The Canadian pipeline provides two benefits: thousands of American jobs and an increased flow of oil into a country with no real energy policy.

The job estimates for KXP vary from 6,000 to over 100,000. The project manager for the proposed pipeline, TransCanada, estimates the jobs to be 20,000.

President Obama has not said that he will not approve the pipeline, but wants to delay his decision until after the 2012 elections. Excuse me? That's like telling your boss that you'll just wait to finish that all-important project until after your employee review. The construction jobs would be nearly immediate and could be honestly called "shovel ready," like the jobs that the stimulus bill was going to create, except these will really exist.

Ignorance, Arrogance and Government Meddling

Ignorance and arrogance: two characteristics that do not mix well. As a combination, it’s right up there with Saturday Night Specials and unlimited $1 beer night. You just know that something will go horribly wrong. And there can be added factors to make it even worse.

Add one attractive woman of questionable moral character and her large, highly jealous husband to a room full of men with Saturday Night Specials on unlimited $1 dollar beer night and it’s a certain tragedy and likely inspiration for at least three good country songs. Take the ignorance and arrogance combination and throw in political power and the presidency and you have tragedy on a completely different scale and perhaps a generation lost to stifling poverty and depression, though there will be a lot more country songs. Guess which scenario you get to vote on in 2012?

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Retired
Image via Wikipedia

While I could list all of the scandals that occurred when government meddles in business, that’s not what this is about. It does not matter which party is in power, when politicians get involved in business and let businessmen get involved in politics, there will be a huge bill to pay. Hey, I’m looking at you, fellow taxpayer, because we will pay that massive tab.

When Angelo Mozilo got caught up in the subprime mortgage scandal, he had to pay a fine of $47.5 million and his company Countrywide Credit paid another $20 million. We got him, didn’t we? Forty-seven million five hundred-thousand dollars! Poor Angelo had to retire with his paltry estimated $550 million in wealth. He could have still bought Solyndra! And don’t we just wish he had.

Dear Hollywood: You Piss Me Off

Dear Hollywood:

You pretentious, self-centered aggregation of massive egos, warped minds and hideously bloated selfishness; your profits are now in the toilet along with the tiny remnants of your soul. Finally. Your box office receipts are now below post-911 levels, accurately reflecting the sinking quality of your over-hyped product.

Historically, Hollywood has been exempt from financial disaster. When times are bad, people turn to fantasy and other types of entertainment so you prosper as others suffer. You produce what economists, and good critics I might add, call an inferior good. In the economic sense, it means that as the economy worsens, your sales increase. In the other sense, it simply means you under perform.

Now the economy is so dreadfully bad that even you cannot escape its clutching death grip of chromium steel. You deserve it. You raised money for the Chicago hack that now leads our nation. You overwhelmingly supported him and his left-leaning ideology as he ridiculed the beliefs and philosophy of middle America.

Image via Wikipedia

When then-Senator Barack Obama described small-town Pennsylvanians as those who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment", you applauded him. He was attacking your customers and you thought it was great. You dumbasses just raised more money for him.

The understudy you placed in the lead role of this nation can't even memorize the script. He's a teleprompter short circuit away from revealing his status as a talentless buffoon  - and then there are his actions. He knows economics like Ed Wood knows great cinema. Perhaps you will now pay attention, but quite frankly, I don't think you're that smart.

Let's turn to your overpaid on-screen employees, your representatives to the American people. Your "stars" have turned into soul-sucking black holes of selfish publicity whores with every known personality disorder and social disease - in the literal and possibly physical sense - known to mankind.

The Recipe for Government Soup

The way to make America prosperous again is to produce more than we consume. It's that simple. There is no Secret Recipe DF8GVEXEW35G that awaits discovery by some government economist; no production function that will right our economy by adjusting the inflection points and certainly no gimmick from the Federal Reserve Chairman that will fool the market.

We simply have to produce more than we consume. It's what we capitalists call "creating wealth". It's something the current administration has forgotten: Before one can redistribute wealth, wealth must be created. Progressives often forget that simple fact.

Image via Wikipedia

The problem for the Obama Administration is that government cannot create wealth. Individuals create wealth. Government can confiscate the wealth of individuals through taxes and fees, but it cannot make wealth.

Some of you may object and point out that with the assistance of the Federal Reserve System, the federal government prints money. You would be correct; it does print money, but money is not wealth.

Money can do many things such as act as a medium of exchange, and it can even be a tool for storing value, but printing money only reduces the value of each individual piece of money in existence. It does not create wealth. In fact, if you use money as a store of value and the government prints more money, then your money lost value.

One Thing to Know About 'Fast and Furious'

 - And Two Important Things We Do Not Know - 

There is one thing you need to know about Operation Fast and Furious aka Operation Gun Walker. In all of the obfuscation by the US Department of Justice and misleading testimony by US Attorney General Eric Holder it has gotten lost. Be patient and I will get to it. In the meantime, just remember that Eric Holder is to justice what Michael Moore is to competitive bodybuilding.

Left-wing film maker Michael Moore
Image via Wikipedia

You know, I'm sure, that the stated premise behind this reckless, probably illegal, endeavor is that the United States government would sell guns to proxy buyers in the United States and then track those weapons to drug lords in Mexico. You probably also are aware that the government of Mexico was never told about the operation and that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) had no way of tracing those guns once they were taken across the Mexican border. Yes, there was no way to trace the guns to the Mexican drug lords.

Keystone XL Pipeline Poll and Old Poll Results

New Poll: Why is President Obama Blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline?

Image via Wikipedia

 - He fears angering the left-leaning Green movement.
 - He is using it as political leverage.
 - He hates Canadians.
 - He wants no new oil-related jobs.
 - Someone in Texas might benefit.
 - He is confusing oil pipelines with surfing pipelines.

Please vote in the poll which is in the right column near the top of the page. You may vote once, but in this poll you may vote for multiple answers. The poll will close at Midnight, the morning of December 15th.

Old Poll Results: Will you support the GOP Nominee?
   5.6% - No, I will not support any Republican candidate.
   0.0% - Only if it's my top choice.
   5.6% - If it's one of my top 3 choices.
 11.0% - Yes, almost any GOP candidate.
 77.8% - Anyone is better than Obama.

I was pleasantly surprised by the poll results, expecting more one-candidate voters. Obviously, these are not scientific polls and are simply for recreation and to stir discussion. If you'd like to amplify your answers or attempt to persuade other voters, feel free to use the comments section. Of course, I do expect civility. Enjoy!

by Ken Carroll

Blazing Thoughts - Or Is My Hair on Fire?

Blagojevich (L) with former Presidential Fixer and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (C)
Image via Wikipedia

Blago
On the bright side, recently sentenced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's Elvis impersonation will be a big hit at the Joliet talent shows. Hey Gov, be sure to perform Jailhouse Rock for all of the other inmates - and sing it like you mean it!
Obama in Kansas
Being a far-left liberal and having the far-left Washington Post (allegedly a newspaper) rate your speech is kind of like your own grandmother grading your performance at a local piano recital. So, when the WaPo gave King Barack I three out of four Pinocchio's for his outrageous fantasy-laden speech, I was shocked. Of course, I would have rated them as outright Whoppers, but Obama just makes it up as he goes along!

The GOP's Circular Firing Squad

Ken Carroll's Eleventh Rule of Politics: "If you’re an incumbent, the election will nearly always be about you. If you are a challenger to an incumbent and the election is about you, then you are nearly always in trouble.”

The Republican Party and its faithful followers have formed a circular firing squad around its potential presidential nominees and are rapidly loading and firing. Some on the outskirts of the group, apparently fearing that the massacre will be over before they can make their way to the front, are calling for more candidates to step forward.

Dear Mr. Cain: It's Time

Dear Mr. Cain:

We've never met, so this advice may sound impertinent. I'm offering it as a serious Republican who is still not committed to a particular candidate, so I hope you will consider what I have to say.

When people said you were a flash-in-the-pan after the South Carolina debates, I defended you way back on May 6th, saying, 

  "The big winner was Herman Cain. Cain clearly won the debate on two levels: his performance and his accomplishment of what he needed as a candidate. Last night Herman Cain proved he belongs on the big stage and that his message has an audience. Pundits may dismiss Cain and we must remember it is a long campaign, but anyone who thinks Herman Cain won’t be around is going to be proven wrong."  

I took a lot of heat for that statement, but I was right. In other posts, I defended your lack of political experience when I pointed out that your positions as CEO were a better preparation for the US Presidency than the herd animals in legislatures. I still believe I'm right about that, too, but now we won't know.

GOP: White House Or (We All Go) Bust

GOP: White House or We All Go Bust
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The 2012 federal elections will be an extended IQ test for the American voters. If we, as a nation, focus on personalities and political advantage then we absolutely deserve to have an economy that crashes, burns and explodes violently. We are not looking at economic Armageddon in the future, the armies are joined at Mt. Megeddo now and we are losing.

I honestly cannot determine if the left is tabula rasa ignorant, hide bound to the addiction of spending and the power it brings or if they simply do not care if the politics of envy and redistribution destroy the economy. Either way, the left has earned the scorn of, not just the right but also, the reasonable center.

This election will not be solely about the economy, but a powerful combination of high unemployment, looming inflation, energy costs and sickly economic growth are the chief concerns of most Americans. Huge