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.

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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.

Blazing Thoughts - Or Is My Hair on Fire?

Blagojevich (L) with former Presidential Fixer and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (C)
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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.

My Advice? Slow Down

Slow down; you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last; just
Kickin’ down the cobblestones;
Lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy.
          - 59^th Street Bridge Song – Music and Lyrics by Paul Simon

What is the rush? We’re in the beginning stages of selecting who will be the next President of the United States. This is an important decision that will have consequences far beyond the next four-year term of the leader of the free world. So, again, what is the hurry?

Are you states that want to move your presidential preference primaries up to next week paying attention? Probably not. Yes, we all want our state primaries to matter, but if you love this country you will not turn a marathon into a blind sprint. If we’re going to do something that stupid, let’s save some money and just cut cards.

Be Courageous, Mr. President: An Open Letter

Dear Mr. President,

There are times in our lives when our vision for how the world should be is in direct conflict with the reality. When this happens our choices are between altering our world view to match reality and pretending that reality has changed. The first choice can be unsettling; it's not easy to admit that we are wrong. The second choice corrupts our view of the world and is dangerous, perhaps even deadly.

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I'm requesting, Mr. President, that you stand back and reassess your understanding of the world. At age 50 this will not be easy, but reality is knocking with a heavy fist. Many of us have noticed that the predictions of your economic advisors have been flawed and some, including me, would say that those predictions were radically incorrect. There is a single reason those predictions were so wrong. The models used by your advisors are based upon flawed assumptions of how the economy works and how people react to regulatory changes.

The Top 10 Things About the Obama Administration

People are far too negative, so as a Conservative Republican I thought that I would seek out some positives from the Obama Administration. Out of a lengthy list, I culled out the top ten. I also, inadvertently found out that the President does, indeed, have many successful plans to his credit.

10.  We're creating more new millionaires every day. Between lottery winners and former billionaires, there are quite a few.

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9.  The health of our country's elderly is vastly improved. . . They are much more active. The President's plan to force them back into the workplace worked!

8.  Working people have lots of free time . . . because they're now former working people.

7.  The Gulf of Mexico is so much prettier without those unsightly oil drilling rigs, don'tcha think?

6.  Air pollution has substantially decreased . . . The President's plan to increase fuel prices worked!

Osama bin Laden Killed by US, Part II - The President's Speech

Osama bin Laden was a murderous thug who had no respect for the rights of individuals and openly opposed, in the bloodiest manner, those who wished to uphold those same rights. Bin Laden followed Islam's lengthy tradition of turning to violence almost immediately to gain power and influence.

Tonight, President Obama made a point of reminding people that many of the people bin Laden murdered were his fellow Muslims and that "his demise should be welcomed by all". The President is correct in this regard.

This was probably the best speech ever given by President Obama, and whoever wrote this speech is underpaid. Obama hit many of the right notes in his speech tonight, though it would have been a better speech if he had mentioned former President George Bush's efforts to bring bin Laden to justice.

President Obama was more subdued in his claims for credit than I had anticipated using "I" statements only five times by my count. He was generous in his praise for the US armed forces.  I did not note a lot of praise for Pakistan in tonight's speech, even though they were mentioned. There is probably a reason for that and I believe that it is because Pakistan likely knew of bin Laden's location for months and failed to disclose it.

I will stick with my predictions about the fall-out from the event announced tonight, given in my previous blog. I will add another: There will be riots and anti-American actions because bin Laden was killed.

I'm watching live TV shots of Americans celebrating bin Laden's death. There seems to be a lot of joy and patriotism in force. This is so different from Middle East demonstrations where the usual display of emotions starts with anger and ends with disgust and possible self-loathing.

This does not mean the end of anti-Western Muslim actions, including violent attacks, but it is a victory for the United States and its allies. If we do not see a new "face" for al-Quaida within the next 90 days, then it will mean that the terrorist organization is more splintered than we realize at this time.

Our many problems, mostly self-inflicted, still remain but that does not mean we should not enjoy this. Listen to some Kool and the Gang and have a "Celebration". May God bless America.

Around the World in 80 Lines - Or Less for April 29th, 2011

The Amish Mafia

We’re lucky that the federal government has recently cracked down on the selling of contraband in the US. The Washington Times reports that a year-long sting operation conducted by federal agents has resulted in the bust of an illegal operation in Pennsylvania. The Amish-run Rainbow Acres Farm was selling non-pasteurized milk to consumers who knew the milk was non-pasteurized. The consumers of the illegal milk prefer the taste and say that pasteurization kills good as well as bad bacteria. There have been no complaints or charges filed against the dairy farm previously.

According to Tamara N. Ward, spokesperson for the US Food and Drug Administration, “It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed.” We can’t seem to protect voters from intimidation at the polls by the New Black Panther Party, write oil-drilling permits that can be acted upon, or protect our borders from illegal aliens by we can sure shut-down the Amish Mafia with their natural milk.

Exciting Events in London

Around the World is 80 Lines - Or Less
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Many of us were excited today about the Royal Wedding in London, where Prince William wed Kate Middleton. We’re thrilled, thrilled that it is over. Best wishes to the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but we’ll be very happy to see them exit the news channels to be replaced by real news.

Trump Not Trumped

Not to be outdone in publicity, faux Presidential candidate Donald Trump dropped the F-bomb four times in a Las Vegas speech. To prove his fluidity in unacceptable language, Trump even managed to work the F-word into a compound word alleging incestuous activities, as well as using it in its raw, unadulterated form. There is a rumor, that I am starting right here, that the foul-mouthed outbreak was the result of a wager between Mr. Trump and his chauffer.  Best wishes to Mr. Trump, but we’ll also be very happy to see him exit the news channels to be replaced by real news.

Geld Gadaffi

Moammar Gadaffi (pick your own spelling) has been a bad boy again. The mischievous, murderous madman has not only illegally mined a harbor, he has also been handing out Viagra to his troops to increase the number of rapes perpetrated on Libyan civilians. This is unacceptable by thinking human beings, so we’re waiting on a statement condemning these actions from Gadaffi’s good pal Minister Louis Farrakhan. We are not; however, holding our breath.

We do not wish Mr. Gadaffi well, but we do wish for him to be locked in a room with the husbands, fathers and brothers of the rape victims. They may wish to geld Gadaffi, or more. Oh, and we also wish that all of their knives are rusty and dull, making for a long, painful evening for Mr. Gadaffi.

Painful Gas

The average gas price in the US for regular is now $3.91 per gallon. Overlooked by most is the fact that not all of this can be laid at the feet of President Obama’s energy policies. A large part of it can be found at the feet of President Obama’s monetary policies which has officially given us the weakest dollar in years. And, in terms of dollars, gold has just set an all-time record high, which helps reinforce the point.  

I have yet to decide if our President Obama knows nothing about economics or if he knows nothing about this country. Former Pennsylvania US Senator and Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum stated that Obama does not understand America. I think Santorum may be right and the President knows even less about us than we know about him.

McCain-Feingold Still Makes Hypocrites

Finally, two years ago Democrats were screaming bloody murder about Republican fund-raising by less regulated organizations. I’m sure you remember the accusations that Republicans were allowing overseas donations to be used in the Congressional races. The charges were unproved and unfounded, but it seems Democrats secretly thought it was a good idea. Now they are forming their own.

Why is this happening? McCain-Feingold, of course. Let’s not forget that McCain-Feingold is a clear violation of First Amendment rights above all else. It was supposed to put an end to all of this, but it has actually made it worse. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions – and well-meaning idiots.

A Quick Note on the Obama Birth Certificate

I’m on record as saying the controversy over President Obama’s birth certificate was a distraction from important things. One can blame the “birthers” for refusing to give this up or one can blame President Obama for refusing to display the long-form birth certificate much earlier. In this one, believe it or not, I side with President Obama. If someone continually demanded that I display some of my personal paperwork for everyone to leisurely review and publicly comment upon, then I’d probably tell them to go to Hell.

So now, can we finally focus upon the fact that our President is either so incompetent or so ideologically crippled that he risks destroying our country? Of course he has been aided by the likes of the melodramatic Nancy Pelosi and the Cowboy Poetry-loving Harry Reid, but they couldn’t have done it without him.

I offer a modest suggestion. How about everyone who was so incensed over the possibility that President Obama was born in a different country put at least some energy into publicizing the fact that Washington seems to be doing everything possible to crush our entire economy beginning with our energy sector?

There is one final point to consider. Politics is still more important to many people.

While declaring “victory” for forcing President Obama to reveal his birth certificate, Donald Trump went on to say that perhaps the press will now ask him about important things and drop the birth certificate issue. Since Trump revived the issue single-handedly, try wrapping your mind around that. Then to further insult the public’s common sense, Mr. Trump challenged Mr. Obama to release his college records by chiding Obama on his reputed poor school records. Per Real Clear Politics, Trump asked, "I'd like to know how does he get into Harvard, how does he get into Columbia if he isn't a very good student?” Trump later added, “But the word is he wasn't a very good student.”

So, did President Obama set a better example? Not really. President Obama declared that he produced the long-hidden birth certificate to enable the public to focus on much more serious issues. “We do not have time for this kind of silliness,” the President stated. Then he returned immediately to the Oval Office to continue sweating over a way to save our down-trodden economy. Just kidding! Are you crazy? Of course not. He proceeded to go to Chicago so he and the First Lady could be interviewed by Oprah. 

One, Two, Many

The theory goes that early man had only three numbers: “one”, “two” and “many”. When I was younger, that was difficult to believe. If a person could count to “two” then he could count to “three” and if he could count to “three” he could add another, couldn't he? Now, I think I understand. Just how many is 14.3 trillion anyway?

When I look at the number of dollars associated with our current federal debt . . . and our current budget . . . and even our annual deficit, quite frankly it’s overwhelming. When numbers get that large, I believe we have a tendency to think of those numbers as “many”, shake our heads and think about something comprehensible – like string theory. We can’t afford to do that anymore.

Numbers, when left alone are honest reflections of something and we are confident that we are on solid ground with them. It is when people re-define and re-interpret numbers that we begin to be on shaky ground and when people with an agenda begin to manipulate numbers, we leave unstable footing and dive into the quicksand head first.

Those who either deny reality or wish to influence the public often use numbers to obfuscate truth. The gullible and naive often see numbers as absolute truth and pay no attention to what is actually measured, they only listen to an interpretation. As famed 19th Century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It’s still true today.

Recently President Obama used a 12-year – rather than a 10-year – budget projection and incredible (in the truest sense of the word) growth numbers to “prove” his budget proposal was as good as that of Wisconsin GOP Representative Paul Ryan. It actually proved nothing other than the President is not attempting to solve a problem so much as build a fiction that sounds feasible to the feeble-minded and, where they occasionally differ from the feeble-minded, the media. These ignoble creatures will, in turn, trumpet these false facts to the ignorant, the uncaring and the foolish.

President Obama and his team have already persuaded the public to accept phony statistics before and done so successfully. Do you remember the “jobs created or saved” statistic? A “statistic” which cannot be defined, measured or debated because it is made of fluffy clouds, tissue paper, lies and conjecture. He got away with it then and he will continue in the same vein until someone points out that this emperor has no clothes, no plan and no understanding of capitalism. “One, two, many,” indeed. In the case of this president’s budget, it has become “one too many” and I cannot wait until next November.

Let's Just Lie

On April 13^th, President Barack Obama abandoned all pretense of being presidential. Not only was his response to Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal not reasonable, it was dishonest and childish.

President Obama Before a Joint Session of Congress
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Agree or disagree with his ideas, Ryan (R-WI) has done the heavy lifting on the 2012 budget and he did so knowing that it would immediately make him a target for those on the left. This alone should bring to him some well-deserved respect. The President, rather than give a nod to Ryan’s work and then list where he disagrees simply attacked the character of Congressman Ryan and other Republicans and then pretended he has a legitimate budget proposal.

The President makes some pretty wild assumptions in his – well, we’ll call it a “budget” for lack of a better word. How likely are President Obama’s assumptions to become reality?

A Tiny Victory in a Long War

Now is not the time for back-slapping. This weekend, conservatives merely won a small, though significant, concession from Democrats. While $38 billion is only two percent of the projected 2011 deficit, it did change the focus of the American people. The emphasis is now on deficit reduction, not shifting funds from program to program.

As for the real budget debate, we are just beginning. Remember that the most recent conflict was because Democrats failed to pass – or to attempt to pass – a budget for 2011. The 2011 budget was due by October of 2010 when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House. Rather than use their huge majorities to pass an overgrown budget that would outrage the American public, they simply passed a huge increase in the federal debt ceiling. There was no budget or responsibility but the spending binge continued.

The debate for 2012 will be even more contentious, partly because the Presidential election is in 2012. The 2012 budget is due by October of this year and the debt limit will have to be addressed even before then.

President Obama has already asked for “a clean bill” to authorize an increase in federal debt without any restrictions. This asks Congress to surrender its responsibility for oversight. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) has already stated that any increase in the federal debt would only be passed with significant changes that address the source of our debt. This illuminates two views of government.

The difference is that Democrats want to find a way to be more efficient while keeping – or even growing – the size of government. There have been no suggestions from Democrat leadership to reduce the size of the federal government. That’s not hyperbole; they have made zero proposals to reduce the size of government. This Republican-led House, while more timid than many would like, is striving to reduce the size of the federal government.

So, why are Democrats still seeking to spend more of our resources on government programs that we obviously cannot afford? I believe that some still have the mindset that the economy requires federal programs to prop up the economy. While this is neither logical nor reasonable, there are leftists who have no faith in individuals.

My concern is those who cynically grow the government to increase their own power and influence. You can usually tell them because they know they are wrong and can’t rely on facts to support their positions. They tell lies continually to denigrate their opponents instead of addressing issues. If you are thinking of President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi then we’re on the same page. I won’t begin listing the falsehoods knowingly told by this trio regarding the economy. That would fill a book and I don’t have the inclination or the space.

This budget debate will be a fight for our future, so do not let numbers frighten you away. Either continued government growth or rising debt will destroy our nation; our path has been to increase both. If we fail to stop this trend, our nation will sink into mediocrity weighed down by chains of debt while our children will grow into adulthood in a second-class country, ignorant of American exceptionalism. I see no alternative other than to win this fight.

You will be needed. The battle lines are drawn. Paul Ryan has authored the battle plan for conservatives and it is a good, bold plan. It’s not perfect, but adjustments should be made by applying additional cuts, not increased taxes.

An important note to conservatives in Congress: Please do not fall into the false concept that the government is the country. Shutting down the government is not shutting down the country. It’s better to rebel and crash the government than to fatally harm our country. If it’s necessary, you won’t be the first to make that courageous decision.

It’s time. Let’s roll.

Libya, Schmibya!

Like most people, I've followed the Libya situation, but I have a problem. I've resisted analyzing the situation, and that's what I do. So when I began to get emails asking why I had not written on Libya. my initial reaction was  . . . unprintable.

The reason I haven't written about Libya is that there are few facts, a lot of conjecture and an administration that can't explain what it's doing because it doesn't know. Before you accuse me of Obama Bashing, I will remind you that there have been so many contradictory explanations from the White House that there must be a super-secret "Confusion Machine" in the Oval Office programmed by the most convoluted, twisted minds in existence: lawyers.

Now the press is asking if there is (cue trumpet fanfare) an Obama Doctrine. This I can answer: No. There is no Obama Doctrine. If Vegas were giving odds on the existence of an Obama Doctrine, the odds in favor would be lower than the chances of seeing The Great Pumpkin pulled by harnessed West Texas Jackalopes hopping down New York's Fifth Avenue in the parade celebrating the selection of Joe Biden as the world's smartest man and most eloquent speaker. The only odds lower than the existence of an Obama Doctrine are the odds that Barry Bonds did not know he was a human steroid receptacle.

I can only imagine that the reason we are involved in Libya's future, is because the resistance was in the news - you know, like the resistance movements in Syria and Yemen and Bahrain and Egypt and Tunisia and ad darn-near infinitum. So why Libya and not the others may have more to do with Europe than with the United States's best interests.

President Obama has always looked far too much to Europe for approval and not nearly enough to his own constituents. So when the UN was pushed by the Arab League and, more importantly, by countries such as France and Italy to do something about Libya, he was at their beck and call.

I don't suppose the fact that Europe gets a significant portion of its oil from Libya ever crossed President Obama's mind. It's also not occurred to the people who accused the US of being in Iraq due to American oil interests, because they would then protest us being in Libya for European oil interests. Right? No, of course not.

So our President got UN approval to launch over a hundred cruise missiles into Libya, but he was too busy with the NCAA brackets to drop by Congress to see what they thought. US Representative Austin Scott (GA-8) gave President Obama his opinion anyway. Scott pointed out that Obama waited until Congress was adjourned before he deployed US forces in Libya. Scott does not believe the timing was an accident. Neither do I.

Anyway, I can't analyze Libya because there is no logic to the decision-making process. Or perhaps there is no decision-making process, either. There is a vacuum, or perhaps even a leadership black hole. So, my advice is that if you want an explanation of President Obama's action regarding Libya that you contact Professor Stephen Hawking. Good luck, Steve.

You Might Be President Obama If . . .

With apologies to fellow Georgian Jeff Foxworthy, who had absolutely nothing to do with this.

You might be President Obama . . .

If the ten year-old with the neighborhood lemonade stand has more business experience than you, you might be President Obama.

If you have more communists in your cabinet than Vladimir Putin, you might be President Obama.

If you try to look more macho by taking part in a military operation – run by France, you might be President Obama.

If the only campaign promise you have ever kept was to "make energy costs skyrocket", you might be President Obama.

If you got a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing – and you’re following the same strategy to win a second, you might be President Obama.

If your OCD problem is that you compulsively bow to foreign thugs and dictators, you might be President Obama.

If you actually apologize for our behavior toward countries whose idea of a good time is to practice genocide on their own citizens, you might be President Obama.

If you’ve started a war and you don’t know why, you might be President Obama.

If you’ve never met privately with some of your own cabinet members, but average seeing your golf pro once a week, you might be President Obama.

If you’ve ever put Joe Biden in charge of anything bigger than setting up a Parcheesi board, you might be President Obama.

If your idea of fixing the economy is to go shopping – in another country, you might be President Obama.

Of course, more will probably be added. So many gaffes, so little time.

Campaign 2012: Learning From the Mistake that was John McCain’s ’08 Nomination

There are a lot of villains to blame in the GOP 2008 Meltdown that was known as the John McCain campaign. Let’s take a look at a few, so that perhaps we can avoid them. It's time to check out the villainous characters that populated the 2008 effort and see if we can avoid them in 2012.

Villain the First: The Republican Party. Yes, we Republicans need look no farther than the mirror for our first candidate. Who in the world says that it’s anyone’s “turn” to be the nominee? Did we forget Bob Dole’s campaign? It was Dole’s “turn,” too. There were other problems, too, with that campaign. Bob Dole: patriot, war veteran, good and decent man; was the nominee only because he had stood in line the longest. No one, and I truly believe this included Bob Dole, thought that he could win back in 1996.

The GOP, which hates non-merit based advancement, practices it on a regular basis with its presidential nominees. John McCain didn't earn the 2008 GOP nomination, it was handed to him on a silver platter of obligation.

Why not nominate the person who is most qualified or who captures the public’s imagination? Or both? John McCain was neither of those things just as he is not a conservative.

Villain the Second: The Media. Yeah, we conservatives have a real hate/hate relationship with the mainstream media. McCain was the absolute darling of the media. They called him “independent” and “a real maverick” in loving, approving voices. Then came the general election and suddenly McCain was “old” and “pandering to the right”. What happened?

In a common phrase, “liberal bias” happened. McCain was the most left-leaning of any GOP candidate who had a chance to win the Republican nomination. When this was the case, McCain was a hero. When he was opposed by the much more liberal Barack Obama, McCain wasn’t just yesterday’s news; he was yesterday’s news used as a fish-wrapper.

McCain was stunned by this turn of events, but not as stunned as Hillary Clinton was when it happened to her. Clinton had been the media’s favorite person for a decade – and she continued to be in the ’08 Presidential campaign - until the media decided that the more liberal Obama had an opportunity to win. When that happened, the media was not only “not friendly” to Mrs. Clinton, they were downright unfriendly.

There isn’t anything we’ll be able to do about the media in ’12, but we can at least recognize it for what it is. If the media is favorable toward a GOP candidate in the primary, do not assume it will continue – and certainly do not favor a candidate because the media does so.

Villain the Third: The States. McCain managed to pick up a lot of momentum – and quite a few delegates – in states that do not require voter registration by party. This allowed a lot of independents and moderate Democrats to vote in the GOP Presidential Preference primaries. Each of their votes counts exactly the same as a dyed-in-the-wool Republican that works hard to promote Republican ideals every year. It’s time to end open primaries.

Villain the Fourth: Back to the mirror, folks. It’s time to nominate a small-government, principled conservative. I’m not to the point where I would even begin throwing out names, but there are a few of them. We know what we believe. Now is the time to nominate a person who can articulate those beliefs because he or she understands them – not because some guy in a suit said, “Here, try this line and see if it works.”

We can do this, but it will take some planning and more than that, it will require us to be honest with ourselves and do what’s right, not what a “political expert” on television says we should do.

Where are the Adults? Obama's Big Adventure in the Middle East

It isn't so much that President Obama appears to be doing nothing about the Middle East's rolling riots. It's that feeling of dread that he might attempt to do something and the near-certain knowledge that it will end badly. This is a man who is so far out of his depth that his administration has a chronic case of the Bends - sort of a "Rapture of the Dweeb".

Less than a single term as a US Senator, eight years as a state senator, no executive branch experience, no business experience, but experience as a "community organizer" is not the dream resume' of a US President in troubled times. In fact, Obama would not qualify to be an advisor to himself.

The problem with a democratic republic is that you get the government you deserve. So, we have an inexperienced, ideologically-blinded leader who either does not understand the importance of the current events in the Middle East or is unable to fathom a response beyond issuing meaningless statements.

I don't need to tell you that oil prices are going through the roof. I don't need to remind you that oil rigs have been floated off from the Gulf of Mexico to locations where a profit is to be had. I'm sure you realize that even if the drilling moratorium is lifted today, that it will be at least 18 months before directional drilling from current oil platforms might deliver more petroleum - and then there will be a bottleneck because we haven't built an oil refinery in this country in over 30 years.

Obviously, this isn't all Obama's fault. The conservatives we have elected to office have been timid and backed down before the mostly-imagined wrath of the environmentalist lobby. Where, by the way, have those jackals been lately? I don't see them on TV bragging about what a great job they have done in preventing the construction and implementation of oil refineries, nuclear energy plants and oil drilling rigs.

Apparently mouthy environmentalists are as scarce as Keith Olberman, who is now on some faux channel, and Albert Gore, Jr., the owner of said faux channel. In the meantime we live in the land wrought by these over-achieving, climate-change mongering, pseudo-science promoting socialists. Welcome to the land where people with common sense sit at home on election day.

Back in the Middle East, those despots who can maintain the death-grips on their countries are about to reap a fortune as we pump our livelihoods into our gas tanks in the form of $5 per gallon gasoline. Why? Because we have made mostly poor decisions for the past century and forgotten that in order to prosper some Americans must be allowed to make a profit. Now, with a crumbling economy, deep debt and an oncoming energy crisis; we have little need to worry about Americans making a profit.

As always, someone somewhere will make a profit, but he won't be an American. In fact, he probably won't even like America and will gladly support those who would destroy us. It's time to send in the adults - and there are apparently none in this administration.

The Strategy to Begin Balancing the Budget

Entitlements are the 800-pound, beer-chugging, Angel Dust-snorting, psychotic gorilla in the room. It may be too late, but people are beginning to get a little nervous. Because of their size, we all know that entitlement programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid must be addressed if we are to balance the budget. The question is: Will Congress do so?

Even minor changes in Social Security, though, have met with surprising resistance from politicians on the left and from recipients. Some sensible suggestions phase in minor changes and don’t affect anyone within 10 years of retirement and affects no current recipients. The overblown reaction to such suggestions are emotional rather than logical, and this must be taken into account.

I am convinced that Americans will accept changes to entitlement programs if – and only if – they are convinced that all other measures have been undertaken. So while entitlement benefit payouts must be reduced, but only after other programs have taken their hits.

Before taking on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; Republicans in Congress should work to eliminate the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and that’s just a beginning. Funding can be eliminated or reduced, for Obamacare, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense and others.

If the GOP-led House fails to accomplish this, then the burden shifts to the Democrats. Republicans can even, somewhat believably, claim that transfer payments might have taken a lighter hit if the other cuts had not be stone-walled by Democrat legislators in the US Senate.

If these cuts or eliminations are made, then the recipients of transfer payments will know that the task of balancing the budget won’t be completely on their backs. They will also understand that the current fiscal problems are, indeed, serious. For that reason, these other programs must go first, even if they are a lesser part of the deficit.

Interestingly, it has mostly been the Democrats that have accused Republicans of making “meaningless cuts” – small cuts that the Democrats could have made when they controlled both bodies of the legislative branch and the executive branch. Democrats are challenging Republicans to take on transfer payments by minimizing other GOP-suggested cuts. These accusations also go along with a strategy that some have openly accused the Democrats of undertaking.

President Obama’s suggested budget was described in newspapers as everything from “not serious” to “a joke” partly because it failed to address entitlement spending at all. Obama has been accused of playing political games with the deficit; almost daring Republicans to address transfer payments. The theory is that whatever changes the Republicans suggest, Democrats will accuse Republicans of “putting Grandma on a 9 Lives diet”.

My belief is that if Republicans follow my suggestion and eliminate money-pit federal programs first, the Democrats' high-level hypocrisy on the budget will stand starkly highlighted against a background of self-serving demagoguery. If that happens then the corrections to entitlement spending has a chance to be made law.

The 800-pound gorilla won’t go away until he is dealt with properly, but the political game of “Economic Chicken” needs to be made meaningless first. The only way to do that is to address other spending cuts first and to do so brutally.

When You Wish Upon a Star

President Barack Obama is about to define himself with his first state of the union address. I don't mean politically. We know that President Obama likes big government. In fact, we know that he prefers the machinations of the government over the deliberations of the citizens. By anyone's reasonable definition, Barack Obama is a Progressive.

Barack Obama is about to define himself in a fundamentally more important way, in terms of his ability to be honest with the American people. Will he address real issues in a meaningful way, offering solutions that are most likely to work? Or will he cherry pick issues, and frame those in ways that fit his philosophy of government intervention, more spending and less individual freedom?

Will Obama take responsibility for his own mistakes or will he continue to blame predecessor George W. Bush? Tellingly, within the last few days, Obama has referred to “the last eight years” negatively; conveniently forgetting that the last of those years was the first year of the Obama Administration. President Obama continues to blame the now-retired George W. Bush, who is probably not simply retired but would be best described as “happily retired.”

I would like to see Obama meaningfully address unemployment, the housing market, homeland security, government bailouts of private industries, health care reform and the lack of promised transparency surrounding health care reform. I'd like to see him do so with candor and honesty, parceling out blame and credit fairly and honestly. I fully expect to be disappointed.

Three Men of Massachusetts: The Meaning of Scott Brown's Election Win

Scott Brown's upset victory in the Massachusetts US Senate race is the current political story of 2010, but it also challenged some cherished long-time beliefs in the Bay State. Brown, a socially liberal Republican, opposed Obamacare because it was not good for his state economically. Massachusetts's current state heathcare system would gain little from nationalized medicine and pay dearly. By proposing what was best for his state, Brown dashed liberal dreams and halted the career work of his predecessor, Ted Kennedy.

Democrats in Washington and Boston reverently mentioned Ted Kennedy's name as though it were a holy mantra capable of staving off a public that had learned far too much about a healthcare plan crafted in cabal-like secrecy. Kennedy's widow, Vicki, and the remainder of the Kennedy clan were trotted out and displayed like the catch of the day to remind the public of its obligatory loyalty to the left. Yet the Kennedy name, even when combined with its far-left liberal tradition could not keep the Massachusetts people from rejecting further nationalization of medical care.

It is worth noting that those voters whose primary issue was healthcare did favor Democrat Martha Coakley by a thin margin over Brown. Brown made up that ground and much more on economic issues. Jobs and the Massachusetts economy trumped national healthcare.

Scott Brown may have put an end to Ted Kennedy's work on national healthcare, but he reinforced former US House Speaker Tip O'Neal's (D-MA) famous political maxim, "All politics is local."

O'Neal recognized that while people may occasionally rise above self-interest, that's not the way to bet. In the end, people voted for their own interests.

We won't understand what Brown's victory means until we know how the two parties react. Either party is capable of taking this outcome and making its own future – and our country's future – worse.

On the Republican side, Republicans must remember that though they have won all three statewide offices during the Obama year, they must earn the respect of voters. Constitutionalists are already reminding GOP officials that if they begin imitating Democrats, they will lose the support of the grassroots. If Republicans forget this simple lesson, then we may see the rise of third party candidates who will claim voters the GOP abandoned in favor of larger government.

The potential Republican disaster is less likely than the tsunami of rejection curling over the heads of the far left. Democrats have more power than the GOP, but this is about leverage and they will inherit far more of the blame for failure to respond to the desires of the American public. When Nancy Pelosi called Tea Party goers, “astroturf . . . un-American . . . fake” and made accusations of swastikas at Tea Party rallies, she shoved a pair of her Pradas past her tonsils and has yet to remove them.

Many liberals are blaming Democrat Martha Coakley for this loss, but factors beyond Coakley's ill-timed vacation were far more important to the outcome. Coakley was elected Massachusetts Attorney General in 2006 so she is not a stranger to a statewide election. But she was a stranger to the “help” she received from Washington.

Famed communications expert Marshall McLuhan's quote, “The medium is the message,” applies here. The medium delivering the Democrats healthcare package was not open, transparent government. Instead, people were treated to sneaky, preferential backroom deals cut with US Senators and unions while even some of our elected representatives were locked out of discussions. The message from Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi: “We will not tell you what we will do, but we will do as we please.“