Watch Out For Bogus Articles

I recently received an email that was forwarded to me by one of my blog recipients. It contained an article purported to be written by Dr. Walter Williams a conservative African- American professor who currently teaches at George Mason University. Williams is very well known in conservative circles and I was very surprised with the article because it claimed that Obama was a shoe-in in 2012 regardless of the state of the economy and all our other problems. When I searched this out I found that this was a bogus article written by some left wing nut and published in several leftist blogs like Move-on.com and others. You can check this on http://www.acnation.com/forum/topics/walter-williams-did-not-write, along with the article. Obviously, this was a ploy by radical liberals to make it appear that a credible conservative was already throwing in the towel on the 2012 election. The following is my response to each of the 10 points in the article before I knew it was a fraud.

1. We all know that the blacks will vote for him by 90%. However, they only make up 12% of the population and less than 50% even go to the polls to vote even when a black is running. That means that as a voting black they are less than 6%, even less when you count eligible voters (excluding prison inmates and under 18’s).

2.His point that college educated women will vote for Obama because of his looks and oratory is somewhat sexist, good looks is a subjective thing and his oratory which is no longer novel, in fact, he is rather boring when he does not have a teleprompter.

3.Liberals will vote for him but most of them are disenchanted with him because he is not liberal enough. They won’t vote Republican, but less will turn out for him than in 2008.

4.I agree that Democrats will vote for him but many party moderates are less enthusiastic about him and therefore less will turn out than in 2008, when they were trying to get back the White House.

5.Traditionally the Hispanic vote is split down the middle, and Hispanic’s are basically Republican in their values i.e. work ethic, anti-socialistic, for personal liberties, pro-life, and many do not favor amnesty for illegals since they got here by following the rules. Most want stronger border enforcement, particularly those who live in Border States. Obama should not take the Hispanic vote for granted.

6.His point about union members is also incorrect. Union leaders will certainly push the membership on to Obama and donate the money, but history shows that union members do not vote the way their leadership dictates, and, anyway, union members represent a very small voting block.

7.Williams’s point that big business will support Obama is also exaggerated. No doubt Obama is a great fund raiser with his base, most Presidents are, but you can be sure that this is not so in the energy industry, defense industry, or the financial industry. In fact, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal showed that hedge-fund managers and employees who supported Obama in 2008 have already greatly reduced donations they made to Democrats. Donations to Republicans were $13M in 2010 compared with $7M in 2008. Donations to Democrats dropped to less than $5M in 2010 versus $12M in 2008.

8.The media does love him but the race card accusation against people who criticize Obama has been defused and is ineffective.

9.Not sure special interest groups will be as strong for Obama in 2012, certainly not Jews; also homosexuals are not a strong voting block. I do know that Asians, who make up almost as much as the black population, will be in the Republican camp.

10.The polls currently show that Obama has lost the Independent vote compared to 2008; now less than 40% will vote for him in 2012. So Williams is wrong on this point.

All I can say is that if the article you get is somewhat fishy, it probably is, so don’t send it on.

How Do We Get This President to Move?

We are witnessing a vacuum of leadership in Washington. Never in my days on earth have I ever seen an administration that focuses on low priority issues and avoids high priority issues. Now I understand how Obama could abstain or vote “present” on most of the legistlation that came before him in the Illinois State Legislature before he became a Senator and why he sponsored so little legislation in his two years in the U.S. Senate.

I really don’t want this to be another Obama bashing post, but you all know that the world is in turmoil and the only superpower left is just filing in line behind lesser nations waiting for global initiatives that will never come.

1. We await action on the nation’s 2012 budget, and on the deficit ceiling that is not being addressed. Instead, we fund our government via legislation for 2 weeks at a time because the Democrats do not want to deal with the real need to cut spending, which Obama completely ignored in his budget proposal.
2. Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, and Libya all are in various stages of regime change, much of which can be very favorable for our interests and adverse to Al Qaida. Yet we watch on the sidelines reluctant to take any action while the world waits for the U.S. to lead. Even the Arab League and the President of France plead for action to save Libyan lives, and our President clearly doesn’t want to appear too “aggressive or arrogant”.
3. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has serious repercussions for the U.S. economy as well as the world; they are the world’s 3rd largest economy. Surely, we will provide aid to a staunch ally but now the Democrat left has another reason to stop development of nuclear power in the U.S., just as the BP oil spill caused a ban on offshore deep water drilling. So now we can develop more expensive and less viable energy sources (wind and solar), while we sit on top of the largest natural gas and oil reserves in the world, and send billions to Brazil to develop their offshore oil industry.

While the world is on fire, our President plays two rounds of golf during the Japanese crisis, goes to some high schools with his wife to discuss the major problem of “bullying” and devotes his Saturday afternoon radio speech to the nation on spending more attention to women’s history month. Nero fiddles while Rome burns!

I can’t wait until he whales in on his prediction of the final four of March Madness (the NCAA basketball tournament for you non-sports fans) at his next press conference. I have previously written at least two posts on the characteristics of great leaders and how this President doesn’t measure up. Leadership is being a great communicator, but also setting an example through actions that we all want to emulate. How do we inject some energy into our President? He runs this country like he has overdosed on valium.

On Leaving Cleveland - The Gem on Lake Erie

I am reflecting on my life experiences here in Cleveland, Ohio, as my wife and I go through 50 years of our life’s possessions (otherwise known as stuff), deciding what we will leave behind for an estate sale, and what personal belongings will go to our Florida location. I am one of the few lucky ones to have a potential buyer with a legally binding contract on my Ohio home.

This process is one that your kids usually go through when you die, so we have saved them the trouble. Having your adult life reviewed before your eyes in a few days is a bittersweet experience. Looking at old photos and reading old letters and documents reminds one of how great things were in simpler times in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and also how crude communications were compared to the technology we have today. However, I feel sorry for today’s generation who have little time for deep analysis and pensive thought in their lives and only have sound bites to get their news, and little quality time with their spouse and children; where multi-tasking is the desired skill and there is little patience for focus, concentration, and meditation.

Based on what I see coming our way and coupled with the rapidly changing geopolitical environment, I am glad that at my current age, I won’t have to deal with most of it in the future. However, I am optimistic about America. Although we are going to go through a difficult time, we will eventually purge ourselves of this growing socialist tendency and the political correctness that has completely subverted our value system. After all, we are the last bastion of freedom on this planet; after us there is no hope, no resort.

So, I will say goodbye to Northeast Ohio after 22+ years of wonderful memories, great people, beautiful rolling hills and majestic greenery. I will miss the seasonal changes, the great sports tradition of the Browns and the Indians, and what might have been with LeBron. Cleveland, once a great manufacturing metropolis at the turn of the century, home to John D. Rockefeller and many Presidents, now finds itself struggling for survival in this new service-oriented economy. It may never be what it once was, but with its great people, ethnic diversity, family values and tradition, it will take its place as one of the great cities in the glorious history of this great country we call America!

Obama Finally Adopts the Freedom (Bush) Doctrine

After two years of playing the nice guy to all the evil players and enemies of the U.S. in the name of political correctness, President Obama has finally adopted the Bush freedom doctrine in the Mid-East, albeit in a rather slow and indecisive manner. Trying to give the impression that he was on top of the situation in Egypt and in close contact with Mubarak, it was quite clear that he and our CIA Director, Leon Panetta, really didn’t know what was going on nor could influence it in anyway. Making rather nebulous statements and getting his face on television every day, it appeared that Obama was starting his 2012 presidential campaign.

Tell me, where was he when the youth of Iran were doing the same thing a year ago trying to rid themselves of that oppressive theocracy that has sponsored terrorism all over the world. While a young girl was lying in the street bleeding to death, he was silent, saying that this was Iran’s internal affair, blowing an excellent chance to overthrow that tyrannical regime.

Finally, Mubarak got a knock on his door yesterday morning and was told by the military that they would no longer support his government and he was going on vacation to Sharm el-Sheikh, we finally had a peaceful military coup and thankfully there was no significant violence. What will come in the long term is still in doubt. However, the media will never concede that the Bush freedom doctrine, starting in Afghanistan and Iraq, sparked this movement towards democracy in that part of the world. And if we play this right it will forever change the future of the entire Middle East in a positive way.

After watching the many tributes to Ronald Reagan on his 100th birthday, I became somewhat nostalgic about the 1980’s when we had a President that really influenced world events, faced our enemies from strength, and motivated our nation with his optimism and vision for the future. In his farewell address to the nation he said, “Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts”.

I hope that Mr. Obama is beginning to realize that decisiveness and strength is the only tact that Jihadists respect and that cow-towing to Islamist extremists by apologizing for our past “indiscretions” only fuels their confidence. Reagan stared down the Soviet Union and won the cold war without firing a shot. Let’s hope that simply a view of our western values and liberties via the Internet and social media will have the same result in the Middle East.

Why I Really Enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday

As I write this on Super Bowl Sunday 2011, I don’t know who won the game, in fact, it hasn’t started yet. At this point it really doesn’t matter because I’ve just witnessed an inspiring and moving tribute to President Ronald Reagan on his 100th birthday. This televised tribute came from his museum in Simi Valley, California where he was laid to rest some seven years ago.

The tribute included the traditional laying of the wreath and a 21 –gun salute, wonderful patriotic music and entertainment, and great photos against the backdrop of this beautiful setting in the warm mid-day California sunshine. It included brief remarks of thanks from Nancy Reagan with introductions of members of Reagan’s cabinet, staff, diplomats from around the world, and Reagan Foundation members, which I’m proud to say I have supported for many years and will continue to until after my death.

Remarks by Gary Sinese, the actor and patriot, John Ryan, the Chairman of the Foundation were wonderful, but the highlight was an awesome and inspiring speech from Jim Baker, Reagan’s chief of staff and Secretary of Treasury, and Secretary of State under George Bush, the elder. It was probably the best speech I have heard in many years. It was delivered by Mr. Baker in a moving and poignant manner as someone who was very close to Reagan and Nancy. There was not a dry eye in the audience, including yours truly watching it from some 2,000 miles away. Those of you who saw this had to be moved, and wonder whatever happened to America since those days.

Baker’s speech recalled an era not much different from today coming out of the Carter presidency with double digit inflation, high interest and unemployment rates, threats from abroad, particularly the mid-East (Iran) were Carter bungled our response to the Iran hostage crisis, and our international reputation in ruin. Not to mention the ominous cloud of Communism and the Soviet Union hanging over our heads. I can remember Jimmy Carter telling us, like Obama tells us today, that we were at the end our reign as a great power and future generations would not be as blessed.

Suddenly from the West came this man who talked about our “rendezvous with destiny” and this “shining city on a hill called America” and told us our best days were ahead of us. He told us that we, the American people, would control our destiny, not our government. He said we will have “peace through strength” and built a defense force that is the greatest in modern history, with air power that is unprecedented. In fact, this military built under Reagan and used by Bush during the Gulf War, virtually eliminated the Iraqi army in less than 48 hours after Saddam Hussein’s attack on Kuwait, and less than 3 weeks during the Iraq war after 9/11. Last night, during a similar tribute, televised by C-Span of the Young America Foundation’s Reagan tribute, Dick Cheney said that he called Reagan after the Gulf War, as Secretary of Defense under Bush, and thanked him for building this marvelous defense machine to protect the American people.

How does this make you feel after seeing what we have today? Do you think Reagan would ever apologize to the world for America’s “arrogance”? If this doesn’t get you off your duff to make sure we get something better in 2012, nothing will……Thank you, Mr. Baker.

State of the Union # 2 - More of the Same

The State of the Union address is usually filled with optimism, platitudes, promises, appeal to our nationalism and pride, and examples of American heroism and success stories. President Obama did not let us down in this regard. What it didn’t have was a sense of the real world. He showed no sense of urgency about the economy and our growing debt. In fact, he said “Now that the worst of the recession is over we need to address the question of deficit spending”. Everyone knows this remark is ridiculous and that if the economy is showing any signs of improvement it’s because of the November election and extension of the Bush tax cuts for two years, not his policies.

The unemployment rate and housing market continue to show us that the worst is not over. His main proposal to address the debt is to freeze government spending for the next 5 years. That gets us $400B after he just added $3 trillion to the debt in the last 2 years. How’s that for a frontal attack! And all this after he’s just added thousands of people to the federal payroll as well. Since federal government spending has increased 84% (stimulus included) in the last two years, a freeze is absolutely worthless.

His comment about our corporate tax rate as being too high to be competitive is something that conservatives have been saying for years. However, he said we need to cut the rate without adding to the deficit. This means that the government takes back an equivalent amount and, therefore, some companies benefit and others don’t. The government gets to decide who wins and who loses. You can bet the evil oil companies and those greedy health insurance companies will pay, and companies like GE, GM, alternative energy, etc will benefit. More hot wind here!

We continue to hear about simplifying the tax code, transparency in government by putting spending online now for all to see, trade agreements with Columbia, South Korea, and Panama (as long as the American worker is protected), all promises he’s made during his campaign and in the last State of the Union speech but never acts upon.

His comments about our eroding infrastructure were really laughable. He says we are corroding away while China and Korea outspends us on infrastructure. Well, Mr. President, that’s because they’ve done nothing in infrastructure for the last 50 years! What do you expect? And what happened to that $875B in stimulus money that was supposed to go to infrastructure. Something doesn’t smell right here.

Well, you get the idea, don’t you? The biggest applause line was about the end of the Iraq war and our great military, and you know who should get the credit for that. I seem to recall he voted against funding that war and was against the “surge”.

He concluded his speech on the optimistic note of acheiving the American dream and almost had Speaker Boehner have another emotional breakdown. The irony is that only a few months ago he said the next generation may have to settle for less than previous generations.

This President continues to fail to connect with the American people and, as they say, “if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig”. I’m afraid Mr. Obama failed to inspire me last night.

Sarah and Jeb - The More I See the Better They Look

It’s clear that the new Republican majority in the House will result in a significant change in the direction this country is moving. The conservatives now control the agenda in Congress and they have considerable leverage to put an end to the reckless spending and waste that has characterize the Democratic controlled Congress since 2006.

The November election and the extension of the Bush tax cuts have already had an impact on business and consumer confidence and this has been reflected in the recent rise in the stock market, which just hit a 2-year high last week. No doubt Mr. Obama will soon claim that his stimulus bill and economic policy are responsible for this new –found confidence, but the American public is smart enough to know what is driving the recent surge of optimism.

With the Republicans beginning to jockey for position in the race to challenge Obama in 2012, my attention in recent weeks has been to observe their behavior and the reaction of the main street media, particularly the far left media. I notice that there is a concerted move to label the expected standard-bearers as the Republican “establishment”. This covers Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, and the Rove types which attempts to separate them from the Tea Party movement and Sarah Palin. I think we will see more of this as the campaign heats up and I believe it to be a tactical error on the part of the left.

I must say that the left’s obsession with Sarah Palin is fascinating. They obviously fear her and will do anything to denigrate her skills and intelligence to create an image that she is not qualified for the presidency. Of course, Obama was no more qualified when he started his run for the presidency; the only difference is that he had a higher profile because he was a Senator and was not located in Alaska.

As I observe Palin’s handling of the media and listen to her improving rhetoric, I must say she looks better as time goes on. I know many of you may gag at that comment, but just wait. Another potential nominee who I think will be a great candidate is Jeb Bush. Did I hear somebody scream out there? Another Bush, people don’t want a Bush, it will never happen!

As a Florida resident, I can tell you he was an outstanding governor. He would capture the large Hispanic vote, is more articulate than his father or brother, and is well versed on the key domestic issues like education, immigration, fiscal integrity, and national energy. He also has close relations with the key military leaders of our effort in the Mid-East who operate out of Tampa. If he wants to run, he’d be a hellava candidate. Just listen and watch when you see him on the news.

Well, that’s my early speculation. Watch Palin and Jeb Bush! I bet you think I’m crazy.