Category Archives: Political polemics

ABOUT OBAMA

One of the things Obama said when presenting his budget proposal was “Our government is so deeply in debt after what can only be described as a decade of profligacy.” and “We have to address the failure that led to [this crisis], and that includes the failure to rein in spending.” and “It would be a terrible mistake to borrow against our children’s future to pay our way today.”

With these very words he proposes to dramatically increase spending and raise the debt our children must pay. The audacity of the man! Has he always thought we were fools or did he just conclude so when we elected him President?

The American people know the quality of our health care has no peer. We also see what is wrong with our health care system. It is too costly, too complex and so burdened with lawsuits that some doctors are leaving their practices. Those that remain find it necessary to prescribe tests dictated by tort law and not medical need. Obama proposes a plan that fixes none of the problems, adds to the cost, threatens the quality and increases the power of government over the people.

The American people don’t want it. Obama knows they don’t want it. The Democrats know they don’t want it. But the people be damned, Obama wants it, and he is willing to throw even some Democrats under the bus to get government run health care imposed on the people.

Obama’s goal is single payer healthcare. Single payer, just one payer – the government. He who pays has control. He who is the only payer has total control. When speaking to friendly audiences Obama has stated clearly and on the record that single payer is the goal. It may take time, he says, we may not be able to do it in one step. Just as clearly, when speaking to general audiences he denies that it is the goal. To whom is this man lying, to the unions and ACORN, or to the people? It has to be one or the other.

To be continued
Bob B

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BIDEN TIME AGAIN

Joe Biden – April 2008 – Iraq is a failure.
Joe Biden – February 2010 – Iraq is a success..
Turning Iraq into a Democracy is one of Obama’s greatest achievements was the theme of Bidens’ message to Larry King.

Joe Biden is first in the line of succession to the Presidency. Smiling Nancy Pelosi follows, then it would be former Klu Klux Klan organizer Robert Byrd. You know Byrd, the Democratic Senator from W. Va. who filibustered for 14 straight hours against passage of the Civil Rights Act. Surely Thomas Jefferson would be appalled to see what has become the party he founded.

Bob B

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OLYMPIC GAMES MUSLIM STYLE

This post is about the best and the worst of the New York Times. First the worst, and it is really bad.

MSNBC has Keith Olbermann; the New York Times has Frank Rich. At Power Line the usually soft spoken Hinderaker begins a scathing analysis with “As an op-ed columnist for the Times, his [Frank Rich’s] assignment, apparently, is to write in such a hysterical fashion that Paul Krugman seems rational by comparison”. Click the blue text and link yourself over to what else Hinderaker has to say about Rich’s latest bit of yellow journalism. You will never know how low the Times can go if you don’t read this analysis.

Next, the best. The New York Times was once the most respected Newspaper in the nation, if not the entire world. Thankfully, vestiges of its former greatness remain. The OP-ED piece Muslims Won’t Play Together by Efraim Karsh is a prime example. We have the Olympics. The Islamic world has come up with their version, called the Solidarity Games. Karsh reports that this year the games were canceled due to a lack of …solidarity.

The sports report is interesting and entertaining, however, what makes the Karsh piece a great journalistic work is not the commentary on the games, but his segway into fundamental Pan-Arabic and Israeli-Islamic issues. In the meager space available for an OP-ED piece Karsh covered ground that another could not have covered in less than a book. You will do well to read it.

Bob B

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FALKLANDS GO UNDER THE BUS

Argentina is agitating again to take the Falkland Islands. Oil is involved and Argentina needs the money to keep their socialist government running a little longer

Down through the years America has had no greater or more reliable ally than Great Britain. Sure, we had a spat in 1776 but what family doesn’t. Since then a very special relationship has existed between us, a kinship.

Some 70 years ago Hitler decided he wanted to own England. Hitler was a menace but we saw little threat to our homeland. The world was a lot bigger then and 3000 miles of ocean offered significant protection. And then we had our own day of infamy with the formidable task of replenishing a devastated Navy and building a military to defend our own nation. But that special relationship came to the fore.

Together we ended the atrocity that was World War II. Two hundred thousand flag draped boxes came back. A hundred thousand more lie forever away from home, interred where they died. It is what brothers do for brothers.

When we asked for help to drive Iraq from Kuwait the British were the first to respond. When we sought support for the Iraq war it was British combat troops who took responsibility for the southern portion. They have always been there when we needed them.

Now they need us. They need us to stand with them, not with troops, not with money, just a few spoken words of support. Obama’s response? Bug off Britain! You are on your own. If Argentina, with backing from Hugo Chavez, wants to blockade the Falkland Islands, let them. Excuse my paraphrasing but this abandonment is beyond contempt.

Obama insults the Queen with a gift of his speeches on CD’s that will not play on European players. Michelle gives the Queen a condescending pat on the back. Barack in turn gives a gift to the Prime Minister equally as disrespectful as the one to the Queen. Obama knows what he is doing, and if he didn’t there is a White House department of protocol to advise him. His insults are intentional.

That’s not all. Obama refused to meet with Prime Minister Brown at the G20 Summit, at the UN and on at least three other occasions. Yet he is ready to meet with Ahmadinejad anytime. As if to leave no doubt where he stands, Obama ordered the premature banishment of the bust of Winston Churchill from the White House, sending it back to the British people in a gesture of no thanks.

The British drink tea instead of coffee and eat fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Other than that they are normal, peaceable, very fine folk. Whatever is it that Obama could have against these Anglo Saxons who represent such a significant part of Americas’ heritage?

FULL OF BLUSTER

The nuclear option and the filibuster brouhaha – pay it no attention. It’s just routine politics. Remember, these guys are mostly lawyers so they argue a lot. The “nuclear option” was a Republican bid to render the filibuster to eternal oblivion by deeming it unconstitutional. It is a thorn to the majority and a tool for the minority. Republicans were the majority at the time so they sought to remove the thorn and the Democrats argued to keep the tool. When the tool changes hands the advocates change sides but the argument remains the same.

The most famous filibuster took place when Sen Robert Byrd (D)WV stood for 14 straight hours on the Senate floor reading portions of the Bible and his mothers cooking recipes all in an effort to block the the civil rights bill. At that time a speaker had to hold the floor in order to maintain the filibuster.

Since then some senators have questioned the need to learn how to make grits and gravy before voting on a vital issue. Others felt a Senator should not be required to stand for hours just to obstruct legislation. So they changed the rules. I believe all you need do now is stand up, say “I am filibustering” and sit down. I think they got the idea from Japanese workers who would work their butts off at the job while wearing a button that said “we are on strike”.

Politics isn’t always serious. Sometimes it’s just silly.

Bob B

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FRIEDMAN’S FAT LADY

Thomas Friedman has penned an article for the New York Times declaring The Fat Lady Has Sung. Friedman’s fat lady is the bounty provided by the generations preceding us. But the glory days are over. “We are eating through the prosperity that was bequeathed to us like hungry locusts.”

He sees the problem and offers a solution – more government spending and higher taxes. Of course he didn’t say “more government spending”, but he advocated for deployment of Obama’s programs as part of the solution. And what is that if not more government spending? Einstein’s definition of idiocy immediately comes to mind. But Friedman is a very intelligent man. If idiocy is not the answer, then how is it that repeating the cause of the problem comes to be seen as the solution?

If you have read A Conflict of Visions you know the answer. It lies in an uwavering belief in the superiority of conceptual planning over the empirical evidence of experience. Reagan came close when he simply said “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.”

It is clear that Friedman sees government to be the solution. I wonder what he sees as the cause.

Bob B

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AT THE BOOK STORE

While “gone fishing” I visited the book store. I was in Bernie Sanders country so you can imagine the titles on display in the Political Science section. I chose one at random, A Long Time Coming by Evan Thomas of Newsweek Magazine. It was thin with a hard cover. Thin books are always inviting. The title aroused my curiosity. Just what was it that the author thought was a long time coming?

There was no need to read beyond the first chapter to find the answer. This was a contemporary book occasioned by the election of Barack Obama. One could almost hear the gentle sound of air wafting from the lungs of Mr Thomas of Newsweek Magazine as he heaved a great sigh of relief and brought the news, finally “the undoing of the work of Nixon, Reagan and the Bush years” has begun. So this is what was a long time coming.

Undoing Nixon, Reagan and Bush? Pray tell, what did Nixon do that must now be undone? Reagan faced up to the Soviet Union and was instrumental in bringing down the Berlin wall. At home, his administration reversed spiraling inflation. Are these to be undone? And Bush? He spent like a Democrat and started a war. About the only thing these presidents have in common is they were all elected on the Republican ticket.

A sentence or two later in the book we find Thomas sees redemption at hand for the United States in that “a nation whose Constitution has enshrined slavery has elected a black man” to the Presidency. Continue reading

UNCIVIL SOCIETY

Bonfire of the Bureaucrats
Why did Communism fail in Eastern Europe?                              
Because the establishment ran out of steam.

The above three line header appeared recently in the New York Times Review of Books as introduction to a review by Serge Schmemann of the book, Uncivil Society by Stephan Kotkin and Jan Gross.

The authors attribute the failure of Communism in Eastern Europe to the bureaucracy in charge. There is no mention, not even a hint that there may be something about Communism itself that played a role in its failure. It was simply that, in this case, the bureaucrats messed it up.

If you have ever wondered how in the world some people still believe in the ultimate socialist society known as Communism after all its so obvious failures, here’s your answer. The right people have never been  put in charge. All socialism needs to make a better world is the right leader, a messiah if you will.

Enter from stage left, Barack Hussain Obama. A man of vision, a man of diversity, a man who promises to Change America. A man who promises to bring new Hope not just to America, but to the entire world.

If you have ever wondered  why there was so much enthusiasm for Obama, enthusiasm that bordered on worship, caused women to faint and sent tingles up a man’s leg, here is your answer. The democratic election to the Office of President of the sole superpower in the world is heady stuff to believers in the cause.

But be ye not dismayed. Obama is not a messiah nor will he change America from the land of opportunity into some sort of drab socialist nation. He may cause that shining light on the hill to blink, but it will come back on as brilliant as ever.

Bob B

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YOUR SHARE

Federal spending was $24,000 per household when G. W. Bush left office. The Heritage Foundation calculates it would increase 50% to $36,000 if Obama’s programs become law. I trust you have enough set aside to cover this liability. Please keep in mind it is not a one time payment, it is every year.

Ok, so you don’t have that kind of money. But the government’s bills must be paid. Now aren’t you glad there are rich people and corporations who are paying more than their pro rata share?

Imagine yourself as director of something or other at Goldman Sachs. The boss comes into your cubicle and hands you a check. It is your million dollar bonus. You thank him, then, crass Wall Streeter that you are, you look at the check. It is for 530K. The boss explains the rest is already on it’s way to the federal, state and local tax collector.

So just a little more than half of your bonus is yours to spend on groceries, yachts, investments and charitable giving. You do all three. Obama thanks you for spending. It helps the economy. He is silent about your investments. He reduces your tax break on the charitable giving, explaining that the government is there to help. Private charities only diminish the role of government. Not good, says the President.

Bob B

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THE HOAX GOES ON

Apparently the moose population has declined in Minnesota. The Minneapolis Star Tribune explains moose are heat sensitive and “researchers continue to believe”… Let’s stop right there for a moment. Whenever you read “studies show” or “researcher say” the best thing to do is immediately skip to the next paragraph or beyond. If the writer knew of any studies or research he would have named them.

Back to the story, hat tip to Power Line,,.the Trib goes on to tie the moose decline to global warming. Over the last 50 years mean temps in Minnesota have increased one half of one degree fahrenheit. That is 0.01% every year. Wow! I had no idea moose were that sensitive. I no longer dare say how awkward they look if there is a bull moose around.
Personally, I don’t think global warming is the reason. If it were, the moose population in other states that are also part of the globe and must be warming would not be increasing, but it is. If  it’s not global warming the only other thing it could be is something Bush did. Must be.

Time magazine has an explanation for the great blizzards of 2010. Guess what. It’s global warming. Read it here. Prediction – look for articles about how older Americans are freezing to death in unheated apartments due to global warming.

Here comes the New York Times, verily as I type, with their 50 cents worth. Drudge points to the article with this – “NYT- Blizzard due to warming”. That’s a little harsh. It is not a bad article. I liked the part about Senator Inhofe building a 6 foot high igloo on capitol hill with a sign on it “Al Gore’s New Home”.

Bob B

By the bye, a little increase in traffic on my blog would encourage me to continue. I will pay two donuts for every certified reader you introduce to Random Thots. Three donuts for liberals.