A Teachable Moment

Well by now I'm sure you've all seen the "non-apology" by Obama for smearing the Cambridge Police Department for....doing their job.
You have to give it to him. Obama is a master (bulls*** artist) who really knows how to craft his words. I mean after all, do you know anyone who "calibrates" their words? What does that even mean?
Anyway, the heart of the matter is this: even though he stepped in it, he still can't bring himself to admit that he screwed up.
Instead he said this can be a time for a "teachable moment." In other words "we are all at fault here." Breathtaking...really.
The President was given an increadible opportunity to advance race relations in this country and he blew it.
He could have taken the high road and said something like "As you know, I'm friends with Professor Gates and I'm obliged to give him the benefit of the doubt but at this time I will reserve judgement until I can gather more facts about the situation."
That would have upset nobody. But no. Instead, the first Black President, the racial healer of our nation chose a different response and he played the race card.
BAM! There you go. Nobody wants to talk about it but it's the truth.
When given a choice Obama, without knowing the facts, chose to side with the black guy because, well, because he is black.
The unfortunate thing about all of this is that the three people who behaved the worst in this whole situation were black: Professor Gates, Governor Patrick and President Obama.
I find it interesting that the three higher educated, more distinguished, black men instantaneously chose to blame the lowly, common, blue collar, white police officer.
There was more than race at work here folks, there was elitism as well.
There was Harvard elitism on full display for the whole world to see. Both Gates and Obama are affiliated in one form or another with Harvard.
The truth is this professor decided that this lowly, common, blue collar, white police officer was not going to tarnish HIS image. That would NOT be tolerated.
Instead of cooperating with the police and thanking them for looking after his house, he chose to play the martyr.
If and when the 911 and police audio tapes get released Professor Gates is going to have some 'splainin' to do.
The President could have remained neutral and gathered the facts before wading in on the subject as he should have but he just couldn't help himself. He is who we thought he was.
Is it possible that Obama really WAS paying attention to his mentor and spiritual advisor Reverend Jermiah Wright for twenty years s he spouted his doctrine of hate?
To think that you could sit there for two decades and not absorb some of his black elitist, anti-America ideas is a thought that stretches the bounds of reality.
Obama hates America and he thinks that blacks are better than whites. All you have to do is listen to him in his own words.
If this truly was a "teachable moment" as Obama claims it was, then I submit the one that needs to be "taught" is him.
As far as the beer at The White House that Obama is proposing to "make the peace", may I suggest a Sam Adams BOSTON Lager?

The Amazing Race

It happened so suddenly that most of you probably didn't see it. I noticed it immediately because I have been watching so closely.
It's what's known in politics as a momentum shift and a big one is taking place now. Until a few weeks ago Obama was gliding along at a steady pace. He was keeping to his plan and was still acting like "Mr Cool".
However, in the last 2-3 weeks he has picked up speed considerably. The question is why?
Easy. His policies are starting to take hold and the results of those policies are starting to become apparent.
I've said all along that Obama had a "window" of opportunity that he would need to exploit but that it would not last long. I have to admit that the "window" deteriorated much quicker than I thought it would.
I had originally given him about 18 months before we would start feeling the effects of his policies and people would begin to turn on him. It took less than 6 months.
Now, he is in danger and he knows it. In fact, he is so aware of his declining support that he is now starting to get stupid and he is starting to get sloppy.
He is acting like a cornered dog who is ready to bite. His biggest test will come very soon with the Healthcare Bill now being debated in Congress.
Apparently, this plan is SO radical that even the Democrats are starting to back away from it.
Obama is so afraid that he won't get this thing passed that he is trying to ramrod it through Congress without debate. It was introduced on Tuesday and he wanted it to be voted on by Thursday. So much for his promise of 72 hours to let the American People review the plan.
Some reports are now claiming that he is concerned that this will be a referendum on the rest of his policies. If he loses this, it's over.
For those who have actually READ the bill, the startling truth of what this will do to Americans is causing quite a few to give pause.
The fact is American's WANT healthcare to be cheaper and they want it to be fixed. However they do NOT want it to be socialized and run by the government.
This is a pivotal time in Obama's Presidency. He could very well be setting himself up for another Republican Revolution in Congress.
While the American People are still trusting of Mr Obama, as indicated by his high personal approval ratings, they are NOT however, so enamored of his policies as the most recent polls now show.
So the race is on. Obama's "window" is quickly closing and the momentum is shifting. It may not be towards the GOP at this point but one thing is very clear: it's away from the Democrats.
Next year is a Congressional Election year and don't think Congress doesn't know that. They have much at stake. The GOP has nothing to lose, it HAS nothing now. However, the Democrats CRAVE power and do not want to lose it.
My prediction is that this Healthcare Bill will either stall and go nowhere or it will indeed be passed after it's been so watered-down that it won't matter anyway.
Obama can almost see the Finish Line up ahead but the "pack" is quickly catching him and he is running out of steam.
Who will ultimately win this race? Hard to tell at this point but it just might come down to a photo finish. Stay tuned.

A Cautionary Tale

I recently spoke with a person I'd never met before while trying to assist them in their job search. That's what I do: find people jobs.
For the sake of protecting his identity we'll call him Ian. The following is an excerpt of the conversation that I had with Ian, specifically as it pertains to our current and future healthcare system.
First some background information. Ian is a professional within the IT (Information Technology) industry who also has been heavily involved in the medical/healthcare field for many years. He expertise surrounds setting up and adminstering the systems that various healthcare programs use. He has lived in and worked all over the world mainly in Europe, Canada and Southeast Asia. Ian is highly educated and speaks 12 different languages. He speaks with a British accent and has most recently (last 5 years) become a citizen of the United States. That should be enough to understand where he is coming from.
As we spoke, Ian started to explain that his wife, who lives on an island in the Caribbean is dying. I can't describe how without revealing personal information.
Anyway, as we spoke he suddenly let out a large sigh and said: "You don't know how good we have it here in America, mate." I asked him what he meant by that and he continued: "You MUST resist Obama's attempts to change your heathcare with everything you have." (Now I normally don't talk about politics with clients/consultants but he did most of the talking and I just listened intently).
Ian stated that he used to work in London for a group of doctors years ago whose job it was to "administer" the government healthcare system. He told me: "Once a month these doctors would convene in London to make decisions about who would live and who would die."
I asked him what he meant by that. He said "You see, in this type of healthcare system there is a set budget that they must adhere to and all of the care and equipment costs come out of that budget." " If there is only 5 dialysis machines then only so many people will get a dialysis treatment that month." "You can't go anywhere else either," he continued, "because they are faced with the same issues there as well."
Ian went on for about 15 minutes recounting story after story after story of personal friends that had needed care and either could not get what they wanted or DID finally get it after waiting for months to do so. Some did not make it.
He said that his friends back home in England are very worried about what is going on here in America because this was thier "Ace in the hole" when they couldn get treatment back home. If America goes the way of England and Canada they'll have to find another place to get their treatment.
Ian said very solemnly: "I tell everyone I meet, and I mean EVERYONE that this will be the end of America if this is allowed to happen." He said "You American's don't understand that even though your healthcare system might be broken and it might be expensive, it's still the best healthcare in the world." "I know," he continued, "I've lived all over the world but I CHOSE to be an American."
Ian and I spoke for another ten or fifteen minutes and he finally said: "If you love this country, mate, you'll not let this happen without a fight."
The thing that I love about my job is that I get to talk to people. All kinds of people from all over the country and the world. I was struck by the passion that this man had for a country that he just came to know as his own not even a decade ago.
Ian fears that he will lose his wife soon and healthcare is a subject that is near and dear to his heart. She is dying because of an operation that was performed outside the United States in a healthcare system that was substandard to say the least.
His hope is to bring her here to the United States to see if she can get SOME treatment before it's too late. However, his confidence in that happening is slowly abating.
"Don't let this happen," I can hear him saying, "not here too." "Not in America."

The CIA Witch Hunt

Everyone has themselves in a tizzy over the secret CIA program that Cheney allegedly hid from Congress. This is much ado about nothing and is turning into a Democrat witchhunt.
First of all let's look at some important points:
Point 1: This program never went operational.
Point 2: The reason why VP Cheney decided to keep it from Congress was most likely to KEEP IT SECRET.
Point 3: This is nothing different than what the Obama Administration is doing RIGHT NOW!
Now let's look at them more carefully.
Point 1: As reported today in the WSJ:
One former senior intelligence official said the program was an attempt "to achieve a capacity to carry out something that was directed in the finding," meaning it was looking for ways to capture or kill al Qaeda chieftains.The official noted that Congress had long been briefed on the finding, and that the CIA effort wasn't so much a program as "many ideas suggested over the course of years." It hadn't come close to fruition, he added.
Senior CIA leaders were briefed two or three times on the most recent iteration of the initiative, the last time in the spring of 2008. At that time, CIA brass said that the effort should be narrowed and that Congress should be briefed if the preparations reached a critical stage, a former senior intelligence official said.
It never did, no need to brief Congress. If the intelligence agencies of the government were required to brief Congress every time they got an idea they would NEVER get anything accomplished.
Point 2: Less than TWO WEEKS after this program was "discovered" and briefed to Congress it hits the FRONT PAGES. Is there any wonder Cheney thought it best to keep it quiet until it became operational?
Obviously Congress is full of leaks and cannot be trusted and certainly NOT the hostile congressional environment that existed in Bush's second term. Cheney most likely believed, as I do now, that the Dems so hated Bush that they would have "outed" this program just to spite him. Nevermind the fact that he only had our safety in mind, that means little when power is at stake.
Point 3: This is the most ridiculous part of all of this. The righteous indignation that some in Congress are trying to portray when it comes to the mission of this program: assassinations of top Al Qaeda leaders. Not the "A" word!
Nevermind the fact that the world would be much better served if a few less bin Laden's were walking around but there is no difference between what the Bush Administration wanted to do with this program and what the Obama Administration is doing now in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In Newsweek 7/8/09:
The Obama administration's much-heralded new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan (AfPak, as the portfolio has been called) is to pour in piles of cash to develop the countries being rent by militias like the Taliban. But the plan is much more equivocal about the tactics for combating those groups. Under Gen. David McKiernan, the previous U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Predator drones were a primary tool for engagment, but since the man who replaced him, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has announced a mandate to limit civilian deaths, experts thought drone attacks would abate. Not so far, according to this week's news.
So as you can see, nothing's changed. Instead of CIA agents on the ground taking out high-value terrorist operatives, we are now doing it from the sky with predator drones. It's still assassination no?
So what is this REALLY about? Cover. Political cover to be exact.
What you are witnessing is the Dems rallying around the flag. They are closing ranks to protect thier leader, Speaker Pelosi.
She got caught. She knows she got caught. WE know she got caught. And yet, she persists. The Dems can't allow her to fall. No matter what, they must keep her there.
If she falls they will be crushed. The political ramifications of something that big would send shockwaves through Washington and beyond. This would turn the American People against them and quickly. The just got their power back and they by no means intend to give it away.
So they have decided they are going to dig in and fight. They are going to fight the most powerful, secretive and skilled intelligence agency in the world. (The Israeli Mossad is a very close second)
The people WE call on to bring down countries from within. The ones we call on to know everything about everything BEFORE anybody else knows it.
Well all I can say is good luck. Your going to need it. This is going to get ugly...soon.
Oh and for those of you with wet dreams about Cheney doing the "perp walk" for this, think again. You don't serve in the government for as long as Cheney has without knowing how to protect yourself.
Remember in Washington it's not WHO or WHAT you know that keeps you out of trouble. It's WHAT you know about where the "bodies" are buried. Cheney knows not only that but he also knows who put them there and they know it.
This is nothing more than politics, pure and simple. As usual, when it comes to choosing between thier power and the good of the People, The Dems choose their power. Typical.

My Technorati Blog Post

a5qfbdgz8h Needs to be poseted inj my blog so that Technorati can find it. Just disregard.

Stimulus NOT Stimulating

Even though the Messiah can't bring himself to admit it, he was dead wrong on the economy and now it's starting to show.
Instead of admitting that they made a mistake the new spin out of the Obama Administration is "we didn't misread anything, we had incomplete information." That almost sounds like "I tried marijuana, but I didn't inhale." Sure Mr President, we believe you.
Apparently the Vice President is the only one in the Administration that has the guts to admit that they screwed up. He actually came out and said "everyone guessed wrong...we misread the economy." I'm sure Obama will have a "talk" with him when he gets back to The White House for that one.
However, the cracks in this house of cards are starting to show and the foundation is starting to tremble.
Unemployment is nearing 10%.
Jobs are continuing to be lost (about a half million a month)
The stock market is in neutral.
Foreclosures continue at record levels.
The residential housing market is dead and now the commercial real estate market is slumping as well.
So when exactly is the "stimulus" supposed to start working?
Apparently, it's not going to. By their own admission, the Obama Administration is now saying that the first stimulus was NOT ENOUGH. We need more they say. We need another stimulus.
Another stimulus? Why?
If it's not working then why would you try the same thing AGAIN? Not only that but WHO is going to lend us the money this time around? We can't pay for the last stimulus?
I know it might sound like an episode of the Twilight Zone folks but this is where we are in this country today.
In the meantime, Europe is embracing conservatism and cutting taxes.
Folks, I wish this was a joke. I really do. Some nightmare that we will all wake up from at some point. Unfortunately, it's far too real and the idiots that we have running our government don't have any idea what they are doing.
It's my belief that they are employing the "spaghetti" method in Congress these days. If they throw something up against the wall and it sticks, it's good!
While the Obama Administration and our Congress of Fools debates another stimulus and borrowing more money to mortgage our children's future, it would appear that the American People are finally starting to wake up.
In the Washington Post today: Barely half of Americans are now confident that President Obama's $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy, and the rapid rise in optimism about the state of the nation that followed the 2008 election has abated, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Overall, 52 percent now say the stimulus package has succeeded or will succeed in restoring the economy, compared with 59 percent two months ago. The falloff in confidence has been sharpest in the hard-hit Midwest, where fewer than half now see the government spending as succeeding.
The falloff since April cuts across partisan lines. Confidence in the package's effectiveness has dropped from 81 percent to 73 percent among Democrats and from 32 percent to 26 percent among Republicans. Among independents, it has dropped from 56 percent to 50 percent. What was once a clearly positive assessment of the program among independents (56 to 39 percent) is now an almost even split (50 to 47 percent).
There are other polls that have similar findings but since this is the one that the media often touts I thought I would use it as well.
With this kind of return on our investment from the stimulus bill, I'll bet you can't wait until they start "fixing" healthcare.
Signpost up ahead reads.....well you know.

Don't Count Sarah Out

It didn't take long for the media and just about everyone under the sun to start criticizing Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Alaska Governor.
She's a quitter, a coward, a self-serving politician, a screwed up right wing fanatic, etc. Depending on who you listen to she's either "the world's worst person" or she is "a saint".
Maybe, she's neither. Maybe she is just an America woman who is sick and tired of people attacking her family. Maybe she is tired of not being able to get anything done because of all the phony ethics investigations she has to deal with. I don't blame her for leaving.
I have no idea what Sarah Palin is planning to do with her future and quite frankly I don't care. If she runs for President, great! If she disappears behind the scenes and just continues to do her thing then I'm ok with that too.
Sure, I would love to see her emerge as a leader in the GOP so that maybe the house can be united again. But if she decides to just ride off into the sunset then that's great also.
You see, what people can't stand about her is that she doesn't play by the rules of the game. And that pisses people off.
She doesn't bow to the media elite and they hate her for that. She doesn't have an Ivy League education and they hate her for that. She doesn't NEED to be in the spotlight and they REALLY hate her for that.
Obama was never asked ANY of the questions that were asked of Sarah Palin during the campaign. And that Bush Doctrine qustion that she supposedly got wrong? Well, nobody will admit it but old Charlie Gibson got it wrong too. Sorry, Charlie.
The media doesn't understand how someone could be given all of this attention only to resist it all and walk out of the spotlight.
The media is complicit in the attacks that she and her family have had to endure and they know it. However, Sarah can walk away from all of it and she will be completely satisfied with her life.
That's what they don't understand. Down here in the "lower 48" we CRAVE media attention and we suckle at the breast of celebrity. Not so much up there in God's Country.
Sarah summed it up well when she made the following statement: "I said before...'You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it,'" she said.
It will take a hundred years before the media can figure that one out. They just don't get it...still.
I'll just say this. I was planning to vote for John McCain BEFORE he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. However, afterward, I started WORKING for the campaign until the end as did many others.
The energy that she brought to the ticket was amazing and I knew early on that McCain was doomed when she pulled TWICE the crowd he did at their rallies.
Sarah Palin is a great American woman who loves her family, her country and Alaska and she always will. I've seen first hand the energy she brings to a campaign and she speaks for many of us out here.
She's learned what a Presidential Campaign entails and she will be ready if she throws her hat in the ring.
Will America be ready to elect the first woman President or will they pass this by simply because she is a conservative?
If Sarah DOES run for President then Obama will face the same thing McCain faced when he ran against him...history in the making.
That is why you shouldn't count her out.

Hey GOP, Look On The Bright Side!

Look, I know all of you Republicans out there are sick to death with what is going on with this country. The reason I know this is because I, as a fellow Republican, feel the same.
However, I started looking at things a little differently lately and I found that I don't feel so bad about the predicament we are in.
Sure, the Dems run the WHOLE GOVERNMENT. Sure, they now have the Super Majority in the Senate so they need not fear any GOP filibuster. Sure Obama is quickly enacting his socialist agenda and probably can't be stopped until much later down the road.
Admittedly, those are all very good reasons to be depressed if you are a Republican or Conservative or both.
However, look at it this way. Now that the Dems control everything, they can no longer blame what's wrong in this country on anyone else.
How long do you think the American people are going to fall for the "it's Bush's fault" argument? Not very long. They might get another 3-5 months out of that one but it is becoming painfully clear that the Dems have become drunk with power, Obama included, and are over-reaching by a huge margin.
American will start to get real tired of hearing them say the recovery is right around the corner and not see any evidence to support that claim. Now they are saying it's 2 years away. When did that change?
Anyway, it is going to be impossible for Dems running for office in the next few years to blame anything on the GOP. That means they will most likely turn on each other.
You'll start to hear things like" Sure, my opponent is a Democrat like me but he is much more conservative/liberal than I am". Just wait and see...it's coming.
So, I suggest that you get involved and start working at the grass roots level to start grooming candidates for future elections. Sit back and gather the ammo that the Dems are sure to hand us as they drive this country into the toilet.
You just know that Al Franken is going to say something stupid. It's only a matter of time. He can't help it. The pressure on him will be too much and he'll break.
Nancy Pelosi is less popular than Dick Cheney. Clearly, she is in deep trouble. She has powerful allies in The House but she'll fall eventually.
Remember, they can't blame anyone else for the angst that future voters will have and are now beginning to feel. They will only have themselves to blame.
The question I have though is this: at what point will the media jump off the Obama boat?