The Ego That Drove Caesar to Cross the Rubicon Under Arms is the Same as the One Driving Obama

• Mark your calendars: 9/12 National Taxpayer Protest [http://912dc.org]

Recent events in New Jersey tell you everything you need or want to know about today’s Democrat party [1]. The arrests of several mayors and even members of the state assembly on corruption and money laundering charges exemplify all that is wrong with today’s politicians. While we may not expect much better from NJ’s office holders, it demonstrates one thing: Politicians can not be trusted. Their behavior needs to be verified – constantly [2]. This situation needs to be capitalized upon by the Republican Party immediately since the gubernatorial election in the Garden State is around the corner. Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson and others should come crashing down on the state for constant public appearances until Election Day to prevent “…a serious crisis to go to waste.”

This week we, the people, were treated to yet another lesson in the presidential health care sales curriculum. It must’ve been titled: “Exaggeration Works!” Convince everyone that the current situation is the worst it can possibly be to apparently trigger mass depression. While the President rambled on telling us everything we had already heard a dozen times before, it was surprising to realize how much time and effort has been spent on convincing the people that this piece of legislative horse manure is good for all. Does it remind you of an overbearing salesman on a used car lot? It makes me wonder if the smartest person ever to be elected President [3] even understands that it is not he who dictates laws. That is left to the Congress. The nation’s executive is tasked with exercising his duty to sign a bill once presented or use veto power to return the garbage to Capitol Hill [4].

By now any rational individual will have started to question whether Obama can still be considered the most intelligent President ever. How many people cringed when he announced that “…the Cambridge Police acted stupidly…?” Au contraire, it was Obama who acted stupidly by digging himself a hole in front of the nation. Tom “Tax” Daschle once demanded that Bush apologize for characterizing Democrats as weak on national security [5]. Yet our current President can not bring himself to apologize for running off at the mouth to Sgt. Crowley.

We do remember that the President had announced “This isn’t about me… [6]” during an appearance in Washington. If you take that statement at face value, he seems to be working in all of our best interest. However, if this was in fact the case, how could it be squared with Obama’s statements in OH the other day where he said (according to Whitehouse transcript [7]):
• I just want people to keep on working
• I want the bill to get out of the committees
• I want that bill to go to the floor
• I want that bill to be reconciled
• I want to sign a bill
• I want it done by the end of this year

What is the urgency? Do we have millions waiting on necessary medical treatment in hospitals coast to coast that will die if America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 does not get done by the end of the year? How do you square the rush to immediate action with the fact that most of the bill would not take effect until 2013 [8]? Let’s just hypothesize that the continuing strain on the American Social Security system with its $13 trillion in unfunded liabilities [9] needs to be addressed sooner than later by manipulating the aging society. Our population is maturing as illustrated by the Census’ national population estimate [10]. The median age has risen from 35.3 years to 36.2 between 7/1/2000 and 7/1/2005. Even more interesting is the fact that the 20-39 age-group has increased a mere .67% in those five years while the 80-100+ age-group became 15.8% larger. 40-59 added 11.6%, and they are the ones retiring soon. In that light it makes sense that mature Americans shall be required to consult a government official for check ups as outlined in SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION illustrated on pages 424-434.

America’s government was created to consist of three separate but coequal branches. This system has been reproduced around the world in many nations. The branches are supposed to check each other and provide balance against infringements of the men and women in this country. It could be argued that the President is in the weakest position among the three. After all, he does not control the money nor does he have the privilege of review; that is reserved for the Supreme Court of the United States. We have accepted the bending of strict fundamentals for many decades in the interest of compassion and empathy for any group that could be painted as a suffering part of America. 2009 has delivered the straw that broke the camel’s back; Barack Obama. There were high expectations for hope and change, but we have been presented with an agenda that counters everything for which America stands and countless people have laid down their lives. On the other hand, this may well have been the goal all along. The developments during the first half of 2009 should teach us one thing: Take responsibility for your own life and be accountable for your actions.

Since health care is now the main topic, it is timely to turn everyone’s attention to the commercials on television for senior citizens’ scooters. If we want to take a serious look at excessive spending, let’s start with the companies that “guarantee” Medicare acceptance of scooter prescriptions. Let the reforms start by “reallocating money that's already in the system but is being wasted in federal health care programs” as noted during the town hall appearance at Shaker Heights High School on 7/23/09. According to the President 2/3 of the money needed for his (review the “I” comments from his speech at Shaker Heights) version of health care reform can be found by streamlining the existing system. Take care of that and let’s see what you, Obama, can do! Show me the savings…
• Don’t boil the ocean [11]


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/massive_nj_corruption_sting_ta.html
[2] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/oct/04/20051004-093114-8950r/
[3] http://www.mikefrancesa.com/wordpress/?p=1929
[4] http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.bysec/presidential.html
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/26/news/26iht-dems_ed3_.html
[6] http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jg0mZggxjSy4ELohCHyolyg_mqSQ
[7] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Health-Care-Reform-Town-Hall/
[8] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/24/politics/main5185842.shtml
[9] http://www.dallasfed.org/news/speeches/fisher/2008/fs080528.cfm
[10] http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2005/NC-EST2005-01.xls
[11] http://www.bobcongdon.net/blog/2004/06/boil-ocean.html

Can Someone Please Find an AED for the President’s Health Care Plan?

• Mark your calendars: 9/12 National Taxpayer Protest [http://912dc.org]

Last week President Obama graced the Garden State with a visit to help out the governor’s reelection bid [1]. Mr. Corzine you see, is not all that well-liked by a whole lot of people in New Jersey anymore. This state is the first battle in the political war against everything for which today’s Democrat Inc. stands. The gubernatorial election is set for 11/3/09. Governor Corzine, of course, is well entrenched in the elitist minority that is quickly running this grand ship, the United States of America, aground. By some reports, the states received more than 40% of their funding from the federal government in 2005 (“Tracking the State Dependency Rate”) [2]. It is only reasonable to assume that the percentage will only show as having gone up in subsequent years since the trend is upward. See, Corzine’s problem (among others) is that the state is debt laden – just like many others except perhaps Texas. Page twenty-four of the 2009 Budget Summary shows $115 billion long-term obligations [3]. Take heed: one of the categories is “Unfunded Pension Liability.” Extrapolate that to Social Security… He congratulates himself on page six by announcing that “This budget significantly reduces the size … and cost of government” while at the same time listing on page 133 that the 2009 budget is barely lower than 2008’s and still significantly higher than 2007’s. All the while, highway tolls are rising [4] to cover Corzine’s – and his predecessors’ – frivolous spending binges. Side note: Consider the benefit to our environment if all toll booths were torn down and traffic was allowed to flow freely without mile-long jams blowing massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Oh right, environmentalism has zero, zilch, nil, null, nada and ling to do with the environment.

Now the main event: President Obama’s unhinged performance at the PNC Bank Arts Center. It started off well enough with a lot of applause and a seemingly enthusiastic crowd assembled to hear their object of adulation speak many wise words. Surprisingly – maybe not – the speech was once again centered on selling health care to America instead of endorsing Corzine. He made a compelling case. After all, the President reads ten letters from “ordinary” Americans daily. I for one would be a bit taken aback to know that I am considered merely “ordinary.” To each his/her own I suppose. The man was energized. He worked himself into a frenzy that required the removal of the coat due to the heat just three minutes into the appearance. Kindly, he empathized with the heat-suffering audience on that hot and humid day. It appeared to be a speech like many others delivered flawlessly from the TOTUS [5] standing at attention. But things were not right… For one, the official Corzine campaign camera operator captured the speech in it’s entirety with the President centered smack-dab behind TOTUS. I thought it might not go over well with Axelrod and Emanuel to see the smartest President ever obviously behind the prompter. But then, it happened. The well known teleprompter is probably only a small concern after listening to Bam-Bam lose track of words and stumble over his own tongue. But the prize was seeing him bend down and screaming into the twin mikes on the Presidential podium. This was not the “Smooth Criminal” we saw in the past. (Had to work in some Michael Jackson in there…) What we see now is a snake-oil salesman: The cool is gone; the new car smell is no more. He knows that he’s trying to sell a bill of goods to a country that is by-and-large apparently satisfied with its health care system. We saw an agitated and annoyed speaker whose ability to unify the country has turned no more than mediocre. We are not seeing the same kind of self-assured campaign performances as we did during the 2008 election cycle. Could Senator DeMint be right? Is this Obama’s Waterloo [6]?

There was humor during the main event too. Listening to the distinct capture of Corzine’s monkey clap every couple of minutes was very lively. It was as if he was signaling the crowd when and how much to applaud. A Letterman style “Applause” sign may have been a bit much. Corzine, we know, is a man who did not run for office “…on the promise that change would be easy…” even though the President said so. By the way, we now add Corzine to the “change” crowd. The fact is that Corzine entered the governor’s office in 2006 when things were roaring. This guy hasn’t seen hard times and from the appearance of the budget, has no intention to face hard decisions. The same goes for his neighbor to the east – Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Mike is riding Giuliani’s achievements still.

The thing that everyone has to remember in this debate for and against health care reform is this: If health care was as broken and substandard as the President wants us to believe, then this bill would be the easiest ever to sail though Congress and become law. Mere observation of the continuing, vigorous debates between the people on the pros and cons tells us one thing; very clearly so: This is a hard sell even though Obama is implying that it should be self-explanatory!

What we have is another monstrous 1000+ page proposal in Congress that once again is designed to limit the ability of Americans to make choices in their lives. It would successively outlaw private policies. Similar to the discoveries in the 1000+ page bailout and the 1000+ page Cap’n’Trade (ACES) bills, people are finding more and more nonsense in the health care proposal [7]. Section 242 of “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” (AAHCA) includes this gem on page 132: “…an individual who is lawfully present in the United States (other than as nonimmigrant described in a subparagraph…” If you would then try reading through the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) referenced from the AAHCA, your head would spin. Line 15 of Section 101 (INA) reads: “(15) The term “immigrant” means every alien…” Immigration reform hiding in the AAHCA through health care coverage?

Money is - as it always has been - the problem. This will cost a whole lot of money as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has told us [8]. It seems that Obama’s promise of hope and change is wearing thin even among the people he describes as “ordinary” or the fight for his type of health care reform would not be this difficult. It would not require this many press conferences.


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD69Sp_gg3Y
[2] http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/upload/bg_2136.pdf
[3] http://www.nj.gov/budget09/budget_summary.pdf
[4] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/corzine_wants_to_offer_toll_di.html
[5] http://www.totusblog.com/
[6] http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/07/white-house-plans-to-use-demints-waterloo-quote-to-rally-the-troops.html
[7] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPSHAqrS7RU
[8] http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/cbo-healthcare-bill-exceeds-1-trillion-2009-06-15.html
[9] http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/watchdog-treasury-has-failed-to-adopt-bailout-safeguards-2009-07-20.html

The Annual Supplemental Appropriations Will Make You Go “Hmmm…”
• Mark your calendars. 9/12 National Taxpayer Protest [http://912dc.org]

With all numbers coming out of Capitol Hill in the billions, it almost seems trivial to review H.R. 2346 [1] which mostly contains amounts in the millions, but it clearly illustrates one thing: Congress holds the purse strings. The first interesting thing to note is that most legislation is always titled xyz “…and for other purposes.” While fiscal year supplemental appropriations are nothing other than the norm, one would figure that FY’09’s should be slim and trim since we’re facing unprecedented circumstances. Then again, President Obama told us that he’ll go through the FY’10 budget [2] “…line by line…” It seems that FY’09 remains open for some ridiculous spending.

I usually don’t have a problem with DoD spending since nothing is possible without having strong national defense force in place and the proposed military allocations make sense to me. Freedom isn’t free. Never has been. The Ron Paul crowds always decry our worldwide military installations and object to their existence. Well folks, we might want to start paying attention to some of these “other purposes” before withdrawing troops around the globe. For example…
• $400 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund (pg 9)
• $137 million for Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities Defense (pg 16). They’ve done such a great job as clearly evidenced by the drug wars spilling over in the American southwest that it is only right to give them more money I guess.
• Salaries & Expenses for Commerce & Justice Departments: $6.65 million (pg 32) – Way to save…
• Salaries & Expenses for the National Security Division: $1.4 million – Other people’s salaries are going down, but…
• Salaries & Expenses for ATF: $4 million (pg 33) – Preparing to enforce whatever gun legislation is coming.
• Office of the Inspector General: $3 million (pg 33) – I thought we were firing them…
• Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: $55 million (pg 34) – So are we going to stop Iran’s effort or what’s the money for?
• Executive Office of the President (National Security Council): $2.9 million – Out of money already?
• Department of the Interior: $50 million
• Department of Agriculture: $200 million
• Department of Health and Human Services: $1.85 billion
• Capitol Police: $71 million for brand new radios
• NATO Security Investment Program: $100 million – Keep on keeping on.
• Department of State: $1 billion (pg 46) – Maybe Hillary can get a $6,000 purse too.
• Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities: $837 million (pg 47) – This is for you Ron Paul.
• Funds appropriated to the President: Operations $152.6 million, Capitol Investment Fund $48.5 million, Inspectors General $3.5 million – So much for feeling Americans’ pain.
• Global Health and Child Survival: $300 million (pg 48) – We know of course that everyone accounts for money as accurately as we do in America.
• Economic Support Fund: $2.9 billion (pg 49) - $200 million of which to the Palestinian Authority, $10 million to Burma, $300 million to Haiti, Liberia & Indonesia, additional $242.5 million to Georgia (the one near Russia) – Eat your heart out Ron Paul.
• International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement: $483.5 million (pg 51) - Eat your heart out Ron Paul.
• Migration and Refugee Assistance: $343 million
• Foreign Military Financing Program: $1.349 billion (pg 54) – Before we withdraw our troops, let’s first stop financing other people’s military forces (notable: $310 million to Mexico | Egypt [$260 million] will be transferred to an interest bearing account at the New York Fed).
• Women and Girls in Afghanistan: (pg 62) “…should be made available to support programs that increase participation by women in the political process, including at the national, regional and local levels…”
• Assistance for Developing Countries impacted by the Global Financial Crisis: “…have a 2007 per capita Gross National Income of $3,705 or less…” (pg 63) – We’re raising the minimum wage all over the place.

We have been told that we’re in the worst economic crisis since, by some accounts, the Great Depression. It makes no sense that the supplemental spending bill for the remainder of this fiscal year (ending 9/30/09) needs to be this big. One would expect to hear about plans to reduce salaries and expenses for governmental entities all around Washington, but that is simply not the case as seen in the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill. Employers all across America are doing whatever is necessary to keep their businesses running while Obama Inc. does the exact opposite. This is where our taxes are wasted. The United States of America is out of money. The Treasury is issuing ridiculous amounts of bills, notes and bonds while no apparent steps are being taken to rein in some of the government spending. There is even talk of a second stimulus package.

The latest lines that we’re being fed is that the original $787 billion stimulus plan was never designed to work right away. Rather, it was expected to provide relief to America’s strained economy in a two year time span. That of course would be right in line with the 2010 midterm elections to provide the Democrats ammunition for the upcoming political avalanche from the right. Republicans better pay close attention to the way that the language is being massaged and focus on the loss of American freedoms and liberties early and intensely. The economy has to rebound; that’s natural. If it would not, we’d all be riding horses and building outhouses in no time. The difference is how the “American Way of Life” will have been altered in just two short years. And we’re far from done… Cap’n’Trade has passed its first hurdle, immigration reform is on deck and American health care is under attack. A lot can happen still before 2009 is over.

The FY’10 Supplemental Appropriations bill is about three times as long as the FY’09 piece of… That means the proposed $3.6 trillion are nowhere near enough for Obama to throw around. Line by line my…


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2346eh.txt.pdf
[2] http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGxJxf

The Biggest Round of Texas Hold’em Ever Played

If ET exists and ever decides to take a trip to earth, he will see a sign that reads “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” upon entering our atmosphere. All of this activity feels like a bad gamble from an American perspective. It’s hard to keep track of all the players at the table but it’s undisputable that gamblers from around the world have gathered for a game that’ll last a couple of years.

Russia shuffled the cards in South Ossetia [1]. The ANTE was $700 billion in October of 2008. Then came the FLOP that elected and moved President Obama into the White House in Washington D.C. after the inauguration. The raises and re-raises have been tremendous throughout 2009 already and it seems that we’re far from done. Player economy has been raising its bets with hundreds of thousands of lost jobs as we get deeper into the year. China folded when it started to warn about America’s move to monetize her debt [2] and then of course little Timmy was laughed out of town [3]. Californians followed suit and folded by voting down new taxes. Across the table Somalia raised three dead pirates, North Korea chipped in a couple of nuclear test and Congress kept up by pushing the $787 billion bailout, $410 billion omnibus spending and the 2010 $3.6 trillion budget [4] to the center of the table. When the TURN finally came after all the betting was done, two of Al Gore’s employees are sitting in North Korean labor camps [5]. The stakes have never been higher.

It looks like the stakes before the RIVER will become even higher. How about Cap’n’Trade, Health Care, immigration reform and maybe inflation to sound the death knell of America? This presidency is a mockery of leadership! Even a former Russian KGB agent sees the U.S.A. disintegrating into multiple pieces in 2010 [6].

“… government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage… [7]” Well, it seems that with less than six months in office President Obama’s inauguration speech already rings hollow. We have seen American auto disassembled and from Vice President Biden we heard that some waste in the $787 billion bailout package is inevitable [8]. That is a clear verdict that bailout mania doesn’t work and needs to be stopped. This has been a great experiment and all, but enough is enough. The great unifier needs to understand that the failure is his [9]. Add 9.4% - climbing - unemployment to the mix, and helping families find jobs is clearly not happening. Just ask some of the closing automobile dealership employees about how hope and change is working out. Oh right, they’ll all be working in government bicycle plants soon.

All that misery might even be bearable if it wasn’t for the added violence thrown in. If the Obama presidency is the greatest thing since sliced bread, why is the crime rate in Manhattan rising [10]? Shouldn’t everyone be happy? The people in Chicago are so fuming mad that Obama is not with them anymore that the city is being shot to shreds [11]? We have a recently converted Muslim carrying out a drive-by shooting on an Army recruiter in Arkansas [12] and an abortion doctor killed in a church [13]. South-of-the-border Acapulco is under attack by gangs [14]. Mexico visit not paying off with peace? Where is the change and hope? Obama is not just wrecking the economy with the government madness; he also has failed to show any leadership in fostering good and lawful conduct among his subjects. Remember that he’s our ruler according to his advisor Valerie Jarrett [15]. Malfunctions all around…

The most recent example of complete idiocy was the President’s speech at Cairo University. It was a noble effort in fostering togetherness and understanding, but what happened to the separation of church and state? Aren’t we always lectured from the left here in America about the importance of keeping those two separate? Since he read passages out of the Koran in Cairo [16], can we please see the Sunday morning Bible study schedule with Uncle Barack? And once again, we have dear leader Barack speaking English to the gathered masses instead of their native tongue. Remember the lecture from the campaign trail when we were told about the importance of second languages?

The campaigns of 2010 will begin before too long. Michael Steele, America is waiting… You need to get in gear and make use of the Tea Party movement to organize the grassroots. Explain to America how you will focus on turning the move toward government control of everything back. It is time for the elected Republicans in D.C. to canvass the country and present a plan. A fundamental overhaul of education and taxation to bring back manufacturing and spur investment. Our Marines end up in Afghanistan and Iraq for many months without seeing their families. The very least you leftover Republicans can do is sacrifice your weekends between now and the election of 2010 to sponsor gatherings from coast to coast and present a vision of Americanism that clearly stands apart from Obama’s: “Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail.” People have immigrated to America throughout her history precisely because this is a better place.

To the families of Euna Lee and Laura Ling [17]… I hope that both ladies return home to California safely soon. When they do, you should waste no time to call California’s best and brightest Boxer, Feinstein and Pelosi to demand public hearings of Al Gore under oath in front of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee to rip him apart and find out why in the world they were sent that close to the North Korean border. That should make primetime on Current TV.
Isn’t it interesting that North Korea, a country that dealt with famine [18] about ten years ago, is apparently able to monitor its borders?


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/russia_invades_south_ossetia/
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124303024230548323.html?ref=patrick.net
[3] http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-students-laugh-at-tim-geithner-2009-6
[4] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123807405115247635.html
[5] http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98ML4IO0&show_article=1
[6] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2
[8] http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5516HE20090602
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shirin-sadeghi/the-united-world-of-obama_b_141267.html
[10] http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7015198496
[11] http://newsone.blackplanet.com/nation/chicago-has-seven-murders-in-24-hours/
[12] http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/1227601.html
[13] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,523581,00.html
[14] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3I4gaMX3b4g
[15] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Nlq80DVpo
[16] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/
[17] http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/03/19/n_korea_tests_us_over_detained_reporters/3540/
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine

We also understand that a medical expert with SERE experience will be present throughout this phase and that the procedures will be stopped if deemed medically necessary…

The quote above is taken from one of the four declassified “torture” memos titled “Memorandum for John Rizzo Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency.” What everyone can clearly see is that we – the evil torturing U.S.A. – had medical staff present while any or all of the 10 Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT) were used on Al-Qaeda operatives. If you were to recall the gruesome murder of Daniel Pearl [1], I would argue that most people would prefer medically supervised waterboarding over having their throat cut Al-Qaeda style.

The entire torture issue would’ve been a winning topic if John McCain had had the guts to stand up and draw a comparison to his Hanoi Hilton treatment during the Vietnam War at the hands of the Vietcong. It was painfully obvious to anyone watching a debate that he has been left permanently disabled from the torture and broken bones of those five years. Alternately, Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller recently had himself waterboarded and appears to have survived without permanent physical injuries [2]. It is quite interesting to note that Mancow is now on record as identifying waterboarding as torture. Good to see that a six-second exposure qualifies a person to be a torture expert; even without apparent prior military or intelligence experience. Time to fire the entire U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Muller now has the expertise and qualifications to be the chief legal council to the President. Or maybe this was just a ratings stunt. That is much more likely, so let’s give him an A+ with a smiley face and gold star for the effort.

While he is conferring with the President, Mr. Muller should also introduce the transcript of General Petraeus’ Radio Free Europe interview [3]. This will undoubtedly further illustrate to all Americans just how inhumanely American intelligence personnel treat Al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Oh snap, hold on… General Petraeus was speaking as an Army General who commanded troops on the battlefield in Iraq. There is of course the Army Field Manual that has been cited as the gold standard for interrogations. It prohibits the EITs described in the recently declassified memoranda. The pesky little fact is that the memos drafted by the DoJ were intended for the CIA to guide their handling of prisoners on Gitmo. General Petraeus’ objections are spot-on as an Army commander. The reason 300 million people can sleep peacefully at night is due to the work of countless intelligence agents around the world. You don’t want to know all they know… There is a substantial difference between the Army and the CIA.

As a fellow battle hardened veteran John McCain had the opportunity to separate himself from his contender during last year’s presidential contest on the subject of torture, but he missed the mark by a mile. Much like the identical vote on TARP and same idea on mortgage aid, there was simply no difference between the candidates. The Republican Party is not going to rebuild itself on the backs of the old guard who are unwilling to take a stand. There is a huge difference between having someone stand up for a while and listen to Bruce Springsteen [4] and cutting off their head. It is time to celebrate all that is good about America. How about the fact that our troops in Iraq do not outright flatten mosques from which they are fired upon [5]? How about the fact that we have not rounded up all Muslims around America similar to what happened to the Japanese during World War II? It is about time that the flushing of Republican moderates begins in earnest in preparation for the 2010 midterm elections. Draft a coherent message that highlights the good things around here instead of focusing on the bad. Yes, even “torture” in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a celebration of American goodness. The word has been mangled to include treatment that might be less harmful than college fraternity hazing [6]. Beware; the kids you’re sending off to college this fall may well be tortured!

And why in the world did the undersized half-dead dictator in North Korea apparently set off a nuclear subsurface bomb a few days ago? President Obama brought all the “torturing” to the surface and set guidance for the intelligence people to act within the Army Field Manual guidelines [7]. Where are the fluffy pink clouds? Why aren’t we seeing the entire United Nations Assembly in a celebratory conga line moving through Manhattan’s east side? After all, the grand poobah is now in charge. Shouldn’t the world be well on the way out of the morass by now? Where’s the hope? Instead, the economy is being ripped to shreds further and world peace is slipping [8]. Meanwhile Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama are continuing the destruction of Mother Earth by taking trips to China (to talk about the climate) and raising funds in Las Vegas for Harry Reid respectively. Can someone please call Cisco and introduce the political elite to the wonderful world of video conferencing? For us it’s electric cars! Horse-squeeze & Bull-spit!

Final thought: If you think China is not smack-dab in the middle of anything Mini-Me does in North Korea, you need to think – my opinion. The Chinese communist apparatus has a perfect test lab next door without having to upset any trading partners or losing face at the UN.


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1461368/Daniel-Pearl-refused-to-be-sedated-before-his-throat-was-cut.html
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/22/mancow-waterboarded-video_n_206906.html
[3] http://www.rferl.org/content/transcript_RFERL_Interviews_US_Central_Command_Chief_General_David_Petraeus/1738626.html
[4] http://story.birminghamstar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/dd8845aa60952db2/id/440800/cs/1/
[5] http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB108561482302622502.html
[6] http://www.stophazing.org/fraternity_hazing/index.htm
[7] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99790782
[8] http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-39913120090527

The Whole Thing Has to be Designed to Overwhelm You

Not a day goes by without news that the Obama administration has gathered goons from all over to tackle yet another essential issue to save America. There was the executive order to close Guantanamo Bay [1] followed by S-CHIP Social Security Act expansion (see information at the bottom) to reversing the Mexico City Policy [2] once more. Participating in the G20 summit and giving a commencement speech at Notre Dame while destroying America’s automobile industry. I am becoming more convinced by the day that all the hoopla is designed to move with racecar speed to overwhelm all of us with so much information that we’re left unable to keep track of everything that is being done to destroy the fabric of this; the greatest nation on earth.

Restoring America to her once grand status is going to take willingness from citizens all across the fruited plain to see through political rhetoric. We’ll have to stand up at some point and say: “We don’t need a government that’ll provide everything we’ll ever need.” We have to stop falling for the stupid line that everything politicians do is for the children. The mid term election campaigns have already begun and office seekers will be busy telling us all about their grand plans to do this or that. We need politicians that will explain all the things that are wrong with existing laws and favor restriction of action. The unread 1,000+ page stimulus package is the prime example. John McCain would have you believe that he’s not a moderate per last Sunday’s appearance on “Face the Nation.” He even has the audacity to identify himself as a “conservative” on his Facebook page. A clear signal that the nation is fed up would be a resounding defeat of Grand Ole McCain at the hands of a conservative. Senator McCain, you are a loser! Mount a horse and ride off into the sunset. It’ll take America’s conservative base to say: STOP!!! It’ll be up to the Republican Party to place CONSERVATIVES front-and-center. Laws need to be repealed to get back to some common sense. We have to believe that we are best suited to make decisions for ourselves – no one else should be making decisions for us.

The next two big items on the docket that will affect each and every one of us are of course Cap’n’Trade and Health Care reform. Let’s start with Cap’n’Trade (Crap’n’Trance). If Mother Earth would really be in as bad a shape as politicians would have you believe, why are they continuing to poison the planet in unprecedented fashion?
- The most concerned governor in America, Arnold “Meathead” Schwarzenegger, traveled to Washington D.C. to be present at the ceremony to celebrate new fuel usage standards. I would think that it is unconscionable for him destroy the earth even more for an unnecessary trip across the country. After all, Obama can sign his name himself. I’ve seen him do it on TV. Let’s assume he didn’t fly coach from California…
- I do not understand how the President, who lectures us on our excessive lifestyles, can shoulder live with himself after flying himself and his bride to Chicago for Valentine’s Day Dinner. Are there no restaurants in Washington? Consider the pollution from a couple of 747s plus equipment plane.
- How can he look his kids in the face knowing that he’s destroying the earth by taking the family on a vacation in Hawaii as the President Elect late last year? Are there no Christmas trees in Chicago?
- Was the commencement speech at Notre Dame an essential Presidential function worth the emissions expended? This whole environmental movement is a mean spirited ideology to exert Un-American government control over our lives. It is counterproductive to everything for which America stands. There is no possibility of a real problem if you pay attention to how the politicians act. The intended Cap’n’Trade legislation is just the first step, and it will cost each of us dearly. You will have smart meters in your houses and face excessive fees and taxes if your allotted energy usage is exceeded. You will also have government inspectors stop by your house to measure insulation values. It’s already happening a bit east of us.

Every law that is passed through the Congress or state legislatures is an opportunity for a lawyer to find a hole to circumvent it. The more restrictions laws impose on our lives, the more often will individuals find ways to bypass them. When was the last time you paid attention to the speed limit on a road trip? Have you ever briefly parked in a handicapped spot without a tag? Laws are there to be broken, although most of us pay attention to the important ones. Cap’n’Trade will drive even more manufacturing out of this nation because the imposed regulations will be cost prohibitive. Watch for the Middle East to become a desert industrial area. The President didn’t bow for nothing. Oil is cheap there. Now, consider the federal enforcement agencies that’ll have to be built to control and enforce all of this. Then consider the money that will be made in trading carbon credits. Money will be made by the brokers of carbon emission trading systems. Green is mean! By the way, did you know that there is such a thing as a “Weather Derivative [3]”?

Now that you might’ve gotten a headache, let’s briefly mention health care reform. There are countless stories about Canadians coming to the U.S.A. for medical treatment. The U.K. makes headlines with its defunct National Health Service (NHS) and month long waiting periods. I thought that was all the information I needed to be consciously opposed to government health management, but then I turned on the TV at my parents’ house in Germany and caught the 3/22/09 episode of the Weltspiegel (World Mirror) on ARD. Europe marks the spot: A German/Swedish couple makes a business out of finding Germany based treatment option for Swedish patients. Sweden is yet another testimony to the failure of socialized health management. One lady explained how she had to wait for six weeks for a hip operation and another shared her anguish over a three months cancer treatment delay. People in Sweden are augmenting their government social health service with private insurance to get better treatment. Can the real politician who wants to remind Americans of our contributions to medicine please raise his/her hand? The research done at American universities is second-to-none because a free market health care system infuses the necessary funds. Celebrate the achievements!

Socialized health management will fail here too. On that note, before you cheer digital medical records, think about all the security breaches that make the headlines. There is no bulletproof system. It will be compromised and your most private information is up for grabs [4]!


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/
[2] http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2009/pr090126.html
[3] http://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/05/052505.asp
[4] http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/clinton-era-hard-drive-missing-from-archives-2009-05-19.html

From H.R. 2 of the 111th Congress
‘‘(ee)(1) For purposes of subsection (a)(46)(B)(ii), the requirements of this subsection with respect to an individual declaring to be a citizen or national of the United States for purposes of establishing eligibility under this title, are, in lieu of requiring the individual to present satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality under section 1903(x) (if the individual is not described in paragraph (2) of that section), as follows:
‘‘(A) The State submits the name and social security number of the individual to the Commissioner of Social Security as part of the program established under paragraph (2).
‘‘(B) If the State receives notice from the Commissioner of Social Security that the name or social security number, or the declaration of citizenship or nationality, of the individual is inconsistent with information in the records maintained by the Commissioner—
‘‘(i) the State makes a reasonable effort to identify and address the causes of such inconsistency, including through typographical or other clerical errors, by contacting the individual to confirm the accuracy of the name or social security number submitted or declaration of citizenship or nationality and by taking such additional actions as the Secretary, through regulation or other guidance,
or the State may identify, and continues to provide the individual with medical assistance while making such effort; and
‘‘(ii) in the case such inconsistency is not resolved under clause (i), the State—
‘‘(I) notifies the individual of such fact;
‘‘(II) provides the individual with a period of 90 days from the date on which the notice required under subclause (I) is received by the individual to either present satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality (as defined in section 1903(x)(3)) or resolve the inconsistency with the Commissioner of Social Security (and continues to provide the individual with medical assistance during such 90-day period); and
‘‘(III) disenrolls the individual from the State plan under this title within 30 days after the end of such 90-day period if no such documentary evidence is presented or if such inconsistency is not resolved.
‘‘(2)(A) Each State electing to satisfy the requirements of this subsection for purposes of section 1902(a)(46)(B) shall establish a program under which the State submits at least monthly to the Commissioner of Social Security for comparison of the name and social security number, of each individual newly enrolled in the State plan under this title that month who is not described in section 1903(x)(2) and who declares to be a United States citizen or national, with information in records maintained by the Commissioner.

That pretty much gives everyone access to tax payer financed medical care…

Things I Do Not Understand, I Will Not Do

Seems to me that President Obama should heed the warning above from Wolfgang Mayrhuber (CEO Lufthansa) as quoted in Germany’s DIE ZEIT newspaper [pg 23, 3/12/2009, Nr 12]. The introductory quote is taken from a two-page article in the economics section of the paper that describes in great detail the success of Lufthansa in current global conditions. Wikipedia lists Lufthansa as the world’s fifth largest airline in terms of passengers and member of the largest world airline alliance (Star Alliance). The reader learns that the airline carried 70.54 million passengers on 830,819 flights in 2008. Freight claims came in at about 1.9 million metric tons. Mr. Mayrhuber also notes that airline people are conservative people who shy away from too much risk. Interestingly enough, Lufthansa plans to expand even in the difficult climate companies face today. A new hub in the Italian city of Milan is planned and Swiss Air has been successfully integrated.

Now, the clever quote at the beginning is not the only interesting point to take away from the report. Mayrhuber spends some time explaining that “The business areas have their managers who work in their own areas.” The technology managers oversee the corporation’s technology aspects while the cargo managers take care of Lufthansa’s cargo. Even the CEO of Lufthansa recognizes that he can not run the company by himself. This is the important part! We face an ever growing federal government that tramples on the concept of states’ rights (business area managers, if you will). The national debt is exploding. Its interference in our daily lives grows every day that Congress meets and comes up with some silly idea of how to spend taxpayers’ hard earned money. From the SCHIP bill extension very early in Obama’s administration to the latest hate crime fiasco that seems to make everything except a parking ticket a federal crime (OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY (For the purposes of this chapter, the term ‘gender identity’ means actual or perceived gender-related characteristics) OR DISABILITY). Any half-brained lawyer can come up with a scheme to make his/her client a victim of a hate crime. Obama is obviously not the first one to grow the power and reach of our federal government, but he has sent the train on the express track. It is clearly much easier to control a single D.C. based bureaucracy than that of 50 states. The rule of law was designed to restrict the actions of a runaway federal government. It was supposed to be difficult to reach agreement among the different branches of government. America’s interest has been served badly since we now have Justices on the Supreme Court who think that international law should be considered in reaching an opinion. Obama appointments elsewhere are extremists [1]. If you see the law (Constitution) as a living thing, nothing is impossible.

One would think that the former president of the Harvard Law Review had a keen sense of the Constitution and would recognize its purpose as a document that restricts him even as the President of the United States. He complained about the inherent restrictions during a 2001 radio interview [2]. George Washington said “The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon.” As the 2009 March Madness contest drew to a close with the beat-down of Michigan State University’s team at the hands of the University of North Carolina, it became clear to me that Obama could not possibly possess the keen sense of the Constitution necessary to be the President. Basketball is arguably a topic that he understands well since we were told repeatedly during the campaign about his low profile excursions to gyms where he played a game of hoops to unwind. To show the nation just how brilliant he is, Obama filled out the first ever Presidential bracket. In the end, it landed him in the 903,125th rank on ESPN with a grade of barely B- (80.5%) [3]. If he is that bad at things he knows, how can we possibly expect him to succeed at things he doesn’t know…? Has Illinois experienced a record drop in crime while he represented the state? Has Illinois seen the highest graduation rate ever among high school students while he organized the communities there? There are no achievements other than getting elected – which is bad enough as we’re all experiencing now. The substance is: Missing in Action.

This piece is titled “Lufthansa” so I want to float a thought about human nature as I see it. Severely restrictive and imposing societies have to fail based on the fact that human nature seeks to expand horizons and improve one’s condition. People will take extraordinary measures to sacrifice in the interest of self-preservation. If not for themselves, then for their families. History has proven this fact over and over with bloody and destructive wars. On that note, it is impossible to de-invent guns, so any effort to disarm the globe has to fail. It is ludicrous to forecast the next war, but it will come as people are pushed to the brink. Ask the head of a Mexican drug cartel how he/she feels about acting in self-interest (leaving out law on purpose). If it were possible to regulate people to just live green in their own four walls and be happy, it would be unnecessary to build a hotel anywhere. There would be no need for a tourism industry at all. Traveling would be a ridiculous idea. Electricity is not necessary to survive, yet we thank Benjamin Franklin for his efforts. Eating out in restaurants is a luxury without good reason. It is human nature to explore, learn, enjoy and discover. Columbus goes to the New World, Cesar goes to Gaul and Frankie goes to Hollywood. Life in 2009 is much more bearable than it was in 1909. The march against the individual in America these days will end. Sooner or later. More or less violent. At some point people will be fed up with ACORN screwing with elections while our military personnel are systematically discounted [4]. This year’s NRA convention in Phoenix has seen record attendance as has the Heritage Foundation’s “Spring President’s Club Meeting.” Where the heck is Jimmy Carter to audit our election process? Conservatives, you are NOT alone.

Good riddance Arlen Specter! You are without principles. Give John McCain a call…

Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31877
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck
[3] http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/entry?entryID=2813746
[4] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/13/fourth-overseas-votes-uncounted-study-finds/

The American Electoral Process as a Dangerous Comedy Act

The closeness of this election, and the multitude of legal challenges which have followed in its wake, have brought into sharp focus a common, if heretofore unnoticed, phenomenon. Nationwide statistics reveal that an estimated 2% of ballots cast do not register a vote for President for whatever reason, including deliberately choosing no candidate at all or some voter error, such as voting for two candidates or insufficiently marking a ballot [1].

The American tradition of voicing an opinion through the election of local, state and federal representatives has become an ever increasing breeding ground for lawyers from either party. It can not be in the best interest of the nation to see counselors making arguments before a judge – or panel of judges – to figure out which candidate has won a given election. We, the people, are supposed to have the opportunity to participate in the future and direction of the country. Everyone should be highly agitated if not outraged by the introductory quote taken from the 2000 Supreme Court’s [GEORGE W. BUSH, et al., PETITIONERS v. ALBERT GORE, Jr., et al.] decision. As a comparison, try to remember how upsetting it is not to find luggage on an airport’s baggage carousel. Would you be surprised to learn that, according to the Department of Transportation, the airline industry has a defect rate of 3.55/1000 (.36%) [2]? Contrasting that to an estimated 98% election result accuracy is abominable. Today’s high tech realities leave little room for any error rate of such magnitude.

We live in the arguably most scientifically advanced place on earth. Our pioneers have planted the Stars & Stripes on the moon, NASA sent rovers to Mars [3] and Hawaii’s Gemini Observatory just recently photographed the “most distant object in the universe. [4]” Information Technology vendor are under ever increasing pressure to develop systems that require no downtime and the five-9s standard has become an expectation [5]. With all that in mind, why in the world should a potential error rate of up to 2% be acceptable? Add a little election fraud, compliments of ACORN [6], to the mix and an army of lawyers can be positioned in an ever increasing number of districts and states as the nation remains noticeably polarized. I would argue that it can not be impossible to find someone among a population of 306 million people who might be able to develop a mystical machine that would ensure 99.9% accurate vote tallies. The effects of a highly dubious Governorship election are being felt in Pacific Northwest [7]. Recount after recount produces more votes swaying results one way or the other. In the end there are a few judges on a bench deciding what votes are legit and which ones are not [8]. The will of the people in the hands of a handful of men in robes can not be the desired outcome by any stretch of the imagination. Even less desirable is a system of electronic voting machines that will have defects in their software simply based on the fact that there is not one program available in the world that can boast “0” defects. Imagine a world in which every cell phone call happens all the time instead of widespread outages [9]. One day we may very well welcome the arrival of error-proof software; not yet though.

That day is certainly not going to arrive by the end of 2010 when midterm elections are on the schedule. If the Tax Day Tea Parties are any indication, the second half of the year will be very interesting and highly charged with campaigns in ultra overdrive. Brigades of lawyers will certainly be dispatched to contest results wherever possible especially since a conservative resurgence would certainly interrupt President Obama’s first term agenda. Not to mention that even a handful of situations like the one playing out in Minnesota can certainly screw up governmental operations inside the beltway. That, of course, could be seen as a benefit to the people as a whole because the less Congress gets done to destroy the American fabric, the better [10]. Either way, judges deciding America’s future should be unacceptable to all.

Election reform needs to be on the Republican’s priority list to bring us a reliable, workable, unquestionable and constitutional process. Figuring out who is eligible to vote and who is not, seems to be less complicated than brain surgery…

Good riddance Arlen Specter! You are without principles. Give John McCain a call…

Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com

[1] http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-949.ZPC.html
[2] http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/2008/December/200812ATCR.pdf
[3] http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/
[4] http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090428/sc_nm/us_space_object_2
[5] http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci761286,00.html
[6] http://kansascity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/votefraud051707.htm
[7] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123068520570944301.html
[8] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124000875842430603.html
[9] http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=175678&
[10] http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/9607

George H.W. Bush’s Desire to Trump The Kennedy Clan

Bush 41 has apparently made a New Years Resolution to push for a third Bush in the White house [1]. If there is one thing that this country does not need anymore, it’s another Bush. The “Bush Effect” has shown to be a dangerous phenomenon that continuously drags down America. After 41 we get Clinton whose complete disregard of national security resulted in 9/11. Add to that the strengthening of the Community Reinvestment Act under Billy and things end up where we are now [2]. Monica’s boyfriend moved out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in 2001 and we were given Bush 43. I have to admit that I had been one of his biggest cheerleaders after we, as a country, finally decided to do something about our national security. Sadly, it took the deaths of over 3000 Americans to get going. I guess the first bombing at the World Trade Center in 1993 and the sinking the USS Cole some years later just wasn’t enough to alarm anyone…

I cheered W on as he swaggered back and forth between D.C. and Crawford; driving his truck across the ranch with a cowboy hat on his head. It felt good to see someone who wasn’t afraid to look American and in charge. It’s 2009 now, and we all have learned a few things – I have too. W was apparently a one-trick pony. He did what had to be done with respect to foreign policy, and he deserves much credit for that. The battles in Afghanistan and Iraq were, in my humble opinion, unavoidable. In order to stop the continued assault on American interests, we had to take the fight to the enemy. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) or not, getting rid of Saddam Hussein was and is in our best interest. The problem, however, is that 43 was unable – or unwilling – to confront the domestic issues with the same fervor. It is simply unbelievable that a crisis of the current scope can be possible in the country that is admired around the world for its free market system. Millions of people have sought to be part of America over the past decades and they have been welcomed to be part of this society. On top of that, millions ignore our sovereignty and settle here illegally.

America is the world’s hope. She is the promise of freedom and liberty. It seems that something has gone awry. Following every Bush is a disaster. As noted above, the Arkansas kid was the Bush 41 effect and Baracky is now the effect of Bush 43. I am going to say that we’ve gone from bad to worse in Presidents following a Bush.

The risk of a third Bush as President is not something we can risk. Imagine a situation even worse than Obama... Should we ask Bush Sr. why in the world he feels the need to compete with the Kennedy mob? Florida went from strong red in years past to blue in 2008. If the Bush Empire wants to do something for America, they should see to it that the Sunshine State bleeds red once again. Jeb was, from what I have read, a very good governor. Stick with what works. It is up to all of us, the right people of America, to make sure that any Bush presidential bid is derailed quickly in the primary process if it shows up. This nation, the world’s foremost defender of liberty and freedom, needs new ideas and faces on the Republican side. Enough is enough!

Elections in 2010 will be under our noses before you know it. 2009 has already arrived. The time has come to get off the couch and get onto the field. Our nation is a nation founded on the basis that people matter. There are no subjects here. We determine our future. A few Senators and Representatives are leading the charge by speaking up louder than in the past. One recent prime example is the review of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) by Representative Forbes and Senator DeMint [3]. The new home of smelly tourists [4] according to Harry Reid. These folks need our help. Representative Forbes might not represent you, but if he can go to his colleagues and tell them that he received a million phone calls thanking him for his investigation into the historical inaccuracies of the CVC, that carries weight. It motivates. The immigration bill went up in smoke because the citizens of this great nation armed themselves with phones and called Capitol Hill to tell their representatives to stop the shenanigans. We have to let the good ones know that we’re behind them. On the other hand, the rotten apples have to get sorted out. Bipartisanship has outlived its purpose at this point. Nancy Pelosi is on a full frontal charge to limit the influence of the congressional minority [5]. Those who like to pride themselves on being moderate and bipartisan need to go home because queen Pelosi is preparing a broad side. It’s time to turn the tide in 2010. There is not much time to reverse the ridiculous waste in Congress.

To the Republican Party, stop the whining about not getting a fair shot in the traditional news. We know this. The papers in the country have seen their circulation crumble. Welcome to the internet age. The incoming President is going to skillfully use the new media. Follow suit. Build an internet presence and explain what you’re doing to stop the assault on individual freedom and liberty. Peel back the layers of the Democrat majority onion and show us, the people, the deceit. Also, if RFD-TV is good enough for Imus, it might just work to spread the conservative message. There is also an ace in media world. Go to Rupert Murdoch and ask him to help you spread the message via Fox stations around the country. Besides all that, a good first step would be to call on the Republicans from Minnesota to go back to their home state and fight the circus [6] that ringmaster Al Franken is running in front of every TV camera they can find. Michele Bachmann, John Kline, Erik Paulsen and Norm Coleman should take shifts to ensure maximum coverage. Serve your state!


Tom Blom
www.rightprinciples.com/

[1] dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories /010509dnwashbushone.11eb8f7.html?npc
[2] online.wsj.com/article/SB122626062814011765.html
[3] newt.org/Portals/0/Capitol%20Visitor%20Center%20Report_.pdf
[4] examiner.com/x-1234-DC-Political-Satire-Examiner~y2008m12d12-Harry-Reid-and-the-smelly-Capitol-tourists
[5] news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090106/ap_on_go_co/house_rules_3
[6] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html

When Santa Turns Evil And No One is There to Stop Him

Christmas 2008 was a joyous occasion for me, but one family in Covina, CA experienced the most awful day of their lives [1]. I am going to assume that by now everyone has read or heard about the story of Bruce Jeffrey Pardo going to his ex-in-laws’ house and murdering, I believe, eight people there when he attacked the residence, guerilla style. The one thing that you won’t find in the news reports is any mention of somebody aiming a weapon at the monster and reacting quickly to stop the attack. We know the horrible assault took place in California, which is according to the NRA, a “discretionary-issue” state [2]. In essence that means that it is not easy to get a permit to carry a firearm. Conversely, there was a report of a guard stopping a lunatic coming into the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO [3] with her concealed weapon last year. The fact is that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. As “Larry the Cable Guy” puts it, “If guns kill people, I can blame misspelled words on a pencil.” Folks, this is not even as much about guns as it is about the fundamental issue of individual rights. The Supreme Court agreed that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right in its D.C. vs. Heller decision from June 2008 [4]. Any coming attempt to infringe on the SCOTUS’ decision is an attack on individual rights – the foundation of this country. Many people don’t own guns and see this issue as non-pertinent. In fact, the 2nd Amendment is as much of a hot button issue as abortion because it defines the ideological left and right.

The concern for the common good and public safety is most often used to legitimize gun ownership restrictions. We are served with horrible stories of children playing with guns and injuring or killing themselves. If that is the standard, why are we allowing cars on the highways? With that logic a fatal accident is all that is needed to ban cars due to their danger in public. 2005 reportedly saw 115 people die in automobile accidents daily [5] while “only” 81 people perished due to gun related incidents in 2004 every day [6] – that includes suicides and police action. In reality gun bans are just like taxes: they’re about government control of our liberties and freedoms. Taxes take OUR money and with it the choice of what to do with it. Gun bans and restrictions take away OUR ability to defend and protect against society’s worst. Australia learned this the hard way after its general gun ban of 1996 [7]. One would think that an unarmed population will be able to count on police departments for protection, but as noted in “DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services [8]“, we can not because “…nothing in the language of the Due Process Clause itself requires the State to protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens against invasion by private actors.” You are left to your own devices.

Government officials on either coast are representing the few states that limit “Right-to-Carry” initiatives. They will not pass up an opportunity to feed us some garbage about how safe the cities, counties and states are since gun buyback programs were started or waiting periods on gun purchases instituted. The fact is that they’re lying. New York City’s Bloomberg announced on 12/23/2008 that the city is enjoying a further reduction in overall crime [9]. The tragic part is that Mayor Mike will use every deceitful tactic to skew the numbers as illustrated by his neglect of counting crimes that happened on 2/29/2008 [10]. It is time for all of us to realize just how much the elite political class is purposely feeding us just the right information to mess with our minds.

To further this path of information restriction and targeting, England has announced ideas towards the age rating of websites [11]. We have become a much more powerful community as citizens with the internet at our hands. Search technologies have evolved to allow very specific queries. It is no longer necessary to comb through an awful large number of sites to get an answer to a burning question. The ratings system is going to be a first step to an eventual total restriction of information to certain sources in the interest of child protection and well-being. After all, it’s all about the children whenever a politician wants to get elected. We all know that nothing run by the government ever stops growing. This “idea” is a most dangerous proposition. Child education, protection and development are not the government’s job. It’s the job of mothers and fathers. Raising a child should be the most difficult project that grown men and women ever undertake. It is a life that is placed in your care.

I am by no means a gun-toting nutcase who is in favor of six-shooters on everyone’s belt while walking through the streets of Manhattan. However, the individual right to self-defense and protection is essential to our American culture. If just about anyone can arm themselves with a vehicle, why are guns that much different? This issue is not just important around election time; it is as American as apple pie and baseball.


Tom Blom

[1] cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/25/santa.shooting/
[2] nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=18&issue=003
[3] cnn.com/2007/US/12/10/colorado.shootings/index.html
[4] supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf
[5] car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html
[6] nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/04/21/weekinreview/20070422_MARSH_GRAPHIC.html
[7] hematite.com/dragon/aussies.html
[8] law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0489_0189_ZO.html
[9] home2.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pr/pr_2008_056.shtml
[10] villagevoice.com/2008-03-18/news/nypd_ignores/
[11] independent.co.uk/news/media/online/ageratings-plan-for-websites-1212985.html

They Told Us Just How Well Prepared They Are…

Last weekend was unusually temperate in the coastal Mid-Atlantic region considering that Christmas had passed. It seemed perfect for a trip to D.C. to say hello and take a leisurely stroll on the National Mall. The place looked great. It was bustling with pre-inauguration visitors who were likely drawn by the weather as much as we were. I have been to the nation’s capitol a few times and am always left in awe by the majesty of the buildings, statues, museums and memorials. It should be a matter of pride for everyone to spend a few days there. There’s a lot to learn… This trip marked the first time that I took a few minutes to read the texts to the left and right of Abraham Lincoln inside the memorial. You’ll find the Gettysburg Address on his right and an inaugural speech to the left. I was left confounded to realize how we have come from Lincoln’s obvious faith and belief in God to the “official” separation of church and state. There is a saying from my days in the Marine Corps that came to mind, “There are no atheists in foxholes”, and one could say that the President found himself in a makeshift one at the time.

Capitol Hill was pretty much fenced off because the stages for the inauguration are under construction. It’s good to see the system at work. Just imagine the stress that the persons in charge of planning and security are under. My viewpoints on the incoming President are pretty clear, but I am always impressed when a grand plan comes together. So, once the festivities are over, we’ll find out if the kindergarten President has what it takes to right all the world’s wrongs.

I find it quite surprising that Hamas doesn’t even give Obama the time to get properly moved into the White House to ignite Israel’s ire. It sure does seem that Biden was right. Let’s see the steel in Baracky’s spine. The Iranian thug has apparently called on Arabs to unite in the fight against Israel. This new chapter in the constant conflict will take some bold thinking to resolve. Oh, and while the near east is heating up, we had news that, for the first time ever, Chinese and Russian defense officials have spoken directly. It should be interesting to view the incoming Secretary of State in action side-by-side with our new ruler - per Valerie Jarrett’s “Meet the Press” description. Then there is the violence in Mexico that is concerning since it’s next door. Add some African genocide and day one sure looks busy. I feel assured that the Hawaiian vacation will prepare Obama well for January 21st 2009.

Is there going to be enough time to fit in some domestic issues? The Governator informed us a couple of weeks ago that no one has paid much attention to our infrastructure in the last 50 years. Suddenly a water pipe from 1964 blows in Washington, D.C. and we have added the efforts of a full decade to the renewal efforts since obviously everything going back only 40 years now requires attention. With the amount of governmentally dictated environmental impact review, I am really curious to see if any significant number of the pick-and-shovel schemes will ever get out of the starting gates. In case you’ve missed it, $350 billion of the $700 billion TARP package has not been released yet. We’re going on two months. Any new federal bailout will only be stuck in the same red tape. What’s even more interesting is the fact that municipalities along with the individual states are now chomping at the bits for “free” money. Mayors around America smell a windfall. It’ll be busy next month.

But, not all things look dire. I am convinced that history will see the election of 2008 as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Conservatism will energize. The groundwork was put in place when Saxby Chambliss maintained his seat in the Georgia senatorial election. America realizes that a blue 60 seat majority in the Senate is bad news. The people have spoken. Now even the conservative arm of the Republican Party has spoken in the Washington Times. They’re right (figuratively and ideologically). Bush has lost his compass. Now it is up to us to encourage the senators, representatives and challengers on our side to stand up. It is time those individuals know that we’re behind them. Call their offices and support them. Sen DeMint (SC), Sen Shelby (AL), Sen Chambliss (GA), Sen Coburn (OK), Rep Gohmert (TX), Rep Linder (GA), Gov Palin (AK), Gov Sanford (SC) and others. Get Rudy Giuliani to throw his hat in the ring for the New York Governorship. 2010’s midterm elections will be here before you know it and we have a grand opportunity to stop the continued fleecing of American good-will for the purpose of global equality. It is time to revive the idea of American Exceptionalism! Those who have compromised their moral compass have to face consequences for their actions. The Republican members (Sen Graham [SC], Sen Warner [VA], Sen Snowe [ME], Sen Collins [ME], Sen McCain [AZ]) of the Gang-of-Fourteen have to be evicted from Washington.

It is time for us who believe that a strong and powerful U.S.A. is the world’s engine for prosperity and peace to have our voices heard. Join organizations that reflect your views on all matters of conservatism. 2nd Amendment rights, tax policy, ideals and ideas. Membership drives clout.


Tom Blom

An Early And Unexpected Christmas Present in The Rust-Belt

I am hopeful that all of you had a pleasant, blessed and joyful Christmas with lots of good food and great company. For me, this year marked a departure from the traditional American celebration with one that had a distinct Asian flavor. Christmas and its significance was still at the center, but the meal and games were different. Nevertheless, it was All-American. On a side note, if anyone ever asks you if you want to learn “Majong” take heed, it’s not easy. This year reminded me that the little things are the ones that matter. Something as simple as a hilarious YouTube video of a dog frolicking in the snow. Thank you, Rob, for pointing it out: (Search for Bailey and Reindeer on You Tube).

A few days before Christmas, the President buckled and awarded $17.4 billion to two of the Big-3 in Detroit. I am, at this point, severely confused… How in the world is it possible that apparently one of Detroit’s cornerstones can get by without my – and your – money while the others can’t? I have been fiercely opposed to even a dollar worth of bailout money to Chrysler based on the fact that it is not a publicly traded company while I remain strongly opposed to monies being robbed from me for GM or Ford’s benefit. The fact that Ford is obviously better at managing their business than GM or Chrysler raises a thought in my non-auto executive head. Why in the world do Rick Wagoner and Bob Nardelli still have jobs? Many people have made the point over the last few weeks that the bailout is a clear concession to the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW is evil and deceptive as can be, but it is the boss who negotiates – supposedly successfully - to maintain his/her business. We have to award an “F” to Wagoner and Nardelli and their staffs for being spineless over the last years to have driven their companies to this point. Congratulations!

The impossible part came on the 22nd of December; just a few days after the bailout announcement. GM announced that it will close two truck/SUV plants in Moraine, OH and Janesville, WI even after robbing the taxpayers of billions of dollars. Hey Wagoner, how do you sleep at night? I find it shocking that GM would dare to proceed with plant closures around this time of the year when the coffers were just injected with loads of dough. Even Fannie and Freddie have suspended closures on home mortgages [1]. The excuse used by GM is that high gasoline prices were taking a toll on trucks and SUVs. That point has to be taken with a giant belly-laugh when you read the story on Forbes.com [2] that shows the best selling cars of 2008. Five of the top ten vehicles are produced by the Big-3 and each of the company’s full-size trucks are in it (Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram). Get this straight, we are Americans. We like big things. We like the utility of a truck, the speed of a Corvette, the luxury of a 300M and the power of a Hummer. This is America dammit. We are a country with big standards. Why, do you think, a touchdown is worth six points and not one like a soccer goal? Six is better than one! Truck is better than compact! To get the Big-3 rolling like a herd of thundering buffalo, put policies in place that keep gas prices under two dollars. For those of you that think we’re running out of oil, take a look at the donors to the Clinton Library. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the $10 - $25 million range [3]. They have nothing but oil to contribute the world and would, I speculate, not care to donate if there was not return on the investment.

The U.S.A. is without a doubt in a difficult situation economically, but the regular American is not going to recognize the full extent of the problem until the 2009 NASCAR season starts next February in Daytona Beach, FL. Right now it looks like a local problem in the despised New York area. The vast majority of Americans go about their daily lives as they have in the past. Madoff losing $50 billion is an amusing story for the salt-of-the-earth population. So the rich got screwed, who cares [4]… Suddenly, when we are going to hear about NASCAR tracks not being filled to capacity next year, the severity of the current crisis will set in. Some bad news has already come in form of Home Depot dropping sponsorship of the #20 car [5].

Why should anyone believe that there is a problem in the nation when the President-Elect shows up in a luxury resort in Kailua Oahu, HI [6] for yet another vacation this year? Things seem to be going splendidly. There can’t possibly be a situation facing the nation that is as severe as the Great Depression. After all, the soon-to-be President can take four (August, Thanksgiving, Grandmother, Christmas) or more trips to Hawaii in a year. This, by the way, is precedent. Bush may have vacationed far away in Crawford, TX, but Obama is going to raise the stakes by suddenly remembering that Hawaii is his home state and rightful vacation destination instead of Illinois. After all, why settle for crappy Chicago when you can have body-surfing on Hawaii? Throw in a few rounds of golf [7] on the taxpayers’ dime, and the obscene entitlement mentality is complete. Let’s not forget the environmental impact that all the D.C. to Hawaii trips will have. Think about that the next time you get in your tuck or SUV and you’re told that you’re destroying mother earth. Public service is a joke in 2008. America, you’re getting screwed!

With all this said, let’s close with a lighthearted story about “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. As the story goes, Bob Wells was in Los Angeles on a hot summer day in 1944 and scribbled some cold thoughts into a notebook to help him cool down [Search for it on Wikipedia]. Shortly thereafter, "The Christmas Song” was born and recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946 for the first time.


Tom Blom

The Slow and Painful Move from A More Perfect Union to A Kingdom

A couple of centuries ago some people had the crazy idea of forming a union to promote general welfare and secure blessings of liberty. The idea itself was revolutionary because for once the people were given the power. This people-power is derived from a document that fundamentally limits the power of those who govern. I am obviously referring to the Constitution of 1787 (Philadelphia, PA). Since that time we have seen a steady and dangerous move towards concentrating all muscle back in Washington, D.C., with sad results as evident by the current state of the country. Anyone who is not completely blinded by promises and pledges can see just how dangerous and unstable things have become. Elected officials no longer “serve” the people in any capacity, rather, they look out for themselves whenever a chance presents itself.

The entire system has become infested with elitist snobs who have nothing better to do than to toast each other on their marvelous achievements. This is true on Wall Street as much as Capitol Hill. The examples of colossal failure are bountiful and revealed with some simple internet searches. From running brothels to regulating investment firms, when it counts, you can rely on some government official to screw it up – royally. The Mustang Ranch in Nevada was once seized by the Feds and doomed to fail. Then, just a few days ago, we find out that Bernie Madoff made some $50 billion disappear right under the nose of the SEC with Christopher Cox at the helm (David Copperfield, take note). Mr. Cox has now tasked the agency’s inspector general to figure out why past allegations against Bernie were found not credible. What purpose do you people in government have if not preventing this kind of stuff? You can add the complete obliviousness to the financial/housing crisis as prime evidence. I thought you (Cox) were in place to promote general welfare…

Some superficial connect-the-dots experimentation shows Ivy-League relationships among the Clinton, Bush and Kennedy machines that have raised a crown of three kings rivaling the Mafia commission. When did no one outside those clans remain qualified to hold political office? Is Caroline “I forgot to vote” Kennedy anywhere near capable of becoming Senator from New York? Being a mother is sufficient? That makes millions of women qualified to be a senator. The Kennedy Family is deeply engrained in American politics; more than any other family. John F. Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., was a noted inside trader and eventually became the first chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). He built the SEC and surely exchanged some information about the effort with family members. A little further west and a few decades apart, Daley’s Chicago machine produced the votes to ensure John F. Kennedy’s ascent to the White House. I would make the case that this doesn’t happen without some back-and-forth favors. Bill Clinton met the 35th President as a teenager and this event undoubtedly formed Clinton’s views and opinions. Any Kennedy candidate for any office will ride the wave of assassination sympathy into office whenever beneficial.

The Clintons reportedly met and courted at Yale while both attended law school there. Interestingly enough, Mrs. Clinton hails from Daley’s Chicago and has, much like President-Elect Obama, done some work on the South-Side in the past. I am quite certain that she has been exposed to tactics in the past that have helped her become the junior Senator from New York. Her Saul Alinsky dissertation remains suppressed. So, we have the Yale/Chicago couple move into the White House in 1992 to oversee the explosion of the internet while also staying busy soiling the office of the President of the United States. I for one am of the opinion that Elmer Fudd could’ve run the White House in the 90s since the economy ran itself and no one paid any attention to the brewing national security lapse.

That brings us to the third spike on the crown with little Bush moving in. Little Bush, like his father and grandfather, was a member of Yale’s Skull-and-bones. We see More Ivy-League ruling although anyone on the left side of the aisle would never give W credit for it. Instead, he’s described as a “C” student and marginalized. You can bet your last barrel of oil that the Yale-Clintons have met the Yale-Bushes since they were in a Presidential Bush-wich. You may not know, but the Bush family roots are in Connecticut and not anywhere near Texas. As a matter of fact, Prescott Bush was a Senator from Connecticut (1952-1963).

Fast forward to 2009 and we’ll have another Ivy-Leaguer ready to move into the White House. Chicago’s South-Side in the house. Add to that the majority Ivy-League appointments and things become clearer. To top it all off, many Clinton retreads show up to continue the path already beaten. The administration of the 44th President is Clinton’s third term. Obama has already indicated by his participation in the Global Poverty Act and speculation of raising the U.N. Ambassador to a cabinet level appointment that he, much like previous Presidents, does not hold the interests of a strong, leading and sovereign U.S.A. at the center. Rather, Ivy-Leaguers seem destined to attempt to rule the world. Foreign aid and feel-good projects will undoubtedly enjoy a significant increase in funding over the next few years. This is why Sarah Palin is such a danger to the elitist snobby establishment. She is not part of the clique.

Now we hear that Arnie from Cali has presidential ambitions as seen on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Hey Terminator, here is the good news… That pesky little thing about being a natural born citizen will no longer apply in 2016. By that time we will have had a President who didn’t even have to make up an “I didn’t inhale” story anymore. The importance of laws and the population’s insistence on their adherence has been watered down as seen in the many disputes around Obama’s true citizenship and Selective Service registration (highlighted by Debbie Schlussel).

What to do next? Join an organization that reflects your values and ideals for this country. An organization that puts the U.S.A first. An organization that is committed to rooting out the elitist garbage that continues to drive this country further into the ditch with their feel-good legislation. Be a member of an organization that sees the selfless value of Oklahoma’s Senator Coburn who is truly committed to service to the country and her people by pledging to go back home after having made an impact. BTW… If you want to understand how misguided the auto bailout is read what Senator Coburn highlighted on the floor of the Senate: http://www.webzappr.com/2008/12/10/it-was-a-dead-heat-general-motors-sold-937-million-vehicles-worldwide-in-2007-and-lost-387-billion-toyota-sold-937-million-vehicles-in-2007-and-made-171-billion/

Take this to the Fed… To lower the interest rate on 12/16/08 to between 0.0% – 0.25% was the dumbest thing Ben Bernanke could’ve done. Why you ask, because it gave a spike to the Dow for a matter of hours – that’s it. The market realizes that there is nowhere to go beyond “0” and we’re back in the mid 8k range.

Before I forget, congratulations to Chelsea Clinton on her nomination to become Vice President in 2016.


Merry Christmas!!!

Tom Blom

Show Me a Public Works Project That Has Stayed on Budget

Governor Schwarzenegger, I came across a piece that you wrote yesterday for Newsweek entitled “Building Back” and I am left stunned after reading it. As a matter of fact, I’ll have to remove you from my “Top Three Idols” list of which you’ve been a member for many years along with Will Smith and Lance Armstrong. It seems that I’ll have to go to the bench to fill the 3-Slot now. Your life has always been an inspiration to me considering what you have been able to achieve. This is especially remarkable knowing that you hail from modest circumstance in Austria – my home’s neighbor to the south. The op-ed you penned leaves no doubt that there is too much Kool-Aid in California.

I am disheartened to realize that you have fallen into the misguided line behind Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Rendell to adopt the latest government hype in form of the pick-and-shovel scheme to fix our economy. Just to level-set, the great American Interstate system was championed by President Eisenhower about 50 years ago not as a public works project, rather, it was seen as an essential component of the national defense. Furthermore, it is modeled after the German Autobahn network which serves a similar purpose. Since your article highlights that we have failed to invest in our infrastructure for five decades, I can only assume that your timeline starts with the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956. I fully understand that you don’t necessarily have the opportunity to appreciate the greatness of the existing roads and bridges because you rely on your pesky private jets to commute from Santa Monica to Sacramento every day. Should we talk about the environmental impact of your lifestyle? Maybe you can ask Mayor Michael Bloomberg – never mind…

America is a sophisticated and advanced society that has produced some of the greatest products and solutions in the world. We are the ones who sent a man to the moon, made the internet possible and created GPS technology. There was a recent article that highlighted the thoughts of a researcher at Texas A&M University who speculated that mobile devices will be powered by pressure waves instead of batteries in the future. That is America. It is country of invention and ingenuity. People face hard times as 2008 closes and you along with many other politicians are grasping at straws to produce semi-balanced budgets to present as evidence of being in touch. I would’ve very much enjoyed to have been present at the Governors Association meeting with Mr. Obama where the group presented a dire outlook. A couple of questions that I might’ve asked all of you, “What did you do in the good years to prepare for the bad ones? What did you do to prepare for a rainy day?” Now that the bad times have arrived, you want to take the American society back a few decades and give everyone a pick and a shovel. It seems a bit counter productive. Excuse me; the Governor of Michigan enlightened us last Sunday on Meet the Press that these are counter-cyclical measures. Either way road-crews are not the answer.

You can sense my general opposition to the pick-and-shovel initiatives. I do think that you make a great point in your article in explaining that every billion dollars spent on infrastructure creates 18,000 jobs. Knowing that, I want to congratulate California and its citizens on wisely allocating $42 billion for these purposes. This will, by your calculations, net 756,000 jobs in the state. I am sure any out-of-work Silicon Valley job-seeker will gladly come and get his or her pick and shovel. There is even better news. You do know that Boston’s “Big Dig” grew from an initial $2.6 Billion to a final $14.8 billion. That is a cost overrun of 469%. The recently opened Capitol Visitor Center only had overruns in the 130% arena. If we stay very conservative (I know…) and assume that you’ll keep a very close eye on costs for the allocated $42 billion and assume overruns of 300%, the number of jobs created will actually be 3 million. I hope you have enough shovels and picks. By the way, were you a big fan of Ex-Senator Stevens’ (AK) “Bridge to Nowhere” to Gravina Island? After all, the projected cost was a solid $398 million which would create, according to your calculations, 7,164 jobs. Alaska’s population is roughly 627,000, so the “Bridge to Nowhere” would’ve provided jobs for slightly over a percent of the state’s populations. Now, assume a 300% cost overrun and there you have between four and five percent of Alaskans gainfully employed. I wonder if anyone would still go crab fishing.

I have noticed on your website investininfrastructure.org that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Edward Rendell are partners in this effort to lift infrastructure projects to new heights of importance and funding. You highlight very clearly that a new federal transit ticket tax, significant increases to the federal gasoline tax, congestion pricing and tolling schemes (I appreciate you calling it a scheme) and other measures are needed to finance all this dirty work. It seems that in the end the American taxpayer will get screwed again. Thank you Mr. Governor. I find it interesting that Bloomberg has time to take away from his efforts to rip guns out of our hands for this initiative. Before I forget, come to New York City some time soon and see all the great things Mayor Mike has done for the infrastructure. The subways are the cleanest in the world and not a pothole around. You three are definitely the right guys to address this important issue nationally.

One other thing you mention is that we’re lagging the world in standard of infrastructure. I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. The time to research train timeliness in the world is a high order, so I just checked to see what I could find related to Germany. You would surely agree that this is a good comparison. What we find from a January 2008 test (http://www.test.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/-Puenktlichkeit-der-Deutschen-Bahn/1620651/1620651/) is that more than a 1/3 of interregional trains were delayed. I’ll spare you all the details. You speak German yourself and can read all about it at the link above. Let’s add to that the fact that efforts over the decades to move cargo off the roads and onto tracks have failed miserably. The Autobahn is more crowded than ever. If you and the other two amigos are serious about investing in infrastructure, streamline the airports. The question in the Newsweek piece is a valid one. Why do we stand in long lines in our socks? Well, get the Transportation Security Administration out of the way. The myth that “You don’t professionalize until you federalize” by Tom Daschle has long been defunct. Give the operation of airports to the private sector and watch it thrive. You have fallen hook, line and sinker for the liberal mantra of more government is better.

Conan, we need you to fight for the little people – the average American. What has happened to you since you took office in Sacramento? At the rate you’re going you’ll have to make another dozen Terminator movies to straighten the budget on the left coast. Stay out of our hair. Government is NOT the answer. For crying out loud Bloomberg let Madoff happen right under his nose.


Merry Christmas!!!

Tom Blom

Good news people! Gather and celebrate! No, I am not referring to Christmas since that would be politically insensitive. We know that it is just too insensitive to too many people to be proud of American heritage and celebrate the things we hold dear. I can’t wait for the day when we no longer recognize the 4th of July as Independence Day but rather celebrate Global Poverty Day or some other garbage. I wish I was kidding since I am unapologetically American from the heart, but the day may well come. The point I am trying to make is that our American pride is being taken one step at a time as illustrated by the annual Christmas battle. So, what are we celebrating today? It is this day, 12/16/08, the day of the first snowfall in my hometown, that we’re learning of the newest appointment to the Obama cabinet. Mr. Arne Duncan, the head of Chicago schools, will be the Secretary of Education. This cabinet choice stands, in my humble opinion, as the worst to date.

This man adds to the Ivy League roster that will run our country in about a month and ruin it quickly thereafter. Duncan is a graduate of Harvard University and plays basketball. This is good news. If there’s nothing to do in the White House, Obama and Duncan can get together on the future in-house basketball court and play a few rounds of one-on-one. We’ll see how the 44th President would fair since Duncan played professional b-ball in Australia according to his biography post on the Chicago Public School’s website. I am suspicious of this guy immediately on two fronts: Harvard alumna and Chicago resident. We all have learned about the Chicago-style politics from Governor Blagojevich and his efforts to reap a reward from the future appointee to Obama’s senatorial seat. I really don’t need to know any of the details. I find myself to be a rational semi-intelligent guy, so I surmise that anyone who grew in the Chicago environment had to pay his/her dues at some point for advancement. Now, that brings us back to Duncan’s appointment.

Since I am suspicious, I thought it would give me great comfort and reassurance that Mr. Obama has done great due diligence in selecting his Secretary of Education. To my surprise, I come across a story (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/CPS-Students-Get-Voice-in-Battling-Dropout-Rate.html) that highlights just how great a failure the Chicago public school system is. The dropout rate is 45%! Why in the world would you pick someone who is obviously a complete failure in a chief executive position and provide the platform for him to ruin the national education system? The answer has to lie in Chicago nepotism. If someone with a lot more resources than I have available to me were to investigate ties between Obama and Duncan, I am sure pay-dirt wouldn’t be too far off. I do believe that Obama was active in educational efforts like the Annenberg Challenge which has had its records sealed. Moreover, the NBC story explains that a group of students led the effort to combat these ridiculous dropout rates. Someone please help me… We have a Harvard’ian at the helm, and he had to turn to students to figure out a solution? Where in the sane world does this make sense? In light of this, I am going to say that the choice of Duncan is beyond unreasonable; it is comical. After all: It’s about our precious children. This guy does not have a record of success to ever come close to this position.

America, we have to get out of the mindset that only Ivy Leaguers can run this place. Herbert H. W. “Yale” Bush took the reigns from Reagan and look where we’ve gone. We’re in some deep situation here. It is becoming clearer as time passes that they all have ambitions to save the world instead of putting America first and doing whatever is necessary to keep our beloved homeland above all. Keep America the standard for others to reach instead of lowering us to make others feel bad. A recent prime example of the fact that Harvard’ians are no smarter than the rest of us is the loss to the school’s endowment. As reported in the Wall Street Journal online, $8 billion are gone. I for one would expect for the Harvard brainpower to excel even in this economic situation. After all, it is the cream-of-the-crop. Well, at least they didn’t invest with Bernie Madoff. I am sure that we’ll read about a future bailout for educational institutions of varying types and sizes to ensure America’s leadership position in post-secondary education or something like that. The Ed-out could come soon after the SIPC sponsored Mad-out. Yes Virginia, Madoff investors will certainly not be left to suffer consequences from their decisions.

We could discuss the fact that there are now ideas about First Lady compensation in the news, but let’s refrain. This will only serve as precedent for any and all federal politicians to expect a paycheck for their spouses and in turn grow government even further - Unreasonably so. Can you envision the associated entitlements? Where the heck are the “public servants” among us? There are 300 million people in the U.S.A. and we can’t find a few who’ll cherish representing us?

The January surprise is fast approaching. Obama mentioned earlier that there is room for Republicans in his administration. None of the elephants have been picked yet, but there’s still time. Would someone please call John McCain and calm his nerves? Buddy Barack might call soon…


Merry Christmas!!!

Tom Blom