All Hail Obama Caesar!

The President has powers granted by the Constitution. That is his source of authority. Other powers are voluntarily granted by those who choose to do what he suggests. Take the former CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner. GM has been having problems staying afloat in a free market (with some government involvement). They asked Congress for some monetary help. It wasn't enough. They made it known that they needed more. The President decided that part of the problem was their top management, and suggested that, if they wanted ANY more financial assistance, it would only come after Wagoner's resignation. He gave it.

Now, the President is saying that no amount of help is going to keep GM afloat. They're bankrupt. No use throwing good money after bad. Oh, maybe if GM, the unions, and the pension plan all make a few little concessions, they can talk some more. How idiotic would they have to be??? Wagoner tried that!

Obama, make 'em a deal. Put it in writing. If they do A, B, and C, you will given them $D. Failing that, quit telling them how to run their business!

I would Humbly suggest that what Caesar--er--President Obama is doing is illegal and unconstitutional, except that his commands are voluntary. No obligation to comply. Oh, except for that thing about money needed to stay alive. Hmm. Isn't threatening to withhold lifesaving treatment unless conditions are met called coercion? I'm no lawyer, but our government was never intended to use our tax money to coerce people and companies into complying with their agendas. They have other powers to use to coerce people and businesses.

My own (admittedly Humbly optimistic) opinion is that GM will do whatever is necessary to stay alive, get past this current crisis, and in five years, will be better than ever. Unless they let Barak H. Obama, a man who never ran a for-profit business in his life, be their de facto leader. Some of you actually believe that the President has highly experienced and intelligent advisors. Those of you who believe this aren't using your ears or your brain. They all sound alike. Even Secretary Hillary Clinton, the world's smartest woman, sounds like a mouthpiece for the President.

The Nixon administration was often accused of "groupthink" (a term from Orwell's 1984) because they invariably advised Nixon to do what he wanted to do anyway. Anyone who spoke up and disagreed ended up packing up and leaving. Perhaps the Obama administration is doing the same. It's hard to say for sure. The "most transparent administration ever" isn't exactly letting anyone in on how they do things.

Get out of the business world, Obama. It's not like "community organizing" in Chicago. You have to actually produce.

Or else, people of America, your president is starting to grant himself unlimited power. Get used to saying, "Hail, Obama."

It's Our Fault, So We'll Punish Ourselves Part II

According to a report in Reuters, U.S. to blame for much of Mexico violence: Clinton, Secretary Clinton shockingly takes blame for the epidemic of drug trafficker violence in Mexico on behalf of our entire nation. I have two primary school aged children, who I am trying to teach to take personal responsibility. When they try to explain to me that they did something wrong, but it was someone else's fault, I put them in the corner. Secretary Clinton, you are not fit to represent this nation. You are not competent to lead the Department of State. You are not as ethical as my four-year-old son. In case you didn't pick up on it, I'm angry.

The problems in Mexico are a result of their lack of an industrial base. Uh, this paragraph really stands on just that one sentence. It's an absolute fact. If Mexico had an industrial base adequate to employ the majority of their workforce, the workforce would not find it necessary to run drugs up to the gringos, or illegally enter this nation to find work.

Secretary Clinton "strongly feels" that the "insatiable demand for drugs" by Americans has made Mexican drug cartels spring into existence. With all due respect, madame Secretary, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard from you since you blamed the "vast right wing conspiracy" for attacking your skirt-chasing husband. By what authority do you blame the nation that pays your excessive salary for the problems of another???

President Obama, it is time for you to admit that your choices for cabinet officers have demonstrated pretty bad judgment. Your Treasury secretary is a tax-cheat. Your Attorney General is a racist. Your Homeland Defense Secretary doesn't believe in protecting the border. Now your Secretary of State is attacking her own country in defense of another! It was just good luck that your original choices for Commerce Secretary, a Governor with a pending "pay to play" investigation and a senator who himself said the Commerce department was a waste of taxpayer money, both bailed out before they could damage your already crappy reputation still further.

I'm no elected official. I don't even have a college degree. But I can think of three ways to stop this nation's drug demand. Legalize drugs. Enforce current law. Offer effective treatment for addicts. Clearly, enforcing border security will never happen under this administration. Okay, fine. Then the government should take responsibility for allowing drug running as a result of shirking their duty to control the border. That means government sponsored detox. Intelligent readers will say that if it's voluntary, addicts won't go. Fine. Enforce the laws, cut the drug supply (raising the price dramatically), and jail criminals who chose to break laws (to pay those exorbitant prices for junk) rather than go to a detox clinic. Wait a sec! Didn't we just raise taxes on cigarettes to get people to quit? Weren't a bunch of altruistic geniuses telling us that a $2 a pack tax on smokes would encourage people to quit? Aren't there commercials on television telling me that the evil tobacco companies are making cigarettes as addictive as they possibly can? Therefore, causing price increases on illegal substances should lead to people choosing to quit, and voluntarily go to detox, right?

Don't you dare try to tell me that Secretary Clinton isn't responsible to a FAR greater extent than almost ANYONE else for the crisis in Mexico! She was First Lady, an unelected, unaccountable, cabinet-level advisor for EIGHT YEARS. Then, she was a SENATOR for eight MORE years. What did she accomplish???

Addiction is a serious problem for the addicted, their families, their communities, and for society. But according to Secretary Clinton, we are supposed to feel guilty for the problems of the nation that is SUPPLYING illegal drugs???

Clean up your own mess first, lady.

Sick, Sick Society

In a Tweet, I asked (rhetorically) "Is this the Soviet Union? China?" I got a reply from FakeBillClinton saying, "Clearly neither, or you would be told to SHUT THE F*** UP!" I blocked him for that because of the obscenity. I have small children. Too bad. The question he was asking was a valid one.

How can it be that I can speak freely when this country is becoming a totalitarian regime? I would have liked to have a discussion with FakeBillClinton, but, sadly, he doesn't seem to have the restraint to hold a discussion in a civilized manner. Perhaps he meant it as a slightly off-color joke. In today's society, vulgarities, no matter how obscene, are passed off as normal conversation.

FBC may not have had parents who enforced this one particular standard of etiquette, or after having reached adulthood, FBC may have just rejected any inhibition on his self-expression. People like him use vulgar language on their cell phones in crowded places, exposing school age children to their vulgar vocabularies, cheapening the language as a whole.

Venerable entertainer Bill Cosby tried to call upon "his people" to clean up their language, and was reviled for it. I recall a moment from the Hurricane Katrina disaster, where a concerned group shipped a truckload of Bibles to New Orleans. "We don't need no F***ING BIBLES!" was stated by several disappointed Louisianans, who were hoping for richer, more luxurious offerings. Some people, probably including those who sent the Bibles, were shocked. Others probably didn't notice or see anything wrong with that kind of free expression. Kinda reminds me of the guy who works at the sewage plant, saying, "After a while, you don't even notice the smell anymore."

So, it's a sick society, our kids are exposed to far too much verbal sewage, and I cut off someone rather than have a conversation. I feel like mourning.

By the way, I'm nobody. Totalitarian regimes don't come after nobodies until they've eliminated all the real threats to their power. Until then, I'm just "proof" that there is still Free Speech. The Supreme Court seems to not care that the current regime is working to silence the opposition NOW.

It's Our Fault, So We'll Punish Ourselves Severely!

In my post, There Will Be Violence, I Humbly asserted that threats of coming violence would be used to justify government intrusion and revocation of civil rights. Perhaps I was being too optimistic. Reportedly, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in order to protect Americans, will work to disarm Americans.

Apparently (please correct me if I'm wrong, AG Holder) we are planning to reduce violence in Mexico by making it harder for Americans to protect themselves, because, apparently, some Americans are abusing their rights to keep and bear arms by selling guns to criminals in Mexico. In so doing, we are choosing to weaken the ability of Americans who obey the law (criminals will still be able to shoot civilians and law enforcement types just as they could before) to protect themselves from criminals, including those Mexicans who cross the border illegally. Uh, doesn't that give them an incentive to cross the border, knowing that they won't be facing armed citizens? Has anyone considered a less drastic way to stop sending arms to Mexico? Perhaps enforcing current law and border security?

We have a word for this: surrender. We'll lay down our arms, and you won't. Please don't hurt us.

Okay, some of you out there know this is just another cobblestone in the Liberal Plan to re-make this country into a Liberal paradise. Government (a Liberal-run government, that is) needs to control industry, expression, and education. The people need to toe the line, and that means only government employees should be armed. School children will be indoctrinated to report--er--discuss counter-revolutionary activities they see of their parents.

Normally, I view this kind of extreme prediction as alarmist "conspiracy theory" chatter. The thing is, it's happening.

What's an AIG?

No, no. Don't get me wrong. I know who AIG is today. A year from now? Will my Humble memory be able to drag this one back out to the light of day? Ask yourself: who was Enron? Haliburton? Sandy Burger? Gary Condit? John McCain? Teresa Heinz?

I Humbly theorize that it is the nature of Americans (we TV watching tuberous mass) to forget (if not forgive) even the greatest of horrors which do not personally affect us. A year from now, someone will say something about "a bigger bonus than an AIG executive", and you will give him a blank look like he was referring to something from the Taft administration. None of which has anything to do with the point of this post.

I resisted long and hard commenting about AIG and other "Bailed-out" (I use a capital "B" because we loaned them Billions) corporations. The Bailouts were intended primarily to keep large employers from going under, slow the decline of our economy, and keep the wheels of industry greased, as they must be, with money. This has all mostly been a failure, given today's 8% unemployment rate. The point of this post is to state my Humble opinion of the proposed 90% taxation of executive (or perhaps all) bonuses given by Bailed-out Businesses. Frankly, it stinks.

It shouldn't be necessary to even explain why this is so horrendous. I trust my Humble readership to already be able to understand why without a simple explanation. Some of you dear readers, however, may have lives that require time and effort, making mental exercise a luxury, not to be wasted frivolously. That's okay! Read on, and I'll do it for you.

This is a punishment tax. Whenever lawmakers say they are "outraged and appalled" right before announcing a new tax, that tax is intended to "correct" the "outrageous and appalling" behavior just mentioned. The discussion is not intended to get you thinking about what anyone should be doing, or why any such behavior should be considered good or bad by politicians. There is no rational discussion! What you get is an impassioned attack on an easy target! Evil coporations are taking YOUR tax money, and giving it to fat-cat executives! Hmm. That does sound evil! I can't afford a new car, even though I pay taxes, but a Bail-out CEO can pay cash for a new house! I have to budget new shoes for my bambinos but the Man can buy whole shoe stores. Why not tax those bonuses?! That's just taking our money back!

See how easy it is to get caught up in the emotion of it all? Forget the logic, reason, intelligence, just focus on your own needs. Folks, this is called pandering. It's emotional appeal, striking a chord within your viscera, not intended to fire up any neurons. YOU are smarter. YOU can see through the bull--uh--smoke. You KNOW that targeting a single group for punitive taxation is a slippery slope, giving Congress the non-Constitutional power to implement controls over private citizens and industry. Congress has a Constitutional obligation to protect commerce, but they are talking about punishing bad corporations with massive taxes on those evillest of things...bonuses.

What's next? A 50% tax on tips, because some Senator got bad service at Denny's?? Maybe a 72.5% tax on used car sales because Representative Chick N. Choker of Wisconsin bought a lemon? Why not? It has become fair play! Make an argument about how Industry X has violated the "public trust", and how this will simply level the playing field and make things right. How? Don't you worry your little voting head over the details.

Okay, almost the end of this post. Pop quiz: Who is AIG again?

THINK, people.

They Say There Will Be Violence

I've seen a half dozen different articles claiming government officials are expecting a summer of violence. The latest one is the report that London Police are preparing for violent protests at the G-20 Summit in April. This is, imHo, about the same as saying "Go out and have a violent protest" to the discontented masses. Preparing for violent demonstrations is a sensible and realistic practice. Announcing plans for dealing with violent protests is idiotic. Why not just advise violent protesters to stock up on gas masks and body armor?

I can (Humbly) think of two reasons to talk about anticipated violence: to score points with fearful constituencies; and to start the process of enacting controlling legislation to "prevent" violence by preempting civil rights. Gun control legislation is the easiest to move following a spree of shocking violence. No need to come up with supporting facts, or to counter arguments that violence has actually decreased since the "Assault Weapons Ban" was repealed.

Local governments with "concealed carry" licensing have all seen a drop in murder and robbery rates. Local governments with restrictive gun laws tend to have much more violent crime, with and without guns.* One tragic school shooting later, however, where a minor steals a gun from a responsible adult, and guns suddenly become the "leading cause of death among children", and MUST be “controlled.” The NRA becomes the evil child killer enabler. Liberal pundits start raving that "the senseless slaughter of our children must end!" Never mind that ONE adult carrying a concealed handgun could have ended this heinous crime in its tracks. Voters who are irrational with fear know guns are evil!

This isn't a pro-gun-rights rant. It's an anti-liberal despotism rant. Think about the news not reported. Ever read ANY article, or hear ANY news story about how John Michael Doe, a concealed weapon license holder, shot and killed, yada yada yada? You know they would shout it to the rooftops if this happened!

This blog is not intended to be a gun rights rant. Really. It's my Humble intent to illuminate my Humble readership as to the value of a good scare, politically. The unofficial motto of the Obama administration is "Never let a good crisis go to waste." That's not a joke! Use every problem, disaster, protest, failure, and disappointment to move our agenda forward.

So, let's all predict a summer of escalating violence, encourage protesters to plan for normally effective countermeasures, and have liberal legislation drawn up and ready to throw onto the table after the "shocking" violent demonstrations take lives. Have a “gun show loophole” law that strips law-abiding citizens of their rights ready for when another school shooting takes place. Have a "Fairness Doctrine" ready to put in place after "rabid Conservative hate speech" is blamed for inciting a violent crime. That's not too cynical, is it?

Sadly, (and Humbly) it's only realistic.

1. The Bias Against Guns, and More Guns, Less Crime, by John R. Lott, Jr.

We're Gonna See Some Real Change Real Soon

If my Humble memory doesn't deceive me, President Obama promised us all change in D.C. politics. I'm still Humbly waiting. Today, he blasted AIG for taking contractually obligated bonuses. He neglected to blast himself for having taken over $100k from them, or Senator Dodd for ensuring they could legally pay out almost half a billion bucks in bonuses. And he totally ignored Secretary Geithner's contribution to the mess. Nope. It's the evil corporate empire's fault.

Neil Cavuto is reported to have criticized the Obama administration for blasting AIG when they have so much they can be called on the carpet for. He reportedly said, "Get the U.S. economy straight before targeting one company." Smart advice. Won't happen.

Today Terry Goddard, Attorney General of Arizona, testified before Congress about border violations. Secretary of Homeland Defense Janet Napolitano, who was formerly governor of Arizona, had no reported comment. Here's what she should say: "As governor of a southwest border state for six years, and as the confirmed Secretary of the Homeland Defense Department, I know exactly what to do. It's Bush's fault!" Unless my Humble memory deceives me, that's all she did as governor.

So, until something happens, there's nothing really blog-worthy. In my Humble opinion, that is.