From the Left to the Right

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Eric Holder, Arizona Immigration Law, Highland Park High School, U.S. Attorney General

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “Eric Holder”, “Arizona Immigration Law”, “Highland Park High School”, “U.S. Attorney General”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Hoping the Enemy is Someone Else

Written : May 9 and 11, 2010

Regarding the latest terror attempt, why don’t those with access to the media wait before speculating about who the perpetrators are? New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (with Katie Couric’s encouragement), guessed the latest bomber would most likely be homegrown. If the billionaire mayor were a betting person, he said he’d put a quarter on somebody with a political agenda, possibly someone who didn’t like the health care bill. Contessa Brewer, an anchor at MSNBC, said she hoped it would not turn out to be a Muslim. Why? A few days later, Jim Acosta, a CNN anchor, showed how out of touch he was by explaining Faisal Shahzad, the suspect, recently lost his job and his house was foreclosed on… So what, would that make you blow up Times Square?

On Sep. 9, 2009, Najibullah Zazi’s ‘martyrdom operation’ to ignite an explosive device in the New York City subway was thwarted. Less than two months later, on Nov. 5, Nidal Hasan opened fire inside Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base, killing 13 and wounding 30. On Christmas Day 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was caught before he could detonate a bomb in his underwear on an airplane. More than five months after Dec. 25, Faisal Shahzad was unsuccessful in setting off a car bomb in NYC’s Times Square.

All of these events (and many others) were planned by religious fanatics, true? None were tea party people, none were alienated loners, and all were Muslims, correct? I hope it never happens again, but why would anyone try to place blame on any person or group before knowing? Why would they ‘hope’ it was or was not someone from a specific group? Watch for it, someone will speculate next time, too. Who will they prematurely accuse? It could be humorous, or you may be shocked, it might be you!

BLOG ROLL:

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, New York Mayor Bloomberg, Katie Couric, Nidal Hasan, Najibullah Zazi, Abdulmutallab, Faisal Shahzad

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “New York Mayor Bloomberg”, “Katie Couric”, “Nidal Hasan”, “Najibullah Zazi”, “Abdulmutallab”, “Faisal Shahzad”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

What a Gusher!

Written : May 4, 2010

We all want the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico stopped, so, let’s solve this problem – together. Keep in mind the ongoing operation started as a rescue mission and about a hundred workers were saved. Over a thousand business and governmental people are now working to save the coastline. BP (British Petroleum), the company who leased the rig from Transocean, another oil company, had several plans to stop the huge leak. One was to create a large dome in which to collect the oil so it could be rerouted. Another was to drill another well nearby to relieve pressure. One more was to activate a 450-ton valve, a blowout preventer, which could shut off the well at the source. Exxon, Transocean, and Shell are also helping.

Before we jump all over the oil industry, let’s realize there are over fifty rigs in service now in the Gulf and the rigs employ about 35,000. Before we decry the search for oil, know there are over 4,000 rigs off all the coastlines of the U.S. Few spills have occurred, and we need more oil now, or at least until we can develop effective, alternative energy sources. In fact, we need enough oil to offset our dependence on the Middle East for the raw substance. The price of gas has to go down at the pump, not up.

I’m sure BP will be held wholly responsible at some point, yet Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, on Sunday said, “Our job is basically to keep the boot on the neck of British Petroleum.” If BP were suspected of terrorism, would we be quite as harsh? Such rhetoric in a time like this is not helpful. When it comes to the clean up, BP is on our side.

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Ken Salazar, BP, British Petroleum, Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, Oil Rig Explosion

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “Ken Salazar”, “BP”, “British Petroleum”, “Oil Spill”, “Gulf of Mexico”, “Oil Rig Explosion”.

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Memorable Quotes of Early 2010

Written : Apr. 20 and 27, 2010

On Jobs: On ABC News’ “This Week”, Christina Romer, one of the president’s advisers, said, “We’re close to turning unemployment around.” She said it on Jan. 10, 2010.

Health Care bill: “We have to pass the bill so we can see what’s in it,” - Nancy Pelosi. “The Health Care bill has become a caricature of what’s in it.” - White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. David Plouffe, speaking of the same Health Care bill, said, “It’s about making history,” and President Obama reminded us, “This is what change looks like.”

Sean Hannity often calls Robert Gibbs the “White House Propaganda Minister.”

Ed Schultz, nationally syndicated liberal talk show host said on Feb. 24, 2010, “We ought to rip it out and kick it [Dick Cheney’s heart] around and stuff it back in him.”

Best Quote of 2010 so far in my opinion: Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), “We’re not requiring you to buy [Health Insurance]. You can buy, or choose the penalty.”

Greg Gutfeld, after his ‘Greg-a-logue’ on FOX’s “Red Eye”, says, “…and if you don’t agree with me, you’re a racist – and a homophobe!” The quote, which can vary slightly from show to show, is a sarcastic answer to the false accusation made that all conservatives are racists for opposing Barack Obama’s policies. This show features liberals from time to time but proves the words 'conservative' and 'humorous' are not oxymorons – check it out!

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You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Calling Names

Written : Apr. 14, and 20, 2010

”You’re a moron,” she said. The boy replied, “You’re an idiot.” Then Mama stepped in and taught how calling names is narrow-minded and wrong. Each child then apologized to the other. “I’m sorry,” they said.

Last week someone at work called Sarah Palin a name. “She’s stupid.” My friend, a Democrat, without a shred of evidence, went on to imply Palin might even be mentally ill. She said it with such an uncharacteristic anger it stunned the two of us who heard it. Without revealing who said it, I related the story to another conservative co-worker. He stated the obvious by noting most on our side wouldn’t use the tactic of character assassination on a liberal. I agree. Mama was right, name calling is never appropriate.

I was listening to a caller on “The Ed Schultz Show”, on Apr. 14, while driving to work. She was calling in from eastern Washington State, which she repeated a couple of times, is close to Idaho (but not to Russia). The lady went on to call the people of Idaho ‘backward’. To illustrate a misunderstanding liberals have, by ‘backward’ she meant ‘conservative’. It’s not right to paint all people with the same brush, and she admitted it. However, the caller went on to say she was certain there were some fair-minded progressives in Idaho, but it had been her experience “they’re backward over there.” I have news for the caller. There are backward liberals and fair-minded conservatives, too!

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Ed Shultz, calling names, Sarah Palin, stupid, idiot, moron

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tea Time

Written : Apr. 06, 2010

Who are those Tea Party members? I imagine they’re nice people, like you and me. They grow weary of struggle when there is no reward. Tea Partiers realize government has its place, but they don’t want to be forced to relinquish a lifetime of accomplishments. Who can blame them? These fine people will lend a helping hand when required, but they also believe in individual achievement and personal responsibility over hand-outs and spreading the wealth.

The evidence shows the Tea Party people are non-violent and are not a threat, but some would make you believe otherwise. Don’t take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s word for it, check the web, evaluate, and read their signs. Sure, they’re angry, but when likening it to a parent and child, it’s more like a scolding than a beating. Look at their web site and see for yourself.

When something captures the imagination of America like the Tea Party has, there will be detractors and those who want to stop it. So, along came the bland Coffee Party. They say they’re not affiliated with any other group, which is a plus, and I like the statements on their web site. However, this group was created to distract you from the main event, which is defeating incumbents this fall.

I’m certain there will be attempts to incite violence from the Tea Partiers, and then finger-pointing will follow. Remember how the ‘establishment’ wanted the hippies to be violent just so they could retaliate? Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), and others deliberately strode through the Tea Party crowd the day the Health Care bill was signed. Have you ever wondered why?

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You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Recent Quotes

Written : Mar. 30, 2010

”Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” was a quote heard often during President Bush’s time in office. It was repeated to challenge his policies, but has dissent suddenly become a bad thing? AT&T, John Deere and Co., Catepillar, and 3M, among other companies, have said the Health Care Bill will cost them millions. Almost immediately, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) ordered them to a hearing about the subject, which will take place on April 21 of this year. Is it possible he didn’t read the bill and genuinely needs clarification? Or, does he just want to silence them? See: Waxman Hearing

It was reported on Mar. 24, that Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said of recent protests, we have to “tamp this down now,” inferring the Tea Partiers are racist. On the other side, Deneen Borelli, of project 21, said the following on March 26, about Tea Party groups, ”I’m pretty dark, so it’s not a racist movement”. She’s spoken at rallies and said she believes in self-reliance. Don’t you? Read about Deneen at: Deneen Borelli

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said the following on CSPAN on Feb. 25, “We can’t fix our economy until people have health insurance.” Don’t you wonder why it wasn’t possible? On March 9, House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of the health care bill, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Isn’t there something fundamentally wrong with her statement?

David Axelrod, a presidential advisor, said on Meet The Press on Mar. 14, about you, the American people, who “don’t know or care much about” the procedures involved in passing the Health Care bill. Can we show him he was mistaken about our IQ, curiosity, and how much we care this coming election day? I hope so!

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative, blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi, Deneen Borelli, Diana DeGette, David Axelrod

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “Henry Waxman”, “Nancy Pelosi”, “Deneen Borelli”, “Diana DeGette”, “David Axelrod”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Waiting for The Other Shoe

Written : Mar. 22-23, 2010

Assuming the Health Care Bill is not repealed, we'll have millions more covered by insurance companies (beginning in 2014). How can we save our children and grandchildren from paying trillions of dollars for it? One method would be to wean the U.S. of foreign oil by doing several things. We drill. We build nuclear power plants, perhaps two or three per state. Prices for energy will then come down. We must innovate and we must hurry!

Can we have it all? Is it possible to spend $1 trillion, insure more people, lower taxes, lower premiums, and save money? How? And, what will happen when companies are forced to cover a larger number of people and extra treatments they won't be able to afford? We need to ask these questions. Will those companies be able to survive or will Uncle Sam come in, take them over, and bail them out with even more money he doesn't have?

What follows the Health Care Bill? Doesn’t it make you wonder? What's the government planning? Do we punish even more people and companies by taking more of their money through excessive fines and taxation? Such actions usually hurt us and force companies to cut back and fire people. I don't want this to happen to the organization which employs me! Perhaps we allow businesses to flourish instead, allowing them to employ more of us. What do you think? President Obama promised to remake America with fundamental change. He's succeeding, but our president is not done with the metamorphosis. What comes next? Are you worried? I am.

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You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Stimulating

Written : Mar. 16, 2010

It’s difficult to locate any relevant information about the stimulus bill, even using the Web, but a good place to start is recovery.gov. The website says 594,644 recovery funded jobs were reported by recipients so far. Unfortunately, many of those jobs are temporary construction jobs. Compare the almost 600k ‘funded’ jobs to the 4.4 million jobs lost since the administration took office. We’ve gained about an eighth so far, if that’s what ‘recovery funded jobs’ means, even though we’re still losing jobs each month.

I agree, our infrastructure could use some help, but what worries me is how we’re going to pay for what’s in this bill. According to Sean Hannity’s March 12 show, subtitled "Waste 102", $4.3 million was spent on new escalators in Washington, D.C. Speaking truth to power, Tucker Carlson rhetorically asked whether it would have been more cost effective and healthier to replace the escalators with stairs? … $200,000 are earmarked for studying the voting habits of Africans. In the long run, how will the study help our economy? … $500,000 will be spent on recycling bins in Dayton, OH. The bins will have microchips embedded in them to track participation. Isn’t that a bit creepy?

Jenny-O Turkey got over five million dollars for production and delivery of cooked deli breasts (total jobs reported: 286). At first, the Jenny-O award looks good. But divided up, it gets 286 employees a one-time total of about $18,000 each, but if and only if all the money goes to the people, otherwise it’s a lesser amount per worker.

There’s a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Head Start workers in Puerto Rico (total jobs reported: 6). This is just shy of $600,000 for 6 workers. Either that’s quite a healthy adjustment, or six people were hired to administer the COLA, or, I just don’t get it. It’s all very puzzling, and I didn’t mention how unreadable the bill is. Remember, our kids, and most likely our grandkids will help us fund everything we get from this one stimulus bill, needed or not.

For a cost breakdown of about 100 silly things the stimulus will give us see: Waste 102 - Warning: When you see the list you may start screaming, “Haliburton! Haliburton!” Or maybe not. Seriously, you may get a pop-up question regarding the running of scripts in the page. Either answer will let you view the site.

You may be more comfortable with this site: Stimulus Watch - You can examine each description, read more by clicking on each grant or contract, and vote yes or no if they do or don’t meet with your approval.

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative, blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, The Stimulus, The Stimulus Bill, Sean Hannity, Waste 102

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “The Stimulus”, “The Stimulus Bill”, “Sean Hannity”, “Waste 102”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Haters

Written : Mar. 9, 2010

Yesterday morning I was listening to the David Sirota radio program on 760, “Progressive Talk” in Denver. A lady caller identified herself as a conservative, a Republican, and a Tea Partier. The topic was the suspension of a child from a private Catholic school because the parents are both homosexuals. The points of view on this topic are clear. Conservatives generally stand with the school’s right to do what it wants since it’s an independent entity. Catholics might say the school has to expect parents of students to uphold the schools’ teachings and/or philosophy. Liberals for the most part would say it’s an example of discrimination.

It doesn’t matter what I think, it’s not important. The fascinating aspect was Sirota’s reaction to the caller. Once the woman revealed her politics, Sirota became adversarial. He posed questions setting her up as a ‘Tea Party’ expert. Questions like… As a member of the Tea Party movement, would you be in favor of… The poor woman didn’t stand a chance, but this tactic is somewhat normal for many talk show hosts.

David Sirota played a tough, cross-examining lawyer for a while. He questioned the caller’s adherence to conservative principals. If she was for freedom, how could she be against the freedom for gays to be able to send their kid to a private school? Most of his questions up to that point were understandable. But I felt my eyes widen when Sirota went ballistic, accusing the woman of being a hater, of hating homosexuals, of accusing conservatives and then white people of hating all minorities… In an angry tone, he delighted in hanging up on her. Is it ok to disagree with someone? Yes! But is it fair to use generalizations and epithets to condemn someone else’s opinion? Is it hateful? In this case, you be the judge.

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative, blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Haters, David Sirota, School Suspension, Catholic Schools, Boulder

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “Haters”, “David Sirota”, “School Suspension”, “Catholic Schools”, “Boulder”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Health Care Positions and an Interview

Written : Mar. 2, 2010

The Democrats’ position on the health care bill is status quo, perhaps modify it slightly, and push hard to pass it. Most want to use the process called ‘reconciliation’ to get it through. Democrats view the Republican Party as the stubborn party, the one that won’t cooperate. They see Republicans as obstructionists who have no ideas, no matter how many suggestions they offer. Democrats are divided on the ‘public option’ but most seem to favor it. They worry about having enough votes to get the bill passed.

Republicans point out they had no part in drafting the original 2,700-page bill. They want the process to start over, this time with an invitation to participate from page one. They think they’ve contributed substantial ideas in several plans submitted to the majority party and during the Health Care Summit. They view ‘reconciliation’ as trickery, and as a process reserved for budgets. Republicans see the Democratic Party as stubborn and are frustrated over their perception that the Democrats aren’t listening to them. Republicans are worried about how they will pay for the Health Care bill.

On “This Week” on ABC, on Feb. 28, 2010, Elizabeth Vargas was the host and she interviewed both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - for fifteen minutes - and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - for eight. I wondered if she’d be neutral, or take sides. In Vargas’ first question to Pelosi she asked if the Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill. She asked Speaker Pelosi, “How long are you willing to wait for [Republican ideas]?” Vargas even quoted the president, “Times up!”, as if to urge Republicans to cooperate. She voiced her concern, “you’re certain that you can muster the 217 votes you need…?”

In her interview with Sen. Alexander, Vargas was much tougher. She asked if the Republicans were going to offer some amendments and “play ball”. Alexander said they already had and the Democrats were on a political kamikaze mission if they ram the bill through Congress. Vargas asked, “Why not be part of the process…?” and, “Why are you so opposed to [reconciliation]…?”, and, “Why [do you say] ‘political kamikaze’”? Vargas insisted the Congress must pass “sweeping legislation”, when Alexander kept referring to his preference they use incremental means to pass reform. Do you think Elizabeth Vargas was fair, or biased?

Also See: NewsBusters - You may need Adobe Flash to view the page, but if you do you’ll be asked if you want to install it.

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative, blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Health Care Bill, Elizabeth Vargas, Nancy Pelosi, This Week

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", “Health Care Bill”, “Elizabeth Vargas”, “Nancy Pelosi”, “This Week”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

One Remarkable Woman

Written : Feb. 9, 2010

Like Elizabeth Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Dina Matos (McGreevey), Silda Spitzer, and others before her, Jenny Sanford endured a public sex scandal involving her famous husband. Unlike the others, who appeared in public with their husbands, she didn’t attend Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R-SC) news conference last year, when he admitted he had an affair with a reporter from Argentina. After trying to make her marriage work, Jenny Sanford finally booted the Governor out of the family home. Jenny wrote a book, a memoir detailing the affair entitled, “Staying True”. She’s now making the rounds on TV. Barbara Walters interviewed Mrs. Sanford on the Feb. 5, 2010 edition of 20/20, the ABC news magazine show.

Jenny Sanford is not your typical whiner or weeper. She held her head high - while withstanding multiple attempts by Walters to get her to bash her soon-to-be former husband. Jenny Sanford is someone to be admired. She kept her composure while saying she’s seeking a divorce, and was correct to blame Mark Sanford for making the choices he made. She wished he hadn’t made them, but he did.

I expected Barbara Walters to give a few feminist “atta-girls” to Sanford, but to my surprise she took a more conservative tack. Walters unfairly and repeatedly chastised Jenny for not “standing by her man”. But I think Jenny was right to stay away from the governor’s news conference, don’t you? One can imagine how hard it is for anyone to withstand a spouse’s affair, but she told her story while showing she still respects Mark Sanford. She certainly earned my respect!

When Walters asked why she’s filing for divorce, Jenny said, ”I decided I needed to remain strong … and be the best I could be for our children and that Mark needs to resolve a lot of his issues on his own.” This is the epitome of a strong, liberated woman; one with her own mind, but for some reason Walters ignored the fact. She turned instead to a Democratic strategist, Bob Schrum, for commentary. – But, why? - Schrum naturally was quite critical of the South Carolina governor. I also wondered why Barbara Walters, with a pained look, asked if Jenny wanted to know if Mark is still seeing his mistress. Jenny Sanford honestly said she didn’t want to know. Walters, obviously frustrated, asked, “Why not?” Jenny explained with grace she just wants to move on. Who wouldn’t?

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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative, blog, politics, political, Mark Cohen, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, conservative blog, conservative blogs, Jenny Sanford, Governor Sanford, Barbara Walters, 20/20.

Keyword Phrases: "Conservatism", "Conservative", "blog", "politics", "political", "Mark Cohen", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right ", "conservative blog", "conservative blogs", “Jenny Sanford”, “Governor Mark Sanford”, “Barbara Walters”, “20/20.”

You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Success Story

Written : Feb. 2, 2010

Charles Payne was the star, but Black conservatives were the focus on Glenn Beck’s Jan. 10, 2010 special, “Time to Be Heard”. This was a unique look at a unique subject. Try as you may, you won’t see anything like that on CNN! Recorded before an audience of Blacks who see themselves as conservative, it began with Payne showing Beck where he grew up in Harlem, in New York City. Payne, who can be seen on various FOX networks, said things have improved since he lived there, but described decrepit conditions where his mother, two brothers, and he lived. His brothers and he “shared a room”. Poverty was comfortable for many, but Charles wanted out. He longed to be a business man.

Charles Payne wanted to own a briefcase when he was little. One Christmas, his mom provided one in the form of a present. “When I opened it up, there was a calculator in there, too”, Payne told Beck. His glee was short lived, as you can imagine. The briefcase was left in a classroom one day, and Payne said, “I come back and it’s cracked open…it just blew me away because my mother worked so hard. I worked hard.” Payne was beaten for wanting to excel; beaten for “talking white”, as Beck put it. Payne said he was picked on for “being different.”

There are two ways of looking at Payne’s early situation. Either you want a father, or father-like figure to step in and fix everything for Charles and force it to be better – or, you want Charles to tough it out, do the best he can; succeed on his own merits. Beck likened it to a situation where there are two brothers. One is a hard worker and succeeds, while the other doesn’t. Their father keeps taking from the successful brother and transfers it to the other. “What does it teach?”, Glenn asked. With a second question he answered, “…at some point, don't both brothers give up?” One because it’s all taken away, the other because he doesn’t have to work. Beck calmly connected this thought with the government providing for middle class people while taking from the successful in our society.

Lisa Fritch, a talk show host herself said, “What socialism does is it kills the spirit of the individual, your right to dream, your right to say, ‘This is who I am!’ And so, now, we are being challenged with speaking out and saying, ‘I'm going to fight for my right to have a briefcase. I'm going to fight for my right to be a chef. I don't want to be a rapper. I don't want to be a football player. My dream might be...’" So, think about your dreams and future successes. No one should ever tell you what they should be - or ever take them away from you!

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You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The American Report Card

Written : Jan. 26, 2010

”It’s not about me!”, President Obama says. All right, then let’s give America his “one year report card”. How did we do after the first quarter of his administration?

The U.S. is seen the way the rest of the world wants us to be seen. We are weak, apologetic, and pathetic. We cower to world leaders instead of being the world leader. I think the president succeeded in what he sought to accomplish, but as a country we should get an “F” for his efforts. We shut out opposition when we try to force bills through the legislature. We ignored the tea party folks, we don’t hear the people’s voices. We know better than anyone, we’ll pass health care legislation, no matter what anyone says. We make back room deals to buy Senators’ votes such as “The Louisiana Purchase” and “The Cornhusker Kickback“; ahem, we get another “F”, we failed.

Our President got a Nobel Peace prize for doing nothing. He failed to get the Olympic games to come to Chicago in 2016. President Obama campaigned for incumbent Governor Corzine of New Jersey, Creigh Deeds in Virginia, and Martha Coakley in Massachusetts and all three lost their races. His administration dismissed the term, “terrorism”, and replaced it with “man-made disaster” and favors reading terrorists their Miranda Rights. The president hinted at prosecuting Bush administration people for using advanced interrogation techniques - information from which saved American lives. He pledged to close Gitmo (fail) within a year (fail), promised to confront special interest groups, predicted unemployment wouldn’t go above 8 percent and that we’d save money, told us he’d televise the health care debate on CSPAN, and said he’d have the most transparent administration - ever. None of those things happened, but he’s right, it’s not about him! We get another “F”.

Why did the health care bill not have any conservative ideas? Not because the Republicans didn’t propose any; they did. They were shut out of the process. That’s an “F” we must receive for the “works well with others” category! Unemployment is at ten percent, fail. We’re bringing Kalid Sheik Mohammed to NYC to try him as a criminal and not an enemy combatant, fail. According to CBS News on Jan. 25, 2010, we sent 21 congressmen to Copenhagen’s Global Warming Summit where they spent $2,200 per day each – just on the hotel! Read all about it, here: CBS Story The entire trip cost America over $1 million! America, you failed again!

All is not lost. President Obama’s just over a quarter of the way through his first term. I admit it, there’s a possibility he’ll make things right. I’ll be listening to the State of the Union speech on Wed., the 27th. I hope he eats some humble pie and becomes more moderate, and turns our out-of-control ship around, but I don’t expect it.

I’m not one sided, I generously give the president one “A” - for “spreading the wealth”, success! - But it’s really an “F” in my book!

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You can also read this blog at “Your Hub”, which is part of The Denver Post online, at Your Hub Scroll down or “Edit/Find” the word, “blog”.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mr. Awad’s Take

Written : Jan. 19, 2010

”It’s in our best interests… We have to do all we can to assure the Muslim world that the War on Terror is not a war on Islam.” Who said it? The quote can be attributed to Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. While I don’t agree with everything he says, Awad carefully walks a tightrope during his public appearances. He’s an astute politician, and he’s one of the world's best modern diplomats. He avoids being a target of the extremists while stoically explaining moderate American Muslim thought. For the most part, I admire his approach. And, I admire him - while maintaining a healthy skepticism.

It’s interesting to hear Awad’s analysis of America’s reaction to the Christmas Day "underwear bomber" on the international flight bound for Detroit. He says we (and he means “we”, as in we Americans) overreacted, giving Al Qaeda what it wanted; a sort of panic. This came in the form of scrambling in the ensuing week when the Obama Administration made up ridiculous, impossible rules to follow and then rescinded them. Some of us on the right called – metaphorically, of course - for heads to roll, and Mr. Awad explained the terrorists liked that reaction, too. But, should we really care what the terrorists like or don’t like? Wouldn’t such empathy, cowering, and/or catering also appear to the terrorists as a victory they should savor?

Mr. Awad said we should profile, but not by race. Behavior is the key, I agree, but as several callers on the CSPAN show on Jan. 9, 2010 pointed out, most recent terrorists have been young Muslim men. Awad countered by saying it was mainly Caucasians who gunned down abortion doctors. I didn’t like his answer, but if you think about it, aren’t the results of such behaviors similar in nature to terrorism? Don’t they terrorize, too? Think of Columbine and church shootings and mall massacres. Still, Awad’s example was out of context, and doesn’t apply to the “War on Terror”.

Muslims are not heard condemning terrorism and terrorist groups enough in our media. I want to hear more of it, don’t you? Perhaps it would put them at some moderate risk, but speaking out against terror would also embody bravery, heroism, and express the right message. Regardless of how you feel about Islam or religion in general, it’s important to hear and consider the opinions of many.

You can read about Mr. Awad’s group at the home page of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In addition, a link to the very CSPAN segment with Mr. Awad I watched can still be found there. Just below the video area, click a few times on the pair of right-carets (>>) at the top-middle of the page at: CAIR

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Citizens of the World, Beware!

Written : Jan. 11-12, 2010

Why would anyone want to make their own country weaker? You can take any nation in the world and hold it up as an example. Would a citizen of Saudi Arabia say they have too much oil? Would a Canadian or a Russian claim his or her country has too much territory and should give some away? Would a Chinese person say China is growing too fast? No, of course not!

Yet, many U.S. citizens and home-grown groups oppose America’s strengths. One such group is the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). You can check them out at: IPS

At first glance, IPS appears to have a noble goal. They state, “Ideas into Action for Peace, Justice, and the Environment.” It sounds nice, but if you listen to their personnel speak, you may think there’s more to it than a noble idea. Phyllis Bennis, the director of IPS’ “New Internationalism Project”, appeared on Washington Journal on CSPAN this past Christmas Day. She began by saying America has about 1.1 million troops around the world on about 865 bases. Ms. Bennis clarified the definition of “bases” to be very broad – they can include golf courses and storage facilities! However, unlike most of the world’s people she spoke against her own country’s power and said the cost in dollars is too high, we are wasting resources, and it doesn’t make us safer by being in so many countries. She may have a point about the money; it’s a massive amount. However, she and other U.S. detractors overlook what might happen if we don't maintain a global presence. While others may specialize in fashion, oil, or plastics, one of our specialties is security. You can’t argue against 20th Century history, we’ve kept and still keep the world safe.

What is internationalism, anyway? It sounds like a concerted effort to dissolve or at least dilute the power of all the countries in the world. The stronger and more powerful a country is, the more it has to lose - in theory. We are the top nation on the globe. We would give up the most - and, to whom? What would happen to us if the U.S. went away and was run by a world government? Who would lead us? Who would protect the innocent from global tyrants such as Germany’s Kaiser (WWI), Hitler, Moussolini, Hirohito, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot, Ghadafi, Saddam Hussein, or Ahmadinejad? And, I’ve only named a few. These thoughts scare me. As an American I don’t like the sound of internationalism very much, do you?

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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Drilling for Civility

Written : Jan. 05, 2010

Watching Washington Journal on C-SPAN this past week, I was struck by the opinions expressed by some callers on the Democrats’ line. One bemoaned America’s dependence on oil. She said it was the reason for our involvement in the Middle East. The viewer was partially correct. We are dependent on oil because there currently is no alternative fuel with the same, vast infrastructure available. As President Clinton (D-AR) has said, the reason we do not have electric cars yet is because there are few recharging stations we could conveniently pull up to. However, there are seemingly gas stations on every corner!

We are dependent upon foreign oil because there isn’t enough yanked out of the ground and refined here. While we invest in research to find the next generation’s fuel supply and infrastructure, we could and should drill, extract, and process our own oil here. There’s plenty, and it would reduce our cost. To ease the mind - all of us - and especially poor people would not have to spend as much money on gasoline and heating fuel. It seems the right thing to do, but it’s not being done yet. I can’t wait, can you?

Another caller called FOX News’ Catherine Herridge a feminine FOX fascist. How nice! On the radio this morning on The Ed Schultz Show, I heard Katrina Vanden Heuvel speaking about the “tea baggers”, which is a derogatory term. She said multiple times they, and those on the right were mostly haters and racists. In the first place, the Tea Party attendees did not display any hatred or racism. They were expressing their opinions and were frustrated their leaders were not listening to them. Why do so many people descend to the level of name-calling and use such negative and insulting comments? I think we need a little more civility in our society and in the media, don’t you? It’s time for a resurgence of intellect over rhetoric.

Calmly listen to both sides - with an open mind – even if you think you’ve already made up your mind. Try a personal experiment to see which side of the aisle more often uses an angry tone and hateful language. You may be surprised.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Real Enemy

Written : Dec. 29, 2009

This week I was planning to write about the Institute for Policy Studies, but instead the world’s security infrastructure broke down and someone came close to blowing up another jet plane. Oh, well!

Yet another young man managed to smuggle explosive components aboard an aircraft on an international flight. This time the individual was able to mix his chemicals together but was unable to make his compound explode. Fortunately, there was “only” a fire. Only two people were burned, the perpetrator and the hero who stopped the plane from burning up and falling out of the sky.

Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, gave us the wrong message about the attempted bombing. Reminiscent of Alexander Haig’s idiotic publicity blunder in the ‘80’s, she praised the security system by stating, “it worked”. Riiiiiiight! I understand what she was trying to do. Calm the nation, but we didn’t need calming. It’s the typical political response from someone who’s fairly new to his or her position and doesn’t have confidence. The first thing they do is praise their group, say nothing’s wrong, and maybe mention they’ll fix what’s broken. The last thing they do is blame themselves. She and President Obama both mentioned in their first statements about the incident that the “no-fly” lists for perpetrators of manmade disasters (God forbid we say “terrorists”) had been in place for many years – of course that’s yet another slap at President Bush. How tedious!

Political Correctness (PC) is killing us. On Dec. 28, President Obama referred to the madman as a “suspect” and also said, “ a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body”. Why “allegedly”? The very next day he toughened his language by calling it, “the attempted terrorist attack”. Good! Perhaps he’s coming around to the realization we can’t ignore the word “terrorist” and we have to address these matters seriously. We must not treat these attacks as criminal matters – we must use the courts of military justice instead. As Yoda might say, “Acts of war, they are!” Typically criminals have rights because they are treated as citizens, even though some of them aren’t. War criminals have few, if any rights, and – for the uneducated - there is a difference.

Political correctness is the real enemy. For example, if none of the terrorists have ever been female Caucasians, Asians, or old people, we could be a little more lenient with those groups, right? That doesn’t mean there won’t ever be a terrorist with those characteristics, but we can relax a little with them, no? The goal is to find the terrorist before he can do us harm, the goal is not to be afraid of insulting anyone. Just because all the recent terrorists have been Muslim doesn’t mean every Muslim is a terrorist, but we do have to stop ignoring reality. And, this does not mean we are being racists or “Islamo-phobes, we can be realists!

Another aspect of PC is the irrational fear of magnetometers. They show nearly everything under a person’s clothes, and that’s a good thing with regard to discovering hidden explosives destined for detonation aboard an airplane. The folks who scream about privacy are just “magnetometer-o-phobes”! The heck with privacy, just keep us safe, why don-cha?

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Transparent Aluminum

Written : Dec. 22, 2009

The following was available from the Obama Administration's web site on Dec. 22, 2009: ( Obama on Transparency ) :

"My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government."

I urge you to read the aforementioned and stunning web page. Which system of transparency is our president talking about? This administration has gone from saying it would be the most transparent in history to being the most secretive ever. From the drafting of the health care monstrosity bill in private (what collaboration?) to the arm-twisting which went on behind closed-doors in Democrats-only meetings, we've been shown a level of back-room dealing not seen since the early 20th century. What public participation? This administration and our Congress, which consists mostly of Democrats, has repeatedly belittled the Tea Party Movement - and its members - all of whom belong to "the public". What happened to your C-SPAN promise to televise the entire health care debate, Mr. President?

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) should be ashamed of themselves. To obtain their support of the healthcare debacle, Sen. Landrieu was given $300 million of our tax dollars for her state and Sen Nelson copped a permanent exemption from Medicaid payments required by this bill for his state. Astounding! You and I will pay dearly for each bribe.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and then other Democrats) complained of a "culture of corruption" over and over again (mostly over nothing) when President Bush was in office. Now is the appropriate time to call out our representatives on partisanship and deal-making. They act with impunity as the country suffers. They don't seem to care, they just make deals in smoke-free back rooms, where Republicans are not welcome to tread. Is it fair? No! But we'll remember what harm they've done to America.

Pssst, we can vote them out in eleven months!

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Scrap It

Written : Dec. 15, 2009

A couple of hours ago CNN reported the current health care reform bill may be passed without a “public option”. Their web site quoted former Governor Howard Dean’s complaint in an interview with VPR (Vermont Public Radio), "…the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill and go back to the House."

Governor Dean (D-VT) is correct. What’s required is to dump the current bill and rewrite it because only Democrats were involved in drafting it. The Republicans were left out of the original debate and bill-writing process, so how can anyone consider it a bi-partisan bill? Some of my liberal friends refuse to believe Republicans were ignored, but if you listen carefully - and with an open mind - to what Republican Representatives and Senators have all said, they really were.

The right way to consider legislation which lasts and stands the test of time is to invite members of both parties to participate in the process, so a majority will support a bill coming out of the House committee. President Obama even promised a public debate on C-SPAN during his campaign, remember? Do you recall ever hearing about or seeing such an inclusive event? It would have been unprecedented and wonderful, but it never happened. A solid reform bill would have certainly passed by last summer if a valid process were followed in the beginning. A good bill - which we all want by the way - and which takes the best ideas of both sides, still can be.

If the Democrats force this bill through, and it does pass by a slim margin, it will spell a Republican revival in upcoming elections. Hooray for our side, but the country would not have been served. America will be hurt deeply if it passes, and conservatives will be worried. Eventually, when they realize they have been betrayed, the rest of the country will be angered. What I feel we need to learn from this is that when politicians ignore their constituents, everyone loses. The first American revolutionaries had it right when they said, “taxation without representation is tyranny”.

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