Trust me, I'm from the Government...

Mr Obama is trying very hard to convince the American public that only Government can solve our problems. Just trust him and his cabinet (like the tax-cheating Secretary of the Treasury) and everything will be fine.

Well, I started thinking about September 11th, today. Not really sure why. But the thought hit me "what failed on that day?" Was it private citizens, or the Looters in DC?

Seems to me that it was the government that failed (and, yes, I know that Bush 43 was the president at the time). In fact, it was private citizens (Todd Beamer, et al) who actually acted. They didn't blindly follow FAA rules. They used their cell phones. They didn't remain seated with their seat belts fashioned, their heads between their knees. They stood up like free men, rising up against the terrorists and, at the cost of their own lives, prevented Flight 93 from killing possibly thousands more.

On that day, when big government failed, the only good news came from private individuals.

So, Mr Obama, I'd rather you didn't send me a stimulus check. Just let me keep my own money, to spend as I see fit. Protect us, sure. But let private citizens do what we do best, and the country will be just fine.

CNN blows it's "objective" cover

CNN for years has fought against the political Right's claim that CNN is a liberal network in the pants pocket of the Left. Now, it seems that CNN has proven the Right right.

CNN.com's website is selling a "historic" T-shirt to honor the election of Mr Obama. Honor may be the wrong word. More like deify. "Obama raises hand, lifts a nation."

Come on. That is really sycophantic. CNN will soon be changing it's name to Pravda.

Economic stimulus

The government TARP program has so far done diddly squat. What a surprise. A government program that promised more than it could deliver.

Recently in the news, it was reported that Merrill Lynch executives spent $1.2 million on renovating an executive suite. When I first heard this I was appalled. How dare they spend taxpayer money on a shiny new toilet!!

However, it turns out that the media, in it's race to vilify capitalists, was WRONG. Not a single dime of taxpayer money was spent on this renovation. In fact, the renovation was about 9 months before the "bailout" was even imagined.

Seems to me that the media could have spent a little more time investigating this story before plastering it all over the place. But then, they wouldn't have had that thrill go down their leg that they all seem to get when capitalism is the bad guy.

As a matter of fact, Merrill Lynch did a much better job stimulating the economy by having the renovation done than the Looters in DC have ever done. That $1.2 million dollars had an immediate impact. The money went to taxpayers (decorators, contractors, delivery services and suppliers) and no bureaucrats got their grubby little fingers on it.

So I'm sorry, Merrill Lynch, that I got caught up in the vilification. Thank you for an effective economic stimulus.

Stuff that's broke

In the past few months, we've had some stuff malfunction, or break down entirely. Here's a list of some of the stuff that's gone kerplewie during the past 12 months:

Central heating and air unit
refrigerator
dishwasher
radio in my wife's car
the main television in the house
cordless phone
my laptop computer

I'm sure there's more, I just can't remember it all.

Go figure.

Kid's say the darndest thing

A short while ago, while bringing my son home from his art class, he told me something quite profound.

"Dad, I know what I'm gonna be when I grow up."

"What's that, son"

"I'm gonna be in the car business. I'm gonna call it GNW's..." Then he paused, and followed that up with:

"Or an actor. Or a director. Or a producer. Or a cranberry farmer."

God Bless the little children.

Ransacking the White House

I don't know if you remember, but when the first black president left office in 2001, his staffers showed their class and sophistication by ransacking the White House. Walls were covered with graffiti. Computer keyboards were destroyed beyond use. Phone lines were severed. Filing cabinets were super glued shut. Pornographic photos were left strewn about like ticker-tape.

Well, as the media loves to report, we're supposed to believe that George W. Bush is the most vile president to ever hold the public office. So, I'm sure that his staffers are just as perverted. But, so far, I've not heard a single report about their damaging or desecrating the White House or the office of President. Humm...

I'm sure that Dick Cheney was able to use the dark side of the Force to suppress the reports of destruction. Because we all know that Republicans are worse than Democrats in every respect, right MSNBC?

You mean I need to pay my taxes?

I find it absurd that Mr Obama cannot find someone more qualified for the position of Secretary of the Treasury than Mr Timothy Geithner. The man who would be in charge of the IRS claims it was an innocent mistake when he didn't pay his taxes for the years 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

What the crap??? For 4 years, this man didn't realize that he owed the United States of American his Social Security and Medicare Taxes??? And he wants to be involved in setting tax policy for the rest of us?

Would I have been treated just as lightly if I had "innocently" forgotten to pay my quarterly taxes? Even after I had signed (four years in a row) a statement from my employer affirming that I was aware that it was my responsibility to pay said taxes?

Hell no.

Do I believe that it was an accident? Sure. I don't think that this caring, empathetic Democrat withheld his tax money on purpose. I'm sure he probably believes that it's patriotic to pay your fair share in taxes. And, after all, he did say that he was sorry. I'll try that if I get audited.

However, I do wholeheartedly believe that mistake disqualifies him from the position of Secretary of Treasury.

Back door gun ban

In the landmark Supreme Court of the United States decision, Heller vs DC, the Justices finally ponied up and agreed that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution does indeed guarantee Americans' right to own guns.

Now, in several states, legislation has been introduced that might be a back-door ban of weapons. If the Looters can't take away our guns, maybe they can take away our ammunition. These bills go by a variety of names, but they all essentially do the same thing.

These bills would require ammunition manufacturers to "encode" every single bullet and cartridge with a serial number, under the guise of improving public safety. Surprise, surprise: that these bills are being heavily lobbied by a commercial enterprise that has a patent on technology to imprint the codes. They are trying to create a demand for their product by making it mandatory.

My state was one of the culprits in 2008. Fortunately, these unconstitutional bills didn't pass. The legislation would have required that private citizens turn in all of their currently-owned ammunition, without any compensation; it would be illegal to possess non-encoded ammo. Every box of new, encoded, ammo would need to be registered. It would be illegal for people to reload their own ammunition, a process practiced by tens of thousands of gun owners. Private citizens would have to keep detailed records of when and where the ammo was used. A tax of up to 5 cents PER bullet would need to be paid.

The ultimate effect of these bills, if passed, would be to prevent gun owners from having ammunition for defense, practice, sport and hunting. The fact that these bills are not gun bans is a really just a technicality because, in practical terms, ammo bans are gun bans.

The death of the American Auto

Part of me feels sad that the big three American auto manufacturers are in such trouble. "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet", as they used to say, were what America was about. Now, to be honest, I've only ever bought 1 "American" car in my life (a Saturn SL); at least that's what I thought until I read the January 12, 2009 addition of AutoWeek magazine.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the vehicle that is the "most" American is the Ford Crown Vic. Makes sense. Ford is as American as they get, right? The Crown Vic is only 90% American. That means that 10% of it's parts are from overseas. And, truth be told, the Vic is actually assembled in Canada, not the USA.

The second most American car? The Toyota Sienna, at 85%. The Honda Odyssey is up there, too, at 75% American. The Mercedes-Benz M-class ranks at 62% American. Nissan's pickups are 65%.

Near the bottom of the list is the Chevrolet Aveo, at only 5% American. The Saturn Astra? Three (3) percent. The Ford Fusion is only 40% American. The Chrysler Crossfire is zero percent (that's completely un-American, folks).

So, it would appear that my brother's Nissan pickup is more American than many Fords, Chevys and Chryslers. Buy American? I just might. Just not one who's manufacturer claims to be from Detroit.