Economic Crisis

Not what I said my next post would be but a crisis is a crisis - and we are headed towards socialism in this country more than ever.


For starters, I love seeing people (i.e. Nancy Pelosi) blame "Bush's failed economic policies" for the current situation. While Bush has screwed up many many things, this one is not his fault. Shockingly it started with one of Jimmy Carter's failures* (worst. president. ever - How the hell did he win a Nobel Prize?). One more example of how the government meddling screws everything up. And as that video goes onto to show, it was then the Clinton Administration who exacerbated the problem. This is why I hear so many people claim how much more Dems care about the people and why Republicans hate poor people. Well now poor people can't afford homes because of the Dems and many have lost their house as well.

As that video also shows, Bush and McCain tried to go after Fannie and Freddie but guess who stopped them? The democrats, of course. Always looking out for the common man, clearly. We always hear about Bush making his "oil buddies" rich and getting rich off the "war for oil", yet we never hear about Obama getting rich off Fannie and Freddie or how he has made many of the people responsible for this mess rich. Yet another free pass for The Chosen One.



*should this video be taken down try going here.

Oh those crazy leftists....

First of all I recommend watching Obama's interview with George Stephanopoulos, mainly the part on the surge in Iraq. It is not possible for Obama to ever admit he was wrong or admit victory over there.

Next I would like to point out that after Sarah Palin nixed the "Bridge to Nowhere", Tom Coburn put forth a vote to push the federal funding from that project to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. And guess who voted to keep the funds on a pointless bridge rather than for families who needed it? That's right, your Democratic Ticket: Obama and Biden. Yeah that's the party for the people.

I am beginning to think that if Joe Biden was a conservative he would be labeled a racist. First there was the "You have to have to have an Indian accent to go into 7-11" comment. To top that, he was/is for segregating Iraq into three different states based on religion/race. Are you kidding me? And this was a proposal for forced segregation, as in you have no choice move to this area of the country.

Is this a man you really want ONE heartbeat away from the presidency?

Next post: Let's take a look at all the positions Obama has flip-flopped on already without admitting he was wrong initially and they ways in which he contradicts himself.

Sarah Palin rocks....

That was one hell of a speech. Obama took a beating tonight - Apollo Creed against Ivan Drago type beating. That is all.

Diddy, hypocrisy of the left, and more

Let me just start by saying thank you to all the celebrities out there who keep opening their mouth. They have tried this the past two elections and it has backfired but they simply do not learn. The general public does not give a flying crap what P. Diddy or Paris Hilton think about politics. P Diddy apparently has an Obama-blog and this is his latest genius.

First of all, if a white person came out and said "There are no black people in Alaska. No crack-heads, no crime..." they would be labeled a racist/bigot. Which makes it all that more amusing that P Diddy say it. He also then told Alaska to get some "black policies". Which makes no sense since apparently there are no black people there.

Wait, whats that? There actually are black people in Alaska, in fact 4.72% of the population is black. While that is below national average (13.4%), it seems to be greater than the 1.74% of Diddy's place of residence in NJ. I am sure Diddy lives in an area full of crack-heads and crime as well.


I also love the fact that the "progressive" left is attacking Sarah Palin. "How can she be a mother of 5 and run the country?" Do they ask the same question if a father of 5 kids runs for president? Seems somewhat sexist. Nevermind the fact that as VP, you don't have to run your kids to the doctor or school or go to the store as they have the Secret Service and others to do those types of things. She is married as well and I am guessing Papa Palin will be leaving his job should she win the election. But her accepting the job opportunity of a lifetime is foolhardy and irresponsible as a mother.

Plus the "progressive" left is attacking her family for her 17 year old daughter being pregnant. Aren't they the party who accepts non-traditional ways of life? I'm guessing a substantial amount of the lefts voting constituents might have been born to an unwed mother.

Dems are sinking to new alltime lows....

This is making me physically ill. The left, the Democratic party, the party "of the people", the party that cares more have just sunk to an abominable low.

First it started with Michael Moore (surprise, surprise). Moore, appearing on Keith Olbermann (another fine citizen), said that Gustav coming during the RNC is proof that good is on their side. Real compassionate there, Mikey. Of course, we already knew he was unethical (Pantagraph basically sued him and it wasn't for the money), now we know he is also a scumbag, immoral prick.

Next, we had the former head of the DNC and Democratic Rep. Spratt from S. Carolina basically saying the same thing as Moore on an airplane. Unfortunately for them, it was caught on a camera. Oops. The man taping it also says before he got out his camera, they were ripping on Sarah Palin calling her Quayle on steroids. Stay classy.

Now we have all the liberal rags spouting out conspiracy theories that Trig Palin was also Sarah Palin's daughter's baby. Now when Obama says his wife (an adult who has made her own choices as an adult) is off-limits, these same liberal rags trash anyone who brings her up. These same liberal rags refuse to give credence to the John Edwards story as well. But now we have people calling for the medical records to prove whose baby Trig is; where is the uproar over the baby that is supposedly not Edwards? Its not as if they tried to cover her daughter's pregnancy up- everyone up in Alaska knew. She is also five months pregnant, which puts conception in early April at the latest. Trig was born April 18th. But lets not let the facts stand in the way of the media's coronation of Messiah Obama.

The 'Bootstraps' Paradox

Just a quick thought or two:

• Democrats at the DNC, such as Nancy Pelosi and Michelle Obama, seem to love to tell 'uplifting' stories about Americans, like Barack Obama, who fought through adversity and tough times to make a great life for themselves. I think its great that people are able to do that. Absolutely agree on that point.
• These same Democrats also want to give handouts and freebies to anyone in this country who have hit hard times. Seems to go against the stories they like to tell about Obama.
• Let's say you were fired for a reasonable offense from your job and you had two options offered:

1. Go out and try to find another job, applying at various locales and working your way back up to were you were and possibly beyond that point.
2. Sit at home, play video games, drink, fuck, sleep, eat, etc. and collect a welfare check that allows you skate by for the rest of your life.

• Which of these options would you choose? I personally don't like the feeling of just skating by in life and would rather go out and find another job. But let's face it, a large portion of the population hates to work, is lazy, and has no problem skating by. And our unemployment rate goes up because of welfare. Add to that that many Americans on welfare end up having children while still collecting welfare, you can see why I said, "welfare breeds poverty."

Well thank god for National Watermelon month...

After reading this article it is no wonder why Congress has like a 20% approval rating and this country is headed for crisis. It makes me want to run for a seat in the House or the Senate but I don't have quite enough experience, unfortunately. That would be like a one-term senator being elected president....

Illegal War Debate

This topic isn't exactly breaking new ground these days but I got into a 'spirited' discussion with a couple of employees about calling the war in Iraq an 'Illegal War'.

There are many different levels on which I would like to break down this stance. For starters, they term came from the United Nations, as it was not "in conformity with the U.N. charter." Let's take a closer look at the U.N.:

• U.N. diplomats have racked up $18 million in unpaid parking tickets in New York City.
• Kofi Annan's son purchased a Mercedes in his father's name in order to receive a big discount and free shipping. No punishment was doled out, although eight years later he is repaying the difference.
• Oil for Food program. 'Nuff said.
• Okay I lied, there's more to say about it. Shocking that France and Russia were the biggest beneficiaries and they were the leaders of the anti-war crowd.
• Sex crimes in the Congo by U.N. 'peacekeepers'. While they were preoccupied, 3.8 million people were killed in a 3-year period and the president was murdered in 2001.
• Rwanda. I recommend Hotel Rwanda as it is a fantastic movie and does show some of the ridiculousness of the U.N.
• It took over 3 years for the U.N. to send their peacekeepers to Darfur.

Does this seem like the type of organization that should be setting rules and guidelines, especially when it comes to war actions? Especially when you take a real close look at why we would not have met the minimums for U.N. approval and the fact that the U.N. wants nothing more than to minimize our status as a global power. Their tenets are based in socialism (another shocking example of how socialism does not work - read as: do not vote for Obama) and wants power spread out evenly.

My recommendation is to just leave the United Nations. We provide 22% of their funding and do not receive much in return for it. Maybe it will be a wake-up call to the U.N. and other countries will follow suit. Much like many things in this world, the U.N. is great in theory but it clearly does not work.

I wonder if these same people spouting off about an illegal war are now doing the same with regards to Russia's occupation of Georgia?

stats pulled from Glenn Beck's An Inconvenient Truth

UPDATE: Fairness Doctrine

This was posted yesterday by Glenn Beck on his website. Seems he shares my point of view on the subject.

Freedom of Speech is overrated anyway, right?

It has been a while since my last post, but for those of you in the know it is understandable. Got a lot on my plate as of late. But I digress, and this topic seemed like the best one to get back in the saddle on, as it riled me up quite a bit.

Democrats in Congress are looking into trying to get the Fairness Doctrine re-instated. Basically, they are tired of liberal hosts getting the sh*t kicked out of them in the rating by conservatives. They should call it the Rush Limbaugh Act. I am sure these same Democrats have no problem with the New York Times constantly running their propaganda or CNN and will find a way to not include them in the doctrine, citing non-partisan views. There is a reason very few stations carried Al Franken's show- no one listens. Fox News doesn't dominate the ratings because of the lack of the Fairness Doctrine (I did find it interesting the Dish Network carries CNN and Headline News but not Fox News on their 'Top 100' *cough*bullshit*cough* package).

Not only does this go against the principle of the First Amendment, it goes against capitalism. In Champaign, 1400 WDWS carries Limbaugh because he brings in huge numbers- not because of some corporate conspiracy against liberals. Everyone wants to amke as money as possible in the business world, no matter what it takes. Forcing radio stations to carry unwanted/unneccessary/un-listened to shows hurts their business (bottom line) as well.

In the end, this is all about power (shocking, I know). If the political left has their way, the government would control everything and that never turns out well. Government subsidies are not in the business of making money and that goes against capitalism and hurts the economy. Amtrak is a perfect example as they have stated that turning a profit is not a goal for them. And when they actually did start to make money because of rising fuel prices, they did not have any idea what to do with the profit (read this transcript about halfway down when he starts 'The Real Story"). Yikes. If we aren't careful, the airline industry could be headed this way as fewer and fewer people travel and ticket prices increase - which means more failing airlines and more taxes on the American worker.

Poverty in America

After a 'friendly' discussion with my soon-to-be mother-in-law, I needed to post about this. She is an ultra-liberal, while I am, of course, quite the conservative. My main contention was that poverty was being overblown by manipulating statistics by the left; there were other much more pressing concerns. In my mind, oil should come first. Nothing else needs to get done until these idiots in Washington lift drilling bans offshore, in Alaska, in the Rockies, and start turning coal into oil.

Here's why I think that:

1. Of those defined as poor by the census, 89% had enough food to eat throughout the year and only 2% had regular bouts with hunger.
2. 96% of poor households avoided utility shut off and 99% avoided eviction.
3. Did you know that 55% of POOR households own 2 or more TVs. And 63% have cable or satellite. 25% own a big screen TV. If that many of them are spending money on these LUXURIES then they don't need the governments attention.
(stats pulled from Glenn Beck's An Inconvenient Book)

Now you must be thinking I am some sort of callous bastard who sticks his nose up at poor people. Not true. My plan for oil will help poor people immensely. Right now, the cost of EVERYTHING is skyrocketing (3.69/gallon of milk?!?!) because of oil prices. And without the serious threat of us becoming more independent, those gas prices are not going anywhere but up. If the cost of everything continues to rise, then the poverty rate will rise with it as well. The poverty line right now is at $9,979 and if common goods such as milk start costing $5/gallon and upwards, then we are pricing more and more Americans out of these goods.

My last point/dig at liberals is if you look at the cities with the highest poverty rates in America, most have been run by non-republicans since 1965:

Cleveland is #1 on this list with 32.4% poverty rate and there has been a Republican Mayor just 38% of the time since 1965. In fact, of the worst 11 cities with regards to poverty, 8 have not had a SINGLE REPUBLICAN MAYOR since '65. Food for thought.

Lost Phone

Last night after leaving Brother's Bar in campustown, I was walking back to my friend Dave's apartment and found a cell phone in the street. Literally right in the middle of 3rd Street at the intersection with Green St. After some calls (and a tad bit of snooping) I was finally able to get ahold of someone. She told me she would call me tomorrow. After some more snooping on the phone, it turns out it was the phone owner's birthday and apparently had also lost her wallet and camera on Friday night.

Having lost a phone at a bar once myself, I was glad to be able to return one to the rightful owner. When I lost mine, I called it that night, someone answered, said hello, hung up and never answered it again. Ass. Not that I am still bitter.

Political Correctness or Idiocy?

It's been a while since my last post, but getting engaged eats up a lot of your time (especially when the goal is for a winter wedding in 7 months). But this absurdity had to be posted on. For those of you who have not heard, at a meeting of county commissioners in the Dallas area, one of the commissioners (who happens to be white) said the filing system had turned into a 'black hole'. Harmless, right? Well not to two of the black members at the meeting. One retorted with, "Don't you mean a white hole?" while the other demanded an apology. I recommend watching the video in this link, it is quite astonishing when you stop to consider that second graders understand it is simply a scientific term.

But it does not stop there. Commissioner Price (the 'white hole' genius) now has come out and alleged racism on cakes! Angel's food cake and Devil's food cake to be exact. Also no one can be called the black sheep of the family either according to his genius intellect. (Nevermind the fact that the phrase was coined due to black sheep born into a herd of white sheep) Perhaps Jesse Jackson should threaten to cut his nuts off. (Full disclosure: I whole-heartily believe Jesse Jackson is an attention whore and a moron. Dating all the way back to his days at U of I.)

Engaged!

Monday, June 30 was Betsie's birthday and I took her up to Michigan Avenue to celebrate. We got there in the afternoon and did a little bit of shopping/sightseeing/tons of walking. We stayed at The Seneca, which is on Chestnut St just east of the Hancock building. We had dinner at 7:00pm at Mity Nice Grill, which is in the Water Tower and followed that up with a drink in the Signature Lounge in the Hancock Building. She knew about all of these plans but the rest of the night was a surprise. After that, we walked down Michigan Avenue to the intersection of Huron where we took a planned horse carriage ride that I had arranged. They took us to a garden area with a gazebo in the center, and of course a family of three goes in the gazebo right as we arrive. So with some quick thinking, we just went behind the gazebo in the garden where after she opened her birthday card, I got down on one knee and proposed to her. She of course said yes and there was much joy throughout the land.

I hate the British...

The apocalypse is upon us! (although I am sure they will sell well in America. God this country is lazy...and that is coming from me).

Stupidity strikes again

As I was pulling into the Sam's Club parking lot today (and yes it was for work), I received a call from the store. The manager on duty was asking if I had done anything with the tip money before I had left. There had been at least $3 in singles plus some change in it for the employees to split. I had not done anything so I told them I would watch the video camera playback when I got back to the store.

After about 2 minutes of watching the camera, I see it: a fat woman stealing $3 out of our tip jar. Who steals $3 anyway/

The best part of the whole ordeal? She then proceeds to ask for an application. Classic. I look forward to her turning in her application. I just hope she turns it into me.

Gotta love those car companies...

In a shocking revelation I actually found something worthwhile on msnbc.com. I can't believe it myself. I am sure everyone by now has seen the ads on TV where you can buy a Chrysler car and get a locked-in gas price of $2.99/gallon for 3 years. While, everything is not quite what it seems with that deal.

I can't really blame them; I am all for capitalism. But this just reminds to me to be skeptical of any 'deal' I hear about on television.

Obama at it again...

I can't honestly believe that Barack Obama is going to be the next president of the United States. Lord, help us all. In a classic dirty political backtrack, Obama has rescinded his pledge to use public funding in the election. All of his messages about change and hope don't seem to apply to him. He seems to feel he sets the ground rules for this election; whether its with his wife, his past, or his 'feelings' toward the country about to elect him. I have my problems with McCain, but he has stayed true to his word so far and will apparently use the public funds. This of course puts him at a great disadvantage in terms of spending.

"We have to reject the candidates who use gutter politics to get elected, and we have to favor the ones who put principles over party and political games.

We the people still have the ultimate voice in this country, and we can change our course by empowering those who not only stand for the truth but will fight for it.

When politicians are forced to care about every voter, when they are constantly reminded that they serve at the will of the people, when we start to reconnect with our values, politicians will be forced to reconnect with us."

Glenn Beck, An Inconvenient Book

Glenn Beck: Recommended Reading

Purchased Glenn Beck's An Inconvenient Book last night, and so far it has been well worth it. The first chapter tears down the farce that is 'Global Warming' (I will now always use quotations when referencing it) and the third chapter tackles the problem arising from Radical Islam. What has transpired in Europe is mind-boggling and makes me worry for our future if this era of 'political correctness' continues down its current path.

Eating Habit

As most anyone who knows me is aware, I have quite possibly the strangest eating habits known to mankind. The last few months, however, I have shocked many by adding new items to my diet. First, I added ranch dressing. May not seem like much, but for me, trying any new food is a challenge. It also provided the gateway into the next item: boneless wings - namely Asian Zing boneless from BW3. I tried TGI Fridays' boneless and I did not like those at all. I actually even tried actual drumsticks from BW3 (with the Asian Zing sauce, of course) and ate 2. They are fairly good sized drumsticks so it was a decent effort. It is nice to finally have a meat other than bacon in my diet. Just his past week, I also ate cheese for the first time in probably 12 years, and back then it was only grilled cheese sandwiches. At work, I made a pizza with olive oil & garlic sauce with parmesan on top. The next day, I had a pizza with ranch, buffalo chicken, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses on it.

I may never have a full diet of a normal person but adding just these few things does show progress.

Happy Father's Day

That is all.

Global Warming

I never really bought into the panic that was 'Global Warming'; maybe it was because Al Gore was responsible for bringing attention to the masses. Or maybe I was just able to see through its bullsh*t subconsciously, without really knowing why it was bunk. I really recommend that article - it is a fantastic, well thought-out read written by John Coleman. He probably knows a thing or two in regards to climate and the weather. There is absolutely no reason for us not to be drilling for oil offshore, in the Rockies, and in the ANWR. I for one would love to see Coleman and his followers sue Al Gore.

Energy Crisis

There seems to be no sure answer to the oil prices we are facing but I am sure of one thing: both the left and the right are to blame for getting us to this point. The GOP blocked the proposed windfall tax on the oil companies put forth in the Senate Wednesday. While some may attack Republicans on this issue, I feel that is was the right decision. It is more than likely the oil companies would have just said "F You" and just raised their prices even more. For 20+ years, politicians have ignored this impending crisis and now we are paying for it. The Democrats wouldn't approve additional drilling which would have lowered our dependence on foreign oil. The Republicans are against spending money pursuing alternative energy sources (although I can't blame them after this attempt and its consequences).

In the end, the pissing contest between party lines needs to end so we can come up with a viable solution or solutions to this crisis.

Oops...my bad.

Maybe I should not have joked about the Cardinals DL fielding their own team, as now Albert Pujols has gone down with a calf injury. The Cardinals did win the game last night, but now their 2 best pitchers, their best hitter, former closer, and a slew of other players are out. Word is that Wainwright might miss up to 3 weeks. The only good news is that his arm will get a rest; unfortunately, the Cardinals may not be able to tread water during this next few weeks. This will be a true test of this team's makeup.

Liberal Media

Its been said that the media is more enamoured/in love with Barack Obama than they ever were with JFK. Yikes. He has been given a free pass on every questionable decision he has made and all his shady acquaintances/pastors/friends. I am not sure if the media has just fallen under his charismatic spell or they just hate George W. Bush so much, that the farthest option from him is the best choice no matter what the cost.

Unfortunately, that cost will be at our expense. Obama is going to tax the shit out of everyone. Working for a small business myself, and not making all that much money, this is not good news. There was positive to come out of yesterday, as the Ohio governor pulled his name from consideration and that may be the most important state in the election. When this election got started, I never thought I could be behind McCain passionately; Obama has pushed me into doing just that.

Bulls hire coach/NBA Jam legend

Finally putting an end to the debacle that was their coaching search, the Chicago Bulls have hired Vinny Del Negro as their head coach. He has no experience as a coach, and is inheriting a team with what could be considered a 'lack of control' amongst its players (Noah, Thomas, Duhon, Nocioni). Not exactly an ideal situation for a new coach - a legend in the arcade notwithstanding. As much as I love Pax, this could be his final nail in the coffin as GM.

Cardinals DL to field own ML team....

The tenth Cardinals pitcher has gone on the DL in Adam Wainwright. Add in Rick Ankiel's absence over the past few weeks, that the NL Pitcher of the Month for May is going to miss atleast one start, and it is even more remarkable that the Cardinals are 11 games over .500 this late in the season. If TLR would have benched Izzy a little sooner, this team could be right there with the Cubs.

I said a few years ago that Cubs only hope for a World Series would be in 2008.....God I hope that does not happen. Cubs fans would become even more unbearable.

First

I've never been much of a "writer", especially without some sort of deadline. I was always the type to wait until midnight the day before a ten page research paper was due to get started on it. If I have any sort of goal for this, it is just to post my thoughts mostly on sports, some politics, and a little bit of tidbits on life thrown in. Or I may just quit after a week. We shall see.