Lurching Right

Farewell.

2009-12-11T12:37:00.004-06:00

Some of you may welcome this news with open arms; however, I hope there are at least a few of you that are disappointed by this post.

Yes, I have decided to hang ‘em up. This blog, while an incredibly wonderful way for me to express my thoughts/concerns regarding the current political environment, is also extremely time consuming. While I could continue on and provide a, frankly, half-assed representation of what I’ve written over the past 13 months, I think I owe it to myself and all of you more than that.

As a result of other creative/business opportunities that I am pursuing, I can no longer do that.

Now, with all of that said, I am not closing the book on this blog forever. I hope that down the road, my schedule will allow me to start the old girl up again and pick up where I left off.

In closing, I really want to thank all of you that have either read each and every post that I wrote or those that have only stopped by from time to time. I cannot tell you how much all of your support and kind words have meant to me over the past year. It is something that I appreciate so much and will never forget. I hope some of you either learned something or became more interested/active in politics as a result of reading.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time (hopefully), take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: That stimulus plan sure is working…

2009-12-09T17:20:00.001-06:00

Or not. Take a look at how much each job is costing us taxpayers.

And the government wants to control healthcare huh?

We Are Losing.

2009-12-03T20:03:00.002-06:00

I hate to admit this, but I find it to be an impossible fact to ignore.

We are losing the war.

No, I am not referring to the wars being fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. I’m not even referring to the War on Terror. No, we are losing a much larger war, a war where the stakes, literally, could not get any higher.

We are losing the existential war against radical Islam.

The fact that we are losing this war is extremely troubling to me; however, when you understand why we are losing, it makes the situation exponentially worse.

We are losing this war not because we are militarily outmatched; in fact, we have absolutely no rivals in regards to military might. We are not losing due to the fact that we are intellectually inferior, lacking in numbers or economically inadequate.

None of those factors are why we are losing this war. The reason we are losing is because we lack the will to win.

I believe this lack of will emanates from the Obama administration’s cowardice, naïveté and criminal misunderstanding of what is at stake in this war.

Want some examples? All you have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch the news to see what I’m talking about.

Example One: The Iranian Nuclear Crisis.

Iran is clearly developing nuclear weapons. They know it, we know it, the Israelis know it and the U.N. knows it.

What are we doing to stop them?

Toothless sanctions, meaningless deadlines set, lopsided deals proposed.

In short, nothing.

While we do nothing, Iran is busy at work. They recently conducted war games to practice for a possible invasion that threatens their nuclear facilities. There are also plans to greatly increase their capacity to enrich uranium. They are also restarting a secret uranium enrichment site that has been inoperative for years.

In Washington, hands are being wrung.

Example Two: The Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Trial in New York.

While KSM has steadfastly refused to show any remorse for masterminding the 9/11 plot that directly killed 3,000 American citizens and launched the multi-front War on Terror, we are bending over backwards to ensure this terrorist gets a fair trial… in a U.S. civilian court no less.

Never mind the fact that he does not meet the criteria for an enemy combatant as outlined in the Geneva Convention, never mind that if released, he would go right back to plotting the deaths of untold numbers of Americans and never mind the fact that this trial will make him a martyr and source of inspiration for would-be Islamo-fascists, the real issue is the intelligence boon this trial presents to Al-Qaeda, The Taliban, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.

First, like in any civilian case, the government will have to disclose huge amounts of evidence; evidence gained through highly sensitive intelligence procedures. This not only harms our future ability to gather intelligence, but it also places our intelligence operatives in harm’s way.

Secondly, the question of whether we can convict KSM is a legitimate one in my mind. He certainly wasn’t Mirandized when he was captured, so how much information can they use and how much will be thrown out?

On top of that, he now plans to plead not guilty to all charges (along with his four cohorts also being tried with him), after offering to plead guilty in front of a military tribunal only ten months ago.

Example Three: The War in Afghanistan.

Yes, President Obama has committed to sending more troops, but he failed to meet the requested amount given to him by his handpicked general. More importantly, his speech clearly communicated that he is more interested in pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan rather than winning the war. His arbitrary timeline to pull troops out more than illustrates that point. As troubling, the vagueness of his “plan” puts the entire mission in Afghanistan in serious jeopardy.

Example Four: The Fort Hood Massacre.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s horrific action was not the deed of a deranged man. He was calculating, composed and brutally efficient. He didn’t just wake up one day and decide that he had had enough with military life. Quite the contrary, he was fed up with what he perceived as sins against Islam, committed by the U.S. military and he planned to exact revenge for his religion.

In the hours and days that followed this travesty, I found it utterly appalling that so many members of the administration went out of their way to state that this was not an instance of Islamic terrorism. The sanctimonious platitudes offered up about Islam and the ignoring of the obvious was disgusting.

Additionally, how was this savagery received by the President? First, he was so concerned with the wellbeing of the soldiers stationed at Fort Hood that he had to give a “shoutout” to a member of his Native American constituency (this illustrates Obama’s sickening inability to break away from his perpetual campaigning) before he mentioned the killed and wounded. To me, this is his most vile performance to date. For a Commander-in-Chief to act that way when his soldiers are dead and dying is purely despicable.

All of these cases illustrate that the Islamo-fascists will do whatever it takes to win this war and we simply will not. We need to stop being the good guy. We need to stop worrying about what the international community will think of us if we get tough with these terrorists. We need to put the lives of honest and innocent Americans first rather than seeking social justice.

If we don’t, the lives of every American, yours and mine alike, may be at risk.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: 10.2

2009-11-06T15:22:00.002-06:00

It sure would be nice if some of the stimulus effects we were promised would kick in one of these days.

Quickie: Happy Birthday Lurching Right!

2009-11-05T21:35:00.005-06:00

Yes, Lurching Right turned 1 today. I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for reading, leaving encouraging thoughts and your general support... they all mean very much to me.

For a good old stroll down memory lane, here’s the post that started it all…

http://lurchingright.blogspot.com/2008/11/welli-guess-all-i-can-say-is-congrats_05.html

Thanks again and here’s to the start of another successful year!

Quickie: What? Stimulus Job Results Have Been Exaggerated? No, I don’t Believe That!

2009-11-05T13:40:00.001-06:00

Yep, it’s true.

I know all of you are floored right now.

Quickie: Liar!

2009-11-05T12:46:00.002-06:00

It seems like there’s more to the Health Care proposal that House Speaker Pelosi is currently endorsing. Buried in the 2,032-page behemoth, there’s a clause that states abortions will be paid for by the government.

Where will this money come from?

Anyone that is enrolled in the program, that’s who. And with the potential danger a government-sponsored insurance entity poses to insurance companies, you may be one of those people paying for abortions.

Here’s the interesting text from John Boehner’s website:

On line 17, p. 110, section 222 under “Abortions for which Public Funding is Allowed” the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan. The Speaker’s plan also requires that at least one insurance plan offered in the Exchange covers abortions.

What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan. It’s right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under “Insurance Rating Rules.” The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account - and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services.

Section 213 describes the process in which the Health Benefits Commissioner is to assess the monthly premiums that will be used to pay for elective abortions under the government-run plan. The Commissioner must charge at a minimum $1 per enrollee per month.

This revelation flies in the face of everything we’ve been told about abortion and it’s relation to a government funded insurance option.

If they have lied about this, what else are they lying about? Perhaps Death Panels?

We have finally caught up.

2009-11-04T15:59:00.003-06:00

For years, decades even, the political Left in this country has been a far more effective and influential political force than the Right. As much as many of us on the Right would like to disagree with that statement, I think we all know, deep down, that it is the truth.

There are many reasons for this discrepancy in influence, but I think the primary factor has been the Left’s ability to run circles around the Right in terms of grassroots political participation.

Grassroots activism has long been vital to the Democratic political machine. From get-out-the-vote drives on college campuses, inner city neighborhoods and union meetings to a friendly mass media that disseminated the Left’s agenda to millions of American homes on a daily basis, the Left instituted a multi-facetted approach to get people excited, organized and active. Over the past decade, with the emergence of the Internet as a powerful communication tool, the Left quickly cornered the interactive political market with sites like Moveon.org and the Huffington Post.

During this time, from a grassroots perspective, the Right simply floundered. Yes, political participation was strong and voter turnout remained high, but the movement was stagnant. Passion was there, but it was coupled with a complacency that simply was not present on the Left.

This situation came to a head during the midterm elections of 2006 when the policies of President Bush and Congressional Republicans were soundly routed. While an unpopular president and a failing Iraqi War were enough ammo for the Left, it was their fervent grassroots activism that helped them ignite a groundswell of support for their cause…a groundswell that continued through to the 2008 presidential election.

Faced with steep losses in the House and Senate, an incredibly liberal agenda coming out of the White House and a complacent press, the Right had a choice: either narrow the grassroots gap or go the way of the Whig, Federalist, Bull Moose and Know Nothing parties.

Fortunately, we chose the former. That’s right, things have changed. We’ve closed the gap.

I’ve heard many commentators discuss the recent resurgence of the Conservative Movement in this country and attribute it to President Obama’s policies moving the country to the right. I wholeheartedly disagree with this assertion. I believe this country has always leaned to the conservative end of the political spectrum. The only difference is that now, more and more conservatives are active in the political process.

In short, it’s all about grassroots activity.

The examples are everywhere. Sure, they may take different forms from those on the Left, but they are just as effective.

Look at the millions of people that participated in the Tea Parties and the taxpayer march in Washington that occurred in September. When do you remember anything resembling this come from those of us on the Right?

This grassroots activity doesn’t just take shape in demonstrations; there are media examples like conservative talk radio and Fox News. These two forces provided the push to get Doug Hoffman and the Conservative Party on the ballot in the special, Congressional election in the 23^rd district of New York state.

Let’s not forget the Internet either. Websites like Townhall.com and Drudgereport.com (with it’s 8 billion visits in the last year alone…yes, you did read that properly, 8 billion), not to mention blogs like this one, help organize events like the tea parties and dispense information that major media outlets won’t touch.

What’s especially encouraging about these latest developments is that I think they may be here to stay. This up tick in conservative, grassroots participation rallies around a principle, an idea, not a person. People are fallible. They say stupid things, make mistakes and, unfortunately, die. A movement doesn’t do any of those things, making it easier to follow, defend and rely upon.

These recent developments are as shocking as they are important. Honestly, I wasn’t sure we had it in us to become as active as the Left. After all, our track record hasn’t been the strongest in this area. I am thankful that we did because I’m not sure the Conservative Movement would be able to survive in today’s political landscape without it.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: No Kidding!

2009-10-27T14:16:00.003-05:00

It’s nice to see that the AP isn’t going out on a limb here…

Quickie: Another Enemy for the Obama Administration to Target

2009-10-21T23:33:00.002-05:00

That’s right, all of the economic problems comes from high executive pay, not the frivolous hundreds of billions wasted by the administration on stimulus bills and bailout packages or the trade war started against the Chinese or the administration’s willingness to raise taxes.

I can’t wait until the executive pay drops and all of our problems are over!

Let’s Remember Who the Enemy Really Is.

2009-10-21T16:01:00.003-05:00

We are rapidly approaching the first anniversary of the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States, an event that was supposed to usher in a new era of politics in American. Gone are the days of partisan bickering, unilateral decisions and bitter disagreements, here to stay are understandings, compromises and agreements we were told back on that November day.

If you ask me, the rhetoric hasn’t matched the reality of the situation. Instead of fences being mended, more walls of division have been thrown up and fingers pointed at fellow Americans than ever before.

President Obama, with the aide of his Democratic cohorts in Congress, has spent the majority of his first year in office demonizing groups of Americans through words, actions and legislation. Say what you want about President Bush, but he never singled out fellow, law-abiding Americans like this.

In the past year, the following groups have been blamed for the country’s shortcomings or become enemies of the Obama administration and the Left:

· Crude oil speculators for merely doing their jobs of forecasting the future price of oil.

· AIG employees for having the gall to actually accept and adhere to a contract that the government agreed to and receive compensation for services rendered.

· CIA officials that followed their orders handed down by the chain of command and worked tirelessly to keep us safe from another terrorist attack or attacks.

· Las Vegas for being an enjoyable and accommodating host for professional conventions.

· The “stupid” police officers from Cambridge that performed their due diligence by arresting a suspicious man that appeared to be breaking into someone else’s home.

· Tobacco companies for producing a product that millions of consumers want.

· Smokers for having the nerve to smoke that product.

· Wal-Mart for not welcoming unions, despite offering benefits and above average pay to their employees.

· Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio hosts and Fox News for having opinions contrary to those of the Left.

· Soda and juice companies for making beverages that some in Congress deem “unhealthy”.

· Healthcare providers and insurance companies for acting “immoral” by simply turning a profit.

· Individuals that are skeptical of Obama’s healthcare goals or those that attended the tea parties. After all, we’re all just a bunch of racists.

This is troubling to me on multiple levels. After all, shouldn’t the President of the United States be the biggest cheerleader for Americans, rather than a judgmental nag?

First, what right do the President or Democratic leaders have to make these Americans’ lives miserable? Using their bully pulpit to label these people pariahs for having the nerve to actually disagree with their policies or make lifestyle choices that conflict with their’s is small, bitter, pathetic and extremely unbecoming of elected officials.

Second, and more importantly, this is not the time to be pitting Americans against each other. While it is never acceptable to do that, the fact that we are at war makes it especially inappropriate. And this is not just any kind of war; this is a unique war that is not defined by political stances or the desire to obtain land. This is an existential war about our culture, our lifestyle and who we are as a people. It is the Western Civilization versus a group of Islamo-fascist cowards that want to rule the world with their barbaric and berserk culture and end our way of life, as we know it.

When we are faced with this type of enemy, this type of threat, it is vital that we not look at our neighbors as enemies just because they have different political ideologies. If we continue to do that, our real enemies will spot those cracks and exploit them.

So to you Mr. President and Democratic leaders, I implore you to please keep your eyes on the real enemies, as they’re not the Americans that disagree with you.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: I sure hope this isn’t the case in 2012!

2009-10-16T15:41:00.002-05:00

The latest Rasmussen poll showed these shocking results for early polling for Republican Presidential candidates in 2012:

Huckabee: 29%

Romney: 24%

Palin: 18%

Gingrich: 14%

Pawlenty: 4%

Now I know that early leads mean little to nothing (just ask Rudy Giuliani), but Rasmussen, despite being often criticized for pandering to the Right, is the most accurate pollster there is. As a result, I’m nervous as hell as I think Huckabee would be a disaster for the country and the Conservative Movement.

Quickie: It’s nice to see Congress has its priorities straight

2009-10-15T10:50:00.004-05:00

Don’t worry, in less than 13 months many of these clowns will be voted out of office.

The Nobel Peace Prize Goes to drum roll please… President Barack Obama! Really…President Obama?

2009-10-14T14:10:00.002-05:00

Last week Friday, I was strolling around our nation’s capital, enjoying the second day of a brief, four-day visit and I was filled with a deep admiration for our country’s brave and brilliant founding fathers. This was my first visit to the City of Washington and I was so thoroughly impressed with what I saw, heard, felt and experienced that I miss the city already. What a wonderful combination of power, reverence, dignity, pride, gratitude and beauty.

The unseasonably warm weather (far nicer than the below-freezing temperatures of my hometown Milwaukee) provided a perfect setting to enjoy a leisurely walk with my girlfriend; a walk that allowed us ample time to reflect on the words, deeds and convictions of the great men that were depicted in the powerfully moving memorials that dotted the skyline of Washington.

Then, inexplicably, my train of thought was derailed with a conversation I overheard by a small group of passersbys. One of them was discussing something about President Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize. I couldn’t pick up much more than that and I didn’t care enough to track them down and ask them to elaborate on their statements. For all I knew, they were a pack of ardent, President Obama supporters that were pontificating on how President Obama should win the prize.

I chalked the comments up to the fanatical desires of irrational Obama supporters or my inability to correctly overhear the conversations of some fellow tourists and continued on my walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial...two men that sought peace, but thoroughly understood that, at times, peace comes with a significant price.

After visiting the FDR Memorial, my girlfriend and I came to the conclusion that we needed some additional fuel after an aggressive hike through the city, so we hoped in a cab to find a bite to eat. In the brief cab ride, we were discussing the next few stops on our itinerary and while my girlfriend was looking for something in her purse, I barely picked up the faint report that came out of the cab’s radio, but I could swear I heard something, again, about President Obama and Nobel Prize. Before I could compute what was said, my girlfriend found what she was looking for and the conversation about the trip’s itinerary commenced.

After our sightseeing for the day had ended, we headed back to our friend’s house (the main reason behind our trip) for dinner. When we got to the house, CNN was on TV and, lo and behold, there it was again, President Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize. This time, straining to hear what the discussion was all about was unnecessary; as the message was clear…President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

While I clearly heard the report correctly, I still had to utter, “What?!?!?!” as it was such a shocking piece of news. “Why?!?!?!” quickly followed, as I could not then, nor can now, understand the reasoning behind this designation, as he hasn’t done anything to increase peace in the world other than making a speech at the United Nations.

The Nobel Committee said President Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” was their reasoning behind this designation.

While I will agree with the Nobel Committee’s assertion that President Obama has made considerable attempts at strengthening international diplomacy (attempts that reek of naiveté), I have to ask, what have those efforts netted either the US or the rest of that world? In fact, the question of whether the world is more or less peaceful since President Obama took office is a legitimate one.

Honestly, I would say that it is less. Since President Obama has taken office, the Iranian situation has gone for bad to worse as they may already have the technology, enriched uranium and resources to create a nuclear weapon, numerous Iranians died in a violent sham of an “election”, North Korea has restarted its nuclear weapons program and is testing long range missiles, the War in Afghanistan has rapidly deteriorated, Pakistan has seen increased violence after an embarrassing deal with the Taliban and some of our strongest alliances (England, France, India and all of Eastern Europe) are strained.

While this award means little in the grand scheme of things, I worry that it will only encourage President Obama to continue his appeasement and capitulation doctrine regarding foreign affairs that has been seen in the Iranian and North Korean nuclear weaponry issues.

If he does, I can assure you that peace will be the last thing that is achieved.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: The Real Danger of the Nobel Peace Prize…

2009-10-13T13:40:00.002-05:00

While I will touch on this in greater detail soon, I fear that our current, cowardly approach to Iran will only continue if the world keeps giving us awards like the Nobel Peace Prize.

Quickie: Aww…too bad!

2009-10-12T14:10:00.003-05:00

So it seems that poor old Roman Polanski is feeling a little blue in his Swiss prison cell.

Forgive me if I show zero remorse for him.

Hey Roman, next time you should take your punishment like a man…or better yet, not have sex with a seventh-grader!

Kudos to the Swiss government for ignoring the disturbing and confusing international outcry calling for Mr. Polanski’s release.

Those who fail to learn from history will be doomed to repeat it

2009-10-02T10:40:00.003-05:00

When people look back at, both, the battlefield and humanitarian horrors of World War II, it is natural for them to wonder, “How did everyone let that happen”.

That is, in fact, a very legitimate question as it seems criminal that no one did anything to stop the berserk Hitler regime of Nazi Germany during the 30’s and 40’s.

But when you look back at history, all the signs were there. It’s not as if Hitler suddenly had an epiphany one day during the war and realized he was in an existential struggle with the Jewish faith and therefore needed to quash it. No, he planned the Holocaust for years, as he laid out the plan in Mein Kampf that was published in the 20’s. He passed the Nuremberg laws that harshly discriminated against the Jews in 1935 and Kristallnacht, the night of rampant violence against the Jews, happened in 1938. The stated goal of the Nazi party was anti-Semitism for crying out loud!

The point is is that Hitler tipped his hand. All anyone had to do was listen to his speeches, follow his policies and track his actions to know that something awful was in store for the Jews of Europe.

Despite all of these horrid activities, people merely spoke out against him. Onlookers just shrugged as Germany quickly militarized its economy. Some like Neville Chamberlain and Josef Stalin even made truces with the Nazis to limit their aggression. But ultimately, Hitler turned his back on Chamberlain, spit in the face of Stalin by reneging on the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact to invade the Soviet Union and proceeded to pursue his pornographic quest of dominating the world and exterminating the Jewish people.

What was the cost of this indifference towards Nazi Germany?

70 million dead in World War II.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid we are about to relive this horrible chapter of our history by taking a similarly indifferent approach to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Sure, President Obama and a host of other international politicians like England’s Gordon Brown and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy have spoken out about Iran’s nuclear aims, but as we’ve seen again and again with the Iranians, talk is cheap. After all, what has all this talking accomplished? Well, not one but two Iranian uranium enrichment plants, Iranian ballistic missile tests and an up tick in combative rhetoric coming out of Tehran.

What everyone has to understand about this situation is that the main goal of the Iranian government is to gain a nuclear weapon. That’s it. In fact, they want it badly enough that it is probably goals number 1-100 for them. Just as we saw with Europe’s sheepish handling of Nazi aggression in the 30’s, no amount of talking, no amount of negotiating, no amount of appeasement and no amount of sanctions will change a maniacal regime’s quest of achieving their ultimate goal…whether it be genocide or nuclear weaponry.

And just like Hitler, Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn’t mince words. He has clearly stated that he wants to “wipe Israel off the map” and destroy any nation that gets in the way of Iran’s nuclear aspirations. So far, he has followed through with much of what he has said about pursuing nuclear power for Iran, so why should we not believe him when he talks about his desire to cause the destruction of Israel and the downfall of the West?

To me, ignoring Ahmadinejad’s ravings (no matter how insane they may be) is a gargantuan risk… one that is absolutely foolish to take, as it may result in the deaths of millions of people.

I know that I have written about this at great length, but that is because this is an enormous problem…one that is, literally, getting worse by the day. The only thing that will stop Iran from achieving its goal of obtaining a nuclear weapon is a military strike, simple as that, not the pathetic sanctions and cowardly lectures offered up by the international community.

With President Obama either unwilling or simply not having the stomach to initiate a strike against Iran, the only hope we have is that Israel does it themselves. If they don’t, a world with a nuclear-armed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a very frightening place.

I realize that those who oppose a military strike against Iran call people like me warmongers or accuse us of using scare tactics to make our points. Others say that we have enough problems of our own and that we should just focus on our affairs and not get entangled in the broils of foreign nations.

I know I’ve heard those comments before… oh yeah; they were made in the 1930’s when discussing how we should approach Hitler’s Germany.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

John K. 1951-2009

2009-09-22T12:00:00.003-05:00

For those of you that were unaware of the cause of my hiatus from this page, it was due to the untimely and incredibly unexpected death of my dad, John.

To those of you that did not have the privilege (and that is no overstatement…it truly was a privilege) of meeting him…I’m very sorry, because you really missed out. To those of you that did, I know you’re still dealing with the loss of this great man.

My dad was definitely one of a kind. He was the type of guy that could wake up in the morning, have an early breakfast with a client, drive an hour to shoot a round of golf with the president of one of the company’s he represented, come home to play with his only granddaughter, order dinner for an entire house full of people, watch a Brewer game with everyone, tell a few stories and then close the night with a well-performed, karaoke version of “My Way”…smiling all the while.

In short, he could, and did, do it all.

He was someone that everyone sought out, whether it was to talk about which car to buy, if a business decision was wise or if the Brewers truly had a shot at making the playoffs. Everyone knew that no matter what the question, no matter what was going on in his life, my dad would stop, listen and give you his honest opinion.

Not only was he generous with his time, he was generous with everything. Never been to a Packer game? He’d give you his tickets. Didn’t have enough for lunch? It was on him anyway. Ran out of golf balls? Here are some Titleists. That was him, always giving, never asking.

He was that way my whole life. From the countless rounds of miniature golf and the hundreds of Brewers, Bucks and Packer games we attended to the times he studied with me and the career advice he offered, he always made sure I was cared for and that my best interests were considered. And really, what more could you ask out of a parent?

Over the past month and a half, I’ve had an incredibly tough time dealing with the loss of this remarkable man. The overwhelming feelings of anger and confusion have given way to a sadness and pain that I cannot even begin to express…feelings I pray none of you have to endure. Man, it really is amazing how something can hurt so badly…and I know that this is only beginning of that pain.

I’ve essentially kept my private life out of this blog, but I simply can’t in this case as my dad not only shaped who I am as a person, but also where I stand politically. My dad was a true conservative and, while we didn’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on every topic, I knew that he could always be counted on for a spirited discussion or in-depth debate. These discussions and debates throughout the better part of my 28 years on Earth with him are the reasons you’ve been reading my opinions over the past 11 months.

Without him, there would be no blog.

And that’s been the case since he’s passed, there’s been no blog. I have found it harder and harder to devote any free moment to thinking about anything other than him, hence no posts since the day before he died.

But I know how much he enjoyed reading these pages and how much he looked forward to a new post, so, in honor of him, I will continue writing. Next week, the blog will pick back up from where I left off in August. I just wanted to tell you all a little about my dad.

Thanks for reading and for your support, as always, it means more than you’ll ever know.

Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

The Awful Truth about Healthcare Reform: Part 3-The Costs.

2009-08-07T11:51:00.004-05:00

As you know, I have already discussed how your coverage will change and how the level of care will drop if President Obama and congressional Democrats get their way and overhaul the nation’s healthcare system. Today, I’m discussing how much this substandard care will cost.

To put it mildly, the costs are absolutely gargantuan.

Ok, maybe that was not mildly, but it’s really the truth.

The overall price tag for this healthcare overhaul will be anywhere from $1.6-1.8 trillion over ten years.

I’ll pause so you can let that sink in a little.

As you think about that, please keep in mind that these are merely estimates and it could end up being far more expansive than just that. In fact, the Health Systems Innovations Network (a healthcare consulting firm) estimated the costs at a jaw-dropping $3.5 trillion over ten years.

Now, President Obama has assured us that any healthcare plan will not add to the deficit, but really, how is that possible? I mean, if members of Congress were so good at figuring out the healthcare industry, reducing costs and improving care, then what are they doing in Washington? Why aren’t they working for major hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, large healthcare providers, etc. with this keen insight into the medical industry they possess?

The truth is is that they do not possess any insight into the medical industry and they will not be able to control costs.

So the question is; how are we going to pay for this?

Well, that’s easy…higher taxes!

Yes, in order to pay for this massive healthcare overhaul, President Obama will need to go back on his promise of not raising taxes on 95% of Americans. Well, he will have to go back on his word again as he already has increased taxes on millions of Americans that smoke with higher cigarette taxes…and let’s not forget about “Cap and Trade” wither.

You can already see that they’re sending out trial balloons regarding middle class tax hikes. Treasury Secretary Geithner brought up the possibility of increasing the tax burden of the middle class on ABC’s This Week. While the White House quickly distanced themselves from Geithner’s position, it was clearly gauging the response to such a plan.

These taxes would be on top of the tax increases levied against the upper class already proposed by the House. The House’s healthcare plan calls for a 1% surtax on adjusted gross income (including capital gains) between $350,000 and $500,000, a 1.5% surtax on income between $500,000-$1 million and a 5.4% surtax on income exceeding $1 million.

This would unfairly shift the paycheck of healthcare reform to the wealthy and small businesses…the two main sources of true economic stimulation in a free market society.

It’s a good thing we’re not in a prolonged economic downturn as a move like this could turn a recession into a depression…oh wait, that’s right…we are in a prolonged economic downturn!

Smart move Congress!

So to briefly recap, President Obama and Congress may very well bankrupt the economy and critically injure it forever in order to change your healthcare coverage so you receive inferior care.

Forgive me if I’m not excited about this brand of change.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: Another Enemy of the Left!

2009-07-30T13:51:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made these comments about the health insurance industry:

"It's almost immoral what they are doing," Pelosi said to reporters, referring to insurance companies. "Of course they've been immoral all along in how they have treated the people that they insure," she said, adding, "They are the villains. They have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening."

A couple of quick thoughts…

1. So, if someone disagrees with the public option in the healthcare reform discussion, they are an immoral villain?

2. Here is yet another enemy for the Left to destroy. First, it was the evil oil speculators that merely do their jobs and forecast the cost of crude. Then it was the awful AIG employees that received bonuses that the government approved. Don’t forget the CIA officials that helped keep us safe from bloodthirsty Islamo-fascists that want to kill us. Oh yes, then there is the city of Las Vegas where so many companies “waste money” at pointless conventions, Sarah Palin, the “stupid” cops from Cambridge, smokers, Rush Limbaugh, soda companies, conservative talk radio as a whole, oil companies, Wal-Mart…

I’m sure I’m missing some, if not many, more. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of the Left targeting other Americans and labeling them “evil” or “villains” simply for the fact that they don’t comply with their radical agenda.

The Awful Truth about Healthcare Reform: Part 2-The Level of Care.

2009-07-29T15:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I touched on the likelihood of the average Americans’ insurance coverage changing. And actually, for those of you that do not like your current healthcare options, you may have found yesterday’s post a hopeful and encouraging sign of things to come.

I highly doubt that will be the case today.

Say what you want about the U.S. healthcare system, but no one can fairly question the high level of care available to American citizens.

For decades, the U.S. has been home to the finest hospitals in the world, served as the birthplace of limitless, medical innovation and provided its citizens with healthcare most people around the world could only dream of receiving.

If Obama and the Democrats get their way with healthcare reform, all of this will be a thing of the past.

When you hear liberals describe the virtues of socialized healthcare, you will hear them wax poetic about how wonderful it is to receive “free” healthcare (even though we all know that this is not the case) and how “everyone” has access to a myriad of medical procedures.

One thing they conveniently leave out is the quality of this “free” healthcare. They leave it out for good reason, as any discussion of the quality of socialized medicine should scare the hell out of any rational individual.

“Ration” and “Scarcity” are a couple of words you all should become rather familiar with as the nation’s healthcare discussion continues because medical options are going to be rationed due to the scarcity of healthcare resources.

The Obama administration has already been quite upfront that it is going to try to ration the use of new technology to control costs. Under the guise of "cost effectiveness" policies, the government will issue rules on when new health care treatments can be used. If your situation does not meet bureaucratic guidelines, then the newest test or treatment will not be available to you or your loved ones.

Would you like a sneak preview of this rationing? Take the “virtual colonoscopy”. The virtual colonoscopy is a newer, better version that works faster, is far cheaper and is more comfortable than its predecessor. With colon cancer being the second leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths (and one of the most preventable and treatable), you would think that this procedure would be a godsend for Medicare. Well, it was until budgetary issues arose. Back in May, Medicare (a program that will no doubt mirror the public option Obama is pushing) trustees reported a dramatic shortfall in budgetary resources. As a result, the program’s managers decided to deny payment for the virtual colonoscopy to those on Medicare.

From a budgetary standpoint, this may be the correct move, but from a care standpoint it clearly is not. I realize that those considerations need to be made at times, but it should be the decision of you, your family and your doctor, not the federal government.

Still don’t believe me? Think these are all a bunch of crazy conservative scare tactics?

Fine.

Let’s take a look at some stats from Great Britain and Canada, two nations that have socialized healthcare.

In Great Britain, at any one time, over 500,000 people are waiting to get into a British hospital. 38% of Brits have to wait four months or more for surgery (compared to 5% in the U.S.). British patients also wait months longer than their American counterparts for knee and hip replacement surgery, cataract surgery and radiation treatment. Additionally, cancer patients are regularly denied life saving drugs due to budget shortfalls in Merry Old England.

Even British officials hate their healthcare! The Chairman of the British Medical Association described the British government-controlled healthcare system as “the stifling of innovation by excessive, intrusive audits, the shackling of doctors by prescribing guidelines, referral guidelines and protocols, the suffocation of professional responsibility by target-setting and production line values that leave little room for the professional judgment of individual doctors or the needs of individual patients.”

How about Canada? Want to see a neurologist for a headache? Better sign up now as the wait is six months. Alright, how about an MRI? That’ll be another three and a half months, with a one-month wait for an ultrasound. Gotta go to the emergency room? Better bring your pajamas, as the average wait to get in is 23 hours.

More than 1.5 million Canadians say they cannot find a family doctor (this from a country with five million people less than California). Some towns even have sunk to lotteries to determine who gets to see a doctor. In Canada, 27% of people that have surgery wait four months or more.

Not only will this rationing restrict your access to care, it will also slow the development of new technologies, which need potentially broad new markets to be economically viable. The new technology that gets shelved could be the one that would save your life.

With the government setting prices and dictating what should be developed and for what price, this country will experience a sharp drop in medical breakthroughs. After all, the private sector fuels innovation and experimentation, not the public sector.

Why? It’s simple, profits.

Therefore, we will not only be getting less care, we will be getting outdated care. Would you want 2010 level care in the year 2050? I would wager no more than you would want 1969 level care today.

Columnist Scott Atlas and Nils Wilking from Stockholm's Karolinska Institute explain this point very well. Wilking, an author of a widely reported publication that compares international cancer survivals, recently explained that nearly half the improvement in cancer survival rates in the United States in the 1990s was due to "the introduction of new oncology drugs." He writes: "No country on the globe does as good a job overall as the United States. Thus, the U.S. government should focus on ensuring that all cancer patients receive timely care, rather than radically overhauling the current system."

With all of these innovations and medical miracles, President Obama still sees fit to radically transform our healthcare system, level of care be damned.

Well…I guess that is change, isn’t it? But not too much hope, if you ask me.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

The Awful Truth about Healthcare Reform: Part 1-Your Coverage.

2009-07-28T13:59:00.004-05:00

As the healthcare debate in Washington grows in intensity with each passing day, we citizens are left to simply stand by and wait until Congress and the Obama Administration determine the fate of our healthcare. And not just ours either. This reform will dramatically affect the cost and quality of healthcare for every single American citizen that will live in this country from now until the end of time.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the plan, I just want to point out a couple of things for you to note when you hear President Obama or members of Congress talk about healthcare in this country. You will hear this phrase, or a close facsimile of it, uttered repeatedly…

“45 million people in America are without healthcare.”

In those eight little words there is one blatant lie and three other, clever misdirections.

First, the misdirections.

“45 million people in America”. Notice anything about statement? Note that it doesn’t say “45 million Americans”; it says “45 million people in America”. That’s because illegal immigrants are included in that estimate! A sneaky and terribly underhanded approach to presenting healthcare figures.

The statement also implies that there are currently 45 million people in this country without healthcare coverage. Another fabrication. People that have been without insurance at any time over the past year are included in that estimate. So if you switched jobs and had a two-week lapse in medical coverage, you’re in that 45 million estimate.

Thirdly, this statement implies that the people that do not have health insurance want health insurance. That is clearly not always the case. A large number of wealthy people forgo health insurance because they can afford to pay for procedures or doctor visits as they come up. Another group of people that opt not to have insurance is young workers, especially those in the 18-24 age group. They see the amount of money that goes towards healthcare coming out of their checks on a weekly basis and, due to economic reasons; they decide that that money is needed for other parts of their budget.

And what if you are in the group of people that for whatever reason choose not to have health insurance? Well if you file a tax return, you have to have it under Senator Kennedy’s plan. If you don’t, the IRS and a newly expanded federal office on electronic medical records will find you and fine you.

How much? No one knows for sure as it will be determined by the secretary of health and human services. It will be enough, however, to persuade you to join the program.

Now for the big lie. Can you find it in the statement?

It’s claiming 45 million people in this country do not have healthcare.

Everyone has healthcare. For example, if you are uninsured and get into a car accident, by law, you will be cared for. Yet this comment makes it seem that 45 million people do not have access to any medical care. This is just another subtle way of making our current healthcare system seem in worse shape than it really is and therefore making the public option more attractive.

So what about this public option that we keep hearing so much about? Democrats claim that it will not only allow you to keep your current coverage if you like it, but it will also bring honesty to the insurance industry.

Both are false.

Sure, you can keep your current insurance plan…for now. What do you think is going to happen when the governmental behemoth that is the public option enters the market? It’s going to crowd out a vast number of smaller carriers as they will not be able to compete with the public option.

And really, how could they?

With the government acting as healthcare regulators, they are certainly not going to play fair as they can stack the deck anyway they see fit to get more and more Americans on their plan. In fact, one independent study has already concluded that 119 million Americans will end up leaving their private plans for the public plan.

Above that, the public option will be able to raid the coffers of the federal budget for more and more money whenever they want. Running low on money? Simple, just raise taxes! How can a private insurer compete with that?

Obviously, they cannot.

Additionally, when Obama says that the public option will “keep the industry honest”; I cannot help but chuckle to myself. When has Washington had the moral high ground to lecture anyone about honesty? But even beyond that, honesty is already in the industry in the form of competition. With over 1500 carriers, companies have no choice but to be honest or else they run the serious risk of losing customers to the myriad of other insurance options available to them.

By the way, should we really trust these people with running the healthcare industry? Don’t forget that these are the same people that, according to Vice President Biden, so badly misjudged the economy that they think we need a second stimulus plan.

So if massive healthcare reform does pass, get ready for a drastic change in, not only your insurance coverage, but also the quality of care that you receive.

How much change in the quality of care? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Let me warn you though, it will be very, very depressing.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

Quickie: The hard-hitting questions keep coming!

2009-07-16T14:04:00.002-05:00

Now this type of insight must make the citizens of Minnesota especially proud.

Quickie: It is nice to see that he's taking this job seriously.

2009-07-15T16:20:00.002-05:00

What a shock, Al Franken’s first comment during the Sotomayor confirmation hearings is a lame joke.

The fact that this man is a senator shows how far our political process has declined.

Re:

2009-07-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

For those of you that regularly read my blog, I suggest you take some time to read some of the comments that some of my visitors leave from time to time.

Many of them are either statements that politely agree with my viewpoints or principally disagree with them. For the people that have left those, I thank you. You are helping me achieve one of my main objectives for starting this blog, fostering good old political discussions about timely issues. While I would like to address each one of these comments, I simply do not have the time to do so. I would probably have to quit my job, break up with my girlfriend and never go out in order to keep up with all of them and since I need my job, love my girlfriend and enjoy meeting up with friends; I largely remain silent.

Others, on the other hand, are not so polite. They would rather ridicule my beliefs and me, rather than make a logical argument…all the while remaining anonymous.

Want some examples?

From my post on North Korea:

I'm glad to see that the retarded right wingers have yet to have an original idea. You and your stupidity are doing the world a favor by continuously advertising how much you DON'T know. It is only through dedication combined with the lack of intellectual thought that such ignorance can be achieved as this level.

Oh and I believe you meant to use from instead of form in your third paragraph. I know you and your mom and the three or for dullards that frequent this site are very impressed with your freshman level English. However, if you want to be taken seriously, you'll learn to use complex sentences, proof read your work and maybe even maybe conjure up an original thought.

Now go back to mom and that mongoloid pack you belong to and feel proud of yourself. You've managed to reiterate the frequently used political tactic of the retarded right wingers, "Let's Attack them."

If Dumb was was money, you wouldn't need a job.

This guy goes on and on about my supposed lack of “original ideas”, yet he fails to mention what is wrong with my opinions, nor does he even provide a single idea of his own regarding North Korea and the growing hostilities that exist in our relationship.

All he can do is call me names and jump all over me for a simple typo. Well, if you want to go there, fine let’s go there. The typo came in the second paragraph, not the third as you claim. I may have a typo but at least I can count.

Also, use “four” when discussing numbers, not “for”. Additionally, one “was” is plenty. There is not need for placing them back to back.

He also claims that I possess the English capacity of a freshman and that I don’t use complete sentences. It is called style, friend. This is not a term paper that warrants the use of the APA style, this an open blog where I write in a style that is entertaining and a format that is easy to read.

I will say, however, that his closing line of “If Dumb was was money, you wouldn't need a job.” will definitely make me lose sleep tonight.

Ah, here are two examples of my favorite kind of criticism…the kind that comes from failing to read anything that I write.

From my Conservatives: The untouchables of America post…

I find it amazing that one person commented that the left media has filled our brains with whatever! How in the hell do you think we feel about that divisive racist ass Sean Hannity. Lou Dobbs can also be added to this list, and I can go on and on. I actually use to have a great respect for conservatives, afterall most of my Dad's side of the family were small business owners, African American, and extremely conservative; however for some reason your party has taken a real turn and you are truly turning people off.

Now in know way am I saying Democrats, or leftist as you refer to them are any better, but it is truly amazing how racist your party has become.

Interesting fact, African Americans are truly very conservative (believe it or not) but when we hear you spew such rhetoric being spewed by many conservatives it turns most of us away.

Until some of you start denouncing what I think most of you know is wrong and hurtful. You will never win back African Americans nor Americans as a whole. People are switching everyday (trust me on that)!! Hope this isn't taken the wrong way.

Nowhere in the post do I mention race…not once. Also, I have never claimed to be a member of the Republican Party on this blog.

Here’s another example of that from my favorite commentator “Lurching Right=Crap”. This is from my post about several liberal columnists and commentators being less than thrilled about a number of President Obama’s early cabinet selections.

Hey whiner! Prove Obama had anything to do with the scandal. The FBI says he did not, and surveillance records show that Blagovjevich was pissed that Obama would give him nothing buy appreciation. In fact they had a long history of antagonism.

But of course, some f-ing con retard with his own free blogspot page knows better. Keep whining loser. Its all you'll have the next 8 years. Suck it!

He is referring to the Blagojevich scandal, which I mention; yep you guessed it, zero times in the article! In fact, I have never accused Obama of being part of that scandal and you want to know why…it’s because I don’t think he had anything to do with it.

This one though is probably my favorite comment. It really shows the incredible lack of decency, class and civility of some people. From my Waterboarding post…

You're a fucking moron. I hope you are taken captive against your will someday and waterboarded 265 times until you admit you did something you may or may not have done.

And I hope your father's cock is taken from your asshole before hand so the CIA can fit anything they want up there you hypocritical, anti-American sheepfucker.

I don’t think I need to say anything else.

In closing, let me just say I don’t claim to know everything. In fact, I freely admit that I don’t. I am not a professional commentator nor do I have access to all of the information about any issue. I am just a guy that follows the news, has strong opinions and likes to share them.

I appreciate all of you letting me vent a little. I just hope the respectful conversations on this board continue and the barbaric and ill-informed ones cease.

That’s all for now. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

So long Sarah.

2009-07-08T11:02:00.003-05:00

I’m not sure if any of you were surprised by Sarah Palin’s decision to step down as Governor of Alaska this past weekend, but I was absolutely stunned.

Stunned because she strikes me as the type of person that truly enjoys sticking it to her detractors (an admirable trait in my mind) and nothing would accomplish that better than unabashedly staying in office and conducting business as usual.

But that really wasn’t possible for Palin. The business of Alaska was being needlessly interrupted by numerous, frivolous ethics investigations concocted by her political enemies to smear her good name (In fact, in the 15 cases she has had to defend herself, she has been exonerated in all 15). Her personal life was becoming too much of a distraction as she (truthfully) and numerous members of the media were seemingly obsessed with the Palin story. She also seemed to be torn between her duties in Alaska and her aspirations of becoming a larger, national leader.

So she quit, leaving her political future as muddled as a Joe Biden policy explanation.

I cannot say that I blame her, but unlike many commentators, I think this buries her chances at her becoming president and I don’t really know if that is a bad thing or not.

I like Sarah Palin, I like her rags to riches story, I like her feistiness and I like her stances on some issues, but am I ready to jump on board the Palin bandwagon for president?

Absolutely not.

This is mainly due to the fact that I don’t really know where she stands on a lot of issues.

Does she have a firm grasp of the critical budgetary and economic issues facing our nation and the world? I don’t know.

Does she have enough foreign policy savvy to strengthen our relationships with our allies or repair the ones with our enemies? Beats me.

Can she rally moderate republicans in Congress to adhere to a true conservative agenda? Perhaps, but probably not.

Now in all fairness to her, I’m not sure that any prospective 2012 republican nominees are capable of achieving the above goals, but I’m not exactly high on any of them either…not yet at least.

The bottom line for me with Palin is her level of experience and I, frankly, don’t think she has enough to be president. I know some of you are probably shouting, “Obama had less experience than she did!”

True… but where has that gotten us?

I know that, if she chooses, she now has roughly three years to tour the country, make alliances with republicans from coast-to-coast, become more familiar with issues without being hamstrung by her responsibilities in Alaska and emerge as a national, conservative leader. This could position her nicely for 2012, but I don’t think it will play out that way.

She will be hounded by the press (fairly) for leaving office early and (unfairly) for her supposed family scandals. I think this will ultimately be the thing that prevents her from making a serious run at the presidency and I think that is incredibly sad. Sad in the sense that she has been so unfairly demonized in the press and by operatives within the McCain campaign that depicted her as aloof, stupid, crazy and, frankly, a bitch.

You know, I am used to the media mistreating conservatives, but her treatment from the McCain camp really doesn’t sit well with me. I can tell you that the, literal, only time I was ever excited about the McCain campaign was when he named her as his VEEP candidate. She was not the reason they lost, rather it was the fact he was a poor candidate with a meandering message and a rudderless campaign.

As I said, I am not sure that I would have supported her, but I think she should be given the opportunity, the fair opportunity, to run if she chose. However, due to the personal attacks by the media and the coordinated efforts by democrat and republican operatives alike to destroy her reputation, I don’t think she’ll get the chance.

And I think that that is how the Sarah Palin story will end, as a footnote or cautionary tale for some and a punch line and object of scorn for others.

I think she deserved better than that.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John

The Biden File: Signals crossed again!

2009-07-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

Here are two stories regarding Israel’s right to unilaterally take out Iran’s nuclear facilities, published on the same day.

Story #1

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday strongly denied that the United States had given Israel an approval to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

Asked by CNN whether Washington had given Israel a green light for such an attack, Obama answered: "Absolutely not."

Story #2

Israel has a sovereign right to decide what is in its best interest in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions whether the United States agrees or not, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview on Sunday.

In an interview on ABC's "This Week" program, Biden said Israel can determine for itself how best to deal with the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

"We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination, that they're existentially threatened," Biden said.

What a shock, Biden is once again off script…although I actually agree with him on this one.