Tag Archives: current-events

A Week In Review

Posted by Tim on

Once again, the American people’s eyes have been taken off the ball. Politics works the same way as a magic trick. While the magician is getting you to focus on one thing in his right hand, his left hand is somewhere else. Both hands may be in plain view, but people are so distracted by the right hand that they completely overlook the left hand. What’s the distraction this time? Oh that’s right – same sex marriage.

It may offend some of you who are passionate about “marriage equality” for me to refer to it as a mere distraction, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s really all it is. In the 5 days since the Supreme Court took up the cases of DOMA and Proposition 8, the federal government has added over $15 billion to our national debt. The national debt now stands at $16.75 trillion; quietly working its way to the next big number – $17 trillion. Oh joy!

clintonAt the same time, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, is set to keep up with QE3 (Quantitative Easing 3) until unemployment recedes to 6.5%. This means he’ll be printing $85 billion each month, used to buy up government bonds, and flood the market with cheap money. The problem, of course, is that printing money actually does make the rest of money cheaper – when you have more of something it is worth less. If someone said that Bernanke was printing a trillion dollars a year, there would be a scare, but because we divided it up by 12 months – to a measly $85 billion – it doesn’t sound so bad. Continue on, Benny.

And who could forget about the 10,000 drones set to be flying above US cities by 2020. Although Rand Paul’s filibuster did get the Feds to concede that they would not use drones to kill Americans on American soil, there is still something unsettling about 10,000 drones just flying around. What exactly are they looking for? These are the drones that are used to survey and kill terrorists in the middle east; why is our government using them in America? Seems like the set up of a 21 century totalitarian state.

Speaking of totalitarian states, the North Koreans are at it again. North Koreans nix their agreement to be peaceful with South Koreans; Americans and South Koreans get together and publicly display their military might; North Koreans shut down their military hotline with South Koreans; America sends a couple B-2 bombers to South Korea; North Korea tells everyone that their preparing a plan for bombing the US – namely Hawaii, Washington, Los Angeles, and Austin. Didn’t hear about that, did you?

Then there’s Planned Parenthood, who defended killing babies after they’ve already been born, but hey – let’s get real. What’s the difference between 9 months pre-born and 2 minutes born – only 2 minutes. That’s hardly a life, right? Where exactly is the line? Most people, even those who call themselves “pro-choice” would admit that once a baby is out of its mother, it is a human life. Do the circumstances make a difference? If the baby was born accidentally due to a botched abortion, apparently it isn’t really a life, and therefore can be killed. What if a mother just has her baby at home, and then 5 minutes after its born, decides to kill it – what’s the difference? Sickening to know that every year Planned Parenthood receives millions of dollars from state and federal government.

While the assault weapons ban has stalled in Congress, Barack Obama (and Piers Morgan, by the way) aren’t done with the issue. They still want guns out of the hands of legal owners. Obama and New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, still want “universal” background checks. This of course means that if a father wants to give his son a gun, he has to go check it in to the police department and have them legally transfer the gun to his son. By no means will this limit the guns criminals buy, because criminals aren’t going to get a background check. This is really just a way to get more information on legal gun owners.

Perhaps the real solution to gun crime isn’t to go after law abiding gun owners, but to prosecute gun criminals. Interestingly enough, the district that is the worst at prosecuting these crimes is also a haven of criminal behavior – Chicago. Out of 90 districts in the US, Chicago ranked dead last for how many federal gun crimes its attorneys have prosecuted. Number 2 was Central California (Los Angeles) and number 3 was Eastern New York (New York City). Wait a minute – isn’t that Bloomberg’s city? Why is he calling for new laws, when he came in 3rd to last place for enforcing the ones already on the books?

All this has happened and nothing was said about it on my personal Facebook news feed. Instead, everyone was too busy hopping on board the “gay rights” issue by posting pictures of a red equals (=) sign. I sure wish there was this much enthusiasm about balancing the budget, national security, the outrageous hypocrisy over the gun control issue, or 10,000 drones flying over our heads, spying on us from every angle. But debt isn’t an emotional issue; its a thinking issue, and thinking just isn’t what the left does.

The Gun Battle is Over

Posted by Tim on

Feinstein came out with her assault weapons ban this week. There isn’t a whole lot to go over (since I’ve already written about the meat of it) but I do find it somewhat interesting that people are already doubting whether the bill will even be able to pass the Senate. Even after Obama’s bland speech regarding “gun violence”, during which he urged Congress to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, there are still democrat senators that are feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

What’s the reason? Simply put – we are. Politicians know that across the country, people are very upset about potential bans on their weapons. Somewhere around 4 million AR-15s are in the hands of legal owners, hurting no one. For a government official to suddenly ban these – that’ll lose at least 4 million votes. The issue hits home with a lot of responsible law abiding gun owners who feel that they are being attacked for doing nothing wrong. (Click HERE to see a list of specific guns to be banned.)

feinsteinBecause these Americans have something at stake (their guns) they tend to be more informed about the issue, and they tend to be more involved with the issue. The NRA, America’s largest gun-rights organization, has gained hundreds of thousands of members in the last couple of months. These members are both young and old, rich and poor, black and white; but they all have one thing in common – the value they place in the 2nd amendment. Just last weekend, pro-gun rallies were held at every state capital in the US. If this doesn’t send a signal to politicians, nothing will.

But surprisingly, these rallies even sent a signal to democrats, who, at least in recent history, have a habit of not listening to their constituents. Because of this, at least 6 democrat Senators seem unwilling to vote for Feinstein’s AWB. 6 down doesn’t leave enough room for a majority vote, let alone a super-majority which could over-ride a filibuster from someone like Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. If the bill doesn’t get through the Senate, the bill won’t get to the House, and won’t be signed into law by el Presidente. Even if the bill were to pass the Senate, it would be “dead on arrival” in the House.

The fact that it is unlikely to pass the Senate is a big sign that the America people just aren’t against “assault weapons”. People are informed, and they know that assault weapons are no more dangerous than other firearms. They know that the problem is not with guns, but with criminals. They understand why our founders gave us the 2nd amendment; to fight a tyrannical government. And they see through the cheesy propaganda put forth by Feinstein and her goon-squad. Feinstein’s AWB isn’t popular, and that is the reason it won’t pass.

The life of politicians can be long, and many of those currently in office remember the 1994 elections. Earlier that year, President Clinton signed the ’94 assault weapons ban (put forth by – you guessed it – Dianne Feinstein). The result was a massive surge in NRA memberships, a surge in gun sales, and a landslide election for Republicans in November. Politicians are not about to risk their careers over the bill. They saw what happened last time.

I was at a gun store earlier this week, and I must say, that I was happy to see so few people in there. This is probably in part because the store had sold out of almost everything on the ban list, but it is also because people are settling down. For a couple months things were crazy. Packed parking lots, long lines, and shortages of guns and ammo. If the stores are seeing sales drop off, that means that people aren’t worried about the ban. The media has started to talk about other things, the story has moved on. The war isn’t over (Feinstein will be back eventually), but it seems this battle is.

This has been a true testament to the power of the American people. The free press has allowed us to hear the news, free speech has allowed us to say what we think, and the right to assemble has allowed us to take our message to the doorsteps of politicians. Pat yourselves on the back. Good job.

But the real reasoning behind the AWB wasn’t ever about guns. It was about distracting the American people from the debt ceiling debate. Republicans have already vowed NOT to make the ceiling an issue (at least Boehner has), which means that America’s debt will continue to rise. Last time we did this our credit rating was downgraded. It wasn’t downgraded because we fought over the ceiling, but rather because we showed no interest in finding solutions as to how to pay all this money back. So far, Washington has done the same thing again, and as we tee-up another debt ceiling increase, a credit rating downgrade may be right around the corner.

Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban

Posted by Tim on

Still waiting for the official bill to be published for the public’s eyes, but Dianne Feinstein has recently published a “Summary of 2013 Legislation” on her website. She’s patterning her new proposal after the 1994 “Clinton Ban”, that banned high capacity magazines, collapsable stocks, pistol grips, etc. The new proposal will ban these specific features, but there is one big difference. In the past (1994-2004), guns were banned that had 2 or more of these features. Now, guns with just one of these features will be banned.

Is there anything dangerous about a collapsable stock? No, not at all. The stocks allow people to adjust them based on each individual’s arm length. They “collapse” only to accomodate some people who have shorter arms. The legislation will also ban bayonet mounts, because obviously, people are slaughtering innocent school children with bayonets. The real key here isn’t the features themselves; it is that these features are offered on a variety of mean looking guns – things that scare Dianne Feinstein. (Feinstein could just look in the mirror, scare herself, and then ban herself from appearing in public without a wearing a mask. How about that?)

diannefeinsteinHer site also makes the proclamation that the 1994 ban lowered crime. While is it true that crime went down between 1994-2004 (the year the ban expired), she fails to recognize that crime was going down before 1994, and continued going down after 2004. This is a classic example of politicians not telling the whole story in order to sway voters towards particular legislation. Either Feinstein knows that she is intentionally misleading the American people, or she’s just that dumb herself. To be honest, I’m not quite sure which one it is.

Politicians love to take credit for good things occurring  and refuse to take credit for anything bad happening. Barney Frank loved taking credit for the housing boom of the early 2000s, but denied that his own policies had anything to do with the housing bust in 2006-2007. Dianne Feinstein loves touting her assault weapons ban as a life-saving endeavor, but never accepts responsibility for the underground black market she created while banning such weapons – a market that funds other criminal activity; drugs, prostitution, extortion, illegal gambling. It is as if politicians can do no harm and laws don’t have side-effects.

(Here’s a picture of Feinstein holding an AK-47. Notice her finger is ON THE TRIGGER and the gun is POINTING AT PEOPLE. This is basic gun safety; the stuff you learn on the first day of a Hunter’s Safety course, in the first five minutes of a Concealed Carry class. And she’s going to lecture me about what guns I can and cannot own? What a joke!)

Also included in her summary is this -

  • Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms Act, to include:
    • Background check of owner and any transferee;
    • Type and serial number of the firearm;
    • Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
    • Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
    • Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration.

I may, or may not, be the owner of one the weapons on the ban list. Luckily, because I purchased it legally (or so they assume), it will be “grandfathered”. I can keep it – oh good. BUT, I need to go through a second background check, give the Feds the serial number from the gun, give them my photograph and finger print, get the gun certified by state and local authorities, and then pay the ATF for all of this. I’ve never committed a crime – why should the feds have my finger print on file? Just to own a scary looking gun?

Isn’t the ATF the agency responsible for selling guns to Mexican drug cartels? The guns that have been proven to kill literally hundreds of Mexicans and even a US border patrol agent? And now I have to pay them to keep track of my information? Nah… not likely. Whatever happened to property rights? I bought something – therefore it is mine. I don’t need to do anything else, I already own it, and no one has the right to take it away. We do still have the 2nd amendment and the 4th amendment, right? (Well…. not really.)

My hope is that the bill will be shot down once it enters the House of Representatives where Republicans still hold a majority. Even if it doesn’t, it will likely be modified, and although these guns will be banned, the government won’t force current owners to register their guns with the federal government. There is no reason to assume that Feinstein just wrote this bill within the last two weeks. She’s most likely had it sitting in a desk drawer in her cozy Senator’s office since 2004, just waiting for the right moment to throw it on the American people. What better time than after a horrific school shooting, right?

In any case, I’m not going to register anything I have with the Feds, and I doubt most gun owners will. It is a long-time goal of the left to establish a national registry of guns and their owners. Once they know where the guns are, it makes it that much easier to seize them. Do gun bans lead to tyrannical governments? You tell me – Turkey, Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Uganda, Guatemala…

Teachers Strike, Students Lose

Posted by Tim on

After 18 months of teacher’s unions battling my Governor, Scott Walker, here in Wisconsin, I feel I’ve got a pretty good handle on exactly what is going on down in Chicago right now. In case you live under a rock, the Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) is on strike; refusing to work another day until their contracts with the city are adjusted to meet their demands. Just like Madison in 2011, the teachers are showing their true colors. This isn’t about the children; its about power.

What’s the big stink about? Teachers are upset because they feel their jobs will be in jeopardy when they are judged on their students’ standardized test scores. They’d rather be judged on… nothing. CTU complains that the tests are not a good representation of how well the teacher is doing their job. The tests are too uniform and don’t take into account socioeconomic factors.

The simple fact is that if we want equal quality education for all of our public schools, the standards need to be equal as well. High standards in some areas and low standards in others will only widen the gap of schools’ performances. In Chicago only 55% of students graduate high school (in the top 5 for worst graduation rates in America). Over 80% of 8th graders are below proficient in arithmetic. The teacher’s solution is to lower the standards so that more kids look like they’re doing a good job. Lowering standards does not produce better results.

CTU is also opposed to individual schools hiring and firing teachers; especially teachers who are not part of their union. Principles know best what their school needs. If one teacher is doing a lousy job, it should be the principle’s responsibility to fire that teacher and hire someone who is better. Some teachers argue that education shouldn’t be run like a business, but it is because schools are NOT run like businesses that their customers (students and parents) are left paying too much for a subpar product (education).

Also in the contract is the change of teachers having to contribute to their own health insurance and pensions; something most private sector employees already do. The contracts also guarantee a 15% pay raise over 3 years. Nothing to complain about there. The problem isn’t necessarily that teachers are getting a raw deal. 5% pay increases for 3 years, great pension and health benefits, an average salary of $75,000, and only 9 months of work. The issue is not money; it’s power.

If principles (who traditionally act more in favor of students and parents than unions) make the decisions of who to hire and fire, the unions have lost their strength. People join unions to help give them job security. If CTU can no longer deliver that security to their members, those members will drop out of the union. In Wisconsin after Scott Walker stripped unions of their collective bargaining privileges over 30,000 public sector workers opted out of unions.

The Chicago Teacher’s Union fears that the same thing may happen to them. The great thing about this is that the battle isn’t being fought between CTU and a conservative Governor like Scott Walker. This time the battle is being fought between CTU and Rahm Emanuel, the lefty mayor of Chicago and former advisor to Barack Obama. Even Democrats are realizing that real changes need to be made in order for public education to work. The momentum is in our favor.

All in all, this is a great sign. More people are listening up and seeing what teacher’s unions are all about. This is clearly not about giving students a better education. It’s about preserving the power unions have over our tax dollars. What was that famous Lord Acton saying? Oh yeah – “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” CTU’s power needs to be limited so that our education system can rid itself of the corruption that is hurting our next generation.

Nudged Off a Cliff

Posted by Tim on

People often say that the politicians in Washington don’t listen to the people. They are too disconnected with their constituents. The very people who put them in office have no idea what they are doing until the next election. One of the problems is that each of these politicians represents too many people. If you ever try to call your Representative or Senator, there is a pretty good chance you’ll just talk with one of their assistants. And even at a town hall meeting you’ll be lucky to get a question in, and even luckier if you get a straight answer.

On the other hand, our local politicians are easy to work with. I know my State Senator and Representative. I even have their phone numbers saved in my phone, and when I call they talk with me. One of them actually gave me his home number, and a few years ago was walking the neighborhoods himself knocking on doors. My representative is my neighbor, and if I have a real problem with something he does, I can wander over a few blocks and have a word with him myself.

This is the natural of politics. The people in Washington serve too many interests, and are kept far away from the effects of their policies. They are, by nature, disconnected. Local officials are just that – local. This is the beauty behind federalism, and the genius behind the Constitution. The bozos in Washington aren’t supposed to be passing the laws that effect our day-to-day lives. Those laws are supposed to be passed by our local politicians.

The 10th Amendment says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This means that any powers not given to the federal government in the Constitution are not theirs to exercise. They of course do have some powers – regulating interstate commerce, regulating international trade, providing for the nation’s defense, and collecting taxes to pay for these duties. But that’s pretty much it.

The politicians in Washington have no Constitutional reason to be interfering with our schools, our healthcare, our drug policies, or our environment. Those duties are to be left to the states or to individual citizens. And there is good reason for this. The federal government only passes big blanket laws for all 50 states. But who is to say that what is good for someone in South Carolina is also good for someone in Colorado? But that’s just what happens. A Congressperson from a single state will put forth a bill that has benefits for his own state, but that will hurt someone else’s.

This is obviously a terrible thing. We have people from different sides of the country deciding whats best for each other, and no one is looking out for the people in between. If these crooks would read and listen to the Constitution, they’d realize that the laws they are voting on don’t have any Constitutional standing, but that doesn’t happen. Special interests, labor unions, and plenty of people with their hands out, all make donations; either with their ballot or their checkbook. Its sad,  and very disheartening.

Rand Paul

Rand Paul

The only thing set up to stop this kind of behavior is the Constitution, the document that all politicians swear to uphold. But if everyone is breaking the rules, nobody notices. Little by little, States’ rights are disappearing, individuals have less liberty to make decisions in their own lives, and our so-called Republic shifts away from the ideas of the founders towards a top-down centralized all-powerful federal government. Is there any hope? Not really.

With Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan, Republicans are in a great mood. But everyone forgot about Ryan’s real record. As a fellow blogger points out, Ryan voted FOR TARP, FOR the auto bailout, FOR the 2008 and 2009 stimulus packages, FOR Head Start and No Child Left Behind, FOR extending unemployment, and FOR the Patriot Act. Why is everyone so gung-ho about Paul Ryan? He’s no conservative, and even with the Ryan Budget we still increase spending!

He can talk a good talk, and help Romney win, but both of these guys believe in the power of the federal government. Spending will keep spiraling out of control. Everyone is happy that instead of being thrown off a cliff, we’ll be nudged off a cliff. Not good enough for me. We don’t need to slow down, we need to turn around! My only hope is that these guys will delay the dive overboard long enough to get a Constitutional Conservative in office. Rand Paul? Are your ears burning?

Romney’s Week was WEAK

Posted by Tim on

For the past few weeks I feel like I’ve been pulled back in time to earlier this year. It wasn’t too long ago that Newt Gingrich was attacking Mitt Romney for his experience at Bain Capital. Of course, when Gingrich did it, he took immediate heat for even thinking of bringing up Romney’s private sector life as a negative. Low and behold, only a few months later, Obama is pulling the same card – attacking Romney over his private sector record.

It wouldn’t be enough to just talk about Bain Capital though – because really there isn’t much to talk about. Bain takes struggling companies and turns them around. Sometimes that may mean laying off employees, but in the long run Bain and Mitt Romney created hundreds of American jobs. But that isn’t interesting. So let’s make some stuff up! “Romney kills jobs!” How’s that sound? Oh, wait – and Romney said he left Bain in 1999, but here he is in 2001 with the same company? Mischief is at hand!

The Romney/Bain record has been cleared repeatedly by numerous nonpartisan fact checkers. He’s clean. Sorry Obama. The real story here isn’t that someone lied, or that someone was trying to cover something up. The story is that someone – Barack Obama – is trying to divert attention away from his miserable record as President. Almost 4 years of unemployment over 8%, Obamacare (or Obama-Tax, as some are now calling it), and continued economic uncertainty. Obama has a crap record to run on, so he’s attacking Romney however he can, even if it means lying to the American people.

And Romney’s response… *crickets*. He’ll deny, and move the conversation back to the economy. Boring! I mentioned this when I endorsed Rick Santorum earlier this year – Romney will attack his Republican opponents but will refuse to do the same to Barack Obama. Romney attacked Santorum, Gingrich, and Rick Perry relentlessly for months. But now that its time to turn his attention towards the real enemy he doesn’t have the guts. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Come on, Romney! Grow a pair!

Perhaps his Vice Presidential pick (rumored to be announced as soon as this coming week) will be a better fighter. VPs traditionally throw harder punches than their Presidents. But once again, Romney has me worried. Will he go with a fighter like Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan, or will he settle for a bland milk-toast pick like Rob Portman. Ugh. I shutter to think of that. Then again, both Romney and his running mate will be made of the same stuff – wood.

Florida Congressman Allen West

Florida Congressman Allen West

Someone pulled a few strings over at the Drudge Report and managed to figure out that Condoleezza Rice was on Romney’s list of top VP picks. Once again – come on! Someone who hasn’t ever run for political office, has W. Bush baggage tied around their neck, and is Pro-Choice? Is this really who Romney would pick? I doubt it, but none the less it got a lot of attention recently.

I can only hope that Romney will start swinging for Obama’s head soon. Romney has the ability to tear his opponents to shreds, as we saw in the Republican primary. He just needs to use those skills on Barack Obama. If he continues to refuse to do so, he’ll need to pick a VP that will – someone along the lines of Rubio, Ryan, or Bobby Jindal. Personally I’d love to see Allen West fill the spot, but there are many great choices. The fight is far from over, and things are sure to get messier throughout summer into November.

Wisconsin US Senate Endorsement

Posted by Tim on

The Wisconsin US Senate race is in full swing right now. The Democrats are sticking to their strategy of running Tammy Baldwin against whoever the Republican nominee will be. Although Baldwin is a far left whacko from Madison, she is semi-known and will have all the support of Wisconsin’s liberal media. Does she have a chance? In my opinion, no. Wisconsin is on such a role for conservatism, I doubt she’ll beat her opponent, no matter who he is.

The Republican nominees are four strong candidates, any of whom would make a fantastic Senator. Each candidate has their issues, and here’s how I’ve been breaking it down thus far. Tommy Thompson is a former Governor of Wisconsin. With that title, he earns the top seat as far as popularity goes, and a Thompson vs Baldwin ticket would be an very easy win. Unfortunately, when we take a look into Tommy’s past, he’s not the most conservative candidate. He was a moderate (at best) governor, and when he left to work for the Bush administration in 2000, he managed to help Bush throw on tons of debt.

Mark Neumann is a former Republican representative, and he has a strong backbone when it comes to issues. He’s a proud conservative, a private businessman, and has a good record to run on. But in the last 2 elections he’s lost. He’s kind of seen as a loser at this point, someone who cannot capture the attention of independents or Democrats. He also really ticked a lot of people off when he badmouthed his opponent for Governor – Scott Walker, thereby giving Walker the victory. As much as I like Neumann, he may need to work on his politics.

Jeff Fitzgerald… honestly, I don’t know where he is! I don’t see TV ads for him. I don’t hear radio ads for him. I haven’t gotten any phone calls from his campaign asking for my support. He is far behind in the race, and I’m about ready to count him out. Not just because he lacks publicity, but because I don’t know anything about him. As a voter, I shouldn’t need to dig through Google to find out about someone. Fitzgerald should be pandering to me. Since he hasn’t, I don’t know where he stands on the issues, and he’s at the far back of my mind.

Eric Hovde is a private sector businessman, who was unknown up until a few months ago. A good thing about candidates having money is that they can basically bankroll themselves and not need to do a lot of fundraising. Hovde has hit the ground running with nonstop TV and radio ads. Not only are there a lot of ads, but the ads are compelling. Hovde’s campaign is doing a great job thus far. He comes off as the real deal, and he is the only person who is really in the running, other than Thompson.

The choice is set – Thompson or Hovde… Moderate politician, or Conservative businessman? I have to go with my gut and give my support to Hovde. Wisconsin needs another Ron Johnson – someone from outside politics who is willing to make the tough decisions of our time. With Thompson’s history as a spender and grower of government, I cannot give him my support. Of course, if he wins the nomination I’ll vote for him over Baldwin, but now is the time to pick the person who will make the best Senator for Wisconsin – Eric Hovde.

Turn That Frown Upside Down!

Posted by Tim on

Okay, I’ll bite and be the optimist. Someone has to be. After I heard the troubling news Thursday morning about the SCOTUS ruling on Obamacare I was shocked. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Luckily I only felt that way for about, mmm… 5 seconds or so. I gave up feeling sorry for myself pretty quickly and made a conscious decision to change my perspective on this. Obamacare was upheld – how can this be a positive?

Well, in the most simple way, it brings back the Obamacare issue. Had the Supreme Court shot down the law, it would have been off the table for November’s presidential election. But since it was upheld, its back to its rightful place as the #2 issue in America, trailing only the vague “economy” in importance (no matter how intertwined the two are).

2010 was all about Obamacare. The Tea Party was all about Obamacare. People were fed up with the federal government and they let Democrats know it at the polls. 2010 marked landslide victories all across America for Republicans, conservatives, and the Tea Party. Had Obama been on the ballot in 2010 he would have lost miserably. Lucky for him, he had some time before America cast its vote on him. Some time to forget about the most controversial bill in recent history (if not all history). But his luck ran out. Due to Thursday’s ruling, Obamacare is at the front of people’s minds again, and they’re pissed off. Prepare for 2010 all over again.

Not only do we get to bring back the issue of Obamacare, but we get to talk about it in a more in depth manner. Parts of Obamacare have already been implemented, and its effects are being felt. Businesses are not hiring, are laying people off, or are just cutting benefits left and right – opting to pay penalties instead of provide insurance for their employees. Healthcare costs are already going up across the board. Obamacare hasn’t even been fully established and it is crystal clear that it is bad for Americans. 2012 is different because now we have evidence of what Obamacare will look like.


Furthermore, this SCOTUS ruling has pushed weary conservatives closer to Mitt Romney as they now view him as their only hope of repealing this awful legislation. His promise to start the repeal process on day 1 has calmed many people’s hearts. We’re waiting with our fingers crossed for election day this November. The Republican party is stronger and more unified because of Thursday’s ruling. Independents have joined forces with the Tea Party and conservatives nationwide and are working hard to kick Obama out of office.

While many people resent Justice John Roberts for his decision, I couldn’t help but try to take something away from it. This is a learning experience for me, and it should be for all Americans. Roberts stated late in his opinion that it isn’t the court’s job to fix politicians problems for the people. Its up to us to kick out bad politicians, and we ought to take elections more seriously because the Supreme Court isn’t going to bail us out. We made a mistake in electing Obama and we may need to face some hard realities to learn what is at stake in every election.

If nothing else, all the DC drama at least distracted us from 350 homes being burned up in the Colorado Springs wild fires. Wait, what? No one told you? Its important to keep perspective. While we’re all babbling on and on like morons about laws that we can’t really change for the time being, other people are running from their homes for safety. Right now someone is sleeping in a hotel knowing that their memories and possessions have just been burned to ashes. On last report only 10% of the fire was contained. Being an optimist is a lot easier when we’re only talking about politics. It could always be worse, and maybe that’s the lesson to take away from this.

Wisconsin – A Red State?

Posted by Tim on

Things are feeling good here in Wisconsin. Real good. Not only is the cold weather finally over and many beautiful days ahead of us, but the cold of many political trials are almost over, and I must say that things feel great right now. The past week I was doing some traveling around the US and I missed some good news. Well, I didn’t miss it (I heard about it while I was gone), but I wasn’t here to celebrate with some fellow conservative Wisconsinites.

Reports of Scott Walker costing Wisconsin over 30,000 jobs in 2011 were hard to hear. The latest commercials stated that not only was Wisconsin losing jobs, but that we actually hemorrhaged more jobs than any other state! How could this be? One ad says one thing, and one ad says another. What bothered me most was that the numbers went completely against what I felt. Wisconsin felt like it was creating jobs, that its unemployment was lower,  and that its economy was turning around. Why then with these dismal numbers?

Well, just last week, the new and improved numbers were put up. In a new federal report on jobs numbers not only did Wisconsin NOT lose any jobs in 2011, but it actually gained over 20,000! Add that to over 10,000 gained so far in 2012, and Wisconsin is definitely on the right track! So much for Scott Walker’s policies not working, ey?

In the end, this means that Wisconsin is doing better than it was when it was under Democrat control. Taxes were continually raised on working families and small businesses alike. The government repeatedly kneeled to pressure from various public sector unions, forcing the state into debt – which in turned raised taxes on Wisconsin citizens. All the while there were ridiculous ideas about building a train to go from Milwaukee to Madison – something that would cost the state even more money.

But since we’ve turned around, people in Wisconsin are taking notice. For the first time in nearly 10 years Wisconsin taxes went down. Its not just me that’s noticing, either. Across Wisconsin people are listening closer to their options, and more people than ever are standing strong with Scott Walker against his recall. In the primary just a few weeks ago, Walker’s votes totaled more than both of his Democrat opponents combined! Recent polls show Walker leading his opponent by 10 points!

The most startling evidence of Walker’s impending victory is his opponents’ reaction. Not too long ago, the DNC pulled out their forces from Wisconsin. That’s right! Weeks before the election is set to be held (June 5th, by the way) the DNC decided to pack up their things and go back to Washington. They have already written off Wisconsin as a loss, and are moving on to other things. Equally surprizing is the fact that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel made a statement actually endorsing Walker! (For those of you who don’t know – the Journal is heavily biased towards liberal politicians, earning it the title “Milwaukee Urinal” from folks like myself.) The fact that the Journal came out and is now standing with Walker is amazing! He’s turning his opponents into supporters!

Once the recall election is taken care of (Please DO NOT forget to vote for Walker. Don’t get too comfortable!), next up is our Senate election. Honestly, any of the Republican candidates will be able to mop the floor with Tammy Baldwin, a washed up liberal hack from Madison. Jim Sensenbrener and Paul Ryan will remain confortable as Wisconsin’s conservative representatives. What’s left? Oh yeah – Mitt Romney and Barack Hussein Obama. With everything else turning from left to right, can Wisconsin go from an Obama win to a Obama loss? Can Wisconsin become a red state again? I think its certainly in the realm of possibilities. Only time will tell, but you can count on conservatives fighting to bring Wisconsin style policies to Washington!

Huh? War on Women?

Posted by Tim on

I try to keep up with the world of politics. I follow the big-wigs on Twitter, I “like” the important pages on Facebook, I watch the news channels, and I listen to the radio. But I missed something. Something apparently everyone else saw – the “War on Women”. I did some research, and I couldn’t really find anything that substantiated a “war”, but I did find a lot of semi-fradulent media hoopla.

It all started when the Catholic church and its private organizations were to be forced to provide insurance that covered birth control and abortions – two things that Catholics are adamantly against – via Obamacare. (I guess the “separation of church and state” only exists when we need to take the word “God” out of the pledge of allegiance, but that’s besides the point.) Catholics of course fought the law, and feminists and the liberal media turned religious freedom into a “war on women”. Catholics are being forced to provide something they are against, and the war is on women? More like a war on religious freedom.

The matter completely spun out of control when a 30 year old college student (don’t ask how that happened) made statements claiming that she and her friends spend $3000 a year on birth control. Rush Limbaugh made a joke out of it, and essentially suggested that because the government was paying for her to have sex… well… what do you call someone that is paid to have sex? A slut? He didn’t actually call her a slut, but he sort of did – and it blew up big. There was a national campaign to ban Rush Limbaugh because he (OH NO!) spoke his mind.

Since then people have continued to hear that there is an ongoing “war on women”, where mean old Republicans are trying to “take away” women’s “rights” to have birth control. That’s what the media says, at least.  But its not the case. Women will continue to have the right to whatever birth control they want no matter who is in office. The one thing they might not have – the government forcing employers to provide something they don’t want to provide. Women can certainly spend their own money and buy birth control if they want, or they can opt out of their employer’s insurance program and buy their own insurance that includes coverage for birth control. Easy as that. No “rights” are violated.

But that’s not an interesting narrative. In order to rile people up and hopefully get them out to vote, politicians have created a phony “war on women”. Look past it for a minute, and its almost insulting. Instead of talking about issues that matter to all Americans, politicians pander to certain groups, lie and manipulate facts and twist the truth to get people’s emotions going. They’ll pander to women, to “minorities”, to whoever they think they can exploit. This is politics at its worst. There is no war on women – only disgusting politicians seeking more and more power for themselves.

You can tell that its fake by looking at the other side of the coin. While Rush Limbaugh is scolded for hinting at someone being a slut, Bill Mahr isn’t touched at all when he calls Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann cu*ts and tw*ts. Women have the right to “choose” whats best for their body, but they’re too stupid to be able to provide it for themselves and all women depend on government handouts. Women are underprivileged, but numerous studies show that there are more women accepted at colleges than men and that women make higher salaries than men at the same jobs. None of this is talked about because it doesn’t fit the agenda of those in office.

If we want equality we need to treat people the same – not pander to certain groups of people. Special benefits for some people and not for others, or special handouts to some people based solely on their sex – that’s not equality. Until we realize this and reject inequality at all levels, government hacks will continue to pedal their hate filled rhetoric that is designed to divide people, thereby winning votes and power for the goons in office.