I'm sure most conservatives (and hopefully most Americans) would agree that the United States Constitution and American Sovereignty are two of the greatest gifts that we have as Americans.
The Constitution affords more rights and protections than any other document in history. The entire document, which includes the 210 year old The Bill of Rights, is rightfully cherished in this country.
American Sovereignty allows Americans to enjoy these rights in peace, without worrying about the United Nations, the European Union, Russia, China, the International Criminal Court, Interpol, and the International Court of Justice, who, for the most part, have little jurisdiction in the United States of America.
There are some who say that we should be bound under the rules, regulations, and laws of several international organizations, however, I would disagree with these folks.
And here's why:
These organizations do not have to respect all the laws of the United States of America. They are not subject to our representative government. They do not answer directly to the American people. I, as an American citizen, have no means to hold them accountable. Most importantly, they are NOT subject to the United States Constitution.
As such, I disagree with any attempt to put the American government or its citizenry under the realm of control of any entity that does not fall under the jurisdiction of our most important document: The United States Constitution.
Therefore, I am concerned about this:
President Obama issued an executive order. Didn't hear about it? It was done quietly. I give the administration credit that it is actually on the White House website, but I ponder: Why isn't the administration shouting this new executive order from the rooftops? After all, if it's good for the American people, then you should share with us WHY it's good for the American people.
Here's an analysis of what the executive order means:
Admittedly, my area of expertise does not lie in International Law, but one thing seems certain. At the beginning of this month, American citizens could use the Freedom of Information Act to determine what Interpol is up to, similar to an American citizen using the FOIA to determine what the FBI is up to. However, after this executive order, Interpol is now immune from FOIA requests, which should be disconcerting to all Americans, both conservative AND liberal, who value transparency and openness in government and law enforcement.
Perhaps President Obama should explain to us why this executive order was necessary.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Blizzard Musings
While we are in the midst of the worst blizzard in recent memory, I thought I might throw out some links for a day filled with snow and billowing wind.
1. Chet Culver's not doing so well. The Iowa poll in late November placed him at a significant disadvantage for the gubernatorial election in eleven months. Here's a few highlights:
- Culver has been governor for the past three years, but only 34% of Iowans think the state is headed in the right direction.
- Culver would lose to Terry Branstad 57% to 33% (24 points...yikes)
- Culver would lose to Bob VanderPlaats 45% to 37% (8 points...more modest)
- Although Culver would defeat Chris Rants and Christian Fong by 7-8 points, it's most likely due to lack of name recognition for Rants and Fong.
- Chet Culver's approval rating is only 40%.
These numbers are not a recipe for victory for the incumbent.
On the Republican side, we'll see who actually faces Culver in the general election. Fong has already dropped out, but he might receive the nod for Lt. Governor if Branstad wins the primary. Fong is pro-life, and I highly doubt Branstad would choose a pro-abortion running mate again.
2. The U.S. has racked up more debt for the first two fiscal months of 2010, then ever before. So much for blaming the debt on George W. Bush and the Republicans. This debt baby fully belongs to the Democrats now...although, as I discussed earlier, the Democrats have been in charge of the budget since the 2006 mid-term elections, so really, any fiscal crisis lies squarely in their hands (admittedly with help from President Bush)
3. Speaking of the stimulus, recent headlines have revolved around several wasteful stimulus spending projects, most notably the nearly $1 million spent for monitoring ant behavior. Also, the firm of one of Hillary Clinton's top advisers received $6 million from the stimulus monies, which brings questions of conflicts of interest. Is it any wonder that most Americans don't trust Washington D.C.?
4. On a lighter note, President Obama has been immortalized with his first statue in Indonesia.
I do support the idea that a child can do anything he puts his mind to. I do not support Barack Obama as Jesus Christ.
Stay warm, folks.
1. Chet Culver's not doing so well. The Iowa poll in late November placed him at a significant disadvantage for the gubernatorial election in eleven months. Here's a few highlights:
- Culver has been governor for the past three years, but only 34% of Iowans think the state is headed in the right direction.
- Culver would lose to Terry Branstad 57% to 33% (24 points...yikes)
- Culver would lose to Bob VanderPlaats 45% to 37% (8 points...more modest)
- Although Culver would defeat Chris Rants and Christian Fong by 7-8 points, it's most likely due to lack of name recognition for Rants and Fong.
- Chet Culver's approval rating is only 40%.
These numbers are not a recipe for victory for the incumbent.
On the Republican side, we'll see who actually faces Culver in the general election. Fong has already dropped out, but he might receive the nod for Lt. Governor if Branstad wins the primary. Fong is pro-life, and I highly doubt Branstad would choose a pro-abortion running mate again.
2. The U.S. has racked up more debt for the first two fiscal months of 2010, then ever before. So much for blaming the debt on George W. Bush and the Republicans. This debt baby fully belongs to the Democrats now...although, as I discussed earlier, the Democrats have been in charge of the budget since the 2006 mid-term elections, so really, any fiscal crisis lies squarely in their hands (admittedly with help from President Bush)
3. Speaking of the stimulus, recent headlines have revolved around several wasteful stimulus spending projects, most notably the nearly $1 million spent for monitoring ant behavior. Also, the firm of one of Hillary Clinton's top advisers received $6 million from the stimulus monies, which brings questions of conflicts of interest. Is it any wonder that most Americans don't trust Washington D.C.?
4. On a lighter note, President Obama has been immortalized with his first statue in Indonesia.
I do support the idea that a child can do anything he puts his mind to. I do not support Barack Obama as Jesus Christ.
Stay warm, folks.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday Morning Musings
**Fred Barnes has an interesting article on why Obama, who ran on changing Washington, isn't actually changing Washington.
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**President Obama is getting ready to announce a troop surge in Afghanistan. However, he's going to have to convince his anti-war base that it's the appropriate decision. The key line from this article:
“It was an excellent campaign line for Obama to say, ‘We took our eye off Afghanistan and fought the wrong war in Iraq,’” said Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department South Asia specialist now affiliated with the Middle East Institute. “The implications of what he was saying I don’t think registered on people…..They didn’t see it.”
“I don’t think there was a consciousness in the electorate that, if we elect Obama, we’re sending 50,000 troops to Afghanistan,” said Kurt Volker of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “It wasn’t hidden, but it wasn’t evident to voters who were focused on other issues."
It's a good read. Certainly, the President is in a tough spot, considering his rhetoric during the primary against Hillary and the general election against McCain. We'll see what he says on Tuesday night to placate his anti-war base.
---
**As for the economy, the markets were shaken yesterday by Dubai's announcement that it could not continue to make its debt payments. As it turns out, while Dubai was building up its very impressive skyline and city, they were also deficit spending. A lot. As such, there's a little trouble in paradise.
---
**The Justice Department decided this week that ACORN should receive taxpayer money for . ACORN, which has been receiving federal money for more than a decade, was made infamous for the undercover video depicting ACORN employees encouraging federal lawbreaking.
---
**As for this next one...it's not good. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. He must be protected. Period. This is unacceptable. Normally, the Secret Service is top notch, but this mistake, which allowed two seemingly amiable people very close to the President, is unacceptable. Especially since the Indian Prime Minister was present as well.
---
**Finally, central Iowans struggling to afford travel this holiday season have reason to rejoice. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Des Moines is one of only 7 large cities in this country whose plane ticket prices have DROPPED over the last 15 years. Average cost of plane tickets from Des Moines International Airport have dropped an average of 4%. Largest decrease? Denver. Largest increases? Hawaii and Alaska.
---
**President Obama is getting ready to announce a troop surge in Afghanistan. However, he's going to have to convince his anti-war base that it's the appropriate decision. The key line from this article:
“It was an excellent campaign line for Obama to say, ‘We took our eye off Afghanistan and fought the wrong war in Iraq,’” said Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department South Asia specialist now affiliated with the Middle East Institute. “The implications of what he was saying I don’t think registered on people…..They didn’t see it.”
“I don’t think there was a consciousness in the electorate that, if we elect Obama, we’re sending 50,000 troops to Afghanistan,” said Kurt Volker of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “It wasn’t hidden, but it wasn’t evident to voters who were focused on other issues."
It's a good read. Certainly, the President is in a tough spot, considering his rhetoric during the primary against Hillary and the general election against McCain. We'll see what he says on Tuesday night to placate his anti-war base.
---
**As for the economy, the markets were shaken yesterday by Dubai's announcement that it could not continue to make its debt payments. As it turns out, while Dubai was building up its very impressive skyline and city, they were also deficit spending. A lot. As such, there's a little trouble in paradise.
---
**The Justice Department decided this week that ACORN should receive taxpayer money for . ACORN, which has been receiving federal money for more than a decade, was made infamous for the undercover video depicting ACORN employees encouraging federal lawbreaking.
---
**As for this next one...it's not good. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. He must be protected. Period. This is unacceptable. Normally, the Secret Service is top notch, but this mistake, which allowed two seemingly amiable people very close to the President, is unacceptable. Especially since the Indian Prime Minister was present as well.
---
**Finally, central Iowans struggling to afford travel this holiday season have reason to rejoice. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Des Moines is one of only 7 large cities in this country whose plane ticket prices have DROPPED over the last 15 years. Average cost of plane tickets from Des Moines International Airport have dropped an average of 4%. Largest decrease? Denver. Largest increases? Hawaii and Alaska.
Friday, November 20, 2009
How’s the stimulus doing?
According to the Obama administration, the stimulus reviews are in, and this plan receives an A+ (with a few minor issues).
Politico:
“White House officials announced Friday that they had counted exactly how many jobs were created or saved by recent stimulus spending: 640,329.
So how many were saved and how many created? They don’t know.
In a briefing with reporters, officials acknowledged they can’t tell the difference between jobs “saved,” and jobs “created” by the $787 billion stimulus package.
They said they also can’t tell the difference between private sector jobs and government jobs.
And they said that they had found and corrected significant errors in the data submitted in 57,000 separate reports to the federal government by Recovery Act funding recipients.”
It seems as though they don’t know a lot. But 640,329 sure sounds like a great number. And if it’s an accurate number, then that truly is good for the American people! Plus, it’s good for the Democrats, politically. They know 650,000 jobs gained sounds much better than the ten million jobs that have actually been lost since the Democrats took over in 2007. We tend to forget this key point, which is what Democrats desire. They want the public to believe that Republicans were in charge of everything budgetary in the country in 2007 and 2008. Unfortunately, it’s a lie.
2007, 2008, and 2009 – The Democrats controlled Congress, controlled the budget, controlled the purse strings, controlled legislation, and controlled the Capitol. By the end of 2007, their first year in charge of dominating Congress, the recession was beginning, and jobs were being lost.
See, the Democrats would LOVE to blame George W. Bush for this recession. In fact, it’s their favorite pastime. However, President Bush was not a dictator who controlled lawmaking (although many Democrats would have you believe that he was). He did not control the purse strings in this country. The Democrats did.
And the last 34 months of Democratic governance have NOT been very pleasant. Just ask the 10.2% of those who are unemployed.
So, here’s the recap:
January 1995 - Republicans take over Congress, the budget, and the country’s pocketbook.
Unemployment is 6.2%
November of 1997, nearly 3 years later, the Republicans are still in charge of Congress.
Unemployment is down to 4.3%
January 2007 - Democrats take over Congress, the budget, and the country’s pocketbook.
Unemployment is 5%
November 2009, nearly 3 years later, the Democrats are still in charge of Congress.
Unemployment has doubled to over 10%.
These are the facts, and they are indisputable. This is why there is so much concern among Democrats today. They fear that independent voters might discover this data from the Department of Labor. But judging by recent polls, plus the recent gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, Independents might already be realizing the governance by the Democrats is not the best solution.
Politico:
“White House officials announced Friday that they had counted exactly how many jobs were created or saved by recent stimulus spending: 640,329.
So how many were saved and how many created? They don’t know.
In a briefing with reporters, officials acknowledged they can’t tell the difference between jobs “saved,” and jobs “created” by the $787 billion stimulus package.
They said they also can’t tell the difference between private sector jobs and government jobs.
And they said that they had found and corrected significant errors in the data submitted in 57,000 separate reports to the federal government by Recovery Act funding recipients.”
It seems as though they don’t know a lot. But 640,329 sure sounds like a great number. And if it’s an accurate number, then that truly is good for the American people! Plus, it’s good for the Democrats, politically. They know 650,000 jobs gained sounds much better than the ten million jobs that have actually been lost since the Democrats took over in 2007. We tend to forget this key point, which is what Democrats desire. They want the public to believe that Republicans were in charge of everything budgetary in the country in 2007 and 2008. Unfortunately, it’s a lie.
2007, 2008, and 2009 – The Democrats controlled Congress, controlled the budget, controlled the purse strings, controlled legislation, and controlled the Capitol. By the end of 2007, their first year in charge of dominating Congress, the recession was beginning, and jobs were being lost.
See, the Democrats would LOVE to blame George W. Bush for this recession. In fact, it’s their favorite pastime. However, President Bush was not a dictator who controlled lawmaking (although many Democrats would have you believe that he was). He did not control the purse strings in this country. The Democrats did.
And the last 34 months of Democratic governance have NOT been very pleasant. Just ask the 10.2% of those who are unemployed.
So, here’s the recap:
January 1995 - Republicans take over Congress, the budget, and the country’s pocketbook.
Unemployment is 6.2%
November of 1997, nearly 3 years later, the Republicans are still in charge of Congress.
Unemployment is down to 4.3%
January 2007 - Democrats take over Congress, the budget, and the country’s pocketbook.
Unemployment is 5%
November 2009, nearly 3 years later, the Democrats are still in charge of Congress.
Unemployment has doubled to over 10%.
These are the facts, and they are indisputable. This is why there is so much concern among Democrats today. They fear that independent voters might discover this data from the Department of Labor. But judging by recent polls, plus the recent gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, Independents might already be realizing the governance by the Democrats is not the best solution.
Monday, November 16, 2009
What do the Democrats really want?
This quote from Representative Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico, says it all.
“This is an opportunity to do something as big as Social Security.”
I know what he means, but his words reverberate around my head, nonetheless.
“As big as Social Security.”
“As big as Social Security.”
“As big as Social Security.”
How is Social Security doing right now anyway? Why can’t we solve the problem with Social Security and Medicare first? Congress reminds me of the man with two or three unfinished projects around the house, who decides to start yet another project.
Let’s solve the current crisis first. We have a lot of work to do.
This week, the U.S. quietly passed a horrific economic milestone. The United States National Debt now stands at more than 12 trillion…excuse me…$12,000,000,000,000.00.
Here's where the current debt lies.
I encourage you to notice the bottom of the picture…particularly unfunded liabilities, which currently stand at over 100 trillion dollars. So what shall we do with so many unfunded liabilities?
Add another one!
“This is an opportunity to do something as big as Social Security.”
I know what he means, but his words reverberate around my head, nonetheless.
“As big as Social Security.”
“As big as Social Security.”
“As big as Social Security.”
How is Social Security doing right now anyway? Why can’t we solve the problem with Social Security and Medicare first? Congress reminds me of the man with two or three unfinished projects around the house, who decides to start yet another project.
Let’s solve the current crisis first. We have a lot of work to do.
This week, the U.S. quietly passed a horrific economic milestone. The United States National Debt now stands at more than 12 trillion…excuse me…$12,000,000,000,000.00.
Here's where the current debt lies.
I encourage you to notice the bottom of the picture…particularly unfunded liabilities, which currently stand at over 100 trillion dollars. So what shall we do with so many unfunded liabilities?
Add another one!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Steak Fry - This Thursday!
The Dallas County GOP is going to hold its annual Steak Fry at Waukee High School this Thursday, November 12th, at 6pm.
We have several guest speakers lined up:
- RPI state chair Matt Strawn
- State Auditor David Vaudt
- WHO Radio host Jan Mickelson
We'll also be having a delightful pie auction. Let me be very clear about this. There are some folks in Dallas County who have a firm grasp on baking tasty desserts. I encourage you to come by and witness this firsthand, after you enjoy a steak dinner and a great lineup of speakers.
Tickets are $25. For more information, click here.
Hope to see you there!
We have several guest speakers lined up:
- RPI state chair Matt Strawn
- State Auditor David Vaudt
- WHO Radio host Jan Mickelson
We'll also be having a delightful pie auction. Let me be very clear about this. There are some folks in Dallas County who have a firm grasp on baking tasty desserts. I encourage you to come by and witness this firsthand, after you enjoy a steak dinner and a great lineup of speakers.
Tickets are $25. For more information, click here.
Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
House of Representatives - 2.5 days a week
This might be the problem.
It's no wonder...the Dems can't actually read the bill, or put it up online before voting on a bill. It's seems crazy...are we actually expecting Congress to work more than 2 1/2 days a week?
It's no wonder...the Dems can't actually read the bill, or put it up online before voting on a bill. It's seems crazy...are we actually expecting Congress to work more than 2 1/2 days a week?
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