AN OBAMA CAROL

Twas the night before the December federal holiday, and in every town,
All the children were crying, the North Pole had shut down.
Santa’s workshop was closed, the elves labored no more,
They refused a union card check, in violation of the new labor law.

The reindeer in their stables no longer were kept,
PETA released them into the wild, while poor St Nick slept.
Christmas trees had been outlawed, no Yule for the masses,
For cutting all those trees, raised greenhouse gasses.

Moms and Dads were confounded, no toys in the stores,
They were all stuck in Asia, far from our shores.
All drilling had been halted, fossil fuels no longer used,
Cargo ships were all empty, we weren’t amused.

And in the White House, a meeting was called,
All the President’s men (and women) et all.
The polls show the voters against us, the President decried,
So many things have gone wrong, and they know that I lied.

Now Geitner, now Reid, now Pelosi and Michelle!
On Gibbs, on Sebilius, on Holder and Rahm … why do you smell?
Mr President, I’ve been working so hard to keep you in power,
Spinning all your mistakes … leaves me no time for a shower.

It was quickly decided, there was no other way,
The President would have to save Christmas Day.
And like the Grinch, who started as a zero,
Obama must change from villain to hero.

To deliver his presents he needed a super fast sleigh,
So he called on NASA to figure out a way.
The last NASA scientist, said you’re asking too much,
You’ve gutted our budget, cutting our programs and such.

We’ve got a hybrid sled … but it is far from fast,
No jet fuel remains, just ethanol at last.
You can still talk to the people, you can still teach,
Why don’t you deliver your present in a speech?

Gibbs call a press conference, the President exclaimed,
I will save Christmas, and our power he proclaimed.
I’ve given many gifts to the people of this great land,
Now the best one is finally at hand.

I’ve given health-care, repealed don’t ask don’t tell,
Don’t forget cap and trade, or stimulus as well.
I’ve extended unemployment benefits to 3 years,
And borrowed trillions from China, despite all the fears.

Our society is too violent, as crime statistics can attest,
A solution is needed, and government knows best.
Firearms are dangerous, no longer needed today,
So as my Christmas gift, I’m taking your guns away.

Then into his hybrid sleigh he climbed with a chuckle,
It rose with a hum, and an occasional buckle.
And slowly away, into the night,
We seethed as once again, we lost a right.

Merry Christmas to all, And to all a good night.

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Mexican Drone Crashes In El Paso

Tuesday night, El Paso experienced yet another illegal border crossing. This one was special. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed into the backyard of an El Paso resident. The house was almost half a mile north of the border.

I’m amazed that I didn’t hear about this till this morning … seeing as I live here. By the time the information was released, the UAV had already been returned to Mexican authorities. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had not been allowed to examine it.

Now there can be several reasons why the UAV was on the wrong side of the border. A controller may have inadvertently flown over, the GPS system on the plane could have been malfunctioning, the UAV may have been damaged by cartel gunfire, or there may have been structural problems with the UAV.

The last 3 of these possibilities could have been answered by an NTSB examination of the UAV/wreckage. I thought that ANY crash on US soil must be investigated. I guess not.

There is another possibility … The Mexican military may have been conducting a recon mission for the cartels, to determine the best route to smuggle drugs. We have not been told if the drone was armed, though with a payload of only 3.3 pounds, it couldn’t have been too heavily armed. The office of our Congressman was not even notified of the incident till Thursday. I’m not a conspiracy theorist … but this all seems a little fishy.

Orbiter Mini UAV specifications:
Max Ceiling – 2000 feet
Max Speed - 70 knots
Max Altitude – 18000 feet
Max Payload – 3.3 pounds
Endurance - 3 to 4 hours

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DREAM ACT ... OR NIGHTMARE?

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) has a very alluring sound to it ... and on the surface, sounds like a noble thing that the country should do. When supporters espouse the benefits of this bill ... I know I feel myself falling right into the mindset of allowing amnesty for these kids. In a nutshell, here is what they want you to believe this act will accomplish.

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Imagine a young child, or even an infant ... crossing our border in the arms of their parents. This child grows up, attends and graduates high school, and then finds out that he is illegal when he attempts to apply for financial aid for college. The child considers him or herself an American, can't even speak his native tongue, doesn't even know anyone in his native country. Now, all of a sudden ... all his dreams are over. Is he supposed to turn himself in for deportation to a country he considers foreign? A country where he knows no one, or even the language? Are we supposed to punish him for the sins of his parents? Put yourself in this person's shoes ... is this in any way fair?

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What this bill is supposed to do is give these kids a pathway to citizenship if several stipulations are followed.

1. The child must have been under 16 years of age when he came to this country.
2. The child must have been present in the United States for 5 years prior to the implementation of the Act.
3. The child must have graduated from high school or gotten a GED.
4. The child must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application.
5. The child must be of good moral character.

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If the child qualifies, they will be given "conditional" permanent residency, and if they complete either 2 years of military service or 2 years of college ... then they can become permanent residents, and eventually, if they wish ... citizens.

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Here are my problems with the bill.

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I've spoken to Border Patrol Agents, and children under 16 often cross illegally ... without their parents. Children in other parts of the world tend to grow up a little quicker than they do here in the USA. Here in the USA, we like to give our kids a childhood, in other countries parents don't have that luxury, and the kids take on responsibilities for helping out the family ... like getting a job, that some of our kids (unfortunately) don't do till they are 30. Recently a 14 year old was arrested in Mexico for being a cartel hit-man.

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The good moral character stipulation has been interpreted to mean that the child has not been convicted of a felony. What that tells me is that he can be convicted of things like assault, manslaughter and domestic violence. This is not the child that I was led to believe would be helped by this Act. I can see overlooking something like a juvenile shop-lifting conviction or possesion of a joint ... but this is way to broad.

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I'm fine with giving illegals who complete 2-yrs of military service a pathway to citizenship ... but attending college??? Serving in the military is just that ... service to our country. Attending college is a privelege ... a privelege that many CITIZENS would love to have. I realize that not every one of these applicants are capable of military service, but there has to be some kind of SERVICE that these kids have to do to qualify. In Germany, as a requirement to KEEP your citizenship, at the age of 18 you must do 6 months of military service. If you are a conscientious objector (or are physically or mentally unable to serve) you can do Zilidienst (civilian service). This Zilidienst is paid community service, usually in hospitals, senior centers ... etc. For Germany this is the price of just keeping your citizenship ... and we want to just give away our citizenship for going to college?

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As a supporter of doing something for these kids (the ones that truly deserve it), this Act would have to be fixed before I could support it.

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Lame Duck Session

Welcome to the "Lame Duck" session of congress ... Version 111.0.

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Every couple of years we have one of these lame duck sessions. This is where those members of Congress can get back at Americans for kicking them out of office. This year is even more special. Since the Democrats will be losing control of the House of Representatives, this may be their last chance to advance their liberal agenda (hopefully for a long, long time).

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So ... let's see what they have been up to this week:

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First, huge kudos for Congress for passing the CALM act that regulates TV commercials. If you are constantly grabbing for the remote every time a commercial comes on that is soooo much LOUDER than the show you were watching ... this act is for you. Commercials can no longer be any louder than the show you were watching.

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Congress also approved the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. We all want healthy hunger-free kids don't we? But, isn't 4.5 billion dollars a little steep? And don't these kids already get food stamps? I don't know about you, but I get kind of pissed when I'm doing my grocery shopping. I go every 2 weeks and for example, at the meat aisle ... I'll get a roast, a couple of t-bones, a couple of sirloins, a package of franks ... and the rest ... hamburger meat. I then go to the check-out counter and the person in front of me is unloading mega-steaks, lobster, shrimp, crab legs ... and paying with ... you guessed it ... food stamps. I scrimp on my shopping ... buying store brands, clipping coupons and shopping sales ... just so that I can subsidize the "poor people" so that they can eat better than me. Now, I'm not saying all people on food stamps take advantage of it ... but a significant number do. Congress should be cutting these food programs ... not pouring billions of more dollars into them.

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Congress has voted to censure Charlie Rangel D-NY. Poor Charlie ... an 80 year old man how has to stand in front of his peers and be told by them that what he did was wrong. Of course the fact is that if any of us "average folks" had done what he did ... we would be going to jail.

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The House has voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class and the Senate has called a special Saturday session to vote on them. The bill will not pass the Senate. I wonder how much money is wasted by opening up the Senate on a Saturday ... overtime for the employees, electricity ... etc. At least I don't think they have to pay anything for heating ... not with all the hot-air being emitted by our Senators. The bill will not pass because it increases taxes on the "rich". I don't know about you, but I work for a rich guy. I don't want his taxes raised ... or anything else that might hurt his bottom line. His good fortunes allow me to raise my family ... I don't begrudge his wealth. I think that might be one of the main failings of the left.

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I noticed one thing about this week ... Nothing was done that will help the country as far as our problems with unemployment, the national debt, our security ... or anything. I guess that is what is meant by a "lame-duck session".

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By the way, doesn't it seem curious that after having rejected a trade-pact with us, South Korea is now willing to sign one? All it took was a couple of hundred shells from the North. Bravo Mr President, I believe you used your Chicago politics to strong-arm South Korea. You see, if you use them in diplomacy ... you help the country. Just stop using them on US industries.

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Demented North At It Again

Once again, North Korea is provoking the South. This time they decided to lob a couple of hundred artillery shells onto Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea. This is an island occupied mostly by civilians ... yes there are military troops there ... but they are there to protect the civilians.

This ... let's call it like it is ... ACT OF WAR, resulted in the deaths of 2 Korean Marines, 2 Civilians and the injury of 18 other civilians. And what was the response? Nada ... zilch ... zip. Counter-battery fire should have been immediate and overwhelming. The US has 28,000 troops in South Korea (most of them on the DMZ) that are for lack of a better word, "hostages" to the vagaries of Korean diplomacy. We cannot allow these troops to continue to be caught in the middle of two 1,000,000 man armies.

We need to withdraw our troops from the DMZ and protect South Korea from the sea and the air. These troops are just a symbol of our support ... they should not be hung out to dry.

A scary development seems to be unfolding. It seems that South Korean military that have been examining some 20 unexploded rounds have determined that these are vacuum bombs. These bombs ... also known as fuel-air bombs, thermobaric bombs and aerosol bombs ... are particularly nasty. They consist of two explosives and fuel. The first explosive spreads the fuel through the air and the second, detonates the fuel. This results in an enormous blast wave that disintegrates whatever is below. The over-pressures resulting from this type of bomb are very similar to a nuclear weapon. These are of course very small bombs (they have to fit on the rockets launched from the Norths' MLRS's, but the technology is pretty much the same to construct a larger weapon.

Something must be done to reign in the madman Kim Jong Il. I'm just not sure what it is ... and I definitely don't trust the current administration to solve this problem. I wouldn't put it past the administration to get us into another messy war to distract us from the US economy and Obama care.

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It's Time To Trim The Fat

As we prepare to carve up the turkey on Thanksgiving ... I suggest that lawmakers start thinking about ways to carve up our bloated budget. Being the ever helpful soul that I am ... I will give them some suggestions.

Let's start with TARP. It seems that most of this money has been paid back ... but as is the M.O. of the Beltway ... this repaid money has been used again. All money paid back from TARP (usually with interest) needs to be used to pay down our national debt.

The General Motors IPO. This money that is being paid back by GM (and any that comes in from Chrysler) should also go directly to paying down the debt.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This is the parent company of NPR and PBS. This entity should be dissolved, saving us $422 million a year. With all the competition in media, there is no longer any need for this entity. This program was set up back when most of the country only got 3 TV channels and a couple of radio stations. Can we sell the rights to ELMO? That would take a big chunk out of our National Debt.

The National Endowment For The Arts. I can't see a better way to save $161 million a year than to bury this office ... and I can't say I'll miss the urine-soaked crucifixes and dung-encrusted sculptures of Christ that this office pays for.

Government Workers. Freeze the salaries of civilian government employees for this coming year (we can decide whether to continue the freeze next year). This will save us $5.2 billion dollars for every year that it is in effect.

Government Workers. Slash the federal civilian workforce by 10% ... saving us $26 Billion dollars a year, and by leaving out the military and arms of Homeland Security, will still keep us safe.

We need to systematically look at every single line item in the budget and cut it to the bone. Austerity measures are never popular ... Let's see if this new Congress can walk the walk ... we already know that they can bloviate ... can they execute?

Let's get some feed-back on other programs you think should be cut.

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Do Not Hire Pelosi

Republicans are celebrating the pending election of Nancy Pelosi to the House Minority Leader post. They reason that Ms Pelosi has overseen the destruction of the Democratic Party in the House ... and besides, who wouldn't want to see her face as the leader of the Democrats. They figure that with her in charge, it increases Republican chances to take the Senate and the Presidency in 2012 ... I do NOT agree.

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Nancy Pelosi has been one of the most effective Speakers in recent memory. She took the President's agenda and through arm-twisting, back-room deals and various levels of bribery and cohersion, forced President Obama's agenda down the throats of every American. Nancy Pelosi was able to pass Obamacare, Cap and Tax, and Financial Reform through the House ... often getting her caucus to vote on these items, even when they knew it was political suicide. She is a formidable woman ... who knows how the game is played.

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I, like many Americans, are sick of the gamesmanship in Washington. I would have liked to see a minority leader that could work with the majority to solve some of the problems we are having now ... I do not want to have to wait 2 years to start getting results. Can the country survive till 2012? Sure it can, but the trip back will be harder. Just like saving for retirement ... It's better to start now.

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~ Speaking of starting now ... let's start trimming the budget. We can start by eliminating the 32 "czars" that the President has appointed (not counting the new "cyber-security czar"). I double-checked my copy of the Constitution and there was no mention of czars in it ... Maybe the President has a different edition (that would explain a lot). Each czar has a salary of around $150K+, but when you figure in staff, benefits, pension, travel ... you get a cost of $2.2mil a year per czar. I know $70 million is a drop in the bucket ... but it's a start. The last Czar died in 1918 ... let's keep it that way.

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The Week In Review

The Republicans won back the House of Representatives on Tuesday picking up over 60 seats. Some pundits likened it to a "Red Tide", sweeping across the country. Though I like the symbolism of it, a red tide is actually an algae that multiplies at such a rate that it eats up all the oxygen ... killing all life in the area. The only things that got chewed up in this tide were Democrats and RINOs.

Republicans fell short of winning back the Senate. They needed to pick-up 10 seats and only got 6. It's very sad that Harry Reid and Patty Murray held on to their seats. But then again, it seemed like the entire Democratic Party apparatus was mobilized to help them. And let's not forget the Unions. I've always felt that if you are unsure of who to vote for in a particular race, ask a union member who the union supports ... then vote against that person. It's a technique that has never failed me.

President Obama has left on a 10 day trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. There are reports out there that the trip is costing us $200 million dollars a day ... $2 billion dollars for the whole trip. I find this a little hard to believe and may be a bit of sensationalism (the source for this information was credited as ... some guy in India). This has been billed as a trip to open up trade with these countries, and I am all for more trade (especially exports), but why is the President just going on this trip now. Why has he waited 22 months to try to open up trade and get US manufacturing jobs going? Couldn't he have done this sooner? Like maybe instead of one of the countless vacations he took?

The United Nations Human Rights Council has sat in judgement of the United States. We have been found wanting in the Human Rights arena. Hundreds of suggestions have been offered to address these grievances. This help, in the form of the suggestions (and accusations) has come from our friends across the globe. Mexico says we need to fix our immigration laws ... I agree, we should make them more like Mexico, then we can imprison illegals just for being here. Iran says we violate the rights of women ... Hey Iran ... are you still planning on stoning that woman for adultery? Also chiming in with accusations were Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and of course, that bastion of human rights, Libya. This would actually be hysterically funny except for the fact that the Obama Administration signed us up for it, thinking it would be a good exercise in transparency.

All in all ... it's been a good week. I can't wait to see what happens next.

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The Biggest Teaparty

On November 2nd, Nearly 237 years after the original Tea Party, Americans will be celebrating our biggest Tea Party ever. Not in Boston harbour, but in countless polling stations across the nation. The Tea Party in 1773 had 60 colonial celebrants ... the 2010 version will have millions. It's funny how anger over taxes was the fuel for both events, and unimaginable how both the British government and current Liberals wouldn't be able to fathom the concept that Americans would sheepishly continue to allow the government to take their hard-earned money and re-distribute it to those that are too lazy to work.

Hopefully, our modern-day Tea Party culminates in the same results as the original one did ... Independence Day!

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The Original Fall Guy

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Since moving to El Paso, TX 16 years ago, I have become interested in the rich history of this little corner of Texas. I recently visited the Fall House in the downtown historical area and wanted to do a little research on Albert Fall.

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Albert Fall was born in Kentucky in 1861. He became a lawyer and made his way out west. He became one of the first Senators when New Mexico became a state in 1912. He was later picked by his poker buddy, President Warren Harding to be Secretary of the Interior in 1921. Here is where it starts to get interesting.

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There were several tracks of government land that had been set aside as oil reserves, to ensure the Department of the Navy would have a source of oil if needed. One of these reserves was called "Teapot Dome". To make a long story short (many books have been written about this scandal ... so I will make it really short) ... Albert Fall secured a loan for $100,000.00 (which apparently didn't need to be paid back) in exchange for leasing this government land to Mammoth Oil and Pan American Petroleum Co.

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This would seem an open and shut bribery case ... except for one thing. President Harding defended Fall, saying that this leasing policy had been presented to him by the Navy and Interior Secretaries prior to the leases being executed, and that he had, as President, approved them.

Congress opened an investigation into this and both Fall and Naval Secretary Edwin Denby were forced to resign. Fall was later convicted of Fraud and Corruption and served 1 year in prison and paid a $100,000.00 fine. He later moved to El Paso and died here in 1944.

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Questions remain regarding President Harding's involvement with the scandal and whether Albert Fall took the blame to protect him. If so, Albert Fall was the first "Fall Guy".

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In this vitriolic election season, who will be the "Fall Guy" if the Republicans don't do as well as expected? And what if the Democrats lose both houses? Whatever happens, one thing can be assured, there will always be a "Fall Guy".

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Mexican Journalists Surrender

Luis Carlos Santiago Orozco, a photographer for "El Diario", the Juarez, Mexico daily newspaper became the 11th journalist murdered this year in the Mexican drug war. He was gunned down in his car on September 17th by cartel members that didn't like the stories he was writing. He was just one of over 2200 people murdered so far this year in Juarez, the murder capital of the world.

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But this is not a story about Mr. Orozco. Journalists have been putting themselves in harms way for decades. Some in search of the truth, some for self-aggrandizement, always to get the story to their readers. This is a story about the pusillanimous publication that employed him. El Diario is the major daily newspaper in Juarez, and is well circulated in El Paso, just across the border. This newspaper with a paid circulation of over 120,000 and a readership of over 600,000 is the major source of news for this war-torn city in Northern Mexico.

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The day after the shooting of Mr. Orozco, El Diario ran a front page headline story ... Was it a tribute to a brave journalist? ... Was it a scathing rebuke of the cartel's tactics? ... NO. The story was an open letter to the cartels, asking what they could do to avoid further attacks (Mr Orozco was the second reporter from the newspaper in the past 2 years). Translated, the letter stated, "We do not want more deaths. We do not want more injuries or even more intimidation. It is impossible to exercise our role in these conditions. Therefore, tell us what you expect of us as a medium." The letter also referred to the cartels as "the de facto authorities in this city".

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So I guess now the cartels are controlling the news in Juarez. The total capitulation by El Diario is indeed an ignominious eulogy for a brave man ... trying to bring the truth to the people of his beleaguered city. And the citizens of Juarez, are faced with yet another example of the establishment abandoning them. They no longer trust their government, police, army ... and now their news sources.

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The GOP Still Doesn't Get It

Whenever I start thinking that the Republican Party is going to take advantage of the discontent the American Public is feeling with the way things are going in this country ... they revert back to form.

I am of course referring to the win by Christine O'Donnell in the GOP primary for the Delaware Senate Seat once held by Joe Biden. Tea Party backed O'Donnell defeated GOP favorite Mike Castle ... and the sour grapes started almost immediately. Establishment Republicans, led by Karl Rove, slammed the candidate for having no shot at winning in the General Election. There were rumors that the NRSC would not be helping to fund her campaign. Mike Castle has refused to back her (or even call to congratulate her).

This is all because the GOP elite felt that Castle, who is a liberal Republican had a better chance to defeat Democrat Chris Coons in the General Election of this very blue state.

What the GOP fails to realize is that the tea party movement does not care about whether a candidate has a R or a D after their name. This movement wants to elect people that will go to Washington and fight for them. The American Public is disgusted with business as usual in DC. Karl Rove is also wrong in assuming that O'Donnell can't beat Coons. Though Delaware leans left ... the people aren't stupid. None but the die-hard liberals would vote for Coons, a self-described Marxist.

For what it's worth, I would like to do something that the GOP should have done from the start and offer my congratulations to Christine O'Donnell on a well run campaign, and a well deserved victory.

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Will The President Sue California Next?

It seems that the Obama Justice Department had no problem suing Arizona when they passed SB 1070, getting tough on illegal immigration. Now they are faced with a bit of a quandary. The Justice Department sued to uphold the Supremacy Clause … which simply put, says that if State Law and Federal Law are in conflict, Federal Law wins. I am by no means agreeing with the Obama Administration that a law that mirrors the Federal Immigration Statute is actually in conflict with Federal Law. Rather, I am wondering if the Administration will continue to defend Federal Supremacy … even when it is not in their political interests.

I am talking about the upcoming ballot initiative in California, making it legal for adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. If passed, this new law will most definitely be in conflict with Federal Statutes. Yet I do not hear a peep coming out of Eric Holder or the Justice Department. So, if Californians pass Prop 19 this November, I fully expect the Obama Administration to sue California under the Supremacy Clause.

After all … What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Unless of course, Democrats feel that stoned citizens are a protected minority (and likely to be Obama voters)

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9 Years Later

On this the 9th anniversary of the horrific attacks on our nation by Islamic extremists, I am sad, concerned, resigned, appalled and a plethora of other verbs.

Right after the attacks, I felt that this country had finally come together with a singularity of purpose and a unity that I had never felt before. When President Bush gave his "bull-horn" speech from the ruins of the Trade Center ... I could feel the entire Nation join with him and his vow to bring the terrorists to justice.

9 years later, where are we? There is still a hole at ground zero ... Osama Bin Laden is still hiding in a cave somewhere ... Our politicians are more concerned with re-election than with the American public ... Our economy is teetering on ruin ... and our President is dividing the nation, pitting us in socio-economic class warfare.

As I watched the 9-11 remembrances on TV this morning ... and yes, the tears were flowing ... I felt despair at the loss of our resolve. There is no HOPE left in the American people's hearts ... there is no resolve. As I watched the horrendous video of people jumping off the twin towers to avoid being burned to death ... I realized that this was a perfect representation of the loss of hope. And I cried.

America, can we regain our hope?

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OBAMA'S $33 BILLION TAX CREDIT

During his State of the Union speech on Wednesday, President Obama brought up one point that really interested me. I guess the reason that it made me wake up from the mind-numbing stupor that the rest of the speech had put me in is because ... I had advocated it from the time of the first stimulus program.

The tax credit for businesses that hire new employees should have been part of the stimulus program from the beginning. Not that I don't think that building tunnels under roadways in New England so that frogs can safely cross the road was not a good use of my tax dollars (NOT!), but encouraging companies to hire workers ... Now there is an idea that will improve the employment situation in the United States.

Of course, besides being late, there are several other things the President has gotten wrong on this idea. Feel free to add others if I miss anything.

1. The money should be taken out of the unspent portion of the pork-laden stimulus package ... not the TARP money that has been paid back. Use the TARP money to pay down our national debt.
2. A company can hire a worker that makes $7000.00 a year and get the entire $5000.00 tax credit ... Why would we want to do that? We need full-time job creation, not part-time jobs.
3. Companies would be capped at $500 million dollars in tax credits so that big businesses would not be getting the lions' share of this money ... If I'm an unemployed worker ... I don't care if my paycheck comes from IBM or Moe's bar and grill, a job is a job. Don't cap a large company ... if it wants to hire, let it.
4. The current proposal has provisions for tax incentives to companies that increase pay ... this is estimated to account for more than half of the $33 billion. Drop this provision and use it all for the creation of full-time jobs. At $5000.00 per job, this translates into 6.5 million jobs ... Voila, back to 5% unemployment.

As usual, the Democrats can screw-up even a great idea. Don't let them. Call your representatives and offer your support for this idea ... but ask them to make some changes.

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Is The Recession Over???

Don't count on the recession being over just yet. We have been hearing about job losses slowing down, factory orders being up, housing sales starting to take off and the stock market chugging away ... but all this can end quickly.

Unemployment always goes down in December, as many retailers hire temporary workers for the Christmas Season. These workers are then let go in January after the sales are over.

Factory orders are up, being led by orders for cars. New car inventories were depleted by the "cash for clunkers" program, and once inventories are replenished, these orders will fall.

Housing sales were bolstered by the $8000.00 tax credit that new homeowners were given last year. Even though the credit has been extended, most of those that were in the market already purchased, and we should see a fall in housing sales.

The stock market is on a high after many companies reported huge earnings. These companies are front-loading their profit and earnings statements because the fear is that taxes will go up next year and they want to report earnings before any new tax rates set in. Wall Street will come to this conclusion fairly soon and the market will over-react, wiping out most of the recent gains.

President Obama will continue to make banks, financial institutions and big corporations his scape-goats, exasperating a hatred between the common investor and the companies that need their capital.

I'm not an economist, but this seems to be a recipe for a double-dip recession.

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Congratulations Massachusetts

Now that Scott Brown is the Senator-Elect for the great state of Massachusetts, let's see what tricks the Democrat Party plays to shove Obama-Care down our throats. Already, one Democrat Senator, Jim Webb of Virginia wants actions on health care legislation halted till Brown is sworn-in.

Now we will see if our representatives in DC are willing to actually represent us ... or if they will once again go against the will of the American people and push their own agendas.

Hopefully this election has been a wake-up call to ALL of our politicians. We hired you ... we can fire you too.

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They Just Don't Care What The People Want

Just when you thought that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel in the Health Care Debacle being hammered out in the back-rooms of Washington ... we find out that the results of the hotly-contested Mass. special senatorial election on Jan 19th may not matter at all.

The Senate race between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley is in a virtual dead-heat. Brown has vowed to kill the health-care bill if elected and Coakley is supporting its' passage. The fact that a Republican is even competitive in a race in very left-leaning Massachusetts is evidence that the American public DOES NOT WANT THIS BILL.

If elected, Brown would break the super-majority now enjoyed by the Democrats in the Senate. This would force our Senate to go back to the drawing board on health care and come up with a bi-partisan bill that could include some Republican ideas like "tort-reform" and the ability to purchase insurance across state lines.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!!!

Going into their bag of dirty little tricks, the Democrats, in the person of the Mass Sec of State is telling us that it may take weeks to certify the election ... and then there is the problem of Vice President Joe Biden finding the "time" to swear in the new Senator.

If the State of Mass. elects Brown, it is because the people do not want this bill ... we want health care reform ... just not THIS bill. To delay the seating of a democratically elected Senator, just so an interim senator (appointed by a Democrat governor) can vote for this bill borders on unconstitutional ... and is against the spirit of this Democracy at the very least.

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