Thou Shalt Not Kill!

By William L. Garvin

During the Golden Age of Radio, the Shadow knew “what evil lurked in the hearts of men.”  The protagonist, Lamont Cranston, would be hard pressed to understand the twisted minds and blackened hearts that assault innocent victims in this day and age.  He would be even more frustrated at the lack of logic that permeates current political thinking on economic issues.

For instance, the Simpson-Bowles bipartisan commission recommended $3 in cuts for every $1 increase in revenue.  Unfortunately, our President has an obsession with confiscating ever increasing amounts of property from the achievers whom he defines as “the rich.”   His fixation closely resembles the madness exhibited by Captain Ahab in his deathly pursuit of Moby Dick.  The President campaigned against “millionaires and billionaires” but tried to impose increased taxes on those who make $250,000 per year.  He and his sycophantic followers ignore the fact that the income raised by such a measure would run his bloated government for a maximum of ten days and would do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to reduce the national debt.  They also assume no negative “unintended consequences” of such an act nor do they propose any actual cuts to any budget.  They only propose to reduce the rate of growth of government.

Even though President Obama has previously stated that it makes no sense to raise tax rates in a fragile economy, he seems ready to do exactly that.  He seems fully prepared to go over the “fiscal cliff” so he can score political points by blaming Republicans.  Why shouldn’t he?  After all, if there is no agreement, taxes will go up on everyone thereby giving him short term funding for his profligate spending.  Of course, those in the lowest income taxpayer bracket, whom he is supposedly looking out for, will see their taxes go up a whopping fifty percent!  He will simultaneously kill economic and job growth.  The economy will undoubtedly go into recession and the US credit rating will once again be reduced.  That will instantly increase our costs of borrowing.  But he will have won…he will have harpooned his rich Moby Dick!  If you don’t think he won’t sacrifice the middle class, keep in mind that the first people he threatened to throw under the bus during the last debt ceiling debate were the military and Social Security recipients.

Equally illogical is the liberal reaction to the Newtown killings.  While parents were still in shock, before the tears had even begun to flow let alone dry, liberals were in full throat and in a maniacal pursuit of their own—the Second Amendment.  Naturally their only issue is guns.  Their arguments ran the gamut from ridiculous to hypocritical.  The ridiculous was the Code Pink disruption of the NRA news conference.  Code Pink of course supports Planned Parenthood which has terminated millions of innocent lives.  Code Pink is to liberals what the KKK was to Southern Democrats—a terrorist arm of the party…albeit less muscular.  Then there’s University of Rhode Island professor Eric Loomis who retweeted:  “First f***er to say the solution is for elementary school teachers to carry guns needs to get beaten to death.”  What a perfect example of liberal hypocrisy, intolerance, and irony!

When NRA President Wayne LaPierre said "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," liberals went apoplectic.  When he proposed an armed guard in each of our schools, liberals were aghast.  One liberal even opined that innocent children might be caught in a cross fire.  Apparently, it is better for children to die at the hands of an unopposed assassin.  These “low information voters” also fail to recall their roots.  In the year 2000, on the one year anniversary of the Columbine shooting, President Bill Clinton asked for another $60 million to place another 452 officers in 220 communities as part of his “COPS in Schools” program.  He bragged about placing 2,200 officers in more than 1,000 communities across our nation, where they are heightening school safety….”  In 2011, President Obama’s Department of Justice also provided $13 million to local law enforcement agencies (according to the DOJ, COPS website) to respond to growing school safety and security concerns.

Senator Feinstein quickly pointed out that the two armed guards at Columbine didn’t stop the intruders.  Of course she failed to note that her assault weapons ban, which was in effect at the time, didn’t stop them either.  Strict gun laws haven’t stopped murders in Chicago or Washington D.C., or Mexico.  Lawbreakers will always break laws.  Putting new ones on the books will only make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to protect themselves.  We should be looking at the mentally ill, movies, media, music, and video games as well as gun safety.  You can’t keep crazy people from stealing weapons to kill people in gun free zones but let the hysteria begin. 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

By William L. Garvin

“Aint got no place to lay your head,
somebody came and took your bed,
don't worry, be happy
the landlord say your rent is late,
he may have to litagate,
don’t worry, be happy"

Bobby McFerrin

There is only one president in USA history that has presided over a budget with a trillion dollar deficit.  That is Barack H. Obama.  He has the ignominious record of now having accomplished that feat four years in a row.  It is very likely that he will make it eight years in a row at his current pace.  Since the national debt was $10.6 trillion when he took office and now stands at $16.3 trillion, we can project him leaving office with America over $20 trillion in arrears!  He will have outspent George Bush by over two to one!  Don’t worry, be happy.

The federal budget year runs from October 1 through September 30 of the following year.  For October, the first month of this 2012-2013 budget cycle, Washington ran up a $120 billion deficit.  This is 22% higher than October of last year.  We have yet to see any increase in the labor force participation rate, any decrease in the number of people on food stamps, or any significant reason for employers to begin hiring.  There is no indication that things are going to get any better but don’t worry, be happy.

Our economic problems are compounded by the federal government “bitterly clinging” to its absurd fiscal policy of baseline budgeting.  This fiscal behemoth institutionalizes government growth.  Since 1974, they have taken the current expenditures and multiplied it by a factor for inflation and population growth.  Similar to compounding interest, government compounds already bloated budgets.  It automatically goes up without any congressional action.  Remember, the Senate has not produced a budget since 2009.  When the President produced his mockery of a budget, it couldn’t even get a single Democrat vote.  Don’t worry, be happy.

When it comes to budget cuts, both parties only talk about reductions in the future rates of growth.  Why isn’t there a discussion of a freeze at current spending levels?  Why isn’t there a discussion of a cut back to 2010 levels?  Or 2008?  Or 2006?  Why isn’t there discussion of actual reductions in current levels of spending?  Keep on spending…keep on investing…forward to prosperity.  Don’t worry, be happy.

Some people object to across the board spending cuts because it reduces effective programs as well as ineffective programs.  Unfortunately, targeting specific programs never seems to work.  Politicians feel obligated to bring home “pork” to their constituents.  They are obligated to the interests that funded their campaigns.  The U.S. Postal Service just lost $15.9 billion dollars, triple the losses of last year.  Most green energy can only exist with government subsidies.  Planned Parenthood has over a billion dollars in assets but still gets taxpayer money.  Big Bird and its Sesame Street cohorts pay its CEO nearly a million dollars and is a toy marketing machine.  We throw billions of dollars into a foreign aid sinkhole with no appreciable results.  This administration shows no inclination to reduce its “investment” in any of these areas.  In fact, can you name one specific cut to any federal program that President Obama has put “forward”?  But don’t worry, be happy.

Everyone should take a lesson from Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, who recently said: "There is no fiscal cliff."  In addition:  "What we’re facing is an obstacle course within a manufactured crisis that was hastily thrown together in response to inflated rhetoric about our federal deficit."  Who knew sixteen trillion was mythical?  Tell it to the coal miners who have been thrown out of work.  Tell it to the 18,500 workers who used to have jobs with Hostess but may soon be standing in unemployment lines because they listened to their union bosses.  Tell it to all the employees who are having their hours cut to less than thirty hours per week.  Tell it to the fifty percent of last year’s college graduates who are unable to find a job.  Tell it to the 7.9% unemployed.  To all of you, don’t worry, be happy.

Remaking and Marketing the GOP

By William L. Garvin

 

Now that the election is over and the American people have spoken, it is clear that the Republican Party needs an extreme makeover in order to become “culturally relevant” and acceptable to today’s electorate.  First of all, you have to scrap all that Judeo-Christian stuff.  All of that talk about Heaven, Hell, and Jesus makes people uncomfortable.  Exile God from the platform, the government, and the country.  As for sin, that’s such an outmoded concept.   Why shouldn’t I be able to do what I want to do without being judged by others?

 

You need to have an updated, culturally relevant Bible.  When it says to honor your father and your mother, it needs to address two fathers or two mothers.  The idea that marriage is between one man and one woman is so quaint, so old fashioned.  It’s just one of many lifestyle choices. That “life begins at conception” stuff also has got to go.  Since we’re entitled to life, liberty, and happiness, terminating that “tissue mass” which would be inconvenient to my contemporary lifestyle shouldn’t be any big deal.

 

While we’re at it, stop relying on that musty old Constitution.  After all, it was written by a bunch of old fogies a long time ago.  It may have been fine for them back in the dark ages but not a one of them knew how to operate a smart phone or a computer.  Get with the times!  They thought that government should have limited, specifically enumerated powers.  How can government give out “free stuff” if we listen to those codgers and what they intended?  Don’t worry about paying for it—you can spend your way into prosperity!  Once you’re too big to fail, the government can print some more money.

 

When it comes to votes, it’s a buyers’ market, GOP.  What can you give me?  All men are created equal so where’s my free stuff to make me equal?  Don’t give me any of that “don’t covet your neighbor’s goods” shtick, either.  Whatever anyone else has, I should have.  All those rich, nasty, old white men cheated and stole to get it so it’s no big deal if we take it away from them.  They hate poor people, they hate minorities, they hate sick people, they hate the environment, and they hate women so they deserve to be punished.

 

Another thing, GOP, you’re going to need a lot of money, probably several billion dollars.  You need to have a sophisticated political analysis and marketing operation.  It needs to dissect, simplify, separate, isolate and target specific sections of the electorate.  Different strokes for different folks.  Don’t worry about consistency.  You can advocate amnesty for illegals and still court union votes while ignoring the fact we have eight percent unemployment.  You can provide free birth control, free condoms, advocate homosexual marriage, use taxpayer money for abortions and still ask for the support of evangelical churches and claim to be a Christian.  The prevailing principle is “more personal pleasure.”  Get ahead of the curve and legalize and provide free marijuana along with food stamps.  Good old Alinsky principles work every time.

 

Another reason you’ll need a lot of money is you have to flood the airwaves with commercials that assassinate the character of your opposition.  Truth is irrelevant if you can destroy their image through the politics of personal destruction.  All’s fair in love, war, and politics.  Don’t worry if people say they hate negative advertising—it works.  Besides, they will forget and forgive all the lies and dirty tricks when you win--because winning is everything.  Another reason for needing money is you have to buy a bunch of television stations and newspapers so you have a cadre of “reporter supporters” who glorify your every move and NEVER ask probing questions about important issues.

 

If anyone challenges you with foolish concepts like balanced budgets, limited government, free market capitalism, reducing the national debt, or lowering unemployment, label them as extremists or Tea Party radicals.  If you don’t get your way, shout that it’s because the others are unwilling to compromise.  Always take personal credit for anything positive that happens in any part of the known universe.  And whatever you do, never admit that anything you have ever done was wrong.  Never accept any personal blame or accountability for anything negative that happens.  In fact, be offended if they even ask.  Always have someone else to blame.  Keep blaming Bush.  It’s the new, proven political path to success. 

 

 

Mr. President—Clean Up This Mess!

By William L. Garvin

Let’s pray that by the time this is being read on Wednesday, the election war will be over, the victories will be decisive, the armies of lawyers will be told to stand down, and the UN inspectors will be on the first plane out of town.  Good riddance to the latter and thank heaven we will not have to listen to any more of those disgusting campaign commercials.  As near as can be told, there is not a single decent person running for any office anywhere in this land!  Why worry about possible “voter suppression” when you have concrete evidence of “candidate suppression.”  So, whoever you are, Mr. President, get down to work!

There is no question that you have inherited quite a difficult situation.  The first order of business should be to bring the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House into the Oval office, bang their heads together and say “I want a budget!  No sequestration; no continuing resolution; no elimination of the “Bush tax cuts”; no trillion dollar deficit!  You will stay in session until the Peoples’ work is done!  When you’re done with that, come up with a feasible plan to reduce the ridiculous $16 trillion debt and restore the credit rating of the USA!”

Mr. President, don’t complain that “you’ve inherited a mess.”  You asked for the job so fix it!  You just spent a billion dollars to get it, so no whining!  Right off the bat, take care of those poor people who have been isolated, decimated, and aggravated in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Make sure they have electricity, water, food and fuel.  It is heartbreaking to see those poor souls on Staten Island who feel they are forgotten and ignored.

Get people back to work!  There are hundreds of thousands of layoffs being planned so new economic directions are critical.  Stop the “strangulation through excessive regulation” strategy that has its foot on the throat of small business in America.  Forty percent of Americans have less than $500 in savings.  That’s unconscionable but predictable when one-sixth of the country is living in poverty.  GDP growth is anemic and the labor force participation rate is the lowest in decades.  Fifty percent of college graduates were unable to find employment last year.  That’s a disgrace.

Now that the election is over, assuming we have no hanging chad controversies and innumerable court challenges, there are some other messes to clean up.  Why is the cost of health insurance going up so fast when the “cost curve” was supposed to be going down?  Why are so many employers dropping health insurance coverage for their employees?  Why is the cost of college tuition going up so fast?  Additionally, what really happened in the “Fast and Furious” fiasco?  What really happened in Benghazi?  When will those investigations be completed and the results made known to the American people?  Why has it taken over three years to try Major Nidal Hassan, the homegrown terrorist, for the Fort Hood massacre?  It’s time to call it what it is: terrorism, not workplace violence! 

While you’re at it, how about developing a common sense approach to energy independence?  So far, the Department of Energy has been an incredible failure despite its incredible expansion in staff and budget over the years.  The promised five million green energy jobs never materialized.    In the green energy realm, company after company is falling by the wayside.  The same thing is happening to them in Europe.  Invest the taxpayer money in research and development but stop wasting money on unproven, ineffective, and inefficient technologies…even if those companies were put together by campaign donors!

When you’re done with that, come back to “We, the People” again.  We’ve got some other concerns regarding foreign policy.  Why are we pouring so much money into the United Nations?  Why are we pouring so much money into foreign countries, with no strings attached, who continually vote and act against our best interests?  How should we sanction those who threaten our national security?  How do we keep our American citizens safe in hostile lands?

Mr. President, we need our national media to hold you accountable for results, not promises; for deeds, not words; for truth and transparency, not half-truths and back room deals.  Of course, Mr. President, that will only happen if you are a Republican!  Nonetheless, Mr. President, clean up this mess.  We, the People demand it and we deserve it.

Duty, Honor, Country

By William L. Garvin

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

On February 24, 1967, the United States Congress declared me to be “an officer and a gentleman” and commissioned me as a second lieutenant in the Armor Branch of the United States Army.  During the previous year in Basic Training, Advanced Armor Training, and Officer Candidate School, I learned a number of lessons that have remained constant over my life.  I always check my “gig line” when getting dressed, my shoes are always shined, and what hair I have left is closely cropped.  My wife finds it somewhat humorous that I still fold my socks and underwear the way I was taught by Uncle Sam.  When making our bed, the sheets get a precise forty-five degree angle on the military tuck.

More importantly, I learned the moral principles of military leadership were duty, honor, and country.  My tactical officers insured, in their own unique way, that I understood and would never forget that the men I would soon command were a “sacred trust.”  Today I teach command and leadership principles to new lieutenants in the California Police Management program.  I do my best to reinforce in them that same unshakeable belief --the men and women they command are an irrevocable “sacred trust.”  It is with a great deal of sadness that I see those principles being violated at the highest level of our government.

Our President and Commander in Chief is “offended” when people want to know why four Americans were in harm’s way without the security they requested.  The Secretary of Defense complains about “Monday morning quarterbacking” even though this Administration has multiple and contradictory excuses for the Benghazi fiasco.  Why would the President, his Press Secretary, his United Nations Ambassador, and his Secretary of State continue to blame a stupid movie trailer for the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens, Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty and Sean Smith?  They did this for nearly two weeks even though now the President says it called it a “terrorist attack” the next day.  Frankly, Sir, you did no such thing no matter what Candy Crowley says!  As is your wont, you used vague, non-specific language.  You call the war on terror an “overseas contingency operation.”  Shamelessly, when Major Nidal Hassan, a coward and a traitor, opens fire on unarmed soldiers in Fort Hood, you call it “workplace violence.”  What part of “Allahu akbar” that the treasonous major was shouting during the massacre didn’t you (of all people!) understand?

I believe you sold out the Poles and the Czechs when you reneged on their missile defense system.  I believe that the Russians picked your pocket and ate your lunch with the START treaty.  I believe you failed the doctor who is now in prison in Pakistan for providing you the DNA that allowed the Seals to get Bin Laden.  I believe you failed to provide the Benghazi Consulate the necessary security even though repeatedly requested.  Your statement that you were “not personally aware” of their requests for security sounds like a typical legalistic parsing of words.  I believe your failure to know and prevent is tantamount to negligence and the failure to act is a violation of your sacred trust—you abandoned your men.  You have said that you are “ultimately responsible”; I believe you are directly responsible!

Two of the individuals we know who demonstrated the highest order of courage were Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.  As soon as Navy Seal Woods heard the gunfire, he requested permission to go to their aid.  Sources on the ground have said the request was refused not once but twice.  General Petraeus has stated that no one in the CIA gave the order to stand down.  Who does that leave, Mr. President?

The only reasons for disobeying an order are if it is illegal, immoral, or unsafe.  Forget unsafe—that goes with Seal territory.  Woods, two others, and later Glen Doherty, disobeyed the immoral order to stand down.  They took an oath to protect their fellow Americans and they were not willing to stand by and watch them murdered by a theo-political mob of radical terrorists.  They understood “Duty”!  They understood “Honor”!  They understood “Country”!  They laid down their lives to save others.

Why were their requests for assistance ignored?  The battle went on for hours and military assistance could have been onsite and engaged within two hours.  They even “laser-pointed” the mortar position that ultimately took their lives!  I do not believe any military professional would EVER refuse to go to the aid of their men and women in distress.  That leaves only one person, Mr. President.   I believe you have failed to lead.  I believe you failed to show character, integrity, or courage.  I do not believe you are fit to command men like Woods or Doherty.  You have violated your sacred trust and should be removed from office.  

Letter to the editor, Oct 26, 2012

Dear Editor,
As you know, I have always complimented you on your willingness to present all points of view,no matter how inarticulate or unfounded. I also understand the difficulty of putting together a weekly newspaper with very limited resources. Therefore, I "Sincerely" appreciate the service you provide to our community. As you also know, I prefer to address issues on the basis of fact and logic and seldom engage in personal responses or attacks. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "a kind deed never goes unpunished" so I will allow myself a slight deviation in this letter. Nonetheless, I must caution you NEVER to cut off the name of a letter contributor or some of your readers will fall into a paroxysm of petulance!

My case in point: I presented a factual rebuttal to a letter by Ms. Delia Stichick who listed a number of "lies" she erroneously attributed to Governor Romney. I chose to address just one and hoped to educate her. She said only three out of three dozen green energy companies had failed. I listed SIX, all of which were Obama campaign contributors (can you say "crony capitalism"?), all of which were bankrupt, and another which was on the verge. A quick internet check lists 36 green energy companies which are bankrupt or faltering. Ms. Stichick still alleges her "three" is factual. Maybe she would like to name even one which has paid back the taxpayer "investment"? Of course she didn't and she can't. Instead, she chose to engage in a typical liberal exercise of sophistry. Undoubtedly, her grades on the SATs for reading comprehension were not very good if she responded the same way then! She is simply and incredibly and factually wrong.

As liberals generally do, she chose not to research the facts but merely reiterated her unfounded "lies" even louder. Still wrong. She also created a straw argument that I said President Obama "crept into the gas stations in the dead of night and changed all the prices at the pump!" Even more wrong. I said no such thing; I implied no such thing. Apparently, she "can't handle the truth!" What I did say was that a rising price of gasoline is consistent with his actual words to ""bankrupt coal plants" and "electricity prices will skyrocket." Maybe she should check that transcript! I also remember that every time gas prices went up during the Bush administration the hills were alive with the "Bush-Cheney connections to Big Oil" and "Halliburton." I understand the basics of supply and demand very well; apparently, President Obama, who has problems with seventh-grade math (by his own admission), does not.

Too many liberals love to preach "civility" and "tolerance" but act in the most uncivil and intolerant manner. They feel free to call Governor Romney a liar, murderer, tax felon, and numerous pejoratives with impunity. But if anyone questions the President's awful economic policies, record of stimulus failure, totally undistinguished career prior-presidency, $5 trillion in deficits, lack of vision, lack of specifics, "Fast and Furious" fiasco, his imaginary "war on women" bovine scatology, massive unemployment, food stamp records, or Benghazi incompetence, they are "racist"! Frankly, I'm bored by those types of trite tactics. If you approve of petty, petulant, and pompous presidents; if you approve of buffoonish, banal, and intellectually bankrupt vice-presidents, vote for the incumbents. But as Clint Eastwood so accurately pointed out, "if they can't do the job, you've got to let them go."

"SINCERELY",
Bill Garvin

Split Decision; Mirth or Madness?

By William L. Garvin

“If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs and there is no quiet.”  Proverbs 29:9

By the time you read this, the second presidential debate will have already occurred.  As of this writing, political pundits are referring to it as “Round Two.”  That brings to mind the incredible boxing career of Muhammad Ali.  In 1974, Ali was to fight George Foreman in Zaire in what was marketed as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”  Because of Foreman’s incredible punching power, Ali was not favored to win.  When he “floated like a butterfly,” he was a little slower.  Even in his prime, his “stings like a bee” could not come close to matching the incredible power in Foreman’s sledgehammer fists.

However, in an inspired moment of ring strategy, Ali beat the odds.  He leaned back on the ropes, covered himself up while taunting his powerful foe.  Foreman began to furiously pound away at Ali.  Rather than weakening Ali, most of the power was absorbed by the ropes.  Foreman expended an incredible amount of energy and began to tire.  Ali came back to win the fight and the “rope-a-dope” strategy became part of boxing’s lexicon.

Maybe that was President Obama’s intended “strategerie” in the first debate.  He was certainly passive on the ropes and appeared to be defenseless.  Unfortunately for him, Governor Romney failed to tire.  He continually rained left hooks of Obama’s failed liberal policies to the body.  Joe Frazier would have been impressed!  He followed those up with right crosses to the jaw of conservative, free market economic policy.  The President was helpless, listless and pretty much gave up in a Roberto Duran “no mas” picture of defeat.  There is no escape from a record of failure when your plan for the future is merely “more of the same.”  The fight should have been stopped by TKO.

In the Vice-Presidential debate, the Administration could not afford a similar shellacking.  While the President had come out somnambulant, Joe Biden came out “juiced.”  Some say in more ways than one!  In any event, there has never been a more disconcerting performance in the history of modern presidential debates.  With very rare exception, Biden was described as rude, condescending, maniacal, unhinged, disturbing, self-indulgent, undisciplined, overbearing, boorish, un-presidential and mean spirited by his foes.  His allies could only come up with aggressive, spirited, and “it’s just Joe being Joe.”  The latter is probably true.  His arrogance (without basis) and pomposity is legendary.  He tries to disguise himself as an everyday blue collar kind of guy but he has never been one of “the common folk.”  He’s a lifelong politician with only a passing commitment to the truth.  It’s his failing throughout life.  He received an F in law school because of plagiarism and dropped out of the 1988 presidential race for multiple violations of the same nature.  Many of his statements can only be characterized as outright lies.

In the debate, those who count such things said good old Joe, the barroom bully, interrupted Paul Ryan 82 times in only ninety minutes.  His pugilistic style could only be described as “laugh-a-gaffe” or “smirk-a-jerk.”  Macho Camacho, the clown prince of boxing, would have been embarrassed.  Plus, Biden’s corner man was the referee/moderator.  The analytical aftermath was preoccupied with his outlandish behavior and very little attention was paid to his lack of substance.

Joe, who must be BFFs with “Bibi”, has said “he and Barack” are proud of raising a trillion dollars in new taxes.  He said their tax plan would only affect “millionaires and billionaires.”  Unfortunately, the President’s actual plan would affect individuals making $200,000 and up and couples making $250,000 and up.  But that was just Joe clowning around before the real bozo act began.

VP “no one messes with Joe” Biden asserted that neither he nor the President knew of requests for increased security in Benghazi.  Apparently they also didn’t know of the thirteen previous incidents or that it was 9/11.  He claimed the intelligence community attributed the death of the Ambassador and three other Americans on a movie trailer.  Maybe if the President hadn’t missed sixty percent of the intelligence briefings, these things would have been known.  Maybe if they had viewed the real time feed from the Benghazi consulate during the five-hour attack, they would have known.  Now their campaign says the only reason the four deaths are being discussed is because Romney and Ryan have politicized the issue.  Enough already!  When you have a clown in the ring, don’t be surprised when a circus breaks out!   

Let’s hope both presidential candidates addressed the important issues yesterday with appropriate seriousness.  We’ve had enough Jerry Springer performances. 

Figures Don’t Lie?

By William L. Garvin

Mark Twain is oft cited as having coined the phrase that “figures don’t lie but liars figure.”  He once quoted Benjamin Disraeli as saying “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."  Regardless of the source, improbable numbers should always be viewed with skepticism.  In today’s polarized world, however, such healthy adult skepticism will more than likely be pilloried!

Most economists are in agreement that the Gross National Product of the United States is weaker this year than last year.  In fact, last quarter’s GDP was revised downward to an anemic 1.3%.  As a result, the average job gain for each month of this year (through August) was only 164,000.  These same economists expected about 114,000 new jobs to be added in September and an unemployment rate of 8.1 to 8.2%.  Then like an economic rabbit out of a statistical hat, 873,000 people suddenly found employment and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8%!  It’s an economic miracle of biblical proportions!  Keep in mind that employers actually created only the predicted 114,000 jobs.  That is not even enough to keep up with population growth.  Also keep in mind that the U-6 number (unemployed, underemployed, and dropouts) remained unmoved at 14.7%.  The BLS Household Survey of 60,000 households that is adjusted “to correct for seasonal patterns” that shows nearly 300,000 people finding full-time employment and nearly 600,000 finding part-time employment in September, (a month that typically shows increases in UNemployment in the 20-24 age group) defies logical and statistical probability.   Nonetheless, Labor Secretary Hilary Solis is “offended” that anyone should ask for an explanation.  Heaven forbid that government should be transparent!

Remember when President Obama promised that the passage of the Stimulus Bill would result in an unemployment rate of 5.4%?  Well, the “Recovery Summer” of 2010 is long gone and this Administration is nowhere near fulfilling his campaign promises.  It continues to blame the Bush administration for the collapse of the financial and housing markets.  It conveniently forgets Democrats were in charge of the House and the Senate for nearly two years at the time of the financial collapse. Remember Barney Frank chairing the House Finance Committee and Chris Dodd chairing the Senate Banking Committee?  Both scandal plagued Democrats actively rebuffed attempts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  As you assess the President’s record, keep these additional facts in mind:

Fact:  43 consecutive months of unemployment over 8%. Even if accurate, one month under 8% doesn’t come close to balancing the scale!

Fact:  23 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have just plain given up.

Fact:  There are no more people working now than when President Obama took office despite his having "created 5 million jobs."

Fact:  The labor participation rate (63.5%) is at its lowest in 31 years.

Fact:  Fifty percent increase in the national debt in less than 4 years: the debt was $10.6 trillion when this administration began and is over $16.1 trillion now.

Fact:  Four straight years of trillion dollar budget deficits.

Fact:  Gasoline prices have doubled across the country and tripled in some areas of California!

Fact:  There are a record number of people (47 million) on food stamps.

Fact:  College tuition is up 25% since the President took office.

Fact:  Health insurance premiums did not decrease $2,500, they went UP $2,500!

Fact:  Anti-America demonstrations are ongoing in 23 countries.

Fact:  The FBI took three weeks to get onsite to investigate the murder of Ambassador Stevens: CNN only took three days!

Fact:  The president of Libya says the terrorist attack had nothing to do with a stupid video!

Fact:  2,000 of our service personnel have died in Afghanistan and we just suffered the largest loss of aircraft since Viet Nam at Camp Leatherneck in an al Qaeda attack.

Fact:  Absentee ballot requests from our military personnel are down as much as 92% in swing states.  Maybe DOJ should investigate real as opposed to imaginary voter suppression!

Fact:  The White House and DOJ claim "executive privilege" and refuse to release information to Congress on "Fast and Furious."

Senator Obama had no record of significant experience or accomplishment when he was elected.  It shows in his administration’s record--that is why he fared so poorly in the debate.  It wasn’t the altitude; it wasn’t the moderator; it wasn’t because Governor Romney “cheated”; it wasn’t because he over-prepped.  It was because he has no fundamental understanding of economic principles, the private sector, or how to solve the great difficulties facing this nation.  When you vote in November, follow Clint Eastwood’s advice: "When they can't do the job, you have to let them go!"

Facts versus Feelings

By William L. Garvin

Political campaigns are conducted on two levels; one is logical and the other is emotional.  As a society, we should be concerned about the shrinking role of the logical and the increasing emphasis on the emotional when it comes to critical decisions facing the nation.  Remember that this constitutional republic we practice as a democracy was predicated on the premise that votes would be cast by an informed citizenry.  With increasing frequency, this is not the case.

It doesn’t matter whether you are watching Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking” segments or “Watters World” on Fox or listening to Howard Stern’s interviews on Sirius.  The inescapable conclusion is that far too many eligible voters know next to nothing about their responsibilities or the issues on which they will be voting.  In Mark Bauerlein’s book THE DUMBEST GENERATION, he recounts a Leno segment:  “Where does the Pope live?”  The answer: “England.”  Leno’s follow-up question:  “Where in England?”  The answer:  “Ummm, Paris.”  Hopefully, that person confines his or her voting participation to “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

While the entertainment shows may be exhibiting isolated examples, Bauerlein notes that in a national history exam, 57 percent of high school seniors scored “below basic,” i.e., not even “possessing a partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that allow for proficient work.”  He also cites a report titled “The Coming Crisis in Citizenship” which tested 14,000 college freshmen and seniors in areas such as history, government, foreign relations, separation of church and state, federalism, women’s suffrage, the Bill of Rights and Martin Luther King.  The average score of the freshmen was 51.7—an F!    By the time they were seniors, their score had increased by only 1.5…still an F!

Given the general dumbing down of America, it is not surprising that politicians would adjust their campaign tactics accordingly.  If the voting population is unlikely to do any substantive research on candidate claims, why not run ads based on emotions?  Why not resort to blatant falsehoods such as “they want dirty air and dirty water!”  “They gonna put y’all back in chains!”  “They’ll throw Granny over the cliff.”  “They’ll take away your birth control and a woman’s right to choose.”  Even if it gets “Four Pinocchio’s,” most people will never read the fact check or think through the obvious sophistry.  This is especially true if the mainstream media has a dog in the fight.  Chances are, if they do any investigating or fact checking at all, it will be one sided on “their” opponent.

Compounding the problem is the cultural shift from a character ethic to a personality ethic.  If a candidate is “cool” and has a pleasant smile, it doesn’t matter what he actually does.  What he says is not as important as how he says it.  What he did is less important than what he says he did.  It doesn’t matter if you claim to be a victim of circumstances if you’re trying to enlist the votes of victims.  Why not talk about raising taxes if you’re trying to get the votes of people who pay no taxes?  Why not promise “free stuff” to lots of people if you’re going to pay for it with other people’s money?  Image is everything; honesty and integrity is an impediment.

Gasoline prices have doubled and unemployment has exceeded 8% for 43 straight months.  Fewer people are working now than when he took office and he can still claim to have “created” 4.3 million jobs.  He has increased the debt from $10.6 to over $16 trillion in less than four years and still claims to be fiscally conservative!

Surrogates like Stephanie Cutter can insinuate that Romney is a tax felon and Harry Reid can falsely charge on the Senate floor that Romney paid no taxes.  Cutter can coordinate a campaign ad that says Romney is responsible for a steel worker’s wife’s death and Susan Rice can say the death of our Libyan ambassador is all because of a movie trailer.

The Middle East goes up in flames and Obama’s foreign policy poll numbers go up.  GDP numbers for last quarter go down to a pathetic 1.25, food stamp recipients reach a record number of 47 million and Obama’s economic policy numbers go up.  So we see form without function.  We see style without substance.  We see movement without progress and flash without sizzle.   It looks more and more as if H.L. Mencken was right:  “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”

Bumps in the Road

By William L. Garvin

The Middle East and Northern Africa continue to display their anti-America and anti-Obama attitudes in violent mob attacks and demonstrations.  In an interview, President Obama refers to the current state of affairs as “bumps in the road.”  In another late night comedic appearance, he blithely noted that he didn’t even know what the national debt was and it’s not “a pressing concern.”  Last year, when the United Nations was in session in New York, the President had thirteen meetings with heads of state.  The year, the President will have…ZERO!  Mr. President, where are your priorities?

When Ambassador Stevens was murdered along with three other American citizens, what did the President do?  Why he flew off to Las Vegas for a fund raiser.  Other than his presence at the arrivals of the coffins of the four Americans, the President paid scant attention paid to the raging conflagration.  For a week, the President, the Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Secretary of State failed to recognize an obvious terrorist attack.  While devoid of analytical ability or leadership traits, at least they showed a little more class than erstwhile journalist Geraldo Rivera, who referred to the ambassador as the “dead dude.” 

It took over a week for a representative of our counter-terrorist service to acknowledge the assault on the Consulate as a terrorist attack.  There continues to be an administration-wide allergy to calling a terrorist a terrorist!  Apparently, terrorist attacks continue to be viewed as crimes versus acts of war.  Maybe that’s why the FBI is allegedly conducting the investigation in Libya.  If and when they actually catch any terrorists, they will probably read the lowlifes their rights and provide them with attorneys and a trial in downtown New York that will drag on for years.

Meanwhile, the President has not been available to answer questions as to what appears to be either a massive failure of intelligence or a massive blunder in state security.  How does a CNN employee discover Ambassador Stevens’ personal diary on the floor of the burned out consulate?  Obviously, the FBI either failed to secure the “crime scene” or failed to identify obvious evidence.  For the time being, we’ll let the CNN reportage of the contents of the diary against the wishes of the family pass, but within the pages, Ambassador Stevens noted that he had concerns about his security and that he was an al Qaeda target.  Even without these concerns, how could one not have maximum security on any and every anniversary of 9/11?  Why isn’t each and every consulate and embassy guarded by our Marines?  Why weren’t the rampant rumors squelched about the Marines not being allowed to carry loaded weapons?  Why won’t the Sudan allow our Marines to land and protect our embassy in their country?  How many of our embassies and consulates have closed or suspended services?  Mr. President, what are you doing about all this?

Of course, there’s the Las Vegas fundraising.  Of course, there’s the interview with the “Pimp with a Limp.”  Of course, there’s the late night Letterman appearance.  Of course, there’s the daytime appearance on “The View.”  Just once, couldn’t you have put your country first and attended an intelligence briefing or a jobs council meeting?  Couldn’t you just once have noticed that over 8% unemployment is not a bump in the road but a superhighway of failed policies?  Just once, couldn’t you call Harry Reid into the office and tell him to produce a budget or bring one of the House jobs bills up for a vote?  Just once, couldn’t you explain to the American people how your policies in the second term will differ from those you promised in your first term?  Are you ever going to learn that an American president cannot “lead from behind” and be rehired!

One thing he has learned is never to go to another Univision interview.  Not only did their reporters ask questions that should have been asked by mainstream media a long time ago, they followed up on your non-answers.  Your answers were so bad in your “60 Minutes” interview that they only showed up online.  “Fast and Furious” did NOT start in the Bush Administration; Israel’s concern about Iranian nukes was just “noise”; his biggest failure was the “tone” in Washington; the falsehoods in his campaign commercials are just stuff that “happens in politics.”  And of course, the loss of lives in Libya and the massive destruction of airplanes in Afghanistan are just “bumps in the road.”  Some would say that the last four years wasn’t a bump but a series of sinkholes.    

“Arab Spring” Freezes Over!

By William L. Garvin

Sometimes words just fail.  There is no way they can explain what our eyes were seeing this past week.  There also was no way we could believe what our ears were hearing.  Finally, there was no way to express the sorrow for the deaths of more fine Americans in another terrorist attack.

One has to wonder why our Cairo embassy would bring attention to an obscure YouTube video for an even more obscure movie.  They were apologizing to Muslims before the protests had even begun.  Why did they repeatedly defend their apology in cyberspace in a “tweet war” with those who disagreed?  Why would Jay Carney, the presidential Press Secretary, insult the intelligence of the American public and the world at large by saying the riots in over twenty-three countries had nothing to do with anger at America and American policies?  Instead, he asked us to suspend all logic and rational thought and believe the only issue was Muslim anger with a movie that none have seen.

Maybe he hadn’t seen the news coverage where President Obama was being burned in effigy.  Maybe he hadn’t seen the flags of the United States and Israel being burned everywhere.  Maybe he hadn’t heard the chants of “Obama, Obama, we are all Osama” or “death to America.”  Maybe he didn’t hear Democrats talk twenty-one different times at their convention about the killing of Osama Bin Laden.  Maybe he didn’t know these demonstrations started on the anniversary of 9/11.  Maybe he forgot that many of these countries had huge crowds dancing in the streets as the Twin Towers collapsed and thousands of Americans died.  Maybe he’s afraid to admit they still hate freedom and that’s not going to change.

It’s clear that extremists will use any excuse to justify their savage behavior.  Remember, they have already killed because of a newspaper cartoon.  Somehow they see a moral equivalency between disrespectful words and murder.  The slightest insult sends them into homicidal frenzies.  It’s hard to comprehend their savage rage.  Libyan media outlets and European press are reporting that Ambassador Stevens was subjected to humiliating atrocities before he was murdered.  The reports indicate treatment similar to the mutilation of Quadaffi.  It’s hard to believe that these people are even human.

Now the White House has contacted Google and “asked” them to review their policies and determine whether or not the video “meets their guidelines.”  The press has identified the filmmaker and because of that, he is in hiding and under guard.  Some are calling for his prosecution because of the insults to Islam and Mohammed.  Does anyone remember calls for prosecution when an artist immersed a crucifix in a jar of urine or covered a painting of the Virgin Mary with elephant dung?  Of course not!  White House favorite, Bill Maher, is also a movie maker.  One of his works was RELIGULOUS.  The majority of the movie is his predictable mocking of Christianity but the last twenty minutes also mocks Islam.  Will there be a fatwa against Maher and HBO?  What about our President who accepted $1 million from this “movie maker” who insulted Islam?  What about the Hollywood movie currently being produced to glorify the President’s killing of bin Laden?  Will that incite more riot and violence?  Remember, guns don’t kill people; movies do!

We are also told to believe that this winter of discontent is not representative of these countries as a whole, or their peoples as a whole, nor the religion of Islam as a whole.  Then praytell, where are all the so-called moderates?  Where is the public outcry and condemnation from within and without these countries and from their religious leaders as a whole?  The silence is thundering.  These are countries that have no problem accepting our foreign aid with one hand and stabbing us in the back with the other.  These countries vote against United States interests at the United Nations ninety percent of the time.

The early evidence also indicates that the Libyan “security forces” aided and abetted the terrorists.  There is no indication that a single Libyan charged with this responsibility was even wounded, let alone killed.  Our Embassy and Consulate are American territory.  This invasion and murder of our citizens show that “unconditional love” has not worked.  Neither has unconditional foreign aid.  Until these nations show that they can discharge their security responsibilities faithfully, until they show they can act in a human and civilized manner, all assistance should have strings attached and be performance based.  It’s still wrong to bite the hand that feeds you!

       

Voter Fraud at DNC!

By William L. Garvin

In an effort to insure that only eligible delegates attended, the Democrat National Convention required photo identification. Nary a word was heard about “voter suppression” or the untenable burden such a requirement placed on poor minorities.  Nonetheless, despite their best precautions, voter fraud ran rampant.

The first instance came with the development of the Democrat platform.  For some inexplicable reason, the Democrat platform committee decided to eliminate the one time their platform actually mentioned God.  They also decided to eliminate the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  This turned out to be a public relations blunder of Joe Biden magnitude.  Under an onslaught of voter outrage to a God-less Democrat Party, an amendment was hastily introduced to reinstate the singleton recognition of God and also to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  DNC Chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa conducted the voice vote which required a two-thirds majority to pass.

On the first vote to reinstate God and Jerusalem, the ayes and nays were very close which would have meant that God would have no home in the Democrat platform.  So, the intrepid mayor held a second vote.  This time, the nays clearly were the loudest.  Obviously flustered and looking exceedingly uncomfortable, the undemocratic chair conducted a third vote.  This time the nays were substantially louder but democracy be damned!  Villaraigosa brazenly dictated that the ayes met the two-thirds support threshold and unilaterally put God and Jerusalem back into the Democrat platform.  What a blatant fraud and disgrace to the delegates and the Democratic Party.

Naturally, Democrat surrogates quickly began pandering and trumpeting their religious nature and support of Israel.  However, little notice was given to their elimination of language regarding Hamas.   The State Department designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1993.  Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and in 2008, the Democrat platform said:  “The United States and its Quartet partners should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements. Sustained American leadership for peace and security will require patient efforts and the personal commitment of the President of the United States…All understand that it is unrealistic to expect the outcome of final status negotiations to be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.”  All this language has been eliminated so “full support” of Israel now rings rather hollow in sound and disingenuous in action.

These are examples of the many DNC frauds.  When Cory Booker said that the demand for the rich to pay even higher taxes is not class warfare but patriotism, that is a fraud.  Did he mean that the 144 million Americans who do not pay any taxes whatsoever are not patriotic?  When Joe Biden said that it was never, ever a good idea to bet against the American people, that was a fraud.  No one on the GOP ticket is betting against the American people.  It’s only those who advocate big government and central planning who think the American public cannot be trusted with their own futures.  When Bill Clinton talked about his “budget surplus,” that was a fraud.  Despite his bookkeeping shenanigans, the simple truth remains that the Total Public Debt increased every single year he was in office.

Then of course, there was the chorus line of Hollywood actresses, Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson, and Kelly Washington.  Apparently they are talented actors but any intimate knowledge or understanding of politics was a fraud.  Eva thinks that higher taxes on multi-million dollar year actors such as her are just fine.  She doesn’t understand that the taxes Democrats propose on millionaires and billionaires start at $250,000.  Over ninety percent of people in that category are NOT the millionaires that she, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama are.  Higher taxes will devastate small, family-owned businesses.  ScarJo said she speaks for millions of young women who are dependent on government and Planned Parenthood.  Fraud!  Just another Sandra Fluke wannabe.  K-Wash actually thinks that there is a battle going on over women’s right to vote and that is somehow an issue in this election.  Then there’s Debbie Wasserman Schultz who lies more often than Biden gaffes…enough said.  There was John Kerry, who lent aid and comfort to the enemy on foreign soil, who called our military “terrorists,” who threw his military medals into the river, fraudulently posing as a war hawk.  As for the Harvard lawyer, employed by an established Chicago law firm wearing shoes a half size too small…let’s not even go there!       

GOP Women ROCK the RNC!

By William L. Garvin

In the ‘80’s, the car commercials shouted “this is not your father’s Oldsmobile” and today we hear “this is not your grandfather’s Buick.”  After the Republican National Convention, it is evident this is not your father’s or your grandfather’s Republican Party.  It is equally evident that the players on the bench are deep, diverse, and dynamic!

Of course, everyone expected Paul Ryan to add spark and sparkle to a younger generation.  He broke the main problem down into straightforward terms:  you have to stop spending money you don’t have!  Everyone expected Mitt Romney to deliver a straightforward, no nonsense, and very businesslike assessment of the dire economic straits this country is facing.  Everyone thought they knew what they would hear from Chris Christie; some were disappointed by his muted, albeit still devastating critique of the current administration’s economic failure.  Everyone expected that Marco Rubio would deliver a brilliant introduction of Governor Romney.  What very few expected was the depth, breadth and brilliance of the women who spoke during the three days.

The first and foremost characteristic of all these women is courage.  If you think back on the vicious attacks against Sarah Palin (and her family!), the character assassination, the lies and distortions of her record of governance, the flood of ethics complaints (none of which were proven!), the deliberate attempt to personally bankrupt her family, and baseless attacks that continue even today, lesser souls would have recoiled from the spotlight.  Nonetheless, into the breach they strode, undaunted, unafraid, and with consummate professionalism.

The potential First and Second Ladies, Ann Romney and Janna Ryan, gave warm and endearing tributes to their husbands.  Immediately some Hollywood Bill Maher wannabe named Jason Biggs showed just how small he was with obscene and vile tweets about them both.  Even his wife joined in.  What a disgrace!  Mrs. Romney was virally criticized for wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown…shades of the phony Sarah Palin wardrobe scandal.  Do you think the cost and cut of President Obama’s suit will warrant media attention?

Mia Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and the daughter of Haitian immigrants gave a spirited message of “fiscal discipline, limited government, and personal responsibility.”  The congressional candidate spoke of the American Dream emanating from her parents arrival here with ten dollars in their pocket.  Of course, MSNBC failed to show her rousing speech in order not to upset their racist stereotypes.  Immediately, her Wikipedia biography was hacked with more obscene bile and racial epithets.  Curiously, MSNBC also failed to show the speech of Artur Davis, the former Democrat congressman now Republican who supported Senator Obama in 2008.  MSNBC just doesn’t want to hear it when an African-American says it’s time to correct their mistakes.

But the women just kept on coming and rocking the house!  There was Senator Kelly Ayotte from the “Live free or die!” state who pointed out that “President Obama has never even run a lemonade stand - and it shows.”  The Florida Attorney General Pam Biondi, who has spearheaded the legal battle against Obamacare, clearly outlined how the Affordable Health Care Act has turned unaffordable.  This is backed up by the Congressional Budget Office which says it will cost THREE TIMES the original estimates.  The parents of Nikki Haley emigrated from India and now their daughter is Governor of South Carolina.  She lamented how her state’s biggest obstacle is the Obama administration.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice kept the room enthralled (without a teleprompter) with her own heart-stirring, American Dream story.  As a child growing up in Alabama, she couldn’t eat a hamburger at the Woolworth’s counter but she could grow up to be Secretary of State!  The same theme was echoed by Senator Rubio who also talked about his father working late nights as a bartender in the back of the room “so I could stand in the front of the room.”  Most people know that Condi Rice is “mildly pro-choice.”  Even though one-third of Democrats describe themselves as pro-life, how many speakers at the DNC will represent that view?  ZERO!  They won’t even let them be represented on their Democratic Party Platform Committee.

Of final note is Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico.  Once again we heard about the American Dream being realized…Prosecutor, District Attorney and the first Latina Governor in the United States.  “Success is not built on resentment or fear,” she noted.  “I fear some of our leaders today have lost the courage to stand up.  They won’t offer real plans, and only stand up when they want to blame someone else. “   They were all headliners and they rocked the house…this ain’t your grandpa’s GOP!