By William L. Garvin
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
-Attributed to John McCrae (1872-1918)
On Memorial Day, Americans of every political persuasion and stripe, stopped to thank those who paid the ultimate price to insure that we remain the land of the free. For every man and woman who has served this country, it can be said that "all gave some and some gave all." There can be no doubt that the pen owes a great debt to the sword and there can be no greater debt than to those who have died in service to our country. One would think that there would be a singleness and unanimity of purpose in pausing for solemn remembrance of our fallen heroes.
Unfortunately, there are those who lack both a sense of perspective and a sense of propriety. Witness the following thoughts of MSNBC commentator Chris Hayes on Memorial Day: "Thinking today and observing Memorial Day, that'll be happening tomorrow. Just talked with Lt. Col. Steve Burke [sic, actually Beck], who was a casualty officer with the Marines and had to tell people [inaudible]. Um, I, I, ah, back sorry, um, I think it's interesting because I think it is very difficult to talk about the war dead and the fallen without invoking valor, without invoking the words "heroes." Um, and, ah, ah, why do I feel so comfortable [sic] about the word "hero"? I feel comfortable, ah, uncomfortable, about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war. Um, and, I don't want to obviously desecrate or disrespect memory of anyone that's fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism: hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I'm wrong about that."
Well, Chrissie, you couldn't be more wrong if you had three left feet! Let me put it to you this way, a buck private on the day he or she raises their right hand and swears to defend the Constitution and our country has more "heroism" in their little pinkie finger than you have in your entire pontificating political persona. If you find that to be "problematic," then you'll just have to run to your shrink and work it out. While you're there, see if you can "rhetorically proximate" a justification to take a personal stand on something you would personally fight for. After all, if you can't stand for something, you'll probably stand for anything. Thank God our country has better men and women than you!
Apparently you've never read or understood the poem "It is the Soldier" by Charles Province:
"It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Freedom has never been free. It would be nice if all those who enjoy the freedoms bought and paid for by the blood and lives of others would show a modicum of respect and responsibility. God Bless our Warriors and God Bless our Heroes!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Say It Ain’t So, Joe!
By William L. Garvin
Apparently Joe wasn’t satisfied with the ignominious face plant he suffered while getting “too far out over his skis” on gay marriage. Not a week had gone bye before he felt it necessary to channel his inner Howard Dean and scream at an audience in Youngstown, Ohio. The union members who had been bused in seemed particularly energized by his rage at the machine outburst but reports say many more onlookers were totally nonplussed by his histrionics.
Maybe they were actually paying attention to what the Vice President was saying. Maybe they were also wondering how Joe gets away with it all. What qualifies him to speak for blue collar workers and the middle class? Just like his boss, what are his actual qualifications?
First of all, he got his Bachelors from the University of Delaware in 1965 and his JD from Syracuse in 1968. His biography says he worked as a public defender and in private law practice. However, he served on a local County Council from 1970-1972, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of twenty-nine. His private sector experience was extremely limited and he has been a career politician for forty-two years. He’s not exactly what anyone would call “blue collar.” He may try to deny it but he’s a beltway insider through and through. Nonetheless, he’s the presidential pit bull and as his boss comically said “nobody messes with Joe.” Maybe that’s because no one can understand Joe!
The presidential strategy is pretty clear: demonize venture capitalists in general and Bain Capital in specific. They put together a two minute television ad for five swing states and a six minute website blast. The centerpiece is GST Steel, a mill in Kansas City, Missouri, that declared bankruptcy in 2001. Bain Capital had purchased it in 1993. "Everyone lost their jobs," Biden and the ads lamented. There’s one little problem, Romney had left Bain Capital two years earlier to run the winter Olympics! As is all too common, the “vampire” charges can’t stand the light of day. Curiously absent from the ads are any mention of all the other steel mills that shut down that were not owned by Bain Capital. Also absent is any mention of union intransigence when it came to contract negotiations or foreign nations, notably China, dumping steel on the American market.
It’s also interesting to note that the Obama campaign picked Youngstown, Ohio for the “shout out” by the Veep. Supposedly, good old blue collar Joe would be able to capitalize on his popularity in the middle of the rust belt. “They don’t get it! They don’t get who we are!” he shouted. Democrats think Republicans don't understand the little guy in fly over country. Apparently, career politicians do…except for the One who disdains those in the heartland who are “bitterly clinging to their guns and their religion.” Certainly that would appeal to the deep pocket San Franciscans he was wooing in 2008.
However, all is not doom and gloom. "There are signs of hope in the heartland," said Joltin’ Joe, alluding to Obama’s economic policies. It is true that Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped by three points in the last two years. Of course, that’s when the Buckeye State and Republican Governor John Kasich started balancing the budget, building up reserves, and talking about cutting income taxes. It’s the same in Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker, despite the all out assault from the unions. They are creating jobs and attracting businesses in those states. Of course, in California businesses are fleeing because of high taxes and mounds of regulations. Naturally, Democrats want to increase taxes and add more regulations. Maybe Governor Brown can get VP Biden to come on in and help out. Or maybe he can get George Clooney to organize some fundraisers.
In the meantime, we’ve got Joe Biden, one heartbeat away from the presidency, out there as the President’s spokesperson screaming and shouting what can best be described as nonsensical gibberish. To paraphrase the famous Ann Richards quote, “Joe can’t help it...he was born with a pseudo-blue collar foot in his mouth.”
Apparently Joe wasn’t satisfied with the ignominious face plant he suffered while getting “too far out over his skis” on gay marriage. Not a week had gone bye before he felt it necessary to channel his inner Howard Dean and scream at an audience in Youngstown, Ohio. The union members who had been bused in seemed particularly energized by his rage at the machine outburst but reports say many more onlookers were totally nonplussed by his histrionics.
Maybe they were actually paying attention to what the Vice President was saying. Maybe they were also wondering how Joe gets away with it all. What qualifies him to speak for blue collar workers and the middle class? Just like his boss, what are his actual qualifications?
First of all, he got his Bachelors from the University of Delaware in 1965 and his JD from Syracuse in 1968. His biography says he worked as a public defender and in private law practice. However, he served on a local County Council from 1970-1972, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of twenty-nine. His private sector experience was extremely limited and he has been a career politician for forty-two years. He’s not exactly what anyone would call “blue collar.” He may try to deny it but he’s a beltway insider through and through. Nonetheless, he’s the presidential pit bull and as his boss comically said “nobody messes with Joe.” Maybe that’s because no one can understand Joe!
The presidential strategy is pretty clear: demonize venture capitalists in general and Bain Capital in specific. They put together a two minute television ad for five swing states and a six minute website blast. The centerpiece is GST Steel, a mill in Kansas City, Missouri, that declared bankruptcy in 2001. Bain Capital had purchased it in 1993. "Everyone lost their jobs," Biden and the ads lamented. There’s one little problem, Romney had left Bain Capital two years earlier to run the winter Olympics! As is all too common, the “vampire” charges can’t stand the light of day. Curiously absent from the ads are any mention of all the other steel mills that shut down that were not owned by Bain Capital. Also absent is any mention of union intransigence when it came to contract negotiations or foreign nations, notably China, dumping steel on the American market.
It’s also interesting to note that the Obama campaign picked Youngstown, Ohio for the “shout out” by the Veep. Supposedly, good old blue collar Joe would be able to capitalize on his popularity in the middle of the rust belt. “They don’t get it! They don’t get who we are!” he shouted. Democrats think Republicans don't understand the little guy in fly over country. Apparently, career politicians do…except for the One who disdains those in the heartland who are “bitterly clinging to their guns and their religion.” Certainly that would appeal to the deep pocket San Franciscans he was wooing in 2008.
However, all is not doom and gloom. "There are signs of hope in the heartland," said Joltin’ Joe, alluding to Obama’s economic policies. It is true that Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped by three points in the last two years. Of course, that’s when the Buckeye State and Republican Governor John Kasich started balancing the budget, building up reserves, and talking about cutting income taxes. It’s the same in Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker, despite the all out assault from the unions. They are creating jobs and attracting businesses in those states. Of course, in California businesses are fleeing because of high taxes and mounds of regulations. Naturally, Democrats want to increase taxes and add more regulations. Maybe Governor Brown can get VP Biden to come on in and help out. Or maybe he can get George Clooney to organize some fundraisers.
In the meantime, we’ve got Joe Biden, one heartbeat away from the presidency, out there as the President’s spokesperson screaming and shouting what can best be described as nonsensical gibberish. To paraphrase the famous Ann Richards quote, “Joe can’t help it...he was born with a pseudo-blue collar foot in his mouth.”
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sorry, Sorrier, and Sorriest
By
William L. Garvin
So
Veep Joe Biden is sorry he got “too far out over his skis” voicing his
“comfort” with gay marriage. And Hilary
Rosen is sorry she insulted Ann Romney and stay at home moms everywhere by
saying she has “never worked a day in her life.” And Sandra Fluke is sorry that people thought
she meant others should pay for HER contraception. The Secret Service is sorry they got caught
hooking up with hookers. The General
Services Administration is sorry their “party card” has been canceled. And Bill Maher is sorry about…absolutely
nothing. One needs a soul, a conscience,
or a sense of decency to feel sorry.
What
is sorrier is that Al Sharpton isn’t sorry about his continual race
baiting. His most recent incendiary rant
urging “rabbits being hunted to get guns and start shooting back” fits right in
with the MSNBC modus operandi of “ready, fire, aim!” Flaming liberal Howard Dean isn’t sorry about
saying Republicans “hate women” are “anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant” and
“don’t like Latinos.” This is as
ignorant as those, President Obama included, who say Republicans want “dirty
air and dirty water.” Aren’t liberals
supposed to be opposed to profiling and stereotyping?
What’s
sorrier is all those who ranted and railed every single day about President
Bush and Veep Cheney being responsible for gas hitting $4/gallon now rant and
rail daily about President Obama not having much to do with today’s $4 plus price
tag. Undoubtedly the President has
“forgotten” about the leftist meme that the previous spike in price was all due
to President Bush’s ties to Big Oil and Cheney’s ties to Halliburton. Currently, the San Jose Mercury News says California
gasoline averages $4.23. “Prepare to get
clobbered” said Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com
in an article by Gary Richards.
California’s prices could rise as much as twenty cents in the next few
days!
What
is sorrier is the President’s class warfare against “the rich” and his adoption
of the Occupy movement’s hatred for the “one percent.” Of course, he turns right around and hobnobs
with ‘onepercenters” at $35,000 and $40,000 per plate dinners. He also collects more money from Wall Street
than any president before and spends more time in fundraisers that ever
before. Indeed, when he announced the
“official start” to his reelection campaign, it looked no different than what
he has been doing for the last six months!
What
is sorriest is the absolute fiscal disaster brought on by Democrats. Take California, the bell weather state for
the entire country. While Governor Brown
continues to pour money down the bullet train sinkhole, he’s trying to solve
his ballooning $16 billion fiscal crisis by “realignment.” Simply stated, he’s dumping state prisoners,
Medi-Cal, and social welfare recipients on the counties. Unfortunately, county pension costs run
between 4 and 9 percent but could easily balloon to between 15 and 20
percent. Look for Chapter 9 bankruptcies
when this happens. Orange County, which
declared bankruptcy in 1994, appears to be on the brink again.
Cities
are also at risk. Look at the City of
Angels. Former Mayor Frank Riordan has
stated that LA will be bankrupt before 2014.
The current City Administrative Officer, Miguel Santana has told the
mayor that there will be a $222 million shortfall this year that could be $427
million by 2014-15! Why? In spite of the recession, LA added 5,000
employees to its payroll between 2005 and 2010.
Secondly, its pension funds projects an 8% return on their
investments. Unfortunately for their two
largest funds, they have only averaged $3.5% and 2.8% for the last ten
years! That’s your liberal economic
model in a nutshell.
What’s
sorriest is that President Obama has increased the national debt by $5.1
trillion in only thirty-nine months! He
promised that unemployment would never reach 8% but he can’t get it below that
number. Unemployment applications have
averaged 379,000 for the last four weeks and 500,000 more disheartened workers
have simply given up and deserted the workforce since February. There’s no hope with this administration’s
policies. That’s why we need a change.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Who’ll Pick Up The Check?
By William L. Garvin
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship." Alexander Tyler, 1887, on the fall of the Athenian Republic
The United States may be living on borrowed time as well as borrowed money. Historians point out that great civilizations only last about two hundred years. If we mark our genesis as a great civilization from the writing of our Constitution, a paradigm shift from the divine right of kings, we're thirty-plus years past our prime.
If you want a glimpse of "Christmas Future," look at the European landscape, with which our ruling class seems so enamored. France has elected socialist Francoise Hollande as its new president. The champion of government spending immediately said "In all the capitals ... there are people who thanks to us, who are hoping, who are looking to us, and who want to finish with austerity."
Not to be outdone, the perpetually government-dependent Greeks hoisted their insatiable appetites back to the public trough. According to the New York Times: "While a flurry of attention was trained on the rise of the new Socialist president in France…investors around the world were more riveted by a crippling parliamentary election in Greece, where far-left and neo-Nazi parties dealt a blow to the dominant political parties… Now, with a fiercely anti-austerity crowd dominating the Greek Parliament, some investors think it is only a matter of time before the country reneges on the promises the previous government made of deep spending cuts and higher taxes to secure the bailout."
Meanwhile, Spain's government bonds are yielding over six percent and nobody's buying. Likewise, Italy has had to raise its yield to nearly eight percent, a three percent increase over the last month alone, to attract investors. Obviously, these are unsustainable rates. Look for the International Monetary Fund to continue to put the squeeze on members to pony up more money. Recently, IMF chief Christine Lagarde indicated that the $390 billion the IMF currently has available for lending may not suffice should the global outlook worsen. She has said that the group of twenty nations is prepared to boost the fund's resources as the European debt crisis threatens the global recovery. The U.S. is but one of the twenty but contributes nearly one-fifth of the money. What else is new?
We have reached the tipping point where there are more people not paying income taxes than those who pay them. There are many out there who don't pay taxes but are clamoring for taxes to be increased on "the rich." Since they have no skin in the game, it's no skin off their nose. Unable to see past the end of their collective nose, they don't have a clue about the long range ramifications of their short term gratifications. In California, nearly five businesses a week are fleeing the state yet people are surprised that the unemployment rate is eleven percent. The California Public Employee Retirement System and the California State Teacher Retirement System continue to fail miserably below the rose-colored projections of returns on their investments. That's billions and billions of dollars short which will have to be made up from the general fund….which means more "revenue," which means higher taxes, which means more businesses will leave, which means unemployment will increase.
Nationally, the rates on student loans will not go up. Why not just eliminate the Social Security tax entirely? Pet government businesses will be subsidized and failing businesses will be bailed out. Open borders and free scholarships. Income tax refunds to people and children who have never lived in this country. Freebies here and freebies there. If it feels good, do it. If you want it, you got it.
Neither California nor our country is willing to impose the critical measures necessary to right the fiscal ship. Politicians of every stripe will continue to promise more and more to more and more until they kill the goose laying the golden eggs. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly noted: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples' money."
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship." Alexander Tyler, 1887, on the fall of the Athenian Republic
The United States may be living on borrowed time as well as borrowed money. Historians point out that great civilizations only last about two hundred years. If we mark our genesis as a great civilization from the writing of our Constitution, a paradigm shift from the divine right of kings, we're thirty-plus years past our prime.
If you want a glimpse of "Christmas Future," look at the European landscape, with which our ruling class seems so enamored. France has elected socialist Francoise Hollande as its new president. The champion of government spending immediately said "In all the capitals ... there are people who thanks to us, who are hoping, who are looking to us, and who want to finish with austerity."
Not to be outdone, the perpetually government-dependent Greeks hoisted their insatiable appetites back to the public trough. According to the New York Times: "While a flurry of attention was trained on the rise of the new Socialist president in France…investors around the world were more riveted by a crippling parliamentary election in Greece, where far-left and neo-Nazi parties dealt a blow to the dominant political parties… Now, with a fiercely anti-austerity crowd dominating the Greek Parliament, some investors think it is only a matter of time before the country reneges on the promises the previous government made of deep spending cuts and higher taxes to secure the bailout."
Meanwhile, Spain's government bonds are yielding over six percent and nobody's buying. Likewise, Italy has had to raise its yield to nearly eight percent, a three percent increase over the last month alone, to attract investors. Obviously, these are unsustainable rates. Look for the International Monetary Fund to continue to put the squeeze on members to pony up more money. Recently, IMF chief Christine Lagarde indicated that the $390 billion the IMF currently has available for lending may not suffice should the global outlook worsen. She has said that the group of twenty nations is prepared to boost the fund's resources as the European debt crisis threatens the global recovery. The U.S. is but one of the twenty but contributes nearly one-fifth of the money. What else is new?
We have reached the tipping point where there are more people not paying income taxes than those who pay them. There are many out there who don't pay taxes but are clamoring for taxes to be increased on "the rich." Since they have no skin in the game, it's no skin off their nose. Unable to see past the end of their collective nose, they don't have a clue about the long range ramifications of their short term gratifications. In California, nearly five businesses a week are fleeing the state yet people are surprised that the unemployment rate is eleven percent. The California Public Employee Retirement System and the California State Teacher Retirement System continue to fail miserably below the rose-colored projections of returns on their investments. That's billions and billions of dollars short which will have to be made up from the general fund….which means more "revenue," which means higher taxes, which means more businesses will leave, which means unemployment will increase.
Nationally, the rates on student loans will not go up. Why not just eliminate the Social Security tax entirely? Pet government businesses will be subsidized and failing businesses will be bailed out. Open borders and free scholarships. Income tax refunds to people and children who have never lived in this country. Freebies here and freebies there. If it feels good, do it. If you want it, you got it.
Neither California nor our country is willing to impose the critical measures necessary to right the fiscal ship. Politicians of every stripe will continue to promise more and more to more and more until they kill the goose laying the golden eggs. As Margaret Thatcher so aptly noted: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples' money."
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