It Does Make a Difference!

By William L. Garvin

So much foolishness and so little time.  After four months of delay, Hillary Clinton finally appeared before congressional committees to testify about the murder of four Americans in Benghazi.  She added absolutely nothing to our understanding of what transpired or why those men died.  She accepted responsibility but not blame; apparently, no one is to blame because no one has been fired.  For some reason, the sycophantic media lauded her “what difference does it make?” Clintonesque screech as some sort of Joan of Arc rallying cry.  The media missed or ignored the point as did the investigating committee.  If you’re going to prevent such a travesty from happening again, the cause makes all the difference in the world in determining an appropriate countermeasure.  Why the administration chose to lie about a video makes a great deal of difference in determining public trust.  Why the consulate security requests were denied or ignored makes a great deal of difference.  What actions were taken and when they were taken makes a great deal of difference.  Of course, the myopic mainstream media seemed much more interested (and showed more diligence!) in make-believe girlfriends, lip synching singers, and doping cyclists than subjects of national importance.

This media foolishness is pathetic.  You would think Newsweek would have learned from their previous debacle showing President Obama with a halo over his head.  Did that influence actor Jamie Foxx to “give thanks to my lord and savior Barack Obama”?  Now Newsweek doubles down on blasphemy by a beatific, new cover picture of the president captioned “The Second Coming.”  Sainthood was stupid but deification is the height of media adulation, cooption and is an insult to Jews, Christians, and thinking people everywhere.

More foolishness surrounded golfer Phil Mickelson saying he might move out of California to a state where he would pay lower taxes.  When Tiger Woods moved to Florida for exactly the same reason, nary a discouraging word was heard.  Now that Tiger has fallen from grace, he might be treated as a pariah in the same way that Mickelson is currently being treated.  Of course, there is scant coverage of Warren Buffett employing an army of attorneys for millions of dollars to avoid paying corporate taxes.  The media hypocrisy was also apparent in their vendetta to lynch Mitt Romney for having a legal, off shore account in the Cayman Islands.  However, when Google shifts $9.8 billion of revenues into a Bermuda shell company thereby avoiding $2 billion in taxes, that’s good business.  Obviously, when you contribute over $800,000 to the Obama campaign, you will buy a lot of media good will.

More liberal foolishness, nee insanity, comes in their maniacal obsession to enact gun control for law abiding citizens.  One of the more humorous arguments relies on the single shot, muzzle loading muskets that were available at the time of the founding fathers.  Apparently, there wouldn’t be a second amendment if the constitutional authors had known that modern weaponry would exist.  That’s akin to saying we wouldn’t need protections for freedom of the press or speech if they would have known about radio, television, cell phones or the internet.  That’s almost as silly as the governor of New York postulating that the freedom to bear arms was designed for deer hunters.  Of course, his haphazard 7-bullet magazine limitation turned most of the peace officers in New York into instantaneous lawbreakers!

Predictably, the National Rifle Association is the liberal whipping boy du jour.  So, was the Newtown shooter an NRA member?  Well…no.  Was the Aurora theater shooter an NRA member?   No.  How about the Virginia Tech shooter?  No.  How about the Gabby Giffords shooter?  Again, no.  The Columbine shooters?  Definitely not.  What about the “Allahu Akbar” shouting, Fort Hood shooting Major Nidal Hassan?  Absolutely not.  Furthermore, not a single one of these homicidal loons was a conservative, Republican, or had any association with George Bush, Dick Cheney, or Sarah Palin.  Those torturous connect-the-dot liberal concoctions have as much substance as Hillary Clinton’s testimony.

Don’t expect any substantive discussion on important issues.  It’s a 140-character twitter world with an attention span of the same length.  Sound bites and pop culture dominate the low information voter universe.  Factual debate and investigative journalism are passé.  The watchdog press has become a simpering puppy propaganda arm for a liberal world view.  It is the only profession protected by the Constitution but it has shamefully denigrated that status.  They have violated their oaths and they passively protect those who violate the Constitution.  What a shameful and dangerous situation. 

That was Then…This is Now

By William L. Garvin

“On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics…and those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”  President Obama’s FIRST inaugural address, January, 2009.

In his second inaugural address, the President focused on different priorities which are supposedly uppermost in the public’s mind:  gun control, climate change, gay rights, and voter suppression.  Apparently the $16 trillion dollar debt, unemployment still at 7.8% (the same as when he took office), 47 million Americans on food stamps, and the most anemic recovery in history from a recession (which ended in 2009), are no longer matters of presidential concern.  It goes without saying that these new priorities are “all for the children.”

Prominently displayed throughout the day was the irrepressible Senator Chuck Schumer from New York.  He prepped for his prime time appearance by promising on the Sunday talk shows that for the first time in four years, the Senate Democrats would prepare a budget!  What an earth shattering revelation.  “We Democrats have always intended to do a budget this year,” according to Schumer.  Needless to say, nothing was said about the President’s budget proposal being late once again but then the Senate is FOUR YEARS LATE!  Naturally, Schumer’s key and most blustery point was “…it’s going to have revenues in it and our Republican colleagues better get used to that fact.”  The tax train is stopping at a station near you…all aboard!  Maybe that’s why the Democrats booed Congressman Paul Ryan when he came to be seated at the festivities.

But since gun control is the flavor of the day, (now that Benghazi, Fast and Furious, Syria, Mali, the resurgent al-quaeda, the deteriorating Arab Spring and the economy are no longer politically relevant), here are a few facts brilliantly laid out by Mark Alexander  (The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ ) to combat the prevailing emotional pablum being spewed:

“So, why all the political focus on "assault weapons"?
Because these weapons have been used in many murders, and crimes involving them have increased dramatically in the last 20 years, when gun control advocates coined the term "assault weapon," right?
Wrong. According to the FBI's most recent Uniform Crime Report, a summary of all serious crimes committed each year, in 1992 violent crime incidence was 752 per 100,000 people and 9.3 murders per 100,000.
In 2011, the violent crime rate had dropped to 386 per 100,000 and the murder rate to 4.7 per 100,000 -- nearly a 50 percent decline in both. This precipitous drop occurred at a time when the number of firearms increased dramatically -- including the sale of more than six million "assault weapons."
So, why all the political focus on "assault weapons"?
The 2011 FBI data shows that there were 323 murders committed with rifles of any kind. However, guns defined as "assault weapons" by the federal government were used in less than 0.5% (one-half of one percent) of all murders with guns in 2011.
By comparison, 496 murders were committed with hammers and clubs, and 1,694 murders were perpetrated with knives. Notably, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drunk drivers are responsible for nearly 10,000 deaths each year in the U.S. -- far more than the number of deaths involving guns of any kind in 2011. (Should there be federal background checks every time someone orders a beer or glass of Chardonnay?)
Additionally, according to the demographic and geographic profile of most violent crimes, the vast majority of perpetrators who murder with guns are associated with gangs and/or drug cartels, which thrive on urban welfare plantations.
In fact, there were more than 500 murders in Obama's hometown of Chicago last year -- a city with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. Most of those murders were tied to gangs and drugs.”
In reality, most “assault weapons” are “defense weapons” purchased by law abiding citizens.  For many of them, it actually is all about the children.  For others, it is a well armed militia, which in the language of the times was the general public.  For others, it is a matter of sport, hunting or target shooting.  For others, it is a matter of “choice.”  But liberals only support choice for liberals.

Let the Good Times Roll!

By William L. Garvin

Happy days are here again!  Laissez les bons temps rouler!  All those nasty Bush tax cuts which the Democrats refused to make permanent are now institutionalized as the Obama tax cuts.  There is one difference—now all those nasty rich people who have been robbing orphans and widows are going to be punished.  Their tax rates are going up and new revenue will just come gushing in.  The Obama Economy is in full recovery mode.  Don’t worry; be happy!

Why just look at the job boom in the last month alone.  There were 155,000 new jobs created.  That’s wonderful—all the television stations say so.  Don’t worry that the number is insufficient to keep pace with population growth.  Don’t worry that the unemployment rate rose to 7.8%.  Don’t worry about the number being revised downward next month—it’s a BOOMING recovery.  It’s party time!

Our astute leaders in Washington obviously believe their own press clippings.  Otherwise, they might actually be concerned about the $16.4 trillion (and growing) national debt.  Instead, they are not only refusing to place any significant spending cuts in place, they are already reverting to their pork barreling ways.  Examples highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle show “fiscal cliff” crony capitalism running rampant.  For instance, “There’s 75,000 happy wind workers today,” an industry representative told them. “They literally have scarcely any orders for next year.” However, Washington’s corporate welfare program will pay wind farms $22 for every megawatt-hour of electricity they generate.  Congress also provides alternative energy producers $1.01 per gallon for cellulosic biofuels.  The Bill extends tax credits for construction of biomass, geothermal, hydropower and other alternative power plants.  Congress insists the extension is a one-year loophole that will “only” cost taxpayers $116 million this year but critics point out that the tax credit itself is good for the next 10 years!   The final cost will be closer $12.2 billion by the time alternative energy corporations are done benefiting.
There’s also $15 million for asparagus farmers and a $4 million tax break for people who buy “2 or 3-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles”.  Puerto Rican and US Virgin Island rum makers will have a majority of their federal taxes refunded.  There’s another item called the “NASCAR Pork Chop” which costs out at around $70 million which dwarfs in comparison to Hollywood’s $430 million late Christmas package.  Estimates of the total pork barrel hover in the $76 billion range.  Let the good times roll!

After Harry Reid called John Boehner a “dictator” (a phrase he never uses when discussing actual dictators!), Chris Christie joined the fray over the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill.  One hesitates to say he “piled on” for obvious reasons.  Unfortunately, he was way out of line and for a change, Boehner was right.  The Bill was another blatant example of continuing fiscal insanity and another manifestation of Congressional addiction to spending.  Some of the porker additions are as follows: $28 billion for future unspecified "disaster-mitigation" projects; $100 million for the repair of Head Start centers around the country; $8 million to buy cars and equipment for Homeland Security and Justice departments; $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska; $2 million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in Washington, D.C.; $207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center of New York.

The bottom line is that most of the bill money would never reach the Jersey shores and the people who actually need help.  After all the hoopla about FEMA doing such a wonderful job, much of the area is still in shambles, uninhabitable and mired in red tape.  Maybe that Obama-Christie hug was “premature congratulation” and less than satisfying to the people they are supposed to represent.  But don’t worry; be happy.  This administration has a wonderful economic plan to spend us into prosperity.  Don’t worry about spending cuts or sequestration.  The President has said the latter won’t happen and he doesn’t seem to care about the former.  It’s a wonderful world; no worries, mate; let the good times roll!

Hip, Hip, Hooray…for Hypocrites!

By William L. Garvin

You may have noted that Harry “The Hilarious” Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, made another of his cameo appearances.  This is the guy who has buried bill after bill after bill from the House of Representatives and then whines that they haven’t voted on his slap dash bill they threw together last week.  Forget that for weeks he has had a House bill that would extend all the current tax rates and has steadfastly refused to bring it out for an up or down vote.  Forget that he has not produced a budget for four years in direct defiance of his constitutional duty.  Forget that he hasn’t proposed a single actual spending cut.  Forget that he demanded twenty years of Mitt Romney’s tax returns but has yet to produce a single tax return of his own.  By the way, you Maven of Mirth, where’s the apology you, your acolytes and your “reliable source” owe Governor Romney for saying he never paid taxes?  You are such a cutup.

The national debt has now escalated to over $16.4 TRILLION dollars, half of which has occurred during your six-year run as Senate Leader.  Who are you to lecture anyone on fiscal responsibility?  And exactly why are you getting a pay raise?  Why don’t you explain how if it is bad for the economy to raise taxes on the middle class, how it is good for the economy to raise taxes on the rich?  In fact, just exactly how do you plan to grow the economy?  Oh that’s right, you don’t have a plan.  When you do come up with one, I’m sure we’ll have to pass it to find out what’s in it.  That worked really well last time, didn’t it?

We won’t find out any more about the details of our government gun-running operation “Fast and Furious” this year than we did last year.  However, expect all sorts of Chris Mathews’ spittle about gun control and assault weapons.  If someone swings a baseball bat at you, is that an assault weapon?  Ask Tiger Woods if a nine iron is an assault weapon.  If someone tries to stab you, is a knife an assault weapon?  If someone tries to run you down with a car, is an automobile an assault weapon?  Expect tons of Washington time to be spent on how many bullets can legally be in a clip or magazine by people who don’t the difference between automatic and semi-automatic weapons.  Expect the media and the internet to continue to rail about the Bushmaster AR-15 that was used in the Newtown massacre.  It wasn’t but don’t let the truth get in the way.  Expect Hollywood to wax poetic about abhorring gun violence while continuing to stylize murder and mayhem.  Expect video games to get progressively more graphic and violent.  Expect liberals to continue to strongly protect the rights of criminals and judges to release more of them back into society.  Expect liberals to mainstream the mentally ill.  Expect the Department of Justice to jail a filmmaker for a movie trailer that had nothing to do with the Benghazi murders but expect the Department of Defense to give unparalleled access to the makers of “Zero Dark Thirty” and give no thought to Muslim reactions to the latter.

Don’t expect Hillary to shed any light on Benghazi.  Doesn’t it seem odd that none of the survivors of the attack have been interviewed by the Congressional committees?  Are they also suffering from medical difficulties?  If there is systemic failure, why hasn’t anyone been fired?  Oh that’s right, they’ll get pay raises too….

Washington politicians will continue to talk out of both sides of their mouths on both sides of the aisle.  They’ll all come out with far more wealth than when they went in.  They’ll make sure that outsiders never interfere with the political ruling class.  It’s a political insider club sucking the economic life out of America.  Here we are at the end of the year on the edge of another fiscal disaster perpetrated on the American public by our duly elected representatives.  If you elect clowns, you shouldn’t be surprised when a circus breaks out.