A brand-new Pew Research Poll -- widely circulated and publicized -- informs that approval ratings for President Obama have an historic partisan gap.  The approval-percentage gap is wider between Republcans and Democrats on Obama than for any prexy in the last forty years.  So much for our new era of cooperation.

The gap is 61%, with 88% of Democrats approving the presidents job performance to date and a mere 27% of Republicans.  What caught my attention immediately has apparently not raised anyone else's eybrows, much less the hair on the backof their necks.

Parlaying the solid-leftist work of President Carter in the late '70s and the contributions of President Clinton in the ealy '90s (before the Republican Revolution of 1994); following and building on the subversion in the early and mid oh-ohs by Rains, Waters, ACORN, Obama, Dodd, Frank, and Cuomo; Rahm Emanuel orchestrated and choreographed, while Charles Schumer lobbed the first grenade in the 2008 October Surprise to end all October surprises; all of that leading to "a crisis is an opportunity not to be wasted." Now in the first two months of the Obama Administration, the federal government has gone from 67% unconstitutional to 75% with a trajectory to achieve more than 80% by year's end.  The Declaration of Independence has de facto been repealed.  The President has spoken, and America has renounced its sovereignty.

And 27% of Republicans approve of the President's job performance.  Between a quarter and a third of Republicans are cheering . . . and want more.  My posture is slumped.  I'm blowing profanity outa one orifice and smoke and flames from the other end.

It is my conviction that the Founders of these United States of America possessed collective genius. They somehow understood, for example, that human rights come not from a king or a government, but from the Creator and, thus, are unalienable.  The Constitution they -- as "We the People of the United States" -- crafted prohibited the federal government from exercising any power or authority not explicitly enumerated.

 

Those Founders with their collective genius rightly feared that the Constitution could, and would, not survive without a moral people.  The 16th amendment, ratified in 1913, must have shaken the Founders' graves.  Then, in the 1930s President Franklin Delano Roosevelt single-handedly "trashed" our Constitution more than all of his predecessors combined . . . a hundredfold.

FDR's Federal Reserve Bank Chairman -- a former Macy's ceo -- supersized 1913 by forcing all employers to withhold income taxes rather than taxpayers stroking a check each March 15.  Thus, taxes were no longer paid; they were taken.  Government is constantly working to expand itself, never to limit itself.  The "expansions" of Presidents William Taft in 1910s and Roosevelt in the 1930s, along with all who've followed their precedents, all remain with us today.

We at GetAmericaRight seek to cause the federal government to not only limit itself, but to shrink itself.  We seek nothing less than to save America . . . from itself.

We at  GetAmericaRight have become convinced both that Tom DeLay was spot on when he said, “Demagoguery beats data”, and that Democrats/Liberals/Leftists/Socialists/Fascists (Was that redundant?) are masters of this wordsmithing.

 Democrats employ demagoguery because their ideas are based on no data, no logic, no history, and no rationality.  Despite having data, logic, history and rationality all on their side, conservatives, we’re convinced, need to out-demagogue their opponents because it works.

 We over at GetAmericaRight would like your help.  Let’s do some brainstorming here.  This is second in a series of queries.

 Should the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” (aka “”card check”) be called the

a.       “Union-Thug Intimidation-Enhancement Act”?

b.      “Democrat Unions Payback Act”?

c.       “Thanks for the Campaign Contributions Act”?

d.      “Even More Campaign Contributions Next Time Act”?

e.       Other _________________________?

 

I wanna GENTLY move y'all justa

tad toward demagoguery and a touch away from data. As conservatives, what we try to do is present ala Sgt. Friday, LA Police, badge 714, i.e., "Just the facts, ma'am."

The so-called "Fairness Doctrine" maybe just oughta be referred to by conservatives as the "Better Dead than Right Doctrine." I mean, if a conservative tree falls in the woods, and there's no talk radio, will the falling tree make a sound?

A stack of one dollar bills equivalent of what Bernie Madoff’s clients lost, laid on its side would stretch from Miami to San Francisco, indeed across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County . . . and from South Beach.   A stack of one dollar bills, equivalent of what President Obama and Congress have bilked from us,our children and grandchildren in just the last two months would reach the moon . . .  ten times . . . to the far side. 

 And not all of what Madoff bilked could have been spent by him.  A guy has a pretty tough time running up bar tabs that run into the billions, you know.  Heck, if Madoff’s clients had invested in regular 401ks, they’d have lost about a stack of bills from Miami to Dallas thanks to the Democrats and President Obama, and what's recoverable might be a stack from Dallas to, say, Santa Fe, so maybe Madoff wasn’t such a bad guy after all.  Perspective. 

 Yet, I’m pretty sure  President Obama’s favorable poll numbers beat the snot out Bernie Madoff’s. These money guys from New York just can’t catch a break.  Wass wit dat?

 

This morning I received a market update from a New York City large investment bank pro, also a member of GetAmericaRight.  He said,
"My opinion: We have now entered a very dark and scary hole, which is likely not very conducive to increasing investor confidence."  He was referring to President Obama's latest pronouncements vis-a-vis General Motors and Chrysler.  I immediately published the line as a second Quote of the Day on GetAmericaRight.

The financial pro popped me a follow-up e-mail, "Other people on the desk don't seem to think it as scary, given it's not exactly like the 90% tax debacle.   I understand someone giving loans on stipulations, but it's one thing to answer to investors; it's another thing when you have to answer to Uncle Sam.  Theoretically, firms work in their best interest... and with that, GM would have fired Wagner a long time ago, if they thought it to be in their best interest... and the Chrysler/Fiat deal would already be done."

The "dark and scary hole" to which he referred, I think, is the "black hole" that is radical socialism and radical fascism.  GM and Chrysler leaders -- and everyone else in the private sector -- have just had it made crystal clear to them that it matters zip what is their best interest or they believe their customers want.  The only thing that matters is what the federal government wants.

Many of us have for at least six months questioned only when, not if, this day would arrive and this line would be crossed.  We now have much more than the camel's head under the tent.  The camel herd is in and ruling the tent.  There is no longer even any pretense that we are a "nation of laws".  We are a nation of men, radical, Saul-Alinsky-inspired, socialists-fascists all.

We at GetAmericaRight have become convinced both that Tom DeLay was spot on when he said, “Demagoguery beats data”, and that Democrats/Liberals/Leftists/Socialists/Fascists (Was that redundant?) are masters of this wordsmithing.

 Democrats employ demagoguery because their ideas are based on no data, no logic, no history, and no rationality.  Despite having data, logic, history and rationality all on their side, conservatives, we’re convinced, need to out-demagogue their opponents because it works.

 We over at GetAmericaRight would like your help.  Let’s do some brainstorming here.  This is first in a series of queries.

 Should the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” be referred to by conservatives as the

a.       “conservatism gag order”?

b.      “duct tape doctrine”?

c.       “rationality rationing”?

d.      other ___________________________?

 

Finally, after many months of effort and collaboration,

 

has been launched. I would appreciate greatly your visiting the new site, doing some reading, and considering becoming an active member.  In my humble opinion, this interactive community of true-conservative activists just may -- if anyone can -- save America . . . from itself.


 


Enthusiastically,

drpete

The U.S. Postal Service in my memory has raised the price of stamps about 30-fold.  They use predatory pricing for package shipping versus UPS, FedEx, et al.  Illegal?  Sure, but if you're the government . . .   So, USPS is still losing money, since fewer and fewer people continue to use them, and those who still do, do so less.  I saw a survey question last week on Townhall that asked something like, should the postal service be required to (a) continue delivery six days or (b) be allowed to cut back to five?

I wondered where (c) was.  How about (c) Give 30-day notice it will close and cease all service?  Hey, two-thirds of what the federal government does and spends it has no enumerated power to do.  The post office is enumerated, but what the heck.  Nobody in Washington pays any attention anyway.

Then, there's Miguel Tejada -- major-league baseball all-star -- who was convicted of "misleading congress".  Excuse me, but if I'd been Tejada, sitting before the congressional committee, I'd have sat there with a copy of the U.S. Constitution before me. When asked the first question, I'd have sat silently reading from page one.  When the question was repeated by the impatient congressman, I'd have looked up and said, "Please give a few minutes, congressman.  I'm trying my best to find in this document where it says that you or anyone on this panel has the constitutional authority to even require my being here, much less asking me such a question."

And I can name about 350 congressmen and 42 senators who've lied to congress, and that was just when they took the oath of office.  Never mind that they continue to lie daily.  And I'll throw in President Obama, who lied twice when taking his oath of office, once on January 20 and again the following day.  And he has also continued daily.

• If increasing the size and scope of government while reducing the size of the private sector improved an economy, please explain North Korea. 
  
• Please explain why Hong Kong is prosperous while France is not. 
• Please explain why the Great Depression lasted the whole of the 1930s.
  
• Please explain why a man taking buckets of water from the deep end of a pool, then pouring the buckets of water back at the shallow end to make it deeper isn't stupid.* 
  
• Please give me your top-ten-favorite-economic-success socialist/fascist countries of all time.

* I stole the essence of this line from the great Walter E. Williams.

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is
made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear
down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't
being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and
other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like
Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind
of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all
areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a
ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented . Some
would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They
made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good
and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new
American households and some even changed their names to blend in with
their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a
new life and did everything in their power to help their children
assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them.   No free
lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were
the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a
future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My
father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from
Germany , Italy , France , and Japan . None of these 1st generation
Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had
come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the
Emperor of Japan . They were defending the United States of America as
one people.

When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for
the French-American or the German- American or the Irish-American. The
people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that
represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have
thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to
represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their
parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly
knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot
into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the
same rights and privileges, only they want to achieve it by playing
with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card
and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry,
that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the
immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve
better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising
future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those
legally searching for a better life I think they would be appalled
that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country
flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it
happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the
immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the
United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
Orange County, California

 I used to pose the following to my college-student graduates from government schools:  I contend that there are three categories of k-12 teachers.  The first (A) has teachers who should immediately be given a 100 percent salary increase and driven to and from school each day in a chauffeured limousine.  The second (B) has teachers who should receive no raise, receive no ride, but should be mentored by Category A. The third (C) has people who should be treated as a liquor store or porn shop, i.e., never again allowed within 500 feet of a school.

            I surveyed college upperclassmen because they now had some distance and perspective on the subject.  The students would think about it, jot some notes, review their school years and the two-dozen-plus teachers each had had.  I’d then call on them individually, asking how many of each category they’d had.  Almost all said that they’d had some of each.

            The range for A’s was ten-to-thirty percent.  The range for B’s was twenty-to-sixty percent.  The range for C’s was fifteen-to-fifty percent.  So, everyone had had at least three great teachers during the thirteen years and many subjects.  And everyone had had at least five-ish awful teachers and some as many as fifteen.  At the end, I’d ask if the students agreed with my categorization and characterization.  They all did.

            If a hospital emergency room had fifteen-to-fifty percent of its nurses and anesthetists Category C, would you go there for care?  If a bank had that many tellers Category C, would you bank there?  Heck, if your meat market had that many Category C butchers, would you shop there?  If your car dealer service department had that many Category C mechanics and technicians, would you take your precious SUV there?  If the hospital or bank or market or dealership gave huge raises to their Category C personnel, would they then become Category A?  If the hospital or bank or market or dealership reduced the number of customers per employee, would the quality of performance by its C’s become A-class?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re a dunce, but could still have a very comfortable life and career as a Category C teacher in our government schools.  Just pay your KEA/TEA/NEA dues.  If you answered “no” to all of these questions, then we seem to be communicating.  If you answered “no”, but you keep sending your children to the governments’ schools for indoctrination and PC-mania anyway, however, maybe I’m just not communicating well enough.

Any Category A teacher at your child’s school can list the school’s Category C teachers alphabetically, chronologically, by grade level or by hair color, but most wouldn’t.  All principals could do likewise, even for other schools, but none would.  The superintendent could list them for the entire system without notes, but won’t.  When asked at a public meeting about the problem of bad teachers by a parent, Knox County (Tennessee) schools superintendent said that the real problem is when a child has two bad teachers in a row.  So principals are instructed to avoid that.

When asked why he didn’t listen to and respect parents and students more, the president of the national teachers union said that, when parents and students pay union dues, he will.  Retired lifelong union members – UAW, AFL/CIO, Teamsters – are complaining loudly at their retirement homes about the unionized staffers.  The retirees whine that staffers don’t listen to and respect them.  Paybacks are tough.  Finally, can any of you out there rattle off a list of government bureaucracies with quality customer service?

Save the children.  Kill the government schools.  Also please read and respond to SL Gordon's  Townhall blog post of today   about schools and being a teacher.  Finally, also be mindfull of the fact that "economic stimulus" moneys in billions of dollars will shortly be "invested" in government schools.  Another way of explaining that is that Democrats in the House and Senate, along with the new prexy, are really indebted to the NEA and AFT for all of their usual help this election cycle.  While the teachers remind the children to "wash your hands", they was the politicians' hands and the pols return the favor.

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of  this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country. However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend.  There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this
country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more. Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Forlornly,
Pete

Noah circa 2009 right here in the US of A,

 

Take 10 minutes to watch this video of Obama voters exiting the polls.  Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does." Comedian Ron White said "You can't fix stupid."