PACNW Righty

Obama Thrashes Constitution

2012-02-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

Awesome post over at Director Blue showing how much our current is treading on the Constitution.

Here are a few examples:

First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States government.

First President to violate the War Powers Act.

First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.

The first President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.

There are about more than two dozen other examples of Obama’s thrashing of the Constitution with links to back it all up. If you have a few minutes, please take a gander.

Will MSM Investigate Media Matters?

2012-02-22T00:58:00.000-08:00

Not sure if any of you have seen this, but it is sure worth a read. The corruption of the Obama White House has been well chronicled across the right-leaning blogosphere as well has the disgusting hero worship of “The Chosen One” by the lame stream media. In the post linked here, Nice Deb provides some comparisons between Nixon’s Watergate, which forced him to resign in shame, and the ties between Media Matters and the Obama Administration.

What are the striking similarities between Nixon’s Watergate and what might be called, inevitably, Obama’s Media Mattersgate?

- The use of Private investigators to investigate the private lives off opponents: In the Nixon era, hiring a private investigator (Tony Ulasewicz) to investigate the private lives of opponents was the brainchild of John Ehrlichman. In the Obama era, hiring private investigators appears as a Media Matters recommendation in a memo by Karl Frisch. (Source: Nice Deb)

Deb points out a little later in her post that Frisch wrote in a memo:

“We should hire private investigators to look into the personal lives of Fox News anchors, hosts, reporters, prominent contributors, senior network and corporate staff.”

Make sure you click on the link to the full account, provided by Nice Deb.

Obama Shafts Military Again

2012-02-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

As part of a military retirement ceremony, one of the presentos given to the retiree is a letter “signed” by the Commander in Chief (President). Since I retired in 2010, my Commander in Chief was President Barack Obama. Because of his record towards the military, both as president and as a Senator, I decided not to have the letter presented to me as part of the ceremony. I do have it, but having a letter from him read aloud, thanking me for my service, kind of rang a bit hollow to me. I do have it, but it will never be displayed.

Now Obama has yet again confirmed this decision.

President Obama’s latest policy outrage makes no attempt to hide his contempt for our military, as he is ordering that our troops serving overseas in war zones overseas are no to receive combat pay unless they are being shot at, or at risk of being injured by hostile aggression. A Marine who lives in Florida (also currently serving in Afghanistan) has just posted a note on facebook which stated that he received a letter from his MyPay account that he would only be receiving his Hazard pay (Imminent Danger Pay) if he actually in a hostile area and at the risk of being shot at.

“So I just got a letter from MyPay (the way we get paid in the military), saying that I will only receive Combat Pay while deployed for the days that I take fire or am in a hostile area. Now, as an Infantry Marine, I’m constantly in a combat zone…it may not always be popping off, but for them to take that away from us is bull----. Now the aviation tech who sits on Camp Leatherneck, sure, I can see him not getting Combat Pay, but to take it away from the grunts, that ground pounders, the front line of defense…come on, Uncle Sam. You let the Liberals win a big one here…Marine from Florida” (Name redacted) (Source (Conservative Action Alerts)

The Marine make a very a couple of valid points. While you are “outside the wire” you are in constant danger of getting hit. It could be a sniper taking potshots at your convoy; it could be that improvised explosive device cooking off while on a dismounted patrol; or it could be a group of combatants firing AK’s at helicopters as they fly overhead.

8.3%: Is This Really Good News?

2012-02-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

Today the President Obama and his administration received some good news. Job creation was way ahead of expectations and the unemployment rate dropped. The labor department had expected the economy to create about 150,000 new jobs; however, more than 200,000 new jobs were created. Couple that with the decrease of the unemployment rate to 8.3%, all in all, this is good news for Obama.

Of course, the lame stream media is not going to report that dark cloud that this silver lining surrounds. While 200,000 thousand new jobs really does sound good, that these new jobs are mostly low paying service industry jobs kind of puts a damper on things. (More on this in a moment)

Also lost in the hubbub over the unemployment rate decrease is really how this came about. It really isn’t about how many jobs were created but rather how many people have decided to no longer search for jobs.

A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented 1.2 million. No, that’s not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. (Source: Zero Hedge)

If I remember my statistics correctly, to get the unemployment rate to drop one tenth of a percent, monthly job creation has to be somewhere north of 340,000. The unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percent, which should mean about 680,000 jobs were created. Something is not adding up. And my brain is beginning to hurt thinking about it.

As I mentioned above, it looks like many of these new jobs created are of the lower paying service industry type jobs. These are the jobs that pay at or just above minimum wage. Federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25 an hour. While it is true that few employers actually pay minimum wage, especially to adult workers with experience, the wage paid is not all that high. It certainly is not enough to cover household expenses, especially for those who were earning considerably higher before the recession took hold.

Before you think I am going on a rant about how the minimum wage needs to increase to a “living wage” I do want to stomp that idea down. I believe that minimum wage jobs are for entry level positions, for people getting their first-ever job, or for folks who want to supplement the family income. This is more to point out that while unemployment might have seen a decrease, it isn’t all wine and roses.

Let’s say you were earning $45,000 a year before you got laid off. Not a particularly high wage, but decent enough to get the bills paid. After struggling to find work, you finally land that job working at Sears or K-Mart earning $12.00 an hour (this is high end for retail). Your annual income is now just short of $25,000 a year if you are lucky enough to get on full time. I am not including overtime because retail is notorious for highly discouraging overtime for its employees on wages. Retail also isn’t known for hiring full time employees.

So now you have this job and are no longer considered unemployed. BUT, you are now earning $20,000 less than what you were earning a year or two ago. There goes the family life style. Kids removed from soccer programs, phones cut off to a bare minimum, evenings out with the family or your significant other are reduced to nothing, improvements to the home and repairs put off, and other things you had enjoyed before are reduced or eliminated.

When you look at it closer, you see that this is $20,000 less each year that is entering the economy. For the sake of argument let us use the 200,000 jobs created as a baseline. If all of these people hired had the same story as the scenario developed above we are talking about $4,000,000,000 less in the economy than before all the layoffs and job cuts happened. Now I realize this is over simplifying the issue a considerable amount. I am sure there have been people hired at wage levels higher than $12 an hour, but on the flip side there were many people who were earning way more than $45,000 a year who have struggled to find work.

Maybe some people can get excited about the drop in the unemployment rate (like the Obama supporters in the Lame Stream Media) but I can’t. Where are the high paying jobs? They are not being created fast enough to help this economy recover robustly.

Does Obama Care Violate the 1st Amendment?

2012-02-03T02:08:00.000-08:00

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.

In the three years that President Barack Obama has held office, he and his minions have done a great job of trampling the Constitution of the United States. He has consolidated much power in a few executive offices, bypassing and hamstringing Congress; he has given carte blanche to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pretty much every facet of our lives (pollutants released, vehicle MPG, light bulbs, etc.); passed a health care bill that many traditional Constitution scholars consider illegal; and has usurped immigration policy with little to no consent of Congress.

Up to this point, he and his gang of left-wing ideologues have pretty much left religion alone. Some of the more far-left have nibbled at the edges (Gay Marriage), but basic freedoms have been left untouched.

No longer is this the case.

And They Call Conservatives Racist

2012-02-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

As many of you are aware, the left has beaten the drum about how racist and bigoted folks in the Tea Party, conservatives and Republicans are. Maybe they need to take a deeper look at their own party. The video at this link provided is a must see.

Normally I would embed the video, but the language is quite strong.

If there are any liberal or progressives readers of this blog, could you explain why folks who have a conservative leaning in their politics are routinely blanketed with the racist charge yet when one of their own goes on a tirade like this, no one calls them on the carpet.

Occupy Arrests Up Just A Tad

2012-01-31T17:31:00.000-08:00

As of 31 Jan 2012:

Occupy “Something” arrests:

6,455

Tea Party Arrests:

ZERO

Just a little food for thought. And maybe a little ammunition when discussing theses matters with your liberal friends.

Click here for updates. Warning, this site linked is a progressive site, supporting the Occupy movement. Thus, you will be hard pressed to find the arrests of the folks carrying out other crimes other than the refusal to move. If you want to get a feel for the level of crimes being committed by some of the people associated with the Occupy movement, click here. I did do some quick cross-referencing and found that the progressive site kind of, sort of, well, forgot to mention some of the more violent incidents, like the assaults and the vandalism. I’m just sayin’

Something to Consider

2012-01-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

From time to time I use a link from Doug Ross’s Director Blue for the basis of a blog post. When I do this, I do my best to ensure that he gets credit for a hat tip (h/t). I also spend time reading the stuff he posts.

Today I ran across a post that is a must read for all of you out there. In this post he describes what he thinks is the “Most Audacious Armed Robbery in History.” And while the title of his post might just a bit over the top, what he has to say and the points that he makes are certainly NOT over the top.

The very finally point that he makes in his post is something that you all should seriously contemplate. If you are not a supporter of Mitt Romney (and I am not), Newt Gingrich (leaning a little), Rick Santorum (I do like), or Ron Paul (A little too crazy on foreign policy), you need to consider the alternative if Obama gets another four years. During this primary season, support your candidate with everything you have. But once the primaries are done and the GOP nominee has been selected, DON’T sit on your butts in protest come November just because the candidate might not be your first (or even second) choice. At the risk of repeating myself: Consider the alternative.

California Does it Again

2012-01-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Many on the left is very fond of using the term fascist for those of us who believe in conservative principles like a free market to determine what will sell and what won’t.

Recent news out of California might have a few folks relooking this.

For those who need a refresher the term fascist, when correctly applied, describes an economic structure that is controlled by a heavily centralized government. Private businesses are allowed to operate, but only under government mandated goals such as prices, profit levels, and production numbers. Because of this centralized decision making, the end consumer is also impacted as products they might want are either not available, available at inflated prices, or quality is poor due to companies cutting corners to continue to be profitable.

Last week, the California Air Resources Board passed emission standards that will require every seventh car sold in the state to be electric or zero emission.

…the new state policy mandates that a mix of 1.4 million zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles be on the road by 2025, nearly triple the number begin driven today. Problem is, this increases the cost of these vehicles and limits consumer choices to those they don’t want to make. (Source: Investor.com) (h/t Director Blue)

So here we have a government dictating what can be sold to consumers, the free market be danged. Add to the mix that the California government, especially those in appointed position (unanswerable to the public), is a collection of progressives and liberal agenda-driven folks.

Please tell me again who the Fascists are.

More Taxes to Fund Cali High Speed Rail

2012-01-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

There was a time when California alone was something like the 10th largest economy in the world. Abundant and educated workforce, friendly business climate, few places better to live, and other factors all combined to make the California economy vibrant and growing.

This is no longer the case. Heavy taxation for start ups and for heavy industry. A regulatory environment that makes it nearly impossible to get a business up and running or to expand. A state budget that is threaten to collapse under the weight of state employee salaries, benefits, and retirement programs which need higher taxes to pay for. All of these are driving businesses away from the once Golden State.

Now Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown has floated the idea of using the California Cap and Trade law to fund the controversial High-Speed Rail system.

Gov. Jerry Brown told a Los Angeles TV station today that the state’s proposed high speed rail system will cost much less than $100 billion, and will be partly funded by new taxes on major air pollution emitters.

The governor told ABC 7’s :Eyewitness Newsmakers” program that environmental impact fees paid by industries that emit large amount of greenhouse gases will help fund the big train project. California has a “cap and trade” law that will collect fees if businesses do not reduce emissions, the governor said. (Source: Contra Costa Times) (h/t: Soylent Green)

My question to Gov. Brown: How do you expect to pay for this huge project when many of these businesses that you are going to collect from are either considering leaving or have already done so?

Is Gov. Moonbeam going to tax the energy companies that are going to have to be built to produce the electricity to run these trains? Or is he expecting that solar panels and wind farms are going to be built from LA to La Vegas, covering the Mojave Desert? I wonder how the environmentalists are going to like that one.

I also bet these liberals think the only impact of these taxes is going to be on the companies. If they really think the higher costs of doing business in California isn't going to be passed onto the consumer of those products, well they have their progressive little heads buried in the California beach sand..

That is one thing I have noticed about liberals, they tend not to see the forest through the trees.

Tell me dear readers; who’da thought that a democrat would use more taxes to pay for a project that no one wants, no one needs, and no one is going to use?

Super Bowl Ad

2012-01-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

Found this video at one of the sites I occasionally drift through from time to time. This Budweiser commercial aired during the 2002 Super Bowl, which was the first Super Bowl after the 9-11 attacks.

The commercial is called “Respect”. Watch it to the end. The write up on the other web site said it would give you goose bumps. It hit me harder than that.

Sarah Takes On GOP Establishment

2012-01-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

I have not yet decided whom I am going to support in the primaries and probably won’t until forced to do so but please take a gander at this link.

Over at Legal Insurrection, Prof. Jacobson has reprinted an excerpt of an article where Sarah Palin takes the GOP establishment to task over their repeated attempts, especially since South Carolina, to smash Newt Gingrich.

Keep in mind that I am fully aware the Newt has warts, some of them pretty serious. But I do like that he is unafraid to take on the media and Obama in the most basic of terms (his terms BTW). I also do admire that he is not afraid to dream big dreams for America. In a way, that is much like Reagan. Reagan had a dream of defeating Communism in his time. He did it! Why can’t Newt dream also?

Obama Unveils

2012-01-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

From the State of the Union address.

“The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it’s inefficient, outdated and remote. That’s why I’ve asked Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our Government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs the of the American people.”

With that one utterance, I truly feel the veil has been dropped. President Obama has completely revealed himself to be a power-hungry far-left zealot.

This is the change that he promised. It wasn’t to make America great again, it was to remake America into his far-left, Sal Alinsky buttered view. The first step in making this happen is to make the other two branches of the government irrelevant. His is already well underway with this task with his “recess” appointments and unprecedented power given to various agencies.

While government inefficiency is a mainstay of nearly every politician’s stated goal to cure, it is most often under the umbrella of reducing the size of the government, not consolidating the power under one branch or another.

Obama’s power grab could not have been more obvious and is the most recently and scary attempt to basically become a dictator.

How this has not become front page news is beyond me. The press sure didn’t have a hard time pointing out President George Bush’s supposed unconstitutional acts.

Combined Green Effort

2012-01-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am what you might call a responsible environmentalist. I do believe that we should use the resources on earth in a manner that is efficient, but does not interfere with growth and progress. I am also a fan of letting the free-market dictate how and when various kinds of environmental and energy programs are used and implemented.

I like recycling. We are huge recyclers in the PACNW Righty household. We fill up the huge bin completely every two weeks. We recycle so well that the trash can is normally only half full on pick up days.

SIDENOTE: A couple of my more liberal neighbors (Obama stickers on their Prius) don’t recycle at all. When I ask them about it they say it takes too much effort to separate out the recycles from the trash. I have even offered to show them my methods, but it is too much of a bother for them. I wonder who has a smaller carbon foot print. Me and my recycling? Or them and their Prius? Considering the energy it takes to make aluminum and paper from scratch I think I might have a leg up on them, so to speak.

When I see something like the efforts made in this linked article, I must applaud these folks on their efforts. Seems that a dairy farmer north of Seattle has developed, with the help of the state and the local Tulalip Tribe, a method of capturing waste and turning it into usable energy. Not only that, he is also using expired food products to feed his milk cows, further reducing waste in the landfill.

What an awesome idea. Even better, groups that could be at the opposite end of the spectrum, environment-wise, came together and worked out a solution that benefits all parties. The farmer gets to keep his farm and make a little extra money on the side, the Tulalip Tribe sees a better salmon fishery, and the greenies get to see energy produced from a renewable resource.

Win, Win. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Google "Bombs" Santorum

2012-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Republican nomination hopeful Rick Santorum has had his share of difficulties trying to gain traction during the initial series of primaries. Probably the most publicized issue was hubbub raised, mostly by liberals, over Santorum and his wife’s handling of the stillborn death of their child back in the mid ‘90’s. Of course, you knew the left would raise this issue, and try to paint Santorum as some sort of kook.

Even less publicized were the efforts of Google and gay rights activist Dan Savage. According to the article where I got this information, several news outlets, including MSNBC, ABC, and CNN, had an opportunity to call Savage on the carpet for his behavior towards Santorum. None of them did.

A few years ago Savage ran a contest for people to come up with the vilest definition for “Santorum.” Needless to say, what came up was pretty disgusting. As for Google, what they have done, really takes the cake. When doing a search for Santorum on Google the results of Savage’s contest come up as the top return. He is a screen capture.

Screen Capture Taken 27 Jan 2012

I blocked out the worst of it because it isn’t fit for print. If you must read it, do your own search because the “winning” definition is right there for you to see.

Read more »

By Any Means Necessary

2012-01-25T22:53:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't already seen it, Michelle Malkin has a run down of recent voter fraud cases that have popped up all over the nation. Of course, there has minimal cover from the lame stream media. Can't let anything interfere with the election of the Chosen One. One thing to note on all of these highlighted cases is that each and every one was either done by a leftist organization or democrat offical.

Recently I posted my concerns about the possibility that Obama might try something funky to stay in office as long as possible. One point that I did not make but is never the less something that we should all be worried about is the chance that Obama could win the election by any means necessary. For many of Obama's supporters, it is not the sanctity of the election that matters to them, only the end results. I really don't think it would bother them one wit if Obama won due to fraud.

Like the man they support, they are willing to destory the Constitution and throw elections laws out the window to achieve what they desire. they know there is no way they can win through legal means so now they are starting to lay the foundation for voter fraud not seen since the days of Tammany Hall or the Daley Machine in Chicago.

Volts: Folks Don't Want 'em, Neither Do the Dealers

2012-01-24T18:28:00.000-08:00

President Obama and his Green Crew have hitched their wagon to the heavily subsidized Chevy Volt to satisfy the far left environmental extremists in the party. He is also hoping the Volt takes off so that he can justify his continued assault on US energy producers (elimination of the coal industry and no permits for the Keystone pipeline).

It hasn’t quite worked out how they thought it would. ~~General~~ Government Motors had predicted hot sales for the electric hybrid, thinking 10,000 would be a reasonable goal. For 2011 only about 7,600 Volts were sold, not even coming close to the goal.

And now it seems that even the dealers don’t want them. This is from The Foundry:

Automotive News gives an example this morning in the New York City market where last month, GM allocated 104 Volts to 14 dealerships in the area and dealers took just 31 of them, the lowest take rate for any Chevy model in that market last month. The group of dealers orders more than 90% of the other vehicles they were eligible to take…

In Clovis, Calif., Brett Hedrick, dealer principal at Hedrick’s Chevrolet, sold ten Volts last year. But in December and January he turned down all six Volts allocated to under GM’s “turn-and-earn” system, which distributes vehicles based on past sales volumes and inventory levels. GM’s “thinking we need six more Volts is just crazy,’ Hedrick said to Automotive News. “We’ve never sold more than two in a month.” Hedrick says he usually takes just about every vehicle that GM allocates to him. (Source: The Foundry) (h/t: Doug over at Director Blue)

I wonder how long it will be before Obama requires dealership to take possession of all the Volts GM allocates. Does anyone think that the current administration won’t force GM to put together some sort of policy that dealers must take the allocations of the Volts? And I am sure that shortly after this policy is put into place, GM will then begin to publicize the number of Volts sent to dealerships, rather than actual cars sold, as the stats used to show Volt “success.”

Sales Up, Prices Down

2012-01-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

The foreclosure bubble has hit the local market.

Home sales actually increased from this month last year by about 2,000. But the values continue to tumble. The culprit? Foreclosures. The number of foreclosed homes sold this past month were up 73% from last year.

Bottom line is that people are looking for deals. Banks have a large collection of foreclosed homes they need to get rid of. Put the two of them together and you will see an uptick in sales but a decrease in values as banks unload homes in their inventory.

El Presidente Obama

2012-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

Ran across an interesting article on whether this election could be our last if President Obama should win a second term. Please read the article and then read my post. I also recommend you bookmark this site.

Over the past three years as I have watched President Obama with an obviously critical eye, a nagging feeling has been scratching at the back of my mind.

Would President Obama either try to make the 2012 elections null and void if he lost or, if he won, would he takes steps to ensure that he never had to step down, ala FDR (his hero BTW)?

President for Life?

Before you all start sending me tinfoil for my conspiracy hat, please hear me out.

Same-Sex Marriage Debate Heats Up in PACNW

2012-01-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Out here in the state of Washington our current Governor, Christine Gregoire has decided not to run for a third term. Early on in her time as governor she was a typical tax and spend liberal, boosted by a majority in the state legislature. While at one time, the state did have a surplus, the tax and spend policies of controlling democrat party have put our state’s finances in jeopardy with billions in shortfalls over the past couple of years.

Gregoire has done a decent job of trying to balance the state budget as constitutionally required, but there have been occasions where I thought she could have done more to make deeper cuts. For example, she has asked for a 20% cut in senior citizen programs, but has only asked for a 4% cut in the Department of Ecology. She also proposed a nearly 10% cut in programs for developmentally disabled programs, but has requested full funding for state employee salary increases. Nothing like kowtowing to those who get you elected.

Just recently Gregoire has come out in support of gay marriage, despite the fact that Washington State enjoys probably the most liberal policy regarding domestic partnerships in the nation, short of the actual marriage certificate. Her stated support has heated up the debate in the state legislature that is seriously considering a bill that would allow same-sex marriages. Just the other day, State Senator Mary Haugen, who is a democrat in a conservative-leaning district, has decided to be the 25th Senator to support same-sex marriage. Makes me wonder if the Washington state Republican Party apparatus is going to consider running a candidate against her. While the district has conservative leanings, it has reelected her time and time again. Maybe it is time for the folks of her district to rethink their support.

Winter Hits PACNW Hard

2012-01-22T00:44:00.000-08:00

Been a rough couple of days here in the PACNW. First off, we got slammed with about 10 inches of snow on Wednesday. School and business closings were the norm across the western half of the state. Then it began to rain, very lightly. By Thursday AM, everything was coated with a layer of ice about a half an inch thick. That is when the real fun began. It didn’t take long for the tress and branches to start falling and taking out power lines. Some places looked like a war zone. With the state motto being “The Evergreen State” you can imagine the number of trees that line the roads around here. Some of those trees fell across the highways, causing all kinds of havoc.

We lost power at about 8 AM Thursday AM. In fact, more than 250,000 folks across the area, from Seattle and points north down into Olympia and many of the smaller communities in the region. When I drove home from the class I have been attending the past month, there wasn’t a light on for 20 miles, unless power by a generator. It was eerie driving through my little town and not seeing a light anywhere.

While the power was out, we of course lost heat. The temp inside the house dropped to 51 degrees at the lowest point. We slept in longjohns and sweatpants with tons of covers. Fortunately we did have hot water since we have gas at the house. But because we have a newer stove that automatically shuts off the gas, we had to break out the camp cookstove heat up the meals.

Bus Driver Punched

2012-01-22T00:43:00.000-08:00

This is the reason why I would never consider driving a bus. I read about an incident in the area at least once a week or so. Really sad how far this country has deteriorated.

High Speed Rail Too High Costs

2012-01-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

As you are aware I have not been a fan of the current administrations push for a linked network of a High Speed Rail (HSR) systems across the USA. I have outlined many of the issues (Click on the High Speed Rail category to review if you wish) over the past year.

One of the most significant issues is where is the funding going to come from. Currently there are no provisions in the federal budget for a dedicated slice of the federal pie, nor are there any plans in place, other than to put it the general fund, to earmark or set aside a funding line for the HSR.

In the past, when MAJOR construction projects were funded, special taxes were put into place that went directly to the construction and care of said projects. When the Interstate Highway system was to be built, Congress passed a national gas tax to fund the construction. Since trying to fund the HSR system through the general fund would a daunting task at best due to the very nature of the general fund, the funding of the HSR system would have to come about through a special tax of fee. And since the country is in no mood for higher taxes, this is most likely a non-starter.

Part of the goal for those who support the construction of the HSR system was to bring in private funding in some manner. This too is not going to happen. In a catch-22, private funding is going to be in short supply as long as there are no matching federal and state dollars. And as long as the country is in no mood for higher taxes (fees?), the ability of the governments involved to get the dollars flowing is going to be severely curtailed.

And let us not forget about cost overruns. Already there are projections that could triple the costs of the California segment of the HSR system. The current plan for the California HSR segment is for it to be built in phases over a considerable period of time (20-25 years). The first segment is a stretch between Fresno and Bakersfield. Already cost estimates have increased more 50%, from $7 billion to $10-13 billion. This is one a section that is going to pretty much straight and level, with relatively small costs in real estate acquisitions. The sections leading into the LA Basin and the Bay Area are going to be considerably more when real estate costs and construction costs are factored in.

If you are in anyway familiar with the geography of these two areas, you know that the costs to build these segments are going to be higher than through California’s Central Valley. Other than a few rivers and stream, building the rail line will most consist of laying track on flat and level grounds. Not so the case getting into the Basin or the Bay Area. To the south is the southern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountains forms a barrier between the San Joaquin valley and the LA basin. The lowest point of crossing is the “Grapevine” at just over 4,000 feet. To get over or through these mountains is going to up the cost per mile considerably. And while the mountains ringing the Bay Area aren’t as daunting, the waters of San Francisco Bay pose their own problems, which will raise costs also.

In this day and age of ever increasing national and state debts, asking the American taxpayer to fork out trillions to build a HSR system might very well be a bridge too far.

Megan Kelly Slaps Down Newsweek

2012-01-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

Very Nice: Megan Kelly takes Newsweek and Andrew Sullivan to the woodshed for their headline on the cover of Newsweek: Why Are Obama’s Critics So Dumb. I especially love the part about why didn’t Newsweek use a “real journalist.” That had to have Sullivan’s knickers in a knot.

Video via The Blaze.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

2012-01-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

Or rather robbing the American taxpayer to pay our Chinese (and others) debt holders.

This little piece of news goes beyond disturbing. Seems that the Treasury Department is going to dip into the federal pension funds to help pay off the debt.

Sure wish I had a taxpayer fed pool of money that I could use to get my debt paid off. But considering Obama and his crew think of taxpayer money as theirs and not belonging to the people of the United States of America, it is not surprising this move doesn’t bother them too terribly much. It just amazes (well, maybe not!) me that these people think the supply of money is limitless. I sure when questioned about in the next day or two, Obama and his crew will blame Bush.

Snow Photos

2012-01-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing the PACNW. We have about eight inches on the ground with continued snowfall for the rest of the day. We aren’t going to be snowed in like Patrice and her crew over at Rural Revolution, but travel around my area is difficult to say the least.

Here are a few photos from the neighborhood.

The backyard

Looking across the street

Our teenage boys are going to have to dig us out.

Cat Leap Fail

2012-01-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

This is one of the funniest videos I have ever seen.

I wish no harm to cats, but I am not a fan of the beasts.

Cats don’t have owners, they have staff.

Obama Kills Keystone Pipeline

2012-01-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

Our jobs killing president is at it again. I have seen a few projections around the Internet (not necessarily the best purveyor of facts) that put the Keystone pipeline jobs creation in the thousands with billions in revenue (taxes) and payroll.

The First Dude has no trouble throwing taxpayer money at companies that are destined to fail (Think Solyndra), but won’t approve a private venture that is sure to make money for the companies that build it, own it, and the people who build it and later work on it, plus the certain tax revenuw increase that would be sure to follow. But he has said that private business is the enemy.

Romney Pays 15%, I Don't (Like the 48 Percenters)

2012-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Just last night Mitt Romney (not my favorite candidate) revealed that he pays about 15% taxes on dividends he earns.

“The last ten years, my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past, rather than ordinary income or rather than earned income,” Romney said. “I got a little bit of income from my book but I gave all of that way. And then I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.” (Source: CNN)

It didn’t take the White House long to get their mitts on this (non) story.

At the White House, [Jay] Carney told reporters that President Barack Obama believes that wealthy Americans “should not pay a lower effective tax rate than middle-class Americans.”

“Everybody who’s working hard ought to pay their fair share, and that includes millionaires who might be paying an effective tax rate of 15% when folks making $50,000 or $75,000 or $100,000 a year are paying much more,” Carney said, adding that Obama “thinks we ought to fix that.” (Source: CNN)

Over the past several years, even while earning close to $75,000 a year, our effective tax rate on earned income (my salary plus my wife’s) was close to nothing. After filing our tax return, we would get nearly all of it back. Of course we have two children, plus a mortgage interest deduction that went along ways to decreasing our tax burden. We all know the statistics about how much the top 5% of earners pay vs. the lower 48% (a lot vs. nearly nothing) so I won’t rehash here, but when Obama and his acolytes say we need to get millionaires to pay their fair share, it sounds like Romney is already doing just that. He is paying 15% and I was paying a lot less than that.

Left on the Civility War Path Again

2012-01-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

In case you were unaware, the anniversary of the shooting in Tucson, AZ which claimed the lives of six people and wounded many others, including Rep Giffords was yesterday. To mark that occasion, the chairman of the DNC, Rep Debbie Wasserman-Schultz decided now would be a good time to blame the Tea Party for the shootings.

“We need to make sure that we tone down things, particularly in light of the Tucson tragedy from a year ago, where my very good friend, Gabby Giffords – who is doing really well, by the way – [was shot],” Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair said during a “politics and Eggs” forum this morning. “The discourse in America, the discourse in Congress in particular … has really changed, I’ll tell you. I hesitate to place blame, but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement.”

She goes on to say:

“You had town hall meetings that [the Tea Party] tried to take over, and you saw some their conduct at those town hall meetings,” Wasserman-Schultz said today. “When they come and disagree with you, you’re not just wrong, you’re the enemy.” (Source: Washington Examiner)

This really takes some gall for a person who completely blanketed the Republican party as racist just a few months ago over the Voter ID laws currently being discussed and debated in various states across the nation.

Of course there was no mention of the rhetoric of the Occupy movement that she and her democrat colleagues were so willing to support. No mention of the Bush-Hitler signs. No mention of the movies that depicted the assassination of President Bush. No mention of the rapes, assaults, vandalism, death threats, breaking and entering, and various other lawless acts.

I dare any liberal or media member (one in the same) to find any evidence of actual of perceived violence that has occurred at a Tea Party event. I would also like to point out that the big Tea Party gatherings that occurred across the US before the 2010 elections were pretty mellow affairs (does using mellow date me?). Many gathering venues were actually cleaner after the Tea Party members left than when they arrived. Can the Occupy protesters claim the same? If I recall, the Tea Parties cleaned up after a gather of anti-tea party protesters who had left the Washington DC WW II memorial a mess. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

Meanwhile, the New York Times double-downed on Wasserman-Schultz’ comments in a recent editorial. The author tried to give the appearance of not being biased, but that only lasted for a paragraph or two.

It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republican and particularly the most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats. They seem to have persuaded many Americans that the government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people. (Source: New York Times) (h/t: Big Journalism)

So, the Republicans and Tea Partiers have history of violent rhetoric? What about the left? Is no one going to hold their feet to the fire for the violent protests conducted by occupy participants or the rhetoric stated on signs that were so common at the “gatherings?”

That the whirlwind has touched down mot forcefully in Arizona, which Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described after the shooting as the capital of “the anger, the hatred and the bigotry that goes on in the country.” Anti-immigrants sentiment in the state, firmly opposed by Ms. Giffords, has reached the point where Latino studies program that advocate ethnic solidarity have actually been made illegal. (Source: New York Times) (h/t: Big Journalism)

Of course, the editorial didn’t bother to mention that Dupnik will more than likely lose his job over the very heated rhetoric the linked article goes after. And the author says that the reason for the ending of the Latino Studies program was because people in Arizona are basically racist and bigots. How come he didn’t bother to mention that the program has been determined illegal by a court of law? How come he didn’t mention the court decided the course promoted the overthrow of the US government, promoted resentment towards another race, was designed only for Latinos, and advocated ethnic solidarity instead of people as individuals? And did he bother to report on the bigotry and racism that greeted an Arizona school official who visited after a Hispanic civil right activist told these Latino Studies students that “Republicans hate Latinos?” Of course you are most likely aware that a White Persons Study program would be attacked immediately as racist and bigoted. I wonder as white men (and women) become a minority over the next several decades will we be allowed to have a course that studies white history and contributions (good and bad) like blacks and Latinos have now.

Its gun laws are among the most lenient, allowing even a disturbed man like Mr. Longhner to buy a pistol and carry it concealed without a special permit. That was before the Tucson rampage. Now, having seen firsthand the horror of political violence, Arizona should lead the nation in quieting the violence of intolerance, demanding an end to the temptations of bloodshed, and imposing sensible controls. (Source: New York Times) (h/t: Big Journalism)

And no editorial or column about conservative rhetoric would be complete without a screed against gun rights. And I wonder what type of “sensible controls” Mr. Columnist would propose. It has already been made fairly clear that very few gun control laws anywhere in the nation would have prevent Longhner from obtaining the weapons he used that tragic day one year ago. At least he didn’t call it an assault or automatic weapon like others.

The events of 10 Jan 2010 were beyond pale. Six people lost their lives and many others had their lives change irrevocably. Why can’t the press and other liberals just mark the day as a date that deserves respect and tribute for those who died and were wounded and just leave it at that?

Never let a crisis go to waste.

Some Things to Think About

2012-01-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Some interesting tidbits picked up today through a friend.

Nearly every president since the turn of the previous century has had people on their staff that had business experience. While some of the progressive democrats had as little as 30% of their staff with business experience it pales in comparison to how much business experience can be found within the Obama Administration. Warp your hands around this figure: 8%. That’s right people; only 8% of Obama advisors have any sort of private sector business experience.

And we expect these people to lead us out of our economic troubles?

To further point out just how inept Obama is when it comes to picking out people to provide him with economic advice take a look below

Franklin Raines was a Chairman of Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregularities in Fannie Mae’s accounting activities. Raines left with a “golden parachute” valued at $240 million in benefits. The government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear.

Raines now works for President Obama as his Chief Economic Advisor.

What A Difference

2012-01-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

What a difference a few decades means. So true, and the change is actually more rapid than indicated at the link. I remember get the thirde degree from my folks when my grades fell off and I was in grade school in the early '70's.

Is California Getting Smart?

2012-01-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

Very interesting state of affairs in California. California has long lived up to its nickname, The Golden State, with golden-type welfare benefits, state-employee retirement and benefit plans, and a secondary education subsidized like no other.

The economy, which has hit California very hard with the nation’s second highest unemployment rate, has been extremely slow to recover. This means tax revenue have fallen well short of needs and projections.

It now looks like Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown has finally realize the state government can no longer afford to carry everyone who desires to be on welfare.

The friend who sent me this link is doing his retirement travels. He started in Washington, then down along the Oregon coast to California. He noted that once they crossed the Cal-Ore state line, the increase in homelessness was noticeable. While much of that can be attributed to the economic times, it should also be pointed out that with the great welfare benefits the state doles out, it is a mecca for those who wish to live off of taxpayer money. It looks like those days might be over.

2012-01-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

This is very interesting. A friend of mine has pointed out what really should be obvious.

The democrat party has become the Lawyers’ Party

Barack Obama is a lawyer.
Michelle Obama is a lawyer
Hillary Clinton is a lawyer
Bill Clinton is a lawyer
John Edwards is a lawyer

Every democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate). Every democrat presidential nominees since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school.

Look at the leaders of the democrat party in Congress:

Harry Reid is a lawyer.

Nancy Pelosi is a lawyer.

The Republican Party is different.

Something to Think About

2012-01-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me this. As he said in his email this should be required reading for everyone as the elections approach at the end of this year. This was in response to President Obama threats during the debt ceiling and budget crisis that went on this past November.

Did you notice who President Obama threatened when he wasn’t getting his way on raising the debt ceiling?

He threatened to not pay: Social Security Retirees, Military retirees, Social Security disability and Federal Retirees.

Now… Let this sink in really good:

He did not threaten to stop payments to illegal aliens.

He did not threaten to take frivolous benefits such as internet access away from violent inmates.

He did not offer to fire some of the thousands of unnecessary federal employees that he hired.

He did offer to cut down on his or his wife’s frivolous gallivanting around.

He did not threaten to not pay the senators and representatives or any of their staff.

He did not threaten to take benefits away from welfare recipients.

He did not threaten to not pay foreign aid.

He did not threaten to cut back on anything that involves his base voters!!!

Olbermann Out of His Current (TV) Job?

2012-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

After a while, you would think that a person would begin to think that the common denominator was the individual staring back at you from the mirror. When you have the number of opportunities laid in your lap, yet you can’t seen to stay for more than a few years, maybe the problem isn’t those who you work for, but maybe it is you.

Over the years, Keith Olbermann has left under less than desirable conditions posts at a larger Los Angeles TV station, ESPN, MSNBC, and now possibly Current TV.

Other than his departure from the Los Angeles TV station each departure has been rather acrimonious due to his petulant and childish behavior.

Several years ago, not long after I had been promoted, I was assigned to supervise an individual who had a reputation as a difficult person to work with. During the course of my initial get-to-know and expectations meeting, this individual brought up the subject of his past supervisors. There was a common thread. Nearly all of them sucked, according to this young man. One was too demanding, another was a jerk, and still another was an @$$hole. Of course, my new charge did not realize that I had reviewed his records (like any good supervisor). I had also contacted a few of his previous supervisors and spoken with them to get the scoop.

Almost without fail, each previous supervisor that I spoke with did not think real highly of this individual. He was combative, unfriendly towards co-workers, and his weather forecasting skills were not strong enough to make of for his other shortcomings. His records backed up these comments. His job performance ratings were sub-par on nearly all of his reports. When it came time to do his performance report, he once again received weak ratings and a couple of negative comments from me.

A few years later, while visiting the work section he was assigned to (I had been promoted again and moved elsewhere within the organization), I overheard him ranting away about past supervisors. He was now including me in his tirades.

I had had enough. I called him into my office (with his supervisors OK). I didn’t read him the riot-act, but rather calmly sat him down and reviewed his career with him. I pointed out that at each and every turn where he felt he had a jerk for a supervisor, the rating given were poor to weak, with each containing a negative comment or two. I also pointed out that each of the previous supervisors were as different, personality-wise, as grains of snow (I knew a goodly portion of them). And then I pointed out that there was one common thread throughout his entire career. That was the man looking back at him in the mirror each day. The last thing that I ever said to him was he could continue to blame everyone else for his troubles or he could decide the man in the mirror was going to change. As I was moved to a completely different branch and then later moved overseas, I never saw him again although I asked about him from colleagues who had more recently worked with him.

Had he changed? The reports that I received were that he had mellowed somewhat. Can I take credit? Not really. All I could do was point out the obvious. It was up to him to make the changes.

Liberal Civility Rises Again

2012-01-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

For most of my politically active life I have always been pounded by the democrats, progressives, and the main stream media that conservatives and Republicans are heartless and cruel, not caring one iota for the “little people.” According to the democrats, they were the only party for those who were oppressed by “the man.” They and they alone are the party of the little people, the working class, the down-trodden.

But how can this be so when there are so many examples of just how heartless and out of touch they truly are?

The primary example of this supposed culture of caring is how they court and keep the black vote. The word racist has been used so many times in recent years that it has come to the point where the word has almost no meaning. Plus, while I am sure most in the democrat party are very much aware of their own party’s racist past (Civil Right legislation opposition, several key democrats were KKK members), the main stream media has thus far refused to report on this racist past. They have even gone as far as to lend their (MSM’s) incredible reach to further the fallacy that conservatives are the racists.

Eric Holder: The Dark Cloud

2012-01-01T00:19:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months as the Republican race has heated up and candidates came and went, there has been an uneasiness floating around in the dark recesses of my mind. For a while, I thought much of the disquiet had to do with the fact that we Republicans and Conservatives can’t seem to settle on a candidate. While we kept chasing the flavor of the month (Perry, Cain, Bachmann, et al), the Obama White had to certainly feel both comfort and concern.

Comfort: If I were Obama I’d look at the seeming dysfunction within the Republican Party and rub my hands with mild glee. It has to feel somewhat encouraging to Obama and his crew that we can’t seem to settle on a candidate.

Concern: Somewhere within the apparatus that is the Obama White House there has to be one individual with a level head that looks at the back and forth going on in the Republican nomination process and says to him/herself “This might not be all wine and roses.” Unlike what the mainstream press did with Obama back in 2007/8, our candidate is going to be thoroughly vetted by the same press that swooned over a certain first-dude born in Hawaii. Once the nomination process has run its course and focus switches to denying Obama another four years, there will be little “surprise” news that could derail the Republican nominee, allowing whoever it is to fire away on all cylinders.

Getting back to the main point here, I soon decided that the dark cloud that I could see on the horizon was not the nomination process and the rumble and tumble going on there. What brought clarity for me was the recent spat of suits brought by the Eric Holder Justice Department against cities, towns, and states that were implementing some form of voter identification. Recently Mr. Holder stated that these voter ID laws are taking America back to the days of Jim Crow and “the same disparities, divisions and problems” that affected America prior to the 1965 passage of the Voter Rights Act.

Keep in mind that Obama recently hailed from Chicago and that region has a notorious reputation for bending, to the point of breaking, election laws. After all the term “vote early and vote often” has its roots in Chicago. Any laws on the books that could suppress repeat voting and voting by non-existent and dead persons and is not the “Chicago way.” Based on many recent polls that are not very favorable for his re-election, Obama is going to need all the help he can get in 2012 if he wants to continue to occupy the White House and send Michelle on lavish vacation to the far-flung reaches of the global.

Holder has already proven that he will do anything to maintain his place at the Justice department, including “not remembering” any memos, e-mails, talk, scuttlebutt, rumors, and just plain old news on “Fast and Furious.” I have no doubts that Holder will do everything in his power to redact any laws that will prevent dead people and Mickey Mouse from voting several times over.

Obama has also proven over again that his feeling towards the rule of law and the Constitution are nothing more than lines in a speech.

If Obama wins re-election at the end of this year, I would not be surprised that it happens with many shenanigans at various locations around the nation. Remember, all he has to do is carry certain districts in certain key states to win the Electoral College totals. I think we can safely assume big states like California and New York are already in the bag. Take those and he has a quarter of the electors needed for victory. But in a few others states where the vote could be closer like Illinois, Pennsylvania, and even Texas all that has to happen is districts near the larger cities like Pittsburg, Houston, and Chicago vote early and often in favor of Obama and the tide could change. This might actually be a first. A presidential nominee who is not above 45% approval gaining re-election.

So the dark cloud remains on the horizon and feels menacing.

Any means necessary.

BTW: To all of those who'll call me a racist for putting dark cloud and Eirc Holder in the same sentence I'll say it now just so I don't have to in the comments section. Shut the heck up!

2012!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from PACNW Righty and his family!!!

May the New Year bring you much happiness and success no matter how you measure it.

And we are one year closer to ending the nightmare.

Makes Me Wonder

2011-12-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

It really makes one wonder why minorities continue to support democrat candidates.

In a decision handed down just this past week, a US District Court judge issued a ruling that bars a voter approved referendum from listing on ballots the party the affiliation of candidates running for office.

The reason given for the suit was that without the party of the candidate listed on the ballot, minority voters would not know who to vote for.

The organizations that filed or supported the suit are all left-wing and progressive. In other words, they vote democrat.

All my life, I have never had an issue identifying my candidate of choice and I don’t need to have a party affiliation listed next to their name for me to place the “check-mark” next to their name. But maybe I am usual in that I actually do some research and can identify a candidate not by their party but by what they stand for.

It is a crying shame that the people who run the democrat party really have such a low opinion of a minority being able to gather information and make an informed decision. Based on the ruling and it sure seem like they are saying that minorities are too stupid to read and review a candidate’s platform and make a decision based on whether or not they can support a candidate’s ideals.

Cuts Aren't Balanced

2011-12-29T16:13:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since I last posted, but have been up to my eyeballs in some new stuff. I’ll cover this in another post in the next day or two.

On to the posts

Many of you are aware that the state of Washington is struggling to balance its budget. Poor revenue forecasting and just plain old decreasing revenue has caused another huge shortfall in what the state is going to bring in and what it has to spend. Like most states (and unlike the feds) Washington State is required by its Constitution to balance the budget. Because of the lack of income, the Governor and state legislature are trying to deal with the $1.2 billion gap.

Initially I have been a supporter of the tough decisions that Christine Gregoire has made. In times of budget constraints, there really aren’t any sacred cows anymore. But recent events have made me reconsider both my support and my opinion.

Merry Christmas from PACNW RIghty

2011-12-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

My family and I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas. Thank you all so much for reading my blog over the past year. May your New Year bring you much happiness and warmth.

And always please remember the reason for the season.

Click for Larger Image

Slow Housing Recovery

2011-12-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that one of the subjects that I blog about is how the housing market is or isn’t doing. For the most part the news has been a bit gloomy, but showing some sign of recovery, although very slowly.

But according to this clip from Breitbart TV, maybe the news isn’t so good. Link to video here.

I know that many will have the reaction that we need to get rid of the man currently occupying the White House, the sooner the better, but not all of the blame can be laid at his feet. Oh, I do blame him for the sluggishness that has taken hold of the entire economy. But the housing crisis and the slow climb out from the depths had its roots before the guy took office. Has he made it worse? Most certainly! Policies and decisions from the White House that has caused the economy to continuously falter impacts the housing market as much as the housing market impacts the economy. In a way, this is a vicious circle that, until someone does something to bump it off track, will continue for the foreseeable future.

Labor Goes After Seattle PD

2011-12-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

Over the past two years or so, the Seattle Police Department has been mired in controversy over several incidents of excessive use of force. The most noteworthy example was when a SPD member shot and killed a woodcarver in downtown when the woodcarver made a threatening move towards the police officer who shot him. There have been other incidents recent which finally caught the attention of the US Justice Department. After a top-down review, the report was particularly harsh on the SPD, especially the senior-level leadership.

Now a influential labor group, the King County Labor Council, has called for Mayor Mike McGinn to replace or shuffle the SPD leadership.

The King County Labor Council urged McGinn to make sweeping changes to the command structure with SPD, calling the leadership within the department “deficient” and saying there’s a lack of oversight from the top down. (Source: Seattle PI)

The council might not be reaching far enough in my opinion. They are calling for changes within the department, which I think might be a good idea, but I think they need to look at McGinn. While it is true that McGinn is not the Chief of Police for the SPD, John Diaz, who is the chief, works for McGinn. Diaz does admit the DOJ report has merit and changes will be made.

Executive secretary David Frieboth writes that “this situation is particularly troubling, as it tars good cops with the sins of the few.”

He also writes that there appears to be a “pattern of excessive force that clearly indicates deficient leadership,” and “this absence of accountability reveals a major defect in leadership at the Seattle Police Department.” (Source: Seattle PI)

I do have to wonder why a labor group would stick their nose into an issue that really is kind of out of their area of expertise. While everyone does have an opinion about the SPD situation, a labor group is probably reaching outside their neighborhood by getting involved with this matter.

Occupy Vs. Tea Party

2011-12-21T02:03:00.000-08:00

The linked article is a little old, but still worth a read.

Arrests related to the Occupy movement:

5,425

Arrests related to the Tea Party Movement:

Zero

Is there really anything more that needs being said?

Is Fast And Furious Just the Tip?

2011-12-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

Several links that discuss possible links between Eric Holder and the Oklahoma City bomber, Tim McVeigh. As I read through the links and the articles, I was troubled for two reasons.

First, while this might paint me as naïve, I do have troubles trying to wrap my hands around a conspiracy this large. Is it really possible that people within our own government would be so calloused and evil as to assist someone with plans to kill US citizen for purely political gain? As more information comes out about Fast and Furious (F&F), it does seem more and more likely that the people mentioned in the articles would use any means necessary to achieve their ultimate goals. Maybe that is why so many people on the left actually believe that Bush and Cheney lead us to war just for the oil profits. Would Eric Holder really be so uncaring of human life that he would be willing to sacrifice his fellow citizen just to inflame the narrative against the extreme right?

Secondly, I am troubled by the lack of supporting evidence. The articles do provide a lot of information on which they base their suppositions. But several key documents have been pulled and are no longer available for review. The authors of the linked post do make it clear that some of the documents they used as background are no longer readily available, but they do stand behind their story. Of course, in the initial stages of the F&F case, much of what was said was mostly tying together some very loose information, easily denied or dismissed. But as time has gone along and more evidence is released, it has become quite apparent that F&F is more than just guessing and crazy-talk by a bunch of right-wingers in a cabin in Montana. In the case of F&F, there was smoke, and it led to fire. Could we be looking at the same thing here? Time will tell.

Holder Playing Race Card

2011-12-21T01:45:00.000-08:00

Interesting post over at Sister Toldjah about how Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are beginning to play the race card as both the 2012 presidential race and the fast and Furious case heat up.

ST provides several examples of how the race card has been played in the past, noting that when his back is up against the wall like during the 2010 mid-term elections, he really ratchets up the rhetoric.

The longer this guy stays in office, the further the divide is going to get.

Wyden Supports Free Speech?

2011-12-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

As someone who was born and raised in Oregon and could be considered a SNOB (Son of Native Oregon Born), I would be hard-pressed to support nearly any of the Senators or Representatives that come from my former home.

However, Democratic Senator, and a real bleed-heart liberal if there ever was one, Ron Wyden has decided that something like free-speech actually really matters. He has promised to filibuster the PROTECT IP Act once it makes it way to upper chamber. The bill was initially designed to make it more difficult to sell music, movies and counterfeit products illegally online. But Wyden and other who oppose the bill feel that it goes too far and infringes on free speech.

Now if we could be sure that Senator Wyden wouldn’t support giving President Obama the ability to knock out the internet whenever he might feel like.

News Bits For Your Enjoyment

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick news tidbits.

This guy is not a fan of FDR. He feels (and I agree) that FDR was the leading edge of the socialist movement here in the US. FDR policies were certainly not limited government. He also makes it a point to show how one of the left’s great heroes wasn’t exactly a believer in “social justice” when he force Japanese-Americans into internment camps during WW II. (h/t Director Blue)

Senate approves the payroll tax cut that also includes the Keystone XL pipeline construction approval. Obama has said he will reject the bill if it includes any Keystone language.

Some Chevy Volt news: Is GM being less than truthful when it comes to sales and production of the electric-hybrid? This article seems to think so. And the Audi chief doesn’t think highly of the vehicle either.

Cool Rhetoric From the Left

2011-12-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

Unless you live under a rock, you will recall that the media and President Obama called for a cooling of the heated rhetoric in the wake of the Tucson Tragedy that claim the lives of six people and severely wounded several others, including Rep Giffords.

Well, here is a fine example of the cool rhetoric coming from left. (h/t: The Blaze)

Government Abuse: Rails to Trails

2011-12-17T02:04:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the next several weeks I am going to highlight some government abuses that were done in the name of the greater good.

My source of this information was a paper written a few years ago that is chock-full of anecdotal evidence of government abusing their power just because they can. The paper is titled SHATTERED DREAMS: One Hundred Stories of Government Abuse by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Many of you have heard of the Rails to Trails Act that authorized the government at both the state and federal level to seize land for the development of bike and hiking trails. These bike and hiking trails are being built on abandoned rail lines. There are several in my area that have been converted to such a purpose. Much of the land at one time was actually owned by private landowners, but was taken from them for the development of the railroads. However, when this land was originally taken, provisions and laws were written in such a manner as to return the land back to the original landowners. The railroads had no property rights to the land once they abandoned the land.

Here is one story:

Book Review

2011-12-15T12:31:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I purchased Patrice Lewis’ book The Simplicity Primer through her website Rural Revolution.

In this well-written and easy to read book she lays out 365 different tips and ideas on how to simplify your life. Each tip and idea falls under one (sometimes two) of 12 different categories ranging from “Getting Personal” to “Your Daily Bread” to “It’s Easy Being Green.”

Among the many reasons why I liked this book is that its not only for those who wish to live off the grid. Most of the ideas and tips she provides could easily be implemented by those of us who live in a suburban environment and even for folks who live uptown. It is not a survivalist book chock full of how-to’s for living off the land, or shooting and dressing your own meat, or getting your cable for free. It is a book that gives you ideas on how you can take a step back, simplify your daily activities, and declutter your life.

Read more »

Woman Uses 4-Year Old To Stop A Train

2011-12-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

This has to be seen to be believed. Video found here in case this doesn’t work or I have to delete.

How can anyone be so stupid?

GOP Field (Part One)

2011-12-15T02:16:00.000-08:00

As we move along in 2011 and approach 2012, the GOP presidential hopeful field continues to shrink and front-runners are beginning to emerge (sort of).

Early on, in the Iowa straw poll, it looked like Michelle Bachmann was going to gain some steam. She has conservative bonifides, and she had the backing of the Tea Party. But after that early momentum, she has sort of falling off the face of the earth.

Next came Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, and heir-apparent, for good or bad, of the Bush legacy. But after several stumbles in the debates, he too has fallen by the wayside.

About the same time Perry came along John Huntsman of Utah announced he was going to run. The main stream media made much ado about his joining the race, but after about 10 minutes, he slide to the very rear of the pack.

Early in the summer Rep Thad McCotter decided to join the fray, but was quickly eliminated as his candidacy was never able to gain any traction. It didn’t help matters when the rest of the GOP field wouldn’t include him in one of what has turned out to be an endless stream of debates.

For over a year, Sarah Palin teased us. Was she going to run? Was she happy being a king-maker? When she finally made her announcement I think there were more than a few sighs of relief. Not only from the Republican field, but from the general public. I really do think she would have made terrific candidate, but the MSM would have crucified her. She has proven to be a strong woman, but I have my doubts she (or any other for that matter) could have survived the beat the media had in store for her.

Herman Cain got his 15 minutes, that eventually turned in 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes being a treatise on how to bring everything tumbling down on your head. I was actually gearing up to support Cain even after the first wave of accusations began to appear. When Gloria Allred got involved, it actually bucked up my resolve. But the latest news about the possible affair was the end for me. I feel it was wise of him to withdraw; he needs to spend some time repairing his relationships.

Newt Gingrich also teased us for while, but when he finally made it known he was going to run, it barely caused a ripple. He started off slow and only got slower. I actually thought that he might drop out, especially after his Iowa team imploded. But he has resurged in recent weeks as the GOP voters look for the “anyone but Romney candidate.

I will only mention “The Donald” because he did throw his hat into the ring for a bit, but as a complete political novice, he was more of an interesting sideshow than a candidate to really look at all that hard. It is true we are trying to find a candidate who isn’t a beltway insider, but Trump was too far out of the circle as to make Obama look like a seasoned pro.

Ron Paul cannot be forgotten here as he poses some interesting feelings. The guy has a strong conservative background, especially when it comes to small government. But as a libertarian candidate, he is going to struggle to get much more than a cursory glance from the voters. This is not to dismiss his as serious candidate, of which he is. But I think his foreign policy of isolationism is going to get him bypassed by most of the voters

Finally we have Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts. During all of this he has remained fairly consistent. I’m not talking about his political consistency; I’m referring to his polling. Others have surged ahead of him from time to time. First Bachman, then Perry, the Cain, and now Gingrich.

As has happened with the previous candidates, the MSM has is taking it whacks at Newt.

After Bachmann gained serious traction after the Iowa straw poll, the media really began to focus on political positions, painting her as a cold-hearted person. Never mind that she and her husband took in many, many foster kids over the years.

When Perry began to surge the media was waiting in the bushes to ambush this guy and it didn’t take too long for him to provide the fodder. While his early debate performances were nothing to write home about, it was when he couldn’t remember the three government agencies he would close that did him. Granted, the wounds could be considered self-inflicted, but I certainly don’t remember the MSM going after Obama for his “57 states” comments or his mispronunciation of Corpsman. Of the first mistake, the media, playing their role as his protector, chalked it up to him being tired. As for the later, they pretty blew it off, most likely because none of them would have pronounced the word correctly either.

As for Cain, they certainly did a great job of digging into his background, which is entirely fine with me. But the question must be asked (and has many times); why didn’t they vet Obama as well as they vetted Cain? Why haven’t they insisted on Obama showing his grades while at Columbia and any of his legal papers while studying at Harvard? Why not question his alliance with proud domestic terrorist Bill Ayers? And they most certainly glossed over his 20-year association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Now they are going after Gingrich. Only this time they have help from the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

I will have more later.

Unions Require Photo ID to Vote

2011-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Hypocrisy at its finest.

Unions, who are the democrats biggest supporter in terms of dollars, are requiring photo ID to vote. But democrats are crying racism when the national voter ID card has been suggested.

Make sure you click through the links at the site.

Wind Turbine Projects Stopped

2011-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

OK Greenies, you need to come clean. You don’t want solar panels in the Mojave Desert because of some tortoise and a bug. You don’t want nuclear power because of the issue of burying the waste miles underground. You don’t want fossil fuels because of the environmental damage done during extraction, production, and usage. You don’t want wind farms because of the slight possibility it could kill some birds. And you want to remove dams that generate hydroelectric power because of the salmon runs.

So just how do you propose we generate our electricity? I know how much you guys like your bicycles, maybe you could get a bunch of your friends together and have a power generation party. You could sip fine wines and eat cheese and crackers while riding your bikes in place, kind of like hamsters on a wheel

Before anyone gets their knickers in a knot over this post, I do have to tell you that I am a fan of alternative power generation. I do believe that we need to reduce our consumption of oil and coal. But I also think we need to be smart about it. Right now, other that nuclear power, there is not a source of energy generation that can touch oil and coal for it's deliveralbes (energy). Solar, wind and other sources cannot touch oil, it isn't even close. To replace oil and coal we need massive projects, somewhere on the scale of the building of the interstate highway system. But I also feel we should tap into the resources that we have while the other forms of power generation become much more mature.

Two recent events here in the PACNW goes to show just how far in the sand the environmental movement has buried its head.

Unemployment's Real Rate

2011-12-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

Did you go “Yippee!” when the news broke last week that unemployment fell to 8.6 percent? Well if you did here is some sobering news that might interest you.

Since 2007, the percent of the population that either has a job or is actively looking for one has fallen from 62.7 percent to 58.5 percent. That’s millions of workers leaving the workforce, and it’s not because they’ve become sick or old or informed. It’s because they can’t find a job, and so they’ve stopped trying. That’s where Luce’s calculation comes from. If 62.7 percent of the country was still counted as in the workforce, unemployment would be 11 percent. In that sense, the real unemployment rate – the apples-to-apples unemployment rate – is probably 11 percent. And the real unemployment rate – the so-called “U6” – is near 20 percent (Source: Washington Post)

When calculating the unemployment rate, only people out of work and actually seeking employment are considered when developing the unemployment rate. Those who have given up the search for work are no longer considered.

Occupy Efforts Fall Short

2011-12-12T17:14:00.000-08:00

As the Occupy Wall Street protests began to wind down last month, the leaders of the movement called for one last desperate move to try and infuse some life into the movement. As the call for the shutdown of ports along the west coast went out, it seemed that this try might have some success.

But it wasn’t to be. First off, the longshoremen who run the ports refused to join the folks aligned with the Occupy movement. This lack of support from the unions is understandable. When many democrats and other liberals are quickly backing off of their support to the movement, the unions followed suit. Plus, when you think of how difficult times are right now, taking a day off without pay may not be in the budget for most of these folks who work the docks. Unlike many of the Occupy folks, the union people actually have jobs.

Today was the big day when the Occupy people were going to gather and shutdown commerce along the west coast. A funny thing happened on the way to this utopia: commerce wasn’t impacted in the least. A few routes into the ports were disrupted for a few minutes by a few hundred people at the various locations:

A Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train was delayed north of Seattle.

Protesters briefly shutdown the access to the Seattle port.

In Portland, workers were told to stay home, without pay, for the day to avoid any confrontations.

Up in Vancouver, Canada, protester shutdown to access points for less than 30 minutes, barely causing a ripple.

Weather in LA significantly reduced participation and caused minimal disruptions.

All in all, I would have to say this wound up being a failure on the Occupier’s part.

US Wealth Drops

2011-12-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

More bad news for the economy and our recovery. Household wealth has taken a very sharp drop.

Americans’ wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pensions funds and home values lost value.

At the same time, corporations raised their cash stockpiles to record levels.

Household net worth fell 4 percent to $57.4 trillion in the July-September quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. It was the sharpest drop since the tumultuous period after the September 2008 bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers. And it was the second straight quarterly fall. (Source: Seattle Times)

We have entered the fourth (and hopefully, final) year of Barack Obama’s presidency. Over the course of that time, wealth in this nation has plummeted, jobless rate remains staggeringly high, and people, at home and abroad, have lost confidence in America. Please tell me again what makes this guy so wonderful.

One thing I would like you to notice is the second paragraph of the excerpt above. “…corporations raised their cash stockpiles to records levels.” Why is this? It shows me that there is money to be made out there, and that there is money to expand the economy. Yet why are corporations holding onto, and growing, funds? I really do think it can be all traced back to one man. Barack Obama. Business leaders from both sides of the political spectrum do not have confidence that he can lead us to a robust recovery. They are concerned how much Obama Care is going to cost them, they are concerned about new taxes to help feed the runaway deficit, and they are concerned about Obama’s ties to organized labor and his administrations attempts to appease labor.

If I had a fist full of money and was unsure how regulations were going to impact my invest of that money, I’d hang on to it like a baby does a rattle.

Another Pepper-Spraying Incident

2011-12-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

An unrelated but related update to the UC Davis pepper-spraying incident that got a lot of Americans (and a few on my readers) really worked up. You will recall that I posted this: and my support for the police and their actions remain unchanged. The article linked here asks why aren’t Americans up in arms over Marines that get pepper-sprayed and then forced to navigate an obstacle course lined with drill sergeants trying to knock them off their feet.

Mr. Paul Hair and I are just askin’

HHS Overrides FDA

2011-12-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

I know this post is going to stir some controversy and most of you know that I speak my mind. Sometimes you agree, and sometimes you don’t. This post might cause you to reevaluate your opinion of me and this blog. At the risk of doing that, here we go:

When it comes to the sexual activity of our young population, I tend to be a realist. The kids are going to experiment, and they are going to be sexually active. And teenage girls are going to get pregnant. I certainly do not support or encourage youngsters being active in this manner because I don’t feel they are emotionally ready for that level of commitment nor are they ready for the consequences.

Today’s decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to not allow the so-called morning after pill to be sold to those under 18 gives me pause. As mentioned above, teenagers are going to be active and teenage girls are going to get pregnant. No amount of burying your head in the sand is going to change this fact. And teen pregnancy is not a pleasant road. Very few of these girls and their child(ren) make it out of poverty unless given tremendous support from their immediate family. At the risk of being obvious, the best way to avoid getting pregnant is not participate in the activity that causes pregnancy. However, reality is: kids are active.

Looking at the other side of the coin is this pill is designed to terminate a pregnancy. If you believe that life begins at conception, then this is akin to abortion. As Christians is that something you can support, knowing that if the girl take the pregnancy to term, her life (and the baby’s) life will forever be altered?

Most of my life I have held a firm belief that you sleep in the bed that you have made. As my kids will attest, I am the kind of guy that will tell you not to put your hand in the flame, and I will tell you what the consequences are if you put your hand in the flame. I will tell you this several times. But if you insist on putting your hand in the flame after I have told you what is going to happen, I’ll bandage your hand, make sure you are going to be OK, but I will not kiss your booboo. But on the subject of teen pregnancy my feelings are more muddled and I am less inclined to be so hard-nosed. Hormones cause people to do stupid things and to lose the sense of reasoning. Should a teenage girl be made to pay the life-altering price just because they made this mistake?

I just don’t know.

Is the best answer here for us to be sanctimonious and not allow teenage girls to end something that will have a tremendous negative impact on their lives? Or do we turn our backs on or heartfelt beliefs and allow the pregnancy to be terminated?

I wish I had an answer.

As you might guess from this little post, I am torn. My convictions state that the pill should not be allowed. I try to live my life as best as I can in a way that I think the Lord will be pleased with my thoughts and actions. But I also do not want to see a teenage girl have her life driven towards poverty because of a one-time poor decision made in the heat of a backseat.

The Military and Terrorism

2011-12-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a couple of disturbing links regarding the military and terrorism.

-- In the grand tradition of mollifying terrorists in the hopeless hope they will like us; the Obama White House has categorized the Fort Hood massacre that killed 14 people and carried out by an Islamist as “workplace violence.” This little bit of word play is no different than the term “man-caused disasters” and changing Global War on Terrorism to Overseas Contingency Operations. Gee, those phrases have worked so well in gaining us likability in the region; why not go for strike three.

If you want to get a feeling of just how bad this makes the folks in the White House look, Susan Collins, A republican Senator from Maine was upset. Collins, not known for her conservative ways, blasted the White House:

Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood Massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation’s Armed Forces at home.

During a joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, the Maine Republican referenced a letter from the Defense Department depicting the Fort Hood shootings as workplace violence. She criticized the Obama administration for failing to identify the threat as radical Islam. (Source: Fox News)

Day of Infamy, 70 Years Ago

2011-12-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the men and women of our “Greatest Generation” who responded magnificently to the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 70 years ago today. Life magazine has some images from the days following the attack.

A Couple Chevy Volt Links

2011-12-07T01:17:00.001-08:00

Has there been a cover up regarding the lack of safe performance of the lithium battery in the Chevy Volt?

GM may not be buying back Volts if people are scared of the fire.

Gingrich Surges

2011-12-07T00:59:00.000-08:00

As the Republican primaries get closer to commencing, Newt Gingrich, whom I had written off this past summer, has seen a dramatic surge in the polls. I think his standing has as much to do with Herman Cain’s trials and tribulations as it does with the “anyone but Romney” feelings out there. I also happen to think that folks are discovering that Gingrich is actually a very smart man, who truly knows his stuff and would wipe the floor with Obama in any debate.

But Newt doesn’t come without some warts; many of them in fact. Most of us are aware of his serial marriages and some of the issues he had with ethics while serving as Speaker of the House during the Clinton Administration. However, if you are willing to dig a little deeper, there might be a few other issues that might cause one to pause.

A friend of mine sent me a link to a blogger than she reads quite frequently and he really does have a problem with some of the stances that Gingrich has taken over the years. In his post, the writer covers several topics that he feels make Gingrich not qualified to be the Republican nominee for President. (my take in italics)

- Campaigned for Nelson Rockefeller during the 1968 presidential elections. Anyone remotely familiar with the Rockefellers in general and Nelson in particular knows full well that no conservative could ever support such a candidate.

A little bit before my time, but I during some research on the Rockefellers, they do seem to have a bit of an elitist attitude towards most people. In fact, the Rockefellers could be the poster children for everything bad ever said about the Republicans.

Occupy and Tea Party Align

2011-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

File this under “eventually we can all agree on something”. Recently I posted about how the Mayor of Richmond, VA has initiated an audit process against the Richmond Tea Party. What triggered the Mayor’s ire was an invoice sent to the city requesting that funds the Tea Party group used to pay for toilets and trash collection be reimbursed. The Tea Party figured that since the Occupy Richmond group got all of these services for free, why shouldn’t the Tea Party.

Now it seems that all of the stars and planets have aligned, if only for a brief moment. The Occupy Richmond group has released a statement in support of the Richmond Tea Party:

After the city accused the Richmond Tea Party of being overdue on tax filings, Occupy Richmond issued a statement saying “it would not surprise us” if the move was “retaliation” for the Tae Party’s criticism of Mayor Dwight Jones. […] “The Tea Party and Occupy movements disagree on many, many issues,” Occupy Richmond’s Thursday statement said. “This should not stop all Americans from proudly standing together against government abuses.” (Source: Big Government) (Emphasis BG’s)

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when word of this reached the Major’s office. Using a term that my younger teenaged son might use, I’m sure the dude had a cow. “Those ungrateful ingrates. I paid for their toilets (didn’t want them pooping on my cop cars), I gave them trash collection, I gave them a place to set up their tents, I even offered them showers. And this is how they repay me!? Anybody got any pepper spray?”

Cain Suspends His Campaign

2011-12-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

The “high-tech lynching” is done and Herman Cain has decided to suspend his presidential campaign.

After several allegations of sexual harassment and one woman claiming that she a Cain had a 13 year extra-marital affair, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and one of the more recognizable faces of the Tea Party movement, Cain has decided it would be better for him and his family if he slipped from the national scene.

We all know the story. About two months back sexual harassment allegation began to surface, although with one notable exception, the women pretty much remained unknown and the reports were anonymous. The earlier this week, which has proven to be the backbreaker, Ginger White came forward and said she had a long-lasting affair with the married Cain.

GM Offers to Buy Back Volts

2011-12-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

To say this is any less than HUGE would be a big understatement.

General Motors will buy back Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company CEO said Thursday.

In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash test done by the federal government.

Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal regulators figure out what caused the fires. (Source: Big Government)

Many of you are aware that I have been blogging about the Volt for the past year. The links are too numerous to link here, but if you are interested in updating click “Chevy Volt” on the left sidebar. I recommend you start with this one, then work your way through the post. Mike over at Stately McDaniel Manor has also been posting on this subject.

Golly, I wonder if GM would buy back my truck if I suddenly was unhappy with it. They wouldn’t, mostly because I don’t drive a Chevy, but also because they aren’t trying to keep the customers happy, they are trying cover their backsides. As far as I can tell none of the other models in the GM line are in danger of spontaneous combustion while resting in the garage.

One more thing I’d like to point out. The mileage the Volt delivers per charge has been sliding backwards. When GM initially released the Volt, there were some who said the Volt would get upwards of 75 miles per charge. In this recent commercial GM has dropped that distance to 35 miles.

"Buy American" Ads Turned Down

2011-12-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

I think I’d file this under a “little kooky.” The Seattle area Metro bus company has refused to sell ad space on their buses to a company that is asking folks to buy American made products this Christmas season.

A local group’s plan to buy ads on Metro buses urging people to “Buy American” and “shop Locally” has been rejected by King County as too political

TAP America, a Seattle-based nonprofit, sought to place the ads starting this week on the outside of Metro buses, concentrating on bus routes that run through shopping districts of downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

The message was meant as a reminder to holiday shoppers that they could do something positive for the country by thinking about how they spend their money, said Richard Tso, TAP America’s executive director. (Source: Seattle Times)

Did the UC Davis Protesters Provoke?

2011-11-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

You know what they say about hind-sight? It has 20/20 vision. Looking back at the video of the UC Davis issue where the students got pepper-sprayed by UC Davis police for not leaving the campus after being told to do so, it is easy to see why they might have reacted the way they did. At the risk of sounding like I don’t know what the heck I am talking about, I do remember watching the videos the first go-around and thinking about the students in the background. I didn’t concern myself about the students sitting on the ground that were receiving the spray. After all, they were told to move, they were told if they didn’t they were going to get sprayed, they choose not to move, hence they choose to get sprayed. It is as simple as choosing one path over another. Regardless of the choice, there are consequences that one must take responsibility for.

If you look at the video, the campus police are surrounded by protesting students. The students were also asked to leave and they refused. They were violating campus policy by setting up the camps, which the head of the campus initially ignored. When the police were told to remove them, the students would not leave. So they got pepper sprayed.

Now comes along this video where one of the protesters basically said they provoked the pepper spray. It was their intended purpose all along.

Read more »

Humor

2011-11-30T01:27:00.001-08:00

I know that many of my readers are also readers of Patrice’s Rural Revolution blog, but just in case you missed or are one of the few who have not discovered her site I think you’ll enjoy this link.

Mayor Threatens Tea Party

2011-11-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

This is what you get when you stand up to the leftists and their Occupy movement:

Two weeks after the Richmond Tea Party delivered an invoice to Richmond (VA) Mayor Dwight Jones for cost incurred for previous rallies, we received a letter from the City of Richmond formally stating that the city is auditing our Tea Party. Coincidence? This audit is an obvious attempt to intimidate and harass us for standing up against the unfair treatment and discrimination against our Tea Party. Source: (Big Government)

Apparently, the City of Richmond has allowed the Occupy movement folks to use their park facilities at no charge, providing the protesters with free portable toilets and trash pickup. When the Tea Party hosted rallies their earlier this year, they paid for the permits, purchased their own sanitation services, and filed all paperwork properly.

The blog Virginia Right reported that the city provided services such as portable toilets, trash pickup, etc. The incomplete invoices obtained from the city total $7,000. This was only a portion of the actual costs to taxpayers because the costs of police, helicopter and incarceration were not included. Also not accounted for was the 24-hour police protection of the Mayor’s home after the Occupiers moved their camp next door to the Mayor’s house. The Richmond Tea Party, conversely, paid for all services for our rallies, including the police, portable toilets, park fees and permits, amounting to approximately $8,500. (Source: Big Government) (Bold emphasis PACNW Righty’s)

Please note the one glaring difference between the costs incurred by the Occupy movement vs. the Tea Party. There were no incarcerations for the Tea Party folks.

Arab Spring Turning Very Chilly

2011-11-27T18:25:00.000-08:00

I wonder how the folks that supported the “Arab Spring”, like President Obama, feel now after dozens were killed earlier this week at last spring’s epicenter of the protests that forced Hosni Mubarak from power.

One week before Egypt’s much-anticipated parliamentary elections, the streets have turned to bedlam once again. The decision by the military, which has run the country since strongman Hosni Mubarak resigned in February, to crack down on the remnants of a massive protest on Friday have reignited large segments of the opposition – many of them young and jobless, and some wielding rocks – who have once again piled into Tahrir Square and its nearly environs, demanding the free and fair election they called for earlier this year.

…

Since Sunday, more than 1,500 have reportedly been injured and dozens killed. (Source: The Daily Beast)

With the ongoing troubles in Syria, the election of pro-Islamist governments in Tunisia and Morocco, this whole Arab Spring has been a no win situation for the Obama Administration and for the America people. When you included Obama’s nearly open hostility towards Israel, I really think we are headed for trouble in the region.

Gregoire Proposes Sales Tax Increase

2011-11-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

I have blogged may times about the budget situation here in the Evergreen State. A special session of the state legislature has been called and will convene tomorrow in hopes of finding further budget cuts totaling nearly $2 billion.

In an effort to close the shortfall, Governor Christine Gregoire has called for additional taxes and fee increases. In what will probably be the most hotly debated increase is her proposal to temporarily increase the state sales tax by 1/2 percent, increasing the baseline sales tax to 7%. If the voters approve of this increase, Washington State would only trail California as the highest sales tax rate in the nation.

A couple of issues must be addressed before I could even begin to consider this tax increase. The biggest concern that I have is would this actually be a temporary increase, or would the politicians, who are mostly tax and spend democrats, attempt to keep this increase? I certainly would not hold my breath or trust the words of a politician. There must be some language written into the bill that would give us an iron-clad promise this increase would only be for the stated number of years (currently proposed for three years). Even if the economy continues to tank in three years (a distinct possibility if Obama gets reelected) the increase must go away AND only through voter approval could it continue.

The other concern I have is how the money would be spent. Would this increase just give the democrat-control legislature a license to spend? Or could it be directed at only those areas mostly in need? I am not sure if there are any sort of safeguards that could be put into place that would prevent the corruptocrats in Olympia from not being wise with our money. They certainly haven’t been able to do so thus far. I foresee these bungles of our money following the letter of the law: the increased revenue from the tax increase going towards what is required by the law. But I also see general funding being redirected towards pet projects and vote-buying schemes. Then we’ll be back at square one, but only with an increase in our sales tax to show for our troubles.

One thing to note here: If approved, folks living in certain sections of Seattle would see their sales tax increase to a full 10%

Blog Quiet for Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

PACNW Righty is going to be silent for the next couple of days while I enjoy time with my family. And as that I work retail, of course I will be there when the doors open up Friday AM, Maybe not so bright-eyed, but very early.

Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians, 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (emphasis mine)

Climategate Again

2011-11-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

While it is still early in the game, it looks like Climategate 2.0 has arrived. Another batch of emails from Michael Mann and others heavily invested in global warming/climate change has been released. From what I have been able to gather, these new emails are not quite as shattering as the initial release two years ago. But they do give a good insight into the thinking of these folks.

One snippet indicates that one of the folks may have deleted emails to avoid Freedom Of Information Act requests. Now why would you do something like that unless what you had was damaging? Just askin'.

The climate blog Watts Up With That has the story with periodic updates. It is well worth your time to take a gander.

Reason Comes to Life

2011-11-23T01:54:00.000-08:00

The other day I posted a little ditty called “Why I Vote Democrat”. One of the lines was I vote democrat because I’m not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

Lo and behold, the very liberal Governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber (D) has decided not to allow any executions while he is Governor. Interestingly enough, he is quite pro-choice, which is another way of saying he supports unfettered access to abortions.

So let me get this straight, he is against the death penalty, yet supports the lawful execution of the unborn. On the one hand it fails the "basic standards of justice" and on the other it is OK to use abortion as a means of birth control, oh, I mean basic reproductive rights. He is against the killing of someone who has committed a heinous crime, yet has no issue with the death of the innocent.

I point out this not as a way to get a pro life/pro choice argument started, but as a way to point out the possibility of a discrepancy.

I do want to let you all know that I am not a 100% supporter of the death penalty. I do believe it has its uses, but there are enough issues to give me pause. However, I am not a supporter of abortion except for extreme cases (incest, danger to mother, rape), but still struggle with an outright ban (limited government interference in our lives). Oddly enough, my views on both have evolved over the years as I have aged and mellowed (somewhat).

Solyndra Workers to Receive Taxpayer Assistance

2011-11-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

As if throwing money at a company that was already sinking fast wasn’t bad enough, the federal government is now going to give employees affected by Solyndra going under will be eligible for government assistance in getting job retraining and income assistance.

The labor department announced today that it had approved Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for the former employees of the bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra.

That means all of the firm’s 1,100 ex-employees are eligible for federal aid packages, including job retraining and income assistance. The department has valued packages at about $13,000 a head ($14.3 million total). (Source: Investors.com)

The TAA is a program that compensates businesses and employees impacted by unfair trade practices committed by foreign companies that compete with American businesses. Solyndra and other US solar panel companies are claiming (rightfully so, most likely) that China is undercutting US panel makers with cheaper panels. Under this program, companies can file a claim with the Department of Labor and receive so sort of aid package. In the case of Solyndra, the package is for the ex-employees to get retraining.

Solyndra has been a money pit for the American taxpayer. First off, they were given a $535 million dollar loan even though it is becoming increasing clear that the company was already well on its way to insolvency. When it appeared that Solyndra was going to have difficulties paying back the origianl loans, the loan package was reworked and included private monies. To attract the private investors, the government guaranteed these private investors would not lose their $75 million. Once the company folded, the private investors were given back their investment, while the taxpayer can expect to see not one thin dime of the half-a-billion dollar "loan." Now we are on the hook for another $14 million.

I don’t completely begrudge the retraining assistance to the ex-employees, although I am a capitalist at heart (businesses make it on their own). When you throw in how China is undercutting American businesses with unfair practices, I am even less inclined to rally against these grants. But I will have to say this: When you consider the labor costs involved maybe the American workers needs to understand with our high wages, American businesses are already at a disadvantage against foreign competition. Don’t get me wrong, I do not advocate that we roll wages to the level of the Chinese worker, but it still something that we have to account for when competing against other countries.

Home Sales Up, Values Down

2011-11-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Once again the real estate market is providing us both good and bad news. Sales continue to show slight upticks and home values continue to be depressed.

Homes sales did show an increase, but some of that might have been brought on as investors are snapping up homes.

Home sales rose 1.4 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That is below the 6 million that economists say is consistent with a healthy housing market and slightly ahead of last year’s sales – the worst in 13 years. (Source: The Oregonian)

On the negative side, values continue to slide.

Most economist say home prices will keep falling, by at least 5 percent, through the rest of the year. Many forecast don’t anticipate a rebound in prices until at least 2013.

The medium sales price dropped roughly 2 percent to $162,500 in October.

The high rate of foreclosures has made re-sold homes much cheaper than new homes. The medium price of a new home is roughly 30 percent higher than the price of one that’s been occupied before – twice the normal markup. (Source: The Oregonian)

For those of us who own homes, this news can be a bit unsettling. Many have been counting on the value of our homes seeing us through retirement down the road. Now it looks like it might be years before the value is returned. But on the bright side, at least sales are moving in the right direction, which eventually will put pressure on the values, pushing them upwards.

Communists Out In Full Force (Sort of)

2011-11-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

Great post and images of a teacher’s “strike” down in California. Donald over American Power posted the images. On the positive side, there was little to none of the violence that the Occupiers have become known for. On the negative side (well, other than the freedom to express their opinion) these guys are really starting to show who and what they are.

With the election of an avowed socialist as president, these guys have become much more embolden, thinking the nation is ready for their crap. Hopefully, the nation will show them that we are a nation of individual liberty, not collective socialism. But I do fear that if Obama is elected for another four years, these guys will push even harder for their agenda and things will really get out of hand.

Please don’t let apathy rule the day in Nov 2012.

CAFE Standards to Add To Cost of A Car

2011-11-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

Earlier this summer the Obama Administration hammered together new MPG standards for the auto-industry. By the year 2025 the industry-wide mileage standard will be 55.4 MPG for passenger cars. As expected, folks from the auto industry balked at the increases saying that this will increase the cost of building these vehicles which would then be passed along to consumers.

It even looks like President Obama’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the EPA agree with the auto industry. These agencies predict that…”CAFE standards would add an average of $2,000 to the price of each new passenger vehicle.

Calls for Kagan, Thomas to Recuse

2011-11-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post regarding the SCOTUS finally placing Obama Care on the docket, I mentioned there are two justices that should consider recusing themselves from this debate as they had a hand in shaping the bill. I must back-track slightly. Apparently, Justice Sotomayer was really not a part of the debate. I think she might have had a ruling at some point but I can’t seem to locate it. But that alone should not disqualify her as most of the Justices sitting on the SCOTUS have ruled, in lower courts, on matters that have come before the Supreme Court.

Of course, there is a call from the left that Justice Thomas should recuse himself from the arguments because his wife was involved with a lobbying group that is opposed to Obama Care and later started her own lobbying firm. Apparently, the efforts began early this year when it looked likely that the bill was headed to the SCOTUS.

Seventy-four House Democrats, led by New York Rep. Anthony Weiner (pre Wiener-Gate), sent a letter to Justice Clarence Thomas Wednesday (9 Feb, 2011) calling him to sit out deliberations on the Affordable Care Act because of his wife’s ties to a lobbying group that opposes the health care law.

“The appearance of a c conflict of interests merits recusal under federal law,” the letter said. “From what we have already seen, the line between your impartiality and you and your wife’s financial stake in the overturn of the healthcare reform is blurred.” (Source: ABC News)

Of course, this letter did not request that Justice Kegan recuse herself from the hearings even though it had been a point of questioning during her confirmation hearings. If they had really wanted to send a statement to Justice Thomas the letter could have mentioned that Justice Ginsburg has also been involved with cases where her husband has had a financial stake and, to their disappointment, she didn’t step aside.

As for the monetary gain, I do think this might be worth exploring, but not as much as the stake that Justice Kagan might have with the bill. As evidenced by the recently released e-mails, Justice Kagan was a huge supporter of the bill. “I hear they have the votes Larry!! Simply amazing.” Based on those simple words in an email she has already clearly played her hand. Of course she won’t set aside, but maybe she doesn’t need to attend the arguments since she has already clearly stated her position. Maybe there will be a softball game.

If you think she'll step aside don’t hold your breath, you’ll turn blue.

Humor - "I Vote Democrat Because..."

2011-11-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

I’m sure that many, it not all, of you have seen this. But it bears repeating.

Top 12 reasons people vote democrat:

1) I voted democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn’t.

2) I vote democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

3) I voted democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

4) I voted democrat because I’m way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

5) I voted democrat because I’m not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

6) I voted democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

7) I voted democrat because I believe that people who can’t tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don’t start driving a Prius.

8) I voted democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

9) I voted democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

10) I voted democrat because I think that it’s better to billions to people who hate us for their oil, but not drill our own because it might upset some endangered beetle of gopher.

11) I voted democrat because while we live in the greatest, most wonderful country in the world, I was promised “Hope and Change.”

12) I voted democrat because my head is do firmly in wonderland, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever have another point of view.

The really good thing about this list is that it gives you a readi-made list of places to start when discussing politics with a liberal/democrat/progressive.

Example:

You: I really think we need to open up more areas for oil and gas exploration.

Liberal: We can't do that. What about the poor (fill in the animal or plant of their choice)?

You: Well, I guess we can continue to send money to countries that sponsor terrorism. You do know those terrorist hate everything about the US don't you? They even hate liberals even more because of some of the things you stand for. etc., etc., etc.

Shout out to ScottyBil for sending this to me.

Obama Costs US Even More Jobs

2011-11-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

To call this anything but tragic would be wrong. Postponing the Keystone Pipeline decision until after the 2012 elections borders on lunacy with the fact that our economy still teeters. President Obama has thrown the American recovery under the bus (yet again). I wonder if the unions are starting to get the message that the only thing the Obama likes is the union money. He cares not a wit about the American worker. (Link via Doug Ross)

Chevy Volt and A Garage Fire

2011-11-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

Remember the other day when I posted about the Chevy Volt fire that occurred a few weeks after undergoing crash impact testing? This Volt somehow exploded in flames and set other nearby cars on fire. GM officials said the fire was a result of a damaged battery not being fully drained.

So how is GM going to explain this?

After a house fire in Mooresville, NC which started in the home’s garage was traced the (sic) the near a charging station for an electric vehicle, WSOC-TV reported that Duke Energy, which installed the Siemens built charging station, has warned customers to not use similar units while the investigation into the fire proceeds. When fire investigators went through the burned out garage, they found a Chevy Volt plugged into the 240 volt station, the second garage fire reportedly involving a Volt. Since it was not the only electrical appliance plugged in that area of the garage, the charging station may not be at fault. The Iredell County Fire Marshall’s office said, “The charging station was in the known area of origin, but the cause of the fire has not been officially determined. (Source: Cars In Depth)

Costco Offers Interviews to Sate Workers

2011-11-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week Washington State actually held some elections that had importance. One of the more controversial measures on the ballot was Initiative 1183, which if approved, would remove the state from the liquor business.

The Initiative was backed with some serious money ($22+ million) from Costco which hopes to begin sales of hard alcohol next May.

One of the unintended consequences of this initiative was the elimination of more than 900 state employee jobs which were used to staff and run the state-run liquor stores and distribution services.

Costco has offered to step up (sort of) and offer state employees who lose their jobs the chance to interview for positions within Costco.

Costco Wholesale said it will offer any displaced state liquor store worker the opportunity to apply for a job at the chain, and, “We will make sure that they get an interview,” chief legal officer Joel Benoliel said Thursday.

“There is obviously no guarantee of a job, but anyone who would like to work at Costco will have the advantage of being interviewed. We will be working on a procedure to make happen between now and June when the transition will happen,” he said.

Benoliel also noted that workers who want to keep their affiliation with their union, which also represents grocery-store workers, might be better off seeking work elsewhere; Costco in nonunion. (Source: Seattle Times)

Lefty Tolerance

2011-11-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

Interesting story on tolerance at this link

A cast member of the gay reality TV show “A-List Dallas” tells The Daily Caller that he was punched to the ground and bloodied Friday night by someone vandalizing his care because he’s a gay conservative associated with commentator Ann Coulter.

Taylor Garrent, a Republican consultant in Texas who stars in the reality series on the channel LGO TV said in an interview that he was attacked outside a birthday party in Dallas after finding a vandal scratching “F—Coulter” on the side of his car. (Source: The Daily Caller)

I am no longer surprised that the left resorts to these kinds of tactics. They know they cannot win in the court of public opinion so they turn to acts of violence to make their point (kind of reminds me of the OWS movement).

OF course, this will not make the six o’clock news. You had to hear about it on a conservative web site. But if the perpetrator had been conservative or a Tea Partier, it would have be the lead story on every news cast.

SCOTUS To Review Obama Care

2011-11-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

Not sure if this is good or bad news, but the SCOTUS has decided to rule on Obama Care in 2012.

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear challenges to President Barack Obama’s health care reform law – but it’s not all clear that the court will decide anything soon.

Although the court set the stage for an epic, five-and-a-half-hour oral argument in the midst of the 2012 presidential race, it also signaled that it could punt a decision on the individual mandate until 2014. In accepting the challenges to the law, the court said it would devote an hour of the argument to the effect of the Anti-Injunction Act – a law that, in the view of some courts, could prohibit a ruling on the individual mandate until the mandate goes into effect in 2014. (Source: Politico)

While on one hand I really look forward to getting a ruling on this bill that is most likely unconstitutional, I have concerns. Two members of the Court should most likely recues themselves as Justices Sotomayor and Kagan both had a hand in engineering the bill. While those two Obama appointees didn’t really shift the balance of the court, those they replaced didn’t have a dog in the Health Care fight and might have actually ruled on the side of the bill being unconstitutional.

Of course, the biggest concern is Justice Kennedy. He is considered more on the conservative side of the court, but has thrown an occasional curveball. Essentially, he is the swing vote.

As Obama’s signature piece of legislation for President Obama, popular opinion says the SCOTUS’s decision could make or break his run for a second term. I have a slightly different view. If the court rules against Obama, then I think we can put a fork in his campaign and call it done (as in over). If the court rules in his favor, I really don’t think, as some believe, that it will clear the path for his second term. Personally, I think there is better than good chance that if the court rules in his favor, it will cause a significant ground swell that will really turn the tide against his reelection. The Health Care bill is already quite unpopular as evidenced by the pounding democrats took in 2010 and if the individual mandate is ruled constitutional, I really do think Obama will be even more Jimmy Carteresque than he is now.

But I could be wrong. Obama might still have some of that magic he had in 2008 when he overtook the presumed nominee, Hilary Clinton, then pounding John McCain in the election. The guy does have a way with words, even if those words are written for him and projected on a tele-prompter. Plus he has something many of the Republican nominees don’t have, and that is an ability to energize his base. If the 2012 turnout is lackluster, that energy could overcome a lot.

If you one of the many who wants to see Obama gone in 2012, please make sure that you get your butt to the polls, even if the nominee is (yuck) Romney.

Richmond, CA Mayor Slaps Veterans in the Face

2011-11-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Leftist Richmond, CA, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, Green Party member, has told the veterans that she represent in her city (although I doubt many voted for her) that they can go pound sand. Rather than go to a Veteran’s event today, she choose to attend an OWS event instead.

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin will miss a Veterans Day salute in favor of an Occupy Richmond “public speak out.” The San Jose Mercury News reported.

McLaughlin defended her decision, telling the newspaper that the city is not sponsoring the Veterans Day event, and the rally she will attend will honor Scott Olsen, the Iraq war veteran injured at an Occupy Oakland rally last month. Richmond and Oakland, both in the San Francisco Bay Area, are about 12 miles apart.

“I chose to honor our veterans, not only on Veteran’s Day, but daily, by supporting an end to military warfare to prevent further fighting and dying in needless wars,” she said in an email. “I am a strong supporter of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Vets Against the War.” (Source: The Blaze)

Volt Starts A Highly Charged Fire

2011-11-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

Jeesh, this is just great. A Chevy Volt caught fire after undergoing a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing…three weeks after the accident!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today it had investigated a fire that occurred this spring, after the Volt extended-range electric vehicle underwent a 20 mile-per-hour, side-impact test for its five-star crash safety rating. The crash punctured the Volt’s lithium-ion battery, and after more than three weeks of sitting outside, the vehicle and several car around it caught fire. No one was hurt.

General Motors believes the fire occurred because the NHTSA did not drain the energy from the Volt’s battery following the crash, which is a safety step the automaker recommends, GM spokesman Rob Peterson said. NHTSA had not been told of the safety protocol, Peterson said. (Source: Detroit Free Press)

So now we have to worry about this supposedly green vehicle catching fire after an accident? I know that GM has said they are going to take pains to try and inform all of this step, but obviously, it doesn’t work every time. Good grief, GM gave NHTSA these cars for the purpose of crashing them and they still didn’t bother to tell the testers this was a possible outcome.

Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T02:16:00.001-08:00

Today is Veteran’s Day. Please shake a veteran’s hand today.

Obama Refuses to Enforce Our Laws

2011-11-11T02:13:00.000-08:00

Illegal immigration and the Hispanic vote. Just recently President Obama used his Executive privileges to decrease the number of illegal immigrants deported back to their country of citizenship. Under his direction, White House lawyers issued a memo that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from deporting illegal immigrants who have not committed any violent crimes or not considered national security risks. Never mind that they have broken the law by just being here illegally, hence the term “illegal immigrant.”

As Obama has done quite frequently in recent months, he has most likely over-stepped his authority by telling an agency under his control not to enforce the laws of the United States. Our Constitutional Scholar is at it again.

Obama has been issuing these orders over the last few months in an attempt to shore up his declining poll numbers. He knows that he has really lost the middle of the country and since the economy is not showing much in the way of improvement, Obama has to come at his reelection from a different angle.

He has allowed the EPA to run roughshod over energy producers who generate power using fossil fuels. Despite the fact that this will cause the loss of thousands of jobs, will reduce energy production capacity by as much as 20% in the Midwest and East Coast, and will cause energy costs to “necessarily skyrocket”, he still had his EPA chief push these new regulations through. All he is doing is shoring up his radical environmentalist base, the rest of us be danged.

Read more »

Opposing Forces

2011-11-11T00:31:00.000-08:00

If we are extremely lucky these two pieces of news will be able to coexist.

Jobless claims dip:

Fewer Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, marking continued – but still slow – improvement in the job market.

About 390,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits in the week ending Nov. 5, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of claims fell 10,000 from the revised 400,000 in the prior week, and is now at the lowest level since April 2.

…

“The passing of some of economic weakness is starting to show in a better labor market,” said Michael Gapen, senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital.

The four-week moving average if initial claims, used to smooth out volatility, is teetering exactly at 400,000. While not an exact science, that number serves as a rough estimate for economists, who say claims below 400,000 could mean job growth has finally become strong enough to start bringing the unemployment rate down.

In a report last week, the government said the unemployment rate dipped to 9% in October, down from 9.1% the month before. (Source: Yahoo News)

Home foreclosures increases:

The number of foreclosures climbed in October, as mortgage lenders started to work through the paperwork that had delayed new filings for much of last year.

…

RealtyTrac said one in every 563 U.S. home had either a default notice, a scheduled auction or a bank repossession filing during the month.

“The October foreclosure numbers continue to show strong signs that foreclosure activity is coming out of the rain delay we’ve been in for the past year as lenders corrected foreclosure paperwork and processing problems,” said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO. (Source: Yahoo News)

Considering that our economy is pretty much based on a health housing market, I am concerned these two numbers (declining unemployment and increasing foreclosures) are going to struggle against one another. As long as unemployment stays high, people just aren’t going to buy homes. As long as people don’t buy homes because of fears the housing market still hasn’t reached bottom unemployment is going to have a difficult time recovering.

The final paragraph of the linked article on foreclosures says it best:

The best hopes for stopping foreclosures is an improvement in the overall economy, especially in the battered real estate and labor markets. But with so many foreclosed homes weighing on the market, and with unemployment still at 9% and consumer confidence low, even mortgage rates near record lows aren’t enough to fix the problem caused by the bursting of the housing bubble. (Source: Yahoo News)

Cain Accuser Has A (Brief) History

2011-11-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

The plot thickens. Seems that a woman who filed sexual harassment complaint against GOP hopeful Herman Cain also filed a complaint against her next employer.

Karen Kraushaar, 55, filed the complaint while working as a spokeswoman at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Justice Department in late 2002 or early 2003, with the assistance of her lawyer, Joel Bennett, who also handled her earlier sexual harassment complaint against Cain in 1999. Three former supervisors familiar with Kraushaar’s complaint, which did not include a claim of sexual harassment, described it for the AP under conditions of anonymity because the matter was handled internally by the agency and was not public.

To settle the complaint at the immigration service Kraushaar initially demanded thousands of dollars in payment, a reinstatement of leave she used after the accident earlier in 2002, promotion on the federal pay scale and a one-year fellowship to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, according to a former supervisor familiar with the complaint. The promotion itself would have increased her annual salary between $12,000 and $16,000, according to salary tables in 2002 from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (Source: Yahoo News)

I know this already old news, but I thought I’d post in case you had been away.

Heavy Thinking

2011-11-09T01:47:00.000-08:00

Some thoughts on the brewing controversy that is surrounding GOP hopeful, Herman Cain.

Over the past six months I have been looking for a candidate that could beat Obama and was not named Mitt Romney. Because of his stances on illegal immigration, universal health care, and abortion, Romney is nothing more than Obama-lite.

There have been some possible contenders out there.

Palin teased us for a while. While I would have supported her with both guns ablazin’ I think in these divided times, she is just too polarizing. The left HATES her with every fiber of their being. Even after the vicious attacks on her ranging from her IQ level to her decision to keep her baby, an organization that purports to support women’s issues couldn’t even find the time to give even a lukewarm response in support of woman who has done it all. Career woman, raised a family, married to the same guy, things you would think NOW would get behind. But because Palin is a conservative, there wasn’t a snowballs chance in a hot place the NOW would issue even a squeak.

Christie has too many liberal stances (2nd Amendment, illegal immigration) that he never really stood a chance to gain my support. I will give credit where credit is due. He has brought NJ back from the brink with the hard choices he has made. But his non-committal to the 2nd Amendment and his stance on illegal immigration was a huge red flag for me.

McCain Wants to Take Health Care from Veterans

2011-11-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that I am a veteran. Been retired now for just over a year. Over the years that I served, the benefits that I received changed, some slightly, some dramatically. Health care was one of those benefits that saw changes over the years. When I first entered the service, health care was free and accessible. Not exactly sure when it changed, but I believed it was about five to seven year after I joined that accessibility to health care was altered. No longer could family members go to the base hospital for treatment. But at least it remained free. But for dental, there was a change to both cost and access. Family members initially had access to dental clinics, but as a cost saving measure, the DoD decided to trim the number of dentists on active duty, which in turn forced family members off base to receive dental care. Then to top it off, they charged a small monthly fee for what was then called “Delta Dental.”

There have also been other benefits that have seen their time on the chopping block, but avoided elimination. The one that sticks out most in my mind was our Commissary benefit. For those who are unaware, on nearly all bases there is a grocery store that falls under military control. It is staffed and managed at the store level by civilians, mostly dependents, and is controlled at the upper levels by military and senior level civilians. This benefit is a real treat for most of us because costs are lower than at Safeway and other similar stores. These savings are achieved in three ways. 1) Buying power, which is not unlike what other large chains also do; 2) profits, which are not a consideration. The stores have to make enough to pay staff and obviously purchase stock, but there are no share-holders to answer to; and 3) unions. There are no unions in the commissary driving up operating costs. For my family, we probably average about $200.00 in savings each month.

Recently, the drive to cut costs all across the board in the federal government has brought about talk that would eliminate one of most cherished benefits. Sadly, this talk is coming from someone who in the past has been one of our most ardent supporters; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Read more »

Cain Accuser Comes Forward W/ Allred

2011-11-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

I really hate to see it happen, but it certainly looks as if the “Cain Train” has derailed.

With the famous, bomb-throwing attorney Gloria Allred by her side, a fourth woman came forward Monday to charge Herman Cain with sexual harassment, giving full details on the alleged incident.

Sharon Bialek is the first woman to give her name and speak publically about what she is alleging the GOP front-runner did to her while he was head of the National Restaurant Association.

Allred introduced her client, Bialek, as a Republican, full-time, single mom and commended her client for coming forward to tell about Cain’s “idea of a ‘stimulus package.’” (Source: Daily Caller)

Occupy Movement Goes Violent in Oakland, CA

2011-11-05T02:49:00.000-07:00

Folks, a very good post by Doug over at American Power Blog on the Occupy Oakland violence and anarchy.

Things have really gotten out of control there with building being vandalized and businesses forced to shut down.

As much as they would like you to believe you are part of this movement this is not a 99-percenter movement. It is a socialist-anarchist movement. Nothing short of shutting down the government and rebuilding it to their desires will satisfy these people.

Very similar to the 1960’s counter-culture protests. Back then, these people grew up in a very easy-going time of the late 50’s and early 60’s. Purchasing a home was no longer a pipedream as wages were adequate for most to take the leap. Unemployment was low, we were prosperous and becoming more so, and American was leading the way in the world. Of course, it wasn’t without its bad points (Civil Rights). Fast forward to the turn of the century. We had years of prosperity led by the boom in technology, which we were the leaders in innovation. Generally speaking, jobs were plentiful, and our economy, led by housing and technology, was booming. But there were also dark clouds (terrorism). The common thread here is the generations that grew up in these times separated by a whole generation is that they were spoiled. And being spoiled, they wanted more and didn’t think they had to work for it, unlike the generation that spawned them.

It seems to run in a cycle. A generation works their tails off, getting to the good life. They treat their families to the spoils, essentially spoiling them. That next generation then wants to continue being spoiled. As youths, they didn’t have to work for anything as it was all provided. Once they came of age, reality it them in the back side and they didn't like it one bit.

The generation that brought us the “flower children” lived through the "Great Depression" and lived through WWII. After beating back a world shattered by a depression and the Axis Powers, they set their sights on working hard to gain security for their families. While working hard for this security, they shielded their children from a harsh reality, which in turn gave us the spoiled generation of the 60’s

The generation that has brought us the “Occupiers” lived through the 1970s which had tough economic times, Vietnam, and Jimmy Carter. They came of age under the prosperity of Reagan and to a lesser extent, Clinton, and they wanted a better life for their families. The cycle repeated and now we have to deal with the spoiled children who now want the government to pay for their student loans and give them jobs without them making any effort.

But there is a silver lining in all this. Eventually, the flower kids grew up, had families of their own and got to work. Let us hope the cycle continues.

A Letter to the Editor

2011-11-05T02:15:00.000-07:00

The following was sent to me by a good friend. Not sure where this came from although it looks like it might have appeared the Iosco County News-Herald, a small northern Michigan weekly. Although I do not have any rights to reprint this I am going to take a risk. It pretty much sums it all up for those of us on the conservative side of the aisle.

If you are author of this or the editor of the previously mentioned newspaper, please leave me a comment if you wish for me to delete the post. I will do so.

Editor,

Has America become the land of the special interest and home of the double standard?

Lets see: If we lie to Congress, it’s a felony and if the congress lies to its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we’re racist and if a black person dislikes whites, it’s their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality if OK, buy you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child but its wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of the communist and socialist threat be renaming them progressives; we are unable to close of border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if burned an American flag of George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.

You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it’s wrong to use an animal.

We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of handouts; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.

And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatened them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.

What has happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Author’s name and location withheld.

Very interesting take on our troubles. I sure that many of you readers will recognize much of what was written here.

I don’t know if many of you follow baseball at all and the troubles that steroids brought to the game. When Congress decided to stick their fingers into this issue to gain political points they had a few prominent players from that era testify before a special committee. During the course of the testimony a couple of players were caught lying about their use of steroids. Now some of those players are being brought up on charges of lying before Congress. But when Nancy Pelosi and her crew lied to the American public about the cost of the health care bill, it was nothing more that political gamesmanship. The difference here what is at stake. The players lying to Congress costs us nothing, while this health care bill is now north of $1 trillion in taxpayer money.

Local Land USe Policy Under Fire (Long Post)

2011-11-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months, as I have driven to work or to play, I have been noticing some signs popping up around the area. The signs are eye-catching but a little difficult to read as I sped by at 50mph. Several weeks ago I received a mailer from the organization that had been placing the signs around the area. The group was going to host a series of Town Hall meeting in various communities in the area.

After I received the mailer I decided to dig a little deeper into what this organization was all about. As I read the postings on their website and news stories that had made the local newspaper I began to get a clearer picture of what these activists were trying to get across.

In recent years the county in which I live has been attempting to regulate how private landowners can use their lands. Some of these policies and regulations have been fairly mild such as increasing or implementing fees to do basic upgrades to your property such as adding a deck or a patio and charging a fee to provide input to policy at public hearings. Other policies have been much more invasive like the Oak Tree Prairie Habitat, which not only can penalize the land owner who has the oak tree, but any neighbors who might be within 600 feet of the tree(s).

In recent months, the Thurston County commissioners have been attempting to strengthen three highly restrictive land use polices into that fall under the umbrella of something called Critical Area Ordinance. As required by law, this ordinance must be reviewed every seven years. Now is the time for the review. In conjunction with this review the county commissioners are attempting to further consolidate these restrictive policies through a cumbersome (900 pages) and over-reaching policy. Over the years, there are many restrictive policies that have been enacted by Thurston County leadership; however, there are three policies that are probably most restrictive and harmful to property owners.