Welcome to Chronwatch

Has God given up on America?

2012-01-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Whether you visualize a loving God or a punitive one, it’s easy to imagine that God struggles to maintain faith in our country. The founding fathers acknowledged in their many documents that the American concept had a strong religious foundation. That notion endured unchallenged for centuries. However, in recent years the liberal side of the political spectrum decided to attack this important principle.

To do so, the liberals picked “freedom of religion” as the basis. They attack public religious symbols of all types claiming they violate their right of religious choice. The term “Christmas” is attacked as are the holiday symbols such as public manger scenes and crosses. Church charities are denied public support despite their good works. The term “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance gets the same treatment. Even Tim Tebow is ridiculed for openly acknowledging his religious faith.

It would not be surprising if God was annoyed at this liberal effort to render Him irrelevant. But, there is clear evidence God manages to overlook these attacks and acts to protect our country in many ways. For example, take a look at the liberals who have been denied the job of President of the United States.

Can you imagine what we would have to endure if Goofus Al Gore had been elected president? Al would be building levees all along the U.S coast to protect us from the global warming hoax. Only wind and solar power would be allowed as all other sources were shut down. You can just imagine the rest.

And, with a more contemporary example, we should be grateful that God has protected Obama’s health. Otherwise, we would be faced with the tragic thought of a President Biden. What more bizarre prospect can you imagine for our country than an airhead like Joe attempting to carry out the duties of President? The world ignores just Obama and his ego driven speeches. A President Biden would be the subject of worldwide comedy celebrations.

John Kerry, the Vietnam hero, falls in the same category. God has wisely kept him at bay, and away from the office of President.

And, there is screaming Howard Dean who thankfully has gotten nowhere near the job. Surely, the Democrats are embarrassed over his candidacy.

So, thank you God for all those important favors. It’s comforting to realize you haven’t given up on us.

The flip side of this coin is the fact that the media is having the time of their lives portraying the field of Republican presidential candidates as weak and disorganized Now, I ask you, has there ever been a weaker group of candidates for the highest office than the Democrats offer? If you throw in Obama, the weakness of the field does not change. It gets really sad when you realize Hillary is the strongest of the lot. Oh my!

Obama’s socialist palaver...if it quacks like a duck...

2011-12-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

By now, we all know that there’s not much about America that Obama and his teleprompter like. The noises coming from that speechmaking duo continue to sound like slightly toned-down versions of Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. Barack leaves no doubt that he believes capitalism is bad, bad. He objects to being called a socialist, but his continual rhetoric of rich versus poor fits that designation better than any other. And, he believes America’s capitalist drive results in more to “apologize for” than “to be proud of.”

Obama’s political approach reminds me of my five years in Jamaica in the early 1970s. That beautiful island country enjoyed a strong democratic tradition with two dominant political parties. However, Jamaica was distinctly a third world country with most of the population living in poverty.

In 1972 Michael Manley ran a campaign for Prime Minister that was my introduction to the political appeal of socialism, particularly when its political message is used to contrast capitalism.

Manley openly acknowledged the poverty of the Jamaican people in his speeches. His basic message was, “Yes, you are poor, very poor, but it is not your fault. The system (capitalist, of course) is to blame for your problems. Elect me and I will change the system in your favor.” It’s easy to see how attractive that offer sounds to a poor Jamaican. By way of contrast, the opposition party’s message was, “all of us have to work hard to succeed.” For distinctly poor Jamaicans who had tried working hard for years only to remain poor, it was no contest. Manley was easily elected Prime Minister for two successive terms of four years.

In those eight years he openly moved close to Castro and Cuba as a socialist ally. He also denounced the aluminum companies operating on the island as greedy multi-national exploiters of Jamaica’s bauxite reserves. His government passed huge bauxite taxes that made the island’s main export uncompetitive.

Again, Manley’s message was always that the fundamental design of the capitalist system keeps you exploited and poor. Not only that but, socialism will take from the wealthy and give to you. The current “Occupy” movement expresses the same frustration as that used by Michael Manley. “I am deprived because of the system. The system must be changed.”

One has to note that American capitalism allows the “occupiers” to stay for days and weeks in nice tents and fancy sleeping bags without worrying about work or food. Many managed to get a college education along the way. You’d think they would acknowledge there must be something good about a system that tolerates such gross inefficiency.

Despite its total lack of substance, the “Occupy” movement is supported by the likes of Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Michael Moore, the American Communist Party, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and various other thinkers with good socialist credentials. It’s rather sad, though, that this is the best the liberals can come up with to match the power of the Tea Party movement.

By the way, Manley’s socialist experiment did not change the fate of poor Jamaicans. The Jamaican democratic system prevailed. Voters lost patience with his approach, and he was defeated after eight years in office. Manley’s eight years in office served as yet another failed socialist experiment. I predict the same fate for Barack Obama’s similar excursions.

Obama goes on a bus tour

2011-10-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

A world full of peril
The economies of the United Sates and the rest of the countries in the world have been clobbered by the worst downturn in decades. Indications are the situation may get worse. Thus far, no country seems remotely capable of finding a solution.

The U.S. government has a deficit spending problem that could lead America into a situation similar to Greece. The American political process is frozen solid and cannot solve this or any other problem.

The Arab Spring countries cry for leadership and advice as they face “the dog that caught the car” dilemma. Now what do we do, they plead?

Iran is a rogue country, supplying weapons to terrorists who kill American soldiers. They are close to developing a nuclear bomb. Arenas of the government apparently sponsored an assassination attempt on American soil. They are developing ominous relations with our Latin American neighbors.

The Israelis are increasingly threatened by their Arab neighbors. Peace seems even more distant.

North Korea is led by a nutcase dictator with a nuclear bomb. Who knows what he may do?

Meanwhile, Uganda, Yemen and Somalia are beds of terrorist activity and are in total disarray.

And, that’s just for starters. In summary, the entire world is a hodgepodge of major problems.

Not to fear, Obama is here

Each of the above issues has huge potential impact not only on America but also the rest of the world. Accordingly, one would expect the President of the United Sates to be working overtime on each item.

On the contrary, President Obama is in full campaign mode concentrating entirely on his reelection. Mind you, this is an election that is over a year away. While the world holds its collective breath that none of the above time bombs go off, our president plays with their future by attacking his many political problems. It’s hard to believe, but it is true.

Not only that, but Barack continues to cheapen the presidency by behaving like a cheap political hack. He blames everybody else for his failures, even criticizing his opponents by name. In fact, he goes even further by claiming that everything his administration has done was the proper thing to do. Whew!

Barack personally stirs up the class battle of rich versus the poor. He plays the race card over and over again. He blames Bush, and anyone else that sounds like an opponent.

His solution to our economic problems is to apply the principles of Marxist socialism. He sides with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. It doesn’t matter to Barack that the protesters don’t really know what their cause is other than a government handout. Oh yes, Barack signals his priorities by bemoaning the cancellation of the first two weeks of the NBA schedule, glumly proclaiming, “We need our basketball.”

To top it off, Obama is off on a campaign bus tour of Virginia and North Carolina. This is the only approach Barack knows; find another audience to punish with yet another repetitive speech. I might add he campaigns at great expense to the taxpayer.

Overall, his tactics divide the country in a period that cries out for national
cohesion and working together to solve problems.

Sadly, our president is either oblivious to the many big problems we face, or he doesn’t know what to do about them. What was it they said about that emperor who fiddled while Rome burned? In this case, Our Emperor is on a campaign bus tour while the whole world may burn.

The Wall Street Protesters

2011-10-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

The Democrat reaction to the Wall Street protesters is downright amusing, if not hilarious. The Dems have long detested the Tea Party, while at the same time secretly envying their success. The liberals and the media have gone “all out” to discredit the movement, but with little impact. It distresses the liberals that the Tea Party message resonates so soundly with a large segment of the public.

Then, along come the Wall Street protesters. Obama quickly declares he “understands” their protest. That reaction is understandable because the protesters are following the Obama line of poking at evil in the American system. Nancy Pelosi says “God bless them.” Democrat congresswoman Jackie Speier wonders openly why none of the Wall Street bankers have gone to jail. In an amazing comparison, she cites the Enron executives who were tried and jailed. You have to conclude the Democrats are gleeful in finding a cause to embrace. This is their answer to the Tea Party. The protester’s message is fuzzy at best, but it is anti-capitalist and favors socialist notions of income distribution. That is a good enough match with the Democrat agenda.

On the other hand, the Tea Party speaks to traditional American values. They argue for reinstatement of the principles that made the country great. They note that the liberal philosophy of “entitlements for all” goes hand in hand with scary levels of deficit spending. They do all of this peacefully and without occupying public space for days. Yet, Obama describes them as extreme racists and religious fanatics who tote guns.

The Wall Street protesters say Wall Street bankers are America’s biggest problem. Apparently the banker’s sin is they are driven by a profit motive. Oh, and they pay their executives well. Obama, Karl Marx, Hugo Chavez and the protesters would all agree this is a typical capitalist injustice.

It is difficult to tell exactly what is troubling the protesters. That is made even more difficult by the addition of the Woodstock element that joined in for the free food and condoms. The only message I get is that they don’t have a job and want someone to fill their financial void. How they decided to descend on Wall Street is a mystery to me.
Had they checked around even a tiny bit, they would have been told the lack of action on their problem resides firmly at the White House. That’s where they should be camping out in protest.

The protesters are but a mild distraction compared to the deterioration of our national leadership. Obama ignores the many huge global and domestic problems in favor of making yet another unwanted speech. Shockingly, he agrees that the Wall Street companies are the source of our economic problems. His clueless sidekick, Joe Biden, sticks to the worn out line that it is all Bush’s fault. Obama further complains that Congress is so mean and nasty to him that he can’t perform his prescribed presidential duties. Barack believes he can solve world problems by “leading from behind.” Over and over in multiple ways, this administration inadvertently admits it is powerless to take any action to address our problems.

This dilemma is both sad and pitiful. Our great country deserves better!

Pray for a real leader to emerge

2011-08-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Only a few months ago our big problem was high unemployment. Obama took his usual “no problem for a stepper like me” approach and threw billions of dollars at the problem. Guess what, the level of unemployment stayed high. Even worse, a gloomy slow growth scenario gradually unfolded. The U.S. and the European Union began to fear a global financial crisis. Stock markets around the world plummeted. Many economists talk openly of a double dip recession, coupled with increased inflation. Suddenly, no citizen feels secure. It becomes easy to see eerie comparisons to the 1930s.

The rest of the world also has serious problems. The Arab Spring continues its struggle to take a breath of democracy. Syrian protesters are shot by the hundreds. Libya’s rebels are literally at war against Gaddhafi. Rockets are fired at Israel. Thousands starve in Somalia. The leaders of Iran and Venezuela act like crazed bullies desperately seeking recognition. Macho Putin reacts to Obama’s “reset” by calling America a “parasite.”

In the U.S., it is obvious to all (except maybe Nancy and Harry) that the free spending habits of the government have created a real debt crisis. Over the years, we have built an entitlement society that may warm liberal hearts, but we simply can’t afford. Besides that, it produces a “why work?” mentality among its beneficiaries. Many cities and states have huge deficits. Even a basic reality check says something drastic must be done! Yet, the American political system is paralyzed and cannot act.

So, the American people face a crisis of historical proportions. The country faced similar threatening scenarios in the mid -1860s, the 1930s, and in World War II. Under strong leadership our people rose to overcome the challenge. In fact, the country emerged even stronger. All the American people need is a leader who can marshal a national response.

Unfortunately, the country now faces these new threats without any sign of effective leadership.Our President blames Congress while mouthing cheap political noises. If he does occasionally take an action, it is designed to protect his dwindling base. And, of course, he talks and talks and talks long after all have learned that his words are completely meaningless. His latest farcical action was to have constructed a million dollar “rock star” bus to take he and his teleprompter on a political swing through the Midwest states. Then, to cap off his non-performing ways he goes on yet another “golf before country” vacation. Talk about “fiddling while Rome burns.”

Recently, Obama has been labeled a “joke,” a “loser”, “hopelessly over his head’, “worse than Jimmy Carter”. My favorite label is “intellectual wimp.” Even formerly loyal supporters find themselves wishing they had backed Hillary. Some call for a Democratic Primary to select a candidate for 2012. His approval ratings sink to new low levels. His endless words cast blame on others. They provide zero leadership. The problems persist without any sign of correction. Yet another political speech only feeds the problem.

One thing for sure, if the right leader emerges in 2012, the American people will respond as they always have to solve the problem. We should all hope and pray for that to happen. The need is desperate.

My Idea of a President

2011-08-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Like most people, I have a vision of acceptable Presidential behavior.

For starters, my President should display a minimum amount of “class.” He should make it clear he stands above the political norm. He would never openly employ cheap political tricks to make a point over the opposition. He would always remind us that he is acting in the best interests of the country, not his political party. In no case, would he ever, ever criticize the members of the opposition by name.

My President would display big servings of plain old “apple pie” Americanism. He would make it clear he believes our country is exceptional, and he will fight to defend all it stands for. My President would believe that we may have national misgivings, but they are far outweighed by our contributions to world society. Under my President’s leadership, the world would know they can rely on our moral compass in difficult situations.

While he goes about doing great things for the country, he would display a casual sense of humility. This is not about him. It is all about presiding over a great country as it fulfills its destiny. Our country is the exceptional entity, not him. He merely presides over it.

My President would not tell me every minute of every day how smart he is. If he were really smart, he would realize his job is not about “smarts.” Instead, My President would rely on character, courage, and a desire to continually project the strong moral foundation of America to the world.

My President would realize that this great country was built on creating an environment that allows anyone to succeed. Making citizens dependent on government handouts destroys that incentive and causes the national foundation to crumble. Punishing the successful is the flip side of that travesty. America is not Europe. Income redistribution is anathema to my President.

I only realize I have these Presidential expectations when they get violated. Sadly, Barack Obama fails every aspect of my Presidential test. Under this President, alarm bells have been ringing off the wall signaling levels of violation never reached before.

America Desperately Needs a Leader

2011-01-25T17:41:00.000-08:00

The distinguishing feature of the American character is the willingness to face and overcome challenges no matter how severe. There were the harsh days of colonial Jamestown. With brilliant foresight our forefathers formed our country in separation from England. Previous generations of American pioneers overcame many challenges to develop the western part of the country. The country survived a disruptive Civil War. My own parents suffered mightily in the Great Depression, but survived with no government aid and with their beliefs and principles intact.

In World War II our country mobilized rapidly after a surprise attack. It is hard to find a person, male or female, who did not actively contribute to the response. Our troops fought gallantly and unselfishly on two fronts of the war. This effort cast aside any doubt that the spirit underlying the United Sates was unequaled among the roster of nations. All the surviving Americans knew silently, but for sure, they were part of something special.

In summary, America and Americans have shown time after time they will come together to overcome any threat to our country. Today, we face a new and different challenge that threatens the survival of our way of life.

First, we learned we have been living in an unrealistic bubble of prosperity. The bursting of that bubble led to depressed economic activity with high unemployment levels. Housing values plummeted and the American dream of home ownership was threatened. For the first time Americans fear the next generation will not be as prosperous as this one.

We are no longer the world’s acknowledged super power, a role we inherited for the past 40 or 50 years. As a nation we are living beyond our means. The economies of other countries, especially China, have established a degree of equality with ours.

The American people have signaled they wish to address these issues. The last election showed their disgust with the existing political response. For example, despite the obvious need to control spending, our leaders tell us we need to spend even more.

There is no doubt the American people are willing to do whatever it takes to move the country into the future on a strong footing.. They are not afraid of sacrifice. Our governing system is so politically driven that it is paralyzed and ineffective. What the country needs is a strong leader to bring about the needed changes. Unfortunately, Barack Obama has shown he is not that leader. He is the very symbol of actions based purely on political objectives.

In this great country, is there not some person who will provide the leadership we so desperately need as our country faces yet another critical moment in our history? If he will just step forward, climb on his white horse and yell “charge,” the American people will respond to the challenge. Remember, they always have.

Will liberal policies lead to California bankruptcy?

2011-01-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

At first, I was dismayed at the outcome of the recent California election with a Democratic sweep of the major offices. On reflection I think that is a good thing. Faced with huge budget deficits and massive unemployment solutions must come from an all-Democrat ruling group.

The signs aren’t promising, however. Californians continue to slumber on and ignore the huge problem of a looming fiscal reality. For example, the Financial Times recently published this item:
“Across the country radical solutions have been shot down by powerful public sector unions. For example, a referendum in San Francisco that would have raised public sector employee contributions was defeated this month. By 2013 that city will be spending as much on pension contributions as its police and fire departments and main public hospital combined, and it has set aside no cash at all for retiree health care promises.”

In other words liberal San Franciscans refused to allow economic reality to interfere with their sense of limitless entitlements for all, especially public employee unions.

Meg Whitman charged that Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial campaign was bought and paid for by these very same unions. It will be interesting to see how the geriatric Moonbeam will face up to his union supporters on retirement issues. The retread governor has pledged no new taxes without voter approval. With the anti-tax sentiment so prevalent today that equates to balancing the budget by cutting spending. Whoops! That would defy the ultra liberal sentiment of entitlements, income redistribution, and chasing environmental fantasies without regard to cost.

Will the Democrats who control every segment of California government allow the pressure of the huge state deficit to trump their costly liberal priorities? It will be an interesting next few years in the already tarnished Golden State.

The San Francisco Chronicle

2010-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

A ChronWatch reader recently asked why we no longer critique the Chronicle. Here’s the story.

ChronWatch was formed almost ten years ago to critique the S.F. Chronicle, hence the name of the website . At that time, readers did not expect the flagrant media bias that exists today. News content was assumed to be reported without bias with opinions restricted to the editorial pages. The Chronicle was among the first newspapers to ignore these traditional media rules as it adopted an unfailing and unapologetic liberal bias.

Naively, ChronWatch hoped its critiques would influence the Chronicle to adopt a more balanced political tone.

At the same time, the quality of the Chron offerings deteriorated markedly. Predictably, circulation dropped. That downward trend continues today with Chron circulation down over 11% in the past year.

Several years ago, ChronWatch finally realized it no longer made sense to continue to critique the Chron. The bias was still there, even more so. But, the newspaper’s quality and substance deteriorated so badly critique no longer seemed appropriate. In fact, the offerings were so poor that ChronWatch editors began to feel sorry for the Chron. Accordingly, we stopped our critique. With some remorse I canceled my Chron subscription after some thirty years of daily delivery to my home.

The S.F. Chronicle is a sad tale of institutional decline. The Chron was once a proud media establishment that now struggles in its pretense at relevance.

"Progressive" virus infects California

2010-11-20T15:55:00.000-08:00

Californians elect a geriatric moonbeam, Jerry Brown, as their retread governor. Barbara Boxer is reelected despite a totally ineffective career. Even the over-board lib newspaper the SF Chronicle could not bring themselves to endorse her The flaky San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom is elected Lt. Governor. Remarkably, voters in the city of San Francisco cast ballots in favor of these candidates at the 80% level. The proposition to temporarily set aside the global warming initiatives was defeated. This, despite the fact these initiatives have negative economic consequences in a state with massive unemployment. The state faces huge deficits that will require herculean efforts to overcome, but social priorities continue to command politician’s attention.

How can you explain this totally irrational behavior of Californians?

ChronWatch believes there must be a serious virus infecting large numbers of the residents of the golden state of California. The virus is a peculiar strain of liberalism that causes citizens to react emotionally and illogically to issues of importance. Unlike most diseases, those with the virus become quite proud of their condition and justify it by proudly calling themselves “progressives.” The virus is concentrated in the San Francisco area, but has spread into other areas in the Bay Area as well.

Virus victims habitually elect as their leaders those who possess the most active form of the virus. Leaders in advanced stages of the disease include Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Pete Stark, George Miller, Lynn Woolsey, Gavin Newsom, and others. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors exhibits the most serious characteristics of the disease. Their deliberations are so far out they become comical. Mayor Newsom acts as their ringmaster as they gaily ban plastic shopping bags and McDonald’s Happy Meals, while supervising the citizenry on properly recycling their garbage and serving as their food police. In a bold display of “progressive” leadership Mayor Newsom rips out the grass in front of City Hall and plants a victory garden. How impressive! Meanwhile, large budget deficits get lip service.

The virus even strikes those of a different political persuasion causing them to react in the same manner as the “progressives.” For example, Republican Governor Schwarzenegger loudly supports the Al Gore global warming hype. The virus has obviously reached as far as Sacramento.

Fortunately, the people in the rest of the country seem to have built a strong resistance to the “progressive” virus, leaving Californians to suffer alone.

Barack and the media caused more damage than the oil spill

2010-08-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

No one wants to admit it, but the BP oil spill was blown totally out of proportion by the Barack administration. The Obama clan furiously beat all the drums they could find in predicting the worst environmental disaster ever. Politically appropriate,it was caused by an evil Big Oil company. As usual, Barack put his mouth all over the oil spill. He, Ken Salazar, physics professor Chu, and Admiral Allen became totally delusional as the spill progressed.

The government group came to believe they were in charge of the spill control operation. In reality, none of them had the slightest experience in any operational endeavor. They collectively or individually had no clue of how to get the well under control. Obama deficiencies are popping up everywhere he turns. His inability to develop an awareness of reality is becoming more and more apparent.

The Obama administration set the stage for a media literally panting to ballyhoo the story into a non-stop dramatic portrayal of impending disaster. The picture of the oil spewing from the well occupied a space on our TV screens even though there was no newsworthy reason to do so. Gulf residents, fishermen, restaurant owners were all paraded before us nonstop with the same tale of woe. Their lives were wrecked and would never be the same. The media saw all this as paradise indeed.

As a result of all these shenanigans, BP became viewed as a community pinata by anyone even remotely connected to Gulf life. Barack and company made sure everyone knew the pinata was filled with endless dollars. Barack promised all who were remotely concerned they would get a chance to swing the stick at the piñata in the hope money would come tumbling their way. Barack even appointed a referee to see that on one missed their turn. BP would be forced to keep the pinata filled with dollars. The public would be encouraged to swing away until BP had no more money. No sentiment or sorrow would be expressed when the money ran out. It would be treated as good riddance of a greedy oil company.

Certainly, BP has to step up to the plate first in paying damages. However, the actual damages have so far been relatively light. The major damage was caused by the administration’s and the media’s continually hyping an impending disaster of epic proportions. If there were any justice, the majority of the monetary claims should be directed at Obama and the media for promoting an impending disaster that never occurred. Fat chance of that happening!

BP Oil Spill: Worst Environmental Disaster Ever?

2010-08-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

For 100 days the media and the Obama administration shouted in their loudest voice, incessantly, all day, every day. The BP oil spill is the worst environmental disaster in world history. They painted a sweeping picture of oil spreading across all the gulf beaches. They warned that it may even sweep around to the Atlantic side of Florida. The Louisiana marshlands would be decimated with all the wildlife wiped out. The fishing industry was sure to be ruined for decades. The administration and the media joined forces to portray a total regional disaster that would last for decades. BP was threatened and trashed by all sectors of the Obama administration as the unfeeling greedy purveyors of this tragedy.

Naturally, people listened. They stayed away from this area destined to soon be totally destroyed. After all, who would want to look like the oil drenched pelican so repeatedly photographed? No one went to the beach resorts. Restaurant goers across the country did not order Gulf sea food. A drilling moratorium was issued by Barack’s fear mongers to the detriment of the thousands dependent on jobs in the industry. Gulf real estate prices dropped.

Now, switch to the present. On this past Saturday we have Mike Tobin of Fox News giving an up to the minute report from Grand Isle, Louisiana. Mike calmly states there was no oil on the beaches nor was any oil visible in the Gulf waters. This segment was followed by President Obama vacationing in Pensacola Beach, Florida stating that the Florida beaches are clean. He and Sasha are pictured paddling around in the Gulf waters. Most of the Gulf areas have been reopened to fishing and the seafood has been found free from contamination from oil. The marshes are already showing new growth. Only three mammals were found coated in oil. Fewer birds were killed as a result of the oil spill than in California’s Altamont Pass by the ultra-green wind turbines every six months on a year-in, year-out basis.

Now, it is infinitely safe to say that the disastrous predictions of the BP oil spill were nothing more than a combined media and political overreaction. In retrospect, there was no need for Barack and company to issue the dire panic notices, or for the media to parrot them ad nauseam. The region suffered unnecessary economic harm. BP deserved to be blamed, but not to be so mercilessly assaulted, both verbally and financially.
So, Barack and Sasha vacation in Florida putting out the message that things are back to normal. The real message should be they never were anywhere near the level of panic the administration projected. Does Barack offer any admission of that? Of course not. Is there an apology to BP for the administration’s misreading of the potential impact and the resulting over reaction? Are you kidding?
As for Fox News, you could sense their disappointment that this big, big 100 day story had disappeared as fast as it came up. Things are back to normal. The very next day, Fox’s Breaking News segment featured the story of a grizzly bear killing a camper in Yellowstone Park. At least that was better than the oft used car chase scene from Houston or L.A.

This is a sad story in misdirected public attention that caused great economic harm. The administration should be ashamed for jumping in with both political feet emphasized by Obama’s ever-present mouth. The media simply added another sad chapter in the “Journalisms Is Dead” book.

All along the story should have focused on the 11 men who died in the fire and explosion. At least that was the real long lasting and sad consequence of this disaster.

Obama, Muslims, and NASA

2010-07-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

What do Muslims and NASA have in common? Stupid question, you say. The two entities have nothing at all in common. If you aren’t already convinced that Obama is “out of touch,” and in over his head, the following incident should drive you in that direction.

In a recent interview Charles Bolton, the NASA Administrator, said that his “foremost” mission as the head of America’s space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. He stated he was given this charge by Obama himself. That’s right, our sitting president believes our national space agency’s primary mission is to improve relations with the Muslim world!

This Obama guy is desperately out of phase with traditional America. Is he really the president of the same country that I live in? It’s beyond unbelievable. It is downright scary.

ChronWatch Interviews Obama (Pretend)

2010-06-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

ChronWatch: Mr. President, what is your reaction to the negative criticism you have received over the BP oil spill?

Obama: I don’t understand it at all. After all, I’ve made several speeches and trips to the Gulf Coast. I beat up on BP unmercifully. I personally and publicly insulted Tony Hayward. I forced BP to agree to a $20 billion fund without any legal basis at all. What else could I do?

ChronWatch: The public seems to think you should have acted to control the effects of the spill.

Obama: You’ve been listening to Bobby Jindal. Don’t forget he is a Republican. What do you expect him to say?

ChronWatch: Hayward apologized many times for the spill. He stated over and over that BP would do whatever it took to make things right for those affected. Do you think it was necessary to come down so hard on him publicly?

Obama: Those Brits give me a pain. They think they are so cool. That’s why I sent the Churchill statute back where it belongs. That Hayward guy is way so “Brit cool.” I enjoyed taking advantage of him. Does he really think that $20 million will be the end of it? I learned in Chicago that you kick’em real good while they’re down. Isn’t that what presidential power is all about?
To top it off, Henry Waxman and his fellow weasels pounded on Hayward again. No wonder he went back to London with his tail between his legs. We gave him a good mugging, that’s what.

ChronWatch: So, what is your next step on controlling the spill?

Obama: Now that we have flummoxed BP in every way possible, we can use the incident to stop all off shore drilling. That will really please the environmental groups. Also, I’ll make a couple dozen speeches connecting the spill to global warming. Maybe we can jam through cap and trade like we did health care.

ChronWatch: But, what about the spill?

Obama: Can you tell me what else there is to do? As far as I am concerned my work is done except for a few more speeches. Meanwhile, my cabinet and I can relax and have another snow cone. After that, I plan to get in a round of golf.

Obama: politics trumps environmental concerns

2010-06-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

From the outset, the potential environmental impact from the BP oil spill shocked the nation. We watched as BP worked to stop the leak and to control the spill damage. Almost two months later, we sit stunned as we realize the Obama administration has made no effort to assist, none. It has become clear Barack views the catastrophic BP spill as a political opportunity, not an environmental disaster. As a result, the administration has adopted an approach of “do nothing, just blame BP.”

Apparently this is right out of the Rahm Emanuel thesis of “it’s a shame to waste a crisis.” Barack’s only reaction has been to mount relentless attacks on BP. That approach fits right in with his Main Street versus Wall Street theme. All corporations are bad. Oil companies are especially evil. Their product is filthy and nasty. All corporate executives are dishonest. BP’s group leads the pack. Keep pounding on the theme that no punishment is too severe for BP.

In doing so, the administration managed to divert public attention away from falling Obama poll numbers and endless tea parties. However, to Obama’s apparent surprise, the public expected much more from their president. To the public, this event was not unlike 9/11. To the everyday American, the spill crisis represented an unexpected attack on a segment of the traditional American way of life, even if the environmental impact was regional. They expected their president to mount a campaign that attacks and defeats this national problem. Americans expect an effort they can talk about and be proud of. A Chicago style rubbish campaign was the very last thing they expected or wanted. Instead of being proud, they are ashamed.

Minimizing the damage to the environment from the spill would have been an ideal government intervention. Tell BP to concentrate on stopping the spill. That is their area of expertise. Then, put together a national effort to control the oil from the spill. I am sure BP would agree to reimburse the government for such an effort. Put the slimy Waxman inquisitions on hold until the spill is stopped. Tell Eric Holder to stay at home (and be quiet). Advise the trial lawyers to “cool it.” Form a committee of Gulf governors that talks daily with Obama to set priorities. Put out daily reports on the real status of the environmental impact, beach by beach, marsh by marsh. Stop the irrelevant pounding on whether the spill is 10,000 barrels a day or 40,000. Encourage the media to paint a balanced picture of the problem. i.e., we’ve seen enough oil soaked pelicans. In other words, get real, guys.

Ah, but such an effort requires a presidential leader. Instead, we elected an ineffective, and highly political, word machine. This president just doesn’t get it. Sad!

2010-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Barack made a speech the other day complaining about the popularity of high tech gadgets.
He said,

“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation."

The media was mystified by his comments. Up to now, everyone assumed Barack was way cool with any and all high-tech gadgets. He is widely quoted as saying he would never be separated from his Blackberry. So, why is Obama suddenly dinging all these modern, and popular, tools of communication and amusement?

It’s simple if you think about it. Barack views those gadgets as personal competitors. As he sees the world, his main role in life is to share his brilliance with the much less enlightened public. He fulfills this self-induced mission by giving speech after speech after speech. A person, or any object, that interferes with that role is simply unacceptable. Put simply, if people are playing with any of those devices they cannot be listening to him read from his teleprompter.

After all, giving a speech is second only to food and sex on Barack’s priority list, and I’m not too sure about ranking sex ahead of talking.

2010-05-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

“Send in the clowns, send in the clowns.” So goes the famous Sondheim song. The song writer must have been thinking of the Obama administration when he added the line: “Don’t bother, they‘re here.”

Super Chief Barack jetted off to West Point to bore the graduating cadets with another teleprompter speech that only he is impressed with. He tells the cadets there is a new international order underway. The cadets must have been thinking, “Yeah, one where the U.S. is a second rate member if this guy has anything to do with it.”

Obama’s foreign affairs whip, Hillary, is always ready to chip in whether needed or not. She was in China giving away teddy bears at the Shanghai Expo. True! Later, Clinton engaged in saber rattling over the latest North/South Korean flap. She tells her Chinese counterpart, “Oh yes, we are supporting South Korea in their charge that North Korea torpedoed their ship. We must work together to address this challenge and advance our shared objectives of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," she said.

Here is the same lady who passed out teddy bears now pressing for an aggressive approach to the Korean problem. That’s just great, Hillary, blab us into another war. The Chinese must wonder if Hillary and Obama have not noticed that their messages are always ignored by the Chinese government.

The Head of the I.C.E., John Morton, warned that I.C.E. may not process illegal immigrants referred by the state of Arizona. Under Obama, enforcing the law is apparently optional.

Meanwhile various administration honchos lined up behind the microphone to weigh in on the BP oil spill. “We are on them, watching them,” Napolitano said. “We are going to stay on this and stay on BP until this gets done and it gets done the right way.”

Dick Durbin, one of the senators touring the damage area, accused BP of relying on “excuses” and said the company’s initials now stand for “beyond patience.”

EPA’s Carol Browner insisted that the government is in control of the oil spill effort. Amazing!

Despite all of the strong performances noted above, Ken Salazar takes the ChronWatch Weekly Clown Prize. On his visit to Louisiana he notes after leaving BP’s Houston headquarters: "I am frustrated. I am angry. We are 33 days into this effort, and deadline after deadline has been missed," he told reporters "If we find they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'll push them out of the way appropriately."

There was one moment of sanity, however. The Coast Guard Admiral in charge noted that “the Coast Guard is in the hands of BP to solve this problem. Only they have the expertise. We do not.”

Yet, bumbling Ken is going “to push them put of the way.” I assume he will place the Post Office in charge of the effort.

These guys (clowns) are all hopeless.

The BP oil spill: A sickening government response

2010-05-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

The BP oil spill could have an enormous impact on the entire Gulf coast environment. That statement should define it as a problem of national significance. Accordingly, one would expect every possible resource to be assembled focusing on stopping the leak and controlling the spill. That group effort would include BP, all of the oil companies, technical experts outside the industry, and any arm of government that could lend assistance.

Part of that process has happened. BP and the oil industry have mobilized a huge effort to stop the leak, so far with little success. In contrast, our government has quickly moved into action by playing their favorite game of “placing the blame.” Logic would suggest that fixing blame could wait until the leak was controlled. At the very least, the political witch hunt should not detract from that control effort. But, BP was too easy a target, and a corporate one at that. The liberals hate the oil industry and object to their making a profit. So, taking away that profit fit their preferred mode. They could not contain themselves.

Attorney General Holder sends a team to the Gulf Coast to determine if there was “malfeasance on the part of BP.”

Senator Shelby of Alabama said on CNN, "A lot of this could have been prevented. Where was BP? Were they trying to do this on the cheap? ...Sooner or later there could be a gusher."

The administration issues its famous line, “We are keeping a boot on the throat of BP to insure they suffer the damages from the spill.”

Barbara Boxer asks the Justice Department to launch civil and criminal investigations.

Harry Reid chips in: "Their greed led to 11 horrific and unnecessary deaths. It has harmed an enormous tourism industry, threatened business at countless fisheries and disrupted life for many along the Gulf Coast. As the pollution grows worse, those consequences will only compound.”

That frontal assault on logic and reason would be bad enough. Adding to their misdirected efforts, the politicians issue subpoenas to the very executives who are working around the clock to control the leak and direct spill containment. The execs are dragged before congressional committees and raked over the coals to answer questions whose answers can only logically come from a thorough investigation after the leak is controlled.

Taken literally or figuratively, the response by our government can only be classified as “bad thinking” at the highest level. Little wonder there is a growing mood among the public to throw all of these politicians out, out, out.

We’ve said it all before

2010-05-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

But, the message deserves repeating until we correct the Obama problem. Barack plunges ahead on his agenda oblivious to objections from any corner of the American public. His overwrought arrogance convinces him he knows what’s best for all of us. He is totally delusional in reading his lack of success. If you dare to disagree with him, he compares you to Timothy McVeigh. It is embarrassing to have a president who exhibits such a total lack of class by publicly blasting Republican congressmen, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh by name.

With that approach to governing, the Obama administration has created the most serious political divide in the country since the Vietnam War. Fortunately, only political blood will be shed over this confrontation, but the battle could be just as fierce. Before Obama, it was a “given” that the will of the people would ultimately prevail. Now, that fundamental concept is under attack. Ordinary Americans are angry as never before.

Will the American public tolerate such aggressive abuse of their treasured belief in the fundamental fairness of the American way of doing things? I don’t think so.

Earth Day, a “feel good” celebration for liberals

2010-04-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

There is no better example of the fuzzy liberal mind than the annual celebration of Earth Day. Liberals believe their primary earthly role is to correct the many failures of our human society. Facts and logic are irrelevant to carrying out this mission. For liberals, it’s all about stoking up their feeling of “doing good.” Liberals believe we humans are busily engaged in destroying the Earth, much like termites chewing up a house. So, the libs commission Earth Day to recognize this sad state of affairs. Then, they can then pat themselves on the back and “feel good” once again. I know that’s amazing, but it’s true.

Mayor Abram Wilson of San Ramon, California recently wrote an article for Alive magazine in celebration of the upcoming 40th Earth Day. It is a perfect example of this mushy liberal thinking. I am sorry to report Mayor Wilson is a Republican, which gives you a good idea of how successful liberals have been in selling their mantra. The good Mayor says:
“Earth Day was designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment….. Now forty years later, the world is in greater risk than ever…… Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to enhance environmental policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green jobs.”

I am sure the Mayor is a man of intelligence. But, you wouldn’t know it from his verbiage. True to the liberal tradition, he avoids facts and his words have little real meaning. “The world is in greater risk than ever.” With such a dire prediction, one would expect the Mayor to tell us what the great risk is all about.
•“Enhance environmental policy” -What on earth does that mean? What environmental policy?
•“Energy efficiency.” Libs hatred of “nasty” fossil fuels is somehow coupled with fear of dependence on foreign oil. The net result is a liberal policy that is hogwash of the highest order.
•“Renewable energy.” The global warming dogma re-enforces the liberal belief that humans are abusing the Earth, and threatening its survival. Therefore, no evidence is needed to justify a fix that may bust the economy, a fix that is probably not needed in the first place.
•“Green jobs.” This is the liberal coup de grace, a real “feel good” doozy. We can support the Earth Day principles and hit a lick for the economy at the same time. But, all “green jobs” are highly subsidized. Therefore, they divert our economic wealth from better applications.

To be honest, Mr. Wilson, I have a different perspective on the health of the earth. In fact, each of the previous forty years has seen steady progress towards a cleaner environment. Things environmental have steadily gotten better, not worse. . That improvement has been made possible by allocations from the wealth creation of our economic system. The only “dire threat” I see is that fuzzy liberal thinking will interfere with the wealth generation that allows us to continue to improve the environment while also solving important social problems as well.

The dooms day predictions of forty years ago have been totally discredited. But those alarmist warnings of forty years ago have simply been replaced with a new updated version. Back then, the threat was global cooling. Now, it is global warming. Then and now, facts are irrelevant. The global warming hype has been discredited, but remains the cause célèbre for liberals. One can only wonder what the fuzzy liberal mind will dream up for the Earth Day celebration forty years from now. How about a Noah-style flood of the entire earth? If not that, the liberals will think of some dire threat.

2010-04-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Much has been made of our dear Speaker's demand for an Air Force jet for her personal travel. ChronWatch has obtained this exclusive picture showing her mode of travel when she is in a hurry.

2010-04-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

A call to action
Up to now, I have not been a political activist by any stretch of the imagination. I try to stay reasonably current in what is going on in the world. I publish this Website as a written outlet for my sentiments. But, I do not participate in election campaigns, and my cash donations hardly rate a thank you note. Typically, I stay somewhat relaxed when the day-to-day political discourse strays from my views. I am able to shrug off deviations in the belief that our political system would not get too far off track. After all, the thought goes, our country has all these built-in protections. I assumed that in the long run, the will of the American people would ultimately prevail. I told myself untoward diversions would be forced back to an acceptable center eventually.

This past year changed all that. I sat in horror watching the in-your-face audacity of the Obama, Pelosi, Reid trio on health care. The will of the people was openly and deliberately trashed before our eyes. It was done in pursuit of achieving a legacy position on a long desired liberal goal, universal health care. The legislation was a pile of trash cobbled together with consequences unknown even to the trio. The stated goal of reducing health cost was a deliberate prevarication.

More importantly, it proved to me this administration has goals and aspirations that threaten this country’s basic fabric. With this group it isn’t a matter of pushing the country slightly one way or the other. That, we are accustomed to. Increasingly, it is apparent Obama visualizes an America that scares the wits out of those of us with more traditional values. Even worse, he is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. Apparently, this is the way they have always done it in Chicago. The trio is the political equivalent of suicide bombers. They are willing to risk their political majority if that is what it takes to further the liberal agenda.

This abject rejection of the will of the people is cause enough for concern on its own merits. It becomes all the more frightening if you factor in Obama’s presidential incompetence pushed into overdrive by his extreme arrogance. Here we have a guy in charge of our country’s destiny who has not performed on any issue. How you view health care as a victory depends on our point of view. Obama is the joke of the world in the foreign affairs arena. Domestically, he is intent on bankrupting the country by focusing on yet more entitlements irrespective of the effect on America’s deteriorating financial situation. Hence, Obama is a double threat to our long term future.

All in all, I finally realize that I must abandon my laissez faire attitude to politics. The path taken by this administration presents extreme risk of permanent damage to our country. That I cannot allow without at least speaking up.

Join me. Become an activist today. Enough, already!

Before Obama, public opinion counted

2010-04-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration has created a massive political divide in the country. You know things are serious when the nut cases on each side express themselves by way of even more dangerous behavior. Further, it is sobering to realize we have at least three more years of wordy tenure by His Arrogance.

Everyday Americans find themselves fearing that Barack may force changes altering the basic fabric of the country. Normally in situations like this, Americans shrug their shoulders and remember America has endured even worse presidents and survived. Take Jimmy Carter, for example. But, Jimmy was incompetent in a comparatively harmless way. This Barack guy is dangerously incompetent. If his policies prevail they will do serious damage to our sacred American fabric.

Barack has made it personal. He is willing to trash the fundamental definitions of our American society in favor of any liberal cause offering legacy potential. In the past, we have believed popular opinion will ultimately prevail. Unconsciously, we assumed we have that protection against outlandish political behavior. That protection does not exist under this guy.

For the first time in my long life, I am seriously worried. I think it’s time for all of us to be worried. Barack envisions a different America than the one that has served us so well for so long.

First, buckle your chin straps. Then, get involved as you never have before.

Obama Care: A Witches Brew

2010-04-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

On the domestic front, Obama turned our health care system over to the two most unpopular politicians in memory, Nasty Nancy and Undertaker Harry. This pair used every dirty trick in the book to ram health care through Congress even as the majority of the American public screamed their objections. If the tea parties had an uncertain future up to now, this duo made them a political force to be reckoned with. Putting it another, more satisfying way, The Democrat leadership took steps to remove themselves from control of Congress as the electorate voices its dissatisfaction.

But, what is the bigger lesson from this process? Now we know that Obama’s need to establish a personal legacy will trump the American democratic process every time.

Guess who is the witch. Awhh, that's too easy!

Where did you Americans find this Obama guy?

2010-04-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

We’ve become accustomed to politicians with egos with insatiable appetites. It’s an accepted price we pay for governance. However, it’s worth noting that the ego driven needs of Barack Obama set a whole new standard.

Barack started out his term by travelling around the world apologizing personally for America’s past sins. While it is likely that Reverend Wright was happy, it didn’t sit well with those of us who are proud to be Americans. From there, his various forays into foreign affairs can best be characterized as amateurish embarrassments. He naively believed his typical wordy solution to issues would cause Putin, Iran, the North Koreans, and the Chinese to do exactly what he wanted.

The Chinese change their message every other day. One can only guess this is a cat and mouse game they enjoy playing with Barack. Then, he sends Hillary waddling out to reinforce his naivete by presenting a “reset button” to black-belt Putin. Biden, the vice presidential version of “governance by mouth,” was even allowed to speak on foreign affairs. The Attorney General embarrassingly mishandled the Guantanamo Bay issue.

It was amateur night again when Obama publicly chided Israel over the settlement issue. With his huffing and puffing he made Israel look like our primary enemy and the main impediment to world peace. This issue would not have been such a big deal if Barack hadn’t mouthed it into one. His pronouncements made the Palestinians sound like innocent choir boys being roughed up by the Israeli bullies.

Meanwhile, Iran races unimpeded to the development of a nuclear weapon. They train the Taliban to build devices to kill our soldiers in Afghanistan. Iran is a primary source of armaments for our enemies. Yet, Obama is totally clueless, and silent, on how to deal with the Iranian bully boys.

The administration’s approach to Honduras boggled everyone’s mind except Obama and Hillary. Then, he acts as the tough guy to another small potatoes guy, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Less than a month after his Obama lecture, Hamid let the world know you need not fear His Arrogance.

It was easy to imagine the amused reaction of the foreign leaders. Where did the Americans find this guy? On TV’s American Idol?

What is the bottom line? Obama has stumbled, bumbled, and fumbled around the world displaying a combination of schoolboy naivete overlaid with out-of-control arrogance

My Toyota Experience

2010-03-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Over the past 18-20 years I have owned multiple Toyota products: two 4-Runners, three different models of Lexus, and a Tacoma truck. Because of my complete satisfaction with Toyota products I have owned no other brand of car. Over that span of six cars I have experienced the grand total of one mechanical problem. The left rear tail light on one of the 4-Runners burned out and needed replacing. That is the only problem in that long time span.

Does that make me a Toyota fan? You bet!

What about the current flap over the apparent lapse in Toyota quality? All of this has not affected my belief that Toyota produces a quality product. When I buy my next car, it will almost certainly be made by Toyota. As far as I am concerned, the current Toyota flap is a good example how the media and the politicians can inflame a non-issue into fodder for the trial lawyers.

My only worry is that the guy driving the Prius behind me doesn’t know the difference between his brake and his accelerator pedal. Or, that he may have the business card of a trial lawyer in his shirt pocket.

Checking for a pulse at the SF Chronicle

2010-03-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

ChronWatch stopped its critique of the SF Chronicle several years ago. I even canceled my subscription that had been in place for over 30 years. Offering still more criticism became much like beating on that proverbial dead horse. The Chron “horse” clearly died when viewed from a journalistic perspective. On top of that, financial viability also disappeared as the subscription numbers went south in a serious way.

Recently, I checked in on the Chron’s Website to see if things had changed. I didn’t think it possible, but the quality has deteriorated even further. There just isn’t much substance of any type offered to the reader. The liberal slant is still absolutely smothering. The violation of the old journalistic standard of maintaining a distinct line between news items and opinion pieces has accelerated even more, if that is possible. All in all, this is a sad step toward continued demise for the newspaper once billed as the “Voice of the West.”

2010-01-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

Obama and the College Football Championship
Obama flopped on both of his recent trips to Copenhagen. His health care and cap and trade initiatives lie in tatters and are proving to be political disasters. The Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, the North Koreans, and even the French think he is a pushover pussycat. His words and his actions diverge as soon as he folds up his teleprompter. His only accomplishment in his first year is to set new records in excessive speechmaking and airline miles.

With that record of non-accomplishment, what should we expect next? Here it is. Brace yourself. Now we learn the Obama administration is considering several steps that would review the legality of the College Bowl Championship Series. Yep! With all of his (our) problems Barack wants to unleash the Justice Department on this controversial issue Warning! This presidency may turn out even worse than previously thought.

UN Panel on climate change
How much more does it take for the public to totally deflate Gore’s faux global warming balloon? In the latest scandal, we learn the United Nations' expert panel on climate change based claims about ice disappearing from the world's mountain tops on a student's dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine. It is time for a Tea Party on global warming. Otherwise, this expensive farce will go on forever.

HP favors Boxer over Fiorina
So far, Hewlett-Packard has given the maximum amount to Sen. Barbara Boxer but hasn't contributed toward its own former CEO, Carly Fiorina, campaign finance reports show. Our advice to ChronWatch readers is to stay away from HP products until they reverse this position. Let them know that’s how you feel. Send an email to the HP Board of Directors at BOD@hp.com

Obama: Out of Touch and Overwhelmed

2010-01-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

My decision to listen to the SOTU speech was successful for about thirty minutes. One hates to use words like “phony” or “disgusting arrogance” in connection with our sitting president, but those words kept popping into my mind. By now, we all know he blabs words, and does so serially. More importantly those words have no connection to later actions.

Early on in the speech Barack explained the basic values of the American people. Yet, Obama spent his entire first year disparaging and apologizing for the way those traditional American values played out in world affairs. Apparently he does not realize that the people with those basic American values are the ones who are rebelling and screaming about his policies.

In speaking about our horrible economic situation Barack sounded like Hugo Chavez. Our economic distress is the fault of greedy bankers. Our health care costs are spiraling out of control because of greedy and heartless insurance companies. Banks should be taxed. The rich among us should be severely taxed for their success. His supporters, the greedy trial lawyers and selfish unions, were not mentioned.

Obama spent some time promoting himself as the great budget controller and tax cutter. Seriously! I can only assume that was his attempt at humor.

I hoped he would not again bore us with his standard anti-Bush message. Wrong. With that smug expression of his, he droned on about “the mess he inherited.” Why can he not realize that the majority of the people are sick and tired of the bash-Bush excuse for his non-performance?

As an aside, my concentration was not helped by being forced to continually view the phony wooden smiles of Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi Those images do not go well with dinner.

Obama’s speech was focused largely on the Obama persona, not on our nation. It was his delusional version of the State of Obama. As such, I can only conclude he still “doesn’t get it.” He is overwhelmed by his ego and is seriously out of touch with reality.

What is one to do? I have never attended a local Tea Party although they meet every week in my town. Now I am asking where and when is the next meeting. See you there!

Now, Obama is a tough guy

2010-01-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

In the last few days our Supreme Talker, occasionally acting as president, has forced his teleprompter to sound tough on terrorism. The public reaction to the administration’s lack of action on the Christmas Day bomber forced Barack to change the tone of his sound bites. Suddenly, Barack has been doing his best to sound like Chuck Norris.

Up to now political correctness has been the only game in town for this administration. Close Guantanamo to create a good image abroad. Send the inmates somewhere. Who cares where? Treat captured terrorists as criminals enjoying the rights of U.S. law. Be sure they have legal representation. Send John Kerry “to talk” to the Iranians, who are themselves major sponsors of terror. Americans should not blame Islam or the Muslim religion. Up to now, that has been Barack’s approach to the terrorists who are trying their best to kill as many of us as possible. Obama’s terrorist plan up to now has been like Rodney King’s famous, “why can’t we all get along” speech.

The administration’s program was developed and designed by his political advisors with the main priority of sounding “non-Bush.” Whether it accomplished anything to protect us against terrorism was secondary, if considered at all.

Obama lashes out at his individual intelligence agencies for failing to perform their jobs. Now, he proclaims that the buck stops with him on national security. Hey Barack, most of us knew that already. It’s not very comforting that you are the last person to realize it. Only an Obama-sized ego would fail to realize that his failure as the leader cascaded into the inadequacies of his subordinates.

If only we could get him to realize he is equally screwed up on his priorities on health care, global warming, and slush fund subsidy spending. The combination of spending on these programs stands to sink the country financially. Unfortunately, Barack only seems to visualize national threats when they are unavoidably at hand. Obama may bring our country down by a route Al Qaeda has not even considered.

Barack's New Pen Pal

2009-12-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

As far as woeld leaders go, Kim Jong Il ranks as public enemy nut case number 1 or 2. Kim ignores ignoring the U.N. on developing nuclear weapons, and he supplies arms to Islamic radicals around the world. There can be little doubt that his “in your face” record calls for a tough reaction on our part. Our boy president Obama reacted to that challenge in his usual style. Barack sent Kim a personal letter. I’m not kidding. Barack sent Kim him a personal pen letter.

By now Kim must have a collection of “Obama talk” displayed on his office wall. You can hear Kim telling his visitors with amusement, “If I don’t begin to behave myself, Barack is going to get really mad at me. I’ll probably get yet another letter, or maybe an invitation to enter into discussions with Hillary.” At this point, I assume the visitors and Kim roll over with laughter at Obama’s scary display of raw, unbridled American power.

Obama's Nobel Speech

2009-12-17T20:29:00.000-08:00

Surprise! Surprise! In his Oslo Nobel speech Barack skipped his usual apology for American past sins. In fact, he ventured way out on a limb (for him) by pointing what the rest of us already knew. He told the audience that America has played a key role in providing world security for the past six decades. He even added cowboy-like Bush words by noting there were evil forces in the world that could not be persuaded by talk. Oh my! For Obama that is a major concession. Of course, we have learned that Barack’s words don’t carry forward any real meaning. They just resonate between him and his teleprompter for the moment.

Since he skipped lunch with the King of Norway, Barack missed an opportunity to bow before yet another foreign dignitary. So, all in all, the Oslo trip proved a welcome departure from the usual Obama theater of rhetoric.

The Hapless S.F. Chronicle

2009-12-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me in the checkout line at the grocery store that I hadn’t read the S.F. Chronicle in several months. My curiosity got the best of me, and I picked up a copy of the Chron to see what I had been missing. My expectations gong in were very low, but they were not low enough. The offerings were even worse than I remembered.

For starters, the lead front page story was written by anti-war cheerleader Joe Garofoli. When you see Joe’s name on the byline you know not to expect a journalistic gem. To see his article prominently displayed on the front page is a real measure of just how much trouble this newspaper is in.

Besides, you can tell from Joe’s article that things aren’t as exciting as they were in the past. Nowadays, there are no anti-war street protests for Joe to promote. Instead, he is forced to scrap together a boring story about the disenchantment of the anti-war types with Obama’s continuation of the Afghan war. The Obama comments were in the “how could he” category. After all, what are they going to-do, vote for a Republican. Let’s face it, Joe and his liberal buddies only reach high adrenalin levels when they have a target like Bush to blame and protest against.

In the same Chron issue, writer David Baker continues to report on new “green” energy projects. Californians already pay 35-50 cents more for a gallon of gasoline than the rest of the country. Our power rates are 50% higher than the national average. David never bothers to ask why. Instead he dutifully describes the details of the next alternative energy project that will only drive those cost differentials even higher. Pursuing such issues would require journalistic curiosity beyond David’s reach.

What got the editors attention on this day? The editorials were about customer problems with PG&E’s new smart meters with a second editorial about Dubai’s debt problem. The state of California is in desperate financial troubles as is the city of San Francisco and many of the surrounding cities. There is record unemployment in the state. The pretty boy mayor and the comical Supervisors concentrate on a veggie garden at City Hall, bans on plastic shopping bags, and the promotion of steel water bottles. Out of that horror of events, the editors focus on smart meter problems.

The Chron readership numbers are plummeting. Looking over this issue, it is a wonder there are any readers at all. It is hard not to feel sympathy for the Chron staff. Surely, they are embarrassed by the poverty of coverage they offer. Even Joe Garofoli should feel a tinge of that despite his recent front page notoriety.

Ft. Hood tragedy launches a labeling frenzy

2009-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

When Major Hasan opened fire on his fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood he also launched a desperate media search for his motivation. Muslim? Terrorist? Jihadist? Islam? Those are a few of the keywords spat out by media word processors in a search for a perspective. This media muddle got off to a roaring start when our Supreme Apologizer, Barack Obama, cautioned that we not jump to conclusions. It’s as if he hoped the incident could be explained as anything except another Muslim extremist who feels closer to his God by killing innocent people. General Casey, of all people, said his greatest fear was that the shootings would diminish the Army’s diversity.

With those openings, the far left joined the chase for reasons to place the blame on some facet of American society. Major Hasan was painted as a confused individual who simply lost touch with society’s realities. Sure, they argued, he is “guilty”, but as Whoopi Goldberg might parse he is not “guilty, guilty.”

We can start with a few known facts. Major Hasan is a Muslim. And, he often expressed extremist jihadist views toward the United States and its military. In that respect, his sentiments and actions are exactly the same as our al Qaeda enemy. Furthermore, jihadists rationalize that the killing of innocent people is seen as a logical and honorable extension of their beliefs. Such acts bring them closer to their God and enhance their rewards in a later life. It is also the same thinking that provokes an even broader Muslim belief that the United States is not at war with al Qaeda, but at war with Islam. To the vast majority of American non-Muslims, that entire realm of thinking is nothing short of sick, sick, sick.

Conventional liberal wisdom cautions that all Muslims do not have beliefs similar to jihadists. At the same time, one has to acknowledge that we get little, or no, help from the larger Muslim group in helping us distinguish “good Muslims” from radical jihadist Muslims. Not only that, but there is no significant condemnation by “good Muslims” of the murderous acts perpetrated by “bad Muslims.”

Our President cautions against a Muslim backlash. Nonetheless, it seems totally in order to acknowledge certain factual conclusions. Yes, Major Hassan is a Muslim. Yes, he engaged in the act of murdering innocent people. Yes, that is the same game plan as al Qaeda. Yes, he shot the innocents in the name of his Muslim God. Yes, he saw it as a good and justifiable act. Yes, anyone who thinks thusly is an enemy of America to be battled relentlessly until destroyed.

Our President readily applies Chicago style “no holds barred” tactics when it comes to degrading Republicans, Fox News, and tea party attendees. He approaches everything else with extreme caution.. Hesitation is the byword for Obama’s style with a heavy reliance on his rhetorical skills The jihadist threat, internal and external, cannot be dismissed with more Obama talk or apologies for American transgressions.

Whew! Relief from an unexpected source

2009-11-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Prior to this year, I was proud to be an American. I believed our country stood out among the rest as a “beacon of good” for the world and its inhabitants. Sure, America made mistakes. But, I thought on the whole our country tried to act in the best interests of all, both for America and for other countries.

Over the year, 2009, I developed a sense of embarrassment at being an American. The feeling emerged as our President continually apologized to the world for past poor American behavior. It seems our President agrees with Chavez and Ahmanjihad: America is the Great Satan. We are driven by capitalistic greed. Our overseas actions have been colonialist in motivation while reaping profit from other countries. We acted as the world’s bully and invaded other countries. American arrogance forces us to meddle in the affairs of other countries. Americans don’t show the proper respect for Islam. Etc., etc.

Michelle added to my “down” mentality with her statement that she had never felt proud of America until her husband was elected president. And, of course there is Barack’s pastor, Reverend Wright. We have heard replays of his sermons berating America. Our President sat there attentively for twenty years.

It all got to me. I developed a mood of depression as the litany of evil American doings played on and on.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came an unexpected breath of relief from continual condemnation of America. In an address to our Congress, Angela Merkel thanked America for the unselfish acts of the Berlin airlift and for our prime role in hastening the fall of the Berlin wall. What a lift it was to hear her words. She spoke of the America I have been proud of all these 80 years, “doing the right thing”, even if it was for others.

Thank you, Angela! Is it possible for you to come back every year and remind us of our proud heritage? You see, we aren’t likely to hear much about it from our President. His focus is on apologizing for, and correcting, what he sees as our “dark side.”

On-the-Job Training For Barack Obama

2009-10-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama launched his political career with a spell of community organizing in the rough and tumble arena of Chicago politics. This entailed training consisting of two phases. First, you learn techniques for swelling the voter base by getting as many supporters as possible on the public payroll. Second, comes instruction in smash-mouth tactics for attacking opponents who resist the adopted agenda. This latter phase is vintage mafia style stuff, stopping just short of the use of “tommy guns.” Barack sprung from that training ground to get elected to Congress. His political philosophy was then, as it is now, highly liberal, to put it mildly.

Barack leapfrogged from there into the Democrat Party presidential primaries where he defeated the favored Hillary Clinton. Hillary enjoyed extremely high name recognition, but was burdened by a personality that scared large number of voters to death. With Hillary conquered, Barack had little problem beating up on a weak GOP candidate, John Mc Cain. Presto! From virtually nowhere Barack Obama became the President of the United States. Has anyone in your memory sprung from such relative obscurity to become the most powerful person in the world?

Even before his inauguration, Barack displayed the management style he would use to get the job done. He boasted to Harry Reid that he has “a gift,” apparently in reference to his eloquent manner of speechmaking. It is obvious that Barack believes he can talk any mortal (even Vladimir Putin) into anything he wishes. If we resist, he simply talks more and more until we yield. The result is an endless (and boring) palaver directed to absolutely anyone in any forum reachable by Air Force One. For nine months, an endless flow of words has been the defining quality of Obama’s management style. Can you hope to govern solely with “words?” Obama apparently thinks so.

It’s too late to do anything about it, but it becomes obvious that our presidential election process did not allow for adequate venting of Obama’s abilities to deal with such a demanding job. In fact, his ability to wordsmith was the primary reason for his success in overcoming his election opponents. Unfortunately, that dominant factor acted to obscure an examination of any other qualifications.

The bottom line? The performance results from the first nine months are not at all reassuring. Our man seems to be engaged in on-the-job training for the most important job in the world. This may be a very long four years.

“Goobers” Carter, our bad penny

2009-10-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

...that just won’t go away. Somehow, I can’t get this Carter guy off my mind.

It seems to be virtually unanimous that Jimmy Carter was the worst modern-day U.S. president. That judgment is so universally strong you would expect Goobers to disappear as soon as his term expired. Amazingly, Carter took the opposite approach. He set up his Carter Center “to advance peace, fight disease, and provide hope.” Now, that’s quite a load for a person of such meager talent. Nonetheless, Jimmy used the Center as a platform to make frequent utterances that he hoped would pass for profound wisdom. He muddled around the world sticking his nose in every issue he could find. Most of his efforts were fairly harmless. Taken as a whole, it was one of the most outlandish misreading of one’s ability ”to contribute.“

It was obvious that Carter took himself seriously despite evidence he was incapable of thinking his way through any issue. In an amazing case of self delusion, he and Rosalyn visualized the aging Goobers as a world class statesman.

Recently, "Goobers" proclaimed that racism was behind the current wave of anti-Obama sentiment. If ever there was any doubt about his “bad thinking” habit this was proof positive. Perhaps there was a fringe element who spoke from a racist motivation, but the vast majority was expressing gross unhappiness over the president’s record of governing. Skin coloration had absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing!

Poor Jimmy is more to be pitied than ridiculed. I would gladly do so if he would just shut up and go away. I’m embarrassed for him.

Obama Is Having Sleepless Nights

2009-09-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

It’s easy to visualize that Barack has been having sleepless nights with lots of tossing and turning. Here he is having given speech after speech after speech, even a town hall meeting. Yet, things are not going according to plan. His policies are not selling. His popularity has plummeted. Resistance to his policies has spread into his own party. Members of Congress have been subjected to raucous town hall meetings. Barack must be wondering how all this can be happening in the short span from the heady days of January 20th?

Besides, this is a totally new experience for the” King of Talk.” Never before has his ability to talk people into doing what he wants failed him. After all, he talked his way to victory over the vaunted Clinton machine. As he proudly told Harry Reid, “I have a gift.”

After his middle of the night thoughts, what solution does Barack come up with? You guessed it – yet more talk. He and Rahm conclude the problem is obvious. Barack has not talked enough. It seems they know no other formula. Searching for a group that hasn’t been “talked to” they realize Barack hasn’t talked to a group of school kids, so they schedules such a session. Of course, these kids can’t vote but what the heck. On a bigger scale, Barack will address a joint session of Congress in prime time with TV coverage. Surely this time the people will be mesmerized by my eloquence, he reasons.

It still hasn’t dawned on our “Boy Wonder” that his endless words are no substitute for policies favored by the everyday common people of America. Nor has he realized that the people will tolerate salesmanship on policies they don’t like up to a point, but after that they erupt. It has become obvious that he is still trying to sell policies that have crossed over that boiling point with the populace.
In his arrogance, he turns over the details of the health care initiative to Nancy Pelosi, the world’s most unpopular public servant since Idi Amin. Apparently he doesn’t realize that the Queen of Nasty promotes huge amounts of natural resistance just by her attitude, approach, and phony Botox smile.

I would guess that the same citizens who are loudly protesting at the Town Hall meetings also do not appreciate Barack’s continual rubbishing of America. These people have been relatively tolerant up to now of this trashing of their country, but this may be another factor in the crystallization of a strong opposition to all of Obama policies.

The Obama approach, bred of arrogance, seems to be coming totally unglued. In the process, he has managed to give birth to a big and loud swell of opposition. That could have far reaching consequences for the practitioners of liberal thought.

Am I Angry? You Bet!

2009-08-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, ordinary Americans like me are angry and frustrated. We feel disenfranchised. Neither political party represents our point of view. No politician commands even minimal respect. Where we are headed as a country makes no sense at all. I feel trapped in a desperate situation over which I have no control or influence. It’s like living a continual nightmare.

It seems so obvious to those of us who did not go to Harvard. The economy is our overwhelming problem. The Depression of the '30s stared us straight in the face. Working off the excesses of the past decades may take years of economic pain. The administration’s solution is to spend more and more and more money on projects that seem highly questionable. Huge, huge budget deficits are the result. Yet, before our brains can begin to digest the wisdom of going down that road, our Supreme Leader advises us that we must immediately pass health care legislation and carbon caps. It is obvious that both of those initiatives will greatly balloon the record deficit with the promise of higher taxes. My head spins. Are we nuts? For sure, the politicians think we are?

The condition of the economy screams for fiscal responsibility from our leaders. Yet, taxpayer paid vacation trips are the order of the day. Pelosi and crowd spend a week in Rome. Michelle, Mom and the girls stay over in Paris and London in their own 737 sightseeing and shopping after Dad goes home. A congressional tour group decides to go to the South Pole to observe global warming first hand. On the way, they stop in and snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Of course, the wives go along. Fearful that this perk cannot be fully exploited, Congress wants to order more luxury jets for their vacation trips. Are you angry yet?

High level Washington types neglect to pay their income taxes and offer the most bizarre excuses. Members of Congress get favorable mortgage terms on their personal loans and pass it off as though they didn’t know. Those same members of Congress add their favorite earmarks to legislation no matter how ridiculous the cause.

The frustration builds. Want to hear more? If the Republicans are supposed to be the opposition party they are the most inept organization in political history. There is no real scientific evidence for the global warming hype, only a political consensus among certain scientists. Yet, the UN Secretary General tells us we have only four more months to save the planet. Continual apologies for America’s past behavior further stoke my anger. The environmentalists are so in control of our lives that Walmart is forced to study the environmental impact of their products.

Anyway, you get the idea. The system is broke and it is swirling totally out of control. Both political parties are implicit in creating and sustaining the mess. The stakes are high. They involve protecting our country from self-induced disaster.

Not knowing what else to do, getting really angry seems like the logical first step.

Disclaimer: I am an ordinary, plain vanilla American. Family oriented. Buy my clothes at Costco, not Brooks Brothers. I own guns, but have never used them in a criminal activity. I know nothing about militias. I have always paid my taxes and obeyed the law best I could. I love my country and all it stands for without apology.

Here Come the Clintons!

2009-08-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my! After only six months the bloom is off the Obama rose. His policies are under pressure at every turn. The deficit is exploding and he tells us it is Bush’s fault. That line is getting tiresome to say the least. He promises health care reform that expands coverage to 45 million more people and has no identifiable savings features. The result will be an increase in his already exploding budget. His “talk to Iran and North Korea” approach is a joke. In summary, his non-stop smooth talk just isn’t selling anymore. Americans are finally realizing that “talk” is no substitute for sound policy. A suave delivery does not overcome double talk. As a result, Barack’s ratings are plunging.

Those sinking ratings have inadvertently created a huge new problem. The Clintons see this as the opportunity they have been waiting for. They can finally emerge from the cocoon Barack placed them in. First, Barack defanged Hillary in the election. Then, he delegated her to “out of sight” depths in foreign policy influence. Bill had to be satisfied with his speaking gigs, also largely “out of sight.” For the Clintons, “out of sight” is a totally unacceptable situation.

Suddenly, Obama does not seem so politically powerful. Always the opportunist, Hillary dramatically launches herself on a high level foreign policy world tour. In the process, she talked almost as much as Barack, and got lots of press in the process. By now, Obama must have realized that Hillary’s new campaign for president has started.

While Barack stewed over Hillary’s escape from Purgatory, hubby Bill pluges headlong into the forefront of media coverage. If there ever was a person who cannot stand not being in the spotlight, it is the ex-Prez. Out of the blue, he takes off on his own to North Korea to free the two arrested American journalists from a sentence of hard labor. This experience must have been orgasmic for Bill. Here he is doing what one as talented as he should be doing. All the while Bill makes it clear it is all at Bill’s personal initiative. Modesty is not a Clinton personality trait. And then, he leaves it to Barack to clean up the damage it does to American foreign policy.

In summary, as Barack’s star faded the Clintons adeptly moved into the spotlight. They burst forth onto the center stage of foreign policy, totally eclipsing a struggling Barack. The result is that the Clintons bask in a media glow while Barack struggles to plug the holes in his sinking policy ship.

And, Barack thought he had the Clintons corralled. This is hilarious political drama.

Obama's Aides Crowd Into His Act

2009-07-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

For these first six months, it has strictly been a one man show in the White House. Barack is on stage continually. His act consists solely of non-stop talking, every day, all day. Obama’s enormous ego causes him to believe he can talk us into anything. If he senses resistance, he simply escalates by talking still more.

Lately, a couple of other performers have crowded in on Obama’s act. Hillary suddenly burst out of the quiet isolation to which she had been assigned. With great fanfare she toured around the world pretending she had a lead role in the Obama show. As luck would have it, Hillary barely emerged from the depths of the State Department when she managed to step “in it.” Hillary offered our missile shield technology to the Israelis in the event Iran developed a nuclear weapon.” The Israelis interpreted that as an acceptance by the U.S. that we would allow Iran to proceed with the development of their nuclear bomb. It signaled a major change in U.S. policy to the world.

Hillary went on from there by comparing North Korea to a spoiled child that fired off all those missiles and continued to work on their nuclear bomb simply to get attention. That was really a brilliant and comforting diplomatic move, Hillary. Considering that the leaders are certified nutcases that kind of talk is sure to get the desired reaction. Yeah, sure.

But, didn’t Barack promise us he would “talk to” the Iranians and the North Koreans and convince them to do our bidding? I guess they are still laughing in both countries at that display of naivety. It certainly hasn’t impacted their behavior one whit.

The third prong of the expanding White House act came from yet another “mouth” seeking fame, that of VP Joe Biden. First, he comes up with the “reset button” bit for the Russians. They too must be still laughing at the hilarity of this administration’s sophomoric perspective on diplomacy. But, after recent talks with the Russians on many heavy topics, Joe then tells the press that we really don’t have to worry about the Russians. Joe says the Russian economy is so bad they will ultimately collapse. Therefore, we only have to wait for the inevitable. More brilliant diplomacy, Joe.

If this all wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious. You wonder if the focus of this administration is on entertaining the public rather than governing it. Barack’s act has gotten terribly tiresome and boring for all but his most loyal supporters. Nancy, Harry, Barney, Waxman, Dodd, Rangel, and a host of similar comedians try unsuccessfully to liven things up. Hillary and Joe simply highlight the obvious weakness of the team.

Most professional performers strive to be entertaining and even humorous. Obama’s group is simply mouthy and depressing, but unfortunately very dangerous.

Obama "Outraces" Al Sharpton

2009-07-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

You have to feel sorry for the Reverend Al Sharpton. He carefully built a national career by hopping on every incident that had even the slightest racial overtone and turning it into a media circus. Since Obama’s election, the demand for his services as Chief Race Baiter has been severely diminished. Now, Obama comes out and totally takes over his gig by declaring that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly” in arresting Professor Gates, a friend of Barack’s. This is too much.

We have become accustomed to Reverend Sharpton appearing on camera screaming about racial injustices imposed on a black man by a white policeman. Everybody should know this is Reverend Sharpton territory. Yet, the President of the United States one-ups the Reverend on the Gates incident.

As it turned out, Reverend Al must be glad that he was preempted by His Arrogance. The incident blew up in Barack’s face when the facts unfolded indicating that the arrest was anything but “stupid.” Everyone but Barack is asking how on earth the President of the United States got himself embroiled in this local controversy. What with all the problems facing the Oval Office, it has to be put down as a result of Barack’s petty arrogance. This is the best our President can do, we ask?

What is really significant is that Barack came off as the racist in the incident. It is he who in knee-jerk fashion screamed that a black man was mistreated by a white man, just like the Reverend Wright preached to him for those twenty years. Now, Barack wants to have a beer with the arresting officer and Professor Gates to discuss the issue. That’s a great idea. They could add a trained facilitator to the discussion with the topic , “why did Barack react like a racist before the facts were known.” It is Barack who is out in left field on this one, not Sgt. Crowley or even the Professor. Perhaps the discussion can help Barack with his obvious race problem.

You were lucky Barack hogged this one, Reverend Sharpton.

An observation: A beer with two Cambridge, Mass. types? This is not Milwaukee, Barack.

Hillary Fights for Space

2009-07-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

One advantage of the Obama administration is that he has shuffled Hillary so far into the background that she is almost invisible. Even more amazing, he has rendered her quiet as a mouse. However, nobody can silence Hillary, not even Barack. Now Hillary has made her move to emerge from political Siberia. She thrust herself onto center stage in a speech in Mumbai. Hillary picked up on the Barach “apologize for America” theme. It wasn’t easy to find a subject that Barack hadn’t already apologized for, but she found it. She apologized for America’s contribution to climate change:

“We acknowledge now with President Obama that we have made mistakes in the United States, and we along with other developed countries have contributed most significantly to the problem that we face with climate change," she said. "We are hoping a great country like India will not make the same mistakes."

That is absolutely hilarious. In the first place, Hillary doesn’t have it in her bones to be sorry about anything. Her actions are totally determined by “what’s good for Hillary.” In fact, apologies are totally un-Hillary. She is fighting to get her broad backside back in front of the public. This seemed like a good theme since it played to Barack’s ego.

Nonetheless, I’m developing a complex about all these things Barack and his crowd are apologizing for. Until recently, I was proud to be American. I never realized being an American was so bad. It’s no wonder that the only thing America has done that Michelle is proud of is to elect Barack president. Obviously listening to the Reverend Wright for 20 years takes its toll on one’s thinking.

South Carolina Governor Sanford

2009-06-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

I can’t understand how this Sanford affair is playing out. We have gotten used to our politicians indulging freely in extra-marital affairs. They seem to assume that’s a perk that goes along with the office.

I think the point in this particular case is about intelligence, not sex. This Sanford guy is not smart enough to be the governor of a state. There is no rational alternative explanation. Sanford is not playing with a full deck, as they say. What was he thinking, or was he? Bizarre!

Except for staying with him all these years, his wife sounds cool.

The Endless Obama Show

2009-06-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Even before the inauguration I knew I would disagree with virtually every program Barack would push. There are two things that do surprise me, however. I must admit I did not realize the dedication and fervor he would bring to the task. I have become even more surprised at his willingness to ignore the economic impact of his programs. The huge porky stimulus package and his UAW slanted GM bailout were only the start. On top of that Barack piles up scary budget deficits in pursuit of health care and the phony global warming scare. Apparently he is blinded to possible disastrous consequences by his extreme liberal passion. Amazing!

Until recently, I wondered how he planned to sell all of his liberal hocus-pocus. I have finally figured it out . Normally, we expect politicians to bombard us with the logic behind their programs. Not Obama. He is taking a much simpler approach. He intends to talk us into submission. What is it with this guy? There is this endless stream of words that vary depending on today’s version of the teleprompter script. He is on my TV more often than Law & Order. At least that TV show carries a disclaimer stating that the content is fictional. Obama’s Show doesn’t have the disclaimer. I find myself thinking, “Please, give me a break. Just shut up and be the president every once in awhile?”

Unfortunately, Barack mixes illogical reasoning with his stream of words. Take his health care plan, for instance. He plans to give insurance to 45 million uninsured. Don’t worry about the cost. According to Barack, the government will reform health care so that is actually saves money. How will they do that, you ask? He replies we must reform it. We have no choice. Any more questions?
He rubbished Bush unmercifully for not talking to the Iranians and the North Koreans. Then, he goes to Cairo to praise Islam along with his obligatory slamming of America. As a result, Obama must be the biggest joke going in these two countries. I mean, how naïve can one be with his approach to thugs? You can just hear the mullahs saying, “He is going to talk to us?” Laughter. “The president of the United States is going to talk to us.” Louder laughter!

And, the North Korean version goes like this. “Fire off another missile and put out a release on our nuclear program. Then, we will see what he wants to talk about. It sure is easy to jerk around this jerk of a president.”

Now we learn that Michelle feels she does not have enough influence. Apparently she is not satisfied with the impact her victory garden had on world affairs. She vows to be more outspoken. That’s all we need!

But, let’s face reality. Barack’s admirers still swoon at the mention of his name. The media pores over his words and find no wrong. His approval ratings have dipped a bit. But, we still have a long way to go to get even a touch of sanity in “the doings” at the White House.

Let us hope and pray that God is still inclined to look after our America with empathy. We need him to do so like never before.

Obama, the talking machine

2009-06-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

For sure, there are two things we now know about Obama. First and foremost, he dearly loves to talk. Oh man, does he ever love the sound of his own voice. Secondly, he gets areal buzz out of flying around on Air Force One. Clearly, he can't get enough of either of these favorites.

Recently he combined his search to fulfill these fantasies by flying all the way to talk to Egypt "to talk the Muslim world." Barack rattled on for an hour. His admirers swooned. The media was enraptured. The Arab world love his conciliatory tone.

I'm sorry but for me the speech was just 6000 empty words produced by our word-machine president. In the first place, I have no problem with Islam, the religion. Those guys can bang their foreheads on their carpets all day long as far as I am concerned. No big deal. They are just practicing their religion. Have at it, guys.

What does bother me is that some sizable segment of the Muslim group work hard at trying to kill those of us who do not follow their thought pattern. They behead Daniel Pearl and proudly place it on video. They recruit and train suicide bombers to go forth to explode their wares to kill innocent people. They fly airplane full of passengers into buildings full of people. I ask you, does any other religious group even contemplate such dastardly acts?

Yet, Obama shows no outrage at this group. He even refuses to call them terrorists. His main worry is that they receive good treatment when captured. On top of that he proudly refers to that concern as "displaying American values." He says in his speech, "I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against any criticism of Muslim negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear." Amazing!

On top of that he threw in his condemnation of American behavior which has become standard fare for his speeches. Did he note and loudly condemn the countries that supply funding and weapons to the radical group most of us call terrorists? No, that could be conceived as rude.

There is one positive from all of the Obama exposure. I now know where the remote button is on my remote. Why listen to the continual flood of meaningless words?

Our new home

2009-05-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, for the second time in 8 years, we've had some troubles with malicious hacking of our site. The first time was personal and targeted directly at our original home, www.chronwatch.com -- but this time appears to have been a more widespread issue effecting thousands of websites.

Either way, the end result was a decision to just move our commentary over to Google's Blogger service, and (hopefully) not have to worry so much about the technical issues related to commenting on issues.

So, over the next few days or weeks, we'll be slowly moving all operations and contributing authors over to the new Blogger site. Stay tuned, and we'll keep you posted. And Thank you Google!

Jim Sparkman
ChronWatch Founder