Joe Walsh has stood up for us, it's time we stand up for him - tell Planned Parenthood to buzz off

To date, I have no complaints about the job Rep. Joe Walsh, from here in the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, is doing. He voted against the budget deal and has shown that there was metal in his words from the campaign. That is a very unusual characteristic for a politician these days, so much so that, if Joe keeps it up, we'll have to stop calling him a politician and start thinking of him as a statesman.

There is, of course, a price to pay for standing up with that kind of character in Washington, D.C. I mean, if it was easy, everyone elected to office would do it. Efforts to appease voters with an eye to re-election is the basic motivating factor for many of the wrong-minded votes that are produced in our government.

Today, I woke up to hear a Planned Parenthood commercial telling people to call Joe Walsh and another representative and ask them why they voted to randomly shoot women on the streets. OK, that's not exactly what they said but, for all intents and purposes, they might have well tried to convince listeners that a vote against Planned Parenthood is a vote to eliminate women.

The problem is that, according to viable information I've heard, the idea that Planned Parenthood is primarily an organization that works to improve women's health is a red herring at best and, more likely, a flat out lie. And, even if it were true; even if most of their time was spent performing mammograms and similar procedures, if they performed even one abortion the portion of their funding that comes from our taxes makes those who feel abortion is murder unwilling accomplices in the crime.

I applaud Rep. Walsh for having the courage to stand up to the organized pressure of a Planned Parenthood to cast a vote that is long overdue. And I'm writing this because I believe, if Joe is willing to stand up as a statesman, the least I can do is support him in the process. I'm asking the rest of you to do the same. If you appreciate the manner in which Joe Walsh has lived up to his campaign promises then stand up for Joe. If we do it for him, more and more politicians may notice what happens when someone votes with character and more of those politicians may choose the path of statesman instead of wobbly kneed bums who say one thing to get elected and then do other things to stay elected.

Now that I've digested the budget deal I've got an upset stomach

I received an e-mail yesterday from Michael with the 912 Patriots asking where I've been. I sure appreciate that someone has missed me and greatly appreciate the compliment. Thank you, Michael.

As for where I've been, on the one hand, I've been busier than a one-legged man trying to kick Obama in the ass every time he tells another lie. In other words, I've been chasing the almighty dollar, for which there are far-too few in this vicinity. On the other hand, I've been digesting the recent activity in Washington, D.C., pertaining to the budget deal.

I kept waiting to hear the explanation from the GOP explaining why it accepted a mere $38 billion in budget cuts, especially when the originally promised $100 billion was portrayed as mostly symbolic. Symbolic was the word that came to mind when I heard the 'concession' from Obama and the Democrats: allowing a vote on Obamacare (it will go nowhere and only serves the Democrats as, in 2012, they can then say, "Well, we let them vote on it once more."). Then again, defunding some of Obama's czars sounded like a step in the right direction. And what happened?

I've seen horror flicks that are so predictable it's hard to be truly frightened. "OK, now the guy with the knife and the mask, who you thought was already dead, will suddenly step out of the closet." Obama's response to the agreement to defund his czars was no less predictable.

For those who haven't heard it, here is Obama's post-agreement position on the 'compromise':

"Legislative efforts that significantly impede the president's ability to exercise his supervisory and coordinating authorities or to obtain the views of the appropriate senior advisers violate the separation of powers.”

Say what? Are you out of your mind, Mr. President? Of course, the latter is a most redundant question. Obama is now suggesting that he, as president, should have limitless ability to "exercise his supervisory and coordinating" efforts. What part of the Constitution did he read that from? I'm guessing it was in the white parts between the words.

Of course, just as I know a vote on Obamacare will go nowhere, Obama knows he'll get no traction from Republicans on this issue - or does he?

If the recent Budget agreement is any measure, Obama may very well now assume he can do as much with this new Congress as he could when he had both houses in his hip pocket. Furthermore, I'm guessing he's enjoying the opportunity to rub a little salt in the fresh wounds felt by TEA Party members around the country.

Here it is, our first time at bat with our new and ballyhooed lineup. What happens? It's a long drive. Back! Back! OK, it's not going over the wall but it should still be good for extra bases. And when the dust settles, where are our heroes standing? Oh, there they are on first base. Wait, they're only joking with the first baseman before heading back to the dugout.

I just watched an inspiring speech from Sarah Palin from Madison, WI. She couldn't have said it better: We didn't send them to D.C. to "rearrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic."

By the way, another lead I saw from a conservative online magazine said, "freshman GOP class fails first test," or something to that effect. Others may have failed but, here in the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, Joe Walsh passed with flying colors. He voted 'No' to the FY2011 Budget and he voted 'Yes' to Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) budget proposal. I gotta tell you, Walsh is showing more chutzpa than the far-more experienced conservative members of Congress.Maybe they should pay a little less attention to Obama's lies and a little more attention to how the man for Northern Illinois is carrying himself.

Kal, SEIU and the new union dilema

Other day, I walked into my favorite gin mill after work and ran into a friend, same as I did almost every other day the last quarter century, cept, maybe, when one of our kids was born. Only this time it was different. My friend wasn’t his usual effervescent self.

“Hey Kal, why so glum?” I ask him.

“Oh, nothing,” he says to me.

“Nothing? Yer like a lump on a log, yer head hangin’ over yer beer. What, you thinkin’ about all that business up in Wisconsin? Well, don’t ya worry. We got us a judge up there on our side. She done put the kaibash on the whole thing. Yeah, I tell you, that Governor Walker is gonna be one sorry son-a-bitch.

My friend only shook his head and glanced at me briefly the way he does each spring when I proclaim this is the year fer the Cubs. You know that, “What, are you kidding,” look he gives me when I say something mildly ridiculous.

“What, you don’t think Walker’s gonna win this fight, do ya?” I ask him.

“I don’t know,” he says glumly as he stares into the foam that is fading from the beer that’s gettin’ warm in front of him.

“YOU DON’T KNOW,” I yell out in astonishment. “Hell, it almost sounds like you don’t care.”

“Of course I care,” he says to me. “It’s just, well …”

“IT’S WHAT,” I holler as my patience runs a tad thin.

“Well, if we win …”

“What do you mean, ‘if’?”

“Alright, have it your way, ‘when’ we win,” Kal hollers at me losing his temper a bit, too. “What then?”

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'WHAT THEN'?”

“Well, let’s suppose we get everything we want. What are we gonna do then?”

“For lamb’s sake, wolfie, whaddya think we been tryin’ to do here all these years? You think we been tryin’ to lose?”

“No, of course not. But what does it mean to win?”

“Man, I haven’t the slightest idea what the hell yer talkin’ about.”

Kal went and took a long overdue slug off his beer, as though fortifying himself for a difficult task, and then turned in his seat to look me straight in the eyes in a way that always makes me a little uncomfortable.

“Well,” he says, “if we win, what then? If we take over the companies, we run the show, what then?”

I just stared at Kal a minute, my mouth hangin’ open as nothing came to mind. “I don’t know, man. I suppose that’d be a day of celebration, not a day to get all sad about.”

“Okay, let me ask you this: You an American?”

“Well, of course I’m an American. What's that got to do with it?”

Kal swings back to the bar and half mumbles, “I was talkin’ with Jackson today …”

At that point, I couldn’t help but interrupt. “What the heck you doin’ listenin’ to that jerk. What kind a brother is he? Guy drives around with a McCain/Palin sticker on the back of his car. I’m surprised he don’t get his ass kicked off the job site for that, or least get his ass kicked in general.”

“Well, that’s kinda the way I always figured it,” Kal says. “But, today, he tells me about some recording of this guy from SEIU saying we’re gonna collapse the economy and take over.”

“For cryin’ out loud, Kal, you know better than to believe that guy’s crap.”

“That’s what I figured. So, I stopped at home on the way here and looked it up online. Sure as shit, there it is. SEIU guy says we’re gonna collapse JP Morgan by not paying our mortgages. Next thing, the economy falls apart, then the government then, well, then I guess we got violence in the streets.”

“Now, that can’t be true. It’s just some lies from the Republicans.

“Maybe,” Kal says. “But, even if it ain’t true, it got me to thinkin’ – I always knew I’d stand up for my brothers in the union but I also figured I’d stand up for Good-ole Uncle Sam, too. I guess, I just always kinda thought they was one and the same. But now, I don’t know. I mean, lookin’ at things, you know, takin’ over GM and stuff, I thought that was great the unions getting control. But maybe it ain’t so great.”

“Awe come on, the union knows what it’s doing.”

“The Union?" Kal says. “Mostly, we do what our elected leaders tell us to do. That’s the point; this whole thing sounds great for folks like Andy Stern and stuff. I just don’t know that it’s as good for the rest of us. Besides, a collapsed economy and violence doesn't sound too good for anyone, cept maybe Andy Stern and his group.”

Well, now I don’t know what to think. I mean, Kal has always been like a rock – most pro-union guy I know. And here he is having doubts. Funny thing is, I went home and looked up the video myself. This guy commenting on the thing says causing confusion is part of the program. Well, I sure am confused.

Boehner talks issues - Reid retorts with insults

(Caution: contains R-rated content - language)

It's a battle of words in D.C. today. I'd say that it's a battle of wits but, one side, hasn't adequately demonstrated the possession of any wits yet.

Of course, I'm talking about the verbal confrontation between House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The spat seems to exemplify my point. Boehner speaks to the issue, suggesting that, if Reid has a plan for cutting spending he should share it or, assuming he doesn't (a fair assumption for my money), he "owes the American people an explanation."

What does Reid hit back with? A hard hitting commentary on the wisdom of Reid's fiscal philosophy? An explanation of economic realities from a liberal progressive perspective? No, Reid tries to insult his way out of the political corner he's painted himself into. Reid's spokesman fires back: "That's tough talk from someone who is being bossed around by a bunch of freshman."

Ooooooh - scary.

I hope, when Boehner heard this reply, he had enough sense to merely shake his head and go about his business, the way an adult does when challenged by a witless infant. Boehner doesn't need to respond to this kind of mononic hyperbole. Leave that to us.

Let us point out the following to Reid: Listen, you shit-for-brains asshole, the economic crisis we face is not figurative. It won't be fixed by juggling the books a little. People, real people with blood running through their veins and thoughts through their minds, are suffering from the financial pickle you and the other pond-scum Liberal Progressives out there in the Beltway have put us in.

Congress needs to make a hard choice: continue down a liberal progressive path to economic and social ruin or return to a Constitutional footing that embraces fiscal conservatism, limited government and Constitutional principles. If there's a government shutdown, only a fraction of Americans will buy your argument that "It's their fault." And, those freshman representatives you're bashing - in only two months they've shown more statesmanship, wisdom and patriotism than you've shown in, what ... how long have you been abusing that seat in Congress now?

I tell you what, Senator, the next time you find yourself in a verbal confrontation of this sort, when you have nothing of substance to say, instead of submitting to the knee-jerk temptation to strike out blindly, take a deep breath and reflect for a second. Ask yourself a simple question: "If I don't have anything intelligent to respond with, could this be an indication that my position is without merit?"

If you ask yourself this question honestly, and with an open mind, you may wake up one day and realize, "Oh my God, how much time have I wasted following this Liberal Progressive garbage." OK, now I'm getting silly. You have as much chance of finding true clarity in that addled liberal brain of yours as I do of finding the Hope Diamond in a McDonald's Happy Meal.

Oh, wait - are you folks in D.C. still letting us eat those if we want?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/02/reid-boehner-exchange-barbs-stopgap-measure/#ixzz1FTLJqs8h

Oh My Gosh - government spending is wasteful (gasp)

Did you hear - there's governmental waste in Washington, D.C, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Oh my!

Of course, it's entirely reasonable that the WSJ would cover this story. It deserves to be covered. Any reasonable/ethical publication has a responsibility to cover this story (that's why it's in the Wall Street Journal). But, it's not news.

Raise your hands. How many of you actually thought the government wasn't wasting our tax dollars? How many of you thought the government did a moderately good job of using our money? No hands? How many of you thought the government was doing a poor job of handling our money. There's a few hands - mostly those who didn't anticipate a final option in this informal poll. Now, how many of you think the government is doing an abysmal, horrible, horrendous, stupefying, negligent, criminally inefficient, wasteful and disgraceful job of handling the nation's purse strings?

There they are - all the hands are in the air.

We all know government wastes our finances like someone trying to bail out a sinking ship with a pasta strainer. If we heard that, for every dollar well spent by the government, another $10 are utterly wasted, no one is going to express any serious surprise.

And, with that level of faith in the government, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, the other Democrats in Congress, the Liberal Progressives from universities to soup kitchens, from union halls to abortion clinics, from East Coast to West - all believe in bigger government. If you'll pardon the mixed metaphors, it's like asking your teenage daughter to hold onto the family credit cards in order to stick to your budget.

This is why, beyond the unConstitutional nature of Obamacare, it's a moronic idea to give the government a bigger say in health care. Less ... less of a say, that's the solution.

Obama claims Bush drove the economy into the ditch. Of course, that makes as much sense as blaming the last lemming over the cliff for the bloody mess on the rocks below. But, regardless, the point is that the government has a function and the people in the Beltway seldom seem to recognize the limitations of their roles.

Big government translates to a more powerful government. And a more powerful government translates to a less empowered populace. A more powerful government also translates to a more wasteful government.

Let's assume the government is not as bad as the example I used in the fifth paragraph of this story - wasting $10 for every dollar well spent. Let's suppose that the government only wastes $1 for every two dollars it spends. That's still 50 percent wasted.

Based on this scenario, if the government has access to $1 trillion of our money, that means they're wasting $500 billion. If the government has access to $14 trillion, that means they're wasting $7 trillion. I choose a number closer to the prior than the latter. For your final question in this unscientific poll, which do you choose? And, no, you can't raise your hands for both answers. That kind of logic is only accepted in places like Detroit and Washington, D.C.

Polls on Wisconsin issue are clearer than they seem

Bill O'Reilly asked Dick Morris to wade in on the Wisconsin issue that has already spread to other states. In the face of outright attacks against FOX instigated, apparently, by the SEIU thugs, O'Reilly has demonstrated an evenhanded perspective on the issue. Morris did an even better job.

The polls might, on the face of it, present the possibility that the public is somewhat schizophrenic on the topic. Not true. As Morris explained, the general population supports unions in general - the right to collective bargaining. On the other hand, the general population doesn't see why union members shouldn't be willing to pull back a little in hard times, such as these.

For those who haven't examined the issues beyond the Left-wing rhetoric, it appears that Wisconsin Governor Walker is on a crusade to blatantly bust the unions. However, upon closer examination, it turns out he merely wants a little restraint in terms of how much union members will contribute to their pensions and health insurance. In particular, this is related to government workers in the state.

While those in the private sector watch their contributions for health insurance skyrocket, they see those in the public sector enjoying benefits completely out of step with the times.

In the multi-state battle over the issue, private sector unions have joined in arm-in-arm with their public-sector brethren and sisters. It's a heart-warming show of solidarity. It's also misguided.

Public sector workers have become an elite group unto themselves. In these instances, they are consistently putting their immediate profit motive ahead of the welfare of the government bodies their work within. As Michael Medved said earlier today, what makes sense in the private sector, where profit and entrepreneurial viability place restraining forces on both management and the work force, makes no sense in the public arena.

States don't exactly go out of business the way companies do. The unsavory reality is that, without market-driven restraint, the public sector unions have operated at the expense of the public they're supposed to serve. Now, they have an unholy alliance with SEIU.

SEIU does not favor strong and successful unions; SEIU favors what comes after they use the unions to win their battles - the socialism of a welfare state. In fact, the driving forces at SEIU, the big name leaders of the organization, whether they're lying to themselves or not, really see the battle as one to redistribute the seating arrangements in a political game of musical chairs. And, when the music stops, those SEIU big shots expect to hold favored seats in the new America.

Theirs is an America unhindered by the inconveniences of Constitutional law or limited government. Government will provide all and, therefore, will rightly determine the cost, how the money will be raised and how the services will be administered. And that has nothing to do with private sector unions.

The reality is, though the folks at SEIU may be thinking otherwise now - I'm sure they're seeing this crisis as an opportunity - the American public is waking up. Yes, they do support unions, even unions in the public sector. But, they expect the unions to support the nation or, in this case, the states they work for.

For those private sector union leaders, you may want to think about where you'll be standing when the music stops. For all the bravado of the SEIU bigwigs, things may not shake out as expected.

Fear and Panic - Obama's greatest allies

I have an old friend I chat with from time to time on Facebook. I've found that our discussions help to clarify my thoughts. Such was this case when I was speaking about Obama, Rahm Emanuel and FDR. Suddenly, the pieces all fit together.

Emanuel is well known for his statement, "A good crisis is a terrible thing to waste." Of course, he was referring to the economic crisis of the Great Recession. But, as I realized while chatting with my friend, it was more than the economy; it was the panic that economic fear engendered.

In a crisis, those who keep their heads are usually the winners. If you've ever seen the movie "The Unforgiven" with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman, you'll probably recall they speak about this. It's not the best shot or the one who is fastest with a gun that wins in a gun fight. It's the one who keeps his head - assesses the situation coolly and aims carefully, the one who doesn't shoot himself in the foot.

Without fear and panic, Obama probably would not have been elected, Obamacare would have been DOA, Congress would have reacted appropriately from the start to all these czars and agencies setting up a shadow government. We wouldn't have sat back while our president went around the world back-seat apologizing for our history.


I'm clearly not a big fan of FDR's but, he was right when he told America, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He was telling people not to panic. FDR believed he could achieve his aims through the American system. Oh, he intended to circumvent the Constitution from time to time, but he was still an American at heart.

Obama hasn't truly tried to calm the waters, has he? Why not? Panic and fear are Obama's greatest allies. Panic and fear is what convinced people to buy into his "Hope and Change" in 2008, even though people didn't really realize what they were buying. All they knew was the economy was in the toilet and that Bush, utterly demonized by the lamestream media, was to blame.

Our job, between now and November of 2012, is to clear away the fog of fear and panic. People need to see clearly even if they're afraid. They need to realize, if they aim carefully in the ballot booth they won't shoot themselves in the foot again. FDR was right. Fear is the one thing we must fear the most.