RealClearPolitics – Video – Carter Claims There Is “Racist” Tone Against Obamasm

I try to be respectful of anyone who serves or has served in the highest level of elected office. It is a firm belief of mine that the president of the United States deserves our respect. As Americans, it is our duty to be respectful – challenging, but respectful at the same time.

However, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain respect when a former president charges racism essentially against anyone who voices opposition to our sitting president and his policies.

Our opposition comes from a deep belief that the policies of the administration are bad for this country and that they go against the fiber of our nation and the intent of the constitution. Opposition comes from those of us who believe in limited government, liberty and a system of checks and balances that keeps our government from amassing too much power over our lives. Here’s a link to a recent video of President Jimmy Carter essentially calling millions of Americans “racist.” With each word that he utters, a little more of the limited respect that I had for him drains from my soul.

RealClearPolitics – Video – Carter Claims There Is “Racist” Tone Against Obama

Posted using ShareThis

By the way, where was NBC’s challenge to this assertion? Oh yeah…we wouldn’t want to appear to oppose the anointed one.

Rethinking My Aggravation with Rep. Wilson

A couple of days have passed since President Obama’s “historic” address to a joint session of congress to try to resuscitate his then-ailing plans to change healthcare for all of us. I was initially quite aggravated with Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina (you know….the formerly unknown Congressional Representative who yelled “YOU LIE” to the president.

That night on Twitter I posted that I wanted Wilson to get off my team. On my blog (below), I referred to Wilson as a “bonehead.” But it’s quite possible that I may have spoken too soon. Why? Two reasons:

1. While he showed a lack of judgment on the timing/location of his outburst, Wilson spoke (without the eloquence and decorum expected of a member of Congress) on behalf of millions of Americans who are tired of lies and distortions. Think about it, even if language in the various bills in Congress don’t call for subsidizing illegal aliens, what will happen when an illegal shows up needing medical care? We’ll provide it. We’ll pay for it. Whether the president was lying on this specific topic can be debated, but the lies and distortions are far too common now – from how much healthcare “reform” will cost to distorted views of competition between the public sector and private sector.
2. I’ve since found numerous videos and recordings of the utter disrespect members of Congress showed to president Bush 43. Boos during his addresses to joint sessions, hecklers, etc.  The disrespect that the left shows to the right far outweighs one junior member of Congress’ ill-timed emotional outburst.

So to you, Rep. Wilson, I want to apologize for calling you a “bonehead” and insisting that you get off my team. Stand up for yourself, redirect your anger and frustration, and let’s keep up the fight against government intrusion into our healthcare.

Now, Back to the Fight

So I vented my frustrations about Rep. Joe Wilson (see my previous post where I call him a bonehead). Now let’s refocus and rejoin the fight against government intrusion into our health care.

Who’s going to benefit from Obamacare? Not you. Not me. Nope. It turns out the union bosses may have a lot to gain. Thank goodness we still have the Wall Street Journal. Great piece that follows the money (funny how when you follow the money, it never seems to come back to ordinary people like you and me).

Read this: http://tinyurl.com/nuopgy

Stay focused. Call your congressional representative and tell them that President Obama did an admirable job trying to sell Obamacare to us tonight, but bad policy is still bad policy. No “reform” of our health care system. There are better solutions.

Then call your Republican representative and tell him/her to stay strong. Let the Democrats own this disaster.

Get Off My Team!

So, I wanted to watch the president’s address tonight live, but had to deal with something even more important – my six-year old who needed my help getting to sleep. So I tuned in to watch the coverage of the speech to hear what the president had to say and to hear how Republicans responded.

To my chagrin, I found a barrage of coverage of Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina actually heckling the president of the United States. To this, all I can say is “get off my team!” I expect this kind of behavior from nutjobs like Cindy Sheehan or Michael Moore. I do not expect this from a Republican member of Congress. All he did was feed the Democrat talking points about conservatives being unhinged on this issue. The Democrats were on the ropes on this. President Obama turned on the Obama charm tonight and likely scored big points after floundering so poorly.

Instead of heckling the president of the United States during a joint session of Congress, let’s focus on the issue at hand: we do not want further government intrusion in our healthcare system. Instead, let’s talk about reducing needless coverage mandates, let’s instill portability to purchase insurance across state lines, and let’s address meaningful medical malpractice reform.

Heckling the president in such a pathetic manner did nothing to help us, Rep. Wilson. I thought Reid and Pelosi were idiots. Now you’ve made them look partially sane.

Thanks for damaging the hard work of ordinary citizens who have stood up and fought this battle in town halls, on blogs, in conversations with neighbors and in massive email and telephone campaigns to voice our opposition to this “reform” movement. Next time, sit down and be quiet.

Interesting, I just tried to go to Rep. Wilson’s Congressional website and found it was “down for maintenance.” Perhaps that could be stamped onto his forehead. Seriously, this guy must be a bonehead.

The President SHOULD Be Able to Talk to Kids

But sadly, we live in a very politically-charged environment, where every move, every word, every nuance of a president’s actions are staged, scripted, planned and even rehearsed. I’m at a loss for what I really think about President Obama’s planned telecast to millions of school children next week. The president of the United States, regardless of political stripe, is the leader of this nation. Children need to know about the president, learn from him (or her), and hopefully set off on their own course to pursue liberty, freedom, success or failure. It’s all up to them.

However, I’m not convinced that can really be the case anymore. In the world of politics, message is everything. PR strategists look for “influencers” and “messengers” and the hot new PR term “evangelists” for the topic du jour. What better messengers than children? Keep in mind, politicians are like PR people on steroids. They live, eat, and breathe nothing but message. Everything is about shaping perceptions. And it is all about incremental steps toward election or re-election or pushing an agenda forward.

That’s why I am concerned about President Obama’s planned address to a captive and malleable audience next week. Students are not able to dissect a message to figure out if it’s driven by an agenda. Even the most seemingly innocuous comments could be brought to question by a discerning ear.

But I also do not want to be so jaded that I cannot even listen to what our president has to say. So I contacted the principal at our sons’ new elementary school today and asked what the intentions are at this specific school. I politely voiced my apprehensions about this issue, and I offered a suggested approach. Schools could make it optional for students to view the president’s video at home. It’s not as though you won’t be able to find it anywhere. YouTube alone will have countless links to the video the moment it is released. It will give parents a chance to ask questions and engage a dialogue. Student success does not hinge on what the president has to say. It has much more to do with what parents say, what teachers say and what the students themselves have to say. I look forward to the principal’s response to my email.

Of course, I have no doubt that had President GW Bush attempted a nationwide address to students that the outcry would be nothing short of deafening (other than the possibility of a school-focused address in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, which would be appropriate).

Perhaps there would be more trust if politicians spent more time listening to constituents and less time trying to control messages.

My recommendation to anyone reading this post is to simply (and respectfully) pose the question to your local school – how does the school intend to handle the president’s address? Voice a concern. Then, assuming the school does show the video, have a conversation with your child that evening. Ask him or her:

1. What did you think of the president’s address?
2. Did it make sense to you?
3. What topics did the president talk about?
4. Who should be responsible for your motivation and success? The president? Your teacher? Parents? Yourself?

Also, find the video online. Watch it. Then ask yourself: Was there an agenda? How else can I use this to talk to my kids to make sure they view all sides before deciding on an issue? Read the Department of Education’s proposed discussion guide on this (revised to not include “how can I help the president?”). See if there is useful guidance in that document – as well as guidance that may seem to push an agenda. Then decide for yourself.

While I’m no fan of President Obama, it sure would be nice to be able to look back and say, “at least that was ONE thing I didn’t have to worry about.”

There’s a good read on this by Nia-Malika Henderson on Politico at http://tinyurl.com/nfecgb. Check it out and read more on this around the web.

Killing the Clunkers – what happens after you turn in your clunker for cash?

I’ve been wondering what happens to a vehicle after it gets turned in for a $3,500-$4,500 government handout. A good friend of mine (and fellow Lost Republican) was one of the late takers on the government plan to rid the world of big gas guzzling SUVs. My buddy turned in an aging (yet still very good) Ford Explorer. Granted, they got a spiffy new vehicle and saved a few bucks, but now a vehicle that could have been used by someone in need will meet an untimely demise.

It turns out that the dealerships effectively “kill” the clunker by dumping something called sodium silicate into the running engine. It gums up the engine and renders it permanently useless.

I was pleased to learn, though, that the vehicles will be stripped by certified salvage companies, so parts of these vehicles will be re-used and recycled. At least all is not lost.

In my mind, though, I’m not sure if this program was really all that great. Glad to know that some people got nice new vehicles out of the deal and dealerships had a brief respite from the recession. But here are my two primary questions about the now-famous “cash for clunkers” program:

1. Will the government efficiently reimburse car dealerships for the so-called “rebates” that are due to them? Many dealerships are family owned, and are fronting the cash on these deals.
2. What happens now after we created this kind of short term false demand? This seems less about getting the economy going and more about telling us what kind of vehicles we should drive. Did Detroit pump out new vehicles, or was this more an exercise to get aging inventory off of dealer lots?

For the record, we’re keeping our clunker. Our massive SUV has 120,000 miles on it. It’s paid for. It has new tires and new brakes. Sure, it gets a paltry 14 mpg, but it would take a long time to recoup the cost of a new vehicle in terms of fuel savings. Plus, we really really like the safety of our big honkin’ SUV.

KOB TV in New Mexico did a great story on the death of clunkers. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/mgprst  – Dealers begin disabling clunkers

Shared via AddThis