Runaround Hsu

Murtha Confronted

Great dodge, look at him run into the elevator once he realized that Jason Mattera, of the Young America’s Foundation wasn't a lobbyist wanting to hand him an envelope.

Socialism 101

Today Obama visited Wall Street and basically cussed them out for being capitalist and Hillary launched her newest vision of Hillarycare. Two fine examples of why we don't need either one of them as President.

The problem is that their comments sound feasible and they play to those that can't differentiate between socialism and capitalism. The liberals have done a bang up job portraying capitalism as a system designed to make the rich richer and keep the poor poor. Quaint notion but it couldn't be farther from the truth. Capitalism is a system designed to give everyone the ability to be financially successful... if they are willing to do the work.

And there lies the problem. Work isn't fun. Sitting back and letting the government hand you entitlements is easy. I am not saying the government shouldn't provide help to those who need it, I am saying they should provide help "only" to those who need it.

This notion that the government should provide as services paid for by taxation is simply socialism. Ask the USSR how well that worked. It doesn't, socialism retards economic growth and Robin Hood entitlement programs do the same thing. Increasing taxes upon the business and the rich hurts our economic growth it doesn't help it.

If you remove tax cut incentives and replace it with huge tax increases on the rich what happens? Do you think that when a board of directors is forced to pay more taxation they will absorb that increase themselves? No they will not, they will still live in their million dollar homes and have their corporate jets. The increase will just be passed on. In the form of price increases and less capital investment in their business. Both of which don't hurt the rich, but the middle and lower class.

Supply side economics 101 you do not make poor people rich by making rich people poor. In fact the notion that overtaxing the rich will help the poor is pure foolishness. In fact when you look at the taxation reforms Democrats propose its nothing more than income redistribution, that is socialism.... period.

I Remember

It was a little after 8:00 AM on a Tuesday, a kid that worked for me walked up to me where I was pouring over a set of electrical blueprints spread across the hood of my truck. He asked me if I had heard about a plane hitting "those two big buildings in New York" as he put it. I asked him if he meant the Twin Towers and he said yes. I turned the radio on in my truck and was listening to the news just as United 175 slammed into the second tower. I was stunned and knew that this was it, the attack that James Marshall told me about.

James Marshall was a Naval Intelligence officer that I met in 1988. I was at a conference at Seymour Johnson AFB where he gave seminar and disclosed a somber prediction. That the United States would see a large scale terrorist event inside its borders within 10 to 20 years and such an attack would most likely be directed at a high profile target like the World Trade Center. And he was right...... twice. That was 1987, six years before Ramzi Yousef conspired to blow up the WTC and Fourteen years before Al Qaeda succeeded. But, James Marshall nailed it and our government missed it... twice.

The fact that the United States government missed it is not that surprising. Our govenment is a mess. The bureaucratic quagmire in DC is never going to change until we start at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue weeding out every functionary who's sole existence is to leak sensitive information to the NYT on our dime. That most likely will not happen in our lifetime.

In truth if truly do want these madmen to attack this country again it will require our very society to change. The apathy which has ruled this nation has to stop. The lack of interest we have toward the daily operation of government has be replaced with accountability. The tolerance of partisan antics and grandstanding needs to stop. Our system is broken and we have to see that it is fixed. We need to carefully elect our officials and throw out the people that aren't working for the good of this nation.

The most important thing that each of must embrace is to never forget who this enemy is. It does not matter why they are. They have proven time and time again that they can not be reasoned with. The only thing that will appease them is the destruction of this nation.

Unfortunately our greatest asset is also our greatest weakness. Our freedoms have to be used responsibly, if we do not we play right into their hands. They understand us better that we understand ourselves. They are committed, they are determined, and they do not forget.... neither should we.

Despicable

Despicable that is the only word I can use for the untoward actions of Democrat leaders in the run up to General Petraeus's testimony before Congress. Before this honorable man could even speak a single word they were discrediting him a a shill for the administration. I have no words for the contempt I have for these so called "leaders" of our congress.

They have no honor and wouldn't know honor if it bit them. Even when they were cornered concerning the full page ad from MoveOn.org denigrating General Petraeus they waffled and feigned outrage. Never in my life have I seen anything like this, it is despicable.

Even after he stated, under oath, that his words were his own, he was still challenged by slimy political worms like Henry Wexler from Florida. Petraeus has literally shed blood for this nation, what has a chump like Wexler even done? And what gives him the right to question the integrity of this man?

It is infuriating that these morons are playing politics with an issue as critical as National Security. We as citizens should hold every last one of them accountable for every statement that they make. WE can not allow these hacks reigns to our military. The expertise to win this conflict is within our military and should be left there.

Out with the Old

The list of has been Congressman getting out of the way to allow new blood just grew again with Chuck Hagel announcing he will retire. Hagel joins John Warner from Virginia and the embattled Larry Craig from Idaho on a growing list of Republican retirees. Is it just a coincidence that these gentleman also backed the immigration debacle?

Nonetheless, whatever the reasons I applaud these men for recognizing that their time has come. These Republicans are worthy of respect. These gentleman have heard the calls of their constituents and realized it is time to step aside. Unlike their compatriots on the left side of the aisle.

The only time you will see a Dem removed from Congress is when they are dragged away kicking and screaming by the FBI or wheeled out on a stretcher. Elderly Robert Byrd can barely speak in a coherent manner yet he continues to occupy his seat from West Virginia. Ted Kennedy has sat in the Senate so long that now his brother's children and grandchildren sit in congressional seats with him.

If we could get Congress to place term limits upon themselves I think that we wouldn't have the ineffective legislative body that we have now. I do not believe the intent of the Constitutional Congress was to create a system where representatives remain in their elected positions for life. And certainly not for them to re-engineer voting districts to make it easier for them to do so.

Senator Bin Laden (D)

Is it just me or did UBL sound like our Senate majority leader. He hit every Dem talking point including global warming. He also slammed the libs in Congress for not ending the war in Iraq acknowledging that they were elected with a mandate to do such. I'm sure that Cindy Sheehan and the moonbats must be proud having a high profile celeb like Bin Laden parroting their platform.

Seriously Folks, It should occur to the antiwar crowd that if a sworn enemy of the United States is agreeing with your cause that you may want to rethink your position. But they won't will they. It doesn't occur to them that parroting the same rhetoric as Bin Laden causes them sound like the traitors.

To them its all about "peace", peace at any cost, regardless of whether its makes you sound like a traitor. Regardless of whether your peace cause does nothing to secure it, instead secures anything but peace. There is no logic or reason to their cause, their doesn't have to be, its all about their cause period.

It should dawn on these people that when a killer like Bin Laden holds the same views as yourself and a number of people walking with you in your protest march that it should give you cause for alarm. A normal sane person would, these people are not plagued with a conscious though. Reversing their postion, means siding with the President, and we can't have that, after all he's the real enemy.

Sold

And I am not a very easy sell. But Fred T has definitely given me something to cheer about. His statements on Leno and his web cast were spot on. I think we have a candidate that sees what America needs and has the guts to speak it. He is the only candidate that I have heard that makes me feel hopeful. I don't know how the critics can say that he lacks Reagan's appeal, he speaks very clearly and very concisely. Now lets see how he does on the big stage.

He will have time to gear up for the next debate and I look forward to seeing him deliver his platform over the next few months. A Rasmussen Poll taken today has already placed him in a statistical tie with Rudy G. Encouraging, but there is a long row to hoe.

I personally think that effect that Fred is having on the competition is seen in the comments from pundits and analysts. They range from negative to out right hateful. It stems from the way he is conducting this campaign.... he isn't following the conventional intellect, he's marching to his own music. And that really upsets the wonks and rainmakers. Keep up the good work Fred!

Minot Mistake

Well it seems my former employer (the USAF) made a small error last Thursday. They accidentally flew a plane load of nuclear weapons across the mid section of country. Seems someone made a mistake, they were not supposed to be live weapons.

Of course the MSM is making it sound like they were carrying raw bars of plutonium strapped to its wings, and radioactive liquids was dripping from its fuselage. The reports say that they were cruise missiles, this I doubt. The ALCM is relatively new to the inventory and it has to be the AGM-69 SRAM which can only be carried internally on a rotary launcher. Its also very unlikely that anyone, other than the idiot who made this mistake, was harmed.

These types of weapons are very difficult to damage, even in an aircraft crash. They are designed to strike targets at mach speed and remain intact long enough to detonate. A plane crash would do little more than dent the casing.

Nonetheless, right now there is a commander in Minot AFB in deep doo doo. You don't make a mistake of this magnitude and keep your command. This guy, gal, is probably on a C-17 headed to Greenland to command a radar site right now.

What the Craig?

Latest word is that Idaho Senator Craig is possibly gearing up for a fight over his arrest in June. According to the Section 1 of the Constitution he has legal ground to have the charge overturned. Congressmen can't be arrested for other than treason, or a felony charge when en route to Congress. A "wide stance" in the restroom hardly qualifies.

I could really care less if Craig stays or goes. I would lean to him going, since he has already signaled that he would. I am sure that the sentiment is shared with Republican Leaders and most of the party in general. It's a mute point, because I am sure the good people of Idaho will dispense with Mr. Craig in 2008.

The sad fact is the long legs that this story has gotten and the relative muted coverage the Hsu campaign allegations have gotten. Who by the way turned himself in and was released on bond, so that you guessed it, he could skip town again. How stupid is our legal system. This clown is probably sitting in Hong Kong safe from the prying eyes of the MSM. The judge that released him on bond should be slapped. This guy was on the lamb since 1991, why on earth would you provide him a chance to run again, this time to a location where he isn't easily retrievable. Way to go, Your Honor.

Presidential Visit

The President is visiting Anbar Province today and the vitriol from the nutroots on the Blogs is disgusting and plentiful. The horrible comments made by these bloggers only reveals the complete lack of relevance they lend to our society. There is no reason for the hateful rhetoric these morons spew. To what end do these foolish people think that their statements lend to the overall discourse.

Its sad that this type of hatred is espoused and tolerated by these sites. Some of the statements I've read are borderline threats and tecnically illegal. But Hey its just Bush, who cares? This is the prevalent attitude among the left wing nuts. To these people respect for the office means nothing, its all about hating the man that currently fills it. Aren't the right wingers supposed to be the haters?

I have never seen statements made by right wing bloggers that even compare to the filth of the left. Of course they hide their nonsense under the mantle of "comedy". Their favorite lines; "its just a joke", or "we are really being serious". I am sorry there comes a point when jokes are more than humor. Especially when there is nothing funny with what they are saying.

Schools in Session

And so will be Congress on Tuesday. This means that the maneuvering for the Democrats over the Iraq War can begin again. By all accounts and many liberal ones to boot, the new strategy is working in the Iraq theater. But that is going to matter little to the defeatist of this Congress and country that want us out of Iraq.

The strategy of the antiwar caucus is clear ignore the good things happening and trumpet the bad. Its the same tactic all politicians use, propaganda. Pick a single talking point and beat it to death until Americans begin to believe it is true.

I would like to believe that General Petraeus will be able quiet the naysayers when he reports to the Congress on September 15th. I am realistic enough to know that it won't happen. The real question is if enough turncoat Republicans will jump ship in order to give Democrats the majority they need. That too seems to be an unlikely event.

It looks like for at least the short term the strategy in Iraq will remain intact. Its unlikely that the Congress will de-fund the war. But with the progress in the strategy so far that would not have much support, including the left, who have had defections on the debate. Its going to be very interesting to watch.

Self Inflicted Economic Pressure

The old adage is if you repeat something enough its bound to come true. That seems to be exactly what is happening with our economy. Even though all the indicators point to good economic growth the pessimists are out in full battle regalia over the housing market. Is it just me or does anyone else remember 18% mortgage rates?

The sub prime market is the root of this nonsense, a market that is small compared to millions of mortgage customers in America, but large because of the money financial institutions have in it. Because greed won out during the housing boom of the last few years, we now face problems because banks loaned money to individuals they should not have. Additionally, marketeers and individuals seeking to make a quick buck by flipping real estate now find themselves unable to cover their margins. It all amounts to a mess, but not the end of the world.

Even though democrat pundits would have us believe the bottom is dropping out, the Dow remains solid, volatile, but solid. We aren't seeing a spill over into other sectors of the market and the banks are still loaning money. Albeit they have tightened up their lending standards, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The market is doing as the market does, It is correcting itself.

Even so the MSM is giddy with story after story of how the "crunch" is going to ruin us all. For the nearly 40 years I've been making money I have heard the same thing numerous times, yet never once have I been directly impacted or has it cost me my life savings. It all comes down to being smart with your finances, which unfortunately a wide margin of we Americans aren't.

Its almost hypocritical to damn Congress for spending like a drunken sailor when the majority of Americans are doing the same thing. We as a nation constantly rack up billions of dollars in unneeded personal debt each year. Many times using credit to buy things we can't really afford. And when the first payment comes due, whine because we can't afford to live.

I have no sympathy for anyone who lives in a $2000.00 trailer so that they can barely afford the payments on a $45000.00 vehicle. Or someone who buys a new HDTV when they should be putting that money aside for the future, then scream when the future gets here and they have no money.

The bottom line is Americans need to get smarter financially from top to bottom. We need to apply conservative financial principles and stop spending ourselves into oblivion. If we did we wouldn't have to worry about half of things we do right now. There are always going to be those that through misfortune, not necessarily of their own, who will need help. But the vast majority of problems we face are created by own lack of vision and unwillingness to make the hard choices.

If we were more intelligent with our money then perhaps we wouldn't think we need socialized medicine, or welfare. If we applied conservatism properly these needs could be met without trillion dollar entitlement programs. Work = Money, Money * Financial Prudence = Peace of Mind.

Just like the overall market if we tell ourselves the situation is bad, then bad is all we will see. It applies to our own finances also. No matter how difficult we find the situation we still have choices. We can either make a bad one or a good. We are fortunate enough to live in country that not only allows it, but is founded upon it.