SamSaid!

Mike Blagocevich (Blago, henceforth) is now the Governor of Illinois  –  at least for the moment. His stupidity is obvious  –  to say nothing of his filthy mouth.  But his defense is astounding when he says “I have done nothing wrong”.  In pondering over that defense stratagem, maybe there is a rationale that makes sense. Chicago has long been recognized  as the sewer of political corruption and it just may be that selling or auctioning off political jobs is and has been commonplace over the years. That would certainly explain Blago’s defiance —  “why pick on me?? And if is a Senate seat, so what? What is the big deal”? ?

My experience in Illinois/Chcago politics dates back to 1960 when Jack Kennedy and Bobby came to meet Mayor Daley to plan campaign strategy in Chicago. In order to guarantee secrecy they got a small boat and motored offshore a mile to keep away the press and other snoopers.  After an hour or so they noticed an ominous thunder storm approaching and headed for shore. Then they noticed that the boat only had one life preserver. Honoring their Democratic principles, all three agreed to a vote to see who would get the life preserver. Mayor Daley won 6-2.

The question now is whether Blago will blow the whistle and take a few down with him.

It is said that the darkest hour occurs just before dawn. If so, the Repubs can take heart. There are two rays of light on the horizon  –  Sarah Pilan and Mike Huckabee. Sarah is speaking in support of Repubs all over the country and is being very well received. The Dems may sneer, but all of their efforts to destroy her have failed.  Her winning ways have won support from both Rs and Ds, and she likely made the difference in the Georgia Senatorial runoff race that scuttled the Dem hopes for a veto proof Senate. Huckabee now has his own one hour TV show on Sundays evenings (try it if you haven’t tuned in). He’s pretty good even when not playing his guitar. If nothing else, the show will build on name recognition across the USA.

These two might not be the smartest duo or the best campaigners, but they have a lot of appeal to most Americans. It is a long way till the fall of 2012, but candidate appeal can  offset Slick Willies or Bama wordsmithing, particularly when the Dems provide a lot of ammunition. Sarah and Huck  –  keep your eyes on them.

I was a little kid when I first heard the story about killing the goose that laid the golden egg. For a number of years I simply regarded the old story as a fable, but then in adulthood the point of the story became clear. Capitalism is  by far – the best  socio-eco system in the history of civilization. More good has come from this system than anything else conceived by man. It has one failing   —- while benefiting 85-90% of the populace, there are others for whatever reason who are left behind. Now our left wing friends are our to undermine or destroy capitalism because the fruits of success are not distributed “equally” —  i.e., to  the have-nots of society. I don’t quarrel with the noble idea of caring for our fellow man. But I strongly disagree with the notion that the solution is “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

The taxing authority is a very powerful tool of government. Taking from one to give it to another is a major step toward killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Loading the burdens of society on the backs of business operations has its limits in terms of finance, quality, spirit, pay and all of the other benefits of employment. “Share the wealth”, they say. That is a nice euphamism for the State to decide how you live your life. The State will decide how much of your income you can keep. Our capitalism system can carry only so much of the cost of government and when the cost burden gets too high the Goose will die and there willno longer be any golden eggs. Too dramatic??  I don’t think so. As long as our politicos continue to blame and bad-mouth business for the ills of society the downhill slide becomes steeper. the old axioms still hold true   —-tax, tax, tax –  spend, spend, spend,  —  Tax, Tax, Tax.   And the left wingers give it the ho-hum. “Its only tax money  –  doesn’t belong to anyone.”

Now that we are blessed (?) with the leadership of Bam Bam for the next 4 years, I am reminded that there are two types of Presidents. Do-ers and Talkers. Mr Obama did not rise to his present station based on a long string of achievements or accomplishments.  His track record is as transparent and shallow as a sheet of seranwrap. There is no record of “Do-ing” either in the Illinois phase or in the US Senate. He is a Talker  –  and a good one. Sometimes (Reagan, Churchill)  Talkers can become good Do-ers  –  but not very often.     Anytime a President depends largely upon his skills as a persuader he is skating on thin ice, especially in a age of wide-open communications in the mass media. Harry Truman got it right, “The buck stops here”. And remember, we are still cleaning up the messes of the last Prince of Glib.

In our political system in the TV Age, the best Pitch-man almost always wins  –  Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton— and so it is with Obama.  The game plan  —  “tell ‘em anything . The idea is to get elected. Explain it away later”.     A Uniter?
He deserves a chance, but keep your hands on your wallet. You can’t get tax money from people who don’t pay taxes in the first place.

From the time I initially became eligible to vote, I have never failed to cast my vote in State or National elections. Some times I knew that my vote would not make a difference, i.e., “my guy” had a big safe margin and didn’t need my vote, or else he was so arrears that one vote made no difference. But I voted anyway. I strongly support the idea that there should be standards of voting eligibility and that fraudulent voting be dealt with strongly.  Each time I approach the ballot box, I wonder whether some derelict will cancel my vote via $25 bucks and a pint as the reward for a “friendly vote. Mistakes occurr and I recognize those few incidents. But the idea that unscrupulous politicians try to forge or buy votes really rankles me.  Election after election we read or hear about phony ballots and our leaders wring their hands and profess outrage. But in the election aftermath not much seems to be done about it  —  see ACORN. Those who might profit from voting fraud are not much interested in changing the rules.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with a national requirement for a picture ID as a voting requirement. Inconvenient to some?  So??  If democracy requires safeguards to prevent fraud and dishonesty,  Is that unreasonable ?  If I need a photo ID to cash a check or register my car Is there something wrong with that?  Or should I expect the government to tell me, don’t sweat it – it doesn’t happen that often. I say, if it happens one time it might be my vote that is negated.  Am I off the reservation on this one??

In election campaigns or other forms of public debate, sooner or later one or the other of the combatants will play the “race card”. You would think that after decades of debate, preferences, education, statutes and court decisions, some of the heat would leave this sore point. Not so.  Some things never change.

Here in 2008 we have a prime example. If 90% of blacks vote for Obama, that is a clear example of the activism of an informed electorate; but if 70% of white people vote for McKain, that clearly shows racial bias.   Everybody got that ??

Taxation is at the heart of the BamBam/McCain campaigns. It comes down to individual freedom versus share the wealth. More precisely it comes down to robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Dems are clever word-smiths in addressing their plan of action. They prefer, “fairness”, “equity”, “care for your fellow man”,etc, etc. There is only one term that makes them gag  –  redistribution of income. They detest even mentioning that phrase and you will rarely hear any of them even saying the word, re-distribution — even though that is exactly what they mean.  They excoriate the “rich” and routinely condemn those who are successful. Is taking money from one group and giving to another group fairness or is a form of theft with government support. It isn’t enough that we have progressive taxation and that 40% of citizens pay ZERO income tax. The tax structure is progressive only to those who pay any taxes at all, and the heaviest burden falls on the upper income levels. And that is bad??

No, the Democrats find no fault with progressive taxation. That just gives them a target for further confiscation of income to distribute as they see fit. But you will never hear them call it what it is. In talking to the so called middle class, just ask them if they think it is fair to take money  you earned and give it to someone who didn’t earn it and then call it “fair”. Why work when you can get it for free?

Redistribution of income. See how often BamBam uses that term to justify his eco policies.  Be sure to get a comfortable chair.

Sarah Pilan entered the major  leagues of politics with a big splash at the Republican National Convention, and has been in the public spotlight ever since, not only on the campaign trail  but on TV as well. Although relatively inexperienced, she is bright, spirited, knowledgeable, and refreshing. The Democrats at first didn’t know what to do about her but then quickly reverted to style by launching  a media attack upon her  –  personally.  It was broadside from bloggers, websites, left wing journalists and the captive TV networks –  CBS,NBC, MSNBC, ABC, and a wide range of magazines. MISSION:  Destroy Sarah.  Keep BamBam out of the line of fire, but plant the stories and destroy Sarah.

For the Dems, she presents  a damaging image and a potentially large obstacle on the road to socialism.  Solution  –  destroy Sarah  quickly.

It may not be that easy because her presence rang a bell with millions of viewers/citizens/voters. Maybe she won’t offer enough to carry John McCain to victory, but she won’t disappear anytime soon. If she decides to remain in politics, she will be a prominent figure for years to come.

The Dems did themselves proud at their Convention in St.Louis — good enough to make their Hollywood producers joyful. It was not as good as the Beijing Olympics, but that was a tough act to follow. The main fare at any convention is speeches, and here is my take on the prominent ones, remembering that this is the occasion when all of the pitchmen play one-upmanship

HILLARY — Best speech she has ever given. Content, style, delivery — good job. Gotta give her credit Her message to the delegates, “I will support Obama, but you picked the wrong candidate.”

Bill — He hasn’t lost his touch and was totally comfortable, except that being #2 is not his idea of having fun. He relished every minute of being center stage.

Joe Biden — Obama didn’t do him any favors by putting him after Bill on the Agenda. He becomes that familiar fellow, “Ole whatzzizname”. But he was well scripted.

The Repubs went as expected in St. Paul untill the bombshell went off. Early on, The VP selection of the Gov of Alaska was a big question mark — at least until she had a chance to speak

SARA — She hit a home run and changed the whole outlook on the election

JOHN MCKAIN — Certainly one of his better efforts. Not a spellbinder, but a clear message well delivered. Give him a two-base hit, maybe a triple.

The Dems don’t know what to do about Sara, but the bad mouthing has begun. That’s risky business for the Dems, and Obama knows that.

What do we do about our dependence on foreign oil? Right now, we import about 70 % of the oil we use in the USA — and most of that comes from the middle east. There are really only 2 choices available to us — either import less or produce more domestically. Since we have the capacity and the ability to produce more ourselves, that by itself would reduce the amount needed via imports. I don’t think it takes a mathematical genius to conclude that producing more of our own oil will solve several problems — or at least go a long way toward solution. Common sense tells me that is the way to go. But in Washington and among our left wing elites, common sense isn’t all that common. Even if alternative energy sources are developed in the next 10 years, we will still need huge amounts of oil until we catch up with new technologies.

Most of us are sensitive to environmental concerns, but not to the extent of ostrich like “greens” who seem oblivious to some certainties that are plain to see. There is no way to get immediate relief from $4 gasoline. But we can put in motion the measures to get us to long term remedy. Drilling more of our own oil is an intermediate solution that is completely in our hands. We can, and should, pursue wind power, bio fuels, etc, but forseeably the primary energy sources will still be fossil fuels and nuclear power. Right now, the alternative energy push is closer to a pipe dream than a reality. They may be worth a lot of research, but don’t ho;d your breath. Personally, I am not comfortable living at the mercy of the oil kingdoms of the middle east, and the sooner we can achieve a high degree of energy independence, the better off we all will be. Drilling is not the full answer, but it is a big step forward.

Alas, it all comes down to common sense — a commodity that seems to be increasingly uncommon.