Reformed Hippie

Now that the Obama revelers have had a chance to settle down, drink their tomato juice and take their aspirin, I hope that they are ready to roll up their sleeves and begin sacrificing.  Yeah.  That is what Obama say we all have to do:

It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

That means all of us will have to sacrifice… but what?  Money… you bet!  Remember “spread the wealth”?  How about sacrificing freedom?  Probably.  But he really does not say what we have to sacrifice.  But I bet the masses fawning over Obama’s charismatic spreeching never dreamed that they would have to sacrifice.

And if that was not enough he is now attempting to awake the drooling masses by bringing them to this ultimate reality that Obama had reached earlier this year… he can’t really do everything he said he could, when he would do it:

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were…  The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

Whoaa… setbacks??? False starts???  Government can’t solve every problem???  Say it ain’t so.  We may not get there in one year or even in one term???  The campaign for 2012 has already started.  And if he wins in 2012 he will still be saying we may not get there in one year or even my last term.

America… you wanted him.  Now you are stuck with him.

Ironic that before the ink dries on the millions of ballots cast that the world is already beginning to feel out Obama’s boundries.  Has the testing already started?  Perhaps… but no doubt the quizes are being assembled.

UPDATE 10:28AM - Russia to base missiles on EU border:

Russia will place short-range missile systems on the EU’s eastern border to counter planned US missile defence installations in Eastern Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.

“Iskander missile systems will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region to neutralise the missile defence system,” Medvedev said.

“There will also be radio-electronic neutralisation of the new US missile defence installations from the Kaliningrad region,” he added.

The United States is pursuing plans to build a radar base in the Czec Republic and install interceptor missiles in Poland to counter what it describes as a missile threat from “rogue states” such as Iran.

Russia has said there is no such threat and that the installations are in fact a direct threat to its security. High-level negotiations between the US and Russia on the installations have ended with no compromise.

Israel and Hamas are at it again in Gaza…

A barrage of rockets hit Gaza-belt communities Wednesday morning after IDF forces engaged Hamas gunmen inside the Strip. It was the worst outbreak of violence since a shaky cease-fire took effect in June. At least 30 rockets were fired into Israel, three of which landed in the western Negev, damaging several greenhouses. Two rockets fell in Ashkelon, one of which hit a residential neighborhood, sending three people into shock.

Israel ordered the Gaza crossings closed following the attacks, but while tensions ran high, Israeli officials said they remained committed to the cease-fire with Hamas, stressing that the operation was an isolated one.

Iran takes notice of our presence…

Iran’s military has warned U.S. forces in Iraq that U.S. helicopters had been spotted flying close to the Iranian border and that Tehran would respond to any violation of its airspace, state radio reported on Wednesday.

The statement from Iran’s army headquarters comes just hours after Americans elected their next president, Barack Obama, who has said he would toughen sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks with Tehran.

Hold onto your garters Gertrude…

Tags: Gaza, Iran, Israel

The election is over and Obama, unless a miracle gets uncovered, has won.  What kind of miracle could unseat him?  Well now that the election is over his birth certificate will be unsealed by the state of Hawaii and we will hopefully be able to judge for ourselves whether ‘the one’ is qualified to ascend to the throne.  Short of that I don’t suppose any legal challenge exists.

America has taken a drastic turn downward yesterday.  Conservatism is now in exile and Americans are under siege by a ruthless bunch of liberals who are ready to tax and spend American in oblivion.

If we let them.  This is a new era.  Yesterday’s election was more of a repudiation of the Bush administration than anything else.  Yes, race had a lot to do with it.  Electing this countries first black man to the high office was the end all.  Nothing else mattered.  But the hate of the Bush administration drove this election.

In the end it is still up to Americans to fight greed, corruption and the liberal agenda in Washington.  For now, the liberals have the floor.  It is their responsibility now… everything is on their shoulders.  Let’s see what they do with it.  Let’s reign them in.

Tags: Americans under siege

This was the Real Clear Politics averages as of the early morning hours on Election Day. Let’s see how close these folks came to being right at the end of the day.

Real Clear Politics Average as of 11/4/2008

Poll	Date	Sample	MoE	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	Spread
RCP Average	10/29 - 11/03	--	--	52	44.2	Obama +7.8
Marist	11/03 - 11/03	804 LV	4	52	43	Obama +9
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby	11/01 - 11/03	1201 LV	2.9	54	43	Obama +11
FOX News	11/01 - 11/02	971 LV	3	50	43	Obama +7
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl	11/01 - 11/02	1011 LV	3.1	51	43	Obama +8
IBD/TIPP	10/31 - 11/03	1014 LV	3.4	52	44	Obama +8
Rasmussen Reports	10/31 - 11/02	3000 LV	2	52	46	Obama +6
Gallup	10/31 - 11/02	2472 LV	2	55	44	Obama +11
Diageo/Hotline	10/31 - 11/02	887 LV	3.3	50	45	Obama +5
CBS News	10/31 - 11/02	714 LV	--	51	42	Obama +9
ABC News/Wash Post	10/30 - 11/02	2470 LV	2.5	53	44	Obama +9
Ipsos/McClatchy	10/30 - 11/02	760 LV	3.6	53	46	Obama +7
CNN/Opinion Research	10/30 - 11/01	714 LV	3.5	53	46	Obama +7
GWU/Battleground	10/29 - 11/02	800 LV	3.5	50	44	Obama +6
Pew Research	10/29 - 11/01	2587 LV	2	52	46	Obama +6

KEEP OBAMA OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE!  VOTE SMART.

Why do we need to keep Obama out of the White House?

1. "THE ONE major reason I will not vote for Obama"
2. "Obama’s tax “strike zone” shrinking"
3. "Obama contends Constitution has a fundamental flaw"
4. "Jeremiah Wright caught in scandal"
5. "Pelosi now in lock-step with Obama on energy"
6. "Hillary and Barack back peddling on Iraq"
7. "Jeremiah Wright interview March 2007"
8. "Trinity Church Website Edited"

Nuff said.

Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain

Update 11:22AM:

Now Fox is covering this somewhat… they are quoting Sarah Palin as saying ““Now a couple points on this: One is that here again, why is the audio tape just now surfacing?”… because your researchers did not uncover it until now.  This audio clip has been on the web since January 2008.  Shooting off your mouth before knowing all the facts is perhaps the reason you guys may loose the election. Your staff is a day late and a dollar short and has been trying to play catchup for quite a while.

---

I saw an item on Drudge this morning entitiled Audio: Obama Tells Paper He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry…. Upon investigating further this is untrue.  If the so-called media is going to write something then they should at least get their facts straight.

The link on Drudge goes to an article here that describes an interview between Obama and the San Francisco Chronicle back in January.  In it the article quotes Obama as saying this:

“If somebody wants to build a coal power plant they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted”.

Now where did Obama say that he will bankrupt the coal industry like Drudge contends. The fact is he did not say it.  What he did say was that whomever builds a a coal power plant will go bankrupt… not the entire industry… just the one person he is talking about.

In the larger context what Obama is saying is that if you build a new coal power plant you must build it in compliance with clean coal technology.

And by the way Sarah Palin… he is not comfortable with it.

Tags: coal, Obama, truth

Why does McCain bring this up now?  He is trying to add Khalidi onto the already signifcant stack of questionable relationships.

Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin accused the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday of protecting Barack Obama by withholding a videotape of the Democrat attending a 2003 party for a Palestinian-American professor and critic of Israel. The paper said it had written about the event in April and would not release the tape because of a promise to the source who provided it.

This tends to make him look desperate. McCain needs to stick to policy issues. If this relationship with Khalidi were so important he should have started hammering on it back in April or May… when the LA Times article was first published. Where were his competitive researchers? At Dunkin Donuts?

This ought to water under the bridge and the McCain camp needs to just forget about it.

Tags: John McCain

Most baseball managers/coaches are not all that concerned that a given umpire’s strike zone is tight or loose… whether it benefits batters or pitchers.  The most important thing to both teams during the game is not the size of the strike zone but whether or not the umpire keeps the strike zone consistent.  Keep it the same for both teams during the game.  If the strike zone wobbles then the umpire is in for a very long and probably unpleasant game.

Obama’s “strike zone” on taxes is shrinking… mid game. Obama’s position in the past was that he would raise taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year and individuals making more than $200,000. But a couple of days ago he seemed to have changed that. I have waited for an explanation of his shift but have not heard anything to explain it. The other day during one of his rallies and according to his “Defining moment” ad, he now says that taxes will be lowered on “working Americans” earning $200,000 per year or lower.

Then Biden opens his mouth and adds to the confusion… he says that the tax cuts are for families earning $150,000 a year or less.

So which is it?  Where is the consistency?  Don’t Obama and Biden talk to each other?  Are they working off the same set of talking points?  Evidently not.  Or they can’t articulate the facts.  In any case, the strike zone is changing and we as Americans can’t tell what to expect.

This all goes back to my post from the other day ("THE ONE major reason I will not vote for Obama")… you just cannot trust what he says.

Tags: Barack Obama, tax cuts

After watching this election run on and on and on and on… I am really ready for this election to be over.  Though they do not like to admit it, even the Energizer bunny will eventually run out of power… eventually.

So on the eve of Obama’s big television event that has cost him some big bucks… $1 million for each of NBC, CBS and Fox (not sure if MSNBC got paid since it is a subsidiary of NBC) for 30 minutes of more campaign stuff, I have taken some time to reflect upon all of the what has been happening. And after all the speechifying and politicking that has been going on… after all the dust settles down… there is one major reason why I cannot vote Obama… TRUST.  I cannot trust the guy.

Case in point… and I know this is old news, but it does prove my point.

This from a March 1st New York Times article:

The promises by Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, are an effort to resuscitate part of the ailing public financing system for presidential campaigns….

On Thursday, a spokesman for Mr. McCain said that he would take up Mr. Obama on a proposal for an accord between the two major party nominees to rely just on public financing for the general election.

Such a pact would eliminate any financial edge one candidate might have and limit each campaign to $85 million for the general election. The two candidates would have to return any private donations that they had raised for that period.

Mr. Obama laid out his proposal last month to the Federal Election Commission, seeking an opinion on its legality. The commissioners formally approved it on Thursday.

The manager of Mr. McCain’s campaign, Terry Nelson, said he welcomed the decision.

“Should John McCain win the Republican nomination, we will agree to accept public financing in the general election, if the Democratic nominee agrees to do the same,” Mr. Nelson said.

A spokesman for Mr. Obama, Bill Burton, said, “We hope that each of the Republican candidates pledges to do the same.”

Mr. Burton added that if nominated Mr. Obama would “aggressively pursue an agreement” with whoever was his opponent.

Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama have backed changing campaign finances.

So it is painfully obvious that each candidate agreed to accept public financing.  But then we all know what happened later… from a June 20th LA Times article:

Democrat Barack Obama today rejected public financing for his presidential campaign, changing an earlier stand and becoming the first major party candidate to drop out of the system since it began after the Watergate scandal.

In a prepared statement, Obama said his campaign would give up more than $84 million that would have been available for the general election because he believes the public financing system is broken.

“It’s not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections,” Obama said. “But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system.”

Early in the primary season, Obama had said he would use public financing if his Republican opponent did. But that was before the presumptive Democratic nominee harnessed the Internet and became a fund-raising powerhouse.

I know people will say it is Obama’s campaign and he has every right to run it the way he wants to. And that is true. But this reversal points out two major character flaws about Obama:

1. He changed his mind about public financing without cause.  I know each of the candidates have been accused of flip-flopping over various issues.  And I have no problem with candidates changing their mind when presented with new information that they previously were unaware of.  We all change our minds.  But in this case, what was Obama’s reason?  He says “the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who’ve become masters at gaming this broken system.”.  BUT HE KNEW THAT WHEN HE MADE THE PROMISE TO ACCEPT PUBLIC FINANCING!!!! This was not news.  It was just as broken in March as it was in June.  This speaks volumes to Obama’s character.  This is why we are required to “show our work” in math class… we need to show how we arrived at the answer.  It reveals our thinking processes.  In many circumstances the process is more important than the answer.  Obviously Obama’s thinking process is shorted out.
2. Obama is a deceiver. It appears that he will say anything to get elected.  It makes me wonder if he decided to refuse public financing the entire time and to purposefully trick McCain so that he would not be able to outspend Obama.  Perhaps that is a little conspiratorial.  I think the better answer is that he found “ways” of raising a lot more money and would attempt to outspend McCain (the sources of these cumulative $200 or less contributions has yet to be explained fully by Obama).  Obama claims that he will not raise taxes on us working folks.  Can we trust him?  How can we be sure that he will not raise taxes?  We have heard the “read my lips” line before.

It also calls into question his leadership capabilities.  If he cannot weigh the consequences and come to a correct answer (obviously his first answer was incorrect because he changed it three months later), then he lacks the leadership to successfully navigate this country through perilous times.  Period.

You know the story… fool me once bad on you, fool me twice bad on me.  Unless something radical happens between now and election day, my mind is made up.

Tags: Barack Obama, Campaign finance reform, John McCain

I sat in amazement lasty night watching the developing mud bowl during Game 5 of the World Series.  Remarkable.  I guess when things go bad in the country and in the government it just all “trickles down” to the private sector.  And last night it was baseball’s turn.

While watching the mud puddles getting bigger at the end of the fourth inning, with the Phillies leading 2-1, I thought surely after the commercial break the next scene I would see was the tarp being pulled out.  Wrong.  The game continued.  And as the game continued Fox flipped back every once in a while and showed the radar… it was not good.

Between innings it seemed like there were more grounds crew on the field than players.  It was beginning to turn into a circus.  The grounds crew was fighting Mother Nature and loosing.

The worst part was that this was now a complete game.  By the rules (there are no exceptions on the books for playoffs or World Series), if the game were called at the end of 4 1/2 innings the Phillies would win the game and series.  Is this the way to end the ultimate baseball showdown?  They were stuck by the rules.  Bud Selig, the commissioner, could have prevented all of this by stopping the game after the bottom of the fourth.  The rainout would have caused an incomplete game and they would have to start over on a future date.  But Selig did nothing.  What was he waiting on?  The weather to get better?  Yeah… right!

But then during the top of the fifth inning, due to the heroic efforts of B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena, the integrity of baseball was saved when the Rays tied the game 2-2.  Selig and his crew should be kissing the feet of Upton and Pena.  They gave him the opportunity that he needed.  And this time he was smart enough to take advantage of the opening.  On return from the commercial break to start the last half of the fifth inning I saw what I had been waiting for… the tarp being pulled out.

Later Selig said in an interview that he would not have allowed the World Series to end by the rules.  He would have put an ultra-liberal spin on the term “rain delay” and basically delay the resumption of the game even if it meant days.

I had been a High School, Little League and American Legion baseball umpire for 20+ years.  This came should have been called after four complete innings.  In kids leagues, you do it to protect the players.  Nobody wants to see a young player injured due to a unplayable field.  But even in the Major Leagues the players need to be protected.  Things were so bad that Phillies All-Star shortstop wandered all around the field trying to catch a wind-blown popup.  Ultimately he dropped the ball.  I could just see the headlines now… player and team sues MLB over season ending injury to a multi-gazillion dollar player.

I guess that old adage is true… an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.