Isn’t it funny how there are times in your life that everything seems to go so right.  Things just seem to happen when they should happen, and how they should happen.  And then there are other times when you just can’t seem to catch a break.  Timing is everything.  For two years during his very very long campaign, Barack Obama could do no wrong.  He said the right thing at the right time.  He was in the right place at the right time.  I mean when you look at that campaign, it was a thing of beauty. 

It was just a matter of time before the odds caught up with him.  Eventually everyone has to experience the “ebb” of the ebb and flow of life.  It all started happening in the late spring.  Barack Obama’s timing just seems to have been thrown off a bit.  First there was his “deadline” for passage of healthcare reform.   Remember, “We will pass a healthcare package before the August break”.  Ouch! 

Then there was that ill-timed vacation at the $20 million dollar vacation house on Martha’s Vineyard.  This was not long after it was revealed that unemployment was over 9.5%, and more than likely headed for 10%.  Ok… let’s give the Obama’s the benefit of the doubt.  The place was probably booked back when everyone really believed that the stimulus would create jobs; who cares if they were all temporary government jobs.   I’m sure if he had cancelled the vacation house he would have lost a pretty hefty deposit.  Oh well...“Let them eat cake”.

How about that pesky report from General  McCrystal asking for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan, which are vital for victory.  This comes just as Obama is getting major heat from his base over healthcare reform.  “The forgotten war” is becoming the war he would love to forget.

If that’s not bad enough, his new friend in Iran, Ahmadinejad, decided he did not like being scolded by the new president, so he conducted war games this past weekend which consisted of shooting off a long range missile that would be capable of hitting allies in parts of Europe.   This came just a few days after Obama gave his “tough-guy” speech warning of grave consequences, directed toward the Iranian president.  It was as if Ahmadinejad was saying “eewww I’m really scared”.  Double Ouch!!

You can chalk all of these events up to Obama having a few really bad months.   All you have to do is look at the polls.  What I can’t figure out is why this master politician keeps doing things that deliberately make him look bad.  Just a few days after we are all shocked by that blatant school indoctrinization tapes, he tells us that we should be forcing our children to spend more hours at school to make them better able to compete in the real world.  How about let’s fix the curriculum, Barry, and start teaching the kids what they need to learn instead of trying to “home grow” future little Marxists.  And now the "le morceau de résistance"; Iran is one step from war with Israel, our brave young soldiers in Afghanistan are feeling deserted, the left is attempting to co-opt the healthcare debate, and our president decides his most pressing duty this week is to go to Copenhagen to make sure the 2016 Olympics are awarded to his hometown of Chicago.  Really?

If all of this weren’t so serious it would be funny.  Our timing is way off.  We’re dragging our feet on serious foreign policy issues that need to be dealt with now, and we are rushing through a domestic agenda that could certainly wait especially since most Americans hate it.  It’s definitely time for the United States to get the “flow” of our ebb and flow back.

A lot of people I talk to look back at the Clinton presidency with a bit of a chuckle.  There are now more jokes about his presidency than sobering analyses of just what his eight years in office meant to the United States.  A decade is enough time to help us forget at least some of the exasperation most of us felt toward him especially during his second term.  I do however think it is important to go back and look at the damage those eight years did to the presidency and to our country.  Through his actions Bill Clinton denigrated the office of the presidency and brought legitimacy to immoral behavior.  However I think the most damaging part of that era was the birth of a new style of politics on the national scene.  I'm talking about the "Chicago-style; end justifies the means style" that is being so masterfully orchestrated by Rahm Emmanuel, David Axelrod and Barack Obama.  I remember the frustration I felt during the nineties when I would hear a bald-faced lie from the Clinton administration and know; if they say it enough it's going to become the truth.  He started out just like Barack Obama, campaigning on the "fact" that under his plan the middle class would not pay more taxes.  He constantly misrepresented deficit figures, and talked of reducing the size of government while he was actually growing it....Sound familiar?  And don't get me started on what the definition of the word "is" is.  My point here is we've seen nothing but changes in rhetoric from Barack Obama since the day he hit the campaign trail.  He ran on one set of policies to defeat Hillary Clinton (which is quite ironic), and then adjusted to counter the McCain plan.  Now that he's in office he has adopted some of the very policies he so fervently ran against.  All just so he can say that he, the mighty Barack, was the one who was finally able to get healthcare passed.  Who cares if he has to tell a few lies (excuse me, that’s a little harsh…misrepresent the truth) because once again the end justifies the means.  After battling all summer to get our voices heard over healthcare, it appears the far left has re-loaded and is attempting to slip into the healthcare bill many of the things that Barack Obama “promised” would not be there.  The question is…will he once again change directions and pretend he never said what he did; or will finally show a spine and start looking out for the best interests of his country?  What do you think?

How many times have you heard the complaints about "pork"?  It's so unpopular with the American people practically every politician who ran for office in 2008 ran on a "clean up the pork" platform.  Even one of the kings of pork, Barack Obama, promised us that the days of pork-laden bills were over.  With all due respect sir, "You Lie!  Just look at your first two major appropriations bills".  You don't have to spend much time on the Internet to find a program that is funded with millions of our tax dollars that is totally useless.  One such program that I find to be particularly egregious was set up under the guise of helping our soldiers who return from war.  The Citizen Soldier Support Program was the brainchild of North Carolina representative David Price.  It started in March 2004 with a $10 million dollar grant to UNC Chapel Hill to create a support program for NC National Guard members who return home after being deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Great cause right?  Right.  The truth is, five years later and $7.3 million dollars later they've done virtually nothing for our fighting men.  Their big POP (proof of performance) is a database of NC mental health providers who have experience treating military related disorders.  I'm sorry but that's a lot to pay for a database.  A bulk of the money has gone to the university for overhead.  In addition four of the eight full time employees of this plan are paid in excess on $100,000.  One deputy director "commutes" from Northern Virginia and has been reimbursed over $70,000 for travel expenses.  Most people would look at this and say this is "chump change".  Granted $10 million dollars is less than a drop in the government spending bucket.  But this is an indicator of the systemic problem that has been magnified by the current administration and congress.  If we do not begin to deconstruct the spending of this government at the lowest level, they're going to continue along the same road.  The administration and leaders in congress look at the American people and wonder why there is such vitriol outside the DC beltway.  The truth is, many of us who formerly sat on the sidelines and "just shook our heads and took it" because we have the important jobs of raising and providing for our kids, have had enough.  Times are tough.  We see our friends and neighbors hurting due to an economy that was ruined by the elitists in Washington.  Now they want to "up the ante" and take on even more control.  My friends, elections have consequences.  Let's keep the heat turned up.  The number one priority of practically everyone in DC, is self preservation.  Don't for a minute believe they put our interests first.  However, if they believe that an unpopular vote will put their job in jeopardy; trust me they'll listen.

I hope so.  Seriously.  It’s worrisome to me that Deeds’ most recent effort to bring down the McDonnell campaign was enough to pull him statistically even in some polls.  When you think about it, the attacks by Deeds over social issues have been an attempt to shock voters into voting AGAINST McDonnell.  No reasons are being given to vote FOR Deeds.  Doug Wilder, the FOP, the NRA, the ASPCA , a slew of business organizations, and many, many others who have endorsed McDonnell recognize that.   Which leads to my worry; this governors’ race is important to the democrats on many fronts.  First, the sitting governor of Virginia is the DNC chairman.  A loss here would be a huge embarrassment, not to mention the likely end to Tim Kaine’s political career.  Also, this is one of the first two governors’ races since the mighty Obama was swept into office.  It can certainly be considered a “bell-weather” for  2010.  I look at the tactics the people who currently run the democrat party use to get their candidates elected.  It tells me that since they are backed into a corner right now (they have a candidate who has no policy agenda and resonates only with tried and true democrats) their level of attacks will increase in the coming weeks.  They must hammer McDonnell on why NOT to vote him.  Up to this point, I was confident that most Virginians were tired of these tactics, but after seeing last week’s poll numbers it has me concerned.   McDonnell should continue doing what he’s doing…building confidence among Virginians that he will lead us to better days.  It’s the people of the Commonwealth that have the job here.  Let’s not allow ourselves to be “macaca-ed”.

Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee voted down an amendment to the health care bill that would have delayed voting on the final bill for 72 hours (so they could, you know, READ THE THING) and also require a full CBO cost estimate prior to the bill being voted on.  In fact, the only democrat on the committee who agreed was Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.  Anyone who is represented by the following senators should be lighting up the phone lines:

Max Baucus - Montana
Jay Rockefeller - West Virginia
Kent Conrad - North Dakota
Jeff Bingaman - New Mexico
John Kerry -Massachusetts
Ron Wyden - Oregon
Chuckie Shumer - New York
Debbie Stabenow - Michigan
Maria Cantwell - Washington
Bill Nelson - Florida
Robert Menendez - New Jersey
Thomas Carper - Delaware

All summer long at town hall meetings and rallies we heard the chants "Read the bill!  Read the bill!"  Why would they not do this?  Because, they know the more people see of these bills being put forth, the more they hate them.  John Kerry calls it "fundamentally a delay tactic".  Well Mr. Kerry, I ask you, "with something so important...What's the Hurry!  Unless your hiding something."  Which brings me to my next point.  As a compromise the democrats agreed to post the bill in "conceptual" language, so all of us idiots outside the beltway can understand it.  Well it would be nice not to have to wade through all of that unnecessary "legalese" that they insist upon using.  However, I personally don't have an ounce of trust for these guys, so I'd like to see the real thing.  Conceptualization (is that a word?) of the bill just might leave out a few  of those pesky little "Trojan horses".

The house has there own version of this fight.  A bill that would require all non-emergency legislation to be posted on-line for three days before a vote, has been blocked by Nancy Pelosi.  A discharge petition is being circulated around the house to bring it to a vote, but it needs 218 signatures and with only 177 republicans in the house it may be an uphill battle....UNLESS, some "blue dogs" start getting pressure from home.  The arrogance of the democrats on issues like this is disgusting.  It's my hope that we can scream loud enough to finally be heard.

It seems that the environmentalists in this country have it in for the people who feed our citizens, and the democrats in the senate are right there with them.  Yesterday the senate voted down a measure that would suspend using federal dollars to restrict water to California's Central Valley region.  We are in the midst of an economic crisis that is now being driven by unemployment; and what does the senate do?  They kill a measure that will save an estimated 40,000 jobs!  40,000 jobs the state of California cannot afford to lose, because that state faces budget woes worst than most, due to years of this kind of endless social engineering by the left.  This doesn't mention the fact that this region produces a high percentage of the fruits and vegetables that we assume will be in the grocery stores when we need them.  Now we can count on shortages and high prices.  Of course, our own senators; Virginia's dynamic duo, those friends of the small businessmen voted with their buddies Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer.  I know $1-$2 billion dollars doesn't seem like a lot of money these days.  But ask someone in the Central Valley if it's a lot.  That's how much money they stand to lose from an unnecessary drought.  Our fellow citizens are starving at the hands of our government.  Its not going to end here.  As the environmentalists gain power they are going to further encroach upon our lives.  The congress must take another look at the Endangered Species Act before working Americans become the "endangered species".

The democrats are determined to come at us with so many of these big government, budget busting bills that they hope one will slip through, so they can say that their agenda is not a total failure.  Plus Obama has set another one of his famous deadlines; the December 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.  Heaven forbid "the chosen one" show up at the conference with all of his world leader pals without his contribution to this utterly ridiculous idea.  I can't believe he's wasting his time by going.  Barbara Boxer, (the senate's Nancy Pelosi; or the woman in the senate you most love to hate), has decided to release the energy bill from the Environment and Public Works Committee.  Hearings will start next week, and she hopes to vote it out of committee by the end of October.  We need to watch senators Webb and Warner very closely on this.  Responses that I have gotten from them about this topic have been "squishy" at best; the typical "let's wait and see the bill" line.  The line I, incidentally, got from both of them on health care reform.  A major part of this state will be severely damaged by this piece of legislation.  Both of them should talk to Rick Boucher about the heat he took over his "vote to please Pelosi"; a vote that could very well put his seat in jeopardy.  We have so many eco-friendly liberal republicans (McCain, Snowe, Lugar, etc) in the senate that we cannot rely on them stand with the rest of the party against this.  That's why the votes of the "so-called" blue dogs like Webb and Warner will be very important.  We stand to lose close to 1-1/2 million manufacturing jobs if this bill is passed.  We think unemployment is bad now; just wait.  The fight continues!

It's hard to find anyone these days who doesn't have utter contempt for our so-called leaders in the senate.  I mean, for years they have spent our money foolishly, have put politics above doing what is right for the country, and have done this with an arrogance that is just downright unbelievable.  However, in the coming days the senate could take a step to work their way back into the good graces of many of us who gave up on them a long time ago.  You see, the senate is preparing to vote on whether to raise the $12.1 trillion cap on the debt ceiling for the United States.  40 senators, 39 republicans and 1 democrat, wrote a letter to Timothy Geithner asking that he end the TARP program at the end of the year, and free up the unobligated billions of dollars to reduce the federal debt.  This act would lessen the need to borrow more money and show the American people the beginning of some fiscal responsibility.  Geithner has the option to keep the TARP program open until October 2010, and given his bail-out crazy personality, is not likely to give up the program without a lot of pressure from the senate.  If for once the senate could join forces, republicans and democrats, and put the screws to Mr. Geithner, they could come out of this looking much better than they have in a long time.  Sure, it's going to take a lot for these guys to repair themselves in my eyes, but this could be an important first step.

For a very long time, it seems that one of the biggest fears that many conservatives have had is to be labeled a racist.  I know I thought long and hard about broaching this because it is such a sensitive subject.  However, I must comment on it because I am disgusted with this idea that has been floated over the last week.  It seems that anytime the left can use it in their favor they pull out this tired, and outdated argument.  I'm not saying that racism is dead in America.  Sadly, it will never be.  What I am saying is that it is about as mainstream as typewriters and eight track tape players.  I am embarrassed that one of our former presidents, granted the worst president of the twentieth century, is taking part in this ridiculous discourse.  Do our concerned citizens have to endure being called racists every time we passionately disagree with this president.  This man received more white votes last November than either Al Gore or John Kerry in the previous two elections.  He came into office with historically high favorable ratings.  Does that sound like we are a racist country?  The truth is, Barack Obama spent his political capital like a drunken sailor by spending more of our money than anyone in the history of the world.  Now he wants to double, triple or even quadruple down on that.  Of course we disagree.  Anyone who looks at this objectively should be questioning the policies of this man; no matter how much you like him as a person, or like the fact that we finally have an African American president. 

If you want to see just how on racist this country is, all you have to do is look at our children.  I admit when I was a kid, many years ago, there was a difinitive divide between the races, but not anymore.  My kids have grown up with minority friends and it is no big deal.  They are color blind when it comes to someone's skin.  It's older people who keep returning to this idea.  People who have made good livings propagating racism in America.  You know who I'm talking about; Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc.  The use of this disgusting strategy by those on the left who are trying to ram their agenda down our throats must stop.  Why don't you start trying to sell your policies on the merits; if there is in fact any merit to them.

Remember how you felt on 09/12/2001?  I don't know about you, but I was both angry and scared at the same time.  Just one day earlier we were all forced to face the fact that there are people in this world who hate us enough to murder thousands of our citizens who's only crime was to go to work, or step on an airplane on a beautiful September day in 2001.  I know it's been eight years, but it appears that the people in charge of protecting our country have no recollection of what it felt like on that horrible day.  The persistence of our president to marginalize our historic allies and to appease our historic enemies is very concerning.  When Lech Walesa says the following about us,

“Americans have always cared only about their interests, and all other [countries] have been used for their purposes. This is another example,”  Poles “need to review our view of America. We must first of all take care of our business.” 

How many of you remember Lech Walesa as the leader of Poland's Solidarity movement?  America stood by him during the early eighties until the Soviet Union decided it was against their interest to continue to prop up the Polish communist government.  We helped to liberate that country!  Now we turn our back on them to appease the Russian government.  An appeasement that appears to have gained us nothing. If President Obama is naive enough to believe that Putin will do anything for us after showing such weakness then I think it is time for the grassroots effort that came together so beautifully on 09/12, to once again join forces to fight this damaging foreign policy.  One thing that is not being reported about all of this is that while we are not honoring our commitment to field interceptors in Poland and put radar in Czechoslovakia, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also called for cuts at Fort Greely in Alaska.  Fort Greely would be key in protecting the US against intercontinental missile attacks, especially in absence of the interceptors in Europe.  Friends; this is scary stuff.  It is clear to me that Obama was not up for the job as the most powerful leader in the world.  The sad thing is; if he keeps this up, he will not be the most powerful leader in the world at the end of what I hope will be his only term in office.

One thing became very clear in yesterday's debate between Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds; if elected governor, Creigh Deeds will raise your taxes.  He just might not call them taxes.  All I know is if the government takes money out of my pocket, it's a tax.  It appears that Mr. Deeds only considers it a tax if it goes into the general fund.  That gives him cover to "raise a lot of your money"; through gasoline, transportation, etc; without really "raising taxes".  Makes sense ..Right??  The real story yesterday was after the interview when Deeds was assaulted by reporters to explain his remarks on taxes...excuse me, raising money.  He stumbled and bumbled around until out of frustration this defender of the working woman turned to a female reporter and in a most condescending tone said "I've made myself perfectly clear young lady".  He later apologized to the reporter, but if Deeds continues to make an issue of a candidate showing his "true colors", as opposed to looking a record of public service, then the McDonnell campaign has every right to jump all over this.  The debate did not uncover any new revelations about either candidate.  However, Deeds did make a feeble attempt to distance himself from Obama.  When asked if he was an Obama democrat, he said he was a "Creigh Deeds" democrat....huh?  In every account I have read of the debate there has been mention of the stark difference in the composure of the two candidates.  McDonnell is articulate and comfortable; Deeds is folksy and still trying to get used to the whole public speaking part of his job.  I don't know about you, but I think it's important to have a governor who can put together two sentences without a string of uhms and ahs.

IN THE SENATE:  I am livid at Warner and Webb for playing politics with our money.  Yesterday Sen Jim DeMint put forth an amendment to the transportation bill that would strip funding to the Jack Murtha Airport in Cambria County Pennsylvania.  ABC did a good report on the waste at this airport which has about three flights a day; all to Washington.  In other words, it's the Jack Murtha shuttle service, which has gotten hundreds of millions of our taxpayer dollars over the years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvzNj0Vobss
Both Warner and Webb and most of the senate democrats voted against the amendment because they did not want to give DeMint a win.  The losers here are the taxpayers.  The measure was defeated in a 43-53 vote.  The ultimate "whimp" Arlen Specter, decided this one was too hot.  He chose not to vote.

"Oh, to be Spring again".  That's what most democrats are thinking right now.  In the Spring everything was great!  Obama was the brand new owner of a car company and people couldn't wait to hear his next speech; Nancy Pelosi was able to threaten enough representatives to pass cap and trade, and she was poised to do the same with health care; and because of the massive spending bills that had been passed, they had more than enough money to pay back the many special interest groups that had helped them gain control.  All they needed to do was steer their two gubenatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey to victory, and there would be no stopping them.  So What Happened???

I'll tell you what happened...The American People said "Wait A Minute..Stop Spending Our Money"!!!; the American People said "Wait A Minute..We Don't Want You Guys Meddling In Our Health Care!!!; Obama's need to surround himself with corrupt people and corrupt organizations started to become a real concern for a lot of people, and since you can catch one of his speeches any time of any day, the novelty wore off very quickly;...and then there are the governors' races.  Corruption and a very bad incumbent now make a victory in New Jersey a steep uphill climb. 

But it's the Virginia race that has to have them scratching their heads.  I mean everything was perfectly aligned.  In 2008 the state voted for Obama, picked up some key congressional seats, and the DNC Chairman is the governor!  However, the problem is clear to many of us in Virginia.  The democratic candidate mis-read Virginia's "new-blue" status.  He thought Virginia had suddenly become Massachusetts, and all he had to do was show up on election day to give his acceptance speech because he has a (D) beside his name.  He's tried to run his campaign with no plans for roads, jobs or any of the other pressing issues that are currently important to Virginians.  I mean he's a self described "Work in Progress" which tells me he hasn't done enough homework to come up with a plan, and also makes his pathetic attacks on Bob McDonnell the height of hypocrisy.  It's apparent to me that the national party at some time told him not to worry; that they would bring in the "big guns" to help him get elected.  Now with all of the aforementioned distractions in Washington, Mr. Deeds appears to not be getting the attention he so clearly needs.  Yes, there could still be an "October surprise".  In fact, I'm sure, given the way the campaign has been run thus far, there will be an attempt at one.  The problem is, most people are tired of those tactics.  An October surprise would do nothing but pander to the people who will vote for him because he does have a (D) beside his name.  Bob McDonnell has done a great job staying on message while obviously having to defend himself.  He should stay the course continuing to talk about jobs, roads and the overall economy.  That's what the majority of Virginians want to hear.

Roughly two hours of legislative time was wasted yesterday so the public flogging of Joe Wilson could continue in the House of Representatives.  The following statement was read into the record and voted upon.  In a 270-179 vote seven republicans and twelve democrats voted with the opposition.  The representatives from our Virginia delegation each voted with his own party.  Barney Frank and Carol Shea-Porter both voted "present".  You know, that whole "people who live in glass houses" thing:

"Whereas on September 9, 2009, during the joint session of Congress convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 179, the President of the United States, speaking at the invitation of the House and Senate, had his remarks interrupted by the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson;

And Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on September 9, 2009."

Of course both sides have used this as a way to fire up their bases.  And for the most part it has worked.  However, for most of us it's just more proof of why congress' approval ratings  continue to plummet.  We are in the midst of a terrible recession.  There are major pieces of legislation that need to be dealt with ("killed").  And these guys who routinely name call and assault anyone who dares to oppose them, are debating on whether to "scold" one of their own.  And we are paying the salaries of these people?  Really??  It is quite amazing to watch the arrogance of the democratic leadership in congress.  They are in denial when it comes to the town halls and 9/12 march.  These people are so out of touch.  They are leading the democratic party off a cliff, and I can't understand why some of the more reasonable/moderate people in the party are allowing it to happen.  Not that I'm broken up about it, but it just makes no sense to me.  However, because of the power these people wield they are very scary.  As I keep saying, we can't let up.  We must fight to the very end.  The November 2010 elections become more important every day.

..and film is worth a million.  Those words are so true.  For months, since the reporting of multiple incidents of voter fraud, political watchdogs have been screaming about the widespread corruption that could be attributed to  the "The Good Friends Of Obama" ACORN.  However, it wasn't until O'Keefe and Giles came forth with three (yes it took three) films which showed blatantly corrupt activity, that the senate finally had the guts to vote to de-fund this menace to society.  Look at the Van Jones affair.  Glenn Beck and others have spent months laying out the history of this ultra left-wing radical, but it took a film-clip of him calling republicans a bad word to get rid of him.  It has been like this forever.  Remember the ill-fated effort in Somalia back in the early nineties.  We had heard for some time that hundreds of thousands of people were starving in that country, but it took a poignant picture of a woman and a child to get everyone's attention.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  I think that it is human nature to want to believe the best about people.  So it takes solid proof to dis-credit a country's government, a presidential appointee, or even a powerful organization closely affiliated with the president.  This could be the tip of the iceberg as people begin to realize this.  With the advent of the Internet and U-Tube, it's hard to be in the public and not have clips that show your true self.  We will probably see more of this in the coming months as "the new media" does the vetting job that the old media has failed at so miserably.  I don't think I'll ever forget the impact of the pictures of the 100+ thousand people who marched on Washington last Saturday, contrasted with a clip of an interview that one of Barack Obama's top advisers, David Axelrod, gave on Sunday saying "They're Wrong"!  It's going to be a wild ride!

CONGRESSIONAL ROUNDUP:
Without much fanfare, The Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (see my September 9 post) passed 79-19 in the senate with both of our Virginia senators voting in the affirmative.  This is the 400 million dollar bail-out to the travel industry, or "Fannie Mae Travel" as Jim DeMint calls it.  The American people need to start policing this stuff.  We are in debt up to our eyeballs and they just keep appropriating money to the special interest groups who provide their social lives in Washington. 

During the campaign last year I saw a lot of signs around Virginia that said "Republicans for Warner".  I now wonder what those people are thinking about our junior senator from the Commonwealth.  Warner ran his campaign as a centrist who would go to Washington and shake things up; help to put an end to the partisanship.  He's turned out to be an under-the-radar follower, who can't seem to give a straight answer on where he stands on the important issues of the day.  He did vote against the extension of "cash for clunkers", but well over 90% of the time he's toed the party line.  He voted for the stimulus, the budget and the omnibus spending package.  I personally am disappointed at the way he has avoided controversy.  I saw an interview with him on health-care the other day and he was non-committal on what he thinks about the issue.  He said we should all wait and see what comes out of the senate finance committee.  He refuses to take a stand on anything whether it be card check or cap and trade.

As governor, Warner was blessed with a strong local economy and, yes, he did leave the state with a AAA bond rating and a big surplus.  BUT if you will remember, back in 2001 Warner ran as a fiscal conservative who would not raise taxes, a campaign promise he broke.  His policies have been carried into the Kaine administration and have been a disaster now that the economy has gone south.  Warner has been able to paint himself as a moderate all these years, and he's not.  I have written him several times asking for explanations on his votes to continue the spending.  His responses have looked like a form letter penned by Harry Reid himself.  I'm so sick of politicians who tell us one thing to get elected and become someone else once they cross that beltway.  I hope the elections in 2010 will be revolutionary like 1994.  Only I hope the new crop of representatives don't lose sight of their mission like the last ones did.

Yesterday was a historic day in the art of civil disobedience.  Never in my recollection have more moderate to right minded people come to together to protest the actions of a government that is out of control.  I say moderate because many that I saw interviewed yesterday were democrats who are feeling some "buyers' remorse" about the election last November.  Yet the so-called big 3 have done their best to downplay the event as much as possible.  On the ABC News website their first reference to the tea party was concern that one of their reporters might have been misquoted as saying that 1 million people were in attendance.  They wanted to set the record straight and say it was 60-70 thousand.  I'm not sure , but the first number was probably more accurate.  I must admit I've never been to NBC's site, so I wasn't aware that if you want NBC News you have to go to MSNBC.  That should tell you all you need to know about them.  NBC's regular site is a bunch of pop culture fluff that could only appeal to the "me" generation.  Both MSNBC and CBS hyper-link to the AP report in which the title alludes to "thousands" in attendance and internally puts the count at "tens of thousands".  I have been searching all over to get an accurate count and I have seen everything from 60 thousand to two million.  I'd say if you count the 200 tea parties around the country you have to put the total count solidly in the hundreds of thousands.

The bottom line is that the news departments at the big 3 networks are suffering from a huge lack of credibility brought on by their own actions.  Having been emboldened by the fact that they were able to play a role in getting their guy elected in November, they've become even more arrogant in the way they cover the events of the day.  However, they are practically ignoring a movement in America that could lead to their demise.  America is waking up to the fact that thy were duped.  We've elected a man to the presidencey without the usual vetting from our major news organizations.  They completely ignored his past associations and Marxist statements.  What they didn't realize is; most Americans don't hold those views.  When the president's actions began to back up his words, the "you know what" hit the fan.  Fox News, with Bill O'Reilley and Glenn Beck, are now reaching more people than ever.  ABC is attempting to salvage their ratings by installing Diane Sawyer into the anchor desk after Charlie Gibson lost the top spot in ratings last fall about the time he did his condescending interview with Sarah Palin.  "The Perky Katie Couric" has never gained any traction after Dan Rather destroyed CBS.  Brian Williams was the only anchor who had a chance, but his antics on late night TV tell me his heart is in the entertainment industry.  I'll swear, the last time I saw him on a late show, he looked like he was on cocaine.

The coming months will tell whether the mainstream media will remain mainstream; or become another dinosaur like the New York Times and Washington Post.  Only time will tell.

I just love it when this happens.  First, a meek congressman from South Carolina is fed up and can no longer listen to the lies.  So he dares to "call out" the president on it.  The Blasphemy!!!  Then two under-thirty activists single handedly take down one this country's most damaging political organizations.  Joe Wilson, Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe you are truly my heroes!  So what are the results of their actions?  First, the white house came out with a statement on Thursday night which includes the following bullet points of clarification on the president's position toward illegal immigrants.  In my opinion, the only explanation for this clarification is Joe Wilson's outburst.  If the president had intended to take this position before, he would have said it.  I mean it would have given him another thing to say......and we all know how much that guy loves to talk:

Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy private insurance on the exchange.  Those who are lawfully present in this country would be able to participate.  

Verification will be required when purchasing health insurance on the exchange. One option is the  SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) which states currently use to make sure that undocumented immigrants don't participate in safety-net programs for which they are ineligible.

We're still a long way from what I would consider an acceptable solution.  However, this once again shows how the white house has underestimated the people who are paying attention to this matter.  There has been a groundswell of support for Joe Wilson and they know our resolve is much more powerful than the initial feigned outrage of the liberals on the left.  I am still waiting for some kind of statement on abortion.

The results of the "pimp" films that Hannah Giles, 20, and James O'Keefe, 25, recorded at TWO ACORN offices have led the Census Bureau to cut all ties to this corrupt organization.  Just as we saw countless incidents of voter fraud connected with ACORN in previous elections, I can only imagine the potential corruption that could have gone on during the count next year.  This gives conservatives on Capitol Hill an opening to end, or at least get better control of the diversion of taxpayer dollars to these so-called community organizers.

This fight is huge and almost overwhelming.  Barack Obama cut his political teeth in the confines of ACORN.  We've seen time and again the tactics they use to get the result they want.  Right now, Grassley, Enzi and Snowe are back at the table with Baucus ready to commit the typical republican "whimp-out", which will give moderate democrats cover, and the bill will easily pass.  If their resolve is there, Obama will use the "bones" he threw to the right in his speech ("maybe we'll look at tort reform") as an excuse to call them partisan and use reconciliation to ram it through.  I don't like the odds, but in July who would have thought we would be where we are now.  Our unlikely American Heroes continue to amaze me.  Calling All Joe The Plumbers"!!!!!

This week, as I watch the maneuvering of the politicians in Washington, DC I'm just amazed at the spectacle.  The post Obama speech feigned outrage of poor Joe Wilson's outburst is comical.  To hear interviews with rep. Wilson it's clear to me that this is not a guy who was attempting to grab the spotlight.  The attention makes him nervous.  But like it or not, he's become the democrats' new "whipping boy" to divert attention from the real issue.  The bottom line is that Joe Wilson was telling the truth.  Obama was lying through his teeth, and everyone in that room knew it.  If not, why did they vote down (along party lines) specific language that would exclude illegal aliens from being covered, and payments for abortions.  How could a body of people who sat in that very room in 2005 and "booed" the president, make such a big deal about a man who just couldn't take the lies anymore.  How could a body of people whose approval rating is at a forty year low hypocritically talk about decorum after their escapades of the last few years.  Give me a break!  Kudos to you Joe!  Arlen Spector, a true "Man of the Senate" has even come out in favor of a censure of Wilson.  Sen Spector, I guess you are grabbing at anything that might jump start your campaign, but this ain't it.  The democrats are very good at these diversionary tactics, and everyone who worked so hard in August to get their attention needs to keep their eye on the ball.  Obama did not change anything the other night.  He didn't even attempt to re-package.  It's clear they are going to use their normal "thug" tactics to ram this thing through, and the American people are going to be left to wonder, "was it worth the effort".  They may think we are stupid by trying to change the subject, but we are not.  Anyone who can be in Washington on Saturday needs to go there and "question boldly" what this government is trying to do to us.  Anyone interested in contributing to Joe Wilson's campaign can go to https://www.completecampaigns.com/public.asp?name=Wilson&page=2 .  CNN is putting forward a poll that says that Obama went from 53% favorable to 67% favorable after his speech.  The problem is that the group polled was severely slanted; 45% democrats to 18% republicans.  So he won back some of his supporters...temporarily.  Rasmussen is still showing pre-speech numbers.  It appears he really didn't make any headway.  We must keep fighting...because we aren't stupid!

It's usually difficult for me to watch the president's speeches because I find him to be long-winded, arrogant and "preachy"; not to mention the fact that for about two years now, you can't turn on the TV without seeing the man speaking about something.  He's making me tired.  But last night I watched the entire display and to be honest, I was shocked at how short on substance this speech was.  Sure, he finally "unmuddied" the waters about the public option; there will be one if he gets his way.  That had to be a relief to his constituents on the left.  The problem is; I don't think he fooled the majority of Americans who don't want a public option, into really believing that it will be a "means to the end".  Once these insurance exchanges are up and running in four years; "after his re-election bid, the government will have already taken on a large percentage of the American people, because the plan in many cases makes it more economically feasible for a business owner to stop covering people and pay the tax, than to continue with their current plans.  So when the president says "If you like your current insurance, you can keep it"...don't be so quick to believe him.  What floored me about the speech was his explanation on how we would pay for it.  First of all, a cost $900 billion; I want to know where this figure came from?  Covering the current uninsured, plus the millions of people who will be thrown out of their plans; there's no way it will "only" cost $900 billion.  And most of it is going to be paid for by a reduction of waste and fraud in Medicare?  Mr President, you must think we are a bunch of idiots!!  If there are billions of dollars being spent because of fraud and waste in Medicare...why aren't you fixing it right now!  In fact, why don't you and your 30 czars go and do that, and leave us alone.  When you've found those billions of dollars, come back to us and we'll discuss health care reform.  Geez!!  This speech was partisan and petty.  He got in his gratuitous shot at the previous administration and scolded everyone from the republicans in congress to Sarah Palin and Glen Beck for using scare tactics.  Yet, he turned right around and said that if his plan wasn't passed people would die.  Not surprisingly, the president did broach the subject of tort reform to throw a bone to the republicans.  He made it clear that he didn't think it was all that big a problem, but "we'll look at it".  I'm sure that will go far since he put a former lobbyist for trial lawyers, Kathleen Sebelius, in charge of the effort. 

The bottom line is that the president had to hit a home run last night, and he hit a foul ball at best.  He said his door is always open to anyone with suggestions (that must be something new).  If he is really serious about that, he should scrap all of the plans and go about this the way that candidate Obama promised.  In the open, with everyone at the table.  But we all know he's much too arrogant to do that.

With all the talk this week about health care and back to school pep talks.  The senate will more than likely pass a piece of legislation that is another example of government meddling where it shouldn't be, and using its power to tax to quite possibly do harm.  And no one will even notice.  I'm talking about the Travel Promotion Act, or as Jim DeMint calls it "Fannie Mae Travel".  This is a $400 million dollar fund to  create a government travel advertising agency.  I guess to some that would sound great.  We use the deep pockets of the US government to help pay for promotional advertising oversees.  Two problems...first, we all know that the US government doesn't have deep pockets.  In fact, the US government has "holes in its pockets".  This is just another "boondoggle" that the government should not take on.  Second, they say the way we will pay for this is to wage a tax on all foreigners who come into the country.  You know, all of those people we will lure to the US with our great advertising...we'll tax them at the airport.  A tariff on our visitors.  What's more, Europe has already said that they will reciprocate against our citizens travelling abroad.  So now we have a trade war on travel!  There is no question that tourism is one of our most important industries.  I'm sure with the world economy in the state it's in, that this industry is hurting just like most others.  However, the last thing the government should be doing is sticking it's big nose into another private industry and screwing it up.  Also, the timing on this is very curious.  Harry Reid is fighting for his political life right now.  Who stands to benefit from a lifeline to the travel industry....Las Vegas!!  Connect the dots my friend!

It's always been a little more than irritating to me that politicians such as our president and vice president use Labor Day to promote and thank "big labor" as if the members of labor unions are the only people who work hard in this country.  Obama's Labor Day was spent with the AFL-CIO in Cincinnati, where he talked in front of an adoring crowd about his commitment to "card check, just one in a line of assaults that are being made on small business, the "true" backbone of our economy.  His speech also made clear that he still wants to strive for a health care plan that includes the public option.  He continues to prove that he is a man who only speaks and never listens.  It's unbelievable to me that he can stand before a crowd and actually say to his critics that they have not brought forward any solutions when there have been several less intrusive plans brought forward by the republicans.  Plans which have been totally ignored by the president and his cronies in congress.  Mr. President, your words yesterday fell on the ears of an accepting crowd, but fooled no one.

Sen Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus appears to have lost his patience with the negotiations among the "gang of six".  Yesterday he put forth his own plan that he intends to ram through his committee this week.  His plan proposes to assess a fee on insurance companies to help pay for insurance for low income people who currently cannot afford coverage.  In addition, they would be taxed on all of their more expensive, better coverage plans.  This is done in hopes that employers would be discouraged from providing higher coverage plans for their employees, thus reducing overuse of the health care system.  Government will be there to assist in paying for lower income premiums somewhere to the tune of $900 billion dollars.  It is quite obvious that once again the answer to all of our problems is to penalize the people who produce the jobs in this country.  This time by implementing a plan that would "necessarily make the cost of good insurance skyrocket".  So let's make it so those 80-90% of those people who are happy with their insurance able to keep it, but probably not able to afford it.  I just do not understand what the hurry is.  The American people made it clear during the month of August that they are profoundly against rushing through a plan that will further compromise our personal liberties.  Why do congress and the president insist on going forward at "turbo speed"?  Why can't they scrap the current proposals and approach this important legislation in a non-political and mature manner.

One unrelated note:  As I was working in my yard today, I don't know why, but my thoughts went to non other that Cindy Sheehan.  Trust me, I was in the camp of people who called her "crazy" during her anti war rants during the Bush administration.  My thoughts today were much more empathetic.  I thought about how I would have reacted if it was one of my precious children who was killed in the line of duty.  I would hope I would have been brave and proud and patriotic, but I don't know.  I don't think anyone ever knows until it happens.  I feel very sorry for Cindy Sheehan.  I think she was used by a massive anti-war (no..anti-Bush) movement, and was discarded when her use to them ran out.  Yes, she obviously loved the attention and fame, but she was turned into an object of ridicule by people who cared nothing about her.  What many people don't know, is that Cindy Sheehan's views have not changed with the administration, as so many liberal views have.  She followed Obama to Martha's Vineyard for his vacation to protest his war in Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, her former friends, the hypocritical mainstream media must now ignore her.

Late last night, in the midst of controversy over his past radical statements, Van Jones resigned his position as the administration's "Green Czar".  In his statement he is not showing remorse for his past remarks but is blaming  the "smear campaign" being waged by his political opponents.  He tried to make it look as though he is sacrificing himself for the good of political discourse when he said "they are using lies and distortion to distract and divide".  My fear is that the democrats are going to use this in their favor.  Knowing that most of the spineless republicans in congress have no stomach for a battle that might lead to criticism, I am afraid that the root problem here, the appointment of 30+ unconstitutional czars, will continue to be ignored by most.  The republicans should be waging a "no holds barred" campaign to get Obama's shadow government banned.  They would do this with an unlikely ally, West Virginia's senior (very senior) senator Robert Byrd.  Byrd, a staunch defender of the constitution, has been very critical of the president over the appointment of these czars.  The Jones affair should concern everyone that there could be more unsavory characters in this group of policy makers for the president.  As the taxpayers who pay for these individuals we should be outraged at the lack of transparency and the deliberate power grab of this administration.

I must say that I was concerned to hear about the Barack Obama address to school children that is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Sept 8.  In Hanover County Virginia that is the first day of school, and it would have been very easy in all of the first day confusion to slip this event in without much resistance.  If that had happened, I as a parent of children in elementary, middle and high school would have been extremely upset.  Not because I don't happen to agree with most of Obama's polices (I still have a healthy respect for his office), but because in my opinion this is one of the most inappropriate things in a long line of inappropriate things that this president has tried to do.  Maybe this is a much watered down version of what was originally planned thanks to the conservative watch dogs who are out there protecting our liberties on a daily basis.  The forum is completely wrong.  It is parents and parents alone who should decide whether their kids should be exposed to this propaganda.  After seeing the recent video of Hollywood stars pledging themselves to Barack Obama, I'm left with a very uneasy feeling about the course of our nation.  If my kids had been amongst those Utah youths who were shown that video I would have been livid.  I was very happy to see the following post on the Hanover County website.  It showed respect to the president, but also hinted that parents are the ones who will decide whether Johnny and Suzie will be a part of this.

  "President Obama’s scheduled live address to America’s school children has been rescheduled to the noon hour on Tuesday, September 8.  On the first day of school, this move will have the predictable and practical effect of touching a very small live audience.   

     Our complete energies must be directed to promoting a productive beginning to the school year for our teachers and children.  It is important to support the establishment of new routines and a smooth opening at this pivotal moment. 

     The Office of the President is to be respected.  This is what America’s public schools promote as a basic part of our curriculum.  Therefore, rather than showing the speech on the first day of school, the speech will be recorded, instructional materials will be available, and the speech and lessons may be appropriately featured by classrooms electing to use them at a later time.  This will allow time for schools to inform parents of existing opt-out procedures."

Kudos - Hanover County!

It worked for Jim Webb in 2006.  One word spoken by George Allen on August 11, 2006 was enough red meat for the Washington Post to destroy the campaign and career of one of Virginia's finest.  It was disgusting in 2006 and it's disgusting today.  But will this sleazy tactic work in Campaign 2009?  Time will tell, but I will say that the political winds in Virginia are blowing from a different direction today.  Just as they are throughout the country, the people of Virginia are fed up with politics, politicians and the stupid little games they play to gain and retain power.  I have spent my whole adult life as a working mother and I could care less what Bob McDonnell said in a thesis twenty year ago.  The "intellectual pinheads" who are expressing outrage over this whole thing should know that these papers are often meant to be provocative and to "push the envelope".  Yes, it appears that Bob McDonnell has strong christian, moral and family values.  If you ask me, I'd say we need a lot more like him in the leadership positions of this country.  We might not be in the mess we are in today if more of our leaders had a "moral compass".  But that isn't the point.  The point is, Bob McDonnell has a solid record in public life (unlike the man we elected to the presidency 10 months ago).  He's built a reputation for having an open mind, with favorable rulings on daycare and homosexual rights.  It's my opinion that Creigh Deeds would get a lot more traction if he would denounce this cheap attack on McDonnell and actually start running a campaign with some substance. 

All of the traction that the conservative movement made on the health care debate in the month of August could be dashed by that perennial waffler Olympia Snowe.  Apparently Snowe is in the midst of talks with the White house discussing a compromise.  Snowe is the one republican hold out after Senators Grassley and Enzi balked at any hint of a public option.  Her support would give cover to a slew of democrat moderates who are very worried about supporting this legislation.  Snowe is in favor of a public option that would trigger down the road if private insurance reform is unsuccessful.  Where she is getting "snowed" is that most people realize that the real problem with this whole idea is that the cost of the plan will be monumental and unsustainable.  Things will still be in a mess down the road and the public option will inevitably trigger.  Until there is real reform including tort reform and competition across state lines, Every plan will lead to the same disastrous end.

Ask your friends to drop a line to Senator Snowe and encourage her to stand strong with her fellow republican collegues. 
Senator Olympia Snowe
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510
(202)224-5344

No one should be surprised that our president’s poll numbers have dropped from a 70% approval just after his inauguration to this week’s paltry 42%.  I mean let’s contrast what was said during the campaign in order to secure the election with what has actually happened during these past seven months.

An End to Earmarks –Well it didn’t take long for that promise to be broken twice in a big way.  Both the stimulus package and the omnibus spending bill had thousands of earmarks.  I believe the last count on the spending bill was around nine thousand!  These bills were just too important to veto because of earmarks!  The economy was about to go off the cliff and we had to keep unemployment from going over 8%.  Uh, Ok – that really worked!!

I’ll Take a Laser to the Budget – I heard something a couple of months ago about $100 million dollars that would be cut from the White House budget.  I think that was right around the time he swept Michelle up to New York City for a night on the town; compliments of the American taxpayer.  I have no doubt that our president has a very high IQ, but given every domestic policy step he has taken since taking office, he shows signs of being an economic illiterate

No Lobbyists in the Administration – This one is truly laughable.  Eric Holder, Attorney General;  Tom Vilsak, Secretary of Agriculture;  William Lynn, Deputy Defense Secretary; David Hayes, Deputy Interior Secretary; Mark Patterson, Chief of Staff to “Turbo Tax” Geithner;  and the list goes on…….

End the Corruption With His Administration – With a litany of tax cheats and former terrorists led by “Turbo Tax” Tim Geithner on Obama’s list of appointees, one has to wonder about the man’s judgment in the company he keeps.  Although, it’s not like any of us were not warned.  Before the election conservatives on talk radio were literally screaming for Americans to take a look at Obama’s friends, such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the Weather Underground’s Bill Ayers.  What’s that old saying - “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas”.

Passed Bills Would be Posted on the Internet for 5 Days Before His Signature – Once again knowing that there would be outrage once people saw the Trojan horses in the stimulus and spending bills, Obama was forced to get it passed and signed in the “dark of night”.  He and his “Buddys” in congress had many campaign debts to pay.  Plus it was just too important…you know, that whole thing about unemployment not going above 8%.

Open Forums on Crafting of Health Care Legislation – Yep - he really did promise that during the campaign.

I’ll be a Uniter Not a Divider – "I won" - It didn’t take him long to make this simple statement at the end of a meeting with republicans to discuss differences of opinion on the stimulus package.  And then there is his most famous gaffe, when he said the Cambridge Police,“ acted stupidly”.

People Who Make Less Than $250 Thousand Dollars (or was that $200 Thousand) Will Not See Their Taxes Go Up One Penny – Tell that to the all of those middle class and low income people who smoke, since he doubled the federal tax on cigarettes not long after taking office.  I guess that doesn’t count, since all of those people “act stupidly” when they smoke.

Transparency – This would be funny if it wasn’t so scary.  First we had the famous flag@whitehouse.gov to get people to rat on their dissenting neighbors to the president.  Then there were the emails from David Axelrod that went unsolicited to thousands of people lobbying for the health care bill…but the questions were – where did they get the email addresses and why is the White House lobbying for public policy?  And what about the 32 “czars” that have been appointed who are acting as high level advisors to the president, but have no apparent accountability.  Some of these characters, because of their past history would not even make it to a congressional hearing, much less be approved for an appointment.  The latest attempt by the White House to secretly delve into our private lives was recently uncovered by the National Legal and Policy Center.  It appears that they have hired a technology vendor to attempt to harvest personal information from social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.  Check out the 51-page Solicitation of Bids #WHO-S-09-0003 that was filed on Friday August 21, 2009.

 
These are just some of the reasons why the president’s approval ratings are so low, and I haven’t even mentioned his total bungling of the health care debate.  My only question is why are 42% of the American people still supporting this guy?  I guess the Kool-Aid still hasn’t worn off.

I have said in the past that I have been very impressed, and surprised, at the hard work that Tom Perriello has put in during the August recess.  It could not have been fun day after day meeting with angry constituents.  However, it appears that Perriello has gotten the message.  He has come out against HR3200 in it's current form.  My hope is that his opposition hangs on that irreversible damage called the "public option".   We will see just how strong Perriello's resolve is next week when Nancy Pelosi and her henchmen lock all of those poor "blue dogs" in a basement of the Capitol for a closed-door caucus.  The thought of that makes my skin crawl.  I'm sure Perrillo and his fellow dissenters are looking forward to that about as much as they would a root canal without anesthetic.  The question is, will they come out of this being true "blue dogs", or Nancy's "lap dogs".  One thing is for sure; once Pelosi starts getting in their faces, I'm sure those angry constituents back home won't look so bad.

What is so disgusting about this whole process is that the democrats are no longer trying to hide the fact that this fight is as much about saving the party as it is about reforming health care.  Who cares if it damages our country beyond repair.  On Saturday, Bill Clinton, at a rally in Tennessee was very vocal about how damaging not passing a bill would be to the democrats.  If that's the case, why don't they start listening to the American people and pass something that addresses the few items that everyone agrees upon.  Then take credit...that's fine with me, as long as they drop the expensive, unconstitutional plan they are currently trying to ram down our throats.