Saturday Evening Post – The Brazilian Latin Jazz of Elaine Elias – Fotographia & Samba Triste
October 15, 2011 Leave a comment
Obama is No Lincoln
October 11, 2011 Leave a comment
Below are excerpts from an article written by FRANK MIELE posted on the Daily Inter Lake website on Sunday, July 12, 2009. The article is titled “Lincoln’s warning: Beware changes brought about by ‘towering genius’”. Miele contrasts the protector and conservator of the union, Abraham Lincoln, using Lincoln’s own words and the ambitious, legacy driven, Barack Obama hoping to be seen as Lincolnesque:
Lincoln warned against those who would strive to reshape the institutions of America for their own purposes of legacy building, and it is worth considering today whether President Obama and his “transformational” presidency would fall under Lincoln’s watchful eye as a potential danger….
“Men of ambition and talents’ will continue to spring up among us, he warns – men comparable to “an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon” – and, when they do, “they will… naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them… Is it unreasonable then to expect, that some man possessed of the loftiest genius, coupled with ambition sufficient to push it to its utmost stretch, will at some time, spring up among us? And when such a one does, it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs.”…
“Towering genius disdains a beaten path.” Lincoln warns us. “It seeks regions hitherto unexplored… It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible, it will have it, whether at the expense of emancipating slaves, or enslaving freemen.”…
“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”..
Lincoln referred to the arrival of an ambitious leader as one such “probable case” and classifies it as “highly dangerous’ to the future of the union.
“Distinction will be ‘such a leader’s’ paramount object; and although he would as willingly, perhaps more so, acquire it by doing good as harm; yet, that opportunity being past, and nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down.”
“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense. Let those [materials’ be molded into general intelligence, ‘sound] morality and, in particular, a reverence for the Constitution and laws,” said Lincoln.
tête-à-tête
October 8, 2011 Leave a comment
Though I am a political and social conservative with a strong libertarian streak I often read the opposition’s pabulum in order to discern whether I am holding on to what is good. This deliberate questioning of my conservatism has helped me to further understand my own ideology and has helped put into contrast the false thinking that is prevalent today, most notably found in liberalism, progressivism and atheism.
It should be noted here that I came to my understanding of my conservatism/libertarianism through my own reading (early on, Milton and Rose Friedman’s book Free to Choose) and by listening to programs such as Firing Line with the likes of William F. Buckley Jr.. My conservative ideology, as I told my attorney recently, is not the result of my viewership of FOX news. FOX News only highlights what I already know to be true and false.
An aside: My attorney who is a Democrat once told me how he picks jurors for his accident injury trials: The attorney asks perspective jurors if they watch FOX News or listen to Rush Limbaugh to determine if they are Republicans or Democrats. He pejoratively calls such Republicans “Rush Limbaugh Republicans”. The reason for his disdain of these Republicans: he said that most Republicans believe in torte reform and ridding the courts of frivolous lawsuits. My attorney won’t pick them to be a juror. They would likely vote against a substantial injury award. Ergo, my attorney wouldn’t win enough money for his client or himself (usually 40% take of the award compensation)
My attorney didn’t describe the Democrat jurors. He left me to believe that they were the opposite of Republicans with regard to willingness to make someone pay out. Many attorneys are liberal Democrats (including their well-known lobbyists Obama, Eric Holder, Rahm Emmanuel, etc.). Many of these attorneys use frivolous lawsuits to make a living. They are called the “ambulance chasers” (or, in Obama’s and Emmanuel’s case, the “crisis chasers”).
I let my attorney know that I did watch Fox News but that I didn’t listen to Rush Limbaugh, Jon Stewart or to Bill Maher. I told him I was my own conservative: I related to him that I was a William F. Buckley Jr.-Milton Friedman-Neal Cavuto-Christian conservative. I wasn’t bought by what money I could weasel out of someone’s pocket. (BTW, as a Conservative I am not against accident lawsuits, only injustice.)
That aside, beyond my own research into political ideology, economics and morality, in school I also studied economics, finances, accounting and business among other related courses. These studies helped me see that free market enterprise and capitalism creates the most opportunities and the most wealth for everyone. And, that charity is both what you have to give (maybe a widow’s mite) and the desire to give.
My belief in God came through my reading of the Bible and, specifically, the eyewitness accounts recorded therein. The historically factual account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as recorded in the Gospels was sufficient proof for me.
I am currently reading two books: essays by Christopher Hitchens in a book titled Arguably, copyright 2011, and The Thomas Sowell Reader, copyright 2011.
Christopher Hitchens is a well-known left-winger and atheist, born in England and living in America. He became an American citizen in 2007. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Slate and The Atlantic. His books include, among many, Thomas Jefferson: Author of America and God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
I am reading Hitchens’ book even though I do not agree with his positions on most issues and most decidedly his atheism. His pronouncements against the fascism of Islam I do agree with. I do like his breadth of knowledge in literature and his love of the English language. I enjoy his way of writing and his way of stating things. And, as I read I do make marginal notes wherever I disagree with his thinking. As a writer I continue to learn a lot about the art of essay writing from Hitchens.
Here is a blurb about Hitchens’ book, ARGUABLY, from the Richard Dawkins Foundation website:
The first new book of essays by Christopher Hitchens since 2004, ARGUABLY offers an indispensable key to understanding the passionate and skeptical spirit of one of our most dazzling writers, widely admired for the clarity of his style, a result of his disciplined and candid thinking. Topics range from ruminations on why Charles Dickens was among the best of writers and the worst of men to the haunting science fiction of J.G. Ballard; from the enduring legacies of Thomas Jefferson and George Orwell to the persistent agonies of anti-Semitism and jihad. Hitchens even looks at the recent financial crisis and argues for the enduring relevance of Karl Marx. The book forms a bridge between the two parallel enterprises of culture and politics. It reveals how politics justifies itself by culture, and how the latter prompts the former. In this fashion, ARGUABLY burnishes Christopher Hitchens’ credentials as-to quote Christopher Buckley-our “greatest living essayist in the English language.” (emphasis mine)
Regarding this blurb, while I would certainly disagree with the relevance of Karl Marx as an answer to anything I would agree with what is said about Hitchens’ art. It is a product of one of the greatest living essayists in the English language.
About Christopher Hitchen’s athesim, I believe that those who are most adamantly opposed to knowledge of God are often those who are the closest to the Truth, as was the case of another profound English writer and apologist, C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an atheist turned agnostic turned believer. Lewis’s writings are characterized by a lightly carried erudition, critical thinking, psychological insight, humor and sympathy.
It is my prayer that Christopher Hitchens will someday soon come “kicking and screaming into the Kingdom of God” just as Lewis, a reluctant convert. (Update: Hitchens died recently.)
Christopher Hitchens currently has throat cancer. He has difficulty speaking and certainly cannot lecture. From a lover of the English language perspective, this throat business must give him great pain and a deep sense of loss. Pray for him.
Turning to Thomas Sowell’s The Thomas Sowell Reader I find a treasure trove of wonderful essays and articles written by a well read economist, social theorist, political philosopher and conservative Black American. Sowell uses easy to understand commonsense language in his writings. Most would find this book accessible and informative. It is this simplicity which more than anything defines truth and true conservatism. Liberalism, much like in Hitchens’ writing, seeks to overwhelm the reader with its own great knowledge and pompous profundity. Not so with Thomas Sowell. His plain spoken and humble writing speaks louder than any hubris.
Here are some excerpts from a chapter titled The Survival of the Left, from The Thomas Sowell Reader:
Biologists explain how organisms adapt to their physical environment, but ideologues also adapt to their social environment. The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.
The academic world is the natural habitat of half-baked ideas, except for those fields I which there are decisive tests, such as science, mathematics, engineering, medicine—and athletics. In all these fields, in their differing ways, there comes a time when you must either put up or shut up. It should not be surprising that all other fields are notable exceptions to the complete domination of the left on campuses across the country…
You might think that the collapse of communism throughout Eastern Europe would be considered a decisive failure for Marxism, but academic Marxists in America are utterly undaunted. Their paychecks and their tenure are unaffected. Their theories continue to flourish in the classrooms and their journals continue to litter the library shelves.
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it..
Nor is economic failure the worst of it. The millions slaughtered by Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot for political reasons are an even grimmer reality…
Academia is only one of the places where totally subjective criteria rule—and where leftists dominate.
Sowell goes on to list these “places”: foundations, museums, cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities and taxpayer supported “public” TV and radio.
These endowed and insulated institutions, often full of contempt for the values of American society and Western civilization, are not the only bastions of the left counter-culture. So are Hollywood and Broadway. Although show biz faces the financial need to get an audience, the truth of what they portray is hardly crucial. If they can make it punchy and sexy, then those who complain about historical inaccuracies and ideological bias can be dismissed as irrelevant pedants.
Why are leftists able to crowd out other kinds of people from these places? Because those who are willing to subject themselves to the test of reality, whether as a businessman in the marketplace or as surgeon in an operating room, have many other places to work and live.They do not need special sheltered niches in which to hide and to cherish their precious notions.
Darwinian adaptation to environment applies not only to nature but also to society. Just as you don’t find eagles living in the ocean or fish living on mountain tops, so you don’t find leftists concentrated where ideas have to stand the test of performance. (emphasis mine)
I have to get back to my reading… Here’s Christopher Hitchens and William F. Buckley Jr. in conversation.
The Denigration of Herman Cain by MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell
October 7, 2011 Leave a comment
In this MSNBC interview (<< linked here) by their paid attack dog Laurence O’Donnell, one can clearly see the progressive left’s blatant condescension toward a black man with a different point of view than that of the myopic and biased MSNBC.
Is this interview part of the “LEAN FORWARD campaign of MSNBC? If so, LEAN FORWARD is defined by haughtiness, hypocrisy, intra-racial profiling, as promoting segregation, racism and a complete unwillingness to consider another point of view. MSNBC’s LEAN FORWARD campaign is just a relabeling of the Plantation Politics established by the Democratic Party to suppress Black Americans, keeping them dependent on government. In short, the campaign promotes the economic slavery of millions of Black Americans.
MSNBC’s constant personal attacks on Herman Cain, Sarah Palin and others reveal that these people on the Left have nothing to offer anyone except hatred and an insidious reneging on the promise of the civil rights movement.
Is Herman Cain not black enough for you Laurence? Is his character not sufficiently pasty liberal white?
America doesn’t deserve a man like Herman Cain or a man like Laurence O’Donnell and for two totally opposite reasons: Cain is a man who has lived the American Dream. Herman wants to make that dream possible for everyone. He is to be honored for this. Laurence O’Donnell, on the other hand, is a man who has lived the American Dream and still wants to berate the man who has succeeded against enormous odds and in spite of the color of his skin. Herman has not relied on the liberalism’s pretentious altruism and largesse for his achievements. O’Donnell deserves dishonor.
Where is the defense of Herman Cain by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Maxine Waters? Oh, that’s right. These three Democrats seek to benefit from the race card being played and Herman Cain, a Republican, does not.
The Boy in the Tent
October 5, 2011 Leave a comment
Last night I found myself in a van, my ex driving us to a familiar campground in the next state. We wanted to get there as fast as we could. We urgently wanted to get to our seven year-old son.
We drove through the darkness panting and leaning forward in our seats. Just before sunrise we entered the campground. We drove over to the campsite where we had camped many times before. There in the middle of a grassy opening surrounded by oak trees was a lone pup tent.
I jumped out of the van and ran over to the tent. Down on my knees I lifted the tent flap and looked into the dimly lit tent. My son was sitting in the middle of the otherwise empty tent. He was facing the other way.
There was nothing in front of him. He sat dead still.
I crawled over to him. As I did so he turned his head to look at me. He then got up, jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly.
After a while we released our hug and I put him down. He returned to sit in the same place in the tent. He sat down facing away from me.
I went out of the tent. My ex had been yelling from the car that we had to leave.
I called back to my son and told him that we were going, that he must come along. There was no reply.
****
I opened my eyes and winced them shut again. The pit of my stomach felt as if it had been carved out of me while I slept. When the silent sobbing began I tried to cover the wound.
© Sally Paradise, 2011, All Rights Reserved
Logocentrism
October 4, 2011 Leave a comment
Below are some excerpts from a brief article about education, books vs. TV, imagination, home schooling and preserving what’s good in a civilization. The article provides a great prescription for a child’s education. Two of my children were home schooled for several years, so I know from experience the author’s point of view.
The article begins with the author asking “Are you ever afraid that home schooling your kids will make them, um, oddballs?” As parents we asked ourselves the same question and we found the answer to be a resounding “No.”
I have heard people tell me that children who are home schooled lack social interaction. That is absolute nonsense. What you do as a home schooler is to find other parents who are doing the same thing and then just let the kids relate. You go on field trips and do a lot of fun learning activities which include science, music, sports and drama. And, there is plenty of support out there for anyone who wants to home school their child.
From Touchstone Magazine:
Education Normal
Mark T. Mitchell on the Oddity of Giving Children a Moral Imagination
Will your kids be raised primarily on books or on television? To put it another way: Will your children be educated in a logocentric environment, where the written and spoken word is the primary conveyer of meaning, or will they ingest most of their information through electronically generated images?
Now, of course, emphasizing books over television is not the entire story, for books vary in quality and there are plenty of books that cultivate misshapen virtues and a cynical view of life. But I think it is safe to say that parents who make the effort to emphasize books as a way of life will generally be those who have been powerfully moved by books themselves. They have experienced the wonder and joy and goodness of certain books and will introduce these to their children even as one introduces a family member to a much-loved friend.
But setting the content of the books aside (for only a moment), those whose minds are shaped by an ongoing encounter with language will develop mental habits that include patience, perseverance, the ability to think abstractly, and an imagination that does not require the constant stimulation of external images. The imagination of the reader (guided by the author) creates the images, whereas the child raised on television merely imbibes what has already been fully rendered by the camera.
More than Rules
There are two facets to educating a child well. The first is to recognize that education is not merely the accumulation of facts, but that it has an unavoidably moral aspect. A suitable education must do more, therefore, than simply teach facts, even moral facts. Education must seek to cultivate the moral imagination of the child, for reducing moral education to a list of rules is bound to fail…
But if our children are raised primarily on visual images, if they do not cultivate the mental disciplines necessary to access truth via language, then the Holy Scriptures will remain opaque, the creeds and confessions of faith will be meaningless recitations, and hymn lyrics will be merely pleasant-sounding rhymes to accompany occasionally pleasant-sounding music.
While the ultimate aim of education is to cultivate the souls of children toward godly virtue, a secondary but related end is the preservation of civilization…
stewards of our civilization must possess well-cultivated language faculties capable of grasping complex and abstract ideas and concepts.
Normal Children Needed
If a proper education is to accomplish or at least to seek to accomplish these tasks, then a normal child is one whose moral imagination is well formed, whose soul is oriented toward a love of logos and the Logos, and who knows and loves the best of his own civilization. Such a child will, perhaps unwittingly, become a steward of the good, the true, and the beautiful. In a world where normal is considered odd, such children are desperately needed.
Mark T. Mitchell teaches political theory at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. He is the co-founder of Front Porch Republic.
Read more: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=22-07-014-v#ixzz1ZpTpK4sP
Angels & Devils – Saul Alinsky Style: #Occupywallstreet
October 2, 2011 Leave a comment
Did you vote for Obama??!! Do you really want “the political paradise of communism”? Do you want the overthrow of our country by youth who use Google, iPods, iPads, iPhones, Facebook, Blackberries etc. – all corporation created products – to demonstrate against Capitalism and the Free Market? How do you feel about the hypocrisy and absurdity of this situation?
You should know that the recent Wall Street Day of Rage in this Obama moment are pages right out of Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals (1971). Here are excerpts from Rules for Radicals:
In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace…. “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.’ This means revolution.” p.3
“A Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism, then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social order of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and finally the last stage — the political paradise of communism.” p.10
“An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth — truth to him is relative and changing; everything to him is relative and changing…. To the extent that he is free from the shackles of dogma, he can respond to the realities of the widely different situations….” pp.10-11
Rules of Radicals book dedication:
“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history… the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”
Alinsky tactic: “One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.” (pps.127-134)
Obama’s connection with Alinsky:
“Obama learned his lesson well. I am proud to see that my father’s model for organizing is being applied successfully beyond local community organizing to affect the Democratic campaign in 2008. It is a fine tribute to Saul Alinsky as we approach his 100th birthday.” –Letter from L. DAVID ALINSKY, son of Neo-Marxist Saul Alinsky.
The demonstrating zealots with their electronics products, in keeping with their anti-corporation/anti-Capitalism theme, will have to discard those products created by the subject of their collective anger and begin to “bang on the drum all day” in order to communicate.
To wit, a 10-5-2011 update:
BTW: Student loan forgiveness by the government makes perfect sense to these kids because of Obama’s dealings with Solyndra. Apparently, Obama thinks our country has money to burn. Obama has set a poor example for our youth.
God help us everyone.
At What Temperature is Capitalism Combustible? >451 degree F?
October 1, 2011 Leave a comment
The Day of Rage and the Night of Irrational Fairness: The “passionate intensity” (see the previous post) to dispose of the lessons of history and Capitalism for the “paradise of communism”.
History has shown that Capitalism has proven its economic worth by providing liberty, free and diverse choices and for our nation’s well-being. Capitalism provides the opportunity for each person to make exchanges what each person needs and wants.
These Wall St. protestors seek to promote, in place of Capitalism, the historically documented as bankrupt socio-economic systems of socialism and communism under the new banner of Democratic Hope and Change. These protestors have no sense of history and no financial sense whatsoever. They appear to only have a sense of self. They live in the universe of self and that is the reason for the cry of “fairness”. Everything is relative to “self”.
“…And it could be said to substitute fairness (a determination which must always be subjective) for justice (the application of the legislated will of the electorate), is to enshrine greed – the greed, in this case, not for wealth, but for preference.”
This quote is from the chapter titled GREED in David Mamet’s recent book, The Secret Knowledge: On Dismantling of American Culture
*****
Cindy Wity 
It’s Time to Cut the Crap
October 14, 2011 2 Comments
Get your shovels ready.
Until we get a president in the White House and while BO is out playing with himself and passing the buck here is what I think should happen to kick-start the economy and downsize the national debt:
1. Stop government funding of public TV and radio immediately. I am not renouncing TV or radio. Instead, I am saying that these communication vehicles can be funded via commercials or donations from viewers/listeners who want what they put out.
2. Stop government funding of the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities immediately. I am an ardent fan of all the arts (except ballet, “Twinkles Down” *on that). Art, in all its forms, should be subsidized by those who want it. e.g., I support my local artists by buying their original art work.
3. Abolish all public education within the next five years. All schools should be privately owned and operated. Remove the NEA teacher’s unions from the classroom. The government can provide vouchers for the very poor. Aspirations are what people need to go forward and not the never-ending government hand outs.
4. Abolish all minimum wage laws and all other unfunded mandates immediately so people can go back to work.
5. Put a five-year moratorium on all EPA regulations. Then, dispose of the EPA altogether in the sixth year.
6. Create a personal income flat tax of across the board on two income levels. Below a yearly income of $40,000.00 (this is an arbitrary number up for discussion) the flat tax rate would be 5% (e.g., $2000.00 for a $40,000. income). For incomes of $40, 000.00 and above the tax rate is 15% (e.g., $6000.00 for a $40000.00 income).
Simplify the tax code to one or two sentences: “You shall pay 15 % of your income for the year XXXX” if you made $40,000.00 or more in that year.
State Sales taxes would be tied to the previous year’s income tax paid as one-ten thousandth of what you paid in income taxes the previous year. (e.g., you made $40,000 last year. You paid $6000.00 in taxes. You next year’s sales tax on any item is $0.60.) A card would be mailed by the government to show what your maximum sales tax would be on any item. (This amount is given that the state should no longer fund education or social programs).
(BTW: These are just some ideas about taxation. The tax code must be simplified. How many tax bureaucrats does the taxpayer pay for by using the current tax code nightmare? We have to think outside the box.)
7. Cut corporate taxes in half for three years and then abolish all corporation taxes. Corporations provide jobs and benefits for people.
8. Abolish all tariffs
9. Immediately repeal the onerous Obamacare and Dodd-Frank Acts and all over-reaching Federal and State regulations so that the economic engine of America can fire properly. Currently, Obamacare is an unfunded mandate.
10. Give each Congressman a six-year term and one term only. Doing this will make the Congressman concentrate on his job and not on creating populist programs that will win him re-election while costing the taxpayer mega-dollars. Term limits would also be devastating to any lobbyist trying to buy the Congressman’s power via re-election campaign monies.
(BTW: The only expertise that long-term Congressmen and Congresswomen receive is how to craft a re-election. Let’s not give power-hungry people more power.)
11. Did it say it already? Abolish the EPA.
12. Privatize the mail delivery system.
13. End social security in five years for those under fifty. Those people can use IRAs or 401k plans instead (These people will make more money and more secure retirement money with these financial vehicles).
14. Limit the use of FEMA to national security emergencies such as 9/11. People living in hazardous locations can buy flood insurance, hurricane insurance, etc or they can move to a safer location.
15. Illinois house cleaning: remove Pat Quinn (D-governor), Dick Durbin (D-senator, his wife is a lobbyist for Government Affairs Specialists, Inc.,in Springfield!), Mike Madigan (D-speaker of the house) and Rahm Emmanuel (D-Chicago mayor) from office ASAP.Illinois has the worst credit rating in the union thanks to the tax and spend Democrats. (And, the most felonious governors)
16. Drill our own natural resources for natural gas and oil.
17. Leave Afghanistan immediately and rebuild our own national fence.
18. Never send another dollar to Pakistan or to the UN, for that matter.
19. Get government out of the housing market. Tear down those Fannie and Freddie walls. (and, remove Democrat Senators Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi from office)
20. Tie government spending to 1.1 % of GDP or better, pass a balanced budget amendment.
21. Eliminate all Social/Economic Tinkering: all of the laws passed (using Stage One thinking*) in order to help Americans (e.g., Dick Durbin’s debit card price controls & the $5 BofA debit card charge) do not operate in isolation. These laws, in the aggregate, affect us negatively and hurt Americans more than they help. You will have to pay more for the use of your debit card in other ways. What goes around comes around, ipso facto.
(* as Thomas Sowell, economist, defines thinking that does look at all of the possible ramifications of a proposed law. Laws do not operate in a vacuum. I highly recommend his latest book, The Thomas Sowell Reader, copyright 2011.)
22. We need free trade agreements passed now.
23. Breakup the monopoly of the US government and Federal Reserve Bank. Better, get rid of most of government and shut down the Federal Reserve Bank.
24. Because lobbyists are voters with lots of campaign money attached and because we have a representative government we must make congress accountable to the people and not solely to lobbyists and special interests. I propose a full disclosure statement be written and posted online every time a representative interacts with a lobbyist. This statement would disclose the date and time of contact, the means of contact, the purpose of contact, the information exchanged and our representative’s disposition to said matter. This statement must be signed by both parties and posted online. This disclosure statement must be done every time – pre, post and during office, night and day, during working hours and during their free time. To not disclose interaction with a lobbyist (I will need legal language here to define lobbyists and special interests.) whether via phone, email, texting, in person or via a third-party would be considered a felony and would be punishable by a minimum of 30 years in prison. This law would affect aides and family, as well.
25. Elect Presidents with business savvy, leadership and management experience – “Twinkles Up”. Do not elect “buff” spoiled brats who spend most of their time looking in the mirror, blaming Bush and playing golf. That would be “Twinkles Down”.**
(**For everyone who is working and NOT a OWS protestor, “Twinkles Down” means “bad” in protestor speak.)
Rate this:
Filed under capitalism, Conservatism, conservative, Culture, Economics, Liberalism, Life As I See It, Political Commentary, Politics, Progressivism, social commentary Tagged with 2012 elections, alan greenspan, Barney Frank, democrats, Dick Durbin, Dodd-Frank, Economics, Fannie Mae, freddie mac, George W. Bush, housing crisis, housing market, Illinois credit rating, less government, Libertarian, monopoly, NPR, Obama, Obamacare, PBS, politics, public policy, public radio, public tv, The Thomas Sowell Reader, Twinkles up & down