December 7th - Never Forget

In memory of the 2,400 + victims of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

May we never forget them or those who were injured on that day. May they always hold a special place in our hearts and our nations collective memory.

God Bless them all.

Harry Reid - In his own words (Debt Ceiling)

You know, things must have been so much easier pre-internet. Back when you could say you were misinterpreted or the writer misquoted you........

Yeah, much easier than having to actually explain how the public's "lying ears" aren't really hearing what it is you are actually saying.

So, in the forum of radical truth what are the answers to the questions you were asking Harry?

Washington DC Name Calling - So this is Civility 101?

So let me just make sure I have this correct.

The Republicans have the audacity to try and extend the healthcare waiver to all Americans for a year, the way the President did for businesses.

As a result the Democrats proceed to call them: Extortionists, Terrorists, Saboteurs, Anarchist, Teabaggers, Squealing Political Pigs, Hostage Takers, Arsonists, Jihadists, Murderers, Unhuinged, Insane, Nazis, Enemy, Etc.,….

And then the Democrats say pass the CR and raise the debt limit and THEN we will negotiate?

What planet am I living on?

"Only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation,..." President Obama, January 12th, 2011.

So this is what passes for civility in America now?

Healthcare – Why do I have a problem with this?

A lot is going on in DC and at the heart of it is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. In fact it has led to a Government shutdown, although that seems to be more of a slogan than a reality. Let’s just say that it is a “slim” down and call it a day.

Nothing ever really shuts down in Washington, except open air memorials and the ocean apparently.

So what is really going on with all of this?

Sadly, most Americans have zero clue as to what is going on. They here “talking points” and think they have a grasp but the majority of times those talking points have no foundation in truth. Like your child saying he doesn’t know how the paint got on the wall when you and he are the only ones in the house.

On one side you have Republicans saying this is a major problem (the ACA) and we need to address it now and you have Democrats on the other side saying it is the law of the land and you need to live with it.

Here is what I know:

1. We have no Budget, haven’t had one in four years. The Senate Majority Leader refuses to take a vote on one. We are running things on a Continuing Resolution (CR). Basically a CR is like two parents who can’t agree on what to spend and not spend so they just keep plugging along and tossing things onto a credit card and lie to each other that they’ll figure it out later.

2. Republicans have presented a number of versions of the CR, each trying to cut away a bit of the ACA. First to defund, then to delay, then to modify, etc… bottom line is this doesn’t have to do with the funding of America as it does with the funding of the ACA. But honestly, that is the roll of the Congress as outlined by the Constitution. You don’t have to agree but it is our system and if you think that it is only the Republicans that do this then you are sadly mistaken and not a student of American politics.

3. The Democratically controlled Senate hung the “closed” sign on the chamber door and said if it doesn’t include a flat out CR, that includes full funding of the ACA, we won’t consider it and we won’t negotiated. So you are effectively at an impasse. But the Senate and President saying it is all Republicans fault is disingenuous at best.

So what is the problem with the ACA? Well, I don’t have enough time to go over everything. Honestly, it is just not a well thought out plan. If this was the private sector it would have died a long time ago. Considering that they have had years to prepare and paid out at least $300 million for the website design you would think we would have gotten something better. Maybe they should have talked to the IT guys at Google or Amazon……. Just saying.

But the fact is private companies handle much greater traffic with far less issues. Considering this was President Obama’s signature legislation you would have assumed they would have pulled out all the stops to ensure it went off without a glitch.

What I do know is that the left is right……. It is the law of the land. Congress passed it in 2010 and the President signed it into law. Remember the whole “we need to pass it to see what is in it…”

So again what is the problem? Well, considering it is the “law” the President himself doesn’t seem to be able to just let it go and see what happens. Consider for a moment the following things that have been changed, not through the legal process but by executive fiat:

Medicare Cuts – Delayed

Employer Mandate – Delayed

Subsidy Verification – Delayed

Out of Pocket Caps – Delayed

Business Enrollment – Delayed

Individual Businesses / Unions – Waived (I believe the last count is 2k plus)

Congress – Waived

This by far not a complete list, but it gives you a little idea of the changes the President has made, while at the same time telling Republicans there can be no changes….. Make sense to you?

Call me crazy, but if everyone is getting a break these days, why aren’t we, as in “we the people” getting the same breaks? My personal opinion is that the delay of the business mandate was put in place because they were afraid that more people would have been kicked off their company medical plans if it had been instituted and there would have been a backlash against the administration during the 2014 midterm elections. With that business delay in place we will never know.

Good political move.

It’s the same reason I think they added children up to 26 on their parents insurance. Why? Well, simple. Imagine the backlash if all of a sudden these kids had to go out and buy their own insurance. For the most part the ramifications of all of this won’t kick in until after the 2016 Presidential elections. By then it’s a moot point politically.

Convenient……….

The administration keeps running around saying that people now have choices, but that’s really a bit of a stretch. The fact is we have always had choices….. At any time any person could shop for and purchase insurance. Sure there were always going to be some road blocks, pre-existing conditions could be problematic, but here’s a news flash: There are going to be problems with ACA!!

At the end of the day, despite all the fancy talking points, the final truth is that not everyone is going to be covered. The administration has already admitted that. The fact is that at present we have about 48 million uninsured. After the ACA is implemented we will still have about 30 million uninsured. What is most telling is that of the 30 million who will remain uninsured, 80% of them are U.S. citizens. So who exactly is benefiting from all of this?

So we had a system that provided coverage to something like 85% + and now we are going to mess around with it for what exactly? Think about how high 85% is……. Is anything that DC runs that effective? 

You need to watch this video of Jon Stewart interviewing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, on his show. Remember, SHE is the Health and Human Services Secretary, a cabinet level position,…… Listen to Stewart’s questions and, more importantly, her “answers.”  Does she even know what is going on?

If this interview was done by anyone on the right it would have been summarily dismissed, but in the uncomfortable humor there is a lot of truth.

The Infamous 2013 DC "Shutdown"

I saw this photo that was taken during an event with the Democratic Progressive Caucus and furloughed federal employees on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.

What originally caught my eye was the writing on the sign: “Set a budget – Do your job – We want to work”

I had to ask myself: “Does anyone get it?”

The other signs show photos of Republican house leadership and contend that it is the Republicans holding their jobs hostage. Here is my problem:

The Senate, under the questionable stewardship of Harry Reid has not passed a budget in four years. That is not to say that Congress has not sent them one, Reid just won’t allow a vote on them.

He is happy to continue getting by with last minute deals and funding the country on Continuing Resolutions and Debt Ceiling increases. That is an absolute disgrace.

So a note to the protestors: “The Congress did present a CR and your Democrat controlled Senate kicked it back. If Reid was interested in doing his job, and letting you do yours, they could have passed the CR and worked on the problems of the ACA which there are a LOT of problems.”

And just for the record, it is the Congress that controls the purse strings not the President. If the House chooses to not fund the Affordable Care Act that is within their purview. If the Senate refuses to accept it that does not mean that it is the Republican’s fault. It means that BOTH houses failed to reach an agreement. That is where the art of negotiation comes in. 

“My way or no way” is not bipartisanship nor is it good faith negotiation. 

 

Correct me if I am wrong.

Cicero's Prognosis - How little we have learned in 50 years

George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."

Take a moment to read this speech, Cicero's Prognosis, by the Honorable Justice Millard Caldwell (D-Fl), who served as a US Army officer during WWI, Florida Governor, Congressman and Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

Of particular note is the quote,  attributed to Marcus Tullius Cicero "Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions and laughed delightedly at his licentiousness and thought it very superior of him to acquire vast amounts of gold illicitly. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the 'new, wonderful good society' which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean 'more money, more ease, more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.' Julius was always an ambitious villain, but he is only one man."

The stop for a moment and remember this speech was from nearly 50 years ago and the original incident was from 70 years before the birth of Christ.

And we wonder why we are in the place we are at today? - Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome.......

http://www.aapsonline.org/brochures/cicero.htm

The Old Man and the White Horse

A while back someone made a great point about our lives and how we view them. They said we look at our lives as a series of photographs, gazing at the images during periods of highs and lows. At the time we may be caught up in joy or seized by agony, but we only see that moment. But God doesn’t see things that way. He sees the movie of our life, He knows the beginning, the middle and the end. To Him, everything makes sense, even the moments when we are in agony.

Today I received a letter from a friend in Asia. He knows about the tribulations we are experiencing now and he forwarded me this parable that I want to share with you. I think it describes precisely what we should all keep in mind, whether we are on the top of the mountain, or in the darkest of valleys.

The Old Man and the White Horse

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village.  Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse.  Even the king coveted his treasure.  A horse like this had never been seen before – such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused.  “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them.  “It is a person.  How could you sell a person?  He is a friend, not a possession.  How could you sell a friend.”  The man was poor and the temptation was great.  But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in his stable.  All the village came to see him.  “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse.  We warned you that you would be robbed.  You are so poor.  How could you ever protect such a valuable animal?  It would have been better to have sold him.  You could have gotten whatever price you wanted.  No amount would have been to high.  Now the horse is gone and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly.  Say only that the horse is not in the stable.  That is all we know; the rest is judgment.  If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed.  The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again.  “All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone.  The rest I don’t know.  Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say.  All we can see is a fragment.  Who can say what will come next?”

The people of the village laughed.  They thought that the man was crazy.  They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn’t, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money.  But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, and old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it.  He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty.  Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned.  He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest.  Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him.  Once again, the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke.  “Old man, you were right and we were wrong.  What we thought was a curse was a blessing.  Please forgive us.”

The man responded, “Once again, you go too far.  Say only that the horse is back.  State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don’t judge.  How do you know if this is a blessing or not?  You see only a fragment.  Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?  You read only one page of a book.  Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of one phrase.  Can you understand the entire phrase?”

“Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word.  All you have is one fragment!  Don’t say that this is a blessing.  No one knows.  I am content with what I know.  I am not perturbed by what I don’t.”

“Maybe the old man is right,” they said to one another.  So they said little.  But down deep, they knew he was wrong.  They knew it was a blessing.  Twelve wild horses had returned.  With a little work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son.  The young man began to break the wild horses.  After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs.  Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

“You were right,” they said.  “You proved you were right.  The dozen horses were not a blessing.  They were a curse.  Your only son has broken both his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you.  Now you are poorer than ever.”

The old man spoke again.  “You people are obsessed with judging.  Don’t go so far.  Say only that my son broke his legs.  Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse?  No one knows.  We only have a fragment.  Life comes in fragments.”

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country.  All the young men of the village were required to join the army.  Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured.  Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken.  There was little chance that they would return.  The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle.  They would never see their sons again.

“You were right, old man,” They wept.  “God knows you were right.  This proves it.  Your son’s accident was a blessing.  His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you.  Our sons are gone forever.”

The old man spoke again.  “It is impossible to talk with you.  You always draw conclusions.  No one knows.  Say only this.  Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not.  No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse.  No one is wise enough to know.  Only God knows.”

Unions – The Myth of the White Knight

First, before the bashing begins, let me say that I have been a member of unions for nearly thirty-five years. I am in no way “anti” union but I will say that I think the majority of Americans need to take a step back and begin to use our brains for a little bit more than storing talking-points.

This has been a long time coming. I have heard all the stories, listened to the endless arguments, and watched as both sides engaged in what I consider to be nothing more than chest beating grandstanding.

A while back I listened as the pundits all came down on municipal pensions. Being retired it is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. It amazed me that many seemed to have the skewed viewpoint that these pensions were somehow at the heart of the financial woes facing these cities / states. It is utter hogwash and I truly expected more from them.

The underlying issue, which never seemed to get any real substantive debate, is the term “unfunded liabilities.”

It sounds wonderfully technical but when you break it down it simply means you charged it and are now bitching because the bill is due.

Pensions, like any other benefit, are part of the overall contract negotiations. During these negotiations both sides enter into an agreement that in exchange for the employer giving “A” the unions will give or give-back “B.” You know it’s a good contract when neither side is overly happy.

In the case of pensions, these are serious numbers. Professionals are involved, actuaries come up with tables, and the data is gone over seven ways to Sunday. For the employer to scream foul later on is disingenuous.

“Unfunded liabilities” simply means that the employer agreed to something and never set the money aside to pay for it. Who is at fault? The greedy union members? No, it is the employer who agreed to the deal and then used the money to fund something else.

Does this make sense to you? It is like blaming the bank when they repossess your car after you stopped making payments. They gave you the money in good faith, and you reneged on the contract.

During all of these discussions I never once heard anyone say: “well, if the unions need to renegotiate the pensions, should the employers give back all the concessions that were negotiated in good faith?”

As you can see, I am hardly anti-union.

That being said, I think we need to start looking at things with clear glasses instead of the rose colored ones we seem to enjoy these days.

Unions are at the vanguard of almost every issue we are facing today. Whether that is healthcare, wages, etc. However, just because they are at the forefront doesn’t necessarily mean they are correct.

A zealot is someone who is a fanatically committed person. Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Judaism. It sought to incite the people of the Judean Province to rebel against the Roman Empire. I see a lot of this manifesting itself today.

While it is good to have passion for something, it is almost always a bad thing to be so passionate that you are blinded to everything beyond it.

Lately I have been watching a lot of coverage on the topic of minimum wages. On one occasion there was coverage of workers storming a McDonalds and demanding more money. Another time I heard a person speaking out against the evils of corporate greed. We all know how popular the theme of wealth redistribution has been lately. As the president says “level the playing field to create equal opportunities.”

Sounds very noble and keeping with the whole “White Knight” theme. But is it honest?

As a kid I started working in a supermarket making minimum wage. At the time it was a great deal, I worked and I got paid. I had no real responsibilities other than to take care of my needs. These were generally simple. As time went on I moved from one job to another, each time climbing a bit higher on the employment ladder as my needs changed. It was a conscientious decision but it was not rocket science. I simply took stock of where I was at financially and made changes based upon what my needs were now. This means that when the job could not provide for me financially, I changed jobs.

While I empathize with the kind folks at the local McDonalds, I gotta say……. It’s McDonalds. If you are unhappy with the wages quit and find something better. If you lack the skills to find something better that’s a good indicator that the problem might not be McDonalds and may in fact be you.

It may sound harsh, but it is life and it doesn’t owe you anything.

I know, I know, …….. Somewhere, someone is pulling a friggen’ Harvard graduate, who happens to be the head fry guy at the local Mickey D’s, out of a closet and saying “see he has skills and deserves more……..”

Really? Sounds a bit more like he chose the wrong school or at least the wrong major, to me.

I have no empathy for struggling college grads. I’d like to, I really would, but you see I paid my way through college on my own (as in ZERO grants, loans, etc..), all while working full time and raising a family. Again, life is tough deal with it.

But we live in an age of deniable personal accountability. It’s always someone else’s fault: mommy, daddy, your boss, God, the kids who picked on you in pre-pre-K, the neighbor, the mailman, the dog, and the absolutely greedy corporate CEO.

Then along comes the wonks at the union. He believe that everything is a conspiracy against the American worker. They sit there and blast the employers for not sharing more of the profits with the employees. They demand better pay, and threaten force to achieve it.

It is a tune that resonates well with its audience. But when you get away from all the smoke and mirrors, what is the truth?

The truth is that no one is holding a gun to the head of the American worker and demanding that he work at a particular job.

This may come as a surprise to many but companies exist to make a profit and those who run companies get rewarded by making big salaries. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the workers will share in that. Unfair? Not really.

When an employee takes a job he or she agrees to it at the wage they pay. There is nothing hidden. No one says “well come to work and every other week we will pay you what we think you are worth.” They are hired based on what they provide to the company. If they bring a lot to the plate they might even get promoted. But if they are hired and turn out to be nothing more than oxygen thieves they will most likely piddle along as a burger flipper for their entire career.

Unlike the worker, the head of a company has a bit more on his plate. The company’s bottom line is his judge. For that he is paid very well. When he fails he is most likely kicked out, generally with a very nice severance package. Is it fair? No, but it is just business. These things were worked out well in advance between both sides. Like a typical contract negotiation, except to the best of my knowledge there is no CEO union.

But is it fair to say that just because you started at the bottom that’s where you are destined to stay?

Hell no and that’s my issue. This is America and if we stop listening to the entire BS about having to level the playing field we would see that we make our own opportunities.

In 1971 Jim Skinner started with McDonald's as a restaurant manager trainee. In 2004 he was named CEO of the company. 

Brian Dunn started with Best Buy in 1985 as a sales associate when there were only 12 stores operating. He was named Director and CEO in 2009.

Jim Ziemer started out at Harley-Davidson as a freight elevator operator in 1969. He became President and CEO in April 2005.

Ursula Burns started in the summer of 1980 as a mechanical engineering intern with Xerox.  In July 2009 she was named CEO and then Chairman in May 2010.

You see, my experience is that if you are hard working and show some thought and initiative, most companies don’t want to lose you.

But when you have the union head spewing this vitriol about “us versus them” the waters get really muddy. So here is my advice to my fellow union members. When they start talking about corporate greed and “fair wages” for all, ask yourself if the hard earned money that goes into your union dues should be used for your benefit or the benefit of the union heads?

I’ll leave you with this to chew on.

Michael J. Sullivan, general president of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association. Salary: $1,043,023.

Robert A. Scardelletti, international president of the Transportation Communications Union. Salary: $748,531.

Newton B. Jones, president of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.
Salary: $607,022.

Terence M. O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America. Salary: $589,124

John T. Niccollai, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Salary: $532,752.

Paul Rinaldi, president Air Traffic Controllers. Salary: $411,740.

Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president. Salary: $407,323. 

Walter Wise, Iron Workers president. Salary: $397,684.

Edwin Hill, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Salary: $380,688.

Dennis Van Roeke, National Education Association president. Salary $362,644.

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president. Salary: $301,932.

Brian Lambert, SEIU vice president. Salary: $296,161.

At some point, you have to ask yourself the question. If I’m struggling to make ends meet, why am I paying the union bosses so much money? Truth is, a strong union means job security for the top people.

In the end there will always be some type of pay disparity, whether it is between workers and workers, workers and management, or even workers and their union representatives. The bottom line is that if the job you are at isn’t cutting it, maybe you need to begin looking elsewhere.

I never thought I would quote Ashton Kutcher, on anything….. Ever! I don’t agree with him on political issues and, to be quite honest, I am not a very big fan of his acting. Yet I find myself compelled to quote him today.  

“I never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work.” – Ashton Kutcher, Teen Choice Awards.

Different Styles of Leadership (in Pictures)

I realize that I am potentially running the risk of ever being allowed to become a Rodeo Clown, at least in the state of Missouri, but I think I have to take the risk and lighten things up a bit.

I came across this photo today and I seriously could not stop laughing.

And the man always looks like he "knows" it's going to blow up.....

 Then it reminded me of this interesting little photo and I laughed even harder.

Obama: I'd rather be golfing
Putin: Seriously, this is who's running your country?

 Then, after I stopped laughing I realized how much of a laughing stock we have become.

In the run up to the 2008 election we were sold a bill of goods that said President Obama was going to restore America’s credibility around the world. We were told he was the smartest guy in the room and that he would repair the foreign affairs disasters that had befallen us under the prior administration.

Here we are almost five years later and the world is erupting and our global credibility and foreign affairs portfolio lies in tatters. You wonder why no one seems to take the President of the United States seriously any more?

Tell me who you would take more seriously?

The Formative Years: Choom Gang vs KGB

Does this really need a caption ?

So who are some of the people you hang out with?
To be honest, some of those fund raising events can be down right brutal.......

So how do you spend your vacations ?

What can I say....... at least he's not wearing those bands around his pant legs 

Photo Op picture vs Trained Killer

Views on the Military

At the end of the day I have got to believe that when it comes down it, the reason why no one takes us seriously is obvious.

Any Questions? Nyet....... Good

Humor, it's a nice thing to have when the world seems to be crumbling around you. So lighten up, you know this was funny.

Political Hypocrisy - Which mask do you wear?

I’m tired of the nonsense that seems to have become an entrenched sport in this country. I’m talking about political hypocrisy, that crazy notion that says if you are on the right of an issue and speak out at the other side you are labeled as a racist, a “tea bagger” or some other vile epitaph, while if you are on the left and do the same you are some how an insightful political visionary and your comments are above reproach.

In Missouri, a rodeo clown……. Yes, seriously, I am talking about a real rodeo clown, has been fired and banned for life for having the unmitigated gall of wearing a mask of President Obama at an event and poking fun at him. Not only that, but the president of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association has also quit and is now worried that the fallout will affect his daily job as a school superintendent. The school system announced that it is hiring an investigator to look into whether any “inappropriate conduct” was involved.

The Daily Kos quoted one spectator who said he had never seen anything “so blatantly racist in his life,” and that the scene was like “an effigy at a Klan rally.” 

Really? I wonder how many Klan rallies said spectator attends?

I wonder whether this individual felt the same disgust when they were hanging effigies of former President Bush?

The NAACP, actually called for the Secret Service and the Justice Department to look into the matter: “The activities at the Missouri State Fair targeting and inciting violence against our President are serious and warrant a full review by both the Secret Service and the Justice Department. Incidents involving individuals acting out with extreme violent behavior….”

Seriously, did anyone miss the part about this was a RODEO CLOWN?

So it has come to this? We are now going to regulate what is acceptable comedy? Hmmm, how’s that going to play out for the likes of Bill Maher, Lewis Black and Janeane Garofalo.

I’m sorry, but this is nothing more than political hypocrisy. Whether you agree with the politics, where was the outcry from the media and those on the left when former President Bush was the subject of far worse? Including those advocating for his death.

Why is it that the current President should be immune from the comedy and satire that has followed the vaunted footsteps of every president before him? The left, with the help of the media and Hollywood, have seated him upon a throne in some sort of quasi political Valhalla and have declared that he is not to be referred to in anything less than reverential tones.

If the Missouri State Fair had opted to simply tell the man that this type of behavior was not in keeping with their standards and he was not hired again that would have been fine to me. But it is the ensuing ground swell movement to make this mole hill into a mountain that bothers me on a fundamental level.

I vividly recall seeing former President Bush: hung in effigy, depicted as Satan, depicted as Hitler, accused of war crimes, and generally decried as the poster child for all things evil. And yet, the outcry from those on the left was non existent.

Heck there were people who were willing to say that they actually supported Saddam Hussein and he was in fact not only evil but guilty of actual war crimes.

Segue to 2008 and 2012. President Obama is elected with a 52.87% popular vote percentage in 2008 and 51.07% in 2012 and yet some how we still live in a “racist” country.

Enough,…. Stop already.

Is there racism? Hell yes there is but lets be honest, 10 out of 10 people are going to DISLIKE something or someone. I don’t have to dislike you because of your skin color, but I also don’t have to like you because of it. Same goes for gender, religion, or any other characteristic and don’t even get me started on professional sports. Hell, for that matter you can be a “political party” hater. But do we honestly live in a country that is wracked with systemic racism when the president is elected by a popular majority? Heck, his numbers actually beat out his predecessor, Ronald Reagan (1980), JFK and the Democratic Party’s darling, Bill Clinton.

This BS has gone on so long people actually believe it, yet it is those so called “civil rights activists” who are the true purveyors of this nonsense and they have turned it into a very lucrative cottage business. It is ironic that their previous use of incendiary race rhetoric is now forgotten and they have been welcome into the main stream with open arms. I guess racist opinions and comments are acceptable by the media, depending on who is hurling the slurs and pejoratives.

This country is not perfect, but I don’t know of any that is. But if you want to talk about racism and direct it at those on the right maybe you need a little bit of a history lesson here. In 1870 Hiram Revels became the first African-American to be elected to the Congress. He was a Republican. This was around the same time that Democrats founded the Ku Klux Klan. As President Obama said during the last campaign: “You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts.”

The truth is I do not agree with the President on a majority of issues. This DOES NOT inherently make me a racist. It makes me someone who is fairly well versed in US politics and who holds differing opinions. News flash, I disagreed on a number of issues with President Bush. Does this some how also make me a “RACE TRAITOR”…………

No, and I laughed at some of the skits on SNL when they poked fun at President Bush because I knew it was,…… ok lets all say this together,….. “comedy.”

I remember when I joined the NYPD in 1985. At the time I was told by one of the instructors in the police academy to “grow a thick skin” or it was going to be a really long twenty years.

I think America has to take that advice. Just because I may disagree with someone does not make me a racist.

We live in a Constitutional Republic not a Monarchy, not a Dictatorship. At the end of the day I can mock the President of the United States if I so choose. Many celebrities make a very good living out of it; at least they did under the prior administration. Depending on the comments it might make me crass, but it does not make me a racist.

The people of this country need to start to develop their “thick skin” or at the very least put on their big boy pants…………. Sorry, forgot to include big girl pants for all those who would like to accuse me of political incorrectness.

The beloved cowboy, actor and political satirist Will Rogers, who was also a Democrat, once said about FDR’s “New Deal”: “Lord, the money we do spend on Government and it's not one bit better than the government we got for one-third the money twenty years ago.”

Good thing he died in 1935. He’d have never worked again in Hollywood in 2013.

Funny thing though, the jokes he said seventy-five years ago sound exactly like the situation we are facing today. Maybe we should start paying more attention to our comedians and less to our politicians.

Extortion 17 – Never Forget

Today marks the 2^nd anniversary of Extortion 17. Another anniversary, another series of unanswered questions. It is starting to become the norm.

On 6 August 2011, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged Army Ranger unit in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan.

The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board, including 25 American special operations personnel, five helicopter crewmen, seven Afghan commandos, and one Afghan interpreter, as well as a U.S. military working dog. It is considered the worst loss of U.S Military life in the Afghanistan campaign, surpassing Operation Red Wings in 2005. Of the 25 special ops personnel killed, 22 were US Navy SEAL’s, inlcuing 15 from DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6).

That’s what happened. The question now is: what really happened? Too many unsettling questions remain to close the case on this. Yet, like in so many recent events, the silence is deafening.

If you don’t know about Extortion 17, then you owe it to those brave military men who lost their lives to research it and then ask: What really happened?

• Why was no air support cover provided during the mission into a live fire hot zone, in violation of standard protocol?

• Why were all of the bodies cremated without the families’ permission?

• Why were the seven Afghani troops originally listed on the flight changed at the last minute with seven others yet no changes were made to the flight manifest?

• Who ordered the Afghani troop change and for what reason?

• Why were the two flight data recorders supposedly not recovered from the crash site? A claim that a flash flood washed them away was given to the families. We recover them from the ocean floor, yet we can’t find them in a desert?

• What was the urgency that necessitated this last minute operation? Supposedly this was an urgent mission but no explanation or evidence has been provided to indicate why. Who provided the intelligence for this mission?

• The drone quit working at the time of the crash. The U.S. military also claims it did not know the identity of the helicopter that crashed for ten minutes. What caused the multi-layered surveillance and communications black out?

• After the crash, over one hundred U.S. military troops descended on the area, including pathfinders. Why were they not available before?

The people in this country have been divided into political camps. It is time for us to get our heads out of our collective asses and stop thinking as Republicans or Democrats and start thinking as Americans. We deserve better, and we owe it to the memory of those who have paid the ultimate price.

My Debut Novel: Perfect Pawn - Kickstarter Campaign

Welcome, I’d like to take a moment to thank you for reading this. I hope that when you are done you will consider helping to fund my Kickstarter campaign to self-publish my debut suspense / thriller novel Perfect Pawn.

As many of you know, I completed the manuscript for Perfect Pawn awhile back. However, it was not until after the actual writing was completed that I began to see how much work actually was ahead of me. After much consideration and research, I have decided to self-publish the book. I have taken the time to outline the reasons below.

I have decided to utilize a  Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter is a crowd-funding campaign. What this does is allow you to pull together a diverse group of individuals who invest in your project. That investment can be as little as $1.00 or as much as you care to give. There are two things to Kickstarter that I thought were unique. One is you can provided rewards to your investors based on their financial support. The other is that Kickstarter is all or nothing, meaning that if I don’t get to the goal I set for the campaign, no one gets charged.

Right now you might be asking why I am choosing to do this campaign. In fact, this was not an easy decision to reach. So I’d like to take a moment to explain the reasons for this choice.

If you had asked me a year ago what I thought was the hardest thing about writing I probably would have told you that it was the writing. As the months rolled along what I found was that the writing part actually came quite easy to me. I could close my eyes and watch the scene play out in my head and it was just a matter of putting what I saw onto the paper, or in this case typing them onto the computer screen.

What I didn’t know was that the hard work would only begin when the manuscript was completed. It was then that I began to do my research into agents, querying, publishing houses, etc. I spoke to a number of my fellow writers, soliciting their advice based on their experiences. While many were happy to sing the praises of going the traditional publishing route, a growing number seemed to be decidedly against. Here is a breakdown of what I learned.

On average the time it takes for a perfect book to go from manuscript to published is 18-24 months. Mind you that is the perfect book and the perfect scenario. Meaning the stars aligned and you immediately found an agent who loved you, dropped most of their other projects to shop yours, and then found the perfect publishing house that green lighted your project and put it on the fast track. So what are the actual odds of this happening? Well, let’s just say that you might want to go grab one of those lotto tickets.

Consider that Stephen King’s Carrie was rejected 30 times and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times.

So what does self-publishing entail? Well, a lot more work then the actual writing.

I take on the roll of editor, graphic designer, formatter, agent, advertising, and publisher.

Does that seem like a lot of work to you? It does to me. However, there is a benefit as well. For me, self-publishing gives me something that the traditional road doesn’t:  Autonomy.

What does that mean to the reader? Well, they get an authors story the way it was intended to be. Right now, Perfect Pawn is almost 117k words. If I had opted to go the traditional publishing route it is entirely possible that at least 17k words would need to be removed. Why you ask, because paper is money and those extra words take up a whole lot of paper in a book. Traditional publishers are less likely to take a risk with a debut author and the cutoff is generally 100K words. In my book, 17k words are equal to about three whole chapters. I can’t imagine removing even one chapter let alone three. I personally think that I would be cheating my readers if I did this. I’m a story teller and I have had a number of people beta read this manuscript. Not one time did someone say “you put too much information in it.” Quite the contrary, most were beating down my inbox to get the next chapters to read.

So now I have the responsibility of making my book the very best it can be, which is why I need your help. Here are the things that your funding will help me accomplish:

• Editing: The book has already gone through a half dozen edits, but now it needs to be done by a professional copy editor.
• Graphics: I have done the conceptual graphic artwork for the cover, but now I need to have a professional graphics artist refine it and format it for both the paperback as well as the hardcover jacket.
• Formatting: One of the most important things, aside from having a great story, is to ensure that the reader has an enjoyable experience. That means that the book is formatted correctly. Ever read a book that had bad indentations, line spacing, etc? It’s horrible. In the age of self-publishing, it is important not to over look this, especially since each format: e-book, paperback, hard cover, etc., uses different formatting.
• Production: Physical creation of the actual books. Despite what many people think, authors, at least not those just starting out, don’t get heaps of books thrown on them. Remember, paper is money. This is especially true for self-publishing. You have to pay to get them printed.
• Advertising: This is one of the biggest factors. I don’t care how great your book is, if you don’t advertise your book, you don’t stand a chance. Not only do I want your help financially, but I hope that after reading the excerpt (see the link below), that you will forward it to all your friends on Facebook, Twitter and E-Mail.

Perfect Pawn is the perfect debut novel. It has a bit of everything, for almost every reader. It mingles traditional Police / Crime with some Mystery, Suspense & Thriller elements, with a dash of Romance, and a splash of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

With a readers background I knew what I liked and I wanted my readers to feel the same enjoyment I got when I read what I liked to call “roller coaster” books. Those are the ones that you kick yourself for starting in the evening because at 3 a.m. you’re still turning pages.

So that’s why I am self-publishing, to give you the full story and character development as I intended them to be.

Remember, this is only the first book in a series. I’m already about 1/3 of the way through on the sequel. If I can get this project funded, I can concentrate on writing more.

I have posted a portion of the books Prologue for you to read: Perfect Pawn – Prologue (Partial)

If you like what you read, I would really appreciate your support by visiting by Kickstarter campaign site: Perfect Pawn - Kickstarter Campaign

If you can’t financially support me would you please consider sharing this with your friends and family through E-mail, Facebook or on Twitter.

Thank you for your support and God Bless,

Andrew

Happy Independence Day

As we gather today with family and friends to enjoy BBQ's, watch fireworks, or just relax at some sun soaked beach, let us never forget the reason why we have this day to celebrate.

On this day in 1776 we declared our independence from the King of England. But the reality is that this declaration was just the beginning and many lost their lives fighting for this independence. Not just during the Revolutionary War, but in many conflicts thereafter.

As we go about enjoying this day, may we never forget the sacrifices of our military personnel.

In the immortal words of John Adams, “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom I see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means. This is our day of deliverance.”

May God continue to Bless America. 

Trusting God

“In God We Trust”

Great slogan that, as Americans, appears in our lives on a daily basis.

It’s our national motto. It’s etched in our currency, noted on license plates and written in the Star Spangled Banner.

Many people say it, but do they really understand it?

How do you know when you are really trusting in God?

You know it in your heart when that same heart is breaking under the weight of trials and tribulations, and your world seems to be crumbling. And at that moment, instead of praying to God to make it better, to take the pain away, and to make everything right again, you say “Your will Father, not mine.”

It is not about God making all the wrongs of life better, but trusting the fact that no matter how bad things get, how deep the hurt and pain is inside you, God will be there at your side and will not leave you.

John 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

No More Political Parties – Change we CAN believe in

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty." — George Washington, September 19, 1796

I piss people off.

My 17, going on 70, year old daughter will attest to that little fact.

I don’t try to, but there comes a point when you need to speak up and state, unequivocally, where you stand on issues.

I think Washington, D.C. needs a dose of this.

The other day I got pulled into a sports conversation and I admitted that I have adopted the George Carlin position on sports:

“I decided it's not necessary to suffer and feel crappy just because my teams suck. What I do now is cut 'em loose for awhile. I simply let them go about losing, as I go about living my life. Then, when they've improved, and are doing well once again, I get back on board and enjoy their success. Yeah, I know, I can hear it: diehard, asshole loyal sports fans screaming, "Front-runner!" Goddamn right! Don't be fuckin' juvenile. Teams are supposed to provide pleasure and entertainment, not depression and disappointment.

…. Why on earth would you place your happiness and peace of mind in the hands of several dozen strangers? Listen, folks, if they win, fine; if they lose, fuck 'em! Let 'em practice more.”

Does that sound harsh?

I hope so, because it is the truth.  I've talked about it before. Political Parties Explained.

Every day I turn on the TV and I become depressed. Why you ask? Because politicians have turned into Athletes.

Rather then practice more, they have adopted the status quo and now just point fingers at the other guy.

Remember when EVERYONE hated the Yankees?

Why?

Because they fielded the best team possible. Period. End of story.

Well, we, as Americans, have been duped into rooting for two opposing teams, but the fact that they both suck doesn’t seem to mean much to them. They just point their finger at the other team and expect you to believe them.

But they are lying to your face and worse YOU actually believe them.

I’m not going to get into who lies more, Republican or Democrat. I’m just going to give you one sample because I think it fits into the discussion we are having in America right now over the whole NSA issue.

In May 2006, then Senator Joseph Biden said

"I don't have to listen to your phone calls to know what you're doing. If I know every single phone call that you've made, I'm able to determine every single person you talk to; I can get a pattern about your life that is very, very intrusive."

"The real question here is what do they do with this information they collect that does not have anything to do with Al-Qaida? We're going to trust the president and vice president of the United States that we're doing the right thing? Don't count me in on that."

So, how exactly is that working out for you? Bet you'd love to have those words back, huh Joe?

You see, my point is this, both sides lie to you. Without remorse or fear because they know you will continue to vote by party lines. But what would happen if we did away with the parties? What would D.C. look like if we removed the political party finger pointing?

Wouldn’t it be a novel idea if we forced people to run a campaign based, not on which party band wagon they have hoped on, but the issues.

Honestly, how many of you ever bothered to find out where the “other” guy stood on issues before going into the polling booth? Most likely you voted the following:

PARTY LINE.

I’m not condemning you. We have been ingrained to think this way.

But have you ever wondered if that’s exactly why we are in the position we are today?

It can not be right when one party does it and then wrong when another party does it.

That’s disingenuous and if the people in “your” party are telling you “well it’s complicated” they are lying to you.

The complicated issue is that you got caught doing the same thing you railed against.

In other words “the other team really didn't "stack the deck, we just suck right now.”

I don’t know about you, but I am not going to vote by party any longer, I am going to vote by person.

There’s a campaign slogan I can get behind: PERSON, NOT PARTY.

Follow me on Twitter: @Huntzmanblog

Benghazi - 9 months later and still nothing

White House: September 12th, 2012 - "......And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people."

President Obama then went to Las Vegas for a campaign event where he told the assembled audience "We had a tough day today as some of you know"

Now, I understand that the administration currently has a lot on their plate, mainly: NSA / Prism Scandal, IRS Scandal, Secret Service Prostitution Scandal, Fort Hood Work Place Violence Scandal, State Department Prostitution Scandal, DOJ Media Scandal, ATF Fast & Furious Scandal, GSA Scandal, Pigford Scandal, the whole Green Energy $$$ Debacle and oh yeah, and just in case you forgot, unemployment is still close to eight percent.

However, is it wrong to wonder what is being done to address the attack on our diplomatic facility and the murder of four Americans, including our Ambassador? Not to mention those injured.

Where is the outcry for justice from the left?

So far, all I have seen is a brave man, Gregory Hicks, former deputy chief of mission in Benghazi, demoted for having the audacity to speak the truth. While our vaunted UN Ambassador, Susan Rice, has been elevated to the post of National Security Advisor for going out and lying on behalf of the administration.

Justice? or Just Us?

When questioned about this Gregory Hicks made the following comments before Congress:

“In hindsight, I think it began after I asked the question about Ambassador Rice’s statement on the TV shows,” Hicks said of the criticism during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the attack.

Hicks said he asked Assistant Secretary Beth Jones why Rice made the statements that she did on the 9/16/13 Sunday talk shows.

“Her reaction was ‘I don’t know,’ and it was very clear from the tone that I should not proceed with any further questions,” he told lawmakers.

Jones eventually “delivered a blistering critique of my management style,” Hicks said, “and even exclaimed “I don’t know why Larry Pope [the top U.S. diplomat in Libya] would want you to come back.”

But what about Jones? On September 12, Jones had emailed Hicks and several other State Department officials stating that she told the Libyan government that the Benghazi attack had been carried out by a terrorist group.

“I spoke to the Libyan ambassador and emphasized the importance of Libyan leaders continuing to make strong statements. I told him that the group that conducted the attacks, Ansar al Sharia, is affiliated with Islamic terrorists.”

But if she sent that email, then why did Susan Rice say what she did several days later?

Face it folks, it is one more lie you are being told. When are you going to wake up and demand that, if nothing else, we recognize that we lost four Americans needlessly?

Everyone in the administration has said “help would not have arrived in time…….”

My question is “How did you know when the attack was going to end?”

If we don’t get any other answers, we need to know whether or not the President of the United States, on September 11^th, when he was notified of the attack, ever gave authorization to the United States Military to respond to Benghazi to help.

Very simple answer: Yes or No

They Deserve It !!!!!

 Follow me on twitter @Huntzmanblog

Out of Touch - Washington DC

There are times when I jump up on my soap box and preach about how out of touch the folks in Washington, D.C. have become. Sometimes I feel as if I am preaching to the choir, other times I feel as if my pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

We are in a really bad place here. 40% of the country feels we are being lied to and 40% feel as if we are being told the "God's honest truth" while another 20% have absolutely no clue and think Ben Ghazi is that guy who was in the Iron Man 3 movie. I remember when I was young and the average "unsure" percentage was in the single digits. People seemed to be better informed.

Please watch this video, listen to the words being expressed. It doesn't matter whether you are an (R) (D) (I) (Whatever)......... you know what he is saying is true. I'm not a big fan of attorney's, but sometimes you find the one person who seems to get it.

Lying to ourselves has gotten us here, ignoring the truth is only going to make it worse.

D-Day - June 6th, 1944

When I got up this morning I turned on the TV, as I am habitually prone to do, and began watching the talking heads spouting off about one scandal or another that is going on in the swamp none as Washington D.C.

What I noted was that there was virtually nothing about what truly separates this day apart from all the others. I guess political scandal trumps all others.

For those who served and for all those lost at Pointe Du Hoc and Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah & Omaha beaches, a reminder that you will never be forgotten.

I can't help but wonder, as I watch the antics in D.C. and the disgusting "massaging" of the words someone said or didn't say, if those young men storming the beaches knew what would happen, would they have risked it all? Are we minimizing their sacrifice as we hold our elected officials to such a low  threshold.

Did the greatest generation give us the lamest generation?

Follow me on Twitter @Huntzmanblog

Is Big Brother Actually Watching Us?

If you were born anytime over the last several decades, chances are you, like me, have read the George Orwell's book, 1984. Most likely it was a required read at school and you may have even done a report about it. 

Like most you probably hated reading it because you know, it's really old...... and never thought it could happen here anyway. But what if it already has?

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading the big, the premise is Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence, where the ruling Party wields complete power, for its own sake, over its citizens. Everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, and the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you."

But when the book was written in 1949, this was basically avant garde science fiction. Sixty plus years later has fiction met reality?

Think that you are not being watched? That you have anonymity as you walk down the street or gather with your friends to watch a parade? Click on the link below to answer that question. When the screen comes up, double click on any area to see the area in greater detail.

http://www.gigapixel.com/image/gigapan-canucks-g7.html

Want to commit a crime while hiding in a crowd? Don't think for a minute that you'll have anonymity in a large crowd and the government won't be able to ID you! 

Mind you, this is just what can be done with a commercially available camera. Imagine what government and law enforcement have at their disposal!

The reason this scares me to the extent that it does is the fact that anything that can be used for the good of the common man, can also be used against him if safeguards are not in place to protect from abuse.

Follow me on twitter @Huntzmanblog