Have you ever wondered what would happen to our lives if all of a sudden people decided to stop being dishonest? The cynic would claim that such an event could be the beginning of mass violence, murder, suicide and economic collapse. They would claim that our society, nay, the entire world is deeply rooted in a culture of deception. People have been conditioned to not only accept the little lies we consistently tell each other, but have come to expect them to the point that, when confronted with actual truth, they cannot process it.
When Bill Clinton faced the news camera and shook his finger at America while lying about his affair with Monica Lewinski, it was apparent, even to his most fervent followers that he was not being honest. Later, it was revealed that very few of his published honors and accomplishments were based in actual fact. That revelation has done little, if any to harm his ongoing career after the White House.
George Bush the elder also lied to America in much the same way. The only difference was that his lie was economic rather than lurid, but being a Republican in a country controlled by liberal media and thought police, his punishment was swift and politically devastating…for about four years and then the previous-mentioned liar came in.
Al Gore has to be the champ when it comes to spinning falsehoods, though John Kerry and his imagined heroism comes in a close second. Global Warming is simply the greatest hoax pushed upon the world stage…period. Nothing else even comes close. The most recent guffaw is how Gore and his fellow Warmingites explain that the current cooling trend is nothing more than a prime example as how “warming” is affecting the earth. Yes and, Glen Beck said it best, “Exxon’s massive profits are simply an example of how little money they are making.” Try telling the people in Fargo they are in danger of dying from global warming. The last temp there was several degrees below zero.
I remember the Spotted Owl brouhaha. One of the last jobs I did as a sign shop owner involved a Circle K store with an occupied owl nest in its sign. Seems Spotted Owls can only survive in old growth Circle K forests.
Here in Nevada, I tried proposing an immigration reform bill. It wasn’t the Democrats who opposed it, it was the Republicans. They claimed I was trying to bankrupt the state. These legislators are also people who claim to love the constitution. They claim to be moral and to love the law. They lie. They are not concerned about business being able to make ends meet as much as they are concerned about the next campaign contribution and their ability to spend it in nonpolitical goodies.
The truth is expensive and it can be inconvenient, but it will never disappoint and it will never cheat. So we kick out all the liars. Will that ruin our country? What do you think would be the economic picture if every politician upheld the truth and went after those who cheated, lied and stole? So we wouldn’t have Bush, Cheney, Reid and Pelosi. So what? Is any one so naive to believe they are the best we can get?
Showing posts with label Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bush. Show all posts
Monday, January 5, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
We do not need Ideologues, we need Idealists.
I have found that it is an understanding of the subtleties of the English language that is the last item on the learning list, especially if that learner is a member of the media; doubly so if that learner is a political pundit who believes their own hype.
This lesson is no more apparent than in the ramblings of the right wing fringe that piloted the ship of the GOP onto this last election’s iceberg. The general topic of conversation from these ideologues has been about how the so-called moderate republicans were the ones who caused the current situation. For the life of me, I cannot see how those who thought the Bush agenda of talking conservative while spending and acting like Harry Reid’s evil twin was the wrong way to go, could be the source of the GOP’s current lack of power.
It must be pointed out that these same ideologues were the one’s who saw no dichotomy in proclaiming John McCain their perfect candidate, even though the good senator’s voting record and bills suggest he is far from what any intelligent observer of history would call conservative. These same pundits saw no hypocrisy in supporting McCain while in the background they worked overtime to trash the reputation of his running mate, Sarah Palin. In my opinion, it was the Alaskan Governor’s unfailing and effective opposition to corruption, even when it arose within her own party, which set these so-called bastions of conservatism against her.
In my own state of Nevada, I experienced a similar reaction. As a freshman State Assemblyman, I was attacked by my own party leadership because I wrote a bill that would have forced a business leader to obey an existing law protecting employees from theft by those employing them. For those reporters reading this, I will restate it in simpler language. My bill would have stopped the boss stealing from his workers. Because of this bill, every leading member of the Republican Party in Nevada began working to remove me from my Assembly seat. I was even warned by a sitting State Senator, a State Senator who attends nearly ever bible study held during session, to remove my opposition to this businessman’s theft. My Canadian readers will notice the obvious hypocrisy.
An ideologue will follow the party line regardless where it leads. Corrupt, illegal, even immoral actions are of no consequence. Only party loyalty matters. Those who step out of line, especially those who effectively clean up corruption within the party, are considered traitors to the cause. An idealist is an anathema. An idealist cannot be corrupted and is therefore untrustworthy to the corrupt. Even worse, an idealist cannot be bought. The phrase, “He’s too honest, we can’t trust him,” was spoken by the Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman concerning my own political future after I proved I wasn’t for sale at any price. This was the same chairwoman who violated both state and federal law by ordering the state convention closed before the final vote could be counted. This order came after Ron Paul won the majority of delegates. His wasn’t the prevailing ideology the leadership could afford to support.
To be fair, both major parties are rife with corruption. In fact, corruption has become the common state of affairs; the recent Senate Seat for Sale affair in Illinois is an example of Democrat corruption. Ted Stevens’ 30 year reign of selling his vote in Alaska is a prime example of GOP corruption. Between these two towering infernos of graft stands the thinning herd of idealists. To the idealist, the constitution should be the final arbiter of any concern within and without this country. The Founding Fathers set up hard and fast rules as to how this country should treat its citizens and how the citizens should act out their citizenship. Party ideologues find the constitution an inconvenience at best, and an enemy to be thwarted at worst. They will place the welfare of governments openly hostile to America before that of Americans if there is money to be had in the deal. The ongoing negotiation with Mexico in regard to the US/Mexico super highway is an example. The arrest and conviction of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean because they had the audacity to stop a Mexican drug runner from completing his mission, is another. The Bush Administration’s firing of every federal prosecutor who appeared to be competently honest, is a glaring third. For an ideologue, honesty is not a virtue.
We need Idealists in this country, not Ideologues…whether they be right wing or left wing makes not difference. The past eight years has shown us the result of ideologue leadership. Ronald Reagan asked a very pertinent question of America when he was debating Jimmy Carter, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” I can ask the same now, but let’s change the number from four to eight. Carter’s ideology evaporated the last vestiges of a robust economy like the summer sun on a snowflake. Bush’s ideology has produced an even more devastating result simply because he was granted twice the amount of time.
An idealist functions within the framework of what should be, not what is. The Founding Fathers gave us a template of what should be. Within that framework is the principle of fairness regardless of you circumstances. Everyone, regardless of sex, race, age, or position should be given the same consideration and the same opportunity. Position, power, wealth…none of these should matter in the eyes of the law. That is the world of the idealist and it is adamantly opposed to that of the ideologue.
At least, that’s how it should be.
This lesson is no more apparent than in the ramblings of the right wing fringe that piloted the ship of the GOP onto this last election’s iceberg. The general topic of conversation from these ideologues has been about how the so-called moderate republicans were the ones who caused the current situation. For the life of me, I cannot see how those who thought the Bush agenda of talking conservative while spending and acting like Harry Reid’s evil twin was the wrong way to go, could be the source of the GOP’s current lack of power.
It must be pointed out that these same ideologues were the one’s who saw no dichotomy in proclaiming John McCain their perfect candidate, even though the good senator’s voting record and bills suggest he is far from what any intelligent observer of history would call conservative. These same pundits saw no hypocrisy in supporting McCain while in the background they worked overtime to trash the reputation of his running mate, Sarah Palin. In my opinion, it was the Alaskan Governor’s unfailing and effective opposition to corruption, even when it arose within her own party, which set these so-called bastions of conservatism against her.
In my own state of Nevada, I experienced a similar reaction. As a freshman State Assemblyman, I was attacked by my own party leadership because I wrote a bill that would have forced a business leader to obey an existing law protecting employees from theft by those employing them. For those reporters reading this, I will restate it in simpler language. My bill would have stopped the boss stealing from his workers. Because of this bill, every leading member of the Republican Party in Nevada began working to remove me from my Assembly seat. I was even warned by a sitting State Senator, a State Senator who attends nearly ever bible study held during session, to remove my opposition to this businessman’s theft. My Canadian readers will notice the obvious hypocrisy.
An ideologue will follow the party line regardless where it leads. Corrupt, illegal, even immoral actions are of no consequence. Only party loyalty matters. Those who step out of line, especially those who effectively clean up corruption within the party, are considered traitors to the cause. An idealist is an anathema. An idealist cannot be corrupted and is therefore untrustworthy to the corrupt. Even worse, an idealist cannot be bought. The phrase, “He’s too honest, we can’t trust him,” was spoken by the Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman concerning my own political future after I proved I wasn’t for sale at any price. This was the same chairwoman who violated both state and federal law by ordering the state convention closed before the final vote could be counted. This order came after Ron Paul won the majority of delegates. His wasn’t the prevailing ideology the leadership could afford to support.
To be fair, both major parties are rife with corruption. In fact, corruption has become the common state of affairs; the recent Senate Seat for Sale affair in Illinois is an example of Democrat corruption. Ted Stevens’ 30 year reign of selling his vote in Alaska is a prime example of GOP corruption. Between these two towering infernos of graft stands the thinning herd of idealists. To the idealist, the constitution should be the final arbiter of any concern within and without this country. The Founding Fathers set up hard and fast rules as to how this country should treat its citizens and how the citizens should act out their citizenship. Party ideologues find the constitution an inconvenience at best, and an enemy to be thwarted at worst. They will place the welfare of governments openly hostile to America before that of Americans if there is money to be had in the deal. The ongoing negotiation with Mexico in regard to the US/Mexico super highway is an example. The arrest and conviction of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean because they had the audacity to stop a Mexican drug runner from completing his mission, is another. The Bush Administration’s firing of every federal prosecutor who appeared to be competently honest, is a glaring third. For an ideologue, honesty is not a virtue.
We need Idealists in this country, not Ideologues…whether they be right wing or left wing makes not difference. The past eight years has shown us the result of ideologue leadership. Ronald Reagan asked a very pertinent question of America when he was debating Jimmy Carter, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” I can ask the same now, but let’s change the number from four to eight. Carter’s ideology evaporated the last vestiges of a robust economy like the summer sun on a snowflake. Bush’s ideology has produced an even more devastating result simply because he was granted twice the amount of time.
An idealist functions within the framework of what should be, not what is. The Founding Fathers gave us a template of what should be. Within that framework is the principle of fairness regardless of you circumstances. Everyone, regardless of sex, race, age, or position should be given the same consideration and the same opportunity. Position, power, wealth…none of these should matter in the eyes of the law. That is the world of the idealist and it is adamantly opposed to that of the ideologue.
At least, that’s how it should be.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Are you better off now?
How well off are you with the “experienced” running the country? Are you paying less for a gallon of gas than you were 8 years ago? How’s your saving account? Do you feel prepared for retirement? What about the kids? Can they read? Are they giving you a heart warming feeling as you see them stepping out to take over where you have left off?
I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that we are in a world of trouble and the floor is just about ready to drop out from beneath us. George W. Bush spent this morning attempting to sell the idea that printing nearly a trillion greenbacks will help the economy and that allowing the government to become the majority shareholder in private business is good business. Yes, and the government’s takeover of the education system has done so well.
This message is coming from the same “conservative” that insisted that an open, unsecured border is only good business, that we have to allow millions of wetbacks across the Rio Grande because they are willing to “do those jobs that Americans won’t do”. He failed to add “at that price”. This is the same “conservative” that has continued to ignore T. Boone Pickens’ message about how to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We do not need a government more attune to foreign voices than those of its citizenry. Unfortunately, since Ronald Reagan, that is all we’ve had.
Obama and McCain are both bad choices. The primary difference between the two is that McCain is slightly less bad. Neither one of them believes in a truly sovereign America. Both have a vision of a world government. McCain wants to further Bush’s plan to unite Mexico, Canada and the U.S. into one European-style union. Obama wants to hand the reins over to the UN. The only bright spot is Sarah Palin. I’m not sure what McCain was thinking, but in this one he struck gold. Any time the party heads go into cardiac arrest over a candidate’s choice of a running mate, you know they’ve chosen well. Palin is that rare combination of spirit, experience and faith. She not only understands what is needed to make America work, she has proven her ability to step on all the right toes to get it done.
Here in Nevada we have term limits. I think they still allow far too many trips to the trough. Each politician gets to serve 12 years in each office. That’s a lot of graft. In 2012, Nevada gets a clean slate. Every chairperson in the legislature will be kicked out that year. A couple of suits brought to the state Supreme Court challenging the limits have already failed. The people spoke, not just once, but twice according to the constitution. Being in the legislature, I was privy to what the politicos really think about the people. The opinions are not complimentary. They think the voters are at best, fools. Party leaders like Senator Bill Raggio and Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert have forced through legislation intended to remove the people’s ability to make fundamental decisions about their own future. Both are deeply invested into the culture of corruption and both believe term limits are somehow unconstitutional. Perhaps they also believe they are somehow better than you, just like those porkers in Washington.
I was asked yesterday by a member of the mortgage industry how we could get ourselves out of this mess. I told him that we needed to begin with a new governor. He agreed. As long as the voters stay away from the polls, the crooks will continue to win and we will continue to lose. Sarah Palin, for my money, is the only bright spot in this entire presidential race. How’s that savings account looking?
I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that we are in a world of trouble and the floor is just about ready to drop out from beneath us. George W. Bush spent this morning attempting to sell the idea that printing nearly a trillion greenbacks will help the economy and that allowing the government to become the majority shareholder in private business is good business. Yes, and the government’s takeover of the education system has done so well.
This message is coming from the same “conservative” that insisted that an open, unsecured border is only good business, that we have to allow millions of wetbacks across the Rio Grande because they are willing to “do those jobs that Americans won’t do”. He failed to add “at that price”. This is the same “conservative” that has continued to ignore T. Boone Pickens’ message about how to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We do not need a government more attune to foreign voices than those of its citizenry. Unfortunately, since Ronald Reagan, that is all we’ve had.
Obama and McCain are both bad choices. The primary difference between the two is that McCain is slightly less bad. Neither one of them believes in a truly sovereign America. Both have a vision of a world government. McCain wants to further Bush’s plan to unite Mexico, Canada and the U.S. into one European-style union. Obama wants to hand the reins over to the UN. The only bright spot is Sarah Palin. I’m not sure what McCain was thinking, but in this one he struck gold. Any time the party heads go into cardiac arrest over a candidate’s choice of a running mate, you know they’ve chosen well. Palin is that rare combination of spirit, experience and faith. She not only understands what is needed to make America work, she has proven her ability to step on all the right toes to get it done.
Here in Nevada we have term limits. I think they still allow far too many trips to the trough. Each politician gets to serve 12 years in each office. That’s a lot of graft. In 2012, Nevada gets a clean slate. Every chairperson in the legislature will be kicked out that year. A couple of suits brought to the state Supreme Court challenging the limits have already failed. The people spoke, not just once, but twice according to the constitution. Being in the legislature, I was privy to what the politicos really think about the people. The opinions are not complimentary. They think the voters are at best, fools. Party leaders like Senator Bill Raggio and Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert have forced through legislation intended to remove the people’s ability to make fundamental decisions about their own future. Both are deeply invested into the culture of corruption and both believe term limits are somehow unconstitutional. Perhaps they also believe they are somehow better than you, just like those porkers in Washington.
I was asked yesterday by a member of the mortgage industry how we could get ourselves out of this mess. I told him that we needed to begin with a new governor. He agreed. As long as the voters stay away from the polls, the crooks will continue to win and we will continue to lose. Sarah Palin, for my money, is the only bright spot in this entire presidential race. How’s that savings account looking?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
How much pork can you handle?
During the last day of the Nevada legislative session in June of 2007, two bills were brought forward. They consisted of all the special favors various Assemblymen and Senators had promised their friends, large donors, employers, and assorted puppet masters. I was one of the few Assemblymen who voted against it. My namesake in the Senate, State Senator Bob Beers, did not.
Senator Bob is not stupid. Actually he is one of the least stupid people I know. He was able to wrangle a multimillion dollar gift to Payroll Solutions, the company he served as vice president of sales. To cushion himself from conflict of interest charges he resigned that post. A further cushion from charges came when he got Senator Randal Townsend, the Reno clotheshorse/car salesman who represents his constituents from a penthouse condo in Las Vegas, to author the bill with another senator, Warren Hardy. With this bill, Payroll Solutions, a company deep into the accounts of the Nevada Casinos and developers, was handed the ability to run as a health insurance company without haveing to go through cumbersome licensing protocols, as well as its normal accounting business. Without the bill, it could have faced heavy fines and penalties for violating the law, which it was guilty of doing…until the after-the-fact legislation. Sound familiar?
What happens in Las Vegas does not stay in Las Vegas. The same goes for Nevada. On a far grander scale are the machinations that led to the current financial meltdown. Barack Obama and Acorn had a willing accomplice in Bill Clinton to begin this process. It makes Obama’s mention of McCain’s ties to the Keating five look like small potatoes.
Just how much pork can you handle? It seems the folks in Washington can’t get enough. We are finding out that those who couldn’t have their votes to pass the bail out bill bought were threatened. The Bush Administration even threatened some members of Congress with martial law if they refused to back the bill. Several accounting experts have tallied the actual liability to a mere 200 billion, rounded up. So where is the two trillion we’re hearing about coming from? Why did Bush have to twist Congress’ arm to write off nearly a trillion?
Well, it takes a lot of money to buy a vote. That’s why the Senate bill is so loaded with pork that it is dripping all over the taxpayer. I’m not sure what kids’ wooden arrows or Puerto Rican rum have to do with the US housing market, but I am sure we’ll hear about it. If you can get through the legalistic doubletalk in the inches-thick bill, you’ll find that nearly every U.S. senator added an earmark to it. They used the opportunity to pay off campaign favors and to cement future donations. Now Washington is the biggest mortgage holder in the country. Karl Marx actually wrote about that scenario as one of the needed actions to cement a socialist government. Early on, when I warned about this, a commenter said my assertion was absurd. No, I wasn’t being absurd; I was understating the potential danger.
Wall Street CEOs have committed crimes that would put ordinary citizens into federal prison for life. Most of congress has gone right along with them. The president of our country has now used threats of martial law to help protect his buddies in the penthouses and “conflict of interest” is obviously a natural condition in the senate. Senior citizens who were children in the early 30’s must be experiencing deja vu right now.
Senator Bob is not stupid. Actually he is one of the least stupid people I know. He was able to wrangle a multimillion dollar gift to Payroll Solutions, the company he served as vice president of sales. To cushion himself from conflict of interest charges he resigned that post. A further cushion from charges came when he got Senator Randal Townsend, the Reno clotheshorse/car salesman who represents his constituents from a penthouse condo in Las Vegas, to author the bill with another senator, Warren Hardy. With this bill, Payroll Solutions, a company deep into the accounts of the Nevada Casinos and developers, was handed the ability to run as a health insurance company without haveing to go through cumbersome licensing protocols, as well as its normal accounting business. Without the bill, it could have faced heavy fines and penalties for violating the law, which it was guilty of doing…until the after-the-fact legislation. Sound familiar?
What happens in Las Vegas does not stay in Las Vegas. The same goes for Nevada. On a far grander scale are the machinations that led to the current financial meltdown. Barack Obama and Acorn had a willing accomplice in Bill Clinton to begin this process. It makes Obama’s mention of McCain’s ties to the Keating five look like small potatoes.
Just how much pork can you handle? It seems the folks in Washington can’t get enough. We are finding out that those who couldn’t have their votes to pass the bail out bill bought were threatened. The Bush Administration even threatened some members of Congress with martial law if they refused to back the bill. Several accounting experts have tallied the actual liability to a mere 200 billion, rounded up. So where is the two trillion we’re hearing about coming from? Why did Bush have to twist Congress’ arm to write off nearly a trillion?
Well, it takes a lot of money to buy a vote. That’s why the Senate bill is so loaded with pork that it is dripping all over the taxpayer. I’m not sure what kids’ wooden arrows or Puerto Rican rum have to do with the US housing market, but I am sure we’ll hear about it. If you can get through the legalistic doubletalk in the inches-thick bill, you’ll find that nearly every U.S. senator added an earmark to it. They used the opportunity to pay off campaign favors and to cement future donations. Now Washington is the biggest mortgage holder in the country. Karl Marx actually wrote about that scenario as one of the needed actions to cement a socialist government. Early on, when I warned about this, a commenter said my assertion was absurd. No, I wasn’t being absurd; I was understating the potential danger.
Wall Street CEOs have committed crimes that would put ordinary citizens into federal prison for life. Most of congress has gone right along with them. The president of our country has now used threats of martial law to help protect his buddies in the penthouses and “conflict of interest” is obviously a natural condition in the senate. Senior citizens who were children in the early 30’s must be experiencing deja vu right now.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Immigration
I have a bill in draft form ready to be considered in the 2009 session. It mirrors the Oklohoma law that shut off social welfare to illegal immigrants and punished those businesses knowingly hiring illegals in preferance to citizens. I have already been told by members of my own party, GOP, that the bill is dead on arrival because implimenting such a law would bankrupt the state.
Here is my problem with that: when we take office, we are sworn in. This means we swear an oath to uphold the law and the constitution. There is a reason these people are called illegal immigrants, they have broken our law. If they have been sent back and crossed the boarder illegally a second time they are guilty of a felony. If a business hires a group of illegals...all of them using the same social security number on their fake IDs, then that business is breaking the law. Nowhere in the oath of office that I took did it say that I was to ignore lawbreaking if I found that law to be inconvenient. Expediency is the currency of cowards and the avenue of cretins and a sure path to a life of corruption.
I say, build the wall. Put it up 40 feet high and send it 40 feet deep. Make it impossible to climb over and impossible to tunnel through. Sure the United nations will scream and Mexico will call it an act of war, and our president will be uninvited to bridge games by our southern neighbor...so what? We can help the farmers by putting Ellis Island structures every 50 miles and allowing those who want to work to be checked out, set up with a temporary visa, tracked, taxed, and sent on their way...legally. We can also filter out the bad guys, the terrorists, those carrying the next plague virus and the drug runners. If Mexico gets upset becasue their drug profits drop, again, so what? This is our country. It does not belong to the UN or to any of Bush's foreign friends, at least not yet. We have over a hundred thousand homeless combat vets without jobs in this country. They have earned a job, not one illegal can say that, at least not honestly.
Here is my problem with that: when we take office, we are sworn in. This means we swear an oath to uphold the law and the constitution. There is a reason these people are called illegal immigrants, they have broken our law. If they have been sent back and crossed the boarder illegally a second time they are guilty of a felony. If a business hires a group of illegals...all of them using the same social security number on their fake IDs, then that business is breaking the law. Nowhere in the oath of office that I took did it say that I was to ignore lawbreaking if I found that law to be inconvenient. Expediency is the currency of cowards and the avenue of cretins and a sure path to a life of corruption.
I say, build the wall. Put it up 40 feet high and send it 40 feet deep. Make it impossible to climb over and impossible to tunnel through. Sure the United nations will scream and Mexico will call it an act of war, and our president will be uninvited to bridge games by our southern neighbor...so what? We can help the farmers by putting Ellis Island structures every 50 miles and allowing those who want to work to be checked out, set up with a temporary visa, tracked, taxed, and sent on their way...legally. We can also filter out the bad guys, the terrorists, those carrying the next plague virus and the drug runners. If Mexico gets upset becasue their drug profits drop, again, so what? This is our country. It does not belong to the UN or to any of Bush's foreign friends, at least not yet. We have over a hundred thousand homeless combat vets without jobs in this country. They have earned a job, not one illegal can say that, at least not honestly.
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