The Sky’s The Limit

It seems that the “transparent” Obama administration is having a little problem with opacity these days. Recently it was revealed that a report critical and skeptical of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) was suppressed at the EPA. The reason it was suppressed was, in the words of EPA administrator Al McGartland to the author of the report Dr. Alan Carlin, that “the administrator and the administration has decided to move forward… and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision.”

Dr. Carlin, it seems, had the audacity to author a report on some of the more troubling issues with the “science” of AGW. His 98-page report brings up a number of salient points that skeptical climate scientists and climatologists, as well as lay people, raise as sticking points with the AGW theory. A complete text of Dr. Carlin’s report is found HERE. It’s a rather large PDF file, so be patient when downloading it. In an accommodation to convenience, I stripped out the executive summary, and it is found HERE.

Now, AGW idolaters and adherents are quick to point out that Dr. Carlin is not a “climate scientist” but rather an economist. How dare he have an opinion on global warming, let alone put down any of his concerns on paper? He should stick to economic issues like balancing his checkbook and analyzing the economic implications of EPA guidelines. But when it comes to trodding on the rarefied turf of climate science, he should back off and shut up.

But you be the judge of his work. Dr. Carlin, who by the way has a BS in Physics from Caltech and a PhD in Economics from MIT, brings up some very interesting issues in his report. Rather than suppress this document, I would expect that it would be used as a useful tool to test the AGW hypothesis. And this informed, contrary opinion should be valuable to a supposed impartial organization like the EPA.

With the suppression of Dr. Carlin’s report, the Obama administration and the EPA have demonstrated a single mindedness on the issue of AGW. This theory has now risen to the level of “fact.” So sayeth the modern Pharaoh Obama.

So it is written, so it shall be done!

But you have to ask yourself what scientific theory, past or present, is so bulletproof that given the test of time, that faults aren’t found with it or it is repudiated altogether. If only we could ask Albert Einstein…whose theory of special relativity needed some “adjustments” to make it agree with empirical observations.

Albert Einstein was a man who was able to admit his mistakes, and acknowledge problems with his theories. he embraced science for the advancement of scientific ideas, and to further the intellectual pursuits of humanity as a whole. The AGW “scientists” seem to revel in the glow of the spotlights and thrive on the adulation of a ga-ga mainstream media. If these “scientists” had one molecule of Albert Einstein in them they would be hard at work vigorously trying to disprove their theory, and attempting to punch holes in their findings. Alas, that’s not happening now, and not likely to happen in the future. In a sense, they may have backed themselves into a corner, reputation-wise. The only thing to do now is retrench and fight. And disparage their critics in a savage and un-science-like manner.

Where are the modern-day Albert Einstein’s when you really need them?

As an astute observe of the human condition, I believe that anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is treated the same by most people as they treat politics. With regards to politics, most folks turn their brains off and go about their daily lives and let the “experts” and politician do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately the same is true when it comes to AGW.

Well, look at the political heavy lifting that’s going on in Washington, DC now. More properly termed, it’s a vigorous shaking of the damn money tree. The credibility of the current crop of representatives and “leaders” is going down, down, down…lower than whale poop! Hey, they’re not letting this crisis pass without taking full political advantage of it.

Now, we all know that AGW is supported by a slew of “climatologists” who are trying hard to push their religion of “climate modeling” down the throats of the remainder of us. Why? I think people should look beyond the “science” and follow the money. It seems that the proponents of the global warming farce, including one Al Gore, are becoming fabulously wealthy from their “beliefs” or by the paychecks and grants that they receive. And yes, most “climatologists” work for the government and are paid handsomely for their alarmism! Remember, the difference between a chaotic climatic frenzy and an irenic Eden-like world is the craven manipulation of a few variables in the climate model’s equations.

However, there is only one equation to worry about in this whole AGW mess:

Global Warming = Climate Change = Vast Sums of Money (to be accumulated by the AGW devotees and unfortunately, the government)

Listen, when this whole “crisis” is debunked, and it will be, will there be a gigantic mea culpa from the “scientists” and the dunderheaded politicians who embraced this “theory?” Will there be a repeal of the onerous (if it passes) cap-and-trade legislation that will probably leave most of us living in yurts heated by best wishes??

I hate being played for an idiot, a pawn, and, well, a peon. And that’s what’s happening in the AGW debate. The “experts” are all highly credentialed and absolutely beyond reproach in their proclamations. Just like the “experts” of bygone eras who gave us a flat Earth, an Earth-centric universe and other pseudo-scientific folly proven incorrect with the passage of time and through prevailing cooler heads. If AGW is such a pressing issue, why don’t we Americans get to weigh in on the work of the “experts?” Why is all the “research” that leads to the big decisions like cap-and-trade cloaked in mystery and shrouded in obfuscation?? With recent evidence coming to the fore that the Earth is actually cooling, why isn’t more study called for before drastic (over re-)action takes place (i.e. onerous legislation)???

I think that over time the whole AGW imbroglio has become more and more about politics, power plays, personal gainsay and wealth generation (and redistribution — a critical reason why Commissar Obama embraces it so passionately) than about science. The urgency and the passion of this issue has come from the truly inspired political manipulation of the fight or flight response of humans by crafty politicians. We have been turned into legions of Chicken Little’s — cowed into waiting for the sky to fall and willing to do any absurd task required or requested by our political betters. Remember crappy fluorescent light bulbs will ultimately save the planet! So says Obama and Pelosi. Viva efficiency!!

Remember, money fixes EVERYTHING — unless it ain’t broken in the first place.

Based on their governance and legislative performance over the past 6 months, it is more-than-apparent that the Democrats in power — from Obama to the lowliest back bencher in the Congress — have little respect or allegiance to individual American citizens. They promise us goodies in a Robin Hoodian and Santa Clausian manner, and we will reward them with a long, fat career that helps them avoid the real work and heavy-lifting found in the private sector. It is a classical symbiotic relationship where we, unfortunately, take on the roll of the remoras picking scraps off the lips of the big sharks swimming in the partisan political shark tank. These scraps are supposed to mollify and placate us…and guarantee them a seat in the legislature so long as they deliver “the goods.”

To them, we are merely plump votes, ripe for the picking. Period. We are useful idiots to them…and we have become a means to an end for them.

That end is, apparently, to change America, forever, from a meritocracy and capitalistic enterprise to an egalitarian free-for-all of confiscated and re-distributed largess. Damn the rich…damn the successful…damn the enterprising…damn those blessed with initiative and drive. How dare they be successful and enjoy the fruits of success when there are so many deserving layabouts and malingerers who deserve similar success? So what if they didn’t expend any energy or toil and make personal sacrifices? The fact that they didn’t “make it” isn’t their fault: They we’re merely victims of life’s lottery and shouldn’t be penalized by such trifles as merit and initiative. This is especially true when those superhero Democrats can level the playing field with the strokes of several pens, so to speak, and legislate “fairness.”

But isn’t it apparent with all their overly hyped “stimulus” legislation, their incredibly short-sighted cap-and-trade legislation, their grab at controlling our health care, and the federal bailout and subsequent control of many of our important industries that first-and-foremost that they think that we are idiots? Or at the very least simpering fools who can’t control our own affairs?

Are we really just idiots with deep pockets? Perhaps we are!

The only way to change this mindset of our legislators is to really change (sorry Obama!) the modus operandi of politics in Washington, DC.

What we need in Washington, instead of power-grabbing legislative sessions resulting in onerous legislation, are mandatory Constitution reading sessions by the members of the House and the Senate. All these political players, men and women of gigantic statures at least in their own minds, need to be constantly reminded to whom they owe their fealty [That would be to US, the people!] They also need to be reminded and instructed by the only set of rules and regulations that they should operate and legislate within [That would be the CONSTITUTION of the United States of America.]

For far too long our legislators and erstwhile leaders have operated and governed as though the Constitution were a compendium of suggestions and pesky afterthoughts, rather than as though it were a rigid set of mandates as was intended by the Founders. It is obvious from the way that this President and this Congress (in particular) plays fast-and-loose with our rights, freedoms and liberties that they need to be (constantly) reminded of their Constitutional responsibilities. Call it remedial Constitutional awareness.

I bet if they were made more Constitutionally-aware, then we might perhaps see far less of the legislative power grabs and more legislation that actually protects our rights and liberties. Perhaps we might even see legislators instilled with more courage and less partisan loyalty — and legislators who might, God forbid, consider terms limits for the members of both houses of Congress. Maybe they might see that public service is Constitutionally better than craven politics and that public service honors we citizens in a much better fashion. They might also find out that if they were unencumbered from the constant campaigning for re-election, they could go out among the folks that they represent and have honest and meaningful dialogs with them instead of the pablum and the pandering required to curry favor (and votes.)

They might also find out that we’re not idiots. We’ve got sensible voices and what we say is worthy of their consideration and their legislative action.

Hey, a guy can dream can’t he??

The nomination of Court of Appeals Justice Sonia Sotomayor by President Barak Obama should be a troubling occurrence to all those individuals who value a judicial interpretation of the Constitution based on Constitutional principles and not based on emotion or other non-legal factors. The trouble with Judge Sotomayor resides in several areas: Her previous (let us say) controversial comments regarding her superior jurisprudence due to her gender and Hispanic heritage; Her approximate 60% reversal rate on her rulings; And her ruling on the New Haven firefighter’s exam in the Ricci v. DeStefano case.

Sotomayor is being sold by Obama and the Democrats as a perfect candidate, albeit her obvious flaws. According to Harry Reid, she’s “the whole package.” However, at the same time White House spokesman Robert Gibbs warned the critics of Sotomayor to “be careful” in their criticisms of her.

You’ve got to be kidding? Handle her with kid gloves? The Democrats have raised the practice of double standard to a high art form. Add in their hypocrisy, and their actions and reactions in this matter become almost laughable. And they would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so high, and if here were no historical precedents to contradict their present day actions regarding the nomination of Supreme Court justices.

What about their concern for the dignity of past candidates, and the “richness of their life experiences?” What about Robert Bork, the brilliant legal mind whose reputation was utterly destroyed by the despicable Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)? Judge Bork, who was nominated by President Reagan, was literally excoriated by Kennedy during a televised speech entitled “Robert Bork’s America” from the senate floor:

“Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is — and is often the only — protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy… President Reagan is still our president. But he should not be able to reach out from the muck of Irangate, reach into the muck of Watergate and impose his reactionary vision of the Constitution on the Supreme Court and the next generation of Americans. No justice would be better than this injustice.”

I’m sure that beyond his words that Kennedy held this fine man, Robert Bork, in the highest esteem. Yeah, right! And to add insult to injury, Kennedy’s senate colleague at the time, Joseph Biden (D-DE), released a scurrilous, patently false and slanderous report on Judge Bork called The Biden Report. This “report” made all manner of false claims and made dire speculations about the jurisprudence of Justice Bork once he had been elevated to the Supreme Court. Where was the “careful” treatment of Judge Bork by the hyper-partisan Democrats?

Now let’s look at the unsuccessful nomination of Miguel Estrada to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President George W. Bush. A highly qualified jurist of impeccable education pedigree and judicial experience, Judge Estrada also possessed a “richness of life experiences” that exceeded those touted for Sotomayor. Indeed, this Hispanic candidate was seen as a potential future candidate for the Supreme Court. But, in their simultaneously respectful and careful manner, the Democrats successfully filibustered the nomination of Judge Estrada…and he withdrew his nomination…even though he was eminently qualified and had the requisite compelling personal background.

It is interesting to note that the Democrats were concerned and vigorously agitated over President Bush gaining “points” with Hispanic voters because of a successful Estrada nomination process. So this concern did not stop them from a full frontal assault on Judge Estrada and, in the spirit of Judge Bork, once again sacrificing this good man’s reputation for their less-than-honorable motives.

Now, let’s look at another situation dripping with contradiction and hypocrisy. Consider the situation of former Senator George Allen, a man whose reputation and political fortunes were ruined by his utterance of a single word. Unlike Judge Sotomayor, whose words were unequivocal and unambiguous, then senate candidate for re-election Allen was at a rally when he used the word “macaca” when calling out to his rival’s campaign worked shadowing him. Allen’s candidacy was targeted by the DNC as “vulnerable” and he was being challenged by former Secretary of the Navy James Webb.

The word “macaca” is an obscure slur indeed — in fact unknown in the US and meaningless to citizens here. However, the Democrats used this gaffe by Allen to their fullest benefit. Labeling Allen a racist in a vigorous media campaign, they turned a then 10 point Allen lead into a political horse race. James Webb eventually won the seat from Allen by a less than one percentage point margin, and this win turned control of the Senate to the Democrats.

My point with the Allen example is that his utterance of one word as a Republican political figure had great and grave consequences for him because of the persistence and obfuscation of Democrats. However, statements by Sotomayor that are offensive to many Americans and that can only be interpreted as racist, should be looked at as “mis-statements” and to be forgiven as unintended slights.

In the final analysis, Republicans get held to a higher level of public scrutiny. And they suffer greater consequences for perceived or fabricated transgressions. Democrats vigorously pursue Republicans and their surrogates and engage in shameless muckraking to further their political ambitions and plans. However, Democrats are held to a more neutral standard. Those Democrats who have made actual versus speculative transgressions are entitled to more benign, forgiving treatment. Those Republicans who would otherwise pursue these transgression are told to “be careful” or to back off their criticisms. And sometimes they will have the tables turned on them by the crafty Democrats and be accused of the very transgression(s) that they seek to reveal or investigate.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Democrat!

Republicans need to get as crafty as the Dems. They need to vigorously pursue transgressions that are in direct contravention to their beliefs and long-held values. Republicans cannot be held hostage to the specious cries of “racism” or any other “ism” that the Democrats use as a potent political weapon. Even though they find no succor or comfort in the media, they need to take their arguments directly to the people via the Internet or face-to-face. It makes their task much harder, but they cannot count on the untrustworthy media to give their concerns a fair airing.

Republicans need to try something new…something other than timidly slinking away when faced with ungodly Democratic opposition. They need to vigorously voice their opinions and to demand to be heard. They need to hold to their standards and convictions, and not compromise for convenience’s sake or as a political accommodation to the Democrats. They don’t don’t, God forbid, need to become more Democrat-like. No, they need to speak with a righteous and unwavering voice for those things that are righteous and lawful.

And they need to start with Judge Sotomayor.

Our Miss Lily had double cataract surgery a little over a month ago. The operation, performed by Dr. Ruth Marrion at the Essex County Veterinary Referral Hospital in North Andover, MA,  was a complete success! Lily has had two post-op checkups, and everything was, in the doctors words, “Perfect!” She has to complete one more post-op checkup at the end of June and if all goes as well as it has so far, she will be all set for the rest of her life!

Whew…the results and that news were a load off our minds as Lily had only functional vision with her severe cataracts. Being only 8 years old, we couldn’t imagine her having to live with her poor vision for the rest of her life. It was unfair to her…the cataracts were caused by our necessary use of cortical steriods on her when she was younger because she had and still has severe skin allergies.

She now  gets a monthly allergy shot and she eats a special diet, but the damage was done. So, as a result, she has had her surgery and received two replacement lenses to replace her cataract-clouded natural lenses. She’s still getting her post-op eye drops three times a day, but the change in her has been nothing short of remarkable.

She can see again! (Hooray!!) And based on our observations of her behavior, she can see quite clearly and acutely. This is a very good thing indeed.

Isn’t she lovely with her two bright eyes???

The Federal government has, over the years, taken on the role as the self-appointed keeper of its citizens. Our elected representatives, politicians all, seem to feel that they know what is best for their citizens. And they have empowered the government with manifold laws to keep us “safe” and furthermore keep us in our place.

But do they REALLY know what is good for us? Do they always act in our best interests? Do we really need to be put in our place(s)?

As it stands, we now have laws in place that limit or control almost every aspect of our lives. There are not very many activities that one can engage in that are not regulated or restricted (or prohibited) by the government. The reasons for all this regulation and prohibition are varied, but they usually arise from the misguided “best interest” argument from a well-meaning legislator. And the well-meaning usually arises from the observation of the exception and not the rule. For example, a guy in Chicago shoots his eye out with a nail gun — this happens ONCE and only to this one guy. Then, suddenly we have sweeping and onerous nail gun regulations affecting all American citizens based on the concern of a small group of legislators who were angered or repulsed by the initial accident.

Our rights have been eroded and our liberties truncated by knee-jerk politicians who see themselves in a paternal role for us hapless citizens. Now some things they get right, but many, if not most, they get horribly wrong. And when things go horribly wrong, we citizens suffer the consequences.

So, legislators and do-gooders, PLEASE leave us the hell alone. For the most part we’re capable of taking care of ourselves and making the right decisions. For those that are not capable, well, that’s too bad. We all shouldn’t be expected to bear the burden of someone else’s stupidity or inanity — we can’t be expected to be our brother’s keeper to such a great extent.

We all stocked up on laws and regulations. You’re not leaving us much elbow room to get on with our daily lives. In the end, it’s not the government’s country, it is ours — the citizens. Try to remember that seminal fact the next time you get the urge to dictate our behavior or limit our liberty.

Because after a while, you are no longer are the benevolent Uncle Sam…you are Big Brother!

I was thinking about the high drama and hysteria put forth upon the general public by the global warmers. Due to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by human-based activities and the presumed accompanying global temperature increase, mankind has been determined to be a global climate villain. The reduction or elimination of so-called anthropogenic global warming has become a rallying cry for the global warming set. In fact, some, like former Vice President Al Gore, have made a substantial living from their global warming alarmism.

I’ve always been skeptical regarding man’s supposed influence on the climate. I find a troubling penchant for forcing results to fit the theory by climate scientists and researchers. As someone with a scientific and engineering background, I find it dismaying that so many supposed scientists rely on untrustworthy or ill-understood computer models. I also find troubling and possibly inaccurate the methods and techniques that are employed to measure historical levels of atmospheric CO2. Finally, I find it antithetical to science and scientific method that so many climatologists and scientists have climbed aboard the bandwagon and fastened their seat belts and have accepted as dogma the whole climate change/global warming theory. In fact, many of these trained-to-be-skeptical scientists have embraced this theory lock, stock and barrel. Scientists who should be skeptical and constantly testing the theory, trying to poke holes in it for science’s sake.

So, as a result of the attendant 24/7 media blitz set upon us by concerned yet ignorant media types, we’ve got scientific and now political communities galvanized in their opinions and who want to “fix” this alleged problem. And the way they want to fix the problem is to reduce human contributions of CO2 from our industrial activities. So now we have a worldwide push for alternative and renewable energy, for clean emissions and for draconian government-mandated cap-and-trade emissions regulations. All these, we are told, will reduce atmospheric CO2 below the danger level and ultimately save the Earth and its inhabitants.

But my question is: “Why are we going to focus just on the human contribution to atmospheric CO2?” It’s not like humans and their activities are the only sources of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, as it happens, is a combustion and respiration byproduct from almost all life-based activities on our planet. The breathing of living creatures, volcanic activity, fires, chemical reactions, and normal organic decomposition all contribute CO2 into our environment and eventually into the atmosphere. So why the pre-occupation with just the CO2 that comes from human sources? Why are anthropogenic CO2 emissions considered hazardous by the EPA?

We live with quite a few fellow humans who believe to their DNA that we are somehow unnatural and that everything we do is unnatural and conspires to destroy the pristine Earth. Our presence on the Earth is the largest threat to the health and welfare of the Earth, or so the über enviro-Nazis would have us believe.

However others, myself included, strongly disagree!

We are just as natural and just as justified in our place in the Earth’s ecosystem as the lowliest single-celled creature or the primates almost as evolved as our race. We are natural and wholesome creatures worthy of our existence and our activities, whatever they may be.

If this is so, then why the single-minded focus on reducing or eliminating the CO2 emissions from human activities? Why must we be forced to make a Hobson’s choice between our present standard of living and living in a carbon-reduced world that might have all the trappings of the Paleozoic era?

The answer is that we don’t! We don’t if we were to stop the preoccupation with anthropogenic C02 emissions and instead focus on reducing those from “other” sources. How come we haven’t thought about this already as a society? How come we humans must be expected to transform our lifestyles to accommodate the scientific tipping of windmills by certain climate scientists and politicians with suspect motivations? Why must our government, and those in the rest of the world, be in the business of mandating these emissions and modifying free-will behaviors?

Truth be told, none of those measures have to exist. I believe we are concentrating on anthropogenic and only anthropogenic because our government(s) know that they can push around their citizens to get the behaviors and the results that they desire. They are in effect taking the easy way out — even though the “easy way” will exact a high toll on all us humans on our Earth. This concept of environmental reconciliation certainly takes our responsibility for the stewardship of our planet to a new and beyond-absurd level.

If the concept of global warming/climate change was demonstrated to beyond a reasonable doubt by a panel of scientists who are not intimately connected with the research already done and the “evidence” already collected, I could buy into reducing CO2 emissions. But I would demand that before we take the “blame thyself” philosophy regarding climate change that we explore reducing any and all other sources of CO2 emissions on Earth. If we believe that historical CO2 atmospheric concentrations hovered at the 280ppm level before human industrial activities, and that today the concentration level hovers at the 375ppm level, then were talking about a 55ppm difference, or a 20% increase in the level of this gas.

Rather than penalizing every human on Earth to reduce this 55ppm, we should try by all means possible to reduce the emissions elsewhere. This is a topic of conversation that has never been fully considered or discussed. We do not know in fact that any reduction of “other” CO2 emissions is possible, feasible or cheaper to accomplish than restricting the use of fossil fuels and restricting the activities of humans. Until this discussion takes place, I propose that we have not done our homework regarding this matter. Certainly the tailpipe of my car or the chimney on my roof aren’t the only guilty parties in this drama. But because they are man-made sources of CO2 emissions, they are expected to bear the brunt of the proposed remediation.

This is wrongheaded problem solving on so many levels because it immediately discounts and subordinates the needs and desires of “unnatural” humans in favor of those of the remainder of the “natural” world. And it is a philosophy and policy that I cannot support as both a global warming skeptic and as a human being.

I know that many rail at the recent official resolution by the GOP branding the party formerly known as Democratic as the “Democrat Socialist Party.” Pundits and analysts decry that the GOP has bigger fish to fry than to worry about such pitifully trivial matters. After all, what good could possibly come to the GOP from this exercise (at least in the minds of those critical to the action) of the rearrangement of the deck chairs on the capsized USS GOP.

But let’s take a look at this in a more objective light. Ever since the inauguration of Obama and the frenzy of spending and goody giving by the Democrat party love-in in Washington DC, the Dems have tried to brand the Republicans (and probably with a good measure of success given the enthusiastically complicit media) as the “Party of NO!” The almost unanimous rejection of TARPs and stimuli and intergalactic-sized budgets by Republicans means that there must be something wrong with them. After all, why are they being so obstreperous and wasting this good crisis? There’s a crisis, dammit, principles be damned. Understand that few Democrats with a brain stem are wasting the present financial crisis to featherbed their political futures and implement their socialist Utopia.

It’s almost like being the strict adult at an eat all you can cake-and-ice cream party run by kids for kids. The kids are going to love the kids running the show — for kids, gluttony coupled with a lack of self-control will always rule the day. Besides, what kid with an appetite wants that strict adult doling out the ice cream and cake? But, in the final analysis, someone has got to be the adult in this situation or else there will be lots of belly ache-sickened kids after the party is over.

Absurd as the comparison may be, we live with a lot of fellow citizens who expect the all you can eat cake-and-ice cream party provided to them by the federal government. Over the past 50 or so years the average citizen has been conditioned to expect entitlements and freebies from the government as their birthright. Who wants those stern old conservative Republicans calling the shots when we can have the tera-level, free spending Democrats and their zany financial antics?

How can the Republicans compete in this arena of “ideas?” Particularly when the ideas that are bantered about appeal to the basest of human emotions. Simply put, they can’t! Otherwise they’d be some ersatz version of “Democrats lite.” In the end, someone has to have principles and be the adult(s). Even though their actions and policies may cause consternation and may chagrin the general populace, the Republicans need to stick to their conservative principles. Those principles may not be popular or universally accepted by those citizens who are inured to the mommy government, as cultivated by the Democrats. But absolute adherence to Constitutional guidelines isn’t always popular, but is mandatory if we are to remain a nation of laws in the strictest sense. Otherwise, we will sink (and probably have already sunk) to the level of making things as we go along. Hey, don’t you know that those quaint 18th-century geezers left us squishy “guidelines” rather than legal constraints? Maybe you believe this if you forget about a little something that those same geezers left us called the CONSTITUTION.

And if you doubt for one second that the platform of the Democratic party and the plans that they are implementing at breakneck speed aren’t socialism in almost it’s purest form, then we need to refresh our memories with its definition — I don’t usually trust Wikipedia, but they have a splendid and right on the mark definition that may be found HERE. If you read the definitions carefully and then not recognize that many, if not most, of the Obama administration’s policies and actions so far are indeed socialist, then you are being either outright dishonest or intellectually disingenuous. “Spreading the wealth around,” government control of banks and car companies, and government-sponsored health care are all socialist constructs being implemented within the capitalist framework of our country.

So when the critics of the GOP rent their garments in fury over their re-branding exercise, they do so with hypercritical partisan intentions. And they do so with callous disregard of truth in advertising. The Democrats have transmogrified into socialists in policy and action, and it’s about time that they were called out for that fact. The Democrats are socialists. Sure, the GOP probably has better things to do than worry about “definitionism.” However they are indeed righteous in their re-branding action. And certainly they could claim that Obama and the Democrats have better things to do to really help the average American than conducting a politics-driven spending spree that could ultimately bankrupt our children’s future.

If these same critics see folly or misguided action in the GOP re-branding of the overtly self-rebranded Democrats, then they simply refuse to see the 900 pound socialist gorilla lurking in the room.

Why is the Dow Jones Industrial Average sitting above the 8300 level today? It can be summed up in two words made popular by Alan Greenspan back in 1996 — irrational exuberance.

The DJIA sank to sub-7000 levels a little over two months ago, and there hasn’t been any rationale for the rise to almost the 9000 level recently. The very structure of our economy and our debt has been damaged and in need of major repair. And the tinkering done by Obama and his co-conspirators in the Congress has only made a tottering economy only worse. Passing half-assed legislation and saying the economy is getting better might be self-ingratiating for Obama, but it is nonetheless wishful thinking on his part at its best.

Right now the Dow is being propped up above the 8300 level by pure, unadulterated greed…investors in search of a glimmer of profit. Any good news is greatly amplified and suddenly spawns a 150 point DJIA rise. However, in one breath Obama wants to make our financial system less dependent upon the Dow, but in the next one he touts how the Dow is rising over his latest hair-brained scheme and that the “Good Ship USA Economy” is paddling furiously out of troubled waters.

Well, I think that the “good” news is finally over, and the irrational exuberance has finally run its course. With the Democrat-controlled Congress dangerously tinkering with health care and now (probably) are going to mandate compensation in the financial industry, we are in precarious times indeed. I think even the mooniest of moonbats see that there is only so far that the government can go before it has reached too far. And in a little over 100 days of his presidency, we’ve marked that point under the “leadership” of Obama.

The dopes in Washington think they can legislate good times. But they don’t realize that every single penny that they spend comes from us, the private citizen taxpayer, or from business, unless they just print it from blank paper? Businesses are in business to make money and to turn the largest profits possible for their stockholders in the case of public corporations or for their owners in the case of private ventures. I think Obama and his minions have stumbled upon the very best way to tamp down free enterprise, initiative and commerce with their TARPs and stimuli…and their budgets. And I think that big business, particularly the multinationals are just starting to realize this fact. Don’t be surprised to see historically American corporations take up roots and move to a venue that promises to be more tax friendly than Obama and the commissars in DC are crafting the US to be.

I still predict Dow 5500 and a national unemployment rate of 10.5% before this is over…and that might coincide with the end of Obama’s one and only term as president. I beg you to remember that the current set of Democrat Congressional fools had the crying towels out constantly for the “burdensome” and destructive deficits that Bush supposedly ran up, which I remind you were less than a third of those already put in place by the newbie President Obama. So, to our collective dismay, they aided and abetted the Bush administration in the first place…and have now facilitated and perpetrated the greatest transfer of wealth ever in the history of mankind. Two wrongs, it appears, do make a right…if only in Washington, DC!

I firmly believe that Obama and his cohort may have grievously and perhaps permanently damaged our country’s economy and its ability to recover from this spending-spree madness. Time will tell, but it’s like skipping through the graveyard in the mean time. There is only so much wealth out there, and the dishonest and disingenuous Democrats have used their crises well to burden our system with utter nonsense in terms of social programs and give-aways.

I don’t think that Americans can or will stand to pay for or bear this nonsense much longer. And, unfortunately, with all that has transpired on the legislative front, it might just be out of their hands to do anything about it.

The recent pandemic scare with the swine flu (H1N1) virus has presented the US an opportunity with a teaching moment. But what could we possibly learn from this lurking pathogen?

For starters, it is a tremendous wake-up call to all citizens that we have borders and control our population egress for a list of rational and critical purposes. First and foremost, the control of our borders helps to control the spread of illnesses like H1N1 into our general population. That this virus emanated from Mexico is in itself a wake-up call. There isn’t a soul in the US that doesn’t know or have an opinion regarding the illegal alien problem in our country. And we all understand that the lion’s share of the aliens who sneak onto our soil originate in Mexico. All of us, of all political persuasions and sympathies towards these interlopers, should see the irony in the Mexico-illegal alien-H1N1 connection. This connection is precisely why we scrutinize those individuals who would like to either visit or emigrate to our country. We, the people, want to make sure we’re not releasing an agent of our own demise into our midst. You know, one bad apple and such.

But the Obama administration has taken a more PC attitude towards H1N1 and the Mexico connection. In their own inspired way they apparently feel that if we want to be players on the world stage, we’ve got to be willing to lose a few citizens here-and-there so that we don’t alienate (no pun intended) our neighbor to the south, or God forbid, the UN and Europe. And we certainly don’t want to rankle the powerful Hispanic political appratus in the US by suggesting that perhaps, maybe, sick illegal Mexicans could carry H1N1 into our country unbeknownst to immigration officials and the populace at large. My God, what a racist notion that is!

It’s now time to sup deeply of the euphemism food pantry: It looks like we collectively bit the bullet, dodged a fastball…got luckier than hell regarding the destructive capabilities of H1N1 to our people. It seems to be far milder and less virulent strain of influenza than was initially feared.

But, and there is always a but…if our leaders and representatives in Washington were sincere in their fealty to their Constitutional duties and responsibilities, then they would have most certainly realized the ticking time bomb that exists regarding public health and safety that unchecked illegal immigration poses to our country. And this threat exists if the means of entry is from the south or from the north…or by air or by sea.

We have immigration laws for a reason, and H1N1 has demonstrated one very good and compelling reason why. If the folks in Washington don’t learn from this obvious warning and get on the ball, and fast, then the consequences may be far too dire to simply demand an explanation from the negligent parties. We would be more than justified to demand swift legal action and appropriate legal punishment for those who neglected their sworn Constitutional duties. The souls of the many Americans who could possibly die as a result of the immigration law negligence would scream for this justice!

The crisis isn’t fully over…H1N1 cases are still popping up all over our nation and there has been at least one fatality…however it appears that we were extremely lucky this time around with this virus…however the next time we may not be so fortunate…