Monday, September 28, 2009

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Advice

Jill Sixpack had some advise for us Teabaggers. I replied as follows:

1. JTP is smarter than Joe Biden.

2. Very few at the tea parties I've attended (I think one...in Milwaukee) has made any Birther statements - it was a sign and the guy was alone. Way alone.

The Canal zone was US territory at the time of McCain's birth.

3. Jesse Ventura? Seriously? You're killing your cred here.

4. Libs shouldn't be arguing with us over increased government power. No government in history has failed to oppress their own when they obtained enough power. And Soft Tyranny is still tyranny. But Leftys seem to think it's ok with this Administration. But they should cconsidder this: I'll stipulate this Administration would do nothing nefarious with all that information and power over the citizenry. OK. But what about the next one? Or the next? Or the next?

5. What about Bush was equal to Hitler? Did you ask that? Further, just like Birthers, I see almost none of those. There are statements clearly relating what is happening in this country now to what happened in 1930's Germany, and I think some comparisons are valid. But our side is much less "Obama=Hitler" than the Left was with Bush...or for that matter is in characterizing us.

Last, you say we should be more like a political protest. So maybe some broken windows or burned-out cars? Looting and mayhem?

Jill: Maybe you should attend a TEA Party before you condemn it. It's not what you think.

What disappoints me is the recurring theme about how we are "marginalizing ourselves". I don't believe we are. For each of us that attends, I am finding 5-10 people who say, "yeah I wish I could have been there". Many are just as frustrated and concerned, but do not attend TEA Parties. From many who voted for TCO, when asked about policy issues state, "Well...I'm really not paying attention". I guess the proof will be November of 2010.

The larger question here is why the Leftys call us names and refuse to engage us in debate on the issues. Why do they want to give us "advise" on how to protest instead of telling us what's good about TCO's programs? Why not just provide some evidence that makes a little sense (no, "45,000 die every year from lack of health insurance" doesn't make sense - smell test, anyone?). Nah. the level of discourse is raised much higher through name-calling.

We are not stopping. We are having an effect; there's a reason the Senate version of the Healthcare bill is being done in private. Frankly, I'd like to throw them all out. My guy votes my way. But he's been a congressman since I was a kid. He needs to go, too.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

For a Smart Guy....

Chu isn't showing it. I mean, seriously. Does he really mean this?

Partnering with the Parent Teacher Organization, the agency earlier this month launched a cross-country tour of 6,000 schools to teach students about climate change and energy efficiency.

The President tried this with his back-to-school speech. Does the Administration think anything has changed? And this is clearly an attempt to propagandize the children. Via the, PTO no less.

“Confronting climate change, saving money on our utility bills, and reducing our use of heavily-polluting energy can be as easy as making a few small changes.”

Wow. I can see how this rolls out: "Wind/solar good, other stuff bad".

Still, Secretary Chu said he didn’t think that the public would throw the same political temper tantrum over climate legislation as has happened with the healthcare debate.

Asked if he expected a town-hall style pushback, Dr. Chu said he was optimistic the public would buy the administration’s arguments that energy efficiency and caps on greenhouse-gas emissions will spark an economic rebound.

Then Chu is not as smart as advertised. This will go badly. First, the public is on to the (alleged) AGW scam. Second, we don't like being insulted and treated like "Teenage Kids".


And I love this:


An update: Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow added: “Secretary Chu was not comparing the public to teenagers. He was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy. He also recognized the need to educate the broader public about how important clean energy industries are to our competitive position in the global economy. He believes public officials do have an obligation to make their case to the American people on major legislation, and that’s what he’s doing.”


Then what's up with this?

“The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act,” Dr. Chu said. “The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.”


Please. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining

Sunday, September 20, 2009

TEA Parties and Hate

I knew there were those out there in the Blogosphere who didn't like those of us who dispute the leftist orthodoxy, but I had no idea there was so much visceral hate out there until I blogged on the Milwaukee TEA Party.

The debate is never on about the policy. It's always a debate about Bush. Or we're hateful. Or Teabaggers. Or Nazis. Or whatever. Oh...Racist. That is the most terrible thing they believe they can call us.


I wear the epithets as a badge of honor. I know they are untrue. I know what I am and what I believe. I know they have no answer and that is why they report to name-calling.

We're winning. We have ideas. We have alternatives. We have consistent core beliefs. What do they have?

Slurs.

Milwaukee TEA Party III

Here is what they are saying about us on the other side. It is disappointing that she was (allegedly) in the crowd and (apparently) felt safe being there, but still insisted on name-calling and being less-than-truthful about those attending.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Milwaukee TEA Party II

Today's event shows the people are still in charge. Don't kid yourself. 10,000? Yeah, we did. All of the Racists, Sexist, Hate-mongering Nazi nut-jobs who are clearly out of the mainstream? No. These are regular folks.

There were protesters. One, in particular spoke with us. Nice enough guy, but clearly doesn't understand. Believed he was a "free-market capitalist", but thought government-run healthcare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are good things. He made good points regarding deficits and Republicans (they spend like drunken Democrats). But we also agreed on some things.

The AFL-CIO sent about 10 people and I spoke with one of them (and may have defused a confrontation). There was little in terms of anything resembling confrontation. Deekawife 3.0 did witness a case and helped defuse it, but it was the only one we witnessed.

The speakers were terrific. I'm a big fan of Willie Soon. Deekawife 3.0 now has a signed copy of Culture of Corruption.. As Michelle Malkin was speaking, 3.0 made her way through the crowd and caught MM before MM was whisked away to parts unknown. 3.0 reports the crowd was helpful in getting her through and MM was exceptionally gracious as 3.0 held the book in her trembling hands and asked for the autograph.

By now all is on YouTube. From Joe The Plumber to Vicki McKenna. Here are some crowd pics.



Looks like 10,000 to me.



He's on target. What is the government good at?



3.0&JTP





Says it all.

Milwaukee TEA Party

Apparently, the AFL-CIO is sending some folks over. Kindness only, folks. Not even snarky. Bet we can turn some of them.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Not Buying It

And I'm certainly not buying it as a reason to socialize healthcare. If true, wouldn't this have come out many years ago? I'd love to see the methodology. Specifically, what qualifies as "dying due to lack of health insurance".

FWIW, that comes to 0.015% of the population. 1.9%of all deaths. Sorry. Not good enough for a government takeover. Regardless.

Milwaukee TEA Party

This is going to be huge!

I know I don't have the kind of traffic here that some others do, but there are enough to pass the word.

Y'all come on down.

More on Honduras

In case you missed it:





H/T Gateway Pundit

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Mark Neumann for Gov?

I sent the following email to the Mark for Gov campaign this morning:

I was fortunate enough to attend the Jefferson TEA Party yesterday. There, I received some Mark For Governor campaign material. Included in the wording was the term "green jobs". I consider that a surrender to (alleged) Anthropogenic Global Warming. I cannot possibly vote for an (alleged) Conservative candidate who would do so. More and more evidence comes forth daily to dispute the Leftist AGW ideology. To risk impoverishing our state and nation on (very) shaky scientific grounds is unacceptable.

To get votes from the real, regular folks of Wisconsin, you must tell us how we will restore the manufacturing base of this state without poaching from other states and how we can keep those here who remain. It is what made this state prosperous and will make it so in the future.

Tell the Neumann campaign we need more real jobs for real people.

Completely Unacceptable

The TEA Parties are taking the front page right now, but there is a continuing story that is just as important. Honduras. It is completely unacceptable for the United States to treat an ally in this manner.

Much is missing from this article...like any kind of journalistic integrity.

The political crisis stemmed from Zelaya's plan to hold a referendum that could have changed the constitution and allowed longer term limits. The country's congress had outlawed the vote and the supreme court had ruled it illegal.

No, the country's Constitution outlaws the vote. Bothering to read article 239 of the Honduran Constitution will clear all this up. But apparently, the US government is doing to the Honduran Constitution what it is doing to our own.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Healthy Fines

So much for Freedom of Choice.

There are many who choose to go without insurance. It should be their right to do so. But if they choose to not carry health insurance, they should be prepared to pay cash-ola.

Labor Day Laments

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (now smaller for your convenience).

"I think this is the worst economy that any of us have seen in our lifetime," said Richard Abelson, executive director of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's impacted working people dramatically."

Yeah, and those who don't work too. I know we management types just get paychecks for showing up.

This is the worst economy in my 53 years and it is not going to get significantly better. "Buy American" is not going to fix the problem. We don't make much here anymore.

But Union members still vote overwhelmingly for the Democrat candidate. I believe they vote against their own interest. Democrats have been continually behind the root causes of the demise of manufacturing in the United States: high taxes and over-regulation. Wisconsin is one of the worst. High tax rates cause business to park assets (and jobs) overseas, in spite of what the headline says. Taxes drive behavior. While I support reasonable regulation, too much is "special interest driven". For example, much current energy policy is nothing more than Nimby. The Cap and Trade/Carbon Tax idea is something that has been around much longer than (alleged) AGW. I believe (alleged) AGW is just a smokescreen to punish "evil" Big Oil. But I digress.

Bottom line here is putting people back to work in manufacturing in this country is what is necessary to bring back prosperity. Otherwise we're just passing "funny money" back and forth. to do so means to take a common sense look at tax policy and what behaviors if drives and a common sense look at regulation to determine how it drives manufacturing from this country.

I don't expect to see much common sense from government.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Sheboygan TEA Party, Part II

I said I would comment more on the Sheboygan TEA Party and now I'm a day late.

Local talk guy Jerry Bader spoke and was protested against by UAW Local 833. I understand his comments regarding the Mercury Marine union were not taken well, but I also think the Local overreacted. I work directly with the union and I find them to be generally reasonable and smart enough to know their job can leave for India or China tomorrow. Most of them I genuinely like.

Pastor David King was an awesome speaker. His biggest message was when we take God out of the equation, everything goes awry. He emphasized the importance of both God and morality. Pastor King pointed out that even though not all the founders were Christian, the country was founded on Christian principles. He said our arguments should be based on principles, not politics. As long as a politician adheres to our principles, it does not matter what the Party is.

Dr. Phil Zimmerman from WisconsinRepublic.org spoke on Healthcare and the consequences of a Socialized healthcare system. He's read HR 3200. WisconsinRepublic.org is a secessionist group that I have some fundamental disagreements with, but he spoke well and from the heart and I agreed with much of what he had to say. In addition to healthcare, he spoke about the need to end the wars and bring our troops home. Not only from Iraq and Afghanistan, but from all over the world. Mostly, I agree. However, we have an obligation to finish what is started.

I can't say enough about Bob Basso, AKA "Thomas Paine".



There are four other videos of him covering the entire speech. The video quality is not what I would like to see, but the message comes through loud and clear.

Rebecca Kleefisch, Mark Block, and Linda Hansen all acquitted themselves well.

Edit: 1835 9/7/09: More videos have surfaced on You tube, including Pastor King and Jerry Bader.

Wille Says,"Lighten Up"

Willie Brown thinks we're being too hard on TCO. Um...no.

Everybody is unloading on Barack Obama, especially the Fox News-Rush Limbaugh types who constantly repeat that he's sliding in the polls. I get hit with it every time I appear on one of the cable shows. You would think nothing else is going on in the world.

The media seem to have forgotten that nearly 60 million people voted against Obama in November. Of course they're going to show up at these town halls and bash him.

I've met people who voted for TCO and are just as hacked off about all this as I am. And has been discussed here and elsewhere, this isn't about just TCO. The TEA Parties and Town Halls are about Big Government, Big Taxes and Big Regulation.

Then he went around the country laying out the broad parameters of what a health care plan should contain without getting specific.

His problem here is his past statements, particularly regarding single payer. He should have laid his own cards on the table and defended his own ideas. That's what the President does.

Read the whole first section of the column, but specifically, read the comments. Very interesting, coming from San Francisco.

Anyone in DC Listening?

The Beer: I tried the "test bottle" of Octoberfest. Not ready yet.

The Bicycle: I'm back up on my trusty steed. 20 miles yesterday with no ill effects.

The VRWC: The
Weekly Standard explains the TEA Party/Town Hall movement almost perfectly.

Deekawife 3.0 and I tried to explain this all to her father yesterday and his response was 1) His daughter and I must be stupid and 2) It's always been this way and the Special Interests are at the heart of this.

I tried to explain that we wanted answers and for our elected representatives to recognize they work for us and do not rule over us. Apparently that got no traction with him.

The discussion was fairly wide-ranging on a number of policy topics (the in-laws voted for TCO). He admitted he didn't understand most of what was going on, but was sure we were just alarmists. No concern at all over the stimulus debt or the number of "Czars". I didn't even get to wars and Honduras. I think the "dismissive wave" began a new (and not better) relationship with his daughter.

Sounds a lot like the response we get from Congress.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Jones Resigns!

We made this happen.

I can think of little news better than this. "Smear campaign"? Only if using a persons words and deeds amounts to a "smear campaign".

Everyone who exposed, complained, discussed or otherwise took action on this guy gets the credit. He had no business being nominated int he first place.

Jones said he has been "inundated with calls from across the political spectrum urging me to stay and fight."

Sure. If that were the case, he would have stayed.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Sheboygan TEA Party



Good crowd, great speakers. Estimate at about 1500. Best speakers were Pastor David King and Bob Basso, AKA "Thomas Paine". Here are some pics. More on the TEA Party tomorrow.

Something Right?

Did TCO do something I agree with?

This part I don't like much:

One initiative will allow people to have their federal tax refunds sent as savings bonds.

That sounds a lot like an IOU. IMHO, US Savings Bonds have a terrible ROI.

The part I do like:

...require workers to take action to stay out of an employer-run savings program rather than having to take action to join it.


Friday, September 4, 2009

Powerful Stuff

At least IMHO. I believe Cheney IS right.

We live within that "thin veneer of civilization" that would quickly evaporate in the wake of a nuclear terror attack. We know (or should know) how quickly and unexpectedly a terror attack can come. 9/11 should have been a wake-up call for the entire country. But those who are bent on consolidating their own power are more than happy to undermine the security of the country.

Any terror attack is bad for this administration, but the worst of the worst is fatal for the Country and for Liberty. This will be the post-nuclear apocalypse.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

EJ is Wrong Again

The Beer: An Octoberfest Lager. Bottled and nearly ready for a test. I haven't had much success with Octoberfest or Lagers in general, but I keep trying.

The Bicycle: I have decided to get back on and try to finish the season. But it's already plenty cool here and getting cooler. I probably have a month-or-so of good post-work daylight and about that much reasonably warm.

The VRWC: EJ Dionne is wrong again. But that shouldn't come as a surprise. He is so inside-the-beltway he is unable to see what is going on anywhere else. He's so afflicted with the Obamalove that he can't believe not everyone else is. He is so Statist he can't understand why we wouldn't want the government to lift all our cares from us. He's a mouthpiece for Statism.

Shouters and screamers, he calls us. What did he call anti-war protestors and those who shouted down Bush/Cheney/Rove, etc? I'm guessing they were Patriots, exercising their First Amendment Rights.

He is happy to use the term fringe, when we clearly are not. Most of us are people who went about our business while being bullied into silence by the Leftists. They called us Racist, Sexist and Homophobe if we disagreed. For the sin of skepticism, we are deniers. Many I know who attend TEA Parties and Town Hall meetings have never been active before. In fact, I believe it is most.

Chet Edwards, (alleged) Blue-Dog is likely to be unelected. His (and the Leftisits in general) use of the General Welfare clause to justify Socialized Medicine is a complete misunderstanding of what the founders intended.

But he got this right:

When I reached Rep. Tom Perriello last week, he divided the crowds at the 17 town halls he had held to that point in his largely rural Virginia district into three groups: conservatives, for whom the health care battle is "about big government, socialism and all that"; the left, for whom "it's about corporate accountability"; and a "middle" for whom "it's about health care costs" and the problems with their coverage.

Nobody...and I mean nobody thinks there is nothing wrong with the healthcare system. But a big government solution just adds to the problem. It fails to address any cause of high costs. No tort reform. No interstate competition. No requirement for providers to be up-front about charges. Just more of the same system that brings us a bankrupt Social Security, bankrupt Medicare, out-of-control Medicaid and childrens health programs.

I could have written a better and more transparent bill....and I'm "just a guy".