From the Declaration of Independence to A Nation of Dependents

I will admit. After 'Black Sunday', I was a little off my game.
No, it wasn't out of despair (admittedly, I was bummed)
It wasn't out of anger (duh, I was pissed)
It was a completely different problem....
It was purely a problem of focus.
So many targets of opportunity and so little time to rant.
As we used to say in the military, we have a target-rich environment out there.
Focus Damian, focus.....
Iran...Israel...Obamacare...10th Amendment...Guam tipping over and capsizing....
and it goes on and on and on (ad nauseum)
But ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
Today, I had the remarkable displeasure of listening to our Narcissist in Chief delivering another factually challenged speech in North Carolina (which is about as enjoyable as undergoing a urodynamics examination)... when he spewed forth a few statements of such telling arrogance, that for a rare moment...my thoughts were crystallized (and that, my friends, is a rare event - apparently rarer than my ability avoid the use a run-on sentence...)

In his rhetorical flotsam that passed for a speech, Obama laid bare his contempt for the free market, his love of government - and himself as the personification of it.

His first remark was about the 'former' Student Loan Industry -

'I (the all-powerful, all knowing messianic figure known by the ignorant masses as Barack Obama) have taken $87 billion (or some such) from the Banks (those evil, profit mongering bourgeoisie bastards) and through the government (an instrument of my supreme intellect, will and generosity) will direct the funds straight to you (the proletariat, the great, ignorant unwashed - those who I swear to work for, but consistently exploit and subject to servitude of the state)....(and by the way, I will use the bloviated $87 billion 'savings' and use them towards justifying Obamacare...which is win-win really..'

OK, perhaps not a literal dictation of his speech - but close enough for government work as it were (besides, if one can tune in to the deafening subtleties of his ego, it is more or less an accurate translation)
For you see... The Barack giveth (to the state) and the Barack taketh away (from the private sector) and another piece of the private sector is absorbed by the state.

• Automobile industry (GM, Chrysler)
• Banking
• Housing / Mortgages
• Healthcare Industry
• Student Loans

Health, housing, transportation, education and finance...
Something tells me the Founding Fathers would be delivering a profound junkpunch to what passes as our elected representation at this point
but I digress..

On to my favorite bit of steaming poo from the speech, where 'The Wizard of I' proclaimed

No corporation ever does anything for the public good

Let that one sink in for a minute.
I will wait for a moment whilst the rage boils within ye....

Possible translations of our favorite community organizers statement include:

• No private enterprise does anything good for the public
• Corporations are evil, selfish entities that take resources away from the state
• Public good and private enterprise are diametrically opposed
• Only the state (as an instrument of my magnificence) knows what is good for the public
• The state must control resources to ensure the public good

Obama's disdain (if not pure contempt) for capitalism and the private sector could not be more clear. He continues to attack these pillars of our country at every turn..and he is relentless.
He has already publicly decried the limitations of the Constitution and the unwillingness of the Supreme Court to go 'far enough' in promoting social equality.
He is a demagogue who fancies himself as a demigod.

Ladies and gentlemen...we have elected a Marxist.

In one 'transformational' administration, Obama plans on moving us from the Declaration of Independence - to a nation of dependents.

and God help us, it is our fault.

We allowed our elected leadership to suck.
We failed to hold them to the high standards we demand.
We watched silently as our freedoms and liberties were slowly eroded.
We dutifully lined up to be bribed with our own stolen money.
We acquiesced.

Now we suffer under the tyranny of a leftist douchebag in the White House, an Evil skank in the House and a massively incompetent choadwank in the Senate (not to mention the countless brain-dead, sackless, sycophantic bastards populating the hallowed halls of government).

So,
Are you pissed?
Outraged?
Incensed?
MOTIVATED?

Good.
Silently stewing in our collective juices ain't gonna cut it.
We had better become the vocal majority in a hurry - or we run the risk of relegating ourselves to the culturally-challenged bitch of Europe. Just another bankrupt nation amongst nations.

Personally, the thought of leaving to my daughter such a nation.... is almost too terrible to contemplate.

The sleeping giant is awake.
The stomping begins in November...
Time to 'dissolve (some) political bands' at the ballot box and begin the rebuilding process.
Besides, 'Hope and Change' really smells like poo....

Atlas Defecated

So, who misses living in a Representative Republic?
How about a Liberal Thugocracy?
'Cause that's what we've got kiddos.

Crazy how you can go to bed one night living in a Democracy and wake up in a Socialist country.
And make no mistake, this is what is left of us.

With a swipe of a pen, 1/6th of the economy has been turned over to the government. An entire industry, shattered and a people, glorified wards of the state.

Like maggots feasting on a fresh kill, the bureaucrats will come and their number will be legion. IRS agents to scrutinize the populace, to ensure by fine or imprisonment those who do not follow the rule of statist whimsy. Others will come, to tell you what 'plan' you can buy, (for as long as the feeble remains of private sector healthcare can hold out) what care you can receive, what conditions are treatable, how long you will wait. It goes on....and on...and on....

We begin the slow inexorable march to single payer.
The government will control the entire healthcare system and we will be theirs...from cradle to grave.

What is infinitely worse, is the manner in which it happened.
Were it the will of the people, I could acquiesce....possibly....to an extent anyway.
But this..
America has been forcibly sodomized, without lube or even dinner.
The constitution has been treated like an inconvenience, nothing more. A mere item to be circumvented on the path to statist glory....

Freedom.
Liberty.
Unalienable rights - not as a special dispensation of government but as a right bestowed by a higher power.
THAT was the founders intent. THAT is what is spelled out in the Bill of Rights.
The egomaniacal demagogic bastard that he is, Obama sees himself in the light of that higher power - (as does the statist in general). The bestower of rights. The fountain of knowledge and wisdom.
Elitist bastards, all of them.

As a professorial friend so eloquently pointed out yesterday

Very cool, how Bill o' Rights has not ONE thing to say about what government CAN do. Did not bestow or guarantee a single right, as we are born with them. Government can only tax them away....(and they are doing a hell of a job at the latter)

Of course that wisdom is lost on our Demagogue in Chief (as is wisdom of any kind apparently) not to mention the sycophantic leftist garbage that populates the majority of hour House of Representatives and Senate. They only wish to remake the country. The will of the people, its laws and traditions be damned.

If the Constitution and The Bill of Rights are relegated to common documents, what will tie one generation to the next?
Law will be whimsy
and society only as good as its leaders...
Which hasn't worked out for us very well lately.
Not very well at all....

It has been said that hell is the worst possible outcomes of our creations, decisions and choices. ~ ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, I give you the presidency of Barack Obama. Welcome to a hell of our own making.

Or maybe,
Just maybe
It is just purgatory.

In the last 12 hours, I have seen and heard more displeasure spoken by more voices than I ever thought possible. I have seen more people take an interest in the political system that at any other time in my life...by leaps and bounds.
Let's face it folks. America has a habit of getting its ass kicked...initially.
WWI
WWII
Korea
to name a few.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the 'Sleeping Giant' has been awakened again...and it is not wise to piss of the giant. The giant has a tendency to kick considerable gluteus maximus when so prodded...and we have been prodded with all the grace of a blind, fat fingered proctologist who hasn't had his coffee...
If we can (or rather, if we choose) to harness this righteous anger - to push forward...to actually hold our elected leaders accountable to the standards we DEMAND as citizens of this once proud country, we can take it back.

But it won't be easy. Not even a little bit.

A new generation of leadership must be forged. One beholden to the ideals that formed and made this country great - not to the ideals of power and special interest.
Leadership with the testicular (or ovarian as the case may be) fortitude to make difficult decisions, principled decisions....and to actually LEAD.
Until then, my friends, we are just pissing in the wind.
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing..save our own impotent anger.

Once upon a time, I took an oath. In part, it went like this.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.."

I've been thinking of that oath a lot lately. It is painfully obvious that our illustrious leadership wouldn't recognize this oath if it were tattooed on Rahm Emanuel's ass.... yet I digress. We should all be familiar with it. All of us. Until we are, we are all lost.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. We had all better wake the fuck up and recognize that fact or we will lose it forever.
And I hate losing.
Especially to a bunch of jackoffs like we have in Washington right now...
If we are to retake the 'Shining City on the Hill', we need to start in earnest. We've already lost a lot of ground...

And if on the way, you happen to meet a smug statist or fool, who refers to you as 'angry'- allow me to share the following from a FaceBook exchange from a few hours ago..

Righteous anger is appropriate when one's freedoms have been stripped,
When our liberties ignored,
When our traditions held in contempt,
When our children and our children's children are forced to pay the folly of our leaders arrogance with the fruits of their labors

And I say unto thee that would speak lightly of your anger...
'go fuck yourself'

No.
It's not over.
It is not the beginning of the end.
It is the end of the beginning.

I look forward to the fight.

(and thanks professor. As always, our conversations are invaluable)

The (Re) Preamble

For Shame and Some Several Months Ago
Our Sad Excuse for Leadership Brought Forth, In Clouded Chambers, Behind Closed Doors, Conceived in Deceit and Dedicated to the Proposition That All Man's Money Were the Creation and Property of the State.


To This End and The End of Capitalism As We Have Come to Know It -
The Obama Administration Decreed the Following:

The Re (Pre) Amble to the "Living, Breathing Document" (Formerly Known as the Constitution) of the United States of America Under Barack Obama

(Sung to The Tune of Schoolhouse Rock - Preamble)

For Shame, Do You Know About the Blight Upon The U.S.A? Upon The Government? What About Our Constitution?
For Shame, A Blight Upon the USA

In 1787 Plus 223 Years or So Our Pathetic Leadership Did Agree ~
To Write a List of Feints and Lies for Making Healthcare 'Free' ~
The USA Was Just Being 'Transformed' Into a Whole New Country ~
And So the People Were Shouted Down By People Who Knew Better, You See ~

And The Government Attempted to Legislatively Sodomize the People and Called it 'Healthcare Reform' and It Has Been Infuriating the Populace Ever Since Then ~
The Obama Administration Has Put This Forward in Nigh-Incomprehensible Documents and Are Trying to Pass it Through Legislative Trickery and This Is What They Set Out To Do...

We the Bureaucrats ~
In Order to Transform an Imperfect Union ~
Establish Social Justice, Ensure Domestic Hegemony ~
Dismantle the Common Defense ~
Expand Social Welfare State ~
and ~
Redact the 'Blessings' of Liberty ~
For Only Ourselves and Our Sycophants on TV ~
To Disdain and Dismantle This 'Living Breathing Document' ~
For The United States of America ~

I hope that Schoolhouse Rock can someday forgive me...

Tales From the Watermelon Patch

I don't know about you kids, but this whole hypocrisy thing is really starting to piss me off.

Exhibit (A) - Dan Rather
Really?
Dan freaking Rather.... Articulate' Obama Couldn't Even 'Sell Watermelons
Still waiting for the ACLU to go bananas.. (oh, I'm sorry, is that offensive?)
but they won't. Nor will any media outlet for that matter.
Can you imagine the absolute apocalyptic firestorm if say...Rush Limbaugh or better yet Glen Beck had made that comment? Hell, if ANYONE from the FOX News Network had said it, even a damn intern, the PC police would've been dispatched and pistol whipped the shit out of somebody.
Sadly, but oh so predictably, anything that is or that can possibly be construed as racism is only thusly applied as such when the 'offending' party is either Conservative or a Republican.
Which leads me to..

Exhibit (B) - David Shuster
MSNBC, the paragon of liberal elitism!
(OK, it is a steaming pile of poo fit only for brain dead Statist sycophants and other assorted flotsam, but I digress)
Here's the rub. Everyone's favorite chair of the House Ways and Means commission (Charlie Rangel) is (shockingly) under investigation by a House Ethics Committee. The Republicans, predictably, capitalized on the event, calling Rangel a 'corrupt Harlem Democrat'.
David Shuster, being the jackass that he is, apparently questioned the use of the word 'Harlem' suggesting that the word was 'racially tinged' (oddly, the 'corrupt' description didn't raise an eyebrow...)
Never mind that Harlem is actually Rangel's district or that he offices there - because, dammit, a REPUBLICAN said 'Harlem' and all those damn Republicans are evil racist bastards!
I wonder if any of the non-black residents of Harlem are offended?

Exhibit (C) - Liberals, in general. Screw it. I'm tired of beating around the bush here.
Yup.
I said it.

'Why' you ask? How could it be that the self-styled champions of the oppressed are racists?
No, they aren't the sheet-wearing, cross-burning fucktard variety. Those ignorant bastards are up front about their frighteningly asinine and hateful beliefs - 'hate' being the operative word. 'White Power' blah, blah, blah. They are generally marginalized by civilized society (as they should be)- except for Robert Byrd that is...
The liberal racist fucktard (LRF) is of a more stealthy and dangerous variety - and the reason is simple. They don't hate 'minorities', they just apparently hate white people - or rather, white men and the 'oppressive' society they have created.
The LRF kills minorities with kindness, or what the LRF perceives as kindness anyway.
The LRF has given the world the bigotry of low expectations.
Why is it that a mention of 'civics literacy' by former Senator Tom Tancredo brought forth screeching protests from Rachel Maddow as being designed to prevent blacks from voting (and yes I say 'blacks' because not all 'persons of color' originate from Africa - besides, I am referred to as 'white' (among other things) and not 'Anglo-American' so if you have a problem with the terminology, feel free to bite me). And yes, once upon a time in a very different America, literacy tests were used and designed to shut out the black vote by unequal application of law at the time (allowing illiterate whites to vote while denying blacks the same right). Today, we as a nation, spend ungodly sums of money on a public school system that EVERYONE (regardless of race, color, creed or even citizenship status) has access to. NOBODY should be illiterate, period. So, Ms. Maddow (and all you other LRFs) why is it that any test of literacy would only adversely affect the black population? Are non-blacks somehow smarter? In your LRF wisdom, do you somehow know best? It is obvious that you think you do anyway... you elitist jackass
Such examples are endless.
New Haven, Connecticut invalidated firefighter promotion tests when minority candidates failed to pass. Firefighters who actually passed the test (one of whom had a learning disability) had to take the case to the Supreme Court in order to receive the promotions that they earned (which eventually ruled in their favor, score one for the Supreme Court)
~ side note. Sonia Sotomayor, the 'Wise Latina' herself, had her appellate court ruling in that matter overturned. Oops. Apparently, disenfranchisement is perfectly acceptable if in the name of diversity, right Sonia?
If one really wants to lose one's mind (which is a terrible thing to waste, after all) - all one really needs to do is turn to 'The View' - a cornucopia of stupidity and uber-liberalism (with the notable exception of Elizabeth Hasselbeck) (and I apologize for the redundancy of 'stupidity' and 'uber-liberalism' - but it is either very late at night or early in the morning and I grow weary and cranky). Yet I digress. During a post-Oscar re-hash, Sandra Bullock's victory for 'The Blindside' was discussed - when Vanessa Williams (sitting in for Whoopie Goldberg) uttered forth the following snippet of pure crap "brings up a theme for black folks. Here's another white family that has saved the day... another black story that has to have a white person come in and lift them up."
Boys and girls, if that's not racist then water 'aint wet and the sky 'aint blue. Of course, this sort of statement goes unchallenged when person spewing such sewage is a liberal (or in this case, liberal and black). Again, just think of the response if the above statement was uttered by a non-liberal.
Lest I forget the Limbaugh / Rams (minority) ownership debacle - where Limbaugh was essentially banned from ownership over comments he never made. Of course J-Lo can lyrically muse And the game done chose me to bring pain to niggas and pussy holes, they one in the same and be awarded a minority shareholder in the Miami Dolphins franchise... Because Limbaugh describing media cheerleading for Donavan McNabb due to a wish to see a successful black quarterback was 'divisive' according to Goodell...... and J-Lo's lyrics were obviously enlightened... idiots. Hypocritical idiots, all of them

Allow me to be blunt for a moment (because usually, I so masterfully hide what I am really feeling)..
Liberals think they are better and know better than everyone else. As such, they need to protect the great unwashed masses from the inequities of society.
From this belief has sprung the well-intentioned but nonetheless oppressive practice of the welfare state. That is, since folks (in this case, non-whites) aren't smart enough or clever enough to take care of themselves, the LRF (in the form of the state) must do it for them.
Conservatives are truly equal opportunity. Rise or fall, succeed or fail, we are all created equal - with the same basic skill sets and potential for greatness or failure. What you do (or fail to do) is up to you. Either you will self-actualize, realizing your potential or you will fail.
How is it then, that the conservative allows themselves to be painted by the racist brush (and for that matter, why is it that every non-white - from Condaleeza Rice to Miguel Estrada, who is conservative, is either branded a sell-out or an Uncle Tom?)
What is more cruel, allowing one to succeed or fail on their own merits or the soft tyranny of never having to do anything but suckle at the government teat?

Personally, I'm done backing away from this.
I refuse to be branded as prejudiced, racist or the like (which is always comical to me considering my family makeup).
We can either challenge the abject stupidity and hypocrisy of the status quo as the painting of conservatives / Republicans as racists - or by default, accept it as a completely unwarranted and inaccurate 'truth'.
Nut up or shut up, as it were.

Me?
I'm calling a watermelon a watermelon.

Ma, Where's My Elephant Gun?

A friend once asked me why I was pro-Republican -
to which I replied, 'I'm not pro-Republican, I'm anti-stupid' and as recent days have shown us, stupidity is not the sole purview of Democrats - and apparently, neither is hypocrisy

I know that Republicans border on numerical insignificance in congress - but still, even with such limited numbers, how is it that only one member has a set of testicles?
I guess fiscal conservatism is only attractive when it is politically expedient

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Senator Jim Bunning.
The ONLY person in Washington with the testicular (or ovarian) fortitude to stand up for fiscal conservatism and common sense.

Jim Bunning has blocked a spending bill.

Not just any bill mind you, but a bill that would (gasp) DELAY the extension of unemployment benefits to the nation's unemployed and force the furlough of @ 2,000 federal employees. Forget for a moment that 99 weeks of unemployment benefits is more akin to welfare than unemployment benefits - and the number of federal employees, like Rosie O'Donnel's ass, needs to be substantially downsized for the sake of humanity - that this lovely piece of legislation is the first major piece of spending AFTER the much publicized PAY-GO legislation hyped by our glorious Celebrity in Chief and passed by a Congress that is about as effective as tits on a bull... and of course; Obama, his merry band of idiots and his unwitting sackless cohorts in the GOP want this particular bill to be an exception to the aforementioned PAY-GO / 'look ma, I'm trying to balance the budget' legislation! (my apologies for the mammoth run on sentence - but dammit, I'm pissed off and in no mood to follow proper grammar)

So, the GOP has forgone principal in order not to be painted as heartless scrooges.
Instead, they look like eunuchs.
Law either applies or it doesn't.
Otherwise, it is more of a suggestion, isn't it?
'Sir, I suggest that you not rob that bank!' Yeah, that's about as effective as our foreign policy decisions pertaining to Iran...

Obviously, I expect this sort of crap from the Democrats. At this point, they have become a cesspool of corruption, stupidity and thuggery - led by an incompetent, arrogant jackass on a scale so monstrous, that can only be compared to....Rosie O'Donnell's ass...but I digress.

But the Republicans?
You sackless pieces of fecal matter....and here I thought you learned something....

Glen Beck caught a significant amount of grief from certain conservative radio talk show hosts following his CPAC Key Note speech. Many thought he was unsupportive of a party that had obviously learned its lesson about turning its back on its conservative principles. I had heard rumblings from Limbaugh, Bennett and Levin, echoing this theme or at a minimum, taking potshots at Beck while praising the GOP for standing firm against the Obama agenda.
Apparently, only so long as it is politically expedient...
I wonder if Beck has received any apologies?

Leadership often demands tough choices.
Leadership necessitates principled decisions.
Leadership requires character.

President Obama is many things, but a leader is not one of them. At best, he is a disappointment - at worst...he is yet another Baldwin brother.

So where is the leadership of the 'loyal opposition'?
Those who happily beat the drum of disdain and champion the cause of deficit reduction?
(insert cricket sounds)
...............

Yeah, I thought so.

Prior to the '08 elections, I had told a friend of mine that I wouldn't piss on the Democrats if they were on fire. The Republicans on the other hand, I would take great joy in pissing on.

No, I'm not freaky like that...you sick bastards...

I just save my greatest disdain for those who disappoint me the most.
Being angry at the current batch of Congressional Democrats for doing stupid shit makes about as much sense as getting angry at my dog for chasing squirrels... what the hell do you expect?

I expect more form those who profess to know better.
I expect more from those who profess to stand for fiscal conservatism
and the GOP disappoints me, yet again.

At least we have Jim Bunning.
and by 'we', I'm not talking about Republicans
I'm talking about Americans.

Is it really too much to ask for?

Idiots.
All of them

(except for Jim Bunning that is)

Bipartisan My Pasty White Ass

Lies.
Damn Lies
and Barack Obama.

Did anyone actually think our Celebrity in Chief had any intentions of listening to any opinion but his own (and the teleprompter's of course) in today's Bipartisan HealthCare Summit?
(If anyone in the audience is raising their hand right now, for the love of God, don't reproduce. That level of stupidity really shouldn't propagate beyond 1 generation)...yet I digress.

Bipartisan my pasty white ass.

'Plan B' had been written, was in the chamber and was prepped to fire before today's little P.R. event even took place. The entire premise between today's dog and pony show was to “give a face to gridlock, in the form of House and Senate Republicans.” - this at least was expressed desire by senior Democrat muckity mucks.
And let's be realistic here. EVERY republican suggestion thus far has been dismissed. Bills to date have had zero bipartisan input. After all, it wasn't supposed to need any bipartisan support - with the supermajority and all. Ooops.
Damn obstructionist Republicans! See how they prevented Democrats from...agreeing...with....themselves...? Bastards! (and to any fringe-jobs who may not recognize it, that is what we call sarcasm)

That plan failed. The lack of a bipartisan effort by the president could not have been more clear. After all, it is difficult to have a 'conversation' when the Obama spoke longer than all Republicans combined... (damn but that man loves the sound of his own voice)... and he ended the show with feigned lamentation that the divide may be too great and the nuclear option 'may' be required.
(*hypocrisy alert* Obama and co. railed against such activity as a 'an arrogant power grab against the founders' intent')

Obama claimed that 'we cannot have another year of debate on this'. The reason is simple, he has had his presidential ass handed to him over the last year and can't possibly withstand another year of such a beating. Although another year of kabuki theater might be good for the nation, at least this way we have a chance of other enormous pieces of legislation / steaming poo might be forgotten about... (I can dream anyway)

Is it too much to ask for the president (as well the current crop of hard-left leaning Democrats currently populating Washington like horny cockroaches) to not vilify 'big business' (or big pharma, big oil, Wall Street Fat Cats or big whatever)? Obviously, the answer to that question is hell-to-the-no, but I had to ask it. After all, if the 'big bogeyman' didn't exist, who would be the enemy for 'Big Government' to save us from?
- and in this particular case, the bogeyman is Big Insurance.

Take all the profits from every insurance company and put them in a fund to pay for the uninsured, how long would it last?
A whole year? Nope
6 months? Nope
3 days? Yup
Those evil capitalists! money grubbing whores! See how they are fleecing the little guy?
3 days.... Bastards! (yes fringies, that was sarcasm again)

*and for the record, I tend to loathe insurance companies on the level of a consumer and provider of services. To put it bluntly (and mildly) they suck. That being said, they suck an order of magnitude less than government. The corruption and inefficiencies of government are well documented and obvious to anyone with a brain (which of course leaves a whole lot of folks out of the equation...) - comparatively speaking, insurance companies are paragons of virtue and efficiency*

Just a few random thoughts here..

• As a society, I believe it is incumbent upon us to care for those who truly cannot care for themselves. This 'aint cheap - but we can and should absorb the cost. (notice I said 'cannot' not 'those who choose not to'. 2 totally different things and a rant for another time)
• If you have a 'pre-existing' condition and didn't have insurance prior to the diagnosis, it is no longer insurance that applies to your situation. Insurance is for risk and is spread across a pool of individuals. So if you have a pre-existing condition, be prepared to pay more - it is only fair. Where the true screwing is taking place is those who have conditions and want to switch plans and in my humble opinion is where legislation is most needed.
• Getting dropped by an insurer after one develops a serious medical condition is unconscionable. Methinks a public flogging of all those responsible (from top to bottom) in making such a decision is permissible. It could be a pay-per-view event, with the proceeds going to the families of the screwed...
  
• Mandating that individuals purchase coverage may not be constitutional - but I think it is a good idea. If you wait until you have a problem to get coverage, then we are at the above problem. Then again, I am a huge fan of personal responsibility.
• You can't substantially lower costs without competition.
• Government and competition are mutually exclusive. Get over it. Really. No, I mean it. I hear this one all the time. Open your eyes and move on. Seriously...
• Doctors and hospitals could charge less for services if they didn't have to practice with a lawyer on each shoulder. Tort reform is needed, badly.
  
• Obama is not fighting the Republicans on this issue as much as he is fighting the will of the American people, no matter how much he would like to pretend otherwise
• Current legislation on the table by the Democrats and the president has nothing to do with reforming healthcare and everything to do with power. Sad but true

So, where does that leave us?

Hopefully, in gridlock - at least that way, the American public won't be forcibly sodomized with this terrible steaming pile of legislation.

Until then, we are forced to listen to the 'Great Communicator' and his magic teleprompter try to convince us that he is really as smart as he thinks he is...

and by the way Mr. President, you lead a nation - not just a party. I would greatly appreciate it if you would realize that and stop acting like a partisan jackass.

xoxoxox,
The Weekly SubStandard

Dirty and Wrong

Yup.
I'm wrong.
Dirty and wrong...and I am shamefaced.

(OK, not shamefaced exactly - because that pushes the needle on the wuss-o-meter to an uncomfortably high reading.. and I'm not exactly dirty, being a big fan of personal hygiene and all.. but I think you get the general idea)

and cue the music with dulcet tones of lamentation and insightful regret...

I read a book, found it to be smart and entertaining, but essentially dismissed the author.

I've focused on moments of incoherent ramblings and infantile showmanship and largely ignored the greater message.

Oh sure. I gave him grudging props now and again - but I didn't want to be identified as a 'fan' or admirer in any sense of the word.

Most importantly, I bowed to the pressure.
It was easier to be dismissive.
It was easier to turn up my nose and essentially play the elitist.
It was easier to go along with the crowd.
It was easier to not be judged.

And I suck.

And just like that, I can't look in the mirror -
and not just because 2 years of non-exercise is not very sexy on a body, not very sexy at all..

I really would've liked to think that I was better than this.
I would've liked to think that I was setting a better example for my daughter - to stand up for what is right, not just for what is convenient.
I would've liked to think that I would've had the conviction of my ideals to make my own assessment and not allow others to do it for me.

Who knows.
Maybe 'they' are right.
Maybe he is a divisive lunatic.
Maybe he is an egoist of the highest order.

But IF I come to that assessment, then the assessment must be mine to make. An honest assessment, free from fear of derision or judgment.

Today I sat and listened to Glen Beck's CPAC keynote speech -
and I was glued to the monitor (which for my ADD-riddled ass is no mean feat). It was the first speech that I ever willingly sat thru - and no one could be more surprised than I.
It was magnificent.
It was insightful.
It was funny.
It was a philosophical and intellectual call to arms.
And I suck.
Or at least I did.

And so I apologize for my intellectual dishonesty.
And Mr. Beck, I thank you.
Not just for your incredible speech - but for providing me the opportunity for evaluating my own inherent stupidity.
I'd like to shake your hand and buy you a cup of coffee.

Maybe this whole fatherhood thing is making me a little sappy.
Maybe the lack of sleep is messing with my head.
Or maybe, I have the impetus to be the best person that I can be - the kind of man that does not reflexively judge another for personal and social expediency.

It's morning in America
(and apparently, my tiny bundle of 'impetus' needs her diaper changed.. so it appears that my foray into the realm of public confession must come to an abrupt and merciful end)

Inspired and exhausted is an interesting and potent elixir.

Time to grab a diaper, baby wipes and cup of coffee and get to work.
(now if I could only learn to cry on cue....)