Social Change in America

America now has women's rights, gay rights, African-American rights, Latino rights, Muslim rights, immigrant rights, and more.  Is there anyone left?  Oh, yeah.  Maybe we could have some rights for straight white men.  Even more disenfranchised are straight white southern religious conservative men and women.  What about poor rednecks?  They are considered nothing more than pond scum.  Anyone who refuses to be indoctrinated in politically correct bullshit is no longer free to believe whatever they choose.

Freedom used to mean that everyone is allowed to think and do what they want as long as they do not physically harm another person or a person's private property.  That did not give anyone the right to deny freedom of thought or speech to anyone else just because what they think or say may offend somebody.  It does now.  Since when did someone's sensitivity become more important than someone else's personal opinions?  Freedom is about individual rights, not 'feelings'.  If one may be offended by what they see or hear, they have the choice of not watching or not going to where that may happen.  Personally I am offended by everything the politically correct crowd is doing to this country.  What about my rights?

Fifty years ago America certainly had issues regarding race, gender, and equal opportunity that needed to be addressed and rectified.  It took just a few decades to accomplish a viable transition to a more equitable and just society to the degree humanly possible.  Intolerance, prejudice and bigotry can never be eliminated in any society.  When it comes to haters, just ask liberals how they feel about conservatives.  Unfortunately the professional agitators never know when to stop after they have already won.  In fact, they become more aggressive after they have succeeded and go way past the original goal, resuscitating and reinvigorating the divisive issues that had already been effectively remedied.

Personally, I believe in the philosophy and opinions of Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Allen West, Ben Carson, and other distinguished African-Americans.  I believe they are among the most intelligent and accomplished individuals in the country.  I would vote for any of them for president in a heartbeat.  I don't believe in the divisive and destructive rhetoric and actions of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama or their acolytes.  And since I don't buy into the politically correct crap spewed by these polarizing establishment celebrities, I am labelled a racist.  Someone please explain that.

I am very tired of PC society telling me I am a racist, sexist, homophobic, right wing nazi.  I am not even close to being any of those things.  I am tired of Obamacrat liberals spouting the bullshit that straight white men are mean and evil and responsible for all the world's problems.  I am tired of being lectured to every day that we must conform to enlightened PC doctrine or be sent to anger management, sensitivity training, or re-education camps.

And I am tired of being blamed for every horrific monstrous event that occurs in this world.  For example, why would all of white America be blamed for the action of one mentally deranged individual in South Carolina?  And what does the confederate flag have to do with it?  Maybe the Libs should look inside their own actions and wonder why dangerous mentally ill people are roaming streets and neighborhoods rather than getting the medical and psychological help and/or physical confinement they need.  Better yet, the libs should look at their own actions in forcing politically correct doctrine down America's throats and triggering the unstable time bombs that do go off.

Apparently They Are Not Kidding

The intellectual exhaustion of the Democratic Party is evident by the fact they apparently cannot find a person other than the corrupt, self-promoting, integrity-lacking crook Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate.  In fact, it appears they aren't even looking.  One of the greatest mysteries of all time is why anyone would ever even think of voting for her.  She has no achievements other than getting elected or appointed to political office due to ties to her husband of convenience, nor any record of accomplishing anything of benefit to the country while occupying those offices.  The woman is all promotion and no substance.  She is a human scandal generating machine.  The last thing America needs is back to back pompous, incompetent, narcissists as president.

Her entire campaign is based on spewing the same old liberal cliches demeaning opponents and making utopian promises that never have been and cannot be achieved through the policies Democrats advocate.  Oh, and also the fact that she is a woman.  Our current president won because he is black.  Since when did either of those qualities become important factors in deciding our nation's leader?  There are plenty of African-Americans and/or females in this country who would make great presidents.  Neither of these two is even close.  When will the people who vote for them ever get tired of being conned?

Has the liberal chain of command ever considered what kind of damage their rhetoric is doing to the country?  They continually accuse everyone who does not agree with them of being heartless, greedy, racist, bigoted, intolerant, prejudiced, sexist, xenophobic, evil, violent, subhuman haters interested only in making children go hungry, denying racial groups access to personal development, throwing the elderly under the bus, using law enforcement to harass minorities, ensuring the poor have no opportunities to improve themselves, and imposing extreme right wing religious rules on everyone.

But the vast majority of people who do not agree with liberals are not and do not want to impose any of those things.  They are as tolerant of alternative lifestyles, as interested in improving everyone's standard of living, as concerned about personal and national security, and as dedicated to liberty and justice as anyone.  Furthermore, most of us are completely colorblind when it comes to intellect, capabilities, and personal relationships.

The real issues are how to achieve economic and social progress as well as maintain our national and personal security.  That is where the big differences between liberals and conservatives exist, and it would be a good idea to focus on creating intelligent and rational debate about them rather than making absurd, defamatory accusations.  No one is going to change their mind because of insults and false accusations made against them.  All that does is piss them off.  If liberals keep doing nothing but demeaning the intelligence, character, and motives of those who disagree with them on some issues, then sooner or later the vitriol will erupt into a violent conflict.  Do they really want a civil war?

I love my country and what it stands for.  I can't say the same for my country's government, its political leaders, or the uninformed people who continue to put lying, self-centered charlatans in public office.  If the Dems want to run a female celebrity they need to find one that has actually accomplished something on her own.  Hillary Clinton has not.

 

Lighting the Fire

Lost in all the bullshit (i.e., PC media coverage and PC approved public conversation) about the so-called racial incident in McKinney, Texas is the fact that around 100 people were breaking the law by invading private property and creating a violent disturbance.  When the residents of the community whose rights were being violated called the police to take charge of the situation, the absurd result was that the law enforcement authorities who arrived were the ones blamed for attempting to do something about the brawl that was already out of control. 

I can't think of any better way to destroy the legal and social fabric of a nation than to accommodate the promotion of anarchy.  The concept of private property is one of the basic founding principles of American society.  It was not the trespassers on private property whose rights were being violated.  Fifty years ago the police regularly used much more force than witnessed in McKinney to subdue people violating the law, and they were supported by all law abiding citizens for doing so.  Racism is not the issue.  The issue is law and order.

Yet the politically correct bleeding hearts and mush-brained haters on the left stridently accuse law enforcement authorities rather than the lawbreakers.  They claim those who view the events differently are inhuman beasts that must be cast from society and never be allowed to have an opinion that differs from theirs.  The vicious, arrogant, self-righteous airheads on the left are provoking some really bad shit that is going to happen in this country.

Who is going to protect citizens from those breaking the law when it is the law enforcement personnel who respond to the calls for help that are condemned and subject to personal retribution for handling any resistance to their authority.  No one, that's who.  Ordinary citizens will be forced to take the law into their own hands whenever their rights to life and private property are threatened.  Is that the society the self-appointed enforcers of politically correct behavior really want?

We have already lost freedom of speech in this country, evidenced by those who are ostracized and lose their jobs after expressing a politically incorrect personal opinion as well as educational institutions routine censorship of books and commentary that don't conform to left wing ideology.  We are now losing our rights to private property, liberty, justice, and personal security.  The loss of the right to life is obviously next.  Big Brother, the Thought Police, and the Ministry of Truth have already arrived.  The Ministries of Peace, Love, and Plenty are not far behind.  The English Socialism and totalitarian control of the Inner Party is well under way in America.

We are witnessing the destruction of the most successful experiment in democracy, freedom, equal opportunity, and prosperity that has ever existed on earth.  Unless the people who blindly follow the authoritarian politically correct line propagandized by the leftist elite pull their heads out of their butts, it will soon be gone.  Then it will be all about who has the most firepower.

 

An Appeal to American Voters from a Political Independent

 

The train is off the track.  The American economy is stuck in a rut and the social fabric is coming apart at the seams.  Our political leadership is full of self-serving blowhards and unprincipled weasels only interested in stuffing their own pockets.  We have become accustomed to politicians who routinely lie, cheat, and steal - and get away with it.  They say all the right words, and then do all the wrong things.  They eloquently tell the public what it wants to hear, then do whatever the most generous campaign financial supporters and lobbyists tell them to do.  They don't give a damn about the people who voted for them until the next election comes around.  Then they lie to them again.  Even worse, voters don't seem to care.

 

That is unacceptable.  Nothing will change until we start holding our elected representatives to higher standards.  The ideal candidate for public office is a person who is honest, ethical, competent, and does not suck up to any special interest group.  Is that too much to ask?  Apparently it is, because it certainly disqualifies Hillary Clinton, who is the personification of the sleazy politician yet seems to be the overwhelming favorite in the Democratic Party.  That is beyond comprehension.  We survived her husband.  But now the country is in more serious shape.  We may not survive another president with no principles, no scruples, no conscience, and no real interest in the people they were elected to represent.  That last person on earth we need in the White House is Hillary Clinton.

 

There are more than smoking guns where the Clinton's have been involved.  There are detonated bombs all around the world.  Scandals over the years are too numerous to count.  From the miracle commodity trades to the pardoning of wealthy criminals to the fraudulent foundation to the email infraction and dozens in between, the Clinton's make Barack Obama look like a saint in comparison.  All of Obama's lies, his destruction of American prosperity, his weakening of our national security, his repudiation of our founding principles, and his imperial assumption of dictatorial power are certainly more than bad enough.  But at least he did not leave an obvious trail of unmistakable corruption wherever he went.  Hillary does.  The woman is a congenital liar.  She trumpets her experience.  What good is experience if none of it did anything good for our country?

 

The Democratic Party must have someone in their party who has some integrity and ethics, even if they are proponents of the big government, centrally controlled, overly generous welfare state that has caused our country to stagnate and polarize.  If they have not sold out to any special interests and truly believe what they say, they would certainly be more qualified than Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps former Virginia Senator James Webb, Delaware's Jack Markell, even Elizabeth Warren.  The Democrats would do the country a great service by finding someone with some real substance and running them instead of the same old fraudulent, megalomaniacal, corrupt liars they typically send up.

 

As regards Republican candidates for office, they need to leave their religious convictions out of it.  Pandering to evangelicals is not going to get anyone elected.  America must preserve freedom of religion, not be a society ruled by religion.  Abortion and gay rights are done deals.  Get over it and move on.  Economic policy, social polarization, national security, individual liberty, fair justice, and equal opportunity for all Americans are much more important issues.

 

It would also be encouraging if Republicans could do a better job of getting their real message out, of convincing people they are not the mean and evil monsters the Democrats propagandists claim them to be.  Responsible Republicans with good ideas do exist.  Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels, Nikki Haley, Carly Fiorina, Allen West and some others might have some things to say people might agree with if only they listened.

 

It is time for Americans to stop deciding who to vote for based on issues that no longer exist but are kept alive by professional agitators with a vested interest.  That includes racism, gay rights, and women's rights.  Those battles are over.  The challengers won.  Unfortunately, those who make their living by keeping the discussion and turmoil alive will not let them go.  Those efforts are not helping anyone in America today.

 

It is past time for American political leaders to use the political process to address the major issues facing the country.  Those include -

 

1.  Our national security is being ignored and the country is becoming vulnerable to foreign aggression.

 

2.  The educational system is teaching our children victimology, not preparation for adulthood.  Something is very wrong when only 18% of eighth graders have any real knowledge of American history or understand how our democratic system of government is supposed to work (National Assessment of Educational Progress released last week).

 

3.  Our welfare system is misguided.  A safety net for those who truly need it is required of any civilized country, but welfare in America encourages dependency and penalizes work.

 

4.  Entitlements are out of control as spending on social security, Medicare, and Medicaid is in the process of bankrupting the country.  Each one must be reformed to make them financially viable.

 

5.  Tax reform is overdue as the current system is based on unfair loopholes for politically connected special interests.

 

6.  Private Enterprise and Free Markets are under attack.  Democrats over-regulate and promote economic growth killing policies. Republicans under-regulate and facilitate fraud.  Regulation of business needs rationalization and restoration of fair competitive markets, not straight-jackets imposed by people who don't even understand how the economy works.

 

A growing problem in America is the increasing divide between the top and bottom of American society.  The rich are getting richer while the middle class and poor are going nowhere.  This divergence is not due to capitalism.  Capitalism is based on private enterprise and free markets.  Each has been severely compromised over the last twenty-five years by the growth of big government bureaucracies and political favoritism.  Cronyism and revolving doors between Wall Street, The White House, the Halls of Congress, Ivy League institutions, policy institutes, and lobbyists has resulted in the expansion of federal government intrusion into commerce and industry as well as interference in the competitive marketplace.  Rules and regulations imposed by a government bought and paid for by the wealthy, connected powerful elite favors the big businesses and influential organizations at the expense of small business.

 

For those who believe the mega-wealthy benefactors of big government are all from the Republican Party, think again.  Over the last 25 years the presidency and the Senate have been controlled by the Democrats the majority of the time, while the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives.  Both political parties get their campaign funding and lobbyist favors from big business, the big rich, and other big special interests.  And both parties reward them.

 

Consequently, both parties are responsible for the policies that have produced the breakdown of American society - the violence of the inner cities, the failing education system, the disintegration of families, and most important, the dependency on big government.  Maybe the disastrous social experiments were originally good ideas, but they have grown out of control and now create more problems than they solve.  The policies were Democratic Party ideas, but the Republicans have not done much to oppose them.  The point is those policies don't work.  They make the problems worse.  Why would America want to double and triple down on the same destructive policies that created the problem?

 

Another problem America faces is the changing structure of the economy.  Whoever is president needs to pick members of his/her Council of Economic Advisers to focus on how to adapt our economy to an environment where technology and global competition are reducing the number of traditional jobs available.  I don't have the answer, but I am confident that just throwing more money at worthless education and imposing foreign trade constraints will not solve the problems.  I am certain, however, that restructuring education with more relevant curriculums and removing government imposed unnecessary regulatory costs and restraints on small business would help.

 

These are all important issues.  America is running out of time to get back on course.  Continuing politics as usual will kill the golden goose.  We need leaders that will restore traditional American principles and values of hard work, personal responsibility, and pride in what we do.  We need to restore competitive capitalism by encouraging small business rather than burdening it with obstacles to overcome.  We must re-establish efficient free markets that allow the incentive of financial reward to stimulate creativity and entrepreneurship rather than allow the oligarchs of the megabanks and mega-businesses to control the economy.  That would include laws that make sure the big boys go bust when they screw up rather than bailed out by the government at the expense of American citizens.

 

Those goals cannot be achieved by sending the same tired old corrupt gasbags back to Washington, DC every election.  Current government policies are not helping anybody but the folks who are already rich.  Meanwhile, the middle class struggles to maintain their living standards and those at the bottom of society live in constant fear without hope.  America needs to get a grip.  We need new leaders and new ideas.  Every voter needs to dig deep down and vote responsibly.  People like Bill and Hillary Clinton have defrauded the American people long enough.  Please don't let it happen again.

 

 

Tyranny Of PC

I have found that I am angry a lot these days.  I think I know what is causing that.  Authoritarian Progressives, compliant Republicans, and politically correct society are causing it.  Perhaps the biggest problem with retirement from a day job is that it provides lots of time to observe, read, and reflect on what is going on around us.  That may not be a good thing.  Personally, I have come to the conclusion that either I am losing my sanity or this country is in really deep shit. 

One has to wonder how America can be the leader of the free world when America is no longer free.  Political Correctness now controls American society.  The very purpose of PC is to take away our freedom.  Americans our now told what to think and how to behave.  There is no longer freedom of speech.  Innocent private comments now result in banishment from society and disqualification from earning a living.  The PC Vigilantes have the audacity to proclaim every person accused of violating their self-established moral standards of being the lowest life forms on the face of the earth, subhuman trash to be exiled to spend the rest of their days in the fires of hell.  It doesn't matter if the accused is guilty or not, there will be no chance of self-defense or redemption.

Liberals are trying to change thousands of years of male behavior by dictating what is and what is not proper.  The PC theologians preach that men are Neanderthal brutes.  Any male who displays any objection to the rules of PC must be sent to a re-education camp.  Sensitivity training, diversity training, anger management classes, domestic violence counseling - all are products of politically correct assumptions that white men cause all of the world's problems.  What is the difference between those personality adjusting techniques and brainwashing?  The goal of American society today is to turn men into docile, compliant eunuchs.  The rules of PC say girls can be girls, boys can be girls, and girls can be boys, but boys can no longer be boys.

Liberals are delusional.  They think they are smarter than everyone else and therefore qualified to tell the rest of us what is good for us.  They create double standards imposing censorship on white men while allowing everyone else the freedom to insult, disparage and slander.  They reject any opposing opinions, including those actually based on independent scientific research instead of biased studies by subsidized charlatans.  They ignore decades of real experience and institute policies long discredited.  They demand that we accept their fantasies because of their pretentious presumption of superior intelligence and moral authority.

Liberals do not believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  They claim sole possession of truth and virtue.  They cannot comprehend that they could be wrong.  Perhaps it would be a revelation to the PC crowd, but very few of us so-called Neanderthals would disagree with the statement that a man should never hit a woman.  There is never a valid reason for doing such a thing.  But contrary to the favorite platitude of estrogen engendered wimps, sometimes violence does solve problems.  Sometimes violence is necessary.  If someone deliberately punches you in the nose or harms your children, it doesn't solve anything to turn the other cheek or gain solace from the fact you have other children.  If some organization crashes airplanes into your skyscrapers, it solves nothing to gather a crowd in a public place with candles, hold hands, sing kumbaya, be sad together, and hope the perps will feel bad about hurting our feelings. 

In America today, educational institutions, business enterprises, and social organizations go ballistic if anyone steps out of line with the PC standards.  But we live in a nation where every form of entertainment from movies to television shows to music is based on sex.  So is the clothes women wear and every day advertising.  Isn't it a bit hypocritical to condemn, suspend and close down college fraternities, other organizations, and individuals for engaging in behavior that is constantly promoted by the popular media?  Progressives don't think so.

Furthermore, what's the difference between hip hop music (abuse the bitch, kill the cops, nigga this, nigga that) and using politically incorrect words in harmless songs sung in the privacy of a social group's gathering?  Seems to me the public display of trash in hip hop culture and the subsequent drug dealing and random murder on inner city streets is much worse than what goes on behind the closed doors of a fraternity house.  Apparently it is now a crime to be young and stupid, punishable by destruction of the guilty party's life.  Actually, what is really beyond comprehension is why no one is asking these questions?

Liberals indoctrinate us every day with their sermon that racism is the biggest problem in America.  Perhaps they should ask everyone they consider to be a racist if those folks would vote for a Ben Carson, Alan West, or Condoleeza Rice for president over Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi.  I am quite confident the overwhelming majority of them would say yes.  Of course a few unenlightened fringe elements would say no.  Every nation in the world has those who will never be tolerant of others.  The only way to change that is to kill them all.  Would liberals advocate that?  Given their constant vilification and flagrant contempt of those who disagree with them, the answer is not obvious.

Racism is not the problem.  The problem is persecution - persecution of those who do not conform to the standards of liberal politically correct thought and behavior.  It is not racism that liberals detest.  It is freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of association, and democracy that they hate.  Liberals are the ones who say black Americans are not intelligent enough to succeed without government assistance.  Liberals should look in the mirror.  Democrats are the real racists in America.

What all men in America, white, black, or brown, need in order to preserve our own sanity is for politically correct liberals to stop pissing us off.  We are pissed off because we are witnessing the death of free speech, competing opinions, and intellectual diversity in America.  We are watching our country be destroyed by arrogant, contemptuous, self-righteous, politically correct totalitarian dictators before our very eyes.  Progressives are revising our history and indoctrinating our children with socialist trash.  Progressivism is no different than communism, fascism, or even Islam.  The goal of each is to silence any opposition and create a society they can control.  That is not democracy, liberty, nor justice for all.  It is tyranny.

Revising History

 Questions for liberals -

1.  Who sent the first American combat troops into Vietnam?

            John F. Kennedy

2.  Who escalated the Vietnam war?

            Lyndon Johnson

3.  What president started drawing down American troops in Vietnam his first day in office?

            Richard Nixon

4.  What political party was founded for the primary purpose of ending slavery?

            Republican

5.  Who signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves?

            Abraham Lincoln, a Republican

6.  Which political party welcomed the first three black people as members of the Senate?

            Republican

7.  Has the growth of the welfare state done anything to solve the problems of poverty, drug abuse, inferior education, and hopelessness in the inner cities of America?

            No, they have gotten worse

8.  Has the distribution of income in America become more equitable under Barack Obama?

            No, the disparity has become much greater. 

9.  Have African-Americans gained responsible positions at the top levels of every profession and activity in America over the last fifty years?

            Yes, in every endeavor

10.  If African-Americans have become successful corporate executives, doctors, lawyers, educators, entrepreneurs, and politicians, was that due to affirmative action or the intelligence and hard work of those who became successful?

            Debatable, but most of the successful ones would say hard work

The greatest revision of American history occurred following the greatest cleavage in American history.  Nearly all of the polarization in American society can be traced back to the 1960's.  The cleavage was caused by two tumultuous events - the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.  Somehow the Democrats have emerged as the heroes and the Republicans the villains, despite the indisputable facts that a Democrat started America's participation in the war, a Democrat escalated it, and a Republican wound it down.  Why do Republicans always get the blame?  If The Vietnam War was a mistake, it was brought to us by Democrats.

Regarding civil rights, few seem to know that a higher percentage of Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than Democrats did in both houses of Congress.  Few seem to know that a higher percentage of Republicans voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 than did Democrats in both houses of Congress.  Somehow the issue of equal rights for all, an ideal no one in their right mind could oppose, was transformed by the Democrats who controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress into the socialist concept of an unaffordable welfare state controlled by an expanding central government that dominates the economy and limits personal freedom.  The welfare state has led to violent poverty stricken inner cities, the destruction of the traditional family, and inescapable dependency on government.  It has been a complete failure.

Someone needs to inform those who vote for Democrats that they have done nothing for them.  They presume African-Americans are inferior and need preferential support to succeed.  Republicans believe African-Americans are just as intellectually capable as anyone else in being equal contributors to the social fabric and economic prosperity of America.  Republicans also recognize that there are many among us of every ethnic group that do need help, and they believe in providing support to those who truly need it.  What Republicans don't believe in is throwing away money to government programs that not only don't work but make the problems worse, sustaining the poverty and crime of the inner cities and creating dependency.  Unfortunately, Democrats do believe in those programs, for no other reason than they buy them votes.

As long as liberals are in charge of establishing educational curriculums, writing the school books, and controlling America's educators through the teachers unions, our children will not be learning the important truths about American history, American values, and the freedom and prosperity we have created and shared throughout the globe.  And as long as the liberals control the majority of the sources of information in America, i.e., the news media, the broadcast networks, the ivory towers of social policy institutions, and the entertainment industry, the revised history they created will continue to be reinforced.  That is called brainwashing supplemented by propaganda, and it is what the Democrats do best.

 

The Real Conversation America Needs

 

Social commentators tell us the conversation America desperately needs but is afraid to have is about race.  There is no question that racists still exist in America.  Haters exist in every society and always will.  It is human nature for some people to not accept others for any number of reasons, most often irrational reasons.  But as a society, the vast majority of Americans no longer see color of skin when associating with friends, neighbors and co-workers.  America is no longer a racist country and hasn't been for more than five decades.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other legislation of that era would never have passed if it was.  Nor would we have an African-American president and qualified, competent black people in the top jobs in every field of endeavor.

The conversation America needs to have is about men and women.  Men are constantly accused of sexual harassment and rape if they so much as glance or smile at a woman.  If a female accuses a male of doing anything she thinks is sexually motivated he can lose his job, be kicked out of school, or go to jail.  There is never any assumption of innocence until proven guilty.  Media generated public opinion, educational institution administrators, and the courts always assume the female is telling the truth and the man is guilty.  Why is that?  That's the conversation America needs to have.

 

Of course no means no.  If a man makes physical contact with a woman after she has told him not to, then he should be arrested and punished.  But having second thoughts the next day or claiming advantage was taken because of alcohol does not constitute a viable claim of assault or rape.  If mean girls are capable of making up lies about their rivals, they are certainly capable of making up lies about men.  Unfortunately, bogus claims are often made against men, yet the man is still held accountable and subject to prosecution.  That is just plain wrong.

 

To take all that a step further, it is very confusing that a book, and now a movie (Fifty Shades of Grey), about sexual domination and submission can become a record setting best seller among women at the same time many women in real life react to the attention of men by subjecting them to punishment for criminal intent.  It is very confusing that the clothes women wear are an attempt to look as sexy as possible, but men are accused of being perverts if they notice.  It is very confusing when nearly every television show popular among women is about sex, but men are the ones considered to have nothing but sex on their minds.  It is very confusing that it is perfectly acceptable for guys like Bill Clinton to be known sexual predators and yet worshipped by most women.   It is also very confusing today as to what actually constitutes sexual harassment?  What used to be innocent comments can today get men in big trouble.

Apparently a lot of women spend a significant amount of time thinking about sex, but think nothing of condemning men for having the same thoughts.  In politically correct America these double standards are the norm.  Personally, I am inclined to believe more often than not the female probably has some justification for her allegation.  There are a lot of degenerate men in the world, just like there are a lot of female teasers.  But men are not always the perpetrators of the crime.  Unless there is incriminating evidence other than a woman's word, innocent men will be among the punished.  It would be nice if society would acknowledge that there are two sides to every accusation of sexual harassment.

Anger Management

I don't need anger management!  I need Obama to stop pissing me off!

"At this moment - with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production - we have risen from recession."  Barack Obama, State of the Union address, January 20, 2015

The only response to Obama's SOTU speech Tuesday night is "what planet does he live on?"  Growing economy? Economic growth in America averaged 3.3% over the sixty years from 1948 through 2008, and often double that rate following recessions.  Since Obama became president the economy has grown at a rate of 1.4%.  Even ignoring his first year in office the economy has grown only 2.2% over the last five years.  That is by far the slowest rate of growth ever following a recession.  I wouldn't be bragging about economic growth if I was this president.

Shrinking deficits?  The federal deficit estimate for 2014 is $483.0 billion.  Congratulations, Barack.  That is down from $679.5 billion in 2013.  Unfortunately, the $483.0 billion is still higher than any annual deficit in our history before he became president.  The record before Obama was $412.7 billion in 2004.  During the six years he has been president the total outstanding debt of the federal government has ballooned 78% to nearly $18 trillion from $10 trillion when George W. Bush left office.  Obama claiming fiscal prudence is like the Islamic State claiming to be the nice guys next door.

Bustling industry?  Healthy industrial activity would translate into increasing jobs and rising standards of living.  The labor force participation rate is now 62.7% compared to 66% when Obama took office.  Demographics account for a little bit of that decline, but mostly it is due to people dropping out of the work force since they can't find jobs.  If the same percentage of adults were still in the work force as in 2008, today's unemployment rate would be over 10%.  But the most telling number is average household income, which today is still 4% below where it was when Obama became president.  Bustling industry my ass.

Booming energy production?  He is actually right about that.  But it has come about due to private efforts to unleash hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling to produce massive amounts of oil and gas from properties that were previously considered unproductive.  Obama and his environmentalist cohorts have fought it every step of the way.

There has never been a head of state or any enterprise that has owned so many pigs and used as much lipstick as Barack Obama.

The following is a paragraph from Slugzilla post 'State of the Union?' on January 25, 2012 -

The president continues to blame all of America's woes on George Bush and the Republicans in Congress, conveniently ignoring the fact his party controlled both houses of Congress his first two years and the Senate last year. He is trying to convince the nation that our economic sluggishness couldn't possibly be due to his enlightened vision of progressive leadership. Fortunately for him, capitalism has an inherent propensity to generate growth even when shackled with the burdens of unnecessary regulations and restraints. But too many of those restraints keep the economy from growing at a rate strong enough to maintain a society's standard of living. That is where this president's leadership now has us trapped. But of course he will never admit his ideology does not work. 

Nothing much has really changed in the last three years, including the fact that some people still apparently believe his bullshit. A recent poll indicated that just under half of Americans are giving Obama credit for whatever small amount of improvement the economy may be experiencing.  Jonathan Gruber, the ObamaCare designer, was right.  Americans are stupid.  But only just under half of them.

Besides claiming credit for things that are not happening or that he had nothing to do with, Obama has discovered the middle class.  Obama said he plans to provide more relief for those folks through more tax credits and deductions.  Unfortunately, he has proposed strange ways to do that.  He apparently believes that only the top one percent own stocks and bonds since his primary approach to accomplishing his objective is to raise taxes on capital gains.  Increasing tax rates on capital gains is a direct attack on capitalism, with the biggest victims being those who are trying to save money for retirement and/or financial contingencies, i.e., the middle class.

He must also believe no one in the middle class owns a business since he also proposes changing inheritance tax laws to extort money for the government when a family business is passed on.  Both raising taxes on capital gains and increasing inheritance taxes are a win-win for him.  Confiscating Americans savings and the product of their hard work in building family farms and small businesses helps him achieve his ultimate goal - making every American totally dependent on the government.

Mr. Obama says he wants to give students free tuition to attend community colleges.  I can imagine the conversation now.  Child says, "I want to go to community college.  It's free."  Adult says, "That's just another excuse to not get a job."  Child says, "I could get a degree."  Adult says, "In what?"  Child says, "Community organizing."  Adult says, "That's a worthless degree.  You would never get a real job."  Child says, "I could be president."

Obama also talked about raising tax rates on the wealthy and helping the middle class by handing out more freebies.  I have no problems with raising marginal tax rates on those making over $250,000 a year.  Interestingly, most folks I know who are wealthy don't either.  They are not going to go broke or change their life style if their marginal tax rate is raised a few percent.  But handing out more freebies to special interests is just more of the unfair, inefficient, unaffordable, bureaucracy bloating and counterproductive crap that creates and expands the problems rather than solves them.

People say the devil is always in the details.  That's right, so get rid of the details.  Eliminate all tax preferences and lower tax rates.  Narrowly targeted tax deductions and credits should be terminated immediately.  All others should be phased out over time, with perhaps the mortgage interest deduction the longest phase out.  That simplifies the tax system and removes unfair 'details' for special interests.  While we're at levelling the playing field, eliminate all government subsidies.  Trust private enterprise and free markets to generate broad based economic growth while enhancing enforcement of rational regulatory laws that maintain a competitive economic environment.

Anyone who still supports Barack Obama and progressive political policies needs to ask themselves some questions.  Under his Administration -

1.  Has tax reform that simplifies the process and increases fairness been implemented?

2.  Has the budget been balanced or reduced?

3.  Has the education system improved and prepared students for life as an adult?

4.  Do American businesses have a more favorable operating environment?

5.  Has economic expansion been strong enough to improve living standards?

6.  Has income for the average American family gone up?

7.  Has income disparity narrowed?

8.  Are meaningful, desirable, productive jobs available for those who want them?

9.  Has racial harmony improved?

10.  Is America stronger and more secure?

11.  Do Americans feel safer from crime or foreign aggression?

12.  Does America have more allies and fewer adversaries?

13.  Has the cost of education or health care gone down?

14.  Have individual liberty, justice and opportunity to succeed been sustained?

15.  Has terrorism and genocide around the world subsided?

The answer to every one of those questions is no.  For six years, until this month, his party has had control of the Senate.  Blaming the failures on Republicans is absurd.  One has to wonder, what has gotten better in America during his presidency?  The answer is nothing but his golf score.

The best way to stifle economic growth is for government to impose more rules and regulations on business enterprises, high taxes on consumers, costly unproductive labor laws, trade protectionism, and subsidies to politically correct boondoggles.  These are all things the Obama Democrats have done, and the reason why economic activity has been so sluggish and unemployment so high under his administration.

The biggest problem on planet earth, which is at the heart of every problem Western Civilization faces, is Progressivism and its demands for universal compliance with their Politically Correct rules of order.  Progressives prevent recognition of the truth that Islam as a subversive religion where the moderate members that may exist either will not or cannot control the radical, barbaric terrorists among them. Progressives ideologically directed meddling in free markets and infliction of unwarranted regulations on private enterprise prevent economic growth from lifting the living standards of poor people around the world.  Progressives prevent intervention in conflicts in war torn countries where genocide is out of control.  Progressives demand that authoritarian politicians impose their opinions and policies on others.  And Progressives promote the polarization of societies by creating false claims of racism that do nothing but reignite racism, condemn intolerance for gays that no longer exists, and lecture on the oppression of women that never did exist in America.

Perhaps Obama needs to spend less time on the golf course, less time manipulating the media from the White House, and less time on Air Force One traveling to the homes of billionaires for extravagant celebrity studded fund raisers, and more time out in the real world.  His State of the Union speech was more of the same claims of credit for an improving economy that isn't and a strong foreign policy that does not exist, and pandering to voters with free government handouts and no plans to pay for them.  He has accomplished nothing beneficial for the American people, still blaming the Republicans for his failures.  He does nothing but punch Americans in the face, tell them that someone else did it, and then punch them again.  The world would be a much better place if he just slithered back to some hole in the ground, never to be seen or heard from again.

American Exceptionalism

America has its warts.  In the past we have had our experiences of barbarism, persecution and oppression.  I challenge anyone to name a major country in the world that hasn't.

The Warts -

1.  The genocide and brutal oppression inflicted on Native American Indians in our imperialistic westward expansion across the North American continent.  The Indians have never recovered.

2.  The acceptance of slavery in the United States from the founding through the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.  Racist attitudes continued in much of America, particularly the South, for the next one hundred years through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In the half century since 1964, for all practical purposes, racism has been eliminated in America.  The fact that black Americans today occupy leadership positions in every profession proves it.

3.  Imperialist aggression in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during and following the Spanish-American War.  The war resulted in the American annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, directly resulting in the bloody Philippine-American War.

4.  Various meddling in the affairs of foreign countries over the years by the CIA, particularly in the Middle East.  (Given the history of Islam and its goals of global domination perhaps we didn't meddle enough).

The Exceptionalism -

1.  Engine of growth for economic development around the globe

2.  Provider of aid and support to underdeveloped nations

3.  Provider of aid and support around the globe to countries experiencing natural disasters

Furthermore, throughout our history prior to this president and his administration the United States displayed global leadership and exceptionalism in many more fields of social and economic development that benefitted all mankind.

1.   Liberty / Freedom / Individual Rights

2.   Justice

3.   Democracy

4.   Property rights

5.   Capitalism's generation of unprecedented economic growth and national wealth

6.   Global defender of democracy, liberty and justice around the world

7.   Integration and opportunity for immigrants who assimilate into society

8.   Leading educational institutions

9.   Leadership in technological revolution

10. Exploration of Space / Men on the moon

Unfortunately, now our commitment to these ideas and goals is diminishing thanks to the Progressives and their ideological, megalomaniac agent of change in the White House.  That means we are becoming unexceptional as those folks intend.

The real question is why do Democrats want to convince people that we are history's bad guys?  Why do they want to change what has worked to create the most successful, most powerful, most generous, most benevolent, most free nation in history.  Why do they impose policies that destroy that progress?  Recognizing that liberal economic, social and national security policies are self-destructive should be a no-brainer.

People cannot begin to understand the progressive wing of the Democratic Party personified by Barack Obama until they understand that they reject everything America stands for, including the basic principles that form the foundation of our country.  They reject liberty for all, as everyone must conform to their approved politically correct thought processes and proper behavior.  They reject justice for all, as they continually seek to buy the votes of those they can exploit at the expense of those whose votes they can't buy, and therefore must be punished.  They reject free speech, as they continue to censor conservative opinions and publications in educational institutions and progressive controlled states.  They reject free markets by piling more regulations on every business and interjecting government industrial policy to over-ride supply and demand.  They reject private enterprise by imposing control over health care, financial services, energy production, labor markets, and dictating what people can and cannot buy.  Worst of all, they maintain that America is an evil country that is responsible for every war occurring around the globe (every adversary and terrorist has justifiable grievances against America), the oppression of foreign countries (economic imperialism), and destruction of the planet (fossil fuel production and consumption).

They also contend America is still racist.  In a sense, that is true.  True racism is when one believes a particular minority is inferior and needs public assistance in achieving equality.  It implies certain groups are not capable of gaining equality by themselves without the help of some superior intellectual beings deciding what is best for them.  Clearly the racists in America are the Democrats.

Many black Americans today do continue to have to deal with injustice - inferior schools, fatherless families, inadequate jobs and low wages, substandard housing in violent neighborhoods, incarceration.  But those situations are not caused by ingrained racism.  They are caused by liberal policies that have created that environment and promote dependency and irresponsibility.

American society today is also dealing with women's issues and gay rights.  They are the result of a major revolution over the last half century as society has changed dramatically as women enter the work force and gays come out of the closet.  Throughout history, women were subservient and gays were not tolerated.  Total equality cannot be created overnight from such momentous changes.  It took a while.  But no matter what anyone's personal opinion, it is indisputable that as of the end of 2014 women and gays have won.

As far as civil rights are concerned, whether they involve minorities, labor, women, or gays, America has taken a lot of shit when we actually have been among the world leaders in recognizing those rights.  What kind of world would we have today without the USA?  Do the Progressives ever think about that?

A friend of mine said his political position is a rabid centrist, even though I am pretty sure he leans a bit left.  Regardless, I like that term.  I will adopt it as well.  After all, I'm economically conservative in the sense that government should balance its budget and encourage private enterprise, free markets, and fair competition, not control and dominate a nation's economy; a defense hawk that believes in maintaining tactical, strategic, and technological military superiority while limiting bloated bureaucracy; religiously and environmentally agnostic; and generally socially liberal, although that depends on the issue.

The problem is that everyone describes the center differently.  For example, the media describes Obamacrats as centrists when in fact they are the most far left big government Orwellian dictators America has ever had.  This government ignores the Constitution and mandates laws from the Executive Branch the majority of Americans oppose and could not pass Congress.  They use the power of government agencies to illegally harass citizens, impose restraints on freedom, and reward their financial supporters (IRS, EPA, NLRB).  Those are not actions of the political center.  Obviously whoever controls the media can declare where the political center is.

The problem is that logic, truth, facts and historical experience do not count for much to many people.  Most don't know enough to be able to tell the truth from the lies.  People get their information from a multitude of different sources.  For example, some only listen to social agitators, others to liberal news organizations, and others more conservative sources.  Some people believe the agitators, others believe in evaluating known facts and evidence.  Many just don't give a damn about being informed.  A recent Associated Press - GfK poll revealed that only 37% of Americans think it is important to be informed on current news and public issues, well below past results.  In fact, 20% don't give a shit at all and feel no obligation to know anything.

The interesting thing about politics is that generally everybody wants the same thing - the enjoyment of prosperity, justice and security for all.  The problem is the violent disagreement on how to get there.  The only thing for sure is that the liberal policies of the last 50 years have not worked.

Obama and the Progressives tell us the United States is and has always been a mean and evil oppressive, imperialistic country.  Does anyone truly believe Western Europe, North America and the rest of the free world would not be living under the oppressive thumbs of dictatorial tyrants if the US had not entered both World Wars on the side of the Allies?  After each war did we remain in Europe and impose our government on those nations we defeated or our allies?  Does anyone ever consider what kind of world we would be living in under the threat of total nuclear war if Ronald Reagan had not forced the Soviet Union to capitulate in the Cold War?  Apparently not.  Evidently some cannot comprehend that the United State of America is the world's indispensable nation.

Finally, everyone in the world is certainly entitled to their own opinion.  But it is a really huge mistake when the first job one ever has where reality can prove those opinions wrong is President of the United States.  Academia and community organizing are not jobs where decisions have real consequences.  As this president is proving, it is absolutely disastrous when the person in charge is an ideologically driven megalomaniac who cannot accept the abundantly clear evidence that his preconceived ideas and opinions are disastrously wrong.