The Voice of Reason: President's Tax Increase Will Put More Americans Out of Work

"The last thing you want to do is raise taxes in the middle of a recession.  Because that would just suck up, put more demand on the economy and put businesses in a further hole."

-- President Barack Obama, 2009

The President said this three years ago, but this year, an election year, the President apparently feels differently. He has made making high-income Americans pay their "fair share" a centerpiece of his campaign. The Democrat-controlled Senate voted on Wednesday to end the Bush-era tax cuts for couples earning over $250,000 a year or single earners making more than $200,000 per year.

I find it interesting that the dialogue in the news media is that no one wants taxes to increase for middle-income Americans, but at the same time Democrats and the President believe that the tax cuts for the rich should not continue.  Has anyone else notice this subtle difference in semantics?  Has anyone else noticed how the Democrats, President and the lamestream news media frame this issue?  Why is it that not extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class would be a tax increase, but extending the same law for affluent Americans would result in "tax cuts for the rich?"

This is class warfare, plain and simple, and it's despicable. The President opposes the extension of tax cuts for high-income Americans because he is using this issue for political fodder.  Never mind that increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans will take away billions of dollars utilized for job creation. Never mind that unemployment remains at 8.2% and that the growth in our economy has slowed to a crawl.  Never mind that even the nation's leading financial experts predict that increasing taxes on anyone now could be devastating to an already-struggling economy.

The nationally-respected accounting firm of Ernst and Young issued released a study just this week indicating that increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans, as the President and the Democrats are proposing to do, would result in a reduction of nearly three-quarters of a million jobs. 
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/07/18/ernst-and-young-obamas-tax-increase-would-kill-710000-jobs/  Let me repeat those numbers.  Raising taxes on top earning Americans will result in a reduction of an additional 710,000 jobs in America. at a time we desperately need jobs.

The truth about this issue is that it isn't about fixing the economy or putting Americans back to work.  This issue isn't even about trying to drive down the deficit, because the President's proposed budget over the next several years increases our deficit significantly.  This issue is about one thing -- a President using every political trick possible as he works feverously to be reelected, even if it further slows the economy and leaves more Americans jobless.

Shame on you, Mr. President.   Shame on you.





 

The Voice of Reason: Using the Office for Political Gainn

One of the regular readers of my blog, who happens to be a friend, asked me how President Obama compares to his predecessor in terms of playing rounds of golf.

Actually, President George W. Bush gave up playing golf in 2003 out of respect for our troops. "I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051302783.html

President Obama recently played his 100th round of golf in three and a half years, while the country is fighting one war and recently pulled troops out of another.

Whether you liked or hated the policies of President Bush, he appears to be a man who displayed great respect for the office, in contrast to his successor.

This week, I read about another interesting contrast between the two Presidents. It seems that our current President recently used the West Wing of the White House to film a campaign ad, while President Bush decided that it would belittle the office by using the "working" part of the executive mansion for political purposes.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-ad-filmed-west-wing/story?id=16847014

But that's not the only way that the Obama Administration has been accused of using the Office of the Presidency to increase President Obama's chances of being reelected.

Some now, including California Senator Diane Feinstein have accused the White House of leaking classified information in an attempt to make the President improve his image during an election year. While no one has claimed that it was the President himself who decided to release the information, it strongly appears that someone high up in the White House decided that he or she would help the President enhance his image as a tough Commander in Chief.  While Senator Feinstin has "walked back" her comments a bit, it's clear that she believes someone in the White House is to blame.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/democratic-senators-comments-on-national-security-leaks-emerge-as-campaign-issue-3/

There seems to be little if any difference between Barack Obama the candidate and Barack Obama the President. Given the number of fundraisers he's attended in the past three and a half years, more than his past five predecessors combined, it seems that he is more Campaigner in Chief than Commander in Chief.

Perhaps that's why our economy is so horrific.  Just as Senator Obama began running for President almost as soon as he was elected, it now appears that President Obama has been in campaign mode since the day he was inaugurated.

***

While listening to talk radio, a caller provided a great reason why taxes on the wealthiest Americans should not be raised, especially during a time we desperately need to create more jobs.  He said, "When was the last time you heard of someone going to a poor or middle-income person asking for a job?"

His point was that money taken from these "wealth creators" is money they use to hire people.

Great point.

The Voice of Reason: Debunking Liberals' View of Conservatives

From members of the elite news media to the elite of Hollywood and every far-left Democrat in between, liberals in America have a stilted view of conservatives.

They don't understand us and don't want to try to understand us.  They just can't seem to comprehend that more Americans are like us than them.  They think that every American should think as they think, and if they don't, they believe that there is something wrong with their moral make up. After all, many liberals believe, they have the moral high ground.

My purpose today is to debunk every belief liberals have about conservatives, one belief at a time.  While I know that my feelings certainly aren't representative of every conservative, I happen to think that I'm pretty much a middle-of-the-road conservative American in terms of my views.  Let's take a look at what liberals believe and what the reality is:

They believe we are all rich
No, we're not all affluent, but I happen to believe that the vast majority of us aspire to succeed.  Like most conservatives, I certainly wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, as neither one of my parents graduated from high school. We are teachers, truck drivers, business owners, professionals and laborers.  We are pastors, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, college students and retired people. What connects us is that we believe that anyone can succeed in America if we work harder and work smarter.

They believe we hate poor people
No, we don't hate poor people, but we believe that most government programs create dependency, not pathways to success.  Sure, there should be programs to support those who can't support themselves and those facing an emergency situation, but we also believe that that government programs should be designed to move the vast majority of people to self-sufficiency, not to a lifetime of support from the government and taxpayers.  We also believe that local charities do a better job of determining who truly needs help, and we generously support those local charities.

They believe we want dirty air and dirty water
The truth is that we believe in protecting the environment.  We are concerned about the quality of our air and water, but we also believe that environmental regulations based on ideology that attempt to "crucify" entire industries are flat out wrong.  Yes, we want government to encourage clean energy through research grants, but we believe that the marketplace, not the federal government, can best determine when new technologies are economically feasible.  We believe that we should do everything possible to take advantage of our abundant domestic energy resources -- coal, oil and natural gas -- using the most environmentally-friendly methods to extract those resources. We want low-cost energy so that we can remain competitive in the global marketplace and our standard of living does not decline because of rising energy costs taking more of our paychecks.  

They believe many of us are Bible-thumpers who "cling to their guns"
Yes, many of us go to church every Sunday, and the vast majority of us believe strongly in the Second Amendment.  We happen to believe that there's nothing wrong with either. America was and still is a Christian nation, and we're proud of that heritage, although we don't believe in discrminating against those who believe differently.  The "Separation Between Church and State" outlined in the First Amendment was designed to keep the government out of the church,  not the other way around. 

They believe we want to hold down the poor and the middle class
Nothing could be further from the truth.  We believe that any American can increase his or her income through hard work and innovation.  We believe that the best way to help Americans move up in class is for our country to have a strong economy that provides all Americans with good-paying jobs and the opportunity to save.  We want the government to encourage more entrepreneurs, not discourage them through burdensome and ridiculous government regulations.  Nothing proves the genius of our American system more than when someone of limited means becomes very successful.  It happens every day, and it makes conservatives very happy.

They believe that we don't pay our "fair share" in taxes
We're getting tired of this "class warfare" argument, because the facts show that the more you earn in America, the more you pay in taxes.  Nearly half of all Americans pay no income taxes whatsoever, while the top earners pay a disproportionate percentage of income taxes compared to their incomes.  Sure, there are corporations and high-income Americans who pay little or no taxes, but they are the exceptions, not the rule.  We believe in closing the loopoles so that those rare exceptions can be eliminated, but we also believe that the Capital Gains Tax should continue to be low in order to encourage investments to help America grow.

They believe we want to eliminate all entitlement programs
No, Representative Paul Ryan does not want to push grandma over a cliff.  We simply look at the numbers and realize that if entitlement programs continue at their current pace, there will not be Social Security, Medicare or Medicare for future generations of Americans.  We believe that ignoring the impending collapse of these programs caused by rising costs and our skyrocketing debt is irresponsible and not being truthful with the American people.  We would rather address these challenges now, than wait until significant changes are necessary to keep these programs solvent.

They believe we hate gay people and African-Americans
This is probably the liberal belief that angers me the most.  No, we don't hate gay people, and no, we don't hate black people.  Although some conservatives may be against gay marriage because of religious reasons, a lot of us believe that this issue is a states' right issue and not an issue the federal government should decide.  I happen to have a number of gay friends, a number of black friends, and I also have worked tirelessly throughout my career to fight discrimination against people of color.  I am most proud of my work developing programs that helped African-American students in the rural south have opportunities to continue and expand their education. We happen to believe that the Democratic Party has made many African-Americans dependent on government programs, instead of helping them to succeed.  We believe that every American, irregardless of sexual orientation or skin color, should have an equal opportunity to succeed.

They believe we hate government
This one belief comes closest to being the truth.  We believe in limited government because government has never done anything really well, except for national defense.  We believe that government is often the problem, not the solution. We also believe that government should streamline regulations so that more people can start businesses, more Americans can become wealthy and more businesses can thrive.  No, we don't "hate" government, but we don't like it much.

I hope that I've been able to debunk most of the beliefs held by the majority of liberals.  Even if one liberal reads this blog, looks at conservatives in a different light and considers voting for Mitt Romney, then I have succeeded. 

 

 





  

The Voice of Reason: What Has Happened to the America I Love?

The change had been gradual over several decades until 2009, when President Barack Obama took office and promised to "fundamentally transform" America. 

He's changed it all right.  America has changed from a nation of achievers to a country of whiners with their hands out, expecting the government to support them.  It's not all his fault, of course, but he quickened the pace of change from a slow crawl to warp speed, all in just three and a half years.

One doesn't have to look any further than the June jobs report.  In June, more people were added to the rolls of disability than got jobs. 

Want another example?  Under Obama's leadership our food stamps budget has increased by 110%.  In other words, the budget has more than doubled. 

But that's not good enough for the Obama Administration. They've spent $3 million on radio advertising to encourage even more people to sign up for food stamps.  This week, we also learned that the Obama Administration has been working with the Mexican government to increase participation among Mexicans who are living or working in the United States.

How about another example?  Under our President's leadership and the leadership of a Democratically-controlled Congress, unemployment benefits were extended to 99 weeks, just five weeks short of two full years. And if you haven't received unemployment benefits for a few decades, you would be suprised to learn how easy it is to continue receiving benefits.  Gone are the days of proving that you actually applied for jobs in order to continue receiving benefits.

As of 2010, nearly one out of every two Americans received some sort of assistance or support from the federal goverment, compared to one in four in 2008.
http://lonelyconservative.com/2011/10/great-news-nearly-half-of-americans-receive-some-form-of-government-assistance/
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/07/news/economy/government_assistance/index.htm

As one see, it's almost as if our federal government has done everything possible to encourage people not to work.

Want another example of this backward thinking?  Take a single mother with two kids and earning $29,000 per year.   Let's say that the mother is offered a job earning $69,000 per year, but the job is more demanding.  Surely, she would want to take the higher-paying job, wouldn't she, as she would more than double her salary?

Actually, she might want to stay where she is.  As the example in the link shows, the single mother has a financial disincentive to take the better-paying job, because she would lose benefits from the federal government that would not be made up with the higher salary.
http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/07/julias-mother-why-a-single-mom-is-better-off-on-welfare-than-taking-a-69000-a-year-job/

If the President's goal were to create a society of Americans who rely on the federal government, he's succeeded like no other President before him.

The problem is that pretty soon there will be more people receiving government assistance than those working and paying taxes to support them. At that point, America will become a socialist state of mediocrity and the country we love will be long gone.

The election in November can't come soon enough.

  

 

The Voice of Reason: Golfer, Vacationer or Bloviator in Chief?

The President of the United States is our nation's "Commander in Chief."

Sadly, our current President seems more intent on golfing, vacationing, campaigning, hearing his own voice, lying, blaming anyone and anything but himself, wasting our hard-earned tax dollars, saying things that divide our country and using the word "I" than actually commanding anything. While millions of Americans are out of work, underemployed or have quit looking for a job, and our country dives into debt faster than ever before in our nation's history, our President seems oblivious to the enormous challenges facing our country on the homefront.

So, if our President isn't acting like a Commander in Chief, of what is he our "Chief?" 

Please take the survey at the bottom of the page. Scroll down on the survey to see all of the possible answers and results.  Click "Done" to enter your answer.

Golfer in Chief
Our President recently completed his 100th round of golf in the three and a half years he's been in office.
http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2012/06/05/obamas-presidential-record-3-years-100-rounds-of-golf/
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/06/17/obama-plays-golf-100th-time-presidency/

Vacationer in Chief
The Obama family has taken 16 vacations in 42 months, costing taxpayers millions.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-vacation-taxpayer-cost/2012/07/19/id/445913 

Campaigner in Chief
Through July 9, our President had attended 174 fundraisers since he began his reelection campaign last year, more than his past five predecessors combined. http://www.mercurynews.com/presidentelect/ci_21040675/obama-continues-trail-romney-fundraising
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/238951.html


Bloviator in Chief
The President seemingly comments on anything and everything, almost as if he loves hearing his own voice.
http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/01/great-bloviator.html

Liar in Chief
What campaign promise hasn't our President broken?  He promised to close Gitmo, he told Americans he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000 and he promised to cut our debt in half, just to name three of his whoppers.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/rulings/promise-broken/

Blamer in Chief
Our President has blamed his predecessor, George W. Bush, the Japanese tsunami, ATMs, automation and the Arab Spring four our stagnate economy.  After three and a half years in office, he still can't bring himself to take any responsibility for an economy that is clearly stuck in park.
http://townhall.com/video/george-will-obama-blames-everyone-but-james-madison-for-economy

Debtor in Chief
Under President Obama's leadership, our national debt has increased by 50%.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57400369-503544/national-debt-has-increased-more-under-obama-than-under-bush/

Divider in Chief
No other President in our country's history has tried to promote class warfare as much as our current President. "Tax the Rich," is seemingly his campaign platform and he continues to talk about how wealthy Americans should pay their "fair share" at the same time that nearly 50% of Americans pay no federal income tax at all.
http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/its-free-blog/2012/jul/20/opinion-obama-class-warrior-over-you-didnt-build/

"Me" in Chief
Has anyone else noticed how many times our President uses the word, "I?"  It seems that every speech he gives is peppered with "I did this," or "I'll do this."  When Osama bin Laden was killed, you would have thought that our President pulled the trigger himself, given the number of times he's talked about how "I" made the "tough call" to kill the terrorist.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/i-me-obama-uses-first-person-pronoun-117-times-1-speech
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137636/Osama-bin-Laden-death-SEALs-slam-Obama-using-ammunition-bid-credit.html

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

The Voice of Reason: President Is Too Busy to Meet with Jobs Council

With a record 40 months of unemployment over 8% during his first term in office, one would think that creating jobs would be Job 1 for our President.

After all, President Obama created the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011 "to provide non-partisan advice to the President on continuing to strengthen the Nation's economy and ensure the competitiveness of the United States and on ways to create jobs, opportunity, and prosperity for the American people." http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/advisory-boards/jobs-council/about

Sadly, our President hasn't met with this council in six months.  The reason?  He's too busy.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/advisory-boards/jobs-council/meetings

White House Press Secretary gave this explanation:  “There’s no specific reason, except the president has obviously got a lot on his plate." http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/309925/obama-has-lot-his-plate-and-cant-meet-his-jobs-council

So, what has the President been doing?  Through July 9, he had attended 174 fundraisers since he began his reelection campaign last year, more than his past five predecessors combined.  http://www.mercurynews.com/presidentelect/ci_21040675/obama-continues-trail-romney-fundraising
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/238951.html  

And in June, our President played his 100th round of golf in a little over three years. http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2012/06/05/obamas-presidential-record-3-years-100-rounds-of-golf/
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/06/17/obama-plays-golf-100th-time-presidency/

While millions of Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have simply quit looking for a job, our President is out on the links and attending dinners to raise money for his reelection.

Our President clearly doesn't have the time to focus on creating jobs, so perhaps we should help him join the ranks of the unemployed.

How fitting.

The Voice of Reason: The President Believes Success Is Not Achieved

Let's say that your parents legally immigrate to the U.S. with just a few dollars in their pockets.  They work hard, save their pennies and help send you to college.  In order to afford college, you work two jobs, eat macaroni and cheese 10 times a week, and take an average of 18 hours a semester so you can graduate in three and a half years.  After graduating, you work a couple of jobs, scrimp and save so that you can afford a downpayment on a home.  After several years of working for someone else, you decide to start your own business, taking a second mortgage.  It's tough at first, as you are the only employee, so you work 80 or 90 hours a week.  After a couple of years of doing everything yourself, you're finally able to hire a couple of employees. You soon hire more employees and begin to build a very successful business. You see your income rise to the point that you finally earn over $250,000 per year! After all of your hard work and sacrifices, you achieve the American dream, building something that can be passed down to your children and grandchildren.

How does our President view your success? 

First of all, he believes that you aren't paying your "fair share" in taxes, although you pay 26% of your income in federal income taxes (on top of state taxes, local taxes, business taxes and the payroll taxes you, your business and your employees pay). 

Secondly, he believes that you didn't build your business; someone else did.  He also feels that your success was due largely to all the help you received, not because you worked harder and had the courage to risk nearly everything to start your own business.

Here's what he said:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/15/obama-dashes-american-dream-suggests-nobody-achieves-success-alone/

“There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me because they want to give something back,” President Obama said. “If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” he said. “The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.”

Yes, this is what our President said on Friday during a campaign stop in Roanoke, Virginia. While some of what he said has some merit, he clearly chose to focus on the success of the individual because of the collective, rather than emphasizing the role that individual responsibility has in determining one's success.   

His message may appeal to the growing multitudes of Americans who don't workm don't want to work and instead rely on government programs for sustenance.  The President has implicitly given those Americans an excuse to blame others, not themselves, for their plight.  His message is that "You aren't successful because you weren't given enough help along the way, not because you weren't smart enough or didn't work hard enough."

But for those of us who have worked hard and are successful, his message is a slap in the face. His message also contradicts all of the core American values we were taught as children to help us become successful, productive adults.

The President's message, dare I say it, is closer to something Joseph Stalin would say than anything George Washington would say.

The Voice of Reason: Even Left-Leaning News Organizations Report Obama Allegations Are BS

Predicted by many political experts for months, President Barack Obama and his campaign have begun a smear campaign of Republican nominee Mitt Rommey using what any reasonable person would call old school "dirty politics."

Sadly, the President has resorted to Chicago-style politics -- throw a bunch of crap at the wall and hope that some of it sticks.

The President and his Chicago mob have attacked Romney on two issues:  1) His firm, Bain Capital, outsourced jobs overseas, and 2) Romney was disingenuous with either the American people or the SEC when he was listed on Bain Capital documents as a principal at a time he was off running the Olympics.

Although many in the lamestream news media contiue to follow this story, because the President and his campaign allies continue to make these assertions during interviews, even left-leaning news media outlets taking the time to research the story have reported that the allegations by the Obama camp have no merit.

Here's from a story on CNN:  http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/12/politics/john-king-bain/index.html

But first, is there anything other than the SEC filings to suggest a hands-on Romney role at Bain post-February 1999?

No is the word from four sources who communicated with CNN on Thursday -- all of whom have firsthand knowledge of Bain's operations at the time in question. Three of the four are Democrats, and two of the four are active Obama supporters in Campaign 2012.

All four told me Romney is telling the truth.Only one, Bain Managing Director Steve Pagliuca, would talk on the record. The others spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing either Bain's low-key culture or the desire not to anger friends in the Obama campaign.

Pagliuca, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2010, told CNN: "Mitt Romney left Bain Capital in February 1999 to run the Olympics and has had absolutely no involvement with the management or investment activities of the firm or with any of its portfolio companies since the day of his departure."

Here's from another story on the CNN website: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/opinion/gergen-bain-romney/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

FactCheck.org, a respected website that nails candidates for inaccuracies, earlier investigated the whole issue of Romney's departure and reached a conclusion that he was telling the truth. Last week, little noticed by Romney's critics, FactCheck went back, reviewed the evidence again, and based on what we know so far, reaffirmed its earlier conclusion. FactCheck's recent article was co-written by a man who was once a top investigative journalist for CNN. (The piece last week also recalled an Associated Press report on the Olympics that said in his early tenure at the Olympics, Romney was working 112-hour weeks to save the Salt Lake City games. Does this sound like a man who was also managing a private equity firm on the East Coast?)

As long as fairness is the standard, it would be reassuring if some of the harshest critics of Romney and Bain would acknowledge their own biases. And for goodness sake, will the Obama campaign please withdraw its heavy suggestion that Mitt Romney could well have committed a felony? That was an injustice to both Romney and the president.

Even the news outlet that probably leans the farthest to the left, CBS News, says there's nothing to the allegations of the Obama campaign: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57472228/what-was-romneys-role-at-bain-during-outsourcing/

The Obama campaign suggested that Romney might have been lying to the SEC, but several experts told us not so.

"Putting that information on that form does not necessarily mean that you're an active manager of the company," said Tom Sporkin, a former SEC investigator and enforcement attorney. He acknowledged that that it was entirely possible Romney owned the company but didn't run the company.

"He could have been on a leave of absence," said Sporkin.

Romney would have made money if the companies doing that outsourcing sold at a profit. But the SEC documents don't prove that Romney ran Bain after 1999 or that he personally shipped jobs overseas.

President Obama is resorting to these types of attacks because he simply cannot run on his horrendous record.  Sadly, in an election that should be about the serious issues facing our country -- our soaring debt, a stagnate economy and millions of Americans unemployed -- our President is playing games with the truth.

The Voice of Reason: Election Will Decide If America Is a Nation of Exceptionalism or Mediocrity

By now, you've probably heard the audio of Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State, speaking at a Mitt Romney fundraiser two weeks ago.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNDNqGAE5ug

Her rousing and heartfelt speech, which appeared to be off the cuff, delineated the difference between the direction of the country under the leadership of President Barack Obama, and an America led by a President, Mitt Romney, who believes in American exceptionalism and the free market system. According to many in attendance, Rice was the star of the show, demonstrating an ability to differentiate the policies of Barack Obama from the principles that made this country great.

Folks, I truly believe, as does Rice, that America is at a precipice.  If we continue on our current path under Barack Obama, we will slowly slide into mediocrity or worse. Will America continue to be an exceptional nation, or will we become a nation of mediocrity? 

While still a candidate, Barack Obama promised to "fundamentally transform America."  This is one instance when he's told us the truth.  He's done exactly what he promised, turning our country from a nation of people who produce, to a nation of people who receive government checks to not produce.

Let me explain with cold, hard facts.

Under his leadership, unemployment benefits were extended to 99 weeks -- five weeks short of two full years.  In June, more Americans went on disability than got jobs.  Only 80,000 jobs were created in June, while 85,000 Americans were added to the rolls of disability. http://nation.foxnews.com/disability-benefits/2012/07/06/more-people-went-disability-got-jobs-june

Under President Obama's leadership, the budget for food stamps has increased by 110% and is now 80% of the total farm budget.  http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/06/the-food-stamp-president-2.php  What's worse is that the President wants even more people on this program.  The Obama Administration spent $3 million on radio ads encouraging more people to sign up for free food.  http://moneysmartguides.com/government-wants-you-on-food-stamps

These programs have resulted in the fewest percentage of Americans in the workforce in three decades. The latest report shows that only 58.6% of Americans 16+ are in the workforce, which means that 41.4% of Americans older than 16 are not working. http://ospreyflyer.com/?p=11024

The sad reality is that we can't afford any more "giveaway" programs, because the country is broke and going deeper in debt faster than at any other time in our nation's history.  With fewer and fewer Americans working and paying taxes, this will become even worse in the coming months and years, if this trend continues. Since President Obama took office, our debt has increased from $10.6 trillion to $15.9 trillion, an increase of 50%.  http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/the-64000-question-how-much-has-debt-increased-per-taxpayer-under-obama?f=must_reads

The Obama Administration's all out assault on work continued today.  We learned today that the highly-successful welfare reform will essentially be scrapped.  This bipartisan law, passed by a Republican Congress and Democrat President Bill Clinton, forced people to transition to work. Now, such activities as motivational reading, massage and bed rest will suffice as work.  Believe it or not.  http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ID=93347db5-d161-4f23-b2d0-fe724a53fe14 


I don't know about you, but I am scared.  America is on the brink of economic failure, our President is encouraging more people to go on the government dole, our populace seemingly is being encouraged to not work, and our national Nero, Barack Obama, is fiddling.

Instead of working on fixing our stagnate economy, our President has attended more fundraisers at this point in his term than his last five predecessors combined.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2136851/Obama-held-fundraisers-previous-Presidents-combined-visits-key-swing-states-permanent-campaign.html  Clearly, he's become our Campaigner in Chief.

And instead of running a campaign touting his record of accomplishments, our President has focused his campaign on two issues:  Raise taxes on the rich (job creators), and smear Republican nominee Mitt Romney with falsehoods and outright lies.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/whats-true-and-false-in-obamas-bain-attacks.html

After examining all of this data closely, I've come to the conclusion that if Barack Obama had spent his entire term trying to ruin America, he couldn't have done any better at doing just that.





 

 










      

The Voice of Reason: Lamestream News Media Does It Again

I am amazed at how the mainstream news media "covers" an issue.

Last week, when the June jobs report was released, I watched television, listened to radio and scanned the internet to see how the news media would report the disappointing news.  Only 80,000 jobs were created in June, the third straight month of paltry jobs numbers.

I just happened to watch NBC News, listened to ABC News Radio and viewed an article on MSN.  What I learned from their "reporting" was that the President viewed the report as "progress," while Mitt Romney thought the report was a "kick in the gut."  I also learned from their reporting that a major supporter of President Obama had passed one day after he visited her restaurant, and that the President had ordered a hamburger and chatted with patrons of a diner in Pennsylvania.

Are you kidding me?  This was their reporting of a major economic indicator that shows a stagnated economy?

If these news media outlets were all public relations firms for the President, they couldn't have done a better job.  The fluff pieces trying to paint the President as an "every man" who mingles with the masses and visits a strong supporter one day before she dies are not news.   They're propaganda. 

Where was the analysis of the jobs report numbers? The fact is that about one-third of all jobs created in June were in temp agencies.   Where was the context for this jobs report?  America needs to add between 125,000 and 150,000 jobs each month to NOT lose ground in the battle against unemployment, given the number of new people entering the workforce each month.  Where was the context of the average American family whose father and mother are both out of work?  Millions of Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have simply given up looking for work.

But to the mainstream news media, coverage of our President visiting a diner is more important than coverage of the real issues in this campaign.

When your candidate doesn't have a record on which to run, your public relations machine has to work hard to put that candidate in a good light. The PR Machine, also known as the lamestream news media, is working overtime.



 


 


 

The Voice of Reason: A Preview of Obama's Second Term -- Long Gas Lines, Extended Power Outages?

The storm that hit the East Coast on June 29 has resulted in millions of Americans experiencing lengthy power outages and waiting in line for two hours or more just to buy a few gallons of gas.

I am one of those Americans.

While sitting in my house for several days without any air conditioning, with outside temperatures approaching 100 degrees fahrenheit, a thought suddenly appeared in my head. 

This, my fellow Americans, may be a preview of Barack Obama's second term.

Do you think I'm crazy?  Surely, it's unrealistic to think that a second term by our current President would result in extended power outages and lengthy gas lines, isn't it?  Well, let's take a look at the facts.

It's clear to any American who reads the newspaper or watches the television that our current President absoutely hates fossil fuels, including oil and coal. 

My blog of June 23 outlined his war on coal, illustrating how the EPA is deciding what policy it wants to change and then trying to find any scientific study to support it, and how the EPA's new mercury regulations will have little if any impact on human health but will essentially kill the building of any new coal-fired power plants.  According to the experts, what will be the impact of these regulations?

According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, EPA regulations will cause the premature retirement of up to 36 gigawatts of coal-fired generation, stressing the country's power grid and placing electric reliability at risk.  http://www.kleanindustries.com/s/environmental_market_Industry_news.asp?ReportID=494299
http://www.nerc.com/files/2011LTRA_Final.pdf

Putting this in layman's terms, the NERC report says that our nation risks lengthy power outages because the country will not have enough power stations to meet the needs of consumers.

Outages due to power capacity issues do not occur on mild days when you don't need heat or air conditioning.  These outages occur on the bone-shivering winter days and sweltering summer days -- the days when you can least afford to go without power.  If the electric grid were to go down due to capacity issues, we risk having power outages across much of the country lasting days or even weeks. The week-long outages faced by millions of Americans this week may turn out to be a practice run for even longer outages in the years to come.

Now let's take a look at oil and gasoline.

The EPA's new Tier 3 rule demands that oil refineries reduce gasoline sulfur levels although the science suggests that the rule will produce little if any additional benefits to human health.  Even more ludicrous is that the EPA is fining refineries for not blending cellulosic biofuel into gasoline and diesel fuel.  The only problem is that cellulosic biofuel isn't commercially available.  Of course, the cost of these fines and increased regulations will simply be passed on to U.S. consumers, or if regulations become too onerous, refineries will simply move to other countries, further increasing the cost of gasolina and reducing our supply.
http://cnsnews.com/node/549162


Couple these new refinery regulations with the Obama Administration's opposition to the Keystone Pipeline, as well as its opposition to drilling on public lands, in the Gulf of Mexico and off our shores, and we have significant pressure against increasing our domestic supply of oil, with similar pressure against refining oil domestically to produce gasoline in the most cost-effective manner.

In short, we face gasoline shortages and increased prices tomorrow because of the Obama Administration's policies of today.

If you are currently still without power like millions of Americans, you know what it's like to spend an entire day trying to find supplies of water, batteries and gasoline, or standing in line for an hour at the one restaurant in the area that's open and has power.  You know what it's like to take a cold shower, only to begin sweating profusely minutes later when you walk into your 85-degree living room. You know what it's like to not have a phone that works because the landlines and cellphone towers are all down.  You know what it's like to see your entire street pitch dark, knowing that all of your neighbors are in the same straits as you and your family.  And you know what it's like to do this for days on end.

Sadly, I have a feeling that those of us who have suffered this week will be joined by millions of other Americans in the coming years for even longer outages and gas lines -- if our current President is reelected and our out-of-control EPA continues its overregulation.