The Next, Next Four Years

Yesterday I expressed my fear that a second Obama term could catastrophic for America.  Sounds grim, and maybe a little overstated?  Not really.  I base my rational fear on Obama’s actions during his first term.  Consider the facts.  During his first term, Obama has:

• Forced a government controlled healthcare system through Congress by bribing certain members for their vote and using a questionable tactic (reconciliation) so that he would only need a simple majority in the Senate.
• Redirecting over $700 billion from Medicare to Obamacare in an attempt to make the financials look better.  Regardless, the Congressional Budget Office now believes that Obamacare will add $2.5 trillion to the debt over 10 years. 
• Obama made recess appointments while the Senate was still in session, avoiding Senate augment over the qualifications of his appointment.  This was a clear violation of the powers given to the president by the constitution. 
• Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed Congress and granted amnesty to illegal aliens.  His way of purchasing Hispanic votes. 
• Obama bullied Chrysler's secured creditors into accepting 30 cents on the dollar, while junior creditors such as labor unions received much more. This ignoring of creditor rights violated not just bankruptcy law but also the federal constitution. 
• The Department of Health and Human Services granted nearly 2,000 waivers to employers seeking relief from Obamacare's regulations. Nearly 20 percent of these waivers went to gourmet restaurants and other businesses in Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district. Nevada, home to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, got a blanket waiver, while Republican-controlled states like Indiana and Louisiana were denied. 
• Congress approved and president Clinton signed welfare reform into law. Obama did not have the authority to waive the work requirement, and by doing so he violated the constitution.  Presidents are not allowed to rewrite existing legislation.

The blatant disregard for the U.S. Constitution, and the balance of power should strike fear into all Americans.  Maybe these things don’t mean much to you personally, but Obama has gotten away with it so far.  Imagine how far he might go if he had no fear of another reelection campaign?  Or even worse, might he believe that a two term limit doesn't apply to him?  It's not hard to imagine.

The Trinket

A bright and shiny trinket was held up in front of the masses.  They stood in awe of its dazzling brilliance.  They couldn't take their eyes from it.  Many entered a hypnotic state where nothing could be perceived except the bright shiny object.  They placed their faith and hope in the trinket thinking that something so brilliant would ensure their well-being.  They followed the trinket.

And so the trinket led.  Being only a trinket, it led poorly.  Soon the people under the trinket's leadership began to suffer.  Many of them lost jobs and fell into poverty.  Others relinquished control of their lives by accepting unearned gifts from the trinket.  Yet, many still believed the trinket gave them the best hope for better days.

The trinket gave them hope that if given another chance, it would move forward with the change they wanted.  Many of the people succumbed to the shiny brilliance that remained.  How could the trinket let them down twice?  Their devotion to the trinket even increased.  They became willing to tell lies about how much better they are under the trinket's leadership.  They were also willing to lie about anyone who opposed the trinket.  This is the country we now live in.

Four years ago, I blogged that we would survive an Obama administration.  I wrote "the greatest danger of the Obama presidency will be the Supreme Court nominations he will no doubt make. Currently the court is slightly tilted to the conservative. With at least 2 justices on the verge of retirement, this balance will quickly reverse. This change will be the lasting damage of our collective mistake."

It was brilliantly written, but wrong.  While Obama did name two Supreme Court justices and both were hard left, the only real damage done by the court was done by a Bush appointee.  The most devastating impacts of Obama's first four years are the massive deficit spending that has raised the national debt to $16 trillion, and the expansion of poverty under his watch.  It is simply unbelievable that 8% unemployment is now considered the "new normal".  It is criminal that we have saddled future generations with debt.

After four years under the trinket, America is like a massive, powerful battleship that once ruled the ocean, but has taken multiple torpedo hits and is beginning to flounder.  Survival of the battleship is not certain.  One more blow could send it to the bottom.  That blow could be a second administration for the trinket. 

Love Mia

The Republican convention began a day late in Tampa on Tuesday.  While I only watched the prime time speeches, the best speech of the evening happened early.  So early that it was not covered by anyone but Fox News.

I doubt whether MSNBC, NBC, CBS or ABC would have televised it regardless of when it occurred.  Mia Love, delivered a speech that I can only describe as democratic poison. The Obama security team, MSNBC, NBC, CBS and ABC, wouldn't risk airing the speech because it made so much sense and effectively attacked the foundation of modern socialism.

For those like I who missed it, here is the transcript:

Praise, in support for Mitt Romney.

Let me tell you about the America I know.

My parents immigrated to this country with ten dollars in their pocket,
and the hope … that the America that they had heard about … really did exist.
When tough times came, they didn’t look to Washington, they looked within.

So the America I grew up knowing ... was centered in self reliance,
and filled with the possibilities of living the American dream.

The America I know is grounded in the determination found in patriots and pioneers,
in small businesses with big ideals.
It's found in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscape, and our heroic military.
It's found in the Olympic Athletes
and every child who looks at the seemingly impossible and says, “I can do that.”
That is the America I know!

President Obama’s version of America is a divided one --
often pitting us against each other bases on our income level, gender, and social status.
His policies have failed us!
We're NOT better off than we were 4 years ago,
and NO rhetoric, bumper sticker, or Hollywood campaign ad can change that.

Mr. President,
I'm here to tell you the American People are awake
and we're not buying what you're selling in 2012.

The American Dream isn't just my story.
It isn't just your story.
It's our story.
It's a story ... of human struggle, standing up and striving for more.
Our story has been told for over 200 years … with small steps and giant leaps;
from a woman on a bus ... to a man with a dream;
from the bravery of the greatest generation, to the innovators and entrepreneurs of today.
This is our story.
This is our America.
This is the America we know … because WE BUILT IT.

Thank you.
Yes we did.
Thank you. With Paul Ryan,
With Mitt Romney as President,
and Paul Ryan as Vice President,
we can restore and revive that America,
that American Story we know and love.
The world will know it.
Our children will tell it and our grandchildren will possess it for years to come!

God bless America.

This is our time.
We are truly THE ...BEST ... LAST ... HOPE ... ON ... EARTH !

Thank you.

I especially liked her mention of Dr. King and Rosa Parks.  You see, Mia Love is a Black female conservative.  She has the authority to say "They were talking about me!  They were speaking of a day of equal opportunity, and based on personal responsibility, not entitlement!"  Mia wins day one.

Center of the Political Universe

Kansas and Missouri became the center of the political universe yesterday.  So much so, that NBC spent the first 11 minutes reporting 2 stories during their nightly news.  It was really incredible when considering what they reported.

First, Kevin Yoder, a tea party conservative from the house district where I once lived, was reported by the Politico to have skinny dipped in the Sea of Galilee a year ago.  Second, Todd Akin, a conservative running to unseat Claire McCaskill in the Missouri Senate race, informed us again that he is pro-life even in the case of rape, and that he is ignorant of women's physiology.  Let's break these scandals down.

Kevin Yoder is now one of billions of people who have skinny dipped in their life.  I suspect that a large number of these skinny dippers skinny dipped in the Sea of Galilee.  Yoder profusely apologized and admitted that congressmen should be held to a higher standard.  "I feel incredibly remorseful that I have caused embarrassment to my constituents and I have caused folks who believe in me to be disappointed.  The gravity of the situation and the actions I've taken are not lost on me, and I feel certainly regret at what has occurred. Part of the reason I made that decision at that moment was there was really nobody in the vicinity who could see me, I dove in, hopped right back out, put my clothes on and, regardless, that was still not the behavior people expected out of their congressman."  The Kansas Democrat Party leader is calling for his resignation.

Todd Akin believes that life begins at conception and that even in the case of rape, a child's life must be protected.  Pro-lifer's will sometimes disagree on this point, but Akin is by no means the only politician to hold that belief.  Akin has articulated the position before, and remains consistent.  His sin was saying "legitimate rape" instead of "forcible rape".  He also claimed that a woman's body could avoid conception in the case of rape.  For the unfortunate gaff followed by a very stupid statement, Akin has also apologized repeatedly: "Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize. The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness,"

We can conclude that both were stupid and both seem contrite. What we can also learn for these two events is that when a republican screws up, they apologize.  History tells us that when a democrat screws up, they lie, stonewall, obfuscate, and very rarely apologize.  You don't need to look back much farther that Anthony Wiener.  Or Joe Biden.  Or Charlie Rangel.  Or Bill Clinton.  Akin's and Yoder's crimes are misdemeanors when compared with these felonies.

Of the two "scandals", only the Akin issue is newsworthy because it may turn the election in Missouri - not because of his words.  Akin had a double-digit lead over McCaskill in the polls, but that may change.  I would hope that Akin would decide quickly if he can still beat McCaskill and withdraw if he cannot.  The majority control of the Senate could be at stake, and with Obamacare set to take effect in 2013, conservatives must win control of the Senate.

Yesterday, NBC News again diverted attention from a failed presidency.  Otherwise, they might have asked Obama why he chose yesterday to hold a press conference - the first in over 2 months.  A press conference he used to get his whacks in on Akin and attempt to tie Akin to Romney-Ryan.  NBC is guilty of Obama-favorable reporting.

Chasing Sound

It was 1971.  I was in front of my parent's only FM radio.  It was not state of the art, even back then.  It worked on vacuum tubes.  In the evening, I could turn the lights out and the room would still be illuminated by the orange glow coming from the back of this aged FM radio.  You could have roasted marshmallows from the heat coming off the radio.  I never tried, but I'm sure it would have worked.

The knob was tuned to 98.1 MHz, KUDL, Kansas City.  KUDL-FM dubbed itself as a progressive/underground rock station, the only one in Kansas City at the time.  I tuned in, and turned up the current song.  It was "Walk Away" by the James Gang.  The bass was deep, the guitar riffs crisp and clean.   Or at least as deep and crisp as possible on a less than state of the art FM tube radio in 1971.  It really wasn't that deep or crisp, but it began my quest for quality sound.

At 15, I could not afford quality sound.  So I experimented.  I replace the then blown speaker in the old FM radio.  Improved, but still not very good.  I cut the speaker wires so that I could extend them to an external speaker.  That was better, but still not very good.  I learned the lesson that if your audio source was of poor quality, better speakers only let you know just how bad the audio source was.

I bought my first stereo.  It was a cheap second hand turntable, and amplifier/tuner with a pair of speakers.  Sound quality was much better than the FM radio.  The problem now was that couldn't record my favorite songs for playback when I wanted to hear them.  Reel-to-Reel tape decks were the quality standard of the time.  They were thousands of dollars - too pricey for a boy of my means.  So I bought a portable cassette recorder - one with a built in microphone.  I would hold up the recorder to a speaker as the song I wanted to record played.  While it worked fine, the sound quality could not be well controlled, and was completely worthless if a younger brother or a parent made noise during the recording.  And they always did.

So my attempt at creating a high quality recording solution died.  I instead turned to improving the core system.  My first upgrade was the purchase of a Pioneer receiver/amplifier.  It had a low noise 100 watts per channel output and could switch between multiple audio sources.  It was sweet.  And all for the low low price of $600 from Kennedy and Cohen.  I even sprung for the extended warranty.  Another lesson learned.  Kennedy and Cohen didn't last as long as my payment for the receiver and extended warranty.

With a higher quality amplifier, I now looked to upgrade the turntable.  By now it is probably the mid-1970's.  Turntables were the core of quality sound and one could be purchased for as little as $100, or as much as several thousand dollars.  The difference between cheap and expensive was the phono cartridge (the needle and signal conversion from mechanical to electrical).  "Wow and flutter" was another key specification.  I believe wow and flutter was a measure that indicated just how constant the turntable turned at the intended 33 1/3 RPM.  I spent another $200 for a direct drive turntable with a decent cartridge and a relatively low wow and flutter.

Between the new turntable and receiver, I had the beginning of a decent system for 1975.  Speakers were the last piece of the puzzle.  Good quality speakers in the 1970's had two major faults.  They were expensive and they were big.  I have a buddy who bought JBL Studiomasters.  The speaker pair consumed all bedroom floorspace that his bed and dresser did not.  But they sounded awesome, especially when his parents were away and we could turn them up to their maximum potential.  He spent a couple thousand dollars on them.  That was about $1,900 more than I had, so I bought an alternative.  I bought a pair of studio quality Koss headphones for around $100.  The headphones allowed me alone to hear the potential of my turntable and receiver.

I then began to build my own speakers.  I bought woofers, mid-ranges and tweeters.  I added cross over network components.  I built the cabinets roughly based on the bass reflex design I had seen in commercial speakers.  I mounted and wired the components and finished the outside of the speaker cabinets in tuck and rolled black vinyl.  I stretch black cloth over a frame and covered the fronts.  They looked pretty good.  They looked very 1970's.  They sounded great.  This combination of speakers, turntable and receiver served me well for many years. 

They were used many times at weekend parties where the music was turned up loud.  My buddies and I would occasionally rent a clubhouse and invite as many stereo owners as we knew to bring their equipment to the party.  We would wire one turntable to drive multiple amplifiers, each with their own speakers.  The result was a high decibel party that would usually generate one or two calls to the police.

As decent as my audio system was, I knew there was more.  I was occasionally invited to the home of a well paid sound engineer for a local TV station.  This engineer poured his discretionary income into buying the very best sound equipment possible.  He had Bang & Olfsen turntables, electronic crossovers, Crown pre-amplifiers and post amplifiers, and the JBL Wall of Sound.  The Wall of Sound had an intended market of concert musicians.  They were sold as components of a commercial concert sound system.  This particular Wall of Sound was located in a 2 bedroom ranch home in Mission Kansas.  The left Wall of Sound speaker was located in the living room, the right in the dining room.  When turned up to near maximum volume, it could be heard for blocks. 

But the amazing thing was listening to the system when turned to a comfortable volume.  It was like being there.  It was today's digital audio quality on yesterday's analog technology.  Every small nuance in the music would be heard distinctly and separately.  In 1975 you could buy this sound quality for around $15,000 - $20,000.  I could not afford to spend nearly that much on a sound system, but I wanted it.

In the 1980's affordable quality audio was introduced with the audio CD-ROM.  Vinyl albums began a rather rapid death.  Not only did audio CDs provide clean digital audio, there was no hiss, clicks or scratches that vinyl albums would introduce.  Connecting a Audio CD player to a standard sound system would immediately produce a higher quality sound than previous components.  I purchased a player and soon began to collect audio CDs.  My vinyl was boxed and stored, for what purpose I don't know, but I still own them.

Today I buy music from Apple, and listen to music via iPod, iPad or Apple TV, sometimes over headphones, other times over the entertainment system connected to my TV.  I don't even download the music anymore.  The music I own now plays through the internet via Wifi to my device.  It has taken nearly 40 years, but I now have affordable quality audio.  I recently purchased "Walk Away" from iTunes for 99 cents.

1969

Enough of the political blogs for now.  There are just over 80 days until the election, and there will be plenty of foolishness to comment on during that time.  Today I want to reflect on a few personal memories that were brought to mind.  Last night around 9:30, as -T and I were winding down for the day, I was channel surfing as I waited for the late news to come on.  I came across the movie Woodstock - 3 Days of Peace and Music.  I had seen parts of the movie before, but on this occasion  I was seeing a portion that I hadn't.  I was hooked.

The performances were interesting, but what really grabbed my attention were the people - specifically the interviews with concert goers, local residents, police, and even the porta-potti cleaner.  It was a snapshot of a momentous time - the end of a calamitous year of significant events.  It may have been my awakening to a world outside of the 4 walls at 6621 Switzer Lane.

There were certainly events before 1969 that stuck in my memory.  The Vietnam war began in 1961, and the news became a constant reminder of the price paid in human lives.  I remember hearing of the weekly enemy "body count" and comparing it to the American lives lost.  I wondered if I too would be sent to Vietnam before the war was over.

I distinctly remember the day in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.  A television was rolled into our classroom so that we could watch the news reports.  Also remember was the murder of Kennedy's accused assassin the following evening on live television.  Two murders caught on camera on two successive days.

I vaguely remember the Six-Day War in the Middle East that began on June 5th, 1965.  We cheered as Israel kicked some serious Arabic butt.  It was in stark contrast to the Vietnam war that had turned into a quagmire for America.

The Civil Rights movement in America also comes to mind.  I watched as blacks were routinely water cannoned or beaten during peaceful protests.  Murders and lynchings would make the news reports, as would riots and bombings.

But in early April, 1968 a 16 month stretch began that has since had no equal.  I believe the only comparisons to this period would be the 1945 and the American entry into World War II, and 1865 as the Civil War ended followed by Lincoln's assassination only a few days later.  


Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968.  While at the time it seemed as the Civil Rights movement had lost, King's death may well have been the catalyst that brought about racial equality. 

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6th, 1968, just two months later.  Assassination of high profile or political figures was becoming commonplace.  The middle brother of the Kennedy clan had met the same fate as his older brother. Just over a month later, on July 18, 1969, little brother Senator Edward Kennedy leaves the scene of a fatal accident. Mary Jo Kopechne. the lone passenger in his car died and so did Kennedy's hopes of ever becoming President.

Two days later on July 20, 1969, America landed on the moon.  On that clear summer night I remember staring at a nearly full moon knowing that countrymen were, at that time, walking along its surface.  An earlier Apollo mission had cost the lives of 3 astronauts.  Later missions would end in success or failure, but this mission was the milestone of American accomplishment.  After giving them a head start, we had beaten the Russians to the moon. 

On August 9, 1969, the Charles Manson "family" murdered Sharon Tate and several others.  A week later,  Woodstock was the headlines in every paper and the video on the nightly newscast.  Woodstock effectively ended the turbulent era of the 1960's and a long series of significant events.

The 60's were followed by near equally significant decade.  Students were gunned down by police on the campus of Kent State University.  Peace with honor in Vietnam became a stinging loss.  American pulled out of Vietnam with tail between its legs.  A president covered up a two-bit burglary and ended up resigning in dishonor.  American celebrated its 200th birthday.  The reverend Jim Jones convinced 900 followers to commit mass suicide by drinking cyanide laced kool-aid.

But looking back, 1969 was the single year that stands our in my memory.  That year made an impression on me, a 13 year old boy.  The world was crazy, the world was cool.  Woodstock was the bookend of that time.

The Stench of Desperation

Obama in 2008: "If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things."

August 2, 2012:




August 7, 2012:



August 14, 2012:




Later in the day, Biden attempted to "walk it back", but did so in a very dishonest way.  He said: "And I'm told that when I made that comment earlier today in Danville, Virginia, the Romney campaign put out a tweet. You know, tweets these days? Put out a tweet, went on the airwaves saying, 'Biden, he's outrageous in saying that,' I think I said instead of 'unshackled,' 'unchained.' 'Outrageous to say that.' "  

That was an extremely clumsy cover up for the outrage of telling a crowd supporters, mainly black, that Romney and Ryan wanted to put them back in chains.  It was a blatant attempt to paint the republicans as racists who would return blacks to slavery.  Biden's explanation did nothing to revoke the meaning.


If there is any doubt that Obama-Biden wanted to send the slavery message, just look at Obama's response: "Most folks know that's just sort of a WWF wrestling part of politics, it doesn't mean anything, just fills up a lot of airtime."

I think Romney responded correctly when he said: “The president’s campaign is all about division and attack and hatred.”  “The president seems to be running just to hang onto power — I think he’ll do anything in his power to try to get re-elected.”  “I think comments of this nature sink the White House just a little lower."  “The comments of the vice president as I heard them ... were one more example of a divisive effort to keep from talking about the real issues.”

Obama's response: "We're going around the country, talking about, ‘How do we put people back to work? How do we improve our schools? How do we make sure that we're producing American energy? How do we lower our debt in a responsible way?' And I don't think you or anybody who's been watching the campaign would say that in any way we have tried to divide the country. We've always tried to bring the country together,"

The frantic desperation and deceit coming from this campaign is amplifying with each passing week.  They see the polls.  They know they are behind and trending lower.  They know that without a colossal slip by the republicans, they will lose in November.

How much damage are they willing to do to the office of the president and vice-president before they go?  It seems there are no limits.