Monday, February 21, 2011

Wisconsin Chaos

There was a time way, way, way, way back when unions were necessary, but now that we have a vast amount of labor laws and child labor laws the usefulness of unions is less and less clear. I'm watching the nightmare that is going on in Wisconsin and I can say with ease Gov. Walker has economical and moral high ground. You can watch Sean Hannity's interview with the Gov from today here (part one) and here (part two). I had started writing an explanation for my stance but once again someone beat me to it and was more concise than I would have been. I'll let Steven Crowder do his thing.



One other thing I have to mention is the President sticking his nose into Wisconsin's business. Obama slammed Gov. Walker faster then Mubarak in Egypt. He was quick to back his union buddies, and by the way unions give more money in political contributions than big oil and pretty much all to democrats. So if you're in a union and you're not a democrat, you are contributing to them.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Year Ago Today

On Feb 17, 2010 I left for my trip to Jerusalem, Israel, it doesn't feel like a year has passed. Sometimes the whole thing feels like a dream. I was in the Holy Land for a week shy of four months, which seemed like a long time while I was there, but as soon I got back it felt like I never left. My life fell right back to the way it was before, like I had taken a nap. But I haven't forgotten that time at all, ups or downs. Though I miss it and would like to go back soon.

The day before I left Israel was a different story, I couldn't wait to get home, I was ready to leave and nothing was going to change my mind. Part of that was responsibilities I had in California, but bigger was the fact that I had never been so far away from home for so long. When I landed in Tel Aviv is when it really hit me I was on the other side of the world and didn't know a soul or how to speak the language. Though as I stood in the security line back in Tel Aviv four months later I was proud of myself, I had conquered, I made it through. Even the language came easier to me, I had studied Spanish in high school, but it never stuck. But in just under 3 months I learned how to read and write Hebrew and even how to speak a couple dozen words. To this day I am still working on my Hebrew, I'm hoping that when I go back I will have a lot more conversational ability.
The Western Wall

The one question I've been asked a few times since expressing interest in returning to Israel is why? My friends and family knew about my urgency to leave and wonder what is drawing me back? To that I don't have a great answer, maybe it's all the amazing people I met while I was there, from teachers to people on the street Israelis are wonderful and kind. Maybe it's the Holy part of the Holy Land. There is something to be said about a strong presence of God there, and the history cannot be denied. I mean, I walked on a three thousand year old street and ran my hands along the wall of a tunnel from the time of King David. The only thing I can say for sure is I want to go back.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

People With Guns Save People

Notice I didn't say guns save people, because a gun is an inert object that can do nothing by itself. But put them in the hands of people and they can save lives.

Case in point.

For many years handguns were banned in Washington DC, and during those years DC had soaring high murder rates. For some reason even though they were illegal the criminals and murderers didn't stop using them. Maybe the district should have done more advertising, you know a signs on the sides of buses; "Just so everyone knows handguns are illegal". Something tells me that wouldn't have helped. When you make something illegal all you do is take it out of the hand of law abiding citizens, criminals don't give a damn.

The ban was lifted in 2008 and the evil guns flooded into Washington DC, and by the end of 2009 the murder rate in DC was down 25%, the lowest it's been in forty five years! The media would have you believe that tougher law enforcement in conjunction with neighborhood watch programs and stricter penalties are the reason for the drastic fall in the murder rate. But if that's all it took, why didn't DC do it sooner? The proof in in the shootings, or lack there of. An armed society is a safe society. When I was in Jerusalem there were guns everywhere, on the soldiers, police and a good chunk of the public. Guess how many dead bodies were in the street? Not one, you can walk down the street on a dark night and not worry. Even the "Wild West" wasn't so wild, despite what you see in the movies gunfights were a rare occurrence. People have to get the negative stigma of guns out of their heads.

Go to a firing range, take a course, get educated, join the NRA. For your safety and mine go out and buy a gun.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

High Speed Really?

When Obama passed his trillion dollar (total & utter failure) stimulus plan two years ago a chunk of it was designated for high speed rail, though I haven't noticed any bullet trains whizzing by and traffic is worse than ever. That chunk amounted to $8 billion that was invested as "seed money" and now Veep Biden has told us the White House is investing another $53 billion of our money in getting this so call high speed rail going. But the more I read up the more clearly I see high speed rail is really just high-jacking our wallets. The Obama Express is moving all right, bringing us straight to bankruptcy hell, let me explain a few things that will help us pull the emergency stop line on this runaway nightmare.


Here in California the big talk has been a high speed line between LA and San Franfreako. The original projected cost of this masterpiece was around $28 billion dollars, but things change and budgets swell, so now the price tag is more like $43 billion. But as time passes the budgets keep changing and swelling, the final cost is looking to be oh $100 billion. Take the number form the above paragraph and add them up... So with all the stimulus money and the newly allocated cash plus the $9 billion in Calif bonds the rail project between LA and SF is $30 billion dollars in the red. That doesn't leave much for the rest of the country.


But high speed rails will reduce traffic and that will help everybody! Or will it? Let's stick with California, the line from LA to SF will alleviate little to no traffic. Not many of you currently stuck on the 101 fwy reading this on your smartphone because traffic hasn't budged in 3 hours are going all the way up to Frisco are ya? Same story country wide, high speed lines are mainly for city to city use and most of the backed up freeways are within city  limits. Even light rail lines in LA and NY do little to nothing to ease off the massive number of cars.


The biggest hurdle to making high speed rail a reality is  the track. We can't use the existing tracks because freight trains dominate existing tracks and if you've ever had to wait while a mile long freight chugs past, you know they don't move that quick. So new tracks are needed, country wide. Now granted it won't take as long as the original lines that crossed this great Nation, but I bet you it will cost a whole lot more. Not to mention the cost of Air Force One jetting back and forth so the Anointed One can drive a gold spike into every finished product.


If we really want to "Win The Future" we have to stop spending money or as The One puts it "Investing" and start saving. The American people have become the People of NO. No more pouring our hard earned money into a bottomless pit. No more taxing us into oblivion. No more bail outs, no business is too big to fail, even the states. No more socializing of American industries and institutions. We have to rise up, not in revolution, off our couches and into the voting booths. Make all these big spending politicians Democrat or Republican do what we've been trying to do for the last few years, find a real job.



Monday, February 7, 2011

The Big Lie


I've been unemployed over a month now, my seasonal job at K-Mart interrupted a four month stretch since I returned from Israel in June. Many people I know are out of work as well and most of the ones that have a job are working well below their experience level. Though if you've been watching the jobs news lately things really seem to be turning up, or are they? 

The drop in unemployment the Obama admin reported for January is a big lie. The numbers have been fudged to make thing rosier than they are. The true, un-fudged data showed an increase from 9.1% to 9.8% in joblessness rather than a cut in the highly fudged figure from 9.4% to 9.0%. And, of course, Obama “achieved” the drop in the unemployment rate not by reducing the  number of jobless but by cutting the the total workforce. Half a million Americans have given up on ever getting a job and left the workforce, bringing the jobless rate down. 

The US workforce is roughly 138.4 million and the official number of unemployed is 13.8 million. Easy math there shows a very clear 10%. The administration numbers don't even match up to the official record. But the cold hard truth is the actual number of unemployed is 24.6 million, which puts our actual unemployment rate at just under 20%. And don't forget 44.1 million people in the US are on food stamps. I think it's time the Obama admin starts leveling with us, though then they would have to admit that their so called "Stimulus" was a complete and utter failure. 

The continuing job killing policies of the Obama admin will keep us out of work for at least 2 more years till we know if Obama will win a second term. But even if Republicans do take the White House (and those chances look slim at best) it will take at least a year before noticeable recovery really gets rolling. That puts the best hope for recovery at 3 years, which means the belt tightening will continue and with food prices skyrocketing you're probably going to have to make some new  notches in your belt.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Centennial

I have always been very clear that Ronald Reagan is a hero of mine, I admire his whole life, not just the political years. There were ups and downs, trials and tribulations and for a while he was even a Democrat! But it's the flaws that make him more admirable. Whether it was getting caught up in the glitz and glam of Hollywood, realizing his first wife was not his soul mate or changing political affiliation when the party left him. Reagan always bettered himself and never asked for someone else to take care of him. Especially the government, he saw that a massive and overreaching govt would lead us on a path like the Soviet Union and like the Soviet Union to destruction. When I had a myspace page, one of the questions it asked and displayed was "Who is your hero?". My answer; "All my heroes are cowboys" referring to John Wayne and Ronald Reagan. Two men who led amazing lives, who stood up for and loved America. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRESIDENT... We miss you now more than ever.