Four More Years Part Three
South façade of the White House, the executive mansion of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
He walked over and sat down at the Resolute desk. He glanced at the pile of papers and noticed the security briefing that had been placed there hours ago. He didn’t bother to look, he knew what was in it. Israel was gone. All but the city of Jerusalem anyway. It was leveled six months ago by Iranian nukes that he had believed in spite of credible intelligence reports, were sill years away from development. It served BiBi right he had said to himself, the Prime Minister insisted on striking Iran’s main nuclear facility. Unfortunately Iran had more secret sites than they knew of. Within three months of the Israeli action, Iran was pounding them with fully functional bombs leaving the entire country a smoldering, desolate, uninhabitable landscape. Its people scattered once again over Europe and the United States. At the insistence of the Ayatollah Khamenei, the new Iranian President, Saeed Jalili, left the Dome of the Rock and surrounding Jerusalem intact as a slap in the fact to the West. He shook his head as he remember the day, Netanyahu desperately pleading for military help from the US. Help that he was unable to give. Unbeknownst to its citizens he had ordered the American nuclear arsenal destroyed as a good faith gesture to encourage Russia and China to do the same. It was the keeping of a promise that he had made to Vladimir Putin though Dmitry Medvedev in the spring of 2012. Then in a cost cutting measure necessary to keep his programs afloat a few more months, he pared down the Navel fleet to handful of warships, four nuclear submarines and two aircraft carriers. Aging fighters and bombers were not replaced, affectively grounding the Air Force, and the manpower of the Army and Marines were cut in half. Now, thanks to Netanyahu’s impatience (the sanctions would have worked, eventually) the whole world knew that the United States is militarily weak and vulnerable. Putin, that double-crossing bastard didn’t live up to his side of the bargain. Russia retained its nukes and now was aiding Iran. India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the other smaller Middle Eastern nations were marshalling their forces, ready to join a coalition against the West, or to dig in a defend their own borders, whichever would suit them best when the time came. Al Qaeda, made quick work of the power vacuum and over ran Afghanistan, almost overnight. Then it set its sights on Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal. He knew the report would tell him that any day now missiles would be headed toward the United States, as the Russian Army and Al Qaeda terrorists, strange bedfellows indeed, had joined forces and built up arms across the Bering Strait.
Alaska, well at least that will get rid of Sarah Palin and her inbred, white-trash, red neck family. He half smirked to himself. The thought amused him for only a second. Alaska was vital. Two years ago he reluctantly caved on his own policies and opened up ANWR to drilling. He then agreed to finishing the Keystone Pipeline. He had hoped that these moves would provide much need jobs. But as the oil flowed South into Texas, the hope that flowed along with it waned. The refineries that were to turn the thick smelly crude into much needed gasoline, were crumbling and inadequate for the task. Long standing environmental regulations, ones that he in all good conscience would not overturn, made the building of new refineries impossible. The oil that was supposed to bring relief from eight dollar a gallon gas, was instead stockpiled in huge, hard to secure tank yards. Unsaleable to other countries because of an OPEC strangle hold on the petroleum market. A terrorist’s dream or an environmental disaster just waiting to happen.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He thought back to four years ago. Then he was unstoppable. If Congress wouldn’t act on his agenda, he could enact it by executive order. He was a rock star and everywhere he went he was surrounded by awestruck, adoring crowds. He was a media darling, the toast of Hollywood. Letterman, Oprah, The View they just couldn’t get enough of him. But those days were gone. Now whenever he made a rare appearance outside the gates, he could feel the loathing of a disperate people. His once cheerful and stalwart wife, his outspoken defender, was now sullen and bitter and rarely spoke in public anymore. His daughters could no longer romp through the grounds with their dog, or spend afternoons with their mother, tending their vegtable garden. Now they spent their days shut up inside for their own safety. No more sleepovers with friends or attending school. The prestige he so craved as a young Senator, the power of the Presidency that stirred the passionate fire within, now wore him down like a cumbersome weight around his neck. The toll it took on him, on his family, on the nation, was just too much to bear. He stood and again walked over to the window. He watched as the sun sat behind the Washington Monument and longed for November.
Share this:
Golly! Another Reason to Vote Romney/Ryan
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/politics/romneys-throwback-language-his-mittisms.html?smid=pl-shareMitt Romney has already shown that he can bring much-needed leadership to the Oval Office. He can restore the class, dignity and respect, that has been stripped away from the office by the celebrity seeking, rock-star that inhabits it now. This New York times story shows how Mitt, excuse me, Mr. Romney can restore something else to Capitol Hill, civility. What a great role model this man will be for our children. Let’s all “Chick-fil-A” the polls on November 6th and put Mitt Romney in the White House.
Share this:
Four More Years Part Two
Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A few weeks ago I started a series on how the next four years would look under another Obama administration. I had intended to write four posts, one for each year. Instead I have skipped ahead to the eighth year of Obama’s Presidency.
He stood gazing out of the window, somber and thoughtful. His closely cropped, once salt and pepper hair, now completely white. His brow deeply furrowed and the lines around his mouth gave him a permanent scowl. At fifty-five he had the countenance of a man twenty years older. He surveyed the scene before him. Razor wire now covered the wrought iron fences. The once beautifully manicured lawns and gardens were now an encampment. Just inside the fences the patrols stepped purposefully, forming a human barrier between the man at the window and the angry mob outside. The patrols, and the men at the command tent were all wearing the sky blue berets of UN Peacekeepers.
The man at the window pondered over how it could have come to this. It all seemed like such a perfect plan. Since childhood he had anguished over the inequities of society. Why did some people have plenty to eat while others starved? Why did rich people receive top-notch care at state of the art hospitals, while the poor were dying of preventable disease? Why were some countries prosperous and others still wallowing in the Dark Ages? Convinced that wealthy nations and people became that way at the expense of poor ones, he vowed that if he were ever elected to a high office, he would set it right. The plan was brilliant in it’s simplicity. Those who were blessed with the talent of creating wealth would be compelled by taxation into handing over their riches to the government, which would then distribute the wealth to those who were not so blessed. Once the poor had their basic needs taken care of, they would then be free to pursue their dreams becoming wealthy themselves and thereby contributing more to the coffers. As the vast circle of “givers” grew, more and more would flow into the government well. The government could then wisely distribute the largess, providing better and better services to the people. No one would ever again have to worry about food, or rent, or utilities. Everyone would be prosperous and happy. Health care could be distributed in much the same way. Medical funds would be equally distributed between doctors and hospitals and all would be required to provide basic healthcare services to everyone. The money saved from the equalization of medical expenses, could then be used for research and providing even better care. He would reduce America’s arsenal as a good faith gesture to the rest of the world. He would turn America into the perfect neighbor, generous, peaceful, and non-threatening.
How, he wondered did it all go so terribly wrong? He had underestimated how ingrained in the American psyche the concept of the individual was. So determined were those lucky enough to own property and businesses to keep what they had earned, that they would rather close up shop and divide their assets with their own families, than allow it to be taxed. Selfish bastards, they just didn’t get it. So blinded by their perceived right to self-determination, they couldn’t grasp that the government could do a better job of utilizing the wealth. And all they had to do was give their “fair share”. Their greed had forced him to borrow extensively from other nations, some not so friendly. The Federal Reserve continued to print money, flooding the markets with near worthless paper and driving up prices. As business owners closed their doors unemployment rose until nearly half of country were without jobs. More and more came into the fold, the government their sole source of survival.
His plan to provide healthcare to the nation wasn’t going exactly as planned either. The insurance co-ops that were supposed to make healthcare affordable, were a failure. With no way to make a profit one by one the companies dropped out or went out of business. Leaving only the government option available. With prices capped by the government, doctors were finding it difficult to maintain profitable practices. Many simply closed their doors. With no guarantee that one could make a living after eight-plus years of grueling study, fewer and fewer young men and women entered medical school. The small number of doctors that were left were forced to find ways to stretch their time and resources. Doctor’s appointments and hospital beds were precious. Stories such as the elderly woman who was denied cancer treatment to make room for someone younger, and the middle-aged man who bled to death in a hospital emergency department waiting room in full view of sick children, were becoming common.
It was obvious to him a year ago, that the nation was broke. A third credit downgrade took it down to a B and no more countries would lend him money. Tax revenues were drying up and his financial advisers were running out of ways to “cook the books”. There was no other choice than to cut services. Pell grants and college loan guarantees were the first to go, then Social Security and what was left of Medicare. Schools were privatized leaving a haphazard mixture of private and quasi-public institutions. Only those who were homeschooled could be guaranteed to receive an adequate education. Subsidies for cell phones and other utilities were cut, followed by WIC, TANF, and finally food stamps. His grand plan to care for everyone in the nation had come crashing down around him. The governmental safety net that so many had come to depend on was no longer there. What foods and goods were left, in the few stores still open, was so expensive almost no one could afford them. As hunger and desperation set in, the people took to rioting in the streets. Angry mobs demanded to know what had happened to the “hope and change”, to the promise of prosperity. In an audacious act of defiance the National Guard, Active Duty Military, and local police squads refused to fire on the crowds of U S citizens. So he sought the help of the UN to restore order. For the first time in the nation’s history, a foreign army was taking action against American citizens, on American soil.
To be continued:
Share this:
Dear Mr. Romney,
Mitt Romney in Council Bluffs (Photo credit: IowaPolitics.com)
The past few weeks you have been getting a lot of criticism for a weak campaign. In fact I have been one of the critics. It seems strangely contradictory, because I like and admire your focus on the real issues instead of personal attacks. Your generosity, and your humility, your personal practice of leading by example rather than florid speeches, prove you to be a man of sound moral character. You are just the kind of man this country needs at this critical moment in our history. Even so, though I admire your integrity, at the same time I really, really wish you’d pop Obama right in the chops (verbally of course).
Week after week I have watched the Obama campaign build half-truths and statements taken out of context into outright character assassinations. I’ve listened to Obama resort to blatant falsehoods about your record and his. Fabricating an agenda for you, while covering up his own. Week after week I have watched you take a pacifist stance, absorbing the blows and soldiering on. Never once calling him out or exposing his bald-faced lies.
I’ve watched your interviews, and listened to stories about how you have helped people. And after listening to the main stream media tell me how out of touch you were with the American people, I was surprised. No, amazed. I saw a man who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get dirty. A man who prizes his family more than his wealth, who taught his kids personal responsibility leading by example. A man who looks like he would be as much at home pushing a lawn mower as he would be at a board meeting. Your wife even buys your shirts at Costco. You and your family seem so down to earth. Like the kind of people who would enjoy a backyard barbecue in my humble home, even though you could afford expensive steaks at an upscale restaurant. In your world view and lifestyle I feel like I have far more in common with you than I do with the people down at the welfare office, though I’m much closer to them financially. And yet you let the media paint you as cold, aloof and elitist.
I can’t even begin to understand how hard it must be to have your most embarrassing moments and most intimate details laid bare for the world to see, by an unscrupulous opponent who knows how to manipulate the truth and the media to concoct his own version of reality. Your campaign may lack the taxpayer provided transportation of Air Force One, and the free endorsements provided nightly by the evening news anchors as they gush and fawn over the sitting President, but you do have truth on your side. A truth that you should be welding like a hammer to victory.
Every day as I hear the poll numbers and the reports showing an ever-increasing lead for Obama, I become even more frustrated. I know you have the personal integrity, and the business sense to turn this country around, but I’m not the one you have to convince. I am astounded that so many Americans cannot see that sitting in the Oval Office is a man who is anathema to everything that our Founding Fathers intended for this country. A man whose not so hidden agenda is to bring this country to its knees and diminish its standing in the world. Obama’s plan of bailouts, handouts, and wealth redistribution will kill our economy and place us firmly on the path to austerity. Meanwhile, I lie awake at night fearful of the nation we will become if he gets a chance at four more years. The nation my children will inherit.
You see Mr. Romney, for me and those like me, this is not just another Presidential election. It is a battle for our way of life. It is a historical turning point where this country returns to the “land of opportunity” that our Founding Fathers intended. Or, it is when our country turns down the path of a Soviet style republic. A place where an ever decreasing congregation of people with integrity struggle and toil for an ever-increasing horde of people dependent on the government for their survival. Our anxiety is real. The consequences are real. It is a battle Mr. Romney, that we cannot afford for you to lose.
Share this:
Mr. Eastwood, You Made My Day
“I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen.
Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we
— We own this country.
We — we own it. It is not you owning it, and not
politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.
And — so — they are just going to come around and beg
for votes every few years. It is the same old deal. But I just
think it is important that you realize , that you’re the best in
the world. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or whether
you’re libertarian or whatever, you are the best. And we should
not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we
got to let them go.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/30/transcript-clint-eastwood-speech-at-rnc/#ixzz25YST6Llk
Quote by Clint Eastwood at the Republican National Convention, Aug 30, 2012 (Emphasis mine)
This is something that all of those who are elected to an office, from the school boards, to the city councils, to the state legislatures, to the White House need to be reminded of. You work for us, we the people. We vote you in or out of office. We pay your salary. You are beholden to us. Not the other way around. Thank you Mr. Eastwood for throwing that out on a national stage.
Share this:
For the Want of Reagan
Vote (Photo credit: Vaguely Artistic)
The other day I was watching TV with my daughter when a commercial from one of Mitt Romney‘s Super Pacs came on. She sat shaking her head then stated. “I don’t like Mitt Romney”. This started a discussion on the comparison of the negativity of political campaigns. Her rather discouraging reply was, “don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Obama either. I don’t think either candidate is any good. I makes me not even want to bother voting.” This is her first time getting to vote in a Presidential election and she’s already so disgusted by the campaign crap that she’s just done with it all. I felt so disappointed for her, and so afraid for our future. I can still remember the pride I felt the first time I got to vote. Even after four years of Ronald Reagan, we could still feel the hopelessness of the demoralizing presidency of Jimmy Carter. Proud once again to call ourselves Americans, we young rural Texans were going to make sure we didn’t go there again. I was excited about going to that tin shed out behind the Old Rock Church, to mark my poster sized ballot and put it into the lock-box. I felt as though I were really making a difference. Not in any election since, have I felt that way.
No longer do we have the pleasure of electing a hero who will bravely lead our country to a place of honor and respect in the world. Now we have to settle for trying to discern who will do the least amount of damage. Gone are the grand designs for peace and prosperity, boldly put forth by men like President Reagan. We are left with mud-slinging salesmen and morally bankrupt hypocrites. We no longer go to the polls to elect a leader, we go instead to choose between the lesser of two evils. No wonder, that our young adults are so disillusioned.
Right now the America that has become the most prosperous nation on earth, the country the rest of the world looked up to as an example of leadership, and decency is in grave danger of perishing. Sitting in the Oval Office is a man whose personal philosophy is the polar opposite of that of our Founding Fathers. Someone who has no real understanding of an American culture, and no respect for the “separation of powers” established by our Constitution. Through deceit and subterfuge he bypasses the “checks and balances” of our system of government in order to push through his own agenda. A vision of America where those who live by their own hard work and ingenuity have to share the fruits of their labors with those who choose to do nothing. Where charity and compassion are no longer the way that men of integrity separate themselves from the lazy and selfish, but are government mandates instead. Where peace is bought by placating our enemies and abandoning our allies.
This may be the most critical election in our nation’s history. Made even more so by those who have been beguiled by Obama’s charismatic presence, into believing that his vision for America really will make their lives better. Those individuals are lost to us. Our only hope is to convince those who are undecided and especially those who feel that their vote doesn’t matter that an absent vote is the same as a vote for Obama. The only way to save our nation is for everyone who is tired of “politics as usual” to understand the disaster that four more years of Obama will bring. Mitt Romney needs your vote. The country needs your vote. Even if the choices aren’t great.
Share this:
America, Amerika
sodahead.com
There are those who would say that President Obama may be charismatic, but he’s not too bright. When it comes to solving the countries problems,he just doesn’t get it.
I disagree.
I say that Barak Obama is a brilliant man. A man who has a clear vision of what he wants for this country, and knows how to manipulate the system and the public to make it happen. He has a genuine belief that he can save the country and bring prosperity to everyone.
In the President’s American Utopia, every one contributes as much as he is able into the governmental bucket and everyone only takes out as much as he needs. No one will ever have to worry about housing, food, or healthcare, the government will take care of it. No one in this country will ever again be homeless, hungry, or die for lack of lifesaving medications. Since we will no longer have to find a way to supply our most basic needs, we will be free from boring, soul sucking, dead-end jobs and will find fulfillment in all sorts of charitable pursuits instead. We can spend our days building houses for others, cleaning the shorelines, repairing roads, and growing crops, all for free since we will have no need for an income. Yes indeed, Americans will live in a paradise. Free from worry and want. Where nobody has to work, and yet everyone gets fed. We will be the envy of the rest of the world.
Does he have a plan to avoid the substandard housing, the bread lines and rationed medical care? Can he soothe the discontented masses? Those who are not happy to merely survive, but long for a purpose and a way to prosper? Does he have the vision to correct the ideological faults that doomed his heroes to failure? No. He doesn’t need to. Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Castro were not worthy of the task. Obama is.
This is the dream that keeps us up at night. A place where the government slowly and insidiously creeps into our personal lives and dictates every aspect of it. From what we eat, what lightbulbs we can buy and even what kind of toilet we can flush nothing is made, bought or sold without government’s approval and cut of the profits. Gone are our rights to our own homes and personal property. The opportunity to use our hands and minds to create wealth will no longer exist. This is the America that many of us never think will happen. Maybe we are the ones who don’t get it.
The problem is that many people share Obama’s new American Dream. How do you convince people who are working hard, pay their taxes and yet struggle to put food on the table, and pay their mortgages that it is not the government’s responsiblity to provide relief? How do you assure someone who cannot afford the treatment they need that there are better alternatives to government health care? How do you persuade an entire generation raised on the liberal bias of the public school system and network media, to fight for the right to work and think for themselves?
This is the challenge Mitt Romney must face if he is to be the next president. To reignite the passion for personal responsibility in a people who no longer value personal freedom.
| PBKBWTG8U2U2 |
Share this:
The War on Wives
A Tribute to Housewives (Photo credit: Richard Loyal French)
The liberal feminist movement has long had an arrogant disdain for stay at home moms. Though they try to pretend otherwise, the truth slipped out in Hilary Rosen‘s remarks, and now the Democrats have to do “damage control”. If you listen carefully to the disingenuous apologies, you will hear the true agenda of the feminist movement. It’s not necessarily motherhood that they despise, it’s wifedom, and in their eyes the epitome of subservience is the “stay at home mom”.
Liberal feminists simply do not think it is possible in this “enlightened age” for an intelligent, woman to find fulfillment in caring for a husband and children and managing a household. They think that women who choose this lifestyle must suffer from low self esteems or are brainwashed by some sort of patriarchal cult. Because they see men as nothing more than abusive, condescending sperm donors, they celebrate motherhood by elevating single moms to heroic status. Especially women who choose to raise children without a husband. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not criticizing single mothers, or trivializing the incredible juggling act that they have to perform on a daily basis.
Liberal feminism has created a culture in which women do not just have a choice of having a career and a family they are obligated to. Women are expected to live up to a “super woman” ideal that just isn’t realistic. The result is that today’s women live with an overwhelming burden of exhaustion and guilt. There are many women who would rather stay at home with their children but because of economic and or social pressures feel they can’t. Unless you have a part-time job at a school, there are no jobs where you can be home when your kids are. When you are at work, you feel guilty that you are not home with your kids. If you have to take care of a sick child, you feel guilty about not fulfilling your work obligations. If you call a friend or relative to tend to your sick child so you can be at work you feel like a terrible mom. If you choose not to work and stay home you feel guilty every time your husband works overtime to make ends meet, or you feel guilty when you have to tell your kids no because you can’t afford it.
The real “war on women” isn’t being waged by conservatives, it’s being waged by those liberal feminists and their supporters who claim to represent all women. All women except those who put their families first that is.
Observations and Opinions of a Middle Aged Housewife 