Yes Mom, He’s An Axe Murderer, But He’s So Cute!

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 5

We bumped into a new neighbor the other day. After some chit-chat the conversation turned, predictably, to the sour economy – unemployment, inflation, the debt. The neighbor mentioned the weak real estate market and how difficult it is to sell or buy a house.

My wife chimed in, “I think everybody is waiting until after the election to make any major financial move.”

The neighbor said, “Yes, I know everybody wants Obama out because his policies have been terrible for the economy.” We agreed, assuming we had met a fellow conservative.

She continued, “I voted for Obama last time. And I suppose I will have to vote for him again.” My wife and I gave each other a puzzled look. “Why?” we asked.

“Well, I just couldn’t vote for Romney because of the way he flaunts his wealth.”

Huh?

My mind reeled at all the problems with this statement. Even if it were true, how is having money you earned yourself worse than deliberately destroying the wealth of American families?

When Romney was governor of Massachusetts he refused to take a salary. He also managed the Winter Olympics without pay. And he donated every dollar of his inheritance to charity. Stories of Romney’s incredible anonymous philanthropy are beginning to surface. Flaunt his wealth? Are Michelle’s expensive vacations not flaunting? Is sending a government jet to pick up Barack’s dog not flaunting?

And besides, what the hell difference does it make? We have important problems to solve!

I’m befuddled as to why people vote the way they do. It’s mind-boggling.

What is more important than the looming bankruptcy of the largest economy on the planet? Does it really matter who pays for Sandra Fluke’s birth control pills? Do you vote for somebody only because of his or her sex, or race, or personal appearance?

President Obama’s policies have been a dismal failure, resulting in annual deficits exceeding $1 trillion and driving our nation into a disastrous, perhaps irreversible decline. He shows no interest in straightening out the mess. And yet Obama continues to lead in the polls because he is “likeable.”

At the DNC in Charlotte, Peter Schiff interviewed a couple dozen delegates – these are the Democrat party’s best and brightest. With a big grin, he asked each of them, “Do you think corporate profits should be banned?” Every one, without hesitation, said, “Of course! That’s a great idea!”

This is the “new” American voter. God help us.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Don’t say nothin’ bad about my baby
Don’t say nothin’ bad about my baby
He’s good – he’s good to me –
And that’s all I care about!

Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad About My Baby – the Cookies

Yeah, Right, We Hate Women and Kids

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Conservatives are big meanies, right? We hate women, and minorities and children. We want dirty air and water, and we would throw Granny over the cliff in a heartbeat. All because we want to take money from poor people and give it to rich people.

Today I took my two-year old twin grandkids out for their first fishing experience. It was Grandpa heaven – digging the worms, baiting the hooks, enjoying the warm sunshine on the dock with a picnic lunch. Lydia caught a fat little catfish right away, and minutes later Conrad caught a perch. They were mesmerized, and Grandpa was a hero. “Goodbye, Mr. Fish,” they waved, as we threw them back in the water to get bigger for next time.

Yeah, I kind of care about these little guys. So much that I will do anything to protect them and their futures. I am compelled to work toward reducing the debt so they won’t be burdened with crushing taxes. I want to strengthen our private sector economy so they can have meaningful jobs and live in a secure, prosperous nation. I am driven to improve our educational system so their adult lives will be rich and rewarding. I would never condone anything in their environment that would harm them in any way.

Liberals, you can accuse me, and my fellow conservatives, of a lot of things. But let’s drop the crap about how we hate women and children.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Here’s a song I wrote for the kids a while back, looking forward to this day!

Let’s go fishin’, it’s a beautiful day
There’s not a single cloud in the sky, now, what do you say?
Nothin’ better than a fish on your line
Just take him off and throw him back, he’ll be bigger next time

Let’s Go Fishin’ – Tom Balek

How’s This For A Plan? STOP!

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

I’m tired of hearing Democrats insisting that the Republicans and conservatives “have no plan”.

The liberal solution to every issue, question, and challenge is a new government “program” that will spend more money and will live forever, even after it fails or is obsolete. Education is failing? We must not be spending enough. Our GDP is not growing? More government spending. Our favorite socially-engineered industry (green energy) can’t compete in the real world? Give them more public money.

So when a Republican does not propose a new “program” featuring more government spending (and debt), that is the equivalent of “doing nothing” or “having no plan”.

Hogwash. Here’s a plan for you.

We must immediately STOP the ridiculous, wasteful government programs already in place that accomplish nothing. The liberals’ insistence that government spending spurs the economy is deceitful – every dollar government gives to one person or company was taken from another person or company, and a big slice is missing by the time it gets to the receiver due to waste, corruption, and inefficiency. Government spending, while sometimes necessary, is a proven drag on the economy. Raising taxes makes it worse, and printing and/or borrowing money to spur the economy just delays the pain.

The quid pro quo, pay-to-play, corrupt paybacks to unions, corporate donors, cronies, and special interest groups must be STOPPED now.

Let’s immediately STOP the attacks and roadblocks on our energy industry by the Obama administration via the EPA and other agencies and aligned special-interest groups. We have the resources and the technology to become the energy supplier to the world, and could do so quickly. What do they not like about more jobs, a positive balance of trade, and elimination of the dependence on hostile foreign suppliers?

We can and must immediately STOP the flow of illegal aliens across our borders, most of whom end up collecting welfare. This isn’t even a choice, as our laws and Constitution require it.

We must STOP throwing good money after bad, doing things the same way out of habit. We have to STOP politicizing and polarizing every issue and shouting at each other across the ideological divide without even listening for kernels of wisdom that might be on the other side.

And because the stakes are so high, and our fiscal crisis is so urgent, we must focus on economics and STOP wasting time on all the distractions and bogus issues – the class warfare, the make-believe “war on women”, the race-baiting. Unless we straighten out our fiscal mess, nothing else really matters.

One of the corny, childish jokes from the old Hee Haw television program (yes, you ARE old enough to remember) featured Archie Campbell as the country doctor. A different patient every week would complain, “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” The wise doctor would always give him a whack and yell, “Then DON’T DO THAT!” Not exactly rocket science, is it?

There are a lot more specifics to the plan of Republicans and conservatives. But the best parts of their plan include the word STOP!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

It’s time we stop,
Hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s goin’ down

For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield

Juneau: Montana Kids Are Abused

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 6

Montana Children Waiting To Be Fed By Their Teachers

On behalf of the state of Montana, I apologize to America. Our state superintendent of schools, Denise Juneau, spoke to the DNC and the entire nation yesterday, and I am embarrassed to have everyone see how low our once-great state has sunk.

Juneau revealed to the world that “Sometimes school is the only place where our kids can get a hot meal and a warm hug”. She admitted that Montana parents do not care enough about their children to even feed them, or show affection.

She confessed that without President Obama, our kids have no chance for success. But if Obama is re-elected, the opportunities are limitless – our children, she said, can emerge “from a home with a struggling single mom to the White House”.

Montana parents offer no future to our kids, especially single moms and our Native American families. “Teachers are the only ones who tell kids they can go from the Indian reservation to the Ivy League,” she said. I’m sorry you have to see how horrible our Montana parents are, based on the damning report by Denise Juneau. So bad that teachers have to raise our kids for us, and even they can’t succeed unless Barack Obama is re-elected.

Juneau’s opponent for the office of superintendent of Montana schools, Sandy Welch, says if we can stop the Obama administration, senators Baucus and Tester, the EPA, and the radical environmental groups from blocking the development of our abundant energy resources, our economy will improve dramatically, along with family incomes, the tax base, and funds for education.

But Denise Juneau, in her speech, pointed out that it’s better to beg for scraps from a federal government sinking in debt, and rely on more hope and more change from a failed President rather than support Montana parents and local school boards and administrators, even if it holds down teacher salaries.

America, I’m sorry for what has happened to our Montana kids.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Hungry for those good things, baby
Hungry through and through
I’m hungry for that sweet life, baby
With a real fine girl like you

Hungry – Paul Revere and the Raiders

Still Bush-Bashing After All These Years

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

This week as Hurricane Isaac zeroed in on New Orleans, Democrat pundits were quick to remind us of the “George Bush” hurricane, Katrina.

To this day Bush faces the wrath of the Left, who still believe that he intentionally ignored the pleas of stranded, suffering, and dying Delta residents during that horrible part-natural and part-man-made disaster, and insist that his alleged failures were due to racism.

In his autobiography “Decision Points”, Bush explains “the rest of the story” – the part that even his supporters never explained, and which is still ignored by the media.

He admits that he didn’t manage the PR aspects of Katrina well, and he should have landed his helicopter instead of flying over during the first few days. He did not want to hamper the rescue effort with the complications required by his security people.

From a policy standpoint, in the early going he deferred to state and local administrators, standing ready, waiting for their request for help, as is the protocol.

As Katrina escalated into a real disaster, Bush was reminded that he could not mobilize the National Guard without the express request and permission of Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco. Bush reached out to the governor, and she assured him she did not need or want any help from him, thank you very much.

His early contacts with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin were also rebuffed. “We have this under control,” said Nagin. Nothing could have been further from the truth, as buses that could have been used for evacuation were moved to safe storage, and police officers were seen carrying TV sets out of storefronts. But the mayor and the governor, both Democrats, did not want to appear unprepared and needing help from a Republican president.

President Bush became increasingly alarmed, and forcefully urged the governor to allow him to send in troops. By then Mayor Nagin was ready for help, but the governor held firm.

“That left me in a tough position,” Bush wrote in his memoir. “If I invoked the Insurrection Act against her wishes, the world would see a male Republican president usurping the authority of a female Democratic governor by declaring an insurrection in a largely African American city. That would arouse controversy anywhere. To do so in the Deep South, where there had been centuries of states’ rights tensions, could unleash holy hell.”

Realizing that Governor Blanco was paralyzed and incapable of making a responsible decision, he finally did send in troops without her permission. A massive Federal rescue effort hit the Delta region, but for many Katrina victims, and for President Bush’s reputation, it was too late.

President Bush still agonizes over the loss of life to Katrina, and takes deep offense to the charge of racism. He should not have to suffer more undeserved criticism from the Monday morning quarterbacks of the Left.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy after all these years

Paul Simon – Still Crazy After All These Years

Blame It On Bush

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

These guys are Rockin’ On the Right Side! “Blame It On Bush” by the Voters.

Thanks to Big Swede for the find –

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Isn’t It Ironic?

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 2

Today’s little list of ironies:

Union leaders claim to represent the best interests of their workers – which would be “get us more jobs”. So why do the unions oppose energy development and infrastructure in our country that would spur the economy, enhance our security by providing energy independence, rebuild our manufacturing base, and create thousands (maybe millions) of jobs?

Conservatives love the NRA (National Rifle Association) because of its defense of the second amendment. But the NRA helped Harry Reid win a very narrow re-election over a true conservative opponent. Reid, the Democrat Senate leader, is the single biggest obstacle to everything the conservatives believe in and has caused untold damage to the nation in recent years!

A majority of Americans think President Obama would do a better job saving Social Security than his opponent. But didn’t he just take over $700 billion from Medicare to shore up his Affordable Health Care Act?

President Obama promised the most transparent administration in history. Yet his own social security number does not pass E-Verify (which US businesses are required by federal regulation to file for every new hire), his college records are sealed, and he won’t instruct his Dept. of Justice to release records about the Fast and Furious scandal after years of direct demands by Congressional investigators!

Liberals decry “social inequality” and the disparity of incomes between rich and poor. But they seem to be just fine with an ever-growing number of federal employees who, last year, earned a whopping $128,000 per employee vs. the private-sector average of $64,000. Talk about class envy!

Isn’t it ironic? Or, as the social media set says: “WTF?”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Enjoy a classic tune by one of America’s
finest songwriters, Alanis Morissette

And isn’t it ironic
Don’t you think?
A little too ironic
Yeah, I really do think

Ironic – Alanis Morissette

What Happened to Jon Tester?

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 4

This is a subject that saddens me.

Our American political system has deteriorated into such a polarized, intransigent mess that the only way legislation can be passed is when one party holds the house, the senate, and the presidency.

Now, I’m not saying that every issue should be negotiated, and the parties should always meet in the middle. In any debate, one side usually is right, and the other is wrong. If there is gray area the question at hand may be too broad, and should be refined until there is an obvious correct answer, or at least one that a thoughtful, bipartisan majority can agree upon.

In the US Capitol today independent thought, or at least the expression of it, is frowned upon – especially in the Democrat party, as evidenced by their fairly consistent party-line votes for the last many years, and the robotic talking points they recite.

It’s all about the money. Congressmen are no longer citizen legislators. Because of the enormous cost of getting elected, candidates must sell their souls to their parties and to their financial backers to even enter a race. Once elected, they are part of the big money machine. The federal government has become so huge (and in some cases corrupt) that top-down control is rigidly enforced. A rebel in the ranks must be quickly brought into line or summarily dispatched.

Even if a legislator starts out well-intentioned, he or she soon finds out that failure to follow instructions is fatal; conversely, going with the party flow can be very rewarding for both careers and pocketbooks. Isn’t it amazing how legislators become wealthy “one-percenters” so quickly on a civil servant’s salary? And, once elected, staying in office is pretty easy with access to the big money and the political machine.

A case in point – I was one of Jon Tester’s high school teachers, and he impressed me. I found him to be an outstanding young man in every way – honest, motivated, sincere, intelligent. I expected great things from him. On my return home to Montana after 25 years away, I was not surprised to learn that that he was a state legislator. A Democrat? Well, that was something of a surprise.

Senator Jon Tester – (D-Montana)

When he was elected to the US Senate, I really hoped that he would remain the straight-shooting small-town guy I knew from school. But predictably, it was not to be.

Looking at his voting record, I know that Jon is forced by his party to support many positions that are against the best interests of his fellow Montanans. If there were no parties, no personal financial interests, no rigid political hierarchies to maintain, I’m sure that Jon would vote quite differently – based on who he was, where he was raised, the values he grew up with, and the needs and wishes of his friends and neighbors. Instead, he must cater to the government employee unions, the radical environmentalists, and the other special-interest supporters of his party.

So we can no longer vote for a Democrat for Congress based on his or her merits and expressed viewpoints. We know that his or her personal convictions won’t matter. Independent Republicans have become an endangered species. Independent Democrats are now extinct.

I would love to support the guy Jon Tester was. But because he is now in lock-step with the Democrat party leaders whose actions I can’t condone, I can’t support the senator he has become. A vote for Jon is a vote for Obamacare, for Harry Reid’s refusal to present passed House bills to the floor or to write a budget, and for bigger government and more debt. I’m not sure Jon supports any of that stuff in his heart. But his future votes have already been bought and paid for.

And that’s sad.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’m looking through you, where did you go?
I thought I knew you, what did I know?
You don’t look different, but you have changed
I’m looking through you, you’re not the same

I’m Looking Through You – the Beatles

60s and 70s Protest Music – It’s Relevant Today

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock

Ah, the great music of our youth – all those protest songs extolling the virtues of Freedom, and railing against government corruption. Songs about how a person shouldn’t be judged or given favors because of the color of his skin.

It was a time when the Leftist youth of our nation took us all by the sleeve and cried out for peace, and justice under the law, and tolerance for others who might have a different point of view. “Let us run the world!” they sang. “We’ll make it all better!”

And now, the Leftists are in power. They got their wish. They do rule the world.

Funny thing is, I listen to those lyrics and they still ring true today – only the players have changed. Our government is more corrupt than ever, picking winners and losers based on contributions and voting blocs. Our laws are a shambles as our administration chooses which ones to enforce and which to ignore. Racial and social divides continue to widen as self-serving politicians separate us into groups to pit against each other.

Now it’s the aging Tea Party people who cry out for Freedom from a government that has turned its back on the Constitution. It’s the grandparents who fear that government corruption will destroy their life savings and the economic futures of their grandkids.

I can’t make the case any better than Pete Townshend did in 1971 (below).

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

There’s nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again

We Won’t Get Fooled Again – the Who