Bootlegging Guns and Ammo – Profit Opportunity!

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 3

GrannyClampett-729655 There has never been a time – in my lifetime at least – when there was so much BUZZ about guns.

Jon Stewart recently interviewed Bob Costas, TV sports announcer, on the Daily Show. Those of you who ‘Rock’ with me ‘On the Right Side’ may not know that comedian Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ on the Comedy Channel is the primary news source for the other (low-information) half of our population.

Did Stewart and Costas talk about sports? Not much. Mainly their conversation was about gun control. Costas was aghast that 75% of former NFL coach Tony Dungy’s players admitted they owned guns.

Yesterday I met a small-business owner who was alarmed that there is no ammunition available in the stores in his area. Even WalMart has bare shelves. His son asked him where he could get some .22 shells. “I told him to come on over,” he explained. “I have at least 25,000 rounds.”

Minutes later, I visited with a harmless-looking little old lady – an attorney, no less – who joked about being her husband’s “bodyguard”. I asked her if she was packing. “Every day!” she beamed. She explained that all of her female friends are either carrying guns now or working on getting their permits.

My employer’s personnel manual lays down the law: “Employees are not allowed to possess firearms on company property, and may not have firearms in their vehicles in company parking lots.” So I asked some other employees if this rule is actually enforced. “Oh, heck no,” one manager told me. “Even the CEO of our company carries a .45. Do you think we would work around here late at night with no protection?”

The Reverend Jesse Jackson (has anybody seen him in church lately?) beseeches President Obama to come “home” to Chicago and address the gun violence there, while the ruling party continues to talk-talk-talk about tougher gun laws.

It seems like the more the Democrats push gun control, the more guns and ammo are sold. Remember Prohibition? If you believe the old movies, when liquor was outlawed folks started spending every night in the “speakeasy” clubs getting blasted and doing that weird Charleston dance with the “flapper” girls.

Gun sales are skyrocketing now, when there is just a suggestion that they may soon be hard to get. If (when) our fearless leaders succeed at making the possession of firearms illegal, the gun business will really be booming. Those who have plenty of inventory to sell will be rolling in the dough. It’s supply and demand. People want to stay alive, and will spend their money to do so.

So if you are looking for the next big profit opportunity, you might consider being a firearms bootlegger in the coming Obama Gun Prohibition era.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Take you a glass of water,
Make it against the law,
See how good the water tastes
When you can’t have any at all!

Bootleg – John Fogerty
(Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Oath Keepers Defend the Second Amendment

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 2

Obama Meets With Law Enforcement Officials

photo by CNN

As President Obama stokes the fires of gun control in our nation’s capital, some law enforcement officers are beginning to push back.

Obama recently initiated 23 executive orders related to gun violence, and is pressing Congress to take additional action, much of which is viewed by gun advocates as a threat to the second amendment of the Constitution.

Seeking to build support for his gun control mission, this week Obama gathered police chiefs and sheriffs from across the nation to Washington, DC for discussion, and (primarily) a campaign-style photo opportunity. Many big-city police chiefs support Obama’s gun control measures, while the sheriffs are generally supporters of the second amendment.

Skeptics question whether the police chiefs back Obama because they believe in the effectiveness of taking weapons from citizens, or because he has promised to increase federal spending on local police departments, a move that delights the public-sector unions who were instrumental in his election.

In Montana, a number of local sheriffs have come out with public statements pledging their support for the Constitution. Sheriff Scott Howard of Powell County said he would not enforce any “unconstitutional gun regulations.”

Most vocal among them was Cascade County Sheriff Bob Edwards. In a Great Falls Tribune interview, Edwards said, “Everyone wants to wipe out guns. I’m pro-Second Amendment, and I believe the laws we have in place should curb a lot of this, but there have to be people that enforce them. A lot of the laws are not being enforced.”

Many pro-Constitution law enforcement officials are members of the Oath Keepers, a growing organization made up of currently-serving military, veterans, peace officers, and firefighters who are sworn to protect the Constitution against all threats “foreign and domestic”. Their mission is summed up on their website:

Our oath is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and we will not obey unconstitutional (and thus illegal) and immoral orders, such as orders to disarm the American people or to place them under martial law and deprive them of their ancient right to jury trial.

We Oath Keepers have drawn a line in the sand. We will not “just follow orders.”

Our motto is “Not on our watch!”

One of the Oath Keepers, a New Jersey police officer, calls on his fellow law enforcement officers to refuse any order to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens.

It is reassuring to know that there are government and law-enforcement officials who recognize and will preserve the rights of US citizens, especially at a time when our most powerful national leaders usurp authority at a pace never seen before in our nation’s history.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’m robbin’ people with a six-gun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I Fought the Law and the Law Won
– Bobby Fuller Four

Here’s a great video of an original American rocker – Bobby Fuller. Bobby died young under very mysterious circumstances – was it suicide? Was it a mob hit? If interested, read the story here. And do watch the cool 2-minute video:

Here’s the video story of the Bobby Fuller mystery:

How Do You Do It, Max Baucus?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 5

baucus Max Baucus has represented Montana in the U.S. Senate since 1978, and has been re-elected six times. He plans to run again next year.

Baucus has overcome a slew of criticisms to maintain his grip on the biggest pot of money on planet Earth. Critics say Baucus has lost touch with Montana, doesn’t live there, and rarely visits the state he represents. I believe voters cut him some slack on that one. His work is in the nation’s capital, and it makes sense that he should have a home there. Still, many Montanans are concerned that 91% of his previous campaign funds came from out-of-state sources.

Max’s personal morals have also been called into question, including lurid stories in the national press of divorces and infidelity, jobs for girlfriends, and crony capitalism. The video of Baucus’ apparently-inebriated speech on the Senate floor has 2 million YouTube hits. Defenders say he was just “tired” – watch the video and judge for yourself. But Bill Clinton lowered the threshold of voter pain on skanky behavior, and Barack Obama has established crony paybacks as an acceptable primary fundraising strategy in the expensive world of national politics. The “Foster Brooks” impersonation was avoided by the mainstream media. Montanans might believe lapses in personal ethics can be overlooked if their congressman votes right.

Montanans should be alarmed, however, when Baucus’ votes and considerable influence run counter to their principles. Responses from the last five years of Montana Chamber of Commerce surveys indicate:

64% (5-yr. avg.) of Montana voters say our national economy is on the ‘wrong track’, versus 23% ‘right track’, with chronic unemployment, anemic GDP growth, and irreparable debt and deficits. All that time Senator Baucus has been at the helm of Senate committees including Finance, Taxation, IRS Oversight, Long-term Growth, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, and Deficit Reduction. The Senate has not passed a budget for four years, and looks as if they never will.

While Montanans’ top financial concern continues to be health care costs, Senator Baucus led the charge for ObamaCare, despite knowing it would raise taxes on Americans, damage Medicare, and add to the national debt and deficits. He has always been tight with “Big-Pharma” lobbyists, and remains one of the leading recipients of political contributions from health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

A solid majority of Montanans have unfavorable opinions of environmental groups, labor unions, and trial lawyers. Baucus supported unpopular global warming legislation, the unions salivate over the millions of new members they will gain thanks to his health care reform plans, and trial lawyers shovel endless money to Baucus campaigns in exchange for avoiding tort reform in Max’s health care bills.

With all of this baggage, and Baucus’ apparent disdain for Montana voters, how does he keep getting re-elected?

Is it the huge sums of money required for an opponent to even consider going toe-to-toe with the well-connected incumbent Senator? (He has already amassed a $3 million war chest for the the next go-around.)

Is it the decades of pork he has funneled to his state? (Montana receives $1.47 back from the federal government for every dollar it pays in taxes.)

Is it his personal charm and boyish good looks? (Women do tend to vote for Democrats.)

It’s time for good conservatives (some of whom are Republicans) to start a serious search for a Senate contender who does not have personal baggage, who can win the hearts and minds of those with financial means, and who is serious about a calling higher than re-election.

Can anybody displace Max Baucus? It just doesn’t seem like it should be that hard.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

How do you do what you do to me?
I’m feeling blue.
Wish I knew how you do it to me,
But I haven’t a clue.

How Do You Do It? – Gerry and the Pacemakers
(also recorded by the Beatles)
Here’s a great video of one of the most under-rated musicians (Gerry Marsden) and bands (the Pacemakers) of the sixties and the British Invasion. Enjoy!

Can We Forget About Electric Cars Now?

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 5

kid_car When I was little, my dream was to have one of those battery-powered kiddie cars that I could sit in and drive around the neighborhood, waving and showing off to my friends. Whenever we got a new Sears catalog, I would flip right to the kiddie cars. The brightly-painted toy cars were always on one of the full-color pages, and looked just like a real car! I could only imagine what it would be like to be a rich kid.

The electric kiddie cars never did sell very well, because they were expensive and unreliable. Everyone knew that they would only work for a short while and then break. With a brand new battery, the toy cars barely had enough power to move a 40 pound kid, and even then only for a few minutes. But they sure looked cool.

Unfortunately, nothing much has changed.

Back in October of 2009, Vice-President Joe Biden bleated his excitement over the federal subsidies granted to electric-car maker Fisker, who promised 2500 Delaware jobs and the resurrection of a mothballed GM plant:

“While some wanted to write off America’s auto industry, we said no. We knew that we needed to do something different – in Delaware and all across the nation,” said Vice President Biden. “We understood a new chapter had to be written, a new chapter in which we strengthen American manufacturing by investing in innovation. Thanks to a real commitment by this Administration, loans from the Department of Energy, the creativity of U.S. companies and the tenacity of great state partners like Delaware – we’re on our way to helping America’s auto industry reclaim its top position in the global market.”

Today it was announced that the state of Delaware stands to lose $21 million it had committed to Fisker, and the Obama administration has been predictably quiet about how much of its $529 million loan is at risk. It turns out that not only has there never been a car produced, the plant still stands empty, with the State of Delaware paying to keep the electricity turned on. What a surprise.

Toyota has scrapped plans to release its new mass market e-car, the ‘eQ’. The Chevy Volt has required massive subsidies and tax incentives to generate unit sales to the public and the government has bought many of those produced. With cheap and seemingly limitless natural gas available in the US, why should taxpayers be forced to invest in electric-car companies when private investors won’t? And why should taxpayers pay $7,500 to $10,000 to every buyer of a Volt – especially when the average income of Chevy Volt buyers is $170,000 per year? Is this the administration’s idea of “fairness”?

The electric-vehicle debacle is only a tiny portion of the Green agenda promoted by the Obama administration, and which continues to be their corruption-vehicle of choice. A scam was just revealed by the CBC in which a train loaded with bio-fuels toodled around crossing in and out of Canada 24 times and playing Chinese-fire-drill with its cars, without ever unloading a drop of product. It seems that every time the train crossed the border it was given brownie points under an EPA program, which it can sell for millions of dollars to other carriers.

According to the Washington Post, a US Treasury investigation of the Obama’s clean energy program revealed a cesspool of corruption:

(Townhall.com) After an exhaustive analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal e-mails about Obama’s green-technology spending program, the Washington Post concluded that it was “infused with politics” at every level of the decision-making process. Political considerations dominated the White House’s deal-making and all too often overruled warnings that billions of tax dollars would be lost on shaky energy projects that should never have been approved. “Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers,” the newspaper reported at the time.

At a time when it is universally understood that our nation can not survive another four years of drunken-sailor spending, can’t we put this Green Energy nonsense to bed once and for all? And couldn’t we solve a major portion of our economic woes by eliminating the EPA?

We all know only the rich kids can afford electric cars anyway.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Here in my car,
I know I’ve started to think
About leaving tonight,
Although nothing seems right
In cars

Cars – Gary Numan

Magic! We’ll Never Have To Work Again!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 5

Readers of my blog have often heard me proclaim my faith in basic economics. I still have that faith. At it’s most basic level, here’s what I believe:

every person on earth wants to improve his or her family’s standard of living
the more scarce something is (goods, talent, labor), the higher its value
we obtain things that we want by providing somebody else something they want
rather than exchanging chickens for gasoline, and labor for nails, we use a “medium of exchange”

IOU Macroeconomics makes sense as long as we have a medium of exchange that we can trade back and forth with each other, and we all agree on its relative value. Here in the United States we use dollars.

Sam’s employer will give him twenty dollars for loading a truck for an hour. Sam will give twenty dollars to the pet store for a bag of dog food. The store will give twenty dollars to the utility company for an hour’s worth of electricity. It works great as long as we all agree on the relative worth of twenty dollars.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Twenty dollars is a piece of paper in your pocket. You can’t eat it. It won’t keep you warm. It has no intrinsic worth at all. There was a time when that piece of paper could be exchanged for gold (a scarce commodity) at our national treasury, but those days are gone. Now a twenty-dollar bill is nothing more than an IOU – a promise to pay.

Unlike you, the government does not create any wealth. It can take IOUs from one person and give them to another person. And if that’s all it did, the economy would still work. But the government now gives out more IOUs than it takes in. It can do that, because it can print IOUs.

Stick with me now.

It should follow that the more IOUs that are out there, the less each one is worth. Supply and demand, right?

If this were not true, NONE OF US WOULD EVER HAVE TO WORK AGAIN. We could just print as many IOUs as it takes to buy whatever we want, just like our government is doing now!

But our government continues to tell us that there is no inflation, they don’t expect inflation, and everything is under control.

You’d have to believe in magic . . .

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You have to believe we are magic
Nothin’ can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don’t let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive, destiny will arrive
I’ll bring all your dreams alive, for you

Magic – Olivia Newton-John

Don’t Cry for Argentina, Cry for Us

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 4

All of this talk about “the fiscal cliff” sounds so sudden, so personal. Like something that happens to you, and me, as individuals. We fall off the cliff, like Wiley Coyote, and it hurts for a minute. Then we are right back chasing the Road Runner.

The dirty little secret is we have screwed things up so badly for the next generation – maybe several generations – that it is beyond the point of repair.

Economics is not a mystery. There is a ton of historical evidence about what happens when you try to goose the economy and stave off debt by printing fiat money – it’s called inflation. Argentina wrote the book on how to create rampant inflation.

In the 1980s the inflation rate in Argentina ran in the triple digits. When it hit 12,000% in 1989, suddenly everybody was broke – even those who worked hard, saved money, and played by the rules. You have money? Big deal! It doesn’t buy anything! All of the predictable ugly behavior occurred – stores were looted, violent protests erupted, and politics devolved into a cesspool of corruption.

Argentina_158624432_620x350 In 2001 the IMF bailed out Argentina, preventing bloody revolution. In exchange, there were strings attached: you will manage your economy conservatively, and you will hold inflation to sane levels. Twelve years later, Argentina is on the verge of being tossed out of the IMF, and perhaps the G20 for failing both dictums. Stores are again being looted. Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is accused of “cooking the books” by reporting much lower inflation rates than actual. While government reports claim inflation rates of 8% to 10%, life on the street shows a rate closer to 25%, and accelerating.

Sound familiar?

Our Federal Reserve, in cahoots with our administration, is pretending that we have no inflation in the US. By holding interest rates to near-zero, they “think” they are stimulating the economy and tempering unemployment. But it’s not working. Banks, because of the risk of a rapid increase in interest rates down the road, aren’t loaning money to businesses. Consumers who rely on interest from savings have puckered up. And investors seeking decent returns gobble up riskier investments, building dangerous bubbles just waiting to pop.

Our government is trying the old “cook the books” strategy too. While our administration claims success at creating jobs, our rate of labor force participation declines, and “real unemployment” takes a toll on American workers. Last week 20,000 applicants scrambled after 1,500 available flight attendant jobs at bankrupt American Airlines, who cut 2,200 higher-cost employees in a contract buyout. And another 90,000 Americans chose permanent disability over the fight for jobs in December – breaking another record and holding unemployment rates conveniently and artificially low.

We are told that there is no inflation in the US. But anyone who has been to a grocery store, a gas station, or any other destination not frequented by beltway-insiders knows better. I freaked when I recently saw plain old hamburger at $6 a pound at a discount supermarket.

In 2001, Pat Buchanan wrote a blistering and revealing article about the debacle in Argentina.

It is a catastrophe for South America’s second economy and nation. Four years deep in recession, with unemployment at 18 percent, tax revenues vanishing and credit rating ruined, Argentina will now resort to the printing press. Fiat money – a “third currency,” the “argentino” – will be introduced in January.

“Printing money to satisfy the popular desire for spending unmatched by taxation is a recipe for chaos,” warns the Financial Times. “The new currency would then swiftly disappear into the hyper-inflationary flames.” Rely upon it. For the Peronists are less concerned with chaos than victory in the March elections.

For this disaster, Argentinians are, themselves, to blame. They have repeatedly elected demagogues and wastrels who misruled and looted their nation.

His scary prediction came true then for Argentina. We’re next.

Who will write our epitaph? And will our children and grandchildren forgive us?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Have I said to much?
There’s nothing more I can think of to say to you
But all you have to do
Is look at me to know
That every word is true

Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina (Evita) – Madonna

Huh?

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 12

Why do Detroit parents allow their teachers to take instruction days off to protest union matters when only 4% of their students are proficient in math and 7% in language arts?
Why does my small Montana town have “Essential Air Service” taxpayer subsidies costing thousands of dollars per airline ticket when we average only one passenger per day? (Lewistown News Argus 12/8/2012)
Why doesn’t the number of administrative employees decrease in government offices, due to improved technology and communication, as it does in the private sector?
How can our nation afford all the countless grants our cities and counties are receiving every day for frivolous projects in light our staggering debt?
Why is military pay so pathetic?
How can we expect citizens to make good financial and voting decisions, and contribute to our national standard of living, when our K-12 schools provide no economic education?
Why aren’t airplanes boarded in order by window seat, middle seat, and then aisle seat?
Why do liberals think it is abusive to expect women to buy their own birth control, but are okay with genital mutilation, oppression, and murder of women by Muslims?
Why don’t senators let our military close and sell base properties that they don’t need or want?
Why does the Obama administration consider a couple who makes $250k per year “rich”, yet an individual is not rich until he or she earns $200k per year? (Fewer couples are married now anyway – shouldn’t single “rich” be “$125k? Or shouldn’t married “rich” be $400k?)
Why does the federal reserve think that keeping interest rates near zero is a good thing? Should people be punished for saving money?
Why are we concerned about minor skirmishes in the Middle East but we ignore deaths by the thousands in neighboring Mexico?
Why do liberals have no problem with actors and athletes making millions of dollars, but are indignant when a business owner or executive does?
If liberal rich guys think they should pay more taxes, why don’t they just write a check?
After labeling the Bush tax cuts as “only for the rich” for all these years, why do liberals now insist on keeping the Bush tax cuts mostly in place? Are they admitting that the evil tax cuts helped everybody?
What is the benefit to the United States of giving more F-16 fighter jets to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt?

Just askin’.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’d like to know,
Can you tell me — please don’t tell me
It really doesn’t matter anyhow

Questions 67 and 68 – Chicago

Shrinkage: Our Embarrassingly Tiny Attention Span

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 4

Have you heard anything lately about the September 11 debacle in Benghazi? Me either.

In the weeks before the election, Obama and Clinton told us repeatedly that they would have to complete an investigation before they could explain why they lied repeatedly about the attack and the American deaths. benghazi_attack_us_politics_2012_09_12

Did they ever complete the investigation? Is there an investigation? Would they reveal what was learned if there actually was an investigation?

Maybe citizens think that Obama won, so there’s no point investigating any further, or even discussing what has been uncovered. Congressmen Issa and Chaffetz appeared to be very interested in getting to the bottom of the disaster. What happened?

Certainly the mainstream media will not besmirch their anointed ones. In the absence of any news, we Americans will either assume the matter has been satisfactorily resolved, or will forget it ever happened, our tiny attention spans distracted by the latest “crisis dujour”. The story would be buried forever but for reporting by bulldog conservative blogs such as Brietbart.com.

Here is a great synopsis and reminder of the severity and importance of the Benghazi story, and the cold-blooded complicity of our administration:

Let’s not let this important story, or the memory of Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods, fall victim to attention span shrinkage.

Thanks to EG Pettis

Tom Balek – Rockin On the Right Side

Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

September – Earth Wind and Fire

American Patriotism – born 7/4/1776, died 11/6/2012

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 3

graveyard American Patriotism died on November 6, 2012, after a long battle with complications of liberalism.

Born in 1776, in the thirteen colonies of the United States of America, Patriotism was a major contributor to the rapid growth and success of the nation. Because of Patriotism, citizens sacrificed for their country, and took great pride in their joint accomplishments. The United States became a beacon for democracy, personal freedom, and opportunity and led the world in economic and technological advances. Over the course of his life, American Patriotism caused millions of proud US men and women to join the fight to save other nations from tyranny.

In Patriotism’s declining years, the concept of “fairness”, where all citizens shared in the work and cost of running a nation, as well as the rewards, was replaced by a culture in which a shrinking group of workers was expected to take full responsibility for the welfare of everyone else.

On December 5, Detroit city councilwoman and former mayor JoAnn Watson presented the eulogy at Patriotism’s funeral. She spoke eloquently on behalf of the liberals of the United States, extolling their leader, President Obama, to take money from those who have earned it, and give it to those who have not, merely because they voted for him.

“Our people in an overwhelming way supported the re-election of this president and there ought to be a quid pro quo and you ought to exercise leadership on that . . . After the election of Jimmy Carter, the honorable Coleman Alexander Young, he went to Washington, D.C. He came home with some bacon,” said Watson. “That’s what you do.”

Patriotism is survived by Shameless Greed, Selfish Laziness, and Blissful Ignorance. He was preceded in death by Personal Dignity, Christian Values and Responsible Media.

The monument reads,

American Patriotism
1776 – 2012
“Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You
Ask What You Can Do For Your Country” – JFK

Aside from a group of veterans, the funeral was sparsely attended, and prayer was not allowed.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side
“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all gone to look for America

America – Simon and Garfunkle

Canada and Mexico: Hey, Remember Us?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

north-america-map Here is today’s current events quiz:

Who is the political leader of the largest exporter of oil to the United States?

Who is the political leader of the second largest exporter of oil to the United States?

Which nations are the top two importers of U.S. goods?

Answers:

Yesterday Enrique Pena Nieto was inaugurated as president of Mexico. He promises to create jobs and fight poverty in a nation that suffered 60,000 violent deaths and crushing corruption during the six year term of his predecessor, Felipe Calderon. Some say he is just another insider and not much will change. Have you heard anything about our southern neighbor in our mainstream media or from any of our own political leaders?

Stephen Harper was elected prime minister of Canada in 2006 and is now serving his second term. An advocate of individual freedoms and government accountability, Harper’s administration enjoyed considerable fiscal success early in his presidency, but lately Canada has been held back by the slowdown in the U.S. and world economies. How many times has President Obama met with the leader of our northern neighbor and largest import customer? I can’t find reference to more than one meeting between the two.

See numbers one and two above.

Few Americans know the answers to these questions because WE GET NO REAL NEWS. And because WE HAVE NO REAL POLITICAL LEADERSHIP.

I am embarrassed every time I visit Canada and find that my friends from the Great White North know infinitely more about what’s going on in our country than we do about theirs. Actually, they seem to know more about our government and events than most Americans do.

Recently a friend from Australia lamented to me that he and his wife drove around the United States for ten weeks this summer and never heard a single word about his home country in the news.

If this is how we treat our best friends, is it any wonder we have so few of them? And that those we have are lukewarm, at best?

Earlier this week I railed about our critically injured sense of priorities. What should the top priorities of our President be? He seems to spend most of his time campaigning, either for election or in support of his “tax the rich” non-solution to our economic woes. He engages in small social issues that affect very few Americans and don’t address the thundering herd of elephants in the room – unemployment, debt, and runaway government spending. His priorities are climate change, fairness, and social engineering.

A true leader would be learning about, supporting, and working hand-in-hand with our North American friends and neighbors. We should forge a regional alliance to take advantage of our human and natural resources to compete economically with China and Europe. We should stand side-by-side before the world in support of human rights. And for God’s sake, why aren’t we helping Mexico become the thriving democracy it should be – not only for our own economic well-being and security, but because it’s the right thing to do for a neighbor and friend?

I’m afraid our friends have, rightfully, lost confidence in us. It’s time for all Americans to demand that our political leaders reset their priorities.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

As you walk on by, will you call my name?
As you walk on by, will you call my name?
Or will you walk away? Will you walk on by?
Come on – call my name. Will you call my name?

Don’t You Forget About Me – Simple Minds