Category Archives: Obama

EPA Puts Bicyclists On Endangered Species List

Posted on by Standard 5

I pulled out of the Costco parking lot in Helena and stopped at the stoplight.

“Geez,” I exclaimed to my wife.  “Look at all the painted lines through this intersection.”  Cars whizzed by left and right as we waited out the light, blinking and screeching and zooming through at the last second, or even a little late.   It was barely-organized chaos.  I looked to my left, and there was a narrow lane with a bicycle icon – RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF A SIX-BY-SIX LANE BUSY INTERSECTION.

I was startled.  I tried to picture riding a bike through that mess.  Heck, driving a car through there is practically suicidal.  What kind of moron would take that chance on a bike?  For that matter, what kind of moron designed the bike lane?  And how many days of the year can you ride a bike in Helena, anyway?

Welcome to the crazy world of AGENDA 21, under the innocuous title “Complete Streets”.  It has taken root in most cities in Montana and across the country.

While you were asleep, or watching football, or shopping, your city leaders were feverishly studying the Agenda 21 and ICLEI guidelines set out by the United Nations and a worldwide network of socialists.   They don’t really know why they are doing this, but they have to keep the promises they made in exchange for a couple thousand bucks from George Soros.

Agenda 21 is a very ambitious and complicated plan.  Think “We Can Change the World”.  The main goal is “social justice”, where rich nations give their money to poor nations:

All states and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world. – (Agenda 21 – Principle 5)

In order to make more of our wealth available to transfer to the poor nations, we rich nations need to cut back on extravagances, like driving around in cars. That’s where “Complete Streets” comes in. If we ride bikes instead of driving cars, then we will have left-over money to send to the Congo so they can drive cars. Plus, we will create less pollution, so that all the new cars in China won’t need expensive smog controls.

As a Montanan, it’s hard for me to understand the merits of these crazy bike lanes.  So I put on my Socialist Cap and tried thinking “globally.”

I considered that if more bike riders are killed, it reduces the pressure humans are putting on Mother Earth.  Yeah, that’s it!  That’s why we need bike lanes!

But wait, that would reduce the number of Democrat voters.  Hmmm.

I’ll have to think about this some more.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

There’s too many ahead of me
They’re all tryin’ to get in front of me
I thought I could find a clear road ahead
But I found stoplights instead

Expressway To Your Heart – the Soul Survivors

Looking For Benefits?

Posted on by Standard 1

For some time now, President Obama and his PR department (the mainstream media) have contended that our nation’s biggest problem is inequality.  Not unemployment, not lack of GDP growth, not the national debt and deficit, not the growing number of people on food stamps and other government assistance.  The most important problem, according to them, is the gap between the rich and the poor.

Defining rich and poor is subjective and difficult.  Most often lately, “rich” has been defined as a couple who earns more than $250,000 per year.   Presumably the threshold is lower for singles.

“Poor” is almost never really quantified.   Some of us are old enough to remember the television ads showing skinny Appalachian kids leaning on stick-built porches, wearing rags and sad faces.  I’m not saying those were the good old days, but times have sure changed.  Kids on food stamps today are, as often as not, obese.   Recipients of federal disability payments has increased by 50% in the last ten years.  Since January 2009, the number of individuals on food stamps has skyrocketed from 31.9 million to the current record high 47.1 million. By comparison, in 1969 just 2.8 million Americans received food stamps.

If you are reading this, I’m pretty sure you have never seen the federal government’s “Benefits” website (see graphic above).   The banner headline is:  “Looking For Benefits?”  Apparently plenty of people are – 70% of federal spending in 2010 went to “dependence-creating” programs, compared to 28% in 1962.  Our Secretary of “Labor” (see Hilda Solis’ statement above) now promotes benefits, not labor.

According to the 2012 Index of Dependence on Government:

The great and calamitous fiscal trends of our time—dependence on government by an increasing portion of the American population, and soaring debt that threatens the financial integrity of the economy—worsened yet again in 2010 and 2011. The United States has long reached the point at which it must reverse the direction of both trends or face economic and social collapse.

Programs considered “dependency-creating” are federally paid housing, health care and welfare, retirement, federal payments for higher education, and agricultural subsidies.  One could argue that retirement is not a benefit, because it is supposedly self-funded.  Or that agricultural subsidies are not a benefit – but much of that budget is food stamps, and the rest is mainly farm subsidies to large corporations, both of which cause dependency.  I can think of other spending that creates dependency too, like corporate bailouts and other government investments in chosen industries. In any event, we are looking at the same spending categories from 1962 to 2010 – and they jumped from 28% of the budget to 70%.

We can argue until the subsidized cows come home about what is fair, or whether taking property from one American to give it to another is even constitutional.

But anyone who thinks we can continue our current spending habits, or continue to encourage the use of government benefits – regardless of how much tax is paid by the “rich” –  is dangerously ignorant.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is cruel no where could be much colder
If we don’t change the world will soon be over
Living just enough, just enough for the city.

Living For the City – Stevie Wonder

Obama’s Data Mining Wizards

Posted on by Standard 3

Nothing goes unnoticed by the data miners these days.  They know all about you.  They know what you like to buy, and when.  Every website you see, every search you execute, every TV show you watch is recorded. They know your age,  your political persuasion, your address, and a lot of other things you would never suspect.

Did you show your “preferred shopper” card on that last trip to the grocery store?  They used it to figure out what you might want to buy next time, and how to encourage you to spend more.  (I often express my sticker shock – “Wow, I’m glad I’m a preferred shopper!  I’d hate to see what you do to the customers you don’t prefer!)

The Obama campaign took masterful, full advantage of data mining, and some think it is what won the election for them.   Instead of relying on traditional political advisers and old-school marketing experts, Obama played the campaign game strictly by the metrics, building a huge data analytics operation two years before the election.  They designed their fundraising campaigns and advertisements to appeal to specific voters in narrowly-targeted markets.  They knew exactly who could be manipulated and how.  Their attacks ads were designed with pin-point scientific and psychological precision.

Time Magazine was given an inside look at the Obama machine and found:

“. . .a massive data effort that helped Obama raise $1 billion, remade the process of targeting TV ads and created detailed models of swing-state voters that could be used to increase the effectiveness of everything from phone calls and door knocks to direct mailings and social media.”

In this election cycle, policy issues really didn’t matter.  The horrendous performance of the Obama administration for four years was not a problem, and the Democrats didn’t even bother to propose any solutions to the country’s many troubles.

The Republicans took the high road – presenting facts and plans, avoiding hyperbole and attacks, assuming the majority of voters were paying attention and actually cared about the economy, the debt, and their childrens’ futures.  The GOP didn’t have a chance.

By the way, Rayid Ghani, the mastermind of the Obama data mining operation, cut his teeth in the monster supermarket “preferred customer” data-crunching game.

I can’t fault the Democrats for using such a powerful weapon.  They zeroed in on the weakness and vulnerability of American voters.  It worked.

I only wish they would put as much technology, effort, and money into finding solutions to the nation’s problems as they did getting elected.

Oh, and by the way – be careful what you say, do, and type.  You are being watched.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Man:  I think, I think I am!  Therefore I am!   I think?

Government: Of course you are my bright little star!
I’ve miles and miles of files,
Pretty files of your forefather’s fruit
And now to suit our great computer,
You’re magnetic ink!

In the Beginning – the Moody Blues

Economics for Blondies

Posted on by Standard Reply

The 20-something bubbled-headed blonde Democrat jiggled and grinned on my television screen.

“We’re going back to the economics of the Clinton administration,” she cooed.  “We want to raise taxes back up to where they were during the wonderful Clinton years!”

“But things are different now,” the seasoned  Fox Business analyst replied.  “We have a $16 trillion debt.  We have 8% unemployment.  We have no economic growth.”

“Oh, we will just tax the rich!  Like we did under (giggle, giggle – fake eyelashes fluttering) Biiiiill Clinton!”

“Now wait a minute,” the Fox guy shot back.  “The economy improved only when the Republicans took over Congress, and Clinton agreed to reform welfare, trim the budget and cut the capital gains tax . . .”

“Biiiiiill Cliiiiinton!  MMMmmmm!” purred the little blonde Demo-kitten.  I mentally pictured her voting for the first time, dreaming of her new boyfriend Barack, and . . .

My wife muttered on her way to the kitchen.  “I’d go for the tax rates from the Clinton years – if we had the same SPENDING as the Clinton years!”

I guess I’m not quite ready to give up on women yet.  Just the ones who want more, more, more.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Baby you know my love for you is real
So take me where you want to
Me and my heart you steal
More, more, more!
How do you like it?  How do you like it?
More, more, more!
How do you like it?  How do you like your love?

More More More – Andrea True (disco porn star)

Life In The Banana Republic

Posted on by Standard Reply

Back in the day we watched action adventure movies about Americans traveling in exotic far-flung countries.  It was so very foreign to our small-town Montana sensibilities – the drugs, the shady intrigue, the beautiful women.  There was poverty and danger around every corner, and it seemed that nothing could be accomplished in these mysterious places without paying off some government official.

We called them “banana republics” – countries where life was tough, the government was corrupt,  and only those with connections, wit, and maybe weapons avoided an unhappy fate.

We were enthralled with tense scenes from places where the government was all about secrets and raw, cold power; where ordinary citizens hid behind gray walls and doors, afraid of making some political “hit” list.  Everyone was poor – except those who worked for the government or had connections.  Personal success was just a distant dream, as winners and losers were chosen by the powerful.

It could never happen here.  We have checks and balances, and a president couldn’t just make laws, seize property and control businesses without the consent of the legislature.  This is America.  There’s no corruption here.  Our government leaders would never lie to us, or hide the truth.  Besides, our news people will always tell us what’s really going on, right?  And we have fair elections, where legal citizens get to choose how the government will affect their lives.

Drugs are illegal here.  Aren’t they?  I mean, I think they used to be.

And we don’t have to worry about people here being dirt poor, relying on scraps and handouts from the government.  Most of our people have jobs, and own their own homes, right?  We still manufacture stuff, and have plenty of our own cheap energy for our cars and houses, and everybody has a bright future here.  We still go to church on Sunday and take care of our neighbors and families.  Don’t we?

I’m sure glad we live in America, and not in one of those banana republics.  We have nothing to worry about here, let’s just party on.  Let’s have another joint.  Wanna dance?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

They’re pickin’ up the prisoners
And puttin em in a pen
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
Rebels been rebels
Since I don’t know when
And all she wants to do is dance

All She Wants To Do Is Dance – Don Henley

If Obama Wins – Then What, Montana?

Posted on by Standard Reply

courtesy ConsumerBoomer.com

  • No fracking, drilling, or pipelines – guess what that does to our Montana and US economies – and our future?
  • No coal plants in the US – if we are allowed to mine coal at all, we will probably not be allowed to ship it to the coast by train to meet the huge demand for Asian coal.  Coal dust blows off the train cars, you see.
  • Energy prices will double within a year – (see above).  We will continue to subsidize wind and solar energy companies, electric car manufacturers, and other chosen “winners”, many of whom will not survive economically.
  • $8 per gallon gasoline within two years.  Remember, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said he wants our gas price to be the same as Europe.
  • At least two more far-left Supreme Court Justices take the bench.
  • Severe restrictions on gun ownership and use (see above – Sotomayor says “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.”)  Hunting on government land is forbidden, and is severely restricted on private land.
  • Health care will be expensive and rare.
  • Government employee unions will rule with impugnity.
  • Inflation will skyrocket as national debt soars and the Fed continues to print funny money.
  • Conservative talk radio, free speech, free internet, and Fox News are toast.  The first amendment fades in our memories, like most Constitutional freedoms.
  • Our government will never again write a budget – as Harry Reid said, “There’s no need to have a Democratic budget in my opinion.”  Budget, schmudget.  They can always print more money and spend it however they want.
  • Obama and his administration will make life hell for everyone who opposed them.  Listen to Valerie Jarrett:

    …Valerie Jarrett is letting it be known that if Barack Obama secures election victory next week, there may be, quite literally, hell to pay for those who opposed him…

    …Jarrett told (staff members) ‘After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time.

    Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve.

    There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won’t be a problem for us this time. No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go.’

    She was talking directly to about three of them. Sr. staff. And she wasn’t trying to be quiet about it at all. And they were all listening and shaking their heads and smiling while she said it…

Obama has promised revenge too. If you ever spoke out against the left, watch your back.

I could go on, but it’s more than I can bear on the night before the most important, and the closest, political race of the modern political era. There is so much at stake. We can only pray for God’s mercy at this point. It may be our last chance before prayer is outlawed.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

So let’s bow our heads and pray –
with the unbelievable ZZ TOP

Have Mercy – and – Jesus Has Left Chicago

Now I’m Pissed

Posted on by Standard 9

I try to be civil in my discourse.  I try to avoid hyperbole, or vitriol, or coarse criticism of those with whom I disagree.  But this is personal.

Today, President Obama’s Special Assistant for Disability Policy, Kareem Dale, made a public statement that has me spitting nails.  Dale said the president would “protect the disabled” and  declared that ”people with disabilities are going to be absolutely killed under Mitt Romney’s plan.”

His rallying cry to the Democrat faithful was “Let’s win this motherfucker.”

Here’s the truth.  I have a son who is totally blind.  He lives fairly independently in his own condo in Charlotte, North Carolina.   After he busted his butt to graduate from college, he moved to Charlotte in the hope of getting a job with the school district there as a teacher’s aide.  After volunteering for two years teaching braille and computer skills to blind elementary students, without pay and trying to get a foot in the door, he learned that the teachers’ union would not allow any aides to be hired, because they were not required to be union members.  Thanks to the union, he is one of Obama’s 8% unemployed.

At this point I want to add that my son has never asked for or received a penny from the government, aside from disability services while at school.

Until a few years ago, my son had access to the federally funded handicapped bus system in Charlotte, NC.  This network of small buses enabled handicapped citizens to live independently, by providing door-to-door service (for a fee) to go shopping, to work, to a restaurant, etc.

Then Obama happened, along with a Democrat sweep of power in Charlotte.

Suddenly the handicapped bus program was gutted.  Service was completely cut off to the majority of clients in Charlotte, including my son.  Why?  Was it the result of a budget cut because of mean conservatives?  No, the funding which was previously available to the disabled community was re-directed to fund a $1.6 billion expansion to the urban light rail system, which was, and continues to be, severely underutilized and bleeding cash.  The few who do ride the light rail usually don’t even pay their fares – payment is expected to be voluntary, and with no enforcement, guess what?  Nobody volunteers to pay.

The authorities admitted that, because riders don’t pay what it costs to transport them, they are subsidizing light rail passengers to the tune of $7 per trip.  Coincidentally, the cost of transporting a handicapped citizen (who does pay a fee) to the grocery store is . . . $7 per trip.

The Obama administration is all about picking winners and losers when it comes to federal dollars.  And the losers in this case were those least able to defend themselves – the non-union, unorganized, and few-in-numbers handicapped community.  The winners?  Yup.  Obama lobbyists and contributors, locked-in urban Democrat voters, and Agenda 21 advocates.

You will never find any conservative – citizen or leader – who would withhold services from the truly needy or the handicapped.  But our so-called “liberal” friends?  Give me a break.  They would sell their mothers for a vote.

Today, thousands of handicapped citizens of Charlotte have lost a good portion of their independence thanks to Obama and the Democrats.

So, Mr. Partially-Blind Kareem Dale, Mr. Hot Shot Obama Administration Lackey, Mr. Foul-Mouthed Over-paid Affirmative Action Government Employee, don’t give me one more word about how ”people with disabilities are going to be absolutely killed under Mitt Romney’s plan.”

Things were great until your boy took the reins.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Too damned mad for a song today

Are You One of “Them”?

Posted on by Standard 2

This election is reported to be close.  Razor close.

If Romney loses, will we see conservatives rioting in the streets?  Will Republicans burn cars and smash out windows?  No, that won’t happen.

But already Democrats are promising civil unrest and outright violence if Obama loses (apologies for the coarse language).

Of course there are nutballs in every large group, and I tend to dismiss them.  Still, predictions like the following by Bryan Fischer, spokesperson and Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, become more common by the day:

“I think there’s going to be unrest. I think there will be blood.”

And it is pretty common knowledge that it’s unwise to put a conservative bumper sticker or decal on a vehicle – there is a likelihood that the vehicle will get “keyed” (paint scratched) by an upset liberal.

“Townhall.com columnist and best-selling author, Katie Pavlich, took to Twitter to report on typical vicious intolerance from the Left. Her brother, a college student, put a Romney bumper sticker on his car. Unhinged libs then vandalized his car, keying it and ripping all stickers off of it. They also damaged and ripped off his license plate.” – via Twitchy.com

Even Obama supporters should beware the wrath of their fellow libs – this week vandals keyed “Obama” into the trunks and slashed seats on two cars parked near a home in Los Angeles with Romney signs in the yard.  It turns out the cars belonged to a young couple who are Obama volunteers and supporters.  Because  they are unemployed, they are staying with the wife’s parents, who happen to be conservatives.

At a Tea Party rally in Racine, Wisconsin, liberals dumped roofing nails throughout the parking lot.

Liberals even smeared feces on a Romney sign in Virginia.

I could still write all of this off as the work of a few isolated left-wing whacko nutballs.

But last night I had dinner with a very connected, well-traveled and knowledgeable national political leader (sorry, I won’t reveal the name for obvious reasons) who is genuinely and seriously worried.

“If Obama loses a close election, there will be riots in cities all across the country,” she said.  “I am certain of it.”  And she convincingly described the evidence she sees in her travels.

Now I’m starting to take this seriously.  I will never understand the motivations of these people.  Or how half the citizens in our once-great nation can continue to identify with them.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Hey! said my name is called disturbance
Ill shout and scream, I’ll kill the king, I’ll rail at all his servants
Well, what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock n roll band
Cause in sleepy London town
There’s just no place for a street fighting man

Street Fighting Man – the Rolling Stones

Letters From My Friend, Barack

Posted on by Standard Reply

Every day I get a half dozen e-mails from my good friends, Barack and Michelle (we are on a first name basis, you know.)

They usually share some upbeat little story about their lives.   Today there was cute picture of Barack and Michelle giggling – it looked like he was telling her a big secret.  The note said I could have a chance to join them in Chicago on election night if I send them $5.  I wonder what the secret was about?

They look great, but I suspect beneath the surface they are having some problems.  They ask me for $5 several times a day.

My friend Barack is trying to get re-elected as President.  In his notes to me he never talks about things like the economy, unemployment, terrorists attacking our embassies, or the $16 trillion national debt.  I know he doesn’t want me to worry about that stuff.  And I don’t think it bothers him much.  Mostly he is worried about getting elected.

A couple of days ago he wrote:

Tom —

I don’t want to lose this election.

Not because of what losing would mean for me — Michelle and I will be fine no matter what happens.  But because of what it would mean for our country and middle-class families.

This race is very close.

I’m not willing to watch the progress you and I worked so hard to achieve be undone. Time is running out to make an impact — please don’t wait any longer. Donate $5 or more today.

Barack

I’m so glad that my friends Barack and Michelle are going to be fine no matter what happens, because I’m afraid he may be right – the progress he worked so hard to achieve could be undone in a couple of weeks.  The $16 trillion debt might stop growing.  The government takeover of the entire health care industry might be prevented.  The EPA may have to stop shutting down coal plants and allow those mean oil companies to drill again.

I’m sorry to say I am too embarrassed to write back to my friends, Barack and Michelle, and tell them that I can’t send them $5 today.  I’m still unemployed, I can’t sell my house, the dollars I have saved don’t earn any interest and I can’t buy much with them anyway.  So I’m going to use my $5 to buy a couple of beers.

Good luck, though, Barack and Michelle.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

How about a country classic today?

Let other folks worry what the future might bring
Just to sit and worry won’t get you a thing
My pants may be ragged but that’s all right
I’ve got five dollars and it’s Saturday night

I’ve Got Five Dollars – Faron Young

Isn’t Mexico A Foreign Country?

Posted on by Standard 2

Have we completely forgotten about our neighbors to the south?  In last night’s “foreign policy” presidential debate, Mexico was not mentioned.

At least 60,000 have died in Mexico’s drug war over the last five years.

Repeat, and pause.  At least 60,000 have died in Mexico’s drug war over the last five years.

Moderator Bob Schieffer doesn’t think Mexico is important enough to justify wasting a question.  Neither Obama nor Romney took an opportunity to mention Mexico, or illegal immigration, or violence on the border, or the flight of US manufacturers across the border, or our dependence on Mexican oil, or our lust for Mexican drugs.  The Hispanic vote does not seem to be of concern to anyone.  Apparently, neither is the ongoing human carnage.

The focus of the entire debate was the Middle East.  Watching the proceeding, one would never know that just a stone’s throw from U.S. soil our Mexican neighbors suffer and die every day at the hands of criminal thugs and a corrupt legal system.  Or that Latinos, primarily of Mexican descent, will make up a third of our population by 2050.

Like it or not, our country is becoming browner.  Our future is intertwined with Mexico’s.  The nation, while sadly adrift, is not without merit, talent or resources.  It seems to me that even a little bit of attention paid to Mexico could deliver rewards – plus, we should sleep better at night.  We ignore Mexico at our peril.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Never mind your name, just give us your number
Never mind your face, just show us your card
And we want to know whose wing are you under?
You better step to the right or we can make it hard

On the Border – the Eagles