The “Unsung Heroes” Help Poor and Minorities – Hillary Calls Them “Deplorables”

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

hvac%20contractor I was visiting with my young HVAC guy after he installed a new air conditioner in one of my rental houses. Actually, it was more like negotiating than visiting. He said he gave me a good deal, and I chuckled, “I know you did, but I have to go through the routine.” I was happy to write the check – he more than earned it.

Then he said something that gave me pause. “I know you guys can afford to pay me, but you know a lot of the people I work for can’t.”

We live in South Carolina. It’s hot. Air conditioning is not a luxury, it is a necessity of life. I know people lived in the South before air conditioning, but honest to God, I don’t know how. We moved here from Montana where we built a new log home and didn’t even consider putting in air conditioning. This is different. In South Carolina I would put air conditioning right up there with food and shelter.

He told me about a service call he made last month to repair an air conditioner for an African American grandmother with five kids in her house that belong to her daughter, who is a heroin addict. “She told me about her utility bills, and other bills, and taking care of the kids, and doing it all on $500 a month from the county plus food stamps. It was 96 degrees. I knew she couldn’t afford to pay me, so I just ‘ate’ the bill. ”

I have not felt very good about my country lately. There’s a lot of ugly stuff going on. But this young man did a lot to restore my confidence in our future.

“I usually don’t charge somebody like that,” he said. “I mean, you see what’s going on, and you just have to do what you can, you know? I don’t mind giving up my labor, I can always just work harder. But the cost of parts keeps going up and up. I have hundreds of dollars in parts in these repair jobs.”

My HVAC guy is your average American small business owner. He works long, hard hours. He invests most of his profits in tools, a truck, paying his help, and keeping up his education and certification. In the hot summer he works around the clock. If somebody needs help at 9:00 pm, he answers the phone. He didn’t go to college. He goes to church every Sunday, but half the time he is on a service call that afternoon. His kids don’t have fancy tennis shoes, and he can’t afford the time or cost of a Disney cruise. Yet he is one of the “Deplorables” Hillary Clinton looks down on. Even worse, he owns a business – which, to Democrats, makes him a greedy, selfish racist who got rich on the backs of the poor. He’s the guy Obama sneered at: “You didn’t build that business.”

The truth is, he DID build that business, and he cares a hell of a lot more for the poor, and minorities, than Hillary Clinton does, or Barack Obama, or anybody who votes for them and their Democrat friends.

And yes, he said, “I am going to vote for Donald Trump.” He told me he had not voted for years, but this time he has to. “The first thing I heard Trump say was, ‘I am paying for my own campaign, nobody bought me, and I can’t be bribed.’ That was all I needed to hear.” And that certifies his status as one of Hillary’s “Deplorables”.

The sad thing is, the grandmother whose air conditioning repair bill he ‘ate’, and the addicted mother, and most of their friends and relatives, and all of the liberals who pretend to care about them but never do anything about it, are going to vote for Hillary and the Democrats.

The Deplorables out there doing real acts of charity and love every day, and not asking for anything in return – they are the unsung heroes.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

While others long to steal the spotlight
You work your magic quietly
‘Cause your not in it for the glory
The love you give comes naturally

Unsung Heroes – Terri Clark

Here’s one of my favorite country artists, Terri Clark from Medicine Hat, Albera. Give a listen.

To My #NEVERTRUMP Friends: Let’s Roll the Dice!

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 3

Trump I voted for Ted Cruz in the South Carolina primary. Last night, after getting Trump-thumped (again) in Indiana, Cruz pulled out of the presidential race.

Many of my friends and acquaintances who “Rock on the Right Side” are really bummed today. They say they will never vote for Trump. A number of them have disowned the Republican Party or proclaimed it dead. Some express fear that Trump will start a trade war with China and trash our economy (presumably worse than it already is). The angriest among them shout that Trump is a Democrat plant, intent on destroying the nation once and for all.

I remember how bummed I was when Obama was re-elected in 2012. I knew what to expect from his second term, although I admit my surprise that Congress didn’t put up any resistance at all. So I understand your despair on V-D day (Victory for The Donald). If I could, I would buy each of you a beer and we could all cry in them together.

But just one beer.

I agree that Trump, at times, sounds like an idiot, despite his insistence that he “has a good brain” and is “very smart.” I know that he is not all that interested in the Constitution, that he has supported liberals, and that he is on the wrong side of some pretty important values issues. He’s rude. He’s coarse. He’s arrogant. I get it. But I will be voting for him in November anyway. Here’s why.

First of all, it must be repeated that we know for certain how awful life under Hillary will be. If you don’t know that, or are in denial, I can’t help you. Hillary will be Obama on steroids – ten times more aggressive and fearless – and we won’t be able to count on Congress or the Supreme Court to defend us. This alone should be all the motivation you need to take a chance on Trump, or maybe you have children or grandchildren to think about. On the other hand, if you strongly believe our priorities should be making safe zones for college students, building special bathrooms for .06% of the population, shutting down energy production in the USA while China builds a new coal plant every week, and igniting warfare in our country over race, sex and income level, just let Hillary win.

Consider, too, that for the last eight years our nation has been led by politically-correct academic knuckleheads. Is it any wonder our economy has tanked when nobody in the administration knows anything about business, economics, trade, foreign relations, military strategy, or anything else? What if, for a change, we have a president who brings in qualified experts from the real world to replace the self-serving government weenies and delirious socialist academics currently running our federal government?

I can’t guarantee that Donald Trump will do that. He hasn’t shown a whole lot of depth or detail to back up his populist promise that he will “make America great again.” But he might.

He might make the EPA back off and let the USA become the energy powerhouse of the world. He might beef up our military, knock out the terrorists and regain the respect of other nations. He might protect us from the plague of uncontrolled immigration that is destroying Europe. He might clean house on our bloated, inefficient and corrupt federal government and make it work for the people. At least Trump won’t have to pay back crony campaign contributors and lobbyists.

There is the chance that things could be a hell of a lot better than they are now, and fairly soon.

I’m willing to roll the dice.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Say now baby, I’m the rank outsider,
You can be my partner in crime.
Baby! Baby!
You got to roll me and call me the tumblin’ dice!

the Rolling Stones – Tumblin’ Dice

My boys are getting a little bit wrinkled – but they still rock!

Trump’s Promise to Put “America First” – End of the World?

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 1

I watched Clarence Mason’s interview on Lou Dobbs tonight. Mason’s enthusiastic support for preserving our traditional values and way of life was stimulating and inspirational.

Dobbs was reporting on Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech, in which Trump said his priority would be to put “America First” in any foreign policy decisions. Dobbs asked Mason what he thought of Trump’s pro-America stance, and it was like lighting a fuse under a bank of July Fourth fireworks.

“Of course we should put America first!” Mason cheered, explaining that he is tired of everybody blaming America for every problem in the world. He proclaimed his pride in the USA and his desire to rebuild our economy by taking a fresh look at foreign trade, mass immigration, and one-sided military agreements. He clearly reveled in what he sees as Trump’s common-sense mix of protectionism and patriotism.

Trump’s proclamation drew immediate scathing rebuke from all directions. “Trump’s ‘America First’ Has Ugly Echoes From U.S. History”, was the headline slam from CNN. Reuters piled on with “Trump’s ‘America First’ Speech Alarms U.S. Allies”. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of 15 wanna-be presidential candidates who took a butt-whoopin’ by Trump, tweeted “Trump’s speech is pathetic in terms of understanding the role America plays in the world, how to win the War on Terror, and the threats we face.” (Full disclosure: I voted for Cruz over Trump in the South Carolina primary, but an enemy of my senator Graham is absolutely a friend of mine!)

But back to Clarence Mason.

I have been listening to pundits from Glenn Beck to Meghan McCain to Steve Deace wailing that Donald Trump’s popularity and ascent to the top of the presidential ticket is the end of the world as we know it. They insist that Trump will lose to Hillary Clinton because ALL women hate him and ALL Hispanics hate him and ALL blacks hate him.

Here’s a news flash. Clarence Mason – black guy. And there are many, many more like him attending Trump rallies and talking politics after church and on coffee break. Women too. And Hispanics. People of every race, gender, and income bracket. They are tired of the big-promises-no-results Republicans. They have learned the truth about the we’re-from-the-big-government-and-we’re-here-to-help-you Democrats. Just like the angry white males that the media claims are Trump’s only supporters, they are not going to get fooled again.

The pundits and the insiders are apoplectic. They can’t understand how, and they won’t admit, that Donald Trump is very likely to be our next president. But it’s really so simple. After years of being told that we are the scum of the Earth, we Americans – white, black, Hispanic, male and female – want a president who puts America first for a change.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And I feel fine!

It’s The End of the World As We Know It – R.E.M.

GOP Candidates: Here’s Why Trump Is Eating Your Lunch

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

photo from sogoodblog.com Conservative voters (still the majority of American-born citizens) are focused on a single overriding issue in their quest for a 2016 presidential nominee, and this explains Donald Trump’s seemingly invincible lead in the primary race.

Other candidates can’t understand why Trump continues to dominate the campaign. He is not consistently conservative, having supported single-payer health care, tax hikes, and earlier Clinton campaigns. He is not opposed to big government, having admitted that in the past he frequently bought off politicians to get favored government treatment. His people skills are awful. He doesn’t have an cogent economic plan, a realistic foreign policy, or a very deep understanding of . . . well, much of anything.

So what separates Donald Trump from every other wannabe President? One thing only. He understands the dangers we face from rapidly increasing immigration (legal and illegal) and refugee resettlement from third-world countries, and he vows to stop it.

And that is enough to put him at the top of the pack of contenders for the most important leadership post in the world.

Thinking Americans instinctively know that we must seal our borders and ports and stop the tsunami of unskilled, needy foreigners. Most immigrants today don’t intend to learn our language, won’t assimilate to our common culture and values, and will not identify themselves as Americans. And even if some do, now is not the time to dilute the resources and spirit that made our country and economy great. Maybe later, if we can get things back under control! But right now our schools, our employers, our workers, our social services and our frazzled nerves need a break.

Think about any problem facing America right now (and there are plenty.) Unemployment, falling wages, national debt, rising crime rates and overcrowded prisons, rising health care cost and declining availability of services, election fraud, failing schools, abuse of women and children, income inequality, national security and threats of terrorism, deteriorating family values. List them in any order of priority you want. Now look back at each item on the list and ask yourself, “which of these situations would be improved for American-born citizens if the flood of immigrants and refugees stopped today?”

Or let’s take the other approach. Which of these problems for American-born citizens would be solved by having more immigration and refugee resettlement?

We need only look to Europe for a preview. Canada is next. If we have such humanitarian concern for downtrodden foreigners, why aren’t we helping them improve their lives in their own homelands? It would cost so much less than moving them here and caring for them. Instead of taking in millions of strong young men from the Middle East, why isn’t Europe arming them to defeat their oppressors? The politically correct position dangerously defies logic.

Donald Trump may not know what end of a toothpaste tube to open. But his many supporters don’t care. Because he, alone among all of the candidates, can state in plain language and in one sentence a way to improve most of the problems facing our nation. Stop the wholesale import of problems from the third-world.

There are many candidates who have skills and experience that Trump can’t begin to compete with. Most of them talk about building a southern fence. Some of them dance around immigration “reform”. Here’s a message for all of them: you’d better get a clue that Americans want immigration and refugee resettlement stopped immediately if you want to have any chance of beating Donald Trump to the White House.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Just eat it! Eat it!
Don’t you make me repeat it!
Have a banana, have a whole bunch
It doesn’t matter what you had for lunch
Just eat it! Eat it!

Eat It – Weird Al Yankovic

Speaking of eating your lunch, and competition and all, here’s Weird Al vs. Michael Jackson. I would have to say Weird Al eats Michael’s lunch . . .

Prediction: Trump’s Vanity Will Wear Thin

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Tom Balek Standard 2

photo by Gage Skidmore

Trump, Trump, Trump!

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump continues to dominate the news, leaving other candidates scratching their heads and scrambling for scraps of airtime.

Several of the early favorites in the GOP primary race are barely hanging on as their funds dry up, their ratings continue to sink, and the only question reporters ask them is, “How about that Trump?” Many observers thought the flop-haired tycoon would be kicked to the curb when his lack of depth on issues was revealed, but his campaign continues to gather steam.

While pundits no longer deny that his candidacy is for real, they still don’t understand how he has won the hearts of so many voters. Insider elites call Trump’s followers at best “angry”, and at worst “stupid.” They are still waiting for him to self-destruct.

One thing is certain: he is not winning support because of his conservative positions on the issues, which have been anything but consistent. He was for abortion before he was against it. He is against ObamaCare, but for single-payer health care. Trump was for amnesty, then against it, then for it again, kinda. He has been a consistent supporter of Hillary Clinton over the years – unthinkable and indefensible to right-wingers.

Other Republican candidates have held back their frustration with his scattershot positions and also with the apparent lack of discernment on the part of the voters. Their patience is wearing thin. Moderate-leaning Jeb Bush, who wanted to run a “happy” campaign, has begun to take retaliatory shots at ‘the Donald’. Solid conservative Carly Fiorina is the latest to take on Trump, saying, “I think it’s very difficult to lead if you don’t have the requisite knowledge.”

Some speculated that Trump won early support because he was the most “masculine” of the candidates, causing opponents Cruz and Walker to visibly “cowboy up” their presentation styles. Trump’s aggressive style is masculine, for sure, but also gratingly self-aggrandizing.

Trump certainly gets approval from disaffected conservative voters who have had a gut full of politicians whose actions don’t resemble their campaign promises – with Speaker John Boehner and Leader Mitch McConnell at the top of the list. But Trump is joined in the race by fellow “outsiders” Carly Fiorina and Dr. Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz has shown a willingness to stand up to the DC insiders as well.

It’s early, but not too early for my prediction: primary voters will tire of Trump’s vain rhetoric and failure to do his homework on the issues. But one of the other outsiders will triumph, and the Republican nominee will have Boehner and McConnell to thank for her success.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

You’re so vain,
You probably think this song is about you.
You’re so vain!
I’ll bet you think this song is about you!
Don’t you? Don’t you?

You’re So Vain – Carly Simon

Here’s another of my favorite Carly’s!