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.

Here Come Da Judge(s)

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

here-come-da-judge One more month until Decision Day, and as of this writing the 2016 presidential election is still a toss-up.

Speaking of tossing-up, I once heard a perfect description of a hard choice: It’s being up to your neck in crap and having a bucket of puke thrown at your face. (sorry)

There’s Hillary, the queen of arrogance, who lies in the face of a dead soldier’s mother without blinking, trades back-door deals with dictators and bankers for mountains of cash, and shamelessly turns everything she touches into molten corruption.

And there’s Donald, the narcissistic and boorish bull-in-the-china-shop who not only speaks with the vocabulary of a junior high kid, he acts like one whenever somebody pushes his buttons.

At an informal town hall meeting this week, Congressman Mick Mulvaney made a surprising prediction.

“Trump will win,” Mulvaney pronounced. “And he will struggle for six months, unable to put any of his policies in place, mostly because of the 60-vote rule in the Senate.” Then, according to Mulvaney, Trump will try the Obama “pen and phone” approach, taking matters into his own hands. “And we [Mulvaney and other conservative legislators] will be on the House floor stopping him. I’ll tell him, ‘I like what you are trying to do, but you can’t do it on your own’.”

Mulvaney says their principled stand will teach Trump to work with Congress, heal the Republican party, and restore the voters’ respect for government.

If the decision hinges on which candidate is less distasteful, it’s going to be a tough choice. But there is a much more compelling factor in this election that can’t be dismissed. Our next president will establish the makeup and tenor of the supreme court and lower courts for decades to come.

If judges and justices were all honorable and operated within the constraints of the Constitution, this would not matter. They aren’t, so it does.

The separation of powers built into our Constitution should prevent one branch from dominating the others, but despite a Republican majority in both houses our legislative branch has become impotent. President Obama’s administrative branch has steam-rolled Congress, as executive orders go unchecked, and agencies execute the President’s playbook with support from activist Democrat circuit and appellate judges. 70% of the appellate courts are now home to Democrat appointees, thanks to what Ken Cuccinelli, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund calls a “knee-jerk surrender” on nominees by Senate leader Mitch McConnell.

The next president will nominate several Supreme Court justices and countless other circuit and appellate judges. Donald Trump promises to select constitutionalists for judicial openings, and already has a list of prospects for the Supreme Court. Hillary Clinton will install radical liberals if she is elected, which, combined with the fecklessness of Congress, will alter the balance of power, perhaps permanently.

When a liberal administration and courts have unfettered rule over the nation, our basic freedoms are at risk. Religious freedom, property rights, protections from overreaching regulation, and free speech are under assault even now.

If you vote for Hillary, stand back. Cause here come da judge(s).

Tom Balek, Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’d rather be lost
In the jungle of Brazil
Than to face the judge this morning
The way he feels
Here come da judge!

Here Come Da Judge – Shorty Long

There were a bunch of “Here Comes the Judge” songs. Here’s my favorite, from 1968.

Hillary and the Liberal “Basket Wars”

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 1

photo by Chris Ayers

For the past several weeks, every time I drive down Tyvola Road in Charlotte I suffer a temporary case of road rage. I’m not angry at other drivers. What makes me flipping furious is the big church reader board sign that says, “STOP KILLING, DISRESPECTING BLACK PEOPLE”.

My visceral reaction is always the same: “Are you talking to ME?”

I assure you, I have never killed black people. And I have never disrespected black people. At least not any more than I have disrespected white people or yellow people or red people who don’t deserve my respect.

So why do I have a sign in my face, demanding that I stop killing black people? How does anybody who doesn’t know me assume I am a racist? Or a murderer? Or both? And what about the other tens of thousands of people who see that sign every day? How many of them kill black people?

I am so sick of being called a racist that sometimes I think I should become one just so I wouldn’t be so damn mad about being falsely accused of it all the time. That sign doesn’t apply to the 99.9999% of the people driving by who don’t kill black people. So what’s the point of sticking it our faces? You don’t say, “Thank you for not killing black people.” You just accuse us all of doing it.

And now, just to top it off, the Democrat candidate for president of my country calls me a “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic DEPLORABLE.”

Well here’s the thing. I know a lot more about you, Hillary, than you know about me. You must feel threatened, because every time a liberal feels threatened he or she falls back on false accusations, name-calling and race-baiting. Your Chicken Little “everybody is racist” game has Martin Luther King turning over in his grave. Thank God the American people, and especially our African-American brothers and sisters, are finally catching on to your evil, self-serving, manipulative treachery.

And let’s be clear. This is not a black-on-white attack. My black friends accept me as an American brother just as I do them. In fact, almost every black guy I meet is as politically conservative as I am. No, this is the work of political hack liberals, like Dr. Chris Ayers, pastor of Wedgewood Church, who only see people in categories – white, black, gay, straight, rich, poor, and then pits them against each other. Hillary calls these categories “baskets”. And she lumps everyone who doesn’t vote for her into a big basket called “Deplorables” and labels us with every vile characterization she can think of.

Despite the accusations, all of us who drive on Tyvola Road, and all of us who won’t vote for Hillary, are saddened by any untimely deaths of black people. And white people. And gay people and innocent Muslim people, and soldier people and truck driving people and Russian people and all people. We are normal, compassionate human beings. When are the liberals going to knock off the “basket wars” and let us be a big, happy basket of Americans?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

She’ll hang the baskets on the walls
Don’t you know I’ve seen it all before
She’ll hang the baskets on the walls
But I’ve seen it all before, heard the slamming of the door
Come summer, come fall
Come winter, there’ll be baskets on the floor

She’ll Hang the Baskets – Cake

This tune is a little bit obscure, but a cool song by one of my favorite newer bands. Sorry, no live recording.

My Economic Plan is Even Better Than Hillary’s!

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 2

Hillary-Money

I studied and taught economics but I still could never quite figure out the Democrat’s plan to improve our economy. But now I think I finally get it. I listened to Bernie and Hillary at the DNC convention, and it has all become clear to me. In fact, thanks to Hillary’s lesson in Democrat economics, I think I can now even beat the Democrats’ plan for creating jobs and improving the economy.

Hillary wants to at least double the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, right? She says $20 per hour would be even better. Well, I say if $15 is good, and $20 is better, why not $50? Heck, why not $100 an hour? Just think, if all the burger-flippers and lawn mowers and hotel maids made $100 an hour ($208k per year) they could buy so much stuff that there would be millions of new manufacturing jobs to make all the things they want to buy.

Plus everybody could eat their meals at fancy, expensive restaurants. So those restaurants would have to hire more waiters, and dishwashers and janitors. They would all make at least $208,000 a year, so they could buy more stuff too! You see how dollars circulate when a Democrat runs the economy? Everybody wins!

Wait, if everybody eats at fancy restaurants, the burger-flippers wouldn’t have anything to do. Oh well, they could play Pokémon Go when business is slow. Or they could stay home and do tele-work like our federal government employees do when it gets hot outside. Problem solved. Maybe the federal workers are playing Pokémon Go, too.

Hillary also wants to open our borders and ports so there will be many more immigrants coming to our country. She says we need more immigrants to do the low-paid jobs that Americans don’t want to do. She says immigrants are better at starting businesses than Americans are. She says immigrants add a lot more to the economy than they take from it. Well, then! If immigrants are so great for our economy, let’s invite all of the people in Africa to move in with us! And Mexico, and Myanmar . . . there are a lot of potential immigrants all over the world. Just think how great our economy will be when they all live here!

Oh wait, if minimum wage is $100 an hour, there won’t be any low-paid jobs for them to take. Hmm. But hey, there will be so many new jobs from everybody else buying stuff with their new higher wages, the immigrants can take those jobs. Hmm. But then where would the Americans work?

Shoot, this is getting kind of hard.

Well, Hillary says college education should be free for everybody, and student loans should just be written off. Probably a lot of Americans won’t have to work, then, because they will be going to college full time with free room and board. So there will be jobs for the immigrants. That’s how Greece does it. Oops, that didn’t work out very well for Greece, did it? And I guess maybe the immigrants will all be in free college too . . .

Dang it, it seemed to make sense when Hillary explained it. So how are we going to create jobs and grow the economy?

Oh, I know. Let’s just raise taxes on the rich!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Said when this is all over
You’ll be in clover
We’ll go out and spend
All of your Blue Money!

Blue Money – Van Morrison

Can’t Decide? Third Party? Not Voting? Make A List!

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 2

Donald-Trump-and-Hillary-Clinton The Sunday news show pundits all shook their heads about the difficult choice voters face in the upcoming election. They said most voters don’t really like either of the two presidential nominees. How on earth will voters decide?

If you, or your friend or relative, are unsure how to vote, there is a pretty simple solution. My wise wife, the primary decision-maker in our family, says, “Make a list!”

What do you really want? What is most important to you? When you have to make a choice, just list your priorities in order and it will point you to the right decision. Hillary, or Donald? (There is no other choice – one of them will win, so failure to vote for one is a vote for the other).

If your top priority is your job, income, and financial security, which candidate would be better for your pocketbook? Who would increase or decrease government spending, and your tax bill? Who is more likely to protect your job from being taken by a legal or illegal immigrant? Whose economic policies – government and court interference in business, fair trade practices with other nations, support for manufacturing and energy industries, etc. – would cause our economy (and your finances) to improve or decline? If you rely on government handouts for your income, you might prefer the candidate who would give you more money and free stuff. Keep in mind, though, your children, relatives and friends are paying your tab.

You might be more worried about the health and security of your family. Which candidate supports law and order and police departments? Who believes our national defense requires a strong and well-organized military and secure borders? Who would defend your right to own a gun for your own protection? Who has a better long-term solution for improving the quality and reducing the cost of health care?

Some voters’ top priority is one or more social issues. You might be upset by racial division, gender discrimination, global warming, abortion, freedom of or from religion, or the academic drift away from functional knowledge and toward “social enlightenment.” Which candidate is more likely to pit groups of Americans against each other, causing more friction, anger, and crime? Who has the right take on education? Who is more likely to “live and let live”, and not try to control our personal behavior?

A common complaint about both candidates is their apparent lack of “likeability”. If you think “niceness” is the most important job requirement for a president, put that at the top of your list. The same applies for trustworthiness. Both are pretty hard to quantify, but each candidate has a history that can be judged.

If you are already settled on the Hillary vs. Donald question, please pass this advice on to anyone in your circle of influence who is struggling with the decision, perhaps even to the extent that he or she is frozen and refuses to choose. Tell him or her: Make a list! Prioritize what you want from your president. Then decide, issue by issue, who is on your side. You might prefer either candidate on a given issue. That’s okay. Apply weight to the top part of your list, and ignore the bottom.

See? Decision-making is not so tough.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Make a wish baby, and I will make it come true
Make a list baby, of the things I’ll do for you
Ain’t no risk now, let my love rain down on you
We could wash away the past, so that we may start anew

Ambrosia – Biggest Part of Me

God, I love live music! Please check out this fantastic amateur video of David Pack (Ambrosia) and smooth-jazz saxophone goddess Mindi Abair at a little winery, singing and playing their butts off for a small but appreciative audience. This is how it’s done!

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.

The Insider GOP CrapBurgers Have Finally Hit the Fan

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard 3

How long have we been trying to wake up the Republican party? Even before emergence of the Tea Party, the mainstream “real” Americans who go to work, pay their taxes, mow their own lawns and worry about their kids’ futures were trying to express that we are fed up with the political correctness, the deceit, the secularization, the corruption, and the failed domestic and foreign policies of our government officials. We’re sick of not being heard. We’re tired of being lied to. We’re sick and tired of the condescension.

Year after year we worked for candidates, contributed to campaigns and causes, studied and wrote and taught conservative principles. It only got worse. “They just don’t get it,” we complained to each other. We sent officials to Washington who we thought were conservatives, only to see them melt into the cushy lap of the DC Cartel, rendered incapable of standing up to the leftist leadership, who ran roughshod over our values and our wallets.

They offered us loser McCain. They put up loser Romney. They gave us Speaker Boehner, and Justice Roberts and Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan. They refused to stop funding for Planned Parenthood and to keep nukes away from Iran. They funded opposition to conservative candidates. They stood by and silently watched the president abandon our allies, and condoned his military “shrinkage”. They would not defend our constitution or our borders. They signed off on one porky CrapBurger budget after another, ballooning our debt.

Now, finally, the CrapBurgers have hit the fan. We actually have two presidential candidates, Cruz and Trump, who are not in the pockets of the Cartel. And the Insider Republicans are FREAKING OUT.

It’s a pathetic sight. Today the Insider Republicans trotted out Romney, the guy who couldn’t even match up against the worst president in our nation’s history, to try to bully the outsider candidates who now threaten their DC cocktail party invitations.

Listen to Romney and the Insider Republicans bashing the challengers: “You’re a RAAAACIST! You’re a nasty rich guy taking advantage of little old ladies! You hate women and the handicapped! You are an intolerant Christian! You hate the poor and the immigrants! You hate gay people! Racist! Racist! Racist!”

Sound familiar?

When Hillary Clinton was asked, “What is the difference between a socialist and a Democrat?” she had no answer. I’d like to ask the Insider Republicans, “What is the difference between you and the Democrats?.” wimpy.-King-Features1

They still don’t get it. They know their very existence is threatened, but they don’t know why, and it looks like they are incapable of understanding or change.

It’s time to start over. And it’s way past time for the Insider Republicans to stop asking me for money every five minutes. I will NOT pay you Tuesday for another CrapBurger today!

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

CrapBurgers and Sleazy Lies
You fooled us once and you fooled us twice
The Inside Republicans have met their demise
No more CrapBurgers and Sleazy Lies!

to the tune of CheeseBurger in Paradise
(apologies to Jimmy Buffet)

Just Sayin’ . . .

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Hillary Clinton, after winning the SC Democrat primary proclaimed: “Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers.”

If Hillary thinks we need to make America whole again, why does she continue to divide Americans into “victim groups” by skin color, by achievement and income level, by religion, and by sex or sexual orientation and pitting us against each other? Hillary promises to continue Obama’s direction when she is president. Are people going to grow more divided and suspicious of each other every year during her presidency, too? Just sayin’ . . .

The Reverend Al Sharpton (along with Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell) has announced that if Donald Trump is elected president, he will leave the country.

Um, can we make sure the good Reverend has paid his $4.5 million in back taxes before we let him out? And by the way, would somebody please find out what church the Rev is preaching at every Sunday? Just sayin’ . . .

Washington insider and GOP consultant Juleanna Glover said, “If Cruz doesn’t beat Trump in Texas, there’s going to be full-scale panic.”

Seems to me if the Washington insiders are scared to death of Trump moving into their neighborhood, that might be exactly why people are voting for him. Just sayin’ . . .

Environmental activist / actor Leonardo DiCaprio told Vanity Fair he was terrified when global warming caused the weather in Calgary to rapidly change on his recent visit. “There would be eight feet of snow and then all of a sudden a warm gust of wind would come,” DeCaprio cried.

Anybody who has spent a winter on the east slopes of the Rockies will tell you it happens all the time, Leo. It’s called Chinook winds, and it’s been going on since long before those evil white men first set foot in Montana or Alberta. Just sayin’ . . .

On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace badgered Ted Cruz, repeating the juvenile and baseless insults thrown at him by his opponents in the recent presidential debate. When an exasperated Cruz charged that Wallace was using Trump’s opposition bullet points, Wallace flew into a rage. Wallace did not ask Cruz a single policy-related question during the interview.

Isn’t this the same Chris Wallace whose eyes well with tears each week as he lists the political figures who won’t answer his requests for an interview? Just sayin’ . . .

Bernie Sanders says a college education should be provided to all students free of charge.

You get what you pay for, Bernie. You get what you pay for. Just sayin’ . . .

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Tell me what I say,
Tell me what I say right now
Tell me what I say
Tell me what I say!

What I Say – Ray Charles

Hurry! Free Lunch! Right Over Here! It’s Free!

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Tom Balek Standard 2

free lunch Free! It’s all free! Vote for me, and I’ll give you a free college education, free health care, open borders with free everything for every poor person who walks in! Step right up, it’s free, free, free!

Last night’s Democrat presidential primary was my first good look at the Bernie Sanders Show, and it did not disappoint. I knew that Sanders is a socialist – a magna cum laude graduate of Robin Hood University. Still, I just couldn’t picture in my mind a grown man trying to convince people that there IS such a thing as a free lunch. With a straight face.

The throng of helpless college girls (plus Debbie Wasserman Schultz) screaming lustily for this tired old draft-dodger was bizarrely reminiscent of a Beatles gig at Shea Stadium. These poor kids apparently had no parents, or at least no adults, to guide them through adolescence.

When I was their age, my hard-working, truck-driving dad drilled his one-line lessons into me enough times that they stuck. “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” he would say. “If it looks too good to be true, it’s not true.” “Nothing that’s free is worth having.” “If somebody gives you something for free, they want something from you.”

And my everyday experiences have repeatedly proved him right. My dad made me work all summer to pay for the motorbike I wanted. I treasured that little Honda and never allowed so much as a speck of dust to tarnish a chrome spoke. When I outgrew the bike, my Dad bought it from me and gave it to my little brother, who destroyed it within a few weeks. It was free, so it just didn’t have much value to him.

Have you ever accepted a free weekend at a time-share? Or a free dinner from a financial planner? Or a free campaign contribution from General Electric? All come with “strings attached”.

For decades our public schools and liberal universities have taught us to never question an academic authority. Or a Democrat. Free stuff? Why not, you deserve it. If you are poor, you are a hero, and even more deserving! Don’t ask where all the free stuff will come from! Don’t look behind the curtain at the wizard making all the promises, or question his motives!

I expected it, but the Sanders Show still saddened me deeply. The $20 trillion national debt (over $100 trillion of unfunded liabilities) was never mentioned. Nobody wondered whether the rich would remain in the USA when faced with having their wealth stolen. Sanders didn’t even flinch when Hillary pointed out that producing goods and services actually does matter. Sanders apparently really believes that government handouts grow on trees, and the Freebie Forest will never run out of fruit.

That any adult American can swallow Sanders’ unfiltered Jonestown KoolAid is a terrifying indictment of our failure as parents, educators, and elected officials.

Please grab your kid. And his teacher. And make them repeat after you, “There is no such thing as a free lunch . . . There is no such thing as a free lunch . . . There is no such thing as a free lunch . . .”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Yeah there was ham and there was turkey,
There was caviar
And long tall glasses, with wine up to “hyar”!
Then somebody grabbed me, threw me outta my chair
Said before you can eat,
You gotta dance like Fred Astaire!

Long Tall Glasses – Leo Sayer

Leo Sayer is still having fun after all these years. And he says there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Hillary Stills Wants “The Village” To Raise Our Kids

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Tom Balek Standard 1

it_takes_a_village 20 years ago, First Lady Hillary Clinton uttered perhaps her most memorable and politically-revealing declaration, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Borrowed from an ancient African proverb, “It Takes A Village” quickly became her mantra, frequently repeated on talk shows and speeches throughout her husband’s presidential campaign. A book by that title was published in 1996, and while Mrs. Clinton claimed to have written it by herself “in longhand,” it was ghost-written by Barbara Feinman, who was none too pleased that she received practically no acknowledgment for having done all of the heavy lifting.

Clinton’s assertion that “it takes a village” has been the subject of conservative derision and outrage pretty much ever since. Bob Dole summed up the reaction of conservatives when he addressed the 1996 Republican Convention: “… with all due respect, I am here to tell you, it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family to raise a child.”

Clinton doubled down on her contention when she unsuccessfully ran for president in 2007 and tripled down this year in her presidential campaign launch speech, saying, “It takes an inclusive society. What I once called “a village” that has a place for everyone.”

My local newspaper today includes an article about “Operation Backpack.” Now in its third year, the York County Sheriff’s Foundation program provides backpacks and school supplies to county schools who pass them on to families “in need.” It is one of literally dozens of similar programs in the area.

School supplies and backpacks are now one more thing that parents are no longer expected to provide for their children.

I am more baffled every day by the change in our culture. There was a time, not long ago, when we expected parents to take care of their children and be responsible for meeting their needs. Today, it apparently does take “A Village” to care for many of our children. Parents (single mothers) are no longer asked to feed their children, with SNAP, WIC, free school breakfasts and lunches provided by the leaders of The Village, year-around. They don’t have to buy Christmas presents thanks to the many generous gift programs. There are clothing drives and free entertainment and camps and cultural opportunities. Housing is free under Section 8. Minority children are usually offered free college educations, regardless of merit, and enjoy hiring preferences. Ours has become a culture of entitlement for anyone who is deemed “needy” by the leaders of The Village, and those who acquire the title are considered courageous and honorable – held in high esteem by the liberal media and the undiscerning.

A single mother who is hooked into today’s benefit programs has practically no responsibility for raising her children. She can spend the family’s cash benefits entirely on her own entertainment, since everything her children could possibly need or want is provided by The Village.

In Hillary Clinton’s world-view, this arrangement works perfectly. Parents can’t be trusted, so The Village must raise the child according to the directions of its leaders. The child learns to depend on The Village and the system is perpetuated, generation after generation. The leaders of The Village are permanently empowered.

I have a soft spot for disadvantaged kids, and I know that many of them aren’t blessed with parents who are able to give them what they need. Been there. The Village can be a life saver. Unfortunately, it’s the leaders of The Village and their self-centered ambitions that worry me. Forgive me if my family chooses to take full responsibility for raising our children, providing for them on our own, and teaching them to be independently responsible for the welfare of our future generations.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

(instrumental)

Quiet Village – Martin Denny

Those of you who follow my blog regularly know that I always associate a song performance with the topic of my rant. This is, to date, the weirdest one ever. Thinking of “the Village”, I couldn’t escape a childhood memory. My single-mom family didn’t have a television, and I spent many hours listening to my mother’s eclectic (to say the least!) record collection. Prominently included was an album by Martin Denny featuring “Quiet Village” – a set of gentle, somewhat Latin but ambiguously Polynesian compositions, featuring guys doing bird whistles and monkey howls. It was corny but mysteriously cool. Check it out!