We are missing the Big Picture!

So the federal government has gotten back in business of defining whose rights take precedent over others. So be it, I am just God fearing man speaking what I consider common sense. I don't really care one way or the other about gay folks or whether they marry but think about this. How long before Churches are forced to perform gay marriages even though that very concept may go against their religious beliefs? How does the esteemed Supreme Court rule then? Is a gay couple’s right to marry under the 14th Amendment greater than the church's member’s rights under the 1st Amendment? At what point is the line drawn? Whose rights are greater than another’s? This is question to consider.

As far as the government picking a winner in that battle, the last time they did we ended up with a civil war and hundreds of thousands dead. And before you say that was over slavery, you better read some history. The civil war was over state's rights, i.e. the right of a state to make its own laws and not have an overreaching federal government strike them down. Slavery was a horrible symptom of states exercising their rights under the Constitution. Now the federal government, Supreme Court in this case, has done the same thing with this ruling on gay marriage. Many states had passed laws voted on by their citizens that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Now the federal government has by this decision disenfranchised all of those voters in those states and basically said that their collective will to govern their state is not valid. Look, we could debate the merits of same sex marriage for the next 100 years, that is not the important point of this latest government subversion of States rights. The important point that we all need to consider is are we willing to continue to allow this federal government to overstep its authority and reach down into our states, cities, even homes and dictate to us our behavior and in some cases even how we think.

I am not saying that this issue of gay marriage is the one that breaks the camels back but when is enough going to be enough?  These folks in the government who have proven time and time again that they don’t care about the citizens they claim to represent and will do whatever they want to advance their own agenda? Both sides of the aisle are guilty, perhaps the Republicans more because they will outright lie to our faces to get elected. At least the Democrats will be honest about their treachery and not hide it. They openly court of the destruction of our most venerated institutions and beliefs while the current crop of Republicans works in the shadows and make back room deals then smile for the cameras and pretend there was nothing they could have done to change the outcome.

Someone recently said to me that the government is just trying to “make everyone happy”.  Hmmm, I must have missed that in the Bill of Rights and Constitution.  I am not aware of any clause in either of the founding documents that outlines the government’s responsibility to make everyone happy.  In my humble opinion that is a symptom of the root cause.  The purpose of the government as outlined by our Founding Fathers was outlined in the very first sentence of the Constitution, “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”.  Think on those words for a moment.  I am certainly not a Constitutional lawyer like our current President claims to be but that sentence strikes me as laying the foundation for a pretty limited form of governance over the states by a Federal authority.  If we are to remain true to the ideals that our country was born from then we must shed ourselves of the premise that government is the tit that we must all suckle from.

This country used to reward and praise hard work and success, welfare was only for those that actually needed it and now it has become a way of life for an ever-growing segment of our population.  We used to strive to emulate those captains of industry that drove the America engine forward with their innovation, not castigate them and actively work to place barriers in their way.  We need to recognize that only we will celebrate the best of us and hold them as examples to strive towards will we are achieve greater success and wealth.  Our ridicule and scorn should be saved for those members of society that do not aim to contribute but rather live off the hard work of the many.  Success must be celebrated when and wherever found, from the single Mom putting two kids through college, the small business owner who creates jobs and provides for his employees as he would his own family, the large corporation that continues to innovate and drive America to the forefront in yet another field of industry.

I recently saw a clip of a speech that Bono gave at Georgetown University almost three years ago.  You can view it here.  In it, he summarizes perfectly what America is and what it means to the rest of the world.  This is how far we have fallen from the path that we started out on back in 1776.  The rest of the world holds our ideals in higher regard than most of our citizens and sadly even our current President.  Let government provide the basics, security and stability, and we will do the rest.  This very attitude is what America is such a great country and why we have generally succeeded for the past 238 years.  Sure we have had stumbles and challenges but we have always risen to them.  Today however I fear that we are close to a tipping point where the majority of America’s citizens have forgotten what made it so great and the envy of the world.  Immigrates who come to this country know this in their very bones as we once did.  They come for the promise of the shining city on the hill with little or nothing and they succeed in building a life.  That optimism that they have is sorely lacking from many of our natural born citizens.

This post started as a rant against the overreaching of federal government but I chose to end it with the optimism that is the American dream.  We are a great people, living in a great country and we must wake up and remember that if we wish to return to it.  If we don’t then I weep for the future of my children and all the children in this country.  If we fail to act and rein in this out of control federal government, all branches, then we will be the ones who sacrificed their freedoms because we could not find the strength to act. 

We need to recognize that those who would tear down our great country do not always live in caves in some foreign land but right here, sometimes right next door.  They range from those who live off the charity of our taxes yet complain they are downtrodden in this land of opportunity, those who claim to work for us in the schools and all levels of government yet only advance their agenda of destroying American ideals, even to the White House where our President can’t willingly acknowledge the existence of American exceptionalism.

You might ask, what are we to do?  We must keep the faith with the ideals put forth by our Founders.  We celebrate the uniqueness of America and her place in the world.  We vote with every dollar we spend, spend your hard earned money with those who share your view of what America is.  Vote for those who still believe in America and will work to bring balance to the role of government.  Speak out when you see others tearing down what this country stands from.  It is a long road ahead of us but if we keep the faith then we will be rewarded with the America that we deserve not one perverted by those who don’t believe any longer in the greatness of this country.  God Bless American and all of her citizens.

FU Iran and FU Barry......

I was up way too early this morning and flipping around the cable news channels as I did some work before heading off to visit my client today.  Now sure what it was that set me off but maybe I have just reached a tipping point like I hope the rest of this country will soon if they have not already.  The following rant started out as a tweet but quickly spiraled out of control as my anger/disappointment/outrage/disgust with this Administration and our government as a whole at this point.  Enjoy, comment, tell me I am crazy but leave some feedback.

Here's a novel thought, F*CK IRAN!!!  They have been smuggling weapons into Iraq and Afghanistan and contributing to the deaths of our servicemen and women protecting this country for years.  The sad part is the fact that this weak-kneed Obama Administration will not respond at all.  Clearly we should have let the Israelis bomb the f*ck out of Iran back in 2007-2008 when they asked President Bush for "permission".  Sorry, but Bush should have given them the green light.  Now with Obama screwing around in Libya and weakening our position in the Persian Gulf, we might not have the capacity to even react to this plot by the Iranian government much less protect the troops we do still have in Iraq and Afghanistan   What a colossal f*cking mistake this country made with Obama.

Thanks again for making the economy worse and our country less safe Mr. POS Obama.  Oh by the way, my kids would like to thank you for endangering their future by the massive expenditures of your administration and I am so glad you also decided to save money by cutting benefits to our veterns after they have served this country faithfully.  I am sure my brother who has served us all over the world in the Army for the last 20 years while missing his children growing up really is looking forward to retirement benefits next year that will be less then what was promised when he joined.  Not to mention the fact that his sacrifice for our country has not only meant missed birthdays, anniversaries, soccer games and school plays and getting shot at in Kosovo, and Iraq twice but it also cost him his marriage.  So f*ck you Mr. Obama if you don't do anything to respond to this threat from Iran.  You dishonor the memory of every American that has died in the service of this country on your watch.

Al Ramirez Considering Running for CA. 36th District

Al Ramirez, who we last saw running in the primary against Cary Fiorina to unseat Barbara Boxer is considering a run for California's 36th District. Many times in the last election I heard Fiorina was the best candidate possible as she had the most appeal to independents and could self fund, which turned out to be poppycock. Fiorina was beaten soundly by Boxer and in fact, statewide elections walloped the GOP here in California.

Why? Several reasons. California has a large Hispanic population, and frankly the GOP cannot win without their support. Al Ramirez brings the support of the Hispanic community. The GOP, as has been pointed out ad nauseum, must also appeal to voters under 50. Al Ramirez is under 50 and will appeal to the demographic. Even though he is under 50 Al Ramirez is just the kind of American Success story the California Republican Party (CRP) should be backing in this race. But more about Al Ramirez and his success story later. The final thing the GOP need to do well here in California is to win in Los Angeles County.

That's a hard thing to do, for several reasons. The county is largely Hispanic for one thing, and Hispanics tend, for some reason, to vote democrat when the vote is for a person and conservative when the vote is for an issue. Witness the last election. Even though democrats stormed Sacramento handily, the propositions on the ballot went heavily in favor of the conservative wishes. The Hispanic vote had a lot to do with that, just like it had a lot to do with Prop. 8 a couple of years back.

As I said earlier, Al Ramirez is the American Success Story. Frank DeMartini over at RedState has worked with Mr. Ramirez and has a great article on this as well here and you can read more about the accomplishments of Al Ramirez here.

Al Ramirez brings is the right person at the right time in the right place. I for one would like to see the CRP throw their weight behind him so we can take back the 36th District and turn this state around.

Follow Al Ramirez on twitter and facebook.

Common Sense

Limited Government = Lower Taxes = Capitalism = Freedom

Larger Government = Socialism = Obama = Economic Slavery

Choose carefully how you vote in November America!!!

Consider how much of your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren future you are willing to let Washington piss away in their scheme to spend our way of debt....

Oral Surgey - It's Not For Everyone

The above picture pretty much sums up my mood after having all four of my wisdom teeth removed early this morning. Kudos to my surgeon and his staff for making the experience as "enjoyable" as possible. Plus, you have to respect a surgeon that does his own IV's. Thank God for sedation.

2996 Project: My Tribute to James M. Gartenberg

James M. Gartenberg was one of many who worked in the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 and was murdered. But rather then focus on the act, I want to focus on the man and the life that he lived.

Jim Gartenberg was a husband to Jill, a father to Nicole, a resident of Manhattan, an alumnus of the University of Michigan who loved to travel to the Big House in Ann Arbor to cheer on his beloved Wolverines.

Gartenberg was a commercial real estate broker with Julien J. Studley Inc. He worked on the 86th floor of the north tower.

A Manhattan native, Gartenberg graduated from Michigan in 1987 with a degree in economics. For 12 years, he served as chapter president of a local alumni club. Jim’s two passions were the University of Michigan and his daughter of 2, Nicole. He had taught Nicole to yell “Go Blue” whenever the Wolverines were on television.

Jim spent his last moments calmly describing the scene to ABC-TV from the 86^th floor. Jim leaves behind his wife Jill, his daughter Nicole and another child who was born after his death. I can not summarize the man and his life any better then his friends and family. I have included some of their words below.

“Some of my most vivid and wonderful memories of my childhood include time spent with Jimmy, whether at each other's houses, in the neighborhood or at school ... Rest in peace, Jimmy. Thank you for bringing so much happiness to my life. “ Allison Horn, childhood friend

"When I first met him, he was running the University of Michigan Alumni Club meeting. He was president of the New York City chapter. I was impressed with his leadership skills, how well he was organized, his intelligence, his presence, his ability to negotiate in difficult situations when there was conflict. I said to myself, 'I want to marry him.' " Jill Gartenberg

The University of Michigan has established the James M. Gartenberg Memorial Scholarship Fund in Jim’s name and has a golf outing each year to raise money for the scholarship fund. The website is http://www.jamesgartenberg.com/.

9/11: My Remberance by Todd D. Miller

The day we know as 9/11 started as just another pleasant fall day in Chicago where I was living at the time. My wife and I had been blessed by the arrival of our son in February and life was generally very good. I was working for a small software integrator and since I had a 10am installation meeting in nearby Skokie I had chosen to go directly from our house on the north side near Wrigley Field rather then fight rush-hour traffic from Hillside.

At about 8:00 CST my service tech called me to let me know that he might be late for our meeting at 10am. I told him that traffic could not possibly be that bad this morning and I was sure he would make the meeting on time. He said to me, “You’re kidding right? Have you seen the news?” I quickly replied that I had not since he had woken me from a dead sleep. He told me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers and the building was on fire. I turned on the television and flipped to CNN just in time to witness the second plane hit the south tower live. I told him I would call him back but we should plan to keep the meeting unless the client canceled or the office called with different instructions.

I hung up my cell phone and dropped to my knees as I watched flame and smoke pour from the towers as if someone had opened the gates of Hell. I sat on the floor in front of the television for about ten minutes struggling to comprehend what I had just witnessed. In retrospect, I can only imagine that my initial reaction was similar to that of the civilian populace that witnessed the attacks on Pearl Harbor at the onset of World War II. I went to awake my wife and she stared at me dumbfounded as I told her that two planes had hit the WTC Towers and that the news was already reporting it as an act of terrorism. She turned on the television in the bedroom and we silently sat and watched for a few minutes. I remember thinking that this must be a dream, we were Americans damn it and this does not happen on our soil. My feelings flowed from anger to disbelief to betrayal back to anger.

My cell phone rang again and it was my supervisor calling. She had been told that the company was going to try to operate as normally as possible but that the client had canceled my meeting at 10am so I should just come into the office to “do whatever” as she bluntly put it. I got dressed quickly and told my wife that once things settled down that it might not be a bad idea to head to her Mom’s house in the west suburbs. She disagreed but agreed to keep me up to date since I did not have a television or radio at my desk, the internet was going to have to be my only information source once I got to the office.

As I drove to the office, I scanned the news talk stations for more information. The first building collapsed as I pulled into the parking lot of our building and I just felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. The original estimates called for almost 10,000 dead and it was clear that morning that no one had a handle on what kind of damage had been inflicted. The President had closed American airspace and the sky became eerily empty of contrails from the many planes coming and going from Chicago. That action was even more apparent for us in the office as we were only a few miles from O’Hare airport and sat directly beneath one of the landing patterns. We sat there in our cubes just numb from the early morning’s events as we desperately tried to get the latest information off various internet news sites.

The news of a plane striking the Pentagon came as a swift kick to the gut. Again, I could not help but wonder how this could be happening to our country. At the time, I was only involved in politics and world events on the same scale as most of America. I paid attention to state and local news and only paid attention to politics when it was time to choose a president. You could say that I was blissfully ignorant of the threats that had been gathering against the United States. As I traded phone calls with my wife and exchanged information, there was a radio or television report that another plane was missing and possibly headed for Chicago. An immediate chill ran down my spine as I was flooded by a feeling of helplessness. I told my wife that she should at least go downstairs to her Grandmother’s apartment if she would not drive to her Mother’s house.

As the day progressed, the rumors gave way to truth and a small sense of security returned to those of us in the Chicago area even as rescue and recovery efforts began in earnest on the east coast. The entire day was surreal as we tried to busy ourselves with work that no longer seemed important or necessary. That evening I spent every moment I could glued to the television for the latest news. In the short span of hours everything we had known changed and I for one was left wondering what was next.

Over the next few days as we learned more about the attacks and why they happen, I kept coming back to a feeling of overwhelming sadness. Not sadness because we were attacked nor sadness at the fact that it appeared our government could not protect us. My sadness was for the innocent civilians that had been murdered, the heroic police and firefighters that had unselfishly charged to the rescue, and most of all for the families and friends that were left behind to question why. It still to this day brings me to the verge of tears when I ponder the enormous loss of potential that all of the victims held. Could there have been a Nobel Prize winner among the dead, a future president, perhaps the doctor or scientist that could have cured cancer or aids, we will never know.

I think the saddest part for me personally is the fact that so many children will not grow up with the love and guidance of a parent due to the selfish act of 19 misguided men who were led astray by a little-minded man hell-bent on creating glory for himself while perverting a religion of the world. There was a recent poll that said about 70% of Americans think about 9/11 at least once a week. I think about it everyday and maybe for me it has turned into an inspiration to lead a better life and follow the American dream as a personal tribute to our most honored dead. I fear that over time this day of national remembrance will fade as many such days in our history have. I challenge each and every American to hold the memories of these slain close to your heart and remember their sacrifice and heed the wake-up call we have been served. We are locked in a battle of epic proportions between good and evil and the day will come when those who in their hearts are riding the fence will have to make a choice.

I hope that the sadness I feel associated with this date and its events will fade over time but I fear that if we are to learn anything from the brutal attacks we will have to carry that pain of loss awhile longer. Remember this could have been prevented. Let us work together as the people of this nation did after Pearl Harbor to make sure it never happens again.

One Month in and What do we have......

Well how about a string of broken promises (not really a surprise but we were promised change we could believe in) and a plan for a European style Socialist Government where every citizen will be cared for from cradle to grave on the backs of the taxpayers. This is the change that some in America voted for. Let me define why I say some. Of the people that voted for the President, very few knew that the ultimate goal of Obama was to push a socialist agenda that will ensure that more and more people will be dependent on the government and in their gratitude vote Democratic for generations to come. The vast majority that voted for Obama had no idea that this was the intention of their chosen one. Image the shock and horror of all the Hedge Fund managers, and Wall Street type that voted for Obama when he unveiled his budget and its intention to raise the capital gains tax and cut charitable donation deductions. I would say that many are having extreme buyer's remorse.

But Obama does not stop there; he plans on going forward with raising taxes on those making above $200K for individuals and $250K for families as outlined in his FY2010 budget summary. As was pointed out for all to hear during the campaign, many small businesses file taxes not as a company but as the individual owner(s). I believe the figure most sighted was 1 in 4 small businesses file this way and there are about 24.7 million in the US according to 2004 Census Bureau figures. By my rough math, that is 6.175 million small businesses that will see their taxes rise and cope with by either raising the price of their products, stop hiring and/or cut payroll by firing employees, or fail and go out of business. One of the first things learned when studying business and the economics of business is that small businesses create the overwhelming majority of new jobs in any economy. I surely would hope that the President or at least his "Dream Team" of economic advisers would know this. So if that is the effect of the President's plan to stifle small business and impede the upward mobility of every small investor and the entire Wall Street industry, one has to ask why?

The reasons for the President's pushing of a socialist agenda are many and varied but for my money it is the age old reason of class warfare and lack of faith in the American Dream. Obama was on the frontlines of class warfare as a community organizer and learned from such classic class warriors as Jesse Jackson. The cry of the ignorant poor has always been that the system is unfair and rich people get that way but exploiting the poor. "They got theirs, I gots to get mine", Obama suffered from a Robin Hood complex brought on by years of indoctrination of how unfair our economy is to poor people. The truth is that anyone of any economic or social status has more opportunity in this country than any other in the world. The road is not easy but the promise of a better life has always been available if one was willing to work hard to accomplish it. Notice that I said work hard. I choose those words deliberately because no one ever improved their life by sitting around waiting for government check. Unfortunately our new President is Hell-bent on changing that. I submit the old adage, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day but teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime". Perhaps these are words the President should take to heart.

My humble suggestion is to put more money into job training and education, not throw more money at those already living off the tax receipts of working Americans. If no incentive is given to get off welfare or unemployment then people will stay as long as possible, that is the easiest thing to do, the path of least resistance. Our country is the greatest in the world and if we want to stay that way we cannot go down this path of punishing success and glorifying failure. President Bush was wrong to dump money into companies that had made poor decisions, good money chasing bad results, and we have now seen that some of these companies have not changed their ways. I am not joining in on the piling on of corporate American but rather a realist. Sometimes the best decision a company can make for its future is to enter bankruptcy, clear the debt, restructure, and downsize. This has been the case for decades. And unfortunately sometimes a company has no choice but to just close up shop. This is reality folks, not the rose-tinted outlook that a great deal of people have nowadays. The decisions made by President Obama will be felt for generations to come and I am not just talking about the enormous debt we are incurring, that is another debate for another time. If this stimulus package fails to improve the economy, we will be lucky to endure a "lost decade" like Japan. We cannot continue to print money and throw it at a problem that is simply not the solution. This approach did not work during for President Johnson and it will not work for President Obama. We must take a targeted approach and be wise with the money we spend. I think that most Americans would be uneasy with the fact that China holds $681.9 Billion dollars of US debt (as of 2008 according to US Treasury figures) if they stopped to think about it. One has to wonder about the President's plan for spending when even the liberal bastion the New York Times questions the wisdom of his budget projections.

A targeted approach would cut spending by the Federal Government not increase as Congress and the President are planning. All non-essential spending should be cut or held immediately as this would pay for the increases that will be needed in the areas that will move this economy forward. I am not an economist but I do work for a small business and my customers are small businesses as well so I am very familiar with the reality on the ground so to speak. In a targeted stimulus plan, we would increase spending for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, airports, seaports, power grids and such. We would also need increase funding to job-skills programs and education in order to provide skill labor for the infrastructure projects. Rather than simply increase welfare or unemployment benefits, we must provide the tools so that people can work towards a better life. It has been my personal experience that when people are given money, property, even jobs it is not as valued as when those things are earned and I believe that to be a universal truth. These projects will create jobs but not right away, the full impact of these projects will be felt years from now but there are an important part of our economy that we have ignored for too long. We should include green projects as well in order to decrease our dependence on foreign oil imports but not at the cost of jobs and resources available today. What I mean is that we have many millions of oil available within our borders and just off-shore that can be utilized with little or no impact to the environment. Yes folks, our technology is just that good. Hell, we are the United States of America; we can do anything we set our collective mind to. The remainder of any stimulus should be targeted at real job creation and taxpayer relief. Give businesses incentives to expand and hire new employees, incentives to provide better benefits packages, incentives to be the best that they can be. We need to stop punishing successful businesses by applying the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, which stands at 35%. We should cut corporate taxes in half, provide deductions of up to 50% for new capital investment, and a health care deduction of 50% as well for the cost of providing full health care (medical, dental, eye) to employees. This will also have the effect of lowering costs for all businesses and consumers as businesses lower prices in order to complete in the marketplace. As for us lowly taxpayers, the tax credit for dependent children should be at the very least doubled to $2K, provide a tax deduction for all out of pocket medical expenses up to 75%, allow the 100% tax deduction of loan interest on new car purchases for the next 4 years, allow a 100% tax deduction on the down payment amount for new homebuyers (the thought being that if they can deduct 100% of their down payment then people will put more money down on a home and be less likely to buy homes they can't afford), suspension of federal withholding tax for the remainder of tax year 2009 (we would still pay FICA and Medicare taxes). I would also submit that Congress and the President need to take a long and serious look at the idea of a Fair Tax. Now as I said earlier, I am not an economist or an accountant so I honestly do not know how much these proposals would cost but I would be willing to bet one of my paychecks that it would be a great deal less then what has already been spent by this administration and how much they are still planning to spend.

The bottom line comes down to belief in this country and all of the opportunity she has for her citizens. I believe that this country will be great again without massive and wasteful government spending and without going down the road to a European Socialist style government. I am not a rich man but any reasonable standard, just a guy trying to do right by my family so many will say that Obama's tax and spend policies don't impact me. That could not be further from the truth. As I mentioned, I work for a small business that services primarily small businesses. If those customers of mine are squeezed by the government in the form of higher taxes then they have less money to invest in their business by way of purchasing my products and services. This in turn will lead to cost cutting measures by my company as our leadership are very sound businessmen. Those cost cutting measures could include reduction in benefits, elimination of 401K matching, no increase in pay or worse a reduction in pay. If these items come to pass I may be forced to remove my children from the excellent Catholic school they attend and place them in the sub-standard Chicago public school system which could diminish their future opportunities. These are only some of the direct effects upon me and millions of others in this country in similar situations. Those are short term issues and when we turn to long term issues the ugly specter of a lack of Social Security benefits, increasing medical costs, and higher cost of living stares us right in the face.

I am under no illusion that any of the money I have paid into Social Security since the age of 16 will ever find its way back to me and I am actually ok with that. I have planned for retirement by participating in a company 401K when and where available and put money aside in a private investment account. I will be alright because I will not rely on the government to care for me in my golden years. But this President is out to punish every investor regardless of size or scope by raising the capital gains tax from 15% to 20% and the rate goes as high as 39.6% for high income folks. Now, that 5% increase that I am going to see does not sound like much but if the tax rate stays at 20% or goes higher, that will be a large amount of money lost when I cash out in thirty-five years. For example, let's say that I am conservative in my investment approach and I only manage to receive the historical return of 7% (stocks and bonds) on my money. If I had started with $10K and invested it over 35 years, I would have $106,765.80 which at today's capital gains tax would cost me $16,014.87 in taxes but at the higher Obama rate of 20% would cost me $21,353.16 in taxes. That difference of $5,338.29 could be the difference in how I live once retired or how many medications I can afford for myself or my wife, or even whether I can retire when I want to. Did you get the picture? The more money I invest to provide for my retirement the more taxes I could pay if I am successful. Let that sink in a moment. The more successful I am at providing for my retirement, the more I am going to be "punished" by the government in the form of higher taxes. This is at the heart of the issue, punishing success and rewarding failure. I am 100% sure that this role of the government was not intended by our Founding Fathers. Putting aside the fact that a Capital Gains tax is a tax applied to money that was already taxed when originally earned; can you see where this is going? In the President's effort to "punish" Wall Street bankers and Investors, he has used too broad a sword and is applying his malice towards Wall Street to millions of small investors that are just trying to save for their futures. I personally think that capital gains should be completely eliminated for those taxpayers that have another source of income and for those who are only paid in stock options; it should be taxed at their standard rate and that standard rate should be no higher than 25%. Of course this debate is moot if we ever pass the Fair Tax and eliminate the personal income tax.

The path laid out by this President and his accomplices in Congress is not only wrong for this country at anytime much less a recession but is absolutely un-American in its application of deriding success and rewarding failure. Unless we see more protests like the Tea Parties held around this country yesterday and the absolute hounding of our representatives in Congress, we will end up living in a socialist America when government is the leading employer and granter of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness instead of each and every American.

Introducing Bobblehead Mohammed

It's all over and now the fun begins....

Fox has just called the election for Obama and while it may take me four years or longer to call him President if ever, I have to pray that we survive this next four years as a country and for that matter as an America that we can recognize.

I can tell this, this event and the sure missteps that are sure to come from this future administration will mobilize the Republican party like no event in the last 30 years and two years from now in the mid-term elections, the Democrats currently planning the demise of this country will be thrown out on their ass.

One other prediction before I get some sleep since I have to work tomorrow unlike many of the Obama kool-aid drinkers in Grant Park tonight. Joe Lieberman will switch party affiliation to the Republican Party shortly after the new Congress is swore in. Sarah Palin will run for US Senate taking Ted Stevens seat and while she kicks ass and takes names for a couple of years, she will be building a base so she can run for President in 2012.

To all the leftist, socialist wackos out there who voted for Obama, enjoy tonight because you will be held accountable for your actions.

Here we go.......

Reid and Pelosi are already promising that they will act upon their "mandate" from the American people and there will be an end to the partisan bickering of the last 8 years.

You know what? They are right, there will be an end to the partisan bickering because with their majorities they will just ramrod their liberal, socialist agenda down the throats of the American people because Obama will not stand up to them and the Republicans will not be able to stop them. This pair is the scariest part of this election cycle and unfortunately I think that Obama owes too much to the far left of the Democratic Party to govern as a Bill Clinton like centrist. Huffington Post and Daily Kos will eat him alive. On second thought I enjoy Democrats eating their own.

Counting on Moderate Dems......

It is a terribly frightening thought that we will need to count on moderate democrats in the Senate and House to save us from the crazy Socialist, Liberal agenda that Pelosi and Reid will be pushing on Obama as he learns the job of President from Joe the Biden. Damn, if I did not love this country so much I might do something stupid and predict that I am moving to Canada or another friendly country.

At this point, Fox News has the race as 207 Electoral votes for Obama and 129 for McCain. The McCain campaign is quietly acknowledging that there might not be path to the White House at this point. Whoa, I am having flashbacks to Bush/Quayle in '92. That night sucked and this night is starting to look as shitty.

Boy, Hillary has got to be really freaking pissed off. Now she has to potentially wait until 2016 to run for President again. Nah, she has the balls to run against Obama in 2012 if he sucks as bad as I think he might.

Interesting point, more of registered voters were contacted by the Obama campaign then the McCain campaign. Does anyone think that has to do with the millions of dollars that Obama raised after going back on his word about taking public financing?

One other point before I take a quick break, I am currently in Livingston, New Jersey and not home in Chicago. Frankly I am glad for that considering that I only live 15 minutes from downtown Chicago and it is going to be "off the hook" as one Obama supporter just told MSNBC. I swear that network seeks out the most intellectually devoid people to interview just so it can make their anchors look smarter.

Damn, it does not look good......

It is not looking good for McCain so far and I have to wonder if Obama does win, are we going to be faced with 4 years of Jimmy Carter politics or are we headed for a centrist type Bill Clinton like 4 years?

I have no idea but I will tell you this, a extremely liberal Senate and House scares me much worse then a possible President Obama. He does not have the balls to stand up to Congress and they will try to ram through all of their leftist agenda. That my friends scares the Hell out of me.

While we are on the topic of what scares me, try this on for size. What do we really know about Obama? What if only half of what the Republicans and John McCain tried to pin on Obama is true? I can already hear a hearty "I told you so" coming from the usual suspects of talking heads.

Stay tuned for more......I have a feeling that this freaking mess is just the thing to push me back into blogging full-time. At least we might have one thing to thank Obama for.

Question?

Is Obama the Anti-Christ?

Comment at will......

Ken Sherman, 40th District California

The title of this post is specifically to get it shown at the top of searches on Google so that when people search for Ken Sherman they find it and know why I think he shouldn't be running for the Assembly seat in the 40th District of California which he is seeking.

Ken Sherman is a piano teacher, which while being a noble and decent profession, in no way qualifies him for a political office.

You can see the first post I did on Sherman here. I explain in that post why he shouldn't even be consider by anyone that considers themselves a conservative, but I want to recap that and tell you why I am posting about this again.

Ken Sherman has posted (and taken down when it was pointed out what he did) anti-semitic videos on his only website, a myspace page. Any candidate for an office higher than Student Council at a high school should have an actual website. I have no idea if Ken is running a campaign on the cheap, he doesn't know any better or he is simply thinking that only a myspace page is good enough, because Ken won't return calls.

Ken has also promoted events sponsored by Move On Dot Org, an extremely far left group. The event he promoted on his myspace page was a candle light vigil against the war, which by default means he is against the troops.

Ken's campaign manager has posted lies about Ken's opponent, Armineh Chelebian, while at the same time failing to divulge his position in the campaign. While it may not be illegal to post comments without divulging your position in a campaign, it is extremely unethical to do so, especially when you are posting comments in favor of your employer and posting lies about your employers opponent.

Theer has been some speculation amongst some activists here that Ken Sherman is a mole from the Democrat party, and is only running to secure the nomination so he can drop out and leave the seat uncontested for the Democrats. If Ken Sherman does win next Tuesday, and drops out of the race I'd like to see the Attorney General of California open an investigation into Ken's finances and those close to him. I'd be willing to bet that if he is a mole, he has a handshake deal with the Dems to get paid for securing the seat for them. But that's just a theory of mine.

I tried several times to speak with Ken, and after reaching him on his cell he said he'd call me later. His steadfast refusal to get together for a one on one so he could present his side of the issues is proof positive to me that he is hoping to ride this out until Tuesday.

So spread the word. Don't vote for Ken Sherman if you live in the 40th district in California. If you do and by some stretch of the imagination he wins you will be getting what you voted for. An unresponsive person of questionable character.

*DISCLAIMER; These are my thoughts only. I am not connected in any official capacity with any campaign for any office.

The Party of Skeletons and How much does America really Hate Whitey?

The Mad Tech Returns.......

I thought I would weigh in with just a few thoughts as the Dems once again step in it and share a few predictions for the coming months of Presidential Politics. As for those that do not know me or have not read anything I have written I welcome you and encourage to continue on but certainly be warned that this blog is anything but politically correct and is certainly not safe for those that are of the weak knee-ed liberal persuasion. Now before I get started, any comments that accuse me or being a racist or adding fire to the race discussion with be forwarded to my good buddy and the ultimate reverse racist, Jesse Jackson. In fact I am hoping that he will call for a boycott of Google, the parent company of Blogger, and drive the stock price down to where I can buy a few shares. It is also worth noting that I cannot be a racist given the simple fact that my best friend is black, my wife is Hispanic and as a result so are my kids. But what I can be is the guy who has the balls to speak a little common sense, say what you are thinking and point out the obvious to those that need a smack in the mouth every now and then but enough said, on with the show.

As we eagerly await the release of some eleven thousand documents from the Clinton White House detailing what the heck Hillary was doing for eight years in her husband's administration, I will drop a few nuggets on what my least favorite senator from Illinois has been talking about this afternoon. Don't worry I will return to Hill/Bill in a future post since she is by far much more fun to ridicule Obama.

Senator Obama tried very hard today to define the topic of his racist preacher and race in general as off limits in this presidential race. I have read the entire transcript of his speech and in my humble opinion all he accomplished was muddying the water further and certainly not clearing up anyone's concerns. By not outright disowning the comments of Reverend Wright, Senator Obama has acknowledged that he is some small part is accepting of the reverse racism mentality and his feeble justification about that is just how Rev. Wright is and how we need to move past the old guard opinions and work together. The comments of Rev. Wright are no better than the universally accepted racist Louis Farrakhan and yet there is no outcry from the congregation. It is worthy of note that Rev. Wright gave an award named for himself and presented by his church's news magazine to Louis Farrakhan for being a man that "truly epitomized greatness." You can read the beginning of an article from the Nov/Dec double issue here that just falls all over itself in praising Louie.

Putting this association aside for a moment let me pose a question to all of you that do attend church on a regular basis. If you were sitting in church on Sunday and instead of hearing about the teachings of Jesus, you heard about how evil the US Government and how terrible it is to live in a country that is becoming overrun by illegal immigrates and how hard it is to be white in a country that is increasingly being dominated by whiny minorities. Some would write it off as a rant that is not in step with society and some would leave that church never to return. I would be in the latter group and the fact that my children attend a school run by my church would not dissuade me in the least. So given the two scenarios, one based in reality and the other a hypothetical, I would pray that the results would be the same, the church would be punished for it's out of step views by decreased attendance and financial support from the community. It is no more acceptable for a black man/woman to preach racism then it is for a white man/woman or a brown man/woman or any color.

People may write this off as just an older person whose views are tainted by his struggle in a racist America during the 50's and 60's and that would be terribly wrong to do. I've heard today from various news outlets that this type of speech is common in black churches and frankly I hope that is not true for the sake of our country. This is the same mentality that older Islamic imams teach to this current generation of terrorists and we have all seen the results of ignoring that hate speech. Now I am not saying that Rev. Wright and by extension Senator Obama are churning out a new generation of American terrorist but they are certainly extending the same old cycle of some black Americans looking upon themselves as victims of a hateful white America. It is this very mentality that continues to cause race issues in all facets of this country. We certainly do need to move past the same old argument that this country will be forever divided by race and work together to prevent the exact occurrences that Senator Obama outlined in the second half of his speech. But and this is a huge but, I do not agree with one single thing politically that Senator Obama has ever espoused. But that is between he and I and maybe we will have it out next time he is in town and we meet for breakfast.

The item that I do agree on, and pray that most of the country does as well, is that race cannot divide us if we are to move forward as a society. Most Americans under the age of say 35 are much more open in their relationships and views on their fellow Americans then the previous generation. I like many have or have had older family members that are or were flat out racists and they should be condemned by all, regardless of color or ethnicity. I am encouraged by this stance of Senator Obama but I say it is too little too late. He cannot unite anyone if there remains a doubt about his view of white America, who he will need in the general election, and this government. Right or wrong, our form of government is the best in the world and while we depend on it to certain degrees, some more than others, there is enormous opportunity in this country and if one wants to succeed then they will. I will make a prediction in regards to Senator Obama and the recent discovery of his quiet acceptance of the racist and vile comments by his long time preacher, he will not win in Pennsylvania or Indiana or North Carolina and Hillary will once again believe that she can win the nomination. This will only further split the Democratic Party and as a conservative and registered Republican, I quietly will enjoy the side show. We have a long way to go in keeping the White House and I am preparing a heart-felt thank you to the Democrats for once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Sound off if you like but in the meantime I wish you goodnight and good luck.

Some 9/11 Thoughts from an Airport

As I sit in Chicago's O'Hare airport waiting on a flight to Atlanta this morning, I am struck by an enormous sense of sadness for many reasons. Bear with me and I will explain my thoughts on this sixth anniversary of the largest mass murder of American citizens.

• Sadness at the loss of life in this country and around the world since the attacks
• Sadness at the seemingly everydayness at which 9/11 has become for some
• Sadness at the revisionist history being fed to our children by leftist politicians and public schools
• Sadness that the New York Times has the balls to ask how much tribute is enough, did they ask that question 6 years after Pearl Harbor and just 2 years after the end of World War II?
• Sadness that people still do not understand what it is that we are fighting for. There is no reasoning with a people that are completely committed to a doctrine that calls for the death of all non-believers
• Sadness that sooner then later, there will be another attack on this country because we as a nation have not held our leader responsible for the security of this country

Let me know what you think about the state of this nation and how damn short a national memory and attention span we have.

Never forget what happen on this day........

Enough Already, The Criminal Immigrants Need To Go

This was inspired by a recent business trip to Southern California, enjoy.

When did we become a nation of law-breakers? If it is ok for those who seek a better life to break the law without consequences where does it stop? I am all for people seeking a better life for themselves and their families but what does it say to that family about their future in the greatest nation on God’s Earth when they start a new life by becoming criminals? I refuse to call anyone who breaks the law to come to America an illegal immigrant any longer; they are simply criminals regardless of where they come from, who they are and why they are here. In this country we for the most part put criminals in jail but unfortunately it is just not that simple. There are many reasons why criminal immigration is tearing this country apart and I will discuss a few as well as my thoughts on how we can right this ship. I am sure along the way I will be called a racist and a xenophobe but I only know what is right and what is wrong, and breaking the law is wrong.

Immigration reform is not only necessary but long overdue. There are many reasons but let us start with the first one that should come to mind for any American taxpayer, the staggering cost of the unrelenting wave of criminal immigrants that flow in to this country every single day. I have documented the 16.5 billion dollars that Arizona, California and Texas spent each year paying for the detention of these criminals, the education of these criminals, as well as the feeding and sheltering of these criminals. Those states along the southern US border represent the flood gate that supporters of criminal immigration would keep open and unsecure. The taxpayers in Arizona, California, and Texas each pay an additional $700, $1,183, and $725 in taxes respectively to support the criminals who come to our country. You can read more about the costs that this country incurs from these criminals here, for we are just a fat sow that is being sucked dry.

Let us now turn to the most troubling aspect of criminal immigration, the insecurity of the southern United States border. It is bad enough that every day we have drug dealers, gun runners and other assorted “regular” criminals crossing our border everyday but now we have groups such as MEChA and La Raza calling for open invasion from Mexico so that their dream of “Reconquista” or the reconquest of the American Southwest can become reality. It is now so bad that the Mayor of Los Angles who is an open member of MEChA has issued an order to LA police that they may not make immigration related arrests even if they can prove the suspect is in the United States illegally. Read more about their open racism here. In case you’re local news has not made mention of this next tidbit, pay attention because you sure as Hell would not have seen this story on any national news. The Mexican army regularly invades the United States and has even traded weapons fire with the United States border patrol, read for yourself here as there are many examples of the blatant disregard by Mexico for the sovereignty of the America’s southern border. In case anyone is not familiar with that term, look it up here. The truth is that the borders are unsecure and we have no idea who is coming to this country each and every day. It could be your common drug mule or gun runner or coyote smuggling another group of criminal immigrants or in the worst case, a group of terrorists looking to murder innocent Americans.

The problem of criminal immigration is spreading across this country faster than a Brittney Spears hit song among the 12-16 years that populate your local shopping mall. The problem that was once limited to the southwest and a few other locations such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Detroit and Miami to name a few, has now spread to every corner of this country. One might be surprised to know that cities such as Cleveland, Charlotte, St. Louis, Northern Virginia and Danbury, CT now deal with the effects of criminal immigration just as any city in the southwest has for decades. In fact the folks in Danbury now “enjoy” a criminal immigrant population of 10,000 to 15,000 in a town of 77,000. That means that 12% to 19% of their population are criminal immigrants, who if allowed to vote illegally could influence the local political scene. Imagine that for a moment, a group of non-citizens who are breaking the law by their very presence in this country continuing their criminal ways and dictating the future of America citizens. You can read more about the plight of Danbury here.

The last component to this overwhelming criminal activity is the traitorous companies that continue to break the law and provide jobs for criminal immigrants while suppressing American wages and denying jobs to those who want to work. You can find just one of many lists of companies that hire criminal immigrants here. This is the only part of Congress’s ongoing debate on criminal immigration that I can agree with. Until we make it so unprofitable to hire criminal immigrants; employers will continue to provide an overwhelming reason for these people to break the law and come to this country. If it was not easy to enter this country illegally and it was easier to come here legally then maybe we would have the needed balance of workers for those companies who feel the need to hire non-citizens but currently that balance is a pipe dream. The fact is that for anyone seeking a better life coming to America is the “easy” way out. Take the country of Mexico, who incidentally supplies the United States with far more criminal immigrants than any other country, Mexico has a history of government corruption that makes Eastern Europe and Russia pale in comparison. If it was harder to come to the United States illegally then maybe these people would stay in Mexico and reform their own country instead of taking the easier path and come to the United States. Now I am not unsympathetic in regards to the many that die in the southwest’s deserts nor the terrible treatment they endure from the human smugglers. I simply point out that many who died trying to enter the United States illegally would still be alive if they had just stayed home. The UN likes to pat itself on the back for helping out around the world in regard to terrible human tragedies but they are strangely silent on the conditions in Mexico. Perhaps if they looked to our neighbor to the south then some real good could come of their actions.

Now that I have laid out what I see as the major components to the criminal immigration problem let me offer a few suggestions towards a better future for both America and the millions of criminal immigrants who are already here.

1) Close the border using the National Guard and Border Patrol as well as specially trained civilian patrols for a period of no less than 18 months. All traffic, civilian and commercial must be searched and cleared of drugs, contraband, and of course criminal immigrants. Put in place a comprehension system of technology and human assets so that after the mandatory 18 months the National Guard can stand down. The only way that any reforms will work is to secure the border and if it means sealing the border to non-essential traffic for a year and a half then so be it. Every public opinion poll in the last two years has the public putting border security at the top, far above other reforms proposed.

2) Require all illegals to immediately register with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and those who do not within 3 months are summarily deported to their country of origin and not eligible for entry to the United States for a period of not less than 15 years. That may sound cruel to many but unless the policy has consequences it will not be followed. Once the registration period has closed, conduct comprehensive background checks of all criminal immigrants who registered and if contact is lost with them during the review process then they forfeit any chance at citizenship for a period of 10 years. If the criminal immigrant passes the background check and can provide proof of an employable skill then they will be considered for citizenship but their application will be placed at the bottom of the list. We must give preference to those who want to come to this the country the right way, the legal way.

3) Reduce the amount of foreign aid to countries in a direct relation to their cooperation on the issue of criminal immigration. We currently give Mexico over 10 billion dollars in foreign aid. The sad but true part of that tale is that Mexico’s economy survives on the money that they receive from criminal immigrants which last year topped 15 billion dollars and was not only greater than our foreign aid contribution but also Mexico income earned through the sale of crude oil and its associated products. If Mexico is truly an ally then now it the time for them to step up and control their side of the border and if they cannot, they our foreign aid must be curtailed. The Mexican drug cartels have long grown fat off of American dollars from the drug trade and now they are earning a living exploiting the weakness of the United States southern border. If we cannot count on the Mexican government to stop these gangs of murders, human smugglers and hard core criminals then we must send at the very least some Special Forces operators to hone their wet work skills south of the border.

4) We must reform the process of coming to America with an eye towards allowing those who truly wish to be citizens and contribute an easier but secure path to the American dream. There are an overwhelming number of criminal immigrants who wish to simply make a better life for their families and contribute to the United States as citizens. These are the ones who we must help come here legally and safely. We are one of the most technologically advanced nations on this planet and yet the process to obtain a green card and ultimately citizenship is horribly outdated. For those who already have legal family and a waiting job we must clear a path for them to contribute and achieve, those are ones who came from all over the world to build this country and they are our greatest strength.

If this great country is to survive to see its 300^th birthday then we must meet this challenge of criminal immigration head on and not be dissuaded by those who would wrongly accuse us of racism or bigotry or worst yet, those would seek to place personal agendas and politics above the safety of all Americans, future and current. We simply must succeed to ensure that America continues to be a country that the whole world envies, that is worth coming to and raising a family. We must push ahead with common sense and a commitment to do what is right for the country no matter how painful or hard it might seem. I for one hope that we do succeed and we reach that balance of legal immigrants contributing while keeping out those who wish us harm. Until that day, I will pray that we do not head down the path of Europe as highlighted by the riots in France by illegal and legal immigrants just a few months ago. We must hope for the best and prepare for the worst while remembering what every Boy Scout knows: Be Prepared. Have a great Monday everyone and God Bless America.

Some Things To Consider........

As I engaged in working for a living this past May Day/Illegal Rally Day, unlike many who come to this country or are even born here who live off the hard earned dollars of folks like me, I pondered a few things that seem like common sense to me.

• People who break the law, any law are criminals. People who break immigration law to come to this country for whatever reason are criminals and should be labeled as such so as to discourage ours from thinking that it is the "right" thing to do.
• I find it interesting that the last two years these criminals have held rallies on a traditional holiday for communists and socialists.
• And speaking of these rallies, who do these criminals think they are by illegally exercising the God-given rights of America citizens? Specifically I am referring to the Right to Assemble.
• When did we become a nation of politically correct wusses? We have many laws in this nation and they are meant to be enforced. Cities are now deciding when and where they are going to enforce federal law and that is simply unacceptable. The last time a government underneath our federal government refused to enforce or follow the laws of this nation we had a civil war. Now if cities such as San Francisco, the heart of the socialist republic of California, and Minneapolis don't feel that they can enforce federal immigration law then I guess they should not reap the benefits of all the federal money they receive.
• Along the same theme, it is accepted knowledge that a vast majority of the particapants in any of the immigration rallies are here illegally. If ICE wanted to place the fear of God into these criminals then they should have setup checkpoints along the routes of these matches, screened the attendees, and arrested all illegals.
• The claim that recent ICE raids are tearing families apart is a complete sham. The only people that are tearing families apart are the ones coming to this country illegally. They are separating families by leaving loved ones behind in their home countries or by having children once they reach America. By having children here and thus granting them a chance at the American dream they are forever driving a unrepairable rift between parent and child. Think of the shame and embarrassment that these children must have to deal with once they are old enough to realize what their parents have done for them and to them. Imagine if you can for a moment the irony of being taught everyday in school to obey the laws of this nation and going home every night to parent(s) who are criminals?

So there you are, a couple of thoughts to ponder and maybe discuss among yourselves. Until I return, try to remember to use some common sense out there and be nice to one another.

The Mad Tech