Issues of the Day

2012-02-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

Today your prayers are requested for Honest Abe. In many ways the greatest president ever.

Whitney Houston,RIP

Since my wife is not listening so I will confess to a couple of love affairs I have/had.

The first of them is Helen, my sweetheartof sweet hearts. She is the mother of my children and is and has always beenthe sweetness in my life. If I were poetic I’d say things like she is myguiding light, faithful fan, and always at my side during my times of need. Sheis my Valentine every week of the year and I would be lost without her. Indispensableis one word that fits her to a tee. A strong person Helen is always first withsupport when I need a soft landing from whatever I have messed up. Never judgmental,she is always there in my moments of self-doubt. From the moment I awake in themorning she is there and is with me as my day is over and all moments inbetween. I thank God every day for bringing us together.

The next is my Mom who always hadfaith I would learn to do the right things in life. She is ninety-five and forevermy guiding light. My grandfather once told me a Mother is forever. How right hewas. She still shows her love and concern on a nearly daily basis. My life hasbeen much better because I could rely on her wise counsel. Right or wrong, annoyingor loving, I have always been her “bonhomme de poi” as she always called me.She became the foundation in my life in matters of doing the right thing whichled me to think twice before doing something stupid. I wish I listened to hermore often.

The third strong woman in my lifeis Sarah Palin. First what she is not. She is not the smartest woman in historybut has a native intelligence coupled with wonderful instincts to “do the rightthing”. I had hoped she would be a candidate for president but the cards werenot dealt to her this time around. Her instincts are right on target and shehas the courage of her convictions. I think she will be the first woman electedpresident thus breaking down the last barrier for women for all time. She hasmany of the qualities as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The two other women duringmy lifetime who were able to move me in non-politicalways were Karen Carpenter who died literally of starvation and now WhitneyHouston. Both were outstanding talents whose public behavior was exemplary inmany ways. Due to her addictions Houston was unable to carry on as expectedfrom her. Through it all Houston missedan opportunity to be a role model for young women. Houston and Carpenter failedin that way. Both were not only wonderfully talented they both seemed to possessa level of decency exemplified in their music and professional demeanor. Noneof their music was geared to appeal to our base instincts and was art in itspurest form.

We are entering an era wheretalented women will only be held back by their skills and abilities. No longerwill women be relegated to a second class existence solely on the basis she isa woman.

Have a good day and see you tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe Lauzier

2012-02-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

TheGreat Deceiver.......

Thedebate surrounding President Barack Obama's directive to mandateCatholic hospitals and other Catholic facilities provide or pay for abortioninsurance coverage is not relenting. Any thought the president had aboutramming all this down the collective throats of Catholics has met much moreopposition than originally bargained for.

Initially, inall likelihood, Obama expected a furor from the Catholic hierarchy. Theresistance came not only fromconservative, practicing Catholics, but it probably shocked him to learn thatso-called fallen away Catholics are closing ranks behind their leaders. Add tothat number many Protestants are expressing solidarity with the Catholicleaders and their flock.

Firstthings first. The issue is not simply of who pays for pills and condomsbut goes much deeper than that. The way the argument has been framed isbased on only part of the issue. The part we hear little of is the coverage for Sterilizationand Abortifacients, they will be provided. In effect we will be makingavailable very early abortions. We have a long way to go with this argument.

Second. Noone has asked about whether young people employed by a hospital for examplewill need to be covered in the same way as an adult. Many teenagers are employedby hospitals.

Third.Will all the new regulations need to remain in force if “Obamacare” isstruck down by the Supreme Court?

When all the elements of the Obamaassault on religion is fully understood the backlash may be more than his cockinessbargained for.

Add this tothe argument for not making all this universally available: When a woman isbeing pressured to engage in sex the fear of pregnancy becomes a way of takingthe steam out of the male in the relationship. Birth control is not only forwomen but for men. Ditto and to a greater extent abortion is for the benefit ofmen.

How so? Simple, making pills and condoms available place demand on allwomen. If a woman becomes pregnant the man needs only pay a small fee for anabortion and it is left to the woman to deal with the aftermath and otherissues connected with killing the unborn baby in her womb.

Simply put, her body becomes herbaby’s death chamber and the male goes out to greener pastures. Those who are sexuallyactive and in a relationship know in advance to be prepared by taking the pillor using condoms. In casual relationships where the woman may not be interestedin being sexually involved the ready availability of say condoms places aserious burden on women not to resist the advances.

What thepresident is mandating without the support of congress is wrong in many waysand will lead to more problems than it corrects.

Let the birdsand bees do thing on their own without outside interference or involvement.

Ciao…….Moe Lauzier

2012-02-10T20:21:00.001-05:00

Do you need a smile?

2012-02-10T17:26:00.000-05:00

This and That, Friday, February 10

~~~ And the beat goes on. Of the president's attempt at compromise Congressman Chris Smith said, “The so-called new policy is the discredited old policy, dressed up to look like something else. It remains a serious violation of religious freedom. Only the most naive or gullible would accept this as a change in policy.

“The White House Fact Sheet is riddled with doublespeak and contradiction,” Smith continued. “It states, for example, that religious employers ‘will not’ have to pay for abortion pills, sterilization and contraception, but their ‘insurance companies’ will. Who pays for the insurance policy? The religious employer.”

In a statement which smacks of George Orwell the President uttered: "If a woman works for religious employers with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide contraception coverage but her insurance company will be required to offer contraceptive care free of charge.”

Among the items to be provided is abortifacient drugs such as ella, a sister drug to RU-486. The use of these drugs amount to an induced abortion.

~~~ Here is a fairness quiz for President Obama. It appears in the online Wall Street Journal. Enjoy! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577206980068367936.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0

~~~ Breitbart had this interesting tidbit today:

A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has concluded that distrust of the government is a treatable mental disorder. Known as "AGP" or "anti-government phobia," the study claims: "...that unfounded fear of government is a recognizable mental illness, closely related to paranoid schizophrenia. Anti-Government Phobia (AGP) differs from most mental illnesses, however, in that it is highly infectious and has an acute onset. Symptoms include extreme suspiciousness, conspiracy-mongering, delusional thought patterns, staunch 'us against them' mentality, withdrawal from reality, and often religious fanaticism..."

I guess that means most of us are nuts.

~~~ After World War II was over the US military discovered (and destroyed) stockpiles of poison gas weapons the Germans had at their disposal. While Hitler was a madman many suspect he was permanently scared by being a victim of mustard gas while a Corporal in the German Army in World War I.

During WWII he allied forces all trained in defending against a gas attack. While there were tens of thousands of victims of chemical weapons in WWI we've never heard of such problems in WWII.

Assad is currently considering gassing his people in Syria.

~~~ He's already a conservative super star.

Rubio, a liberal's greatest nightmare.

~~~ This presidential race for the Republican nomination for president is rather messy bordering on bloody. One of the biggest fears on the part of the rank and file is the possibility the winner could be mortally wounded thus handing the presidency to Barack Obama.

The following is taken from an article by Melanie Kowalski in American Thinker:

"........my takeaway from the Santorum win is twofold. The negativity and savagery of the Republican primary has been unequaled in past pre-election cycles. The fight between Gingrich and Romney has become self-defeating and personal, with Santorum the resultant beneficiary. The bitterness has not been lost on the American public, especially the Republican/Republican-leaning voters, who don't see "politics as usual" despite what the commentators tell us. The President's re-election campaign couldn't ask for a bigger gift; they won't need nearly $1 billion to defeat the Republicans.

"Second, if the average conservative to moderate voter is anything like this author, we know, we feel, that simmering undercurrent of discontent, anxiety, and in some cases, anger, about what is happening in our country, to our country, and the direction in which it's headed. The candidate who taps into this undercurrent, gives it voice, and is able to draw distinctive contrasts between his vision for the future state of America vs. our current state, will be able to beat Obama. Nothing less will suffice."

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

This and That for Thursday

~~~ For a Republican candidate to be elected president he needs to win in Ohio. In a recent Rasmussen survey of Ohio voters, Mitt Romney is within four points of the President Obama. The more interesting part of that pole finds Rick Santorum is tied with Obama.

We've opined in this space many times that Republicans simply want to defeat Obama. The GOP electorate is fundetimentally conservative but will vote only for someone they think can carry the day with Obama.

Until this week the most likely to defeat Obama was Mitt Romney. Republicans were willing to hold their collective noses and vote Romney. The electability questions cannot be underestimated. Romney has lost the winners glow and the GOP nomination is now in a state of flux.

If we had a nationwide primary tomorrow it could well be Santorum. He is electable and has no apparent negatives which could sink his race with Obama. Simply put, most Republicans could envision an Obama versus Santorum match up.

The Republican Party holds a three point nationwide generic edge over the Democrats. Dick Morris points out the GOP had a five point deficit after the Obama win in 2008.

Barring anything unforeseen the GOP nominee is in a good position to unseat the sitting president.

George H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton shortly after holding what seemed like an unbeatable lead in the polls. As our troops were returning from Iraq Bush's popularity was over ninety percent. Within a few months that margin vanished because old George moved his lips and reneged on his no new taxes pledge. To put it simply, an office holder cannot take his constituents for granted, a lesson Barack Obama may well learn this year.

What is that old saying, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This cocky president is about to learn that lesson. Or to put it more bluntly you can't repeatedly stick a thumb in someones eye without getting a punch in the nose.

~~~ Is Ruth Badder Ginsburg dancing on thin ice when she praises the South Africa constitution as being more modern and up to date than our governing document.

Her oath of office requires that she defends the US constitution against all others. Our governing document has been the model for the free world. What exactly does old Ruth find out of date? Is it the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, etc.

Maybe Ginsburg should resign. As a matter of fact there are at least three other justices who would fail the requirement of total allegiance to our founding document.

The Supreme Court reflects the country as a whole and its justices must be totally dedicated to what it says, not what a few think it should say.

~~~ What do we do with the messy situation in Syria? Sadly there is no simple response we can make.

Some of the things bandied about on what we should do include direct intervention by arming the opposition. The problem with that is there is no organized opposition. The oppression in Syria has been so bad it would be difficult to identify who to help. We couldn't even invade if that is what we decided to do because we would have no place to establish a toe hole. Besides, our intervention would only solidify the government's strangle hold on their people.

Catch 22 is what we have, damned if we do something and damned if we do nothing. In reality we can't merely do nothing. If the opposition to the current dictatorship is crushed there may be no future opportunity to support any opposition to Assad's government. The key player in shoring up Assad is Iraq. The people of Syria are caught between a rock and a hammer.

The situation in Syria cries out for a united front to crush Assad's forces. The Russians and the Red Chinese will squeal like stuffed pigs. Well too bad.

One thing is certain, we can't do nothing.

~~~ What will the leadership of the Catholic Church do if the White House holds to its decision to force the Church on what is rapidly becoming the great condom caper. With the Obamamites it is nothing more than a small mosquito bite type problem. There are few people in the White House who are motivated solely by doing the right thing. It is beyond their kin to understand there are things bigger than themselves.

The issues the Church is standing firm on are part of what makes the Church. There is no common ground to compromise on. We could compromise on money, the location on where to place a church to name a couple. Faith and Morals are sacrosanct and the cornerstone of the reason the church exists.

The President and his geniuses should have known they were not wandering into uncharted waters. Anyone who has dealt with the Catholic Church understands its fundamental beliefs cannot be compromised away.

Arrogance is one of the major sins which can be committed and the White House's arrogance is in full view now. There will be many losers in this political intransigence if the Church is made to surrender its good works rather than prostitute its basic beliefs.

My prayer is that someone in Washington demonstrates some humility and backs off.

Sen. Marco Rubio says President Barack Obama must "change his mind" on forcing religiously affiliated entities to offer employees insurance for birth control and abortifacients at hospitals and other institutions, and that a compromise is unacceptable.

Read more on Newsmax.com:

~~~ Arrogance thou name is Madonna fans. In a newly launched Facebook page Israeli fans Madonna are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off any plans to strike Iran until the Queen of Pop's planned show in Tel Aviv on May 29.

Now that's chutzpah.

~~~ Have you noticed the Keystone Pipeline seems to have disappeared of late. The first step in killing a project which has popular support is to stop any discussion of it.

Representative Kristi Noem says she believes Canada will sign an agreement to sell China oil if the United States does not reverse the Obama administration’s position to block construction of the pipeline. The South Dakota Republican also told Fox News Wednesday that a bill introduced in the House by Representatives' Connie Mack to override the decision and build the pipeline is “right for America.”

Fox News’ Neil Cavuto has reported that Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in China working on new agreements on energy and technology and asked Noem whether the Mack bill might thwart accords that could be detrimental to America’s already moribund economy.

Noem said the House bill has considerable support — but how it will fare in the Senate is another issue.

C ya tomorrow.......

Ciao.......Moe

In a newly launched Facebook page, Israeli fans of U.S. pop megastar Madonna are pleading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off any such plans to strike Iran until the Queen of Pop's planned show in Tel Aviv on May 29.

2012-02-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

This and That for Wednesday

~~~ If we had suggested Rick Santorum had even an outside shot at sweeping all three primary battles yesterday you would have laughed hysterically. Why not, what chance does Santorum have to win the GOP presidential nomination. Well don't look now.

This was a good day for Santorum who now he must gird himself to withstand the Romney and Paul onslaught of negative ads. It will come but he has the experience Gingrich suffered through to be able to fend off all the negativity.

The GOP is a long way from choosing its presidential candidate.

~~~ Was Clint Eastwood duped into doing what he was told was a Chrysler ad? You bet he was. He would never have done an Obama commercial. Just think of it, Chrysler owes us over a billion dollars yet can afford a commercial which cost tens of millions to produce and even more to run for two minutes during the Super Bowl. All that cost and great production, for what? Certainly it was not to promote Chrysler which was mentioned only once in the spot.

No, all this was to promote what how our heroic president went out to save the auto industry.

Does anyone think a major advertiser would pay the highest advertising rate ever in the history of television advertising and settle for only having their name mentioned once during the entire two minute spot. Heck, in the ordinary thirty second spot you would have heard the company name repeated at least a few times backed up by the company logo multiple times. In this two minute spot you would be correct in expecting to have a firm imprint of the product name on your mind.

Add to all this the fact the film was not made in Detroit, rather all the new film was done elsewhere, including Los Angeles.

The ad is more representative of Barack Obama than Fiat ... oops, Chrysler.

~~~ Iran is supporting the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad of Syria. 15,000 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force have arrived in Syria.

The fighting in Syria has been going on for eleven months and tens of thousands of Syrians have been killed by the Assad regime. Russia and China have supported the bloody Assad by using their veto power in the UN which prevents the UN from acting to stop the carnage.

We should immediately begin the process of arming the opposition forces. Not doing so will lead to a total and complete annihilation of those opposing Assad.

Any doubts about the ferocity of the Assad regime? Like father, like son.

~~~ Crucial to the reelection bid of Barack Obama is the strength he had in the 2008 election where he won the vast majority of Catholic votes. The great condom caper of 2012 may blast him out of the running this time though.

There is little doubt the Obama brain trust had an brain freeze and miscalculated just how far they could offend a natural ally. The reaction from Catholics and non Catholics alike are offended by the high handed assault on religious liberty.

The public reaction has once again stimulated people who cherish religious liberty. Some have offered the government should not back down because we have a separation of church and state. The Church is not requesting anyone's rights to be abrogated but rather its rights be honored.

Consider what could happen if this nonsense is allowed to stand. The church will not compromise on matters of morality including the matters at hand. If this stands how long will it before Catholic hospitals are required to provide abortions?

The separation of church and state is not there to protect government from religion but rather to protect our right to the freedom to chose and practice as we see fit.

The church will not back down on matters of faith and morals. The heavy hand of government could cost many poor and needy people of any faith social, medical and educational services they now receive from the The Catholic Church. Many other religions could face the same problems the Church is confronted with.

Obama has picked a fight he cannot win. Frankly he misread the conviction of the leadership of the Church and the support of Catholics when they feel pressured to abandon their closely held beliefs. The choice the Obama acolytes are faced with is to pursue their current dictum even if it means the Catholic Church will have to abandon its works especially in the inner cities.

The Obamamen have bitten off more than they can chew because of their cynical attitude toward people of faith. The President's action brings to mind a quote many years ago of Abe Lincoln: "Without popular opinion nothing can succeed. With it nothing can fail."

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

This and That for Tuesday...

~~~ So the jobless rate is dropping. Frankly it sounds just a little suspicious. We're told people become frustrated and stop looking for work therefore the actual unemployment rate drops. So now we're expected believe Barack and friends that suddenly, in a short time 1.2 million of us stopped looking for work. The figure is the reason for the drop in the unemployment rate. Many people were handing Obama and his gang of number crunches kudos for turning the economy around.

Not so fast. We're being treated more Obama slight of hand. Go to the following link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/5/curl-obamas-made-up-jobless-numbers/?page=all#pagebreak

~~~ Will Barack Obama someday be known as the contraception president? Maybe condom king would be more appropriate. Though he received the lion's share of Catholic support in 2008, he is now taking that group for granted, could he have miscalculated in this instance.

While it may be true that most Catholics do not observe the proscription concerning the use of birth control does not mean Catholics have abandoned the Church. Virtually every priest and pastor in the country read letters from their bishop pointedly discussing the flagrant arm twisting of the Church.

What will come next? Will Obama mandate Catholic medical institutions provide abortions? Probably. Could this be Obama's Waterloo?

~~~ Let's see. Due to the Russia and China veto of any UN action to stop the genocide occurring in Syria we will sit on our collective thumbs. Here we are in a wrestling match over whether we can live in safety if the Iranians get atomic weapons. Iran and Syria are a pair we can't allow to run unchecked. Iran can be stopped if we lend our moral and weapons support of the insurgents in both countries.

Unlike Egypt, Iranians are inclined to be our ally and our intervention with support for the freedom fighters in Syria would go a long way of returning our prestige in that region.

~~~ I have supported Ron Paul in most of his endeavors in the past. However he's becoming more and more shrill as the campaign goes on. His campaigning in Minnesota makes him sound allot like like Jesse Ventura.

Many of us were hopeful Ventura would be a sane and powerful voice when he was elected governor in Minnesota but many voters of his became disenchanted early in his governorship. We don't need need that long to understand we've been had. After all how long did it take for for to understand Old Jesse had been drooped on his head inn wrestling matches.

~~~ May I suggest Arizona governor Jan Brewer for vice president. The mere thought would drive Barack bonkers.

~~~ The following article tells us much of what we need to know about Mitt Romney. It appeared in Newsmax and was written by Henry J. Reske.

Mitt Romney’s recent claim that only Americans put their hand over their hearts during the playing of the national anthem and that the practice was instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt is not only wrong but misguided, The Washington Post said in a fact check of the statement.

Romney asserted earlier this month that “we are the only people on the Earth that put our hand over our heart during the playing of the national anthem. It was FDR who asked us to do that, in honor of the blood that was being shed by our sons and daughters in far-off places.”

Children during pledge to the flag circa 1940....

In fact checking this, the Post first noted Romney’s role in running the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, where he would have seen many athletes from many countries with their hands on their hearts during the playing of their national anthems.

“We randomly searched YouTube for the playing of the national anthem for various countries and quickly found several examples, such as Japan and Brazil, that disprove Romney’s claim of American exceptional-ism,” the Post wrote.

As to the hand-over-the-heart, the history of that gesture is mixed up with the Nazi salute and the Pledge of Allegiance that initially used the stiff-armed gesture.

Francis Bellamy, who wrote the pledge in 1892, had included instructions for the salute while reciting the words: Children were taught to salute the flag with their arms straight out, with palm up.

The problem was |the salute associated with the pledge had begun to look very much like the Nazi salute — and the United States was then at war with Germany.

Congress went with the hand-over-heart gesture for the pledge in 1942. The Post said that Roosevelt had little to do with the changes and it was not done “in honor of the blood that was being shed by our sons and daughters in far off places,” as Romney put it.

“Romney managed to get just about everything wrong in this story, in what appears to be a misguided attempt to both promote American exceptional-ism and ding President Obama,” the Post concluded in awarding the comment four Pinocchio's, their highest rating for misstatements, which it characterizes as “whoppers.”

~~~ Election time has come for Minnesota, Maine and Colorado. Three states but no delegates at stake. Can Santorum mount a challenge?

~~~ After listening to all the blather about the success of the Obama Chrysler and GM bailout you'd think both would be current on the loans they received from the taxpayers.

We can't speak to the GM position but Chrysler is getting a bunch of free publicity, not all of it positive with the advertisement done by Clint Eastwood.

In order to make Chrysler successful the government (read that you and me) made the company billions of dollars in loans. Did that turn the red ink green?

Nope, the company is $1.8 billion in the red. We thought Chrysler was no longer behind the eight ball, but guess again. Add to that they are now the property of Fiat.

~~~ Who is a bigger wimp, Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter? Drop us an email at mvl270@yahoo.com

More tomorrow.....

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-06T16:53:00.000-05:00

This and That.......

~ Is is St. Patrick's Day? Helen prepared an excellent corned beef and cabbage. Frankly, delicious as always. Some leftovers will remind us just how good it was.

~ According to CNS News, Rick Santorum is the only Republican leading Barack Obama in a one on one match up. All others fall short. The data may be misleading because Santorum has not been vetted (scrutinized) as extensively as Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Newt has been under a microscope and Romney is in the early stages of being dissected by the national media.

As bad a Gingrich's examination has been he is slowly improving his positives and lowering his negatives. I suspect over time we will learn Romney's numbers will remain the same.

Please keep in mind we are still in the first inning of a nine inning game and lots can happen. Gingrich is perfectly capable of losing control of his fastball while Romney is capable of dishing out a gofer ball or two of his own. What of the rookie Santorum? He's still untested and has yet to face a high hard one.

~ At last we have the final numbers in from Nevada. Mitt Romney won by a landslide but that should not be too heartening. He won Nevada in 2008 by nearly the same percentage of votes he won by in 2012. However there were over 44,000 back then and fewer than 33,000 this year. If I were Romney I'd keep the cork on the champagne bottles, nothing to really shout about.

Considering Nevada has a very high percentage of Mormons and the exit polling indicates they voted for Romney by well over ninety percent. Romney should do well in Utah, and Idaho which have large Mormon populations.

Super Tuesday should give a better understanding where the GOP race is going. Until then don't bother to make up the November ballots.

One other thing relating to the Nevada primary. Mitt's prize catch of Donald Trump's endorsement has already produced dividends. Trump is showing his schmaltz by taking credit for Romney's Saturday victory there. That man has chutzpah. Romney on the other hand?????

~ Just a passing thought - Are we still giving billions in aid to Egypt? If so, it's time to cut it off.

~ Reza Kahlili reports in the World Net Daily web site today: The Iranian government, through a website proxy, has laid out the legal and religious justification for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of its people.

The doctrine includes wiping out Israeli assets and Jewish people worldwide.
Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove “this corrupting material. It is a “‘jurisprudential justification” to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and in that, the Islamic government of Iran must take the helm.”
Can anyone question Israel's insisting they will do whatever is necessary to keep the Iranians from annihilating them.
It's time for the USA to encourage the freedom fighters we turned our backs on in 2009.
~ The great and inspiring Detroit commercial featuring Clint Eastwood carried great punch. It was certainly the high lite of the commercials shown in the game. I lived in Detroit in 1967 when the city was on its knees embroiled in racial unrest. Chrysler's attempt to pay tribute to a city pulling itself up by its bootstraps is commendable.

One little problem, the Eastwood commercial was filmed not in Detroit but in New Orleans and Los Angles. “Yes, part of it was filmed in New Orleans . . . and some was filmed in various parts—such as Los Angeles,” Dianna Gutierrez said. She specifically points to the tunnel scenes as being taken at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while the stadium shots were in New Orleans.
It was nevertheless an inspiring ad. Maybe Detroit can rejoin the country when the economy perks us. Fiat, who now owns Chrysler deserves kudos for taking on a great reclamation project.
I'm getting called to supper. More tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-06T13:33:00.000-05:00

Blue Monday

I guess our old Red Sox refrain fits here..... Wail 'til next year!

I'll spare all of us with tears of Boston sports agony. The agony of defeat is real. We must now look forward to a Bruins repeat and Celtics resurgence, followed by a rejuvenated Red Sox team following the collapse of last year. We can now devote much of our time to the upcoming elections (how depressing).

We have a few ideas for a new blog update later today. By then the aspirins should take affect.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

Why is this man smiling???????

An article by Yossi Gestetner in the American Thinker web site yesterday makes simple the complicated mess we find ourselves in. A link to the complete article is provided below for your convenience.

When Obama came into office, he didn't show up as a sitting governor. Instead, he was a voting member of the majority party in the Senate -- the majority party, remember, who created the mess -- and he only made things worse once in the White House. See for yourself:

...When Obama came into office, the economy had just concluded a year of 0.0% growth. In Obama's first year, however, the economy shrank by 3.5%.

...When Obama came into office, we had a mess due to the housing market. However, the the worst year for new home sales in U.S. history took place in Obama's third year, not Bush's last.

...When Obama came into office, we concluded Bush's worst year of banks closings under Bush, with 25 banks shuttered in 2008 due to insolvency. Obama's best year of bank closings (2011) saw 97 banks go under.

...When Obama came into office, the economy had just concluded a year that lost 1.4 million fewer jobs than what the economy lost in Obama's first year.

...When Obama came into office, we had concluded a year (2008) where the unemployment rate was on average 5.8% for the year. The best month on Obama's watch is above eight percent.

When Obama came into office, we were losing a half a million jobs a month. However, just as the waters in New Orleans started receding before Bush did anything, jobs losses in the U.S. were bound to recede even if Obama did not lift a finger. The only question was how fast jobs would come back.

A rule in modern economics suggests that the steeper the downturn, the faster the comeback. But even if you look only at Obama's "good" job months (largely since we elected a do-nothing Congress which by default tied and limited Obama's hands...), the job gains are less than what President Ford -- with an economy and population 35 years smaller than now -- delivered at this time following the steep downturn of the mid-1970s, and it's a drop in the bucket compared to what Reagan gave us after the steep 1981 downturn

Read the entire article here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/when_obama_came_into_office.html#ixzz1lSJCYyhf

Now go out and enjoy the Super Bowl.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-04T16:51:00.002-05:00

This and that.......

Coming soon.......

~ Do you know what this weekend is? It's time for the big game. We're heading out for some game day supplies. Let's see what we need... Cheese, crackers, popcorn, chips, liquid libations of different sorts. The Celtics are on at noon, then a good meal (corned beef and cabbage with carrots to go with boiled potatoes) a stout beer to aid digestion. Life is good. Now for the Pats to win and even the score with the Jints from four years ago.

~ An Al Arabia news story says Barack Obama has expressed anger with Syria for slaughtering four hundred of its citizens in Homs, the same thing the current tyrant's dad had done many years ago. Repeatedly in the middle east we have taken stands with no backup to them. The Russians are the ones supporting Bashar al-Assad and they have warned us not to intervene as they are in Syria or else. Who knows what the 'or else' means but we have never given the Russians anything to lose sleep over. I wonder what the number needs to be before someone stands up to the tyrant.

~ In the meantime another punk dictator is busily rubbing his thumb in our collective eyes. Iranian thug, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei' has ordered more military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. The Muslim fanatic has threatened to close the Strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in retaliation for sanctions that affect Iran's oil exports. Any action to choke off the Strait would be an act of war affecting not only the USA but all the oil producing countries there.

Couple the above with reports of Iran having four nuclear weapons in the not too distant future and we have a volatile mixture of a tyrant with the potential and willingness of inflicting great harm in the region. Add to all this the fact the United States is in a weakened military state and a commander who is indecisive we now have a combination which could invite serious danger to us and our allies.

~ Big mouth Rosie O'Donnell has turned into a lot of hot air. She has had to release thirty of her employees because of no ratings. I feel for the thirty bu can only say goodbye to Rosie. By the way she is seeking the endorsement of The Green Party for president. It would be amusing to see her in a debate with Barry Obama.

My sweety is calling for dinner. More tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-03T13:25:00.002-05:00

Drums of war.......

As Iran nears the ability to build nuclear weapons (reports are they will have four) the tension created in Israel is intense. Once the genie is out of the bottle there's no putting him back in. If and when Iran were to unleash one of their weapons there is no way to measure what the reaction would be. There are already some very unstable countries who posses the bomb - Pakistan and North Korea come to mind. Who knows what would happen.

Some of the wealthier countries in the region including Saudi Arabia plan to join the nuclear club. They were perfectly contented to be under the protection of the United States. If their region is threatened by the erratic mullahs running Iraq with "the bomb" is there any doubt the Saudis would want to protect themselves. The Saudis would not hesitate to retaliate with whatever weapons they have at their disposal.

The leadership in Iran needs to perpetuate itself. Since there is growing unease with the younger element in Iran the elders need to do something to maintain their control. What better way to unify the country than to have a war. To the ruling Mullahs life has little meaning so sacrificing the lives of many is not out of the question.

Israel is not in a position to get into a war of attrition with Iraq. Iraq has demonstrated its willingness to conduct such a war as it had earlier with Iran. Hundreds of thousands of casualties were suffered by both sides. Is there any doubt that if either had a nuclear weapon it would have been used.

We have made a major strategic blunder in not encouraging the forces of democracy when it reared its head just a few years ago.

There is a well educated element of younger people who were willing to shed their blood for liberty. We dashed their hopes by inaction when we had an opportunity. Now Israel will need to carry the ball here and now. We cannot be relied upon to take whatever steps are necessary to denude the Iranian threat.

The last few years have created much unease in the Middle East. The Arab Spring has left us out of the loop in the region. Whatever errors we have made there are now coming back to haunt us. Egypt, Syria and Yemen are merely a few of the many hot spots which could erupt at any time.

We need to make ourselves independent of Middle Eastern oil. We must push ahead with resources we have here and the resources of friends such as Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.

Taking steps to produce our own resources would dramatically reduce the price we pay for petroleum products. A good start will be to build the pipeline from Canada. We must help Mexico develop more of its area for exploration so we can overcome any erratic action in other parts of the world where we have little control any longer. It's time for us to fold up our tent and return to the home front.

Our economy cannot long suffer the stress of very high energy prices and being under the influence of enemies. It is time to act while we still can.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

This and that.......

~ Big "birther" Donald Trump comes out for Mitt Romney. It would be way cool if an enterprising reporter asks Romney his position on the "birther" issue.

~ Is President Obama still dragging his feet on the oil pipeline? All indicators are that he will stubbornly hold that position even if it brings him down politically. His loyalty to the enviro wackos who support his is alarming.

~ Will we ever learn the truth about Fast and Furious? Listening to the attorney general today made having lunch difficult. This is becoming a major embarrassment for the country. Attorney General Eric Holder is a national disgrace.

~ Can we call the Chevy Volt a hot car?

~ How long before Israel takes out Iran's nuke capability.

~ Surprise. Providence, Rhode Island is filing for bankruptcy. This is not the first RI city to take that step, Central Falls went that route recently. Will others follow?

~ How long will it take for the Taliban to take Afghanistan back after we pull out? Iraq won't be far behind either.

~ The chaos in Egypt almost makes us yearn for Hosni Mubarak.

~ He saw his shadow. Six weeks to go.

Later.......

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-02T12:10:00.001-05:00

Romney aquires new constituents........

Sometimes we are victimized by our friends.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-02-01T14:30:00.000-05:00

Now what???????

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til its over." Well it ain't over. We have barely started. Was yesterday anyone's last hurrah? Hardly.

To begin with there are forty-six more election events of various types. The number of delegates allocated to date are only a very small percentage of the whole.

Is Mitt Romney the Ronald Reagan man he has been made out to be? Get real. Mitt the moderate managed to carve out that position for himself with some adept slight of hand. When he ran against Teddy Kennedy not so long ago Romney presented himself as being as liberal and in some instances more liberal than the "Liberal Lion". Pretty neat trick. In the debate Romney presented his self as the anti Reagan, denouncing Reagan as out of touch.

In the Romney-Kennedy contest I found it necessary to blank, to pass on the US Senate. I could not bring myself to hold my nose and vote Romney. I said so on the air and was surprised at the number of callers who had originally supported Romney until that very revealing debate.

The senate race was in 1994, the same year as the Newt Gingrich Contract with America. Nearly all GOP candidates for the house or senate that year signed on with the notable exception of Romney who reject the "contract" out of hand.

You may say that was a long time ago. Over eighteen years is a very long time and people can change their mind on some issues. I grant you that. The Romney positions were reaffirmed in 2002 as a candidate for governor. In a debate with Shannon O'Brien he made clear he he was pro-choice (a euphamism for pro abortion) and took a number of liberal positions so the distinction between him and the very liberal O'Brien were limited.

The race was fairly close and there were a number of third party candidates running. With the divided vote Romney was elected governor with less than a majority of the vote.

In office he governed as he super liberal. Among other things he promised to get to the bottom of the "big dig" fiasko where millions of dollars could not be explained. After meeting with the heads of the major contractors a week after he took office he became invisible in matters concerning the big dig and didn't get involved again when a huge section of the tunnel fell and killed a passanger of a vehicle passing through the tunnel. At that point he finally took a serious interest in the big dig.

During his term as governor he began to change some of his positions and tried to cast himself as a conservative. The man who publically denied he was anything like Ronald Reagan is now trying to glom on to the former president.

What's that old saw, "A rose, is a rose, is a rose."

It is painful to see this apostate conservative degrade a man who was among Ronald Reagan's favorite congressmen (according to Nancy Reagan).

There's plenty of time to make straightren the record.

To repeat the immortal words of the great Yogi, "It ain't over 'til it's over".

Have a good day.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-31T13:52:00.000-05:00

This and That.......

~ Our prayers are with the family of Rick Santorum. The youngest Santorum has a terminal disease and we can simply wonder how this is affecting his race for president. He had his priorities in order in spending valuable campaign time at her side at her time of need.

~ An early favorite of ours, Michelle Bachman, is planning to run again for her House seat. We need an independent voice in the congress who, to use a phrase often used by Christy Mihos, speak truth to power.

~ It is interesting to note the GOP presidential nomination will not be settled today. Whatever happens today it would be interesting to see a head to head pairing between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. With four in the race it is not likely we will get to see such a match up.

~ Word has it congressional Republicans plan to place the president squarely on the spot concerning Canadian oil. They're putting him on the spot in having only a veto to stop the pipeline from becoming a reality. It's one thing to give lip service at stopping the pipeline yet something else entirely to veto something which is popular with Democrats and Republicans alike.

~ I think I have this story straight. It seems hard to believe the nature of bureaucracy and policies that can only leave us scratching our collective heads. The incident at New York's LaGuardia Airport. A screener discovered unidentifiable items inside a passenger's carry-on bag. The officer prevented the metal item from going through because of its "material and appearance," a TSA official said. When the next shift arrived, one officer saw the items and mistakenly believed they were test objects, used to check screener proficiency. When that officer later learned they were not test items, the officer alerted others, and the TSA contacted the Port Authority Police Department, responsible for protecting the airport. Sleep well.

~ We just thought you'd find this Romney video humorous --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI

~ Has anyone found the missing $1.2 billion yet? It must have evaporated.

~ Where will the "occupy" movement ultimately bring us?

~ Picture of the year.

Sorry about no post yesterday. We had a medical day - yup, everything is OK.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-29T14:56:00.003-05:00

I was just thinking.......

~ 50 degrees below F last night in Alaska. Just thinking of that cold is bone chilling. Hey Al Gore, where's the global warming?

~ Could we say receiving Herman's endorsement could mean Gingrich is raising Cain.

~ Yet one more reason to dump Obama - Hugo Chavez said he wants to "shake hands" with Barack Obama and have "good relations" with the USA if they are each reelected this year.

~ Nicolas Sarkozy will be in deep electoral doodoo shortly. He plans to announce tax hikes on the national sales tax on goods and services, government sources said.

~ We keep hearing how the prison population is aging. Any thoughts we can build geriatric units where the intensity of the incrceration could be less and thusly be less expensive?

~ All along we've been told AG Holder was in the Sargeant Schults category and knew nothing about Operation Fast and Furious. Well that was a lot of bunk. We now learn Holder was informed on a nearly hour by hour basis by his underling that Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s murder on the day it happened – December 15, 2010.
~ Comment by Mitt Romney during his debate with Teddy Kennedy during the 1994 US Senate race: “I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” He maintained the sme posture during his race for governor in 2002 until nearly the end of his term in office.

~ Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani praised Newt Gingrich and criticized Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper. “I’ve never seen a guy change his positions on so many things, so fast, on a dime, on everything,” Giuliani said about the former Massachusetts governor. “Pro-choice, pro-life. And pro-choice because somebody, a close friend, died, and he became pro-choice because this woman died of an abortion. Then he figures out there are embryos and he changes.

Enough thinking for one day.......

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

Life's small pleasures.......

The last place Helen and I had dinner out before I took ill eighteen months ago is a medium sized Portuguese restaurant in Fall River, Massachusetts. Caldeiras Restaurant is now our favorite place to dine out.

We had a de ja vu all over again today. Helen persuaded me it was finally time to get out be normal again. One of our most pleasurable experiences is to occasionally dine out, just the two of us. One of our favorite places is Caldeiras near downtown Fall River. It is also the last place we dined out before Mother Nature intruded in my health and leveled me for the better part of a year and a half.

Caldeiras sprecializes in Portuguese cuisine. You name it they've got it. The food is outstanding. We've never had anything but good meals there. Coupled with outstanding service with a large smile Caldeiras is one place we find we can escape from city living. The moment you enter the restaurant (they have a tavern adjacent to the restaurant) you leave the city behind. Today we were treated to what sounded like the pan flute of Gheorghe Zamfir (yes, the name is spelled correctly). The mood was set within minutes and we were ready to enjoy a well prepared Portuguese meal.

Helen frequently has seafood and I opt for beef. Both were great and the soup was something we both look forward to having, kale soup which is a Portuguese delicacy.

Caldeiras has a good wine list and an excellent dessert menu. Before becoming ill we have dined at Caldeiras often. Come to think of it, it is where we had a family dinner with son in law Jon Rose before he shipped out for duty in Iraq a few years ago. We had most of the family there for the send off dinner and everyone, even the young ones, had a good meal and time.

Now that I'm back on my feet we intend to make the place a regular stop for fine eating.

Tomorrow we'll get back to less pleasant things. Happy eating.

Ciao.......Moe Lauzier

2012-01-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

This and That

~ The debates mercifully are done --- for a while. Time to let the voting do the talking for now.

Voting in Florida is currently ongoing and a great deal of balloting has already occurred. Based on the two Florida debates Newt Gingrich has lost his strong lead versus Mitt Romney. The GOP establishment has fallen into line behind Romney.

Would a loss here bury Gingrich. I think not. A different approach will be necessary, to wit, no more Mr. Nice Guy. The new more feisty Romney has set the tone for now.

With the full court press executed by the GOP Romney needs to win convincingly or his anticipated victory will leave many questions unanswered. A couple of wild cards are how well Ron Paul and Rick Santorum will do. The key players are still Romney and Gingrich.

~ The latest Gross Domestic Report is just out and it ain't good. Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 , compared to an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010 last year. This has just got to be George Bush's fault.

~ He earns about trenty million a year. Yup, that's what the former Massachusetts Governor said in the debate. Anyone believe Mitt Romney is clueless about how his money is invested? Could I interest you in waters edge land along the Muddy River? Maybe his blind trust isn't so blind.

~ I thought modern luxury liners were un sinkable. Shucks, that's what they said about the Titanic. Galosh.

~ Another day, another great stimulus investment bites the dust. This one an electric car where we lost more than a hundred million smackeroos.

~ Do you recall the old question of whether you are better off than four years ago? Well......are you?

~ Guess who is getting married? None other than Barney Frank. His longtime partner Jim Ready and Barney will tie the knot after a longtime relationship.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

Another Debate Day

Here we go. Another day, another debate. No debate last night and I found myself lost, like a junky in need of a fix. We should get our fill tonight since Newt Gingrich should be loaded for bear. There will be audience participation unlike the sterile show Monday night. Because it will be the last for a few weeks it will be important for the candidates to make their points and make them memorable as well. Unlike the sterile event we had Monday we will be treated to audience participation.

As an observer of this race nothing surprises me. A seriously anti Ronald Reagan person is now trying to make us think he was a Reagan backer back in the day. If I've learned nothing else it is Mitt Romney has chutzpah. You see, the former Massachusetts governor was opposed to Dutch throughout his time in office from 1980 to 1988. In 1994, during his debate with Ted Kennedy and at other times during the senate race, Romney took umbrage at the suggestion he either supported or voted for Reagan. He made it clear in the gubernatorial debate he was not a "Reagan Republican".

The anti conservative sentiments expressed by Romney continued into and throughout his race for governor.

A friend recently disagreed with me that Romney is and in reality always has been a liberal by citing Romney's Mormonism, as though all Mormons are conservative. Nothing could be further from the truth. May I remind you uber-liberal senator Harry Reid of Nevada is a devout Mormon.

In terms of one's religion and politics, a religious affiliation tells us little or nothing about a person's politics. The above mentioned Ted Kennedy and I are/were Catholic. Teddy was almost as liberal as Mitt while I am an adherent of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

It took me longer to get to this than I expected. Mitt Romney is and has always been a liberal, plain and simple. No, that's not a sin, it's just a fact. If Romney can carry out this charade what will be electing, a committed liberal or a newly minted conservative? What are Romney's true political leanings? His record says a strong leftward tilt.

Watch tonight's debate, we may be treated to some interesting fireworks.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

This and That

~ In the do as I say category, Mr. Big Heart B. Obama gave a whopping piece of his income to charity, 1%. Romney 15%. How about Loose Lips Biden, 350 bucks.

~ An item inn the Washington Times sends up a red flag:

"Warren Buffet, whom President Obama likes to cite as a fair-minded billionaire while arguing for higher taxes on the wealthy, stands to benefit from the president’s decision to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline permit."

A you scratch my back and I'll scratch yous proposition.

~ Economics 101..... If you want to kill investment push up the cost of doing business by increasing the penalty for making successful investments. By increasing the capital gains tax to thirty percent you will achieve that goal and drive capital out of the country. Good going Barry.

~ Various news sources are reporting the Post Office will lay off more than a quarter million people. The check is in the mail....Hmmmmmmm.

~ Mitch Daniels looked very presidential in delivering the response to the State of the Union.

~ The words of Ronald Reagan rang true last night --- 'the more the plans fails the more the planners plan."

~ Rasmussen says Gingrich leads 35-26 in Florida. That makes tomorrow's debate a very important item on the road to the nomination. This vote shapes up to be a back breaker for Mitt Romney. A loss here where he has led by as much as 15% would mean he will need to wait nearly a month before evening the score. A Gingrich win would affirm the South Carolina results and gave him time to fund rise and organize for the all important next few primaries, especially Super Tuesday.

~ In the "good news" department, Michelle Bachman will run for a fourth term as a congresswoman from Minnesota. Some of us are pleased she will remain in the Republican spotlight.

~ Gabrielle Giffords said goodbye to the House of Representatives today. It is sad not only because Giffords seems to have been an ethical representative and a decent person but because a two bit punk could dictate to a great country who will represent the people. Assassins bullets have changed the course of our government be it Abe Lincoln or Jack Kennedy and others.

The punk who shot Giffords should never see the light of freedom ever, not even for a minute. The only justice for her assassin is execution. There were a number of people killed that day and but for the Grace of God the congresswoman was spared.

Anything less than death would be a disgrace to justice.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-24T14:28:00.003-05:00

Do politicians lie???????

You bet your boots they do. Which ones???All.....(maybe most...)

Are they all alike? No, some tell little whitelies, some have a habit of inflating their importance while some lie for thesake of it. The worst types do it to gain favor and an "edge" versustheir opponents. Vladimir Lenin pushed the idea to tell a lie so big enoughthat no one would believe it is a lie.

We've had an opportunity to observe some of ourcandidates for president. All but one lies. All are good at it and have thecapacity of doing it with a straight face. Of our current crop of candidatesRon Paul stands alone as a truth teller. I've not caught him in a bold facedlie. He in some ways is close to pure as any candidate could be. On domesticmatters he is a straight arrow and could make a fine president. On foreign affairshe could place us in serious jeopardy thus causing me to cross him off our listpossible votes come Election Day.

I had the pleasure to introduce him at FaneuilHall in Boston when he ran for president in as a Libertarian in 1988. To say the lease I likeRon Paul allot. His son Rand, Senator from Tennessee is a chip off the oldblock. I'd love to have Ron as my congressman and Rand as my senator.

However I cannot vote for Dr. Paul for presidentbecause of his foreign policy stands. Frankly it pains me to say that. Hiscandidacy brings allot to the debate for president and for that I am grateful the old warrior is making one final run.

That brings us to three men from which to choose.The biggest surprise of the bunch is Rick Sasntorum. In this corner the thinkingwas the former senator had played out the string in the Iowa caucus. He beatMitt Romney and exposed Mitt's Achilles heal, something he has yet to overcome.

Ole Mitt usually does not lie or dirty his handsin the fray. Four years ago he played the role of Saint Mitt and allowed his surrogatesto sully the reputations of his opponents. When the chips were down in '08 he rolledup his sleeves and dug up mud to fling and did so with a broad grin. No remorse.So much for his religious piety.

Romney seems like a man with little basic streetinstincts or common sense. Do you remember his taking the family dog for multihundred mile trip--- on the roof of the car? At first the story seems funny butI doubt the Romney family pooch saw the same humor. It must have been like ascene out of the movie Family Vacation.

One other thing about old Mitt. He's noconservative. He didn't even vote for Ronald Reagan and bragged about it duringhis debate with Ted Kennedy in 1994, the same year he refused to sign the Contract with America. There is no instance in his history ofgiving anyone a sense he ever entertained a conservative thought in his life beforedeciding to run for president.

In baseball there is an old adage about some'fancy dan' ball players that they talk a good game. I can't say that aboutRomney. He doesn't even seriously stake out conservative positions.

Romney is only one more entry of theestablishment wing of the GOP. Ole' Mitt is a conservative pretender.

This gets us to Mistah Speekah, Newt Gingrich.

Is he pure? I doubt it. Frankly he has alwayshad a bit of the rogue in him. I suspect he would accept that characterization.

First his weakness. He was the consummate armtwister and showed a propensity of living and working close to the edge. Newtis an old fashioned arm twister. Arm twisters make enemies. In his four yearspeakership he made plenty of enemies. I understand there was a run on steeltoed shoes while he was speaker. because he didn't shy away from stepping on toes. Sortof a throwback to previous speakers. Tip O'Neill for example was no shrinkingviolet. Ditto for the fabled Joe Martin (1940s from Massachusetts).

Gingrich's personal life is a fertile hunting groundfor any character assassin. While he has had three wives, he says he has foundGod and turned to religion for strength. He is now a practicing Catholic whohas made his peace with the Almighty. Is he telling the truth? Your guess is asgood as mine. What's the old saw let he who is without sin throw the firstboulder. Sinner take my sinner's hand.

Gingrich is a throwback to another era. Aspresident he could be another Teddy Roosevelt, at least the TR of his time aspresident. Hard right conservative? No. Certainly a solid record however.Gingrich strikes me as being a pragmatist not wedded to a particular orthodoxy.

Can Newt Gingrich, baggage and all be electedpresident? I don't know. One thing is for sure, the old rules are out thewindow. We no longer have to kiss the posteriors of a few big publishers or TVnetworks. The Internet and Cable TV have changed the entire scene and it seemsGingrich has learned how to navigate in these unchartered waters.

Could we envision Newt Gingrich as the Presidentof the United States? Sure, why not.

Last night's debate was a draw at worst for theSpeaker. The next debate should be telling. It may be the turning point for therest of the campaign.

Time for a nap. C ya tomorrow.

Ciao…….Moe

2012-01-23T16:23:00.002-05:00

This and That.......

~ It's the New England Patriots and the New Jersey Giants in the Super Bowl......again.....bring it on.

~ The owners of the Costa Concordia demonstrated a sincere concern for their customers by offering a discount on future trips with them. Bets are good there's not a rush to the ticket window.

~ We have a sinking feeling the situation with Iran is worsening rather than being resolved. Letting this get out of control could lead to a shut down of the Straights of Hormuz. Iran's Mullahs are nutty enough to bring everyone down with them in one glorious ball of fire.

~ Headline in this morning's Drudge Report - NEWT EATS THE PRESS...... Gotta love it.

~ President Obama said in a statement the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade makes it clear that the government "should not intrude on private of family matters. That's Obama Speak for allowing abortion as a means for freeing up our daughters from the scourge of pregnancy by converting their own body to become the death chamber of their babies. The president has such a way with words.

~ We just bought our soda and popcorn in preparation for tonight's latest GOP presidential debate. I'm beginning to like this stuff --- great entertainment.

~ Representative Gabrielle Giffords announced on her face book page Sunday that she will resign from the congress this week. It's a shame she is stepping down. It's a shame for her and her district she will take this action but the people of her district have a right to full-time representation. It further shame that a pinhead could do the harm he did. We wish her the best in whatever she chooses to do. God Bless her.

~ Is the occupy Wall Street crowd planning a Spring Offensive? We bet they will try. Something tells us we'll be better prepared this time. Maybe we should present them with a bill for repairs and cleanup costs before they are allowed to "occupy" again.

~ Very funny line in Newsmax --- "A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway." Even the nutty leaders of Iran don't believe Allah could stop a carrier. Sort of like a like a mouse attacking a cat's tail.

~ Crazy thought for today --- How long before BHO takes credit for approving the Keystone project? The pressure from the labor unions is intensifying. When the Obama spine turns to mush (it's just a matter of time) he'll cave. When he caves he'll blather about with something like he was only concerned with public safety. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

~ Is it the end of the line for the Celtics' big three? The team looks slow and disorganized. Could it be the end of the road for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett? The short time they were together they gave us many "Celtics" moments. Could they put together a serious run? Maybe, we can hope.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-22T12:20:00.001-05:00

Good Morning.......

If your name is Newt it is a very good morning indeed.

I won't try to bore you with data and the like about yesterday's rout, the numbers speak for themselves. Heck Mr. Speekah even won the married woman's vote. If yesterday's action was a boxing match the fight would have ended after the first round with Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Utah mauler spread out on the canvas. One solid right hand punch did it. It was then tweetie birds and stars. There was little punch in Romney's mit(t).

Ron Paul heads for caucus states while the star gazer, Newt and the coal miner's son head to Florida.

Mitt has Romney on the ropes and this becomes a "must win" situation for him. Another Gingrich rout and it's back to the boardroom for Romney.

If I were to be calling the shots for the Gingrich campaign I'd privately be helping Rick Santorum stay in the race. That allows those voters who need more convincing Gingrich is the real ticket to ride a neutral place to park their votes without the need to hold their collective noses to vote Romney.

Another good reason to keep Santorum in the race is he could be an excellent choice for vice president. Sure there are some super stars Gingrich could select such as Florida's Senator Marco Rubio, but Santorum has developed a reputation as a straight shooter and would likely be a bulldog as a veep candidate. Besides, who would you bet on in a veep debate with Joe Biden. That fight might need to be stopped in the first round....TKO for Santorum.

Gingrich-Santorum? Yup, we could handle that.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-21T16:54:00.001-05:00

Barry and Nelson Redux.......

I cut my teeth in politics for the first time in 1952 when I was ten. My dad ran for the state senate from Fall River, Massachusetts. That year he lost 55/45 in a 10 to one Democrat district. Republicans customarily lost there by 9 and 10 to one margins. Even the fabled Joe Martin, then US Speaker of the House, lost in the city though he carried the congressional district because the suburbs in the region were heavily Republican.

In that same year (1952) Dwight Eisenhower visited Fall River and I got to ride in an open car with the then future president along with my Dad. It was a heady experience for a young boy. Dad had run for the state senate in 1948 and 1950 as well and had about the same results. After that the dye was cast.

My early experience in political life was normal. A young boy with his heart in baseball and not politics was the order of the time. Baseball now coexists with my interest in politics. As time went on my love affair with first the Boston Braves and then the Red Sox was cemented while my political orientation came on more slowly.

1960 was a real challenge because most of my friends were in support of John Kennedy for president. I was hooked on Richard Nixon. None of that mattered since in 1960 neither me or my pals could vote anyway (the lowering of the voting age to 18 had not yet happened.

By 1964 I had finally come of voting age. Like this year, 1964 was a seminal year. Initially the race for president occupied my thoughts. Early on I had decided not to vote for Lyndon Johnson. The remaining choices were limited. There was Henry Cabot Lodge, Margaret Chase Smith, the venerable Harold Stassen who was a perennial presidential candidate, Nelson Rockefeller and ultimately Barry Goldwater who challenged the GOP status quo.

Goldwater's nomination came against the entire GOP establishment. It was known not so fondly as the Eastern Establishment. My understanding is the so called establishment peaked in 1948 with the nomination of New York Governor Thomas Dewey. It was the precursor of the of the current GOP division of which Mitt Romney is the current representative of the establishment. The establishment is neither liberal or conservative. I can't describe what it is with any certainty. The former Massachusetts governor has been running for president since 1994 when he was an extreme liberal. I suspect he feels he has a date with destiny going back to his father's failed attempt in 1968.

George Romney was always bitter because the question of his foreign birth (in Mexico) was a dis qualifier from the mandatory "native born" admonition of the US Constitution.

Thanks to the efforts of the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the 2012 election shapes up as possibly the most important election of my lifetime. We are at a crossroad.

Until the last few days I was unsure of who to go with for president. Romney has only one qualification for president, to wit, he is not Obama. Would Romney be better than the current White House occupant. Yes, by all means. If Barrack Obama is a broken leg then Romney would be a sprained ankle.

If not Romney then who? A personal acquaintance Ron Paul is probably the cleanest and most honest of the bunch, however age and positions on some foreign policy matters will keep him from a serious chance at the nomination.

Well then, how about Rick Santorum? He's not a bad choice but the question is whether he can put on a national race. My guess is no.

How about the bruised and bloodied Newt Gingrich. Three wives not withstanding he could be the best chance of electing a committed conservative to the presidency.

So there we are with choices, none of which are perfect.

Then again I am reminded Ronald Reagan was divorced and remarried, Jack Kennedy had a gaggle of beauties wearing out the entry mat at the White House and when I traveled the East Coast many many establishments gleefully pronounced "Washington slept here".

So now all eyes are on South Carolina. A solid Gingrich win could set the stage for a marathon.`A poor performance could spell doom for Rick Santorum.

Voting has been going on for a few days so far and the effect of Gingrich's drubbing of Romney in the debates in Carolina will not be reflected in Florida.

The polls close in a couple of hours in The Palmetto State and the race to the nomination will get very serious.

Have a good weekend

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-20T14:49:00.000-05:00

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!!!

What's the difference between John Kerry, John Edwards, and Newt Gingrich?

Kerry was (is?) a jiggolo who is a master of finding wealthy women to keep him. How often has that been mentioned about him let's say by ABC? Think hard? I thought so. Nuttin, nadda, zilch.

Then there is the Kerry wingman Edwards who was dipping his pen in an inkwell not his own while his wife was dyeing from cancer. As the French say, quelle homme (my Granddad would have said "maudi cochon").

Now we come to the handling of the Gingrich affair (no pun intended). Is he innocent as a choirboy? Heck no. I wouldn't want him at our front door to pick up one of our dsaughters to go on a date. That would have been true because Gingrich is at best perfidious. He may have/had an strong libido. I have no clue.

So what is the difference between the three (besides the obvious)? One has expressed contrition and publically acknowledged wrongdoing and asked for absolution for his sins. The other two are unrepentant jiggalos. Sometimes we can't tell, as the line in Finnian's

Rainbow says, "Which witch is which?"

Newt's knocking at the front door. My shotgun is behind that door but my daughter has expressed a desire to go on a date with him. She is old enough to be careful with this fellow who is a known and confirmed jiggolo. He promisses to be straight with her but he is now seeking my approval.

My wife reminds me of Ronald Reagan's admonition of "trust but vesrify".

I think she's right.

Republicans are faced with four choices, three of which I could live with. The fourth choice concerns me tremendously. Yes, yes, yes, I'd vote for number four ahead of the Great Pretender currentlyy inhabiting the White House. He and his sidekick from Deleware have already disrupted American life beyond anything many of us thought possible by any president.

Frankly I feel disgtraced for standing by as Barrack Obama and his useful idiot sidekick Joe Biden have singlehandidly dismantled that which has been nurtered for more than two centuries.

Was/is America perfect? Heck no. While we're at, is is there any other place on earth to drop your anchor? Not on your tintype. This is the only place on Earth to be.

If the Georgia Bulldog gets out of hand we can reign him in. Ditto for the Pennsylvania senator (who won last night's debate). In Ron Paul you get exactly what he says he is. Paul however may have a better chance at the presidency than I have which is somewhere between very slim, and none.

That gets us to the chamaleon. Big Dig Romney is a wild, wild card. What would he be as president. Frankly only his hair dresser really knows.

Now for the political reality. Either Gingrich wins today or the Elerphant can fold up his tent. The choice tomorrow is clear, Mr. Polident or Mr. Rumples.

It feels good to get back to saying what I think. I hope to see you over the weekend and we can wring our hands together and then prepare for the Pats big day.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-19T13:12:00.001-05:00

Hello,

Yup, it's me. Alive and well to.

My major health issues are behind me, we think way behind.

I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. As of yesterday the last of my serious health issues are behind me. With that in mind I think I'll be able to post from time to time.

For the record there are no major issues before me. The most difficult thing I must deal with is my vision and how it affects my ability to read. That has slowed me dramatically. I'll be following up with that problem shortly.

In the meantime I will endeavor to publish as often as possible. I'm not in a position to predict how often you'll find a new issues piece.

The "issues of the day" are compelling and I'll try to be as up to date as possible with them. The presidential race is getting very interesting and is chockablock full of happenings which cry our for commentary.

I spoke with my honey Helen about the fact we still have a large number of you logging on regularly is heartening. If I have as few as one of you here I'll gleefully post often. To put it mildly I am humbled by the number of you still visiting here regularly.

My intention is to continue with blogger as our meeting place because of its simplicity to post as well as read. Any thoughts you may have concerning that will be helpful in finalizing my thinking on the matter. Please writer me at mvl270@yahoo.com .

There, the ice is broken and I feel much better now.

God willing I'll have something for you tomorrow. We plan to watch the debate tonight and it will likely provide material for our post.

Thank you so much for sticking with me during my prolonged absence and a prayer of thanks for the Lord allowing me to return to sufficient health for us to get together again.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry for no posts the past few days. Minor health issue which will be corrected today. I should be able to post sometime the middle of next week.

Have a nice weekend.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-26T18:29:00.000-04:00

Raising Cain.......

1 --- Herman Cain is a big brother type, very likeable and a square shooter. This space (me) initially thought Cain would have his fifteen minutes of fame and then fade away. Wrong as wrong could be. He is certainly in this race and a real player. He has outlasted former Minnesota Governor Tim Paulenty and may have outdistanced a few more over the coming weeks.

"With 9-9-9 (his tax plan) guess what? How many loopholes?" Cain said, tapping his fingers on the table like a drum roll. "None. Everybody gets treated the same. What a novel idea."

What experience does Herman Cain have? Far more than the incumbent and any of the other Republicans, including Mitt Romney.

He’s a black guy who had to fight and scratch for everything he has. He’s tough but compassionate. Herman Cain is a hands on management type with proven ability. To pull himself up by his bootstraps and he first needed to make the straps.

I like how he thinks and recently called B O’s rhetoric oomgalagala. Give ‘em heck Herman. Cain is Able…..

Which of the candidates would you want in a foxhole with you covering your backside?

2 --- In nearly 30 years in radio I made just about every gaff conceivable. I must however, tip my cap Big Barry O who managed to confuse a Jew with a janitor. ( I can hear my program director pulling his hair out and screaming at the top of his lungs if I made that gaffe on air.)

Most of my verbal gaffs came about because we seldom had a script to work from. Big B O uses a teleprompter to order breakfast for gosh sakes. How did he mess this one up.

Big B O has messed up many lines. Frankly he’s on a level with Vice President Joe “The Lip” Biden who seems to misfire each time he flaps his gums.

Only 482 gays left of this pair.

3 --- Question of the day, is Chris Christie a conservative or just another pretender. We certainly have enough of them beginning with Mitt Romney.

As we have discussed in the past, GOP primaries generally breakdown to conservatives versus moderates. After some mud slinging and blood letting one of each side will emerge.

4 --- We can thank Big B O for creating a healthy distrust for politicians in general.

I recall asking my granddad about some politicians and whether he trusted certain ones. A sheepish grin flashed and he answered my question with a question. “Is he alive?”

In that response he said it all: A resounding no.

Grandpa Lauzier was the proprietor of a small grocery store on Brightman Street in the north end of Fall River, Massachusetts. He gave credit to his customers who worked I the local mills. He granted credit and kept a complete set of books on who owed how much. In language that sounded remarkably similar to Ronald Reagan’s “Trust but verify” philosophy Arthur Lauzier explained counting the change regularly helped his clerks honest. He said it was better to create an atmosphere where dishonest behavior would not be tolerated.

Sadly we have not learned that philosophy. Most crooked politicians think their lies are OK because we (the voting public) want things belonging to others. Crooked pols and voters are cynics.

Where’s my grandpa when we need more like him.

C Ya tomorrow.

Ciao…….Moe

2011-09-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

Liberals and conservatives and the I dunnos.......

Is there any chance Barack Obama will drop out of the race for president? Interesting thought to ponder.

In 1964 Lyndon Johnson was elected in a landslide over Barry Goldwater, 42-million to 27-million. A real drubbing. Four years later, in 1968, Johnson packed it in because he knew he was going to lose.

In 2008 Obama had a much closer race with John McCain than Goldwater/Johnson and struggled in many states which had gone to LBJ. I doubt there is any chance Obama would chose not to run for reelection? I suspect his withdrawing would not be his own choosing. He is beginning to listen to himself and I doubt he is willing to accept reality.

Since campaign money is central to an Obama strategy, anything less than an overwhelming amount in campaign cash would lead to an electoral disaster. I doubt the Obama ego would allow him to chose not to run. However the call might not be his to make. How far are his backers and money people going to go with him if his poling numbers continue to tank?

Who would replace Obama is a tough call. One possibility is Hillary Clinton. She would likely be the only “heavy weight” who could enter with a ready made support network. No one else could possibly step in at the last moment.

The bottom line is Democrats are in complete disarray. Their problems don’t end with Obama and the presidency. The same will be true in senate and house races, governor’s races everywhere, state and county races at all levels. This election year could bring on a sea change in the political structure. Even Massachusetts could pick up a seat or two as well as some state legislative seats.

This election year could do for Republicans what 1932 did for Democrats.

When the Republicans have gone through the selection process they will eventually chose one of two candidates. One will be from the moderate wing of the party and the other will be a conservative. That’s the nature of most GOP nominations. Occasionally a nomination is simply awarded on the basis of the most senior candidate. This year one of the finalists will be from the moderate wing which looks to be Mitt Romney while the conservative side could be any one of seven or eight candidates and some currently non candidates. What camp Chris Christie falls in is anyone’s guess.

Christie poses a dilemma for conservatives. They have been burned by Texas Governor on the issue of illegal aliens. Where does Chris stand? Don’t know and I suspect there is an effort to keep his positions under wrap as long as possible.

Fasten your seatbelt, we’re in for a wild ride.

Ciao…….Moe

2011-09-23T18:29:00.004-04:00

TGIF.......

1 --- Who won the debate. Frankly, Sarah Palin. Certainly the favorite going in was Texas Governor Rick Perry. Then Mitt Romney nearly sounded like a man but came up short on the matter of record (especially Romneycare).

Newt Gingrich hit the ball hare and had a couple of hits including an endorsement of sorts to one of the elements of Obama's job proposals. Asked whether he would renew unemployment benefits for those out of work, he said they should be required to participate in a "business led" job training program. "I believe it is fundamentally wrong to give people money for 99 weeks for doing nothing." Score a big one for the former "Mr. Speaker".

Herman Cain became a sentimental favorite after telling about his battle with cancer. Cain comes off as someone most Republicans like to like. All the others on the stage had their moment in the limelight.

At the end of the day we come to the only person to make a serious gain was the former Alaska governor.

2 --- Warren Buffett has loudly and famously said he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary in arguing that the rich should bear a larger tax burden. He has inspired President Obama to institute a “Buffett rule” to guide his tax policies that says millionaires and billionaires should not pay a lower portion of their income on taxes than the poor and middle class.

Texas Senator John Cornyn questioned in a tweet Thursday. “Will Warren Buffett release his tax returns so we can see why he should be the standard for tax policy?”

Sounds an awful lot like the Texan is calling Buffett show us all his cards.

3 --- Will Solyndra have the same effect on Democrats as Watergate had on Republicans in the mid 70s?

4 --- According to a survey published Thursday by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, Fox News beat out local television and CNN as Americans' number one source of television news on national and international issues. Not bad for a bunch of yahoo conservatives.

5 --- Friends of Barak Obama immerse themselves in Fifth.

6 --- Have you ever wondered what the USA would be like today with a President John McCain and VP Sarah Palin? I bet things would be a lot different.

Later,

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-22T13:41:00.002-04:00

Lots of popcorn tonight.......

1 --- I messed up big time. I thought I published a rather lengthy blog yesterday. I didn't check the work and accidentally deleted the entire thing. I've tried all the tricks I know (as well as the tricks my children know) to recover it. Hence, no post yesterday. Sorry.

2 --- There's a stench emanating from the East River area of New York City. Yuckmed Achmandinijad is in town to add to the pollution of New York air. Many of those of my generation could not understand how a large number of Americans resisted taking strong steps against the scourge of Nazi Germany's expansion. Ditto for the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and Tojo's Japan in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The three monster regimes of Germany, Italy and Japan were allowed to run amok until it took a massive effort to crush them. In the meantime we watched as millions were slaughtered in the name of ideology and religious hatred and territorial hegemony.

Chinese and Europeans by the multi-millions were systematically annihilated by the hated regimes. Add to that the millions of civilian and combatants who died as a result of military efforts and we understand why WWII was often called the war to end all wars. Unfortunately the world didn't learn coexistence with monstrous regimes.

Instead of one, two or three powerful monster nations we are now faced with a large number of such despotic states. The similarity between today and the 1930s and 40s is the willingness of the modern world to turn a blind eye toward monstrosities such as Red China and many of the extreme Muslim regimes around the world.

What is the difference between Red China and Nazi Germany? None. Both were responsible for the killing of people in the 10s of millions. Toss in the systematic killing during the Armenian genocide among others and we know the 1900s were bloody beyond comprehension. No, the lesson of those atrocities was not really learned. Red China has been more bloody than Nazi Germany. What China has done to the peaceful Tibetans is on a grand scale.

Vladamir Lenin once jocked that the capitalist world would sell the rope to be used in their own execution.

3 --- Tonight's the big night for the Republican Party. Likely the biggest debate of this presidential season thus far will be on Fox. I don't think the ultimate GOP nominee has yet to officially announced her candidacy. Sarah Palin is remaining in position to make a move at a time of her choosing. There is no rush. Her strategy seems to be let the others bloody one another up first and then move in.

Palin's situation if fluid. Her name identification is nearly 100% among potential voters. She has been lowering her "negatives" over the last few months. He current position is improving by the week and is likely improving on a relative basis. It is a direct function of the other candidate's warts and weaknesses which are becoming more apparent by the day.

There is a growing feeling the presidential race will eventually break down to ABO, anyone but obama and that the GOP nomination will be tantamount to election in the general election.

If I had to handicap the race on the basis of my personal preferences (my biased opinion) would be Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, Heman Cain, to mention a few.

Will Palin get in the race, the smart money suggests yes. The question she needs to answer in her mind is whether she can win.

Consider a ticket of Palin and Marco Rubio.

The real battle for president is the GOP primary. With each passing day Barack Obama takes one small step forward and then falls flat on his face. I note the late night comedians are taking liberty with the president. They already appear to be in a full panic mode. Next step is cutting Joe Biden from the team. Biden is a bit of a knucklehead but is hardly the reason for the Obama dilemma.

In 2008 there was a serious amount of mystery over who the real Obama is. We now know. We elected an empty suit.

Tomorrow we'll look back on tonight's debate.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

Bad day everywhere.......

1 --- I've got a sollution to our deficit problems -- soak the rich.

2 --- In the dumb de dumb dumb category -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner insisted Monday that the administration’s proposals to raise taxes mainly on businesses and the rich would not further limit an already struggling economy. He also sees Obama’s tax proposals as an effort to make the tax code more fair -- an argument the administration is using to rally his base and fight back at GOP assertions that the tax hikes will hurt the economy.

Now we know where Daffy Duck has been hiding.

3 --- Now that it is OK to be in the military as an openly gay man will it ber very long before we have gay nuptials between two military men (or women) ans will chaplains be made to perform them?

4 --- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn't think the President's new "Buffett Rule" to create a higher tax rate for millionaires makes sense.

On Sunday's "Meet the Press," McConnell said, "With regard to his tax rate, "If Buffett's] feeling guilty about it, I think he should send in a check."

Amen Mitch.

5 --- Keep an eye on Israel and the gang up by some Moslem nations in the United Nations. Turkey is trying to isolate the Jewish State and it is getting a solid reception from the Obama Administration.

Once again Israel's back is against the wall in its fight for survival. One wonders if the Big O is planning to blind side them during this session of the UN meetings.

It will be interesting to see whether Obama goes against (or drags his feet) Israel. Just look at the map of the Middle East and judge for yourself how long it can hold out on its own. The only free democracy in the entire region could be lost forever,

6 --- U.S. officials involved in a plan to let high-powered assault weapons fall into the hands of vicious drug cartel leaders deliberately kept their counterparts in Mexico in the dark about the plan.

Even the U.S. Embassy and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) offices in Mexico City were kept out of the loop, according to the LA Times.

Add to that, when President Felipe Calderon complained about the number of U.S. weapons crossing the border, the operation, nicknamed Fast and Furious, still was not revealed.

C U tomorrow.......

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-19T19:45:00.002-04:00

Fall can de beautiful.......

1 --- Columnist George F. Will, speaking on ABC’s This Week. “He went to Massachusetts to campaign against Scott Brown; Brown is now a senator. He went to New Jersey to campaign against Chris Christie, who’s now governor. He went to Virginia to campaign against Bob McDonnell, who’s now governor. He campaigned for the health- care plan extensively, it became less popular. He campaigned in 2010 for the Democrats, they were shellacked. He began, in a sense, his presidency flying to Copenhagen to get Chicago the Olympics; Chicago was the first city eliminated. There is no evidence that the man has the rhetorical powers that he is relying on.”

2 --- The economy is in the tank so what is Barack Obama's solution to our fiscal woes? Simple, more taxes, $1.5 Trillion. Some suggest BO is among the worst presidents ever. I disagree, he is not among the worst, he is the worst.

3 --- Slick Williy Clinton has just given us a tip by denying the Hillary for president idea floated by Dick Cheney has any merit. He went out of his way to shoot down the idea. Phrased differently, "Bill thou doth protest too much." If Hillary has any inkling of running for president this is crunch time for her. By election time she will be 64. That is not too old to run but waiting until she is 68 could be another matter entirely.

4 --- There is an interesting article in Agence France-Presse which dovetails with the failure of Obama's pals new Hi Tech outfit (http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=640163). Even the Red Chinese are having problems with a similar company.

5 --- I've tried to make mention of him only once a day but with Obama that's an impossible task. So starting today we will comment on anything and everything even if it means incorporating the president.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-17T13:55:00.003-04:00

Good morning.......

Last night we left off with these thoughts: I do not believe there is any way to continue with the Post Office as we know it. However it is still a necessary element in the country. We will make our recommendations tomorrow.

Well today has arrived: What is today's post office, a business or agency of the government?

Because of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functions as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government. According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit. Whoever created this nonsense should be horsewhipped.

The foundation of the modern post office is bureaucratic double speak --- nonsense. In 1982, U.S. postage stamps became "postal products," rather than a form of taxation. Since then, the bulk of the cost of operating the postal system has been paid for by customers through the sale of "postal products" and services rather than taxes. A skunk by any other name stinks as much.

Each class of mail is also expected to cover its share of the costs, a requirement that cause the percentage rate adjustments to vary in different classes of mail, according the costs associated with the processing and delivery characteristics of each class (oh my gosh there we go again, pure oomgalagala).

U.S. Postal Service rates are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission according to the recommendations of the Postal Board of Governors.

The USPS gets its authority as a government agency under Title 39, Sec101.1 of the United States Code which states, in part:

"(a) The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people."

Under paragraph (d) "Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis."

Then again there's another curve ball created in a manner only the US Congress can do.

No, the USPS is a Business!

The Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Sec 401 in part states:

--- power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;
--- power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;

--- power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";

--- power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,
--- power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.

All of these are typical functions of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain.

The USPS does get some taxpayer support. It receives round $96 million budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies.

Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law does not require that the Postal Service make a profit -- only break even. Still, the US Postal Service has averaged a profit of over $1 billion per year in each of the last five years. Yet, Postal Service officials argue that they must continue to raise postage at regular intervals in order make up for the increased use of email.

Under paragraph (d) of Title 39, Sec 401, "Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis."

No, the USPS is a Business! The Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Sec 401, which include:

--- power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;

--- power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;

--- power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";

--- power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,

--- power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.

All of which are typical functions of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain.

The USPS does get some taxpayer support. Around $96 million is budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies.

Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law does not require that the Postal Service make a profit -- only break even. Still, the US Postal Service has averaged a profit of over $1 billion per year in each of the last five years. Yet, Postal Service officials argue that they must continue to raise postage at regular intervals in order make up for the increased use of email.

What began as a simple review of what the post office is today I found we needed to know how we got here.

I'll skip the fluff and get down to the brass facts. They will be in no particular order of importance. Let us keep in mind there is a strong desire to reduce the size and power of our government. I found it very compelling to pull the plug on what some believe is an anachronism. Than would be overly simplistic, a mistake. Here are the Issues of the Day position:

Getting out of the business of delivering mail is no small undertaking. Congress would need to set a time certain for the transition from the postal service we are familiar with today and make it more functional and restrict its services to those which are not reasonable to expect from a private service such as UPS or FedEx. Getting the post office out of many of its current functions such as parcel post would encourage many private ventures to fill the void.

My first reaction to the above suggestion is what to do with the workers displaced in such an arrangement. What to do with the facilities? Well, there is still a substantial amount of work needed to be done. First class mail, second class and parcel post will always have a role in society. On the one hand there will always be a need for mail distribution and collection. The is true for special delivery and registered mail. There are numerous functions the post office fills which we may prefer to keep as a public function.

Buildings -- Many of our older post offices such as fall River and New Redford Massachusetts could become dual purpose with parts of each converted to commercial enterprises, apartments, business offices, etc. Most are centrally located in their respective communities. Lease back arrangements could be made between the new owners to meet the 'new' post office needs. It does not seem wise to eliminate one monopoly and merely create another. Most post offices are located in central areas of commercial activity. Some could be converted to meeting some of our school building needs, public medical facilities, etc.

There are numerous other functions the current postal real estate could be used for.

How to transition over to a slimmed down post office and convert the various properties and business functions to private industry. For starters the current postal workers union is manned with tens of thousands of mail delivery and pick up specialists. I recommend we convert the postal workers unions to reorganize into local companies for the purpose of filling the new needs for operation and delivery of the millions of pieces and parcels. If it sounds like an ISOP you're very perceptive.

The above would allow for a seamless transition from many government functions to private industry. while at the same time utilizing the best assets of those already trained and working in the postal industry.

It is not easy to find people to replace thre tens of thousands of people necessary to transition away from public to private enterprise.

Besides all else, what would we be able to do with the millions of mail boxes currently on our street corners and on our properties.

My Lady Fair has just informed me it has been an hour since she told me lunch is ready and I told her "just a couple more minutes." I've just about run out of my couple of minutes.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what to do with the post office. mvl270@yahoo.com

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

Check in with us tomorrow. We will conclude item 4 of today.

1 --- Hold the presses, Barack will give us another policy speech. That speech and a dollar bill will get you a cup of coffee. Food stamps anyone.

2 --- I thought he was acting funny.

3 --- Lest we not forget.

4 --- Talk about a dilemma: What do we do with the Postal Service. If we're not careful we could lose it. Then again, we must decide exactly what we expect from the Post Office.

My conservative/libertarian side says get rid of it. After all if it can't survive on its own maybe it should go under. After all, in this cyber world where even little kids communicate electronically who needs the post office. The argument favoring the selling of Post Office assets is very compelling, especially during a near depression.

The United States Postal Service first began delivering the mail on July 26, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the nation's first Postmaster General. Yeah, that Ben Franklin. In accepting the position he dedicated his efforts to fulfilling George Washington's ideas. Washington supported a free flow of information between citizens and the government as a linchpin of freedom. He often spoke of a nation bound together by a system of postal roads and post offices. (We still have what is known as the "Old Post Road.")

Publisher William Goddard first suggested the idea of an organized U.S. postal service in 1774 as a way to disiminate the news past the prying eyes of British colonial postal inspectors. The Post Office was an early and necessary element in casting off the British yoke.

Goddard proposed a postal service to Congress nearly two years before we declared our independence from the Brits. Congress took no action on Goddard's plan until after the battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775. Finally on July 16, 1775, the revolution was brewing, Congress enacted the "Constitutional Post" as a way to ensure communication between the general public and the patriots preparing to fight for America's independence. Goddard was reported to have been deeply disappointed when Congress chose Franklin as Postmaster General.

In 1792 the Postal Act clarified the role of the Postal Service. Under the act, newspapers were allowed to use the mails at low rates to promote the spread of information across the states. To ensure the sanctity and privacy of the mails, postal officials were forbidden to open any letters unless they were undeliverable.

Until the adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government. It may well be the time to consider returning to that.

When I began this monologue on ther post office it was with the intent of recommending its closure and an end to its role as we have known it. I do not believe there is any way to continue with the Post Office as we know it. However it is still a necessary element in the country. We will make our recommendations tomorrow.

If you have comments on the issue please email us at mvl270@yahoo.com . I should be up early Saturnday morning and would be please add you thoughst along with mine.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-15T19:06:00.001-04:00

I finally learned how to post photos on the blog.......

1 --- What kind of day is it? I'm sorry you asked. You will be too.

Header on Drudge says it all, err almost all.

'WAVE OF FORECLOSURES'...
BIG JUMP IN JOBLESS CLAIMS...
INFLATION RISES...

Happy days are here again.

2 --- Guess who is running for president again. Ralph Nader. He will beat the record for presidential campaign futility held by Harold Stassen.

3 --- Tired of summer? Here's relief or you....

Forecast for Elk Mountains surrounding Aspen. Snow is expected to begin accumulating above 12,000 feet in elevation at around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Snow levels could drop as low as 9,000 feet, the weather service said. By Thursday morning, 2 to 6 inches of snow are possible above 10,000 feet.

Bring back summer. 4 --- The US Senate's resident Mensa chairman, Harry Reid: "Well, for most Americans, [bike paths] are absolutely important. It's good for purposes of allowing people to travel, um, without burning all the fossil fuel on the highways. I got up this morning really early, and went out and did my exercise. I'm not exaggerating--scores!--at least 30 or 40 bikes--so scores may be a slight exaggeration--of people, not just for exercise, traveling to work. Backpacks on--they are going to work. That's what bike paths are all about!" 5 --- Obama: ‘If You Love Me, You Gotta Help Me Pass This Bill’. Yes, he did say that. 6 --- Would I be correct is asking whether the guarantor (us) in the Solyndra ripoff will be last in line to be paid from the remaining assets. There's usually a court ordered priority in bankruptcies. Bet we get the shaft. Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-15T12:39:00.000-04:00

Too good not to share........

New Hampshire Journal

Candidate Word Association with Andrew Breitbart

September 12, 2011

By Amelia Chasse

NH Journal interviewed conservative new media maven Andrew Breitbart today in advance of his upcoming New Hampshire event with Americans for Prosperity. With tonight’s debate in mind we asked Breitbart to play a little game with us. We said the name of each presidential candidate that was slated to participate in the CNN/Tea Party debate, and Breitbart had just a few moments to say the first phrase that came to mind.

Here’s how he summed up the 2012 contenders:

Mitt Romney: “Plays it too safe, need to stop acting like the Tea Party is beneath him.”

Rick Perry: “Quirky. Like him from afar, but getting excited to get to know him better.”

Michele Bachmann: “One of the most eloquent and intelligent political fighters I have ever seen.”

Newt Gingrich: “Kudos on going after the media, if you heard clapping that was me.”

Herman Cain: “Heroic, deserving of being on the stage, hopefully representative of a movement of not just black conservatives but entrepreneurs instead of lawyers.”

Jon Huntsman: “Darling. Perfectly coiffed. A noble one-percenter.”

Ron Paul: “[Insert something snarky and dismissive about his rabid followers who do much to hurt his cause.]”

Rick Santorum: “Being right on life isn’t going to be enough this time around.”

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Andrew Breitbart.

Amanda Markell contributed to this report

This fine publication can be found at http://nhjournal.com

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-14T13:45:00.003-04:00

Little man stands tall.....

1 --- The seat won by Bob Turner in the special election in New York has been Democrat since my Mom was six years old. It's been a couple of years the Democrats have had a strangle hold on the district. My Mom is ninety-four.

According to the New York Times: "The emergence of Israel as an issue was a surprise, the Times reported, because Weprin is an observant Jew and strong supporter of Israel."

Oh yes, Turner is 70 and Roman Catholic.

2 --- Guess who was in Massachusetts yesterday? If you said Texas Governor Rick Perry please step to the head of the class.

While he was there Perry turned his attention to the Bay State's former governor Mitt Romney. During the debate a couple of days ago Romney turned all his usual sweetness to pure venom.

Perry's Texas bluntness was used against him during that debate. He is likely the only candidate to "tell it like is" regarding what is considered the third rail of politics --- social security. While Perry misspoke calling social security a Ponzy scheme, the essence of what he said is accurate.

Funny fact, the last major politician with the courage to tell it like it is about social security was another tough talking South Westerener, Barry Goldwater. In retrospect, Goldwater was right.

When Perry dared to speak truth regarding socisal security Romney pounced like a Rattle Snake on a rebbit.

Perry's lack if experience allowed him to get caught up in a p---ing contest with a master of the art. Now he's smarting by the Romney blind side. This sort of thing can destroy a lesser man or, as in Perry's case, present an opportunity to demonstrate what kind of stuff he is made of.

During his appearance he answered Romney (with out identifying by name):

"Other candidates in this race have used words like `fraud' and compared it to a criminal enterprise," Perry said, referencing language Romney used in his book to discuss issues involving Social Security. "Under the media spotlight, they change their tune and they start sounding like liberals."

Let's be clear (careful, Moe, that sounds like something the little president would use), the race is one of conservatives versus the socalled modertes in the race. The principal players on the conservative side are Perry, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. The choice is one of these candidates or a choice of Romney and the moonbeam candidate Jon Huntsman moderates both (please don't ask for a definition for moderate since my answer would be offensive to most). Did I forget Ron Paul? No, he's a genuine libertrarin and will be mired at 10%.

Perry is looking better and better all the time. Who would Goldwater support?

One more reason to dump Romney is his Massachusetts chairman, Windbag Willie Weld.

3--- Do you know how to spell Watergate? Answer, S-o-l-y-n-d-r-a.

What began as a third rate burglary finished with the resignation of a president elected in a landslade in 1972. Slam dunk, no contest.

Watergate was billed as nothing much. What became "much" was the coverup. A great deal has been written about Watergate but the feeling here is it was the betrayl that mattered. Elected officials need the good faith support of the governed. When that faith is broken it is all down hill.

Nixon had been a popular president. The country was in the early stages of ending the Vietnam War. Nixon appeared to be on his way to having been one of the most popular and succeswsful presidents. All that changed with the "tro bit" burglary at Democrat headquarters in the Watergate building. Rather than acknowledging the wrongness of the breakin, Nixon tried to bury the crimd. The rest is history,

Now we have a president who began his term with high approvals and popularity. The more we learn about Solyndra the more we smell Watergate.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-13T15:41:00.000-04:00

The doo gooders will get us.......

The president is seeking to put Americans back to work ... at $250,000 per job. You don't have to read that again, you got it right.

The following was done by Tyler Durden and pretty much tells the story why even the most grandiose plans of the president are doomed to failure.

For those eager to put some math to the rhetoric coming from the White House over the president's jobs creation plan, and that should be everyone, here is a quick and dirty estimate based on the numbers being thrown around of a 2% GDP increase in year 1 and 1.9 million jobs created or saved... most saved, as in those you can't really quantify. Said otherwise, roughly a $300 billion increase in GDP yields 1.9 million jobs. So far so good. Now since the president is proposing to pay for the program over 10 years, let's assume the $475 billion in direct expenses is financed for 10 years at 2.5% which adds roughly $120 billion to the total cost of the program. In other words, as the calculations detailed and shown below elaborate, the overall AJA plan will cost $250,000 per job created (excluding the interest expense) and $312,500 per union job, er job created (including interest). And that's how much it costs for Obama to purchase one vote... created or saved. Keynesian efficiency strikes like a Swiss watch yet again.

In his signature speech, "A Date with Destiny", Ronald Reagan suggested we simply give money to all the poor people and allow them to do as they wish with it. What would happen if we gave gave every unemployed person $15 thousand --- $150 billion dollars would instantly be put into circulation. That action should take a huge bite our of poverty and ultimately unemployment.

The Gipper trusted the collective wisdom of unemployed Americans to do what is right for themselves and their families. They are better motivated to do the right thing than some bureaucrat in some far off place.

Have a nice day.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-09T13:56:00.003-04:00

Get ready for 9-11 weekend.......

1 --- So there is a threat to Gotham and DC.

Sunday will bring down the curtain on the incredible decade which saw us go from a comfortable society more concerned with domestic problems than a threat to our national security. Never again during the lifetime of those here that 9-11 will we relax our defenses against terrorism.

Can we survive very long living that way? You bet we can and will. Israel has an ongoing internal and external threat just as determined as our enemies. We will undergo many different stages of means of defense and protection.

We will succeed because we must. George Bush considered it his main obligation: After 9/11, keeping our citizens safe from attack was job one. Most of us agree with that policy. So here we go again.

We now hear from "government sources" an unnamed enemy is planning a major attack to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the most serious assault on America since Pearl Harbor.

Good police work and even better luck have kept us safe since that tragic day. Millions of American lives have been affected by 9/11.

Our innocence was lost that beautiful Thursday morning. May we never forget we are hated by the most extreme haters we've known since Adolph Hitler,s acolytes tried to change the world.

2 --- How did you react to the Barack Obama speech to the Congress last night? I came away knowing nothing more than I knew before the speech.

I got the distinct feeling the whole show was to set up the Elephants as naysayers.

If I am right we'll get nothing more than intransigence and foot dragging from Washington.

By the end of the speech I could only think of the old Patty Paige song lyrics, "Is that all there is?" The whole thing left me on empty.

3 --- Republican Bob Turner holds a six point lead over his Democrat rival David Weprin in the special election to replace the sexiest congressman of all time, Anthony Weiner. An interesting dynamic is taking place. Weprin is running like an incumbent. Now the overwhelmingly Democrat district is threatening in New York to make a change.

My congressional district was a historically Republican district until 1980. That all changed with the election in 1980 of Barney Frank. Since that defeat of Margaret Heckler there has not been a close race.

In even the most heavily Democrat districts there are few were already which are a "lock" for the Donkey candidates.

We could witness a major change in representation again this year. If the Republicans play their cards well they could have the power until recent times for establishment types.

Ciao-------Moe

2011-09-08T19:17:00.000-04:00

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme.......?

You bet it is.......

Rick Perry created a stir when he said what most already know to be true. Social Security is a grand Ponzi Scheme. Frankly it is likely the biggest fraud ever perpretated on the American public.

Governor Perry called the grand scheme a lie.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Social Security recipient. I paid into the system from my teen years. I was fortunate in my lifetime and earned decent wages for most of my working years.

So why do I say it's a fraud? Because those of us currently receiving Social Security paid into the system in vastly more valuable dollars than we are currently receiving.

When I began "contributing" into Social Security the dollar in 1959 was far more valuable than the dollars I receive today. Back then for a dollar on Saturday afternoon I could take my favorite squeeze to the Durfee Theater in Fall River to see Ben-Hur, get a bag of popcorn and a soda with two straws. Oh yes, we could stay to watch the movie two or three times. The same fare today with a feature novie and the same popcorn and soda is close to much more. From 1959 to today prices for similar products and services compared to today is at about the same ratio.

The point is while we didn't put up an astronomical amount of cash in current dollars in 1959 we did pay a great deal when we view what we receive current dollars. Ben-Hur with popcorn and pop would cost us as much as $50. Ouch! When I went to see Ben Hur I wore a blue blazer with solid brass buttons I had acquired for less than $20. Same blazer today, $350.

The point of this exercise is to clarify how little the Social Security benifit has increased over the years. The recipients are getting no bargain, it certailny is not a big giveaway.

Enough of me, the president is about to speak. More tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

Here comes Barry......again.....

This will be Barry's big day....again. It should be a real test of the interest the public has in what He has to say.....again.The choice is tough --- Barack again or a pregame football show. If the pregame wins the ratings battle we'll have a better idea where the president stands with "his" public.

What had been ballyhooed as a major public announcement of the president's plans in dealing with our near depression has been downplayed to be nothing more than some suggestions.

Why a special session of Congress? I suspect it is because the president needs the reassurance that he is the gig boss, sort of the boss of bosses. In baseball we call a player who talks about himself a great deal as a fellow who "talks a good game". That fits the president to a "T". He talks a good game but his act is getting tired. Even many of his ardent supporters are starting to tire of his act.

I have a Democrat friend who swears Barack is a Republican plant whose purpose is to bring ridicule down on Democrat functionaries. Gee, I would agree with that possibility but I doubt Republicans would have the creativity to do that.

The best news I've heard is that we are now at 500 days and counting of his administration. I think we're on safe ground in thinking President Obama is a "one termer". I suspect his most loyal followers are refreshing their resumes.

It will be interesting to learn what the president's reelection slogan will it be, "four more years"? There are only limited things he can say. As jobless claims continue to rise the White House excuse makers point out if not for Barack's handling the situation things would be worse. It's sort of like two kids arguing who is worse. Name call the GOP and blame Bush. I'm no Bush fan but enough is enough already.

I have a suggestion for Barry, Dump Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and replace him with one of the dumbest members of congress, Maxine Walters. Who else could suggest our fiscal woes are because we need to spend at least another billion dollars on stimulus.

Can it ger worse? Easy answer, did anyone have any idea any president could be worse. He is a cross between the sinister side of Richard Nixon.

I am completely convinced Obama is indeed the Manchurian president.

What a choice tonight, a pregame show or the president addressing congress --- again.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-07T17:31:00.000-04:00

This entry was begun yesterday afternoon. I needed to stop because I didn't feel well. All is OK now. 1 to 6 was completed yesterday while the rest was just completed.....Moe

This and That is Back.......

I've been sifting through the news and there were many things to talk about. The idea of bringing back that column struck like a foul ball between the eyes. One of the popular things we had in Issues of the Day in the past was "This and That", commentary on many different topics. So here we go again......

1 --- On behalf of my Mom I resent what Pipsqueak Hoffa called me (BTW, he called many of you that as well).

2 --- Obama's fall from grace is at the rate George H.W. Bush went through. I suspect it could get even worse for the current occupant of the White House. The fact the Obamies are mud slinging this early tells us they are nearly out of ideas.

3 --- How does this sound for a presidential ticket????? Rick Perry of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida. Just picture Bamby versus Perry in three debates and Biden taking on Rubio. There are many other GOP combos, all of whom could clean the floor with the current occupants of the executive offices.

4 --- Wouldn't it be funny if the presidential TelePrompter got off cycle tomorrow night. I know, I know, that's sadistic.

5 --- The number of shootings in New York City I quoted yesterday for the last couple of days was wrong. Not 32, it's 58. Sounds like NYC was a shooting gallery. BTW, the old gangland badlands Chicago had only 8.

6 --- Don't look now but the Ford Motor Company is building a billion dollar plant which will employ 5,000........in India. The strike drums in Detroit are beating . Fox news summed it up this way: "It may seem a cruel irony that the one U.S. automaker that took no bailout money is now at greater risk of a national strike as it continues labor negotiations with union leaders."

7 --- Is she or isn't she running? The big question surrounding Sarah Palin is whether she is/will be a candidate for president. In this corner the betting is a flat no. Of course we hope she is considered for a post such Interior Secretary. With the new administration likely being more eco friendly Palin has the demonstrated expertise to get the most out of our natural resources.

8 --- Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown said Tuesday that Onyango Obama, President Obama's long-lost uncle, should be deported from the United States after being arrested last week on drunk driving charges. Brown has been so silent of late I forgot he was in the senate.

9 --- Has the Obama administration become nothing more that an bunch of Kool Aid drinkers?

10 --- Many of us are titillated by the candidacy of Governor Rick Perry for president. Does he have a chance too remake the US political landscape? Many of us think so. The national politicos will pick apart every facet of his performance tomorrow night so we will have a good chance to 'strut his stuff'. There at least a half dozen potential GOP nominees who would make fine candidates. The debate tonight is likely his most important.

Enjoy the debate.

Ciao....... Moe

2011-09-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

Gun restrictions...who needs them!

I don't know how many of our best citizens were shot last couple of days victims of war violence in Iraq but I suspect the number is not thirty-one. If we had reached that number the liberal media here would have rattled their felt tip markers. It would have snapped their bow ties. No doubt the target of their affection would somehow be George Bush. Thirty-one shootings is a lot of violence.

Oh yes, the number of thirty-one is not USA shootings. No, its not even Iraq. Heavens no. Thirty-one is the number of recent shootings over two days in New York City alone.

My initial reaction is we need stricter gun laws to prevent such carnage but I'm reminded New York City has the strictest gun laws in the USA. They're even more strict than gun control laws in Massachusetts. This is not to be hold the Bay State up as a serene paradise of peace and tranquility but only to point out just how strict the gun control zealots in New York City compared to the fascist leaning gun grabbers in the Bay State.

I had a friend in Rhode Island who spent some time collating violent crime stats and gun control laws. Guess what he discovered; the states and municipalities with the strictest gun laws had the highest murder rates. I suggested to him that this statistical truth occurred because the most violent states and municipalities enacted the tougher gun restrictions.

Oops. That assertion is flat out wrong. It's not a chicken and egg proposition. He found the more gun laws on the books usually the greater the armed violence. When guns are withheld from citizens the most violent among us will continue to arm themselves while the law abiding surrender their weapons. It's sort of a criminal protection program.

This all got me to thinking, people with guns available to them for self defense rarely get stabbed. No, only the totally disarmed get knifed. Also, legal gun owners rarely are involved in a felony shooting.

I guess I've been wrong in thinking strict laws concerning gun possession and ownership reduce violent crime. Gun control laws encourage the thugs in their evil by assuring their safety when beating or shooting law abiding people. We have enough data to establish gun control laws lead to violent behavior, not the other way around.

Come to think of it, do you recall the only real hiatus from violent crimes on NYC subways was when the vigilante gunman performed his deed on some sharpened screw-driver wielding punks. There actually was peace in NYC subways for a short time.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-04T11:39:00.001-04:00

A good friend signs in.......

Hi Moe: I’m glad you’re back on your feet, and back on your blog too.

There are lots of issues to follow but right now I’m interested in Obama’s upcoming speech to congress and the possible political fallout from it. On Thursday Obama will recommend extending the transportation bill in order to prevent jobs being lost in the transportation-construction business. Well, I guess one of the things we want government to do is keep the bridges from falling down and the roads from crumbling. So that’s fine. But how will that bill increase employment? Beyond that he may push for more nonsensical “stimulus” spending. If the GOP house says no (and they would) then the Dems have a political issue to rant about. “Those Republicans don’t care about getting you back to work”. But they won’t have what they really need before next fall, an improving economy.

The Republicans need to take the initiative and propose spending cuts and tax cuts. I’d propose a $1,000 check for individuals, $2,000 for couples and $3,000 for a family with children. Total that up and propose to cut as much from spending between now and the end of the fiscal year so the debt isn’t increased. And the GOP could limit that tax break to families earning less than $200,000. Over that and the lefties will claim you are giving more tax breaks to the rich, of course. So the left won’t have that reason to oppose it. The house should make a big noise like what I propose leading up to Obama’s speech on Thursday. Then they would have Obama on the defensive before he proposes his first dollar of wasted spending.

Maybe my idea is more political than practical but I’d like to see the GOP get a lot louder than they have been about the economy and how best to fix it.

Again, I’m glad you’re back.

Steve

Your message gets an A+ for both clarity and content. Many thanks for taking the time. Do you have any more ideas?

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-03T14:24:00.002-04:00

Back in the Saddle Again......

Where do we start. There is so much to discuss selecting a topic is difficult.

Barrack Obama is a living breathing gift that never stops giving. We all delight in pointing out the foibles of one Joe Biden. No end of material there too.

Let us consider what the difference between Joe the Mouth and President Perfect is. I find little to chose from.

I had nearly a year rehabilitating with plenty of TV time and was forever amused by the antics of the Mouth and Perfect. They both bring to mind the old saw that no one knows just how stupid you are until you babble on incessantly saying things that are incoherent and downright wrong. After all how many people would say, "Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair, Columbia, Missouri, Sept. 12, 2008. That was a royal clank. Here's another, "Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs." Woopsie.......

Who will ever forget President Perfect with this GAFF??? "One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy Corpse-Man Christian Brossard." –mispronouncing "Corpsman" and repeating 'corpsman on two other times to make certain we heard his gaff (the "ps" is silent) during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, -

That gem was in 2010. (The Corpsman's name is also Christopher, not Christian).

Tampa, Fla., Jan. 28, 2010
"The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." The big guy did say that, yes indeed.

Where is Dan Quayle when you need him, picking potatos?

Now there, I'm getting that feeling again. The thing most disturbing with the man behind the teleprompter is I suspect he couldn't put together a coherent thought without someone preparing a script. He's like the newsreaders who try to get across some nonsense that they did all the work, At least the TV newsreaders get their lines straight.

In the meantime we have the second coming of Chauncy Gardner in the White House.

C-YA tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-02T19:04:00.000-04:00

GOOD NEWS

I just returned from the hospital and I have a clean medical slate. That is the best news we've received in nealrly a year.

The doctor began by telling me I was to continue on the Baseball Disabled List. However he was quick to point out I am otherwise free to do most anything I feel up to doing. He did caution me that commonsense should be my guide. Ahem...

Therefore we will resume Issues of the Day tomorrow. If you have original material you would like to publish please email them here ( mvl270@yahoo.com ). No copyrighted articles unless they are your own product.

Also, please submit your ideas of what would be a good topic with which to follow, that would be very helpful.

I promised my bride I would set aside one to two hours each day for this labor of love and the general feeling of knowing we are doing something more than simply bellyaching.

A pleasant surprise was among this morning's mail, many emails. I will attempt to respond to each of them individually. I suspect if the column takes off again I'll not be able to acknowledge each of your missives personally. I will however answer emails I received today and those received over this weekend.

Thank you. The truth be known, I'm excited as can be.

Until tomorrow.......

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-01T14:33:00.002-04:00

GUESS WHO'S BACK?????

The journey back has been long and narrow and there were times I could not see the end of the road. My fear was the light at the end of the tunnel was a train careening down the tracks. Coming back has been a long hard slog.

For the longest time I thought this day would never come. I'll spare you the pricklish details and only reveal that there were many times I never thought this moment would occur. Suffice it to say I feel like a teenager on his first date ... excited with emotions and fears running wild. Our world has changed in numerous ways since that evening last September 16, 2010, the night I went down.

The hour was about the time I published my thoughts on Issues of the Day. I had felt sluggish most of the day and by then I was feverish. I've been healthy as a horse most of my life. In twenty-five years at WRKO I failed to perform as scheduled only once. Even that was planned and necessitated by knee surgery. On that evening last September, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and, until recent days, I thought we would never meet again.

When I wenr to the hospital I had a fever over 105. After being given a few aspirins by the emergency room doctor I was sent home. Once home my family had me returned to the hospital. Once there a new doctor was on duty and he had me admitted right away. After a fitful night I was finally treated and shortly thereafter moved to intensive care. I was there for nearly six weeks. After the hospitalization my time was divided between two rehab facilities. Finally I was returned home on April 2nd. A big Amen!

So this is my moment of truth. Can I regain the discipline to meet you here regularly or has all that been lost? I don't know. Can I pick up the pieces and set aside time each day to comment on what I see as the issues of the day? I'm game, how about you? Please drop me a line at mvl270@yahoo.com and give me a nudge. Frankly, I'm almost breathless thanks to Bamby (oops, Barack) since there is no end to what we can say. I'm both at once; frightened to death and excited about the prospects for our nation. Simply put we are at a crossroad. To use the thoughts expressed by Ronald Reagan in his fasmous Date with Destiny speech which he delivered for Barry Goldwater to a national TVaudience shortly before the election in November 1964: We are at a crossroad --- we have a Date with Destiny.

Our choice is clear. Man's reach for the clear air of individual choice and liberty or down to the antheap of totalitarianism. It is up to us. We have the choice.

My pulse is beginning to beat harder just thinking about reentering the fray.

Please do me a favor and send this edition of Issues of the Day to your mailing list. At our peak we had upwards of ten thousand regular visitors. Those of you who drop into this place daily now number in the dozens, so Issues of the Day will need your help in getting the message that we're back, out.

In 1976, at the Republican National Convention, our Texas delegation began a chant of "Viva Olay". Okay boys and girls, I want you to open the nearest window and shout out "Viva Olay". That feels good.

I have a date with a surgeon tomorrow morning. He told me I could be ready for battle by afternoon.

Dear God, this has me excited.........

Ciao.......Moe Lauzier

How do you thank someone who saved your life???

2010-11-13T14:48:00.001-05:00

"Stay with me Mr. W."

Mr. W was as near death as one could be without actually meeting his maker. I will not reveal private information other than to say that his health situation was perilous. Mr. W had suffered a relapse and was clinging to life by a fingernail.

Mr. W has multiple health issues, each of which could be fatal if not dealt with properly.

The Emergency Response Team at New Bedford ehabilitation Hospital swung into action. The Emergency Response Team is a diverse group of medical specialist including doctors, highly specialized nurses, and technicians. New Bedford Rehab specializes in doing the impossible, and on this night they did just that.

Helen and I were in a hallway adjacent to where this medical miracle took place. In what seemed like a scene from a Hollywood mega production, lights flashed, alarms sounded, and the Emergency Response Team assembled in the room of Mr. W. In what seemed like no time at all, these highly trained specialists swung into action with the precision of a finely tuned Swiss watch.

Without anyone barking commands everyone knew what was expected of them. Within minutes of what would have been a human disaster, miracles were performed. The team was made up of people who in other circumstances may not have found a great deal of common ground, among them were young, old, black, Hispanic, and whites of various ethnicity's who found common cause in saving the life of their patient. The same group at any other time could be found disagreeing on everything and anything, when the alarm sounded, they unified as one. Within what seemed like an eternity the team operated and performed a miracle they had performed many times in the past. Vitality had been restored to the life of Mr. W.

For this team saving lives in such a way is old hat , They perform this miracle whenever they are called upon. How do I know??? I was in similar situation as Mr. W just a few weeks ago. Without the effort of these men and women and people like them, I would not be writing this greeting.

ANY REPORTS OF MY DEMISE WERE PREMATURE AND EXAGGERATED.

I am alive and well and miss our daily get togethers in this space. My thanks to the management of NBRH for allowing me space for my laptop and a small filing cabinet to once again become a regular blogger.

I must admit I feel as giddy as a little boy with a new toy today. I'm not sure what I will be writing about in the upcoming days, and if there are any liberals still remaining after the conservative tidal wave which swept through here recently.

My heartfelt thanks to all those who wrote anything from praise, to cheers of glee that I was no longer blogging. I am back, and with Gods permission, here to stay.

It is amazing to have heard from as many people as we did during this time.

Over time I hope to be able to post different things daily. I will also be pleased to post your letters and comments in this space as we have always done in the past. While foul language we not be permitted any thoughts and expressions of any opinion will be posted verbatim.

Having experienced what I have, which includes multiple instances of have been placed in an induced coma 6 different times, I have learned to appreciate what is available to us. What occured are indeed miracles.

God Bless All, and we look forward to hearing back from you, and thank you for the many prayers and good wishes we received during my time of strife. Thanks again and we'll see you as soon as mental fertility permits.

Ciao....... Moe

Hey Piggly Wigglies, they're coming to get you.....

2010-09-16T01:00:00.001-04:00

The tea party movement began (no capitalization since it is a simple noun) about a year ago when it was ridiculed by just about everyone in government. Then the congressmen went home and faced the angry crowds of tea partiers.

The Democrat left poked fun at them calling them disorganized mobs and tea baggers. The Republicans at the time were not much better since they figured they would co-opt the bunch of yahoos who didn’t know didly about politics.

Fast forward a year and the picture is entirely different. Average Americans are speaking up as never before.

In the 1960s the term Silent Majority came into being. It was a way to describe middle Americans who supported Richard Nixon against the mobs of unwashed twits protesting everything. By 1980 they were silent no more. Ronald Reagan was their darling.

During the Reagan era the silent bunch was contented and occupied themselves with producing and creating. Those years laid the groundwork for the economic revolution which William Clinton took credit for.

In 1994, again dissatisfied, the silent gang kicked many of the bums out of office and we witnessed a Clinton needing to compromise on just about everything and more.

During the next six years complacency set in. We were busy building the economic giant led by the high tech revolution.

From roughly 1983 to 9/11 2001 the economy flew. It was a golden age. The economic engine was purring along at break neck speeds. Virtually anyone who wanted a job had one. Inflation was under control. And due to cutting the US military to a shadow of its former self government spending actually went down and deficits were unheard of despite President Clinton.

~~~

A line from The Drudge Report says it all, “One nation under revolt”. In an article in today’s Washington Examiner, Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen (former Democrat pollster) say the following:

“The Tea Party movement has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in recent American political history.

“It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties. It is potentially strong enough to elect senators, governors and congressmen. It may even be strong enough to elect the next president of the United States -- time will tell.

“But the Tea Party movement has been one of the most derided and minimized and, frankly, most disrespected movements in American history. Yet, despite being systematically ignored, belittled, marginalized, and ostracized by political, academic, and media elites, the Tea Party movement has grown stronger and stronger.”

Now I suspect I know what is at play here. It is Americans being typically American. We are focused as we have not been in some time. Maybe we’d have to go back to World War II to find this laser like focus on task.

During the war years our troops did whatever was needed. No obstacle was too large, no foe too formidable, no sacrifice too great. The magnitude of the task at hand was enormous but not overwhelming. It is amazing what can happen when we keep our eye on the ball and ignore all the distractions. We fought on multiple fronts.

After the carnage which was Pearl Harbor we were David versus Goliath. Except for England all our allies were severely battered. Everything went into the effort and when the time came it was not a case of David slew Goliath, he kicked the living cr@p out of him.

Just think about the nature of the deed we managed to achieve in WWII. We were cripled as a nation by the Great Depression and the dumb policies of Franklin Roosevelt which kept us in economic chaos lo those many years. The stock market crash, the colapse of our economic centers, the failure of a large percentage of our banks, the losses incurred by millions of working class Americans, the great dust bowl, and on and on it went.

America had become the land of the walking dead. We were dispirited and each day was pure drudgery.

Then Japan did something to shake us out of our lethargy. The attack on Pearl Harbor was supposed to finish us off. The opposite was true.

In what most Japanese war planners assumed would be a severe blow to our ability to respond to them they thought we would sue for peace and thus give Japan a green light in China and the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand. One Japanese planner and leader had his doubts.

I suspect you recall what happens when you assume something. You make something special, an ass/[of]u/me.

Harvard University educated Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto feared Pearl simply awakened a sleeping giant. How right he was.

That generation which had been demoralized by the Great Depression closed ranks and did whatever was necessary for the war effort. In the end all three great powers, Germany, Italy and Japan and their allies surrendered unconditionally.

When facing severe obstacles we have as a nation been able to pull together and defeat any foe and problem.

The last few years we have been confronted with a brakdown in our political system.

Many years ago George Wallace noted there wasn’t a nickel’s worth of diference between the Republican and Democrat parties. How right he was.

The gentle sleeping giant has been awakened again. The characters in Washington and our state capitols are clueless and fully in denial. Each election brings more and more failures of the aristocracy to comprehend we are mad as hell and will no longer take it from them. The great advantage of our side in this matter is they are applying the same dumb logic they applied to running the ship of state so precariously close to the rocks.

What is happening is we are taking back the power over our lives we had granted them. We are taking back our government. The government belongs to us. The wealth of this nation is created by private individuals, not by governments or politicians.

Most Americans recognize the insanity of all that has gone on from the TARP billions to the takeover of the health care industry.

The pitchfork and broom brigade is taking control.

The next depression in the United States will be all the ensconced politicians who are losing their jobs.

If you think the last year has been something, frankly you ain’t seen nuttin yet.

Ciao…….Moe

The times --- they are changin'

2010-09-15T03:58:00.000-04:00

Just when you think the world is going crazy it does.

The National Republican Party is rebuked again and again. This time in Delaware. To listen to them squawk after a series of humiliating defeats you understand it is time for a complete house cleaning and put into place people with a vision of America.

The likes of the house minority leader who is already compromising on something the public is clamoring against (the repeal of any part of the original Bush tax cuts scheduled to die on their own) John Boehner, the erstwhile future House Speaker, is allowing his petticoat to show. Ditto in the senate Republican leadership where Senate Minority leader talks a good game but caves in when it is time to stand up. Mitch McConnell is a throwback to a loser of a party.

The Republicans may well be saved from themselves this year thanks to the Tea Party Movement. The movement is like a political steam roller. Get with it or become part of the pavement.

New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Nevada, Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, etc. are not aberrations. The public is fed up to here with politics as usual. There is a strong demand we return to our American core values and the constitution.

Voters are being very pragmatic. Either the candidate will serve the system well or out that candidate goes. Oops, there goes another insider. The old guard have vanished this primary season in the GOP in Utah, Alaska, Delaware, and other places. What we have witnessed in the past few weeks may well become a political equivalent of a tsunami by the time we reach November 2nd.

Our country is in trouble. It is not enough for Republicans to lay claim of having done less damage than Democrats. Both parties have been remiss in serving the people. After all it is still ”we the people”, not “we the politicians”.

We got an email after yesterday’s election returns made it obvious the wave continued to build and was washing away a lot of political seaweed. The writer asked about both parties’ leaders, “Don’t they get it yet?” The answer to that is no and they won’t because they don’t want to.

We are in a war with the establishment. It will not relinquish its power easily. Power, at least in part, is what drives politicians. In order to maintain that power they must collude with the opposition at times. The house and senate are two big clubs.

We are a good and thoughtful people not prone to harsh judgments concerning those we hire to operate our ship of state. If you need proof of that just consider Charley Rangel being treated as a great man instead of the petty thief he in fact is. We did the same with Gerry Studds after he had sex with a teen page after getting him drunk. And of course, there was the Clinton/Lewinsky spectacle as well. Of course, how could we forget my very own congressman, Barney Frank who had a pimp operate out of the bedroom of his Georgetown Townhouse in Washington. The list could go on and on but you get the idea.

Times they are a changin‘. We can no longer afford incompetent people at the helm of our public institutions.

Do you recall the time your Mom or Dad admonished you that if you go too far all hell would break out? I do and it did. We are about to exercise our right as employers to fire those employees whom we think are failing us and taking advantage of our basically good nature along the way.

The days of the Billy Bulgers ripping off the public treasury as he did and laughing in our faces are over. Ditto for many senators and representatives, and governors and yes a president in a couple of years.

We the people are now starting to resolve not to let power class to lay waste to us.

A word to our departing power mongers, “Don’t let the door slam into your ample derrieres as you leave.” The party (or should I say the parties) is over. Now go.

Ciao…….Moe

The United States Constitution....Do we still need that old document?

2010-09-14T03:30:00.004-04:00

There are times you get too tired to sleep. Tonight is such a night. It’s approaching two AM and I’m no closer to sleep that the Red Sox are to a World Series.

Our trip West proved correct Murphy’s law which dictated that whatever could go wrong went wrong. This not a complaint, just an observation.

We are home safe and sound and all is well which ends well. There was much to be had from this trip but I’ll spare you the details.

Whenever I toss and turn unable to sleep (this time by my latest bout with sciatica) I get to thinking. Sometimes that can be a dangerous thing. I’ll leave it to you to judge whether it is a good or bad thing this time.

Each time I travel in this broad and beautiful land I marvel at how lucky we are and how good we are as a people in general. An auto mechanic and a VW dealership in Albuquerque, New Mexico restored my sense that when the occasion arises good people do good things.

Enough of the trip from hell and now to something that makes me very thankful I was born in the USA. It is what was on my mind as I slipped from between the covers of a warm and comfortable bed.

Thanks to satellite radio I got my full dose of what is happening via Fox News Network’s audio feed. We kept up on the progress of the hurricane which whipped through Texas and parts of Oklahoma. Yup, we were in the middle of it. After the storminess was over and our car situation was cared for we listened to all the stories concerning the presidential election. That is what set me to thinking (Helen says it is always a dangerous thing).

This may be the most momentous election of my lifetime. Even more revolutionary than the election of Ronald Reagan.

Why? Well I’m glad you asked.

We have had elections which turn the ship of state in ways not expected only a few years earlier. The Abe Lincoln election of 1860 was just one of them. There were great debates in the countryside and congress throughout the 1840s and 1850s on the subject of states’ rights and slavery. It was bitter and many compromises were made. As a nation we were consumed by how to deal with slavery and whether states had the right to secede from the Union.

That wasn’t decided until the bloody Civil War. The aftermath of that war was not finally settled for nearly 100 years.

Politicians play all sorts of games and tricks on us to divide and conquer us at the ballot box. Race, religion, and other emotional hot buttons are used to get us to accept yet more and more government involvement in our lives so as to control us. Somewhere along the line we lost our sense of what made America great in the first place. Freedom. That simple.

We were founded as a nation which granted certain powers to government not the other way around.

That, boys and girls is what distinguishes us from ALL other nations of the world save possibly Great Brittan. Of course they still have a monarchy which has very limited powers but still has great influence. Their parliament is bicameral with one house belonging to the common man and the other the lords. Therefore there is nothing else in the world quite like the United States.

Unfortunately we have allowed our basic foundation to develop some cracks and weaken our structure.

As was the country a hundred fifty years ago, we are at the threshold of a series of elections which will determine if this great and noble experiment of governance of, by and for the people will continue and return to its fundamentals of less government and more individual responsibility or, in the words of then actor Ronald Reagan, rely on some small intellectual elite in a far off capital to decide for us what they believe is best.

Those of us who believe in the founders principles have been made out to be extremists and radicals. Lets take a look at that idea that maybe our constitution is old and outmoded. Lets examine that notion. The US Constitution (along with the Declaration of Independence) is still the greatest document ever written by mortal man which sets out laws and principles which creates an atmosphere for us to live together in liberty and freedom.

We are unmatched by any nation in world history in placing in the hands of the people their own fate.

Let us start with a basic question about our governing document, the Constitution. Is it a radical or extremist document? Well, yes it is. There is nothing else quite like it even today. It was adopted on September 17, 1787, nearly two and a quarter centuries ago. It has been amended twenty-seven times.

The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights and were ratified along with the Constitution itself. That leaves seventeen other amendments during the course of the nearly 225 years.

Three of the seventeen deal with matters of the Civil War, two regarding booze (prohibition and the reversal of that prohibition). The remaining twelve amendments to the Constitution deal with presidential succession, a limitation on congressional pay raises, eighteen year old voting age, elimination of the poll tax, limit’s the number of full terms a person may serve as president, the emancipation of women voters, and the popular election of US Senators.

In essence there has been only limited changing of the original document.

Therefore is it radical or extreme to support the document as our governing element and demand adherence to its tenants? Let’s review some parts of the document and where you and I may stand on its protections and directives.

Does anyone seriously have a problem with the idea of the separation of church and state? How about freedom of assembly and speech? Freedom of the press (which we are exercising here)?

The constitution says individuals have a right to possess weapons.

Is there a problem with prohibiting the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners?

Are warrant less searches by agents of the government a good thing? The Constitution prohibits that.

Is there something wrong with the protection we are all afforded by the Fifth Amendment in that we cannot be compelled to give testimony against ourselves?

Then there is the guarantee of a speedy trial. We don’t throw residents in jail for interminable periods of time. That’s pretty neat in my book. This same amendment provides us with what are known as Miranda Rights. Is that radical?

Of course we are entitled to juries in civil cases, yup that’s in there. Add to that this document forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

The Ninth Amendment declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained by the people.

Just so there is no mistake on what the Constitution is all about we have a Tenth Amendment. It “reserves to the states respectively, or to the people,” any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.

All that is just the Bill of Rights. The rest of the Constitution is a comprehensive document intended to protect us from the power of government and act and live in a free manner. The three branches of government are defined and the powers of each are established.

Constitutional Scholars have hypothesized the order in which he three branches were defined in the constitution indicates the respect for each they had.

The legislative, that body closest to the people is described first, followed by the executive and lastly the courts. There is some thought the courts are last because they are the farthest removed from the people. While there is limited overlap in the three branches, their powers are well delineated.

The bottom line concerning the US Constitution is the people are supreme and the ultimate power over government is in the hands of the people and their reprtesentatives.

The constitution is about one thing, LIBERTY. What a beautiful word. May we defend it to the last.

The United States is still the greatest nation on earth, in large part because of the Constitution. People have by the millions and continue in equal numbers risk everything to come here. There is a good reason fro that.

The coming elections will determine if a little intellectual elite in our far off capital will dictate to us or us to the government.

VIVA la Constitution. Long live the Republic.

Ciao.......Moe

Troubles in Albuquerque

2010-09-10T09:44:00.001-04:00

We had big time headaches when we left Albuqurque, New Mexico yesterday morning. Thanks to a pot hole on the George Washington Bridge in New York City Monday morning at about 2:30 AM we had car troubles here.

We'll go into more detail the next time we stop. We are OK and are leaving Albuquerque with a good feeling for some of the people who helped us here. A special thanks to the very nice people at University Motors VW. The service we received was outstanding. They moved heaven and earth to get us on the road again. I am happy we have a VW Passat.

What's that old saw, all's well that ends well. It certainly applies here.

Ciao.......Moe

Good morning from Albuquerque, New Mexico

2010-09-09T19:05:00.001-04:00

We traveled from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday. We suspect you saw/heard the weather news for this part of the country. We left OK City when there was a full blown rain storm with the clap of thunder in the background.

We broke out of the rain just long enough to see even heavier clouds surrounding us from the South (Texas) and West. Our fancy dandy GPS gives highway trouble and severe weather alerts when we travel. We learned it showed areas where tornadoes were possible. Rats, we were in Western Oklahoma, very flat and no place to hide smack dab in the middle of the tornado warnings.

The only thing we concluded we could do was push on as fast as safely possible and keep a weary eye on the clouds around us. What would we have done had we seen a tornados’ funnel? That’s easy. Panic and Pray.

We heard on local radio some twisters touched down in the area and were moving erratically in the area. Oh joy.

We were lucky. I-40, while we were on it passed us through between the meanest looking clouds. We did go through some sheets of rain which was as worrisome as a whiteout in a snow storm.

Suddenly, just as we approached New Mexico we broke out of the bad weather.

There was one short blast of bad weather about a half hour along (we saw the line of thunder clouds ahead of us). Again, we found a seam. We listened to Fox News Network on our satellite radio and realized the heavy rain we encountered wound up heading to the areas of the forest fires in Colorado.

We’ve taken hundreds of photos along the way and will post some as soon as we can. Today we’re off to Flagstaff, Arizona and then to Phoenix.

Have a good day.

Ciao…….Moe

On the road again.......

2010-09-08T11:20:00.000-04:00

Good God, He sure knows how to rain hard in these parts.

Made it to Oklahoma City last night. Weather spotty for the last day but a deluge this morning. We transited all of Missouri and Oklahome to here. No Internet last night.

Heading to Flagstaff and will write more from there and may post some of the trip's photos.

I'm being given the bum's rush and on my way.

Ciao.......Moe

Good morning from Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

2010-09-07T08:13:00.000-04:00

1000+ miles of driving yesterday and we learned more our country than I thought possible.

Our youngest daughter is finally on her father/daughter trip (she has been on her Mom/daughter tour some time ago).

Helen and I have taken each of our offspring on their own special tour and Helene is the last of these excursioins. None was planned for anything special other than to explore our vast and beautiful land together.

As soon as we settle somewhere for a few consecutive days we'll share some of the specific experiences (such as our tour of Pittsburgh).

Right now it's free breakfast time at our hotlel and we'll push off West for parts unknown.

The last stop on our trip will be Arizona where Helene has some unfinished business and I plan to play in the desert and take pictures to my heart's content.

Thanks to the miracle of satellite radio we are keeping up what's happening everywhere (Fox Network is on there) and some left and right talk channels. Good music is there in abundance too.

I'll try to write tonight if there we arrive at a reasonable hour.

Ciao.......Moe

Where's Earl.......

2010-09-04T17:13:00.004-04:00

1 --- Earl is a liberal. All hot air.

2 --- The unemployment rate has jumped again.

President Obama called a press conference and somehow spun the latest numbers as an improvement in available jobs. The president called of the new job numbers “positive but not good enough”. Talk about competing with Earl.

3 --- The headline of the week appears in CNS News today:

Arizona Now Has a ‘Whopping 30’ National Guard Troops and 15 Billboard Signs Warning Citizens About Drug Cartels Operating on Public Lands

4 --- All the hard work he’s done over the last few minutes, surely the president has earned some time off so he will leave for the Camp David presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.

5 --- Did you see the video of old Fidel Castro giving a national speech, his first in four years.

We are told the Cuban medical system performs many miracles. I agree. They did a wonderful job on this old cadaver.

6 --- Until recently it was a given the governor of West Virginia would capture the seat of old KKK biggy, Bobby Bird. Don’t count those ballots yet.

Governor Joe Manchin has a 70% approval ranking as the state’s governor. That should about seal that race. Well the latest polling on the race has him ahead of his opponent, John Raese, a coal company executive who is self funding his campaign, by only 48-42.

Manchin’s biggest problem is the people like him as governor. He is not a run of the mill democrat. He is very conservative on social issues (guns, abortion, etc.) and a strong advocate for the coal industry. The Mountaineer State is heavily reliant on coal and the national democrats including the president have bashed coal as an energy source.

The tidal wave due to crash on shore November 2nd is growing by the day.

7 --- I’ll be hitting the road for a few days next week and all these stories about bedbugs has me very concerned. Many years ago I stayed in a hotel which was infested with palmetto bugs. Those little creeps are like bedbugs, nocturnal. They come out at night. Unlike bedbugs, the palmettos did not bite. They were crunchy if you went to the bathroom without turning on lights.

8 --- In the “Oh Wow!” department this item:

The director general of the BBC admitted Thursday that his organization had been guilty of a "massive bias to the left" but said "a completely different generation" of journalists now works at the broadcaster.

BBC was as far left or even more so at the great American MSNBC.

9 --- I had a couple of glasses of wine last night which unlocked my vivid imagination.

The man who had hardly learned where the john was near the Oval Office before being made Time Man of the Year and received the Peace Prize, is now derided by Time as Mr. Unpopular.

It didn’t take long. That thud you heard is anything related to Obama.

10 --- Jeffrey Frankel, economic guru for Bill Clinton, said on Fox News, the problem with the economy is we didn’t spend enough. That’s not a typo.

I wonder if he got into some of that Arkansas white lightening.

Where do they get these beauties?

11 --- No doubt you’ve heard about the Justice Department's lawsuit to stop the new Arizona immigration law. The feds are also suing the Maricopa Community College system in Phoenix, charging it broke the law by asking a job seeker to provide a green card before being hired.

On Thursday the Justice Department filed suit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's office, as part of an extended investigation into alleged civil rights violations there. County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says it is nothing more than bullying by the feds.

Now we learn that just six months before that, in September 2008, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, did its own investigation of Arpaio's office -- and gave it a clean bill of health.

As an anonymous person writing on a blog said, “The (In)Justice Dept under Holder dun need no steekin' facts. This isn't an investigation, it's a persecution. Considering what has gone on at Justice what is really needed is an outside investigation of that institution. From those who have already made statements and even quit, Holder and his closest aides couldn't withstand such heat.”

Amen pal.

12 --- I just saw a promotional announcement on Fox which used some comments from my congressman (gag and choke) Bawney Fwank. He was sputtering something about how he almost saved the banking system, if only others had listened to him. God save us all.

13 --- Obama is only now beginning to feel the heat, even from his own party. We cannot help but wonder whether he can handle the pressure. Until now he has had an overwhelming majority in the house, not to mention a compliant Speaktress and in the Senate, an old creep who would do anything for his leader.

The Speaktress is on her way out of the speakeasy she has been operating and the Majority Leader in the senate is about to get sent home.

Big Boy Barry could be pretty much alone in standing up to the awful Republican majorities in both houses.

We can’t help but wonder whether the community organizer will have the fortitude to stand up for what he says he believes in. Then again will he fold like an envelope and somehow move on.

14 --- This is from a military friend…..

Indian ordering coffee

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up."

He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee..... The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says,

"Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

VOTE 'EM ALL OUT!

Eddy (Wormy) Wa…..n SSBG

Formerly of Baghdad where God is still Alive and Working.

15 --- Imagine what would have been said by the left loonies if the Discovery Channel gunman had been a fan of George Bush instead of GasBag Gore.

16 --- Hey Barry, quite a job well done. Your recovery lost only 54,000 jobs lost month. Good work Mr. Community Organizer (whatever that is). Just think, if he gets his way and another stimulus plan we’ll all be out of work. If that happens who will pay to support Queen Michelle and Barry’s aunt Zeituni?

17 --- The US Postal Service has been teetering on the edge of joining buggy whips and dinosaurs in the dustbin of history. We have 10s of thousands of people working for USPS and have subsidized the postal service to the tune of billions of dollars.

Part of the problem the USPS faced was competition which had been prohibited by law for many years. Therefore subsidies came pouring in to the post office.

The United Parcel Service (aka, Big Brown) built a dynasty of its own doing the things the Post Office would not. Laws were in place to protect the post office from competition such as limiting 1st class mail to the USPS. After the laws were changed UPS (and a couple of other companies) made out big time at the expense of the post office. Competing for a government entity is really no big deal since if it ceases to be profitable the congress turns to the taxpayer and covers the losses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqqTKQhBsSs&feature=pyv&ad=5836042872&kw=senate%20democrats

UPS – the 100-year-old company that operated for decades as a parcel-delivery monopoly – is quietly seeking a Congressional bailout designed to limit competition for overnight deliveries.

Using their clout as the “biggest giver to U.S. lawmakers,” UPS hopes to slip this bailout in under the radar.

UPS lobbyists have buried a short 230-word legislative bailout deep inside the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 currently before Congress. It’s worth billions to “Big Brown” at the expense of today’s American economy that thrives on next-day commerce, competitive shipping options and ready access to markets around the world.

The bailout bottom-line is this: What’s the difference between a 100-year-old trucking company and a modern airline that flies packages around the world every night? Answer: everything. Yes, both carry parcels and packages, but how they do it is obviously and vastly different.

UPS’ bailout would shoehorn FedEx Express – an airline created in 1971 focused on next-day delivery of essential goods and documents around the world – into the same operating rules as a 100-year-old trucking company. FedEx Express and other airlines operate just fine under airline regulations, but UPS doesn’t like competition. Keep in mind, UPS chose to form as a separate trucking company for its pickup and delivery operations.

So “Big Brown” is throwing around its political weight and seeking a bailout from Congress, so that it can saddle its only remaining U.S. competitor with the effects of its own decisions. And at the end of the day, all of us who rely on overnight-deliveries – medicines, paychecks, critical replacement parts, essential inventory, and the like – pay the cost.

Now that ads a little transparency to some legislative efforts. The devil is in the details.

As mentioned above, the mischief is in a 230 word amendment to FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009. I wonder if any congressman will bother to read the bill before voting for it or will they have to pass it to learn what’s in it.

Wouldn’t it be fun watching Barney Frank or Nancy Pelosi drool trying to explain why this is necessary.

18 --- How can you screw up the carpeting in the Oval Office? Easy.

We’re all familiar with the Oval Office carpet which is adorned with the presidential seal. What few of us knew is there are quotations of famous Americans woven around the perimeter.

Quotations of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. woven along its curved edge on the new carpet ordered by BO.

Only, there is a little mistake. On the carpet’s edge this quote appears: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." The words are attributed to Rev. King. That’s nice. It’s also wrong? They are the words Theodore Parker.

Here is a little background on Mr. Parker. He was an abolitionist, Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist thinker who foresaw the end of slavery, and who died at age 49 at about the time the Civil War began. His grandpa commanded the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington.

You can file that under oops.

We'll tell you about our upcoming travcel. We plan to see some big things, the Grand Canyon for one. We'll also attempt to take many pictures.

Ciao.......Moe

Michelle thanks you.....her pride in the USA bubbles over....

2010-09-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

My fellow Americans,

For only the second time in my adult life, I am not ashamed of my country. I want to thank the hard working American people for paying $242 thousand dollars plus additional expenses for my vacation in Spain . My daughter Sasha, several long-time family friends, my personal staff and various guests had a wonderful time. Honestly, you just haven't lived until you have stayed in a $2,500.00 per night suite at a 5-Star luxury hotel. We only booked 70 rooms for our friends, staff and family. Thank you also for the use of Air Force 2 and the 70 Secret Service personnel who tagged along to be sure we were safe and cared for at all times.

Air Force 2 only used 47,500 gallons of jet fuel for this trip and carbon emissions were a mere 1,031 tons of CO2. It costs only $11,500 per hour to operate Air Force 2 and each additional plane for the other members of our party group. These are only rough estimates, but they are close (who's counting?). That's quite a carbon footprint as my good friend Al Gore would say, so we must ask the American citizens to drive smaller, more fuel efficient cars and drive less too, so we can lessen our combined carbon footprint.

I know times are hard and millions of you are struggling to put food on the table and trying to make ends meet. I do appreciate your sacrifice and do hope you find work soon. I was really exhausted after Barack took our family on a luxury vacation in Maine a few weeks ago. I just had to get away for a few days. Will write more from Martha's Vineyard where we will spend our sixth vacation this year with more of our family and friends.

Cordially,

Michelle Obama

Why you should vote Democrat......

2010-09-02T07:55:00.002-04:00

When your friends can't explain why they voted for Democrats, give them this list. They can then pick a reason .

10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

3. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

1. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my butt, that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

Ciao.......Moe