In reading news coverage of the economic meltdown and the entire presidential campaign it still amazes me how little common sense is actually “common” and how the PT Barnum “there’s a sucker born every minute” reinforces itself every time.

Politicians love the old Hollywood “black hat” trick. Put a black hat on someone, demonize him and bingo! Instant fall guy! It diverts your attention and makes the villagers gather their torches to storm the castle while the politician kicks his feet up and lights up a stogie (please excuse the mixed metaphor). Democrats are superb at this game.

Never mind the facts. Never mind their own hands in the mess being caused by their meddling. They can always put a black hat on someone, point their fingers and shake their fists. Cases in point:

Jamie Gorelick, creator of the wall that prevented the FBI and the CIA to share information. This wall was one of the major contributors to 9/11. Here’ s the insane thing, she served on the 9/11 commission. She smugly questioned and browbeat members of the Bush administration pointing her fingers and shaking her fist while her hands were clearly bloody. How many people know this? Not many, believe me because I’ve asked.

Barney Frank, who two years ago stated that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were financially sound, ignoring the warnings of the Bush administration and Senator McCain. His lunatic defense is that the Bush administration’s “deregulation” caused the failure of these institutions. Huh? Can anyone say Community Re-investment Act? I know you can!

There are many more. Why don’t you know about them? The mainstream media and more recently, Bush Derangement syndrome are great enablers to those who would urinate on your shoes and tell you it’s just rain. A very recent example is Sarah Palin. She’s still being demonized and she LOST the election. She should be the epitome of what feminists have been trying to achieve in the entire history of the movement and yet the opposite is true. She is their greatest threat! Sooooo, portray her as an idiot, an intolerant religious despot and a hypocrite and voila! Stick a fork in her, she’s done!

As soon as I see someone being demonized by the media I start to pay attention and I want to pull the curtain back. I still remember the love fest they had with Carter and the hatred of Reagan. Unfortunately, most people alive nowadays do not. Here are a couple of clues for you, in case you don’t recognize the tactic. I’ve seen it employed enough times to consider it a pattern.

1. The media elites’ coverage will have an air of smugness and superiority and will be characterized by  “ahaaaa!” moments, which they will play over and over in “teasers”, followed by questioning the competence, intelligence or motives of the person being covered or interviewed. They become sharks in bloody water if God is mentioned at any moment and in any context. In the event you don’t know who I mean by media elites, they would be the Katie Courics, the Charlie Gibsons, the Wolf Blitzers, the Chris Matthews et al).
2. The late night comedians and Saturday Night Live will begin their skits and sketches, portraying them as buffoons, Nazi’s, cold hearted puppy killing bastards or just plain weirdos.
3. The media elites, taking the cue from late night comedians will begin throwing logs on that fire as if to say “See? Toldya!” Then they begin throwing the ball back and forth to each other. If they really despise the individual, they go after their families, putting the spotlight on any perceived hypocrisy, not matter far fetched.

Vice President Dan Quayle, who happens to be an exceptionally smart individual, was continually portrayed as a moron because he happened to challenge the spelling of the word potato in a grade school spelling bee. The grade schooler had the correct spelling and Dan Quayle is now an idiot, forever. He was also portrayed as an intolerant religious nut because he happened to criticize a network television’s show’s glorification of single motherhood. Single parenthood has historically shown itself to not be the fluffy puppies and pink cloud world that network television writers like to portray.

Yet, Vice President Elect Joe Biden’s continuous verbal gaffes are largely ignored. His statement about Franklin Roosevelt getting on television in 1929 following the Wall St crash is about as dumb and misinformed as you can get, and yet, it has received little focus. To the elite, Biden is a distinguished and polished elder statesman who will give President Elect Obama much needed foreign policy experience.

So, beware of the black hat. By the same token, the reverse is also true. Once someone is put up on a white steed with shiny armor, it’s also time to pay close attention. Particularly when they start causing “leg tingles” and damsels to faint.

Having a discussion with a acquaintances reminded me again just how insane the left has behaved where President Bush is concerned. Right now, the left is calling for “unifying under President Obama” and stopping the “partisan bickering” to move forward. Where the hell were these guys and President Bush took office?

Other than a brief period after 9/11 when President Bush’s approval ratings were about 75%, they have done nothing but stonewall, attack and denigrate anything the administration has attempted. After 9/11 all these cowards were running scared, with their tails between their legs, clueless as to how to defend themselves against a senseless and completely violent attack. Their lack of frame of reference and fear of continuing attacks is what caused them to rally behind a decisive force of leadership, as is usually the case. President Bush was that force.

Later, when it became clear that we would not be attacked again (due to the decisive leader’s actions) they eventually reverted to their standard. It was all  Bush’s fault. That mantra has served them ever since, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Facts seem to get in the way of their braying, so they enlisted their allies in the MSM to reinforce their message. In my opinion, the demonization of Bush has been unprecedented. At least in my lifetime. I’ve never seen so many unaccomplished, useless and uninformed idiots who have suddenly become warfare, intelligence and political geniuses. The only qualification they seem to have is an illogical hatred of the president and his entire administration. 

Ann Coulter has put out another jewel here.

http://townhall.com/columnists/AnnCoulter/2008/11/19/genius,_thy_name_is_obama?page=1

A final example: the media is falling all over itself over Obama’s historic selection of his DOJ nominee while they ignored the historic significance of Bush’s (Alberto Gonzalez). In fact, Gonzalez ultimately got run out on a rail by the constant attacks of the left, history be damned. Another “historic” fact ignored was the fact that President Bush had a more diverse cabinet than Clinton.

I just found out this morning that President-elect Obama has tapped my governor Janet Napolitano (D) to head the DHS. Of course this is not a historic precedent. Clinton also hired a completely useless and unqualified woman to head up his Department of Justice. Her name was also Janet.    

 

About time someone turned the damn spigot off. Grrr!

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN1339368420081114?rpc=44&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

I know it may not bear repeating, but I am a free market capitalist. I own my own business and I work 10-11 hours five days a week and 5 hours on Saturdays between the business and my day job. I try to keep the Lord’s Sabbath but I’m often using that day to catch up on paperwork and correspondence. This is not intended to elicit sympathy. My policy has always been if you want sympathy, look in the dictionary between sh*t and syphilis.

I merely point it out to underscore the fact that I’m spinning my grindstone full time to make my American dream a reality. I will sink or swim depending on the market’s requirement for my business and my own skills. I didn’t borrow any money to start it up and I won’t owe anyone if it should go under (other than to myself). I take pride in the fact that during my start-up I employed 10 people for two months. Although I don’t now employ anyone directly, I indirectly support other jobs in companies with which I do business. All I want from the government is to take less of my money and stay out of my life.

The whole idea of a bailout offends my greedy little capitalist sensitivities. There may be some responsibility for the Federal government to bear in this crisis. They created the problem initially by interfering with the market and as is usually the case, chaos resulted. That does not however mean that their continued interference will fix the problem as the last month has shown.

Ironically, you can’t fix it by throwing money on it. As evidenced, once the trough is full of free money you cant control the pigs in the pen. They all come running for their fill. I’ll take my pain now and let the problem right itself, as it’s usually prone to do.

Will people lose their houses? Certainly. Primarily those who couldn’t afford them in the first place. Will businesses close? Certainly. As they should and will in either a bear or bull market.

No one, not the government, not the economists, not the pundits or the so-called “experts” can predict which way this will go. What has been clear throughout history however, is that the free market works. It will right itself without government intervention.

What is also clear is the gubmint’s efforts are a fart in a hurricane. Don’t get me started on Universal Health Care.

Editorial note: Charles Krauthammer just put out a superb column (as usual) on this subject:

 

http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2008/11/14/the_bailouts_fault_lines?page=1

At my retirement ceremony from the US Navy ten years ago (jeez, it’s been ten freaking years???), I said that the Navy had provided me opportunities that I would otherwise not have, considering my education, upbringing and background. That is, unless I had been an international rock star or a jet setting millionaire. Not that I turned down offers to be either of those. I was certain, however, that no job I could have done in my life would have been as rewarding. Every night I could go to bed comfortably knowing that what I did for a living was a worthwhile endeavor. My family is a family of veterans. Between my father, two brothers, my wife and myself we have a combined 63 years of service to our great country. If you count the last 10 years I’ve been a DOD contractor to my 20 years of Active Duty the number jumps to 73 years. I still believe to this day those things I said at my retirement ceremony. I used to ignore the keening and wailing from the clueless peacenik morons who protest our military actions around the globe. They have become more strident since our invasion of Iraq and their despicable actions have contributed to the deaths of some of my comrades and ironically have possibly prolonged this war by emboldening our enemies. Not that it will cost them a moment’s sleep. I consider them, at least ignorant or clueless appeasers, at worst cowards and traitors. Our enemies have just as much scorn for them as I do. Were it up to the likes of them, our great country would never have been born, as it takes intestinal fortitude and deep patriotism to stand up to tyranny. They are devoid of both these qualities. I know many would lambast this opinion as a broad generalization that doesn’t apply to some of them. Usually I steer clear of generalizations, but I haven’t been able to find an exception in this case. Not to mention the fact that these same people would be completely silent if they lived under the regimes we are currently fighting. I’ve served under two presidents I consider to be appeasers and the end result of both those presidencies have been attacks on our sovereign soil and deaths of innocent Americans. Following the attacks of 9/11, the direct result of President Bush’s policies has been a safe, attack free civilian populace, despite the constant caterwauling that these same policies were going to “cause more attacks”. I’ve said it before but the fact that this is dismissed as insignificant is an insult to our Veterans and a staggering ignorance of the nature of our enemies and their intent. Get this, it is the intent of our enemies to do away with our way of life, as our freedoms are a detriment to their ideology. The ONLY reason we are free to say whatever idiotic statement we want to make against “the establishment” is the direct result of our Veterans sacrifice. The ONLY reason we can act like brainless twits by slapping the hand that feeds us liberty on a silver platter has been paid with their blood and limbs. That is what the 7 red stripes on our flag represent. So today, put away your stupidity and thank a Vet. Or at least put a sock in it for one day. To my brothers and sisters in arms, Happy Veterans day! God bless our masterful troops.