Thursday, February 28, 2013

Want to hear THE TRUTH? Get a load of this...




The author is Laura Hollis is:

Current: Associate Professional Specialist and Concurrent Associate
Professor of Law at University of Notre Dame.


Past: Director at Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Associate
Director and Clinical Professor at University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.


Education: University of Notre Dame Law School , University of Notre Dame.


Summary: She has 20+ years' experience in curriculum and other program
development and delivery.



I am already reading so many pundits and other talking heads analyzing the disaster that was this year's elections. I (Laura Hollis) am adding my own ten cents.

Here goes:

1. We are outnumbered. We accurately foresaw the enthusiasm, the passion, the commitment, the determination, and the turnout. Married women, men, independents, Catholics, evangelicals - they all went for Romney in percentages as high or higher than the groups which voted for McCain in 2008. It wasn't enough. What we saw in the election was a tipping point: we are now at a place where there are legitimately fewer Americans who desire a free republic with a free people than there are those who think the government should give them stuff. There are fewer of us who believe in the value of free exchange and free enterprise. There are fewer of us who do not wish to demonize successful people in order to justify taking from them. We are outnumbered.


For the moment. It's just that simple.

2. It wasn't the candidate(s). Some are already saying, "Romney was the wrong guy"; "He should have picked Marco Rubio to get Florida/Rob Portman to get Ohio/Chris Christie to get [someplace else]." With all due respect, these assessments are incorrect. Romney ran a strategic and well-organized campaign. Yes, he could have hit harder on Benghazi . But for those who would have loved that, there are those who would have found it distasteful. No matter what tactic you could point to that Romney could have done better, it would have been spun in a way that was detrimental to his chances. Romney would have been an excellent president, and Ryan was an inspired choice. No matter who we ran this year, they would have lost. See #1, above.

3. It's the culture, stupid. We have been trying to fight this battle every four years at the voting booth. It is long past time we admit that is not where the battle really is. We abdicated control of the culture - starting back in the 1960s. And now our largest primary social institutions - education, the media, Hollywood (entertainment) have become really nothing more than an assembly line for cranking out reliable little Leftists. Furthermore, we have allowed the government to undermine the institutions that instill good character - marriage, the family, communities, schools, our churches. So, here we are, at least two full generations later - we are reaping what we have sown. It took nearly fifty years to get here; it will take another fifty years to get back. But it starts with the determination to reclaim education, the media, and the entertainment business. If we fail to do that, we can kiss every election goodbye from here on out. And much more.

4. America has become a nation of adolescents The real loser in this election was adulthood: Maturity. Responsibility. The understanding that liberty must be accompanied by self-restraint. Obama is a spoiled child, and the behavior and language of his followers and their advertisements throughout the campaign makes it clear how many of them are, as well. Romney is a grown-up. Romney should have won. Those of us who expected him to win assumed that voters would act like grownups. Because if we were a nation of grownups, he would have won.

But what did win? Sex. Drugs. Bad language. Bad manners. Vulgarity. Lies. Cheating. Name-calling. Finger-pointing. Blaming. And irresponsible spending. This does not bode well. People grow up one of two ways: either they choose to, or circumstances force them to. The warnings are all there, whether it is the looming economic disaster, or the inability of the government to respond to crises like Hurricane Sandy, or the growing strength and brazenness of our enemies. American voters stick their fingers in their ears and say, "Lalalalalala, I can't hear you." It is unpleasant to think about the circumstances it will take to force Americans to grow up. It is even more unpleasant to think about Obama at the helm when those circumstances arrive.

5. Yes, there is apparently a Vagina Vote. It's the subject matter of another column in its entirety to point out, one by one, all of the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of the Democrats this year. Suffice it to say that the only "war on women" was the one waged by the Obama campaign, which sexualized and objectified women, featuring them dressed up like vulvas at the Democrat National Convention, appealing to their "lady parts," comparing voting to losing your virginity with Obama, trumpeting the thrills of destroying our children in the womb (and using our daughters in commercials to do so), and making Catholics pay for their birth control. For a significant number of women, this was appealing. It might call into question the wisdom of the Nineteenth Amendment, but for the fact that large numbers of women (largely married) used their "lady smarts" instead. Either way, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are rolling over in their graves.

6. It's not about giving up on "social issues" No Republican candidate should participate in a debate or go out on the stump without thorough debate prep and a complete set of talking points that they stick to. This should start with a good grounding in biology and a reluctance to purport to know the will of God. (Thank you, Todd and Richard.)

That said, we do not hold the values we do because they garner votes. We hold the values we do because we believe that they are time-tested principles without which a civilized, free and prosperous society is not possible.

We defend the unborn because we understand that a society which views some lives as expendable is capable of viewing all lives as expendable. We defend family - mothers, fathers, marriage, children - because history makes it quite clear that societies without intact families quickly descend into anarchy and barbarism, and we have plenty of proof of that in our inner cities where marriage is infrequent and unwed motherhood approaches 80 percent. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, many thought that the abortion cause was lost. Forty years later, ultrasound technology has demonstrated the inevitable connection between science and morality. More American than ever define themselves as "pro-life." What is tragic is that tens of millions of children have lost their lives while Americans figure out what should have been obvious before.. There is no "giving up" on social issues. There is only the realization that we have to fight the battle on other fronts. The truth will win out in the end.

7. Obama does not have a mandate. And he does not need one. I have to laugh - bitterly - when I read conservative pundits trying to assure us that Obama "has to know" that he does not have a mandate, and
public, his willingness to rule by executive order, and the utter inability of so he will have to govern from the middle. I don't know what they're smoking. Obama does not care that he does not have a mandate. He does not view himself as being elected (much less re-elected) to represent individuals. He views himself as having been re-elected to complete the "fundamental transformation" of America , the basic structure of which he despises. Expect much more of the same - largely the complete disregard of the will of half the American another divided Congress to rein him in. Stanley Kurtz has it all laid out here.

8. The Corrupt Media - is the enemy too strong? I don't think so. I have been watching the media try to throw elections since at least the early 1990s. In 2008 and again this year, we saw the media cravenly cover up for the incompetence and deceit of this President, while demonizing a good, honorable and decent man with lies and smears. This is on top of the daily barrage of insults that conservatives (and by that I mean the electorate, not the politicians) must endure at the hands of this arrogant bunch of elitist snobs. Bias is one thing. What we observed with Benghazi was professional malpractice and fraud. They need to go. Republicans, Libertarians and other conservatives need to be prepared to play hardball with the Pravda press from here on out. And while we are at it, to defend those journalists of whatever political stripe (Jake Tapper, Sharyl Atkisson, Eli Lake) who actually do their jobs. As well as Fox News and talk radio. Because you can fully expect a re-elected Obama to try to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in term 2.

9. Small business and entrepreneurs will be hurt the worst For all the blather about "Wall Street versus Main Street ," Obama's statist agenda will unquestionably benefit the biggest corporations which - as with
the public sector unions - are in the best position to make campaign donations, hire lobbyists, and get special exemptions carved out from Obama's health care laws, his environmental regulations, his labor laws. It will be the small business, the entrepreneur, and the first-time innovators who will be crushed by their inability to compete on a level playing field.

10. America is more polarized than ever; and this time it's personal. I've been following politics for a long time, and it feels different this time. Not just for me. I've received messages from other conservatives who are saying the same thing: there is little to no tolerance left out there for those who are bringing this country to its knees - even when they have been our friends. It isn't just about "my guy" versus "your guy." It is my view of America versus your view of America - a crippled, hemorrhaging, debt-laden, weakened and dependent America that I want no part of and resent being foisted on me. I no longer have any patience for stupidity, blindness, or vulgarity, so with each dumb "tweet" or FB post by one of my happily lefty comrades, another one bites the dust, for me. Delete. What does this portend for a divided Congress? I expect that Republicans will be demoralized and chastened for a short time. But I see them in a bad position. Americans in general want Congress to work together. But many do not want Obama's policies, and so Republicans who support them will be toast. Good luck, guys.

11. It's possible that America just has to hit rock bottom. I truly believe that most Americans who voted for Obama have no idea what they are in for. Most simply believe him when he says that all he really wants is for the rich to pay "a little bit more." So reasonable! Who could argue with that except a greedy racist? America is on a horrific bender. Has been for some time now. The warning signs of our fiscal profligacy and culture of lack of personal responsibility are everywhere - too many to mention. We need only look at other countries which have gone the route we are walking now to see what is in store.

For the past four years - but certainly within the past campaign season - we have tried to warn Americans. Too many refuse to listen, even when all of the events that have transpired during Obama's presidency - unemployment, economic stagnation, skyrocketing prices, the depression of the dollar, the collapse of foreign policy, Benghazi, hopelessly inept responses to natural disasters - can be tied directly to Obama's statist philosophies, and his decisions.

What that means, I fear, is that they will not see what is coming until the whole thing collapses. That is what makes me so sad today. I see the country I love headed toward its own "rock bottom," and I cannot seem to reach those who are taking it there.

Laura Hollis





Wednesday, February 27, 2013

BZ nails it...........so's Bob Woodward

Our friend Bloviating Zeppelin NAILS IT.  Did you hear what liberal Bob Woodward said about OBAMA?  Click HERE!

UPDATE:  Woodward is saying he had an email today from a "senior WH official" telling him he'd "regret" going against Obama.  Quite a bunch, huh?  Threatening because someone has the guts to do what Woodward did? 




Z

ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEE?

You've got to read THIS!  It's amazing!  Enjoy!

What would YOU have done!?

Z

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

In-N-Out

Vanity Fair's Oscar Night Party is one of the most sought after parties after the Awards ceremonies...it's big and it's got the what they call members of the A LIST.   Here's the kicker:  Vanity Fair serves In-n-Out burgers after their party.  Ang Lee had what the media calls "a greasy In-n-Out Burger" as he gave interviews.  I personally applaud any party that has good old 'real food' and I'd be dying for a burger, too, after sitting for 3 hours in the awards ceremonies and all.  I mean, who wants a canape after all of that?

Here's the kicker;  I decided to Snopes In-N-Out and came up with THIS! (Sorry, I tried to cut/paste but Snopes doesn't let me so I have to count on you looking at the link and reading at least the paragraph that starts with "As Proselytizing goes..")  I don't know just how widespread In-N-Out burger stores are so many of you might not know that the cups and paper wrappings have Bible verses on them.   This, of course, makes me surprised that any group like Vanity Fair would even serve them, but they do, every year.  And it IS well known in California that Bible verses are all over the burger company's stuff.  They apparently only have the 'Bible address', not the whole verses, which Snopes seems to find odd even as it adds that including Bible scripture ".... has been interpreted by some as a LURKING MENACE.
Yes, according to Snopes and "some,"  having Bible verses on burgers and drinks is a "lurking menace".    Snopes includes that anybody who's not religious "need not fear for their souls" as there aren't actual Biblical quotes, just the scripture chapters and verses!  Boy, isn't THAT a relief? :-)

I found this amusing enough to post it and wondered what you thought.   Imagine Vanity Fair using In-N-Out in spite of the "lurking menace?"  And to a bunch of Hollywood types?  And, as I've always said, see the bias at Snopes.  Laughable.

Now I feel like going out to find an In-N-Out ... mmmmmmmmmm   (even if they DO have those 'lurking menaces' like John 3:16!)

Would you go there and get a burger or is that too menacing for you?

Z




Monday, February 25, 2013

Five Minutes of Oscars....

...and there was an Obama.

Yes, I clicked into the Oscars and noticed it was time for the bigger announcements of Best Actor, etc..so I thought I'd watch for five minutes (I don't usually watch them much)....  Then it was time for BEST PICTURE and, lo and behold, they introduced MRS OBAMA ON BIG SCREEN LOOMING OVER THE STAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.

Was Laura Bush ever on the Oscars? 

And did you think ARGO, which admittedly was a wonderful film of courage and patriotism and amazing ingenuity, deserved BEST OSCAR?

z


Have we forgotten?

A friend sent me THIS STORY, which I found so wonderful in the courage shown by our servicemen and so interesting mostly because we've hardly heard about it.  While Googling more information, she also ran across this video which she emailed to me:

It's all been forgotten, hasn't it.   Where are the 20 or so Americans who were saved from dying by the SEALS who died?  Why haven't they come forward with their stories?
This video's from October, but I suppose any White House knows these stories just tend to go away........they seem to tend to get lost in what the media finds interesting enough to tell us about Jennifer Lopez's cupcakes for her twins or the latest single celeb's "baby bumps."

Please watch that video.  FOX had the story first and all of it's been confirmed since then.  But the facts sound horrifying.  Yes, there WERE people ready to take off and help but they were denied approval to fly.  And yes, they could have got there in about 3-4 hours and these SEALS were killed about 6 hours after it all started.

How do we get service people to fight for our country when they know all was not done to save those in Libya?  Have you seen THIS?  Ed Klein, a writer who's close to the Clinton's, says Hillary DID order more security but the White House turned her down.

Is this all about winning the election for Obama?   The story in this report is that the White House had a drone overhead and was watching real time............

Yet, the story's now gone...no more information to the public.   And he won.   And people died.  And this is America.


Z


Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sunday Faith Blog

In a letter to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813, John Adams wrote:

The general principles, on which the Fathers achieved independence were the only principles in which that beautiful assembly of young gentlemen could unite...And what were these general principles?  I answer, the general principles of Christianity, in which all these sects were united:  And the general principles of English and American liberty, in which all those young men united, and which had united all parties in America in majorities sufficient to assert and maintain her independence.

Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature and our terrestrial, mundane system.....From IN GOD WE STILL TRUST, by Dr. Richard G. Lee

I believe that this beautiful trust in God which did keep our "young gentlemen" united and of sound principles, is slipping away with the subtle yet existent removal of God from American life.  And now that young men are anything but united, I wonder about America's independence.  As an aside, I wanted to mention that I find it interesting that Adams mentioned human nature because I believe half of this country has so little confidence in human nature and even wants to change it via legislation.  

The general principles of Christianity, however, are eternal...in this life and our lives beyond.......thank God.

I wonder how America fits in with that belief.  What do you think?

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away."  Luke 21:33

By the way...did you know that Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?  Amazing.

Have a beautiful Sunday of praise and reflection.

Z

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Here's someone more people should "choose"...

.....to be like, as my post below this asked.

Please watch;  you will so admire his point of view.  Except for leftwingers whose biggest fear is HIM.

What do you think of him?  It's only minutes...and it's worth watching and sending around.
 Please do it!

Z


You choose

If you could be anybody who ever lived, living today or already dead............who would it be?

And why?

:-)  Thanks!

Z

Friday, February 22, 2013

What's up?

I'm lazy today, plus I'm doing this from the office because I've got more computer problems.

SO, you tell me:  What in the news is bugging you the absolute MOST?

What bugs me is seeing Yahoo Headlines that "Jennifer Lopez makes cupcakes for her twins"...like we have nothing else to worry about?
THIS is exactly why I named this blog "GeeeeeeZ.."!!   GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!

Z

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Drones.........

Do you like them?  And for what?  And where?   I'd like to talk about this because there are some very interesting facets to the drones situation;
Should we allow drones to kill on American soil?
Do you worry about the amount of terrorists we could have got good intel from but they died?


There are more questions.....what do you think?

Thanks!

Z

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Democrats backing away from Obama Care!?



Senate Democrats try to dodge responsibility for ObamaCare.

·          

By JAMES TARANTO

"Powerful Democrats" subjected a top Obama administration health-care official "to withering criticism" last week, notes Walter Russell Mead. When Gary Cohen, head of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee, chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.) "tore into him."
 The hearing didn't attract much journalistic attention; the only stories we could find about it were from a legislative trade publication (the Hill) and a health-policy one (Kaiser Health News) (Z:  SURPRISE!). Here's a summary of the senators' complaints:
"Baucus questioned how well the online health insurance marketplaces would interact with what he called 'archaic' computer systems at Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service," Kaiser reports.
Cantwell, the Hill reports, "criticized the administration for delaying implementation of the Basic Health Program--an option for states to provide cost-efficient health coverage outside of Medicaid and the law's new insurance exchanges." It was supposed to start next year but the administration is delaying it until 2015. Cantwell asked Cohen: "Are you artificially raising the cost to all taxpayers by trying to lure them onto the exchange?" (Cohen said no, the Basic Health Plan, in the Hill's paraphrase, "simply had to take a backseat to other priorities.")

"Wyden pressed Cohen to help find ways to resolve a glitch in the law which may result in the denial of federal assistance to millions of Americans of modest means who could be priced out of family health coverage at work," according to Kaiser. At issue is an IRS ruling limiting federal subsidies for such plans. Said Wyden: "We've got millions of people--working-class, middle-class people--who are going to be pushed into a regulatory health coverage no man's land." So much for President Obama's promise that if you like your plan, you can keep it.(Z: by the way...Anybody with bat brains knew this was a lie;  if I have Blue Cross and Blue Cross goes out of business because companies find it cheaper to go for Obama Care, will I be able to keep Blue Cross!?  Of course not..and who didn't know this?)
And Nelson "hammered" the Department of Health and Human Services "for inviting Congress to cut funding for a new nonprofit insurance model," as the Hill puts it:
Funding for healthcare co-ops was eliminated in the year-end tax deal, and Nelson said officials offered up the program as a place Congress could cut.
"Why was that negotiated away at the 11th hour?" Nelson asked.
Cohen didn't have an answer.
Nelson noted that the co-ops funding was axed while applications for new co-ops were still in the pipeline. HHS had already approved a few new [sic] of them.
"I want somebody to be accountable for this, and if it was a mistake, for somebody to own up to it," Nelson said.

If we're going to hold people accountable, how about starting with Bill Nelson, who was among the 89 senators voting "yes" on the tax deal? Maybe that's not entirely fair, since Nelson might have been unaware of that provision, and the expiration, less than two hours earlier, of the Bush tax cuts put genuine pressure on lawmakers to act quickly. Still, it's odd for a member of Congress to be faulting the administration for a position it took in negotiating with Congress, rather than faulting himself and his colleagues for enacting a law whose provisions he doesn't like.
The other three senators have no excuse whatever. If the law is impracticable to implement, or if it gives too much discretion to executive-branch agencies like the IRS or the HHS, these problems could have been anticipated if lawmakers had not been so anxious to ram the bill through. Any single Democrat who was a member of the Senate in December 2009--including Baucus, Cantwell, Nelson and Wyden--could have single-handedly halted the process simply by joining the 40 Republicans in declining to approve a vote on the floor. Instead, every last one of them yielded to political pressure and voted "yes."
"Democrats are getting nervous and consequently are trying to put some distance between themselves and the ACA," Mead observes, using the abbreviated formal styling of ObamaCare as the Affordable Care Act. "We don't blame them for trying, but it may be a futile effort. For better or worse, their fates are now tied to that of Obamacare." (Z; and so are ours)
Indeed there isn't much point in blaming them for trying. But they deserve the blame for imposing this monstrosity on the country. To quote Bill Nelson: "I want somebody to be accountable for this, and if it was a mistake, for somebody to own up to it." (Z: so do WE, Mr. Democrat who voted for this nightmare...SO DO WE)
Z's QUESTION: Will it EVER be possible NOT to have OBAMA CARE?   Can ANYTHING be done if even DEMOCRATS are finally getting the smell of the whole thing?

Z


Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Speak OUT, Mr. Obama......they need you

THIS poor young woman was shot only hours after hearing Obama give a talk about gun violence in Chicago.  She was an 18 year old single mother of a 3 month old child.

This is such a sad story of the horrible situations in the young Black community of Chicago (and elsewhere, probably).  An unwed 18 year old mother shot in the street.

WHY don't Black leaders hate Black on Black crime as much as they denounce every crime a White perpetrates against a Black American?

Do you think Obama could speak on this, or would it be political suicide to condemn his biggest base for bad behavior?

What do you think?  Be fair:  If he was inclined to, COULD HE?

Z


Monday, February 18, 2013

Washington and Lincoln...wiser presidents



"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."

"When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen."

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light."

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.  Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

"Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse."

Quotes by GEORGE WASHINGTON


"America will never be destroyed from the outside.  If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side;  my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution.  That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Quotes by ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

How intelligent and how their quotes stand the test of time.  It's only recently that people would scoff these quotes;  how's that working for America?  No, not too good.

Have a good day.

Z