A Distaff View of the World

Union Thuggery Alive and Well in Wisconsin

This is one of those posts where it's difficult to know where to begin because there has been so much jaw-dropping phony outrage on the part of Democrats and unions, and so much intellectual dishonesty on even the smallest issues.

Let's start with the Democrat senators leaving the state.  Are you kidding me?  How many years has the Republican side of the aisle in Wisconsin had programs and bills shoved down their throats, but stayed the course and didn't bolt to Illinois to avoid taking a vote?  The Dems wouldn't return to the state even after Governor Walker offered certain concessions regarding collective bargaining because the spoiled brats didn't get everything they wanted.  And then the Republicans get accused of refusing to negotiate.  I mean, come on.  Really?

The protesters themselves are ill-mannered, destructive boors.  I wouldn't allow them to teach a child of mine because their values are clearly skewed.  I recently refused to help fund raise for policemen because they're in Madison, even though they don't have a dog in this fight, to make a show of force for their union 'brothers and sisters'.  From now on, if they or the firefighters want extra money to fund their programs, they can take me off their call list and ask their union representatives to pony up out of their Democratic candidate support budget.

Jessie Jackson has suddenly discovered that, yes, indeed, there is a State named Wisconsin and it's in the midwest.  He either flew or came by stagecoach to also support his 'brothers and sisters.'  Funny.  As he was talking on the news, I realized there wasn't a single black face in the crowd.  So I have to ask what was asked of the Tea Party:  Are these union people a bunch of racist bigots?  Where's the multi-culturalism in their ranks?

The protesters have done millions of dollars of damage to a beautiful building, which the rest of us in the state are going to have to pay for.  They hold up signs of the Governor calling him Hitler.  They scream at Fox News correspondents - men who have covered wars in the Middle East - with the deliberate intent if disrupting their broadcasts.  They break windows and chant asinine slogans that wouldn't pass muster with a kindergartner.  Of course, you won't be seeing any of this on CNN or MSNBC, or read about it in the New York Times.

They are attempting with everything in them to keep elected officials from doing the jobs they've been ELECTED and sworn to do while making heroes of the ones who ran away.  They're like a bunch of rioting Bolsheviks who simply want to wreak havoc and destruction for the hell of it.  They are beyond rational thought.

I have lost all respect for them, our President whose campaign arm is funding, transporting and encouraging outside thugs to come here, and liberals in general.  The only time liberals have an interest in Democracy is when things are going their way.

Unfortunately for them, contrary to what the unions think, they are frightening regular people - Republicans and Democrats alike, not to mention Independents.  I want them gone, and I'm not alone.  Enough is enough.  

I'm so mad I practically have blood shooting out of my eyes. 

Which, of course, makes it difficult to type.  More later.

 

 

 

Wiki Leaks Yet Again

Wikileaks did yet another document dump.  Some applaud it, thinking it shines sun on the diplomatic process.  Others, like me, worry about private citizens, journalists, informers of crimes inside their countries, named in the cache of documents who now find their lives and those of their families at very real risk of torture and murder.

The lesson for all is that the United States is not to be trusted with sensitive information because we can't keep a secret.  The bureaucracy is out of control.  Too many people have access to information to which only a few should be privileged. 

Witness Private First Class Bradley Donovan, now in prison, who downloaded thousands of documents and provided them to Julian Assange, head of Wikileaks, and is in all likelihood the one who provided the sensitive documents now being showcased around the world.   What on earth was he doing with access to this kind of information?

My hope is that the PFC and Mr. Assange will both have espionage charges lodged against them.  The Espionage Act, 18C93 appears to lend itself to this when it comes to someone transmitting unauthorized documents relating to or harming our national defense as well as aiding our enemies.  According to our State department and Department of Defense, this is precisely what happened here. Any person involved in this shall be guilty of espionage.  The fact that Julian Assange is not on U.S. soil or a citizen of this country doesn't protect him from the consequences of his actions.  He can be charged as a spy, tried and executed, as can PFC Manning and any who have helped them.  I'll, in advance,  offer my services in pulling the switch for both of them.

How are our various security organizations now supposed to get people to talk to them about threats to this country when they know they run the risk of a Wikileaks publishing their names?  How are diplomats who need to have serious, out of the box, conversations about other countries supposed to feel free to do that with the United States?

I'm personally curious about the motive of Julian Assange.  He doesn't strike me as a stupid man who doesn't understand the consequences of what he's done.  Weird, yes.  Where is he getting his marching orders and who is paying him? 

Before the leaking of the cache of documents occured - and we were given ample warning by the creepy Mr. Assange - our President could have issued an order enabling a cyber command established after 9/11 to disable Wikileaks.  Some Generals begged Obama to issue this command.  But he didn't.  He's no doubt still considering the pros and cons.  Or it suited his world view to let the information out.

This command is so powerful that despite the fact that Wikileaks services are spread over several undisclosed international jurisdictions and is a mirrored site that allows another location to take over if one is disabled, it will work.  No one is supposed to know how it works, but it does.

I daresay the methodology will be published by Mr. Assange in the near future.

 

Thanksgiving 2010

After all the shopping, all the cooking, table setting, decorating, it's over.    This year I wanted to raise my glass of sparkling water and tell each person what they meant to me, but knew I'd never get through it without crying, so I didn't.

In fact, each person at that table meant the world to me.

I'm grateful, after all these years, that I married the man I did.  I still respect, love and trust him; marvel at the wonderful life he's provided for me and our children and have never met anyone I'd trade him in for.

My mother had her eighty-sixth birthday yesterday; it frequently falls on Thanksgiving.  I can now see her getting older, though she looked exactly the same for forty years.  Divorced from a man she still loved and left to raise two daughters alone in an era when that just wasn't done, she held her head high, went out into the world, afraid of what was to come but never showing it to anyone, least of all her children.  She went from a department store clerk who could barely put food on the table of our one bedroom apartment (with my mom sleeping on the couch) to working for a premier makeup company and traveling the country to represent their products.  It was through this job that she met my stepfather.

My stepfather didn't come into my life until two years after the death of my father.  He was kind and patient with a little girl who had been abused by the adults taking care of her while her mother traveled for weeks at a time.  He let my trust in him grow slowly until he really became my 'father', not my stepfather.  He worked hard, finally allowing my mother to take a break for the first time in her life, raise her children, and provide a normal life - a gift that is beyond measure.  At this time in his life, he is in great pain almost daily, but jokes his way through it.  One of the things that touches me most is the love he has always shown my children.  They are HIS grandchildren, and he is a proud grandfather.

My oldest child is a girl who radiates joy.  She's intelligent, funny, emotional and full of common sense.  She's not only the kind of woman any mother would be proud of, but the kind others strive to be.  No one makes me laugh harder.  Along with a tough, practical streak that can get to the bottom of any issue and solve it, is an awareness of the impact of words and actions.  We've always been close, but it seems the older she gets, the closer we become.  Nothing thrills me more than when she calls to ask for a family recipe that she has a fond memory of, or wants advice on how to handle something with her own five year old.  I watch in wonder as she mothers her daughter with a firm yet gentle hand and a clear understanding of the mind and feelings of a child.  She maintains a home that is always a joy to walk into because of the good humor and warmth that fill it and surrounds all who live there and enter as guests.  If that's not enough, she manages to get in hours working while her daughter is in school and continues her education to the point where she is now a Ph.D without dissertation.  Do I sound proud?

My youngest child is a son.  I think he was born an old soul, wise  beyond his years, patient, as funny as his sister, but with a droll twist.  He's dignified, kind and thoughtful, and has been since he came into the world.  Every Thanksgiving, despite the increasing  hassle of traveling, he makes his way across the country to have Thanksgiving with his family.  He's become an accomplished and much published writer with opinions based on a vast storage of information he's been gathering since he first learned to read.  A mother's relationship is different with a son than a daughter.  With the daughter, there's lots of girl talk and three calls a day is the norm.  With a son, there comes a time when you feel you have to let him go so he can become a man in his own right and not smother him with calls and emails.  It's a  hard balance to know what is too much and what is too little, which personal questions you can ask and which are out of bounds.  But I know that if I had the power to design a child any way I wanted him, there's nothing I would change about this one.

My son-in-law is the perfect counterpoint for my daughter: funny, patient and utterly non-judgmental.    He takes our family as he finds us, accepting us for the individuals we all are.  He never complains about the long drive he goes through in both November and December and seems to be fond of all of us.  I don't think I've ever told a joke that he hasn't laughed at.  And believe me, I can tell some stupid jokes.  He adores my daughter, as she does him, and he's impossible to not love.  I've never met anyone as easy going.   But there's a strength behind that calmness that demands respect.

My five-year old granddaugter is a joy.  As show-stoppingly beautiful as she is on the outside, she is every bit as kind on the inside.  She could be spoiled, but doesn't behave that way.  She is startlingly intelligent.  With parents such as she has, it would be impossible for her to not have a sense of humor, and she has been nothing short of hilarious since she learned how to talk.  The larger her vocabulary and world grow, the funnier she gets.  At her young age, she's concerned about the feelings of others.  Her parents have taught her discipline without anger and her manners are impeccable.  She could have a sense of entitlement, but doesn't, and understands that 'no' means 'no.'  Part of this, as I think with all children, is innate.  But the good manners and lack of sense of entitlement are the direct result of good and patient parenting.

My sister hasn't had an easy life.  Holidays are hard for her with one child so far away and rarely home  and another trying to make his way back into the family after years of turmoil.  As I watched my grandchild playing, I couldn't help but think how much she would have enjoyed being with hers.  She could choose to not join us, but she's always there, taking the good with the bad.  She's a wonderful photographer, but didn't come to that realization until later in life.  Perhaps this will be the year that she's gets the recognition for her talent that she deserves. 

As I looked around the table, it was hard not to think about the changes that are coming.  My parents are elderly.  Will this be the last time we're together for this holiday? I need to make a point of calling and visiting more often or I will surely regret it.

My son is getting married.  Will he and his new wife be starting their own traditions with their friends for Thanksgiving in the city that has become their true home?  If so, that's the way it should be; each family making their own way.

Will my little granddaughter grow tired of making that long drive every Thanksgiving and want to stay home?  I know it's an ordeal for all of them, but not a word of complaint.

Life, relationships, traditions continuously evolve.

But for this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful to have been surrounded by those people I love best in the world, remember those who are no longer with us except in spirit and those who couldn't make the journey.  There is some sadness at their absence, but acceptance.   We all handle the changes with as much grace as we can muster and will continue to do the same in the years to come.  Some chairs will be suddenly empty, but more will come to fill the void as one generation gives way to the next. 

I have a lot to be thankful for.

 

 

 

 

 

The Phoniness of Warren Buffett

So, I'm watching the news and hear that Warren Buffett, who has been saying for years that he's going to give all of his money away before he dies and not leave any to his children. has signed a letter with dozens of other gazillionaires that they should be required to pay more in taxes.  Not  just more, but up to ninety per cent of their annual income.

What a guy.  The solution is so simple for all of them.  Fire the roomsful of accountants and lawyers who have been finding tax loopholes for you for sixty years (yes, he's old) and write a check to the Federal government.  If that's what you want, put your money where your big mouth is.

But you never do that, do you, Warren?  You make public statements, like the above, but continue to donate your money to private charities.  Why, otherwise, are you partnering with Bill Gates and others to target your donations?  Because you know these are more efficient than government bureaucrats in distributing your money. 

Why do you continue with your demands on others with money to pay more taxes rather than using the same choice you've personally adopted?  Beats me.

It could be, of course, that you've succumbed to Snydley Whiplash version of rich people that both Republicans and Democrats have used in their constant harping on class warfare.  You remember class warfare, don't you?  People who provide jobs for people who need them becoming campaign whipping boys.  The 'fat cats'.

If you're insecure about the money you've earned, and you are among the fattest of all the cats, by all means, do as you've been threatening for more than a decade:   Give it all away.  Then no one will be interested in anything you have to say.  Your money is your power, not your intellect.  Kind of makes it less appealing, doesn't it?   If you want to give it to the government along with the other signers of your letter, write annual checks to the government, in effect tithing ninety percent to them.  Then leave it all to the government when you die.  Unless your lawyers have been very clever, indeed, the government will automatically snatch fifty per cent of it anyway before your body is cold.  Something, however, tells me you've prepared for that contingency. 

Leave the rest of us alone to give our money where we choose, as you have done, and perhaps even provide some security for our future generations.

My recommendation to you, Mr. Buffett, is to get over your guilt at being successful and stop playing into the politics of class warfare.

I understand that what you've been saying all these years is, see?  I'm rich, but I'm one of the good guys. 

In case you've missed the news, what with your being so busy writing letters and getting signatures, the wealthy pay a disproportionate amount of taxes with sixty per cent of the American people getting more from the government than they put in.  The more they have to pay in taxes, the fewer jobs they'll be able to supply.

So, this is just one woman's opinion, but until you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, just do us all a favor and shut up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

White House Caught in Yet Another Big One

June 30, 2010:  NASA Administrator had an interview with Al Jazeera television, saying President Obama had given him a new mission.  "He wanted me to find a way to meet with the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering."

For me, of course, the words 'historic contribution' are key.  Whatcha done lately for the past, oh, sixteen hundred years?

Predictably, there was a uproar.  Reaching out to Muslims is now the NASA Chief's job description?

A week later, the White House press office appeared to support Administrator Bolden's comments:  "The President has always said that he wants NASA to engage with the world's best scientists and engineers (I'm sure we'll find those in Muslim countries) as we work together to push the boundaries of exploration.  Meeting that mandate requires NASA to partner with countries around the world like Russia and Japan as well as collaboration with Israel and with many Muslim-majority countries."  - Nick Shapirpo, White House Spokesman, July 7.

Then into the briefing room strolls the ever articulate Robert Gibbs.  You may remember him from his famous work, "uh, umm, uh, ah, hmm, uh, I don't know.  I'll have to get back to you on that. "

Bobby Gibbs says, contradicting everyone - surprise - (please don't ever fire him), "I don't think uh, uh, uh (sic) that that was not his task and that was not the task of NASA."

Question from Reporter:  "Did he just misspeak?"

Gibbs:  "I think so."

Reporter:  "Has the President spoken to him about that?"

Gibbs:  "Not that I'm aware of, no."

So what is Gibbs saying?  That Administrator Bolden is a liar.

Let's review Administrator Bolden's credentials - if only to show that the man knows how to follow instructions:  He flew a hundred missions in Viet Nam, flew 680 hours in space on several Space Shuttle missions, was in Operation Desert Thunder, has degrees and medals most of us can only dream of.

So let me ask you, the reader, this question:  If he spoke with the President and those three things were the tasks outlined to him as his new mission, do you really think he'd get it wrong?

Or do you think after the public backlash the White House is - some would say backpedaling - I'll call it what it is: Lying.

I believe Administrator Bolden.  Obama hasn't given me a reason to believe a single word that comes out of his mouth since before he was elected.

And since when is it the mission of our NASA chief to talk down to the Muslim world as if they were children, trying to build their self-esteem for ancient accomplishments?  What he should be talking to them about are our accomplishments, which are remarkable, and perhaps offering them verbal incentives to follow in our scientific footsteps.

That's not to say there shouldn't be an outreach. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958:  "NASA should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all man kind."

Why the American outrage?  Peter Johnson, Jr. said it best:  "We look at this storied history that we have with astronauts, who have given their lives, with hundreds of thousands of people who have provided technical support and a lifetime of achievement in helping the space program, and then order a former astronaut to tell Muslim children about Muslim scientists going back hundreds of years and their accomplishments as if this is somehow going to fortify the United States.  The way to fortify the U.S. and build up relationships is to talk about American exceptionalism."

Nuff said.

McChrystal Fired by Embarassed Obama

Well, General McChrystal knew it was coming.  You can't dis the President publicly, sign your name to it and not expect some fall out.

From my perspective, he and his aides were apparently honest with the Rolling Stone reporter and told him what they really thought about Obama and his minions.

It wasn't good.

The comments reflected the pure frustration of the General and his team at Obama's dithering, indecisiveness and, frankly idiocy when it comes to war.  He and his administration have decimated America's intelligence community and publicly released every document in the archives that could help the terrorists.  (No terrorists.  I forgot.)  

Remember, it took President Obama months to even meet with the General.  Nothing urgent about soldiers dying in Afghanistan.  And, to give Obama a break, he was busy bankrupting the country.  That takes time and energy.

After the meeting, it took more months for McCyrystal's request for additional troops to be - sort of - granted. 

Obama has proven himself to be a boob when it comes to economics, capitalism, basic civility toward allied countries and speaking without a teleprompter.  He also has a habit of commenting and making speeches on things about which he knows nothing.  Two examples would be the police presence at one of his belligerent professor friend's homes.  Another would be the Arizona immigration law, which he clearly hadn't read before flying the people's plane around the country and talking about what a racist piece of legislation it was because the police would be profiling innocent Hispanics.

McChrystal likes Karzai; Obama doesn't.  The ambassador and the General aren't getting along.  McChrystal doesn't want a date certain for withdrawal of troops - at least not an announced date - because he feels it puts his men in danger.

Some think the General's comments during the extended - nearly a month - long interview, were subversive, but I don't see it that way.

I do understand that he and his aides should have perhaps shielded their feelings about the incompetence of Obama and his administration, or done it through unidentified sources as other generals have done with other presidents in the past.  But give the man credit for not being sneaky.

Obama isn't one to take criticism of any kind well.  I'm just guessing here, but I'd say, from what I've grown to understand of the General, that he didn't say anything to Rolling Stone about Obama that he didn't say to the President's face during their rare and brief meetings.

After all, we aren't fighting a war in Afghanistan.  We simply have a situation.

And I'm pretty sure it was a Presbyterian who set up that car bomb in Times Square.  Certainly not a Muslim.

The amusing thing to me in all of this is that Obama is acting as though the General is the only one who thinks the President doesn't know what he's doing.

Someone, quick, read the man his poll numbers.

Of course, when he hears them, he'll turn it around.  It isn't because we don't like his policies.  I't s because we're all too stupid to understand what he's doing.

I'm sorry the troops won't have McChrystal to watch their backs, particularly because he seems to be the only one who will tell it like it is and recognizes that the enemy isn't just in Afghanistan, but in Washington.

Thank you for your service, General.

The Five Best Sentences You'll Ever Read

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read:   You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.    What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.    The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.   You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

 

Making Fun of Terrorists

Finally people are making fun of terrorists instead of making them feel like Clint Eastwood in his prime.  Jeff Dunham does a great job on YouTube.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co5r9Q_BKEU&feature=fvw

Then we have an archived article in TheAtlantic.com calling them Nitwits.   http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-case-for-calling-them-nitwits/8130/

Please read this.  It takes the terror out of terrorism.

Nothing like mocking people who take themselves too seriously to make them consider getting into  another line of work.

Now we need thousands of cartoonists to create images of Mohammad and print them on the same day.  They can't kill all of us - and it might help people lighten up a little.

Tom Hanks and his "Manhood"

The following is a quote from Tom Hanks, who lately, in interviews promoting his movies, has said some of the most stupid things I've ever heard.  I'm sure he thinks he's just hilarious.

"I'm glad I didn't have to fight in any war. I'm glad I didn't have to pick up a gun. I'm glad I didn't get killed or kill somebody. I hope my kids enjoy the same lack of manhood."

I guess what Tom was saying is, I didn't have to be a man in real life, but got to play one in the movies.  Let's see...how many times did he pretend to be a soldier shooting those big Hollywood guns?

What a great guy.  Or I'll just pretend he is.

How lovely to be able to play act at being a man and then mock the ones who put their lives on the line day after day.  And how lucky for Tom and his kids that other men, women and their children are the ones doing the heavy lifting so he can continue pretending for a living.

Yet another actor I once liked that I'll never be able to watch again without thinking about what comes out of his mouth when he doesn't have a writer or teleprompter.

Jerk.

The Danger to America...

The following is part of an article from the Czech Republic newspaper Prager Zeitung, published on April 28, 2010 that zeros in on what I think is the really serious problem in this wonderful country of ours.

A friend sent the quote to me.  I tracked down the source to make sure it was authentic.

It reads as follows:

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency.  It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.

"The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.  Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.

"The Republic, after all, can survive a Barack Obama, who is after all, merely a fool.  It is less likely to survive the multitude of fools who made him their President."

As someone who said over and over again prior to the election that Obama was incompetent, disingenuous and not nearly as smart as everyone said he was, I don't think there's much I can add to what this man said.

How embarrassing for us, as a nation, to have the Czech Republic understand and point out our weakness as a nation at this moment.

The thing is, this country said it out loud.  The rest of the world is snickering behind their hands - at least those who aren't planning to blow us up while we have such a weak, indecisive creature at the helm.