Category Archives: General

by Barry Kelly | August 15, 2013 · 7:00 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSTIGHTS 69-ADVISOR

PROBLEMS

The Advisor sat slumped in his chair. For the first time in his life he felt inadequate. His President and the nation needed help. There were so many problems, he wasn’t sure where to start or even if he should start.

Only one thing to do, he thought. Pull out your journal and put down your problems. If you can’t help President Obama solve them, at least you can record them. The record may help another President and his Advisor.

He uncapped his Waterman fountain pen, dipped it in the open inkwell to get the flow started, and wrote in large printed letters at the top of a clean page, PROBLEMS. Wondering what to write next, he just started to write. The words flowed like they were pouring from a deep wound in the Nation’s body.

Obamacare: Here’s an unpopular program that addresses a national need. Nearly everyone believes health care in America is broken and needs fixed. If this President could get over his revolutionary philosophy that pushes him to use every issue to destroy the opposition, it would be easy to pass a bipartisan bill that keeps the good parts of Obamacare and meets the nation’s needs without polarizing the populace. There is a constitutional process that could make this happen. President Obama has to take the lead. He shouldn’t worry about the opposition. They are without leaders and nearly hopeless. Also the President and his Progressive supporters must accept constitutional limits on executive powers and the role of the states. This is not a hard problem. Ignoring it can lead to impeachment talk.

After health care, the sweeping ink trail took up the energy problem.

To start with, energy is too important to be left to spineless politicians and those progressives who believe humans can control climate and its worldwide effects. How can anyone trust politicians or executive department heads such as EPA who refuse to recognize that the world’s climate has and does change, almost constantly in historical terms? The changes are not caused by humans. Humans weren’t even present for many of the changes. How about the time when there were two miles of ice over the place now occupied by Chicago? How many emissions from cars and coal-fired plants did it take to warm up the Earth then? Any objective person of science knows that minute changes in the Earth’s orbit, the energy put out by the sun, and the occasional meteorite might have been instrumental in changes in the world’s temperature.

Again, a bipartisan energy program would not be hard to accomplish if the President could bring himself to cast aside the misguided environmentalists and focus on an intelligent use of fossil fuels while investing modest sums in finding a cleaner form of energy in this century. In the meantime, I must help him recognize that the civilization we have today and may have tomorrow, is because of fossil fuel. Pipelines, drilling on- and off-shore for oil and natural gas and building refineries are good for the nation and cheap energy will bring manufacturing jobs back to America. Massive amounts of tax dollars, poured recklessly into solar cells and wind turbines, will not magically develop even ten percent of our energy requirements.

The Advisor liked to write and ponder problems by candlelight. The flickering light was a constant reminder of how close we are to the past. He felt we are much closer to the time of our founders than we are to the citizens of the next century. Of course, that is what history is all about. Knowing the past will help us get safely into the future. Maybe, that is the message I can get across to the President.

Even I have to get some sleep. I’ll leave National Security, overstepping of executive power, and the economy for another session. If the President comes back, I will have something for him.

By the author of the Jack Brandon novels. http://www.factsandfictions.com. The author has 27 years of Government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to pass on this blog or parts of it to your contacts and friends. Comments and dialogue are welcome and helpful.

Marita Noon Commentary: We Win They Lose (fggam.org)
Eight Decades of Insights 67 – the Advisor (factsandfictions.com)

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Filed under Alinsky, Barry Kelly, centralization, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, General, global warming, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions, Politics, Progressives

Tagged as Climate change, Obama, Obamacare, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, United States

by Barry Kelly | May 17, 2013 · 10:25 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 51

King George III, by Sir William Beechey (died 1839). See source website for additional information. This set of images was gathered by User:Dcoetzee from the National Portrait Gallery, London website using a special tool. All images in this batch have been confirmed as author died before 1939 according to the official death date listed by the NPG. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

FREEDOM

Stop where you are and look around. If you are anywhere in America, everyone you see who has grown up here has never known anything except freedom. Even those who have had the misfortune to be temporarily in prison know what freedom is and believe it is the natural state of being. It isn’t.

Freedom as we know it is an anomaly in the course of history. Where, except here in America, has it ever been the normal condition? Where else do people grow up with individual freedom, which is the only freedom? If individuals are not free to act out their lives, including making mistakes and bad choices, there is no freedom.

Why have we been so blessed? We are a nation of immigrants who all had first-hand experience with tyranny, either from governments, religious organizations, or from their employers or owners. Only black Americans who spent decades as slaves, and a few others, did not escape tyranny by living in America. And, they too, knew what freedom was. They also knew they didn’t have it. Our founders also knew that they did not have the freedom they believed should be theirs as long as King George III made the laws that governed in America.

They knew only under a limited government elected by the people was freedom possible. A reading of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, The Federalist Papers, and the Articles of Confederation clearly shows a strong push to limit the powers of government. They knew intuitively that government could not grant freedom but it could diminish or abolish freedom. The stronger and larger the government becomes the greater danger it becomes to curtailing individual freedom.

Big government, bigger than it could be and still provide necessary services, is the only threat to freedom in America. Governments are not inherently evil. They, if allowed, just slowly and inexorably absorb functions and rights reserved to the states and individuals in the name of dealing with some issue. There is no other threat to our freedom, beyond foreign military invasions. We must keep government to its necessary functions and size commensurate with its responsibilities.

The dual process of centralization and distribution of wealth, under the well meaning intentions of elitist political groups, to make a better life for allis always a threat to freedom. The current mayor of New York and the nanny state he wants is a perfect example of well meaning intentions limiting individual freedoms. Give a government of progressives ten or fifteen years of uninterrupted growth in size and power and the freedom so many of us have fought for will be gone.

Freedom is won quickly and slowly lost. Freedom demands eternal vigilance for it is vulnerable to citizen demands for goods and services and the human drive to continue the growth and centralizing of government.The dual watchdogs of the free press and dedicated citizens are needed to keep us free from the abuses of Government.

Obama Urges Grads to Ignore Tyranny Warnings (fromthetrenchesworldreport.com)
What Should States Do When the Federal Government Usurps Power? Advice From James Madison, Father Of The US Constitution (thedailysheeple.com)
Statists Use Twisted Logic To Attack The Bill Of Rights (personalliberty.com))

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Filed under centralization, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, General, Intelligence & Politics, Obama

Tagged as Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist Papers, government, Individualism, United States, United States Bill of Rights, United States Constitution

by Barry Kelly | April 18, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 45

English: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy chamber for a single diving casualty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BLESS EACH DAY

Usually I can’t wait to get to my iMac and dash off another blog pointing out the dangers of the Obama administration. Writing blogs helps me keep my balance and cool as Mr. Alinsky’s Chicago acolytes work to drag America down to their level.

Today as I stare at the monitor, I muse about 12 years ago when I was in a very different place. I was still recovering from prostate cancer in Florida. Both the prostate and the cancer were gone and I was feeling good. Looking in the mirror as I shaved, I noticed a lump on the side of my neck. I had seen it earlier but now it was bigger. Big enough to see my doctor. My wife’s father was a doctor and her mother a nurse so there is no room for procrastination about medical issues in my family.

After brief examinations by two different doctors, the Jacksonville medical world said cancer. Terminal without treatment and possibly with. Head and neck cancer. Specifically, a 3 centimeter by 3 centimeter by 2 centimeter tumor on the base of my tongue that had spread to the lymph nodes in my neck. The Jacksonville doctors offered no hope. My wife contacted the internist in Washington, D.C., who had saved us before. Three days later he had put together a dream team of leading specialists in chemotherapy, neck surgery, tooth removal and radiation. We were in our car headed to Washington with our Bouvier des Flandres and African Grey.

Radiation mask used in treatment of throat cancer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was told the odds of a cure were tiny but the radiologist had researched the latest protocols and pulled one off his printer several days later on my birthday. The others involved agreed it was my best and only shot. I would have radiation daily for eight weeks (7,000 rads), along with simultaneous chem therapy one day each of those weeks. First I had to have a biopsy, then before any treatment could begin six perfectly good teeth had to be removed, and because I would lose the ability to swallow shortly after the radiation treatments began, a gastric tube was implanted in May to come out in November. After the radiation and chemo ended, there was a couple of weeks for a break, which we spent in Florida, and then I had a modified neck resection. There were tanks in front of the doctor’s office in Washington when I saw him on Sept. 12. At the beginning of it all, the radiologist told me the treatment would be the hardest thing I had ever experienced. He was right although I didn’t believe him at the time. No one mentioned that I would need 40 days of two-hour treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber afterwards to restore the heavily damaged marrow in my jaw bone.

A wonderful couple who were our long-time friends gave us their guest cottage for as long as we needed — we were there for three months. Who else would have taken us all in? The last five weeks we stayed with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

The treatment was very hard on me, my-never-give-up wife, and all those who loved us. At times I wanted to quit. My body weight kept going down and my muscles weakened. I had plenty of time to read but no focus to do so. TV helped pass the time. Programming didn’t matter. If I could never swallow again, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take more treatments, especially the radiation. The only way I managed the daily treatment was to recognize the beauty and glory of each day. I swore, if I lived through the cancer and the treatment, I would for the rest of my life be aware of the blessings each day brings.

For those of you fighting through cancer and the effects of the treatment, take it one day at a time. Set aside a period each day to pray and give thanks for what your days have brought you and promise yourself you will recognize the joy of each day. They are all good.

by the author of the Jack Brandon thriller series.

Hyperbaric Treatment. (onthehillgilayjun.blogspot.com)

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Filed under Barry Kelly, cancer, chemotherophy, General, Progressives, radiation

Tagged as Cancer, chemotheropy, Radiation therapy

by Barry Kelly | March 25, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 41

Duty, Honor, Country (Photo credit: Roger Smith)

LYING IS THE ISSUE

I’ m positive President Obama is a disciple of Saul Alinsky. Mr Alinsky published his guidelines for Progressives. He put forth several rules but the essence of his teaching is that the issue is never the issue. The practical effect of that simple statement is Progressive politicians and supporting radicals should never get bogged down in political battles over any issue. They should remain focused on using all issues to destroy the existing government structure and all opposition. The pragmatic advantage of Mr. Alinsky’s theory is that radicals are free to take any side of any issue at any time. How can you debate against a team using Alinsky’s rules? The answer is you can not.

But there is a serious weakness in Alinksy’s dictum that radicals can change their positions at anytime. It is not a pragmatic flaw. It is one derived from generations of codes of honor. There is a reason why parents tell their children not to lie. Parents look their sons and daughters right in the eye and with all the seriousness they can muster tell them, “You are only as good as your word, if you have nothing but your word you will be respected, don’t say things if you don’t mean it, and people must be able to count on your word.” Did President Obama never hear those words? Maybe not if we judge him by what he says.

Let’s look at some examples. I realize that those of you who are emotionally tied to the Progressive Movement or left wing of the Democratic Party will not believe the president’s shifting positions damage the trust Americans give to their leader. My definition of lying is when a person knowingly makes a statement they know is untrue. Mistakes or errors are not lies. The following are all summarized statements or positions of Candidate Obama, President Obama, or those of senior staff members who were speaking with his approval. You judge if the president was lying or not.

*Under Obamacare you will be able to keep your doctor and your current insurance plan.

*Obamacare will save money.

*President Bush’s spending that increased the National Debt and saddled our children with paying our bills was unpatriotic.

*Sequestration was a Republican idea. I’ll veto any attempt to change it. Terrible things will happen if sequestration is not stopped: Air flights delayed, teachers, policemen and firemen laid off. Thousands of jobs lost.

*We do not have a spending problem.

* The White House was not aware of the dangers to the Ben Ghazi Consulate.

* I told our security officials to do everything possible to help the Americans fighting in Ben Ghazi.

* My energy policy includes all of the above, both green and fossil fuel resources to make America energy self-sufficient.

*Taxes should not be increased in a struggling economy.

*My plan is to reach out to Republicans to bring our finances under control.

* (An open mike slip in a comment last year to President Medvedev of Russia): “Tell Putin I will have more flexibility after the election.”

I believe there are enough lies associated with the issues above to cause many of our citizens to lose trust and confidence in President Obama’s word and, therefore, in his presidency. Alinsky followers may believe the issue is never the issue but a lie is always a lie. Alinsky’s morality is not ours.

By the author of the Jack Brandon thriller series.

http://www.factsandfictions.com

Eight Decades of Insights 36 (factsandfictions.com)
Eight Decades of Insights 33 (factsandfictions.com)
Obama Quotes Radical Socialist Saul Alinsky In Speech To Young Israelis (patdollard.com)

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Filed under Alinsky, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, General, Medvedev, Obama, Progressives, Putin

by Barry Kelly | February 19, 2013 · 4:09 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 36

PLAYING THE ISSUES

If you have been following my recent blogs, you know I believe President Obama is following the guidance of Saul Alinsky, a brilliant radical tactician. The core of Alinky’s teaching is that “the issue is never the issue.” The only goal is the destruction of the existing order and replacing it with the Progressive (socialist/communist) blueprint for a new and better world where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone pays their fair share. Under this political social philosophy, even a discussion of ends justifying the means is meaningless. If you are striving for power, the means are always morally justified. This strategical approach gives anyone using it incredible flexibility. They can change sides at any time it appears advantageous. The first step in creating a new world is to destroy the current order.

English: Barack Obama delivering his electoral victory speech on Election Night ´08, in Grant Park, Chicago. (Wikipedia)

Now for some complexity. All issues are not the same and cannot be treated the same by the Progressives. For our purposes, I will put issues into three categories: The first category is issues that have been with us for several decades. Under this category live issues such as immigration, states rights, taxation, gun control, energy development, abortion, and solvency of our social programs. The second category are those that have been created recently. Here, I put climate control, sequestration, cabinet appointments, the role and size of the federal government, right to work issues, and government spending. Granted, some of these issues could fit under one of the two other categories. The third category contains those issues that appear to be spontaneous such as Benghazi, Syria, Muslim radicalism, international debt problems, unemployment, and job creation.

The flexibility Alinsky believers have somewhat depends on what category the issue is in. Take immigration as an issue. Obama cannot come out against immigration and he doesn’t have to put forward an effective bi-partisan solution. In fact he will not. Published plans, budgets, position papers are not part of Alinsky tactics as they limit changing sides or conditions abruptly. Instead, the immigration issue will be used to damage the Republican Party, the only party that stands in the way of the establishment of a Progressive dictatorship. This president does not want the Democrats and Republicans to come together to pass bipartisan immigration legislation. Instead, he will present obstacles and deal killers.

Since this is a blog and not a book, I’ll deal in this piece with only a few of the many possible issues. Energy policy is a perfect issue. Does any sane person believe America can be energy self-sufficient without the primary use of fossil fuels for several more decades? Yes. A constant search for alternative power sources is good as long as we are focused on creating an energy program in America that creates thousands of jobs and energy self-sufficiency. Windmills, algae, corn, solar panels just are not economically viable nor credible. How can any president not welcome the Canadian pipeline? It is a no-brainer unless your real objective is to create chaos, high unemployment, angry union workers, and blow off a good neighbor. Only Alinksy followers can applaud Obama’s lethargic non-action. Don’t fall for the Progressives blaming the increasing cost of gasoline on Big Oil. They aren’t boy scouts but the price goes up when the Federal Reserve, which is a private company, prints obscene billions of dollars each month that weaken the dollar. Arabs sell oil for dollars. The weaker the dollar, the more dollars it takes to buy a barrel of oil. Keep in mind few transformations ever occur in a country with an sound economy, near full employment, and a promising future.

One last issue, Benghazi. Could the president have anticipated this crisis? No. But his staff and Cabinet should have. This issue just popped up. The president didn’t know what to do. So he did nothing. Well, he did create confusion. To have this shameful crisis be centered around who created what “talking points” is a mark of Beltway mentally. Fix the blame. Not the problem. Not even Alinsky or Axelrod would have recommended he not call the Pentagon for action or fail to convene his National Security Council, or travel the next day to Las Vegas to attend a fundraiser, or throw Susan Rice under the bus, or the bumbling concealment of information. In keeping with Obama-type transparency he has even kept the names and whereabouts of the Benghazi survivors secret, in spite of requests from Congress. On the Benghazi issue, the president damaged himself as well as the nation. Using every issue as a means to attack your opposition often diminishes all of us. Just ask the surviving family members what they think about the issue is never the issue as a principle for presidential leadership.

By the author of the Jack Brandon thriller series. www.factsandfictions.com