Category Archives: Obama

by Barry Kelly | September 3, 2015 · 7:02 am

INSIGHTS 228 — GETTING READY TO TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY

The Advisor was lost in thought, in between talks from his only visitor, the President.

The President has been so candid recently. I have to get ready to ask him some more challenging questions. I think he enjoys the challenge. He’s got to be immersed in the current economic crisis so I’ll start getting my background material ready. Many Americans do not see the economy, the process of making and selling things, as being different from the stock market. But they are two very different areas. While one affects the other to some degree, it is very difficult for experts to agree on the exact cause and effect of changes in the stock market. Economists talk knowingly about the state of the economy and what is needed to improve its performance. But in reality they should be called political economists because their analysis depends on whether they are supply-side economists or Keynesian economists.

The President’s progressive wing of the Democratic Party is nearly exclusively Keynesian. Those people believe the level and management of government spending is the key to growing the economy. The opposing side of free market/supply side economists believe growth can only come through the capitalist process of making and selling products outside the governing process. The fewer the regulations and the lower the taxes, the more the economy is free to grow. In their minds, a growth rate of between 4 percent and 8 percent is ideal with a tax rate on corporations around 15 percent.

The Keynesian monetary policies have never worked anywhere, though they were tried extensively during the Roosevelt era. Since government spending on sectors such as infrastructure can only be financed from taxes from people and corporations, Keynesian management of the economy inhibits the growth that is necessary to finance needed infrastructure, human services, and the military. Most everyone is in favor of these items but only the progressives with their Keynesian finance managers believe spending on social welfare and infrastructure stimulate the economy to grow. The first place they look for money for social services and infrastructure is the military budget. Few progressives believe in maintaining a strong military. I must remember to ask the President about his views on Keynesian economics.

Regardless of the financial philosophy, effectiveness of the process must be based on a real reporting and understanding of the facts. When the administration and talking heads go on about the well-being of the economy, they are mostly talking about the stock market that has done very well. Indeed it should with the Federal Reserve printing $86,000,000,000 per month for a program called Qualitative Easing. This level of printing money went on for many months. If you could afford to invest, you did well. The President’s program, instead of distributing wealth to narrow the gap in income between economic classes, actually widened the gap. Turning from the stock market to the business of making and selling things, the real economy, you see a much different picture. Real unemployment is closer to 12 percent than the 5 percent the progressives claim. Employment participation rates are lower than at any time since the 1970s. There are more people on food stamps and welfare now than ever before and that is not just due to the growth in population. Health care costs are growing. Wages are stagnant. Graduating college students cannot find jobs. Student debt is way up. People have given up looking for non-existent jobs. The economy is way below the growth rate needed to sustain services and our national debt. The only measureable that is up is the number of people on welfare. I wonder what the President will say about his commitment to the redistribution of wealth.

The last area to ask him about will be the energy sector. I wonder what he’ll say about the Saudi’s program of pumping oil at a level that is continuing to increase the glut of crude on the market today. Doesn’t he realize the Saudis dumping oil on the energy market is motivated by their need to remain the predominated supplier of the worlds oil and to weaken Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Russia, and the United States? Their strategy is working. Many oil drillers in the United States are gone. They and others like them around the world cannot profitably sell oil much below $60 or $70. Unless the Saudis change their strategy, the current glut of oil may be with us for a few more years.

The Advisor stopped his pacing and his thought process.

I think that is enough for more than one session with the President, he thought, feeling more prepared.

This is an account written by a fictional advisor who doesn’t exist but should.

Check out the latest Jack Brandon mystery suspense novel at your local bookstore. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

INSIGHTS 224 — THE ADVISOR ASKS THE PRESIDENT WHY DOESN’T HE GOVERN?

It was late at night when the President stopped in to talk with the Advisor. The Advisor thought as he sat down, He has put up with my pointed questions on our last several meetings. If he is still willing to talk about what I think must be touchy areas for him, I might as well push a little harder.

The Advisor said, “Mr. President, I have two basic areas I would like to hear you talk about. Are you okay to continue with my questions? It is not often anyone gets to really talk to a president about controversial subjects. You are a very different kind of president.”

The President nodded as he lit up a cigarette. The Advisor asked, “Mr. President, I often hear your critics asking things like, ‘Why doesn’t he govern? He doesn’t seem able to solve any problems. He just talks and never fixes anything. In fact, he often makes any problem worse by his rhetoric.’ How would you answer these complaints?”

The President laughed and said, “They just don’t understand. I’m not trying to solve problems to make their lives better or to maintain or increase American economic or military power. I’m doing just the reverse and my critics, especially those professional politicians in Congress, do not have a clue. They are still playing a game that no longer exists. But it’s the only one they know, so they keep playing the same cards over and over again and expect different results. What is that type of thinking called? It is called insane. They are so predictable it takes what little challenge they might have to my authority meaningless.

“I focus on the issues, whatever they are, and will take any position that increases my ability to use the issue to weaken the opposing side. They don’t seem to have a clue to what is happening. I’m well on the way to bringing this bastion of capitalism and individual freedom to a socialist economic and political system of government, one to the left of the European model, and the professional politicians believe I’m just a poor leader. An unfair description because I’m not even trying to be a leader. Here is progress in my plan,” the President said, putting his cigarette in the ashtray and counting off on his fingers. “Increase the debt to intolerable levels, raise taxes to destroy capitalism, if you can’t keep or use what you earn as a greedy business person, why struggle, increase numbers of people dependent on government, take over industry by regulation, control education, banking, the medical system, and make international law into the American justice system.

“Name anyone of my executive departments and I’ll show you an inept, by past standards, group of officials that can’t seem to get anything done right. There are no traditional accomplishments to point to. My slogan is that ‘worse is better.’ The IRS, EPA, DHS, HHS, VA and all the other departments of my executive look like bumbling fools. And some of them are. Some know or suspect my plan, others are just incompetent and that is good. Their job, whether they know it or not, is to make things so bad that socialist policies will look good and be embraced by the population.

“If I had four more years, I could complete the job. This two-term limit is very difficult to get around. The person who follows me must be a true believer, like Hillary, or just a natural bumbler like the rest. Hillary is a true believer, even more than I, in the Alinsky doctrine. Unfortunately, her Clinton money genes are rapidly making her unelectable. May have to do something about that. I should have told you my time for this visit was short. I have to go now. I’m not finished yet. I’ll be back.”

When the President left, the Advisor said, out loud, “This man is really dangerous and I can’t even tell anyone. He knows that. Otherwise he wouldn’t be so candid. I doubt the people in the future whlo read my journals will believe I’ve accurately reported this meeting.”

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, “ISIS: Quiet Justice,” is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

INSIGHTS 221 — THE ADVISOR ASKS WHAT MADE YOU DO IT.

The Advisor thought finally the President and I are getting comfortable talking about real issues. He has loosened up in the last few sessions. He knows I’m no threat and I won’t betray his candid responses to my questions. Hope he is in a talkative mood tonight. He should be here in another few minutes. I think he makes a real effort to be more or less on time and I appreciated it. He glanced up at the passageway monitor and saw the President and Chris approaching his door. Funny he has never commented on the wording on the old brass plaque. Even I don’t know its background. Maybe it is contained somewhere in the early journals. The only was to search them is to go thru them one by one. I just don’t have the time for that.

“Welcome Mr. President. Have you had a good day?”

“Can’t remember when. Everyday I get several problems that should never reach the Oval Office. I don’t know if some of my staff are afraid or just too limited to handle the problems on their own. The problems, or rather issues, that I handle always get some bad press. Fortunately I have very few consistent critics in the media. Some of them have gone out of their way to be supportive. Okay, you have some questions for me?”

“Yes I do Mr. President. Some of them are not important in the writing of history but I want to ask you why you did certain things that even your supporters do not seem to understand. My first questions is, why have you spent so much energy and time on closing Guantanamo Bay?”

“Well, the first thing is that I made a campaign promise to close this sore spot on our international record as a freedom loving nation. Gitmo is a prison and a place of torture. Students of international law believe it is a place that has no place in the twenty-first century. We can detain criminals in prisons in the Continental United States where my Attorney-General can protect their rights, examine the evidence, and bring them to trial under the American system of justice.”

“But, surely, there are cases when it would be appropriate to detain and try terrorist prisoners captured on the field of battle?”

“I just don’t trust the military to run trials of our enemies. Their rules of evidence, procedure, and concern for the rights of the accused do not meet my standards. I want America to look toward my leadership in prosecuting criminals, not the Pentagon.”

“We have both studied the law, both constitutional and international. Don’t you see the impossibility of collecting evidence, taking statements from witnesses and yet following the strict rules required by our courts regarding the chain of accountability and custody of evidence from the crime scene to the court room?”

“If we can’t get a conviction on the main charges, we’ll have to settle for prosecuting them for lesser crimes. If the military can’t or won’t meet the standards of American justice, they shouldn’t be conducting trials or detaining prisoners for years without charging and trying them.”

“Mr. President, there must be more than that.”

“Yes, in this room there is one more big one. Gitmo is a wonderful issue for me to use campaigning to attack conservatives. My base loves this issue. Elections are not won on facts. They are won by picking good issues and building them into major points. The time the conservatives spend defending Gitmo means they are playing by my rules and they can’t win. Take the Bergdorf guy who deserted his post and was held by the Taliban for years. He wasn’t important to anything, but he gave me a perfect opportunity to get five more top terrorists out of Gitmo. There was no other way I could justify their release. Who could argue sending those five criminals to one of the Gulf States for safe keeping. Who cares where they end up? Sorry I can’t continue but I must go. Thank you for the coffee and conversation. They were both good.”

As the steel door closed, the Advisor thought if you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question. This may have been one of those times. Absolutely scary. No one would believe what I just heard. Especially since his words had the ring of truth. Get ready for an Executive Order to give Guantanamo Bay to the Castro’s.

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, ISIS Quiet Justice, is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

INSIGHTS 218 THE ADVISOR’S TURN

The Advisor thought back to the last time the ancient vault door had opened to the president’s touch. I was very hard on the president, he thought. I’m supposed to be his confidant and even his helper. I’ve failed in those regards. Perhaps more than any of my esteemed predecessors. They all had problems. Presidents are not easy to work with. But how can I help him if he listens but never takes my advice? I swear at times I think he comes here as if he was a Catholic going to confessional. It’s not something he likes but he believes he must do it. I feel for his above-ground advisors. He is not a happy president. I’ll step back today if I get the right opening.

The Advisor glanced up at one of his many screens and saw the President was approaching his door. He checked to make sure the coffee was ready and the ashtray was on the table, then walked over to the door as Chris, the President’s constant Secret Service companion, swung open the door for his commander-in-chief.

“Mr. President, come in please,” the Advisor said, smiling. “I look forward to your visits. I seldom get a chance to talk about important issues. When you’re here, that’s my only chance.” The two men sat down in their usual seats and the President lit a cigarette. “If you don’t mind, Mr. President, I’d like to ask you why you come to see me.”

The President smiled and took a drag. “Sometimes I ask myself the same question.” He blew out a puff of smoke before answering. “I come down here because among all the people I meet with, you’re the only one who tells me exactly what you believe. You have no political or personal agenda and frankly you are much smarter than the others and you never leak information that either helps or hurts me. So the time I spend with you is like playing political chess. You give me a safe opportunity to sharpen my messaging skills. Now please, continue with your stream of criticism. I’m ready.” The President sat back in his chair, a sly grin on his face, and took another drag from his cigarette.

“Well, you must be feeling good. You’ve had a number of victories recently. So let me begin with you successful negotiations with Iran. Your citizens are nearly all bewildered. Some of the political lemmings take the sound bites and pass them on. I found it interesting that the conservative wing of America is comfortable debating substance while the further left you go, the less willing people are to debate issues. Instead, they attack the messengers and not the message they carry. So your Congressional power base, with a few exceptions, will not argue with the tenets of the Iranian agreement. They will focus on attacking the debaters. You have brilliantly given them the ideal message: ‘There was no other option. Either this agreement or war.’ As simplistic as that defense is, it is working and will continue to work. You know, as the intellectual you can be, that there were and are scores of different approaches. By going to the United Nations with the lifting of sanctions on nuclear activity as well as lifting embargoes on conventional weapons, you have made Congress irrelevant. Your progressive message in the election period can now paint the Republicans as being anxious to go to war with Iran rather than giving diplomacy a chance.

“Here again the left will be attacking the anti-Iran agreement people and not debating the agreement issues. Therefore you have already used the issue and now have a winning strategy.”

The President smiled, ground out his cigarette and said, ” You are too smart. I’m thankful you’re buried in this underground chamber with your unique political insights. I don’t mind this. I’ll give you more time. It’s like being in a safe time warp.”

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, ISIS Quiet Justice, is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Iran, Obama, political solutions, Progressives

by Barry Kelly | July 15, 2015 · 8:38 pm

INSIGHTS 217 — THE ADVISOR REACTS TO IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT

The Advisor stared at his wide-screen monitor. He was astounded. He knew this president better than nearly anyone else and he was shocked at the concessions the Secretary of State had willingly made to the Iranian regime. What didn’t the secretary understand about the nature of the regime? Just two days ago the top leaders had attended a rally where the attendees chanted “DEATH TO AMERICA, DEATH TO ISRAEL!” How much clearer can it be?

Iran is by far the largest supporter of terrorism in the world. Today they control, or nearly control, events in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq. The Persian Empire is alive and growing. If not stopped, they will get nuclear weapons and they will use them. There is nothing in the agreement that will prohibit them. Sanctions are gone. Russia and China will not agree to reimposed sanctions on the best customer they will ever have for their military weapons systems. A weak America suits their national interests. What message is sent by the agreement with Iran and the president’s decision to cut 40,000 troops from an already weakened military? America will soon be at pre-WWII military strength levels while Russia and China are greatly increasing their military strength.

The Advisor knew talking about the truth with the president was of no use. But he wanted to get his thoughts and reactions into his ledger for the benefit of future generations, if any.

Surely Congress won’t approve this agreement. In legal and historic terms this is not an agreement, it is a treaty. All treaties have to be submitted to the Senate for approval. Not with this one. It is essentially an executive order in different clothing. Here, both Houses by a two-thirds vote will have to disapprove the agreement with Iran after the president vetoes the disapproval of both houses reached by a simple majority vote. This deal is a done deal. The old centrist Democratic Party is gone, taken over by the progressive elements who have moved the party to the far left.

My successors may see this era more clearly in the future than it is now perceived by most Americans. They will have clear evidence to what happens when the majority in a democracy vote for a president whose vision of America cannot be reconciled with our heritage or national interests. All this president’s actions are aimed at destroying the American economy, its domestic and international status, the strength of American military might, individual freedoms, the two-party system, and the balance of power doctrine embedded in the three separate but equal branches of the government. He even wants to destroy the beliefs held by the people that we are a nation of laws and with hard work and talent, social mobility is achievable. America may last for hundreds of years but the dreams will be extinguished along with “The Lights of the Shining City on a Hill.”

The Advisor slammed his ledger shut. He felt helpless.

The above is a fictional account of the writing of a legendary but fictional advisor.

“ISIS: Quiet Justice,” a new Jack Brandon novel by Barry Kelly dealing with ISIS in America, is now available nationwide from your local book store. This is the fifth novel in the “Justice”series. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.