Category Archives: Progressives

by Barry Kelly | May 1, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 48

ENOUGH?

Whether Republican, Democrat, or Progressive, the facts don’t change. You are entitled to your interpretation of the facts but lets agree on the facts. In the bullet list of what I believe are facts, I’ll try to keep my conservative views on the sidelines. Since the mainstream media does not cover most of the items in this list, many citizens will not be familiar with these facts.

FACTS:

* President Obama has appointed more czars than any other president. Maybe more than all others combined.

English: Barack Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* President Obama’s administration has not followed the Constitutional requirement to forward a budget to Congress every year.

* President Obama’s landmark legislation (Obamacare) was passed without either the people or Congress given a chance to read it.

*President Obama has bypassed Congressional rules and precedents to appoint officials without the advice and consent of the Senate.

* President Obama has spent trillions more than the government takes in.

* President Obama has expanded the role and size of the executive departments and agencies.

* President Obama has used executive power to bypass Congressional authority.

* President Obama refused the Republican offer to give him the authority to select where the sequestration cuts would be made to lessen the impact on the people.

* President Obama has stonewalled Congressional rights to information in the case of the death of the American ambassador in the terrorist attack on Ben Ghazi and in the case of ‘fast and furious’ supplying guns to Mexico’s drug cartels. On the Ben Ghazi issue he refused to call it a terrorist attack for two weeks, insisting more facts were needed. The Justice Department arrested a filmmaker accused of inciting the attack on Ben Ghazi. The president vowed to bring the attackers to justice. So far, we have no evidence of the effort to apprehend them. Evidence is now surfacing that no attempt was made to rescue the embattled personnel at the consulate and annex.

* President Obama has supported the Arab position in issues with Israel.

* President Obama refuses to use the term “War on Terror.” The killing of several soldiers at Fort Hood by an Army major and follower of Islam shouting Islamic slogans is called “workplace violence.”

* The President and his Attorney General consistently opt to give Islamic terrorists the protection and rights usually reserved for U.S. citizens.

* The President’s redline was crossed by Assad in Syria weeks ago when he used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. No comment or action so far.

* The President’s repeated attempts to engage the Iranian regime regarding their efforts to develop nuclear weapons have not worked.

* An open microphone caught the President whispering to President Medvedev of Russia to, “Tell Putin he (Obama) would have more flexibility after the election.”

* Despite the President’s words, unemployment is worse.

* Under President Obama, welfare recipients have risen dramatically.

* The President campaigned on the promise Obamacare would bring down medical costs. They have increased instead.

* The President stated he would support “all of the above” in discussing his energy plans. He and his administration have constantly taken positions to destroy our fossil fuel production. The coal industry is shutting down. The Keystone Pipeline from Canada is still pending another EPA ‘study.’ Billions have been spent in supporting marginal energy producers that haven’t worked.

* Stimulus One did not provide private sector jobs. The President remains committed to the belief government spending is the key to economic development.

* Obama’s administration has issued more regulations impacting economic development than either Presidents Carter or Clinton.

* President Obama has not focused on job development in the private sector.

* President Obama has not tried to find who leaked voluminous intelligence secrets to the press. All the leaks made the President look good.

I’m sure many Progressives can explain these facts in a favorable light. That is their right. At least some of the facts should concern even Progressives. Most of them should concern Democrats. Given a stronger Congress, President Obama would be flirting with impeachment proceedings.

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

Taking part in a Nov. 10, 2009, memorial service on Fort Hood, Texas, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama look at the photograph of one of the victims of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 38 wounded. See more at http://www.army.mil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Frank: I Don’t Know Why President Obama Will Not Define Boston Terror Attack As Jihad (freebeacon.com)
AP Scrubs ‘Muslim’ from Obama’s Self-Referential Joke (frontpagemag.com)
Eight Decades of Insights 44 (factsandfictions.com)

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Filed under Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Israel, Obama, Politics, Progressives, Putin, Terrorism

Tagged as Barack Obama, Benghazi, Congress, Dmitry Medvedev, Fort Hood, Keystone Pipeline, Obama, United States, United States Congress

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 | April 8, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 44

benghazi_sandstorm (Photo credit: an agent)

WORSE IS GOOD

Everything President Obama touches he makes worse. He and his entourage don’t make mistakes 100 percent of the time. They are not that dumb. I believe worse is their goal. Now why would that be? Because this president and his minders believe their goal is to win the House in 2014; nothing else matters. It is okay if the Obama touch snatches defeat from the jaws of victory as long as his position on the specific issue furthers the progressive crusade to transform America. If you haven’t seen the ugly face of his transformation yet, take off your blinders. Stop giving him a pass every time he makes something worse.

What has he made worse? Let’s look at a few examples. Start with sequestration. The idea came from the president. He threatened to veto any bill coming to him that would lessen the impact. When sequestration was imminent, he refused a Republican offer to give him flexibility in deciding the 2 percent cuts. Then to make sequestration seem worse, the president and his legion of lemming Cabinet members rushed to the nearest camera to paint pictures of disasters the Republican sequestration would cause. When sequestration became the law of the land the gutless Cabinet resorted to pettiness. Closing White House tours, national parks, air control towers, Blue Angels, and furloughing hardworking federal employees. But no cuts in the campaigner-in-chief’s agenda. Just months into his second term and he is out raising money instead of dealing with our monstrous debt, antiquated tax policy, and unsustainable social programs. Unlike all our other presidents who tried to work out solutions to critical issues, this president works to make the issue worse and blame it on the Republicans. He is very good at the blame game.

Is immigration a good example? Yes, one of the best. The president doesn’t want a solution. He wants an issue he can use to pound the hapless Republicans if the group of eight senators working on an immigration bill reach agreement. President Obama will find a way to wreck any bi-partisan solution. What good is a solution to him? He already owns the Hispanic vote. But he will make it look like the bill failed because of the Republican position on border security. Janet Napolitano, the bewildered head of Homeland Security, is out telling all she has worked with border issues for more than 20 years and the border is now more secure than it ever was. Really not what the professionals working the issue say. Maybe someone should tell her, she is entitled to her own opinion but not her own facts. Rest assured the president will work to make any immigration solution worse so he has a stronger issue to use in the 2014 election for the House of Representatives. Having Nancy Pelosi re-instated as the Speaker of the House is really scary.

How about another issue? Sometimes the way to use an issue to transform America into a socialist elite nation is to take the issue away from the opposition, in this case the Republicans. There are times in our history when the president’s lack of action and leadership over the killing of Americans at Ben Ghazi would have destroyed the president’s effectiveness as a commander-in-chief. President Reagan bombed Libya into submission over the killing of American servicemen by a Libyan terrorist in a German cafe. There are always other things but the cafe bombing was the trigger. President Obama did not want the Ben Ghazi attack on our consulate to show that after all his talk, al Qaeda was still alive and well. So it all had to be downplayed. One meeting with his National Security Team. No follow up even though the fighting was still going on. No attempt to help the beleaguered Americans fighting for their lives. The next morning with the consulate and annex still smoking, President Obama goes off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser. (That he knows how to do.) But that is not the end. For two weeks his administration avoided putting the terrorist label on Ben Ghazi. Even arrest some poor film maker who made an anti-Muslim film. A despicable act but not a felony offense. For weeks the White House refused to identify any survivors and make them available to the Congress. I don’t think his handling of Ben Ghazi was a winning strategy but it shows how in his mind the issue is never the issue. He doesn’t play the near term game, only the long strategic one of presiding over a one-party government.

For him there is nothing to be gained by bi-partisan solutions of our big issues. For he believes we do not have a spending problem. How can you work with a president who thinks his talk is more important than his actions? Guess again we are a nation where we judge people and presidents by their actions. Then, there is Obamacare and growing unemployment!

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

Eight Decades of Insights 34 (factsandfictions.com)

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Filed under Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions, Progressives, Terrorism

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