Tag Archives: Congress

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 | February 13, 2013 · 7:30 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 34

WHY YOU CAN’T BELIEVE

THE STATE OF THE UNION IS NOT GOOD. The Obama presidency is a clear danger to the American way of life. Now, be honest, you don’t believe his administration is dangerous. You don’t believe because every politician you have ever known cared about issues. They ran on how they would handle the issues facing their voters. You and the media evaluated those office holders on how well they handled the issues important to you. You may not have liked their methods or the exact results, but they talked about your issues and worked on solutions.

President Barack Obama speaks with White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod in the staff work room April 4, 2009, in Strasbourg, France. (Wikipedia)

Western thought is based on working on the parts or pieces of things and then bringing them together. Republicans and Democrats believe putting America back to work requires serious work on a tax overhaul, reduced and prioritized spending, resource development, size of government, a retrained workforce, and increased exports to come together. Granted, there is plenty of room here for disagreement, but that is our system and a solution will emerge. That is what we are used to. It’s how and why we chose our candidates. We expect work on the issues, vigorous debates, and a workable solutions.

We have elected a president who does not work to solve issues or to reach agreement through compromise. He uses issues to achieve one end, the transformation or socialization of America. Issues are the tools he uses to destroy opposition, in this case the Republican party, Congress, Wall Street, Big Oil, and the courts. He will and has taken shifting sides on most all issues according to his faithful following of the Alinsky plan, “The issue is never the issue.” The only issue for President Obama and his progressive left following is the acquisition of total power, a one-party political system with only ceremonial roles for Congress, the states, and the courts. Any means to achieve socialism in America he believes is justified. Lying, misrepresentation, switching sides, demonizing the opposition, and the constant use of class warfare rhetoric are there for you to see. But you must be willing to look. For you will not see any detailed proposals or plans or budgets from the Obama presidency. Written plans are a no-no. They make it too easy for the opposition to point out shifting positions, falsehoods, and deceptions. Even the media would jump on inconsistent or shifting plans. So no detailed written plans. Instead, an in-your-face series of speeches and sham press conferences. Even the State of the Union report to the nation is childish in its petulance finger pointing at everyone but the president. The Supreme Leader does not recognize his own mistakes.

Obama’s State of the Union address covered a number of issues he and his co-president, David Axelrod, plan to use to destroy Congress and the Republican Party. Don’t expect any real moves to solve issues. Take immigration: It is to most Americans a very important issue. Hispanics, how do you feel being pushed aside for Obamacare? As long as you vote for him, he doesn’t care if you are unhappy. Remember the “issue is not the issue.” Immigration is a tool to use in the socialization of America. To progressives/socialists, controlling the medical industry is more important than dealing with immigration. We need the border controlled and a path to residency, in many cases citizenship, for the Hispanics now here. We need them. Welcome! Mr. President, where is your leadership?

To President Obama: Immigrants are not people needing help. Just a way to embarrass and demonize the Republicans. He will take care of them after the transformation is completed. Just like the socialists/progressives took care of the people in Cuba, Russia, China, Iran, and Germany. Do we have an all-of-the-above energy policy? If you think we do, stop drinking Obama kool-aid. What’s wrong with the Canadian pipe line through Nebraska? It would bring lower energy prices, give funds to a friendly nation, and create jobs. The private sector unions are even in favor. No real help here. Only words. It is easier to sell socialism to a jobless hurting population than to a economically thriving nation. Create a national crisis then use it against the opposition.

Another issue, the U.S. military. They are an obstacle to a socialist dictatorship. Weaken them by sending an incompetent former senator, who is anti-military, to manage our security. Why would any president do that? How about the nomination of a politicized former CIA officer to run CIA? Where was this champion of national security when all the monumental leaks of highly classified information occurred? Where was he during the national disgrace of Benghazi and the aftermath? I can’t think of a single issue where President Obama took the lead and solved an important issue. He blames the Republicans. Hell, they don’t even know what’s happening. Are gun and climate control critical issues?

The issue is never the issue. Apply that principle to every issue of the last four years. Maybe it will help you believe we are in dangerous times.

Eight Decades of Insights 33 (factsandfictions.com)
Economy to be Obama’s focus in State of the Union (tbo.com)
Obama’s State of the Union: A look back at past speeches (tv.msnbc.com)
Obama to lobby for immigration reform amid citizenship dispute (reuters.com)
Obama to lay out economic growth plan in State of Union speech (news.yahoo.com)

INSIGHTS FROM EIGHT DECADES #4

A do nothing Congress. A Grid lock approach to problem solving. An increasing use of class warfare slogans. Where is all this going? Surely this is not the American Promise. What happened to the ‘Land of Opportunity’, ‘The Melting Pot‘, ‘One Republic for All’, ‘The Great Democracy’, and many more hopeful descriptions of the United States of America? Are they being dissolved in the rhetoric of ‘Class Warfare’ and ideological purity? Reading the newspapers, listening to the political speeches from the left and right and the news coverage of the network and cable news TV you would think so. Even the President never fails to bring issues of class warfare to the front as he campaigns incessantly. Presidential candidates are examined under the microscope of political purity rather than the question can this person lead us out of our current doldrums of economic stagnation and political ineptness.

Divisions in our political parties have grown sharper. Movement of the Republicans to the right and of the Democrats to the left has dramatically decreased the possibility of the conflicting parties reaching compromise solutions on nearly all of our critical problems. The political center is under represented, in practical terms, maybe non-existent. Describing this situation as national suicide in the name of partisan purity is becoming more correct with each legislative impasse.

Since class warfare is the oldest and most prominent divisive force in terms of human civilization, with the possible exception of tribalism, which includes many of the same motives, let’s start our move toward an escape from political fratricide with a look at the motives of class warfare. The basic motive in class warfare is for one segment of the population that represent the ‘have nots’ to take away some the privileges and wealth of the other group representing the ‘haves’ until everyone has an equal share. This ideology has always worked from the premise that the amount of wealth in any society is fixed. To give the ‘have nots’ more, wealth must be taken from the ‘haves’. The followers of the class warfare theory have always rejected the opposing premise that wealth is expandable and a greater share for the ‘have nots’ can come from created wealth. This sharing of wealth premise depends on equal opportunity for each individual to have a chance of improving their relative position in their society. Leveling the playing field does not mean there will not be winners and losers. It means everyone has a chance for a bigger share of the community’s wealth. The level of success each individual achieves depends on ability, hard work, and a degree of luck.

To move away from the dangers of a national class warfare struggle, we must all help change the metrics of the debate. Reject the slogans and sound bites of one class against another, including the rantings that the ‘middle class’ must be the recipient of all things. Recognize that there is an inequality of performance in striving for material gain and that in the field of life, as in the field of sports there are winners and those who lose. Reassert that wealth and material holdings are only one measure of success among many. Search for areas of agreement in solving problems and settling disputes. Work on personal tolerance of other viewpoints. Constantly work for improving the field of equal opportunity, understanding there will always be different levels of success.