A Few for the Road

Heading to SLC and another trip to the VA. No cancer this time but a major operation coming up on the 17th ... will try and keep this going. Driving next two days through. But as I head out I have to say I needed to share a few more 'job producing spending' from our illustrious administration in DC.

1. The National Science Foundation passed along nearly $500,000 to the University of North Carolina for an Ebonics study. The goal is to find out if speaking real English makes for more literate people. The hypothesis is that if kids can speak 'both' languages they will have higher achievement levels. Uh, umm ... no jobs created.

2. Another National Science Foundation boondoggle in Africa was another nearly $500,000 to study the sediment core recovered by major drilling project on Lake Malawi in 2005 to determine how temperature and rainfall has varied in tropical East Africa over the past 150,000 years. Do any of you care? It creates one temporary job. Whoopee!

3. And just one more - the University of Washington in Seattle think that the Real Men Are Safe Project, which stresses that message, only appeals to white men. So they're spending a cool $450,000 of public funds to make the program more 'culturally relevant' to blacks and hispanic's. To accomplish the task they are forming a committee to make the materials in the original program more minority friendly. I don't know about you but I'll sleep better tonight knowing they're on the case. By the way, it creates no new jobs.

Enjoy and keep up the good fight to get our country back from this band of thieves and hooligans.

Our First President Who Can Truly Do No Wrong?

We've all been watching this show for over a year now but the theatrics are really getting amusing. I was watching Dateline the other night, a special about the spill, the disaster of this century anyway. And there he was, in all his splendor, the Buck Stops Here Man, Obamanation himself.

He was declaring 'not to worry' he was in charge and people will be held accountable. And then he rode out of town as if all was solved. But according to the Louisiana Governor things are far from solved and then now there is Florida who is getting the gunk on their shores all the while BP talks a good story and then the show laid out how the Department of the Interior gave BP an environmental pass and they didn't have to complete the 'what if' study were something like this to happen. But he is the man, the savior and we are not to worry.

It was best said by one of our Congressman from Louisiana when he talked of the President and said, "We don't need the President riding in here like John Wayne making profound explanations and then returning to DC and acting like Pee Wee Herman". But isn't that this guys modus operandi? I mean since taking off he is spouting off like he is solving something and then moving on to the next subject on his ample agenda without closing the first case.

He started by announcing he was closing Gitmo and sending all the terrorists home and that was soon or will be approaching two years and its all smoke and mirrors, just like his massive health care reform will be. He is a joke, but a dangerous joke indeed.

He has a dangerous agenda that is leading our once great nation down a rat hole we are yet to even imagine. Leading is not standing up and making proclamations with the belief that because you hold a high position everyone will follow. Leadership is building a vision that people want to follow, not one people don't want to follow but is crammed down our throats.

His agenda includes turning our back on Great Britain, an ally for as long as our country has been free; turning his back on Israel, our only ally in the Middle East and of course more interesting things like declaring June National Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Month while not even participating in a well established National Day of Prayer and not placing the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day.

Yet when you listen to him tell it, he is always right. I heard him on the Dateline show proclaim that "anyone who thinks I am not making the right decisions doesn't know the facts". We could go on and on but the fact is that this guy is coated in Teflon for some strange reason. Now I agree Bush was a major disappointment but if this disaster in the Gulf happened on his watch, can you imagine the outcry from the news media and the Hollywood elite. But with this guy, nary a word.

Seems strange but I have to say ... this is a continued story, an ugly story about to unfold about a guy the media loves who couldn't lead a Boy Scout Troop. It is a story of a country smothering in incredible debt that is being ignored by most media. The one network talking about is the only network in my 63 years of memory where a President refuses to be interviewed by them and wants them off the air.

This isn't the America I know and love. It is the coming of an America where the President doesn't have the courtesy to provide the citizens with his birth certificate or his college applications and transcripts and one where it is okay to not follow the Freedom of Information Act and allow the citizens who request it to see those documents. I wonder why?

I wonder more how the news media cannot follow up on this story? But then we're being led by the man who can do no wrong? And I am worried, real worried about this guy. Not what he has done but what he is about to do ... now that is scary.

Our Country 'On Tilt'

I admit things haven't been great here in America for some time. And I've never been a conspiracy theorist, respecting we each have differing views and need to meet somewhere in the middle. Well, I am nearing the edge of thinking that this guy in the White House and his radical cohorts do have an agenda, and it isn't one that American's signed up for.

Think about how he has alienated or long time ally Great Britain. Then think about how he is daily alienating Israel, our one and only ally in the Middle East. Think about how he ignored the voice of the American people and crammed some sort of healthcare, that Congress doesn't even understand down our throats.

We've all heard of the recent meltdown in Greece. What you may not have heard is that the bailout of Greece will be handled somewhat bu the US - that is the International Monetary Fund or IMF, is doling out over $150B to Greece and that is backed by the US to the tune of 17% ... several billion more we're on the hook for. Makes one wonder.

And get this ... one of the cutbacks the Greek government is making is reducing retiree benefits. Do you know that Greeks got to retire on their government at the ripe age of 54. They all had health insurance benefits for life, all Greeks, and that's nice but the IMF, in loaning them the money for their bailout has demanded that they 'privatize' their health insurance and get out of the business themselves ... Umm?

The there is the case of terrorism, a word the current administration would not utter - until last week when Times Square nearly became another 9-11 ... now our illustrious Homeland Security leader and Attorney General can't say it enough ... we are in a war 'on terror' and they will not let that happen on their watch ... I'm sure it was Bush's fault.

Keep you eye on this crew, something sinister is a brew!

More Turtles in the News - Your Tax Dollars at Work

Here we sit with the worst economy since the Great Depression and we're spending ourselves into oblivion in some interesting ways. Last year I wrote about the $400,000 turtle crossing on Highway 93 in Montana between Missoula and Polson. Well, they've done it again.

Using stimulus dollars to create jobs the Florida Department of Transportation was awarded $3.4 million big ones to build fences and tunnels around and under State Road 63. The purpose of the project is to allow the safe passage of wildlife, namely the slow, shelled reptilian kind to cut down the road kill.

The Dept of Transportation went Federal for the stimulus dollars when the locals wouldn't support the project. And ... drum roll please, it created exactly one job. It would have been cheaper for the government to have paid this person $200,000 for the year and saved $3.2 million in cash and a few turtles.

Vote the bums out in November ... Republican, Democrat, needs to go.

A Quote Worth Considering

Surely something must be terribly wrong with a man who seems to be far more concerned with a Jew building a house in Israel than with Muslims building a nuclear bomb in Iran."

Columnist Burt Prelutsky

America On Tilt

Let me think now, lets think about this so called President and some recent directions he has taken.

1. It took him months to decide if the guy HE put in Afghanistan to lead the troops comes back and says he needs X amount; and the Commander in Thief says, umm, let me think about that ... comes back six months later, all the while the undermanned troops are dying along with our Allies there ... and he splits the difference trying to appease his 1960 liberals he surrounded himself with. Makes one wonder?

2.We have a situation in Honduras where the current President is reprimanded and tossed out by their Supreme Court because he was trying to change the Constitution to allow him to serve more terms than allowed (think Hugo Chavez in Venezuela) and we, the United States of America, support the old guy trying to change the countries Constitution? Umm, makes one wonder?

3. Our ONE ally in the middle east, who has been our ally since their founding in the mid-forties, and has never wavered, I repeat, our ONE ally in the middle east, Israel, is now being slighted. What for? Well, they are building a settlement for 1600 homes in an area NEVER ever populated or occupied by Arabs or Palestinians as they call themselves in this case ... proven by archaeological records that they've never been there. What is our mans' lacky Hillary doing? She is over there protesting this and telling Israel that they are jeopardizing middle eastern peace? Are you kidding me. Umm, makes one wonder?

Achmanutjob in Iran is building nukes, flaunting it at the world and we're worried about 1600 homes in Israel. Umm ... makes one wonder?

4. And since the inception of his illusory leadership in Washington this guy we have had been placing all his emphasis on health care. How could it be improved, sure. Does most of the free and not so free world come here for treatment, yes. So does it need work for the masses, yes. It it America's most pressing problem to take up all the time of Congress and the so called President? NO WAY! Umm, makes one wonder.

What our leadership has been doing could be likened to a man with terminal cancer demanding to have knee surgery before he dies. After all his knee is bad and bothers him when he walks. We have a war going on and he takes six months to decide what to do but he can push, finagle and con his way to forcing this legislation upon the American people when even in the most liberal pol's only show 48% of the people in this country supporting it. Unbelievable! And then in the bill they make payoffs to certain states in the way of pork barrel spending to BUY their votes. Umm, makes one wonder?

You know this is to the point that it is no longer about Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, it is about America. I don't know if this is true but I heard yesterday that the anointed one announced his next goal is to grant amnesty to all illegal immigrants ... now that makes one wonder?

I wonder if his agenda really is as so many claim, an ultra-liberal, left wing, socialist who wants change, not constitutional change ... but a revolution from within ... makes one wonder doesn't it?

Hooray for Texas

I have a great friend who back in the eighties gave birth to a son with multiple problems and she miraculously willed this boy to live, and to this day he is living. Certainly not without significant sacrifices and struggles on her and her husbands part and I am sure his sister. We worked together at one of the countries top companies and they burned through not only their deductible but their lifetime cap in months, not years.

My heart has always gone out to them for their courage and sacrifice and for folks like that our government should be there, no doubt. But this bill the narcissist just rammed down our throats is not the answer. We are leaderless, except perhaps in the States of this great country ... check out Texas below...


State Legislators Announce Plans to Formally Reject ObamaCare

Following the passage of H.R. 3590, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act", by the U.S. House of Representatives, members of the Texas Conservative Coalition (TCC) announced plans to file legislation to reject the overreaching bill due to its impact and costs to the state and to Texans.

State Representative Wayne Christian (R-Center), President of the Texas Conservative Coalition, announced his plan to file legislation to prohibit the implementation of the overarching federal healthcare overhaul in Texas: "When the Legislature convenes in January of 2011, the members of the Texas Conservative Coalition will stand together to reject the federal takeover of health care."

On Wednesday, March 17, Idaho became the first state to formally reject ObamaCare as Governor Butch Otter signed a law that requires the state attorney general to file suit against the federal government. The Associated Press reports that similar legislation is pending in thirty-seven other states.

Rep. Christian stated: "The first bill I file in advance of the 82nd session will be to ensure that Texans retain the freedom of choice when it comes to their health care, even if their choice is to remain uncovered. We recognize that our efforts to reject ObamaCare may end up in federal courts, and may ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. So be it. It is time states reassert their constitutional rights and Texas should be on the forefront of the movement."

The Massachusetts health care reform enacted in 2006, known as "RomneyCare," has many similarities to the federal health care overhaul legislation, yet it has failed to contain health insurance costs. According to Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, "A typical family of four [in Massachusetts] today faces total annual health costs of nearly $13,788, the highest in the country. Per capita spending is 27% higher than the national average." Despite the health insurance mandate that Massachusetts residents be covered, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reports that the state still has more than 200,000 uninsured residents.

State Representative Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving), TCC Vice-President, stated: "The federal government has again overstepped its constitutional bounds by passing massively expensive health care reform legislation which takes the unprecedented step of mandating that all Americans purchase health insurance."

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal health care overhaul legislation will cost $940 billion over the next decade. It is estimated that the Medicaid expansions in ObamaCare will force Texas to increase spending on Medicaid, although previous expansions of Medicaid have not reduced the uninsured rate. In 1988 the uninsured rate in Texas was 24.5 percent; in 2008, it was 24.1 percent even though spending on health and human services increased from $4.1 billion to $29.7 billion in the same period.

State Representative Ken Paxton (R-McKinney), TCC Secretary and Treasurer, noted: "This new spending is untenable, and will be ineffective at lowering health care cost." Rep. Paxton continued: "The growing cost of Medicaid already threatens the future fiscal health of Texas and Texans, yet the Obama Administration has chosen the same failed tax-and-spend model for health care reform."

The Texas Conservative Coalition officers cited several aspects of the legislation as particularly detrimental to Texas and Texans:

• A mandate for most legal residents of the United States to obtain health insurance;
• Health insurance “exchanges” through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies with which to purchase health insurance;
• Significantly expanded eligibility for Medicaid; and,
• An excise tax on health insurance plans with relatively high premiums.

Rep. Harper-Brown added: "The Obama Administration and the majority in Congress have ignored the American people, choosing their own path which grows government, increases taxes, and erodes liberty. Significant elements of Obamacare have already been tried, and they have failed. Why impose upon Texans policy experiments that have gone terribly wrong?"


State Representative Wayne Christian
House District 9 - Center
President, Texas Conservative Coalition

We Can Rest Easy Jobs Are on the Way

Just heard our illustrious leaders passed a new jobs bill. That felt good after knowing how the last round went. Now these are US Government figures so they could be suspect but they reported them, not me.

The cheapest job they created in that last round cost $7,382 per job to create the 121 jobs that particular grant created. That was the USDA Rural Cooperative?

Now the DOT our Department of Transportation supposedly created 26,328 jobs in highway construction. That cost us taxpayers a mere $501,797 each to create, that is not the total, that is PER JOB. It would have been cheaper to give each of those 26,328 people a $100,000 each and call it a game.

In the Energy Department's Nuclear Clean Up operations they were up there creating 3,795 jobs at a mere $260,712 PER JOB. Wonder if they got an Attaboy for that one?

The Home Investment Partnership Program created 199 jobs at just $292,998 PER JOB.

But the winner is (drum roll please) the General Services Administrations initiative to purchase energy efficient vehicles. They created a whopping 109 jobs by spending $104,249,550 or just $959,941 PER JOB! I bet they need those 109 people to keep track of the 104 Million they spent making our government green.

We need to GO GREEN - RECYCLE CONGRESS IN 2010! Unbelievable for sure!

Cell Phones!

Now I'd be remiss if I didn't admit that cell phones do have a value. They enable us to be safe, to keep in touch as never before and if used right I'm sure they could improve productivity. But ... it just ain't workin' out that way. I go in the grocery store and have to work around people trying to do the self check out while talking on their cell phones, oblivious to those around them. Come on!

I'm out walking the public walkways and out in the nice quiet I meet people talking away on their cells.

I was presenting a seminar for a company a couple years back and of the twenty five folks in the room twenty of them were on their laptops and cell phones doing supposedly work during my first 30 minutes of presenting. Then I looked in the back of the room and my host, the guy who hired me to do this, was on his phone. I stopped the meeting and told them to take five and walked outside with my host. I told him the issue and he said, "Well they have to be in touch with our customers all the time. I'm teaching them that."

I said, "You do realize that none of your are that important don't you? You need to make this important or their calls are important but not both at the same time. They need to turn off the laptops and phones and participate or go back to work." He did the right thing and told them to turn them off for four hours and they weren't happy.

Notice if you go to the mall how many people are talking on their phones ignoring the real people next to them. In church our leaders have to take the kids cell phones when they come to youth activities. Its sad for sure.

From a leadership point of view cell phones are the most 'dis' empowering devices ever invented. Years ago before pagers and cell phones when the boss left he HAD to place someone in charge and see how they did because he was truly going to be out of touch for a little while. When you went on vacation you placed someone in charge while you were gone. Now? Call me if anything happens. Call me if you need to know what to do.

Somehow cell phones have made everyone so important they just have to stay connected. What's the worst that's going to happen someone will actually make a decision in your absence. We're not that important to have to stay in touch every single minute. I guess in the end it's like the Internet ... some things are wonderful and astounding and others are really bad.

But at least give it up in church, in the line at stores, and in the line waiting to get off the plane (we know you're not that important) and take your ear buds out when you're walking around in public - I mean ...

We Should Be Smokin Angry After Seeing This Information

Okay maybe I got the video right this time?

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/player/tbws/23088/1076783

Check out the Math these Guys Do on our Financial Crisis - Excellent Video

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/player/tbws/23088/1076783

Immigration as Your Home

Immigration as Your Home

Our country is truly built on immigration and is, as so many say, a nation of immigrants. My Fathers family is traced to Germany and my Mothers to the Native American Iroquois tribe and England. My wife’s from traces to Scotland and England and each of us have similar stories. There is now doubt most everyone reading this can be traced elsewhere. Immigrants built America into the greatest nation on earth. So why the big fuss right now? I think our leaders aren’t seeing what is really happening to our great nation.

Imagine with me for a minute that instead of America our country was your home. One day a person shows up at your door and needs a place to stay. Let’s say that you’re a good hearted person with a few extra bedrooms and you invite them in. Let’s say you kind of like them and their needing to get on their feet, so you tell them they can stay until they find a job.

A week or so goes by and you come home after work one night, your wife isn’t too happy because your new guest invited one of their family members to live with them. You take the original person outside and explain that wasn’t the bargain, but when you hear their story of poverty you think the right thing to do is to go along with it.

All the while this is happening you’re paying the bills and your new ‘guests’ aren’t contributing to your bills. Before long there is a tent in your backyard and more ‘family’ has moved in and it is now taxing your ability to afford the new budget it takes to support this growing problem. When you contact the authorities they tell you there is no support for you throwing them out because it is inhumane.

It isn’t long before you have ten people in each bedroom and while a few work illegally their paying you nothing. You still have sympathy for their plight, you’ve tried to help but now the latest thing is they expect you to drive them around, pick them up and, within the house they don’t agree with your family having prayer at night, it is offensive to them. You remain with no help from your local or national authorities.

How long can you go on? How long can your budget and patience to hold out? How long can you have someone interrupting your life and values from within? How long will your family values stand the test with what is now chaos in your home? Only one or two of your guest’s speak English so the confusion and stress it’s creating on your wife and kids is going through the roof. What on earth do you do?

That’s the dilemma facing America today. Our borders are leaking like a broken dam in a monsoon. And our illustrious leaders want to have meetings and discuss a solution in the midst of the downpour rather than getting something done to solve the problem. They’re more concerned about the politics than the people on either side of this argument.

Let’s take a look at the immigration that built this great nation. Immigrants from Europe risked everything even their lives to come and make a life in America, just as many do on our south border today. The difference to me is the early immigrants came to be part of America and build a life here. My son-in-law is of Mexican descent and comes from a great family. His grandfather is a classic gentleman. In talking with him one day he told me they only spoke English at home and wanted the kids to speak English and he wanted to be an American. He served in the Army during World War II in the Pacific.

My wife and I had a landlord one time who escaped with his wife from Hungary when it was behind the Iron Curtain when he heard on the radio, while working, that his brother escaped with his son, their only child. He told me about bullets being fired at them as they ran across the border only to later find out that it was someone else. It would be nine years before he would be reunited with his son. They were a great family when we knew them, he built a thriving machine shop business and said this is the only place he could have done it. And he didn’t believe we should all speak his language, they spoke English.

When I worked with Pepsi several years ago I was setting up meetings for our President to go around the country and speak to all Pepsi employees, I was in Virginia and met a lady named Pearl from China who worked there. We became friends and she introduced me to the ‘Chinese’ community of the city we were in. Her story was interesting. She took me to a ‘Chinese Appreciation Day’ for the community. It was held downtown and they were thanking everyone for their cooperation and welcoming of Chinese immigrants.

Pearl taught me that they had an organized process of bringing over family and friends and how they wanted them to have skills to start a business and they stayed with one another until they got on their feet, all quite impressive stuff. Pearl came from the upper class of China before the communist takeover. She loved the old leader Chaing Kai-Shek. She also loved America. And none of them expected us to make signs in Chinese or speak their language.

That brings us to today. We live in a country we are losing, both because of our leaders ignoring the issues and the math behind having babies which our young folks don’t do much of anymore. In fact the math worldwide is more than a little scary. But when it comes the immigration today there is one significant difference. Immigrants today come to America for the opportunity but they want to bring their language and culture with them. They want us to welcome them with open arms as long as we accommodate them.

In my analogy above with immigration as your home, we now see the ‘guests’ dictating our language, our religion and our culture. Immigrants in the early days came and were lifted up by our society. We have the highest standard of living in the world. Today’s immigrants, not all but many, come and live as though they were still in their country of old.

America was built by immigrants and I believe the doors should always be open. But they should be open to people wanting to come and be part of America and not change it to their own ways. We need to stop hearing ‘Press 1 for English’ when we call the U.S. Government offices. And there are a couple other things we need to do:

1. Instead of a wall (I’m a former Marine with two tours in Vietnam so pardon me but when I hear ‘build a wall’ I cannot help but think of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara’s great wall he tried to build along the DMZ there that was such a joke and waste of money and lives); but instead of a wall put processing centers all along the border along with a serious and supported Border Patrol that sternly enforces entry into this country.

2. In those processing centers streamline the process for legitimate immigrants who want to come here. As for those here already, set up processing centers to legitimize their presence and extradite immediately anyone who doesn’t cooperate.

3. For those accepted into this country require they become citizens in a reasonable, but designated amount of time or leave. To become a citizen they must speak English. We may even offer classes, but part of the deal is we speak English here.

4. Over a period of time stop this nonsense and expense heaped on our school systems of having things bi-lingual. Stop paying benefits to people here illegally period. We need an express line for people wanting to come here and we need an express line for extradition. Become part of America, we’ll help, but become part of America or leave.


I am all for immigration. There are many wonderful people here from many countries that work hard, contribute and believe in what we do. But just as if you had a glass of sparkling clean water to drink, and drop by drop you put arsenic in it, and you drink it, you die. Right now America as we know it is dying drop by drop. Immigration is just one of the drops. There are a lot of bad people here that are taxing our system to the max. If you don’t fix it our grandkids will not have the America we fought for.

Think about your home and all those folks moving in and the authorities throwing their hands up … welcome home.

A Message from Paul Vallely Well Worth Reading

The People Ask for Resignations

By Paul E. Vallely MG, US Army (Ret)

The Declaration of Independence states: “To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”

We cannot permit the current leaders in the White House and Halls of Congress to continue in their efforts to lead us down the road of Progressive Socialism. This is the current battle we Constitutionalists face and we must be aggressive in our efforts. Notice, I have eliminated the terms of liberal…conservative…left and right as they have little meaning in today’s battle for our Country. Incompetence of officials now come into play as relates to our National Security and Economy and is the rationale for resignations. The names of Holder and Napolitano ring true.

My emphasis in this article will be on Demand Resignation by the people of this country.

The oath is simple and reads:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” Sadly, we have seen them violate their oath. Fraud, lying, and corruption are rampant and some have engaged in treasonous activities, and they effectively thumb their noses at us and have sold you to the highest bidder.

The Articles of Confederation were replaced with the Constitution, which granted the federal government enough authority to cultivate, promote and secure the Blessings of Liberty. The balance of authority and individual liberty was understood. Power was confined to that which was enumerated in the Constitution with a certain and meaningful intent for check and balances.

Lincoln issued this warning in his inaugural address, “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and form a new one. This is a most valuable and sacred right – a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world.” Being a representative republic, not a democracy, “rising up” means other than revolution by means of arms. The people must “rise up” from the grass roots; we must think of the greater good. We are limited in the peaceful transfer of power…resignation, elections, and impeachment.

Article One, S5, CII and the 10th Amendment provides the authority but this has been trumped by a system that rewards the powerful. In 1803 each congressional district averaged 38,476 people, in 2010 it is forecast to exceed 710,000. These numbers indicate power growth, and it effectively grew eight fold in the 20th century alone. No wonder our representatives seek to stay in office so long. Power is the basis now for running for office and staying in office, where civilian service was the goal in the past! No wonder our representatives seek to stay in office so long. With incumbency comes power. The party in the majority assigns power, so a long-term sitting representative can expect such power. A representative expected to stay in office in the 3rd Congress for approximately 2 years now expects 12 years, or 6 terms - so much for a “citizen government.”

“Tip” O’Neill, once said: “All politics are local.” This is never truer than today when entrenched politicians, long in office, build war chests impossible to overcome. But this can be changed, through grass roots organization and discourse. We have recently witnessed that this can happen as is witnesses in “Tip” O’Neil’s own backyard with the ground-thundering win by Scott Brown who won Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat. We must make it a local imperative and movement….of the People…by the People… and For the People.

“We, the People” have had enough. Those in office now are on a socialist and treasonous death march and are bankrupting the country. We have watched them violate their sacred oath of office. “We, the People” cannot wait for the next round of elections. It is now that these public servants must put our interests above self-interest by resigning immediately. Our so-called Representatives and Senators are more interested in party loyalty than performing their duties. So, do not expect them to resign en masse or be impeached. Therefore the “people” must decide. A civil uprising is still not out of the question. They know which side of the bread their butter is on and it is not on our side. The Tea Party. Stand Up America and Saddle Up America Projects will continue to be the strength of this Constitutionalist movement.

I am confident more Resignations will be forthcoming based on the efforts of the people. The Vote in 2010 will be critical as well. This means raising your voice now to your neighbors, family, co-workers, and friends. Grass roots efforts have begun; it is now time to put that effort into over drive.

Paul Vallely is a retired MG, US Army and is Chairman of Stand Up America USA and Save Our Democracy
( www.standupamericaus.com) and Save Our Democracy (www.SaveOurDemocracy.org).


Paul E. Vallely
Chairman - Stand Up America US - Save Our Democracy
www.standupamericaus.com

A Funny Sad Side of Business in America

A few years back a partner and I lead a turnaround back east for a large retail chain of stores. There supply chain left a lot to be desired and we were hired to turn around their 'underperforming east coast warehouse operations. The warehouse was 600,000 square feet 270 employees handling everything from small items to large crated items.

When we arrived and did individual interviews with all managment it was evident that one of the problems was at the top. They guy was just over his head. We worked with him and on the second day on the job I had to fire two young 19 year olds in the warehouse for turning tricks, on first shift by the way. Seems some of the brothers in the warehouse had built 'caves' out of the crates and were playing cards and pimping the young ladies out.

For the next six months every week like clockwork the local police showed up with a warrant one of our workers had violated parole. My partner called it our 'reverse work release program'. It took the better part of a year to weed out the drug dealers, pimps and users and we wondered how could a company let this happen? Now dont get me wrong, when I was consulting operations like this kept me in business but my partner and I marveled.

It was our first gig that we were bailing people out of jail to get them to work, this guy was actually a good one and we needed him. But you had the GM heaving a Coke at the wall during Staff Meeting, landing above one of his Manager's heads. The GM had been transferred in from the West Coast and had never led such operations.

We had the culture of inner city east coast clashing with the laid back California culture and unfortunately the CEO wasnt interested in finding a way in the end to merge the two. His attitude was that 'they' need to be part of us not the other way around. That wasnt the issue.

In a year we got the workforce pared down to 130 from the beginning of 270 and we found good people needing a job and wanting one. It wasnt about 'them' and 'us' it was about leadership and doing right. The union had organized them, understandably, when we arrived there was no hot water in the bathrooms and the place looked like Dunkirk. We remodeled the place and before we left had an election and voted the union out of town ... but in the end, when we left, nothing changed.

The company has gone through many financial hard times, turnover and if you're in the place we were, well, you had a good year a few years back but the beat goes on. In every consulting turnaround we've been involved in one common them emerges today ... its the leadership stupid.

Obam Sings on Healthcare - Great Work

Airline Insecurity - How on Earth?

We've all read enough about the Christmas eve debacle on Northwest with the guy setting his pants on fire in flight. That is so sad and serious and yet everyone in DC is dancing circles around the elephant in the kitchen. I was going to write something detailing how I feel but then I got on to this article by Ann Coulter. I'm not an Ann Coulter fan personally but she hit the proverbial nail square on the head on this one ...

Ivana Trump Escorted Off Plane: Napolitano Declares 'The System Worked'
by Ann Coulter
Posted 12/30/2009 ET

In response to a Nigerian Muslim trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, the government will now prohibit international travelers from going to the bathroom in the last hour before the plane lands.

Terrorists who plan to bomb planes during the first seven hours of the eight-hour flight, however, should face no difficulties, provided they wait until after the complimentary beverage service has been concluded.

How do they know Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab didn't wait until the end of the flight to try to detonate explosives because he heard the stewardess announce that the food service was over and seats would have to be placed in their upright position? I can't finish my snack? This plane is going down!

Also prohibited in the last hour of international flights will be: blankets, pillows, computers and in-flight entertainment. Another triumph in Janet Napolitano's "Let's stay one step behind the terrorists" policy!

For the past eight years, approximately 2 million Americans a day have been subjected to humiliating searches at airport security checkpoints, forced to remove their shoes and jackets, to open their computers, and to remove all liquids from their carry-on bags, except minuscule amounts in marked 3-ounce containers placed in Ziploc plastic bags -- folding sandwich bags are verboten -- among other indignities.

This, allegedly, was the price we had to pay for safe airplanes. The one security precaution the government refused to consider was to require extra screening for passengers who looked like the last three-dozen terrorists to attack airplanes.

Since Muslims took down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland , in 1988, every attack on a commercial airliner has been committed by foreign-born Muslim men with the same hair color, eye color and skin color. Half of them have been named Mohammed.

An alien from the planet "Not Politically Correct" would have surveyed the situation after 9/11 and said: "You are at war with an enemy without uniforms, without morals, without a country and without a leader -- but the one advantage you have is they all look alike. ... What? ... What did I say?"

The only advantage we have in a war with stateless terrorists was ruled out of order ab initio by political correctness.

And so, despite 5 trillion Americans opening laptops, surrendering lip gloss and drinking breast milk in airports day after day for the past eight years, the government still couldn't stop a Nigerian Muslim from nearly blowing up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day.

The "warning signs" exhibited by this particular passenger included the following:

His name was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

He's Nigerian.

He's a Muslim.

His name was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

He boarded a plane in Lagos , Nigeria .

He paid nearly $3,000 in cash for his ticket.

He had no luggage.

His name was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Two months ago, his father warned the U.S. that he was a radical Muslim and possibly dangerous.

If our security procedures can't stop this guy, can't we just dispense with those procedures altogether? What's the point exactly?

(To be fair, the father's warning might have been taken more seriously if he had not simultaneously asked for the U.S. Embassy's Social Security number and bank routing number in order to convey a $28 million inheritance that was trapped in a Nigerian bank account.)

The warning from Abdulmutallab's father put his son on some list, but not the "no fly" list. Apparently, it's tougher to get on the "no fly" list than it was to get into Studio 54 in the '70s. Currently, the only people on the "no fly" list" are the Blind Sheik and Sean Penn.

The government is like the drunk looking for his keys under a lamppost. Someone stops to help, and asks, "Is this where you lost them?" No, the drunk answers, but the light's better here.

The government refuses to perform the only possibly effective security check -- search Muslims -- so instead it harasses infinitely compliant Americans. Will that help avert a terrorist attack? No, but the Americans don't complain.

The only reason Abdulmutallab didn't succeed in bringing down an airplane with 278 passengers was that: (1) A brave Dutchman leapt from his seat and extinguished the smoldering Nigerian; and (2) the Nigerian apparently didn't have enough detonating fluid to cause a powerful explosion.

In addition to the no blanket, no computer, no bathroom rule, perhaps the airlines could add this to their preflight announcement about seat belts and emergency exits: "Should a passenger sitting near you attempt to detonate an explosive device, you may be called upon to render emergency assistance. Would you be willing to do so under those circumstances? If not we will assign you another seat ...."

Is This Honest Leadership in Congress

Congressional Candidate Lieutenant Colonel Allen West

Watch the video below on YouTube for an inspiring message of change by a Congressional Candidate ... We need more of this my friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP2p91dvm6M

"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you; But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say, "We did this ourselves."

Lao Tzu

Auto Task Force Replaces New GM CEO

In case you missed the news yesterday, the 'Auto Czar', former head of AT&T, certainly a juggernaut under his leadership, replaced the new CEO that they had just put in to run GM 8 months ago. In the corporate world that is when nothing is happening and I have to look like something is, I reorganize. When I was at Compaq for three (long) years my boss reorganized his department at least four times, maybe five. In one kickoff meeting for the latest reorganization the HR Director was sitting next to me and leaned over and said, "one more butt moving exercise'.

We had a massinve reorganization when I worked for Pepsi as Director of Distribution. 6,000 Managers were flown to Dallas, we rented the convention center for a week and all to introduce the New Pepsi ... my new title, Director of Delivery. Duties? Same.

I know I'm an original cycnic but what the new Administration is doing is classic in some ways. But then my guess is perhaps the long time auto guy the Obama placed in to head GM didnt agree with all the new 'green' cars they are ordered to produce. Right or wrong, America doesnt buy those cars.

And as you think today about removing this guy, for whatever their reasons eight months after placing him in office ... think about General McCrystal left to head the war in Afghanistan ... with less troops than he needs. Its like I used to tell my bosses, "If you already know the answers to the questions then just tell me what to do and I'll execute. It seems when the new Administration doesnt get the answers they want they send you off until you do or they get rid of you. Keep your eye on General McCrystal.