"Zombieland!"

Monday is Halloween: when I was a young boy, this was one of my favorite holidays. Candy and costumes, what could possibly be better than that! We all marched out of our house dressed in our favorite characters on a quest for FREE CANDY!! Many of our neighbors made "homemade treats"; back then, there was little concern over poison and razor blades concealed in a sugary confection. The scariest costumes were usually ghosts and witches, not too much bloodiness was used back then. I don't remember any zombies or other types of flesh eaters. I always preferred the classic cowboy, as I longed to be like my television and movie heroes like Roy Rogers or John Wayne. The neighborhood was a virtual parade of children; kids filled the streets (not as protesters though).

As time has gone on, Halloween has extended from the children to young adults where parties and costumes are in vogue for these "grown-ups". Vampires, werewolves and flesh-eating zombies are the most popular character choices; really violent and scary stuff, not for children's consumption.

In Washington, we have our own "Land of Zombies", which is populated by "flesh-eaters" who are Hell bent on consuming as much taxpayer's money as they can. We do have some "zombie killers" that took office after the last Congressional Election a year ago, and they are trying to destroy the "tax-eaters" from the previous Congress. Instead of flesh being consumed, it is the finances of the United States; and it is very scary as these "zombies" continue to march toward our collective bank accounts, drooling at the thought of "eating us alive" with more stimulus spending, and draining the "life blood" of America. Soon, if left to their own devices, these "monsters" will leave us with nothing but a "rotting corpse" of a nation. The "Chief Zombie" is now traveling across America trying to mesmerize our populous into sacrificing more of our "life blood" to feed the "monsters"! What is his evil plan?

This is no "monster movie" America; this is real and imminent, unless we do something to stop the "Chief Zombie" in his tracks. I don't want the White House to become a "house of horrors" because of these "monstrous" economic blunders! America, we need some angry villagers to carry those torches in the next election; or the "Zombie will return" for four more years!!

(I will be off Monday; I hope I don't run into any zombies!)

"To Tell The Truth?!"

I remember black and white television very well; I remember all of those old quiz shows when way back then $100 was quite a bit of money, and people in the audience would cheer wildly if a contestant won $1000! Now you get $1000 for showing up on "Wheel of Fortune". There were a couple of shows we watched all the time; "I've Got a Secret" and "To Tell the Truth"; these were standards in most homes that had a T.V. way back then. Questions on "I've Got a Secret" were intended to find out what the person's secret was, and they had to tell the truth! If you could get past the entire panel, I think you won $250, WOW! On the show called "To Tell the Truth", three contestants were questioned by a panel to find out which contestant was the real person behind a story told to them. The actual person was sworn to tell the truth; all the others could lie until they turned blue, in an attempt to fool the celebrity panel. These shows were a lot of fun to watch, to see who was the most accomplished liar, or how much information a person could hold back to avoid being discovered. This kind of stuff is fun on television, but not in real life; in real life, we want the whole truth, and all the facts with nothing left out or deleted.

Yesterday, I heard about something that is being talked about in our government that I find quite disturbing. The article I read said that the government could be allowed to lie about the existence of documents when questioned about them. Now I'm used to being lied to from politicians, that is nothing new; but for the government to come right out and say they are going to lie straight to our faces seems to be a new height of arrogance.

We have the Freedom of Information Act, which came in under Lyndon Johnson, allowing a citizen to inquire about virtually all government actions; a really good idea, I want to know what they are doing! If this proposal goes through, you can make an inquiry and the person with whom you are dealing decides to tell you that information doesn't exist, has the ability to lie to you without consequence. Thank God Mr. Obama has the most transparent administration in American history?! If this course of action continues from our government, what can we next expect to happen? Will we have a Ministry of Government Control of Information? If we inquire too many times about some touchy subject, will we become suspect of a new "crime" against the government? NO PERSON IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHOULD BE GIVEN THE POWER TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION, OR LIE TO OUR CITIZENS!!!

I certainly hope this proposal will be dismissed without any serious consideration from any person in our government. I would certainly like to know the names of those who thought this was a good idea, but I'll bet that document doesn't exist!

"Is America Okay On Wall Street?"

What is the definition of okay? When you ask most people "How's it going?", the usual response is "I'm okay." I'm one of those folks who use this response. I have arthritis, diabetes and borderline cholesterol. I take pills for everything; I rattle when I walk! I don't feel that the things that are wrong with me keep me from being "okay". Now, if I'm sick, that could be a different story; vomiting and diarrhea definitely are not okay! We can accept certain problems and still be okay, yet some problems and circumstances are unacceptable and are never "okay".

I have friends with opinions that are much different than mine, and that is usually okay with me. If you read this regularly, you know I love that 1st amendment, and I urge everyone to exercise this right vigorously. I used to have a reader who was my polar opposite politically; I haven't heard from him for a while. I think I made my points more often than he liked; I miss him. It is okay that he didn't agree with me; he was a progressive, not an idiot.

We are seeing a continual flow of news about the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators. There have been, and continue to be, arrests at nearly every site where these protestors have gathered. Many prominent people have spoken both for and against these people. The President, the Vice-President, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and numerous members of the entertainment industry have spoken in support of these dissidents. Many conservatives have spoken about them also; but not in such glowing terms. These folks have been supported by organizations too. I already mentioned the American Nazi Party, and the American Communist Party along with SEIU and other various unions. I guess this is "okay" with them.

Recently, this fringe group got another endorsement; David Dukes came out in support of this movement. Yes, my fellow Americans, David Dukes is on the bandwagon of these anarchists, socialists and communists: what a great victory for these oppressed people! This movement has attracted the dregs of humanity for sympathy and support. Dukes is the lowest form of scum that crawls upon the earth. He is a notorious anti- Semite Nazi scuzzball. I hope our President and Vice-President are happy to be united in a cause supported by this pile of human compost! This, my fellow Americans, is NOT OKAY with me! Dukes came out with this statement, "Our clear goal must be the advancement of the white race and separation of the white and black races. This goal must include the freeing of the American media and government from subservient Jewish interests!" THIS IS NOT OKAY!!!!

Should our elected officials align themselves with a cause that reflects this type of support? Should we re-elect officials who stand in support of a movement that accepts this type endorsement? I'm sorry Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden; but you are NOT OKAY WITH ME!!

"It's Mr. President, Not Your Majesty!"

What does it mean to be unique? Great actors are unique, as they are different in each role; Olivier, Burton, Brando and Tracey are just some of the actors that come to mind when I think of uniqueness. Some athletes are unique; Ali, Rodman, Joe Namath, Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson are some of those athletes with unique qualities. Musicians can be unique; Sinatra, Elvis, Madonna, Elton John and the Beatles had unique talents which are difficult to imitate.

There are always actors, athletes and musicians who are being touted as the next "Sinatra, Brando or Ali"; yet, very few accomplish those heights of uniqueness. In reality, many times we get a cheap copy of those who have achieved greatness from those who emulate to be them.

America is a very unique nation, built upon the principles of individual freedom. At the time of America's inception, no other people on earth had these dreams. The French spoke of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity"; America spoke of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness", not exactly the same thing. We have a government constructed on equal houses of government, so none would be able to take singular hold on the decisions made for the nation. Our Founding Fathers were brilliant men, for over 230 years America has been a tribute to the vision of those brave and intelligent men. Our Constitution is designed so Americans won't get policies shoved down their throats (sorry about Obama-care). Just because Congress wants something done doesn't mean it will get done; the same thing goes for the President, and everything that is being done must stand the test of "Constitutionality" from the Supreme Court! No President or House of Congress has the right to do an "end-around" the Constitution. It is supposed to be "THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE"!

A few days ago an upset Barack Obama was addressing a crowd in Nevada. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in America, along with the highest foreclosure rate on housing. Poor representation from their Congressmen and Senators must account for much of their problems. I recently did a blog on the "stellar job" Harry Reid has done in the last Congress; I don't know how he was re-elected!

Mr. Obama stated that he was going to use the power of his office to back-door some of the items on his controversial job and tax bill; he's tired of waiting for Congress! Don't you think any sitting President should wait for the decisions of the representatives of the people of the United States before he "ram-rods" his plans through the back door of the White House? I didn't vote for Barack Obama, which I'm sure is no surprise to anyone who reads this blog. Regardless of whom any American votes for, I don't believe any of us want a "king", who dictates whatever he wishes to the American people. Mr. Obama needs to read his "job description" before he gets fitted for a "CROWN"!

"Mini-Brain in Charge!"

I don't know how many of you have seen the "Austin Powers" movies; but take it from me, they are very funny. They are a satire of the James Bond and spy genre movies. They say all the things we have thought at one time or another while watching James Bond. The villain would always have Bond in some horrible torture device that was intended to kill him, but he never remains to see if Bond is killed. The villain never does the most obvious thing; he never chooses to just shoot Bond in the head. The villain in the Powers movies is "Doctor Evil" (he spent eight years in evil medical school). Alongside Doctor Evil sits Mini-Me, a tiny clone of the Doctor; just as evil, but on a smaller scale! Mike Myers is the comic genius who created the Austin Powers character, along with Doctor Evil and Mini-Me. If you have never seen these movies, I urge you to give them a look; you will laugh!

I've gotten quite a bit of mileage out of Obama's SOLYNDRA scandal lately, as it just continues to get worse and worse as the levels of ineptitude are revealed. The "green initiative" is turning into a "moldy green initiative", as it rots around Barack Obama.

SOLYNDRA and some of its large money wasters that accompany it in this terrible squandering of taxpayer's money cause us to want to pull the hair from our collective heads. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been mentioned in several of these "green debacles". We have a danger here, as we may become callous to the "small thefts" from our "green movement".

About two weeks ago, another "small scandal" was uncovered; by small, I mean it was under a million dollars; this is small by government standard as our government like to waste our money on a much grander scale. A company in Tennessee called Mountain Plaza received $424,000 in government stimulus money, and they have gone totally bankrupt! This company was to use these funds for electrical hook-ups at a truck stop in the city of Dandridge, Tennessee. The reason for this was so the truckers wouldn't run their engines at the truck stop and save on diesel fuel. This may have been a good idea; I don't know. The real mystery behind all of this is that the Mountain Plaza project went out of business before they were issued the $424,000!!

I believe sometimes stupidity should be considered a crime! I know this isn't 528 million dollars like SOLYNDRA, but it still bothers me. I would like a check for $424,000; to me, this is a pretty nice check to get for screwing up; especially if you receive it after you did the screwing up!

How much more will we put up with from the Obama administration? How many more tax dollars will we see thrown away because of ineptitude or worse? Obama now asks for more money and higher taxes. Why? Has Mr. Obama found some new ways to make our taxpayer dollars evaporate into thin air? I don't believe America can stand four more years of Mr. Obama's method of saving the American economy; do you?

"Family Values!"

I'm a big fan of "The Godfather". It is arguably the best movie ever made; superb acting, amazing set design, great directing and absorbing dialogue. Being an Italian, I have to admit, it is a cool movie; although, I don't advocate the Mafia! There is a scene in the film when all of the heads of the "Five Families" are gathered in a large conference room to discuss Don Corleone's help in using his influence to promote the heroin trade in New York. During the conversation, the head of the Barzini Family stated that "Of course you will be compensated for your help, after all we are not communists." Thus, the drug traffic in New York was shared by all those who helped in the "new venture"; it is good to help "family members" when you have the influence!

Lately, I have spent some time talking about the SOLYNDRA scandal which is surrounding the Obama administration. Billions of American dollars have been given away to the "green initiative" since Barack Obama has taken office; unfortunately, most of it is not giving America a very good return for her investment. SOLYNDRA wasted 528 million taxpayer dollars; that is a big chunk of money! SOLYNDRA is bankrupt, and our money is gone!! There is quite a bit of talk about how this was a "sweetheart deal" from its inception, because of campaign donations to Barack Obama.

I believe it is good to take care of your family, when you can. Nancy Pelosi must feel the same way about her family; after all, she's "not a communist". Five hundred twenty eight million is a big number; but not as big as 737 million taxpayer dollars, which is what Crescent Dunes project received from the Obama administration. The program, thus far, is disappointing; not even getting close to its projected promises of power production or energy savings. By the way, one of the Crescent Dunes players is Ronald Pelosi; Nancy's brother-in-law. Now if I was a suspicious person, I could come to the conclusion that perhaps Nancy used her influence to channel some of that STIMULUS money toward her brother-in-law. It is good to take care of your family!

There may not have been a huge conference table, or consiglieries seated next to their Dons, but there is certainly reason to suggest that deals were made, and public money was divided. The more we look into the "green initiative", the more it looks like the green was our green! To take a page from "I Love Lucy" I'd like to say, "Nancy, you've got some splainin to do!"

"There's a Giant on the Beach!"

Remember the really old cartoons: Max Fleshier, Walt Disney and Walter Lantz were the pioneers, way back when. Fleshier and Disney were the first to make feature length cartoons; the amount of work for a feature cartoon is staggering. Hundreds of animation artists worked long hours for only a few minutes of film, but in the end, the results were magnificent. I vividly remember the Fleshier feature of "Gulliver's Travels"; this was a landmark accomplishment in animation (I own the DVD). I remember the giant Gulliver prone on the beach as the people of Lilliput gathered tons of food to assuage the giant's enormous appetite. He tossed down basket after basket of bread, vegetables and fruits as if they were thimbles. No matter how much food those poor Lilliputians brought him, he was insatiable. It takes an awful lot of food to feed a giant!

Recently, my favorite senator, Harry Reid, has stated that the private sector is doing just fine in job growth. I find this interesting, as Nevada is still at over 12% unemployment; I guess that's what Harry believes is just fine. Harry went on to promote the new Obama "Spend and Tax" jobs bill, stating we need more billions of dollars to hire more government workers. The current Democrat wisdom believes this is the only way we can hire more teachers, police officers and firefighters.

We are in an overtaxed emergency in America right now! An increased tax to hire an already overburdened populous is a stupid idea; sorry Harry! States, cities and counties are losing staff because of the reduced tax base from the record unemployment in the PRIVATE SECTOR!! If we continue to bleed the private sector to "feed the giant", eventually we will have no "food" to feed ourselves, Harry! Conversely, if we promote deregulation and pursue an aggressive domestic energy agenda, we will increase our tax base without raising taxes; GET IT HARRY! The more citizens we have working in the PRIVATE SECTOR, the more taxes we will have to hire public servants. Is that simple enough Harry?

This idea of continued government spending and regulation will only delay any possible economic recovery; this is common sense! As we confront a 14 trillion dollar debt, further government spending to add to the "Octopus" is a very bad idea; especially since the last mountain of money was so poorly used!

America, it is time for us to put our collective feet down and stop feeding the "Giant on the beach"; we have a "Gulliver" of a government, and his appetite is INSATIABLE!

"The Company We Keep!"

There are many fraternal organizations to which people belong: ELKS, MOOSE, JAYCEES, VFW and the American Legion are just a few of the lodges and clubs people can belong to. We are a nation that loves our clubs and lodges. Many of these organizations do philanthropic work for disease cures or famine across the world. These are pretty good things to belong to; they try to be humanitarians.

There are other groups that aren't quite so good to belong to: NEO-NAZIS, American Communist Party, the MAFIA, Hell's Angels, Crips and the Bloods. These groups don't do too much humanitarian work, and I don't recommend joining any of the above mentioned organizations; in fact, I don't think it is a good idea to be endorsed by any of those groups either; they're not nice!

NEO-NAZIS and the American Communist Party are big supporters of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. I don't think Neo-Nazis or communists have the best interests of America at heart; I am fairly certain that those IDIOTS want the complete collapse of our Constitution and our country.

Some folks on the left are saying the "Occupy Wall Street Movement" is the same as the TEA Party Movement. As I examine each organization, I don't get the comparison from the left. Peaceful demonstrations from the TEA Party were the norm, with little incident of violence; "Wall Street" has been rampant with violent confrontation and numerous arrests. The TEA Party endorses constitutional government; "Wall Street" is being endorsed by those who advocate the violent overthrow of the United States of America. Does anyone else find this comparison strange?

Today, President Barack Obama said he sees similarities between the "TEA Party Movement" and the "Occupy Wall Street Movement", and he said he understands those who are disrupting the business districts of America, and he is exhibiting sympathy and support for them. If we then "connect all the dots", this means Mr. Obama is in agreement with Neo-Nazis and the American Communist Party. No matter how you try to spin this, it puts Mr. Obama in the company of anti-American radical lunatics.

When we go to the polls in November 2012, I believe we must remember with whom our current Chief Executive aligns himself, with whom he has sympathy and who he identifies with. I want a President who endorses the Constitution of the United States of America, and wants to stay as far from communists and Nazis as possible. Our choice is becoming clearer every day. Does Barack Obama deserve another term in office?

"Poorly Planned!"

Did any of you watch the "A-Team" when it viewed several years ago? One of its key catch phrases was, "I love it when a plan comes together!" We all make plans in life and always want them to work out exactly as planned. How many of your well laid plans have worked out that way? Over the last thirty-four months many of us have altered our retirement plans radically because of our dire economy. Some of us have purchased exercise equipment with a plan of weight loss and muscle building; how many have very expensive clothes racks now resting in their bedrooms? How many unfinished books sit on our coffee tables? How many wobbly tables are in our homes because we failed to use the plans in the box? Plans don't always end up as they are constructed to.

In 2008, we began spending 3/4 of a trillion dollars in a plan designed to restore an economy that was in a downward spiral; that plan doesn't seem to be working very well at all. Unemployment is continuing at 9.1%, and our GNP still is well below any projection of a recovery. This is becoming an albatross around the neck of our current Chief Executive. Huge losses have been incurred from the SOLYNDRA scandal, the housing industry still suffers from FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC as foreclosures are still at a record pace. These plans STINK! Several months ago, the Democratic Congress passed Obamacare along party lines; it was supposed to save us money, give virtually everyone affordable health-care and allow us to keep our own doctors. Unfortunately, none of these things are proving to be true. The projected savings are turning out to be based on spurious accounting; the percentage of those who will be newly covered is negligible and people already have to find new doctors because of insurance changes that have raised their rates, and changes in group coverage; maybe they should have read that before they passed it!; another plan that doesn't seem to be working well Mr. Obama!

We are sitting on a 14 trillion dollar debt, and record unemployment and a dwindling GNP; none of this has been remedied by any of Barack Obama's previous plans! What is Mr. Obama's solution for these continued problems for the rest of his term?

"Let's spend more taxpayer's money!" Yes, my fellow Americans: MORE SPENDING and HIGHER TAXES are the plans of Barack Obama! This is the equivalent of throwing jet fuel on a forest fire! WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!! Is this the best idea Barack Obama can come up with?

America, we need a NEW PLAN! More of the same warmed over socialist garbage, more blaming the successful for our problems and more destruction of taxpayer's dollars will accomplish nothing but further economic woes! We need to PLAN to make a change in November 2012, or we will have to PLAN for the demise of the American way of life!

"Pseudo-Hippies!"

I guess point of view is everything in life. I'm a life-long Bears fan and when I watch the Bears play, I look at it with a "fan's eye"; everything that goes well is because they are great, and everything that goes horribly is the fault of the referees and dirty play from the opposing team. It is tough to admit it when your team stinks it up on the field.

As a Bears fan, I have a really hard time admitting to the fact that the Green Bay Packers are a very high quality football team, and deserve the respect of everyone who has knowledge of the game; but it's the truth! It is difficult to admit it when we know our opponents are right and we are wrong; we have a tendency to rationalize any situation rather than admit the truth.

All across America, we are having demonstrations against "Wall Street". Crowds of dissidents and union organizers have been holding rallies and sit-ins protesting "big business". These people have a right to express their opinions, as does every American. Unfortunately, there have been incidents of violence and arrest because of unruly protesters. Oddly, there have been statements from people on the left who have shown amazing restraint in their criticism of those violent demonstrators, acting as if this has been a peaceful display of civil disobedience. These same people, on the left, spoke of the TEA party movement as "terrorists". Nancy Pelossi stated she was in fear of those demonstrations. The odd fact is I don't recall any arrests being made at any TEA Party rallies, unless it was by an outsider attacking a demonstrator. These are the people Nancy Pelossi fears?

TEA Party demonstrators waved American Flags, and copies of the Constitution. TEA Party demonstrators left each area of demonstration clean, free of debris and clutter. Unlike the "terrorist" TEA Party folks, the "I hate Wall Street" people have left a tremendous amount of garbage in their wake for the taxpayers to clean up after. They have just had a rally in Oregon where a "rock band" was heard singing a song with the lyrics of "F#%K America!" (fill in the blanks yourself). I saw no copies of the Constitution or any American Flags being waved! Sorry Nancy, but I am much more fearful of these demonstrators than any member of the demonized TEA Party. Strangely when questioned, these members of the "Great Unwashed" can't explain exactly what they are protesting against, except they hate the wealthy for being wealthy; although, I'll bet they would like them to give jobs to their fellow pseudo-hippies!

It must be tough for Nancy, Harry and Barack to hold a straight face when they talk with praise about these violent anti-social misanthropes like they are some type of heroes, instead of what they really are, rabble-rousing socialist, unemployed, anti-American, anti-capitalist morons!

Nancy and Harry and Barack should be afraid; yes, very afraid of November 2012; most of those idiots will be too lazy to get up to vote; they won't even clean up their own mess!

"Now What!?"

"What am I going to do now?" I'm sure all of us, at one time or another, have uttered these words when confronted with a bad situation, and don't have any idea what to do next. You could be caught on a dark country road with a flat tire, or out of fuel and you forgot your cell phone. We become a prisoner of a situation without a solution; helpless. We didn't check for our cell before we left the house, or we don't have a flashlight in our car trunk to give us light on that dark road, and we weren't prepared for those bad situations. Will we learn from those situations, or fall prey to these same mistakes in the future?

Yesterday, the Justice Department revealed a murder and bomb plot against a Saudi ambassador and Israeli officials, right here in the United States that is directly connected to Iran! Some of those arrested were Americans, others from the Middle-East. This is a gigantic step toward violent conflict with Iran; perhaps not with the United States, but most certainly with Israel, who has shown great restraint in the past when provocation from Iran has been all too obvious. The Obama tact in the past has been verbal chastisement with little else to follow, while waiting on the United Nations to do their usual rhetoric and sanctions; a waste of time.

I don't believe the Justice Department will do much outside of trying to prosecute those who are already in custody and the real criminals, Amadinejad and his Islamic terrorist friends. They will continue to thumb their noses to the U.S. and the U.N.; dismissing them as irrelevant and toothless.

But, if I were the Iranians, I wouldn't be too smug, because Israel is well past the breaking point with this terrorist nation. I'm sure they must realize that Iran must be much closer to nuclear capability than the rest of the world believes, and the Israeli people will soon face the possibility of a nuclear attack from Iran. Israel will act in its own defense; especially now that the United Nations has shown its true colors in regards to the Palestinian issue.

Iran is a rogue nation, with bad intentions for every non-Muslim nation on this planet. For those of you reading this, I mean any country that has a church or synagogue on earth is under a real threat from Iran; they are being led by a LUNATIC! The question is "What are we going to do now!?"

(This is my last blog until Monday; I have business out of town. Watch Iran while I'm gone!)

"Diversionary Tactics"

Unless this is the first time you are reading my stuff, you already know I'm a huge Bears fan; and obviously, loved the 1985 Super Bowl team. I remember that Jim Mc Mahon, the quarterback, had incurred an injury to his buttocks during the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. The week before the Super Bowl the quarterback's buttocks became the center of many newspaper and television writers and commentators. Jim played along for the entire week prior to the big game. In interviews done years later, he stated that he used his buttocks as a distraction to ease the pressure on the rest of the team as it took focus away from them and made preparation for the game easier. In the military, we called this a diversionary tactic.

Over the last couple of weeks or so, we have seen protests on Wall Street, and recently on LaSalle Street from some of the "great unwashed". They have been spouting the same warmed-over platitudes that communists and socialists have been ranting about for decades: "The rich have too much money, and they should give it to us!"; "Capitalism is evil!"; "Down with free enterprise"! This has now been augmented by SEIU union thugs directing these sheep into doing the bidding of the Obama administration, who is a huge friend of SEIU. Every American with common sense knows business drives the economy, and business creates jobs, not the government; but it does make for interesting television, and is a great diversionary tactic from bigger issues.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you already know about the SOLYNDRA scandal and the further connections to even more spurious loans to the "green initiative" that has been endorsed by Barack Obama, and his cronies. Billions of dollars of taxpayer's money has been tossed away on bad investments to buy support for the Obama administration. Currently, an Obama fundraiser has been connected through e-mails to the SLOYNDRA debacle. This fundraiser received $500,000 in a donation to the Obama campaign, and has also monitored the progress of the SOLYNDRA funding from its inception; this is, at least, curious! Now Darrell Issa (Re.-Cal.) is seeking more information on $4.75 billion in loan guarantees to more "green companies"; Antelope Valley Solar Ranch Inc. received a loan guarantee of $646 million, Desert Sunlight Sunpower got a guarantee of $1.24 billion! These aren't all that have received guaranteed money from the Obama administration.

Atop this is the "Fast and Furious" gun running scandal involving Eric Holder, and his alleged deceptive testimony to a government committee about his knowledge of the affair. Thus far, Mr. Obama says he stands behind Mr. Holder, but has said little else.

Those pseudo-hippies that are now chanting, crying, moaning and ranting will all be forgotten in fairly short order if the media will cover the actual crime that is going on in Washington by members of the Obama administration. A diversionary tactic will only work for so long!

"The First American?"

"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue..."; that was sung in schools on Columbus Day way back when I was a little boy in Chicago. We liked Columbus in our house; we were Italian! We liked Enrico Fermi and Fiorello La Guardia too! The greatest baseball player alive was Joe Di Maggio, and the greatest singer in the world was Frank Sinatra, oddly they were also Italian. We had quite a bit of ethnic pride in our house when I was growing up. I like having an Italian heritage; I'm sure people of other cultural backgrounds like their heritage as well, and that is a good thing. We should all be proud of our family's heritage; this is a practice unique to America because we are also proud to be of American culture. I love pizza and pasta; and I also love bagels and lox, Chinese food and gyros! Like Don King says, "Only in America!"; we are a unique people!

Monday is Columbus Day, some of us have the day off, others don't; but we should all take a little time to remember Christopher Columbus. He was a young boy from Genoa, Italy who lived his early life looking out over the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea, and dreamed about sailing to unknown lands. He grew into manhood and pursued his dream; he petitioned the King of Italy for funds to sail to the East Indies, as he believed "the world was round" not flat. The King turned him down; he believed "the world was flat". Some young people would have given up after a King turned them down, but not Chris. The young adventurer went to Queen Isabella of Spain with his idea, and she funded Christopher's adventure. Three ships: the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria set sail. The rest is history (literally). We now have cities all over America named for this courageous explorer; Columbus, Ohio; Columbus, Georgia; Columbia, South Carolina and the District of Columbia are only a few places that bear the mark of Christopher Columbus.

The story of Christopher Columbus is a fitting start for the "American Dream". Chris believed in something that seemed impossible at its inception; yet, his persistence made his dream come true (although he did get government funding). Chris didn't get a guaranteed loan like General Motors or SOLYNDRA, but he did risk his life on his proposition.

What should we take from the life of Christopher Columbus; perhaps hard work and perseverance, things that we may already accept as the "American Spirit". He was the testimony of individual pursuit of success; you know, "the pursuit of happiness": I read that somewhere. Think about Chris on Monday; he could be called the First American!

(I will be off on Monday, thanks to Chris. See you all on Tuesday!)

"Whose President is Barack Obama?"

Do you have any friends or relatives that you are ashamed of? I certainly hope none of you are in this predicament. I hold my friends in great esteem, and I am proud to have them as my friends. I love my family with all my heart, and I hold them as most dear in my life.

How many of you know the name Edwin Booth? He was a great actor in the 1850s and 1860s, from a well known acting family. It was said his Hamlet was superb. If you don't remember Edwin too well, you may remember his brother; John Wilkes Booth! I would guess that Edwin didn't spend too much time talking about his relationship with his little brother. Most of us remember Billy Carter, the brother of former President Jimmy Carter. Billy's exploits were, to say the least, a bit embarrassing for the former Chief Executive, and Jimmy didn't spend much time talking about Billy.

I'll bet there aren't too many childhood friends of Charles Manson who are willing to admit that he was their friend "back in the day". Some people leave a bad taste in the mouth when their names are mentioned. We should be very careful about who we associate with, as my Mom said, "If you lay down with pigs, you will come up smelling like sh*t!", and I believe she was correct!

After the last election, there were allegations of voter intimidation from members of the "New Black Panther Party"; you know, the racist radical black militant fringe group; this party has been preaching racial hatred from its inception without apology. No reasonable black citizen buys into this racially divisive group of haters.

I guess that old saying about "politics makes for strange bedfellows" can be true! In March 2007 there was a rally at which Barack Obama shared the podium with Malik Shabazz, the Chief of the New Black Panther Party; no one in the main-stream media said a word about this! Mr. Obama was already in his campaign mode and a darling of the media. This would be the equivalent of a Republican speaking at a Klan Rally; I wonder what the media would have said about that?

After Mr. Obama's election, Malik Shabazz was among one of the first visitors to the White House. I, along with many of you, have seen the video tape of the polling place where members of Mr. Shabazz's party brandished batons in a threatening manner toward those entering, asking "Who are you voting for?" Oddly, this obvious intimidation was not pursued as a crime by the Obama Justice Department. What does this say about Barack Obama's relationship with this radical hate group? Had these facts about Barack Obama been revealed before the election, how would they have affected the outcome? After 34 months in office, what don't we know about Barack Obama? Where does Mr. Obama's allegiance rest, with America, or with some hateful radical racists?

"Pants On Fire?!"

When you were little, were you ever caught in a lie? I'm human; therefore I lie, as do we all. As a Christian, I make an effort not to lie, as it reflects badly on my Savior. The big problem with lies is you have to remain consistent with your lies or you will eventually be discovered as a deceiver and your words will always be suspect. I watch "Judge Judy" in the afternoon, and the quickest way to lose your case is for her to catch you in a lie. She makes it a point to have everyone who speaks to look her directly in the eyes; and she can be very intimidating. She is able to detect inconsistencies in testimonies immediately, and she lets the person being questioned know it! Judge Judy has the ability to "read people" very quickly, and determine their veracity as a witness. She also is aware of all the evidence that is presented before her, and is quick to cite inconsistent testimony with the facts. Evidence, especially written evidence, is very difficult to dispute in court; verbal "dancing around" usually won't sway a judgment when the facts are before experienced judicial eyes.

Currently, the newest scandal surrounding the Obama administration is "Fast and Furious". For those who are not familiar with this, it involves the Justice Department's involvement supplying weapons to criminals in South America in order to track their whereabouts; a really stupid idea! As this scandal unfolded, America has seen it connected to the murders of several people, including members of the law enforcement community!

The whole idea of supplying weapons to members of organized crime is ludicrous and could only lead to a bad end. Oddly, this same administration continues to try to put handcuffs on our 2nd amendment rights!

Eric Holder has stated that he just found out the details of the "Fast and Furious" debacle. I find his statement very difficult to believe; a program involving weapons distribution to criminals would be something he would want to be familiar with from its inception. Now, it seems that several e-mails have been uncovered that show Mr. Holder has known about this program for quite a bit longer than he is admitting to: Hmm...! Could it be possible that Eric Holder is lying?

I think if Eric Holder was in front of Judge Judy, he would have a major problem with his credibility. I have had problems with the way Mr. Holder has supervised the Justice Department for some time now, as he has chosen to ignore voter intimidation without flinching. If it is proven that Mr. Holder had prior involvement with this scandal and is lying to hide this, then there is only one option for Barack Obama; fire Holder! If Mr. Obama doesn't fire Holder, then he must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I don't think America wants a LIAR for our Attorney General!

"He's No Sinatra!"

I like Frank Sinatra very much; just ask my wife! I listen to his music and I find no singer, past or current, that can hold a candle to his voice (apologies to Tony Bennett). One of my favorite songs is "My Way", a no apology ballad from a man who is talking about the life he led and the decisions he made over the course of the years. During the song he admits to making mistakes, yet he refuses to let his mistakes overtake the victories of his life. This song is much like another song called "A Very Good Year", where the subject is the course of a man from early adulthood to the "autumn years" with a soft fondness that comes with the perspective of age. As I have become older, I have a better understanding of the lyrics in those songs. What I admire about those songs is the willingness of the singer to take responsibility for the life he has led, placing blame on no one.

We are now living in a society which, in most cases, refuses to take responsibility for most of its actions. We have seen countless instances of young women who have been deserted by men to raise children who were conceived out of wedlock; you know "baby daddies" who have abandoned their children. Whenever things don't go as planned, the people responsible for the failures seldom own up to their guilt; it is always someone else's fault!

Thirty-four months ago Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America. For the first 24 months of his term, Mr. Obama had a "stacked deck" in both houses of Congress, a virtual "rubber stamp" for his programs. His Obama-care bill was a strictly partisan vote, which the American people had rejected in the polls by approximately 70%. Stimulus packages and bail-outs were, for the most part, voted in on party lines. Things have yet to improve under the leadership of Barack Obama. The first two years of his reign are the ones that have done the most damage to the American economy, while the Democrats held all the cards. There are no valid excuses to cast the blame anywhere but in the lap of Barack Obama!

Mr. Obama is now saying things have not gotten any better in the last 34 months, and he is blaming the Republicans! Although Mr. Obama had the whip-hand of Congress for two years, with a heavy Democratic majority, he continues to run from responsibility for HIS mistakes.

As an American, I'm tired of Barack Obama's incessant refusal to admit he has done anything wrong. At first, it was the "George Bush's Fault Show"; now it is the "Republicans in Congress Show"; when in reality it is "The Barack Obama Comedy of Errors Show", and he is the star! A real man owns up to his errors, he doesn't cast blame on others; that's what a REAL MAN does!

"Hide!! Monsters!! Run!!!"

Before I had my two dogs, Simon & Garfunkel, I had Charlie. In the past, I have written about Charlie; he really was my "best friend" of the four-legged variety. Charlie was impressive, tipping the scale near 120 lbs., yet he didn't have a vicious bone in his body. Oh he had a big bark that could scare anybody, but all he really wanted to do was "get the ball" and play endlessly. This giant Labrador made me laugh on many occasions, because as big as he was, he was scared to death of any loud noises, and he would either climb up on my lap, or hide behind the commode in our bathroom as soon as thunder sounded, or a firecracker went off. Charlie was a giant coward when it came to noise.

When I was young, about six or seven, I used to watch "Shock Theatre" on Saturday night; and it scared the pants off of me; horror classics like "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" were the show's regular fare. After the movie was over, I would hide under my covers in anticipation of some unnamed monster that would come during the night to get me. When you're five or six years old, it's okay to be scared by "monsters"; it doesn't apply to well for adults.

Next November, a big "monster" is coming to Washington; the "Election of 2012"; and it is pretty scary for quite a few politicians. A few weeks ago President Obama made his job and tax proposal to a joint session of Congress, and was quite verbose about its immediate passage. The media said he used the phrase "pass it now" seventeen times during the speech urging its passage quickly. Oddly, it seems nobody in Congress is very anxious to pass this program. It seems the program is just another "stimulus" and "tax the rich" bill. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are jumping up and down in excitement over additional "stimulus and taxes", especially during an upcoming election season. In fact, no Democrat of note has endorsed Obama's plan; they are "hiding under the covers" hoping it will go away! Obama's plan is just warmed over rhetoric that isn't flying well with the general public. As Obama's approval ratings are plummeting, most of his fellow politicians are very wary of connecting themselves to any Obama policies. More and more economic experts are condemning this "new" proposal, saying it is a recipe for a double-dip recession; something America cannot stand.

November 2012 is coming very quickly, and the upcoming election isn't the only "monster" out there; unchanged unemployment numbers and falling GNP are also stalking the current administration. It may be time for Barack Obama to get out from "under the covers" and "hide under the bed", because THE MONSTERS ARE COMING TO GET YOU!!