"I Know a Guy!"

Have you ever heard the term "I know somebody"? It is usually used in "under the table" deals in politics. I've also heard the saying, "I got a guy"; which translates into; "I know a person of influence who can get me "special favors" (wink and nod)". Illinois and Louisiana are famous for some unusual politics: this type of "wheeling and dealing" politics is very familiar to those of us who grew up in the Chicago area. Doors close and problems go away, but nobody knows how it works. Jobs and contracts are handed out like candy on Halloween in return for political favors to be redeemed at a later date; that is all about the use of public money in a corrupt administration. What could be worse than that? Perhaps it is hiding a criminal act, or giving special privilege to someone you know is in violation of the law.

I am retired and Social Security is a large part of my income. I am not alone in this; millions of American senior citizens depend on Social Security. I believe only legitimate American citizens should be entitled to Social Security. I've been paying into Social Security for fifty years; I needed a Social Security Card to get my first job, everybody in America had to do the same thing. As I stated earlier, only legitimate American citizens should have a Social Security Card; not criminal illegal aliens!

Last week, in Framingham Massachusetts, a man was arrested for drunken driving; not just any man, his name is Onyango Obama. Yes, my fellow Americans, it is the President's uncle, who, by the way, is an illegal alien! Upon his arrest, Onyango said he wanted to call the White House! In his possession was a valid driver's license and Social Security card; not forgeries. After being charged, it was found out that previous orders for deportation had been removed (that's strange). The White House has refused comment about the President's uncle; I wonder why?

When will this unethical behavior stop? Obama will probably deny any knowledge of his uncle's special treatment, or his possession of illegal documents. Those on the left will make excuses for this type of "Chicago Politics" coming from the White House. I want America to be a place where you don't have to "know a guy" for fair and honest treatment; even if that guy is the President of the United States! I'm on a fixed income, and I don't know a guy and I won't be getting a cost of living increase this year; so I don't want any criminal illegal aliens on MY SOCIAL SECURITY!!

"He's Not So Dumb!"

Is it difficult to fly an aircraft? I've seen the inside of jet aircraft; and there are a lot of gauges and dials in there. I'll bet if you don't know what every one of those dials and gauges mean, you could be in quite a bit of trouble when something went wrong. I'll bet you'd have to be pretty smart to understand all that stuff, and I'll bet the government is pretty careful about who they allow to operate those aircraft. I'll bet you don't have much time to react when things do go wrong in a jet fighter; and I'll bet you spend a lot of time training, just in case bad things happen.

I'll bet it's not easy to get a degree from Harvard. I'll bet you can't really be stupid and slide through Harvard. Jack Kennedy went to Harvard; he was a pretty smart guy. A lot of pretty smart guys graduated from Harvard. Barack Obama graduated from Harvard; we all know how smart he is (after all ,the left keeps telling us so). Oh, by the way, George Bush is a Harvard graduate, and a qualified fighter pilot. Hmm..., George may not be as dumb as those folks on the left keep saying.

The leftists love to assassinate the character of their opponents! For eight years, those on the left made a career by criticizing the intelligence of George W. Bush. The gentleman that our former President is, prohibited him from acting in kind toward his critics; a sign of REAL INTELLIGENCE. I respect the fact that George W. Bush remained presidential even after he left office; he is a "class act".

Well, my fellow Americans, it didn't take long for the left to attack Rick Perry. What is the first thing they attacked; his intelligence! POLITICO has made the remark that Rick Perry is "dumb". This man they claim to be dumb has been the Governor of Texas since 2000, and is the longest serving current governor in the United States. Is it possible that Texas voters like "dumbbells" in office; I don't think so! Texas unemployment is currently at 8.2%, well below the national average of 9.54%. Texas has NO Income Tax; yet, they are prospering in a bad economy, regardless of the "bad luck". Maybe that "Dumb Guy" knows what he's doing; unlike a smart guy in Washington! Perry is a graduate of Texas A&M University, and was a member of the Corps of Cadets while he attended. Perry attained the rank of Captain in the Air Force; not an easy task for even a smart guy.

Rick Perry is the current front runner for the Republican nomination for President, and the left is worried. The public has taken an instant liking to Rick Perry and his straight talk and fiscally responsible approach to government. This is a major worry to Barack Obama as he tries to sell "bad luck" as a reason for his dismal failure during the last two-plus years. All that remains for the left is name calling and character destruction of opponents. It becomes more evident every day that Barack Obama is indefensible when we examine his policies. Perhaps, we need a "Dumb Guy" who is doing the right things; instead of a "smart guy" who keeps "screwing-up by the numbers!!

"Obama's Hypocrisy!"

Have any of you worked for a company that was having a bad year and you received no annual increase in your salary? I worked for a very large corporation in Chicago for many years. Over the course of my employment, the company fell on some hard times; it had its first layoff since its inception while I worked there. I remember twice during my tenure that we received no yearly increase; this was across the board, including supervisors and executives. Everybody bit the bullet during those rough patches. It is never easy to accept the fact that you aren't going to get that expected raise; food, fuel, educational cost for your children, all these things go up every year. When your salary doesn't go up, you are going to have to make some hard decisions.

I am now retired; I make a little "pin money" working as a crossing guard at our local elementary school. I like my little job; the kids are all cute and fun, and the people at the school are all friendly and helpful. I have been on Social Security for two plus years. Many of my friends have been on Social Security much longer than I. There has been no cost of living increase for the last two years; now, the Barack Obama administration has decided to freeze Social Security for three more years. The budget is busting, and we must all make sacrifices, even us "old folks".

Oddly, there are some folks who aren't making those "tough decisions" as much as fixed income seniors. Here are some people whose names you may not know, but you are paying their salaries: Matthew Vogel, assistant to Barack Obama, just got his annual increase from $71,400 to $130,500; Heather Zichal, assistant to Barack Obama, just got an increase from $100,000 to $140,000; Kevin Lewis, African American media advisor, just got an increase from$42,000 to $78,000! THIS IS A PARTIAL LIST!! This entire list shows increases from 17% to 83% in salaries to Washington "public servants". I guess they aren't having as much "bad luck" as the rest of us!

Americans aren't afraid of some "belt tightening" during a bad time; but this obvious disparity of treatment for Washington insiders is unconscionable and hypocritical on the part of the Barack Obama administration. Every day, we go to the grocery store or filling station and face a new challenge as to how we will make ends meet, and Barack Obama makes sure his political machine gets "their end " of public money!

America, we should not turn a blind eye to this "unscrupulous and unethical" practice by the Obama administration. If you are over 62,you should remember this action next November; if you are planning to get older than 62 some time in your life, you should remember this next November. If you don't want to enforce hypocrisy, you need to remember this next November! I'm sure happy everybody doesn't have to suffer from America's "BAD LUCK"!

"Back- Door Amnesty Back-Fires on Obama!"

I have done many articles about my family. My grandparents came through Ellis Island in New York at the turn of the 20th century, as did their sisters and brothers. I have written articles about the pride my family had in becoming American citizens and about how they felt about being able to vote for the President. At the turn of the 20th century, there was no welfare; no public assistance and no food stamps. The government had no system of loans to immigrants for starting their own business; there was no ACLU telling people what they shouldn't do in a public meeting; you know, like praying. When these people came to America they risked everything on the possibility of success in this great nation. They couldn't get public housing; they usually ended up in an ethnic neighborhood with cold water plumbing and a shared bath. Some, like my grandparents, left a sunny agrarian community to go to a smoky and polluted city where few understood their words. Most of them did their best to become good Americans; some turned to lesser endeavors. The main thing they all did was to enter this country legally; and respect its laws!

America has been under an infestation from our southern border for several decades. Drug dealers are holding parts of our southern border hostage; border agents and police officers have been and are being murdered regularly by these animals. Private citizens must live in an armed camp on their own property because of the fear of attack from these criminal illegal aliens. Beyond the drug dealers, we also have been infected by the worst elements of the rest of those illegals; drunks and gang members who wreak havoc all across America. They have come across the border with zero job skills to become a drag on our welfare system, and our tax dollars are being used to send their children to our schools. There are, at last estimate, approximately 20 million criminal illegal aliens in America.

Here is one example of what is happening in the United States on a daily basis: Nicholas Dutan Guaman, an illegal alien, got drunk in Milford, Massachusetts last week. While this criminal was driving around, he ran down a young man, Matthew Denice, 23 years of age. He was hit and DRAGGED near to a quarter of a mile to his death. Mr. Guaman did not have a driver's license, but he did have open liquor in his vehicle. It is unclear as to whether he was employed; he is here illegally from Ecuador. Nothing has been said about a previous criminal record.

I would like to take this time to thank Barack Obama for making it easier for people like Mr. Guaman to remain in the United States. I'm sure the parents of Mr. Denice would also like to congratulate our President, on once again taking the needs and wants of criminals over those of legitimate citizens. The blood of this young man belongs to Barack Obama! Every time this happens, it is because our President thinks less of legal citizens than he does of border jumping criminals; or perhaps, he sees them as potential voters!

"It's Time to Act!"

How many chances does someone get before the chances run out? In baseball you get three strikes; then you're out! In football; you get four downs, then you turn the ball over! There is a limit to the amount of chances we are allowed in sporting contests. In a boxing match, you must get up before the referee counts to ten or the fight is over! When we were little kids, we would always plea for another chance when we were caught doing something wrong; "Please, Please, Please!!" was a pretty common request from all of us as we were growing up. My parents were unrelenting; your last chance was your last chance.

Before WWII, Hitler was allowed to walk into Sudetenland; then he walked into Austria and all of Czechoslovakia; he was given quite a few chances before he marched into Poland. Only after multiple acts of aggression did the world decide to do something to stop him. Some clicked their collective tongues, but little else was done to slow down the march of the THIRD REICH! Had some of the world leaders done something early; and this includes the United States, Herr Hitler would have been vanquished years before the deaths of millions of innocents.

Over the last several years, Iran has been pursuing nuclear weapons under the cloak of trying to achieve more domestic power plants. George Bush knew about Iran's nuclear ambitions, and he was concerned; little was done AGAIN. The United Nations has also been concerned; once again, little has been done!

This week, Iran has shown U.N. inspectors their advanced nuclear equipment; much more sophisticated than equipment needed for power plants; more suited for nuclear warhead production! This was Iran's way of GIVING THE FINGER to the U.N. and the United States. This is also a gigantic red flag for Israel. Remember that statement by their lunatic leader; "Try to imagine a world without Israel!"; he is on his way to accomplish that!

Sanctions are CRAP; they don't work against a lunatic religious zealot! It may be too late to stop this fanatic, and Israel is in imminent danger. We have been tepid in our support of Israel; this is a huge error on our President's part. The only way to calm those waters is to present a show of force in support to our only real friend in the Middle-East. If we don't, one morning we will wake up to headlines about a nuclear attack against Israel from Iran: THEN IT WILL BE TOO LATE!!

"He Just Plays The President!"

As a nation, we assign a certain air of wisdom to people in the entertainment industry. We watched Martin Sheen on the "West Wing", and many people thought he was more qualified to be president than the man holding the office. Many of you might have seen Jimmy Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", and thought he was the man you would like to see in Congress (in this case you may be right). Spencer Tracey starred in "The Last Hurrah", about a machine politician who finds integrity in his final campaign; a victory of conscience. Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for his role in "All the Kings Men", a veiled biography of Huey Long. Crawford was compelling as the young politician who was corrupted by the system, and ultimately became the greatest corrupter of all. We have watched these performances and enjoyed them. What many of us fail to understand is the words spoken on the screen don't belong to those actors; they belong to the writers. It seems the actors of today have taken their screen influence and used it to promote some pretty bad choices. A little knowledge is a bad thing; Michael Moore is proof of that. Sean Penn and Danny Glover are also examples of people who really don't know who they are supporting. These two screen icons are huge fans of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela; an oppressive dictator that masquerades as a democratic leader. I'm sure there are many people in America that believe what Glover and Penn are endorsing as good.

Well, my fellow Americans, guess who is upset about the impending ouster of Moamar Qadaffi; yes, it is Hugo Chavez. Chavez says the United States and NATO had no business interfering in Libya's political turmoil; therefore, we must surmise that Glover and Penn also disapprove of America's involvement in aiding the rebel forces in the removal of this backer of terrorism and murder.

We must be very careful about who receives our trust. Most, not all, actors are engaged in a giant game of "Let's Pretend"; that is what acting is! Some actors are legitimate students of our Constitution, most are not. We are better served listening to historians rather than actors when making informed decisions. Actors do make some impact on history; remember John Wilkes Booth?

"Alone in Iran!"

One of the worst feelings we can have is loneliness: that feeling of abandonment; when you have no one around you, and no one seems to care about you, is something none of us desire. I remember sitting on a listening post in the middle of the night; all you have for company is the sky and animal noises in the trees; if you're lucky, you will have a full moon to give you some light; otherwise, it is blackness. The next post may be 200 meters away, and your base camp just as far; but it feels like miles. You became a prisoner of your thoughts; countless scenarios go through your mind, and thoughts of home are dreamlike.

I don't know what it is like in prison; I imagine it must be horrible. You are never alone, yet those who surround you cannot be trusted and are extremely dangerous. You are alone in a crowd. Sometimes innocent people are sent to prison by mistake; their terror must be multiplied a hundred fold. The self knowledge of innocence, yet being trapped must be agonizing. The mind set of no one will help me, is enough to push an innocent person to the edge of sanity.

Imagine yourself on a vacation; on a hiking trip in an area so primitive you cannot find any identifying landmarks to guide you as to your location. Suddenly, you are arrested as a SPY! You are powerless; at the mercy of a hostile government. This took place in July of 2009, as three young people who were hiking the hills in Iraq were captured by Iranian troops, when they accidentally crossed the border. One young girl and two young men were imprisoned.

The two young men have been convicted of espionage; Shane Baur and Josh Fattal were sentenced to a total of eight years in Iranian prison. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said she was "deeply disappointed" by the prison sentences. She added "We continue to call and work for their immediate release...". I remember the 444 days when Jimmy Carter had hostages in Iran; I remember the frustration of many Americans over Mr. Carter and his limp-wristed attempts to resolve that situation. I know these young people feel abandoned; this cannot be allowed to drag on. I hope Mr. Obama has it in him to be more forceful than Jimmy Carter on this issue. Those are young Americans, surrounded by hatred, with nowhere to turn but him. We need a little more Reagan, and a lot less Carter, Mr. Obama. Show us some strength!