I'm tanned...I'm rested...I'm back!

OK, maybe I'm not tanned or rested, but at least I'm back. Greetings all! Boy it has been a while.

I have been threatening to get this fired back up since January, and though there has been plenty to talk about, I wanted to give Obama and his administration a chance to show me what they can do. If I were to nit pick every move, how would I be any better than the people I loathe like Keith Olberman, Rush Limbaugh, Rachael Madow or Anne Coulter? People who blindly follow the left or right agenda without any variance I tend to distrust.

That being said, I think I have a good idea now of what we are in for over the next three years, ten months, one week and three days. More of the same. That's what we will get. Partisan politics plain and simple. Sure the winner of the battles will be different. The outcomes will be different. But the losers remain the same.

Who loses? The American people, that's who.

Anybody who was not a left wing nut and bought into the "Hope" and "Change" rhetoric, I feel bad for them. I really do. How lost must they feel right now? These folks have seen a president who promised bi-partisanship continue to be the same left wing partisan he was in his days in the Senate.

Now I know there are still the ObaManiacs who have yet to come down form his historic victory in November and his luxurious coronation...I mean inauguration...in January. I have spoken to those folks and I know they will disagree with most everything I type here today, tomorrow or the next day. In fact my entire point of view probably offensive to them. Oh well. That's one of the things that makes America so great.

But I digress. Not that bi-partisanship really matters. Republican or Democrat its all the same to me, these are just synonyms for corrupt politician. How can anybody expect us to take either side serious when they are so similar.

8500 earmarks! Wow the Dems are really sticking it to us! Right Sean Hannity? No matter that 40% of the pork was requested by the GOP. No need to get bogged down in the details. Do the American people need to know that the GOP control 41% of the congressional seats and they requested and almost equal amount of the pork per member? Fiscal conservatives? I think not.

Not that the pork even matters. I am most concerned with the 8% budget increases being approved. You and I are being asked by our leaders to live on less and to tighten our belts, why cant they? Hypocrites!

Now, more than ever, we need leaders. Not charismatic empty suits who are easily lead around by Nancy Pelosi. That woman is Satan. (I admit I have blinders on about her. We all have people in our lives who we cannot see the good in even if they saved a bus load of kindergartners from a fire, she is mine.)

We need leaders like Evan Bayh and the "Blue Dog" coalition he is putting together to kill this pork ridden spending bill. He is my hero of 2009 so far.

Be well everyone! It's good to be back!
Erik

Going on post election/holiday hiatus...

I'll be back in 2009, bigger and better than ever! Have a great holiday season everyone!

What now?

It's time to turn the page and start a new chapter. The election chapter is over and my candidate did not win. That's life. Where do I go from here? I now enter into a weird place. For those of you who know me, you know I have strong beliefs in my own opinions. However, stronger than that is my love for this country.

What does that mean then? Well. simply put, I hope I am wrong about Barak Obama. I care more about my country than I care about being right. I believe he is the most divisive character to come into the national scene in a very long time. I also believe he is one of the most liberal people in national politics. I believe he is the most partisan person in Washington. I believe he is corrupt. I believe he is a liar. And the scariest part, I don't believe we have seen the worst of him yet.

I believe all of these things and yet, I pray I am wrong about all of these beliefs.

God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com

PS- Choosing Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff is not a good first step. He is a Chicago politician with a history of being a pit bull against Republicans and he is a former Fannie Mae board member. Oye vey!

My mother always says...

Two things I like to refer back to when I feel like I'm being challenged...

1) Things happen for a reason.

2) God only gives you as much as you can handle.

I have given these two things a lot of thought recently. How are they relevant to today's political and social climate?

Well, what reason can I come up with for the impending disaster that is the Obama/Pelosi/Reid three headed monster? Perhaps the reason for this is because we need to be reminded as a country what is important to us. We have lost our way, but not in the way Barak Obama is implying (OK, lying) to you about.

We have lost our way because we have become a "me too" society. We not only believe that we should keep up with the Joneses but that if we are unable to keep up on our own, that the Joneses should subsidize our ability to keep up with them. Why? How does this make any sense?

What if you were the Joneses? How would this effect your perspective?

More importantly, would you be more or less motivated to make the sacrifice, take the risk and put in the work to be come one of the Joneses?

This is the problem. The redistribution of wealth thru tax policy demotivates people. There needs to be more motivation to achieve great things and I believe Obama's agenda is counterproductive to this end. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he ill eat for a life time. We need more fishermen. Fishermen create jobs. Fishermen create wealth. Fishermen pay taxes. The more Fishermen we have the more total tax revenue there is.

What made the Clinton presidency "successful?" It had a lot to do with the fact the Reagan/Bush policies created more Fishermen. More companies being built. More wealth being earned. More investment.

Personally, I want to fish. I don't want the government to feed me. But that's just me. I'm selfish.

So maybe, just maybe, the Obamanation will help people see we need to get back to fundamentals. Maybe this is the reason we need him now. And hopefully my mom is right, Obama will not burden us with more than we can handle.

God Bless America,
EG

Spread the wealth...

I wish someone would explain to me...

How U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick, when dismissing the case against Barak Obama requesting to have is birth records released, 'ruled that (Phillip) Berg lacked standing to bring the case, saying any harm from an allegedly ineligible candidate was "too vague and its effects too attenuated to confer standing on any and all voters?"'

What?

Now, as I'm sure the Obama campaign would agree, I don't really think this is the type of thing we should be discussing a week before the election. There are many more pressing issues to consider. However, I am offended by the implication that any voter lacks standing to question the eligibility of any candidate. The arrogance of the judge offends me at my core. The arrogance of the Obama campaign offends me more.

Do I believe Obama is a natural born citizen? Yes. Do I believe his actions are above suspicion? No.

Why is this even an issue? Give up the documents, prove you are who you say you are and be done with it. And while you are at it, release your school records. What do you have to hide? The unknown is making me ill.

We are about to elect a president whose actions indicate he believes he doesn't have to explain himself to anyone. He refuses to sit for tough interviews. Whats worse, his gestapo threatens anyone who asks tough questions. (See Joe the plumber.)

John McCain is far from perfect. But with John, at least I feel like I know what I am getting.

God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com

Trick or Treat at Barak's House