Issues of the Day

2012-01-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

Life's small pleasures.......

The last place Helen and I had dinner out before I took ill eighteen months ago is a medium sized Portuguese restaurant in Fall River, Massachusetts. Caldeiras Restaurant is now our favorite place to dine out.

We had a de ja vu all over again today. Helen persuaded me it was finally time to get out be normal again. One of our most pleasurable experiences is to occasionally dine out, just the two of us. One of our favorite places is Caldeiras near downtown Fall River. It is also the last place we dined out before Mother Nature intruded in my health and leveled me for the better part of a year and a half.

Caldeiras sprecializes in Portuguese cuisine. You name it they've got it. The food is outstanding. We've never had anything but good meals there. Coupled with outstanding service with a large smile Caldeiras is one place we find we can escape from city living. The moment you enter the restaurant (they have a tavern adjacent to the restaurant) you leave the city behind. Today we were treated to what sounded like the pan flute of Gheorghe Zamfir (yes, the name is spelled correctly). The mood was set within minutes and we were ready to enjoy a well prepared Portuguese meal.

Helen frequently has seafood and I opt for beef. Both were great and the soup was something we both look forward to having, kale soup which is a Portuguese delicacy.

Caldeiras has a good wine list and an excellent dessert menu. Before becoming ill we have dined at Caldeiras often. Come to think of it, it is where we had a family dinner with son in law Jon Rose before he shipped out for duty in Iraq a few years ago. We had most of the family there for the send off dinner and everyone, even the young ones, had a good meal and time.

Now that I'm back on my feet we intend to make the place a regular stop for fine eating.

Tomorrow we'll get back to less pleasant things. Happy eating.

Ciao.......Moe Lauzier

2012-01-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

This and That

~ The debates mercifully are done --- for a while. Time to let the voting do the talking for now.

Voting in Florida is currently ongoing and a great deal of balloting has already occurred. Based on the two Florida debates Newt Gingrich has lost his strong lead versus Mitt Romney. The GOP establishment has fallen into line behind Romney.

Would a loss here bury Gingrich. I think not. A different approach will be necessary, to wit, no more Mr. Nice Guy. The new more feisty Romney has set the tone for now.

With the full court press executed by the GOP Romney needs to win convincingly or his anticipated victory will leave many questions unanswered. A couple of wild cards are how well Ron Paul and Rick Santorum will do. The key players are still Romney and Gingrich.

~ The latest Gross Domestic Report is just out and it ain't good. Real GDP increased 1.7 percent in 2011 , compared to an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010 last year. This has just got to be George Bush's fault.

~ He earns about trenty million a year. Yup, that's what the former Massachusetts Governor said in the debate. Anyone believe Mitt Romney is clueless about how his money is invested? Could I interest you in waters edge land along the Muddy River? Maybe his blind trust isn't so blind.

~ I thought modern luxury liners were un sinkable. Shucks, that's what they said about the Titanic. Galosh.

~ Another day, another great stimulus investment bites the dust. This one an electric car where we lost more than a hundred million smackeroos.

~ Do you recall the old question of whether you are better off than four years ago? Well......are you?

~ Guess who is getting married? None other than Barney Frank. His longtime partner Jim Ready and Barney will tie the knot after a longtime relationship.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

Another Debate Day

Here we go. Another day, another debate. No debate last night and I found myself lost, like a junky in need of a fix. We should get our fill tonight since Newt Gingrich should be loaded for bear. There will be audience participation unlike the sterile show Monday night. Because it will be the last for a few weeks it will be important for the candidates to make their points and make them memorable as well. Unlike the sterile event we had Monday we will be treated to audience participation.

As an observer of this race nothing surprises me. A seriously anti Ronald Reagan person is now trying to make us think he was a Reagan backer back in the day. If I've learned nothing else it is Mitt Romney has chutzpah. You see, the former Massachusetts governor was opposed to Dutch throughout his time in office from 1980 to 1988. In 1994, during his debate with Ted Kennedy and at other times during the senate race, Romney took umbrage at the suggestion he either supported or voted for Reagan. He made it clear in the gubernatorial debate he was not a "Reagan Republican".

The anti conservative sentiments expressed by Romney continued into and throughout his race for governor.

A friend recently disagreed with me that Romney is and in reality always has been a liberal by citing Romney's Mormonism, as though all Mormons are conservative. Nothing could be further from the truth. May I remind you uber-liberal senator Harry Reid of Nevada is a devout Mormon.

In terms of one's religion and politics, a religious affiliation tells us little or nothing about a person's politics. The above mentioned Ted Kennedy and I are/were Catholic. Teddy was almost as liberal as Mitt while I am an adherent of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

It took me longer to get to this than I expected. Mitt Romney is and has always been a liberal, plain and simple. No, that's not a sin, it's just a fact. If Romney can carry out this charade what will be electing, a committed liberal or a newly minted conservative? What are Romney's true political leanings? His record says a strong leftward tilt.

Watch tonight's debate, we may be treated to some interesting fireworks.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

This and That

~ In the do as I say category, Mr. Big Heart B. Obama gave a whopping piece of his income to charity, 1%. Romney 15%. How about Loose Lips Biden, 350 bucks.

~ An item inn the Washington Times sends up a red flag:

"Warren Buffet, whom President Obama likes to cite as a fair-minded billionaire while arguing for higher taxes on the wealthy, stands to benefit from the president’s decision to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline permit."

A you scratch my back and I'll scratch yous proposition.

~ Economics 101..... If you want to kill investment push up the cost of doing business by increasing the penalty for making successful investments. By increasing the capital gains tax to thirty percent you will achieve that goal and drive capital out of the country. Good going Barry.

~ Various news sources are reporting the Post Office will lay off more than a quarter million people. The check is in the mail....Hmmmmmmm.

~ Mitch Daniels looked very presidential in delivering the response to the State of the Union.

~ The words of Ronald Reagan rang true last night --- 'the more the plans fails the more the planners plan."

~ Rasmussen says Gingrich leads 35-26 in Florida. That makes tomorrow's debate a very important item on the road to the nomination. This vote shapes up to be a back breaker for Mitt Romney. A loss here where he has led by as much as 15% would mean he will need to wait nearly a month before evening the score. A Gingrich win would affirm the South Carolina results and gave him time to fund rise and organize for the all important next few primaries, especially Super Tuesday.

~ In the "good news" department, Michelle Bachman will run for a fourth term as a congresswoman from Minnesota. Some of us are pleased she will remain in the Republican spotlight.

~ Gabrielle Giffords said goodbye to the House of Representatives today. It is sad not only because Giffords seems to have been an ethical representative and a decent person but because a two bit punk could dictate to a great country who will represent the people. Assassins bullets have changed the course of our government be it Abe Lincoln or Jack Kennedy and others.

The punk who shot Giffords should never see the light of freedom ever, not even for a minute. The only justice for her assassin is execution. There were a number of people killed that day and but for the Grace of God the congresswoman was spared.

Anything less than death would be a disgrace to justice.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-24T14:28:00.003-05:00

Do politicians lie???????

You bet your boots they do. Which ones???All.....(maybe most...)

Are they all alike? No, some tell little whitelies, some have a habit of inflating their importance while some lie for thesake of it. The worst types do it to gain favor and an "edge" versustheir opponents. Vladimir Lenin pushed the idea to tell a lie so big enoughthat no one would believe it is a lie.

We've had an opportunity to observe some of ourcandidates for president. All but one lies. All are good at it and have thecapacity of doing it with a straight face. Of our current crop of candidatesRon Paul stands alone as a truth teller. I've not caught him in a bold facedlie. He in some ways is close to pure as any candidate could be. On domesticmatters he is a straight arrow and could make a fine president. On foreign affairshe could place us in serious jeopardy thus causing me to cross him off our listpossible votes come Election Day.

I had the pleasure to introduce him at FaneuilHall in Boston when he ran for president in as a Libertarian in 1988. To say the lease I likeRon Paul allot. His son Rand, Senator from Tennessee is a chip off the oldblock. I'd love to have Ron as my congressman and Rand as my senator.

However I cannot vote for Dr. Paul for presidentbecause of his foreign policy stands. Frankly it pains me to say that. Hiscandidacy brings allot to the debate for president and for that I am grateful the old warrior is making one final run.

That brings us to three men from which to choose.The biggest surprise of the bunch is Rick Sasntorum. In this corner the thinkingwas the former senator had played out the string in the Iowa caucus. He beatMitt Romney and exposed Mitt's Achilles heal, something he has yet to overcome.

Ole Mitt usually does not lie or dirty his handsin the fray. Four years ago he played the role of Saint Mitt and allowed his surrogatesto sully the reputations of his opponents. When the chips were down in '08 he rolledup his sleeves and dug up mud to fling and did so with a broad grin. No remorse.So much for his religious piety.

Romney seems like a man with little basic streetinstincts or common sense. Do you remember his taking the family dog for multihundred mile trip--- on the roof of the car? At first the story seems funny butI doubt the Romney family pooch saw the same humor. It must have been like ascene out of the movie Family Vacation.

One other thing about old Mitt. He's noconservative. He didn't even vote for Ronald Reagan and bragged about it duringhis debate with Ted Kennedy in 1994, the same year he refused to sign the Contract with America. There is no instance in his history ofgiving anyone a sense he ever entertained a conservative thought in his life beforedeciding to run for president.

In baseball there is an old adage about some'fancy dan' ball players that they talk a good game. I can't say that aboutRomney. He doesn't even seriously stake out conservative positions.

Romney is only one more entry of theestablishment wing of the GOP. Ole' Mitt is a conservative pretender.

This gets us to Mistah Speekah, Newt Gingrich.

Is he pure? I doubt it. Frankly he has alwayshad a bit of the rogue in him. I suspect he would accept that characterization.

First his weakness. He was the consummate armtwister and showed a propensity of living and working close to the edge. Newtis an old fashioned arm twister. Arm twisters make enemies. In his four yearspeakership he made plenty of enemies. I understand there was a run on steeltoed shoes while he was speaker. because he didn't shy away from stepping on toes. Sortof a throwback to previous speakers. Tip O'Neill for example was no shrinkingviolet. Ditto for the fabled Joe Martin (1940s from Massachusetts).

Gingrich's personal life is a fertile hunting groundfor any character assassin. While he has had three wives, he says he has foundGod and turned to religion for strength. He is now a practicing Catholic whohas made his peace with the Almighty. Is he telling the truth? Your guess is asgood as mine. What's the old saw let he who is without sin throw the firstboulder. Sinner take my sinner's hand.

Gingrich is a throwback to another era. Aspresident he could be another Teddy Roosevelt, at least the TR of his time aspresident. Hard right conservative? No. Certainly a solid record however.Gingrich strikes me as being a pragmatist not wedded to a particular orthodoxy.

Can Newt Gingrich, baggage and all be electedpresident? I don't know. One thing is for sure, the old rules are out thewindow. We no longer have to kiss the posteriors of a few big publishers or TVnetworks. The Internet and Cable TV have changed the entire scene and it seemsGingrich has learned how to navigate in these unchartered waters.

Could we envision Newt Gingrich as the Presidentof the United States? Sure, why not.

Last night's debate was a draw at worst for theSpeaker. The next debate should be telling. It may be the turning point for therest of the campaign.

Time for a nap. C ya tomorrow.

Ciao…….Moe

2012-01-23T16:23:00.002-05:00

This and That.......

~ It's the New England Patriots and the New Jersey Giants in the Super Bowl......again.....bring it on.

~ The owners of the Costa Concordia demonstrated a sincere concern for their customers by offering a discount on future trips with them. Bets are good there's not a rush to the ticket window.

~ We have a sinking feeling the situation with Iran is worsening rather than being resolved. Letting this get out of control could lead to a shut down of the Straights of Hormuz. Iran's Mullahs are nutty enough to bring everyone down with them in one glorious ball of fire.

~ Headline in this morning's Drudge Report - NEWT EATS THE PRESS...... Gotta love it.

~ President Obama said in a statement the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade makes it clear that the government "should not intrude on private of family matters. That's Obama Speak for allowing abortion as a means for freeing up our daughters from the scourge of pregnancy by converting their own body to become the death chamber of their babies. The president has such a way with words.

~ We just bought our soda and popcorn in preparation for tonight's latest GOP presidential debate. I'm beginning to like this stuff --- great entertainment.

~ Representative Gabrielle Giffords announced on her face book page Sunday that she will resign from the congress this week. It's a shame she is stepping down. It's a shame for her and her district she will take this action but the people of her district have a right to full-time representation. It further shame that a pinhead could do the harm he did. We wish her the best in whatever she chooses to do. God Bless her.

~ Is the occupy Wall Street crowd planning a Spring Offensive? We bet they will try. Something tells us we'll be better prepared this time. Maybe we should present them with a bill for repairs and cleanup costs before they are allowed to "occupy" again.

~ Very funny line in Newsmax --- "A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway." Even the nutty leaders of Iran don't believe Allah could stop a carrier. Sort of like a like a mouse attacking a cat's tail.

~ Crazy thought for today --- How long before BHO takes credit for approving the Keystone project? The pressure from the labor unions is intensifying. When the Obama spine turns to mush (it's just a matter of time) he'll cave. When he caves he'll blather about with something like he was only concerned with public safety. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

~ Is it the end of the line for the Celtics' big three? The team looks slow and disorganized. Could it be the end of the road for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett? The short time they were together they gave us many "Celtics" moments. Could they put together a serious run? Maybe, we can hope.

C ya tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-22T12:20:00.001-05:00

Good Morning.......

If your name is Newt it is a very good morning indeed.

I won't try to bore you with data and the like about yesterday's rout, the numbers speak for themselves. Heck Mr. Speekah even won the married woman's vote. If yesterday's action was a boxing match the fight would have ended after the first round with Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Utah mauler spread out on the canvas. One solid right hand punch did it. It was then tweetie birds and stars. There was little punch in Romney's mit(t).

Ron Paul heads for caucus states while the star gazer, Newt and the coal miner's son head to Florida.

Mitt has Romney on the ropes and this becomes a "must win" situation for him. Another Gingrich rout and it's back to the boardroom for Romney.

If I were to be calling the shots for the Gingrich campaign I'd privately be helping Rick Santorum stay in the race. That allows those voters who need more convincing Gingrich is the real ticket to ride a neutral place to park their votes without the need to hold their collective noses to vote Romney.

Another good reason to keep Santorum in the race is he could be an excellent choice for vice president. Sure there are some super stars Gingrich could select such as Florida's Senator Marco Rubio, but Santorum has developed a reputation as a straight shooter and would likely be a bulldog as a veep candidate. Besides, who would you bet on in a veep debate with Joe Biden. That fight might need to be stopped in the first round....TKO for Santorum.

Gingrich-Santorum? Yup, we could handle that.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-21T16:54:00.001-05:00

Barry and Nelson Redux.......

I cut my teeth in politics for the first time in 1952 when I was ten. My dad ran for the state senate from Fall River, Massachusetts. That year he lost 55/45 in a 10 to one Democrat district. Republicans customarily lost there by 9 and 10 to one margins. Even the fabled Joe Martin, then US Speaker of the House, lost in the city though he carried the congressional district because the suburbs in the region were heavily Republican.

In that same year (1952) Dwight Eisenhower visited Fall River and I got to ride in an open car with the then future president along with my Dad. It was a heady experience for a young boy. Dad had run for the state senate in 1948 and 1950 as well and had about the same results. After that the dye was cast.

My early experience in political life was normal. A young boy with his heart in baseball and not politics was the order of the time. Baseball now coexists with my interest in politics. As time went on my love affair with first the Boston Braves and then the Red Sox was cemented while my political orientation came on more slowly.

1960 was a real challenge because most of my friends were in support of John Kennedy for president. I was hooked on Richard Nixon. None of that mattered since in 1960 neither me or my pals could vote anyway (the lowering of the voting age to 18 had not yet happened.

By 1964 I had finally come of voting age. Like this year, 1964 was a seminal year. Initially the race for president occupied my thoughts. Early on I had decided not to vote for Lyndon Johnson. The remaining choices were limited. There was Henry Cabot Lodge, Margaret Chase Smith, the venerable Harold Stassen who was a perennial presidential candidate, Nelson Rockefeller and ultimately Barry Goldwater who challenged the GOP status quo.

Goldwater's nomination came against the entire GOP establishment. It was known not so fondly as the Eastern Establishment. My understanding is the so called establishment peaked in 1948 with the nomination of New York Governor Thomas Dewey. It was the precursor of the of the current GOP division of which Mitt Romney is the current representative of the establishment. The establishment is neither liberal or conservative. I can't describe what it is with any certainty. The former Massachusetts governor has been running for president since 1994 when he was an extreme liberal. I suspect he feels he has a date with destiny going back to his father's failed attempt in 1968.

George Romney was always bitter because the question of his foreign birth (in Mexico) was a dis qualifier from the mandatory "native born" admonition of the US Constitution.

Thanks to the efforts of the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the 2012 election shapes up as possibly the most important election of my lifetime. We are at a crossroad.

Until the last few days I was unsure of who to go with for president. Romney has only one qualification for president, to wit, he is not Obama. Would Romney be better than the current White House occupant. Yes, by all means. If Barrack Obama is a broken leg then Romney would be a sprained ankle.

If not Romney then who? A personal acquaintance Ron Paul is probably the cleanest and most honest of the bunch, however age and positions on some foreign policy matters will keep him from a serious chance at the nomination.

Well then, how about Rick Santorum? He's not a bad choice but the question is whether he can put on a national race. My guess is no.

How about the bruised and bloodied Newt Gingrich. Three wives not withstanding he could be the best chance of electing a committed conservative to the presidency.

So there we are with choices, none of which are perfect.

Then again I am reminded Ronald Reagan was divorced and remarried, Jack Kennedy had a gaggle of beauties wearing out the entry mat at the White House and when I traveled the East Coast many many establishments gleefully pronounced "Washington slept here".

So now all eyes are on South Carolina. A solid Gingrich win could set the stage for a marathon.`A poor performance could spell doom for Rick Santorum.

Voting has been going on for a few days so far and the effect of Gingrich's drubbing of Romney in the debates in Carolina will not be reflected in Florida.

The polls close in a couple of hours in The Palmetto State and the race to the nomination will get very serious.

Have a good weekend

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-20T14:49:00.000-05:00

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!!!

What's the difference between John Kerry, John Edwards, and Newt Gingrich?

Kerry was (is?) a jiggolo who is a master of finding wealthy women to keep him. How often has that been mentioned about him let's say by ABC? Think hard? I thought so. Nuttin, nadda, zilch.

Then there is the Kerry wingman Edwards who was dipping his pen in an inkwell not his own while his wife was dyeing from cancer. As the French say, quelle homme (my Granddad would have said "maudi cochon").

Now we come to the handling of the Gingrich affair (no pun intended). Is he innocent as a choirboy? Heck no. I wouldn't want him at our front door to pick up one of our dsaughters to go on a date. That would have been true because Gingrich is at best perfidious. He may have/had an strong libido. I have no clue.

So what is the difference between the three (besides the obvious)? One has expressed contrition and publically acknowledged wrongdoing and asked for absolution for his sins. The other two are unrepentant jiggalos. Sometimes we can't tell, as the line in Finnian's

Rainbow says, "Which witch is which?"

Newt's knocking at the front door. My shotgun is behind that door but my daughter has expressed a desire to go on a date with him. She is old enough to be careful with this fellow who is a known and confirmed jiggolo. He promisses to be straight with her but he is now seeking my approval.

My wife reminds me of Ronald Reagan's admonition of "trust but vesrify".

I think she's right.

Republicans are faced with four choices, three of which I could live with. The fourth choice concerns me tremendously. Yes, yes, yes, I'd vote for number four ahead of the Great Pretender currentlyy inhabiting the White House. He and his sidekick from Deleware have already disrupted American life beyond anything many of us thought possible by any president.

Frankly I feel disgtraced for standing by as Barrack Obama and his useful idiot sidekick Joe Biden have singlehandidly dismantled that which has been nurtered for more than two centuries.

Was/is America perfect? Heck no. While we're at, is is there any other place on earth to drop your anchor? Not on your tintype. This is the only place on Earth to be.

If the Georgia Bulldog gets out of hand we can reign him in. Ditto for the Pennsylvania senator (who won last night's debate). In Ron Paul you get exactly what he says he is. Paul however may have a better chance at the presidency than I have which is somewhere between very slim, and none.

That gets us to the chamaleon. Big Dig Romney is a wild, wild card. What would he be as president. Frankly only his hair dresser really knows.

Now for the political reality. Either Gingrich wins today or the Elerphant can fold up his tent. The choice tomorrow is clear, Mr. Polident or Mr. Rumples.

It feels good to get back to saying what I think. I hope to see you over the weekend and we can wring our hands together and then prepare for the Pats big day.

Ciao.......Moe

2012-01-19T13:12:00.001-05:00

Hello,

Yup, it's me. Alive and well to.

My major health issues are behind me, we think way behind.

I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. As of yesterday the last of my serious health issues are behind me. With that in mind I think I'll be able to post from time to time.

For the record there are no major issues before me. The most difficult thing I must deal with is my vision and how it affects my ability to read. That has slowed me dramatically. I'll be following up with that problem shortly.

In the meantime I will endeavor to publish as often as possible. I'm not in a position to predict how often you'll find a new issues piece.

The "issues of the day" are compelling and I'll try to be as up to date as possible with them. The presidential race is getting very interesting and is chockablock full of happenings which cry our for commentary.

I spoke with my honey Helen about the fact we still have a large number of you logging on regularly is heartening. If I have as few as one of you here I'll gleefully post often. To put it mildly I am humbled by the number of you still visiting here regularly.

My intention is to continue with blogger as our meeting place because of its simplicity to post as well as read. Any thoughts you may have concerning that will be helpful in finalizing my thinking on the matter. Please writer me at mvl270@yahoo.com .

There, the ice is broken and I feel much better now.

God willing I'll have something for you tomorrow. We plan to watch the debate tonight and it will likely provide material for our post.

Thank you so much for sticking with me during my prolonged absence and a prayer of thanks for the Lord allowing me to return to sufficient health for us to get together again.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry for no posts the past few days. Minor health issue which will be corrected today. I should be able to post sometime the middle of next week.

Have a nice weekend.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-26T18:29:00.000-04:00

Raising Cain.......

1 --- Herman Cain is a big brother type, very likeable and a square shooter. This space (me) initially thought Cain would have his fifteen minutes of fame and then fade away. Wrong as wrong could be. He is certainly in this race and a real player. He has outlasted former Minnesota Governor Tim Paulenty and may have outdistanced a few more over the coming weeks.

"With 9-9-9 (his tax plan) guess what? How many loopholes?" Cain said, tapping his fingers on the table like a drum roll. "None. Everybody gets treated the same. What a novel idea."

What experience does Herman Cain have? Far more than the incumbent and any of the other Republicans, including Mitt Romney.

He’s a black guy who had to fight and scratch for everything he has. He’s tough but compassionate. Herman Cain is a hands on management type with proven ability. To pull himself up by his bootstraps and he first needed to make the straps.

I like how he thinks and recently called B O’s rhetoric oomgalagala. Give ‘em heck Herman. Cain is Able…..

Which of the candidates would you want in a foxhole with you covering your backside?

2 --- In nearly 30 years in radio I made just about every gaff conceivable. I must however, tip my cap Big Barry O who managed to confuse a Jew with a janitor. ( I can hear my program director pulling his hair out and screaming at the top of his lungs if I made that gaffe on air.)

Most of my verbal gaffs came about because we seldom had a script to work from. Big B O uses a teleprompter to order breakfast for gosh sakes. How did he mess this one up.

Big B O has messed up many lines. Frankly he’s on a level with Vice President Joe “The Lip” Biden who seems to misfire each time he flaps his gums.

Only 482 gays left of this pair.

3 --- Question of the day, is Chris Christie a conservative or just another pretender. We certainly have enough of them beginning with Mitt Romney.

As we have discussed in the past, GOP primaries generally breakdown to conservatives versus moderates. After some mud slinging and blood letting one of each side will emerge.

4 --- We can thank Big B O for creating a healthy distrust for politicians in general.

I recall asking my granddad about some politicians and whether he trusted certain ones. A sheepish grin flashed and he answered my question with a question. “Is he alive?”

In that response he said it all: A resounding no.

Grandpa Lauzier was the proprietor of a small grocery store on Brightman Street in the north end of Fall River, Massachusetts. He gave credit to his customers who worked I the local mills. He granted credit and kept a complete set of books on who owed how much. In language that sounded remarkably similar to Ronald Reagan’s “Trust but verify” philosophy Arthur Lauzier explained counting the change regularly helped his clerks honest. He said it was better to create an atmosphere where dishonest behavior would not be tolerated.

Sadly we have not learned that philosophy. Most crooked politicians think their lies are OK because we (the voting public) want things belonging to others. Crooked pols and voters are cynics.

Where’s my grandpa when we need more like him.

C Ya tomorrow.

Ciao…….Moe

2011-09-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

Liberals and conservatives and the I dunnos.......

Is there any chance Barack Obama will drop out of the race for president? Interesting thought to ponder.

In 1964 Lyndon Johnson was elected in a landslide over Barry Goldwater, 42-million to 27-million. A real drubbing. Four years later, in 1968, Johnson packed it in because he knew he was going to lose.

In 2008 Obama had a much closer race with John McCain than Goldwater/Johnson and struggled in many states which had gone to LBJ. I doubt there is any chance Obama would chose not to run for reelection? I suspect his withdrawing would not be his own choosing. He is beginning to listen to himself and I doubt he is willing to accept reality.

Since campaign money is central to an Obama strategy, anything less than an overwhelming amount in campaign cash would lead to an electoral disaster. I doubt the Obama ego would allow him to chose not to run. However the call might not be his to make. How far are his backers and money people going to go with him if his poling numbers continue to tank?

Who would replace Obama is a tough call. One possibility is Hillary Clinton. She would likely be the only “heavy weight” who could enter with a ready made support network. No one else could possibly step in at the last moment.

The bottom line is Democrats are in complete disarray. Their problems don’t end with Obama and the presidency. The same will be true in senate and house races, governor’s races everywhere, state and county races at all levels. This election year could bring on a sea change in the political structure. Even Massachusetts could pick up a seat or two as well as some state legislative seats.

This election year could do for Republicans what 1932 did for Democrats.

When the Republicans have gone through the selection process they will eventually chose one of two candidates. One will be from the moderate wing of the party and the other will be a conservative. That’s the nature of most GOP nominations. Occasionally a nomination is simply awarded on the basis of the most senior candidate. This year one of the finalists will be from the moderate wing which looks to be Mitt Romney while the conservative side could be any one of seven or eight candidates and some currently non candidates. What camp Chris Christie falls in is anyone’s guess.

Christie poses a dilemma for conservatives. They have been burned by Texas Governor on the issue of illegal aliens. Where does Chris stand? Don’t know and I suspect there is an effort to keep his positions under wrap as long as possible.

Fasten your seatbelt, we’re in for a wild ride.

Ciao…….Moe

2011-09-23T18:29:00.004-04:00

TGIF.......

1 --- Who won the debate. Frankly, Sarah Palin. Certainly the favorite going in was Texas Governor Rick Perry. Then Mitt Romney nearly sounded like a man but came up short on the matter of record (especially Romneycare).

Newt Gingrich hit the ball hare and had a couple of hits including an endorsement of sorts to one of the elements of Obama's job proposals. Asked whether he would renew unemployment benefits for those out of work, he said they should be required to participate in a "business led" job training program. "I believe it is fundamentally wrong to give people money for 99 weeks for doing nothing." Score a big one for the former "Mr. Speaker".

Herman Cain became a sentimental favorite after telling about his battle with cancer. Cain comes off as someone most Republicans like to like. All the others on the stage had their moment in the limelight.

At the end of the day we come to the only person to make a serious gain was the former Alaska governor.

2 --- Warren Buffett has loudly and famously said he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary in arguing that the rich should bear a larger tax burden. He has inspired President Obama to institute a “Buffett rule” to guide his tax policies that says millionaires and billionaires should not pay a lower portion of their income on taxes than the poor and middle class.

Texas Senator John Cornyn questioned in a tweet Thursday. “Will Warren Buffett release his tax returns so we can see why he should be the standard for tax policy?”

Sounds an awful lot like the Texan is calling Buffett show us all his cards.

3 --- Will Solyndra have the same effect on Democrats as Watergate had on Republicans in the mid 70s?

4 --- According to a survey published Thursday by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, Fox News beat out local television and CNN as Americans' number one source of television news on national and international issues. Not bad for a bunch of yahoo conservatives.

5 --- Friends of Barak Obama immerse themselves in Fifth.

6 --- Have you ever wondered what the USA would be like today with a President John McCain and VP Sarah Palin? I bet things would be a lot different.

Later,

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-22T13:41:00.002-04:00

Lots of popcorn tonight.......

1 --- I messed up big time. I thought I published a rather lengthy blog yesterday. I didn't check the work and accidentally deleted the entire thing. I've tried all the tricks I know (as well as the tricks my children know) to recover it. Hence, no post yesterday. Sorry.

2 --- There's a stench emanating from the East River area of New York City. Yuckmed Achmandinijad is in town to add to the pollution of New York air. Many of those of my generation could not understand how a large number of Americans resisted taking strong steps against the scourge of Nazi Germany's expansion. Ditto for the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and Tojo's Japan in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The three monster regimes of Germany, Italy and Japan were allowed to run amok until it took a massive effort to crush them. In the meantime we watched as millions were slaughtered in the name of ideology and religious hatred and territorial hegemony.

Chinese and Europeans by the multi-millions were systematically annihilated by the hated regimes. Add to that the millions of civilian and combatants who died as a result of military efforts and we understand why WWII was often called the war to end all wars. Unfortunately the world didn't learn coexistence with monstrous regimes.

Instead of one, two or three powerful monster nations we are now faced with a large number of such despotic states. The similarity between today and the 1930s and 40s is the willingness of the modern world to turn a blind eye toward monstrosities such as Red China and many of the extreme Muslim regimes around the world.

What is the difference between Red China and Nazi Germany? None. Both were responsible for the killing of people in the 10s of millions. Toss in the systematic killing during the Armenian genocide among others and we know the 1900s were bloody beyond comprehension. No, the lesson of those atrocities was not really learned. Red China has been more bloody than Nazi Germany. What China has done to the peaceful Tibetans is on a grand scale.

Vladamir Lenin once jocked that the capitalist world would sell the rope to be used in their own execution.

3 --- Tonight's the big night for the Republican Party. Likely the biggest debate of this presidential season thus far will be on Fox. I don't think the ultimate GOP nominee has yet to officially announced her candidacy. Sarah Palin is remaining in position to make a move at a time of her choosing. There is no rush. Her strategy seems to be let the others bloody one another up first and then move in.

Palin's situation if fluid. Her name identification is nearly 100% among potential voters. She has been lowering her "negatives" over the last few months. He current position is improving by the week and is likely improving on a relative basis. It is a direct function of the other candidate's warts and weaknesses which are becoming more apparent by the day.

There is a growing feeling the presidential race will eventually break down to ABO, anyone but obama and that the GOP nomination will be tantamount to election in the general election.

If I had to handicap the race on the basis of my personal preferences (my biased opinion) would be Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, Heman Cain, to mention a few.

Will Palin get in the race, the smart money suggests yes. The question she needs to answer in her mind is whether she can win.

Consider a ticket of Palin and Marco Rubio.

The real battle for president is the GOP primary. With each passing day Barack Obama takes one small step forward and then falls flat on his face. I note the late night comedians are taking liberty with the president. They already appear to be in a full panic mode. Next step is cutting Joe Biden from the team. Biden is a bit of a knucklehead but is hardly the reason for the Obama dilemma.

In 2008 there was a serious amount of mystery over who the real Obama is. We now know. We elected an empty suit.

Tomorrow we'll look back on tonight's debate.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

Bad day everywhere.......

1 --- I've got a sollution to our deficit problems -- soak the rich.

2 --- In the dumb de dumb dumb category -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner insisted Monday that the administration’s proposals to raise taxes mainly on businesses and the rich would not further limit an already struggling economy. He also sees Obama’s tax proposals as an effort to make the tax code more fair -- an argument the administration is using to rally his base and fight back at GOP assertions that the tax hikes will hurt the economy.

Now we know where Daffy Duck has been hiding.

3 --- Now that it is OK to be in the military as an openly gay man will it ber very long before we have gay nuptials between two military men (or women) ans will chaplains be made to perform them?

4 --- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn't think the President's new "Buffett Rule" to create a higher tax rate for millionaires makes sense.

On Sunday's "Meet the Press," McConnell said, "With regard to his tax rate, "If Buffett's] feeling guilty about it, I think he should send in a check."

Amen Mitch.

5 --- Keep an eye on Israel and the gang up by some Moslem nations in the United Nations. Turkey is trying to isolate the Jewish State and it is getting a solid reception from the Obama Administration.

Once again Israel's back is against the wall in its fight for survival. One wonders if the Big O is planning to blind side them during this session of the UN meetings.

It will be interesting to see whether Obama goes against (or drags his feet) Israel. Just look at the map of the Middle East and judge for yourself how long it can hold out on its own. The only free democracy in the entire region could be lost forever,

6 --- U.S. officials involved in a plan to let high-powered assault weapons fall into the hands of vicious drug cartel leaders deliberately kept their counterparts in Mexico in the dark about the plan.

Even the U.S. Embassy and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) offices in Mexico City were kept out of the loop, according to the LA Times.

Add to that, when President Felipe Calderon complained about the number of U.S. weapons crossing the border, the operation, nicknamed Fast and Furious, still was not revealed.

C U tomorrow.......

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-19T19:45:00.002-04:00

Fall can de beautiful.......

1 --- Columnist George F. Will, speaking on ABC’s This Week. “He went to Massachusetts to campaign against Scott Brown; Brown is now a senator. He went to New Jersey to campaign against Chris Christie, who’s now governor. He went to Virginia to campaign against Bob McDonnell, who’s now governor. He campaigned for the health- care plan extensively, it became less popular. He campaigned in 2010 for the Democrats, they were shellacked. He began, in a sense, his presidency flying to Copenhagen to get Chicago the Olympics; Chicago was the first city eliminated. There is no evidence that the man has the rhetorical powers that he is relying on.”

2 --- The economy is in the tank so what is Barack Obama's solution to our fiscal woes? Simple, more taxes, $1.5 Trillion. Some suggest BO is among the worst presidents ever. I disagree, he is not among the worst, he is the worst.

3 --- Slick Williy Clinton has just given us a tip by denying the Hillary for president idea floated by Dick Cheney has any merit. He went out of his way to shoot down the idea. Phrased differently, "Bill thou doth protest too much." If Hillary has any inkling of running for president this is crunch time for her. By election time she will be 64. That is not too old to run but waiting until she is 68 could be another matter entirely.

4 --- There is an interesting article in Agence France-Presse which dovetails with the failure of Obama's pals new Hi Tech outfit (http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=640163). Even the Red Chinese are having problems with a similar company.

5 --- I've tried to make mention of him only once a day but with Obama that's an impossible task. So starting today we will comment on anything and everything even if it means incorporating the president.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-17T13:55:00.003-04:00

Good morning.......

Last night we left off with these thoughts: I do not believe there is any way to continue with the Post Office as we know it. However it is still a necessary element in the country. We will make our recommendations tomorrow.

Well today has arrived: What is today's post office, a business or agency of the government?

Because of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functions as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government. According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit. Whoever created this nonsense should be horsewhipped.

The foundation of the modern post office is bureaucratic double speak --- nonsense. In 1982, U.S. postage stamps became "postal products," rather than a form of taxation. Since then, the bulk of the cost of operating the postal system has been paid for by customers through the sale of "postal products" and services rather than taxes. A skunk by any other name stinks as much.

Each class of mail is also expected to cover its share of the costs, a requirement that cause the percentage rate adjustments to vary in different classes of mail, according the costs associated with the processing and delivery characteristics of each class (oh my gosh there we go again, pure oomgalagala).

U.S. Postal Service rates are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission according to the recommendations of the Postal Board of Governors.

The USPS gets its authority as a government agency under Title 39, Sec101.1 of the United States Code which states, in part:

"(a) The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people."

Under paragraph (d) "Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis."

Then again there's another curve ball created in a manner only the US Congress can do.

No, the USPS is a Business!

The Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Sec 401 in part states:

--- power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;
--- power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;

--- power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";

--- power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,
--- power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.

All of these are typical functions of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain.

The USPS does get some taxpayer support. It receives round $96 million budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies.

Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law does not require that the Postal Service make a profit -- only break even. Still, the US Postal Service has averaged a profit of over $1 billion per year in each of the last five years. Yet, Postal Service officials argue that they must continue to raise postage at regular intervals in order make up for the increased use of email.

Under paragraph (d) of Title 39, Sec 401, "Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis."

No, the USPS is a Business! The Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Sec 401, which include:

--- power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;

--- power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;

--- power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";

--- power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,

--- power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.

All of which are typical functions of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain.

The USPS does get some taxpayer support. Around $96 million is budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies.

Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law does not require that the Postal Service make a profit -- only break even. Still, the US Postal Service has averaged a profit of over $1 billion per year in each of the last five years. Yet, Postal Service officials argue that they must continue to raise postage at regular intervals in order make up for the increased use of email.

What began as a simple review of what the post office is today I found we needed to know how we got here.

I'll skip the fluff and get down to the brass facts. They will be in no particular order of importance. Let us keep in mind there is a strong desire to reduce the size and power of our government. I found it very compelling to pull the plug on what some believe is an anachronism. Than would be overly simplistic, a mistake. Here are the Issues of the Day position:

Getting out of the business of delivering mail is no small undertaking. Congress would need to set a time certain for the transition from the postal service we are familiar with today and make it more functional and restrict its services to those which are not reasonable to expect from a private service such as UPS or FedEx. Getting the post office out of many of its current functions such as parcel post would encourage many private ventures to fill the void.

My first reaction to the above suggestion is what to do with the workers displaced in such an arrangement. What to do with the facilities? Well, there is still a substantial amount of work needed to be done. First class mail, second class and parcel post will always have a role in society. On the one hand there will always be a need for mail distribution and collection. The is true for special delivery and registered mail. There are numerous functions the post office fills which we may prefer to keep as a public function.

Buildings -- Many of our older post offices such as fall River and New Redford Massachusetts could become dual purpose with parts of each converted to commercial enterprises, apartments, business offices, etc. Most are centrally located in their respective communities. Lease back arrangements could be made between the new owners to meet the 'new' post office needs. It does not seem wise to eliminate one monopoly and merely create another. Most post offices are located in central areas of commercial activity. Some could be converted to meeting some of our school building needs, public medical facilities, etc.

There are numerous other functions the current postal real estate could be used for.

How to transition over to a slimmed down post office and convert the various properties and business functions to private industry. For starters the current postal workers union is manned with tens of thousands of mail delivery and pick up specialists. I recommend we convert the postal workers unions to reorganize into local companies for the purpose of filling the new needs for operation and delivery of the millions of pieces and parcels. If it sounds like an ISOP you're very perceptive.

The above would allow for a seamless transition from many government functions to private industry. while at the same time utilizing the best assets of those already trained and working in the postal industry.

It is not easy to find people to replace thre tens of thousands of people necessary to transition away from public to private enterprise.

Besides all else, what would we be able to do with the millions of mail boxes currently on our street corners and on our properties.

My Lady Fair has just informed me it has been an hour since she told me lunch is ready and I told her "just a couple more minutes." I've just about run out of my couple of minutes.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what to do with the post office. mvl270@yahoo.com

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

Check in with us tomorrow. We will conclude item 4 of today.

1 --- Hold the presses, Barack will give us another policy speech. That speech and a dollar bill will get you a cup of coffee. Food stamps anyone.

2 --- I thought he was acting funny.

3 --- Lest we not forget.

4 --- Talk about a dilemma: What do we do with the Postal Service. If we're not careful we could lose it. Then again, we must decide exactly what we expect from the Post Office.

My conservative/libertarian side says get rid of it. After all if it can't survive on its own maybe it should go under. After all, in this cyber world where even little kids communicate electronically who needs the post office. The argument favoring the selling of Post Office assets is very compelling, especially during a near depression.

The United States Postal Service first began delivering the mail on July 26, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the nation's first Postmaster General. Yeah, that Ben Franklin. In accepting the position he dedicated his efforts to fulfilling George Washington's ideas. Washington supported a free flow of information between citizens and the government as a linchpin of freedom. He often spoke of a nation bound together by a system of postal roads and post offices. (We still have what is known as the "Old Post Road.")

Publisher William Goddard first suggested the idea of an organized U.S. postal service in 1774 as a way to disiminate the news past the prying eyes of British colonial postal inspectors. The Post Office was an early and necessary element in casting off the British yoke.

Goddard proposed a postal service to Congress nearly two years before we declared our independence from the Brits. Congress took no action on Goddard's plan until after the battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775. Finally on July 16, 1775, the revolution was brewing, Congress enacted the "Constitutional Post" as a way to ensure communication between the general public and the patriots preparing to fight for America's independence. Goddard was reported to have been deeply disappointed when Congress chose Franklin as Postmaster General.

In 1792 the Postal Act clarified the role of the Postal Service. Under the act, newspapers were allowed to use the mails at low rates to promote the spread of information across the states. To ensure the sanctity and privacy of the mails, postal officials were forbidden to open any letters unless they were undeliverable.

Until the adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government. It may well be the time to consider returning to that.

When I began this monologue on ther post office it was with the intent of recommending its closure and an end to its role as we have known it. I do not believe there is any way to continue with the Post Office as we know it. However it is still a necessary element in the country. We will make our recommendations tomorrow.

If you have comments on the issue please email us at mvl270@yahoo.com . I should be up early Saturnday morning and would be please add you thoughst along with mine.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-15T19:06:00.001-04:00

I finally learned how to post photos on the blog.......

1 --- What kind of day is it? I'm sorry you asked. You will be too.

Header on Drudge says it all, err almost all.

'WAVE OF FORECLOSURES'...
BIG JUMP IN JOBLESS CLAIMS...
INFLATION RISES...

Happy days are here again.

2 --- Guess who is running for president again. Ralph Nader. He will beat the record for presidential campaign futility held by Harold Stassen.

3 --- Tired of summer? Here's relief or you....

Forecast for Elk Mountains surrounding Aspen. Snow is expected to begin accumulating above 12,000 feet in elevation at around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Snow levels could drop as low as 9,000 feet, the weather service said. By Thursday morning, 2 to 6 inches of snow are possible above 10,000 feet.

Bring back summer. 4 --- The US Senate's resident Mensa chairman, Harry Reid: "Well, for most Americans, [bike paths] are absolutely important. It's good for purposes of allowing people to travel, um, without burning all the fossil fuel on the highways. I got up this morning really early, and went out and did my exercise. I'm not exaggerating--scores!--at least 30 or 40 bikes--so scores may be a slight exaggeration--of people, not just for exercise, traveling to work. Backpacks on--they are going to work. That's what bike paths are all about!" 5 --- Obama: ‘If You Love Me, You Gotta Help Me Pass This Bill’. Yes, he did say that. 6 --- Would I be correct is asking whether the guarantor (us) in the Solyndra ripoff will be last in line to be paid from the remaining assets. There's usually a court ordered priority in bankruptcies. Bet we get the shaft. Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-15T12:39:00.000-04:00

Too good not to share........

New Hampshire Journal

Candidate Word Association with Andrew Breitbart

September 12, 2011

By Amelia Chasse

NH Journal interviewed conservative new media maven Andrew Breitbart today in advance of his upcoming New Hampshire event with Americans for Prosperity. With tonight’s debate in mind we asked Breitbart to play a little game with us. We said the name of each presidential candidate that was slated to participate in the CNN/Tea Party debate, and Breitbart had just a few moments to say the first phrase that came to mind.

Here’s how he summed up the 2012 contenders:

Mitt Romney: “Plays it too safe, need to stop acting like the Tea Party is beneath him.”

Rick Perry: “Quirky. Like him from afar, but getting excited to get to know him better.”

Michele Bachmann: “One of the most eloquent and intelligent political fighters I have ever seen.”

Newt Gingrich: “Kudos on going after the media, if you heard clapping that was me.”

Herman Cain: “Heroic, deserving of being on the stage, hopefully representative of a movement of not just black conservatives but entrepreneurs instead of lawyers.”

Jon Huntsman: “Darling. Perfectly coiffed. A noble one-percenter.”

Ron Paul: “[Insert something snarky and dismissive about his rabid followers who do much to hurt his cause.]”

Rick Santorum: “Being right on life isn’t going to be enough this time around.”

Stay tuned for more from our interview with Andrew Breitbart.

Amanda Markell contributed to this report

This fine publication can be found at http://nhjournal.com

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-14T13:45:00.003-04:00

Little man stands tall.....

1 --- The seat won by Bob Turner in the special election in New York has been Democrat since my Mom was six years old. It's been a couple of years the Democrats have had a strangle hold on the district. My Mom is ninety-four.

According to the New York Times: "The emergence of Israel as an issue was a surprise, the Times reported, because Weprin is an observant Jew and strong supporter of Israel."

Oh yes, Turner is 70 and Roman Catholic.

2 --- Guess who was in Massachusetts yesterday? If you said Texas Governor Rick Perry please step to the head of the class.

While he was there Perry turned his attention to the Bay State's former governor Mitt Romney. During the debate a couple of days ago Romney turned all his usual sweetness to pure venom.

Perry's Texas bluntness was used against him during that debate. He is likely the only candidate to "tell it like is" regarding what is considered the third rail of politics --- social security. While Perry misspoke calling social security a Ponzy scheme, the essence of what he said is accurate.

Funny fact, the last major politician with the courage to tell it like it is about social security was another tough talking South Westerener, Barry Goldwater. In retrospect, Goldwater was right.

When Perry dared to speak truth regarding socisal security Romney pounced like a Rattle Snake on a rebbit.

Perry's lack if experience allowed him to get caught up in a p---ing contest with a master of the art. Now he's smarting by the Romney blind side. This sort of thing can destroy a lesser man or, as in Perry's case, present an opportunity to demonstrate what kind of stuff he is made of.

During his appearance he answered Romney (with out identifying by name):

"Other candidates in this race have used words like `fraud' and compared it to a criminal enterprise," Perry said, referencing language Romney used in his book to discuss issues involving Social Security. "Under the media spotlight, they change their tune and they start sounding like liberals."

Let's be clear (careful, Moe, that sounds like something the little president would use), the race is one of conservatives versus the socalled modertes in the race. The principal players on the conservative side are Perry, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. The choice is one of these candidates or a choice of Romney and the moonbeam candidate Jon Huntsman moderates both (please don't ask for a definition for moderate since my answer would be offensive to most). Did I forget Ron Paul? No, he's a genuine libertrarin and will be mired at 10%.

Perry is looking better and better all the time. Who would Goldwater support?

One more reason to dump Romney is his Massachusetts chairman, Windbag Willie Weld.

3--- Do you know how to spell Watergate? Answer, S-o-l-y-n-d-r-a.

What began as a third rate burglary finished with the resignation of a president elected in a landslade in 1972. Slam dunk, no contest.

Watergate was billed as nothing much. What became "much" was the coverup. A great deal has been written about Watergate but the feeling here is it was the betrayl that mattered. Elected officials need the good faith support of the governed. When that faith is broken it is all down hill.

Nixon had been a popular president. The country was in the early stages of ending the Vietnam War. Nixon appeared to be on his way to having been one of the most popular and succeswsful presidents. All that changed with the "tro bit" burglary at Democrat headquarters in the Watergate building. Rather than acknowledging the wrongness of the breakin, Nixon tried to bury the crimd. The rest is history,

Now we have a president who began his term with high approvals and popularity. The more we learn about Solyndra the more we smell Watergate.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-13T15:41:00.000-04:00

The doo gooders will get us.......

The president is seeking to put Americans back to work ... at $250,000 per job. You don't have to read that again, you got it right.

The following was done by Tyler Durden and pretty much tells the story why even the most grandiose plans of the president are doomed to failure.

For those eager to put some math to the rhetoric coming from the White House over the president's jobs creation plan, and that should be everyone, here is a quick and dirty estimate based on the numbers being thrown around of a 2% GDP increase in year 1 and 1.9 million jobs created or saved... most saved, as in those you can't really quantify. Said otherwise, roughly a $300 billion increase in GDP yields 1.9 million jobs. So far so good. Now since the president is proposing to pay for the program over 10 years, let's assume the $475 billion in direct expenses is financed for 10 years at 2.5% which adds roughly $120 billion to the total cost of the program. In other words, as the calculations detailed and shown below elaborate, the overall AJA plan will cost $250,000 per job created (excluding the interest expense) and $312,500 per union job, er job created (including interest). And that's how much it costs for Obama to purchase one vote... created or saved. Keynesian efficiency strikes like a Swiss watch yet again.

In his signature speech, "A Date with Destiny", Ronald Reagan suggested we simply give money to all the poor people and allow them to do as they wish with it. What would happen if we gave gave every unemployed person $15 thousand --- $150 billion dollars would instantly be put into circulation. That action should take a huge bite our of poverty and ultimately unemployment.

The Gipper trusted the collective wisdom of unemployed Americans to do what is right for themselves and their families. They are better motivated to do the right thing than some bureaucrat in some far off place.

Have a nice day.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-09T13:56:00.003-04:00

Get ready for 9-11 weekend.......

1 --- So there is a threat to Gotham and DC.

Sunday will bring down the curtain on the incredible decade which saw us go from a comfortable society more concerned with domestic problems than a threat to our national security. Never again during the lifetime of those here that 9-11 will we relax our defenses against terrorism.

Can we survive very long living that way? You bet we can and will. Israel has an ongoing internal and external threat just as determined as our enemies. We will undergo many different stages of means of defense and protection.

We will succeed because we must. George Bush considered it his main obligation: After 9/11, keeping our citizens safe from attack was job one. Most of us agree with that policy. So here we go again.

We now hear from "government sources" an unnamed enemy is planning a major attack to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the most serious assault on America since Pearl Harbor.

Good police work and even better luck have kept us safe since that tragic day. Millions of American lives have been affected by 9/11.

Our innocence was lost that beautiful Thursday morning. May we never forget we are hated by the most extreme haters we've known since Adolph Hitler,s acolytes tried to change the world.

2 --- How did you react to the Barack Obama speech to the Congress last night? I came away knowing nothing more than I knew before the speech.

I got the distinct feeling the whole show was to set up the Elephants as naysayers.

If I am right we'll get nothing more than intransigence and foot dragging from Washington.

By the end of the speech I could only think of the old Patty Paige song lyrics, "Is that all there is?" The whole thing left me on empty.

3 --- Republican Bob Turner holds a six point lead over his Democrat rival David Weprin in the special election to replace the sexiest congressman of all time, Anthony Weiner. An interesting dynamic is taking place. Weprin is running like an incumbent. Now the overwhelmingly Democrat district is threatening in New York to make a change.

My congressional district was a historically Republican district until 1980. That all changed with the election in 1980 of Barney Frank. Since that defeat of Margaret Heckler there has not been a close race.

In even the most heavily Democrat districts there are few were already which are a "lock" for the Donkey candidates.

We could witness a major change in representation again this year. If the Republicans play their cards well they could have the power until recent times for establishment types.

Ciao-------Moe

2011-09-08T19:17:00.000-04:00

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme.......?

You bet it is.......

Rick Perry created a stir when he said what most already know to be true. Social Security is a grand Ponzi Scheme. Frankly it is likely the biggest fraud ever perpretated on the American public.

Governor Perry called the grand scheme a lie.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Social Security recipient. I paid into the system from my teen years. I was fortunate in my lifetime and earned decent wages for most of my working years.

So why do I say it's a fraud? Because those of us currently receiving Social Security paid into the system in vastly more valuable dollars than we are currently receiving.

When I began "contributing" into Social Security the dollar in 1959 was far more valuable than the dollars I receive today. Back then for a dollar on Saturday afternoon I could take my favorite squeeze to the Durfee Theater in Fall River to see Ben-Hur, get a bag of popcorn and a soda with two straws. Oh yes, we could stay to watch the movie two or three times. The same fare today with a feature novie and the same popcorn and soda is close to much more. From 1959 to today prices for similar products and services compared to today is at about the same ratio.

The point is while we didn't put up an astronomical amount of cash in current dollars in 1959 we did pay a great deal when we view what we receive current dollars. Ben-Hur with popcorn and pop would cost us as much as $50. Ouch! When I went to see Ben Hur I wore a blue blazer with solid brass buttons I had acquired for less than $20. Same blazer today, $350.

The point of this exercise is to clarify how little the Social Security benifit has increased over the years. The recipients are getting no bargain, it certailny is not a big giveaway.

Enough of me, the president is about to speak. More tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

Here comes Barry......again.....

This will be Barry's big day....again. It should be a real test of the interest the public has in what He has to say.....again.The choice is tough --- Barack again or a pregame football show. If the pregame wins the ratings battle we'll have a better idea where the president stands with "his" public.

What had been ballyhooed as a major public announcement of the president's plans in dealing with our near depression has been downplayed to be nothing more than some suggestions.

Why a special session of Congress? I suspect it is because the president needs the reassurance that he is the gig boss, sort of the boss of bosses. In baseball we call a player who talks about himself a great deal as a fellow who "talks a good game". That fits the president to a "T". He talks a good game but his act is getting tired. Even many of his ardent supporters are starting to tire of his act.

I have a Democrat friend who swears Barack is a Republican plant whose purpose is to bring ridicule down on Democrat functionaries. Gee, I would agree with that possibility but I doubt Republicans would have the creativity to do that.

The best news I've heard is that we are now at 500 days and counting of his administration. I think we're on safe ground in thinking President Obama is a "one termer". I suspect his most loyal followers are refreshing their resumes.

It will be interesting to learn what the president's reelection slogan will it be, "four more years"? There are only limited things he can say. As jobless claims continue to rise the White House excuse makers point out if not for Barack's handling the situation things would be worse. It's sort of like two kids arguing who is worse. Name call the GOP and blame Bush. I'm no Bush fan but enough is enough already.

I have a suggestion for Barry, Dump Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and replace him with one of the dumbest members of congress, Maxine Walters. Who else could suggest our fiscal woes are because we need to spend at least another billion dollars on stimulus.

Can it ger worse? Easy answer, did anyone have any idea any president could be worse. He is a cross between the sinister side of Richard Nixon.

I am completely convinced Obama is indeed the Manchurian president.

What a choice tonight, a pregame show or the president addressing congress --- again.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-07T17:31:00.000-04:00

This entry was begun yesterday afternoon. I needed to stop because I didn't feel well. All is OK now. 1 to 6 was completed yesterday while the rest was just completed.....Moe

This and That is Back.......

I've been sifting through the news and there were many things to talk about. The idea of bringing back that column struck like a foul ball between the eyes. One of the popular things we had in Issues of the Day in the past was "This and That", commentary on many different topics. So here we go again......

1 --- On behalf of my Mom I resent what Pipsqueak Hoffa called me (BTW, he called many of you that as well).

2 --- Obama's fall from grace is at the rate George H.W. Bush went through. I suspect it could get even worse for the current occupant of the White House. The fact the Obamies are mud slinging this early tells us they are nearly out of ideas.

3 --- How does this sound for a presidential ticket????? Rick Perry of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida. Just picture Bamby versus Perry in three debates and Biden taking on Rubio. There are many other GOP combos, all of whom could clean the floor with the current occupants of the executive offices.

4 --- Wouldn't it be funny if the presidential TelePrompter got off cycle tomorrow night. I know, I know, that's sadistic.

5 --- The number of shootings in New York City I quoted yesterday for the last couple of days was wrong. Not 32, it's 58. Sounds like NYC was a shooting gallery. BTW, the old gangland badlands Chicago had only 8.

6 --- Don't look now but the Ford Motor Company is building a billion dollar plant which will employ 5,000........in India. The strike drums in Detroit are beating . Fox news summed it up this way: "It may seem a cruel irony that the one U.S. automaker that took no bailout money is now at greater risk of a national strike as it continues labor negotiations with union leaders."

7 --- Is she or isn't she running? The big question surrounding Sarah Palin is whether she is/will be a candidate for president. In this corner the betting is a flat no. Of course we hope she is considered for a post such Interior Secretary. With the new administration likely being more eco friendly Palin has the demonstrated expertise to get the most out of our natural resources.

8 --- Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown said Tuesday that Onyango Obama, President Obama's long-lost uncle, should be deported from the United States after being arrested last week on drunk driving charges. Brown has been so silent of late I forgot he was in the senate.

9 --- Has the Obama administration become nothing more that an bunch of Kool Aid drinkers?

10 --- Many of us are titillated by the candidacy of Governor Rick Perry for president. Does he have a chance too remake the US political landscape? Many of us think so. The national politicos will pick apart every facet of his performance tomorrow night so we will have a good chance to 'strut his stuff'. There at least a half dozen potential GOP nominees who would make fine candidates. The debate tonight is likely his most important.

Enjoy the debate.

Ciao....... Moe

2011-09-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

Gun restrictions...who needs them!

I don't know how many of our best citizens were shot last couple of days victims of war violence in Iraq but I suspect the number is not thirty-one. If we had reached that number the liberal media here would have rattled their felt tip markers. It would have snapped their bow ties. No doubt the target of their affection would somehow be George Bush. Thirty-one shootings is a lot of violence.

Oh yes, the number of thirty-one is not USA shootings. No, its not even Iraq. Heavens no. Thirty-one is the number of recent shootings over two days in New York City alone.

My initial reaction is we need stricter gun laws to prevent such carnage but I'm reminded New York City has the strictest gun laws in the USA. They're even more strict than gun control laws in Massachusetts. This is not to be hold the Bay State up as a serene paradise of peace and tranquility but only to point out just how strict the gun control zealots in New York City compared to the fascist leaning gun grabbers in the Bay State.

I had a friend in Rhode Island who spent some time collating violent crime stats and gun control laws. Guess what he discovered; the states and municipalities with the strictest gun laws had the highest murder rates. I suggested to him that this statistical truth occurred because the most violent states and municipalities enacted the tougher gun restrictions.

Oops. That assertion is flat out wrong. It's not a chicken and egg proposition. He found the more gun laws on the books usually the greater the armed violence. When guns are withheld from citizens the most violent among us will continue to arm themselves while the law abiding surrender their weapons. It's sort of a criminal protection program.

This all got me to thinking, people with guns available to them for self defense rarely get stabbed. No, only the totally disarmed get knifed. Also, legal gun owners rarely are involved in a felony shooting.

I guess I've been wrong in thinking strict laws concerning gun possession and ownership reduce violent crime. Gun control laws encourage the thugs in their evil by assuring their safety when beating or shooting law abiding people. We have enough data to establish gun control laws lead to violent behavior, not the other way around.

Come to think of it, do you recall the only real hiatus from violent crimes on NYC subways was when the vigilante gunman performed his deed on some sharpened screw-driver wielding punks. There actually was peace in NYC subways for a short time.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-04T11:39:00.001-04:00

A good friend signs in.......

Hi Moe: I’m glad you’re back on your feet, and back on your blog too.

There are lots of issues to follow but right now I’m interested in Obama’s upcoming speech to congress and the possible political fallout from it. On Thursday Obama will recommend extending the transportation bill in order to prevent jobs being lost in the transportation-construction business. Well, I guess one of the things we want government to do is keep the bridges from falling down and the roads from crumbling. So that’s fine. But how will that bill increase employment? Beyond that he may push for more nonsensical “stimulus” spending. If the GOP house says no (and they would) then the Dems have a political issue to rant about. “Those Republicans don’t care about getting you back to work”. But they won’t have what they really need before next fall, an improving economy.

The Republicans need to take the initiative and propose spending cuts and tax cuts. I’d propose a $1,000 check for individuals, $2,000 for couples and $3,000 for a family with children. Total that up and propose to cut as much from spending between now and the end of the fiscal year so the debt isn’t increased. And the GOP could limit that tax break to families earning less than $200,000. Over that and the lefties will claim you are giving more tax breaks to the rich, of course. So the left won’t have that reason to oppose it. The house should make a big noise like what I propose leading up to Obama’s speech on Thursday. Then they would have Obama on the defensive before he proposes his first dollar of wasted spending.

Maybe my idea is more political than practical but I’d like to see the GOP get a lot louder than they have been about the economy and how best to fix it.

Again, I’m glad you’re back.

Steve

Your message gets an A+ for both clarity and content. Many thanks for taking the time. Do you have any more ideas?

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-03T14:24:00.002-04:00

Back in the Saddle Again......

Where do we start. There is so much to discuss selecting a topic is difficult.

Barrack Obama is a living breathing gift that never stops giving. We all delight in pointing out the foibles of one Joe Biden. No end of material there too.

Let us consider what the difference between Joe the Mouth and President Perfect is. I find little to chose from.

I had nearly a year rehabilitating with plenty of TV time and was forever amused by the antics of the Mouth and Perfect. They both bring to mind the old saw that no one knows just how stupid you are until you babble on incessantly saying things that are incoherent and downright wrong. After all how many people would say, "Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair, Columbia, Missouri, Sept. 12, 2008. That was a royal clank. Here's another, "Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs." Woopsie.......

Who will ever forget President Perfect with this GAFF??? "One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy Corpse-Man Christian Brossard." –mispronouncing "Corpsman" and repeating 'corpsman on two other times to make certain we heard his gaff (the "ps" is silent) during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, -

That gem was in 2010. (The Corpsman's name is also Christopher, not Christian).

Tampa, Fla., Jan. 28, 2010
"The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." The big guy did say that, yes indeed.

Where is Dan Quayle when you need him, picking potatos?

Now there, I'm getting that feeling again. The thing most disturbing with the man behind the teleprompter is I suspect he couldn't put together a coherent thought without someone preparing a script. He's like the newsreaders who try to get across some nonsense that they did all the work, At least the TV newsreaders get their lines straight.

In the meantime we have the second coming of Chauncy Gardner in the White House.

C-YA tomorrow.

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-02T19:04:00.000-04:00

GOOD NEWS

I just returned from the hospital and I have a clean medical slate. That is the best news we've received in nealrly a year.

The doctor began by telling me I was to continue on the Baseball Disabled List. However he was quick to point out I am otherwise free to do most anything I feel up to doing. He did caution me that commonsense should be my guide. Ahem...

Therefore we will resume Issues of the Day tomorrow. If you have original material you would like to publish please email them here ( mvl270@yahoo.com ). No copyrighted articles unless they are your own product.

Also, please submit your ideas of what would be a good topic with which to follow, that would be very helpful.

I promised my bride I would set aside one to two hours each day for this labor of love and the general feeling of knowing we are doing something more than simply bellyaching.

A pleasant surprise was among this morning's mail, many emails. I will attempt to respond to each of them individually. I suspect if the column takes off again I'll not be able to acknowledge each of your missives personally. I will however answer emails I received today and those received over this weekend.

Thank you. The truth be known, I'm excited as can be.

Until tomorrow.......

Ciao.......Moe

2011-09-01T14:33:00.002-04:00

GUESS WHO'S BACK?????

The journey back has been long and narrow and there were times I could not see the end of the road. My fear was the light at the end of the tunnel was a train careening down the tracks. Coming back has been a long hard slog.

For the longest time I thought this day would never come. I'll spare you the pricklish details and only reveal that there were many times I never thought this moment would occur. Suffice it to say I feel like a teenager on his first date ... excited with emotions and fears running wild. Our world has changed in numerous ways since that evening last September 16, 2010, the night I went down.

The hour was about the time I published my thoughts on Issues of the Day. I had felt sluggish most of the day and by then I was feverish. I've been healthy as a horse most of my life. In twenty-five years at WRKO I failed to perform as scheduled only once. Even that was planned and necessitated by knee surgery. On that evening last September, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and, until recent days, I thought we would never meet again.

When I wenr to the hospital I had a fever over 105. After being given a few aspirins by the emergency room doctor I was sent home. Once home my family had me returned to the hospital. Once there a new doctor was on duty and he had me admitted right away. After a fitful night I was finally treated and shortly thereafter moved to intensive care. I was there for nearly six weeks. After the hospitalization my time was divided between two rehab facilities. Finally I was returned home on April 2nd. A big Amen!

So this is my moment of truth. Can I regain the discipline to meet you here regularly or has all that been lost? I don't know. Can I pick up the pieces and set aside time each day to comment on what I see as the issues of the day? I'm game, how about you? Please drop me a line at mvl270@yahoo.com and give me a nudge. Frankly, I'm almost breathless thanks to Bamby (oops, Barack) since there is no end to what we can say. I'm both at once; frightened to death and excited about the prospects for our nation. Simply put we are at a crossroad. To use the thoughts expressed by Ronald Reagan in his fasmous Date with Destiny speech which he delivered for Barry Goldwater to a national TVaudience shortly before the election in November 1964: We are at a crossroad --- we have a Date with Destiny.

Our choice is clear. Man's reach for the clear air of individual choice and liberty or down to the antheap of totalitarianism. It is up to us. We have the choice.

My pulse is beginning to beat harder just thinking about reentering the fray.

Please do me a favor and send this edition of Issues of the Day to your mailing list. At our peak we had upwards of ten thousand regular visitors. Those of you who drop into this place daily now number in the dozens, so Issues of the Day will need your help in getting the message that we're back, out.

In 1976, at the Republican National Convention, our Texas delegation began a chant of "Viva Olay". Okay boys and girls, I want you to open the nearest window and shout out "Viva Olay". That feels good.

I have a date with a surgeon tomorrow morning. He told me I could be ready for battle by afternoon.

Dear God, this has me excited.........

Ciao.......Moe Lauzier

How do you thank someone who saved your life???

2010-11-13T14:48:00.001-05:00

"Stay with me Mr. W."

Mr. W was as near death as one could be without actually meeting his maker. I will not reveal private information other than to say that his health situation was perilous. Mr. W had suffered a relapse and was clinging to life by a fingernail.

Mr. W has multiple health issues, each of which could be fatal if not dealt with properly.

The Emergency Response Team at New Bedford ehabilitation Hospital swung into action. The Emergency Response Team is a diverse group of medical specialist including doctors, highly specialized nurses, and technicians. New Bedford Rehab specializes in doing the impossible, and on this night they did just that.

Helen and I were in a hallway adjacent to where this medical miracle took place. In what seemed like a scene from a Hollywood mega production, lights flashed, alarms sounded, and the Emergency Response Team assembled in the room of Mr. W. In what seemed like no time at all, these highly trained specialists swung into action with the precision of a finely tuned Swiss watch.

Without anyone barking commands everyone knew what was expected of them. Within minutes of what would have been a human disaster, miracles were performed. The team was made up of people who in other circumstances may not have found a great deal of common ground, among them were young, old, black, Hispanic, and whites of various ethnicity's who found common cause in saving the life of their patient. The same group at any other time could be found disagreeing on everything and anything, when the alarm sounded, they unified as one. Within what seemed like an eternity the team operated and performed a miracle they had performed many times in the past. Vitality had been restored to the life of Mr. W.

For this team saving lives in such a way is old hat , They perform this miracle whenever they are called upon. How do I know??? I was in similar situation as Mr. W just a few weeks ago. Without the effort of these men and women and people like them, I would not be writing this greeting.

ANY REPORTS OF MY DEMISE WERE PREMATURE AND EXAGGERATED.

I am alive and well and miss our daily get togethers in this space. My thanks to the management of NBRH for allowing me space for my laptop and a small filing cabinet to once again become a regular blogger.

I must admit I feel as giddy as a little boy with a new toy today. I'm not sure what I will be writing about in the upcoming days, and if there are any liberals still remaining after the conservative tidal wave which swept through here recently.

My heartfelt thanks to all those who wrote anything from praise, to cheers of glee that I was no longer blogging. I am back, and with Gods permission, here to stay.

It is amazing to have heard from as many people as we did during this time.

Over time I hope to be able to post different things daily. I will also be pleased to post your letters and comments in this space as we have always done in the past. While foul language we not be permitted any thoughts and expressions of any opinion will be posted verbatim.

Having experienced what I have, which includes multiple instances of have been placed in an induced coma 6 different times, I have learned to appreciate what is available to us. What occured are indeed miracles.

God Bless All, and we look forward to hearing back from you, and thank you for the many prayers and good wishes we received during my time of strife. Thanks again and we'll see you as soon as mental fertility permits.

Ciao....... Moe

Hey Piggly Wigglies, they're coming to get you.....

2010-09-16T01:00:00.001-04:00

The tea party movement began (no capitalization since it is a simple noun) about a year ago when it was ridiculed by just about everyone in government. Then the congressmen went home and faced the angry crowds of tea partiers.

The Democrat left poked fun at them calling them disorganized mobs and tea baggers. The Republicans at the time were not much better since they figured they would co-opt the bunch of yahoos who didn’t know didly about politics.

Fast forward a year and the picture is entirely different. Average Americans are speaking up as never before.

In the 1960s the term Silent Majority came into being. It was a way to describe middle Americans who supported Richard Nixon against the mobs of unwashed twits protesting everything. By 1980 they were silent no more. Ronald Reagan was their darling.

During the Reagan era the silent bunch was contented and occupied themselves with producing and creating. Those years laid the groundwork for the economic revolution which William Clinton took credit for.

In 1994, again dissatisfied, the silent gang kicked many of the bums out of office and we witnessed a Clinton needing to compromise on just about everything and more.

During the next six years complacency set in. We were busy building the economic giant led by the high tech revolution.

From roughly 1983 to 9/11 2001 the economy flew. It was a golden age. The economic engine was purring along at break neck speeds. Virtually anyone who wanted a job had one. Inflation was under control. And due to cutting the US military to a shadow of its former self government spending actually went down and deficits were unheard of despite President Clinton.

~~~

A line from The Drudge Report says it all, “One nation under revolt”. In an article in today’s Washington Examiner, Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen (former Democrat pollster) say the following:

“The Tea Party movement has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in recent American political history.

“It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties. It is potentially strong enough to elect senators, governors and congressmen. It may even be strong enough to elect the next president of the United States -- time will tell.

“But the Tea Party movement has been one of the most derided and minimized and, frankly, most disrespected movements in American history. Yet, despite being systematically ignored, belittled, marginalized, and ostracized by political, academic, and media elites, the Tea Party movement has grown stronger and stronger.”

Now I suspect I know what is at play here. It is Americans being typically American. We are focused as we have not been in some time. Maybe we’d have to go back to World War II to find this laser like focus on task.

During the war years our troops did whatever was needed. No obstacle was too large, no foe too formidable, no sacrifice too great. The magnitude of the task at hand was enormous but not overwhelming. It is amazing what can happen when we keep our eye on the ball and ignore all the distractions. We fought on multiple fronts.

After the carnage which was Pearl Harbor we were David versus Goliath. Except for England all our allies were severely battered. Everything went into the effort and when the time came it was not a case of David slew Goliath, he kicked the living cr@p out of him.

Just think about the nature of the deed we managed to achieve in WWII. We were cripled as a nation by the Great Depression and the dumb policies of Franklin Roosevelt which kept us in economic chaos lo those many years. The stock market crash, the colapse of our economic centers, the failure of a large percentage of our banks, the losses incurred by millions of working class Americans, the great dust bowl, and on and on it went.

America had become the land of the walking dead. We were dispirited and each day was pure drudgery.

Then Japan did something to shake us out of our lethargy. The attack on Pearl Harbor was supposed to finish us off. The opposite was true.

In what most Japanese war planners assumed would be a severe blow to our ability to respond to them they thought we would sue for peace and thus give Japan a green light in China and the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand. One Japanese planner and leader had his doubts.

I suspect you recall what happens when you assume something. You make something special, an ass/[of]u/me.

Harvard University educated Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto feared Pearl simply awakened a sleeping giant. How right he was.

That generation which had been demoralized by the Great Depression closed ranks and did whatever was necessary for the war effort. In the end all three great powers, Germany, Italy and Japan and their allies surrendered unconditionally.

When facing severe obstacles we have as a nation been able to pull together and defeat any foe and problem.

The last few years we have been confronted with a brakdown in our political system.

Many years ago George Wallace noted there wasn’t a nickel’s worth of diference between the Republican and Democrat parties. How right he was.

The gentle sleeping giant has been awakened again. The characters in Washington and our state capitols are clueless and fully in denial. Each election brings more and more failures of the aristocracy to comprehend we are mad as hell and will no longer take it from them. The great advantage of our side in this matter is they are applying the same dumb logic they applied to running the ship of state so precariously close to the rocks.

What is happening is we are taking back the power over our lives we had granted them. We are taking back our government. The government belongs to us. The wealth of this nation is created by private individuals, not by governments or politicians.

Most Americans recognize the insanity of all that has gone on from the TARP billions to the takeover of the health care industry.

The pitchfork and broom brigade is taking control.

The next depression in the United States will be all the ensconced politicians who are losing their jobs.

If you think the last year has been something, frankly you ain’t seen nuttin yet.

Ciao…….Moe

The times --- they are changin'

2010-09-15T03:58:00.000-04:00

Just when you think the world is going crazy it does.

The National Republican Party is rebuked again and again. This time in Delaware. To listen to them squawk after a series of humiliating defeats you understand it is time for a complete house cleaning and put into place people with a vision of America.

The likes of the house minority leader who is already compromising on something the public is clamoring against (the repeal of any part of the original Bush tax cuts scheduled to die on their own) John Boehner, the erstwhile future House Speaker, is allowing his petticoat to show. Ditto in the senate Republican leadership where Senate Minority leader talks a good game but caves in when it is time to stand up. Mitch McConnell is a throwback to a loser of a party.

The Republicans may well be saved from themselves this year thanks to the Tea Party Movement. The movement is like a political steam roller. Get with it or become part of the pavement.

New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Nevada, Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, etc. are not aberrations. The public is fed up to here with politics as usual. There is a strong demand we return to our American core values and the constitution.

Voters are being very pragmatic. Either the candidate will serve the system well or out that candidate goes. Oops, there goes another insider. The old guard have vanished this primary season in the GOP in Utah, Alaska, Delaware, and other places. What we have witnessed in the past few weeks may well become a political equivalent of a tsunami by the time we reach November 2nd.

Our country is in trouble. It is not enough for Republicans to lay claim of having done less damage than Democrats. Both parties have been remiss in serving the people. After all it is still ”we the people”, not “we the politicians”.

We got an email after yesterday’s election returns made it obvious the wave continued to build and was washing away a lot of political seaweed. The writer asked about both parties’ leaders, “Don’t they get it yet?” The answer to that is no and they won’t because they don’t want to.

We are in a war with the establishment. It will not relinquish its power easily. Power, at least in part, is what drives politicians. In order to maintain that power they must collude with the opposition at times. The house and senate are two big clubs.

We are a good and thoughtful people not prone to harsh judgments concerning those we hire to operate our ship of state. If you need proof of that just consider Charley Rangel being treated as a great man instead of the petty thief he in fact is. We did the same with Gerry Studds after he had sex with a teen page after getting him drunk. And of course, there was the Clinton/Lewinsky spectacle as well. Of course, how could we forget my very own congressman, Barney Frank who had a pimp operate out of the bedroom of his Georgetown Townhouse in Washington. The list could go on and on but you get the idea.

Times they are a changin‘. We can no longer afford incompetent people at the helm of our public institutions.

Do you recall the time your Mom or Dad admonished you that if you go too far all hell would break out? I do and it did. We are about to exercise our right as employers to fire those employees whom we think are failing us and taking advantage of our basically good nature along the way.

The days of the Billy Bulgers ripping off the public treasury as he did and laughing in our faces are over. Ditto for many senators and representatives, and governors and yes a president in a couple of years.

We the people are now starting to resolve not to let power class to lay waste to us.

A word to our departing power mongers, “Don’t let the door slam into your ample derrieres as you leave.” The party (or should I say the parties) is over. Now go.

Ciao…….Moe

The United States Constitution....Do we still need that old document?

2010-09-14T03:30:00.004-04:00

There are times you get too tired to sleep. Tonight is such a night. It’s approaching two AM and I’m no closer to sleep that the Red Sox are to a World Series.

Our trip West proved correct Murphy’s law which dictated that whatever could go wrong went wrong. This not a complaint, just an observation.

We are home safe and sound and all is well which ends well. There was much to be had from this trip but I’ll spare you the details.

Whenever I toss and turn unable to sleep (this time by my latest bout with sciatica) I get to thinking. Sometimes that can be a dangerous thing. I’ll leave it to you to judge whether it is a good or bad thing this time.

Each time I travel in this broad and beautiful land I marvel at how lucky we are and how good we are as a people in general. An auto mechanic and a VW dealership in Albuquerque, New Mexico restored my sense that when the occasion arises good people do good things.

Enough of the trip from hell and now to something that makes me very thankful I was born in the USA. It is what was on my mind as I slipped from between the covers of a warm and comfortable bed.

Thanks to satellite radio I got my full dose of what is happening via Fox News Network’s audio feed. We kept up on the progress of the hurricane which whipped through Texas and parts of Oklahoma. Yup, we were in the middle of it. After the storminess was over and our car situation was cared for we listened to all the stories concerning the presidential election. That is what set me to thinking (Helen says it is always a dangerous thing).

This may be the most momentous election of my lifetime. Even more revolutionary than the election of Ronald Reagan.

Why? Well I’m glad you asked.

We have had elections which turn the ship of state in ways not expected only a few years earlier. The Abe Lincoln election of 1860 was just one of them. There were great debates in the countryside and congress throughout the 1840s and 1850s on the subject of states’ rights and slavery. It was bitter and many compromises were made. As a nation we were consumed by how to deal with slavery and whether states had the right to secede from the Union.

That wasn’t decided until the bloody Civil War. The aftermath of that war was not finally settled for nearly 100 years.

Politicians play all sorts of games and tricks on us to divide and conquer us at the ballot box. Race, religion, and other emotional hot buttons are used to get us to accept yet more and more government involvement in our lives so as to control us. Somewhere along the line we lost our sense of what made America great in the first place. Freedom. That simple.

We were founded as a nation which granted certain powers to government not the other way around.

That, boys and girls is what distinguishes us from ALL other nations of the world save possibly Great Brittan. Of course they still have a monarchy which has very limited powers but still has great influence. Their parliament is bicameral with one house belonging to the common man and the other the lords. Therefore there is nothing else in the world quite like the United States.

Unfortunately we have allowed our basic foundation to develop some cracks and weaken our structure.

As was the country a hundred fifty years ago, we are at the threshold of a series of elections which will determine if this great and noble experiment of governance of, by and for the people will continue and return to its fundamentals of less government and more individual responsibility or, in the words of then actor Ronald Reagan, rely on some small intellectual elite in a far off capital to decide for us what they believe is best.

Those of us who believe in the founders principles have been made out to be extremists and radicals. Lets take a look at that idea that maybe our constitution is old and outmoded. Lets examine that notion. The US Constitution (along with the Declaration of Independence) is still the greatest document ever written by mortal man which sets out laws and principles which creates an atmosphere for us to live together in liberty and freedom.

We are unmatched by any nation in world history in placing in the hands of the people their own fate.

Let us start with a basic question about our governing document, the Constitution. Is it a radical or extremist document? Well, yes it is. There is nothing else quite like it even today. It was adopted on September 17, 1787, nearly two and a quarter centuries ago. It has been amended twenty-seven times.

The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights and were ratified along with the Constitution itself. That leaves seventeen other amendments during the course of the nearly 225 years.

Three of the seventeen deal with matters of the Civil War, two regarding booze (prohibition and the reversal of that prohibition). The remaining twelve amendments to the Constitution deal with presidential succession, a limitation on congressional pay raises, eighteen year old voting age, elimination of the poll tax, limit’s the number of full terms a person may serve as president, the emancipation of women voters, and the popular election of US Senators.

In essence there has been only limited changing of the original document.

Therefore is it radical or extreme to support the document as our governing element and demand adherence to its tenants? Let’s review some parts of the document and where you and I may stand on its protections and directives.

Does anyone seriously have a problem with the idea of the separation of church and state? How about freedom of assembly and speech? Freedom of the press (which we are exercising here)?

The constitution says individuals have a right to possess weapons.

Is there a problem with prohibiting the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners?

Are warrant less searches by agents of the government a good thing? The Constitution prohibits that.

Is there something wrong with the protection we are all afforded by the Fifth Amendment in that we cannot be compelled to give testimony against ourselves?

Then there is the guarantee of a speedy trial. We don’t throw residents in jail for interminable periods of time. That’s pretty neat in my book. This same amendment provides us with what are known as Miranda Rights. Is that radical?

Of course we are entitled to juries in civil cases, yup that’s in there. Add to that this document forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

The Ninth Amendment declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained by the people.

Just so there is no mistake on what the Constitution is all about we have a Tenth Amendment. It “reserves to the states respectively, or to the people,” any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.

All that is just the Bill of Rights. The rest of the Constitution is a comprehensive document intended to protect us from the power of government and act and live in a free manner. The three branches of government are defined and the powers of each are established.

Constitutional Scholars have hypothesized the order in which he three branches were defined in the constitution indicates the respect for each they had.

The legislative, that body closest to the people is described first, followed by the executive and lastly the courts. There is some thought the courts are last because they are the farthest removed from the people. While there is limited overlap in the three branches, their powers are well delineated.

The bottom line concerning the US Constitution is the people are supreme and the ultimate power over government is in the hands of the people and their reprtesentatives.

The constitution is about one thing, LIBERTY. What a beautiful word. May we defend it to the last.

The United States is still the greatest nation on earth, in large part because of the Constitution. People have by the millions and continue in equal numbers risk everything to come here. There is a good reason fro that.

The coming elections will determine if a little intellectual elite in our far off capital will dictate to us or us to the government.

VIVA la Constitution. Long live the Republic.

Ciao.......Moe

Troubles in Albuquerque

2010-09-10T09:44:00.001-04:00

We had big time headaches when we left Albuqurque, New Mexico yesterday morning. Thanks to a pot hole on the George Washington Bridge in New York City Monday morning at about 2:30 AM we had car troubles here.

We'll go into more detail the next time we stop. We are OK and are leaving Albuquerque with a good feeling for some of the people who helped us here. A special thanks to the very nice people at University Motors VW. The service we received was outstanding. They moved heaven and earth to get us on the road again. I am happy we have a VW Passat.

What's that old saw, all's well that ends well. It certainly applies here.

Ciao.......Moe

Good morning from Albuquerque, New Mexico

2010-09-09T19:05:00.001-04:00

We traveled from Oklahoma City to Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday. We suspect you saw/heard the weather news for this part of the country. We left OK City when there was a full blown rain storm with the clap of thunder in the background.

We broke out of the rain just long enough to see even heavier clouds surrounding us from the South (Texas) and West. Our fancy dandy GPS gives highway trouble and severe weather alerts when we travel. We learned it showed areas where tornadoes were possible. Rats, we were in Western Oklahoma, very flat and no place to hide smack dab in the middle of the tornado warnings.

The only thing we concluded we could do was push on as fast as safely possible and keep a weary eye on the clouds around us. What would we have done had we seen a tornados’ funnel? That’s easy. Panic and Pray.

We heard on local radio some twisters touched down in the area and were moving erratically in the area. Oh joy.

We were lucky. I-40, while we were on it passed us through between the meanest looking clouds. We did go through some sheets of rain which was as worrisome as a whiteout in a snow storm.

Suddenly, just as we approached New Mexico we broke out of the bad weather.

There was one short blast of bad weather about a half hour along (we saw the line of thunder clouds ahead of us). Again, we found a seam. We listened to Fox News Network on our satellite radio and realized the heavy rain we encountered wound up heading to the areas of the forest fires in Colorado.

We’ve taken hundreds of photos along the way and will post some as soon as we can. Today we’re off to Flagstaff, Arizona and then to Phoenix.

Have a good day.

Ciao…….Moe

On the road again.......

2010-09-08T11:20:00.000-04:00

Good God, He sure knows how to rain hard in these parts.

Made it to Oklahoma City last night. Weather spotty for the last day but a deluge this morning. We transited all of Missouri and Oklahome to here. No Internet last night.

Heading to Flagstaff and will write more from there and may post some of the trip's photos.

I'm being given the bum's rush and on my way.

Ciao.......Moe

Good morning from Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

2010-09-07T08:13:00.000-04:00

1000+ miles of driving yesterday and we learned more our country than I thought possible.

Our youngest daughter is finally on her father/daughter trip (she has been on her Mom/daughter tour some time ago).

Helen and I have taken each of our offspring on their own special tour and Helene is the last of these excursioins. None was planned for anything special other than to explore our vast and beautiful land together.

As soon as we settle somewhere for a few consecutive days we'll share some of the specific experiences (such as our tour of Pittsburgh).

Right now it's free breakfast time at our hotlel and we'll push off West for parts unknown.

The last stop on our trip will be Arizona where Helene has some unfinished business and I plan to play in the desert and take pictures to my heart's content.

Thanks to the miracle of satellite radio we are keeping up what's happening everywhere (Fox Network is on there) and some left and right talk channels. Good music is there in abundance too.

I'll try to write tonight if there we arrive at a reasonable hour.

Ciao.......Moe

Where's Earl.......

2010-09-04T17:13:00.004-04:00

1 --- Earl is a liberal. All hot air.

2 --- The unemployment rate has jumped again.

President Obama called a press conference and somehow spun the latest numbers as an improvement in available jobs. The president called of the new job numbers “positive but not good enough”. Talk about competing with Earl.

3 --- The headline of the week appears in CNS News today:

Arizona Now Has a ‘Whopping 30’ National Guard Troops and 15 Billboard Signs Warning Citizens About Drug Cartels Operating on Public Lands

4 --- All the hard work he’s done over the last few minutes, surely the president has earned some time off so he will leave for the Camp David presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.

5 --- Did you see the video of old Fidel Castro giving a national speech, his first in four years.

We are told the Cuban medical system performs many miracles. I agree. They did a wonderful job on this old cadaver.

6 --- Until recently it was a given the governor of West Virginia would capture the seat of old KKK biggy, Bobby Bird. Don’t count those ballots yet.

Governor Joe Manchin has a 70% approval ranking as the state’s governor. That should about seal that race. Well the latest polling on the race has him ahead of his opponent, John Raese, a coal company executive who is self funding his campaign, by only 48-42.

Manchin’s biggest problem is the people like him as governor. He is not a run of the mill democrat. He is very conservative on social issues (guns, abortion, etc.) and a strong advocate for the coal industry. The Mountaineer State is heavily reliant on coal and the national democrats including the president have bashed coal as an energy source.

The tidal wave due to crash on shore November 2nd is growing by the day.

7 --- I’ll be hitting the road for a few days next week and all these stories about bedbugs has me very concerned. Many years ago I stayed in a hotel which was infested with palmetto bugs. Those little creeps are like bedbugs, nocturnal. They come out at night. Unlike bedbugs, the palmettos did not bite. They were crunchy if you went to the bathroom without turning on lights.

8 --- In the “Oh Wow!” department this item:

The director general of the BBC admitted Thursday that his organization had been guilty of a "massive bias to the left" but said "a completely different generation" of journalists now works at the broadcaster.

BBC was as far left or even more so at the great American MSNBC.

9 --- I had a couple of glasses of wine last night which unlocked my vivid imagination.

The man who had hardly learned where the john was near the Oval Office before being made Time Man of the Year and received the Peace Prize, is now derided by Time as Mr. Unpopular.

It didn’t take long. That thud you heard is anything related to Obama.

10 --- Jeffrey Frankel, economic guru for Bill Clinton, said on Fox News, the problem with the economy is we didn’t spend enough. That’s not a typo.

I wonder if he got into some of that Arkansas white lightening.

Where do they get these beauties?

11 --- No doubt you’ve heard about the Justice Department's lawsuit to stop the new Arizona immigration law. The feds are also suing the Maricopa Community College system in Phoenix, charging it broke the law by asking a job seeker to provide a green card before being hired.

On Thursday the Justice Department filed suit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's office, as part of an extended investigation into alleged civil rights violations there. County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says it is nothing more than bullying by the feds.

Now we learn that just six months before that, in September 2008, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, did its own investigation of Arpaio's office -- and gave it a clean bill of health.

As an anonymous person writing on a blog said, “The (In)Justice Dept under Holder dun need no steekin' facts. This isn't an investigation, it's a persecution. Considering what has gone on at Justice what is really needed is an outside investigation of that institution. From those who have already made statements and even quit, Holder and his closest aides couldn't withstand such heat.”

Amen pal.

12 --- I just saw a promotional announcement on Fox which used some comments from my congressman (gag and choke) Bawney Fwank. He was sputtering something about how he almost saved the banking system, if only others had listened to him. God save us all.

13 --- Obama is only now beginning to feel the heat, even from his own party. We cannot help but wonder whether he can handle the pressure. Until now he has had an overwhelming majority in the house, not to mention a compliant Speaktress and in the Senate, an old creep who would do anything for his leader.

The Speaktress is on her way out of the speakeasy she has been operating and the Majority Leader in the senate is about to get sent home.

Big Boy Barry could be pretty much alone in standing up to the awful Republican majorities in both houses.

We can’t help but wonder whether the community organizer will have the fortitude to stand up for what he says he believes in. Then again will he fold like an envelope and somehow move on.

14 --- This is from a military friend…..

Indian ordering coffee

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up."

He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee..... The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says,

"Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

VOTE 'EM ALL OUT!

Eddy (Wormy) Wa…..n SSBG

Formerly of Baghdad where God is still Alive and Working.

15 --- Imagine what would have been said by the left loonies if the Discovery Channel gunman had been a fan of George Bush instead of GasBag Gore.

16 --- Hey Barry, quite a job well done. Your recovery lost only 54,000 jobs lost month. Good work Mr. Community Organizer (whatever that is). Just think, if he gets his way and another stimulus plan we’ll all be out of work. If that happens who will pay to support Queen Michelle and Barry’s aunt Zeituni?

17 --- The US Postal Service has been teetering on the edge of joining buggy whips and dinosaurs in the dustbin of history. We have 10s of thousands of people working for USPS and have subsidized the postal service to the tune of billions of dollars.

Part of the problem the USPS faced was competition which had been prohibited by law for many years. Therefore subsidies came pouring in to the post office.

The United Parcel Service (aka, Big Brown) built a dynasty of its own doing the things the Post Office would not. Laws were in place to protect the post office from competition such as limiting 1st class mail to the USPS. After the laws were changed UPS (and a couple of other companies) made out big time at the expense of the post office. Competing for a government entity is really no big deal since if it ceases to be profitable the congress turns to the taxpayer and covers the losses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqqTKQhBsSs&feature=pyv&ad=5836042872&kw=senate%20democrats

UPS – the 100-year-old company that operated for decades as a parcel-delivery monopoly – is quietly seeking a Congressional bailout designed to limit competition for overnight deliveries.

Using their clout as the “biggest giver to U.S. lawmakers,” UPS hopes to slip this bailout in under the radar.

UPS lobbyists have buried a short 230-word legislative bailout deep inside the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 currently before Congress. It’s worth billions to “Big Brown” at the expense of today’s American economy that thrives on next-day commerce, competitive shipping options and ready access to markets around the world.

The bailout bottom-line is this: What’s the difference between a 100-year-old trucking company and a modern airline that flies packages around the world every night? Answer: everything. Yes, both carry parcels and packages, but how they do it is obviously and vastly different.

UPS’ bailout would shoehorn FedEx Express – an airline created in 1971 focused on next-day delivery of essential goods and documents around the world – into the same operating rules as a 100-year-old trucking company. FedEx Express and other airlines operate just fine under airline regulations, but UPS doesn’t like competition. Keep in mind, UPS chose to form as a separate trucking company for its pickup and delivery operations.

So “Big Brown” is throwing around its political weight and seeking a bailout from Congress, so that it can saddle its only remaining U.S. competitor with the effects of its own decisions. And at the end of the day, all of us who rely on overnight-deliveries – medicines, paychecks, critical replacement parts, essential inventory, and the like – pay the cost.

Now that ads a little transparency to some legislative efforts. The devil is in the details.

As mentioned above, the mischief is in a 230 word amendment to FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009. I wonder if any congressman will bother to read the bill before voting for it or will they have to pass it to learn what’s in it.

Wouldn’t it be fun watching Barney Frank or Nancy Pelosi drool trying to explain why this is necessary.

18 --- How can you screw up the carpeting in the Oval Office? Easy.

We’re all familiar with the Oval Office carpet which is adorned with the presidential seal. What few of us knew is there are quotations of famous Americans woven around the perimeter.

Quotations of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. woven along its curved edge on the new carpet ordered by BO.

Only, there is a little mistake. On the carpet’s edge this quote appears: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." The words are attributed to Rev. King. That’s nice. It’s also wrong? They are the words Theodore Parker.

Here is a little background on Mr. Parker. He was an abolitionist, Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist thinker who foresaw the end of slavery, and who died at age 49 at about the time the Civil War began. His grandpa commanded the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington.

You can file that under oops.

We'll tell you about our upcoming travcel. We plan to see some big things, the Grand Canyon for one. We'll also attempt to take many pictures.

Ciao.......Moe

Michelle thanks you.....her pride in the USA bubbles over....

2010-09-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

My fellow Americans,

For only the second time in my adult life, I am not ashamed of my country. I want to thank the hard working American people for paying $242 thousand dollars plus additional expenses for my vacation in Spain . My daughter Sasha, several long-time family friends, my personal staff and various guests had a wonderful time. Honestly, you just haven't lived until you have stayed in a $2,500.00 per night suite at a 5-Star luxury hotel. We only booked 70 rooms for our friends, staff and family. Thank you also for the use of Air Force 2 and the 70 Secret Service personnel who tagged along to be sure we were safe and cared for at all times.

Air Force 2 only used 47,500 gallons of jet fuel for this trip and carbon emissions were a mere 1,031 tons of CO2. It costs only $11,500 per hour to operate Air Force 2 and each additional plane for the other members of our party group. These are only rough estimates, but they are close (who's counting?). That's quite a carbon footprint as my good friend Al Gore would say, so we must ask the American citizens to drive smaller, more fuel efficient cars and drive less too, so we can lessen our combined carbon footprint.

I know times are hard and millions of you are struggling to put food on the table and trying to make ends meet. I do appreciate your sacrifice and do hope you find work soon. I was really exhausted after Barack took our family on a luxury vacation in Maine a few weeks ago. I just had to get away for a few days. Will write more from Martha's Vineyard where we will spend our sixth vacation this year with more of our family and friends.

Cordially,

Michelle Obama

Why you should vote Democrat......

2010-09-02T07:55:00.002-04:00

When your friends can't explain why they voted for Democrats, give them this list. They can then pick a reason .

10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

3. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the democrats see fit.

2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

1. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my butt, that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

Ciao.......Moe

Been as busy as a one armed paper hanger. BTW Earl is a Liberal Democrat.

2010-09-01T22:57:00.000-04:00

1 --- Please FLY THE FLAG and forward this Issues of the Day item immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it to their acquaintances.

If you forward this email to least few people and each of those people do the same ... you get the idea.

On Saturday, September 11th, 2010, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States .

Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this ninth anniversary of one our country's worst tragedies. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

We’ve received many recommendations on how to memorialize 9/11.

I don't usually suggest you send out our posts, but given the increased push by the media to forget what happened (it took a proposed mosque to even get the media talking about it), now more than ever we need to show we have not forgotten.

Here’s the Plan:

Please...

(1) Forward this item to everyone you know (at least dozen people). Ask them to do the same. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, we should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.

(3) If you have small children remind them what 9/11 is about. Children who were five at the time will have only a limited recollection of what happened. Those who were younger likely have no active memory of the planes that crashed into the twin towers, the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania. They must be informed and reminded.

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor I was only tenant in my Mother. I wouldn’t make my appearance on this Earth for a few more months.

Yet, due to the conscientiousness of friends and family Pearl Harbor is a part of me and many of my generation.

We need to pass on to our youngsters what happened on 9/11 and the significance of that day.

Thank you for your attention.

Please fly your flag on 9/11. God Bless You and God Bless America!!!1 --- A tip of the hat to Glen Beck. He did what no other conservative has done. His rally was in the finest tradition of America.

3 --- A few weeks ago an obscure state senator overturned the GOP primary for the US Senate defeating far better known and financed opponents along the way.

Sharon Angle came out of the primary with a comfortable victory but with a GOP that was intransigent over her candidacy. It is questionable whether any Republican could have had unified support of the party.

The Elephants in Nevada are in shambles and the party splintered between establishment types and grassroots party people, all of whom are fundamentally conservative.

Harry Reid was in the US Senate for what seems like a hundred years and cultivated a reputation different than his voting record. He has always been able to bring home the bacon and was a favorite of the gaming industry.

The collapse of the economy in Nevada has called attention to many of the fallacies liberals have peddled since the beginning of time and that meant Nevada voters as well, who are at their heart are libertarian-conservative. Their do what you want and leave me alone philosophy includes government.

Gaming dollars have always been a factor in the state’s elections but they are starting to dry up. There are casinos everywhere in the USA. Why would someone want to spend hundreds of dollars to visit Vegas to gamble. From the obscure palaces in Rhode Island and Connecticut, the pleasure domes in Atlantic City, the ubiquitous Indian Casinos throughout the country and Vegas loses lots of its luster and attractiveness. Add to that a putrid economy in California and that part of the Nevada economy is in trouble.

Nevada has undergone major changes and will continue to do so. A few handouts from Washington won’t cut it for them. They need to return to those things which made the state so different.

The overhead of having to care for illegal aliens and their families is possibly the first expense which will need to go. You can be certain there is a watchful eye turned south to Arizona and its battle to get out from under the burdens of enormous numbers of illegals.

The worm has changed in Nevada and a new Angle will be cut on November 2nd.

4 --- Sometimes we need to “tell it like it is” with no squishy wording. So here goes. The GOP will not only win the House of Representatives, they will sweep to victory in the Senate as well.

The house victory may be of historic proportions. 2010 will be a bigger year than 1994 when the GOP swept the Democrats out with the house for the first time since Joe Martin of Attleboro was House Speaker. That was during the Truman Administration when Democrats were real Democrats.

The 253-178 majority in the House will evaporate. The swing here could nearly reverse the Democrat majority.

On the Senate side, the GOP victory could be as much as reversing a 59-41 majority for Democrats to a 52-48 GOP majority.

Senator Harry Reid likely will get kicked our of office so we won’t have the pleasure of him handing over the gavel to the new Majority Leader because he will be applying for unemployment benefits.

On the House side it will be a glorious moment when Nancy Pelosi hands the Speaker’s gavel to the Republican.

It will be a three George Killian Red afternoon.

5 --- Issues of the Day has learned HURRICANE EARL IS A DEMOCRAT.

The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money.

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, a Democrat (surprise), denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so "unknowingly" and would work with the foundation to "rectify the financial situation."

All dummies who break the law and plead stupidity. If we believe her we’re the dumb ones.

8 --- Concerning the terrible floods, how much have Muslim nations pledged to help Pakistan in its time of need? Answer…..Didly, nada, nuttin, as usual.

Listen to this….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv4jnlkxOaw

You heard what he said, “My father served in WWII”….

He’s full of crap. This bum is not even a good liar.

Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (Obama's father) was born on April 4, 1936. He died November 24, 1982. Old Barack Obama was all of 5 years old when the war began. He died at age 46 in 1982.

Maybe the Liar in Chief meant his step father, Lolo Soetoro.

He was born in 1935 and died in 1987 at 52. He was 6 when WWII started.

Mistake? No, just a cocky jerk who figured no one would look into anything he says.

He’s been given a free pass by the national media.

Did Obama graduate from Columbia and Harvard? I wouldn’t bet the mortgage money on that.

What did the Manchurian candidate look like?

10 --- We keep hearing the term radical or extremist applied to conservative candidates who kick establishment Republicans and Democrats out of office. They are those used by the yahoos who have placed us in a precarious economic and foreign policy situation. Incompetence runs deep not only in this administration but the congress on both sides of the aisle.

Most of the people with possible answers to our problems are the outsiders with a strong feeling we must turn the ship of state 180-degrees to avoid the waterfall.

The most pressing problem is to correct the fatal flaws in ObamaCare. Failure to do that and we are tampering with the well being of our seniors.

Other things keeping us off balance is nonsense coming out of the White House and the Democrat Party. Any time anyone objects to their policies the opponents are accused of playing race-card politics.

Chuck Muth recently outlined the craziness in vogue these days. Here are just some of the things disturbing a vast majority of Americans:

· Suing Arizona for cracking down on illegal immigration

· Amnesty for illegal aliens

· Killing the Bush tax cuts

· Undermining our troops

· Tax-and-cap environmental extremism

· Lame response to BP oil spill

· Cash for clunkers

· Bank bailouts

· Union bailouts

· State government bailouts

· Bleeding Social Security dry

· Bleeding our children and grand-children dry

· Unrelenting unemployment

· Foreclosures

· Bankruptcies

· Ending secret ballot elections

· Nationalization of student loan programs

· Under-qualified, left-wing Supreme Court nominees

The list goes on and on. Is it extremist to want to stop the craziness or is it radical to defend all this nutty behavior?

What would be crazy would be to continue digging when we find ourselves already in a hole.

11 --- We are keeping an a weary eye on Earl. Helene and I are planning to depart at midnight Sunday night/Monday morning to Phoenix. Among the stops along the way, the Grand Canyon. We also plan to visit our border areas.

I’ve been exercising my camera shutter finger. I love the desert and plan to shoot pictures to my heart’s content.

If circumstances permit we plan to visit Ground Zero on 9/11. The attraction for such a visit is sort of like the draw for Moslems to visit Mecca.

The site should be cherished as a genuine American Holy Place.

Later…..

Ciao…….Moe

9 --- How big a LIAR is Barack Obama?7 --- Now, this must be a GOP conspiracy, but a Democrat had been accused of taking funds set aside for directing thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005.6 --- Is Barack a Moslem? Who cares, he doesn’t go to church.

2 --- Congratulations to Beck and his friends.

Charlie Daniels view of the Obama Administration

2010-08-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

After being in the music business for 52 years it's just about all I know; anything at all about--and in keeping with my admittedly narrow knowledge--I would like to draw an analogy concerning the Obama administration, viewing things from my vantage point.

Ok, let's say you pick out the finest symphony conductor in the world, add the greatest singer and seven or so of the finest classical musicians on the planet.

You get them together backstage and say, "Alright, there are twenty thousand fans out front, standing room only, expectations are off the charts, they are looking for the best show they've ever seen.

Now the curtain goes up in five minutes, the sound has been checked out, the lights set and everything is perfect, the stage is set for the greatest show the world has ever seen.

Now get there and knock 'em out guys! They're all with you; you're all superstars in their eyes. Go show 'em how it's done.

Oh, there's only been one change brkbar; Tonight you have to do your show playing songs you've never played and you'll have to improvise. There's no sheet music. You'll just have to jam."

Can you imagine the panic backstage?

You see, some of the very finest musicians on earth can't jam a lick. I remember a few years ago when I had a couple of young fiddle players come on stage with me and play "The South's Gonna Do It Again."

They had learned the parts I'd played on the record, arrangement, lead lines and all and played it perfectly note for note.

Everything was going swimmingly until I decided to leave the arrangement and jam for a while. When I turned to one of them and told them to take a solo the kid was as lost as a baby sheep in a hale storm.

They had no more idea about improvising than they did about how to build a spaceship.

"The South's Gonna Do It Again" is a simple twelve bar blues song that any musician from any garage band would be able to take a solo on, but even though these kids were extremely talented and played what they knew perfectly, when it came to jammin, they were totally lost. They had just never learned to do it.

To me the presidency is kind of like jammin'. You have to roll with the flow, improvise, adapt to the moment, pick up on what's going on and deal with it.

Our president has never had to jam, he's always had the sheet music in front of him and he's never had to play a note somebody else had not written for him.

One of the biggest mistakes President Obama made when he came in office was to surround himself with a bunch of players who had never jammed either. None of them have ever had any practical experience in the real world.

In essence, they are a bunch of paper tigers, they do an incredible job of spending other people's money and sneaking legislation through the back door, but out in the real world, where there are no scripts, down where the rubber meets the road there is probably not a person in the bunch who could change a flat tire, much less deal with the complex problems America faces.

The only thing Obama has done with any problem that has arisen is to throw money at it, and in truth, that's sadly all he knows how to do.

When it comes to dealing with things that money alone won't fix like busted oil pipes at the bottom of the ocean or solving the problems on our southern borders he's lost and all those around him are lost.

The Obama cabinet is the most inept bunch imaginable. When people have only viewed the world from the top of an ivory tower they don't react very well when it's time to get their hands dirty.

Obama's people can't even accept real world concepts of the dangerous situations we're dealing with. Eric Holder wanting to try terrorists in civilian courts, in New York City of all places is nothing less than arrogance.

Janet Napolitano's gross inexperience in dealing with security matters is going to end up costing this country dearly.

Putting an unqualified person who has never even been a judge on the bench of the highest court in the land, for nothing more than her political leanings is insanity.

Everywhere you look you see eggheads with nothing more than a college degree to qualify them for the sensitive jobs they hold.

I'm just wondering how long it will take for a majority of the people in this country to realize that the wheel that steers the direction of this nation is in the hands of people who have no idea how to get from point a to point b without a roadmap and that roadmap just doesn't exist. Every trip is different.

I see disaster looming on the not too distant horizon, financial disaster, increasing danger from terrorist attack, unabated violence in the streets and an arrogant and unmanageable illegal alien population.

It's coming folks and Obama and the band are still in the dressing room looking for the sheet music.

They just can't jam.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, and for our country

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

Saturday, lovely Saturday.....

2010-08-28T21:05:00.000-04:00

1 --- Seen in the Drudge Report: US Assures Israel Nuclear Iran Isn't Imminent...

There now, with a glass of warm milk and everyone in Tel Aviv can sleep well tonight.

2 --- How many students K-12 do you think are housed in the latest Taj Mahal type school they spent $587 million to build? Take a guess, go ahead,. If you said 15,000, try again. 10,000 - nope. 7500, not close yet. Try 4200.…Bingo.

The Golden State regularly spends hundreds of millions on schools. Most of the most expensive are among the biggest failures.

Typical of liberals. Throw money at problems and somehow think the problem has been rectified.

I suspect liberals were in schools where they sat on their brains, shielding hem from any chance they would learn anything.

Did anyone ever tell them about Marva Collins’ schools?

in 1975 started Collins started Westside Preparatory School in Garfield Park, an impoverished neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She ran the school for more than 30 years until it closed in 2008, due to lack of sufficient enrollment and funding. She is famous for applying classical education successfully with impoverished students, many of whom had been wrongly labeled as 'learning-disabled' by public schools. She once wrote, "I have discovered few learning disabled students in my three decades of teaching. I have, however, discovered many, many victims of teaching inabilities."

3 --- So how is the grandiose Obama/Democrat health miracle doing in New Jersey? Just two people in New Jersey will begin receiving coverage Monday.

New Jersey Protect plans are available to those who have been without insurance for at least six months and submit evidence of pre-existing health conditions.

The state will receive $141 million in federal subsidies to cover claims that exceed the premiums paid by the beneficiaries.

Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey spokesman Tom Vincz expects more people will enroll in the coming weeks.

Vincz says more than 600 applications were downloaded and 268 information kits were sent out following the program's announcement on August 1.

Two policies are available, with premiums ranging from $212 to $768 monthly, depending on age.

Sounds like a land rush taking place in the Garden State.

4 --- Lots of us are following the mosque at Ground Zero controversy. According to a Rasmussen survey released today 85% of Americans are familiar with what is happening. That in itself is remarkable.

Of those familiar with the controversy 62% say no way. The mosque is supported by 25% and 13% are unsure.

5 --- Border cities in Mexico are armed camps and the violence is totally our of control of the Mexican government. We have incompetent people in many levels of the agencies charged with controlling the border.

Will it be long before we have our military there to seal the Mexican border. Bullets have struck the El Paso City Hall and landed on the campus of the University of Texas El Paso.

The problem is two fold. One is the security of our border and the second is the possibility of total anarchy on the Mexican side of the border. We

If all hell breaks out we will see refugees like we’ve never seen before here.

We had significant trouble handling boat lifts from Cuba and Haiti. Mexicans by the thousands will be rushing our border. How will we hndle that.

This administration has proven itself completely inept at dealing with any type of crisis. We have been unable to keep criminals from breaching our borders. Imagine hordes of people trying to escape because of fear. My bet is The Great One and his pinheaded “experts” have no contingency for handling such a problem.

6 --- On the three hot button issues, national security, taxes and immigration, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats by a very wide margin according to Rasmussen.

On National Security 49% chose the GOP while 37% favor the Democrats. On Taxes the margin is even greater with 52% to 36% trusting Republicans and 44% to 35% voters trust Republicans.

Rasmussen polled on ten issues. Besides the above, Republicans were favored on all. Education, Health Care, Iraq, Economy, Social Security (likely the first time since FDR the GOP is favored), and Government Ethics.

With the economy continuing to tank the GOP tidal wave may be even larger than forecast in recent weeks.

7 --- Stop the presses. According to Gallup Barack Obama, is doing very well in the polls. His approval is astronomically high for this time in his administration.

Moe, you’re full of bull. No I’m not.

Barack Obama has a 78% approval according to Moslem American voters. Among other non-Christian (non Jewish) has a 64% approval.

On the other end only 24% of Mormons approve of Obama.

Gallup did not reveal his Christian ratings. I bet the numbers are not so lofty.

One other encouraging number is that he is down about 10% with each of th above groups from 2009.

8 --- While on the subject of the Great Barry, much of his Cairo speech where he ripped this country was taken from the extremist Feisal Abdul Rauf.

Rauf made those claims during his world trip paid for by you in an interview in Egypt.

I can’t wait to worship at his new Mosque in New York. Umm….Would he let a Catholic in?

9 --- A huge surge in imports has kept the economic growth here down to 1.6% this spring, the lowest in more than a quarter century.

Seems Vice President Joe Blabbermouth was crowing about phenomenal growth this year and the great recovery he and Bamby was leading us to.

10 --- The Catholic leader will not be in attendance when the president delivers a speech at Xavier University.

In fact, according to a spokeswoman for the archbishop said he wasn’t consulted about the president’s visit to the Catholic university in New Orleans.

11 --- The Justice Department has decided (make that Obama has decided) not to prosecute before a military tribunal of suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. This means a civilian trial is imminent. From the way the administration is handling the matter it Appears they wanted to keep this news from making the news until after the election.

They are acting like creeps jerking the families of the seventeen murdered Cole shipmates around.

I recall the question posed to Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s, “Have you no shame, Sir?” In the case of Obama and his limpwristed radical whackos the answer is yes.

Have a nice weekend......and one other thing....Go Red Sox....This is it.

Ciao.......Moe

I lived in another Detroit in the 1960s. The GOP Convention which selected Ronald Reagan was there in 1980.....What a change.....

2010-08-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

DETROIT AS I ONCE KNEW IT....

Frosty Wooldridge (born 1947) is a US journalist, writer, environmentalist, traveler, and ... Wooldridge has argued in favor of population control policies.

For 15 years, from the mid 1970's to 1990, I worked in Detroit, Michigan. I watched it descend into the abyss of crime, debauchery, gun-play, drugs, school truancy, car-jacking, gangs, and human depravity. I watched entire city blocks burned out. I watched graffiti explode on buildings, cars, trucks, buses, and school yards. Trash everywhere !

Detroiters walked through it, tossed more into it, and ignored it. Tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands today exist on federal welfare, free housing, and food stamps !

With Aid to Dependent Children, minority women birthed eight to 10, and in one case, one woman birthed 24 children as reported by the Detroit Free Press, all on American taxpayer dollars.

A new child meant a new car payment, new TV, and whatever mom wanted. I saw Lyndon Baines Johnson's "Great Society" flourish in Detroit. If you give money for doing nothing, you will get more hands out taking money for doing nothing.

Mayor Coleman Young, perhaps the most corrupt mayor in America, outside of Richard Daley in Chicago, rode Detroit down to its knees. He set the benchmark for cronyism, incompetence, and arrogance.

As a black man, he said, "I am the MFIC." The IC meant "in charge".

You can figure out the rest. Detroit became a majority black city with 67 percent African-Americans.

As a United Van Lines truck driver for my summer job from teaching math and science, I loaded hundreds of American families into my van for a new life in another city or state.

Detroit plummeted from 1.8 million citizens to 912,000 today. At the same time, legal and illegal immigrants converged on the city, so much so, that Muslims number over 300,000. Mexicans number 400,000 throughout Michigan, but most work in Detroit. As the whites moved out, the Muslims moved in.

As the crimes became more violent, the whites fled. Finally, unlawful Mexicans moved in at a torrid pace. Detroit suffers so much shoplifting that grocery stores no longer operate in many inner city locations. You could cut the racial tension in the air with a knife!

Detroit may be one of our best examples of multiculturalism: pure dislike, and total separation from America .

Today, you hear Muslim calls to worship over the city like a new American Baghdad with hundreds of Islamic mosques in Michigan, paid for by Saudi Arabia oil money. High school flunk out rates reached 76 percent last June, according to NBC's Brian Williams. Classrooms resemble more foreign countries than America. English? Few speak it! The city features a 50 percent illiteracy rate and growing.

Unemployment hit 28.9 percent in 2009 as the auto industry vacated the city. In this week's Time Magazine October 4, 2009, "The Tragedy of Detroit: How a great city fell, and how it can rise again," I choked on the writer's description of what happened. "If Detroit had been ravaged by a hurricane, and submerged by a ravenous flood, we'd know a lot more about it," said Daniel Okrent. "If drought, and carelessness had spread brush fires across the city, we'd see it on the evening news every night.

Earthquake, tornadoes, you name it, if natural disaster had devastated the city that was once the living proof of American prosperity, the rest of the country might take notice.

But Detroit, once our fourth largest city, now 11th, and slipping rapidly, has had no such luck. Its disaster has long been a slow unwinding that seemed to remove it from the rest of the country. Even the death rattle that in the past year emanated from its signature industry brought more attention to the auto executives than to the people of the city, who had for so long been victimized by their dreadful decision making."

As Coleman Young's corruption brought the city to its knees, no amount of federal dollars could save the incredible payoffs, kick backs, and illegality permeating his administration. I witnessed the city's death from the seat of my 18-wheeler tractor trailer because I moved people out of every sector of decaying Detroit. "By any quantifiable standard, the city is on life support. Detroit's treasury is $300 million short of the funds needed to provide the barest municipal services," Okrent said. "The school system, which six years ago was compelled by the teachers' union to reject a philanthropist's offer of $200 million to build 15 small, independent charter high schools, is in receivership. The murder rate is soaring, and 7 out of 10 remain unsolved. Three years after Katrina devastated New Orleans , unemployment in that city hit a peak of 11%. In Detroit, the unemployment rate is 28.9%.

That's worth spelling out: twenty-eight point nine percent." At the end of Okrent's report, and he will write a dozen more about Detroit, he said, "That's because the story of Detroit is not simply one of a great city's collapse, it's also about the erosion of the industries that helped build the country we know today. The ultimate fate of Detroit will reveal much about the character of America in the 21st century. If what was once the most prosperous manufacturing city in the nation has been brought to its knees, what does that say about our recent past? And if it can't find a way to get up, what does that say about our future?"

As you read in my book review of Chris Steiner's book, "$20 Per Gallon", the auto industry won't come back. Immigration will keep pouring more, and more uneducated third world immigrants from the Middle East into Detroit, thus creating a beachhead for Islamic hegemony in America. If 50 percent illiteracy continues, we will see more homegrown terrorists spawned out of the Muslim ghettos of Detroit. Illiteracy plus Islam equals walking human bombs.

You have already seen it in Madrid, Spain; London, England, and Paris, France with train bombings, subway bombings and riots. As their numbers grow, so will their power to enact their barbaric Sharia Law that negates republican forms of government, first amendment rights, and subjugates women to the lowest rungs on the human ladder. We will see more honor killings by upset husbands, fathers, and brothers that demand subjugation by their daughters, sisters and wives. Muslims prefer beheadings of women to scare the hell out of any other members of their sect from straying.

Multiculturalism: what a perfect method to kill our language, culture, country, and way of life.

I PRAY EVERYONE THAT READS THIS REALIZES THAT IF WE DONT STAND UP, AND VOTE THE CRIMINALS OUT OF WASHINGTON D.C. AND OUR STATE, COUNTY, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, THIS IS WHAT AWAITS THE REST OF AMERICA.

IF YOU FOLLOW THE NEWS AT ALL YOU KNOW THIS HAS HAPPENED IN ENGLAND, AND FRANCE AND SPAIN .

IF YOU THINK THIS IS JUST ALARMIST NONSENSE AND YOU FEEL NO DUTY TO TAKE A STAND FOR YOUR COUNTRY, THEN I HOPE YOU WILL REMEMBER YOUR APATHY WHEN THE TIME COMES THAT THESE PROBLEMS ARE TOO CLOSE TO HOME FOR YOU TO IGNORE ANY LONGER.

We're not just losing America, but the whole world to a group of Neanderthals, Barbarians, and malcontents. Stone Age survivors at the public trough.

Rome is burning again it seems, while Congress sleeps. (act 3, scene 2, take 1).

Is this why liberalism is a mental disorder?

Ciao.......Moe

Sit back, close your eyes and openn your ears....

2010-08-22T22:52:00.001-04:00

Our Newport Sunset League Championship series was put on hold tonight because of the weather. With luck the series will begin Monday night at Cardines Field in Newport, at 6:30. Come one come all. Say hello, I should be behind the catcher.

What to do during a rainout? Rediscover some beautiful music. I began by listening to an opera in a railroad station and another in a marketplace. Outstanding.

One thing led to another on You Tube. Andre Rieu is to music what Ted Williams was to baseball, the ultimate performer.

Beautiful and talented women playing everything from Shubert to Shostakovich. The William Tell Overture like the Lone Ranger never heard it.

Rieu and his orchestra cross all (repeat all) the generations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZJdAN50VA&feature=PlayList&p=2DDB4C56FC25C91B&index=0&playnext=1

It would be great to have him and his orchestra at City Hall Plaza in Boston, or Great Woods, Fenway Park, or Gillette Stadium.

It would be wonderful if we could present Rieu and his music to a large audience of all ages, two to a hundred and two. To keep ticket prices reasonable and have as large an audience possible to expose as many as possible to this other world of music.

Ciao.......Moe

2010-08-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

Today’s Issues of the Day began as a series of bullets and ended as a nuclear bomb. Enjoy.

1--- What would have happened if this controversy over the Mosque destined for Ground Zero had occurred in 2002 instead of now. This whole thing is an in your face act by the mainstream of Islam. We keep saying there are good and bad Moslems. OK, will the good Moslems finally stand up? We’re waiting.

2 --- Have you heard a Democrat champion that pig of a piece of legislation they called health care recently. Listen to the crickets. You’ll not hear a Democrat even whisper health care in this election cycle. If they’re honest they will but don’t hold your breath waiting to find one.

3 --- Is he or isn’t he, only his Imam really knows.

4 --- Charlie Rangel just came out for the ground zero mosque. Hey Charlie go to jail you crook.

5 --- Really, who is Barack Obama? Red State has asked all the questions which should have been asked when Obama ran for State Senator. It is interesting that not only is his religion under question but just about everything about him.

How many interviews do you recall of former Obama pals in high school, college and from his street days? There may have been some but I don’t recall even one.

If the Washington Post is puzzled as to why this should be the case, it need look no further than the flaccid, sycophantic coverage it has given Obama the Senator, Obama the Candidate, and Obama the President.
-Obama’s lack of experience: ignored.
-The sale of Obama’s senate seat: ignored.
-Failure of Senator Obama’s subcommittee to hold hearings on Afghanistan: ignored.
-Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn: ignored.
-Obama’s relationship with Jeremiah Wright: ignored.
-Obama’s appointment of a pedophile as safe schools czar: ignored.
-Obama’s appointment of an avowed communist and 9/11 Troother as “green jobs czar”: ignored.
-Obama’s birth certificate: ignored.

We lump these all together for a reason - because they are all stories the legacy media should have covered had they been as invested in doing their job as they were in promoting Obama’s candidacy.

For those who pooh-pooh the idea that Obama’s birth origins warranted investigation I can only point out that the legacy media did cover the idea that John McCain’s birth in the US Canal Zone — to a US Naval officer and his American citizen wife — might exclude him from the presidency.

Whenever an area of controversy has arisen concerning Obama it has been ignored by the press and anyone bringing up the subject demonized. This has had two effects. First, a lot of the nuttiness on this administration has been exposed by nontraditional media. Second, the refusal of the legacy media to investigate gives an aura of plausibility to just about any story circulating about the administration.

So while this lickspittle relationship the media has with Obama did enable him to win the presidency and it has enabled his egregious policies to escape public scrutiny, it has also created a climate where the media have sacrificed all credibility when it comes to dealing with negative stories about Obama.

I don’t know what Obama’s religion is and frankly don’t much care. Obama’s quarter century in a front row seat in the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s house of hate says more about him and his Christianity and that doesn’t make him a Muslim. If you’re predisposed to believe he is Muslim, you will always fall back on the claim that he’s practicing taqiyya (the religious permission to conceal one’s real beliefs whereby believers may conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion).

Personally, I think Obama believes in one thing: that he should get what he wants. He sat through Wright’s race mongering Sabbath after Sabbath because it brought him influence. If he thought becoming a Buddhist would guarantee his election in 2012, we’d see him boarding Air Force One with a shaved head and wearing a saffron robe. He is his own monotheistic religion.

Candidates from at least Jimmy Carter have had their religious beliefs scrutinized by theological imbeciles in the media, why does Obama get a pass? He shouldn’t. It wasn’t fair to the country that this and other allegations were ignored. And now, belatedly, the media are discovering that it wasn’t fair to either Obama or themselves.

With this particular president, the debate is over. Any story, no matter how ridiculous, will gain a substantial following because the media have sacrificed their credibility. Maybe in 2012, if we’re lucky, or 2016, if we’re not, the media will return to doing the job it claims it wants to do, to play a constructive role in our political process. They can do that by treating the candidates they like the same way they treat those they don’t like.

Enjoy the weekend.

Ciao…….Moe

Mudville wins 11-6, not going fishing just yet. 2 games to 1 versus Town Dock Mariners.

2010-08-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (if a third game is needed) Mudville Nine versus R&R Legion for the 2010 league championship at historic Cardines Field in Newport.

Plenty of good seating at a perfect price, $0.00.

See you there......

Ciao.......Moe

The Mighty Mudville 9 lost last night. Friday Night at 6:30 is it. Third in the best of three. It's win or go fishin' time.

2010-08-19T20:30:00.003-04:00

This is a little-known story from the Pentagon on 09/11/2001

2010-08-19T20:16:00.003-04:00

During a visit with a fellow chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, I had a chance to hear a first-hand account of an incident that happened right after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. The chaplain told me what happened at a daycare center near where the impact occurred. This daycare had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor, looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do. There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the cribs.

There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers. Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, 'well, there we are—on our own.'

About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow. Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac and the Pentagon. Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a fabulous thing - they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered wagons in the Old West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from wandering off. Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter around the children and waiting for instructions. There they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children..

The chaplain then said, "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast they reacted; could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the Pentagon.

Remember Ronald Reagan's great compliment: "Most of us wonder if our lives made any difference. Marines don't have that problem."

Our thanks to Jim F for submitting the above.

Ciao.......Moe

Monkey wants a banana.....

2010-08-19T15:15:00.000-04:00

Subject: Monkeys

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes the attempt with same result, all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another Monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs.

To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the snot out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs OR even why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. Finally, after replacing all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.

Why not?

Because as far as they know, that is the way it has always been done around here.

And that, my fellow monkeys, is how Congress operates - And precisely why we need to REPLACE all the original monkeys this November.

Ciao.......Moe

More Newport Sunset League playoffs tonight at 6:30.....

2010-08-18T17:12:00.001-04:00

1 --- I had a bad dream last night. What a shock, a politician found guilty of lying. Yup, Chicago’s former head mobster was found guilty of only a few things but that’s enough top hold him for a retrial on some of the other charges. Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich claimed victory because he was only found guilty of lying to investigators.
Please allow me to defend the slick mouthed Democrat. Lying is not a bad thing, it is part of what is expected from the Chicago political mob.
If the conviction sticks, he should be a candidate for a cabinet position under Obama. Heck, just think of how a man with the hair Blago has peering down from the Supreme court? He would cut a dashing figure.
Does anyone care to be whether Blago serves even a minute in jail.

I woke up to find it could come true.Maybe WRKO could give him a job. They like felons on air.

2 --- Barack Obama, shake hands with Jean Francois Kerry. BO was for the NYC Mosque before he was against it. What a jerk.

3 --- Time for some really sick humor….The liberals are asking us to give Obama time. We agree . . . and think 25 to life would be appropriate. --Jay Leno America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask. --Jay Leno Q: Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal?
A: Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it. --Conan O'BrienQ: What does Barack Obama call lunch with a convicted felon?
A: A fund raiser. --Jay Leno Q: What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers, and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners. --David Letterman Q: If Nancy Pelosi and Obama were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started to sink, who would be saved?
A: America! --Jimmy Fallon Q: What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo?Bo has papers.--Jimmy Kimmel
Q: What was the most positive result of the "Cash for Clunkers" program?
A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.--David Letterman

Come to think of it, these were indeed funny until we understand they are all true.

4 --- I’ve got a name for the proposed 911 area mosque. Barack’s joke on America.

5 ---Democrats deserve Alvin Greene. He’s a jerk and proud of it.

6 --- We keep hearing how Israel will hit Iran’s nuke facilities. I wonder where that information is being leaked from. Is it just possible Obamamites are doing the leaking to place pressure on Israel to not go ahead and do what it needs to do?

7 --- Does anyone still buy into the nonsense that Barack Obama is a weally, weally bwight guy? From the moment he broke on the scene he has been presented to as one of the brightest men ever to seek the office.

Before this election cycle is over Obama will resemble a political piñata.

Ciao.......MoeThen there’s the little matter of McCain flying some of the most complicated aircraft anywhere. McCain got high in jet fighters. What does Obama get high on? Teleprompters?We recall during the campaign how much smarter than John McCain he is because he uses a Blackberry and laptop. McCain uses neither, relying on aids to do that time consuming stuff.

The following items were written/collected over the last few days.

2010-08-16T16:19:00.001-04:00

1 --- The owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, Robert Sarver, opposes AZ's new immigration laws.

Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer, released the following statement in response to Sarver's criticism of the new law: "What if the owners of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into games without paying? What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are, but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs, thus non-paying attendees couldn't be ejected. Furthermore, what if Suns' ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drink? And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?"

-Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

2 --- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said recently that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has "the cojones" that President Obama "does not have" to take on illegal immigration. Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Palin blasted Obama for suing Arizona to block the state's controversial new law without addressing "sanctuary cities" -- in which local law enforcement are prohibited from asking people about their immigration status.

I, for one, am glad Palin has the cajones to point that out.

3 --- First a short history lesson…. What was a substantial force leading to the Revolutionary War? Answer…. The "Committees of Correspondence".

And with Washington's failings now so obvious and awful, it may lead to another revolution of sorts.

I recall not too many years ago of the left talking about the imperial presidency of Richard Nixon. They spoke in terms of how his manner and presence was leading to such a conclusion and that it would be necessary to have another revolution to return the government of the people to the people.

We’ll never know what designs Tricky Dicky had on an imperial presidency. His presidency was brought down long before anything of the sort could happen.

Based on the fact his party will get its @$$ kicked in November will Barack Obama listen to the voice of the people or will he use the lame duck session of congress between election day and when the new congress is seated to pass his most egregious pieces of legislation? Princess Pelosi is hinting that may well be the case.

It is obvious Obama is not concerned what the electorate thinks of his proposals. He will have the votes in the House that short time. The question is will he have the senate votes in the lame duck session. There he will need 60 votes to move legislation.

Another arrow in his quiver is Executive Orders. He simply issues an order and it has the effect of law unless overturned by Congress or the courts.

Whether we make major changes in the congress in November or not, there will be two periods of opportunity for Obama:

A…During the lame duck session of congress all sorts of mischief can occur led by Princess Pelosi and outgoing senate president Harry Reid.
B…We’ve never had a president who openly wants to transform America to his personal view which is foreign to most of his fellow Americans - that is if he is really an American. There is no limit to the mischief an unrestrained White House.

Does Manchuria still exist?

4 --- This obituary appeared in the New York Daily news. You probably never heard of Morrie Yohai. However you are familiar with what he did. Frankly Mr. Yohai was quite a guy:

Morrie Yohai who died of cancer at age 90 recently, was a mystic, a World War II Marine pilot and a philanthropist. But he’ll probably be remembered most as the creator of the Cheez Doodle.

So how did he come up with the iconic snack? After World War II, Yohai took over his father’s snack-food business at the Old London Melba toast factory in the Bronx. The business already made Cheese Waffles, caramel popcorn and other snacks but wanted something new, Newsday reported.

"We were looking for another snack item," Yohai told Newsday in a 2005 interview. "We were fooling around and found out there was a machine that extruded cornmeal and it almost popped like popcorn."

Yohai said they decided to chop the cornmeal product into small pieces and coat it with cheese. "We wanted to make it as healthy as possible," he said, "so it was baked, not fried."

The name Doodle occurred to him as they sat round a table sampling various kinds of cheese for snacks.

Yohai was born in Harlem in 1920. After he graduated from the Wharton School of business, he took a job at the Grumman aircraft factory on Long Island. During World War II, Yohai left work to enlist in the Navy and become a pilot.

His son, Robbie Yohai, of Berkeley, California, told Newsday, "He decided since he was making planes, he figured he could fly a plane." He said his father had never taken an airplane ride. "The first time he was ever in an airplane, he was the co-pilot."

Morrie Yohai transferred to the Marine Corps and served as a pilot in the South Pacific, transferring injured troops and cargo back and forth.

"He was excited by the experience," his son said. "He was happy to be a Marine and was very proud of it."

In 1949, Yohai began his career at the snack food factory in the Bronx.

Evetually, Yohai sold the company to Borden. His new title was group vice president in charge of snacks. He told Newsday that his job involved sitting around a conference table with other executives and selecting the toys inside Cracker Jack boxes.

After Borden relocated to Columbus, Ohio, Yohai left the firm. He started teaching at the New York Institute of Technology, becoming the associate dean for the school of management.

"It turned out that he loved teaching," Robbie Yohai told Newsday. "He could see he was making a difference in a lot of these young peoples’ lives."

In later years, Yohai studied Torah and Jewish mysticism. He took up writing, and penned more than 500 poems and published two books of poetry.

He was a member of Temple Beth El in Great Neck. His philanthropic work included founding the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival.

"His life took many turns," said his daughter, Bab Yohai of Oakland, California. "He did whatever he set his mind to and he was incredible."

5 --- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Barack Obama on Monday to face him in a televised one-on-one debate to see who has the best solutions for the world's problems.

I wonder what they would disagree on?

6 --- El Presidente says the worst is over for the economy. Talk about whistling past the graveyard. We are in a double dip recession.

A double dip is when the economy begins a recovery and then dips into another abyss, which is to say we had a short lived recovery because of the billions pumped into the economy. Those “stimulus” dollars dried up so we’re back in the drink.

Why is the so-called major media types afraid to call Obama for what he is, an incompetent nitwit. Between the left wing cabal he brought with him to his own apparent megalomania we stand no chance. It is imperative we rid ourselves of the incompetent ideologues and nincompoops in the congress.

We’re less than three months from that great come and get it day.

By the way, we added $165.04 billion to the deficit in July.

7 --- Good old (very old) U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel had a packed house for his birthday fundraiser last night. Most of the usual Democrat suck ups were there to rub whatevers with both New York US Senators and a bevy of other phonies.

I suspect the attitude was he may be a crook but he’s our crook.

Imagine the hue and cry if a conservative had such a fund raiser.

Pork was served (I guess).

8 --- Did you ever get an invitation to some place and you were told BYOB? That means bring your own booze. Now imagine your five year old kindergartener gets a note with a list of BYO materials. You know, scratch paper, glue sticks, crayolas and the usual back to school staple. This year, in the same box as the two boxes of Kleenex your kidling will need to bring toilet paper.

Yup, in good old Moody, Alabama.

Now please don’t tell Deval Patrick about it.

9 --- Let’s see if we have this right?

Just back from Spain, the First Family could only find minutes to spend at the Gulf, a place they should have vacationed in earlier. Then His Highness will visit Wisconsin to try to save the chestnuts of one of the US Senate’s biggest left wing whack jobs, Senator Russ Feingold. Then it’s off to where, Nantucket (there once was a man from Nantucket….) or Martha’s Vineyard. I don’t know which since his travel agent does not return my calls.

Unemployment is officially at 9.5%. The real unemployment if you add in those who have accepted part time work or simply dropped out and are now working the way illegal aliens do (under the table) the figures are closer to double the official rate, approaching 20%. Can you say depression like numbers.

The food stamp program is bnow being cut to provide funds for Lady Obama’s nutrition program experiment. Another of Just one more of Madam Obama’s specials.

Symbolism is important.

10 --- Another piece of evidence of the Marie Antoinette nature of Madame Obama is now taking shape.

My Grandfather (a man wise beyond his education and status) was fond of drilling into my “Tête de Pierre”, you do the right thing. No frilly definitions were forthcoming just a simple admonition. I once struck a girl and he saw my transgression. Right after shining the toe of his shoe on my rear he would tell me do the right thing.

It took a while to get the message across but over time the “Tête de Pierre” was penetrated though it is solid granite.

Work hard and be honest with all you do. Treat others as you would wish to be treated. When you work, work your butt off. When you play, play your butt of. Finally, don’t keep enemies, over time you’ll have no place to put all of them; shun them and get them out of your life and mind.

One day Grandpapa took out a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus he kept on his desk. He knew I was capable of taking God’s name in vain. He encouraged me to swear in the presence of the holy picture. I couldn’t.

He then explained that symbols are important. He further impressed on me that we are judged by others by what they see us do. The lecture continued - first impressions are important. Your appearance will come I into play when someone meets you and your judgment will itself be judged by others all the time. I told him that may not be fair (I guess I really was a liberal in another life) that we judge people that way and we are judged the same way.

Keeping in mind the ornate frame Grandpapa had for the picture of the Sacred Heart, I started to understand what he was attempting to teach me.

Which brings us to 2010 and the Obama Family attitude toward the United States and the least among us and those in the most stressful situations.

Unemployment must be the single most stressful situation in which people can find themselves. Their entire lives are turned upside down, their answer to their kids are a constant “no, we can’t afford that now”. Talk to people in my Mom’s generation (she’s 93 and is very sharp of mind) and she’ll tell you what they needed to do to get by. She and her sisters walked along the railroad tracks in the hopes of finding only partially burned coal they could use in the furnace at home. Have you ever seen a patch sewn on a patch? She did.

Her Dad, George Canuel of Lawton Street in Fall River, a millwright) had a large vegetable garden (including potatoes) and had chickens.

Part of my family was Democrat and the other part Republican. Both parts respected the concept of hard work and whatever their partisan feelings toward Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the public persona of him and his entire administration was low key. They did not live as royalty. Symbols are important and the symbol of he Roosevelt administration was humility.

No one would grudge the First Family returns home to be with family and friends. However, when trips to Spain which cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, that’s not a good message.

My personal political instincts tell me part of the reason for Obama’s polls imitating a rock in free fall have as much to do with his political blunders and the public persona. Opulence and swagger never sells well.

My only regret is Grandpapa is not here to add his own type of commentary.

Ciao…….Moe