New Blog Location

I have moved my blog location to:

http://patrickbohan.blogtownhall.com/

Did Obama Bow?

The media exhaustedly covered President Obama bowing when he met King Abdullah. The Democrats deny he bowed, but it was a bow. But who really cares? No one! The only mistake the Obama camp made is insulting our intelligence and denying that he bowed. After all, aren’t there more important things for the media to cover? Absolutely! I for one am more concerned about the economy and our spending spree. I am also more concerned about foreign threats such as Iran and North Korea as they close in on obtaining a nuclear weapon. Yes, it is a bit funny watching the man who is the leader of the free world bow to an Arab leader, but it is no big deal. And yes, Obama is turning into a gaffe machine ala Joe Biden, but everyone makes mistakes. It is not easy to be President and to understand all the ridiculous protocol. I say we give the man a break and judge him on how he handles the tough issues and not on petty procedural or protocol things. I know the media loves to show Presidents making mistakes, but can we stop the pettiness and cover the things that really matter. I did not like it when the media covered inconsequential gaffes made by President Bush, nor did I like the media making President Ford out to be a klutz. It is not right, nor should it be of any concern. I see this as this as common courtesy and following the “golden rule” to treat others how we expect to be treated. I do not think the media would want media people following them scrutinizing every move they make. I realize that this is the day and age of technology and a camera is on the President at all times out of the White House, but the media needs to practice some restraint.

I have one other pet peeve about the media and their coverage of politicians or celebrities. They should not cover the families of politicians and celebrities. All family members should be exempt from coverage especially if they have not done anything wrong. For example, media coverage of Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter was not acceptable. Other recent media violations of this rule was the New York Times negative coverage of Cindy McCain and the media making an issue out of Dick Cheney’s daughter being a lesbian. All of these topics are not fair, unless the person injects themselves into the campaign and is publicly making speeches on their relative’s behalf. Obviously the Obama daughters should be off limits to the media however, Michelle has injected herself into the political process so she can be scrutinized to a certain degree. However, the media needs to use sound judgment when making decisions on what to cover about Michelle.

Is America Dying?

An update on my new book: "Is America Dying?". It is now available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble web sites. You can purchase the book from the following sites:

www.amazon.com

www.barnesandnoble.com

www.justbookz.com

http://patrickbohan.home.bresnan.net/

Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens is the former Senator from Alaska who recently lost his re-election for an 8th term by a narrow 4,000 votes. The main reason Stevens lost to Democrat Mark Begich in a conservative state is because he recently was indicted and convicted of seven felonies. However, just a few months after his conviction, Attorney General Eric Holder, dismissed the conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct. Many leading Republicans (along with me) called for Stevens to resign before being ousted by Mark Begich. Even though the conviction was overturned, I am still not convinced that Stevens was completely innocent. His reasons for many of the 250 thousand dollars in gifts he received were flimsy and lame at best. Thus, I am not sure he would not have been convicted even if the prosecutors did not deceive the defense by withholding critical evidence. However, there is enough doubt that Stevens would have been cleared if the prosecution followed the law. I do not see any difference between the Stevens case and the cases of many leading Democrats that had not paid their taxes or face other scrutiny such as Charlie Rangel, Tim Geithner, Chris Dodd, and Tom Daschle to name a few. If Stevens really had received over 250 thousand dollars he did not report, he owed the government money just as many the Democrats mentioned above who continue to serve in their roles (I will be the first person to admit the U.S. tax code is ridiculous and needs to be overhauled – it is much too complicated and cumbersome). That is the double standard – The Republican loses his job even though he wins his case and the Democrats just have to pay their back taxes and not face any prosecution or even any fines. And if anyone thinks that Democrats do not steal elections, look no further than the criminal behavior by liberal prosecutors to take down Stevens at any cost. The timing of the trial and the charges tells a big part of the story since this all came to light the year Stevens was up for re-election. Maybe Stevens deserved to go, but we will never know for sure. The judge that threw out the conviction said it was the worst case of prosecutorial misconduct he had ever witnessed in his 25 years on the bench. The prosecutors in this case that violated the law should have the book thrown at them. They should also have to serve whatever sentence that Stevens would have gotten. Thus, they should serve their sentence for prosecutorial misconduct and then the sentence that Stevens would have gotten. In my book I talk a lot about having stiff penalties for breaking the law to deter the act from happening. I also explain that we should follow the “Golden Rule” to do onto others as we expect to be treated. Hence, if we follow this rule, then the guilty prosecutors should serve the Stevens sentence as well.

Obama: America is not at War with Islam

I guess I am confused, when were we at war with Islam? Why does Obama feel obligated to state the obvious and offend Americans while he grovels for Muslim support. America has been fighting a small number of fanatical radical Islamic followers such as the Taliban and Al-Qaida. I really think that 99% of Americans have absolutely no problem with Islam or Muslims. In fact, the last three wars America has been involved has been to free oppressed Muslims. America has liberated Muslims in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Why doesn't Obama mention this instead of stating the obvious? I think this blatant omission only shows Obama is ignorant to past U.S. foreign policy or he himself really thinks that Americans have really been a threat to Islam and Muslims around the world. This is preposterous! I believe Obama's thinking is misguided by U.S. foreign policy that recognizes and fully supports Israel. He must take this to mean that U.S. foreign policy is against Muslims. This does not mean that the U.S. is against Islam or Muslims, it only means we feel Muslims should also recognize the rights of Jews just as we recognized the rights of Muslims in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. That is it. There is no conspiracy theory by the U.S. to destroy Muslims and Islam. I really wish Obama would get his facts straight before he feels it is necessary to apologize for past U.S. policy.

The Obama Administration’s Anti-American Rhetoric

I for one am tired of the President Obama apologizing for past U.S. behavior as he did while he was in Europe. Obama tried to rally French and German support as he told their citizens that America had acted poorly over the past decade. If we are going to live in the past, maybe we should bring up WWII and how America saved the French from German aggression. I personally do not care if the Germans and French do not like us. I worked at a large global U.S. company and they had plants in many European locations. In fact, I had bosses located in Norway, Germany, and France during my employment. The people in these plant locations not only felt they were superior intellectually to the American worker, they also felt they were also superior with their liberal philosophies. A day did not pass that I did not hear how great they were and how Americans are stupid barbarians. Believe me the European superior attitude gets old fast. Now our President is apologizing for me. I find this behavior appalling and completely unnecessary. What did Obama get for all of his groveling to the French and Germans – Nothing! They will not support Obama or the American effort in Afghanistan. They will not support our economic sanctions against rogue nations such as Iran or North Korea. Obama will learn quickly what Bush learned – The United States cannot count on any European or U.N. support to fight terrorism. After the U.S. got attacked on 9/11, the world turned their backs on the U.S. Imagine if the U.S. turned their backs on the world during WWI and WWII? What if the U.S. turned their backs on countries that have been battered by natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis? More times than not the U.S. is there to help countries in need, but how quickly the rest of the so called idealistically superior world forgets. So I for one am tired of our President criticizing our country. If the President is that embarrassed to be an American, he can pack his bags and move to Europe where he is so enamored by their finicky citizens. The trend of the Obama Administration apologizing to other countries for American behavior continued last week when Secretary of State Clinton apologized to Mexico because she blamed U.S. drug use as the cause of Mexico’s instability. I was surprised she did not blame the U.S. for not allowing more illegal Mexicans from crossing the boarder.

One April 4th headline on Yahoo stated: German and France Embrace Obama’s Afghanistan Plan. What was missing in the headline is that they refused to help. By that same measure Germany and France embraced Bush’s Iraq invasion since they refused to help. The media continues to make this man out to be a God.

New Hypocritical Oath Addition Today

Although the federal government had scrutinized 165 Million in AIG bonuses, they approved 210 million in bonuses to government run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Remember Fannie and Freddie are also in financial trouble just as AIG is. Once again everything is fair game for federal government to break the rules, but not the private sector. If we would simply treat others the way we expect to be treated all of these contradictions would not be occurring.

The Hypocritical Oath

Doctors take what is known as the “Hippocratic Oath” when they become physicians. The Hippocratic Oath is to ensure that physicians practice medicine in an ethical fashion. Our government officials such as the President, cabinet members, judges, Congress, and so forth must also take an oath to swear that they will serve and protect our Constitution. I really do not see the sense in having an oath of office if these officials simply do whatever they want with no regards to the law or the Constitution. That is why I call political oaths of office “The Hypocritical Oath”. Everyday I view one contradiction after another where politicians violate the law and get away with it. Let’s view a few recent examples of politicians practicing “The Hypocritical Oath”:

Tim Geithner is the head of the Treasury Department which runs the IRS and he did not pay taxes or face a penalty for doing so.

Congressman Charlie Rangel is the head of the Congressional Ways and Means Committee that is in charge of creating tax laws and he also did not pay his taxes.

We put Bernard Madoff in jail for running an investment Ponzi scheme that that stole billions from his clients. However, our government routinely runs Ponzi schemes on the American People. Social security and Medicare are good examples of Ponzi schemes. Retiree’s social security and Medicare are paid for by today’s working man. Just as the money dried up when Madoff got caught, the money will dry up for some future generation and they will not get social security or Medicare despite paying into the system. If it is illegal to run a Ponzi scheme then why is it okay for the government to run these schemes to scam money from taxpayers?

Washington politicians are so outraged by the AIG bonuses that they approved in the stimulus package and are know trying to correct the error by levying a 90% tax on the bonuses. By levying the 90% tax on the bonuses Congress may be violating Article 1 and Section 9 of the Constitution. I am as outraged as anyone about the bonuses, but I am not outraged at AIG, I am outraged at Congress for approving the 170 billion dollar AIG bailout. The AIG bonuses amount to less than 0.1% of the bailout money. If we are outraged by the use of 0.1%, we should be outraged by the other 99.9% as well. Instead of protesting against AIG, we should be protesting against our government.

Geithner wants more government regulation on Wall St. and more governmental control over financial institutions. Once again the government is overstepping its bounds here. This too is Unconstitutional. Besides, where does the government get the right to take over financial institutions when they too are fiscally irresponsible and owe trillions in debt? Government run institutions such as The Post Office, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac are losing the taxpayers billions of dollars each year. In fact, these government run institutions have absolutely no oversight so it is hypocritical of the government to request oversight in the private sector. So what makes us think the government will do a better job running Wall St if they cannot run their own government sponsored institutions?

The government wants to control CEO and bonus pay at many corporations. Where do they get the right? How come the taxpayers cannot demand pay cuts for politicians. The CEO for AIG (Libby) is doing his job for $1 a year, if he can cut his pay so can politicians. Most Washington politicians are millionaires and they should not accept a salary for serving the people. It should be a privilege. If I were a Washington politician I would not accept a dime in compensation and certainly would not run up astronomical bills on meals, travel or other privileges. I am appalled at how much many CEOs make, but I am just as appalled by how much politicians make and how they waste our hard earned cash.

Today, countless other politicians are being investigated for potential criminal activity: Chris Dodd, Ted Stevens, Rod Blagojevich, Elliot Spitzer, and Roland Burris to name a few.

Spending Vs. Investing

If we listen closely to all the rhetoric carefully the Democrats call the Obama stimulus plan as investing and the Republicans call it spending. What is the difference? Waste! Government spending is generally wasteful. However, investing means the government and taxpayers will get a return on their investment. When have the taxpayers ever gotten a return on our tax dollars? I cannot think of any instance when this has happened. After all, if America got more than a dollar return for every dollar invested than spending would be great. Heck, why stop at 2 or 3 trillion dollars, we may as well pump more money into the economy. However, most realistic people living on planet earth know we do not get any payback for government spending. Besides, it is hard to measure the payback on government spending, it is mostly speculation. For this reason I believe the Republicans are correct that the Obama stimulus plan is nothing more than spending and we the taxpayers will be footing the bill for decades. Face it, the government cannot be trusted to run anything. Every business or large social policy the government runs or creates is bound to fail. Look at social security, medicare, and welfare that are now over 50% of our national budget and growing at a astronomical rate. Look at Frannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the IRS, and the Post Office are all losing valuable taxpayer dollars. We are being naive if we really think that the Obama stimulus plan that is putting us trillion of dollars will benefit us in the long run. Once Obama adds universal health care to our growing list of social programs bankrupting our government, the only way to get out of debt will be to tax Americans at outrageous rates of 50% or more. Just the interest on our debt will be hard enough to pay off without huge tax hikes. When this happens, the United States will officially be a socialized nation similar to many European countries. Capitalism will officially be dead and America will no longer be the land of opportunity. It will happen if our government does not learn to be fiscally responsible very soon and stop this ridiculous spending spree.

Why Move the U.S. to Socialism?

Some argue that even if Obama gets his way on most of his policies the U.S. still would not be a socialistic society. That may be true, but what is the motivation to move this great country in that direction? I certainly do not understand it. Most of the world's nations are dictatorships, communist, or socialistic societies. There are only a few capitalistic societies that remain and we are thankfully one. Which country has the highest number of immigrants? The U.S., and the reason is simple: People want to come to the land of opportunity. A capitalistic society provides opportunities that socialistic societies do not. This is what we speak of when we talk about the American Dream. The American Dream is that any one person can become what they want if they are persistent. This is what makes this country so great. Now, we want to throw the American Dream away and move towards socialism. If there are Americans that believe socialistic societies are better, then why don't move to Canada or Sweden and live their dream. Why are they so determined that they want to ruin the last great capitalistic society? Our Hollywood elite can move to the place of their dreams. Michael Moore can move to Cuba to get the great health care he brags about in Sicko. Sean Penn can move to Venezuela to be with his buddy President Hugo Chavez. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon can move to North Korea or Iran since they disagree with our policy that they are Evil nations. All of these actors and liberal elite have one thing in common: They all talk about how things are not so bad in other countries, but they all choose to live here in the U.S. That is because they are liars, hypocrites, and idiots. They know they have it great in this country and will not go anywhere else. If Michael Moore wants better health care for Americans he should lose some weight. He is too self absorbed to realize that his obesity is the reason for our escalating health costs in this country. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I would pay more attention to a movie about U.S. Health Care (Sicko by Micheal Moore) if they person that made the movie is at least physically fit. Penn can live in Venezuela where all of the material in his films will be dictated by the government.

My half brother is liberal, but at least he had the common courtesy to move to East Germany to live his liberal and socialistic dream. I admire and respect him greatly for that. I wish the liberals would quit complaining and put their money where their mouths are. They should have the nerve to pack their bags and move to their so called land of opportunities. If you do not have health insurance, we can load everyone in a bus and take them to Canada. A word of caution, although everyone is entitled to health insurance in Canada, I would not get sick there. Everyone I talk to that got sick in Canada had a horrible experience of dirty hospitals and shoddy care.

So come on liberals, quit trying to change the U.S. and pack your bags and head out. Fanatical PETA followers can go to India where cows and animals are sacred. Global warming advocates can move to the Amazon and Antarctic to say goodbye to the lands they care so deeply about. Pro lifers can move to any third world country where there is no medical care to give abortions. So please quit complaining and trying to change this great nation and move to a place that will make you happy.

Obama: Hiding behind Technology

In my book I talk about how technology has made us impersonal as a nation. Now our President is following suit by addressing questions on the internet. Obama already hides behind a teleprompter to deliver his messages, now he wants to hide behind a computer to answer questions. Face it, it is much easier and less stressful to answer questions on a computer without the nation watching. It is safe since the President cannot make a gaffe or an error. I may not speak for everyone, but I want to see how this untested man performs under the scrutiny of tough questions. I want to see if he has the persona to conduct himself under the intense pressure of the Presidency. It is one thing to be smooth and charismatic when giving speeches under the guidance of a teleprompter. It is a completely different thing to be able to conduct himself under the pressure of tough questions in an impromptu fashion. Heck, he may not even be answering the internet questions. The questions can be answered by anyone in his administration. Call me old fashion, but I want to see the President answer tough questions.

Obama has already shown his testy side and is not nearly as smooth when answering media questions as opposed to giving speeches. In last Tuesday's press conference Obama had only one tough question and that came from a CNN reporter. Obama first did not answer the question and when the reporter pushed him for an answer as to why it took him 3 days to show outrage over the AIG bonuses, Obama got testy and responded "I only comment when I have all the facts" (Or something to that effect). This is nonsense, he only responded when the American public showed its outrage. Everyone should remember how fast the Obama campaign machine responded to criticism during the campaign. Well, if he can respond in minutes during the campaign to a crisis or issue, he should be able to do the same as President. It as if Obama detests anyone that gives him a tough question. After all, who are they to question the anointed one. In fact, I think the questions Obama has gotten to this point are fairly vanilla and easy. Think of how the media scrutinized Bush over the Iraq War. Obama deserves the same scrutiny over the economic crisis. After all, he is spending more money in one year than any President in history. Obama's main response to tough economic questions is to say he inherited the problem. That may be true, but when a President spends nearly 2 trillion dollars to fix the problem, he now owns the crisis. It will be interesting to see how long he will blame Bush. Obama conveniently fails to mention that the economic downturn also occurred under his watch as a Senator is a Democrat led Congress. However, he feels he has no blame in this crisis and that is where he is wrong.

Now, as the pressure of his job mounts he is content to run and hide behind technology. I think this is how a coward would deal with problems. A real person will stand up and take the heat for their actions and decisions. If Obama is that confident with his strategy to handle to economy, he would not have to feel it is necessary to avoid the press and the tough questions. A good President would relish the opportunity to give his side of the issue with the whole country looking on.

Obama Administration: Failing Business 101

I have seen this mistake made hundreds of times in the business world and the Obama Administration is falling into the same trap. Whenever a new manager or administration takes over an area or the White House, they impatiently try to push their agenda without first understanding their current budget. For example, when I was chartered to take over a lab for a new business, before I spent any money on new equipment I would figure out what I had first. I would first clean the lab. I would then inventory all the equipment that currently exists in the lab. I would finally calibrate and make sure all the equipment is in working order. At this time I now know what new equipment I need and would place a purchase order. Many managers and leaders do not follow these simple actions before trying to implement their agenda. I have seen corporate managers waste money by buying redundant equipment or make changes that worked for a previous business model, but will not for a the business model of new organization they are tasked to manage. These are common mistakes and they can be costly and devastating. If only corporate and political leaders would set their vast egos aside and display some patience they may make proper decisions.

The Obama Administration is no different. Take for example the billions of new spending they have proposed or introduced for education. Today, the United States already pays more tax dollars per student than any other country in the world. However, Obama has already pushed for more educational spending without understanding current educational spending. Obama has said time and time again he would cut wasteful spending, but he has done no such thing. This should be the first step he should be doing before proposing additional and more than likely redundant spending. I do not understand this. If Obama and his team were prudent they may be able to cut educational programs that do not work and reallocate the money to do what his administration wants to accomplish without introducing additional tax payer dollars. The Obama administration is arrogant and would fail business 101 because they are simply rushing into affairs and wasting money.

The problem with the government is that they are not spending their own money, they are spending our money. That is the main problem and why the government is so wasteful. Most people that rent an apartment or car do not treat these items as they would if they owned them. That is the problem with the government, they do not care about wasting money and continue to practice the concept that a problem will be resolved by throwing money at it.

Obama claimed during his press conference last night he does act unless he understands the problem and knows what he is saying. If that is true, he would not be in such a hurry to spend record levels of taxpayer money without first understanding how current money is being spent or allocated. This is fiscally irresponsible behavior. Now the Obama administration wants more control over Wall Street and the financial sector. This is the "pot calling the kettle black" and completely hypocritical. Now we have a completely fiscally irresponsible government that wants to take over the financial industry. Now that is an oxymoron.

Stagflation

A prime concern now that the Obama Administration has flooded the economy with money is stagflation. Stagflation is when inflation is high and the economy is poor at the same time. A bad economy is high unemployment and little growth. Today, the economy is poor, but inflation is in check. However, inflation can spiral out of control with the excess money injected into the economy coupled with present day low interest rates. Obama and his administration are counting on the economy turning before inflation rises. Most economist agree that inflation will be on the rise due to the large amounts of money that the federal government has injected into the economy. Pumping money into the economy is going to cause high inflation, it is just a matter of when. Either way the American public is going to suffer from Obama economic policies. An economic policy that only hopes inflation happens after the economic downturn is not a very good policy. If inflation happens before the economic downturn is alleviated then the economy could be in peril for a much longer time period. This risk is unnecessary, because no matter what transpires the American public will pay for the Obama economic policies. We all will have to endure ridiculously high food and energy costs within the next few years. If we thought 4 dollar gasoline was bad, it may be much worse in the next few years. It is just a matter of when the inflation occurs: during or after the economic downturn.

The sad thing about the Obama economic policy is that they believe they are doing the right thing and there is little risk in their plan. A plan of tax cuts is a better way to flood the economy with money. Under a tax cut the federal government does not have to print additional monies to stimulate the economy. Less money in our economy will stagnate inflation. Tax cuts are supply side economics or a bottom to top method to help the economy. Money from tax cuts goes directly to the consumer to stimulate the economy immediately. A Keynesian plan to create demand by using government sponsored programs could have a devastatingly adverse affect on the economy. This is a top to bottom method to help the economy. A Keynesian plan is hopeful the money will reach the American public as some point. Maybe 50 cents on the dollar reaches the American public or less, but there is no way it is as efficient or effective as tax cuts. The Obama plan will lead to inflation, it is just a matter of when.

The Obama Fascination

Everyday I hear news stories about the entire Obama family and it has nothing to do with politics. Stories that cover Michelle’s fashion sense and even stories about her chiseled arms that she likes to display. We see pictures of Barack at the beach without a shirt and stories about his good looks and physically fit body. We of course hear stories about how hip the first family is and how both Barack and Michelle are gifted orators. People have even studied and written about the Obama’s facial features and how they show they are great and intellectually superior individuals. Chris Mathews must have shown Obama making what he called a 40 foot jumper at least 50 times on his program. Mathews must not understand basketball, so he should not comment on it. Obama made a 3 point basket with no one covering him. A 3 point basket is about 21 feet, not 40 feet. Even I shot over 40% in my recreation league on 3 point shots and that is with people guarding me. I can make over 60% of my 3 point baskets with no one covering me and if I am not tired from running the court. What is this fascination that we have to make this guy out to be so great? I do not understand it, and I especially do not understand how we embellish stories to make him look great. Who really cares if the Obama’s are smooth and have charisma? I personally view these side stories as a way the media can gloat and boast about the Obama’s without looking at his abysmal performance thus far in the White House. I have not seen a published picture of the Obama family that shows them in a bad light. The media usually punished past Presidents by publishing poor pictures of them. Bush was made out to be a buffoon every chance the media got. President Ford was always pictured falling or banging his head. President Ford may have been the best athlete of any of our Presidents. He was an All-American center on the University of Michigan football team. The media uses propaganda to convince and influence how Americans view Presidents. The Obama media frenzy about their fashion sense and sculpted bodies is no different. First, the Obama family is young so they should be healthy and hip. In fact, he and the first lady are the youngest first family since Kennedy administration. There have been very few Presidents younger than Barack or first ladies younger than Michelle. Did anyone take a good look at Michelle, she may have tone arms, but her backside is fairly large. If I were to guess, I would actually say she is unfit and probably overweight. Barack may look good on the outside, but he is a chain smoker. I bet his insides are older than George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton. However, we never see him a picture with him smoking a cigarette. They talk about Barack like he is a great athlete and basketball player. However, we never see pictures of him trying to bowl or even dance. The man has two left feet. I am two years younger than Obama and I bet I could beat him one on one in hoops. I never played high school or even grammar school ball, but I am willing to bet I can outlast him and outwork him because I am in better shape. My 10 year old nephew can beat the man in bowling. So can we get off the Obama infatuation and cover the things that really matter like his ability to be President and Commander in Chief.

Michelle makes comments that go ignored by the press. For example, when her husband was on the brink of winning the Presidency she said “This is most patriotic I have felt.”. This from a family that would not have been in the position they are today without getting a great deal of help from this country. Both Barack and Michelle benefitted from Affirmative Action. Thus, they never would have gotten their Ivy League education without this country giving them every added advantage. I wonder what has become of the people they bypassed to get their Ivy League education? I wonder how patriotic they feel? How can Michelle make such a crass statement after what this country did for both her and Barack? It is absurd. Does the media cover this story? Absolutely not, they cover her attire, or her ability to give a speech, or her embellished figure. Is this what our media has been reduced to? So please, stop trying to convince me and the American public that the Obama’s are the chosen family or the anointed ones. I do not care what they look or sound like, what I care about is our economy.

What is Barack doing these days to show he is a regular and hip guy? He is filling out a NCAA basketball tournament bracket on TV. He is going on the Jay Leno show. What is Barack not doing? He is not worrying about the economy or the health of our nation. This guy does not get it. The President shouldn’t worry about his approval ratings and how Americans view him. He has a job to do and he must make sound decisions regardless of how the American public feels. You may not like Bush, but he made decisions that may not have been popular. He made decisions he thought were right and had the conviction to carry them out even when there was public outrage. Barack does not seem to have the conviction or meddle to make the tough calls. Especially tough calls and not blame someone else for the problem like Bush.

The Economic Blame Game

I am tired of hearing Democrats say they inherited the bad economy. The Democrats are being naive if they think they have no ownership over what happened and what will transpire in the future. I wish they would quit playing the blame game and move on already and address the current problem. This is why Democrats are just as much to blame as Republicans:

1. The Democrats let Frannie Mae and Fredie Mac give questionable loans to home buyers. This practice started under the Clinton Administration. Frannie and Freddie hold one half of all the bad mortgage loans in the country. When Republicans pushed for more oversight of Frannie and Freddie Democrats charged that Republicans want to kill the dreams of less fortunate Americans to be home owners.

2. Democrats held a majority in Congress when the financial meltdown started. Senators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank led financial committtees and did nothting despite seeing many warning signs of a collapse.

3. I remember Democrats blamming Bush for the 2001 recession that started about a month after he entered office when the dot com bubble burst. They felt that Clinton had no responsibilty for getting us into that mess just as they feel that Obama has no responsibility for getting us out of the current mess.

I wish the Democrats and Republicans would quit playing the blame game and move on. Why can't we compromise and say Clinton is mostly responsible for the 2001 recession and Bush is mostly responsible for the 2008 recession. And we could say that Bush got us out of the 2001 recession and hopefully Obama will get us out of the 2008 recession. It is as simple as that. Lets move on already, the past is the past and nothing can be done to correct that.

The Perfect Liberal Storm

The past few months could not have played out any better for the Democrats. The 2008 election cycle was going to be a good year for Democrats. Many people blamed an unpopular George W. Bush for everything that was wrong in this country. Since the former President was a Republican, his entire party was going to suffer. The financial meltdown a few months before the election was icing on the cake for the Democrats. Not only did they win the executive branch, but they gained a stranglehold on Congress. Now, the government is run by a huge Democratic majority without any checks and balances to keep them in line. The Democrats are free to pass any of their liberal or socialized legislation and there is not anything we can do to stop it.

I believe Obama and the Democrats want to keep this country in a recession for as long as possible. They want to use the financial meltdown to push their liberal and socialistic agenda. They will use fear mongering tactics on gullible Americans to pass their agenda. We have already heard Obama say that the lack of a Universal Health Care plan is the biggest threat to the economy. That is an outright lie. The U.S. economy has done well for years without socialized health care. The Obama administrations goal is use the economic crisis to their advantage. Thus, the longer the crisis lasts, the better the chances the Obama administration has to pass its liberal agenda through Congress.

Many may think I am crazy that the President wants the economic crisis to linger until they push their agenda through Congress. Well consider a few facts that show I may not be that crazy:

1. It has been nearly 2 months and Geithner has yet to formulate a plan to stabilize the banking system. Although billions have already been authorized to help the banking industry Geithner has not said how he plans to use the money.

2. Obama’s message has been nothing but “doom and gloom” about the economy and has said very little that is optimistic. This is fear mongering. He covers himself by constantly reminding the public he inherited this mess as if he has no ownership over the problem. Thus, it is okay for the economy to suffer for a prolong time frame because he can always blame Bush while getting his massive government in place.

3. Most of the money from the massive spending (stimulus) bill will not get into the economic system for several years. Thus, it will not stop the economic downturn in the short term.

4. As the markets continue to slide there seems to be no urgency on Obama’s part to stop the downward spiral and Geithner continues to sit on the sidelines. Obama has even stated he is not concerned about the stock market. The stock market is one of the best indicators to how the economy is performing, but he could care less that Americans continue to lose their life savings.

5. Obama still has not filled over half of the positions in the Treasury Department. How can he tackle the economic crisis if he does not have his team in place.

Yes, it was a perfect liberal storm over the past 6 months and the Obama administration and the Democrats will seize the opportunity to make us suffer more just to get their agenda pushed through Congress. It has always been my theory that Democrats want to keep the poor oppressed so they can count on their vote. If the economy suffers and Americans suffer it will help the Democrats to keep their vote and push their agenda.

Prediction: Obama will be the Worst President in U.S. History

Okay, I have seen enough. Yes, I want Obama to succeed, but he has already proven he does not have a clue to what he is doing. To be the worst President in U.S. history he has to beat out the vastly overrated FDR and LBJ and he is well on his way. Here are some major blunders thus far:

In my book I admit that Obama is smooth orator. However, I did not realize until recently he uses a teleprompter and gets fed facts for all his speeches and press conferences. Maybe he is not as smooth or smart as we all thought. Think of what the left would say if Bush did this. The left always felt Cheney and Rove ran the White House. Well, who is running Obama’s White House?

In my book I say Obama has been a political genius by avoiding taking a stand on tough political issues. However, I am really starting to think he may not have been a genius after all and may in fact have below normal intellect. I think he is simply a puppet doing what Reed, Pelosi, and Emanual tell him.

As every job market segment in the U.S. shrinks, only governmental jobs are on the rise. A sure sign that we are getting big government. This is the first step towards socialism.

As much as Democrats criticize the Iraq War and its cost, the Obama spending machine has already spent more than the U.S. has paid to date to support both the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.

As many blamed the Republicans for using fear mongering tactics after 9-11, the Democrats are doing the same with the economy to sell their huge spending bills. In fact, Obama thinks Americans are so stupid that he is using the economy to sell his socialized health plan. It as if the United States did not prosper without socialized health care the first 230 years of our existence.

Spending and our national debt are out of control. I realize Republicans are to blame for this as well, but the budget this year is ridiculous.

He is already raising taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Even the most liberal Presidents would not do that during a recession.

One of his plans to raise taxes on the wealthy is to cut their charitable contributions. This is insane, especially during a recession. This will certainly affect monies going to charities that help people in tough times. This is obviously a counter productive measure.

Geithner is formulating all the ways to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy. This is the same man that owed the IRS money for nearly a decade before paying it off without a penalty. Charlie Rangel who heads the House Ways and Means committee that writes our tax code has also evaded paying taxes. He too did not have to pay a penalty. I do not think it is an era of new politics to have tax cheats running the IRS and writing our tax codes. I agree the tax code is too complicated. So let’s go to the Fair Tax and be done with Geithner and the IRS.

Obama has moved oversight of the 2010 Census from the Commerce Department to the White House. This is to make sure Democrats can rewrite district lines to ensure they optimize the number of House seats in 2010. This is one way to become a dictatorship and rid ourselves of the Republican Party. According to the Constitution, the Commerce Department, not the White House is responsible for the Census.

Even though his administrations looks likes Clinton’s with the same bunch of cronies, they still have not learned from their mistake of trying to do too much too fast.

Obama tells us to conserve energy and openly criticizes companies for their lavish spending. Obama keeps his office at 80 degrees and spends more money on weekly parties, the inauguration, and food then any of his predecessors. That is a true sign of a hypocrite. It is okay to critique company spending if and only if Washington is doing the same. That is not case.

In a speech to Democrat House Members, Obama ridiculed and lambasted Republicans with cynicism and sarcasm. Could you imagine if Bush did this? This from the man who said he would bridge bipartisan behavior. It only took him 2 weeks to break that.

Obama has openly said during every public appearance that he inherited the economic problem. He has openly bashed Bush when given the chance. When is Obama going to stop doing this and finally take responsibility? Bush had been nothing but gracious to Obama and his family, it is about time Obama stop being political and treat the former President with respect.

He closed Gitmo without a contingency plan to place the detainees. I do not agree with closing Gitmo, but if had a plan in place I may agree with him.

Earmarks. Bills are loaded with pork and he said he would put an end to this wasteful spending. He said he would go over bills line by line to cut waste. However, Obama was one of the biggest Earmark abusers when in Congress. So, it is just another lie. I really wish that Republicans would stop placing earmarks in bills. I vote for fiscally responsible Republicans, not big spending Republicans.

Bailout city. I am sick of every idiot and moron getting a bail out. This includes corporations. The auto industry should go to bankruptcy as should the banks. At first, I thought banks should be bailed out because they are the backbone to our economy. However, once these large banks dry up and fail, this will be an opportunity for some smaller and better run banks to gobble them up. It is the American way. I just wish I was stupid and bought a house I could not afford so I could get bailed out. We are a nation that rewards stupidity, but punishes fiscally responsible people with a larger tax burden. I am tired of hearing everyone’s sob story. This is America, if you are down, brush yourself off and do something about it. If you cannot do anything to help yourself, you should not ask the government for help.

Homeland Security Head Napolitano views on border control is a bit lax to say the least.

Obama has openly said he does not base his economic decisions based on how the markets are doing. The markets are the best barometer to measure a healty economy. Obama needs to realize this and get his act together. This just shows how out of touch he and his administration are. If he wants to help Americans he needs to preserve their 401ks.

Why is the Obama administration going after Rush Limbaugh? I have never seen an administration so obsessed with talk show host. The only reason that comes to my mind is that they want to avert the nation's eyes from their economic policy. The Obama administration should have enough to do than worry about Rush.

Obama is already instituting carbon taxes and caps. Why is Obama so anti-corporation. How are companies going to grow and hire new employees if they always have to fight the government. Corporations will be forced to pass the burden onto consumers. Yes, the already fragile economy and stuggling Americans will once again be forced to burden the cost of government blunders. If you are intested in a novel way to address supposed "climate change", please read my book.

Let's not forget Obama's promise to not have any lobyist in his administration. It is puzzling to me why politicians make so many promises they cannot keep. Anyone who has been in politics long enough knows this is not a promise any Presidential candidate could keep. So why make stupid promises? That is the question. I have no problem their lobbiest in his administration. All lobyiest are not bad people. The idiotic thing is why Obama made the promise to start out with. It simply makes him look inexperienced and quite frankley he looks like a typical politician doing and saying whatever to win an election.

A few things I think Obama has been correct on since coming to office:

He has not run out of Iraq. I am sure he is getting all the chilling and mind boggling security updates on a daily basis and that has changed his stance. It will be interesting to see if the left banishes him for this. Remember the left blamed Nixon for not ending the Vietnam War in a timely matter. Oliver Stone and other far left wingers fail to mention that Johnson got the U.S. in that mess, not Nixon. Thus, if the far left is consistent they should ridicule Obama.

I think he was right to change the Stem Cell research. Although, I do not think this is national issue, it should be decided by each individual state. Hence, I think he is overstepping his bounds as did the Bush administration.

He has not moved forward with the left views that Bush Administration personnel be punished for war crimes. This would be an injustice to go through with this witch hunt. How quickly we forget that Obama’s hero FDR imprisoned more that 110 thousand Japanese Americans during WWII. Thousands were tortured to obtain information. FDR is considered one of our greatest Presidents. However, Bush is a monster for his treatment to less than 1,000 Muslims. I hear of all the injustices that have taken place in Iraq, but forget that Harry Truman dropped 2 A-Bombs on Japan. If the U.S. was attacked again under Bush’s watch he would have been ridiculed for not keeping us safe. What is it? Do we want to be safe or are we worried about the rights of a few people? We cannot have it both ways.

New Book: Is America Dying?

My new book entitled: Is America Dying? is currently in print and will be available in a month or so. It can be purchased from the following web site: www.justbookz.com

Here is a brief description of the book:

An in depth look at fanatical behavior that is generating turbulence, chaos, destruction, and unpredictability leading to the widespread division and polarization amongst Americans. What is wrong with the United States and the world as Americans head into the twenty-first century? The main issue seems to be that people are more divided and polarized than ever before. The six barriers polarizing Americans discussed in "Is America Dying?" are: Religion, National Organizations, Human Influences, External Influences and Traits, Politics, and Diversity.

Here is a brief bio on the author:

Patrick Bohan graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1986. He spent the next 21 years working for a high technology company where he held a number of positions from individual contributor to management. His greatest achievement was being elected Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 2006, for his technical contributions. He had more than 20 publications and patents in the field of Test Engineering. Patrick has also published an investment book entitled: “MoneySense: A Commonsense Road to Financial Security and Early Retirement”, in 2001. He followed his own advice, and retired in 2007, at the age of 43. He and his wife have moved to Colorado to enjoy the outdoors. Patrick is as avid hiker and mountaineer. He has climbed all of the state high points except Alaska (One failed attempt on Mount McKinley). He has climbed over 30 of Colorado’s 54 fourteen thousand foot peaks (14ers). His greatest alpine achievement is a winter ascent of the Grand Teton. Patrick has taken all of his life experiences, and uniquely related them to our national problems in this ground-breaking book. Thus, “Is America Dying?” is a cross between an autobiography and a political publication.