Obama Approval Numbers

According to Gallup, the rolling approval of Our Great Leader, HRH Barack the Petulant (Peace be Upon Him) has dropped to 39%.

Currently, Gallup is showing 39% approve and 53% disapprove.

Apparently, 8% said, “Barack who? Ummm… I’m too ignorant to have an opinion one way or another”

Obama Approval Numbers

Another Intel Leak from the White House- This Time Creating Chaos in Middle East

Chaos and confusion in the Middle East is not really that unusual. However, chaos and confusion in the Middle East that is being caused by, or at minimum exacerbated by, the US, is something that gets my attention- especially when that chaos could lead to a new shooting war.  

First, I will start with what is known for sure. On Wednesday, October 30, 2013, an air defense base in the Syrian port of Latakia, was attacked from the air.  Reports say that Russian SA-125 Neva/Pechora and SA-8 Gecko/Dgreen mobile missiles/launchers were at the base and that those missiles, and other related equipment were being transferred to Hezbollah. 

From this point on, the chaos and confusion starts.  There is something  weird with this tale and the nations involved.  There are parts of this whole mess that seem out of pattern or out of character at best- at worst there is another story here or "something else going on" altogether.

After the Port of Latakia gets hit, Syria basically does nothing.  In fact, they seem to downplay the entire attack. The Dam Press, loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad says, "Yes, Latakia was hit- but no one was hurt.” That has been the response so far from Syria.  To give some background, Israel has bombed, or is believed to have bombed, locations in Syria in January 2013 and May 2013.  After this bombing, Syria just shrugs off the attack.  That might be a little weird, but maybe Assad has a bit too much on his plate right now, with is country being in a civil war, the world accusing him of using chemical weapons on his people, the UN wanting destruction of the chemical weapons. A non-response type response may be the best thing for him to do.  I can buy into Syria doing nothing for now.

After the attack the confusion and likely disinformation begins. There are reports on Lebanese TV saying, Turkey was behind the attack. “Ankara acted in response to a downed Turkish jet [and death of pilots] from last year."  Perhaps this might be plausible- but the Lebanese TV source? An unnamed Israeli official- and the report could not be independently confirmed.  Why would Beirut run an unconfirmed report from anonymous Israeli Officials that points to Turkey?

Now the fun REALLY begins. An unnamed White House source says, Yes, Israel did it!  The United States, long known to be Israel’s strongest ally, throws Israel under the bus in front of the entire world- supposedly because the White House did not want the world to have the impression that the US knew about or sanctioned the attack.  

Yet, at the same time we are sticking it to our friends from the White House, US Secretary of Defense Hagel announces in an address to the Anti-Defamation League in New York, that the US will be providing Israel with six V-22 Osprey's- and the order will be EXPEDITED. The next six Osprey’s to hit the assembly line will go to Israel- moving ahead of an existing US Marine Corp order—The Marines will get their Osprey’s later.

So now we have the US leaking potentially damaging information about Israel one minute and announcing expedited sales of military aircraft the next. Yes, I know that there is, perhaps, a certain level of animosity between "Our Great Leader, HRH Barack Hussein Obama (Peace be upon him)" and Israel. I also know that SecDef is not known to be a supporter of Israel- but a leak to damage relations in the Middle East at the same time as an announcement of expedited military aircraft??? This is getting "ODD" here.

The next “out of character” response/reaction comes from the Israeli press reporting Israel is furious with the US leak- again from unnamed sources. Why is that odd? Because Israel does not usually acknowledge that the type of action they are accused of ever happened! At worst they deny everything. Other times when they have been accused by the world of covert action- like in the case of the assassination/mysterious death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai- Israel just says nothing—no leaks, no hints—nothing. The fact that even "unnamed officials" are saying "we are furious at the US leak" is significant by itself!

Just when you thought this all may be over, another country is denying everything.  Turkey is denying “reports claiming [they] gave Israel 'critical intelligence' prior to [Israel's] alleged strike” in Latakia.  What is really interesting, is they are denying they gave Israel ‘critical intelligence’—at stressing how great a relationship they have with IRAN. 

At this point, it looks like the only country not making accusations or denials is Syria—and they are the country that was  attacked.

Something odd is going on in the Middle East and the White House has pushed the US right into the middle of it, while shoving our closest ally in the region away from us. The Big Picture is not clear.  I am certain there is more data and information that is not public yet and that this crisis is not over.   Events this complex, controversial, dangerous and chaotic don't just happen on accident. Something is happening and I am sure the next part of it will be "interesting"- whatever it turns out to be.

Another Intel Leak from the White House- This Time Creating Chaos in Middle East

Shutdown 13- Lessons to Learn

With the possible deal announced by Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, it appears that this round of the budget fight might be over. With the apparent end of "Shutdown ’13" there are lessons that need to be remembered from the last two weeks.

1. -Our Great Leader, King Barack, the Petulant (Peace be Upon Him) will use the power of his office to attack the American People and use the power of his office to cause pain to average Americans. The biggest example of this are the actions of the National Park Service- closing open air memorials (such as the WWII Memorial and Vietnam Memorial) and attempting to close private property – such as Mt Vernon. These actions were, at best, extra-constitutional. More accurately, these actions differ little from the actions of King George III during the 1770’s and are no less Tyrannical. Since the long term memory of most Americans seems to be almost non-existent, and many who would read this will say “King George who?” I will also say that the actions of the President were NIXON-IAN at best. 


2. -The Main Stream Media will ignore the extra-constitutional actions, illegal activities, and down- right atrocities on the left. When the MSM cannot avoid reporting on actions that appear “bad for the left” they will spin the events or actions to make sure the left appears in the best light possible. For example- ABC News brushed over the conflict over the WWII memorial on October 1, stating the vets were allowed into the memorial - vs. the Stars and Stripes report that the Vets “stormed” the memorial- there is a huge difference between the two. 


3. -GOP “Leaders”- or better stated, those GOP Senators who are “approved” or “liked” by the MSM and Left- Senator McCain for example- will spend their time attacking members of their own party, rather than standing for principle. Put it another way- the GOP “Leadership” would rather “eat their young” than stand on principle. Senator McCain’s attack on Senator Cruz over the “sort of filibuster” is a prime example. In response to Senator McCain’s comments – Senator McCain, take a Civics Class- we DO NOT live in a Democracy- we live in a Republic. (Not that Senator McCain would care what I have to say- I am only one of his constituents). It is time for the rank and file of the GOP to change the leadership and vote the bums out! 


4. -The Shutdown showed the excess of the Federal Government. Besides the closure of National Parks and Monuments- done mostly to “cause pain” to the average American, the impact on the average American was negligible. Now I am sure someone will be screaming, “But Federal Employee’s did not get paid!” Actually- they will. Federal Employees just got two weeks off, paid, and car manufacturers are saying federal employees can “defer” up to 3 months of payments on their vehicles! WOW! I wish I could get that the next time I am laid-off or furloughed from a private organization!


5. -The GOP "Leadership" in the Senate is the best there is at "grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory."   

These are just a few lessons that could be learned from Shutdown ’13. Hopefully these lessons will be remembered when it is time to vote in November 2014-but I fear they will not. I am quite sure there are many more lessons that can be learned, and I invite readers to comment and add or discuss lessons that should be learned.

Shutdown 13- Lessons to Learn

Who Really Owns the Parks?

Before this last week, I thought that National Parks belonged to the "People" of the United States- that National Parks were lands set aside and held in Trust for not only those alive now, but for future generations- that the purpose of the National Park Service was to serve the People, maintain the parks and to serve as guides to help people enjoy the Parks.

Apparently, I am wrong.  Apparently the Executive Branch owns National Parks- not the People.  The Parks are lands set aside for the President to use for two things:

1st- the lands are set aside to serve as a rally location for those that agree with the current Regime - like the Pro-Amnesty rally on the Mall this last week (despite the shutdown).

2nd- Parks exist for the President to use to inflict personal pain on Americans and visitors - the "make it hurt strategy"- by preventing people from "looking" at things within the Parks from private areas (such as shutting down road pull off areas in South Dakota that are outside a national park so people could not even see Mt Rushmore), or closing access roads to allow people to look at one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the world by closing sidewalks that pass a wall that lists the names of those that died serving their country (Vietnam Memorial).

Apparently the Park Service exists to close roads, sidewalks, harass citizens, and to do the bidding of the President, to "make it hurt."

A great number of our National Parks are natural wonders- they existed LONG before there was a US Government and will continue to exist long after the US Government is gone.  These Parks were not "built" by the Government.  Yes, at these parks, roads, visitor centers and other structures were built- sometimes before the park was a "Park"- but the fact remains that with these natural wonders, people are more interested in viewing the "handiwork of Almighty God" than they are in looking at the wonders of the visitor's center or the fee collection booth. The Grand Canyon does not get covered with a big tarp or filled in with dirt just because  Our Great Leader, Barack the Petulant (Peace be Upon Him) said the Government is closed.

These parks could ALL be open now- the US House passed a bill to fund the National Park System- but the Democrats in the Senate have said no as has the President.

Many of the States offered to fund their Parks as soon as the shutdown began- however, His Royal Petulantcy said no.   Finally, the Regime has told the states that the Parks may open, if the State foots the bill - instead just approving the Park Service funding bill and opening all the parks in every state and territory.

Last evening on the news we saw Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona hand over a check (ransom payment) to the National Parks to allow Arizona to re-open Grand Canyon.

Maybe now that the Parks are starting to open, we will stop seeing the Parks being used as Political Weapons.

After all, these parks don't belong to the politicians, and they are not even "property" of the United States. They belong to US...

They belong to We the People

Who Really Owns the Parks?

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Shut Down

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will close on Thursday, October 10, 2013 due to the Government shutdown.  The NRC had been operating on "carry-over" funds but will run out of those funds on Thursday.

The "resident" inspectors at the 100 US Nuclear Plants will remain on the job however. 

And here we were told that life/safety operations would not be affected.  Yes, inspectors will remain on-site and the inspector general of the NRC will remain working, but aren't there other vital functions performed by the NRC? Perhaps it is time for the President to stop worrying about pushing vets out of memorials (the "make it hurt" campaign) and start negotiating with the GOP. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Shut Down

Arizona Game & Fish Meeting to Deal with Federal Shutdown Issues

The last attack by the Administration of Our Great Leader, Barack Hussein Obama (Peace Be Upon Him) and the Democrats in their "make it hurt" campaign is against Anglers and Hunters.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is meeting for the second time this week in emergency session to discuss impacts of the Federal Shutdown. Monday, the Commission voted unanimously to provide personnel, funding and other needs to the Federal Government so that Lees Ferry boat ramp on the Colorado River could be opened.  The Federal Government has also closed the "banks" of the Colorado River at Lees Ferry.

Today's emergency meeting will discuss closures at Roosevelt, Apache, Saguaro, Bartlett and other lakes in central Arizona. These lakes are part of the Salt River Project. The meeting will be available live by telephone or web. Information on attending is in the Agenda. 

Of greater concern is the commision will take comments from Hunters about apparent  closures in National Forrest areas.  It is not clear what areas have been closed specifically to hunters. 

Again the administration is attempting to "make it hurt" by closing areas that normally are never closed and were not closed in the 1995-1996 shutdown.  The administration is SPENDING money to close areas that are Private or State funded by barricading access roads to these private or state lands and parks that cross federal land.  

At the same time that the administration is thinking of new things to close and ways to "make it hurt," they are turning around and blaming Ted Cruz and the House Republicans for the closures.  

Enough is Enough.  The House should keep passing funding bills, and forcing the Democrats to say no.  At the same time, citizens should demonstrate and disobey if needed to access lands, lakes and parks that the Federal Government has no reason to close to begin with.  

The Government derives its JUST POWERS FROM CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED. Its JUST POWERS.  The Government is using its powers in UNJUST ways. Maybe it is time for the people to withdraw their consent. 

(Mobile post)

Arizona Game & Fish Meeting to Deal with Federal Shutdown Issues

Romney's Good Ideas and Free Stuff for Votes

If the worst thing about the presidential election process is the un-ending and ceaseless barrage of campaign commercials, the second worst thing has got to be the weeks of Monday morning quarterbacking that go on after the election ends.

With today seeing the first White House press conference since summer, of course there was talk of the election, and how Our Great Leader, HRH Barack Hussein Obama, (Peace Be Upon Him) feels about Gov. Mitt Romney.  And then for some reason (probably to show they were covering both sides) our liberal media decided to share the contents of a conference call that Gov. Romney had with his top supporters.

HRH Obama, in his press conference today, said, "my hope is before the end of the year, though, that we have a chance to sit down and talk.  There are certain aspects of Gov. Romney's record and his ideas that I think would be very helpful."  This an absolutely amazing turnaround. During the campaign, Gov. Romney had no good ideas according to the Obama campaign.  In fact, it was Gov. Romney, who said he agreed with the President on some issues, particularly in the realm of foreign relations, and was blasted for it in the press.

Of course, with the President being so "bipartisan" and "magnanimous" the mainstream media could not resist participating in their favorite sport; spinning comments so Republicans look bad.

Gov. Romney commented during a "post-election conference call" with major donors, that some of the policies enacted by the administration appeared like "gifts" to help win young minority and low income voters.  From the New York Times:

“In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” Mr. Romney said.

“With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift,” he said. “Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008.”

Even the voters saw these policies and "gifts" as a reason to keep Obama in office.  A prime example of this was the YouTube video of the woman saying, vote for Obama because he gave us Obama phones and Romney will take them away.

At the GOP convention people like Sen. Rubio, Sen. Martinez, and Sen. Rice were showcased.  They all shared the same story.  They came from very humble and sometimes poor beginnings, but they worked hard, overcame adversity and made themselves into successes.

But prosperity that involves hard work is frowned upon by the left.  The left says, we will take care of you.  The government will fix your problems.  Besides, it's not your fault.  It's the rich guys fault.  We need to get at him and hit him in the wallet.  Vote for us so you can keep getting government handouts--like free healthcare, free cell phones, free Internet. Vote for us to "get revenge."

All this really shows is that Alexis de Tocqueville was right:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” 

If you offer someone YOUR cash for their vote, it is called "bribery".  If you offer someone OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY (TAX DOLLARS) for their vote, it is called "public policy."

Romney's Good Ideas and Free Stuff for Votes

Going Viral- The Secession Petitions and the White House

I seriously doubt that when someone in the current administration thought of creating a place on the White House website for people to create a short petition, gather signatures and have the Administration respond, they ever dreamed that there would be petitions from the citizens of 42 of the 50 states, asking to leave the Union.  As of 7:00 pm (MST) there was a petition visible on the "We The People" page of the White House website for every State in the Union except Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Washington.

As a bit of background,  the "We The People" page allows people age 13 and over with a valid email address to create a petition (with at title no longer than 120 characters and text no longer than 800 characters) and post that petition for anyone with an account at the "We The People" site.

The "rules" of the site are fairly simple. After you create your petition, the site will assign a web address to the petition and provide it to you.   You can then send the link to your petition to anyone you like.  People may then go to your petition, click on the "sign this petition" button, and then they are presented with a link and additional buttons to share the petition by Twitter or Facebook.  After the petition gets 150 "signatures" the petition can be found by searching the "We The People" site.  Until the 150 signature threshold, the only way anyone will know about the petition is to be sent the direct link.   The petition has 30 days to receive 25,000 signatures.   If the petition receives 25,000 signatures within 30 days, the petition will be presented to a member of the White House Staff, and an Official Response will be posted by the White House (unless by doing so, there is a violation of law).

The Louisiana Petition was the first to be posted on November 7.  The petition is as follows:

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO: Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.

As the founding fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776:
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." 

"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government..."

For the most part, the petitions for other States basically say the same thing, with the name of the State replaced.   And no, none of these petitions are binding, and the ONLY outcome that MIGHT result from the petitions, is that some person in the administration of  Our Great Leader, HRH Barack Hussein Obama (Peace Be Upon Him), might provide a polite response.

There are those that will say these petitions are just a waist of time--  except, they are a "message" to the White House of how unhappy people are.

And no, none of these petitions will result in a State being able to secede. To secede, Arizona, for example, would require acts of both Houses, the Governor, and likely a popular vote of the people to amend the Arizona Constitution-  and beyond that, there are the implications of Amendment 14, Section 3 of the Constitution.   Robert E. Lee was stripped of his rights under the 14th Amendment-  His rights were restored by a 2/3 vote of the Congress-- in 1976 (yes nineteen seventy six).

I do not believe that ANYONE takes these "petitions" seriously- as far as anything "happening" or a state actually being able to secede because of the petitions.  What those that are signing this petitions are really wanting is an HONEST, FRANK AND OPEN RESPONSE from the White House (not just something written by an intern who just got clearance to work in the White House yesterday).

I also think that people have found a way to vent their anger at the "government in general"-- the White House and the Congress.   People want to feel like they are heard, and these "petitions" are a good- maybe even healthy- way to express an opinion and "believe" that a White House staff member may actually look at the "petition."

Too many times, people feel that there is no way to communicate to their government on an individual level-- hence the popularity of the Town Halls.  People feel that unless you are a Lobbyist with a truck load of cash- or a person who can donate the "Federal maximum" to a campaign-- a member of the "Party Elite" (name the party-it is on both sides)-- or a member of the media- their voice, their opinions, their ideas do not matter- that no one will see or hear what they have to say.   This "viral movement" has given people a chance to feel like they can 'get the attention' of someone in power- and they are getting on Facebook and Twitter and telling their friends, and encouraging them to sign up and "click" to express their opinion.

However, deep down inside, I don't believe that more than a handful of people think that clicking on a button on a web site will have effect on the governing or laws of this nation.  IF people actually DO believe these petitions ARE going to result in secession, I believe that would actually be convinced it is time "education reform"-  starting with the curriculum for US History and US Government...

SECESSION PETITIONS  AND SIGNATURES AS OF 19:00 MST 11/13/2012

150 Signatures Required to View/25,000 in 30 Days for White House Response

(Some states have more than one petition. State names are to the petition with the highest number of signatures as of the time of this report.  No petition listed is more than 6 days old)

Texas	87,761		Nevada	7,553
Louisiana	31,376		Wyoming	6,066
Florida	26,588		Delaware	5,819
Georgia	25,310		Utah	5,755
Alabama	24,448		Kansas	5,264
Tennessee	23,757		Alaska	5,208
North Carolina	23,384		West Virginia	4,483
South Carolina	18,157		Nebraska	4,354
Arkansas	17,432		Virginia	4,195
Colorado	16,728		South Dakota	3,906
Arizona	15,691		Wisconsin	3,057
Indiana	15,671		Idaho	2,202
Michigan	15,063		New Hampshire	2,143
Missouri	14,834		Illinois	2,133
Kentucky	14,450		Rhode Island	2,067
Mississippi	14,272		Minnesota	1,408
Oklahoma	13,889		New Mexico	981
New York	12,310		Connecticut	0
Oregon	11,720		Hawaii	0
New Jersey	11,204		Iowa	0
Montana	10,775		Maine	0
Pennsylvania	9,596		Maryland	0
North Dakota	9,563		Massachusetts	0
California	8,591		Vermont	0
Ohio	7,811		Washington	0

Going Viral- The Secession Petitions and the White House

Eastwood on Obama

Eastwood on Obama

Fast and Furious: The Justice Dept Strikes Back

There are some times that I absolutely hate being right. Especially when it comes to the actions of our elected officials. This time I may not have been 100% right however, unfortunately, I am close enough.

Wednesday night I wrote about and discussed the possibility that after the contempt citation for Atty. Gen. Holder was passed by the House of Representatives, that Our Great Leader, HRH Barack I (peace be upon Him) would immediately grant Atty. Gen. Holder a pardon. This was based on the idea that the house would be passing a single contempt citation holding the Atty. Gen. in criminal contempt.

As has been reported widely the House actually passed two contempt citations against Atty. Gen. Holder, the first being a criminal citation and the second being a civil citation. My understanding is that a Presidential Pardon would have no effect on the civil citation.

So of course, when news broke this afternoon, that the Justice Department stated they were refusing to accept the House citation of contempt against Atty. Gen. Holder and stated flat-out that they would not prosecute, I was less than surprised.

And with that, Faster than you can say Furious, Holder is off the hook (criminally)-- for now.

The Justice Department may only refuse to prosecute as long as the current administration is in office. This still leaves open the possibility of a Presidential Pardon for Atty. Gen. Holder. If this November, HRH Barack I is replaced, the Romney administration can immediately take up criminal sanctions. Therefore it would not surprise me if the Presidential Pardon comes right before Obama leaves office January 20, 2013.

This is just another example of this administration's arrogance and a refusal to bow to the rule of law and the will of the people.

Fast and Furious: The Justice Dept Strikes Back