First-Time Grandparents On November 14, 2013!!!

Sonrie Bee (Sonnie for short, pronounced 'sunny') was born to son Matt and wife, Heather, on November 14, 2013. We let our relatives and friends know the old-fashioned way (phone mostly but email too) but life was so crazy for us the last several months of 2013 I'm only now getting around to letting 'the world' know.

Our kids (Matt, Chris and Heather) all bless our socks off so add another to the mix. We look forward to the joy and enjoyment this new addition brings to the entire family.

God Bless You Matt, Heather and Sonnie and your family's future. Much love from here! - Dad and Mom

American Republic Enduring

An interesting quote I read yesterday:

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." (Alexis de Tocqueville - French writer & historian)

In Celebration Of Family: First-Time Grandparents!!!

With Great Joy 

my wife Karen and I join our son, Matt, and his wonderful wife, Heather, 

in celebrating the impending birth of their first child!!!

In about two weeks we'll be grandparents for the first time. What a joyful, fun time for our entire family.

My 'kids', including daughter-in-law Heather bless us in so many ways; our cup overflows! We couldn't be happier for Matt and Heather at this sweet time in their lives.

You now become that unique and precious thing, a family. We pray God's Blessings on it always.

Much love, Dad and Mom   XO! XO! xo! XO! XO! xo!

And It Was Republican Policies, Not Democrat, That Created Most Of Those Jobs

It's interesting to hear President Obama and other Democrat leadership take credit for the jobs growth during this 'recovery', anemic as it is. The facts say otherwise.

The jobs improvement in the US occurred almost totally in Republican-led states and has been the result of Republican policies. The states (and cities) with the worst jobs results are nearly all Democrat-led.

Republican governors and/or legislatures have implemented policies that are business-friendly. That's why businesses have been moving to their states in droves. They've also taken action to reduce their states' taxes, debt and spending. Republican states have tended to be fiscally and economically stable during this recovery. Democrat-led states have tended to be the ones in the most trouble economically and fiscally.

President Obama's and Democrat leadership's claims that their policies have led to what anemic improvement we've had in the unemployment numbers is factual nonsense. If anything, their policies have slowed the recovery.

80% Of Jobs Added The Past Four Years Were Part-Time. That's NOT "Growth"!

I thought the state of our economy was bad when I found out recently that the net number of jobs added to our economy the past four years is zero. Here's a reminder of the facts about that:

1. The unemployment rate decrease is almost totally due to people giving up looking for work and leaving the workforce. Another way to say that is, when you stop looking for work you are no longer counted as unemployed which drives the unemployment rate down.
2. If the same number of people were in the workforce now (instead of dropping out of it) as were in it at the beginning of this recession the unemployment rate would be around 11%. The claimed improvement in the unemployment rate is a total illusion.

As if that weren't condemnation enough proving that the economy is not better off after all, we now find out that of the jobs that were created, 80% of them have been part-time! We've been bleeding full-time jobs and replacing them with part-time jobs. That represents a sick economy, not a healthy one.

Contrary to loud and frequent proclamations by the president, his democratic allies and The Media that the jobs picture is better than it was four years ago that's only true if you believe that part-time jobs are just as healthy for our country's economy and for families as are full-time jobs.

Four years after G. W. Bush's tax cuts went fully into effect we had full employment at 4.4%. After four years of President Obama's recovery programs the unemployment rate is still well over 7%, the real unemployment is still(!) near 11% and part-time job increases have outnumbered full-time jobs 4 to 1. Not only has this jobs environment not improved, it's far worse than under Bush after the same duration of jobs policies. Facts can be inconvenient things, huh?

Matt's and Heather's Baby Girl At 26 Weeks!

Congratulations To Matt And Heather

On The 26-Week Milestone!

Beautiful Baby Daughter, Eh?

Karen and I are so happy for our son Matt and wife Heather and we celebrate the 26-week milestone with them! They're going to be great parents and I can't wait to greet my first grandchild! :-)

TWO daughters in the family now. How cool is that?

If Detroit's Recovery Is Important Then We Must Begin By Understanding The Root Causes Of Its Problems

I say it every time about our nation's troubles/challenges: The Truth Matters! It matters because we CANNOT fix our country's problems until we have the courage(!) to BOTH understand the root issues AND fix those instead of succumbing to political correctness and doing things that feel good or simply have good optics. The appearance of doing something is perceived to represent progress whether it does anything good or useful. Appearance is everything. Honesty and integrity? Forget about it! That's too old-fashioned.

There are some facts, to the extent one cares about truth, that would be irrational on a cosmic scale to ignore. This research/analysis by The Heritage Foundation is relevant and important to anyone who actually cares more about fixing Detroit's problems than political agenda or political correctness.

Is it relevant that Detroit was one of the premier cities in the US, in the world in fact, in the 50's and 60's and is now in third-world condition? What happened there beginning 40 years ago? For one thing, it has been run by only liberal politicians/policies since 1972. Is that relevant? Let me answer that by asking a question: who would claim credit if that city were still a shining example as it was 50-60 years ago? Is it relevant that our country's explosion in union control over companies' management and in union-secured benefits began there 50 years ago? Is it relevant that Detroit's leadership has been among the most corrupt of all large cities in recent decades ... leading to conviction and jail time for many of those highest in city government? Is it relevant that about half of Detroit's adults are illiterate and only 7% of the kids entering high school are 7th grade level proficient in reading? (By the way, becoming educated requires(!) personal choice/commitment. No teacher or school can 'make' one become educated if one has no interest in it. One's attitude has everything to do with it. Check out Dr. Benjamin Carson's biography if you don't believe one can overcome poverty, a broken family, peer pressure, and even racism to become educated anyway.) Is it relevant that all these ills have resulted in spite of Detroit being one of the biggest consumers of state and federal (ie, taxpayer) largesse?

On a more general note, could it be more clear that what one would call tough love is not only necessary but sufficient? Detroit needs the city equivalent of what company restructuring can do to restore a company from bankruptcy thus restoring it to self-sufficiency and success. Now that a capable-appearing city manager has been put in charge, the extent to which Detroit can be restored depends almost entirely on what unions and the state of Michigan do to help solve Detroit's problems rather than holding illogically, in fact suicidally onto proven corrupt 'deals' (people went to jail but their deals stayed in place) of the past. It's time for honest and courageous introspection independent of any(!) political agenda or political correctness.

All-Knowing But Totally Oblivious

This is insane!

Leader after leader in this administration parades before congressional committees and claims ignorance about things they're paid to know ... and CARE ... about. Things they are PAID TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT!

A scandal breaks out within the Justice department and the guy in charge (Att'y Gen'l Holder) doesn't know what's been going on AND DOESN'T CARE ENOUGH TO FIND OUT? Recusing himself has far more to do with wanting to avoid it like the plague than doing his stinking job. He goes before the people in charge of our government and isn't motivated to come prepared with ANY answers as to why his organization is doing things that are causing a national uproar? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What, sir? Are you completely stupid in addition to being ignorant and incompetent? You must think WE are that stupid too!

The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, did the same exact thing. Someone decided to change ACTUAL INTELLIGENCE from "planned terrorist attack" to the completely MADE-UP(!) "the video caused a spontaneous mob action" and she neither knows that happened nor cares to find out who did it? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What, madam? Are you completely stupid in addition to being ignorant AND incompetent? You must think WE are that stupid too!

And then there's the President, who's the 'boss' of them all. He ALSO HAD NO CLUE either of these things were going on AND DOESN'T CARE ENOUGH TO FIND OUT what's really going on with either of them? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I'll relentlessly pursue what's going on, TRUST ME! What, sir? Like you did with Fast and Furious and all the other scandalous things you promised(!) you'd take care of? Do YOU also think we're stupid?

You think you're not complicit just because YOU didn't cause any of this? You're THE MOST complicit by doing nothing about it when you're the people in charge! CEO's of real companies get fired ... immediately ... for this kind of nonsense. They're paid to make their companies successful and when trouble comes, to LEAD fixing it. The people currently in charge of our federal government seem to think they're only there to take credit for whatever good things happen whether they're responsible for them or not. You don't hear them saying I don't know when someone asks them about a success thing down in the ranks below them. In fact, they RUN to get in front of it to APPEAR like it was totally their doing.

These people are insulting our intelligence and defying common sense. And they're running our government? What's up with this?

Plausible deniability has morphed into bonehead ignorance in practice. Do we really want leaders who are this ignorant of what's going on in their organizations and don't care enough about bad things when they happen to PROACTIVELY(!) find out what's going on and practice REAL LEADERSHIP in getting to the root of them ... and fixing them?

What's wrong with these people? We didn't hire them to only work hard at remaining ignorant about what's going on beneath them! Good grief!

A President And Government Of ALL The People? Hardly!

A "Special Briefing" on Benghazi was held just before yesterday's press briefing. For "select" members of The Media. I'm sure the liberal attendees did indeed feel "special" but what about the concept of freedom of the press? Doesn't the concept of a free press have as a fundamental precept openness by administrations to ALL 'The Press', not just the ones that find themselves on the good side of a president?

What kind of message does that deliver? Better be nice to us if you want to get the inside scoop on things. If you print something that makes us look bad you run the risk of not being invited back. We'll send you to a 'time out' if you misbehave. That's CONTROL (by exclusion) of the press, not freedom of the press.

Adding emphasis to this administration's hostility toward all things conservative is the other news yesterday that the IRS targeted conservative groups for 'special' investigation if the terms "Tea Party" or "Patriot" are in any way connected with a group claiming tax-exempt status. Hmmmmm. You don't suppose they'd do that with their counterpart groups on the left end of the political spectrum that dare call themselves progressive do you? That would be fair and balanced would it not?

What kind of message does that deliver? Better not create a group like that or promote yourself that way on our watch or you'll get 'special treatment' by the IRS. Isn't that nice? How special, huh? Everyone knows how much fun it is to get 'special treatment' by the IRS.

And what if one happens to be an officer in such groups? By definition, they'd be getting extra scrutiny by the IRS as they dig into what the group may or may not be doing. Having been on the executive committee of one I'm no doubt on the IRS watch list.

What do you suppose will be the IRS' reaction to this news being made public? Will they simply stop doing that or will they simply do it more surreptitiously?

Also, if the IRS is giving extra attention to Tea Party and Patriot groups, doesn't that imply it's most likely true that other government departments are also giving 'special treatment' to them AND their membership too?

Understand that this is coercive action by the government. It's a more passive-aggressive form of it but that's what it is, plain and simple. By definition it is the antithesis of freedom and constitutional principles.

Oh, it feels SO good to receive such special treatment by my government. Media representing my interests cannot get into White House briefings and groups with which I associate come under special investigation by agents of the government simply because we have an opposing political view. Never mind that we do things peacefully compared with the likes of the left's "Occupy" movement.

Thank you Mr. President. You make me feel SO SPECIAL!

For 40 Years Americans Have INSISTED Our Government Close The Borders So Why Haven't They?

The ONE thing American citizens have been VERY clear about ... for 40 years(!!!) ... is wanting the federal government to close our borders to illegal entry. YES, conservatives ALSO want the immigrants here to have some kind of legal status. A work visa or some such thing at a minimum. To say conservatives don't want them to have some kind of legal status is a bald-faced lie.

You want proof? We relented TWICE on having amnesty first, having extracted a PROMISE by democrats to close the borders. We've done amnesty TWICE so by what warped logic can anyone claim we oppose it? How many times have democrats actually closed the border? ZERO times! Who is being intransigent and unsupporting? What's the REAL TRUTH? We are thoroughly fed up with democrats' collective passive-aggressive behavior on this! We have never opposed legal status (some form of amnesty) and we still do not! How much longer must we suffer their lies and thoroughly irresponsible behavior?

After TWICE getting screwed via democrats' broken promises, why should ANYONE be surprised that we now insist that the borders get closed FIRST? "Give us amnesty again and we PROMISE we'll close the borders first" democrats are saying again. Even republicans in the gang of eight are saying the same thing. On what RATIONAL basis are we to believe these guys .... AGAIN?

For 40 years, a majority of Americans have been saying the borders MUST be closed. What has been stopping mainly democrats the past 40 years from passing a bill that simply closes the border? Surely they could have closed it in all this time! IF they wanted to! Ah, there's the rub. Our politicians don't really want to do what a large majority of American citizens want them to do!!!

By the way, isn't it clear that closing the borders logically(!) requires NO preconditions to be done successfully? They could pass a bill tomorrow that does that and only that. Americans would support it by a huge majority. So why don't they do that?

We'd be STUPID to fall for the amnesty first argument ... AGAIN!