Stay the Course
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor The Courant
Today the top leaders will again set out to come to some sort of compromise to fix the Debt Ceiling Crisis. My question? Do we really need to compromise? I think at this point in our nations history we need to put a firm line in the sand and say NO!
The debt ceiling is the perfect tool to use to put a Balance Budget Amedment into place. For too long our nation's elected leaders have lacked the courage and discipline to stop spending taxpayers money. If they can't or won't use basic financial principles then we need a law that will force them to adhere to staying solvent. We cannot sustain the spending levels we have. Sacrifices must be made and now is the time to start those sacrifices. It won't be any better next year, or the next decade or fifty years from now.
The longer we wait the harder it will be to fix this situation. As taxpayers and voters we must call, write and email our legislators to keep them on the right path.
We must cut spending, we must cap budgets and we must balance our Federal Budget. The House of Representatives passed such a bill and it is and must be the bare minimum in this debate. Tell your legislators to Stay the Course on spending.
August 8, 2011
Editorial
How Did Our Illustrious Leaders Not Know?
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
The experts knew, the people knew and the market knew yet, politicians on both sides of the aisle who control the debate in Washington still failed to come up with a debt deal that would show the world we Americans can solve our problems. I could blame Obama and he deserves much of the blame but I will also blame John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Sometimes you have to take the best deal you can get when you can't get the best deal, according to one Congressman and I understand that.
In the debt deal instance though we still got downgraded which is what everyone was so worried about. Would it have been better to stand ground and stick to balancing the budget even if it meant default?
I say yes but thats me. Frankly overspending is as much an addiction disease as heroin or cocaine. Its now obvious the power brokers in Washington DC are addicted and will need to hit rock bottom before they realize it.
This latest deal just pushed the point of hitting rock bottom a little farther back. The markets, the unemployment statistics and other financial indicators will eventually tell us when we hit rock bottom. I think we'll eventually recover from that too but how many years will it take and could a good dose of common sense from washington fix this crisis earlier rather than later?
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
What Would You Miss?
We can squabble and disagree on many issues from Cap and Trade to Immigration Reform to Heath Care Reform. Argue either side but ask yourself this question.
If one Half of the United States Federal Government disappeared over night would you even know it? If the Department of Commerce, Energy or Commerce disappeared overnight would you notice? Be truthful with yourself, the answer is unabashedly NO.
Let’s think a little closer to home. If half of the State of Michigan government disappeared overnight would you notice? Probably not.
At the county or local level you might notice a little more quickly but still not immediately.
So ask yourself this question. Why won’t the people we elect even consider the notion of making 5%, 10% or even 20 % cuts across the board? Many of us have seen our property values drop by 20 to 30 percent or more. Average Income for hourly workers has dropped 3% this last year according to Federal statistics. Is that a reliable figure? I’m betting its way higher than that.
The Federal Government is saying Unemployment is at 9.7% nationally but they don’t count those people who have run out of unemployment insurance and they don’t count those who have stopped looking for work because they can’t find any. So that’s a doubtful figure too.
The Trillions of dollars of debt the United States now owes is incapable of being paid back by this generation alone. The unfunded entitlements for Medicare, Social Security, the new Health Care Plan and Pensions for State and Federal workers are growing and the ability to pay for them is shrinking. That is a fact.
You can put your head in the sand but the National Debt is not going away unless a fundamental change happens. Not the change that President Obama promised but a change in ourselves. A change where we can admit it’s time to tighten our belts and stop asking for handouts. To open our mouths and dictate to our elected leaders what they must do, cut the budgets. Does that mean layoffs for government employees and cuts to programs? Yes it does. Sorry folks.
It comes down to something as simple as this. A sinking swimmer can’t save a drowning man. You both drown. So when you read this month’s editorial, before you agree with me or call me a know nothing imbecile ask yourself, what would I miss? Because if we don’t change the ways things are running in all our levels of government you will find yourself having to do without a lot more things than just government services.
Saturday Febuary 6, 2010
Editorial
Get Your Bullhorns Out: President Fails to Hear to the People
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
In his first State of the Union address, President Obama called the votes for Republicans in recent elections the result of frustration, but not in the frustration that most of us think. He openly stated that the people are frustrated because his change is not coming fast enough.
What does it take to get through to the Democratic leadership and the President? Not even hearing aids can help this group of ideologues.
Despite polls showing a substantial majority of Americans want nothing to do with either the House or Senate versions of healthcare reform, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to continue to press forward no matter what.
Obama also clearly stated he will continue to press forward with Cap and Trade bills stating that there was overwhelming evidence for climate change. In what world is Mr. Obama living? Certainly he is out of touch with the American people but he’s also living in some fantasy world where all his dreams become our nightmares.
Remember that this is an election year and as American voters we have the ability to turn out every politician who supports the Obama Administration policies. As Americans we have the right and duty to get out and campaign for those who hold our values and the values of the Constitution.
Educate yourself and find ways to get involved and reclaim your country from the people who want to control every aspect of your life. If they refuse to listen maybe by getting our veritable bullhorns out, we can make them hear.
Editorial
Game Change For Election
Supreme Court Reversal of Campaign Finance Laws Changes Rules for 2010 Election
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
The Supreme Court not only stood behind the Constitution this week, they put balance back into election campaigns.
While McCain Feingold was meant to limit campaign direct contributions from corporations and unions it failed to stop Unions such as the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) from putting out letters to its Union members to vote for certain candidates and from putting SEIU thugs at polling places to influence votes. MCain Fiengold also failed to do anything about community organizing groups like ACORN from unduly influencing voters.
When Senator Schumer and President Obama spout off that the decision will start a new round of special interest spending it comes off shallow and completely disingenuous.
It is a complete joke for the Democratic Leadership to talk about special interest groups gaining more control than they already have. The entire 2000+ page health care reform packages in the Senate and House were put together behind closed doors written mainly byspecial interest groups. The Stimulus package was in great part written by the Apollo Alliance another liberal special interst group. SEIU President Andy Stern has been the most frequent guest at the WhiteHouse in the last year. He has undue influence with the Administration and McCainFeingold did nothing to stop any of this. It's the influence after election that we should worry about, not before.
The Supreme Court stood up for the Constitution this time. This country was founded to be a nation of laws not men. The Constitution is a set of boundaries set by the Founding Fathers who had seen what happens when a king or group of men have the unfettered ability to make whatever rules they want. That very premise is what led to the American Revolution. If Congress continues to break the boundaries of the Constitution it may lead to the United States no longer being a nation of law but an oligarchy or worse, a dictatorship.
The overthrow of a Senate seat held for almost 50 years by the Democrats is proof enough that the will of the people has been re-awakened.
What the Massachusetts vote says is that Congress and the Senate need to be very afraid of the voters. It clearly tells legislators “You work for us and you can be voted out.” In some cases even recalled. 18 of the 50 United States allow for politicians elected to Federal office to be recalled. The State of Michigan is one of those states.
"When government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves."
This Majority opinion not only affects campaign finance laws but this statement is a solid step in protecting websites, bloggers, talk radio and cable networks from more interference from government.
The Obama Administration has already been working behind the scenes to find more ways to control and limit talk radio and the internet.
It's hard to believe the disingenuous rhetoric of the left when they have shown for twelve months that they already represent their own special interests.
Un-Constitutional Health Care?
Do the House and Senate Health Care Reform Bills Violate the Constitution?
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
Constitutional Lawyers are already prepping for hundreds of court cases to be filed upon passage of Health Care Reform. Insurance companies, doctors, health agencies and even single citizens across the country are threatening lawsuits as Health Care Reform edges closer. The Senate passed their version of a Health Care bill which included special provisions for certain states but not others, which some lawyers say clearly violates areas of the Constitution of the United States.
Section 8 of Article I is one of the most brought up areas of contention as well as Amendments Nine and Ten of the Constitution because no section in the Constitution clearly states that the Federal Government has the power to force health care on the people. These powers are delegated to the states and the people.
Article I Section 8.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; Clearly any bill that gives one state something other than another state is un-constitutional,
The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. Again no state or its citizens can have something or be denied something that another state gets.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. All rights not specified in the constitution belong to the people not the Federal government.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. The people and the states have all rights other than that specified by the Constitution.
Friday December 4, 2009
Scratchin’ Me Noggin
Liem S. Gray, Columnist
While the Obama Administration tries to decide what to call the Ft. Hood shooting, I’ve made up my mind already. We don’t have all the facts yet, frankly it’s strange how foreign newspapers were giving out details of the case before our own government and domestic news media. We may never know everything but what we have already been told is enough. Major Nidal Malik Hasan is a Muslim extremist and terrorist.
You can argue that he was mentally ill. I’m sure that’s what his defense team will try to use to keep him from the Death Penalty but he’s guilty plain and simple. Nothing will change that, the only thing that may change is how our government decides to interpret his actions. Will they call it a man- made disaster instead of terrorism? Will they say he was just suffering from pre-traumatic stress syndrome? Maybe but even thinking that way is indicative of what is wrong with how society now looks at things. Some people want to blame political correctness for the FBI and Army for missing the signs of Hasan being a risk and you know what? Those people are right. If some Muslims get offended or if some Muslims get profiled because of this act so be it. I consider those who kill both Doctors and Pro-Life activists to be terrorists too and yes they should be profiled as well.
When you decide to harm someone else because their views are different than yours you are a terrorist. Your right to your opinion ends when it affects somebody else’s right to their opinion, health or life.
Maybe my views are too simple or too cut and dry but how the decision makers of this country can be so ambivalent about what to call such clear cut acts certainly leaves me Scratchin’ Me Noggin.
Liem S. Gray is a Michigan resident and fancies himself as a political pundit.To contact him,e-mail liem.scratchinmenoggin@yahoo.com.
Editorial
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
Pushing and Shoving on Health Care Reform
It’s pretty telling that House Speaker Pelosi is pushing for a rare Saturday vote on the House version of the new Health Care Reform Bill.
She obviously does not want the people to know what’s in the bill and it’s plainly obvious that she doesn’t want Congressman to have time to study the bill and its effects nor does she want to give Congressmen time to bend to the pressure of their own constituents who do not want this bill passed.
This bill has a public option page 4 -10-b by creating a public Health Exchange. This exchange will lead private insurance to wither away. Page 211 gives more info on the public option. Page 255 allows members of Congress to enroll in the public option it doesn’t require them to however and why would they as long as they have a premium health plan of their own.
Page 8 Sub part A Sec 501 mandates a tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage. In other words they will decide to punitively tax you if you don’t have insurance and even if you do it may not meet their standards and they will tax you. Is the Federal government even constitutionally empowered to force you to do this?’
This bill adds over 13 new taxes and over 100 new federal bureaucracies to the government. Your taxes will go up. Costs will go up and your choices and freedoms will be reduced. If you haven’t looked at this bill do so. The last two hundred odd pages of this bill refer to how the health care reform will affect Tribal programs and Native Americans.
If history teaches us anything it’s that the federal government has broken every treaty with the American Indians that it ever made. Mark my words as they shove this reform down our throats, this farce of a bill will also break the country.
Editorial
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
President’s Nobel Prize?
By now you’ve heard the right and the left give their views on President Obama’s surprising award of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Critics from the right and left have decried the fact that Obama was nominated just 12 days into his Presidency and that he has accomplished nothing to push peace anywhere in the world so far. Others say it’s a good sign for the United States to have its current President bestowed with such a great honor.
The Nobel Committee states that Obama’s change of U.S. policy towards discussion and negotiation is what led them to choose the President. Many political pundits are saying it’s just another jab by the liberal leaning Nobel Committee against George Bush.
All these are valid points but for me the real question is the timing. Why not wait till 2010, 2011 or 2012 to give Obama his Peace Prize? At least that would make sense. If Alfred Nobel rolled over in his grave when the prize was given to Yasser Arafat he’s probably doing barrel rolls with this award.
The committee most likely gave this key award at this time for one reason only, to try and sway Obama from escalating the war in Afghanistan. It’s basically an attempt by foreign nationals to control American Foreign Policy and a cheesy one at that. They should be ashamed for cheapening the meaning of the Nobel Prize.
Let us hope that our President knows better than to play into the hands of those Europeans who still believe that appeasement is the best path for peace. The lessons of World War I and II have obviously been forgotten or never learned.Giving into terrorists and terrorist supporting states is a huge mistake. I hate to be so cliché but for the sake of our troops abroad, let us hope that President Obama has the audacity to stick to his guns, carry his Nobel Peace Prize in one hand and a big stick in the other.
September 14, 2009
Editorial
Czar Madness
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
What is a Czar? According to dictionary.com it is… 1. An emperor or king 2. The former Emperor of Russia 3. An autocratic ruler 4. Any person exercising great authority or power in a field.
In the United States, Czar is an informal name for a person working for the President who has a long title and those aforementioned great powers.
So what in the world are Czars doing in a Democratic Republic such as the United States? I remember the first time I ever heard Czar used in conjunction with our government, it was the Drug Czar and the accompanying “War on Drugs”. We all know how successful that has turned out. So why is it that the Executive Branch feels the need to put extra power and control into special departments and certain people? It’s a way to get agendas moving without dealing with Congress, call it an end run around Congress. The main stream media didn’t make much of it, but recently President Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones resigned at midnight Sunday morning before Labor Day.
He had been under fire from conservatives for being a self acclaimed communist, for calling Republicans a derogatory name in a public speech and for signing a petition for the radical 911 Truther Movement, a left wing group who believe the United States Government was behind the 911 attacks. When Jones was first appointed to the Obama Administration they had to know about this. They claimed they had been watching him a long time and were ecstatic to have him. The White House claims he wasn’t asked to resign but how many people resign at midnight before a National Holiday?
The point that most people miss amongst all this hype however is the fact that Van Jones never created any jobs, has no technical degree, has no manufacturing experience and is just another attorney and activist who wrote a bestselling book. How did that qualify him for the position of the Green Jobs Czar whose job was to help create high tech Green Jobs, in the first place?
Jones is only one of the 30 plus Czars that exist in the Obama Administrations. Some reports say it may be as high as 43. There are now calls from some Senators and Representatives that all these positions be confirmed by Congress. Frankly I don’t agree much with anything done by our Congressional Representatives lately but this time I do. If we are going to have these high powered appointments the Senate should make sure our President is putting qualified people into these powerful positions. Our government was built with a series of Checks and Balances and these “Czar” positions should not be allowed to change that.
Editorial
Chief Editor,Gary Wellings
September 29,2009
Where's the Priorities?
President Obama heads to Copenhagen this week with a full entourage of cabinet personnel and others to try and persuade the International Olympic Committe to bring the Olympics to Chicago in 2016. Why the push for the Olympics in Chicago? Do you have to repay some favors to special interests there? Is this the best use of the President's time? Obama and the Democrats have been screaming about Health Reform and in the midst of the chaos the President leaves town. Even more important is the decision of whether or not to send additional troops to Afghanistan. The Presiden'ts hand picked man to head up the Afghan effort, General Stanley McChrystal has formally asked for more troops. He states that time is of the essence and that more troops are needed or the war could be lost. Correct my memory but didn't we run the Taliban out of Afghanistan in a matter of months when we first went in. Of course we did, because we went in to win and with all the support our troops needed. Now our troops are fighting without artillery or air support if civilians are any where near the combat area because It's politically incorrect to have any civilians die.How can we risk our own boys that way? What's next? Telling them they can't have ammunition in their rifles until they've been shot at? Sounds very much like Viet Nam.
Either bring them home or support them properly. Obama is showing his total lack of spine by not making a decision. He doesn't want to look weak to the world by pulling out of Afghanistan and letting the Taliban take back the country nor does he want to break ranks with his radical left cronies who don't believe in any military action. If you don't have the guts for the job Mr. Obama don't go on vacation, just go away. You can stay in Copenhagen with your entourage and seek the adulation of the Europeans. Abandoning your post and not supporting our troops is a disgrace. Make a decision one way or the other.
The blood of any American soldier who loses his life in Afghanistan while you delay your decision is on your hands.
If your priority of a Chicago Olympic Party is more important than the lives of American Soldiers Mr. Obama, then you aren't upholding the honor of the Oval Office and you don't belong there.
Editorial
Chief Editor, Gary Wellings
September 17,2009
Let the Race….Baiting Begin.
I had the feeling… It was just a matter of time… Here we go again... All phrases that have probably run through your head if you watched the news in the last 72 hours. The race card has finally been played by the liberal left. I use the word liberal because I wouldn’t want to insult all Democrats with this nonsense.Ex-President Jimmy Carter stated yesterday that “...an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African American…”
What a dolt! I wouldn’t give two cents for Carter’s opinion on anything. Carter may arguably be the worst President this country ever had with his 13% inflation, gas rationing, and inability to do anything about the Iran Hostage Crisis. He’s definitely in the worst five Presidents that’s for sure. First Mr. Carter, I haven’t seen any animosity toward Barack Obama personally but I have seen loads of animosity about his agenda and plans. That’s not racist, that’s democracy. I suppose Mr. Carter would like all of us to shut up, go home and let Obama and his extreme liberal friends do whatever they feel like with our country and our lives. If it were Hillary Clinton pushing this same ignorant agenda the Tea Partiers and Town Hallers would still be there.
Now the media is bringing up race with this most recent Kanye West incident at the Video Music Awards. It didn’t happen because Kanye is African American. He’s just a jerk. It’s got nothing to do with his skin color; some people are just rude, arrogant and self centered. Beyonce showed that grace and kindness comes in every color at this very same event. I’ll give Two Thumbs Up for Miss Beyonce Knowles.
What bothered me the most was the media reaction to Serena Williams’ tirade. She got angry and took it out on a line judge at the U.S. Open. It’s not normal for her but we all get angry occasionally so give her a break. It’s got nothing to do with race.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times proudly called Congressman Joe Wilson (R) of South Carolina a racist for his outburst during the President’s Speech on Healthcare Reform to a Joint Session of Congress. Racist? Calling someone a liar has absolutely nothing to do with the color of someone’s skin. Senator Reid (D) called President George Bush a liar and a loser what’s the difference? I’m probably right if I assume some African American members of Congress called George Bush worse names than that at some point, but that doesn’t make them racists either. It makes them politicians. I suppose Dowd must be a mind reader to make such a claim. Joe Wilson made his apology to the President for making a remark in the hallowed Halls of Congress. The President accepted and his spokesman stated it had nothing to do with race nor does the flack about healthcare.
Democrats asking for more apologies on the House floor is nothing but political game playing to push attention away from their failed attempts to subvert the private healthcare system of the United States. Race Baiting won’t work anymore. This country fairly elected an African American President. He was elected with the help of a lot of people of every color. If many of these same people are disagreeing with his agendas and policies now it’s because of that and not his skin color. People should remember that President Obama is half white and half black and you can’t blame half a man for his ideas.