Sharing The Wealth (Again)

Joe Biden continues to defend, and even promote, his master's idea of the "redistribution of wealth". The idea that if American's aren't charitable enough to each other, then it must be the government's right and duty, to take from the "have's" and give to the "have not's".

With that idea in mind, let's look at Mr. and Mrs. Biden's finances from the last 10 years: $260,000 averaged in annual gross income and....wait, can this be right?......only $650 average in charitable giving each year?!!

Damn, maybe Joe's right. At least in his case, he does need the government to do it for him!

Sharing The Wealth

Here’s a thought….

Barack Hussein Obama, who we now know, “chooses his friends very carefully”, has made a point to seek out “those Marxist professors” with whom he could most closely identify. And since then, has let it be known that he firmly believes in the “redistribution of wealth”. Well, right now, Obama’s campaign is very wealthy. Flush with cash. Able to buy ½ hour TV spots at will. On the other side is a Republican campaign with a third of the wealth. It would therefore be reasonable to ask that Obama redistribute some of those funds to the McCain campaign, right?

Preposterous? Stupid? Yup, it is.

So is electing a Marxist in the U.S. of A..

Windy and Deadly

Regular readers of The Mole Hole will have to forgive me for revisiting this topic again. But I cannot leave it alone.

When I first arrived in Chicago-land this summer, I wrote about the surprising murder rate here and how it was actually higher than Detroit's. I really had a different opinion of the Windy City before I arrived, as I'm sure most Detroiter's do. Detroit get's such a bad rap, and all you hear about Chicago is the shopping, the theaters and the restaurants, and what a great place to visit!

At that same time, the Supreme Court had just overturned the ridiculous DC gun ban, and what I wrote about was some of the inane statements coming out of Chicago's Mayor Daly as he took the offensive in preparing to protect his own similarly absurd gun law which as of today, is still in place.

And so now, an update:

It's official. Chicago now has the highest per-capita murder rate in the country. And the point that I'm compelled to make again, and has been made by so many, a thousand times before, is that gun laws, even as "tough" as Chicago's, do nothing to prevent gun crime.

Say it anyway you want to. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." or "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." In the case of Mayor Daly's law, the latter certainly fits the bill.

What is so hard to understand here? The highest murder rate now belongs to the place with the toughest gun laws. And before it, was Washington DC. For people intent on murder, a handgun is the overwhelmingly favorite tool. Presumably, they know murder is illegal. But they must be uninformed about the law they're breaking with that gun in their possession!

Crude Comments

Oil prices continue to tumble. The dictators at OPEC are really starting to worry now, and are struggling to find answers. Is anybody feeling sorry for them? If so, it’s the world’s smallest violin I hear playing!

Most editorials say that things are beyond OPEC’s control because of the now, world-wide recession, in which, presumably, most people are reducing their gasoline use because their personal economies are in trouble. I think this is all reverse thinking.

I will maintain that it was the oil price increases that we’ve seen for over a year now that are the root cause for most of the economic slide. Yes, the mortgage crisis is huge and was bound to boil over regardless of oil. But the mortgage mess hit us at our weakest moment. A round-house right which hit us squarely when we were already reeling with unprecedented high energy costs. Had we been in the midst of cheap energy and low inflation, I think we’d been much better off to deal with the rest. Our “immune system” would have offered a far stronger fight!

We still have to realize that everything begins with energy. Plentiful and reasonably priced energy. And at this point, energy means oil. Not windmills or solar panels. Many people, mostly dems, still don’t get it. At least, they don’t seem to be doing what it takes to help fix it.

Likewise, OPEC doesn’t get it. They are now feeling the effects of their own action. It’s what tends to happen when you abuse your number one customer, in this case, the United States. We are still the economy that runs the world. And all it takes is for us to decide that we want to cut consumption by just a few percentage points and it can ruin the market for OPEC.

The reason I say that OPEC hasn’t learned, is that they are still considering production cuts in order to try and drive the price back up! They don’t see that a threshold has been established. It’s somewhere around that $100-per-barrel price, and if they insist on trying to price the product at that level or higher, then the market will begin to correct itself all over again.

Again, the dems and all other anti-oil folks could look at this and see what an increase in our own domestic oil production could do to pricing from the middle-East. Drill just a little more and allow us to reduce what we purchase from OPEC, and you cut their legs out from under them. All we need is just a few percent increase to make a difference.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to struggle with whatever OPEC decides to bestow upon us. But should we choose to elect the right party next week, we can begin to assert some real pressure through our own increase in domestic exploration and drilling. And if OPEC thinks that they still need $100+ pricing, then they will just be hastening the drive to alternative sources also. Sounds like a Catch-22 to me, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.

Color Over Conscience?

Colin Powell has "drank the Kool-Aid" and has now added his endorsement to Barack Hussein Obama. Very hard to figure.

Nixon and Cap Weinberger gave him a name in Washington by giving him a high-ranking position within the Office of Management and Budget. Reagan made him a four-star General. H.W. Bush made him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Finally, George W. made him Secretary of State, the highest position ever held by a minority in our country.

The point is, that there is one side of the political isle that has been very, very good to the man. And one would think that over all of this time, Powell would be securely entrenched in the philosophical ideals of this side versus those of Obama and his ilk. Not because he "owes" anything to Republicans, but because he has been in lock-step with them for so long. A great deal of respect for each other.

So what has happened?

It was Powell who testified of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, and presented the evidence to the Security Council at the U.N.. It was his trusted "endorsement" of the evidence and the threat, that more than anything else, probably convinced the President and the Congress (both sides) that we needed to take immediate military action. Later of course, he was discredited for his earlier opinions. As that was happening, he began to publicly criticize the war in Iraq. Is he making a huge bold attempt now to punish those who put him in that position? No, I doubt that very much.

He has been almost invisible for many years now. Why come out from a quiet, neutral corner? There was no outcry by anyone to hear of his preference in this race that I was aware of. And yet here he is; choosing a socialist "citizen of the world" over a fellow military man, a fellow hero, a Republican and a proven leader.

Yes, Colin Powell is a hero. And no matter who he sides with now, he deserves a great deal of respect. But unless over time we learn of some other motivation and justification, I can only assume that he is falling in line with millions of other blacks in the country, and voting color rather than conscience. Maybe if I were black, I'd feel the same way; so desperate to see a person of my race succeed to the highest office, that everything else becomes of secondary importance. Not just sad, but very scary.

What About Flat?

Watching the final Presidential debate last night, and listening again about "The Plumber" and his tax questions for Obama the other day, which led to a whole series of exchanges between the candidates over tax rates for various income levels, defining "rich", who benefits and who doesn't, and yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyway, it's only gotten me to thinking again about the idea of a flat tax. What ever happened with the national discussion on that? I think it's been 5 or 6 years since I've really heard any high level debate on the subject. For what I knew, and thought back then, I really felt strongly that this might be the way to go. I don't recall who the proponents were, but I think one of them was Rep. Dick Armey and I remember him talking about a number of 17%, as a level which would (at that time) have been the equivalent of all the tax revenue currently being collected across the various rates and incomes. Boy, could I live with that!

Of course, this would require that an income tax be imposed upon millions of low-income people who currently don't pay any. It would also mean that thousands of wealthy folks lose their various loop-holes that typically allow them to pay a lot less than 17%! Still, I just see this as such a common sense approach, and ultimately so simple. We can still have appropriate deductions on various things as we do now, but think of how simplified the system could be. And ultimately, I think, a lot more fair. You make $10,000 a year, the Fed takes $1,700 of it. You make $1,000,000 a year, and they take $170,000. Period. What's wrong with that picture?

Almost no one disagrees that our tax system today is screwed up and needs a serious overhauling. I would like to us start thinking "flat" again. Simple and fair. Don't those words just sound so good?

Martyr Making Continued

I'll do my part and make the announcement here, since in most newspapers it will be buried in section B, on page 18. At The Mole Hole it is always front page!

The U.S. Marines have just confirmed that they have killed the number two al-Qaida animal in Iraq, Abu-Qaswarah, along with five of his bodyguards. Apparently, his specialty was foreign recruiting for the jihad in Iraq, so this is an important hit. Yet it is the kind of positive development that just doesn't make the news.

Now he gets to join all of those young men and women to whom he had recruited and promised martyrdom. So perhaps we did him a favor? In that case Abu, "you're welcome"!

Obama and the Plumber

Did you hear the one about Obama and the Plumber?

True story….

Obama’s at one of his town meetings and a plumbing contractor who wanted to expand his business to over $250,000 in sales, asked Obama directly how he would fare under Obama’s economic plan for America. Obama had to admit that this guy would pay a much higher business tax for his expansion.

In trying to explain the logic of this to the clearly unimpressed plumber, Obama stated that we must “share the wealth” in his plan, and that there is nothing wrong with that in his mind.

There has been no other clearer indication of the purely socialist mentality of Obama and his ilk, than in this one single statement to the plumber. Obama truly believes that you must limit success. Actually punish it. That no one should be allowed wealth or prosperity, without having much of it taken away by the government and redistributing it to those who don’t take the risks, or have the smarts, or have the motivation to succeed as the business owner had done.

The vast majority of Americans work for small businesses like this plumber owns. These business people make up the core of our economy. But Obama doesn’t get it. He would gut this layer of entrepreneurs given time, and in turn, create what he really wants for America. Not a democracy, not a nation of builders. No free thinking. No creativity. No growth. No reaching higher for anything except another government hand-out. It isn’t right for America. He isn’t right for America. We have three weeks to wake up to that fact.

Words of Wisdom - Anonymous

In all of the Presidential debates thus far, we've all heard Obama's ranting about "restoring the American dream". And he's done it in context of his own story about "having nothing as a kid, raised by my grandmother who didn't have two dimes, but still able to find his way to a couple of America's finest universities", and so on.

In response to that, I heard a listener to a radio program today, say this:

"Democrats talk the American Dream, and how they want it for every single one of us. But we should all recognize that they put a cap on the Dream, and that as soon as you reach $250,000, you become the Devil!".

One of the best quotes I've heard in awhile. Truth like a sledgehammer.

It's That Time Again

Our “up north” camp was closed for the season this past weekend. It’s always a melancholy time.

It seems like such a long list of things to do just to prepare for about 7 months of inactivity. I was pleased to have two beautiful, northern fall days to accomplish my work. And yet they only serve to remind me why I love being there, and make me gloomier still, that I must leave it.

We all enjoy the summer months there. But to the summer’s noisy, splashy, fun-till-you-drop, long crazy days, I’ll always match up autumn’s cool, passive, stillness for what makes the place so special. Of course, there is the color of changing leaves, but there is much more.

Along the lake shore, the water is like glass. Not one boat on the lake, just a few ducks deciding if the time is right for them to leave also. In the woods, there is a scent of old grass and leaves decaying into the forest floor, and it’s a wonderful smell. Above, the clear northern sky shows even more stars as the air gets crisp and cold.

The north country is preparing for some “down time”. Recharging maybe, for those days of 18-hour sun and fun to come next year. In that respect, maybe we need this time too!

Friday Night Lights

Another six-hour drive up to camp tonight. I really don't find that difficult to do, and I don't mind that kind of ride as long as you're actually moving and not sitting in traffic. Tonight was OK. Very little slow-downs and nice, clear weather.

On a trip that long, you've got to have the radio, especially when flying solo like I did tonight. Sometimes I'm in the mood for talk, sometimes for music and occasionally for sports. I like to mix it up. This was a Friday night, and knowing that it was football Friday at the high schools, I decided to tune in some of the local play-by-play on those. If you’ve never listened to them, you should. They can be a real treat. I doubt that most of the announcers you hear are even paid. They’re in it for the love of the game and their local team. Any real talent they might have is mostly accidental.

It didn’t take much work on the AM dial before I came to my first game. This was South Haven versus Comstock. I picked it up just before the half and listened to Vince and Larry describing the action which was very lopsided in favor of South Haven. It was also Homecoming for them, and so I understood why they chose the Comstock game to do it. My guess is that little Comstock probably “visits” a lot of homecoming games every year!

Vince did a fair job calling the action. Larry was another story. He handled most of the “color”, but I think he did a lot of number spotting and clock watching! Somehow though, he got the coveted interview with Alicia (Homecoming Queen) at the halftime festivities. That was even funnier than his football work as he “fumbled” through a compliment on her gown, and some other pertinent questions.

Moving at 75 mph, it doesn’t take long to run out of signal on these small town football games. They typically broadcast with about as much power as my microwave oven. So with Larry and Alicia fading into the background static, I spun the dial.

Next up was Muskegon – Hudsonville. Now here was a game! 26-24 Muskegon, midway through the third, and the Hudsonville Eagles trying to upset. The guys covering this game were doing a pretty fair job also; Bob and another guy, whom I never did get a name on. Just as the Big Red (isn’t that a gum?) of Muskegon were starting to get their act together, I lost the signal. Figures!

I found one last game, this one between Grand Rapids Southern Christian and Ottawa Hills. This was real comedy. The two announcers had to be students at Southern Christian working for extra credit. There were hilarious. They used first names for most of their players; “Josh breaks right, gets another three yards and steps out of bounds!”. They forgot to study the Ottawa roster at all, and so they called the numbers, and then there was an 8-second pause while the found his name. But they were having a good time anyway.

I love listening to these games. The people are real. The fun is real. This is pure American ritual. When I tune in and hear all of the crowd noises, the marching band’s slaughter of some show tune, and the announcer’s genuine enthusiasm for this little game, it instantly takes me back many years to the Friday nights I used to spend at the games, and sometimes it sounds like nothing has changed.

I never played. I was a late-bloomer, and I would have been killed at my size in the 11th grade. But I loved the game, the crisp October nights, my crazy buddies, tons of junk food and a couple of special girls I recall very fondly. In retrospect, not a care in the world. Those were, are still are, “the days”; still appearing every autumn Friday night in a small town near you or right on your AM dial.

Debating the Debate - Part 2

She came out confident, conservative and swinging. Exactly what I’m starting to expect and love about Sarah Palin.

She took on a guy who’s been camped out in the Senate for over 30 years, and not only stood toe-to-toe, but in many cases outshined him.

Sure she’s been schooled over the last couple of weeks. But in that time period, she’s learned as much about foreign policy as Barack Hussein Obama did over the last 13 months! I have no doubt that in a few short months of exposure to McCain’s advisors and other conservative leaders that will be part of this ticket’s Cabinet, she would be ready to lead. Certainly, certainly, as ready as Obama. And what about Biden? No one questions his ability to lead, yet even those in his own party have rejected him as Presidential material how many times now?

Biden did OK. He showed passion. No major gaffes. But he can’t hide all of the things he’s said about Obama in the past. How he stated flat-out that the guy is not ready to lead. Biden loves to talk about how many times McCain voted Bush’s way on things, but he doesn’t like to talk about how many times he voted differently than Obama. Sarah was great when she asked the MSM to go back and look at those Democratic primary debates when Biden was attacking Obama. Lovely!

There is fear in the MSM’s voices this morning. They so hate conservative women, especially when they do well, when they gain power. Just can’t stand it. They are beside themselves. She even had the gall to quote Ronald Reagan! Hopefully that’s still burning in the ears of socialists everywhere this morning.

As in the first debate with the presidential candidates, both sides can certainly claim victory. But unlike the first one, I would not agree with that at all. No, this one was clearly a Republican victory, because while Joe Biden simply met everyone’s expectations, Sarah Palin exceeded them.

McCain’s got a couple more shots at Obama. He needs to watch the tapes on this debate let Sarah get him prepared on how to conduct one!