New Jobs or Tired Old Ones?

I listened to just enough of last night's "new jobs speech" to decide that it was about tired old ideas. When will people understand that if your wallet is empty and your credit card is maxed, spending more money is foolish?

Every time a politician says the words "tax cuts" people's knees shake with delight. When they say "jobs" their hands shake too. They turn all giddy and walk around thinking they've overcome a problem. But frankly, last night nothing new was offered- it was still spend, spend, spend to fix a problem caused by spending. ??? This administration's definition of tax cut is skewed enough that it makes little real impact on anyone. Their "stimulus" plans have failed from the get-go because the money all ends up in the wrong hands, rather than actual job-creating activities.

So he wants to "refurbish schools." Right. In the beginning of the school year with millions of kids already in the buildings. Ok, that one's on hold already. Roads and bridges- yep, we need those fixed, as long as it's not pork. Like building a bridge to nowhere. Or an airport in the middle of nowhere. It all sounds like nowhere to me.We have seen that thses types of packages actually fail to create jobs because the money ends up in the hands of individuals who would rather line their pockets than really create jobs. At least when FDR created the CCC, it created infrastructure jobs that put people back to work. This group of folks would rather "spread the wealth" to their cronies than the people of America.

Case in point: the big deal "green company" that made solar panels. Got a $500 million loan from the administration. Did they create jobs? No, they lost 1500 of them and declared bankruptcy. Now they are under investigation for violating some federal regulations. No amount of demonstrations or applications by other more reputable companies in the field did any good (I have that from someone in that field who actually tried it)- the loan went to the wrong company instead of solid, sound companies. Why? It's the old you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours. And we the voters should be fed up by now.

For those of us who are Christians, it's time to pray if we have not been doing so. If we have been blinded by the verbiage of the administration, then it's time to get a clue. We need to stand up and say "enough!" Time to contact your Congressional Representatives and shout that your wallets are empty and they need to wake up and smell roses.
P.S.- roses will bloom all season IF you clip them back as they bloom. If you don't they "head out," the leaves fall off, and end up as brown stalks with no blooms. Just sayin'.

New Video Game- just fun or dangerous?

The Headline read "Video Game Targets 'Tea Party Zombies,'Fox News Personalities." Now before you all go ape on me for saying something negative about a video game, let me give you a few facts:

There are numerous examples of kids and even adults who have become so engrossed in the action/plot of certain video games that they have acted on it. When I was working in law enforcement we had a kid who decided it was time to kill the neighbor girl because he saw it in a violent video game and "wanted to see what it felt like." EEEYIKES! (Note- Had a baseball bat in his hand and was advancing on the little girl when he was caught. She was safe, no injuries. Lucky. The nick of time.)

Then there was the dude in another state who had been playing video games so long (18 hours)that he accidentally called a total stranger on the phone and told her was going to come and kill her. He meant to call the other guy playing the game with him, but mis-dialed the phone. Somewhat over the top, right?

So now we have a video game that literally targets real people. The name of the game from a StarvingEyes Advergaming, a New York-based company is titled: "Tea Party Zombies Must Die." I think I know why they are "starving."

All of the real people in the game are conservatives like Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee. Fancy that. Wonder who came up with this "game"... a left winger perhaps? And they call US dangerous. We've never created a Left-Wing Zombies Must Die game. We don't go around telling everyone that the lefties are so dangerous they should be snuffed. What's the matter with this picture?

This new "game" is not. Is not a game, I mean. It flirts with crazy people's delusions. I personally would recommend everyone named in the game go increase their protection details. And just to be clear, when "fans" get wacky over either policital viewpoint, there is a problem. Common sense appears to be dead in America- a sad day for us all. The new game is not just fun, it is dangerous. And mark my words, unless somehow it gets pulled from the shelves, there will be a horrendous consequence.

Politics - fools or friends

Someday we'll I hope we'll figure out that our modern leadership has gone dangerously awry. We have lost the ability to make decisions that are logical and beneficial to the populace of America. Sometimes I look at Washington and see nothing but power plays by fools rather than statesmen who are friends of the citizens.

Today the headlines talk about Mr O changing his " jobs" speech to avoid the GOP debate. Now why would he schedule it on debate night anyway? Of course to derail attention. Not that it would have mattered much. Our President needs to stop talking and start exhibiting real wisdom.

Now I'd love to have a Conservative President elected next year, but the fact remains that there are real people who need employment now. I have friends who have been looking for a job for 2 years or more and are in desperate need. And all this showmanship/wrangling/speech making is not helpful to the task at hand. Reminds me of a "Ship of Fools." (Wasn't that a movie?)

Then we have left wingers throwing hissy-fits over Gov Perry's faith, and a guy who shot a bear to defend his kids, when our economy is toast and our people are unemployed. Good grief! What a waste of perfectly good hot air.

The ultimate though, was the idea this week that our Congress wanted a raise because $170000+ per year isn't enough. I'll trade them incomes if they think that's not enough. Let them live on retirement pensions like mine or unemployment for a while. Show me some friends of America instead of fools, will ya?

Mouth Issues

I read a comment by Erick Erickson at RedState today that made a lot of sense. He talked about Rick Perry's comments on the Fed not being the big problem everyone seems to think it is. I agree. Anytime you can freak out the President with your words and get a personal response you've done your job well.

We've had lots of politicians who've made ridiculous statments. I think if I had to stand in front of a bunch of nimnos and try to think off the top of my head, I'd probably create controversy daily. But Gov Perry's statement about the Fed was right on. Print more money, might as well use it for toilet paper. Isn't that treasonous? Placing the entire country in danger of collapse isn't a joke.

If the media griped about people like Joe Biden, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi's mouths as much as they complained about the GOP, we might actually have objective journalism in America. But we do not. Those folks have said some things that are vile and downright nasty with no reaction except to show how mad we conservatives were at their statements.

Weird. But in case you were wondering, it's just going to get worse. My old boss calls elections years the "silly season." He's so polite. I'd describe it as "get the helmets, Agnes, I hear the missiles!"

When the Going gets Rough...

Teddy Roosevelt's famous saying about "when the going gets rough, the rough get going" isn't really true these days. Nowadays when the going gets rough, everybody leaves. Exit Tim Pawlenty from the Presidential race. That lasted a while. Not. No staying power.

Politics isn't for the faint of heart. The media will destroy you, the constituency will chew you up and spit you out, your email and telephone will be jammed everytime you do anything whether good or bad. Reporters and the opposition will be snooping through your garbage and your past hoping to find something stinky they can use against you. You'll be slammed with a bad reputation and everything you say will be twisted into lies. But if you are a leader, you'll fight your way through it. Because the world is a tough place and true leaders need to be strong enough to lead.

A few days ago an old friend thanked me for being a leader at our old workplace. She said it made going to work tolerable and even fun. I almost cried. She mentioend that after I left things got ugly, and the leadership went into control and dominance rather than real leadership. What once was a safe work environment where someone stood up for the employees, it became unfriendly and in constant upheaval.

That same thing happens when our state and national leaders go for power instead of the welfare of the people. It takes special leaders to stand their ground in the face of intimidation, lies, and even pure evil. It takes men and women of action and integrity to see the needs of America and fight for them. When the going gets rough, will anyone get going, or will they all bow out?

Presidents and Power

Way back when Mr O came into the White House, I blogged that he really didn't demonstrate much personal power. His power is derived from others, and from their aid, not from within himself. Nowhere has that been more evident than during this financial crisis.

Even the media has remarked that they have seen little real leadership with the stock market volatility. There have been no speeches to generate confidence in America, merely speeches that sound like we are being chastised. Although he was right about one thing- the S&P downgrade was only one of several indexes, and they were the only ones that whacked the US down a point.He could have used that better in his speech, rather than sounding like there wasn't anything wrong at all.

There are several kinds of power. One comes from a sense of responsibility and love of the American people. Another comes from selfish ambition- and that one will always fail to produce good solid answers and hope.

The Stock Market roller coaster ride may seem like it doesn't affect you. But it affects even those of us with only pension funds in the market. Easing the fears of the American people would go a long way to stabilizing the market itself. It takes inner strength to be a leader that is truly effective in running the country and bringing hope to the people. Since the election is coming up next year, it would be nice to find someone with that kind of power. Let's elect a true leader, ok?

Wild Adventure

So here we are with a national average of 9.1% unemployment (some states higher),a stock market that flushed the toilet by 513 or so points yesterday, a political election year sneaking up on us like a military sniper, and to boot the upcoming year is 2012. Everyone likes to tell us that's the year of the end. (I am not an expert on that one, and so I think I'll just trust the Lord regardless, ok?) But it IS going to be a tough one, so listen up.

Every year since 1968, our election process has become more and more hostile. With every passing year since President Reagan got out of office, our leadership has seen fit to increase our debt by trillions instead of work toward fiscal responsibility. Every year our leaders bash business owners instead of encourage them, so unemployment lags behind the needs of the people. Capitalism has become the bad guy instead of the American dream.

Let's face it: America fell into greed, power, removal of Christ from society, hatred, malice, division, and a host of others. God judges three things most vehemently: division, idolatry, immorality. As long as we hang out with those things, we are in deep trouble.

Next year will be riddled with division and anger. Our debt problem is going to continue to make us top-heavy and wobble around with a lack of stability. Times are going to be tough. We're going to have to pray and not give up to stand strong against the mess. We also need to be wise in what we do and how we do it- and that especially means contacting our representatives in both houses of Congress. Get involved, keep praying, fight back by speaking your minds. Above all, seek the truth and pay attention PAST what the media tells you. Look deeper, pray harder, stand stronger. It's going to be a wild adventure.