State of the Union

President Obama performed up to my expectations tonight. He has decided not to deviate from his liberal agenda regardless of a series of election defeats the Democrats have suffered in recent months. He is leading the Democrats to a major defeat in the off year elections which is exactly what we want.

He did have some useful proposals such as endorsing the expanded use of nuclear energy and increased exploration for offshore oil and natural gas. In addition his support for improving education in science and math are on target. The President’s suggestions on incentives for stimulating small business were encouraging.

However, then we are off to increased educations loans with terms more favorable to those taking government jobs over those in the private sector. Continued support for cap and trade even though there is increasing evidence that the UN IPCC climate change story is flawed. He is still pushing his health bill with misleading claims that would reduce the deficit. He implicitly blames Bush for his problems. He attacks the Supreme Court. He claims he is going to reduce the deficit with a spending freeze while announcing one new spending plan after another. Most of all it was just too long!

I really don’t think that he got the message that the people are sending him.

My Open Letter to Conservatives...One Year Later

About a year ago after President Obama assumed office I posted the following on my websites political page (the predecessor to this blog). At the time there was much pessimism among Republicans and Conservatives. I think it is interesting how my statement looks now after a year. I think that I was a little optimistic about the political judgment of “blue dog” Democrats.

Anyway here it is:

It’s time to fight Democrat liberalism. I’m reading way too much negativism about the conservative situation. While it is true that we have suffered serious setbacks in the last two elections there is no reason to be as defeatist as some commentators are. There are many reasons for the present situation including some very silly mistakes of specific candidates. The main reason, however, is the general inability of the out going Bush Administration to effectively communicate its positions and the lack of unity among Republicans in the Congress.

It is likely that that the Democrats have now reached their “high water mark” and will slowly begin to recede in the years ahead. What is important now is that we unite in opposition to the Obama Administration and the Democrat leadership in Congress. We should vote against questionable appointments like Geithner and Holder. We must oppose the wasteful surge in spending that Obama now proposes. We must also seek allies among the Democrats recently elected in basically Republican states. If they want to remain in office they must be educated not to follow Reid, Pelosi, and Obama off the cliff.

Issues we must be prepaid to fight, with bipartisan filibusters where possible, include the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act”, any new gun bans or registration, etc., socialized medicine, the so-called Fairness Doctrine, and attempts to mainstream homosexual behavior. It addition we must press to keep the Bush tax cuts as a requirement to support any stimulus bill. There is a real possibility that the Democrat policies will lead to a serious inflation problem before the 2012 election and we need to get on the right side of this issue. So what might be seen as short-term unpopular may well turn out very different in a few years.

One useful move would be to organize a group of Senators in “safe” seats and those who won’t face election until 2014 to engage in a media counter-offensive against the Democrats. They should be joined by House member in “safe” seats. We need to carefully but consistently chip away at Obama’s credibility. The decisions announced today on terrorism the clearly move in the direction of weakening our security are just one opening. Congressman Boehner handled this well. Others need to follow up and press this issue.

Now is not the time of complacency but rather the time for bold action. The future our country is clearly at stake. We must be strong now more than ever.

An Obvious Suggestion for Airport Security

Yesterday (January 17, 2010), traveling public experienced another major air travel disruption because one individual opened a door into a restricted area. This resulted in all of the people who had been cleared through security and those who had already boarded planes being evacuated and rescreened at the American Airlines terminal in New York’s JFK Airport. Two weeks before a similar incident occurred at the Newark Liberty Airport. This time authorities were able apprehend the intruder quickly. I’m sure this will result in calls for more draconian punishments than those for simple trespassing.

Both incidents aren’t related to terrorism and most likely due to carelessness. My question is why have unlocked doors that anyone can open that allows access which breaks down security? Shouldn’t such doors be locked or even permanently blocked? Locking or blocking these doors would prevent these accidental breeches from happening. It makes a lot more sense than sentencing the hapless to felony sentences in prison. It would also save the airlines money and the traveling public a lot of inconvenience.