Hank Williams Jr. Out At ESPN

To top off all of the political correctness that we have seen over the past few decades in this nation, the figure at the beginning of the Monday Night Football events is now gone. ESPN has cut their ties with Hank Williams Jr. after comments made of Fox’s Fox and Friends where Hank Williams Jr. compared Boehner playing golf with President Obama would be “like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.” When I believed political correctness and double standards could not be any more pathetic, this one comes along. ESPN has been trying to sweep this under the rug, and while the NFL will continue to be a very popular league, this will be one of those things that will be the straw that broke the camels back for at least some of those who were and still are fans of the league.  read more »

As their efforts to get the super-regulatory agency known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) off the ground are stifled by Senate Republicans, Democrats are continuing to seek new avenues to pressure the Republican Leadership to capitulate.  The latest scheme is a hearing on “Consumer Protection and the Middle Class Wealth Building in an age of Growing Household Debt” whose purpose is the highlight the “need” for more regulation on the economy governed by the CFPB. 

The hearing will feature a variety of guests who will predictably call for more regulations that the unaccountable CFPB could provide. But perhaps the most curious witness is Douglas Fecher, head of the Wright-Patterson Federal Credit Union (WPFCU).

Mr. Fecher is expected to testify in favor of more regulation of the much-maligned short term lending industry widely known as “payday” lenders. Based in Dayton, Ohio where traditional payday loans were effectively banned, the WPFCU offers loans called “Stretch Pay” loans that they market as alternatives to pay day loans. But what makes his selection, as a witness so curious is that the products that WPFCU offers are actually more expensive than the payday loans they are supposed to replace.

Where the average payday loan costs about $15 for every $100 loan, Stretch Pay customers are charged a minimum application fee of $35 in addition to being charged 18% interest on the loan.  A customer taking two loans in a year under these terms would pay an effective annual interest rate of more than 100 percent as opposed to an effective rate of 15% on a traditional pay day loan.  And the kicker is that the WPFU is classified as a non-profit. So, while their products are costing consumers more, unlike the payday lenders they are supposed to replace, they pay no taxes.  read more »

… You’ve gotta be looking up every time you see a moving shadow… looking nervously over your shoulder… searching for the drone that must be there but can’t be seen. If you’re a terrorist the odds are suddenly much higher that you’ll get introduced to your seventy two virgins much sooner. The roll call of the Al Qaeda leadership that has been taken out by our forces is impressive… and telling.

Regardless of how the lisping, drooling Lame Stream Media has denigrated the mission by insisting that when we chop off one tentacle, new leadership immediately fills the gap. It fits the left’s narrative nicely, but it’s far from the truth. You can only replace so many key leadership roles without the replacement pool getting thinner and less experienced, while at the same time the ‘fight’ has to be taken to the most awesome military machine ever seen on the face of this planet. Not a fun prospect. Especially when some bright young commander decides to suspend the more than onerous “Rules of Engagement”.

Even third and fourth level Al Qaeda operatives know that we can, and will, take them out at every opportunity. Whether by our combat patrolling, by special forces, or a half dozen other agencies dedicated to the destruction of Islamo-Fascist terrorism, of which our drones are only a part.  read more »

What the hell are the Wall Street occupiers protesting?  Do they even know?

The “Occupy Wall Street” hoodlums have been occupying Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza) near Manhattan’s financial district for almost three weeks, with no signs of leaving.  They have literally been occupying the park—demonstrating without a police permit and setting up living quarters, complete with their own sleeping area, kitchen, and “library.”  They have been clogging neighboring streets and bridges.  They have pledged to occupy the area through the coming winter.

Demonstrators are trying to boost the legitimacy of their operation by passing out hundreds of thousands of copies of their self-published, four-page diatribe, “The Occupied Wall Street Journal.”

The self-described occupiers are, of course, long-haired, hippie-ish, slovenly, litter-strewing, profanity-spewing, Marxism-spouting, law-and-order-despising, ill-informed, inarticulate, slack-jawed, and unfocused—in other words, your typical left-wing mob.

(You knew the mob just had to be leftist before you even heard what it was about.  From what other portion of the political spectrum could activists organize so many thousands of unemployed people to do nothing but sit around in the street and chant all day?  Contrast the Wall Street occupation with Tea Party rallies, which always take place in the evening or on weekends, outside of work hours.)  read more »

What do you get when you put together a man with a microphone who supports Ron Paul and protesters who really do not know what they are protesting against: You get this video, which by the way either will make you laugh, cry, or vomit. While I would agree that Ron Paul may be better than what we have now, that is not the argument for this blog. The video, done by a gentlemen named Adam Kokesh, went around D.C. asking those who were sitting in for the “Occupy Washington” rally what they thought about the economy, the wars, and government control of certain aspects of our lives. What I find the most amusing, even if it does give me pause about the future of this nation, is that most of these individuals are college kids just wanting a free ride.

All they want the government to do is give them something for free, in the name of social justice.

We have heard this phrase before and it is one we must not forget, because it is one that will be used in the ideological battle for the future of this nation. No matter if these young college kids realize it or not, they are advocating the government taking an even bigger role in our lives. They have a lot to complain about but never seem to mention the role government plays in all areas that they complain about. is it not funny, then, when the gentlemen asking the questions points out the government control inside these programs, the students stop on a dime and try to make their statements sound more, may I say, socialistic?

The point that all of these individuals are trying to make, and it is one we have heard many times, is that the government should take a bigger role in our lives and help us when we are down and out. Also, they should help us when we feel like doing nothing, when we do not feel like paying out bills, and when we feel like wasting our lives protesting for an ideal that, realistically, will never make the country better. Those who do well for themselves do it because they have big ideas of their own. Did Bill Gates become rich because he went around to poor people and stole out of their Christmas fund? No, he did not! He got rich because he an idea and he put that idea to work for him. Others in this world wanted the product that he offered, so he raised the price on the products and the people still bought them. If you told these kids that they were supporting these individuals with a lot of money when they bough their smart phones and their computers, they would find a way to beat around the bush, but the fact of the matter is a protest is no good unless you understand the idea you are fighting for. These kids (and I use the terms “kids” for a reason, mind you) want things a certain way, and unless they get it they believe sitting in the rain will help them get it. Unfortunately for them, the majority of people in this country do not agree with their insane view of the world.  read more »

With American struggling to get its economy back on track, it is becoming clear that regulations coming from the Obama Administration are smothering the recovery in its tracks.  From the EPA to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an alphabet soup of regulatory agencies are driving up the cost of higher new people and the cost of goods and services.

But there is one agency that could dwarf the others in terms of destructive power – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The progressive hero Harvard professor and Democratic Senate candidate from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, designed the CFPB.  The CFPB was incorporated into the financial reform legislation by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) as a regulatory agency “unlike one we have never seen before.”  The agency was given incredible power to regulate every financial transaction in America.  Layaway plans to payday loans from businesses large and small all fell under their purview.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of the agency was it was intended to be isolate from checks and balances of normal government agencies.  During the course of the legislative process, the agency was renamed a bureau and its headquarters housed in the Federal Reserve who pays its bills.  Congress has little oversight of the Bureau, cannot restrict its funding and its director can only be replaced from his five year term with cause.

Warren was expected to head the Bureau but President Obama got cold feet.  Instead she recommended former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray – a man who shares her liberal views on regulations – to head the office.  She ran back to Massachusetts to run for the US Senate.  read more »

In again, out again… the will-o’-the wisp of American politics is/is not harboring heretofore unthinkable aspirations for the presidency. Chris Christie is the elixir du jour of the northeast Rockefeller Republicans.

Why are these money rich establishment Republicans so anxious to lure Christie into running? Answer that question for yourselves and you’ll know everything you need to know about Governor Christie. Christie is not a Conservative, or anything even approaching a Conservative.

His anti-second amendment sympathies would and should do it for him with most freedom-loving Americans. By being as radical as he is against personal concealed carry of firearms, in one of the most crime-ridden states in the union, he is blatantly saying to the citizens of New Jersey “No! You can’t have the right to defend yourselves and your neighbors”.

Every state that has permitted personal concealed carry laws to be enacted has not only not seen a decrease in the use of firearms, but has in every case seen a marked decrease in violent crime. There’s an old saying that has a lot of truth in it… “An armed society is a polite society”.

Christie also has much to answer to Conservatives with respect to not joining with over one half of the States that are actively suing to repeal Obamacare. How does that trite colloquial saying go again? “If’n you’re not for us, you’re agin’ us”.  read more »

I have been following Herman Cain and his campaign since late February when I noticed he had made an exploratory committee into a presidential run. I read the things he had on his site and I was very impressed by what he had to say.

It was a small movement at the time but full of great potential too. Like any good Republican Presidential Candidate Cain and his staff had focused on the first two primary/caucus states Iowa and New Hampshire. Having spent a good deal of time in Iowa Cain had made a lot of head way in the state even though he didn't win the straw poll there (placing lower than fourth).

Of course it should be noted that Bachman’s claim of a strong Iowa base may be more rhetoric than truth especially with the finding of the national polls after the Iowa Straw Poll event. Herman Cain on the other hand has won numerous Straw polls around the country and could truly be building a strong base of supporters and followers who find him the candidate they want to face the current President next year. Proof of Cain’s message getting heard can be found with his most recent victory at the Florida Straw Poll (one declared by the Florida Gov that the winner of it will be thee nominee).

Cain’s performances at the Republican Presidential Debates have proven worthy of Florida voters votes at the straw poll and thus seem to be helping lift up Mr. Cain’s campaign to a top tire status. I have listened to Mr. Cain speak twice and he is an excellent communicator and seemingly brilliant debater. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mr. President scramble for words in a head to head match up with Herman Cain, but alas that will be up to the Republican Primary voters to decide. Cain’s campaign seems to be making all the right moves though required to swoon the voters.  read more »

N.C. Governor Suggests Suspending Elections For Two Years, Press Team Says She Was Joking

The suggestion by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue that we should suspend election for two years while we work to fix the economy is something I thought I would have heard from the White House before the Governor of a state, but no matter who is actually putting the idea out there is not the real issue. The issue here is that someone in a position of power would work it into the conversation to see how people would respond to it. Once the Governor and her team saw the people were not behind her idea, they backtracked and told the media that she was just joking. I am not sure what is so funny about this, but suspending elections for no other reason that to try and fix an economy when many Americans are looking forward to voting their leadership out is one of the most despicable ideas ever presented by someone in power in this nation.

As you can tell if you take a look at the video at the link above, which includes the audio of the address by the N.C. Governor, it does not sound like she is kidding. Her press team may believe they can pull a fast one on the American people and the people of her state, but the people are not buying it for a minute. We the people believe that those in Washington need to be held accountable, and if they lose their elections then they lose their jobs. To allow people who would otherwise have lost their jobs to stay in office just because the job market is not where it should be is to say that just because I might be overweight means I should not eat for the next six months. Both ideas make no sense and have absolutely no logic or reason to back them up.  read more »