Massachusetts - the setting of yet another revolution?

Whodathunkit? Massachusetts, home of the Kennedys and John Kerry, is home once again to an American Revolution of sorts.

The election of Republican Scott Brown to fill deceased Ted Kennedy's senate seat has turned the tables on the Democrats. No longer do they have a filibuster-proof majority enabling them to push through any legislation they want.

Now the democrats will have to actually DEBATE health care reform and listen to viewpoints besides their own.

I love America!

Election Day in Afghanistan

Today marks the second national election in Afghanistan since the ruling Taliban was ousted in late 2001. President Hamid Karzai is expected to be re-elected.

But the Taliban is doing its best to disrupt the election process. They have threatened violence and have delivered on their promise. Militants launched scattered rocket and bomb attacks, violence that has closed some polling sites.

As a result of these threats and violence, voter turnout has been low.

As Americans, we should pay attention to the happenings in Afghanistan. Perhaps the last election didn't go the way some of us wanted it to go. But we did not see militant groups attacking polling sites or suicide bombers blowing themselves up.

Our elections are peaceful. Men, women, African-American, Hispanic, Asian . . . all American citizens have the right to vote. No one is killed for trying to vote. Whether or not we came out on the winning side, we can be thankful that we live in a country such as this. And we can pray for peace in other countries that don't have that same luxury.

I agree with Obama on something! It's a miracle!

The Senate has voted to terminate future production of the F-22 fighter jet, and President Obama has applauded their decision. This plane is built by Lockheed-Martin and its production is spread over many states, including the final assembly plant located here in Marietta, Georgia. This will result in job losses, to be sure. (Lockheed Martin states that 25,000 people are directly involved in the production of the F-22, and another 70,000 are indirectly involved.)

So why in the world do I, a conservative, agree with this decision? Well, it turns out that the Pentagon does not want more of these planes! They want smaller planes better suited to the type of threats we face in the 21st century. So now the money that was going toward the F-22 program can be redirected where the military thinks it could be put to better use.

We cannot continue to throw money at projects just because the projects employ people. If the project is a failure, is not necessary, or is not even desired by its beneficiaries, it's a waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere! Like, oh, vouchers for private education???? (Yeah, like THAT's ever gonna happen! But I can dream, right?)

Obama supports ousted Honduran president Zelaya – HUH?????

If you haven't been following the tense political situation in Honduras, here’s a brief run-down of recent events.

1/27/06 – Liberal Party’s Manual Zelaya is inaugurated as president for a non-renewable four-year term.
3/25/09 – Mr. Zelaya calls for a June referendum on constitutional changes that would let him run for a second term. The vote is scheduled for June 28.
May-June 09 – The country’s supreme court, top electoral body, and human-rights ombudsman declare the planned referendum illegal.
6/24/09 – Days before the vote is scheduled to take place, military commanders refuse to distribute ballot boxes. Mr. Zelaya discharges the country’s top military chief, Gen. Romeo Vasquez, and accepts the resignation of Defense Minister Edmundo Orellana. The heads of the army, marines, and air force also resign.
6/25/09 – The Honduran Supreme Court unanimously votes to reinstate Gen. Vasquez. Congress approves plans to investigate Mr. Zelaya and possibly declare him unfit to govern.
6/28/09 – Mr. Zelaya is removed by the military and forced into exile. Congress speaker Roberto Micheletti is appointed acting president.
7/5/09 – Mr. Zelaya turns back from an attempt to return home after soldiers clashed with thousands of his backers massed at the airport. At least one man was killed.
7/6/09 – Honduras’ interim government closes its main airport to all flights. Police and soldiers blanket the streets of the capital. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias will mediate between current Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti and Zelaya.

Now, here are President Obama’s comments on the situation:
“Even as we meet here [in Moscow] today, America supports now the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies,” he said.
“We do so not because we agree with him,” Obama said of Zelaya. “We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not.”

Talk about a non sequitur! Zelaya went against his country’s supreme court ruling that the planned June 28th referendum was illegal and ordered the military to defy the supreme court. The military stood with the supreme court. Zelaya is kicked out of his country for defying his own country’s laws . . . and Obama supports his return to office because “people should choose their own leaders?”

HUH?????? Sounds to me like the people have chosen -they've chosen to kick out their leader!

Obama's Energy Legislation - Socialistic?

H. R. 2454 To create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy

Cap and Trade is a component of Obama’s proposed energy legislation. In a nutshell: The overarching idea behind the legislation is to limit the amount of greenhouse gasses released into our atmosphere. Companies would be limited to a certain output of greenhouse gases, and if they produce more than their limit they will have to purchase offsets from another company that produces less.

My opinion is that this is a ridiculous idea because it will end up costing the American consumer. Why? Companies that have to purchase offsets will simply pass along that cost to us, in the form of higher prices. That’s what companies do when their cost of production increases. And no matter how horrible greenhouse gases supposedly are, this is NOT the time to be unnecessarily raising prices on anything!

But is Cap and Trade a socialistic policy? Not really. Take a look at the definition of Socialism in my blog entry below. In this legislation, there is no proposal of communal ownership of the production and distribution of goods. The idea of equity and fairness is there, but that alone does not qualify Cap and Trade as socialistic.

Cap and Trade = NOT socialistic. Not a good idea, but NOT socialistic.

This bill has passed the US House and is now being worked on in the US Senate. To express your support or opposition to this bill, contact your state’s senators.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

If you want to read some interesting stuff about the Cap and Trade legislation, check out these entries on Jamie Dupree’s blog. Jamie Dupree is a full time Washington correspondent and is one of the most politically neutral reporters out there, in my opinion.

http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/cap-and-trade-contents.html
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/cap-and-trade-grows.html
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/cap-and-trade-extras.html
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/more-cap-and-trade.html
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/07/cap-and-tradeorama.html

Socialism - the Conservative's New Rallying Cry!

Politically speaking, I am a conservative. I believe in free market capitalism and generally agree with the common conservative points of view. But I have been noticing a trend that disturbs me.

Lately, it seems that no matter what President Obama says or does, some conservative out there screams, “Socialism!” And thousands will rally behind with a hearty “AMEN!” But do they know exactly what they’re screaming and amen-ing?

According to Encarta, socialism is 1) a political system of communal ownership: a political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles; 2) a movement based on socialism: a political movement based on principles of socialism, typically advocating an end to private property and to the exploitation of workers; and 3) a stage between capitalism and communism: in Marxist theory, the stage after the proletarian revolution when a society is changing from capitalism to communism, marked by pay distributed according to work done rather than need.

I want to examine a few of Obama’s policies / proposals over the next few days in light of this definition. Are they truly Socialist, or is the term being tossed around as a rallying cry regardless of its meaning?