Mr. President I Agree With You, Well Almost

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Grumpa Joe
Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin (Photo credit: Dunechaser)

A few weeks ago, Obama uttered a phrase that has resonated with the entrepreneurial world, “You didn’t build that.” I take issue with his comment and I defend the people of the world who work day and night to make their business successful.

Obama did say something sensible in the same speech, “Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.” [Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/15/obama-dashes-american-dream-suggests-nobody-achieves-success-alone/#ixzz24lTWtdvE“]

I agree with his statement 100 percent, there are millions of hard-working people out there, but the fact remains that a majority of them do not provide jobs to other people. Does that mean to imply those who own businesses work harder than others? No it does not. “Well, what do you mean Grumpa Joe?”

Let me tell you a personal story. All my working life I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to be in business for myself. The lure of independence and rich rewards appealed to me. I had many ideas for businesses and products that would make me rich. The ideas were endless, and many of them became successful by others. Those success stories told me that my instincts were correct, and my ideas were sound, but I lacked one key element of the success story; balls. To put it more politely, I lacked courage.

The risks of losing everything I worked for frightened the heck out of me. All of my ideas required investment of time, energy, and money. I had the energy, but since I had a job and needed to work I lacked the time and the money. Yes, I could have borrowed money to get started, but that would have meant putting my house up as collateral. I would not jeopardize losing my family home. My family is too important to me. I would not make my wife go to work to put food on the table so I could spend everything we owned on my dream.

In retrospect, I did the right thing. My tolerance for risk could not handle starting a business. Yet, there are thousands of people who can handle the risk and think only about a positive outcome. Then there are those who think like me, and see the glass half empty.

Yes Mr. President, “there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there,” and I am one of them, so were my parents. Does that give me a right to take from those who do take the risks? Does my hard work entitle me to a fair share of  the entrepreneur’s estate? My fair share is the salary I get for the work I produce for the entrepreneur. He hired me because I had the training, experience, and talent he needed to support his business. Did the government give him that?  My boss had the wisdom to see in me a person of value, and he took a risk by hiring me. I chose to become an engineer. Payment for my schooling came from my savings, my parents, and a scholarship. I went to private elementary school, high school , and a private college before I finished in a public university. My story is typical of my generation, and it didn’t involve help from the government. Yes, I traveled the roads and the sidewalks of the towns I lived in, but they were provided because people need them in general. The tax payer forces government to make improvements by referendum.

I love to talk about my employer because he is a man who did have the courage to invest it all. As a young engineer he saw the need for a product that could help electricians route wires in a more productive way. He designed the product, and enlisted a friend who knew how to extrude plastic to make it for him. He and his wife worked evenings in the basement of their home to make accessories for the product. He enlisted agents to sell for him. Today, the company employs thousands of people worldwide to produce a huge catalog of products for the electrical industry. Did the US government help him build his business? Not a chance. Did the government provide infra-structure which the company uses? Yes, but only after the need for same justified an expenditure. Did  the government provide him with teachers? Not really, the law demands that all children go to school until they are sixteen. Did that make them so educated that they were useful workers? Not really. We found ourselves teaching entry-level workers how to read and do arithmetic before they could work in the factory without endangering themselves. Is that what you mean, that you provided an inferior education requiring private sector remediation Mr. President?

Yes Mr. President, there are a bunch of hard-working people out there and many of them are exceptional. They stand above the others in the way they take risks, and the way they move forward. Then, there are guys like me, who work very hard , but lack the courage to make it on their own. We need the exceptional ones. Thank God for them because they provide the rest of us with a living.

The problem I see with philosophy of equal outcomes for everyone is that it deliberately kills the idea of exceptionalism. It believes the only exceptional people are those employed by big government.

Joseph Stalin, Kim Il Sung, Mao Tse-tung, Ho Chi Minh and Pol Pot forced equal outcomes on their people and in the process killed up to sixty-million non-compliant citizens. Adolph Hitler’s brand of socialism eliminated six million people who did not fit the Socialist profile of the master race.

It took the blood of exceptional nations to slow the Communist movement. With Obama’s leadership America is allowing itself to be overtaken by the same stupid ideology from within.

The next time you hear President Obama shout that the Republicans are selling tired old ideas that don’t work (Capitalism), think about the sixty million people who refused to listen to the vibrant new ideas of Lenin, Marx, Stalin, Kim Il Sung, Mao Tse-tung, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot and other lesser  known implementors of the Hope and Change ideas of the Socialist movement.

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Is This the America I Want?

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Ten years ago, I read a book by a little known author named Dinesh D’Souza. The book is “What is so Great About America?” I know what is good about America because I live it, but I wanted the perspective of a young man who came to America from India. He had to learn what is good the hard way. In my mind, he would re-educate me on that which I take for granted.

D’Souza’s book did not disappoint me. He learned very quickly the basic reasons the people of the world admire America, and why some want to destroy us because of our success. I won’t get into the details of the book except to say the word “LIBERTY,” plays a huge role in why America is great.

Yesterday, Peggy and I met up with a group of friends at the AMC movie-theater for the 11:45 a.m. showing of a film titled “2016: Obama’s America.”  The movie is an excellent documentary based on D’Souza’s more recent book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage.”

Dinesh D’Souza is expert at unraveling Obama’s background from Obama’s book “Dreams From My Father,” and Obama’s flowery speeches designed to mask his true intentions.  Throughout the film D’Souza explains from where Obama derives his ideas. D’Souza then ices the cake by showing us how Obama’s actions comply exactly with his policies. There is no doubt left in the viewer’s mind that the stated policy and the action are congruent.

There are some amazing scenes in the movie taken in India and Africa, in villages where people live in extreme conditions. My mind’s eye saw these scenes evolving in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and every  city in America. It is not a pretty picture to imagine yet our current direction under Obama will lead us there.

D’Souza interviews Obama’s half brother George in Africa. George seemed like a nice man although somewhat shy about answering questions. George is the antithesis of Barack who answers questions endlessly as though his goal is to run out the clock. George answered in short concise phrases. George’s answer to one question in particular stayed with me. The question asked if Kenya was better off after it broke the colonial ties from Britain. George answered by citing other African countries like South Africa where whites have led longer, and who are better off than Kenya.  (I’m sorry George, but isn’t that a bit racist?)

Another policy exposed is Obama’s desire to level the USA with the rest of the world in nuclear weapons. D’Souza displays a map of the world showing the number of nuclear warheads Obama is leading us to. The revealing graphic showed Russia with 1500 and the USA with zero.  The Muslim countries had more nuclear weapons than America.

Near the end of the film we are sitting in a classroom full of first or second graders reciting and singing praises to Obama’s greatness.

The most shocking fact came near the end; a graph of the debt America will carry in the future. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that so much debt will lead us into a standard of living equal to that of the hovels and tin shanty villages of India and Kenya.

After the movie we went to lunch where eight of us discussed the film and its messages. Some thought the movie was long others like myself thought it went like the speed of light. After our discussions I concluded those who thought it long leaned toward the hope and change concept.

If you care about America, you must see this film to learn for yourself  how Obama defines Hope and Change, then ask yourself is this the America I want?

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America Awakening

Posted on 26/08/2012 by Grumpa Joe

This video speaks for itself. The people of Virginia should be proud of the stand they take on President-0’s plan to take down America.

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Congress, Do Your Job, Can Him.

Posted on 25/08/2012 by Grumpa Joe

When the Founding Fathers came together to build this country, they knew that human nature would always tempt politicians to go astray. They pondered about the congress having too much power, and if that happened Congress would control the country by its legislative power thus nullifying the executive and judicial branches. In a stroke of genius, they came up with the three branches having equal but separate power.

What happens when one of the three branches usurps the power of the others? In the year 2012 nothing. Our Congress and Supreme Court are abdicating power to the Executive Branch. This very plainly pisses me off, and it should you too.

Our President -0 is doing just that. He is rough riding over Congress and has tried with some success to do it with the Supreme Court too. Where is Congress in this matter? Instead of the Executive administering the government by the laws enacted, it is doing it by executive fiat, the Executive Order. Where is Congress? Why are they not outraged? Why are they not holding the President’s feet to the fire?

Well Grumpa Joe, you are just a fanatic racist who doesn’t like this president because he is black. Bullshit.

I despise this president and all before him who refuse to control our southern border.

I despise this president because he sided with a foreign government (Mexico)  in a lawsuit against a State in the Union (Arizona).

I despise this president because he devised a clandestine program to set the country up to destroy the Second Amendment; he called his program Fast and Furious. When Congress did finally act against him, he declared his papers confidential under executive privilege. We accused President Nixon of burglarizing an office, and he was relentlessly pursued by the press and Congress until he resigned in disgrace over the matter. Nixon’s act did not result in Border Agents being killed with guns we allowed to cross the border.

I despise this president because he refuses to acknowledge a need for voter identification, but demands attendees to his speeches verify their identity with official ID’s.

I despise this president because he pretends to deport illegal aliens, but is only putting them into a holding pattern until they can disappear into the underground of the USA.

I despise this president because he tolerates Sanctuary Cities in order to hide and protect illegals.

I despise this president because he has taken the Welfare Reform Act and arbitrarily gutted a major requirement without any discussion by Congress or the Supreme Court. Why isn’t the Congress filing suit to bring this to the SC?

I despise this president because he places more credence in the hopeless United Nations than he does in the US Congress.

I despise this president because he deliberately usurped the First Amendment right of freedom of religion in his omnipotent health care act.

I despise the president for his sneaky and lawless way using the UN over his own Congress to get our military involved in Libya, and Syria.

I despise the President for allowing special interest groups to control his agenda.

I despise the president for a stupid green jobs program that dictates his energy policy.

I despise the president for using agencies like the EPA to sneak regulations into effect that usurp  Congress.

I despise this president for taking over a private sector company to reward his supporters.

I despise this president for believing all people are too stupid to take care of themselves. What ever happened to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and human potential?

I despise this president’s demonization of capitalism and the rich. I can only wonder why he hates himself so much? After all, he is rich and he uses the capitalist system to sell his phony life story.

I despise this president for wanting to make the USA into Europe.  Europe has been working at light speed to catch up and be like the USA while remaining socialist; which by the way, is proving to be a disaster for them.

I despise this president for declaring that America is not a Christian Nation.

I despise this president for bowing to foreign leaders.

I despise this president for being a pansy with Iran.

I despise this president for throwing Israel under the bus. Have you looked at a map of the mid-east? Israel is a small dot in a vastly huge area. They are surrounded by Arabs. Why are the Arabs so bent on annihilating them? Why is this president so bent on letting that happen?

So where the hell in Congress in all of this? Why don’t they wake up and do something to show us they are an equal entity? Why don’t they bring impeachment proceedings against the president? They are totally afraid to even utter the word. I realize that there are two houses in Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Fathers wanted debate and argument between both houses on laws. They required  both houses to agree on a law before it can be enacted. Unfortunately, at this moment we have a Democrat Senate, and a Republican House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has passed many laws but they are stonewalled by the Senate. What we see in this process is exactly what the Founders envisioned.

What we need is a creative House that determines how to ally with the Senate or the Supreme Court to get past the blockages that make it seem inept. What we need is a Newt Gingrich to consult on the matter, he would know how to provoke the two houses into action.

Many of my rants above are impeachable offenses, but where is Congress?  They are out looking for Mitt Romney’s tax returns, and  attacking Republicans for a comment made by candidate Aiken about abortion. At the same time they stick their heads into the sand about our president’s record on late-term abortion and saving babies who live in spite of a botched abortion attempts.

Folks, we have a huge job ahead of us, but it can be accomplished. How? Just like a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, this one begins with firing President -0.

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Burning Gas-Santa Fe

Posted on 23/08/2012 by Grumpa Joe

During my lifetime I have traveled a lot. My goal is to visit as many places in the United States and Canada as I can before my travel days end. Lately though, I find myself re-visiting places I have been to before. When I plan a trip, I try to include new cities, and new routes, but there is always someplace that I really enjoyed that is near the new place. My last post in the Burning Gas travel series took us to the White Sands National Monument near  Alamogordo, New Mexico. That put us within one driving day from Santa Fé, New Mexico. I love Santa Fé. My family camped there on a visit some forty years ago. We fell in love with the tiny hamlet of Santa Fé. Established in 1608 it rivals Saint Augustine Florida for the title of the oldest city in North America. What I found when I returned with Peggy was not a three hundred year old village, but a three hundred year old village surrounded by urban sprawl. Immediately my mind played back the lines from John Steinbeck’s novel Travels With Charley,

“Tom Wolfe was right. You can’t go home again because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory.”  

Oh how true that is. We stayed in a modern hotel, on a six lane median separated street five miles from the center of the old town. Every intersection has another shopping center with Home Depot, Staples, Kohl’s, Appleby’s, and other national chain stores. Laced in between were the more homey Spanish-Mexican-American food places which I so longed to try, but couldn’t because Miss Peggy cannot handle those spicy foods.

On our first  trip, I recall seeing the new and modern State Capital building on the outskirts of town.  This time I had to find it with the GPS. It is surrounded by business and sub-divisions near the center of town.

When we finally did find Old Santa Fé it remained the same, except for the amount of vehicular traffic streaming through the old town. The Veranda of the Governor’s Palace is still the market place for native Americans selling their handcrafted jewelry. The Basilica is still at the end of San Francisco Street. The town square is still a hangout for hippies. Except now the hippies are forty years older and sport long white hair and beards. Artists abound selling small twenty-dollar pieces to the tourists. The shops around the square teem with more elegant artwork and clothing that one can only find in Santa Fé.

We visited the oldest house in America on De Vargas Street off the Old Santa Fé Trail, and across from the Mission San Miguel.  San Miguel (est 1610) is one of the oldest missions in North America, and  is still an active parish. A short stroll from the Mission we entered the Loretto Chapel. This church is modeled after Notre Dame in Paris, however it is much smaller. The architect forgot to build a staircase to the choir loft. The good nuns who served the church prayed to Saint Joseph the builder for a solution. A stranger showed up and built a magnificent spiral staircase to the choir, and then left. No one knows who he was nor from where he came, nor where he got the wood. The church implies it as a miracle, but will not declare it so.

A few blocks away we entered the vestibule of the Basilica Saint Francis Assisi to find a funeral mass in progress, so we decided to call it a day.

We also visited the Georgia O’Keefe museum to learn about the artist behind the print of the huge red poppy hanging on our wall at home. It turns out she invented the concept of painting  flowers close up and big. She spent much of her life on a ranch near the museum painting desert scenes in solitude.

Before we left Santa Fé, we formed a new bond and  now have a second benchmark to which we can never return.

 

 

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