Uncommon Sense

The playground is where most children learn the politics of following rules.  More to the point, it is where we learn to change the rules of a game mid-stream if it helps you win.  Some people bend the rules, others ignore them under the guise of a higher moral standing, and others simply do not play by them.

Tiger Woods incurred a two shot penalty at the FedExCup tournament when he moved a stick near his ball.  A slow motion review on a high definition video showed the ball moved but Woods denied it and refused to return the ball to its original spot.  Woods dismissive aplomb to the rules and the official was infuriating enough but he did not stop at mere rule breaking.

Brandel Chamblee is a respected analyst on the Golf Network who called Woods out on his behavior.  Chamblee, a former golfer, worked for the Golf network for 10 years before speaking out.  As you might guess, Chamblee no longer works for the Gutless Network; I mean Golf Network because Woods was not happy and raised a fuss.

Further, the United States Golf Association (USGA) recently announced a rule change that discusses use of video in determining if a ball has changed position.  It now must be noticeable to the human eye and not high definition video.  It seems odd for the USGA to move away from video reply while most other sports are embracing the technology.  I guess when you are Tiger Woods you can change the rules to keep your psychological bubble from bursting.

Recently, Texans running back Arian Foster admitted he accepted under-the-table payments while playing at Tennessee in violation of NCAA rules.  He made this admission as a means of support for Texas A & M Quarterback Johnny Manziel who ran afoul of NCAA rules for accepting money for his autograph.  Manziel and Foster both say it is only fair they get a piece of the pie since their respective colleges make or made millions of dollars off them.

I see their point and think college athletes should share in the profits made from the use of their likeness, jersey sales, and the like.  I prefer they work to change the rules from within the system instead of thumbing their noses at the rules under the guise of moral outrage.

Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader who, like President Obama, shows a disdain for the Constitution took his ball and went home this week.  Senate Democrats eliminated filibusters for presidential nominations to allow federal judicial nominees and executive office appointments confirmation votes by a simple majority instead of 60 votes.  The power play used a rare parliamentary move to change the rules that stood in place for about 40 years.

At least they changed the playing field from within the context of the games they play.  I wonder what their position on the new way of doing business will be when the Republicans are in the majority.  The thing about changing the rules to suit your own agenda is it eventually works against you.

The mist of time conceals many warts that make things “in our day” seem better than reality dictates. Gas prices in the 1980s rose to $1 a gallon.  Today the national average is $3.20 representing a more than three-fold increase.  Drivers will be thrilled if gas prices “dropped” to $2 per gallon.

We will accept the notion that corporations or the government are “working for the people” to reduce gas prices but the truth is gas prices can be so much lower.  This is not a debate about drilling in Alaska and giving the United States more leverage in negotiations with foreign countries.  I will save that discussion for another day.

No, this is a discussion about how politicians dupe Americans.  Politicians rely on the mist of time to conceal their past actions come election season.  They rely on Americans accepting less because it is better than worse.

With President Obama’s poll, numbers and support for the Affordable Care Act sinking faster than the Titanic, politicians are falling over themselves to “fix” the problems.  They are putting Band-Aids on a wound that needs a tourniquet.  Americans will accept a “patched” ObamaCare because it is better than the debacle we now have.

In my gas price example, we gleefully spend more money at the pumps than we should or need to spend.  The oil corporations are laughing at how easy they profit off the ill-informed masses.  I do not begrudge them their profits.  If the market will bear $2 per gallon prices, then so be it because I do not expect altruism from profit seeking corporations.  I do expect an informed electorate but that expectation is naïve.

Fixing ObamaCare does nothing to help Americans losing insurance coverage.  It also does nothing to allow Americans the right not to have insurance.  It simply makes the politicians appear to be doing something to “fight for the rights of Americans.”  Here is a news flash: In America we supposedly have the right to make choices versus having a dictatorial government mandate our choices.

It appears President Obama knew about the issues from the start.  It also appears he did not care because his ultimate goal is to have a single-payer system.  This is the ultimate bait and switch scenario.  The insurance companies supported ObamaCare because they saw profit dressed as 13 million uninsured and paid for by the taxpayer.

Unlike the gas companies, the insurance companies will not be laughing when the extra profits turn into a pumpkin at midnight as the Democrats move us to a single payer system.  The American people will see more rights transfer to the government.  And the gas companies better beware, once the insurance vertical falls the gas vertical may be next.  Electric cars anyone?

The mid-term election in 2014 is shaping up to be a wonderful referendum on the Liberal and Conservative philosophies while the independents continue to straddle the fence and sway with the wind.  Politicians rely on the mist of time to propel them to another term of taking our rights away.  The American people control our fate.

How many lies is enough before we throw out the liars?

By Michael Lordi

I have some sad news for my Republican friends in New Jersey who have visions of sugar plums and Chris Christie in the White House dancing in their heads:  I’ll be president before Chris Christie will.

And the only way I’ll be president is if I crawl out from beneath the ruins of scorched buildings following a nuclear holocaust, the only survivor of my species, faced with the task of repeatedly vetoing legislation to repeal all FDA food handling regulations passed by a Congress comprised of only cockroaches.

Following months of almost unchallenged campaigning and image-polishing advertising, Christie is at the height of his popularity.  Yet he still trails Hillary Clinton in the list of presidential wannabes by six percentage points in the Garden State and 10 points nationally.  Were the presidential election held today, Christie likely would lose 49 states, New Hampshire being the exception providing it snows on Election Day. (Good news:  He has a tiny lead in American Samoa).

What New Jersey GOPers don’t realize is that Christie suffers from John McCain Syndrome.  He’s the media darling . . . for now.  He’s touted as a take-no-prisoners party maverick, capable of bashing heads from both sides of the political isles into compromise.  Beware Democrats, say the media and semi-sober pundits; Christie is the Republican’s best hope to draw independent and Hispanic voters.

Yet the media will turn on him and viciously.  You may recall that no sooner had John McCain brushed off the convention confetti following his nomination when his friends and admirers at the New York Times ran a front-page, below the fold story about an illicit affair with a campaign worker and contributor.  After a week of denials and inquiry by the Times’ own ombudsman, the story was proved a fake, so the paper turned its focus for several weeks to Cindy McCain’s money.  That was until its brigade of private detectives dispatched to Alaska reported in on Sarah Palin.

But Christie’s biggest problem will come from the Republican base, which is still fuming from his condescending lecture to conservative House members holding up Hurricane Sandy relief aid until it was purged of pork and kickbacks to donors of New York’s Congressional delegation.  Another sore point was his snooty and opportunistic blaming of House Republicans for the government slowdown just as they were sending funding bill after funding bill to the Senate where each died without consideration.

And speaking of Hurricane Sandy, many of the GOP faithful view his hug and kiss (with tongue) of Barak Obama during the presidential tour of the storm devastation the same way Viet Nam veterans think of Jane Fonda.  Many of them (us) felt the governor should have told Obama, his entourage and gaggle of reporters arriving at Seaside Park, “You want your picture taken at the Jersey Shore?  Here’re two quarters.  Go to the photo booth at the Asbury Park arcade.  You’re keeping the fire trucks from getting through.”

Many of them (us) think Obama Girls usually wear tank tops and bikini bottoms, not size 72 warm up suits.

And they (we) aren’t likely to overlook that if he wants Obama’s job.  Still they (we) wish him well in the Democrat primary against Hillary.

When President Obama and his Democratic puppets rammed the Affordable Healthcare Act down America’s throat it was to ensure the 13 million uninsured Americans have coverage.  Based on 2012 estimates, there are 313.9 million people in America so 13 million people represent four percent of the population.

The mainstream media, ever the Obama public relations team, feted us with story upon story of the travesty that 13 million people in the greatest nation in the world were left uninsured. Obama, the Democrats and the complicit media all rallied to change the healthcare system.  Our former healthcare system was not perfect but it was the best in the world.

Fast-forward to today where Obama apologized to those American who are losing their insurance coverage despite promises he made to the contrary when he pulled a Bernie Madoff type scam on the American people. He is sorry they find “themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me” but he said nothing about not keeping his word.

Ironically, estimates from various organizations put the figure of those Americans losing their coverage at five percent.  Obama, Democrats and the media are referring to this group as “only” five percent.

Really!?

Does anyone else see the irony of “fixing” a system where four percent of the population is affected by screwing up five percent of the population with the fix?

I do not see the media running sob stories for this five percent.  I do not see the media attacking Obama for apologizing for the situation rather than apologizing for putting them in the situation and lying to us.  I wonder if the media would have been as kind if President George Bush was the one who made the comments?

Apologies are warranted but so is action. The so-called leaders in Washington, DC need to really fix the system.  I suggest using the sandlot baseball fix whenever there is a disagreement with a play.  “Do over!”  Except this time, the puppets should cut strings and vote to do the right thing and leave the private sector alone.

If they do not, the mod-term elections may prove to be an eye opener when the puppets find out the puppeteer cut and ran leaving them holding the strings.

Governor Chris Christie easily won re-election in New Jersey and sets a two-year stage of flirtatious will-he, won’t he run for president.  Conservatives think he is a Rockefeller Republican and Liberals think he is a bully.  Critics call him names and supporters idolize him.

His bombastic nature plays well in NJ but he is also an effective leader who gets things done.  He is a “Jersey guy” with a “Jersey attitude” and people in NJ love that as witnessed by his overwhelming victory.  Make no mistake, NJ is a Democratic state with some of the most liberal views this side of Massachusetts.  For any Republican to succeed in this state is monumental.  For a Republican to gain two terms as governor is incredible.

Conservatives criticize him for compromising too much.  What else is he supposed to do with a Liberal legislature?  Conservatives, who prefer a take no prisoners approach, do not trust him because he vacillates on social issues.  Again, what is he supposed to do?

Some conservative talk show hosts want him to fight the fight but that creates gridlock.  It seems the conservatives think compromise is evil and want him to take a partisan approach on all issues but, again, nothing will move forward.

You cannot change the game until you are in the game and get to a certain level where you can effect change.  Christie seems to be following this course.  He is a gifted politician who parses his words as well as Bill Clinton, focuses on enemies like Richard Nixon, and takes moderate positions on social issues like Rudy Giuliani.  He is perfect for NJ.

Will his act play outside of New Jersey?  Will someone living in Arkansas get a knowing smile and bask in the glory of a NJ wise-ass slap down of some political hack in desperate need of a reality check?  I do not think so and, for his sake, I hope he does not try a run for national office.

In his acceptance speech, he relayed a story about his mother telling him to be himself.  If he runs for national office, he will have to move to the far right in the primaries if he has any hope of gaining the presidential nomination.  The primaries for both parties bring out the zealots who live on the extremes.  The only way to win is to be the extreme of your opponents.  That changes in the general election and candidates move to the center.

If Christie decides to be true to himself – a moderate Republican – and goes for it more power to him.  If he listens to the consultants and does what all candidates do then two things happen.  He loses his genuineness and he cannot adhere to his mother’s advice.

Compromising on issues is one thing but compromising yourself is entirely different.

Christie is a gifted politician with a keen awareness of how to play the game.  The only difference is he gets things done.  I have no doubt that Christie will get things done in DC if he stays true to himself.  But this is politics and, in politics, everyone compromises who they are and rationalize the behavior as doing it for the common good.  Once they lie to themself, the inevitable next step is to lie to the nation.

Christie has been a revelation to watch in NJ.  He compromises on issues but not himself which is unique.  That may change if he seeks higher office.

You can tell when politicians lie because their lips move.  This is most evident during campaign season that thankfully ends today.  It is a sad paradox.  We know each politician is lying through teeth yet blindly vote for the one “we like better.”  A number of conservative talk show hosts blame the phenomena on low information voters who presumably make decisions based on screaming, negative ads.

Opponents paint a picture of one another that is so unflattering the lesser of two evils is typically the one who seems like he or she cares or is nice.  That explains former presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton but President Obama is as warm as ice melting in Alaska.

George H Bush lost re-election because he did not know the price of a gallon of milk and was “caught” checking his watch during a debate.  George W Bush won election with self-deprecating humor during the debates.  Whenever former president Clinton needed a boost in the polls, he bit his lower lip and pretended to care.

Not one of these actions or attributes matters one iota to governing a nation and moving it forward.  Is it any wonder then why our nation’s capital is a cesspool of fabricated crisis meant to drive emotion versus action?

The diabolical intent of the misdirection is to inspire you to vote with your heart and not your head.  Following the heart typically works in romantic comedies but seldom in politics.  I do not have to like our leaders I need to know they can lead.  Unfortunately, I do not like our leaders and most of them are inept.

Instead of talking about a government shutdown that wasn’t, perhaps the politicians could have spent the time debating the free market system as a way to get the nation moving forward.  Rather than waste time trying to circumvent the Constitution, maybe those in DC could spend the time reading it at length.  Maybe they will learn something they did not know…like how to abide by the nation’s charter.

Election time is like any job interview.  The only issues is those who get the job typically end up destroying what they swore to protect.

By Michael Lordi

We can now see the astonishing parallels between Obamacare and a stool sample – You have to pass both to know what’s in them.

And with each probe of this Big Government cow pie, the more odious it gets.

Nothing was more revealing about the true nature and intent of the Affordable Care Act than two separate but related occurrences that happened Wednesday.  The first involved testimony delivered before a House Energy and Commerce Committee by Katherine Sebelius, the ham-fisted Secretary of Health and Human Services and inventor of the Obamacare Death Panels.  Moments before her testimony began, the administration’s troubled Healthcare.com website went down.  This was unbeknownst to Sebelius, who midway through her testimony felt she was putting the situation in perspective and the inquiring House members in their place by telling them, “The website never crashed.  It is functional, but at a very slow speed and very low reliability.”

Unfortunately for Sebelius, CNN was covering her statement using a split screen showing her reading the never crashed portion of her prepared remarks alongside “The system is down . . .” screen message.

Woops!

It was a perfect metaphor for the administration’s view of its superiority over constitutional governance:  Lecture, berate and condescend the Legislative branch, pointing out Congress’s knuckle-dragging inability to grasp and appreciate the inexplicable greatness of what the president and team is doing, and then leave in a huff only to slip on a banana peel upon harrumphing out the door.

The second moment came the same day during a pep talk to supporters President Obama delivered at a health care rally in Boston.  Obama wanted to deflect outrage over the growing number of Americans who are receiving health insurance cancellation notices despite his promise that anyone who likes his coverage can keep it under Obamacare.  Like a champion Three Card Monte street operator, the president flung misdirection by blaming the cancellations on “bad apple insurers” that don’t offer enough coverage.

That was bad enough, but Obama went a step further that momentarily dissolved the coolness façade exposing the real purpose of his signature presidential achievement:

“One of the things health reform was designed to do was to help not only the uninsured but also the under-insured.  And there are a number of Americans, fewer than five percent of Americans, who’ve got cut-rate plans that don’t offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.

Translation:  “You people are so stupid, you won’t pay for a health care policy that covers all of what I think you need (like birth control for senior citizens and second graders, and sex change operations for clergy).  That’s why I have to pick one for you.”

To the president, this may have been a passing thought in his speech, but it reveals volumes.  It’s the reason why the HHS reviewed the insurance choices made by consumers in the individual policy market and condemned them to the ash heap of frugality.  “There must be equality in insurance,” HHS ruled once the inconvenience of the Supreme Court’s contorted decision was behind them and no one was looking. “And what’s with this risk crap?”

Proponents argue that the higher levels of mandated coverage should cost more.  People, goes the Liberal mindset, are willing to pay for the greater peace of mind, although Liberals never disclose the data source that helped them draw this conclusion.

Nope, the real reason for the higher pricing is to drive more people out of the private insurance market and into the salivating maw of the taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare exchanges.  From there, it will be an easy jump into a single-payer system run by the benevolent IRS.

The Wall Street Journal summed that up best:

“None of this is an accident.  It is the deliberate result of the liberal demand that everyone have essentially the same coverage and that government must dictate what that coverage is and how much it costs.  Such political control is the central nervous system of the Affordable Care Act, and it is why so many people can’t keep the insurance they like.”

And the administration can’t do that while pesky insurance companies remain in the way, desperately trying to stay in business.  To achieve the dream of total control over citizens’ health and one-sixth of the economy, government must clear the field of competition.  So, insurers have to be flushed, thus the president’s “Who You Gonna’ Believe, Me or Your Lying Eyes?” assault in Boston.

Obamacare isn’t about a flat-lining website.  It goes much deeper into the arrogant paternalism and lust for power that animates the Liberal mind.

There is no such thing as no time: just no priority.  We are busy running our daily lives complaining we have no time for whatever it is we claim we have no time for but the reality is we do not make it a priority.

If the phone were to ring right now and we learned of a loved one’s death, instantly things stop, priorities change and we do what we to do to get through the coming days.  We live in a society that puts importance on the most mundane things.  The weirdest things catch our fancy and rise to prominent levels that boggle the mind.

This explains reality TV.  It also explains why most of know the most intimate details of some “star” but do not take the time to understand or get involved in the direction of our nation.  I put the word star in quotations because a person is a star by the randomness of popularity bestowed by legions of people secretly wishing they were a star.

We have true stars among us hidden by the mist of time as they go about doing their unheralded business.  You can pretty much guess that list includes those in the military, police, fire, parents, teachers, and anyone who gives their time to help others without the cameras rolling.

The idiots we call leaders in Washington, DC can solve the issues dragging our nation into the realms of third world status but they choose to create important issues to distract the population from the slow descent that Screwtape would admire.  The mainstream media spoke non-stop about the 13 million uninsured people as the impetus for Obamacare but nary a word about the millions now facing no insurance because of Obamacare.

The majority of people must now accept something they do not want so a minority of people can have something they want.  Meanwhile the nation sinks under the weight of the hubris coming out of Washington, DC as real issues go to the archives of no interest.  Maybe we should make a reality series out of running the country.

Each week we can send Senators and Congressmen to remote island locales to challenge one another to whatever stupid contest attracts the most viewers.  Or, we can pair a Senator and Congressman from the opposite party and have them race similar teams chasing clues around America.  Supreme Court Justices can compete against average lawyers in a talk off and whichever jurisprudence theorist bastardizes the law more advances to the lightning round.

Until we decide to put importance on issues that truly matter, we will continue to make Screwtape happy.  Social issues are important and matter but politicians do not care about solving them – they only care about using them to divide and conquer.  The American people fall for the shell game every time.  I think we need to make understanding the issues a priority!

Technically speaking, voters control term limits for our political non-leaders. I have the naïve belief term limits are not necessary because voters can throw the bums out.  Unfortunately, most voters simply re-elect incumbents.

Jim Gearhart, a radio host at NJ101.5, has called on the citizenry to “Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians” (GRIP).  He has championed this cause for more than 25 years.  The idea is to simply vote against the incumbent regardless of party affiliation, experience, or familial relations. The fact NJ voters have not even come close to achieving Gearhart’s nirvana is the saddest display of apathy I have seen.

This is not a NJ phenomenon as most Americans continually re-elect politicians who own approval ratings unworthy of dog catcher.  Why? Would you re-hire a contractor who did everything but correct the issue he was hired to fix?

Politicians are fond of saying they pass legislation for the good of the people.  The legislation passed is mostly intrusive and dictates how people should live their lives.  From having to wear seat belts to bike riding helmets to owning healthcare, the politicians seek to dictate how we should live and intrude on our individual liberties.

Since most politicians in Washington, DC believe Americans are too dumb to think on our own, perhaps they should be consistent and introduce a bill setting term limits.  I think this is now a necessity so our feeble minds will not be taxed with such mundane matters as whether the people we elect actually represent our will and not their aspirations.  Two terms are good for the president so I imagine two terms should suffice for Senators and Congressmen.

It can be like jury duty.  Every term, a random number of people receive notices in the mail and must appear in Washington.  The Supreme Court can then vet the potential candidates to appear on the ballot. We can make it a reality series.  It will be hysterical to watch people try to talk their way out of serving as a Senator or Congressman citing racial biases, work commitments, family commitments, phobias of politicians, self-esteem issues, or whatever the going reason is today to get out of Jury duty.

I still hold out hope we will vote them all out of office but I know better.

For every action, there is an equal and contrary reaction.  That is what my high school Physics teacher taught me.  That premise also applies to politics and proves the laws of unintended consequences.

New Jersey has a ballot question to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 per hour, up from $7.25.  At face value, the concept seems like legislation with good intentions.  The measure is a constitutional amendment that calls for automatic yearly increases based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Those in favor of the measure play to the emotions stating $7.25 is not a living wage.  In NJ, making $100,000 a year is not a living wage when you take out taxes, property taxes and the high cost of living.  However, most people earning $7.25 are not the main income earner in the household.  Most employees earning minimum wage are teenagers.  Those who oppose the measure make silly end-of-the-business-world predictions if it passes.

I do not like having government make a business decision like wages.  I thoroughly do not like tying such a decision to the state’s constitution and having annual increases in perpetuity with the CPI.  I doubt businesses will move to Delaware to avoid paying an extra dollar per hour but increasing the minimum wage will have an effect.

Small business owners will not hire as much as they initially planned.  That is simply common sense.  More importantly, however, I think forcing annual increases to the minimum wage as a matter of constitutional due course may have an unintended consequence.  Small business owners will look towards automation and eliminate the need for people.

Fast food franchise owners may implement an automated way to make hamburgers and replace people.  Retail outlets will push online ordering.  And, gasp, gas stations will move towards self-service.  People –especially savvy business owners – always find ways to improve margins.

The intent of raising the minimum wage is good.  The unintended consequence will make it worse for the very people the bill is trying to help.