The Catholic Church Joins the War on Religion

The Texas Catholic Conference thinks the the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) has been discriminatory and unfair in it's treatment of Jewish and Muslim schools. The education director of the organization that governs Texas Catholic schools, Margaret McGettrick, told the Houston Chronicle that TAPPS' treatment of those groups was "unacceptable". McGettrick also threatened to pull her 43 schools out of TAPPS if they don't change their ways. So, as the Catholic Church has reminded us for the last 2,000 years, they hold the moral high ground for the entire planet. I'm not sure how much research Mother Teresa McGettrick has done regarding the recent incidences, that the left wing Houston Chronicle has decided are front page material; but I've done quite a bit. The story, as reported by esteemed journalist Angel Verdejo, who the Chronicle recently stole away from a local paper in Killeen, TX; describes how TAPPS attempted to deprive the Jewish players of Beren Academy of a chance to compete for the state basketball championship. TAPPS, evidently due to antisemitism, was unwilling to reschedule their final four tournament in Fort Worth, in order to work around the Jewish Sabbath. Faced with a lawsuit, a court order, and under pressure from the media and state senators Dan Patrick and Rodney Ellis, TAPPS gave in and rescheduled the tournament. A few days later, Verdejo, the future Chris Matthews, had another breaking story about how TAPPS had denied membership to the Muslim Iman Academy; again on the basis of religious discrimination. Mr Verdejo says in  his story that Beren was "initially forced to forfeit it's spot" in the playoffs. It's time to acquaint Mr. Verdejo with a couple of things that are apparently foreign to him; facts and a dictionary. At no time was Beren Academy "forced" to forfeit their playoff spot. They were never even asked by TAPPS, nor was it suggested, that they forfeit. Beren, initially, chose to forfeit because the game times conflicted with their religious faith; by the way, I think that type of conviction to one's faith is admirable. Beren, after qualifying for the championship tournament, made a request to TAPPS, that the game times be rescheduled. This request was subsequently denied. So, what's the big deal? Why was TAPPS so anxious to deny these high school boys a chance to compete for a championship? The following explanation is taken from a statement posted on the TAPPS website:  
"TAPPS is an association of private and/or parochial schools in the state of Texas.
Membership in the association is voluntary and schools desiring membership must make the first contact in order to apply.
When TAPPS was organized in the late 1970's, the member schools at that time all recognized Sunday as the day of worship. The By-Laws were written to state that “TAPPS would not schedule any competition or activities on Sunday”. At that time,
there were no member schools that observed their Sabbath on Saturday.
During the early days of TAPPS, state semi-finals and finals for team sports were scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays. Occasionally, due to the sites available, some games were also scheduled on Thursdays. Every effort was made to schedule finals
on Saturday, since many parents did not work on Saturday and could attend their children’s games.
The TAPPS Executive Board, which is the final authority of the association, continues to follow the Constitution and By-Laws.
The final stage of the application process for any prospective member school is for the head administrator and others of his choosing, to meet with the TAPPS Executive Board
to discuss the school’s application and commitment to the association.
The Robert M. Beren Academy, represented by the athletic director, met with the TAPPS Board on June 12, 2009 to discuss their membership. At that time, the Board pointed out that TAPPS schedules its team sports championship on Fridays and Saturdays,
which would conflict with Beren’s observation of their Sabbath. The Board pointed out that the posted schedule for the state tournament would be followed and no changes made,
unless weather related or similar conditions existed.
The Athletic Director stated that he understood and did not see that as a problem, since he just wanted their players to have an opportunity to play in a “district”.
Section 138.C.3.e, “At the time of district certification, the district president shall certify all schools that will participate in the playoffs. Upon qualifying for the playoffs, schools must notify the TAPPS office in writing if their team will not participate in all
playoff games in which they qualify as scheduled by TAPPS. If for any reason, the team cannot follow the schedule as provided by TAPPS the school shall remove itself from the playoffs
without penalty so that the next highest ranked team may represent the district in the playoffs”.
When Berens Academy qualified for the playoffs this year, they did not remove themselves from the playoffs, as described in Section 138.C.3.e, but instead played and won their bi-district, area and regional games. On Friday, February 24, 2012, the TAPPS office received an appeal from Beren Academy,
asking that some game times be changed at the State Basketball Tournament on Friday March 2, and Saturday March 3, 2012 in order for the school’s students, staff and fans to observe their
Sabbath. The appeal was forwarded to the TAPPS Executive Board for a decision. The appeal arrived at the TAPPS office at 3:13 pm on Friday February 24, and due to the timing, a majority of the Board responses were not received until Monday morning, February 27. The Board denied the appeal and the administration at Beren Academy was so informed by phone and email."


So, the administration of Beren Academy applied for membership to an organization that they knew scheduled some of it's playoff games on days that conflicted with their religious beliefs. They applied to an organization that was founded around and consisted of a vast majority of members of a different faith. Beren was well aware that the TAPPS constitution and bylaws had been in effect for over 30 years. TAPPS officials were well aware of the potential conflicts due to the differing beliefs and specifically addressed the issue with Beren's representatives. Yet, knowing of the potential future conflicts, TAPPS officials made the decision to grant Beren membership, and Beren agreed to comply with the long established procedures because, as their athletic director said, it would give his player "a chance to compete in a district". TAPPS was upfront about their beliefs and their practices; they honored their agreements with Beren and their other members, yet they've been portrayed in the media, and by members of the Catholic Church as noninclusive, intolerant, and bigoted. The administration of Beren Academy did NOT honor their words or agreements. When faced with the decision to violate their religious beliefs or forfeit their playoff spot, they took legal action to force TAPPS and it's other members to change their rules and schedules. They were complicit with the media in denouncing the organization that had accepted them, despite differing beliefs and potential scheduling conflicts. I've been to the TAPPS basketball championship 3 times, as my kids attend another member school. The semifinal games were held on Friday night, which allowed us to leave Houston about noon and arrive in Fort Worth by game time. You don't have a lot of time to make travel plans because you don't know you're in until the week before. The 3 championship games, that I attended were held around noon on Saturday. So, allowing for the post game ceremony, pictures, etc..., players and their families can leave to return home at around 2:00-3:00 in the afternoon. If you're going to Houston, that puts you home about 7:00 p.m. Saturday night. Moving the games to Friday afternoon and Saturday night "forces" faculties and families to leave either Thursday night or very early Friday, and return home either very late Saturday night or spend an extra night and return home on Sunday, which is of course the Christian and Catholic day of worship. TAPPS officials were "forced" on Monday to make a decision on whether or not to "force" the staff and families of 3 other schools to change, what were already last minute travel plans, on just 3 days notice. They made the decision in favor of the members that had honored their agreements and complied with TAPPS bylaws. Both my kids play sports and I love watching them compete. I hate the thought of players that have worked so hard, forfeiting their playoff spot. But, if I enroll my kids in a league that holds it's championship on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday, they won't be playing in those games, and I'm not going to sue to have the league reschedule. As for being noninclusive or intolerant, Margaret McGettrick and the Texas Catholic Conference have a lot of nerve. Can a Baptist, or Lutheran, or non-denominational Christan get married in a Catholic Church? No. What about someone that's been previously married and divorced? No. A same sex couple? Uh, No! Can women become priests or conduct mass? No. How about married men? No. Can a non-Catholic take communion in a Catholic Church? No. Do I have a problem with any of this? No, I don't; these are long held beliefs and their members are entitled to practice as the believe. Should I join a Catholic Church, then file a lawsuit demanding the right to have the priest marry my same sex partner and I? I would think not. The Catholic Church has been in the news lately because they are asking for an exemption from federal law that would require Catholic organizations to provide health insurance to their employees, that would pay for contraceptives and abortions. They believe they should be exempt from this law because providing this coverage would violate their religious beliefs; I agree. Who has taken their side in this battle? The ACLU? No. The Democrat Party? No. The Republican Party? No. The Jewish Anti-Defamation League? No. The allies of the Catholic Church, in the federal government's and the media's war on religion, are Protestant Christians and constitutional conservatives. The allies of the media's war on TAPPS are Beren Academy and the Catholic Church.


Now; Part 2 of the saga. In 2010 Iman Academy, a Muslim private school in Houston, applied for membership in TAPPS. As has been reported continually by Angel Verdejo, the Houston Chronicle, and the national media; Iman received a questionnaire from TAPPS, that contained questions about Islamic beliefs, their potential conflicts with Christian and Jewish beliefs, and Iman's reasons for wanting to join an organization with such differing beliefs. Iman principle Cindy Steffens told the Chronicle that the questionnaire contained " loaded and provocative" questions. Iman also has acknowledged that an accompanying letter from TAPPS stated that they were not that knowledgeable about Islam and could have some misconceptions.  Steffens said she had remained discreet about the incident until the media contacted her. I wonder why the media contacted her? TAPPS does not try to hide the fact that they are an organization of mostly Christian members; in fact, they're proud of it. Is it so outrageous that a private religious organization would ask pointed questions about religious beliefs, scripture, and doctrine; of an applicant of greatly differing faith? Couples that wish to be married in the Catholic Church must go through "marriage preparation" during which, many probing questions are asked, the couple are also required to disclose any previous marriages to the priest. I have no idea what the administration or the members of Iman Academy believe, with regard to Christians or non-Muslims. But, in light of numerous instances of conflict involving Muslims joining Christian or Catholic organizations, I certainly want some pointed questions asked before admitting them to TAPPS. If that makes me a bigot or an Islamaphobe, I'll just have to live with it. Last October, Catholic University in Washington D.C. was sued for violating the human rights of Muslim students, for failing to provide prayer rooms that did not have Catholic symbols such as crosses. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice sued a school district in Berkeley IL, after a Muslim teacher complained that the district had denied her a 3 week leave of absence to perform a religious pilgrimage. The district lost and was forced to find a substitute to cover her class, and pay her $75,000 in lost pay. In October last year, Ohio taxpayers were forced to pay for the installation of foot baths in the Muslim prayer rooms at the University of Toledo, after Muslims students filed a discrimination complaint. I could keep linking to news stories like this for a long time, but I think you get the point. Would Iman Academy seek these types of concessions and accommodations from other member schools that they visited for games and tournaments? I don't know, but it's interesting that the Houston chapter of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), has taken up their cause. CAIR's Ibrahim Hooper asked the Chronicle reporter "Is there no law from discriminating based on faith?" Uh, in faith based organizations, no, there is not; and there certainly isn't in Islamic ruled countries. In July 2009, a federal judge ruled that CAIR had known ties to the terrorist organization Hamas, the FBI has also declared CAIR to be a front group for Hamas. If Iman Academy wants to avoid scrutiny over acts by radical Islamic extremists, they should sever their ties with CAIR. A local website called Arab Voices, advertises upcoming events in the Houston Muslim community. Their calendar contained notices of the "Iman Academy Annual Fundraising Gala" on March 25, 2012, and "Israeli Apartheid Week" March 19-23 which invited guests to "Join us as we stand in solidarity with the Palestinians in their 64 year old struggle against Israel's U.S. backed imposition of apartheid and oppression". This is akin to a Christian or Jewish school advertising on the same page as Nazi's or the Ku Klux Klan. In light of the types of groups that Iman Academy has chosen to associate with, I'm not sure that TAPPS' investigation and questioning were thorough enough. The bottom line is this; parents, whose children are enrolled in TAPPS schools are paying for their children's education in addition to helping fund the public school system through our taxes. We're not asking for help or sympathy, we just want to be left alone. TAPPS has been more inclusive of differing faiths than most religious organizations. The public school system is one of the most religiously intolerant institutions on the planet. The news media is completely intolerant of Christian and Jewish faith. The Catholic Church is tolerant, when it suits them. Islam is totally intolerant of other faiths. This is a smear campaign by the media, the political left, and Muslim extremists. I don't know if Margaret McGettrick and the Catholic Church have been unwittingly co-opted, or if she believes the drivel she spewed to the left wing Houston Chronicle. Either way, they would be wise to open their eyes and remember which people have had their backs. As for anyone else reading this, who agrees in full or in part, remaining silent and allowing this to continue, will NOT make it go away. Those who disagree, keep it to yourself; I couldn't care less!

Is There Really Any Objective Journalism?

I saw a story on the Fox News website yesterday about a recent study done on corruption in state governments. The study was done by "The Center for Public Integrity" and the results are reported to show a great deal of corruption and unethical behavior in all 50 states. Each state was graded, with no state receiving an A, and 8 states being given F's.  After seeing that all of the states with F's, were red states with Republican governors, I decided to take a closer look. The rest of the states were pretty evenly split between Republican and Democrat governors, with Chris Christie's New Jersey receiving the highest grade. So, other than the bottom 8 all being red, the study doesn't appear to be biased toward either party, but something still didn't seem right. The Center for Public Integrity claims to be "one of the oldest non-partisan, non-profit investigative news organizations in the country". Their website says they are funded by charitable foundations and individual donations, and that it "does not accept funding from labor unions or governments". However, after taking a look at the archived articles, they appear to be anything but non-partisan, unbiased, objective, or investigative. The vast majority of stories in the political section were anti-Republican, with a lot of focus on the potential GOP nominees. The major agenda issue for the organization is environmentalism/climate change and they are decidedly on the side of man caused climate change. They are also very supportive of government controlled health care with, again, no dissenting views. There are slight hints of anti-militarism, anti-business, and pro-globalization; they have a sister organization called "The Center for Global Integrity". While there is no campaigning or open endorsement of the Democratic party, the vast majority of content is decidedly liberal/progressive. In an article mocking Rick Santorum for calling global warming a hoax, which says it was written "By FactCheck.Org", the writer say "Santorum isn't the only skeptic, but skeptics are rare among scientists who actually study the climate." Yeah, not so much. It appears that facts can be rare among some organizations that have the words "Fact Check" in their name.While the authors brag about their data set of 1,372 climate researchers, they fail to mention the more than 31,000 scientists that have signed the petition denouncing the theory of man made global warming, at http://petitionproject.org/. Evidently, their investigative journalists failed to uncover that The Heartland Institute has held multiple international meetings for skeptics, that have been attended by over 1,000 climate scientists. This type of one sided editorializing is nothing new, but, it's increasingly becoming the only type of news we ever see; and far too many people just accept it as fact. As for the Center's claims of non-partisan funding, the list of supporting foundations are decisively progressive and share similar ideologies including environmental justice, social justice, global economic justice, and sustainability. The following are just a few examples:

• Adessium Foundation
• California Endowment
• The Ford Foundation
• The Joyce Foundation
• Oak Foundation
• Soros.org/Open Society Foundations

The Executive Director of The Center is Bill Buzenberg, former vice president of the left leaning National Public Radio (NPR). I have no problem with writers or pundits voicing their opinions, that's their job and we have our share on the right. The difference is; we know which side Rush Limbaugh or James Carville is on. When organizations that portray themselves as non-partisan watchdogs are secretly promoting an agenda it becomes dangerous. Theories are presented as fact, and accepted as such by much of the general public. The sad fact is, we can no longer trust anything we see, hear, or read in the news. We must take the time to investigate it ourselves. Fortunately, that's not hard to do. There is so little questioning of what's reported, that the authors of the lies don't even bother trying to cover their tracks. Our country and our freedoms are being taken, but not by force or coercion. We're surrendering them voluntarily because we're too lazy or ignorant to see the truth.

Democrats Desperate and Horny

With over 10% unemployment, gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, American soldiers being murdered in Afghanistan, and a possible war with Iran looming; Democrats have searched their souls and chosen the issue that they hope will decide this year's elections and the future of America: "rubbers". Well, to be fair, it's not just rubbers, but all forms of birth control. Over the last couple of weeks the Democratic Party, or as I like to think of them,"the left ass cheek of America", has become completely unhinged over a ridiculous issue that doesn't even exist. This entire charade was launched by the DNC public relations department; also known as the main stream media. A couple of months ago, George Stephanopoulos, former right hand man to Bill Clinton, pulled a question on birth control out of his ass and posed it to Mitt Romney during a debate. Until that point, contraception hadn't been an issue in American politics for about 50 years. Since that point, Democrats in congress, Democrat activist groups, and the Democrat media have worked relentlessly, fabricating their latest hysteria crisis. This effort may be the most desperate of all Democrat scare campaigns. The premise? "Republicans want to ban birth control." What is the basis of this assertion? What evidence have they presented to support it? Well, ...nothing: no previous statements by Republicans, no recently uncovered videos, no proposed legislation; not one damn thing. So, let's cut the crap. No Republican running for office, currently holding office, or that's held office in recent memory has suggested ANYTHING regarding banning, limiting, or restricting contraceptives. Neither the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, or any other significant religious organization has lobbied for legislation that would ban or limit access to contraceptives. These are the facts and the Democrats haven't gotten the wrong impression or misunderstood the Republican's position on this; they're just lying because that's what they do. All of the things that were key issues in the 2008 elections, such as economic growth, unemployment, the national debt, govt. spending, and the wars in the Middle East; have gotten worse...much worse! Even with the overwhelming number of idiots that make up the Democrat voting base, you can't go to war with that record. At this point, a lot of people who voted for Obama last time aren't satisfied with blaming it all on Bush; they need a new reason to support Democrats. The left saw this coming and reached for their favorite tactic" Making up shit to scare people". The problem with that is; you have to keep coming up with new catastrophes. Global warming was a great scam in it's day, but it's worn out it's welcome. When you spend 40 years warning people that the earth is melting, eventually, they expect to see some evidence of it. The Obamas have done their best to convince us that we're too fat to survive as a nation; even going so far as to suggest that obesity is a threat to national security. A couple of problems with that though: one, we keep living longer and healthier lives and, two, we don't give a damn what your bogus stats say; don't tell us what to eat! At least the melting planet and the fat ass scares were well planned, with manufactured studies and statistics to back them up. As for "The Great Condom Crisis of 2012", they've got nothing. The strategy is; tell the people Republicans want to take away your rubbers and keep women at home, in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant; then hope there are enough of them stupid enough to believe it. It's comical! Democrats in congress and the media were in a psychotic rage yesterday over the fact that Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, a slut. Well, she told Congress and the nation that her and her friends couldn't afford enough contraception to cover all the sex they were having, and damn it, the rest of us should pay for it. She said they need about $1,000 a year. I'm sorry, but hookers don't spend that much on contraception. A lot of Americans, including me, were thinking , "Damn, what a slut." Rush was just one of the few that had enough balls to say it. If you don't want people talking about your sex life, don't broadcast it. I can't believe that this is the issue Democrats want to ride with, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Progressives: 100 Years of Saving the Poor...From Prosperity

FDR, LBJ, Barack Obama; The New Deal, The Great Society, Hope and Change. For most of the past hundred years, Progressives have been the self appointed saviors of the poor, the forgotten man, the working class...the 99%. Labor laws are, perhaps, their proudest achievement. In their minds, they've assured all Americans "fair" working wages and conditions. All they ask in return, is loyalty at the voting booth and the surrender of some liberties. For truly poor people, the only property they truly own, and the only wealth they possess are in the form of their labor. These people's only means of survival is to sell their labor. Prior to progressive wage controls, they were free to sell it to the highest bidder or to sell it at a lower price in order to sell more of it or to acquire other assets, such as education and experience. Groups that had a harder time finding work, such as minorities, women, and the very young, had the option of selling their labor at a lower price in order to find work. People in low paying jobs had the option of working more hours to earn extra money. Mandatory forty hour work weeks and overtime wage laws took that option away. I work in construction, where we employ 300-400 craftsmen and laborers, depending on our workload. Most times, our employees could have the option of working twenty to thirty additional hours weekly, but the price we're being paid for the work doesn't support overtime wages. These workers are denied the option of increasing their income by as much as 25-60% and they have no input in the decision. To progressives, this is called "looking out for the poor". The lowest income earners live check to check, scraping by just to survive. They make choices between buying food, paying the rent, or buying their kids a new pair of shoes. But working the weekend to pick up an extra $200 is off the table. When I was younger, a lot of construction workers were classified as independent contractors, and not subject employee labor laws. I took every opportunity I was offered to work more hours at my normal rate of pay because I always needed the money. Some of that still goes on, but the government has cracked down on employers to protect employees...from having a chance to earn more money. To those who haven't been there, I'm not sure you can grasp what an extra $100 or $200 means to someone whose regular pay is $400. It can mean the difference between living in an apartment and a house, or having 3 or 4 bedrooms instead of 1 or 2. It can allow a mom more time with the kids by working less or not at all. It can be the difference between your kids wearing new clothes as opposed to second hand. Government does NOT have the right, or the constitutional authority, to deny working people that choice! Last summer, 48.8% of Americans 16-24 years old were employed. That's the lowest percentage since the Department of Labor started keeping track of it in 1948. Young people don't have any skills or experience. They used to have the chance to gain those things by agreeing to sell their labor at lower prices. Minimum wage laws made that illegal. There have been similar effects on some minorities. It must be nice to be a progressive and pat yourself on the back for playing God with people's lives, while never having to worry about suffering the consequences.

Let's Keep Our Eye On the Prize

As I suspect is true of many conservatives, I'm pretty disgusted with the potential Republican presidential nominees, as well as the selection process.I don't think we ever had a great field to choose from, though there were a few with good character and strong conservative credentials. The biased rhetoric of the media, the Republican establishment, and the super PAC's has turned it into a pretty ugly affair. No matter which one of these guys hangs on to win, it's a safe bet that a significant number of voters are going to be disappointed. With all of the mud slinging, we've started hearing the inevitable talk that "The rest of the candidates are no better than Obama."; that's where we have to draw the line. They're ALL better than Obama, much better! Anyone with thoughts of staying away from the polls out of protest or apathy, needs to shake themselves and focus on the ultimate goal; getting Obama the hell out of the Whitehouse. We can find fault with all of the Republicans; Romney installed govt. health care as governor, Gingrich is an adulterer and he believes in global warming, Santorum was a rubber stamp for the big spending policies of the Bush administration, and Ron Paul underestimates the danger from Islamic terrorism. But none of these guys would be as damaging to the economy and the American way of life as Barack Obama. Whether you think he's incompetent, stupid, or anti-American and intentionally destructive, there's no denying that his presidency has been disastrous for all Americans. Unlike the campaign in '08, when we could only speculate about what a leftist radical he was, he now has a record; it's documented Here are a few of the highlights:

• He jammed through a govt. takeover of our health care system, most of which doesn't go into effect until until after the election this year. It will raise the cost of insurance for most people, cause millions to lose their coverage, lead to rationing of services, force all Americans to buy insurance or pay a fee, force businesses to provide insurance to their employees or pay a fee, and, eventually force most private insurers out of business through price controls and mandated services, ultimately forcing everyone into a single payer govt. program.
• He has added over $5 trillion to the national debt in 3 years. This is more than double the pace of George W Bush, who was previously the worst deficit spending president in history. At this pace, and with the additional burden of Obamacare, it's likely that Obama would add more than twice as much to the national debt as all previous presidents combined, over an 8 year term.
• His constant interference in private sector business has lead to the loss of jobs, stalled economic growth, and very little creation of new jobs.
• The uncertainty over over the tax code and the costs of Obamacare had forced businesses and investors to postpone expansion and sit on capital.
• Regulations passed under Bush added an estimated $40 billion per year in compliance costs that are taken out of the economy during his 8 year term, $60 billion was added in only Obama's first 2 years. If re-elected he has already outlined 7 new regulations that, if passed, would add over $100 billion per year.
• He corrupted the bankruptcy proceedings of Chrysler and GM and rewarded the unions at the expense of the bond holders, who had legal priority. Despite his claims that the loans were repaid, taxpayers will lose about $14 billion, through a loss of stock prices, according to his own people.
• He has issued 35.1 billion in taxpayer loans to "green energy" businesses, 80% of which went to major Democrat campaign donors. Several of these businesses have since filed bankruptcy, including Solyndra, which received over $500 million. According to the DOE website, this $35 billion created 3,768 permanent jobs, at a cost of $ 9,315,286 per job. Despite this massive failure, he has vowed to continues these policies.
• After the gulf oil spill, he instituted an offshore drilling moratorium against the recommendations of his own investigators and in defiance of 2 federal court orders. A study by Joseph R. Mason of Louisiana State University estimates that in 1 year, the moratorium resulted in 19,000 lost jobs and $1.1 billion in lost wages, as well as $2.7 billion in lost economic activity nationwide, $2.1 billion in Louisiana alone.
• While the drilling moratorium was in place, he loaned Brazil $2 billion for offshore drilling, then promised their president that the U.S. would be their best customer. Shortly thereafter, Brazil signed contracts with China for the sale of oil.
• He killed the deal for the Keystone pipeline, which would have created an estimated 20,000 jobs and provided a huge new source of North American oil at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.
• He has sent troops into Egypt and Libya, neither of which posed any apparent danger to U.S. national security with no approval from congress and with no explanation of our mission.
• He cut manned space flight at NASA and directed his newly appointed director to reach out to Muslim nations to help them feel good about their contributions to science.
• He refused to grant Obamacare waivers to religious groups, including the Catholic Church, which would force them to provide their employees with coverage for abortion, in violation of their religious beliefs.
• His ATF and justice department allowed the sale of guns to Mexican drug dealers and has refused congressional requests for information for their investigation.

This is just a sample, there's much more. We have to get this guy out of office! I encourage you, and I hope you'll encourage everyone you know to campaign against his re-election, regardless of who his opponent is. It definitely makes a difference. Then let's put more strong conservatives in congress to keep the next guy in line.

Economics for Idiots

I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Jon Huntsman; America is screwed. I'm going to explain some basic economic principles to a group of people that obviously doesn't understand them. These guys are not liberal democrats, Occupy protesters, college professors, or middle school students. Sadly, they're the Republican presidential candidates. As I said, America is screwed! First of all, businesses do not exist to create jobs. The sole purpose of business is to make money. No one ever says to himself "Hey, my lazy ass neighbor doesn't have anything to do, I think I'll risk everything I have so he doesn't have to sit at home, eating Cheetos and watching "The View" everyday." People risk it all because they want to make more money; job creation is a side effect of that desire. Business owners lease office space because they need a place to work; not because they feel sorry for the landlord with the vacant property. They hire people to do things that, they don't have time to do, can't do efficiently, or don't want to do. They need that task done more than they need the money they have to pay to get it done. If they find that the money they're paying has become worth more than the task being done, they either eliminate the task or find someone to do it for less. Pretty simple, right? So, Mitt Romney ran a company that used investor's money to fund new businesses and buy and sell existing ones. The idea behind investing money is to get back more money than you put in; evidently, Mitt was pretty good at making that happen, so the investors paid him well. So, in some cases, they bought businesses that were either losing money, or weren't making as much as they should. Some of these businesses were poorly managed and had employees that weren't needed, weren't productive, or were being paid too much. Some of these workers got laid off or fired. Mitt could have just let the companies keep losing his investor's money, but he didn't have any investors that were interested in that. He could also have chosen not buy the companies, then they would have been broke and ALL of the workers would have lost their jobs. Rick Perry says Mitt made his money "on the backs of working people". Really? Perry has been a public employee for over 25 years. Whose back is he making his money off of, the Cash Fairy's? Evidently, Perry would have just kept paying people to be unproductive. If we want a president that thinks that way, we don't need to have an election. Newt Gingrich doesn't have a problem with Mitt making money, he just thinks he made too much. How much is too much? I guess that's for Newt to decide. What if I think Newt made too much for writing all his books, or for consulting with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Oh, I forgot, Newt decides what's too much. Rick Santorum thinks this attack on capitalism is a bunch of crap. If he's elected, he would lower corporate income tax from 35% to 17.5% for all industries except manufacturing, which would pay NO corporate income tax. What about construction companies, grocery stores, and software developers? Screw You, that's what! Santorum has decided that manufacturing should get preferential treatment over other industries. He would also triple the child tax credit. That's awesome... if you have kids. What about young working people who don't and seniors? Tough Shit! Santorum thinks everyone should have kids and, if he has to coerce them with the tax code, then he will. What about Romney? Well, he defended himself against the ant-capitalists by comparing what he did to Obama's management of GM and Chrysler. Yeah, that's exactly the same; except Obama took our money, by force, and invested it, and he doesn't give a rats ass if we lose every last nickel. Mitt, defending your record as a Capitalist by comparing yourself to a socialist is kind of stupid. As for Huntsman; why isn't he running against Obama for the Democrat nomination? What about Ron Paul? Well, he wants to cut $1 trillion from the budget in the first year, cut all foreign aid, repeal the income tax and install a fair tax or flat tax, eliminate govt. subsidies of private business, eliminate 4 cabinet level agencies, stop the federal reserve from inflating the currency, stop paying for the military defense of the rest of the world, and balance the federal budget. What a lunatic!

Boobs and Blowhards

Why is it that the only right that seems to be protected in America anymore is the right to make a fool and an ass of yourself? Yesterday we had a nationwide "nurse-in" because employees of a Target store in Houston asked a mother to breast feed her baby in the fitting room instead of sitting in the floor of the clothing department. So women across the country flocked to Target stores, to pop out a boob and show the world that they can do whatever they want. I'm sure Rosa Parks would be proud! Around the same time yesterday, black Houston activist Quannel X, held a press conference demanding that Michael Jordan and Nike lower the price of Air Jordans, so everyone can afford them and people won't have to commit murder to own a pair. To bad the breast feeding mom wasn't black, so we could have bundled all this crap into one news story and not wasted so much of my life listening to it. I guess we just have to accept that every time some one hears the word "no", or doesn't get exactly what they want, we're going to have a protest; and the news media is going to cover it like the whining morons actually have a point. After all, we just spent 3 months watching losers, crack heads, and communists trashing public parks, while the media tried to convince us these worthless turds were just frustrated with the economy. Bullshit! They weren't getting enough free stuff, so they threw a temper tantrum, like a 2 year old; and that's exactly what these women did at Target yesterday. This poor, helpless mom was not asked to leave the store; she was asked to move to a more private area. Oh, the horror! Target is running a damn business! If they would like you to breast feed in the fitting room, instead of sitting on your ass in the floor, I don't think that equates with making you drink from the "colored" water fountain. I have 3 kids and I hope to have grandkids someday; I love babies, and I know they need to eat. But, neither my wife or I have ever sat in the floor of a department store and fed our kids... because we're not idiots. Personally, the sight of breast feeding doesn't bother me. I'm a huge fan of breasts, not so much in this capacity, but I'm not offended by it. However, a lot of people are uncomfortable with it, which is to be expected. This isn't Europe or Brazil, most of the exposed breasts in America are limited to the home and gentleman's clubs. If you're trying on a swimsuit, they'll probably want you to do that in the fitting room as well. The latest Quannel X publicity stunt has even less merit. A bunch of dumb asses are rioting and killing people over tennis shoes, and he thinks it's because the shoes are too expensive. No jackass, it's because they are punks, criminals, and scum bags. I'd like a Corvette, but I can't afford one. If I threaten to kill my neighbor and take his, should Chevy give me a free one? Should we demand that all women provide consensual sex, on demand, in order to reduce the number of rapes committed? If a baby is crying in a movie theater, should the parents just remain seated with her and ruin the movie for everyone else...because that's natural and it's just what baby's do? Get over yourselves people! The world does not revolve around you! The rest of us are just trying pay the bills and buy groceries, and you're irritating the shit out of us. Stop whining and holding your breath every time you don't get your way. Most of all, stay the hell off my TV!