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The war is on. The war between the rich and the poor. Candidate Mitt Romney is being accused of being rich and coming from a rich family. If we criticize Romney for that, let's also criticize John Kerry (that never happened from either side), John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, etc. Unless one totally inherits riches, it is the sign of tremendous achievement. Such is the case with Mitt Romney. He earned it. That should disqualify him? Quite to the contrary. Riches should not be looked upon as an evil, but as a significant achievement.

Tax the Rich

There has been a sustained cry by the Obama administration to tax the rich. President Obama would like to tax dividends from investments at a 40% tax rate. So one earns the money and pays taxes. The money is invested, then is taxed again. Not good for our country. Not fair. Warren Buffet says he is taxed at a low rate than his secretary. She is taxed once. He has been taxed twice. It's deceptive. Certainly some tax should be paid, but not 40%.

Get rid of it!

When I was a kid, I bought a Three Musketeers candy bar for three cents. Now it is hard to find one for under a dollar. Our government spends millions making the penny, a coin that costs more to make than it is worth. You can't buy anything for a penny any more. Some people, I hear, even throw them away. Even penny candy costs a quarter. It is time to get rid of the penny and save our country some money. There is an old saying, "A penny for your thoughts." You've just read my thoughts which aren't worth what you didn't pay for them.

Genealogy

The Genesis of Right Wing Radio

And Walter Wichell begat Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey dwelt long upon the land, but in his old age begat Rush Limbaugh. Paul Harvey rested with his fathers and Limbaugh begat Glenn Beck who had numerous seed many of whom went to the dark side.

In Defense of President Barak Obama

This will be brief.  I'm not a real fan of Pres. Obama and I cannot imagine a scenario in which I'd vote for him ( unless Newt Gingrich became the Republican nominee). Like most people, I'd enjoy having lunch with President Obama, or at least if he promised not to smoke. He seems like a decent, intelligent fellow. So given the fact that he had enough of a desire to serve our country to run for president and given the fact that he is quite unpopular with many people I know, I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt on a few things.

1. He IS the President of the United States. Some have said, "He's not my president." Well, if you are a citizen of the United States of America, Barak Hussein Obama is your president and mine.

2. President Obama was born in Hawaii. The great State of Hawaii has certified him as a citizen. The "birther" argument is fallacious.

3. President Obama is not a socialist. Although I do not agree with his health care plan, now in the hands of the Supreme Court, to call President Obama a socialist is a pure act of name-calling, partisan propaganda.

4. Those who criticize President Obama are not necessarily racists. Every president has his critics and President Obama is no exception. To label his critics as racist, which to President Obama's credit he has not done, is in itself racist.

5. President Obama is not the worst President in the history of the United States. That label with have to stay with Warren G. Harding or Ulysses S. Grant. His administration is not out of control nor has it been over run with scandal. Obama has not distinguished himself, but he is not the worst.

6. President Obama is responsible for the killing of Osama Ben Laden. Well, he certainly didn't pull the trigger, but he made the call to get Ben Laden. Gutsy move and Obama deserves credit for it.

There have to be at least another half dozen good things to say in defense of Obama, but the existing half dozen will have to do for now. All this being said, I hope Mr. Obama is retired next November and that we can have a president who can handle the economy. But until then, I wish him and the United States of America well.

Americans Elect

Arpaio's Joke

As most of Arizona and the country know, Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff is in trouble. The feds are investigating him for numerous civil rights violations. He has squandered millions of tax dollars and pursued a number of bogus cases while neglecting child abuse cases. In the sheriff's latest ploy he has claimed that after an extensive investigation, President Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. In extensive video "proof," the sheriff points out that when enlarged, there is "noise" or rough edges on the typed letters of an authentic birth certificate. On the copy of Obama's birth certificate, there is no noise, hence, according to the sheriff, who must have nothing better to do, Obama's birth certificate is a forgery. Arpaio's joke is that he enlarged the first or authentic certificate many times. The alleged phony certificate was enlarged one or two times, not enough to show any noise that may or may not have been there. So much time, energy and effort has been expended trying to prove that Obama is not a citizen that might have been used for a better purpose. We have more important things to do than to try to disprove something that has already been verified. Obama IS the president. If there is anything phony in the State of Arizona, it is Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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Anti, anti, anti...

It has been a hobby of mine for some time to study anti-Mormon literature. I haven't been through it all, but I've read my share. If it weren't so sadly ridiculous, it would be funny. I was taught as a young man to question everything and I do. I have found that anti-Mormon literature and attack ads as well as hate from the right and the left have a lot in common. Reaching for the truth is not it. Persuasion by propaganda and twisting accuracy is the commonality.

If you want to be a good "anti-" person, here are a few lessons.

1. Take anything you can out of context. Putting things in quotes helps (see # 10).
2. Associate the person you are against with any fringe person they may know or may have met once. President Obama's picture with the couple who broke into a White House party some months ago is a classic case. He had his picture taken with them, so he must be in favor of breaking into White House parties.
3. Take every stupid thing the person may have said and blow it out of proportion. Please note: we all say stupid things at one time or another (the trick is not to do it all day long). A high school term paper, if one is still extant would be great.
4. Watch for misspellings (see Dan Quayle).
5. Tripping or a bad golf swing automatically condemns a politician (see Gerald Ford). If you are Charles Barkley, you can get away with it even at a Pro-AM.
6. Look for inappropriate relations with the opposite sex, or, better yet, with the same sex. If the person you are trying to defame is dead, all the better (see Abraham Lincoln).
7. Corollary to #6: If you are trying to defend someone who is guilty of #6, find an excuse for the behavior (see Republicans defend a conservative gay candidate for any office).
8. If the person to defame is squeaky clean, find something wrong (see Mitt Romney's dog on vacation).
9. If you can't find anything else, find a family member, friend or associate who is in jail, out of work, had a face lift or has said something really outlandish.
10. If the defame has said "a," "and," or "the," put quotes around it and go with it.
11. Go after the wife. Set her up as an idiot or as a noble soul who has suffered terribly because of her spouse (see Pat Nixon).
12. Most important: lie, lie, lie!. And if you can tie a negative word to the person (see socialist), do it.

There you have it. Professional defaming. Religion or politics, some people make a living at it. It is a facet of our society. Please see through it.

What South Carolina Missed

In the Republican Debate before the South Carolina primary, candidate Newt Gingrich was asked a direct question about his divorce. He responded with an angry attack against the media. The crowd went crazy, Gingrich created a national sensation and was propelled to a victory in the ensuing primary. But the voters in South Carolina forgot about one thing in voting Gingrich to victory: leadership.

It is important for the American people to remember that their president is the leader of the country and of the free world. He is not the sound bite champ, nor the temper tantrum king; he is the leader.

What does a leader do? He leads with character. He is not perfect, but his weaknesses do not define who he is to the country. He has ideas and a plan, well thought out and organized. He evaluates what is going well and what needs improvement. He surrounds himself with the best individuals available and listens to input from a variety of sources.

Speaker Gingrich has been a leader in our government. A failed leader. He came to his position with a number of ideas and a great deal of hype. Without going into detail here, Gingrich failed. His own party removed him from leadership. South Carolina voters missed that. They missed the opportunity to help propel a leader to the Republican nomination. They bit on the hype. It was a dangerous error.