One thing is brutally clear, people are not happy with debt ceiling increase.  Everyone seems to be upset about it.  Obama’s approval has dropped, the GOP has garnered considerable blame for the debacle, all while the fewest number of Americans ever recorded are stating America is on the right track.  The rhetorical game playing conducted by the political elite has come with appropriate consequence.  The people have grown tired of the natal political approach to very serious issues, the sophomoric name calling by those selected by the people to lead by example, and are now weary of the gross fiscal incompetence demonstrated by government.  Good for Americans, it is about time the masses have awakened to their new reality.  Oddly, many are upset for the wrong reasons!  This entire week has been spent assessing the discontent and at times correcting even correcting it.

Clearly, nothing is being “cut (or saved),” and spending is increasing astronomically.  Yet, part of the discontentment is the “cuts.”  It is not a cut!  It is the slowed growth of government’s role in “supporting” the people.  In short, this means the rate of governmental dependency has eased from its prior established schedule, but they continue to grow nonetheless.  As with the single mother, this money does not have to be spent (keeping in mind, not spending money you do not have does not equal "saving," nor does it meet the common definition of fiscal "cut").  Just as she insisted upon spending it, government has done the same.  People concerned about “cuts” need not be.  Your government has just supported your desire of runaway and reckless spending.  To placate the people not economically savvy enough to understand this perverse form of fiscal fascism, they just call it a “cut” in a blatant disregard of American cognitive ability.  Sad. 

Democrats, especially older Democrats, are highly upset about Medicare “cuts.”  (See above).  However, there exists, as usual with many Democrats and their unyielding allegiance to Obama, an anti-GOP resentment that spawns its own double standard.  The Ryan Medicare plan to establish “cuts” to the program has drawn an incredible amount criticism.  Okay, blinded Obama supporting mindless Modern Liberals, ask yourselves this; why is the Ryan plan even on the table today? 

It is on the table because Obama has egregiously failed in all matters fiscal.  Look at it this way.  The last fiscal task Obama fully completed was the stimulus!  Not so much as a completed FY budget followed!  Now, understanding this aptitude of personal agenda prioritization over needed fiscal responsibility, ask your marginally minded self; why he could accomplish passing the stimulus on a package that not one single elected official was granted the chance to read in full, but could not oversee the passing of a single budget?  (Answer in a moment).  These budget lapses evolved into a debt ceiling debate.  Here, we have no budgets passed in more than 800 days followed by a demanding of the people more money be spent.  It gets worse. 

The debt ceiling debate never really ended.  All they have done was pass the buck by creating a “Super Congress” that will convene on the debt ceiling issue NEXT FISCAL YEAR!  In doing so, they raised the debt ceiling.  Not even 48 hours later, the federal government set a new spending record.  (Tough to blame Bush for that, but you will figure out a way to do it).  As Savage said on the debt debate, the nation has been “hoodwinked.”  Because Obama FAILED yet again on budget issues, the door was reopened for the Ryan plan that Leftists seem to hate so much.  Obama allowed this because he wanted to SPEND TODAY, before Congress could implement any changes in the spending structure.  Silly, silly, foolish, gullible people.  It is timely to mention at this juncture, the passing of FY budgets contain changes in spending structure; something Obama has side stepped since he has been in office.  (The answer to the above non-rhetorical question).  But no, many are pissed at Ryan because he wants to “cut” Medicare.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.  First, the door was opened for Ryan before America's very eyes, and yes, America has been played by the Progressive Idol.  However, I digress, if a person is pissed at Ryan (and the words against him were HEATED and laden with HATE); why are they not pissed at Obama?  Not for passively and deceptively allowing the Ryan plan come to the fruition of opportunity, but for the Medicare and Medicaid cuts that OBAMA SOUGHT?!  That’s right, Obama sought cuts to your beloved program, but you hate Ryan for doing what your leader has attempted to do because he from another Party!  You are a shameful and prejudicial American blinded to reality through your own ignorance.  (Someone has to tell you the truth).  Perhaps now, more will seek complete sources of news information that tell you what you need to hear and not just what Obama wants you to hear.  Follower, pull up your skirt, grab your balls and demonstrate some independent thought already!

Back to our beloved single mother.

This was not a single Party effort.  Both Parties have designed an America that is owned and controlled by the interests of those whom we are fiscally and specially indebted.  American's individual economic freedom is being removed as citizens increasingly become wards of the special interest bank.  The dollars spent today represent the land's fleeting economic future, not today’s government losses.  Slowly, Americans are awakening to this nightmare, but they are caught blaming the other while ignoring the faults of their own.

Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans.  Interestingly, they say the EXACT SAME THINGS ABOUT EACH OTHER!  “How Republicans ruined the economy.”  “How Democrats have put their interests before the economic needs of the people.”  We can go on and on and in every phrase, accusation and claim, one could interchange the words Democrat and Republican.  They all however, culminate into this fill in the blank assertion against the other.  “_______ s hate America!”  Have you stopped to think both sides may be Correct?  Such a statement sounds extreme because of the rhetorical and largely inappropriate use of the word “hate.”  It is not that a given Party “hate”(s) America, it is that they are now so far removed from American civil objectives, they have now FORSAKEN  America.  Try this on for size.  “Democrats have forsaken America.”  Nice fit huh?  (Good thing this is not the OJ trail).  If we say that for Democrats, we can effectively establish the same for Republicans.  Their agenda items differ, but the fiscal tools to enable their agendas remain the same.  Spend more!  This is why both Parties have allowed the deficit spending to continue.

The fiscal problem is easily solvable.  Trouble is, we simply lack the QUALITY of elected class needed to solve it.  They solely wish to spend, just as our single mother has failed her children, the collective political class will fail their constituents.  We see this in the other while denying its existence in those whom we support.  If Ryan is wrong for seeking to cut Medicare, Obama is equally wrong.  If Bush was wrong for increasing the deficit spending (which the WHOLE WORLD agrees upon) Obama is MORE wrong for criticizing it in order to perpetuate the spending while further failing to pass budgets in order to retain spending structures existing since Bush’s final year.  You ain’t slick B.O., I know what you have been up to you naughty boy you! … wait, I said boy… was that racist of me?!  Idiots.

As this brings us to today, BOTH sides have presented debt ceiling increases backed by a plan that HAS YET TO BE DEVELOPED!  Foolish and yet some still back what is happening.  What they actually support is the economic thievery of their own offspring.  Those, whom have found voice to protest it, seem to be protesting based upon the inaccuracies presented by the side they support.  In short, they are protesting the very thing their side is doing, has done, has tried to do, or is planning to do.  The two sides are largely one in the same when it comes to spending.

The shopping list differs a bit, but they have committed themselves to spending.  America's future has already been spent, they are now working on Jr.’s and the III’s future.  I highly suggest that the blinders of party affiliation be removed until such a time that Liberal vs. Conservative values are truly at play.  Today, on this issue, that is simply not the case.  Cut the BS, wake up, self educate and start looking at this for what it actually is.  You cannot pull the party line on this one because pulling it makes you the problem, not the solution.

Ahhh.  I feel better now.

Monsoons take some getting used to.  If you are not ready for them, they can really throw you for a loop.  I remember my first run in with a southern Arizona monsoon.  Imagine if you will, spending a handful of years in Yuma seeing virtually no rain to embark on the four hour drive to Sierra Vista for an interview.  Thundering across the desert interstate in my corvette that had never seen rain heading towards Tucson and… clouds.  Dark, thick, heavy, threatening clouds!  ???  The confusion was obvious, but the clouds yielded to the Cochise County line as I blazed my way out of  Tucson.  Clouds that returned when I turned south on Highway 90.  Clouds that released torrents of rain without warning.  Clouds that made me realize I had never bothered to learn where the windshield wiper switch was located on my old, eclectic corvette.  Blinded and confused, fumbling and frustrated I pulled off the road and just as fast as the rain started, it stopped.  “What the hell was that all about?!”  The switch was very conveniently and conspicuously (yeah right) located on the door.  Okay, not Chevrolet’s most thought through car, but there it was and just as I engaged it to be safe, the rains were back… and the wipers completely disintegrated in to muddy, rubber chucks on the windshield.  Nice.  Everybody remembers their first monsoon.  They are unforgiving when you are unprepared.

Once you are used to them, you can prepare for them.  The rains are intense and heavy, sudden and furious.  The hailstorms come both without warning and without lightening.  The hailstorm is the parent’s chance to allow their children to play in the rain as we once did and then laugh as they figure out they are being pelted by more than water alone.  “It is raining ice cubes!” Aalyhia declared once she figured out that something was just not quite right.  Living here means dealing with the eventuality of monsoons; make the best of them.

My last blog was all about preparing for the monsoons that were sure to come this year.  The fear was the floods they may bring after the wildfires.  That those affected by the fire would be equally affected by Mother Nature’s bipolar tendencies.  Well, the monsoons are back.  With the rains came the flash floods and those affected by the fire are now most affected by rain.  A brutal irony of having wildfires in canyons that double as debris flow areas.  The rains came, the scorched and scarred earth could not retain the water, and flash floods brought with them soil, ash, boulders and even a propane tank… and not the BBQ grill kind!

Evacuated for the fire and again evacuated for flash floods.  Poor Miller Canyon residents, it is going to be a very long summer!

What’s worse?  Miller Canyon received 1.6 inches of rain in an hour.  Sounds excessive you say?  Monsoon rains can easily triple this volume in a single down pour that lasts hours on end.  Four to six inches can be recorded in a single storm that can pack hurricane-like winds.

Those lucky enough to escape the fire may not be lucky enough to escape the debris-filled flash floods.

Fortunately, the Arizona department of Public Safety is more in tune to the community’s threats than is FEMA who helped create this now ongoing catastrophe.  This was preventable. 

Averted it could have been, through proper prudence in planning and the proper dedication of funds over governmental supporting of poorly developed plans. Plans that were created solely for the purpose of saving a few dollars by allowing the threat of fire to reach disastrous levels through deliberately ignoring the need for proper land clearing.  Miller and Carr Canyon residents can attest to how wrong this all is.

And to think, monsoons have just started.  It will get far, far worse.

While I may approach this in my light way, and as much as we like to believe we can control the climate and the will of nature, we cannot.  These thoughts are driven by the insecurity of our own mortality, our anthropomorphic sense of ego and now even political agendas.  The reality is nature is going to run its course as the Earth evolves before, with, and after humankind and humanity as we know it.  We cannot prevent, but we can prepare. 

There are advantages to purchasing flood insurance.  Time however, is of the essence as it takes 30 days to take effect.  Southern Arizona is fortunate in FEMA’s planning incompetence in that flood incident is rated relatively low and flood / flow charts are slow in updating for insurance underwriting purposes.  This too will change because the Air Force is now part of the flood crisis intervention policy recently implemented by the Arizona Department of Public Safety; the more federal resources that are utilized for flood response, the faster flood charts in a given area are updated which increases premiums.  Take advantage while you can.  Resources to purchasing flood insurance are hyperlinked in the previous blog.

Stay safe my friends!

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It is funny watching Facebook light up with posts about rain.  Rain?  Yes, rain.  That is what we have been reduced to in Sierra Vista.  The wildfires have wreaked havoc and in doing so brought forth a sense of raw respect and humility of nature’s fury and forgivingness.  You have to be in the position of being threatened by nature and having aspects of your community ripped apart by nature to truly appreciate this feeling.  Everyone knows someone that hat has lost a home or displaced by the fire.  Everyone has offered something of themselves to help their friends and family whether it was sheltering pets at no charge, volunteering the few favailable hours in the week, offering room and board, supporting the fire fighters, or donating the monetary, emotional and spiritual support to a community in need.  Everyone.  Strangers no more at the hands of the fury of nature.  So yeah, when it rained, a whole lot of people got excited for very good reason.

As the fire worsened so rapidly, state and federal authorities quickly stated the fire would burn until the summer monsoon rains arrived; they predicted July 15th.  Monsoon rains, that have largely been absent for years.  So yeah, when it rained, fire fighters cheered.

The absence of a wet monsoon has delivered Sierra Vista into a Category 5 drought.  In May, category  E(F) 5 tornados ripped through Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas bringing the U.S. category 5 tornado count to 57 since 1950.  The three Category 5 storms to hit the USA were the 1935 Florida Keys "Labor Day" hurricane, Hurricane Camille, which hit Mississippi in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew, which hit Dade County, Fla., on Aug. 24, 1992.  And then there was Katrina.  Droughts are measured in expense, duration of prolonged intensity and anticipated relief.  Southeastern Arizona now exceeds the category 5 (D4) drought monitor.  To compare it weather phenomena, you must compare it to the worst of the worst; it is that bad and has been going on that long.  So yeah, when it rained, it brought with it a sense visceral elation that was sent forth in cautious optimism.

The rainfall today, while elating in its own right was and is a balance of nature’s reserved right to give and take away.  Rain fell hardest, precisely in the areas that have been most devastated and areas now in most jeopardy.  With the relief came the lightning strikes of reminder.  So yeah, those in tune to the bigger picture rejoiced. 

U.S. monsoons are the least understood weather patterns.  The summer monsoons come annually, but the monsoon itself may not bring rain to south east Arizona and New Mexico where it is responsible for 70% of the annual rainfall.  Monsoon rains of minutes can flood roads for days, yield record hail and swiftly sweep life away in flash floods.  Yes, floods in the desert.  A new threat of nature’s forgiveness of her own fury.

The wildfires have decimated the scarred terrains ability to absorb and drain rainfall produced by summer monsoons that are now (after today’s events) scheduled to start tomorrow.  For home owners, federal flood insurance should become a major consideration.  An added expense?  Yes, but there is good news in that it significantly differs from most forms of property casualty insurance.

Although flood risk may increase in a given area, premiums do not.  This is because rates are determined by flood maps that do not immediately update after incidents of wildfire.  To assess your level of flood risk, you may find the following website useful.  www.FloodSmart.gov.  A sense of urgency: Federal flood insurance takes 30 days to take effect and as I said, monsoons are now scheduled to start tomorrow!

While there was a sense of relief in today’s rainfall, the “relief” may bring forth a new crisis.  The bad news:  Canyons and creeks tend to be synonymous in both naming and location and this is consistent with Huachuca Mountain.  Creeks, Miller, Stump, Carr and Ash are known and established flood debris flow areas.  That’s right, areas of the worst hit by the Monument Fire are of the highest for forth coming flood risk!  The full text of CONTROLS ON THE ORIGIN AND RECURRENCE OF DEBRIS FLOWS IN THE  HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS, SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA is contained (here).

Unfortunately, FEMA got it WRONG on their debris flow and mitigation report of 2005 for southeast Arizona!  Only 25% of Cochise County was said to be at “High Risk” of wildfire whereas 100% of Cochise County has been under category 5 drought conditions for years – 15% at D3 – D4 and 85% at D4!  If you are one of the few using it, throw it away.  According to them, pre-fire mitigation was not needed due to our low probability of wildfire.  Across the state, timber turned to tinder, dried through years of drought and accumulated through years of bureaucratic incompetence.  The fire indexed increased and while local authorities raised the red flag to warn of increasing wildfire threat, the FEMA document  was used to rationalize the saving of hundreds of thousands of dollars to not clear an area of such “low risk;” despite the eyes on target, real time reports and despite the record drought conditions.  The ignored time bomb went off; and what did federal authorities say about the wildfires?  Global warming! 

Silenced have been the voices calling alarm to the southeastern Arizona conditions; buried deep in the annals of archives, parted to allow the voice of unreason.  It is declared that our loss is not the fault of bureaucrats, but utilized as an excuse to advance a political agenda.  These officials will say nothing of the preventable, preexisting conditions that have led to the wildfires’ explosive growth rates.  They will not speak to how they could have prevented such personal loss by spending hundreds of thousands while employing the unemployed to save the local, state, and federal government millions.  Global warming is all they speak of.  If you have wondered why Michael Savage refers to Liberalism as a “Mental Disorder,” wonder no more.  Even if the farce of the highly misrepresented global warming was true as they represent it, these wildfires were preventable!

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this is we have fostered a government that is of, by, and for the people that is now willing to exploit the loss of its people before it renders aid to advance an agenda against the people.

Fortunately, the Sierra Vista, Arizona sense of community is not a reflection government!

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When nature calls, you best be paying attention.  We have all watched the drama of wildfires unfold on television with the thoughts of empathy and compassion racing through our minds.  Let me tell you, it is different when the unfolding drama is witnessed firsthand by opening the front door.  It is a testament to humility and insignificance rolled into one horrifying package. 

A few things have happened that contribute to the current wildfire disaster is Sierra Vista.  Budget cuts that curtailed clearing and controlled burns and the protections of native plant species.  The disaster lies in the coupling of two.  The lack of clearing has created a literal tinderbox while many of the protected species self perpetuate in part BY FIRE.  This has simply been a matter of time in the coming. 

And then it comes.

You see the smoke.  “Damn, another fire.”  They are all the same and little intervention is needed.  It gets a little bigger.  “Damn, the pool is going to turn green again.”  The "usual inconveniences" that accompany fires here in Sierra Vista.  The last fire had the potential to be this bad, but aircraft + fire retardant =’d success.  This time, it was just bad from the beginning.  It made you think, “what if?” as the flames became almost immediately visible.  And the fire did what fires do, consume anything combustible in its path.  The fire so hot, water evaporated before it could stifle the flames.  The air so dry the fire retardant was rendered useless.  Quickly it became a matter of nature’s will devouring man’s attempts to control it.

The political agendas came forward.  “Super wild fires are now the norm” was quickly announced to justify global warming as the reason for the fires - never mind the precursors.  Illegal immigrants started the fire, and those of Native American heritage called for a rain dance.  None of which went over very well.  Tensions are high because people here in Sierra Vista are threatened.  It is not one of those superficial threats; it is the threat of nature – to which there is little defense short of fleeing and leaving that which was once known as your life behind.  You fear the unknown of what you will return to – and that is profound.  Packed is what can never be replaced and can fit in your car.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Thinking about it, I am sure Adam grabbed that which is his daughter's, his guns, documents, clothes to hold him over and then items that will fit in his truck thereafter (in that order).  It forces you to think in the rudimentary terms of the simplicity of necessity; terms that far too many are uncomfortable with due to the American culture of excess that has overtaken our ability to identify with and accept our own insignificance. 

Already this fear of the worst has come to unfortunate fruition for many.  Million dollar homes of the rich crested in the mountain side; gone.  Unassuming homes spread across the desert floor on four acre lots of those who sought tranquility; gone.  Low-income homes tucked closely together on dirt roads; gone.  Rich to poor, burned out of house and home by the indiscriminate Mother Nature.  Threatened now are not the outlying.  The fire threatens the whole of the Sierra Vista.  Assuredly, everyone in Sierra Vista now knows someone that has been evacuated, or knows someone who may now be forced to start anew with a vehicle containing a lifetime. 

Granted, for me it is a bit easier.  I have restarted and rebuilt more times than I care to recall.  The military has taught me that I need the air in my lungs, everything after that, I can obtain by pursuing it in the right way.  I have taught myself that success is mine for the taking; not the will of another.  I have also reeled back my lifestyle to pay for my kid’s college.  It is a simplicity that most find mindboggling. 

Watching the fire progress, it was easy to decide to not even bother to return home.  The fire is going to run its course.  Some homes will be spared and some will be found in ruins.  It is nature and you cannot best it.  Where I live is definitely on the wrong side of town for this to be happening, and the likelihood of fire damage there is now far greater than those not living so close to the mountain.  But, it pales in comparison to those already so horribly affected by the fire.

Rachel called me this morning to let me know I was under pre-evacuation orders.  She called back to make sure I was okay.  I was and I am.  I am a control freak about things that I can control and do not really stress too much over that which I cannot.  I am cool with my human insignificance and to a degree, expect the Earth host to remind its human parasites who is in charge.  This is not my first rodeo.

Hell, this is my second rodeo this year!  I have property in TN that flooded.  No big deal right?  The property was managed and time-shared to hunters and anglers.  Flood insurance?  Of course!  But, what happens when Mother Nature reclaims what is hers.  Sure, the structures on the property can easily be replaced, but hunting and fishing there is done for years to come.  What’s worse?  I was on the verge of selling the property!  It was a big deal, and is a big considering a revenue source was lost.  It is how nature works, you are allowed to it for granted, and then it washes it away your complacency to remind you who is who.  It’s just the way it is, so here in Sierra Vista, fortune is found in perspective.  Truth be told, my house is in the line fire; and I know that, but being in the line of fire is better having been through the fire line!  There are a whole bunch of people here in Sierra Vista that understand the sunrise and sunset are spaced very far apart.  Long days and long nights have new meaning.  The uncertainty of tomorrow atones only for today.

There is this view that would blow your mind!  Walking out front of Rachel’s house at night and looking up at the mountains.  The fire line making its way unabated in any direction it wishes to travel.  The beauty is serene and peaceful.  Ironic if anything, but telling in so many ways.  You almost feel guilty appreciating it for the beauty it possesses.  Often is case though.  There was a certain tranquility to the flames.  “Was” being the functional word.

As the fire over takes the canyons heading into Sierra Vista, the flames become more ominous.  Larger, demonstrating a sense of violent contempt for anything it its path.  Fire so hot now that the flames have become a byproduct.  Combustible items burst into flames before the fire comes in contact with them.  It makes you wonder if the fire is even stoppable.  More irony.  It is said the fire will burn until monsoons start.  To thwart nature, man turns to nature.  Yet we insist we are bigger than nature.  That we have the power to control our environment and our climate while feebly demonstrating our inability when it is most critical to do so.  This is not Star Trek; the parasite does not control the host. 

A natural disaster that seems anything but natural has befallen the good people of Sierra Vista.  A small town community acting like a small town in crisis.  People helping people; all friends with no foes.  Unfortunate it is that community is found in crisis of necessity and overlooked as a general condition of humanity.  Communities are developed out of the social need for contact, security and support values that have again take root to meet the need of a social whole threatened by the one thing community cannot defend against; nature.

I really hope people are paying attention to what is actually happening.

Already people are speaking of the debate from a “who won” perspective.  I hate to be the one to say this, but it not as much about “winning” as it about a process of discovery.  The smart voter is not looking for a winner; the smart voter is looking for commonality in values they most cherish and what candidate best demonstrates these values.  The danger in assessing a debate as win lose is that people simply do not like to lose and if they have a candidate they support, they will specifically seek out the responses of that candidate for purposes of validation.  In doing so, they most often overlook the candidate that actually meets their needs if elected.  So, who one?  No one!  Who best embodied your values?  Only you can answer that; if you objectively assessed the lot of candidates that is!

My take

They all did extremely well in their own right.  Michelle Bachmann did far better than I thought she would or even could!  This is because she articulated fiscal conservatism, embodied the three legged Right perspective (which few on the Right even know about) and a few other things.  Early on, I dismissed her, but listening objectively, she showed me that she has serious potential.  Romney spent too much time doing exactly what I thought he would do and pile on the “Obamney Care” disclaimers.  However, Romney is representative mainline Republican.  Because of that, he will never appeal to my values.  If Romney is indeed the front-runner, it is due the three legged Right where Conservative/Libertarians like me prefer the values the mainline Republican platform have long since lost.  Cain faltered where he should have pounded his fist.  In doing so, he gave the floor to Newt who stole his thunder.

Here is the problem:   Islam IS the enemy!  I am just waiting for someone to pull up their skirt, grab their balls and become man enough to say it!  Is it politically correct to say it?  No, but since when does being honest need a political correctness seal of approval?  Even though Cain (nor any other candidate) understand the nuances involved with Taqiyya and the Sixth Pillar, he should have pounded his fist and said, “You’re damn right I said it!  And you best believe I meant it!  Freedom has a common enemy and that enemy stems from the religion of Islam.  As President, it is my responsibility to ensure this threat does not infiltrate my administration.”  [Interestingly enough, the way Taqiyya works, he would never know who is Muslim with interests vested against American freedom].

Pawlenty did surprisingly well.  He had an opportunity to sink the Romney ship with Obamney Care, but opted to play nice.  In doing so, he allowed Romney to place disclaimers all over his health care program and effectively yielded both the helm of the discussion topic and the coined Obamney Care term.  Very poorly played!

Ron Paul based his positions on constitutionalism, freedom, and personal liberty, while emphasizing how our involvement in current conflicts is its own risk to national security.  Few will have noticed how other candidates began changing their positions (less Bachmann) once he took charge.  Cain fell quiet being a businessperson and not a studied and versed politician.  Not really is fault per se, but it is what it is.

Those not mentioned were more or less non-factors based upon my value set.

When it comes to my assessment on the debate, it is a matter of which I would trust as president to uphold the U.S. Constitution, practice fiscal conservatism, support individual liberty, understands freedom and can accurately define the threats against such.  In this group – President; Ron Paul and very surprisingly, Vice President; Michelle Bachmann.

Obama was fully exposed.  Collectively, the candidates ripped his politics apart, but only Paul articulated the Keynesian economic failings of the past 70 years that have delivered us to this precipice of economic destruction.  Bachmann stated how this election would be about economics and fiscal responsibility while Romney completely flubbed when it came to the consequence of failing to increase the debt ceiling.  Cain went into business mode.  Again, you cannot fault him; it is just that there may be more depth needed.

My requirements for a U.S. President are very simple and based in founding principles.  Unfortunately, only two candidates are oriented in this direction.  A sign of the times that should be alarming to all!

I get it.  People are going to dispute Paul because he is not that savvy orator and point out the minutia of the most judgmental aspects.  That’s cool.  People are shallow like that and I know what I appreciate and what is best for me and my children.  I want my children to enjoy the freedom and liberty accompanied with personal responsibility and the risk of failure.  Life in America is not about equal outcomes and entitlements.  It is about the individual pursuit, not the ideologue’s guarantee of deception.  I want liberty and for my children, I want their liberty until such a point that they are old enough to determine for their selves that wish to relinquish it.  Cain in his way wants best for the next generation.  His vision simply is not rooted deeply enough in their constitutional rights, freedom and liberty for me.  Romney wants what big government wants for my children and I must not enable that.  Newt just wants to president; nothing more, nothing less.

Again, it is not a matter of winner.  It is a matter of who will implement the values you embrace for the next generation.

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I don’t know about you guys, but I am sick and tired of hearing about Weiner’s wiener!  The fact that Weiner is a wiener has little to do with it.  Simply put, he’s prick that could not keep his hands and camera off his special parts.  And now he is in a “wee bit” (get it) of trouble.  It is his holier than thou attitude that gets me about him.  His arrogance that insists he is of the only select intellects worth being heard.  I just do not like him and I never have – never will. 
When caught, he did what guys do in situations like that; lied about it.  However, it was not that he lied alone; it was that he lied and crafted a plan to fell aspects of the Right that really gets me.  It was as if because he is “Tony Phallic,” the right will suffer for his indiscretions, not him!  He figured he would play the cards through on a bluff and because the Left suffers from a delusion of self-interpretation, that as common sense would yield to the factual prove presented, it would silence itself through leftist denial; as it often does with the lefist ideologues. 

Think about it.  The Left actually believes the three trillion plus added to the national debt by Obama was done by Bush!  If people are so weak of mind and self to believe such non-sense, they are apt to believe anything if it is presented to them by the key figures of the Left whom are responsible for the thinking and decisions of their supporters.  Tony Phallic forgot one thing, he and Huma seem to be the only people interested in his “namesake.”  In fact, the Left wants away from it just as much as those on Twitter seem to. 

Weiner the whiner, the phallic fanatic forgot where he was!  “Once I realized I put it Twitter…” or something to that effect he said.  Do you understand the level of complacency it would take to err to that degree?  (This was not a slip; it was a brazen act of overt arrogance that was met by the sobering reality of personal accountability.)  Of course, this “isolated incident” as he insinuated it to be was also a lie in that he seems to have a habit of sending private parts pics to somewhat random people now claiming their fifteen minutes of shame.  It boils down to the fact that Weiner is a tad bit of a pervert, but not one of the extreme nature when compared to… oh…  Clinton, Patterson, or Berry the crack whore chaser.  Then you have elected officials trying to be “serviced” in public airport restrooms.  Remember that one?!  Weiner is “small” time in the province of political perverts.

An interesting aspect is that the Left blogs are remarkably silent on the issue.  Facebook’s Left support groups are saying virtually nothing.  One collegiate affiliated news website even pulled an article entitled “1st Dem Demands Weiner Resignation.”  Objectivity is lost.  They can criticize the Right, but lack the security in self to acknowledge fault when it does exist.  The few that have breached the issue have done so in an anti-Right manner on Facebook.  (As if the Right has anything to do with this.)  In fact, it is the Left that is turning anti-Weiner, not the Right using it against the Left.  (Given the past and assuredly current yet unknown and unfolding indiscretions on the Right, how critical can they really be?)  Just an observation.  In light of recent events, trying to rationalize, minimize, and marginalize this by finger pointing to the Right is simply an idiotic strategy that only the most idiotic would perpetuate.  Few support this position because common sense dictates that prudence is found in personal responsibility – even at the lowest, most rudimentary levels.  Typically, posts that support the notion of mitigating Weiner’s accountability through blaming the Right are immediately attacked by the more reasonable Democrats involved in the given group.  It is a position that is supported by only the most unreasonable Left searching for Left sponsored rhetoric to place into words the ideologies that they themselves are incapable of articulating on their own behalf.  Call it an intellectual failure if you will.

In the end, Weiner acted independently while unfortunately representing the Democrat Party in doing so.  Democrats should not defend this, they should insist upon cleaning up their Party a bit.  If this were a Republican, you bet they would stake a vetted interest in the failing morals of the Right; just as I would and the Right should.  The incident stemming from the Left really is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of the character of a member of the U.S. Congress.  We can twist and turn this to Right and Left, but it is a reflection of American politics in general.  Weiner himself turned it partisan.  A failing of personal integrity that was then attempted to be turned against the Right through complicit acts rather than taking responsibility for wrong of the act.  Despite this, Weiner believes he is above stepping down and resigning.  The reality is that he will resign or like Rangel, waste the votes of his constituents through the forced muted silence of censure; be it imposed by the Republicans of the House or at the hands of his fellow Democrats through their calls for ethics investigations.  Either way, he is done and should have been done years ago given the length of time this has been going on.  Opposing the few incredibly slight of mind on the Left that are attempting to make even this an anti-Right issue; the outcry is from the Left.

Even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) along with Steve Israel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spoke out against Weiner.  “I am calling for an Ethics Committee investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred.”  Pelosi stated.  Israel added, “Congressman Anthony Weiner engaged in a deep personal failure and inappropriate behavior that embarrassed himself, his family, and the House.  Ultimately, Anthony and his constituents will make a judgment about his future.”  The Democrat Party and Democrat support groups followed suit.  (Ironically, New York is seeking teen sexting legislation.)  Weiner’s ex who defended him, now calls for his resignation.  What’s the hook?  Weiner is not only a wiener; he is a liar to boot.  And apparently a good one given how so many took his word over the mounting evidence against it.  Once the truth came out, the reasonable saw logic over the demagogue Weiner.  His golden boy status lost to his own true character. 

What is most unfortunate about this is the existing progressives of the Left cannot accept the wrong for what it actually is.  To them, it is not a matter of Weiner’s character or suitability to serve the public after such an integrity violation; it is a matter of the Right.  Meaningless is the loss of voice many Americas will suffer through his probable censure.  Meaningless is the reprehensive loss of moral fiber in American politics.  As they seek the absolution of personal responsibility, they find pardon for Weiner in a perverse blame on the Right under the guise Republican benefit.  A true disgrace and American political atrocity.  For Weiner and his progressive supporters of denial and blame, forgiveness can only be found in their banishment from political bastions and full censure of unreasonable voice – that is not worth listening to anyway. 

While pressure builds for Weiner to resign and the ever absent minded seek his absolution solely because he is a Democrat, a lesson lays at our feet for us to stumble across.  Today’s politicians are reflections of the American people.  They are not doing anything the American public has not, is not, or will not do.  In them, we call forth for a higher standard than we our [collective] selves are willing to attain and uphold.  When they fall from the precipice of political grace, they return to that which the American people actually are. 

When they fail to meet this higher standard, it is our responsibility to hold them accountable.  It is clear that people like Wiener are unwilling to view themselves as accountable due to their own delusions of grandeur.  Supporting them are their own and minions of their making.  Individuals so weak of mind they selectively overlook indiscretion and established standard out of fear they will be disclosed as supporting the wrong side.  As incredibly pathetic as that sounds, it is 100% true.  We have entered a period in politics where wrong is situational to selective reasoning and the double standards of dichotomous hypocrisy.  Those who wish to not see this (today’s progressives) are the same individuals who will not hold themselves accountable for their failings and place in life.  What does this actually say about America today and our political environment? 

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Herman Cain skyrocketed on the scene.  It is surprising to see just how much support he has mustered in such a short period.  As with all of these so-called conservative presidential candidates, reservations to support them are present.   With Cain, the reservation lays in the aspect of his non-political background.  Granted, our nation’s commitment to political pedigree has fostered its own set of problems; but is it not true that much of President Obama’s gross incompetence can be directly attributed to his lack of true political experience?  What America has lost is its understanding of the cost of freedom; a cost that is today defined as risk.  To mitigate this risk, we pass legislation with the good intentions of protecting the people while stripping the people of the liberty; for their own good.

Truth be told, elected officials have as much knowledge of our founding documents as the people do.  It should come as no surprise when Cain could not differentiate between the preamble of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  Last election we watched would-be Senators spar over who knew least about the 1st Amendment. (1)  Cain stated very truthfully, “We don’t need to rewrite the Constitution, we need to reread it.” (2)  Of course, he is correct in this assertion.  It is unfortunate that he went forward to intermingle the two.  “So, for the benefit for those that are not going to read it because they don’t want us to go by the Constitution, there’s a little section in there that talks about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” (3)  Well no, there is not.  We live in a society where people can name more Kardashians than they can name Congressmen and Congresswomen.  For Cain to flub on the Constitution is par for the course.  He is representative of a civil ignorance that has become the norm.  We expect better, but do not first demonstrate that we are better.  Cain has appropriately fallen under criticism for this.  The problem is that most Americans would have never caught the error if it were not brought to their attention.  In the end, who can really fault Cain without first faulting the general lack of civil knowledge among the American populous?  However, a political figure must excel in areas where common knowledge is weak; legislation. 

Legislation can be very convoluted with the truly impacting aspects of a law often buried deep with within the amendments and referred laws.  Before opting to support or oppose a law, it is important to not only fully understand the law itself, but the factors that led to the law’s proposal.  Such is the case with the Patriot Act. (4)  The Patriot Act was rushed through following the tragic events of September 11th.  It was a liberty-robbing act of fear.  Fear induced by the lack of courage required to embrace freedom and liberty as they were intended to be.  America is at war and in this war, freedom is under attack.  Rather than acknowledge our enemy fully; we have sought to address them with a political correctness of denial while revoking liberty through cowardice.  The “good intentions” as it was previously referred to, is political correct talk for cowards acting like cowards.

Cain supports 90% of the Patriot Act and is willing to tolerate the remaining 10% because “Perfect legislation does not exist.” (5)  It is his view that compromising liberty in the sake of security is justifiable.  Again, Cain is representative of masses with a gross failure in understanding of the essence of liberty in both the cognitive and formative realities. 

An interesting aspect of this lies in the Liberals.  Liberals are very quick to criticize the Right for passing Patriot Act because of its liberty failing aspects.  However, it was Liberals who passed the 2010 Patriot Act extension and have led the charge in the 2011 extension. (6)  A position of such Left hypocrisy that many Democrat websites have pulled their criticisms of the Right. (7)  Yet, Cain, a Republican and self proclaimed Conservative supports the legislation, or at least 90% of it. 

Because Republicans passed a piece of legislation, does not mean Republicans or Conservatives should support it.  Those whom support the process of governmental control over individual liberty, or simply lack the courage to be considered true-blooded Americans support the Patriot Act.  When it comes to Cain, take your pick.  Either control seeking, or “well intended”; he is wrong.  So wrong that his position should force many on the Right to at least reconsider their early support while they take the needed time to establish what kind of politician Cain will actually make.  Rino comes to mind thus far.

Cain is just a bit too “text book” and mainstream Right. (8)  It is as if he checking off blocks on a list of things to say to garner the Conservative and now anti-Left vote. (9)  Speak of the Constitution and liberty.  Yet boldly support that which removes liberty.  With such contradictions, one cannot help yielding to reservations! 

The good news is that many on the Right, mostly Conservatives, have long since spoke out against the Patriot Act and Republican initiatives in general.  This was of course before being Conservative was understood.  Today, the Left has attempted to couple Conservatives and Republicans out of fear of Conservative political influences.   Many Republicans have fallen for this because Republicans have long since lost their Conservative values; hence the Tea Party.  Herman Cain has been called a “Tea Party favorite.” (10)  All he has really done is echo Republican buzzwords while attacking the obviously inherent weak leadership of Obama.  His redeeming quality?  Not being an already elected Republican whose leadership is of the same weak nature of the President’s.  Is that really worth so much Right support?

As Cain begins to delve into the depths of the presidential race, he will further expose himself for who and what he is.  This happened in 2008, yet as Americans became exposed to the Obama truth, they failed to adjust their delusion for reality.  This is not to say it will happen with Cain, but voters need be aware.  In vetting a non-political figure, certain precautions should be taken; I just do not see people taking them. 

When a person fails to support liberty, they are not worthy of the support from the free.

 References:

1. Johnson, Paul. Failing the First Amendment. Examiner.com. [Online] 10 29, 2010. [Cited: 06 02, 2011.] http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-phoenix/failing-the-first-amendment.

2. Kapur, Sahil. Herman Cain confuses Constitution with Declaration of Independence. Rawstory.com. [Online] 05 24, 2011. [Cited: 06 01, 2011.] http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/herman-cain-confuses-constitution-with-declaration-of-independence/.

3. N.A. Cain mistakes Declaration of Independence language for Constitution. Politifact.com. [Online] 05 21, 2011. [Cited: 06 01, 2011.] http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2011/may/25/herman-cain/cain-mistakes-declaration-independence-language-co/.

4. Congress, 109th. H.R.3199. Govtrack.us. [Online] 03 08, 2006. [Cited: 05 31, 2011.] http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-3199.

5. Pye, Jason. Herman Cain would trade liberty for security. Unitedliberty.org. [Online] 05 25, 2011. [Cited: 05 25, 2100.] http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/8150-herman-cain-would-trade-liberty-for-security.

6. N.A. Patriot Act - Eight Years Later. reformethepatriotact.org. [Online] N.D. [Cited: 06 02, 2011.] http://www.reformthepatriotact.org/.

7. —. TalkLeft.com. [Online] N.D. [Cited: 06 02, 2011.] http://www.talkleft.com/archives/003737.html.

8. Herman Cain. Facebook.com. [Online] N.D. [Cited: 05 25, 2011.] http://www.facebook.com/THEHermanCain.

9. N.A. Herman Cain. Twitter.com. [Online] N.D. [Cited: 06 02, 2011.] http://twitter.com/#!/TheHermanCain.

10. HillBuzz. Herman Cain, Tea Party Favorite, Announces Presidential Bid. hillbuzz.org. [Online] 05 21, 2011. [Cited: 06 02, 2011.] http://hillbuzz.org/2011/05/21/herman-cain-tea-party-favorite-announces-presidential-bid/.

It was two weeks ago that a chess game was played.  Chess, not in the literal sense, but in the intellectual gaming sense.  The figurative play of engagement to assess the true capability of the other.  The other has failed – miserably.  The catch is that one does not “fail” when being assessed per se.  To fail is this sense is then the egregious demonstration of one’s ignorance.

Two weeks ago dialog was engaged with Liberal / Obama support groups(ies).  The discussions were based upon the mass media’s new round of claims of racism against the Right.  To make the game interesting a door was left wide open for the Obama groupies and supporters to demonstrate that they did in fact possess the cognitive ability of independent thought.  Collectively they failed, but to rationalize their failure they uniformly united against racism and expressed the deplorable nature of the racist. 

Why did they do this?  The media was defending Obama and the birth certificate issue.  Because the birth certificate issue had little merit on which to defend Obama’s stubborn nature, the race card was again played.  The objective individual understands that race is utilized to defend the political ideologies of the Obama Administration which inherently lack the merits on which they can defend themselves.  The liberal enabler of racism only sees the claim while refusing to look at the facts behind the claim itself. 

The liberal participants went on and on about how the Right is racist, and for a person to not see that proved them to be blind to the reality of the existence of racism.  The problem with these statements was simple; they were in response to comments that contained the inclusion, “racism does indeed exist within the Right.  Racism however, is not the fueling motivator of disdain for Obama that those in the mass media and Left are making it out to be.”  Despite this, the Left simply related the vague conditions of the article itself.  A single liberal went off script and referenced Jimmy Carter’s comments pertaining to how race was fueling the fight against Obama.  After pointing out that Cater later recanted his statement supporting unsubstantiated claims of racism, she deleted her comment and stopped participating in the dialog. 

The deliberate gaping hole in my approach to the dialog was simple.  The article liberal groups were tossing around as definitive proof the Right is racist came 10 days after an incident of true racial significance that was perpetrated by a Republican political leader closely associated with the Tea Party!  Ten days is significant in an issue like this due the media penetration phenomenon.  This is to suggest that the liberal anti-racist who is capable of independent thought would have the ability to connect the two.  If the connection were not made at first, cued prompting, (which was more than adequately provided) would aid in the connection.  The only light bulbs that went off were those that immediately burned out when challenged to “think” in independent terms.  This cognitive inability to connect actual acts of racial concern to leftist claims of racism demonstrate the unconditional submission to hierarchy of “liberal social order.”

The problem lies in the symbolic interactionism of the liberal subculture that has lost the ability to “self script” outside of the conditions set by the dominate liberal whole.  This inability to script different perceptions of self develops into the loss of self-identity outside the confines set by the higher liberal social order.  This is exactly why, as atrocious a president Obama is; he will always have these unconditional supporters whom lack a sense of  self that is beyond that of which Obama as prescribed to them.  One lower level political figure in Atlanta stated, “Obama knows what’s best.”  Such a statement epitomizes the loss of self and the failure in the ability to identify self  individuality in the lower liberal subculture.  If the dominate liberal whole makes a claim, the subculture will in turn unconditionally submit to it.  Envision if you will, an abused other whom seeks to rationalize their abuse in terms of their own inadequacies.  Hence is the new liberal subculture.  The inept view of self has allowed its exploitation to a social order that is granted the perception of power for being more competent and more responsible than that of the individual self. 

When dealing with the liberal subculture on race issues, they can only articulate what the leftist media provides to them.  When challenged with the reality of Democrat racism, they completely shutdown.  They can (do as told and) finger point to unsubstantiated and vague claims of racism stemming from the right, but will not address the tenure of the late Senator Byrd in terms of Democrat tolerance of racism.  Nor will they address the institutionalism and glorification of racism associated with the naming of the USS Stennis after another late racist Democrat.  There is no discussion of the KKK and the more than 100 years of the Democrat Party fighting against civil rights will never be discussed.  Why?  Because the liberal higher order will not allow the expression of individual thought to do so.

It is not that racism does not exist; it is that we have allowed it polarize.  Through the manipulation of the liberal subculture, the Obama Administration forces race to the forefront and keeps it present by disallowing their followers to engage in open discussions on racism as they pertain America and American politics.  In order for America to move forward from our sordid past on racism, we must first be able to it address openly.  Unfortunately, the president of the “post racial America” has ensured it will not happen under his watch.  Enabling him is a group that clearly identified themselves to be inept of self.  Their concession and capitulation from freedom finds equal guilt in America’s racial conundrum as is the perverse act of racism itself.

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It is not so much that conspiracy theories abound, it is that trust in a president is at an historic low.  Trust, like respect must be earned and to many, Obama has not earned either.  Too much deception, too many closed door meetings and far too many lies.  It has gotten so bad that when he announces that Osama bin Laden is dead, the skeptics raise a question; where are the pictures to prove it?

The quandary is based in Obama’s history of deceit with the people, the timing of the event(s), and perhaps most importantly, how he chose to deliver the message itself; his overuse of the words I, my and me.  For a person who does not favor the President, it is excruciating to listen to him insist upon himself to the degree that this man does.  Be that as it may, the timing came in conjunction with record low approval ratings, the beginning of the 2012 campaign and following the release of Obama’s birth certificate.  Almost too good to be true.  This forced even those who voted for Obama to question its authenticity.  As the question began to arise a new conspiracy was born, but before passing judgment, the bigger picture must be taken into consideration.

The Obama Administration places facial emphasis on foreign policy over domestic priority.  Due to this key factor, Obama is less likely to treat the international community in the same manner in which he treats Americans.  Simply put, we are worthy of lying to, they are not.  Osama is likely dead.  While many continue to ponder this as they await traditional confirmations which have suddenly fallen victim to “ethics in the media.”  Imagine that. 

It is said the images are extremely graphic and releasing them may be accompanied with certain consequences (inflame the enemy).  However, when media sources were confronted with the ethics conundrum, they universally responded that journalistic integrity requires their release with certain conditions being placed upon them.  Conditions such as separate “click” to access the photo(s).  Despite such concerns, the photo(s) must be released.  The international community will not be allowed to view Obama as a person perpetrating a fraud against a group of people.  It is inconceivable that a key figure in the war that is terror would go invalidated by the mystic shroud of passive silence that is Obama.  It is also inconceivable the government of Pakistan will be persecuted (and they will be) for harboring Osama without the credibility of undeniable proof of the event which felled the man himself in their nation where American troops have lost their lives; some at the hands of Pakistani people. 

There is also something we need to be completely honest about that fuels the doubt surround Obama and his speech.  There are those that whose disdain for Obama is so strong they doubt the event because they wish to not credit Obama with a perceived victory.  One the other side of this exists the progressive supporters of Obama who vehemently defend Obama and desperately needed Obama  to do something right so they have something of actual substance on which defend him on.  In classic Obama fashion, both sides have been let down.  No hard evidence leaves both sides in want.  Those of disdain speculate, while those of support are still reduced to the sophmoric defense strategies of name calling and then obsessing on the fact they have so few factual tools at their disposal to defend Obama with that continue “debates” with the most rudimentary attacks long after the debate itself is over.  What people want is for Obama to actually demonstrate that he can be decisive and strong; something the American people have yet to witness outside of “race related incidents” that do not warrant presidential attention.

The other thing we need to face is that Obama is just as desperate for a victory as are his supporters.  A true victory that all see as a victory.  Not the farce of victory in legislation that was developed with back room deals and delivered in a series of lies spanning more than two years.  A true universal victory that will not divide a nation and be called universal despite the issuing of more than 2,000 waivers to help “select Americans” avoid the atrocity of unconstitutional legislation that is failing before it even truly starts.  He needs that, his supporerts need that and Americans in general need that.  We have not celebrated a universal victory since Bush; we are long overdue.

Obama has demonstrated that when it comes to convincing the American people alone, they can be in want for all he cares.  However, his duty is to now convince the world; a world whose opinion he cherishes for more than those who cast votes him.  For this reason, a photo of bin Laden will be produced.  It is just unfortunate that his passive leadership style allows for such speculation before the right thing is done.  Suddenly it is about the political correctness of Muslim beliefs and ethics in the media.  The concern for retaliation grows; the truth is retaliations have already started; the longer the delay in proving the event to be true only serves to renew such efforts against the infidel. 

The Obama victory, is not an Obama victory.  He can say I, me and my as many times as he wishes.  The victory belongs however, to an intelligence infrastructure that Obama himself swore to destroy.  It is a victory in interrogation techniques that Obama sought to see good Americans imprisoned for.  Most of all, it is a victory for America’s most elite unit; a unit that Obama was willing to send on a mission such as this – without pay.