Arrogance and Condescension; A Failed Strategy…

The president has been in full campaign mode to demonize the tea party and fuel the fire of racial politics in the run up to the midterm elections. It is sad to watch the office of the president being occupied by someone who does not deserve it. The president is a unique role in our government and no matter what political party is represented there it is the office of the president of the United States.

Black, White, Hispanic, Irish, Jewish, Christian Americans deserve the respect of the president of the United States. He works for all of us. To listen to him target Americans that disagree with him as the “enemy’ is to break the heart of America. This president believes that the founding principles of this nation are the enemy because they keep him from implementing his radical agenda at a pace that would have already destroyed our country. He hates free speech, he demonizes the tea party, he demonizes law enforcement, he demonizes conservative woman, he demonizes Wall Street, he demonizes capitalism, he demonizes individual accountability, and he demonizes our Constitution.

Anyone that can’t see this is blinded by partisan politics. No one cares that Obama is Black, what they care about is the direction he is taking this country. His arrogance and belief that he knows better than the American people is laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous. His condescension is despicable when he says we as Americans don’t understand the “complexity” of the legislation and we need to have “patience” for the effects to set in. Well we are smarter than that and we know what the effects will be if his agenda is implemented.

This election is a referendum on the Obama agenda. We are not racist, homophobic, anti-immigrant, or angry. We are too smart to let this man destroy the greatest country in the world by drowning us in debt and destroying the economic engine that has made us great; capitalism. Business is not evil and by demonizing the business class on a regular basis is to not understand America. Big government is evil and all you have to do is look at the generations of dependent inner city Americans to support that premise. A limited government is coming one way or the other. If the republicans fail to trim the fat those responsible will be defeated in 2012, and be replaced with individuals willing to reign in spending.

We know what we’re doing and we will punish those at the ballot box that believe they know better. This president has disgraced the office and needs to take a lesson from the tea party patriots and read the constitution. If the president doesn’t like the Constitution he can move forward with a process to amend it. That is where the changes need to be made not by some unelected Czar or radical left wing group with access to our government apparatus.

There is no better feeling than to watch arrogance and condescension be put in its rightful place. And it isn’t the Oval office…

The Irresponsible Generation…

The current administration is a reflection of the worst traits of what I call the irresponsible generation. We had the greatest generation that sacrificed everything to make a better life for their kids and future generations of Americans only to see its spoils flushed down the national toilet. The lessons learned by the greatest generation have been lost on the irresponsible generation.

Discipline and fiscal responsibility have been completely abandoned for this me, now; live like there is no tomorrow administration that is made up of people that believe in living for today, and that credit is the only way to get your stuff in life. We have seen the results and they are grim.

We are mired in a debt to other nations that have for most of our history been our enemies. Without the “investment” of these recent enemies we might have a run on the bank. We might have to suffer the pain of actually paying a bill or two on time. Without our enemies we might have to make the hard decisions to cut back on spending rather than continue the irresponsible policies. Imagine how hard it might be if we asked people to save 20% before purchasing a home? The hardship. What if we asked the people running the government to end programs that are no longer necessary? The hardship. What if we ran our government according to the constitution? Outrageous! Instead we rely on our enemies to fund our irresponsible behavior but we must ask; what does our enemy expect in return? Who cares as long as the irresponsible regime can keep up the rosy façade of a system that is fundamentally bankrupt?

The first hint that a candidate might address the Social Security shortfall or the Medicare entitlement they are targeted as mean spirited and anti senior. The fact is that most of the elderly already on Social Security and those close to retirement have nothing to fear except the irresponsible generations answer to do nothing. The future generations are being bankrupted by the current irresponsible generation because they are ignoring practical solutions so the entire system doesn’t go bankrupt. The same goes for every government program. We have to reform them before the entire system goes bankrupt and still the irresponsible generation wants to do nothing.

We have two wars going on in faraway lands with the irresponsible generation in charge of the outcomes of these wars. The irresponsible thing to do is ignore them and this administration is doing a great job at just that. The irresponsible generation has been spoiled and has been brought up being saved by their elders. The problem is they are now the elders. It would be nice if they realized that but that would mean taking responsibility.

The responsibility for fixing all of this will be left to the next generation if we survive as a nation. The next generation will have no one to look to for guidance because they will have been left no choice but to be responsible. They will be the generation that ends up cleaning up the mess at their own expense. I hope the irresponsible generation remembers this when the next generation stops paying their bills…

That is a sorry legacy to be part of…

Tancredo It Is…

I didn’t like the way Tancredo jumped into the CO Governor race, and I wanted to support the Republican candidate because he had gone through the legitimate process, but what a strange race it has been.

I have been talking with staunch Republicans and I am getting the same response from them, “I am voting for Tancredo”. They are not voting for him with enthusiasm but more because they are so disappointed in Maes and the entire primary process. The Republican Party in Colorado is a disgrace. Like me, these folks do not want to see Hickenlooper become Governor.

I think we have all come to the reality that our only shot is Tancredo. We do not have the luxury of being purists in this race because there is no pure alternative. Voting for Maes is not standing on principle because Dan has done such a poor job of being honest from the beginning. It has been torture to watch him implode but that is what happens when your stories are not based in total truth.

As a candidate in the past I have always seen my entry into races as a principled alternative to the status quo. I have always wanted to give frustrated voters a principled alternative. As my wife pointed out, that is what Tancredo has tried to do. He saw from the beginning that Maes and McInnis were flawed candidates and used his name recognition to launch into the race. Again, the way this primary was handled was a total boondoggle.

So Tancredo it is in order to salvage any hope of returning Colorado to fiscal sanity and to hopefully set the stage for a bigger change in 2012 toward our founding principles. I have struggled with this decision but I see no other alternative…

Tough Decisions in Colorado…

With the elections right around the corner I know which way I am going to cast my vote with one exception; the CO Governor race. I am conflicted and feel like I am between a rock and a hard place. I want to support the conservative candidate that went through the process to win the primary but I am hesitant. He has not been an effective candidate to say the least. On the other hand I don’t like the way his challenger got in the race but I find him more forceful and has shown an ability to exude leadership.

I watch some of the polls but I am very leery of the polls this year. I believe many voters are going to go right down the line and vote for the candidate with the R next to their name in response to what they have seen from the Democrats on the federal level. The people that will vote for the third party candidate are the people paying close attention to the races, and in the end will split the vote and end up putting a D in the Governor’s seat. But I don’t know that for sure.

I don’t think the Republican candidate is a bad guy, just a bad candidate getting hammered by people that have a personal agenda. But that is only a gut feeling. I would have gladly voted for the third party candidate if he had gone through a legitimate process and been in it from the beginning.

So who will I vote for on Election Day for Colorado Governor? I don’t know yet and it really ticks me off that I am in this position. I don’t know if I’m the only one, but this really puts a damper on what otherwise may turn out to be a great day for our country…

Second Born is not Second Fiddle…

I was the first born in my family of six kids. Being first born is not something we choose but more of a circumstance we adapt to. There are privileges and expectations for first born children just as there are for our second, third or fourth born and so on. We don’t always see it as we’re growing up but as we reflect on our lives, where we fit in the family order does impact the people we become.

I am currently reviewing a book my younger brother Kenny has written about his life growing up in the Bronx. He has written it for his kids to help them in their life encounters. It is very clever and real, and it has made me think about how different our perspectives are when we are kids growing up, and adults looking back.

In our lives as teens, the things we perceived to be important may seem unimportant as adults but they’re not. Think back on your childhood and in particular the High School years and remember how you felt during those times. For some it was a living hell, for others it was the best time of our lives, but for all of us it was very real. Even if we can look back today and laugh and know how insignificant it may have been, as parents we can’t forget how real it is for our teens.

I have been blessed with two healthy, smart, and talented children who are both living through the High School years. They seem to be doing well and are so busy with their friends and life, as a parent I can only assume everything is OK. Asking teens about their day doesn’t always produce the results we want but we keep asking. Leaving a door for discussion open.

Since my brother was not first born he tells a number of stories about feeling lost and insecure and wanting to reach out and how it seemed his older brother (me) seemed to “have it together”. It seemed to him that I received treatment and set expectations that he had to achieve. He has achieved so much and little did he know how much I respected what he did. But as a sibling not first born he saw things differently than I did. He may have even thought as a first child I received “special” treatment from my parents. I did but sometimes it meant babysitting my younger siblings rather than attending an event with my friends. It was not all peaches and cream.

I want my daughter to know that although I am proud of Taylor and his accomplishments I am proud of her too. She is unique and will be whatever she wants to be no matter what her older brother does. And as far as the pride we feel as parents, we are proud of her with all of the enthusiasm and love we have for our first born. Being second born is not second fiddle; it is just a different position in the family. Neither position is more important than the other; it’s just the order in which we were born…

Mom and Dad love you two dearly and we are proud of what each of you are accomplishing…

Slavery? Really?

The president has been invoking references to slavery to get his “base” ginned up for the November election. I find it extremely insulting to the people that actually lived in slavery to compare a grass roots political movement, grounded in financial prudence and limited government (Tea Party) to the struggles of slavery. He is minimizing the reality of slavery by comparing the plight of the today’s “poor”, youth, and unemployed. Is he suggesting that the people that are about to clean his clock at the polls are trying to return the country to slavery? I don’t get it? It is more like the people the president is fear mongering against are the people freeing people from the bondage of government programs. The true source of today’s “slavery”.

If the president was out there fighting against government programs that make people dependent, as being akin to being a slave to the system, I might cut him some slack. But to look at the kids he is talking to on University campuses across the country, even that would be a stretch. He is playing off the ignorance of today’s youth of their very own American History. Most kids on campuses today couldn’t even tell you what year slavery ended. This is an attempt to raise ignorant emotional responses. Ignorance is bliss for the democratic agenda. To be a conservative you have to really think about issues and get past the emotional argument to find the facts. And the facts are clear; this president’s agenda is destroying the American Dream for the youth, Black Americans, and us.

This is a desperate attempt to get his base to come to the polls in November. Unless he is giving away tee shirts and lollipops his base will be busy doing more important things like posting the latest meal they ate on Facebook…