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That Election Thing Next Month

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, October 26, 2006 12:50:57 AM
Boy, if you only went to the "Mainstream Media" for your news, you would think that the Republican Party was in ruins!  The tales of disaster are the leading stories on the evening tv news.   How several Republican congressman and senators in "safe" districts are now in danger of losing their seats. They are drooling over the upcoming Democrat congress. 

Only thing though!  It ain't going to happen! It will be a tight race (again) but the Republicans will keep control of Congress.  As the President said,  don't be measuring for the drapes just yet!  

Once again the media is dead wrong on this election.  They were wrong on election day in 2004 (Kerry "winning" all day, please!!!!!!!give me a break), and they will be wrong in 2006.  If you are a Republican thinking of staying home next month,  don't,  prove them wrong again. 
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Michael J. Fox: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 7:12:00 PM
Michael J. Fox is today's Open Mouth, Insert Foot "winner".   If you don't know who that is, he is the actor who played Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties.  Ironically his character was the Republican son of a die-hard liberal.  He later played a part in a more recent show that I can't remember the name, where he was the vice mayor of NYC or something like that. 

He suffers from Parkinson's Disease.   I feel sorry for him since there is no cure, and little hope for one anytime soon.  My late grandfather had it for the last few years of his life.  It is not an easy way to live.   Fox believes that embryonic stem cell research will bring a cure for Parkinson's. 

Unfortunately for Fox he has bought into the liberal "theory" that embryonic stem cell research will bring cures to every disease under the sun.  Contrarily to adult stem cell research which has brought some advances in medicine and show promise for more.  Embryonic stem cell research has brought no advances to medicine and doesn't show much promise even though more public money has been spent on it.

Fox was in the Chicago area today to campaign for Democrat Tammy Duckworth who is running for congress in Illinois.  I really didn't hear what he said there, but he wins the "award" today anyway for speaking about something he is misinformed about.   Since research is mostly going along these embryonic cell thing,  I wonder how long until the real cure will be found.   Most likely too late for Michael Fox. 
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Barack Obama and Marvin Scott

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, October 19, 2006 11:51:38 PM
Even though I no longer live in Illinois,  I still follow Illinois politics.  It hard not too, here in Northwest Indiana.   We don't have our own tv stations (outside a low power PBS channel) or very many radio stations.  We do have two decent local newspapers but Illinois politics still overshadow everything. 

Over the last few years Barack Obama has come out of nowhere.   The lovefest between him and the local media is often very sickening.   They think he the best thing since sliced bread.  When he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 he got so much great free press.  Sure he is a smart, good looking, articulate kind of guy.   I am sure he is a nice guy to boot but jeezz-whiz. 

What always got me in that election the press was making him out as the only African-American guy running for the U.S. Senate.   Of course that got knocked down a bit when Alan Keyes came into the race.   But that wasn't the point.   There was another African-American running for a Senate seat that year.

In Indiana,  Marvin Scott ran against Evan Bayh for the Senate seat that Bayh has held on too for far too long.   I doubt you ever heard about Marvin Scott from the press.   Why?   Because Scott is a Republican.   Scott is smart,  good looking (he is older then Obama) and very articulate as well.   I know for a fact that Scott is a nice guy because my folks met him once.  They thought he was great.     

Why didn't this guy get as much press as Obama.   Well, I guess most of you know the reason why.   He just didn't exist when it came to coverage.   Thats why a guy like Evan Bayh can win (and rewin) a senate seat in Indiana.   Indiana is as red a state can be.  Bayh has nothing in common with the voters of Indiana.   Thank you very much Mainstream Media for being "fair and balanced".   What a joke that is today's news organizations.
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UN Appoints New Secretary-General

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Friday, October 13, 2006 6:12:17 PM
The UN has appointed a new Secretary-General to replace outgoing Kofi Annon.  He is Ban Ki-Moon from South Korea.  He is the current foreign minster of South Korea.  Read about it here.  France has congratulated him on his appointment so he probably isn't much of an improvement over Annon.   Not that I was expecting much.  
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Organic Farming Dirty Little Secret

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, October 12, 2006 10:00:59 PM
The spinach scare of 2006 will most likely be the way most will remember this story.   Most will not remember that the spinach in question was organic.  Because most won't even know it was organic spinach.  I didn't know until I read this article by Nick Nicols today.  I wasn't surprised that I hadn't.

Organic Farming is widely told to the world by environmental groups to be so much better then regular farming.  Cleaner, safer and better for you.  Never mind that the American farming industry has created the safest, cleanest, most affordable food supply the world has ever seen.   Nope it time to go back to the stone age and have a expensive, unsafe, scant, food supply again.

Its organic farming dirty little secret.   Organic farming isn't very clean at times.  Why did farmers go away from "organic" farming to begin with?  Because it didn't work very well.  Organic farming alone cannot feed the world.  Plus it is too expensive for most.

Never heard this before?   I am not surprised.   Its one of the many stories that the "mainstream media" has missed.   Since organic farming is popular with the media crowd these days,  you probably won't any time soon.   No they are in on it,  allowing the environmentalists to chip away at the regular, everyday, food industry. 

That's yet another story you will not hear from the "mainstream media".  How the environmental lobby is trying the end the regular food supply and its industry.  Here is one example,  Starbucks was the targeted company (go figure on that one).   Sometimes they manage to shoot themselves in the foot too when trying to regulate the rest of us.

Nick,  you are right that environmental (and other) activists need to learn some social responsibilities.   But it will be hard to do because the media won't call them on it.  Until there is serious reform in the media these type of things will go on. 
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Lies of History: Nazis and Christianity

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, October 12, 2006 5:37:29 PM
I was reading Marvin Olasky column here on Townhall today.   Many believe today that Nazis were Christian.   Although if you know anything about the Nazis, you know they were most deafeningly secular.  Another misconception about the Nazis, that they were right-wing as well.   There is no evidence of that as well,  none of their beliefs were conservative in any way.  Part of their official name was socialist so that should give folks a small clue.  They did have a lot of ideas that may be seen as traditional so thats where the confusion comes from.

Of course many liberals think that how Christians would remake society.   They couldn't be more wrong.  So they use some of the same things that the Nazis used to take power.   The movie "Jesus Camp" is a good example.   They think they are observing the second coming of the third reich.  Only thing is though, what the filmmakers are doing is what will bring the third reich back to life.   Their scare the audience into thinking this is what is happening at Christian camps.   And since there are most likely thousands of Christian camps around the country its everywhere! 

They made this camp look like the campers were the Hilter Youth or something.  Editing can be very powerful and also very untruthful.   Watch the trailer sometime its crazy.   This is what liberals think Christians are!   I don't know who they think will believe this, since millions have gone to Christian camps and never experienced this.  

They have no idea that they already live in a society created by Christians.   Its the freedom that comes with Christianity that allows them to create stuff like Jesus Camp.  Try making a movie like this about Muslims in Saudi Arabia, it would never happen.  Yes, many Christians dislike what people do with that freedom.   But they don't take away your rights just because you have strange ideas.  

A secular society that is free has never been.   Communism and Nazism are both created by secular societies.   They were (and are) not free.   Also very deadly for millions of people.   I don't think a secular society could every create a free (and safe) society.  But people just don't know much about history do they? 


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Barbra Streisand: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:41:30 AM
I guess it was not too surprising that Barbra Streisand made my open mouth, insert foot list today.   She is well known for saying dumb things.  Well, I can't even write what she said to the (probably) only Bush supporter in the audience of one of her shows.   Why anyone would listen to her lousy "music" let alone go to one of her shows, I can't figure that out.

Only she wasn't singing.  Nope,  she was doing what she thinks she needs to do,  rip on President Bush.   Like no "celebrities"  rip on the president!  Well, she had to bring on an Bush impersonator and make the crowd put up with a crummy skit.   So the audience starts to jeer,  she asks people to stop,  most do.  Except for one guy, he continues and she loses it. 

What gets me is someone like Streisand and the "tolerance" crowd.   Their tolerance does not include those who disagree with them.   How dare they interrupt her little skit.  Conservative columnists like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin are interrupted and even forced to stop speaking almost every time they talk.  When a liberal does it,  its noble or something to do so.   When the rare time a conservative (that is if he is one to begin with, I doubt it, why would one go to her show) does it they are rude, a crackpot and most importantly stopping the "free" speech of the "artist".    Its a huge double standard!  

Secondly,  why do "celebrities" think we want to know about their politics?  Some of the most ignorant political statements are said by these people.  They think they know what is best for folks.  But they could be the most misinformed people in the world at times it seems.  I think "celebrities" need to shut up. 


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ACLU: Ruining Christmas in Detriot Suburb

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, October 05, 2006 5:46:35 PM
Well,  the ACLU is at it again!  Read the story at Fox News.  All the problems in the world and they do this over and over.  Get a life!!
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An American College Education: Not So Great These Days?

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 10:36:27 PM
I have been noticing on some of the blogs here on Townhall about the Civic Literacy Report.  The subject of that report is:  the knowledge (or lack of it) of Civics of college students.   It came at no surprise to this blogger that small colleges did much better then large (mostly secular) universities.

Full disclosure:  I am a gradate with a history degree (and a fine arts degree too) from a small college.  So there is some bias against big schools in my mind.   I loved college even though I was probably  one of the worst students to actually graduate.  I would have never gotten a degree from a large school.   It was because of the great staff and faculty at that small college that it was a good experience for me.

In the bad old days the only people that went to college were the children of the upper crust and the rich.   It wasn't designed to teach one how to make a better career or to get a leg up on life with a better job.   Most of the students were well off,  so the drive for the right job was not the goal.  The idea was to educate from a wide variety of subjects.   So you would be a well rounded person.   Most universities were much smaller then they are today. 

Since this is America more people wanted to obtain a college degree.  It was start of the idea to get ahead in life, one needs to go on from high school to college.  Nothing bad with the idea of more people being educated more,  its a great thing.  Since most of the new students were not wealthy, colleges needed to lead to a career or at least a good job.   So most of the non important subjects to the major are not required anymore (I guess people just don't have the time anymore).  You can go to college and never take a history class (or many other subjects) and graduate.  Universities grew very rapidly for a few years. 

Thats why most college students don't know much outside of their subject area.  Civics is outside almost everything today.  Most universities have watered down the "Core" subjects that they once held in high esteem.   Some large schools have tried to hold on to it like the University of Chicago but even there it is watered down.   Most let it go willingly or with great delight (core subjects are white racist ideas). 

There is some good news.  Small colleges!   In many ways they are like the university of old (not just rich folks though).  They have to compete with the big universities today with their bigger or more numerus programs or research.   To alot of small colleges the "core"  (or the liberal arts) is that way to compete!  Small classes,  professors that know you, a small community of the other students that knows you! 

I think its time that we recognize that the small colleges are the best schools today.  Yale, Harvard etc. were great schools once but are no longer the best, they only live on the past success.  Instead of getting large, more colleges should have been founded.  It was successful in the past and it works today.  If you really want a education go to a small college!
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Nothing to See Here: The Folly Scandal

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 9:19:33 PM
Well the MSM has found the Republican Scandal for this election.  Mark Foley (yes I know I wrote Folly in the title) the now former congressman from Florida is the subject of this little scandal.  If he were a Democrat this wouldn't be a story.   Why would that be?  Just read Ann Coulters column about a Democrat who did much more then Foley to pages in the congress.  My mom remembered this from years ago (I didn't) and I didn't see anything about it recently until Ann wrote about it today.

I think the main story here is the press and the lie that is fair reporting.   The major "news" organizations creditability is at an all time low.   I know with out a doubt who the "news"  are voting for!   It has been this way for a long time,  the only difference today is talk radio, Fox News and the blogs give the other side to the story.   How much longer do we have to wait for major reform in the rest of the media?  

Now I would not say Foley is innocent or anything.  It looks like he did what they say he did.   He was a RINO who needed to be replaced with a better conservative candidate anyway.  So maybe its not that bad anyway,  the house needed to be cleaned up.   I guess the media thought Foleys "lifestyle" would be a major problem for the Republicans.   Foley is one of the Republicans that Hollyweird wishes all Republicans were,  yet they were more then willing to throw him to the wolves. 
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Funny Quote

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Saturday, September 30, 2006 2:50:24 AM
I'm offended by political jokes. Too often they get elected.
-Henny Youngman
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Clinton Uncorked on Fox

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Monday, September 25, 2006 3:38:25 PM
I can't say its too often former President Clinton loses his cool (in public).   He sure did on Fox the other day.  Chris Wallace,  who is one of the best tv reporters working today,  didn't give Clinton the usual softball interview.   Clinton has definitely gotten used to softball interviews,  where  he doesn't have to answer hard questions.   So Wallace asks a hard question.  

At least a hard question for Clinton to answer anyway.  Why did Clinton skip out on catching or killing Bin Laden?   It's well known that Clinton missed out on catching Bin Laden on several opportunities when it could have happened.   The Sudan "government"  offered Bin Laden, just fly him out of here and he's all yours, no strings attached and he passed it by!  Other times the military had him in their sights only to find the Clinton was golfing and unavailable.

Of course the MSM would never ask him a hard question like so either he did lose it or what I think it was, a act.   He never answered the question, trying to blame Wallace for asking the question.   Democrats have done this for a long time,  casting their opposition in a bad light to lessen the blow of the question.   It worked well for a long time, since most of media was in on it,  but it sure doesn't work as well anymore. 
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Peace Activists: What are they thinking?

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Saturday, September 23, 2006 5:50:42 PM
Peace

What is peace?

I think that peace is something very different from what "peace activists"  think it is.  They think that there will be peace by merely leaving the nations that have U.S. troops in them.  Like the U.S. military is the cause of the lack of peace. 

They say that the Iraq's have less peace now then when Saddam was running the country.   That is a load of trash.   They never had a minute of peace when Saddam was in power.  They lived in fear the whole time, that is not peace.  

Are they that naive that nobody would take advantage of the power vacuum that would result in U.S. troops leaving today.  There would never be peace in Iraq if we did that to them.   I hate war just like most people do.   It is a American tradition to hate war,  all the way back to the founding of this nation.  It is a great thing that the U.S. hates war,  image the caos we could cause because of the power we have. 

Peace is when you live in fear of nothing.   Its not to peaceful in Iraq today, but it hasn't been in a long time.   Iraq has the best hope for a peaceful tomorrow because the U.S. is there today.  Germany and Japan are the results from the "greatest generation" efforts to bring peace.  There is no reason why Iraq couldn't be too.  It may be naive for me to think that,  but people said the same of Germany and Japan too.
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Why Lower Taxes Work! BP to invest $3 billion in NW Indiana Refinery

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, September 21, 2006 6:12:48 PM
Whenever the subject of high taxes comes up,  I get interested.  Taxes kill the growing economy, the higher they get the worse it is.   Let me tell you the story of property taxes here in Northwest Indiana.  

BP (formerly Amoco)  has a refinery here in Northwest Indiana.  It is over a hundred years old.  It takes up half of the city of East Chicago,  and also large parts of Whiting and Hammond.  It is one of the biggest employers in the "Da Region".   It has provided high paying jobs for as long as anyone can remember. 

Five years ago when BP took over Amoco, it gave the oil giant, ten or eleven refineries in the U.S.   When their bean counters started counting,  they discovered that the refinery in East Chicago was paying more property taxes then ALL the other refineries combined.  Yes, all ten or eleven.  Ouch!   Of course they were.  It paid for all the bloat in East Chicago city government (I could write a book on that).  

If you know anything about city government in East Chicago, it still has the Democrat machine working hard at spending huge amounts of money.   Back then Amoco paid for it all.  Homeowners were paying small amounts or nothing in property taxes.  East Chicago (don't you love the name of this city) has about 30,000 residents and over 2,000 city employees (that doesn't include the school district).   Most residents are low income, immigrants and a lot of older blue collar people.  So not a wealthy community in any way, but the most expensive city government in Indiana (maybe the US as well).

Never the less Amoco hadn't invested any real money in the refinery in many years.   I fully thought that refinery was on borrowed time.  BP would give up and close it down,  but it isn't to easy to replace refineries nowadays.   

Property tax reform is a hot issue here in Northwest Indiana.  There has been heated discussions in meetings at my real estate office on that.   What is different in the last few years was what happened and who did it.  A homeowner in the suburban area in Northwest Indiana started it by suing the state and county for property tax reform.  The large (and small businesses) quickly jumped in on that suit. 

What happened was the property taxes were shifted more equally onto residential property.  It has lead to huge tax bills for many people in the north part of the county who were used to paying little or nothing.   The Democrats of course sing the folly of that happening, just the little guy getting shafted by big business again.  There of course needs to be a better solution to that problem of high property taxes on those homes. But alas, the big spending gets in the way.  We will see if that is fixed or not but that hasn't been solved yet.  

But look!  BP is going to invest three billion in the refinery.  Would that have happened five years ago?   NOT A CHANCE!  It beat out a refinery in Texas for the upgrade.  When you take the question of taxes out of economic decisions a company (or a person) can make a choice on the other points.  The TAX RATE DOES MATTER!
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Richard Branson to waste 3 billion dollars on fight against "Global Warming"

Posted by Rich from NW Indiana on Thursday, September 21, 2006 4:34:25 PM
Uggh!!!!!!  Not again!!!

Another billionaire wasting perfectly good money!  Richard Branson,  founder of Virgin Group will donate up to three billion (yes billion) to the fight against "Global Warming".   Image three billion dollars to "solve" a nonexistent problem.  What a waste,  when you consider all the problems in the world you could throw money at. 

The more I read about "Global Warming"  the less and less I believe it is real.  It doesn't exist  IMHO.  All it will do is wreck havoc on the economy of the United States.  The thing is folks, the poorer someone is, the less likely they are to care about the environment.  Or more importantly, the ability to do something about it.  To get my old polluting car off the road,  I have to be able to afford a new one.  If I don't have the money the old one will do, whether or not I care about the environment or not.  

Thats the problem with armchair environmentalists these days.  The impact that the changes that they want other people to make. 

Its even worse because I don't think it is a problem,  but my opinion is not valid to these people.  I am just another right-wing nutjob.  The discussion is over in their opinion,  its time for solutions!   Guess what Richard Branson,  the discussion isn't over by a long shot!!
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