D-Day; the Sixth of June

I had few minutes today and went to Ann Althouse's blog.

I found something I had to share.

I haven't heard this speech in almost 30 years. I surprised it is still available to view and listen do. I definately puts the lie to the notion that current president is a great orator.

Or even an orator.

Today is D-Day; 69 years on, not 40. President Reagan's words still ring true and should remind us that there is no such thing as a Peace Dividend. Yes, we can call this an Era of Peace and cut our military spending, just as every nation but Germany and Japan did between the two World Wars, and we will wind up in exactly the same place the world did in 1939.

I usually spend a few hours on this day to watch The Longest Day; the 1963 movie about the heroes of D-Day. That will be postponed until tomorrow night.

I also think I will start adding President Reagan's speech to my D-Day itinerary. Great words, honoring greater men.

Placebo

Everybody knows what a placebo is right? A pill or procedure that does absolutely nothing, but we are supposed to be convinced it is working wonders.

Kind of like the Republican Party.

They keep talking a good game- and have since 1988- but accomplish nothing.

They held the House, the Senate and the White House for 6 years.

6 YEARS!!!!

And government got bigger, along with the debt. Abortion is still legal, along with a host of other things they supposedly are against. But it's not there fault. It's the Democrats.

Don't take my word for it; spend a few minutes with talk radio.

I have become convinced that talk radio is our circus, designed solely to keep possibly expatriating Republicans on the ranch. Keep us convinced that the Republicans are doing their best and are deserving of our complete support.

And they cave again.

Just like on the 'Fiscal Cliff', when it comes time for the debt ceiling they will fold with the best of intentions. The debt ceiling will go up, debt will increase, spending will increase and taxes will rise again.

All things we sent them to Washington to OPPOSE.

I have faith in some of the younger members; ones who are now holding their first elected office- like Rand Paul- but the old timers have learned the ropes. When to speak out and when to act. Or not to.

Just start making real noise about a new third party; one to represent the people of this country, not the people and the companies sucking at the government teat, and watch the words fly. The only time most of these idiots can quote Ronald Reagan is when they say one of two things: 'Never criticize a fellow Republican', and 'we don't need a third party; we need a revitalized Republican Party'.

Just about the only two things President Reagan ever said that I don't agree with.

Yard Sign Balloting II

I was going through Ft. Thomas again the other day and did another sign count. This was a different route, so I saw different signs.

This time no Obama. A few Romney, but more of the down ticket signs. But do you know what sign outnumbered them all?

For Sale signs. If I saw one I saw a dozen. They were everywhere.

Most of these homes were in the $120,000 to $350,000 range; mostly older homes, in the 70-110 year range, but a couple newer.

But what do the signs mean?

Are these the signs of a recovering housing market, or are they the signs of desperation, folks finally giving in? That is a key question. The answer is, who knows?

Personally I don't think it is a recovery sign. The ones I looked at were all listed near their Tax appraised value, and all were privately owned; no foreclosure dumps. All had been owned by the current owners between 6-10 years, and all were listed for very near what they had been purchased for a few years previous. That may sound like good news, but this area never had the massive run-up in values that some other parts of the country had.

Here is what I think; I think that after 4 years of sitting on their hands and checkbooks, people are figuring this is the new normal, and its time to get on with their lives. They aren't scared anymore. I also think there is a little optimism showing. Folks are seeing a recovery coming, and are preparing for it.

It also depends on what you see as a 'Recovery'. Anyone expecting a return to the 1990's will be disappointed. Unless something drastically changes, a change I don't foresee,  housing is no longer a short-term investment.

There is a lot riding on November 6th. I sincerely hope we are on our way back. It won't be easy, and I see a lot of fiscal pain in our future. Reagan did it once, 30 years ago. Can Romney do it again?

Convention Time Again

Last night was a busy night, and I did not get to see any of the Republican Convention. I am trying to catch up tonight. Did you know the Convention can be live streamed? Instead of being tied to the Cable box or the TV I can go anywhere the WiFi will take me and watch the activities live, and without the commentary of the Lame Stream Media.

Right now I have the Convention booted up on the laptop while I'm blogging on the desktop. Ain't technology a wonderful thing?

Back in the day, when Conventions meant something, and the nominee was in doubt until the votes had been cast on the floor of the convention center, my Dad used to watch both Conventions from gavel to gavel. He was, what would be called today, a recovering Democrat. He was a registered Democrat for years, until he felt the party had swung too far from what he believed, and he became and Independent. Finally, in one election, I forget which one, he finally registered Republican so he could vote in the primary. And then promptly changed back to an Independent. I really think he kept hoping he could morally become a Democrat again.

It never happened.

But every 4 years he would haul the portable TV out to the pack patio and spend 2 weeks watching both parties set their platforms and nominate their candidates. And every four years he would come away disappointed.

And now, the Conventions are more of a commercial for the Party, both Republican and Democrat, than a news event. The vote for the candidate used to be the last thing to happen. The entire week would lead up to the vote, or in close years, votes, for the candidate, leading up to the acceptance speech from the newly minted candidate.

I miss that drama. I miss hearing the states during the roll call vote proclaiming first their individuality, and then their allegiance. "The Commonwealth of Kentucky, home of Fast Horses, Great Bourbon and Smooth Tobacco, casts its 42 votes for the next President of the United States....". It was always exciting; sitting in the dark, the only light coming from the small black and white screen of the portable TV, watching the drama unfold on the floor of the hall, whether from New York, or Miami Beach, Or Kansas City, you could feel the tension and almost smell the smoke from the numerous cigarettes and cigars that flooded the hall.

The vote tallies would climb, first a few votes here, and then a few votes there, with Huntley and Brinkley commenting in the background: "Well Chet, the vote from Minnesota for McGovern in this round was a given, wasn't it?" Then discussing the possibilities of the vote from Missouri going his way or not.

This year the big discussion was which state would put Romney over the top.

And seriously, I don't care which state it was.

I might just take the laptop out on the back porch and watch a bit of the activities, just for old time sakes.

Or not.

It wouldn't be the same without Dad.

Well, That Worked Out Well

By now I suppose you know that yesterday we lost Margaret Thatcher. Without a doubt the world would be a much different place if she had not had a such a prominent place in it. She was Ronald Reagan's right hand when it came to battling the Communists in the 1980's, including cleaning out a few socialists in Great Britain.

We are richer for having known her; and poorer for our loss.

Technically, Mrs. Thatcher was once my boss.

The US military overseas is usually a former conqueror. When we set up a base, we do under our rules. England is and exception, because the bases were set up during WWII, for the most part, and we came as Allies. So when  you are in the US Air Force, and stationed in England, you are not on an American air base, but an Royal Air Force base, and under the command of an RAF officer; who is under the command of the Queen (currently) and her Prime Minister.

When I was in England, that was the Iron Lady.

(Well now; ain't this embarrassing!

Here I am in the middle of a blog post about the death of one of England's greatest Prime Ministers, and I hit the Internet for a few facts.

And one of the facts I find out is that, like Mark Twain, the reports of her death have been greatly exaggerated. Well, Twain's death is no longer greatly exaggerated, but, I digress.

Apparently the entire thing was a Twitter hoax. Rather appropriate; in England a Twit is a fool.

In my defense, I heard the rumor as breaking news on Hannity's radio show yesterday, and took it as Gospel. He never said the 'BREAKING NEWS' was from a dippity-dang Twitter post.

Well; now what? Do I continue with the post, or save this for when the news of her death has NOT been greatly exaggerated?

I guess I will just soldier one in the face of adversity, in the best British fashion.)

I have another, somewhat more personal, connection to Mrs. Thatcher.

A few years ago I met an extraordinary women as a part of a special project I am connected with. As she and I were having lunch, she mentioned that just the day before she had had lunch with Maggie Thacher to celebrate Mrs. Thatcher's birthday.

I felt doubly honored.

It has been said that we anever more than 7 handshakes away from the President (I would prefer to be more than that from our current President, but, I digress); that afternoon I was not only ONE handshake away from Ronald Reagan- I was one handshake away from Margaret Thatcher.

How many other Rednecks can make that claim?

So Many Options

I had an email exchange with a friend today about the upcoming election, and Obama's chances of re-election.

An interesting fly in the ointment we discussed was Bill Clinton; the keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention.

First; nobody will watch the convention. Hell, even the elected officials with that capital "D" after their names are finding ways to avoid getting photographed with President Death Knell. So all we will get from the speech are the highlights.

So the first question: Whose side is Bill Clinton on? The obvious answer is of course, Bill Clinton's What does he care more about; Bill Clinton or the Democrats keeping the White House?

Before you answer that, think about this.

The next four years will be interesting in a lot of respects. Economically, politically, foreign affairs, the Middle East, domestically- I can't think of a single area that will not require massive effort just to control, much less put right.

Assume Obama wins. Also assume he will continue through the next four years doing what he has done for the last four. Unless the Sunshine Fairy rains her good blessing down on us because a unicorn smiled at her, I don't see us being in any better position in 2016 than I do now. I also think that even the last few Obama sycophants will be tired of the condition of the country.

If we don't go Republican in 2012, we will definitely in 2016. Which means the earliest Hillary can expect to win is 2020. How will that work out for Bill?

Assume Romney wins, and again assume that the Unicorn doesn't smile for the Sunshine Fairy. Romney is no Reagan, and the world economy is just as bad off- or worse- than ours. I have heard that a recession is usually caused by over production, while a depression is caused by excessive cash flow. It is easier to clear the excess cars and appliances from the system than it is to clear a hundred trillion dollars.

Chances are we will still be working our way out of the slump, even if Romney does everything 100% right. And I have no faith that he will do everything 100% right.

Which means we may be ready to switch back to a Democrat in 2016. How will that work out for Bill?

Also, Bill Clinton is the Only Democratic President to win re-election since FDR in 1944; a status he will lose if Obama wins four more years.

You see why a lot of pundits don't think Bill Clinton actually has Obama's back this year.

And still Obama chose him for the keynote address.

There is another possibility.

Obama knows what the next four years will be like, and wants to lose; knowing he cannot do anything that will make the slightest change, or he is bored with the idea of being president. Hell, four years is the longest he has ever held a "job" in his life.

Either way, we only have a few more weeks until we know for sure.

Is anybody really ready for the "Hillary in '16" bumper stickers?

Sarah Palin's Alaska

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Ya Gotta Go With The Facts, Part II

I had a comment on my previous post from my Fellow John Wayne fan and blogger Trooper York that required a better answer than I wanted to give as a comment.

So I made a whole post out of it.

This too will pass.

You are old enough to remember Jimmy Carter. The problem is too many hipster doofus types are not. Add that to 100% of the black vote, Republicans staying home because they hated John McCain and the type of liberal like the evil blogger lady who just wanted to give the nice clean cut black guy a chance and you have the accidental Obama Presidency.

Sometimes it has to hit bottom before you can turn it around.



Yes Trooper, I remember Carter.

I also remember who brought us out of that malaise.

Where is our 2012 Reagan? The person who can appeal not only to the right but the middle?

Hell, most Republicans don’t even appeal to the whole GOP.

And we are dependent on the GOP picking that viable candidate in 2012. Not another Bob Dole; not another John McCain; not another Gerald Ford.

Do you see why I’m worried?

The polls I saw today show the top three as Palin, Huckabee and Romney.

Personally, I like Palin. But she is very divisive; some folks I’ve talked to have an unreasonable, visceral hatred of her; people who I would have thought would have been a fan of hers. In that way Palin is like Reagan; nobody I’ve ever talked to was neutral on either of them. Absolute love or visceral hatred.

Palin also does not have 100% support from the GOP. But then neither did Reagan.

Huckabee may have some Republican support, but a lot of folks are lukewarm. Personally; I can take him or leave him. Can he beat Obama? Today? Jimmy Carter could probably beat Obama in the Democratic primaries; that’s how low Obama has sunk.

But we’re not talking today; were talking 2 years from now; when we may have two more years of Obama with a Republican controlled Legislature. That may make a difference; especially if Obama wises up and starts moving toward the center.

Yeah, I know; fat chance of that.

Romney; what can I say about Romney? There is the ‘cold fish ‘perception of him that may or may not be true, an d he is from Massachusetts, so you have to wonder if he is conservative enough to for some folks, or just not as liberal as the rest of the state.

Besides, he hasn’t ignited the base in the last 10 years, why would he in the next two?

And then, in 2006, who would have thought Obama would be squatting in the White House?

Suggesting that the newly elected junior Senator from Illinois would be President probably would have been sufficient evidence to have you committed to the loony bin in 2006. 2008 was Hillary!’s year, remember?

So maybe we do have a Republican Moses, out there ready to lead the GOP out if the wilderness; someone not yet in the public eye.

I sure hope so. We can’t afford even 2 mores of the Democrats being in charge, much less 6 more.

And about the 'Evil Blogger Lady'; her opinions are important because she is a swing voter, not a party ideologue. What caused her (and her ilk) to vote for Bush? What caused her to vote Obama? finding out the answers will probably be more important to the 2010 and 2012 elections than whatever you or I think Trooper.

Okay, today I am cheesed off

Why am I upset? Last night I heard something that reminded me how bad off we are.

I usually listen to Mark Levin while drifting off at night. He usually has quite a bit to say that I find useful.

Last night he was replaying a speech of Ronald Reagan’s from around 1964. (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganatimeforchoosing.htm)

My God, where are the orators today? First the subject of the speech was spot on, both in 1964 and in 2009, second his delivery was absolutely mesmerizing.

Obama a speech maker? Obama couldn’t have spoke in the same room for a year after Reagan was done. I can’t think of a current Republican who could have had the same effect, even with the same speech.

Gov. Palin may have come close, but Reagan’s speech was tempered with the experience and fire of conversion, much like St. Paul’s, that a life long practitioner can’t match.

Much like the Israelites, who needed a Moses to guide them out of the wilderness, we Conservatives need our own Moses.

It ain’t McCain. It ain’t McConnell (that pork barrel traitor). Who do we have on the national stage that can light the small government fire in the belly of the electorate the way Reagan did 30 years ago?

Man I wish I knew. I might even send them money.