Memorial Day Observance

Since President Obama is busy vacationing and cannot make it to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, we can look back and remember remarks made by President Ronald Reagan as we remember those who have served on behalf of our great country.



Some gave all. To all those who have worn the uniform, and their families and friends, Thank You for your service and God Bless America!

Fixin A Hole

Quite obviously, the Gulf Oil Spill is an alarming environmental and economic disaster that unfortunately continues daily. However, in a staggering lack of leadership, the Obama administration seems more interested in the political events of the day and finger pointing rather than engaging all options in an effort to take command and plug the devastating leak. Sean Hannity, joined by Deneen Borelli and Sandra Smith, has more:



Certainly, all Americans recognize President Obama should not be down there with a shovel and a bucket. However, the constant running at the mouth that the administration is "in charge" and has been on top of this situation "since day 1" is not true, and everyone knows it. Whoever is in charge is failing miserably.

An outspoken voice among the entire left lambasting President George W. Bush over his handling of Hurricane Katrina was Captain Pop Off himself, Barack Obama. I remember him blasting John McCain's reaction to the financial crisis as a "Katrina like response, sort of stood there", "shifting positions these last two weeks looking for photo-ops trying to figure out what to say and what to do". Seems to me Obama has pulled out that playbook, and so does Drinking With Bob:



I am a supporter of offshore drilling, and drilling everywhere possible. Drill Baby Drill! The reason we have to drill in 5000 feet of water is because left wing environmentalist have won the day and we are not permitted to drill in Alaska, Colorado or offshore areas in more shallow water.

It is far time for our President to show some leadership on this economic and environmental disaster. This is not the fault of Bush, and Obama is not helping by flying across the country to do campaign events for Barbara Boxer (D) in California, shooting hoops, watching the NBA finals or attending a the concert of a guy who has experience in Fixin A Hole, Paul McCartney. In fact, Obama has been plugging up some holes. Unfortunately for America, these holes are found on the golf course, not in The Gulf of Mexico.

Maybe us Americans are in fact fortunate in one regard. It is clear to anyone paying attention that our Commander in Chief is not getting the job done, is lacking in leadership qualities and is promoting disingenuous rhetoric (propaganda) at a minimum, attributes not becoming a President of our once great nation.

Obama Inviting by Ignoring Terrorism

Certainly, you have heard the commentary of President Obama's top Counterterrorism advisor John Brennan last week. In efforts to describe the enemy we face, the players on our team, including Brennan, Attorney General Eric Holder and many at the State Department and Department of Justice, seem to have minimal appreciation for the severity of the fight our enemy is bringing to us.

While the Global War on Terror seems lost to the members of the current administration, most of America was woken up on September 11, 2001. For the lovely Brigitte Gabriel, of Act for America and author of "They Must Be Stopped" , it was reliving a nightmare.



It is dangerously clear that the Obama administration is playing defense and coddling our enemies. I conclude these people are not idiots so it must be designated as a willful neglect to prosecute the elimination of those who aim us deadly harm. I am left with the question of why, and I just can't find the answers to the questions that are running through my mind.

The pattern of wreckless policy actions and rhetoric by this administration I fear is encouraging acts of terrorism and emboldening those set to strike us. I don't have to tell you getting lucky, as was proclaimed in Time Square recently, is not a winning strategery.

I can only pray that America rights this situation before we take one upside the chin again. I hear Jack Bauer is now available!

Rambling On Through 500th Post

As I approached my 500th blog entry, I asked some of the readership for a question or two to celebrate the occasion. Then, I siphoned through all the media requests for interviews and selected an old friend, Tiffany Hill Donely, of WLPC ABC-TV of Port Charles, NY to present me with five questions selected from the readership.

Here we go!

1. Please name three leaders of today that you see pulling our asses out of the mess we're in?

I found the first two real easy.

First, I think Congressman Paul Ryan (R:WI) is someone who has a real grasp of the economic status we find ourselves in, and I feel this is a critical attribute moving forward. Rather than just criticizing the administration, with his Roadmap for America, Ryan has presented an effective plan to redirect our once great country in a pro growth free market path.

New Jersey is a complete mess, until Chris Christie was recently elected Governor. Christie is a free market capitalist and is implementing policies that are certain to get New Jersey back to competitive footing. Christie recognizes the heavy burden that entitlements bear on economies and he is set to use Reagan principles to right the ship. And he does not care if you don't like it!

My third choice is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Although I quite like her, and I think more people support her than you may think, she may be too polarizing to take the Presidency. That being said, she is a rock star and has dictated policy from posting on her Facebook page. Can you imagine? Palin can continue in this role supporting policy and candidates that fit the "tea party" principles that most conservatives yearn for and speaking out on issues of importance during speaking engagements. I have met her personally, have seen her speak live and I warn you to underestimate her at your own peril.

And a special nod to Glenn Beck, whose foresight and courage to walk the plank alerting the American citizenry of the progressives aggressive march make him an American Hero in my mind.

2. Regarding the stock market, I may sell about 25% of everything of my positions and ride this out on the sidelines. What say you?

For sure, we will revisit the "flash crash" levels. Unfortunately, I think we will take another 15% or so down from there at a minimum. Companies have been beating earnings estimates that were revised down so deeply it makes them look better than they actually are. While I do think the economy is improving slightly, the housing crisis is not over, the unemployment rate under the policies being implemented will remain elevated for some time and the debt levels are unsustainable.

The environment is against small business, who creates jobs and innovates. This will put a brake on the recovery effort, as will governmental intervention efforts like health care, financial reform and cap and trade, which would be horrendous to small business.

Once it seems baked in the cake Obama is finished, a major move higher will take place. Until then, while their are individual opportunities which require tight supervision, cash is king!

3. You recently responded in the comment section to a Facebook entry by Eric Bolling of FOX Business as he discussed being thrown under the bus by Media Matters when he spoke of progressives ruining this country. Did Bolling go too far?

Absolutely not. I am gravely concerned about the direction the current administration is taking this country and am in total agreement with Eric that the progressives are ruining this country, and in a hurry.

The administration is lawless in many regards and seems to be following Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals as evidenced by how they treat those in opposition to them. The appease our enemies, apologize for America and fail to recognize America's position as a divinely inspired land that stands apart from the rest of the world. The administration lacks an appreciation for our Founding Fathers and favors collective rights rather than individual rights. They are economically inept and the foreign policy decisions boggle the mind. This is nothing more than a group of thugs from Chicago who are interested in righting the perceived wrongs of the past and seem poised to use global warming as a vehicle for the global transfer of wealth through whatever corrupt means necessary.

While I have had this right on the blog the whole road traveled, America is waking up slowly. I fear it may be too late. As Ronald Reagan said, "if we lose freedom here there is no place to escape to, this is the last stand on earth".

4. With the Big Ten talking expansion, College Football is apparently on the verge of what could become a major realignment of the conferences. Your take?

I am a traditionalist in this regard and have a great appreciation for the old rivalries we find across the country. I also like the intersectional matchups we usually see in September before conference play begins. One thing I do not like conferences having some members for basketball and then others for football, and look no further than the Big East for an example of this.

I think the best course of action would be for Notre Dame to drop the arrogance and join the Big Ten, which would allow the conference to hold a championship game and keep the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. The Pac Ten needs to expand to have 12 teams and follow suit with a championship game, with expansion teams being Boise State and Utah (BYU has obstacles which knock them out).

I think the demise of the Big 12 and potentially the ACC as we know it then triggering possible SEC expansion when and if the dominoes start to fall would not be good for the color and pageantry of NCAA College Football.

5. Guests on "Imus in the Morning" are asked to list their five favorite songs, What are your top five?

Wow! This will be tough. Here are five that come to mind in no particular order.

"In My Life"
The Beatles

"Kashmir"
Led Zeppelin

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
The Beatles

"Rhiannon"
Fleetwood Mac

"Simple Man"
Lynyrd Skynyrd

Keep the Tap Open at Happy Hour

According to a handful of reports, Happy Hour is over at FOX Business Network.

Happy Hour, a program set in the Bulls & Bears Pub in the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, covers market related business and political topics of the day, with hosts Eric Bolling, Rebecca Diamond and Cody Willard. It allows interaction between bar patrons and the hosts and guests. Although drafts are a bit stout at $8 a piece, it was fun to "be a part of the show" while having a few tall cool ones. Last time I was there I tried to turn Imogen Lloyd Webber into a conservative but failed miserably.

This decision is one of many changes that has been taking place at FBN, and I view this particular move a major mistake. Certainly, I am no television executive and I am sure they could not care what I think. But this was a quality program that had the unfortunate draw of going up against Glenn Beck on FOX News Channel, where Beck has been rewriting the record book for ratings. I watch Beck at 5PMEST, but usually caught the replay of Happy Hour. I think the show would fare much better if they moved it 6PM.

FBN has some outstanding talent on hand and I hope they have some positive plans for the future. So far I am not real keen on what has been happening. Certainly, the recent departure of the talented Alexis Glick, who is left of my taste, is a major loss. I hear Judge Andrew Napolitano is getting a weekend show, and that is good news as he is very strong. Charles Payne is a very good market analyst and I would like to see him get a show. FBN also apparently canceled the Saturday show with Dagan McDowell and Tracey Byrnes, which I think is another mistake. Eric Bolling is very good and I do like Cody Willard and his opinions as well. David Asman is top notch, and his program America's Nightly Scoreboard is great. Liz Claman and Stuart Varney are strong centerpieces for Neil Cavuto to work with.

I hope the future is bright for FBN, but I sure do wish they would keep the beers flowing during "Happy Hour"

Time To Fight The Thugs

We have seen this before. A year ago March, CNN was invited along as ACORN members were bused around to harass AIG employees at their homes. This past week, SEIU thugs trampled upon a Bank of America employees property rights and harassed his family in front of his home. Watch this:



Make no mistake, Bank of America (BAC:NYSE) would be my last preference of banks to do business with, although the Shore Bank in Chicago is giving them a run for their money. I am against BAC.

As far as the woman in the video, while it is unfortunate that her son was killed, I have a list of recommendations.

1. Get a job.
2. Don't buy things you cannot afford, especially big ticket items.
3. Owning a home is not a right.
4. No pay, no stay. Therefore, you should be foreclosed on.
5. Lose the community organizing crowd.
6. Get an appreciation for the rights of our citizens and comport yourself in a respectful manner.

Before I could blog on this episode of thugocracy, Glenn Beck exposed more on the subject. Please see the following report, a must see:



Wow! Is there any question what side anyone with sanity is on?

Now, as Beck points out, Ms. Easton is getting hammered for questioning the antics of the SEIU thugs. See stories HERE and HERE. The Huffington Post even blasts her for failing to disclose her husbands PR firms has ties to BAC. Are you kidding me? These thugs should be in jail for trespassing. Where were the cops anyway? Big Government has more on the SEIU terrorist actions

SEIU's John VanDeventer commented "If Nina Easton really wants to see 'personal intimidation,' she should head outside her posh neighborhood and follow along next time Bank of America forecloses on a family." News flash for Mr. VanDeventer! If a family overextended themselves and cannot meet their obligations they indicated they could by signing a contract, then they should be foreclosed on. Furthermore, Bank of America, and other banks, should not have given loans to "sub prime" borrowers and unions of thugs and governmental operatives (ACORN) should not have pressured/threatened banks to lend to these sub prime borrowers as home ownership is not a right.

Interestingly enough, I have been very critical of Nina Easton for seemingly being a total Obama ass kisser, although maybe that was to secure the big interview she got in 2009. Maybe, just maybe, she can recognize the thugocracy the Obama administration is running now that she witnessed it first hand. Should this be the case, what an expose she could pen for the folks over at Fortune Magazine, of which I have been a subscriber of in the past.

It would not take much work on her part, as Mr. Beck has done most, if not all of it, already. How about it Ms. Easton? What say you?

I have had enough of ACORN and SEIU, the role they are playing in our current administration and the actions of civil disobedience and thuggery they perform in advancing their cause. Next time they protest a foreclosure action in Orlando, I will be there standing against them in non violent protest. And I am looking forward to these thugs attempting voter intimidation in November.

Social Justice Storm Infiltrates Churches

As usual, Glenn Beck is shinning the spotlight on unfortunate actions by the progressives, of which many are "behind the scenes" and fly under the radar of most Americans.

One such attack that has been simmering for years is the assault on Christianity. You recall efforts to remove "In God We Trust" from our money, the removal of religious phrases and such from public buildings, the removal of school prayer and the latest item to capture time on the news cycle, the Supreme Court case decision and subsequent theft of the Mohave Desert War Memorial in the Mohave Desert.

However, while you were sleeping, the Obama administration has begun using Chicago thuggery in acquiring a foothold in many faiths to push their environmental, economic and social justice agendas. This is despicable behavior and once again goes against the wishes of our divinely inspired founding fathers. Glenn Beck has more, much more:



Please take time to watch this entire program for a very serious discussion on the internal fight taking place that you may know nothing about but that be integral to your future.

It is clear the progressives are working to infiltrate churches under the premise of "social justice" to gain a stronger foothold from which to advance. While on the surface, social justice may sound harmless, but the reality is it is simply a mechanism for the global transfer of wealth. As of yet, and I have been on the lookout, I have not uncovered any such goings on at the church my family attends. I have heard many a tale of issues elsewhere, and have listened to the cloaking words spoken by government officials on this subject, which I find beyond alarming.

The example Beck shows on the chalkboard about how the progressives have turned the table over in an effort to find vehicles to advance their agenda is not only very compelling, but it is accurate.

I hope you will take time out to get acclimated to what is taking place and stand up against this advance. As I have said, time is of the essence. As BHO's team has proclaimed, all they need is an emergency to take advantage of.

With them purposely wrecking the economy and going lax on the Global War on Terror, I unfortunately can identify two potential areas where emergencies may be looming.

HT/watchglennbeck.com

Imperial President of the World!

Did you hear the comments made recently by a top ranking weasel in Hollywood, Woody Allen, about Barack Obama? I know. You said to yourself "what a frickin idiot" and chuckled. Well, hold the laughter. Please listen to the following interview by Sean Hannity of the authors of "The Blueprint", Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski.



It is crystal clear to me that the premise of this book is right on target and the "transformation of America" President Obama engaged upon is reality, and it must be stopped immediately.

Don't buy it? Take a look around. The installation of some 40 Czars, who are not vetted by Congress, are a case in point as many have backgrounds and have previously stated positions completely out of sync with mainstream America. I wonder if many of them even know, but Obama has been stripping the Congress of it's power through corrupt mechanisms and subverting the constitution with the Czars dictating policy.

Then there was the takeover of the car companies, complete with picking winners and losers with respect to dealerships and pitching in the garbage the historical positions of bond holders.

Same with the courts. Obama railed against the campaign reform court decision on campaign finance even though he has dozens of lobbyists in his administration after vowing he would not and is the biggest campaign recipient from Fannie Mae, British Petroleum and Goldman Sachs, all in the news today for negative reasons. Remember the recent Appeals Court decision on net neutrality Obama did not like. Captain Earflaps declared he would bypass the court turning broadband service providers into public utilities in order to regulate under his direction rather than allowing free market principles to dictate. In addition, he aims through appointments to The Supreme Court to make it a rubber stamp for his radical positions, and both of his nominees fit his agenda perfectly.

These are just a few examples, and if you support Obama you may like the results of his actions. What if the other guy is in charge? It is these imperial actions, government taking away the rights of private citizens, subverting the Constitution and transferring power into a central position in the executive branch where Czars implement policy and can go unchecked, that represents a significant departure from the principles our government was founded on, and those include 3 equal branch's of government.

If you don't stand against Obama and behind our founding fathers, the transformation of America will become complete and life as we have known it will be nothing more than a memory.

Obama Approach on Terror Terrifying

Certainly, you saw the incredibly unsettling video of Attorney General Eric Holder responding to an inquiry as to whether radical Islam may be responsible for recent terror activity.



Holder is either incompetent or is displaying an extremely troubling position the Obama administration holds with respect to Isalmic terrorism. Holder has had several missteps along the way, including labeling Americans cowards and pontificating on the Arizona immigration law without having read it.

In a sane world, Holder would have never been picked for the AG position. Certainly, even Daffy Duck recognizes Holder should be terminated, and Investors Business Daily has editorialized about it Holder's Got To Go - Investors.com'>.

The position the administration has taken on the Global War on Terror is so idiotic there must be more to it than incompetence. Glenn Beck has some ideas (a second portion of his video is about Crime, Inc., an extremely troubling money laundering scheme about global climate change you must get your arms around).



Who are these people? With all the apologies they have issued and their insane approach to radical extremists who wish us harm, I wonder whose side this bunch is on. The approach on terror (or overseas contingency operation) by this administration is alarming and defensive in nature, which will get us hit. I know most Americans do not agree with the overreaching and puzzling positions the Obama administration has implemented since engaging in the transformation of America.

It is imperative for us in the know to inform those who can't yet see the damage taking place. Please do your part in waking up these folks, and time is really of the essence.

MLB Caused Coordinated Slide?

About the turn of the century, both of my college football teams were about to begin a very uncharacteristic slide, and in retrospect, the culprit may have been Major League Baseball.

After Tom Osborne retired at Nebraska, former 'Husker player and longtime coaching assistant Frank Solich took over and things were going fairly well. After a very successful season in 2001 when Nebraska lost to Miami for The National Championship in The Rose Bowl, Heisman winning signal caller Eric Crouch was gone. Had things gone as planned, a scholarship recruit from Houston, Texas would likely be ready to lead the 'Husker ground game. But, the big dollars of Major League Baseball would sideswipe his move to Lincoln, and now Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays is one of the leagues best players.

Don't think Crawford has not given thought to what might have been. Many others including ESPN's Tim Griffin, have as well. And if Crawford had excelled as projected, maybe Solich would have had enough success to keep his job, although then AD Steve Pederson seemed to have it in for good ole Frank. Oh well!

And don't think my Seminoles got away. With the departure of Heisman winner Chris Weinke, a recruit from his same high school singed a letter of intent with Florida State. This player was all state in basketball, the state player of the year in baseball and the USA Today player of the year in football, and he is a Seminole.

That is until the Minnesota Twins made Joe Mauer a very rich young man. A chance to play for the home town Twins is something Mauer could not pass up, and he is the best player in the game right now. In fact, Mauer just signed a contract extension of $184 million.

Florida State began descending into mediocrity with the main culprit being consistency at the quarterback position. Lost Letterman blog ranks Mauer the best football guy playing baseball, and ESPN's Bruce Feldman wonders if Mauer destroyed the Florida State Seminoles

By the time FSU found a decent signal caller in Christian Ponder, the defense had finally collapsed after a decade of bailing out the offense. This, of course, led to the early retirement of beloved Coach Bobby Bowden.

Blame it on baseball. I, like many others, continue to wonder what might have been.

Common Sense Chris

It has been a pleasure to watch Chris Christie get to work in New Jersey. Previously, we have praised Christie as he represents a return to prosperity.

Christie was challenged by a reporter this week, and I could not have written his response after the fact any better. Get a load of this:



If Christie continues on this path, he will be a powerful national leader in the very near future. One can only hope!

Turn Out the Light on Global Warming

Due to climate change and energy efficiency, which is nothing more than a global transfer of wealth, we are going to be dealing with a new type of light bulb. Sounds great, until you follow the governmental regulations is disposing of expired bulbs. Glenn Beck and his producer, Stu Burguire, follow the guidelines for disposal.



All laughs aside, this idiotic cap and trade legislation, which will be the job killer of all job killers, simply must be defeated.

Ryan Roadmap Charts Course

The economic road currently traveled by our current administration under President Barack Obama is immoral and is unsustainable, with growing debt and deficits out of control.

Enter Representative Paul Ryan (R:WI). Ryan chats with FOX Business host Stuart Varney. Take a listen:



Ryan, an emerging star in the GOP, has thoroughly charted the course to recovery for our ailing economy. Take a look at his plan, A Roadmap for America's Future.

Paul Ryan is someone who "gets it", and if Uncle Sam does not implement most, if not all, of his roadmap, the future for not only us, but our children and grandchildren, will be at a standard of living well beneath what you and I have experienced.

Doom of Debt Forecast

Now that bailout nation has turned into bailout planet, with President Obama pressuring German Chancellor Merkel to bailout Greece and scolding Spain on high debt levels, everything is fine. A quick check of the DOW and the NASDAQ shows all green. Life is good.

Where is Lee Corso? Not so fast my friend!

I recommend you give close listen to The Black Swan:



Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, is alarmingly correct. All is not well. The markets are up because the US economy is doing better of late and companies are beating drastically lowered levels of earnings forecasts. And hey, throw a trillion dollars at the problems and you had better hope for some positive results.

The ban aid issued Greece will work in the short term, but the problems have not been fixed, and the expansion of debt obligations versus decreasing or stable income will shortly lead us right back where we started. Only, the next time, the list of those impacted in contagion will increase. Other PIIGS will be included, and Germany appears to recognize it. After all, PIIGS don't fly!

Certainly, the United States is not Greece. But, due to the incompetence in our current governance, if we find ourselves with a bankrupt Europe on our back, our financial status will rapidly decline. We are extremely vulnerable, and look no further than Wall Street last Thursday for confirmation.

There was no "fat-finger" or equipment malfunction when the DOW fell 1000 points in trading last week. There is no problem with Proctor & Gamble (PG:NYSE), who incidentally would be a place for investors to hide in such tumultuous markets. A major player(s) got out, and other mid to major players had algorithmic stop loss levels incorrectly positioned, thus triggering a cascading sell off. Once those in the know identified value in the market, buyers rushed in and leveled off the selling pressure at levels prior to the circus of events. But make no mistake, a seller of significant standing, not Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob, shifted investment from the equity markets into a safer position. Did you notice the rise in gold this week?

The socialistic blueprint in Europe is inefficient and is in collapse. It will not survive. For the Untied States, we should immediately take notice, by implementing no new legislation increasing entitlements, inclusive of the Cap and Trade bill. The health care legislation should be repealed and privatized, including student loans which somehow made its way into the bill. Spending must be slashed by 30% minimum, and if we don't take immediate action in this regard, perhaps this article can give you a glimpse of the future.

Unfortunately, the administration seems smitten with Cloward & Piven and appears to be intentionally trying to crash the system by overpowering it with entitlements. As Taleb said, the Obama team is likely not forecasting the future levels of risk properly, which is a problem of alarming magnitude. Clearly, you recognize the US government, and thus the taxpayer, cannot shoulder the immoral increase in debt and thus will collapse under incredibly excessive taxation. Then, no doubt, we will see civil unrest in our streets, and life as you knew it will be over.

Cash is King, at least until a measurement of anticipated outcomes (risk) indicates a very favorable November. It is up to us.

Empower the Entrepreneur

Across America, under the tyrannical governance of the Obama administration, small business, home of the entrepreneur, is under assault. The Kauffman Foundation, a foundation formed to attain economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success by Ewing Kauffman, Marion Laboratories Inc. founder and former owner of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals, is combating the assault with a new entrepreneurial pledge.

Through the pledge, the foundation correctly concludes it will be the entrepreneur who leads any future economic recovery and they ask you to pledge to join the movement.



In that spirit, I am reminded of the great story of entrepreneurship of a self made multi-millionaire, Chris Gardner, whose story is depicted in one of my favorite movies, The Pursuit of Happyness. Recently, Chris Gardner sat down with Eric Bolling, Cody Willard and Rebecca Diamond on FOX Business's Happy Hour to discuss entrepreneurship.



Cash is in fact king, and the best path to prosperity is free market capitalism and the empowering of the entrepreneur. The current political path to socialism must be thwarted for our economy to regain expected levels of growth and expansion.

A Big Frickin Zeal

The other day on the Glenn Beck Radio Program, Glenn brought to the attention of his audience to a blogger from New Zealand who, like Beck, is hot on the Obama shenanigans. His name is Trevor Loudon. Take a listen:



Certainly, this is a blog you will want to keep in your daily whip around. You can find his work at New Zeal. Loudon's work is substantial, thorough and well bookmarked.

You may also want to bookmark his Keywiki site, which unlocks the covert side to US and global politics. I find it a fantastic reference.

The evidence detailing the path to the total transformation of The United States of America by Obama and his associates is overwhelming, and you can follow the story in Loudon's Obama Files section. Time is short! You must become engaged, educate yourself and spread the word!

Carrying That Weight

The FAB FAUX take a crack at, among the best album sides ever recorded, The Beatles Abbey Road side 2. Enjoy:

The Fab Faux - Abbey Road Side 2 (mostly) from The Fab Faux on Vimeo.

These guys are carrying their weight I'll say. I give it a very solid A! I wish I had that level of musical talent.

HT/VERUMSERUM

Time for Innovative Lane Change

My friends have often accused me of being a master at stating the obvious. Given the horrific economic conditions of the day, advancing innovation through thinking outside the box may be a great way to expand incoming revenues.

Looks like I missed such an opportunity.

Cornell Law Professor Michael Lynn, after an exhaustive study, found that waitresses with larger breast sizes received higher tips. Ya think?
While this may seem self-evident to some, Lynn said that “it’s always important to test what seems like obvious cultural wisdom.” Professor Lynn indicates that while good service is appreciated, it weighs in far behind the physical appearance as far as tips go. “[Restaurants] might very well want to hire waitresses who will earn larger tips,” Lynn said. “[These employees] can largely be identified through their physical characteristics.”

As a former bar owner, I could have reported the findings of this research many moons ago. The list of customers stopping by, not just for our cold beer and great wings, but to visit with one of their favorite waitresses, was long.

Hopefully, Professor Lynn's study was not funded by some government grant, which would obviously be a complete waste of money. But, if the government is stupid enough to hand out money for these type of things, I have got to get my thinking cap engaged and start selling the volumes of seemingly useless and obvious information I have in my head.

Economic Teachable Moment

Today, we saw the DOW downdraft almost 1000 points before settling in with a 350 point loss. There are news reports of a trading error by CitiGroup (partially Govt owned). At any rate, growing concerns over the debt with the PIIGS, the immorally increasing debt of Uncle Sam, an onslaught of entitlement programs and increasing excessive regulatory mechanisms and taxation has left our financial markets very trigger happy, and rightfully so.

Unfortunately, the problems in our economic climate will be increasing due to the numerous missteps by the Obama administration. Reaction to the staggering debt and the unsustainable increase of liabilities you see playing out in Greece this week is a preview of things to come here on Main Street if we don't abruptly change course.

Critical in that new course would be for the Obama administration to about face and embrace the entrepreneur. The strength of our economy is the growth of existing and the emergence of new small businesses, who do the greater majority hiring. As a small business owner, I can tell you regulation has become a significant barrier, and will get worse if the financial reform package, spearheaded by the corrupt Senator Chris Dodd (D:CT), who we have blasted in the past, becomes law. The Obama pledge of not raising taxes on families making less than 250K annually has already been broken, and the extra taxation extracts capital, the mothers milk of business expansion and credit, from the system.

Either the Obama administration is stupidly ill informed on the subject or is attempting to crash the system. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two about the role of the entrepreneur in the success of a growing economy by listening to a recent interview of Carl Schramm of the Kauffman Foundation by Erin Burnett of CNBC.



The solutions to the economic problems for Uncle Sam are strikingly simple for the Obama administration and our congressional leaders, or anyone, to grasp if the motivation is there. It starts with the embracing of the entrepreneur to create new small business opportunities.

Many of these emerging companies will fail, and lessons will be learned. This is the route to take. Turning bailout nation into bailout planet is traveling down a road that will lead to the events you see in Greece. When it happens, you know who to blame.

Casting the Blame

While there is nowhere close to the media howl in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are rumblings that the Obama administration has been a failure in addressing the most unfortunate oil rig explosion and resulting spill of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Among those asking questions, and rightfully so, are The New York Times, Rush Limbaugh, and even left wing moonbat Bill Maher. On FOX News, the lovely Megyn Kelly discusses the issue with Juan Williams and Brad Blakeman. Take a listen:


To recap, President Bush was excoriated for his administrations response to Hurricane Katrina, unfairly as I saw it. The National Weather Service had it nailed, and the Emergency Alert System kicked in. New Orleans residents were told to evacuate, even by Bush himself in a pre-landing announcement. Most who stayed weathered the hurricane itself, but the devastation that came after the levee broke was severe. When the levee breaks, you got no where to go. Bush and the FEDS were held back by state and local governments (recall NO Mayor Ray Nagin), who were totally inept.

When the oil rig platform explosion happened, it seemed the situation would be handled. However, as shown in this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video, officials were worried about extensive oil leakage as reported by theblogprof.com. It has been reported that the congress was by law supposed to have fire booms and failed to do so, in yet another example of governmental ineptitude. If true about the fire booms, someone in government is criminally negligent.

Obviously, in retrospect, both the Bush administration and the Obama administration would handled some things differently. In my view, the big difference is the arrogance of Obama, who was among the many mouthing off at the actions of Bush but feeding us the load of crap over the weekend that his administration was on this "day 1", which if it were not so serious, would be laughable. And, I cannot help but think this may be another emergency the Obama administration wants to take advantage of, what with cap and trade on the horizon.

A big difference is the media coverage, as there are very few questioning Obama on this. From Sheppard Smith to Kayne West, Bush was getting an absolute earful. Obama?

Meanwhile, Obama's Katrina is taking place and he out is telling jokes, attacking Wall Street, calling out Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck at U Michigan and firing distasteful jokes about the Jonas Brothers while yucking it up at the National Correspondents dinner. But don't worry, it is British Petroleum's job to clean it up and Obama has his foot on the neck of BP (BP:NYSE).

Wow! Even though we have an environmental disaster and substantial forthcoming economic damage, I feel much better.

Advantage Bush. Again!

HT Gateway Pundit, Doug Ross and The Blog Prof.

Webkinz on the Warpath

At the request of my daughter, I have joined those in ownership of a Webkinz.

My Webkinz is a Lil'kinz black bear, who is named after one of my heroes, Ronald Reagan. Reagan turns 1 year old today.

He will celebrate the afternoon with some other free market capitalist Webkinz gathering at 5PM EST to eat cake and watch Glenn Beck!