Squeeze The Songbirds

We are approaching the Memorial Day weekend, where most Americans, at least those who remain gainfully employed, will enjoy a three day weekend with family and friends. 

A sadly decreasing amount will take time to remember our fallen heroes, who have paved the way for the freedoms our nation currently enjoys.  Although our thoughts and prayers are unable to pay adequate respect to these brave souls, they are offered with heartfelt gratitude.

 

While we have have tens of thousands in service, perhaps in harms way and away from their families and loved ones on this holiday weekend, one US Marine on this day finds himself in a unexpectedly dangerous plight.  He is currently being held captive in a Mexican prison, essentially for trespassing and in possession of legal firearms.

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who was in San Diego for PTSD treatment, made a wrong turn at the border after dining out with friends and found himself in Mexico, where he sought assistance from the Mexican authorities.  Greta Van Susteren has more, including how easy it would have been for a wrong turn to be made at night at the border.

Sgt. Tahmooressi, who served two combat tours in Afghanistan, has now been imprisoned for over 50 days and now fears for his life.  In a point of clarification, jails in Mexico make our jails look like an afternoon dining at Taco Bell.

Given the high level of disdain of our military by the Obama administration, I know you would be shocked to learn that there has been no attempt by the administration to reach out to Mexican authorities to rectify the situation.

We will save the disgusting issues surrounding the Veterans Administration for a later post (boy howdy am I torqued), but Obama could use some goodwill in this arena, and obtaining freedom for  Sgt. Tahmooressi would seemingly be an easy way to accomplish that.  Imagine the photo op!

Secretary of State John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, visited with Mexican authorities today, perhaps championing some global climate change nonsense, but there was no hint of the subject of Sgt. Tahmooressi having been engaged.



Sgt Tahmooressi

Some are working to secure the release of Sgt. Tahmooressi, most notably Rep Duncan Hunter of California.  As reported by Investors Business Daily, Hunter, R-Calif., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has asked Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to suspend military aid to Mexico, including training, intelligence cooperation and equipment transfers until Tahmooressi is released, a plea that has fallen on deaf ears.

"You have the authority to suspend cooperation with the Mexican military in a number of areas," said Hunter, who served two tours as a member of the Marine Corps in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. "In light of the Mexican government's incarceration of Andrew, I urge you to immediately consider suspending training and equipment assistance to Mexico until Andrew's case is resolved."

What legitimate reason could our President have for not sternly asking for the cooperation of the Mexican authorities in this matter?  After all, Mexicans are illegally entering our country, by the hundreds, on a daily basis, usually in possession of illegal narcotics.  Should they fail to cooperate, the United States has a myriad of punitive and persuasive actions that could be taken, as their actons have grown quite tiresome.

I think Obama, due to Fast & Furious, is not pressing the issue with Mexican authorities, who might start singing like a songbird if the squeeze is placed on them.  You see, in one of the scandals the Democrats think is a political attack, it appears the Obama administration illegal gun-running operation which sold major weaponry to powerful Mexican drug cartels in a backdoor effort to attack the second amendment.

With the help of the communications arm of the administration, otherwise known as the mainstream media, the administration has done a decent job of covering up that impeachable action, and it would certainly be a shame for Mexican authorities to mess that all up now.

The actions of this President with respect to our military is disgusting, and it can no longer be tolerated.  Any and all legally permissible action must be taken, and while I doubt it will do any good, I will be placing a call to the offices of each of my Senate representation, Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, in an effort to get our American hero, Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, home.

I hope you will join me.  It is something we all could, and should do, as we enjoy the Memorial Day weekend.  If we move fast, maybe Sgt. Tahmooressi can home in time to give the command to start engines Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway for NASCAR's running of the Coca-Cola 600.

We would honored.

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO

Living Lies

Without question, the average household in America, at least those that are employed, are working harder and longer to provide the same standard of living of their household from just a decade ago. 

As such, even with expanding outlets, finding time to access the news of the day is tough. For the average individual who is not well schooled on political maneuvering, the degree of difficulty of deciphering the real story is almost impossible. 

Therefore, with the mainstream media continuously misrepresenting the facts, the regular working folks have absolutely no idea the level of corruption and deceit of the Obama administration.

In short, the lie to the American public on a daily basis.

Isn't funny that Obama sometimes knows about local events and stories that support his progressive agenda but finds out about the devastating effects of his presidency on the evening news?  Scandals involving Fast and Furious, The IRS and now the Veterans Administration; found out by the same news reports you and I did.

You think I kid you:



With the country 18 trillion dollars in debt, it is obvious Obama  does not require an advisory staff of thousands to give him information of the goings on if he is gaining this knowledge from The CBS Evening News, which, sadly, is nothing more than an extension of his communications department.

While the low information crowd may think President Obama is simply disengaged, the reality is quite the contrary.  Obama knows exactly what is going on, no doubt orchestrating much of it, and does not "find things out" from the news, like the folks.

From the Cloward and Piven Strategy of crashing our economic system through overload to implementation of the theories of Saul Alinsky, among those, pushing falsities with such repetition they break to the counterside, then are considered true or no longer relevant.

Obama is operating a masterful campaign of deception on the citizenry, transforming this once great nation into a big government collective, but time may be running out for him.  While I continue to be puzzled that Obama was able to win a second term, it certainly seems the lengthy scandal train has picked up enough of the citizenry that the trust the people have placed in him has been severely damaged.

The Obama lies, plentiful and historic, in which many politicians from both sides have enabled, have placed our nation in great peril.  The appearances of an awakening citizenry would be welcomed with great enthusiasm, as time is short in effort to protect Uncle Sam from enemies, foreign and domestic, who seek our demise. 

The enemies referenced above would include those who are against our Constitution and seek the transformation of The United States of America.

Dry Run Fly By

Manipulation of the news has escalated to near boiling levels.

A classic conflict between futurist authors Aldous Huxley and George Orwell centers in that Orwell thought information would be withheld from the public while Huxley opined that the public would be drowned in a sea of irrelevant data, unable or unwilling to decipher pertinent information they require.

Score one for Huxley.

A new story came across the transom last week that I found most concerning, and it disappeared with a false explanation about as fast as it appeared.  NBC News was discredited, which is nothing new.

Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, was shut down for several hours, causing delays and cancellations backing up airline travel across the globe.  Among the busiest airports in the world, I would think such an issue would be major new.

Additionally, given the world we now live in, the cause for such an interruption in air traffic would seemingly be of paramount concern.

NBC News reported a "computer glitch" caused by a high flying US U2 Spy plane adjusting altitudes was the source of the problem, wreaking havoc on on flight command control and radar systems.  As is common with the once proud peacock network, the story was quickly discredited.

As reported by NBC News,  the U-2 was flying at 60,000 feet, but air traffic control computers were attempting to keep it from colliding with planes that were actually miles beneath it. The computers at the L.A. Center are programmed to keep commercial airliners and other aircraft from colliding with each other. The spy plane’s altitude and route apparently overloaded a computer system called ERAM, which generates display data for air-traffic controllers. Back-up computer systems also failed. The U-2 spy plane is the same type of aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Russia 50 years ago and more recently Afghanistan.

U2 Spy planes have routinely operated at these altitudes for decades without issue, so what may have happened at LAX.

A theory I am given from consultation with insiders within the business informs me that data entry on the ERAM system was possibly a culprit. There are reported issues with ERAM, and there literally is no adequate backup system as there appears to be interface issues with the previous backup system which is quickly being phased out.  This leaves no adequate backup system, and therefore, for the first time in history, the FAA is flying without double redundancy.

The Air Force officially denied the U2, also known as the Dragon Lady, caused the issue, which seems obvious. It is assumed the Air Force knows what caused this troubling issue, but they have not made their findings public.The U2 has more problems landing than it does wreaking havoc on flight systems. 



US U2 Dragon Lady Spy Place and Chevrolet Camaro SS

Lack of knowledge leads to speculation, and some of the theories emerging are quite disturbing.

Actions in the Ukraine have seriously strained US relations with Russia, and Vladimir Putin has stepped up military action and mobilization across the globe.  Russian long range aircraft have been acknowledged along the California coast, as reported by SHTFPlan.com.

Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Commander of United States Air Forces in the Pacific, acknowledged a significant increase in the activities by Russian long-range strategic aircraft flying along the California coast. There was no comment about whether the aircraft were nuclear capable, but it has not been since the Cold War ended in the early 1990s that Russian patrols have skirted the West Coast and California.

Did the Russian aircraft test advanced technology, which may range from system jamming equipment, stealth technologies or perhaps a non-nuclear EMP weapon, in muscle flexing fashion?
Given the current US weakness, it would be the perfect time for Putin to seize the opportunity to test new military technology. 

Beyond revoking his NetFlix card, what might Obama do?  Putin is not afraid of hashtag rhetoric, and he is not happy with financial sanctions the Obama administration has imposed.

Perhaps the US accidentally caused the issue while testing technology?  If so, this is also troubling as this type of accidental error could have had devastating consequences.  Given our military remains the envy of the world, I really doubt we inadvertently made this error.

We are in real trouble, and are under attack.  The hacking of computers, from major retail to the military, has been an issue, there have documented attacks on our financial markets and there have been lightly reported attacks by unknown foes of power grids across the nation.  A airport flight control system seems a logical next step.

With the US at its weakest position in five decades thanks the policies of President Obama, those who wish America harm see the remaining years our his presidency as an optimal time to attack us.  Given our remaining military prowess, these attacks will not be with conventional weapon systems.

The weapons of choice will be strategic, through use of technology in hijacking, disabling or dismantling our computerized systems.  Even primitive actions like starting fires can become very costly weapons, through finance and manpower, to our infrastructure.

The facts of what happened at LAX remain elusive with very limted media coverage.  Was this a dry run of some sort?  Who knows?

While the news media routinely dismisses stories like these, bombarding you with useless stories of irrelevance and news item propaganda, you should keep promptly dismissed stories like this one ON YOUR RADAR!

The Long Goodbye

Kim & Glen Campbell

With great sadness, we knew this was coming, particularly when news came out a couple of weeks ago.

Kim Woolen Campbell, longtime wife of music legend Glen Campbell, reports that the public musical career of The Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell, is likely over.

Campbell's battle with Alzheimer’s has progressed to the point where, as FOX News reports, Kim told People Magazine he is now living in a full-time care facility near the family’s home in Nashville.

Kim also said that Glen is no longer able to tune his guitar, but can still play some "licks' finding joy in that.  Kim was quoted in the article as saying "his disease has been “absolutely heartbreaking” for her and the couple’s three children, they try to stay positive".

This seems to be progressing far too quickly for Campbell.  In 2012, Campbell was on his farewell tour across the country with Kim and his kids, who played in his band.  His dueling banjo act with his daughter Ashley drew rave reviews from fans at every performance.

As previously posted, my family and I were honored to attend on of these shows at Silver Springs in Ocala, Florida.  It was certainly a day we will always cherish and will never forget.  It really touched our hearts.

We wish Glen and his family all the best during these times, hoping they will always cherish the joy Glen and his music has given his legions of fans over the years.



God Bless You Glen!

Range of Emotions in The Good Life

 

As Gary Sharp of Sharp & Benning in the Morning on 1620 The Zone in Omaha accurately summarized, on a day when sports, politics and life came together on a Tuesday in Nebraska, a "full range of emotions" littered the landscape from the Harper-Schramm residence halls on 14th Street in Lincoln up to Leavenworth Street in Omaha.

With voters heading to the polls from Sydney to Bellevue, a puzzling story surfaced involving a pair of University of Nebraska athletes. NU long-distance runner Lucas Keifer and starting linebacker Josh Banderas were arrested and charged with felony theft as evidence appears to indicate they stole approximately seven locked bikes from the UNL campus.

Keifer and Banderas both attended Lincoln Southeast HS.  Banderas is the son of Tom Banderas, an outstanding tight end in the mid eighties for the Big Red.

By all accounts, testified to by Zone co-host Damon Benning, Banderas would be among the last of the football roster to be suspected of such activity.  However, as one of the culprits stated, it was a bonehead move.

No kidding.  If only they had stopped for some crab legs.

Meanwhile, the proclamation of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R:KY, that every Tea Party candidate would be "crushed everywhere" went down in flames.

Ben Sasse, a candidate backed by Tea Party stalwarts such as Sarah Palin, Sen, Ted Cruz, R:TX, Club for Growth, Sen. Mike Lee, R:UT, and Glenn Beck, won going away.  Shane Osborn, no relation to famed Nebraska football coach and politician Dr. Tom Osborne, seemed like a decent candidate, but had some issues with regard to his Navy past and informed the audience of The Glenn Beck Program on radio of his involvement with Grover Norquist of Americans For Tax Reform, whose cozy relationship with Muslim interests give many cause for concern.

While we are at it, Pete Ricketts,  President and Director of Platte Institute for Economic Research, won the GOP primary in a close one over Jon Bruning, who had just lost a Senate race to now Senator Deb Fischer.  Ricketts, son of J. Joseph Ricketts, Founder of Ameritrade and owner of The Chicago Cubs, a fiscal and social conservative, won the endorsement of Sarah Palin.  Ricketts is almost assured of victory in the general, with a substantial lead in recent polling.

So, it was a big win for The Tea Party, much to the dismay of Senator McConnell, who should know better than to mess with Sarah Palin.  The Tea Party victories are just beginning. 

Some good folks, who stuck their neck out, lost races but can hold their heads high as we certainly appreciate their participation in the debate.  We listen to voices rather than attempt to quiet them.

Maybe those living The Good Life could have closed this day with some baseball at TD Ameritrade Park, where I am told hamburgers were two for one.  But, this is not a food show.

Sadly, those hopes ended with the wheel of a bus going round and round. The college baseball game with Nebraska facing Creighton scheduled for Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park was canceled due to travel issues.  After having their flight canceled after defeating Michigan State in East Lansing, the Big Red baseball team traveled back by bus.  However, they were unable to arrive in Omaha in time for the first pitch.

A fitting closing for a day which encompassed a wide range of emotions; mixing life, politics and sports.  Don't Tread On Me and GBR!

Information Overload

Last Sunday was Mother's Day.

 

It sometimes seems as though Mother's Day was a creation of a clandestine meeting between executives at Hallmark and FTD Florist, with children running around seeking cards and flowers in anticipation of a celebration during the day.

 

In spite of the commercialization, which as a free market capitalist I have no issue with, it is a wonderful day of reflection and an opportunity to express our love and gratitude for our Mothers.

 

Sadly, many have lost their Mothers, some have strained relationships and some have never met their Mother.  It is noteworthy to pray for these folks on days like this, hoping they have found love and support from loving friends and family along the way.

 

If Facebook is any kind of example, most have.

 

The greater majority of my personal Facebook friends posted on this day sharing their love and thanks to their Mothers.  In many ways, this was touching and warmed the heart.

 

On the other hand, I wonder how many of those posting, if possible, expressed this person to person.  Additionally, I cringed at the excessive amount of private information many voluntarily surrendered and freely informed the world of. 

We assume that all this information will be consumed by those who do not wish us harm or seek to place limits on our liberty and freedom.  However, Edward Snowden gave us glimpse this may not be the case.

 

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards--Aldous Huxley

 

 

I find it astounding the amount of information people place on Facebook, many practically offering live daily look-ins on their private lives.  Edward Bernays would be gushing in amazement!

Although it is a personal choice with seemingly no right or wrong answer, I have decided not to use Facebook for a slew of personal posts concerning birthdays, anniversaries and holiday proclamations.

Needless to say, it appears I am in the minority.  No worries.

What I am not in the minority of is having love and admiration for my Mom, feeling heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for all the things she has done and thankfully continues to do for me and our family.

Happy Mothers Day to all those very special ladies out there, who are of vital importance to be sure.

Taking Names

It is amazing that a group of patriots, whose rose up in recent years in the spirit of the those among the founders of this great country, can be so continuously vilified in this day and age as The Tea Party.

Although there is not a person at the head of this movement, at the core of the objectives of those associated represent the founding principles of our nation, which are closely associated with the Constitution, and in particular The Bill of Rights with acknowledgement this is a nation founded on Christian values.

Hard to imagine folks at quarrel with this, but the opposition is significant, and without question, on both sides of the aisle.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, when asked about the races which pit a Tea Party representative versus an establishment GOP candidate, McConnell said "We are going to crush them everywhere".

In an early round of primary action in North Carolina last evening, a Tea Party backed candidate, Greg Brannon, lost in the GOP primary to an establishment Republican named Thom Tillis, who was a favorite of the GOP establishment and supported by Karl Rove's American Crossroads group.  Brannon, a Constitutional Conservative Republican, who was backed by Senators Mike Lee, R:UT, and Rand Paul, R:KY, is an MD and has extensive command of the Constitution.

Again, while Tillis is likely preferable over Sen. Kay Hagan, the Democrat candidate, his positions indicate he favors progressivism, where increasing government control of the citizenry is welcomed.
Certainly, this position does not coincide with the free market individualism mindset of The Tea Party or those from both parties who may be considered libertarian. 

In absorption of Sen. McConnell's comment, we gather that the GOP establishment would rather edge closer to the progressive democrats than embrace the Tea Party.  Now, perhaps, one can understand why there has been little success in opposition to the progressive leadership which has presided over the decline of prosperity and liberty of America over the last decade or so.

Sen. McConnell is also facing a challenge from a representative of the Tea Party in candidate Matt Bevin.  Gloating in the victory last night, RNC spokesman Jahan Wilcox tweeted the following:
"Next up is that fraud @MattBevin! #GOP.

Sarah Palin, appropriately, found such action juvenile and not becoming "the establishment".

While the GOP establishment fails to consider Bevin a legitimate candidate, ( a tactic utilized recently by the Obama administration in effort to de-legitimize those Benghazi inquiries ) Bevin is certainly worthy of consideration and a candidate who in fact has my full support in his effort to defeat Sen. McConnell.

Things get ugly in campaigns, there is no doubt.

However, I will scorecard each of the GOP establishment on their actions and not verbalized rhetoric and campaign website commentary on how conservative they are.  On that scorecard, Sen.McConnell fails miserably, and his intent to crush his internal opposition while hardly standing in opposition to the orchestrated wreckage of the Obama administration.

The scorecard I have of establishment GOP players who insult me by attacking candidates sharing my views rather than opposing progressive Democrates with equal vigor is increasing in names.

Among those on the list are Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Eric Cantor, Rep. Peter King, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Lindsey Graham and, although I certainly respect the heroism and extensive service to our country, Sen. John McCain.

I will campaign for and donate accordingly. Check out MattBevin.com!

Tick Tock

JACK IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

Twisted Tales

I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

That was my reaction to the following headline of a post by Tyler Durden over at ZeroHedge.com:

"With 1 In 3 Homes Unaffordable, Freddie Mac Prepares To Enter The Trailer Home Loan Market"

After fighting through the propaganda presented daily by the Obama administration and their media partners, it is quite obvious that the issues surrounding this headline are illustrative of an anemic and fragile economy, with our country teetering on economic peril few can currently visualize.

With all the failed stimulus, which I was against, we literally have nothing to show for it.  The economy "grew" an a paltry 0.01 percent last quarter, and it culprit is not the much discussed weather.  The culprit remains increasing taxation and regulation, and Obamacare, the biggest job killer we have witnessed in many a moon.

With over 90 million potentially fully employed workers out of work and the lowest labor participation rate since the economically dismal Carter administration, job growth is practically extinct and the annual after tax income for the average worker has decreased approximately 10% since the financial crisis of 2009.

Therefore, although housing prices have significantly retreated, due to a bludgeoned job market, as reported by Zillow, a third of the homes for sale are unaffordable to the average household. In addition, due to Dodd Frank and increased lending requirements, there is increasing difficulty in obtaining financing. 

Housing purchases have been happening over the past year, which have potentially inflated values.
However, it has not been the young family moving up from apartments or starter homes accounting for the sales; it has been Wall Street Hedge Funds and public and private real estate asset management firms, who have been making purchases to rent back to the increasing number of potential buyers unable to make purchases.

It is noted that in recent months these firms have significantly backed off their number of purchases.

Mark Hanson is a top notch real estate analyst, and he recently presented the following chart indicating cash purchases, which were a stunning 63% of residential properties sold in Florida in December:

Mark Hanson/MHanson.com

As the FED seemingly prepares to end qualitative easing, interest rates, which have been been held down and are not a true reflection of the market where economic equilibrium would be measured, without continued FED intervention, are sure to increase.  With the employment landscape stagnant as best, the purchasing of home will become increasingly unaffordable.

Seemingly in anticipation of the negative environment for housing created by the government and their partners, GSE Freddie Mac is now set to begin financing manufactured-housing communities.

Make no mistake, increased financing opportunities are always welcome, although the government should not be involved, as the private sector should be the marketplace for mortgage lending.

But, with this action, is there a story behind the story?

Manufactured housing is typically utilized by lower income families and acreage owners in rural communities.  Are stick built homes to become increasing unaffordable, forcing middle class owners to back step and unitize manufactured housing?

Keep in mind as well, that potentially increasing regulatory actions by the EPA, under the Agenda 21 guidelines, may make transactions on older existing homes much more costly for all involved through having the subject improvement meet EPA guidelines with respect to energy efficiency of appliances, windows, roof cover,etc. before qualifying for financing from GSE's or money center banks the government has interests in.

As a real estate investor, I have not included manufactured housing in my portfolio, primarily due to limited economic life of the improvement in comparison to stick built improvements.  Be advised I am not the only investor aware of this. 

Thanks to the Obama administration and their anti-capitalist policies, the economic conditions in the country are horrendous.  Reminiscent of the climate in the Great Depression, if you are fortunate to have good, stable employment, it has been your neighbor who has been laid off who cannot find adequate employment who is really feeling the brunt of the poor economy.

With employment stagnant at best, and the true future effects of Obamacare unable to be adequately forecasted, the job market remains facing unnecessary head winds with are keeping our economy from reaching high efficiency.

Perhaps Freddie Mac knows something most of you don't, and is looking for another investment opportunity?   The weather is unpredictable; don't get the tales twisted.