RIP My Beloved Jennifer
On May 13th I got to hold, for the last time, the hand I had held for 42 years. There are not enough meaningful words to describe what my life has been with my Jenny, and how big a hole is left in my heart. I will thus borrow from Harry Chapin to express that Jenny Was The Story of My Life.
“Now sometimes words can serve me well
Sometime words can go to hell
For all that they do
But for every dream that took me high
There’s been a dream that’s past me by
I know it’s so true
And I can see it clear out to the end
And I’ll wisper to her now again
Because she shared my life
For more than all the ghosts of glory
She makes up the story
She’s the only story
Of my life
Oh my Jenny, oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny, my love
Oh my Jenny, oh my Jenny
You are my rainbow above
The GOP Election Debacle Continues
The election debacle on the part of the GOP/Romney Camp continues. GOP leadership under Reice Preibus is feckless at best and a total disaster at worst. A landslide electoral college loss, that was only lost by 407K votes, takes real examination and explanation for the failures. That leads me to several questions post election.
Why did the much touted ORCA software fail? A friend, who was part of the ORCA group in a Florida precinct, told me he knew by 8 am that the software didn’t work and when he followed up with his contact person they had no clue. As a result he left the precinct and went home, completely distraught. Three questions. 1. Was the program hacked? 2. If so by whom? 3. If not hacked were millions of dollars spent on a system built to fail?
How about election fraud? I have two questions concerning this news story. 1. Why was it held until after the election? & 2. Why are the illegal voters only going to be removed from the rolls rather than prosecuted?
Multiply this two county problem by thousands of counties and you have the ability to change election results. Where is the GOP demanding answers and prosecutions?
In an earlier blog I discussed the Philadelphia polling stations denying access to the polls of LEGAL minority (Republican) inspectors. How is an election deemed fair when inspectors from each party are not given equal opportunity to observe the process. In these stations participation was over 90% and Obama received 99% of the vote.
Philadelphia was not alone! The actions of Philadelphia were exceeded by Cleveland. There were 21 districts in Cleveland where Mitt Romney received ZERO votes and 23 where he received just ONE. In 44 Cleveland districts Obama outpolled Romney by 14,686 to 23, and in one precinct they had 100% voter turnout. That is so inconceivable, in a fair election, that would be humorous if it were not so serious.
In another election cycle our Military has been disenfranchised. THIS MUST STOP. Same story different year. Pentagon fails to get ballots to those in the field and return, in a timely manner, the ballots of those who did get to vote. It appears that the Allan West Congressional race is going to be lost by this disenfranchisement and the fact that St. Lucie county had 141% participation. Guess who got the majority of those illegal votes.
This election is over. The results are final. This does not excuse the GOP from mounting an aggressive campaign to uncover and report every illegal voting issue. The anecdotal and verifiable fraud claims have to be dealt with. If the current leadership of the party remains feckless then it is time for new leadership.
UPDATE: Banana Republic Post
It wasn’t just Cleveland. St. Lucie County Florida had 141% voter participation. Allan West campaign also found military absentee ballots in a warehouse uncounted.
The Banana Republic Election
I know people, I will be accused of being a “sour grapes loser” to question results because the person I voted for lost the election. Then so be it as I state that this election, and our election process, would make Dictators in Banana Republics proud. Anecdotal evidence aside let’s look at factual evidence.
This is the now famous mural in a Philadelphia polling place before a judge ruled that it must be covered. In the before and after photos it is plain to see that poll workers took the judges order seriously. This was just one example, of many around the country, where images of President Obama were illegally visible within sight of voters. In addition poll workers were wearing Obama clothing at numerous sites while at the same time a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was told he could not vote wearing his MIT t-shirt and another voter was rejected for wearing a “Vote the Bible” T.
Also in Philadelphia several polling stations denied access to the polls of LEGAL minority (Republican) inspectors. How is an election deemed fair when inspectors from each party are not given equal opportunity to observe the process. Sounds Banana Republic like to me.
Is Philadelphia just an isolated incidence? NO! Let’s take a look at Cleveland. There were 21 districts in Cleveland where Mitt Romney received ZERO votes and 23 where he received just ONE. In 44 Cleveland districts Obama outpolled Romney by 14,686 to 23, and in one precinct they had 100% voter turnout. That is so inconceivable, in a fair election, that would be humorous if it were not so serious.
In St. Lucie County Florida Congressman Allan West went from a 2000 vote lead to a 2400 vote deficit after the Supervisor of Elections office clearly ignored proper rules and procedures, and recounted votes behind closed doors. This was just a few of the irregularities in this one Congressional race. I will document personal voter suppression and or incompetence in Broward County Florida in a later post.
Add to the above the fact that with each election we disenfranchise our military. Those one the first line of defense should be the first to have their vote protected. This is a national disgrace.
I will end on the issue of photo ID as a requirement to vote. Call me racist if you must but like me minorities must have a photo ID to buy liquor, Sudafed, open a bank account, cash a check. I find it curious that Obama failed to win ONE state that requires photo ID to vote. Closely contested states with no voter ID, which went to Obama, totaled 66 electoral votes. They were Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico Pennsylvania.
In the end President Obama would probably been re-elected regardless of the fairness of the election. That said America should be above “Thugocracy” and “Banana Republic” tactics. How can we as a country come together as long as these tactics disenfranchise the process.
The Extinction of the Media; It is Woolly Mammoth Time
The fossils of Woolly mammoths are common, especially in the tundra of the northern hemisphere. These extinct creatures once ruled the countryside, much like the press/media long ruled the opinions of their readers and viewers. Like the Woolly, the press/media is heading down a destructive path to extinction. This extinction will be the result of the prevalence of the internet, social media, and failure of news executives and editors to control the accuracy of content, and clear of opinion.
As a young high school student I had the privilege of working at a small town weekly newspaper. The Editor, also the owner, was a staunch Republican, who years later was inducted into the Indiana Newspaper Hall of Fame. It was there that I first learned two tenants of journalism (now seemly forgotten) 1. Only print verified fact and 2. Any opinion must be printed in a manner clearing stated as such.
In my lifetime one could trace the beginning of this destruction to the Vietnam War, where regardless of merit Walter Cronkite changed the public opinion in one broadcast. Right or wrong it was a decisive broadcast. This also became the time when one chose to became a journalist not to REPORT but to CHANGE the world, “for the better.” The only problem was that the better often time was an utopian ideal not based in reality.
Fast forward to Barack Obama, who in one convention speech became the darling of the media. His stature among them, aside from their left leanings, led them to immortalize him to the point that he was never vetted. President Obama became the leader of the free world with less vetting, by the media, than a recent college graduate looking for their first job. Prior to the election where were the questions regarding the Presidents admitted drug usage, his educational transcripts, his legal writings, how he paid for his Columbia and Harvard educations, and his associations with known convicted terrorists. Why would these issues be neglected at the same time this same media was reading every email from Sarah Palin they could get their hands on.
The media continue their neglect following the election when the President sealed his records. Never a question as to why this was necessary. What is hidden in those records that would be so damaging that it necessary for them to be sealed? Since his election President Obama has faced nothing but a softball game from the media.
The media went further in the tank when reporting on the Tea Party movement versus Occupy Wall Street. Remember how the number of Tea Party marchers were under reported, and the President got away with saying “he wasn’t aware.” Compare that to the false reporting of the number of Occupy Wall Streeters and the underreporting of the nefarious activities within the Occupy camps. Their attitude, truth be damned, it is the narrative that matters.
Which brings us to just two circumstance that would have derailed any Republican President but has been basically ignored by the media, Fast and Furious and Bengahzi. In Fast and Furious (fully reported in Katie Pavlich’s book by the same name) the administration stonewalled the investigations to the point it became necessary to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. The President then invoked executive privilege to protect the Attorney General and most likely himself. Can you image the reporting that would have taken place had this circumstance occurred in 2006.
As negligent as the media has been with Fast and Furious it pales in comparison to their now ongoing neglect of the death of 4 Americans in Bengahzi. How can they not ask the question of “what did the president know and when did he know it.” That question alone would open the door to a truthful reporting of the facts. It is total neglect that one news organization, and a handful of reporters, continue to carry this story. A story that would have had these same organs orgasmic had it occurred under any Republican Presidents watch. They have been in full blocking mode protecting the President until after the election. A true journalist would not be able to sleep at night without asking how and why Americans had to die.
When my great grandchildren read the history of the once proud American media, provided there are real journalists then, their assistance in supporting the greatest administrative disaster this country has ever know will be the reason for their demise. Where is an honest small town journalist when you need one? Like the Wooly they are all now extinct.
Why I am worried about Voter Fraud.
It may be an attempt to surpress GOP votes or just incompetence on the part of the Election Board, but either way something is rotten in our election process.
On Background. My wife is disabled and thus it is necessary for her to vote via absentee ballot. I also request an absentee ballot since I am her only caregiver. We are registered Republicans. We requested our ballots in 2008 and they did not come. We made a second request and received our ballots the day of the election making it nearly impossible to vote.
Now to 2012. We have moved. Over one month ago we contacted the Election Board to give our new address and request our ballots. One week later I received my Voter ID card and my wife did not. I waited two days and called to report that my wife had never received her card. I was told hers was mailed in August. Interesting since that was before we notified them of an address change. During that same conversation I was told my ballot had been mailed and that they would mail hers that same day. Despite the fact that we live within 5 miles of the Election Board we waited 7 days before calling the Supervisor of Elections to complain. In that conversation I accused her of either suppression of the vote or gross incompetence. As you would expect, she denied either was true and she would get to the bottom of the situation. She went so far as to blame the Post Office.
Late last night the Supervisor of Elections hand delivered our ballots. I thanked her and again expressed my concern that something was wrong with the process. She was not happy but encouraged me to vote and get them in the mail.
So in summary maybe there is no voter suppression although I am not totally convinced since I had to raise cain to get ballots. As far as incompetence, there is no question it is a problem since the ballots she brought are for the wrong Congressional District.
Don’t Blame Obama, Blame Boehner, McConnell and the Feckless GOP
As of today it appears that a split decision is going to lead to the re-election of Barack Obama as President. As disgusting as that is to write, a popular vote victory for Mitt Romney seems assured as does an Electoral College win for Obama. The Obama re-election, seems illogical considering the current state of the economy and foreign affairs bungling. That said however, the Republican Party and their Feckless leadership have no one to blame but themselves.
The Republican Party long ago lost their Conservative way. Too often they have gone along with liberal ideas out of fear of how the media will report on their activity. Maybe it is time for them to fear the members of their own party rather than the media. When will they finally admit that the Main Stream Media is nothing but an extension of the Obama Administration.
Speaker Boehner and Senator McConnell have been so absent in REAL leadership that it is surprising their pictures are not now on milk cartons. Both of them rail about the President but do little to force action. Committee inquiries without ACTION means nothing. To allow the Senate to go 3 years without a legally required budget is CRIMINAL. There is simple answer; No Budget, No Expenditures, and the Senate has the power to enforce an action. They don’t because of the fear of fallout. Time for our leaders to grow a pair. If Boehner and McConnell don’t want to FIGHT get out of the way and get Leadership that will.
Can you imagine the Democrats allowing a Republican President to get by with the following: Czars, No Budget, Numerous Bankrupt Energy Companies, Lack of Transparency, Executive Privilege after Contempt Citation, Fast and Furious, Executive Orders Crippling Industries, Failure to Enforce Immigration Laws? You can probably add many more to this list.
In 2008 Barack Obama was elected riding his meme of Hope and Change. He will most likely get a second term because as HE hoped Republicans are unwilling to Change from the Feckless party they have become. The GOP’s only Hope for the Future is that we Change Leadership.
Requirement for Presidency
During my career I interviewed hundreds of potential candidates many of whom were recent college graduates looking for their first job. One of the requirements we always insisted upon were verification of degree and copies of transcripts. Should we not have at least the same requirement to be President?
The GM “Government Motors” Recovery Myth
As the Obama Administration, and sycophants in the Media, continue to spin the General Motors bailout as a success it is important to take a look at the facts. The first important fact is that General Motors would be bankrupt again without additional government intervention and other facts such as:
1. GM continues to fall short of sales goals despite “channel stuffing” (forcing dealers to take inventory they don’t need).
2. A high percentage of vehicles sold currently is being sold to the Government.
3. September sales fell 50% below estimates.
Much has been made of GM paying back the stimulus. Fact is:
1. GM paid back only the portion of stimulus that was a loan. $6.7 billion.
2. The Taxpayer is still on the hook for $25 billion in stock ownership that will most likely never be recovered.
3. The taxpayer is still on the hook for an additional $59 billion in tax breaks that is never mentioned.
And the human toll is too often forgotten:
1. 2,200 dealerships closed which cost 120,000 jobs.
2. Delphi retirees screwed to protect UAW cronies.
3. Bond holders screwed to protect UAW cronies.
Next time you hear President Obama extoll the success of the GM bailout remember the above.
Garnering Right Ideas 