Stain on Cain

If Herman Cain had either a "noble benefactor" to a "downtrodden ward" or even a simply innocent relationship as some sort of sponsor and mentor with the Atlanta woman who alleges an affair, then why was she not standing beside him in any campaign event? Why was she hidden away and not mentioned as one of the candidate's good works? Cain seems to be a Republican Gary Hart with too many skeletons closeted away to maintain a campaign. Even with his personal and credibility issues, he remains a better choice than the current occupant of the Oval Office.

A Realpolitik Demarche

There is an answer to the "Pakistan Crisis" and that is the credible threat of massive and overwhelming force. Kissinger and Metternich both recognized the shortcomings of diplomacy- that being that without the iron fist inside it, the velvet glove is found wanting- and this is never more true than in diplomatic efforts with basket case double-dealers like Pakistan. A nation (particularly, the last superpower) must answer a two-faced country with a credible ultimatum and grave consequence for ignoring it.

Cain Train Derails

Herman Cain seems to have met his Waterloo. After numerous unsubstantiated and vehemently denied claims of sexual harassment, Cain did not wholeheartedly refute an assertion by an Atlanta woman of a thirteen year extramarital liaison. Cain has obviously been less than candid with the American people and evidently and more importantly, with his own wife. Cain already had some difficulty in answering even relatively simple foreign policy questions and this emerging scandal would seem to end any possibility of a viable Presidential campaign.

No New Newt

Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has experienced a meteoric resurgence in his campaign for the Republican nomination to contest Obama for the Presidency. Gingrich has some good ideas and articulates them in a cogent and persuasive way. Newt also has risen to criticize the overt media anti-GOP bias. But Gingrich also has a track record of shifting from right-wing firebrand and real revolutionary as an insurgent Congressman to midway moderate making common cause with Hillary Clinton on health care and even appearing in a "green" commercial with Nancy Pelosi. Now Gingrich once again attempts to assume the mantle of conservative leader but with just enough equivocation to gain some Hispanic support with an immigration stance that I believe is far too nuanced for GOP primary voters. Along with his reputed extravagant spending (lavishing his wife with Tiffany), personal baggage from two divorces, and payments from Freddie Mac reputed to be more than a million dollars, Gingrich's tilting left on medicine and the environment in the not too distant past and now pandering to illegal aliens will disqualify him with real Right voters.

Reckoning With Pakistan

Yesterday, a couple of dozen Pakistani troops were reportedly killed in a NATO strike which brought forth copious public US mea culpas. Why are American politicians across the political spectrum apologizing so profusely to a nation that gladly takes US military assistance and our foreign aid but continues to support Islamist terror directed against the Karzai government of Afghanistan, against our forces and our international force allies there, and against India in particular? Why say sorry to the nation that brought the world the so-called "Islamic Bomb" and the accompanying proliferation effort, particularly being instrumental in arming up North Korea with nukes? Pakistan is a nation that if the West had rational leaders would be trembling in fear and living on sufferance.

Labor Troubles Ending

We were all on tenterhooks awaiting the end of the National Basketball Association wage dispute. I mean, who would not be utterly engrossed in how a bunch of early twenties millionaires solved their problem with the ego-fueled billionaires who own the teams? Who does not want to see semi-literates with great leaping ability prosper and seven foot tall East Europeans do well? If these upstanding young dunkers did not have basketball to rely on, think of the success they may have made as street thugs. Along with the sundry drug and domestic violence charges on many a "playa's" rap sheet, we find former NBA guard Javaris Crittenton up on a murder charge. In any event, since Michael Jordan left the league, watching the pro game has been about as exiting as watching paint dry. I did not even notice the lack of games being broadcast, and certainly did not miss them.

The Green Caprice

No this column does not concern any incarnation of a Chevy but the arbitrary way in which the Obama administration has shut down the attempt to construct a new pipeline between Canada and the United States which would have created around two hundred thousand jobs and provided an abundant source of energy much cheaper than the petroleum being imported from the Middle East. The supposed hitch is an "environmentally-sensitive" area in Nebraska which would purportedly be irrevocably befouled if a pipe ran through it. Team Obama is so committed to replacing the real economy with a "green economy" that they are happy sacrificing real jobs and forcing high fuel costs on the American people to maintain the illusion. Solar and wind energy are a "pipe dream" but an efficient pipeline would be a real answer providing gainful employment across many states and cheaper gas for all of us.

Giving Thanks For . . .

Rarely do I delve into matters personal on this forum, but please indulge me on this Thanksgiving day. We are blessed in so many ways to be in this nation, even though it may temporarily be Obama's America. We are essentially still free, enjoying a blessing of liberty so rare throughout human history. Even with our Obama-induced economic downturn, America remains a "Land of Plenty" without endemic hunger or starvation on our streets. Now to give thanks for matters of family. Thank you Lord for bringing Kristy into my life, wherever it eventually leads. Thanks for motivating me three weeks ago next Monday to drive the four hundred or so round trip miles to rescue "Cassie" even though she is about as much a Keeshond as I am. (Well, perhaps we are both Kees in spirit at least.) Thank You most of all for strengthening my father in his health crisis since August and particularly since he was hospitalized again earlier this month. Gentle reader please forgive me that my output has suffered but his and my mother's illnesses have been hard to contend with while remaining involved and aware of American and world politics and the geostrategic situation. God bless us all.

Stirring the Pot

Newt Gingrich, the former conservative... I mean, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, put out the welcome mat to America's invaders (which would obviously largely be from the South). Suddenly Pablo's dear friend, Gingrich decides to spit in the face of American citizens and those who respect the process of becoming Americans as Gingrich panders to what he perceives as the Hispanic vote and the beck and call of the keep labor cost down crowd by exploiting the undocumented for low wage work. Newt may have picked up these voters but those who want to guard America's borders will find Newt's stance reprehensible.

Same Old Egypt

Great hope was expressed for a new, more democratic Egypt to emerge after Hosni Mubarak was deposed from power by the so-called "Arab Spring". Let us now explore how Mubarak came to lead Egypt and more importantly, how Mubarak retained his power although he was widely despised by the Egyptian people? The answer is glaringly simple- Mubarak was installed and clung to office solely because of his membership in and continuing association with the officer corps of Egypt's military. When it served their interest to change figureheads and remove Mubarak, the generals did, while holding on to all the authority and incumbent force that they had vested in themselves. The old dictator is out of power but the dictatorship behind him remains firmly in place.

Another American Turncoat

Another US citizen has been accused of plotting murder as part of al-Qaeda's evil mission. Jose Pimentel of New York City was evidently seduced to do terror's bidding on the Internet. Somehow, Mr. Pimentel found something appealing in the nihilistic, "murder thy neighbor" message of an organization which is literally all bad. Of course, Mr. Pimental, if convicted, needs to be confined to protect society, but I would really like to know how his mind was so perverted as to despise America and the opportunity it offers.

Father Coughlin's Candidate

Isolationism has been tried by the United States before, with disastrous consequences for America and for the world. Ron Paul, the cantankerous Congressman from Texas is an isolationist. America First did not work when oceans separated armies as Coughlin, Lindbergh, and their ilk found out as the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor. In this ICBM and Jet Age era, America can not play ostrich and simply hide from evil because as we saw again on September 11, 2001, even those far away can do us great harm if we ignore their malign intentions. Threat must be answered with force and attack must be met with absolute annihilation. America can not be a fortress within continental shores with our heads buried safely in the sand because Islamists are determined to establish a global caliphate that includes the USA.

"Saif" Not Safe

Repugnant Muammar Qaddafi's last at-large son Saif al-Islam has been captured by the vengeful forces of the people his father and family oppressed for more than a generation. Saif should expect neither justice or mercy from the people of Libya but almost certainly a rapid but painful death. These potentates who seized power like Qaddafi or Assad were never loved but frequently feared and ultimately despised by those who they claimed to protect. No matter how brutal Saif's fate, few tears will be shed for him.

Talking to God

A deranged Idahoan allegedly tried to assassinate our President. This person reportedly believed he had a personal channel to the Lord and that the leader of the free world, Barack Obama, is the anti-Christ. Let us hope this gunman is placed where he can do no harm to anyone in society. There are certainly differences between the President's worldview and that of America's conservatives, but the only place to resolve that is the ballot box. There is no place in public discourse for threats and no substitute for change through votes in our Constitutional Republic and our hallowed political process.

Shockingly Misplaced Priorities

"Despot in Waiting" is by no means an sports' column, but I am compelled once again by events to touch on athletics now. Penn St. University is one of America's preeminent college football programs but is now justifiably being cast in a completely different light. Allegedly, a long-term assistant coach was involved in the rape of several boys who were participating in his charitable foundation even after another staff member witnessed him in the act and reported the alleged offense to both authorities and superiors within the football program. In what had been purported to be a scrupulous organization committed to the rules, no immediate action was taken against the alleged offender. If someone was caught flagrante delicto violating a child, in other instances, they would be immediately detained on the way to speedy incarceration, or even throttled by those who caught him, but at Penn State, the grotesque sodomy seemed to be ignored with the focus remaining on winning football games. This evident lack of action that allowed sexual assaults on children to go on unabated has tarnished a once glowing organization and must bring calumny and criminal persecution on all those with knowledge of child rape who kept quiet about it.

Afghan Slap Down

Hamid Karzai today said that US bases can remain in Afghanistan essentially only if America's troops give up the right to defend themselves. Perhaps some special operator should effect regime change and a true ally of the United States should be installed in Karzai's stead.

A Liar's Truth

According to our President Barack Hussein Obama, we America's citizens, our business owners, our laborers are "a little lazy". According to our nation's leader, our own sloth has cost us our competitive edge. If you agree with our President's contentions that the country is failing because you do not work hard enough, by all means, vote for Obama in 2012. If on the other hand, you believe Obama has not worked with sufficient vigor or has focused his energy in ways ultimately detrimental to the United States of America, vote the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue out, and someone who will not insult our work ethic in to save our formerly grand Republic.

Hearing the Supremes

Diana Ross will not hear the case for Obama Care but the Supremes will- the Supreme Court that is. This will be the most significant issue that the highest US court will decide upon since Roe. Depending on the construction of the decision, we will either live fully under socialism, with government dictating our medical destiny- our very lives- or remain the Republic our Founders envisaged with the people retaining a greater degree of self-determination. The stakes literally could not be higher than life in freedom or rationed care death. Disturbingly, the Supreme Court is infested with four doctrinaire Leftists (the two Obama appointees, Kagan, and "Soviet"Sotomayor, former ACLU Counsel "Gams" Ginsberg, and foreign law enthusiast Stephen Breyer). There are four reasonable jurists, Alito, Thomas, Scalia, and Chief Justice Roberts. So, the Court's swing vote Anthony Kennedy holds the nation's destiny in his hands.

Bachmann Still Resonates

The NBC Sunday morning Gregory wonk program featured an interview with presidential aspirant and Minnesota Republican US Representative Michele Bachmann whose campaign has undeniably lost most of her early momentum. The question of course is "why"? I would contend there is nothing lacking in her consistency as a conservative and that much of the Bachmann energy was sapped when she was forced into the role of attack dog as the only female candidate and mother in regards to the Gardasil controversy as all the GOP opponents sought to take Texas Governor Rick Perry down a peg when he was the flavor of the moment, just-declared rising Republican star before his own shortcomings imploded Perry's chances. Bachmann has not been inconsistent or plagued with flip-flops like moderate Mitt Romney who now makes noises of pandering to conservative primary voters. Bachmann has been down the line "Right" on the issues and could yet regain favor among GOP voters who agree with her social conservatism and fiscal discipline as she has fought for Federal spending restraint throughout her public life. Bachmann could yet attain support of Christian voters with her consistency on values issues and score with value voters as well who recognize the grave danger the US economy still faces under Obama.

Our Own Candidate

The open primary process for the nomination of Presidential aspirants in several states damages conservatives. John McCain secured the GOP nomination in 2008 somewhat on the strength of Democrats who feared the nomination of a real right winger and decided to throw a wrench in the Republican works by voting in open primaries for the most liberal Republican they could find. The same turn of events could occur in this cycle with Democrats who know Obama will have no serious opposition in the nominating process as an incumbent President, jumping in the GOP voting line and casting for near-Democrat Mitt Romney. This is a win-win for Democrats because if Obama defeats Romney, the Left still controls the nation, and if Romney wins, he will govern as a weak as water moderate and probably leave Obama Care in place, only adjusting it at the margins while not making the conservative case on the social issues that matter to America's political Right.

On Liberty Unbound

Man's natural yearning is for freedom. Tyrants abhor freedom and so, through the ages, have fought to subdue this most natural aspiration. Until the United States came into being, the despots of the world had largely succeeded in holding liberty at bay. Only the might of the military forces of the United States of America changed this equation. Only the service of many millions under arms for America vouchsafed freedom through America's history including overcoming the Russian Communist threat and winning the Cold War and only the blood-bought sacrifice of many hundreds of thousands dying under the Red, White, and Blue ended the ruthless oppression by Nazis and the sadistic forces of World War II Japan. Thank a veteran today, and do not forget that veteran tomorrow.

A Passing Acquaintance

Barack Hussein Obama and the truth have met, but they are no longer on speaking terms.

Diving Into Volcanoes

Rick Perry was recently the presumptive favorite to gain the Republican nomination to contest the US Presidency in November 2012. That was a few months ago when Texas Governor Perry announced his candidacy- that was then- this is now. Rick Perry injured his hopes grievously when soon after announcing, he questioned the "hearts" of those who oppose giving set-asides in education to illegal aliens. Now the Perry campaign has gone from teetering on the abyss to falling into the chasm. Poor Perry had a mental lapse, a glitch of glaring magnitude, when he could only remember two of the three Federal departments that he plans to abolish if he wins the Presidency in last night's GOP Presidential debate. He recalled the Departments of Education and Commerce but could not quite grasp "Energy". To see him flail around like a beached fish was almost painful. While I have some qualms with Perry's immigration stance, I will concede that elsewise Perry is an authentic conservative and even with his horrible debate performances, his track record as a leader in Texas demonstrates that he would still be a vast improvement as US President over Barack Hussein Obama.

Mere Marxist Mischief

The radicals "occupying" Nashville, Tennessee's Legislative Plaza are taking measures to police that area. What a joke that notion is- they are no more than a bunch of hippies who should be evicted. This is not the "People's Plaza" or "Revolution Square" but the heart of representative government for the law-abiding, process-protecting citizens of Tennessee- not a haven for a bunch of rabble rousers and the mob they have instigated. These protesters are an insult for those who love our Republic and cherish freedom accompanied by good order. If you want a polarized country with violence in the streets, then allow these "occupy" street agitators to get by with more and more.

Hippo Versus Leprechaun

(A Fable): Some time back near a little town in Ireland where the only educated soul was the parish priest, a travelling circus lost their star attraction when a hippopotamus bolted after the circus train derailed from the tracks. The hippo was a relatively reserved creature for a species known generally to be one of the deadliest on the African continent, darting about the countryside trying to make itself as scarce as possible which is no mean feat for a fully grown adult animal that weighs around a half ton. Well, the local folk of this little town would wake to find their plowed fields ravaged and their gardens eaten up. They were not on the telegraph line and had not heard of the circus being nearby or even of a train leaving the tracks. Being superstitious and uneducated people, the villagers naturally assumed some deviltry was at work. One day a little girl on a farm near town insisted she had seen a leprechaun bouncing about when she went to use the outhouse on a night the barley crop had been trampled and decimated. Suddenly more folk insisted they had also witnessed the fabled protector of the "pot of gold" doing mischief. No one but the town vagrant, a roustabout, drunkard, and ne'er-do-well, claimed the damage was caused by anything but the rampaging leprechaun. The incredible tale the least believable character in town insisted on was that in the dead of night he had almost been crushed by a boar of enormous size, or a farmer's huge hog run amok or perhaps, most implausibly of all, an African rhino or hippopotamus somehow transported across the waters to the tranquil shores of Erin. Soon all nine hundred and ninety-nine denizens of the shire save two insisted they had seen the leprechaun despoiling the crops. The town drunk with his ridiculous assertion and the priest who had reserved judgement. Then one night, the priest's mind was made up for him when he heard a rustle in the bushes and his terror overcame his curiosity and he ran from the scene as fast as he could move his cassock. The priest too then insisted an evil leprechaun was at work. You see the lesson here plainly enough: Nearly a thousand people calling a hippo a leprechaun does not make it so. I would rather stick with one held in disrepute while telling the truth than follow the lies of the multitude. So I will continue to embrace "nine, nine, nine" and support Herman Cain no matter how many unsubstantiated claims are made.

A Bimbo Avalanche?

When William Jefferson Clinton was trying to gain the US Presidency and when he was serving in that august office, a plan came into being to deal with " bimbo eruptions". In the event, there were affronted ladies aplenty with one Clinton aide notoriously saying of Paula Jones, look what happens when you "drag a dollar bill through the trailer park". In spite of his sexual indiscretions, Clinton is still viewed by many as one of the great US Presidents. Although no affirmative proof exists that Herman Cain did anything on the scale of Bill Clinton, the media and Cain opponents are trying to say his alleged actions should disqualify him. Until concrete evidence emerges, I do not care if it is now four women accusing Cain or if it rises to forty, because there are always people willing to injure another to advance themselves or their cause whether the person hurt is guilty or not.

Religion of Peace?

More blood has been shed in the name of Islam, this time in Nigeria. A Drudge Report linked story from the Taiwan News about the massacre can be seen here: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1750857. It is difficult to contemplate how peace can ever be achieved with those who believe their faith justifies such a murderous mentality.

A Genuine Menace

Listening to Ron Paul on the FOX Sunday Chris Wallace show offered a terrifying look at what a Paul Presidency might look like. How about the rapprochement with the Mad Mullahs of Iran that Paul policy would bring about? If you like that, you probably will love massive cuts to Federal medical research dollars. If you really hate sick people, the Jews and Israel, then Ron Paul is your man.

Reinstate General Fuller

When Barack Hussein Obama was seeking the US Presidency, he and other leftists spoke about speaking "truth to power". When US General Peter Fuller actually did just that, aptly characterizing Afghan (mis)leader Hamid Karzi, the General was summarily fired by the United States. FOX chronicles the story here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/04/us-general-fired-for-verbal-attack-on-karzai/?test=latestnews. Why not reinstate the truth-telling military man when we fire his boss next November?

Trillions of Lies

The United States dollar (USD) was until recently the unquestioned reserve currency of the world. From the City of London to the Sultanate of Brunei, holding wealth in American currency was as sure as day following night. No one wanted to store what they had earned in the Yuan, the monetary unit of the Red Chinese slave state which was widely known to manipulate the value of her currency by artificially pegging it to what was formerly the true measure of worth, that being the USD. Because the United States Treasury has metaphorically overheated the presses with both America's fiscal and monetary policy run proverbially amok, the dollar is worth less with the potential to become worthless as in Zimbabwe or Weimar money where a wheelbarrow was required to haul the cash necessary to buy a loaf of bread. Thankfully the United States is not there yet but four more years of Obama and Bernanke will have us that much closer to economic oblivion.

Over Generous Greece

Turkey was once known as "the sick man of Europe". Turkey's long-time national rival Greece could now be called "Europe's dead man". Greece's political mismanagement of late has threatened to take down the world economy after other countries generously crafted a rescue plan to bail out Greece after a generation of unadulterated socialism broke her only to have the Greek Prime Minister Papandreou suddenly and inexplicably say he would put the so-called "haircut" to a national referendum. This precipitous nonsense crashed world markets before Papandreou retracted it, doing great harm to the economies of the nations trying to save Greece. Greece is no longer a viable self-sustaining polity but an entity built on dependency by the Greek people on giveaway programs by the Greek government that the Greek economy never had the means to pay for without massive borrowing from foreign sources making that nation into a ward of foreign lenders. Greece turned herself into a maggot-infested, fly-ridden corpse of her former self by allowing her citizens to believe they were entitled to cradle to grave government largess.

Baldfaced Partisan Attacks

I can not say who is behind the dissemination of allegations against Herman Cain, but one way to assess who might be pushing the charges is by looking at who stands to gain from Mr. Cain's fall. These snowballing claims could have been leaked by any Republican rival who thinks Herman blocks their path to nomination. The Democrat Party or Obama campaign may think Cain would prove a daunting challenge and want his candidacy eliminated now during the Republican nominating process. Look at those who fear that Cain might defeat them and you could surmise one or even several contestants might want as much dirt on Cain as can be dug up or a cynic might say, "manufactured".

No Objectivity Whatsoever

The dinosaur press gave and continues to give Barack Hussein Obama a free pass on essentially everything, the long-term association he had with race-baiting, anti-Semite, his reverend Jeremiah Wright, with Obama's connection to and work for scandal-ridden ACORN, with Obama's "friendship" with Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers. The old line press ignores or minimizes Obama's missteps in the Presidency, largely has not bothered to mention that "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones had been an active member of the Communist Party. The mainstream media (MSM) does not trouble the public with details about how Obama has concentrated more power in his office than any President since FDR. The legacy press, which does not report that Obama has acted to the detriment of our freedom and prosperity, has however jumped all over decade or two old allegations of "sexual harassment" purported to have been committed by GOP hopeful Herman Cain. Just remember that all that you hear from the dinosaur media is agenda-driven bias meant to harm Republicans and make Democrats look better than they actually are.

In the Mix

The race for the GOP Presidential nomination is in the first mile of a daunting marathon. Remember in spite all of the hype, not one vote that actually counts has been taken so far. The flavor of the day at one point was former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee who decided not to even run. Then, conservative superstar and short-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin came to the fore, only to remain outside the process. Then ever so briefly, Minnesota US Representative Michele Bachmann became the leading Republican light after winning a non-binding straw poll in the state of her birth Iowa. Genuine libertarian (and blame America for September 11,2001 lunatic) Ron Paul won some subsequent non-binding straw polls before having his momentum sapped to the advantage of Herman Cain. Texas Governor Rick Perry came into the contest with a flourish only to have his love of illegal aliens cut his legs out from under him before his campaign could really launch. Rick Santorum has good ideas but has found no traction. Newt Gingrich has command of many of the issues but because he made very public common cause with Democrats on health care and global warming, Newt made certain his traction would forever remain on skates with GOP primary voters who tend to be more conservative than the public at large. Gary Johnson, another libertarian sort who was the governor of New Mexico and who advocates for decriminalized marijuana, has had his campaign stall. Former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman who represented Obama in China has flat-lined with his "moderate notions for a moderate America effort". So in spite of others making some waves including Herman Cain, whose surprising rise unleashed quick allegations of sexual harassment to sap his move forward just as it starts, doppelganger former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney remains the odds on favorite to secure the Republican nomination to vie against Barack Hussein Obama to be US President after 2012. Mitt Romney would, just as McCain did in 2008, give voters a real Hobson's choice of a pandering liberal Republican who imposed socialist health care on the state Massachusetts that he governed or the outright class-envy redistributionist who now holds the office and if reelected will finish the United States off. I guess I will grit my teeth and vote for slow decline over rapid destruction, but frankly, I would prefer to vote for an American resurgence as I did when I proudly cast my ballot for Reagan.

Another Enormous Scam

My sentiments regarding the "green economy" have already been expressed on this forum. Barack Hussein Obama and his cronies have attempted to supplant the "real" economy with one built on the fantasy of green energy being a viable replacement for coal and petroleum and the massive government subsidies to distort the market to make solar and wind power so. Hundreds of millions of our tax-confiscated dollars have been given to so-called "green" energy companies. These companies generally happen to be owned by contributors to the Democrat Party or even those with familial ties to that party. This kind of cronyism is suspicious in and of itself and already some of these companies are beginning to default. Unless and until some technological breakthrough occurs in "greening" our power sources or Americans embrace nuclear energy which post Fukushima seems doubtful, nothing will replace coal-fired plants though "clean" coal technology has made meaningful pollution reductions, or natural gas and gasoline.