The Turncoat Party

Prominent national Democrats are essentially exactly what they portray themselves as, radicals, progressives, and/or socialists. Most "elite" Democrats no longer try to conceal their Leftism. Republicans, on the other hand, still pretend to be conservatives, especially around election time. Most all of the elite GOP though are now liberal to progressive. There are certainly notable exceptions in the ranks, like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Jeff Sessions, and Ted Cruz in the US Senate, and over a dozen conservatives in the US House. Americans know what they are getting when they vote Democrat. Many voters are still fooled though by Republicans who pretend to be right-wingers.

Impeachment in Order

Barack Hussein Obama is essentially ruling by fiat. Obama can do this because he has a "loyal opposition". Elite Republicans are absolutely craven. GOP leadership took impeachment off the table before the last election. The threat of impeachment was the only tool Republicans had to rein in an out-of-control President. The GOP unilaterally disarmed by pledging not to seek impeachment. This capitulation by those elected to prevent Obama from arrogating power to himself that the Constitution does not grant him opened the doors to despotism.

Power Mad Administration

Barack Hussein Obama is proving to be the despot I always knew he wanted to be. Obama has just cajoled the Federal Communications Commission into imposing his vision of "net neutrality", that is actually executive overreach of the highest magnitude. The FCC was going to pass a watered down net neutrality, but the President pressured one of the three Democrats on the panel who was wavering to go the whole hog, which means that the Federal government is asserting sweeping new powers that the people by in large do not want and which Congress never authorized. On the very same day, it emerges that Obama, who has tried but failed to ban guns due to the US Supreme Court upholding the plain meaning of the Second Amendment, will instead seek to ban ammunition. This scheme is now trying to deprive the citizenry of .223 (.556x45) ammo, which is used in among other weapons in AR-15 style semiautomatic rifles that are so popular with the buying public. Our clever little dictator now says if the courts will not permit me to ban and confiscate the guns, I will take away the bullets for them.

Long Live Spring

My home state of Tennessee is suffering one of its hardest winters ever. At least thirty Tennesseans died due to the last bout with snow and ice. Even worse, the state is expecting even more snow that we certainly do not want or need. As Southern states look more like Northern ones, or even like tundra, I ask myself where we can grab some of that global warming Al Gore was warning us about. At this point, few of my neighbors think man can cause the planet to warm. If they did buy the premise, then they would do all they could to warm things up around here. I, for one, can not wait till spring.

Save the Christians

Millions of people agitated to "save the whales" by initiating campaigns to end whaling. Environmentalists by the thousands rallied to save trees. There is hardly a peep about the deliberate slaughter of Christians in the Middle East. An ethnic cleansing or even the start of genocide is being carried out by Sunni fanatics against Christians in Syria and Iraq. Barack Hussein Obama can not even bring himself to say it is "Christians" being slaughtered. Obama did not say that the Islamic State massacred Christians but merely called the twenty-one martyred believers "Egyptian citizens". Where are the mass protests demanding Western government intervene against the Islamic State to save Christian lives?

The Deep Freeze

The "Sunny South" has been downright cold lately. Conditions that are easily dealt with by Minnesotans or those in upstate New York kill people in Tennessee and Georgia, because these Southern states have limited snow and ice removal capabilities. What Chicagoans shrug off closes schools in Memphis and Atlanta. Folks are not any less hearty in Dixie. State and local governments down here have simply made the decision not to invest public resources to combat weather phenomena that only occur once or twice every decade, rather than daily the way snow and ice grips the North during winter. Unfortunately, the money saved by not purchasing snow and ice removal equipment in the South has sometimes led to road deaths that would not have happened further north.

The Clinton Machine

The Clintons really must be the most brilliant and capable people on earth. Bill Clinton never made as much as thirty thousand dollars a year as Arkansas governor, yet he finds himself with a two billion dollar foundation. Hillary mystically parlayed a thousand dollar cattle futures investment into a hundred thousand dollars in ten months. Curiously. with such apparent acumen in the zero sum game commodity market, Hillary never attempted to repeat the coup. If nothing suspicious was involved in her one-time futures success, then why would Hillary have not continued commodity trading? Even Chelsea is amazing in achieving financial success. Chelsea was paid several hundred thousand dollars to work as a journalist at one of the national television networks even though she hardly ever managed to have any of her reports actually air. There are many reporters whose stories make it to air frequently who are only compensated a fraction of what the basically invisible Chelsea was paid. It must be good to be a Clinton.

A Sleepy Baby

Our infant must want to be a rock star. Our first child mostly sleeps all day. Our baby raises a ruckus all night long. An odd aspect is that when aunts, uncles, great uncles, and cousins are over wanting to interact with baby, baby sleeps like a rock. When we parents are desperate for rest, the baby produces ear-shattering noise worthy of a German death metal band. My poor wife is sleeping about two hours a night. I am thankful for four or five hours of rest. I have taken to occupying the living room couch to avoid the baby and the dog, who suddenly likes to occupy my half of the bed. I never realized how refreshing a good night's sleep was until I lost the chance to sleep through the night.

A Retail Raise

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is hiking wages. This is good news for many workers, but I am less than happy with the nearest Walmart. The Bashford Manor Walmart in Louisville has very few associates who speak and understand sufficient English to help their English as a first (and maybe only) language customers. It is like trying to shop at a miniature United Nations but a UN with no translators. It is as polyglot as the Tower of Babel and most of the staff make just as much sense to me when I shop there as babble. It is hard though to beat the prices though I am sure some of the merchandise was manufactured by slave labor in Communist China. It seems you may sacrifice good customer service to save money at Walmart.

Having an Anchor

The local news in Louisville broadcast what was supposed to be a "feel-good" story about a baby delivered in a vehicle that did not reach the hospital in time. The mother had traveled at nine months pregnant to see relatives here. Mom just happens to be a non-English speaker from Mexico. My wife just delivered our first baby. We were told she could not travel over twenty miles from our hospital the last month and a half of her pregnancy. Someone might try to have a baby in America to secure US benefits and assure that their other foreign relatives would be able to enter the United States and settle here as part of family unification. That could be why a very pregnant woman would travel over a thousand miles away from her homeland to drop an anchor baby.

A Dull Knife

The Islamic State continues to sever heads with dull knives. These thugs have added to their repertoire of horror now by burning over forty people to death in cages. I have an idea to combat the murderous menace that is the Islamic State. Reintroduce US ground forces with sufficient numbers, backed by air power, to hunt down and destroy these maniacs. We will not be safe in America and the West until these barbarians are obliterated. Sometimes good men must kill evil, wanton murderers. With Islamic State terrorists growing ever more powerful and more capable of projecting power to threaten our homelands, now is such a time. Because defeating IS will not be easy, I do not expect Barack Hussein Obama to seriously take on the mantle of leadership to lead the West to victory over the forces of darkness.

An Easy Walk

In snow up to my boot tops, walking the dog was particularly easy. In fact, with the nice layer of ice under the snow, the sojourn was as easy as falling down- which I did. In deep snow, I found I could not see parking barriers or ditches. I did not remember exactly where they were. Trust me, I found them though. I spent as much time on my knees as on my feet on the dog walk. On the plus side, I think the dog got a good laugh out of my clumsiness.

Just Snowed In

Most of the "sunny South" is not so sunny today. My hometown of Nashville is facing an ice storm. Louisville, where my wife was born, is facing copious snow. Even the Sunshine State is unusually chilly. With weather like this, who would not want some of this global warming I have been hearing about? I am going to have to hire a team of huskies just to walk my Keeshond. I have never driven in such lousy conditions until last night, and I hope never to have to drive on such icy roads again. I can not wait until spring.

Sleepless in Louisville

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the living room couch last night. My poor wife was up again with the baby almost all night. She slept two hours or so. Our baby may already be a trickster. I almost think the baby must know when we need sleep the most, and selects the moment we are most tired to launch into her loudest and most demanding wailing. What a romantic way to spend Valentine's evening- in two different rooms with our loudspeaker newborn.

Attack on Freedom

Fanatical jihadists have once again attacked free speech. This time the terrorists targeted Denmark. They tried to kill a cartoonist who had the temerity to draw a physical depiction of Mohammad. While the intended victim survived, another attendee of the "free speech" event was murdered and three policemen were wounded. Like the Paris assault on Charlie Hebdo, this outrage was not aimed only at individuals, but at the very concept of Western freedom, the bedrock of which is our right to say controversial things. We must resist those who seek to steal our liberty.

Islamic State Advances

Terrorists of the Islamic State have taken a town just thirteen minutes away from a base where three hundred and twenty US Marines are training Iraqis. Barack Hussein Obama has a pronounced aversion to ground combat against the IS fanatics. Obama has pledged no new (or renewed) ground war in Iraq or Afghanistan. What happens though if IS thugs attack US military trainers? Our forces have the right to defend themselves. In fact, force protection is the first duty before our troops fulfill their other obligations. We can not be seen to have our military running from the terrorists as that would be an undeniable Islamic State victory. Our military must stand and fight and must have sufficient power deployed to win.

The Mighty Baby

An infant comes along and seizes control of every aspect of your life. Your time is no longer your own. When the baby is awake, you are awake. When you want to eat, you wait until you find out why the child is crying before you savor the first morsel. When the baby wants to eat though, you must feed immediately or be subjected to shrieking baby. You end up with your being totally subsumed by the tiny person. Have know doubt though that the lost sleep and lack of attention to self is absolutely worth it.

A Little Warming

On days this cold, I certainly wish global warming to be real. Who in Chicago or Boston would not like to feel a tropical breeze right now? Other than skiers, snowboarders, those who happen to have a team of Huskies, and sledding enthusiasts, who enjoys feet of snow? Who likes subzero temperatures? How can global warming be taking place with epic snowfalls? If the globe is warming, why is it so darn chilly?

Young Folks' Home

With an up all-night, every-night baby, a thought has come to mind. Our daughter has a grandmother on one side and a grandfather on the other side who are night owls. I have heard many other senior citizens complaining that they can not sleep at night. Why not pair up sleepless seniors and infants to spend nights together to give exhausted parents a respite? I know Sherry and Sonny would be awake anyway and would love to watch the baby. I just bet other grandparents are similarly positioned. In families that are not geographically close, perhaps seasoned citizens, who are not blood relations but who love children, might volunteer to help.

Peace With Putin

If (or maybe when) Vladimir Putin runs the world, there will be no problem with Islamic extremism. Putin will ruthlessly obliterate groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda. When Putin takes over, he will not tolerate street crime. Other things Putin will not abide are free speech and dissent. Putin has clamped down on those who oppose him in Russia almost as hard as the Communist rulers there did. I am not sure Putin seeks world hegemony, but if he had ultimate control over the rest of the world the way he exercises power in Russia today, the world would be very safe for Putin's friends and very dangerous for his enemies.

A Free Ukraine?

Western governments led by the United States are trying to dominate the Ukraine. Russia is trying to preserve the safety and rights of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine. Putin may have some territorial ambition beyond protecting Russians in the Ukraine. A free and fair plebiscite allowing those living in the Ukraine to vote on whether they want closer ties to Moscow or Western Europe might stave off further bloodshed. There is no way that either those interfering from the West or from Moscow would allow such a free and fair election to take place. Neither side in the Ukraine conflict has clean hands (as is almost always the case when wars are starting). The side that ultimately prevails in Ukraine will be that side that uses the most force. I believe that victor ultimately will be Russia as Putin has greater will than the craven leaders of the West.

Stop Iranian Nukes

No agreement reached between the P5+1 and Iran will prevent the Islamic Republic from gaining nuclear weapons. No accord reached between Barack Hussein Obama and the Shiite theocracy and armed Shia thugs who run Iran will block Iran's ambition for atomic weapons. Those weapons are being developed to first destroy the Jewish State, then to blackmail the Sunni States of the Middle East, and finally to stir the End Time chaos that the true believer Shiites hope will bring the Twelfth Imam from his hiding place down the well. The real apocalyptic turmoil will erupt when Iran starts aiming the nukes no one but Israel will stop them from acquiring at European capitals and American cities. The only hope for the world that Iran will be thwarted is that Israel makes a preemptive military strike that destroys Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel will only do this if Netanyahu is reelected as he is the only Israeli leader who recognizes the existential threat that the Iranian mullahs would pose if they had a single operable atomic weapon on a functional delivery device.

Open Door Policy

US borders are open to Mexicans, other Latin Americans, and even Chinese. Our leaders, who push amnesty under another name, insist that they are doing everything possible to keep those who would attempt another September 11 out. How can this possibly be true? Could Middle Eastern fanatics not buy airline tickets and fly a commercial airplane into Mexico? Could those wanting to hurt Americans not hire a coyote to transport them across our Southern border? All the talk of "Dreamers" and "family unification" from the Democrats and progressive Republicans and "cheap labor" from the Chamber of Commerce types and the GOP elite leave us open to future terrorists attacks by those crossing the border for reasons much more nefarious than good jobs or better opportunity. Real immigration reform starts with an impenetrable border where America knows all who try to enter and regulates them enough to keep potential terrorists out.

Catering to Illegals

No one paid us to have a baby. We would not accept remuneration from any government agency for the great blessing that is our daughter. It appears that border crashers have no such compunction. The babies of illegal aliens will actually be paid an "earned income tax credit". That is right. People who have not paid into the system after sneaking into the USA will be free to raid US government coffers. The Treasury of the United States can not service the needs of our own citizens and certainly lacks the resources to pay all those who want to sneak in to access the benefits to which they are not entitled but which Team Obama is eager to bestow upon them.

Basically a Wash

Jordan has intensified efforts to defeat the Islamic State terrorist entity after the savage murder of their pilot who the fanatics had captured. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates has abandoned their fight against the Islamic State. Iran is making common cause with the United States against ISIS, but this somewhat cooperative effort has dissuaded many Sunnis, who hate IS but despise the Shiites even more from working against their Sunni brethren in the Islamic State. The Shia Iranians are fighting against ISIS to preserve Shiite lives which puts them on the same side to an extent with America and Sunni stalwarts the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Jordan. Some Sunnis are even willing to work with the dreaded Jewish State to forestall either the rise of a caliphate from ISIS winning or a victory by the Shiite (which would be a win for Shia-dominated Iran). The rise of the Islamic State has made for some strange bedfellows in a region where the enemy of my enemy may or may not be a friend.

The Herald Angel

Do we want humanity moving forward? Do we want mankind to end in fire and flood? Did we witness our brother in monotheistic faith burned alive? Do we deplore the act? Do we demand justice against the man-burners? Do we rally regardless of faith or creed against those who want the world engulfed in barbarism? Will our children inherit a world of war or a world at peace?

The Dark Ages

The butchers that comprise the Islamic State terror group have sunk to a new low. They literally roasted a captive Jordanian pilot in a cage. The civilized world, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, must revile this heinous act. All decent peoples must find and obliterate the perpetrators. Their destruction must be public enough to deter anyone who would contemplate committing a similar barbarity. We are not living in the Middle Ages. Those with a medieval mindset must be stopped from performing monstrous, murderous acts.

An Easy Answer

If anyone can invent a device that enables a newborn to sleep through the night, they deserve a Nobel Prize. If you can find a way to persuade a baby to sleep at least some at night, that would be quite an accomplishment. The way babies are "engineered" seems to be the moment one or both parents drift into slumber, that is the precise instant that the babies launch the world's loudest crying jag. I think there must be a megaphone in the crib. Yet, during the day, when it is time to interact with grandparents, aunts, or uncles, the baby is sleeping so soundly that there is no way to rouse her, even to eat. I am beginning to think that the human species is meant to be nocturnal. After the constant nighttime caterwauling by the super-loud baby, I see some advantage to being deaf.

What a Question

The universe is large and mystifying. At the moment, our world revolves entirely around a person who weighs five and a half pounds. We are completely insignificant. Our relatives come to visit, but they are not there to see us. They are here to adore her. We hardly even seem to look at each other. All our focus belongs to our daughter.