Tag Archives: politics

“May I have the Envelope, Please?”

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Only 110 Days Remaining!

“Envelope Please”

Obama’s reign as the would-be king of America has been much like that of a  famous mythical baseball manager.  For the sake of this story, we’ll just call him “Bill.”

When “Bill” was hired to replace “Jack” as manager of the Titans, he was understandably excited.  Walking into his office, he studied each framed award and trophy very carefully, thinking of the glory days in which they had been earned and the players whose skills had won them.

As “Bill” approached his desk, he noticed a white sheet of paper laying atop three small beige numbered envelopes.  A paperweight held all in place.  For a moment he thought “Jack” had forgotten something.  He started to reach for the phone, but then noticed his name on the paper:  “Bill,”  The note stated very concisely;

“Good luck on the new job.  If you have any problems, open envelope #1.”

As I think about this story, I imagine President Bush may have left similar instructions for Obama.

Several months passed and “Bill” had almost forgotten about the envelopes.  Then, suddenly, the team’s luck changed.  They began losing all their “away” games.  He couldn’t figure it out.  Turning to the envelopes, he opened the first, finding this simple suggestion:

“Blame it on your predecessor.”

And so he did!  He called a press conference and started bashing the previous manager as if he were speaking of the Devil himself.  He was passionate in his blame.  It seems “Bill” had inherited a real problem.  This was not his fault.  His predecessor had been completely inept!!!  He took this speech to the owners and to the public and repeated it whenever he was given the opportunity.  The word  “inherited” became part of the team’s vocabulary.  When I heard about this, I couldn’t help making the connection with Obama!  Can you remember all the times he and his administration have used that word?

Well, when things settled down, Bill went back to concentrating on the game.  Oddly enough, that’s when things really started to go bad.  If it wasn’t for bad luck, the Titans wouldn’t have had any luck at all.  They were not only losing, but they were losing big.  After eight straight embarrassing losses, “Bill” was back in his office nervously eyeing envelope #2.  Again, it was a simple message.

“Tell them you’re Reorganizing”

And once again, “Bill” followed the advice to the letter.  He fired the coach, traded three players and even brought in some sports’ analysts to share their thoughts.  Wow.  This was starting to get spooky.  Have you noticed that, as everything has gone bad with the Obama presidency, he’s gotten rid of nearly every economic advisor that came to Washington with him.  His original Chief of Staff is gone and he’s also dropped a couple of czars and other staff people.  What a coincidence.  But, this story is about “Bill” and the Titans.

As “Bill” finished his second round of press conferences, the team rallied for several weeks, but then started sliding again.  “Bill” was desperate this time.  What else could he tell the bosses to explain the lost games and lost revenue?  He had run the Titans into the ground, fired good players and a beloved  coach.  He had sacrificed everyone except himself and here he was again – losing.  He knew it was because he had inherited a problem team.  The fault belonged to his predecessor, to the players and owners – nothing at all to do with his own work.  But, how could he make them understand it?  Surely, it was just a matter of messaging.  He certainly hoped the third envelope would have his answer.  Once again, as he unfolded the note, the message was simple and clear.

“Prepare Three Envelopes.”

In 110 days, it will be time for Barack Obama to do the same.  I hope he’s reading this.

Reason #27 – Inspirational Words from Barack Obama

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Only 141 Days Remaining!

Reason #27

Inspirational Words from Barack Obama

“So what has been accomplished here in America is nothing short of remarkable. It’s often been said that America is a country for the future. Well, that future has now arrived. And despite the uncertainties over the last two years, we have stepped onto the world stage as a major financial and economic power.

“We did not arrive at this point by simply chance or good fortune. Our success came because of hard work and the perseverance of the American people, the entrepreneurial spirit of many in this room, and the vision of leaders…”[i]

These were the exciting words of President Barack Obama – a true patriot – a man who believes in American Exceptionalism.

DON’T MISS THIS:

Did he really say all of these nice things about his Country?  Are you kidding?????  Here’s what he really said:

“So what has been accomplished here in Brazil is nothing short of remarkable. It’s often been said that Brazil is a country for the future. Well, that future has now arrived. And despite the uncertainties over the last two years, you have stepped onto the world stage as a major financial and economic power.

“You did not arrive at this point by simply chance or good fortune. Your success came because of hard work and the perseverance of the Brazilian people, the entrepreneurial spirit of many in this room, and the vision of leaders…”[i]

But, just to show he’s thinking about us, here’s four quick statements Obama did make about America and Americans.

“…we’ve lost our ambition, our imagination, ”[ii]

“…the “manic and self absorbed” “mood of the country,” [iii]

“…we went off course…”[iv]

“…great country that had gotten a little soft…”[v]

There’s been many more awe inspiring moments from the teleprompters of President Barack Obama.  Read 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama for more.

[i] President Barack Obama, (Mar. 19, 2011), White House web-site, Speeches & Remarks, Remarks by the President at CEO Business Summit in Brasilia, Brazil, retrieved March 12, 2012 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/19/remarks-president-ceo-business-summit-brasilia-brazil

[ii] President Barack Obama (Oct. 26, 2011), White House web-site, Speeches & Remarks, Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event at W Hotel, San Francisco, CA, retrieved January 5, 2012 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/26/remarks-president-campaign-event-0

[iii] Barack Obama, Dreams From my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, 1st pbk Edition, (New York, 2004, Three Rivers Press), 133

 [iv] President Barack Obama, (May 21, 2009), White House web-site, Speeches & Remarks, Remarks by the President on National Security, retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/

[v] Jake Tapper, (September 29, 2011), ABC News web-site, Obama: U.S. Had “Gotten a Little Soft” in Last Couple Decades, Lost Competitiveness, retrieved December 5, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/obama-u-s-had-gotten-a-little-soft-in-last-couple-decades-lost-competitiveness/

Reason 18 – Obama: A Rank Amateur

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149 Days Remaining!

Reason #18

Obama: A Rank Amateur

In her book, The Obama’s, author Jodi Kantor states that “…when it was time to order a swing set for the Obama girls, Rear Admiral Stephen Rochon, the chief usher, traveled to the factory in South Dakota where it was being made to inspect it.”[i]

According to media coverage at the time, the Obama’s paid for the swing set.  But, there is more than one kind of extravagance – and this is a particularly ugly and unnecessary one.  A Rear Admiral in the field would likely be in command of thousands of service members.  There are two levels of Rear Admirals, both of which are Flag Officers – a rank level attained by less than 1% of career military officers.[ii]

Sending a Rear Admiral across the country to inspect a child’s swing set – particularly, given current Defense cuts – is an insult and an embarrassment.  If the military was to have any role in this transaction, there are numerous enlisted skilled technicians in all branches who could have done a credible job.  Most probably, there was an Army base far closer to the South Dakota operation than Washington, DC.

How and why did this happen?  Who knows?  What we do know, is that President Obama seems more comfortable with high ranking titles.  The BP “Spill Commission” noted, for example that:

“During the Deepwater Horizon response…inter-agency groups [NRT and RRT] were activated but later marginalized when issues were taken out of their hands and decided by agency heads rather than through the established decision-making structure.  When the first National Response Team conference call was held, instead of the designated team members, the principals of the agencies were on the line and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano chaired the call.” [iii]

In fact, on day two of the BP spill crisis, the Deputy Secretary of Interior was dispatched to the Gulf, in order – not to guide our response, but to provide Washington officials hourly updates on our disaster response.[iv]  Does this sound like a job for the Deputy Interior Secretary?

Are these lessons in applied Elitism?  Or, are they merely the actions of a rank amateur?

[i] Jodi Kantor, The Obama’s, (New York, 2012, Little Brown and Company), Kindle Version, p48

[ii] Pamela Barnett, About.com US Military web-site, Navy Rear Admiral, retrieved February 24, 2012 from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navy/a/navyradmiral.htm

[iii] Staff, (October 5, 2010*), National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Staff Working Paper No. 2, Decision-Making Within the Unified Command, p7 – Available at http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/document/decision-making-within-unified-command

[iv] Posted by Heidi Avery, (May 5, 2010), White House Blog, The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill, Retrieved September 23, 2010 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/05/ongoing-administration-wide-response-deepwater-bp-oil-spill

Finding More Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama

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161 Days Remaining

As  Our Free 50 launches, America is involved in a critical countdown.  That, of course, is the countdown to the 2012 Presidential elections.  We have 161 days  until voters have a chance to introduce commonsense into the national agenda – to eliminate the divisiveness, out of control spending, religious attacks, arrogance, class warfare and apologies for America, that have marked the Obama years.  We have 161 days until getting our chance to stop the Obama Administration from “Fundamentally Transforming the United States of America.”

Here, at Our Free 50, We are also looking at a second and parallel countdown of sorts, which has to do with the book 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama.  While the title of this book may seem unimaginative, it’s a fact filled, quick read; comprised of the quotes and records of Obama, his political cohorts and those who know him best.  It’s all the little news pieces that when separated by time, don’t seem to mean much and are easily forgettable.  When rolled into a consolidated source as they are here, suddenly a broader picture emerges, showing a federal government out of control and in the wrong hands.  It’s not everything you should know before voting in November, but, it’s a lot of what you should know.

Now to business:  As the author of 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama, I’d like you to buy the book!  There.  I’ve said it. It’s available now on Amazon.com as a kindle (including for the IPad) book, priced at only $4.99.  If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can even read it for FREE!  203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama will also be available as a paperback in late June, or early July, priced at $11.99.

If you buy the paperback, please pass it around after you’ve read it.  The goal here is not money; it’s the future of our country.  If $4.99 is too much, stay tuned to  “Our Free 50” and bring your friends.  In the 161 days remaining before the election, I’ll be posting a portion of the book daily.  I regret that, without a complete re-typing,  the book’s finished appearance in the blog post is unequal to the Amazon version.  It is still however, perfectly readable.  Please read it, comment and add more reasons of your own.  In fact, I’d like you to add a lot more reasons.  That’s why I’m making the following commitment.

Here’s the small print: (it’s on my “About” page also): I will be donating 20% of all profits from the book to the Wounded Warrior Project (Please see “Notice” at the end of our “About” page).  Additionally, for every 10 unique reasons I receive from readers, showing why America should Not Vote for Barack Obama, I will contribute $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project, up to a maximum of $500.  The reasons cannot be the same as I have in the book and they must be real and based on fact – not personal feelings.  If you use quotes – and I encourage you to do that – you must attribute them to their source.  All such sources will be checked.  Sorry, but I’ll have to be the final arbiter of what counts.

By submitting these “Reasons,” you agree that they may be used by me, for publication; for sharing with the RNC; for sharing with any other person, or organization opposing Obama’s re-election; or for any other legal purpose.  You agree that these submissions and all rights thereto, are being given without claim for remuneration of any kind, and without claim of copyright.  In turn, I promise not to use your name in connection with such submissions unless you request, or otherwise give express permission for your name to be used.  If you would like to be identified with the Reasons you submit, I will gratefully acknowledge your contribution when sharing, or publishing the information.

So, to recap:  Save $4.99 and read the book right here – FOR FREE – in convenient installments.  But, even if you buy it, don’t go away.  There’s still a reason to be here.  First, in addition to the book, I’ll be covering other topics and hopefully, presenting a fresh point of view.  I hope you’ll consider submitting articles as well.  Then, there’s the “Reasons.”  Imagine if collectively, we could come up with – oh, let’s say – 10,000 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama?  Imagine giving that kind of list to the RNC, the Romney campaign, CPAC, The Heritage Foundation, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, etc.?

That’s a Difference WE Can Make Together!   Join us here and “Like” our Facebook Page – 203 Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama.