Where is the outrage? Where are the protesters? Where is the media? Where are the body bags?
Have you taken the time to notice the massive increase in casualties of our young men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq? In June alone, the number of American soldiers that died in Afghanistan (100) almost tripled from the prior year. Last years numbers had increased exponentially from anytime during the Bush Presidency. So far in July, we have lost over 20 U.S. Soldiers, with 8 being killed overnight. This comes one day after the news of Afghan soldiers turning on British coalition forces and killing 6 unsuspecting soldiers.
The Christian Science Monitor is reporting that the Taliban is back; stronger, larger and more determined than ever to push back the Coalition through violence. The question is, what has given them this rebirth? Why can they feel this confident? How can they persuade Afghan soldiers, previously loyal to the U.S, to switch sides? Why do they no longer fear the mighty U.S.A?
The answer is simple, you can read many of my previous posts, or I can give you the two word answer - President Obama! This man is the friend of the Taliban! This man will bring down the U.S. by any means necessary! This man is a man to be feared by any God worshiping, freedom loving, constitution loyalist, American!
The icing on the cake came with the news that we have released Gitmo prisoners to Iraq, including Tariq Aziz, Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister under Saddam Hussein. The news is reporting that 55 former Hussein loyalists will be returned to Iraq, where all will almost certainly face death under the new regime. Admittedly, this possibility does exist, after all, they did kill Saddam. Yet, I am not completely sold. We have seen the new Iraq government make overtures toward Iran for peace and we know what an alliance between Iran and Iraq could mean to the U.S. By turning these military powerhouses over to Iraq, are we giving this new government a shot of expert military might, directly in the arm?
These releases are accompanied by previous releases of war prisoners who went right back to the battle field to kill our soldiers. We know this because some of the former prisoners were later killed in battle, but not before they killed some of our soldiers. We know this, yet we continue to release prisoners just to repeat the same pattern. Our soldiers are already handicapped by nature, fighting in one of the most difficult terrains. The Soviets had already proven the difficulty of winning a war in the Afghan mountains, as they pulled out, many years later, in defeat and in bankruptcy.
The next several months will bring much change in the direction of the war. If we proceed in our current pattern, we will send the souls of many more of our young men and women to be home with their father, leaving parents, siblings, spouses and children to mourn their loss. Unfortunately, I do not see this President doing anything to change this pattern. I do not see him working for the success of the U.S. military. I do not see him working for the good of our nation; and I do not see his congress doing anything to stop him.
For the sake of our U.S. armed forces, the families of our soldiers and for our nation; now is the time to pray. Each morning or evening when you take time to speak to the father, take a moment to ask that he protect our soldiers; comfort surviving family and friends; remove the hate from the hearts of our enemies; and pray that he save our nation. Join me in doing this every day.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Building A New Illinois, A How-To Lesson For The Governor
Governor Quinn announced yesterday that he would be making cuts to the budget in an effort to bring spending under control in our cash strapped state. On the surface we might think, good move. But wait just a minute! To the skeptical conservative mind, this sounds too good to be true. After further review, it is too good to be true. As I will explain, what the governor did, was exactly what I predicted he would do in an earlier post. If you don't believe me, go ahead, read through them. Better yet, place some cash on it. I can use the extra money to help pay the taxes we will soon be hit with. If you need a reminder, here you go:
The state is currently sitting on a $13 billion budget deficit. This week, the governor announced cuts of $1.4 billion - about 10% of the deficit. But where did the cuts come from? Let's take a look. The governor cut payments to state medicare for the elderly, adult daycare programs, programs for the disabled - both treatment and housing; prisons and law enforcement, public education, and on and on and on... Notice a pattern? These are all emotional programs. These are all programs that will raise the ire of the public and create an uproar which will lead the state's residents to demand tax increases. The people will insist that these programs are far too important to be cut, so rather than cutting the program, raise state taxes - and he will.
Just how STUPID are we?
Governor Quinn, here is my recipe for cutting the deficit. You can present this to the General Assembly or the next governor can. If he doesn't, I just might in 2012 when I run for Governor! Readers - Let me know your opinion of this plan.
1. We are in a recession, this is no time to spend money needlessly. Immediately stop all non-essential road construction projects, current and future. Maintain roads using work release, non-violent prisoners.
2. New highway connecting I-55 to I-57 can wait until better times. Shelve this project until then.
3. All non-essential state spending stops immediately. All departments submit a budget with 25% cuts to governor, additional cuts for non-essential services are made, as needed, from here. All corporate credit cards are eliminated and cancelled.
4. Purchasing manager/director is hired and all purchasing programs and vendor agreements are reviewed and re-negotiated. No agreements are signed without approval of a well-qualified committee with final approval made by the governor or a designate of the governor.
5. Any person making unauthorized purchases will be held accountable.
6. Everyone with a state issued vehicle with personal use privileges is reviewed for validity. Those without a justifiable reason for this privilege will return the vehicle or lose personal use privileges.
7. All state employees with salaries above $60k will take an immediate reduction in salary, ranging from 5% to, 25% for the governor of the state. Elected officials claim to be running to serve the people, not to get rich. Let them prove it.
8. State pensions will be eliminated in lieu of private retirement plan (401k).
9. State employee benefits will be managed by private benefit service and will include employee contribution.
10. State unemployment and welfare will become digressive, requiring able bodied recipients to obtain some form of employment within 90 days in order to retain benefits. The state will subsidize employers up to a "liveable wage" for a period of one year and subsidize child care payments to allow single parents to work. Exceptions would be made on a case by case basis.
11. The Governor will begin paying rent for staying in the mansion. If he or she was not the governor, he would be paying rent or a mortgage anyway, right? Why free room and board now? I agree it can be reduced, no more than he was paying in his previous career, but it is more about symbolism than cash. We are in a recession and there should be no free rides for state employees.
12. Related to 11, the governor should pay for his own food and prepare his meals at home - or pay to eat out. Why should the taxpayers pay for a staff to cook for the governor? I think the past two adminstrations have proven that a person governs no better if his hot dogs are cooked by a chef then if the governor himself, pops them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
13. Eliminate the governors limousine. The state has hundreds of surplus vehicles at auction at any given time. Take one out of the auction, paint it black and use it for the governor.
14. Body guards? Why are we paying extra staff to protect the governor? Throughout the year, the state police have hundreds of troopers on desk duty or light duty from workers comp injuries. Let these troopers drive the governor around. Put the able bodied troopers on the street where they can do some good.
15. How often do you notice state police cars changing? Yet, in several states, troopers are still driving in cars that are much older. Why can those states keep their cars on the street, but in Illinois, our state police must always have new cars? I would ask my purchasing manager to research how much we would save by keeping the cars on the street one more year, two more years and three more years. At what point would we have diminishing returns?
16. On expressways of the state, people will drive 75 whether the speed limit is 45 or 65. I would make the state speed limit 75 outside of metro areas at night, 65 during the day. I would reduce the size of the metro area and I would push the state police to crackdown on drunk and reckless driving and reduce the emphasis on speeding. Let the motorists do more of the work by reporting the offenders using *999 and reduce the number of troopers on the street.
17. I will put the city of Chicago on a diet. The city would be forced to control their spending and crackdown on their crime. If they cannot take control of the problems they have, the state will deploy the Illinois Guard and bill the city for the service. Corruption must be stopped throughout the state and this includes the city of Chicago. If the Mayor will not do it, the Governor will.
18. I will eliminate the percentage tax rate on fuel and change to a fixed amount. The percentage rate gives the impression that the state "wants" higher fuel prices because the higher the fuel price, the more money the state earns.
19. I will introduce massive tax incentives for small businesses (>$250k). If a business owner cannot turn a profit, they should not have to pay taxes. Under the current system, the state and federal government take their money off the top, even if it leaves business owners homeless. The state has no control over federal tax regulation, but they can control the damage that the state will do to a struggling business.
20. I will outlaw all "roadside safety checks". This type of Stalinist rule has no place in a free society. I do not approve of drunk driving or breaking laws of any kind, but the constitution protects citizens against any form of illegal search and seizure. Roadside safety checks and communist checkpoints are synonymous and must not be condoned in the United States and nobody can provide any justification for such a precedent.
This gives you just a sample of the direction I am going and I believe the state of Illinois must go in order to survive. There is nothing mentioned here about taking food away from babies or medicine from the elderly. There is also nothing here about raising your taxes. What I have detailed here are common sense expense reductions that will save the state billions. It will end the corruption, the wild office parties and the attitude of "they owe us" in Springfield. It has built in checks and balances to ensure that when the Chicago politicians and the union heavies come to Springfield with the do-it-or-else mentality, they will be told to hit the road and shown the door, with a boot if necessary. Until someone is tough enough to get in their face, the problems will never get fixed. Again, if Mr. Quinn is not "man" enough to do it, the next governor better be. If he or she isn't. I can assure you, I am!
The state is currently sitting on a $13 billion budget deficit. This week, the governor announced cuts of $1.4 billion - about 10% of the deficit. But where did the cuts come from? Let's take a look. The governor cut payments to state medicare for the elderly, adult daycare programs, programs for the disabled - both treatment and housing; prisons and law enforcement, public education, and on and on and on... Notice a pattern? These are all emotional programs. These are all programs that will raise the ire of the public and create an uproar which will lead the state's residents to demand tax increases. The people will insist that these programs are far too important to be cut, so rather than cutting the program, raise state taxes - and he will.
Just how STUPID are we?
Governor Quinn, here is my recipe for cutting the deficit. You can present this to the General Assembly or the next governor can. If he doesn't, I just might in 2012 when I run for Governor! Readers - Let me know your opinion of this plan.
1. We are in a recession, this is no time to spend money needlessly. Immediately stop all non-essential road construction projects, current and future. Maintain roads using work release, non-violent prisoners.
2. New highway connecting I-55 to I-57 can wait until better times. Shelve this project until then.
3. All non-essential state spending stops immediately. All departments submit a budget with 25% cuts to governor, additional cuts for non-essential services are made, as needed, from here. All corporate credit cards are eliminated and cancelled.
4. Purchasing manager/director is hired and all purchasing programs and vendor agreements are reviewed and re-negotiated. No agreements are signed without approval of a well-qualified committee with final approval made by the governor or a designate of the governor.
5. Any person making unauthorized purchases will be held accountable.
6. Everyone with a state issued vehicle with personal use privileges is reviewed for validity. Those without a justifiable reason for this privilege will return the vehicle or lose personal use privileges.
7. All state employees with salaries above $60k will take an immediate reduction in salary, ranging from 5% to, 25% for the governor of the state. Elected officials claim to be running to serve the people, not to get rich. Let them prove it.
8. State pensions will be eliminated in lieu of private retirement plan (401k).
9. State employee benefits will be managed by private benefit service and will include employee contribution.
10. State unemployment and welfare will become digressive, requiring able bodied recipients to obtain some form of employment within 90 days in order to retain benefits. The state will subsidize employers up to a "liveable wage" for a period of one year and subsidize child care payments to allow single parents to work. Exceptions would be made on a case by case basis.
11. The Governor will begin paying rent for staying in the mansion. If he or she was not the governor, he would be paying rent or a mortgage anyway, right? Why free room and board now? I agree it can be reduced, no more than he was paying in his previous career, but it is more about symbolism than cash. We are in a recession and there should be no free rides for state employees.
12. Related to 11, the governor should pay for his own food and prepare his meals at home - or pay to eat out. Why should the taxpayers pay for a staff to cook for the governor? I think the past two adminstrations have proven that a person governs no better if his hot dogs are cooked by a chef then if the governor himself, pops them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
13. Eliminate the governors limousine. The state has hundreds of surplus vehicles at auction at any given time. Take one out of the auction, paint it black and use it for the governor.
14. Body guards? Why are we paying extra staff to protect the governor? Throughout the year, the state police have hundreds of troopers on desk duty or light duty from workers comp injuries. Let these troopers drive the governor around. Put the able bodied troopers on the street where they can do some good.
15. How often do you notice state police cars changing? Yet, in several states, troopers are still driving in cars that are much older. Why can those states keep their cars on the street, but in Illinois, our state police must always have new cars? I would ask my purchasing manager to research how much we would save by keeping the cars on the street one more year, two more years and three more years. At what point would we have diminishing returns?
16. On expressways of the state, people will drive 75 whether the speed limit is 45 or 65. I would make the state speed limit 75 outside of metro areas at night, 65 during the day. I would reduce the size of the metro area and I would push the state police to crackdown on drunk and reckless driving and reduce the emphasis on speeding. Let the motorists do more of the work by reporting the offenders using *999 and reduce the number of troopers on the street.
17. I will put the city of Chicago on a diet. The city would be forced to control their spending and crackdown on their crime. If they cannot take control of the problems they have, the state will deploy the Illinois Guard and bill the city for the service. Corruption must be stopped throughout the state and this includes the city of Chicago. If the Mayor will not do it, the Governor will.
18. I will eliminate the percentage tax rate on fuel and change to a fixed amount. The percentage rate gives the impression that the state "wants" higher fuel prices because the higher the fuel price, the more money the state earns.
19. I will introduce massive tax incentives for small businesses (>$250k). If a business owner cannot turn a profit, they should not have to pay taxes. Under the current system, the state and federal government take their money off the top, even if it leaves business owners homeless. The state has no control over federal tax regulation, but they can control the damage that the state will do to a struggling business.
20. I will outlaw all "roadside safety checks". This type of Stalinist rule has no place in a free society. I do not approve of drunk driving or breaking laws of any kind, but the constitution protects citizens against any form of illegal search and seizure. Roadside safety checks and communist checkpoints are synonymous and must not be condoned in the United States and nobody can provide any justification for such a precedent.
This gives you just a sample of the direction I am going and I believe the state of Illinois must go in order to survive. There is nothing mentioned here about taking food away from babies or medicine from the elderly. There is also nothing here about raising your taxes. What I have detailed here are common sense expense reductions that will save the state billions. It will end the corruption, the wild office parties and the attitude of "they owe us" in Springfield. It has built in checks and balances to ensure that when the Chicago politicians and the union heavies come to Springfield with the do-it-or-else mentality, they will be told to hit the road and shown the door, with a boot if necessary. Until someone is tough enough to get in their face, the problems will never get fixed. Again, if Mr. Quinn is not "man" enough to do it, the next governor better be. If he or she isn't. I can assure you, I am!
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