If Republicans want to take the high ground they should be bold and put corporate welfare on the table

Obama has maneuvered the narrative of the fiscal cliff talks as being a war between the rich and the middle class.  Obama claims to be on the side of the middle class and the GOP, the party of the “rich."

The mainstream media of course, always on the look out for a simplistic headline to rally around, can carry this message forward to further marginalize the Republican Party.

It’s time for the party to be bold and call Obamas bluff. Instead of going through the death of a thousand cuts, come out and put something on the table that all Americans can get behind: Call for the end of all corporate welfare. These “entitlements” are costing taxpayers an estimated 100 billion dollars per year. See Cato report

Entitlement programs/the welfare state is the driver behind the huge debt of America... Corporate welfare IS an entitlement.

If the Republicans can be bold enough to put this on the table, they can then demand from Obama, cuts to other entitlement programs.  This will deflate the class warfare meme that has worked so well against the Republicans.

After all, why should the American middle class be paying for huge subsidies to corporations that hire thousands of lobbyists who shower politicians of both parties to vote more corporate loopholes?

At the same time all of the billions of dollars in “green subsidies” can be ended, including the subsidies for the rich who buy expensive electric cars.  Why should the middle class pay for the rich when they buy their toys?  Average income for an electric car buyer is $174,000.  Why should a middle class taxpayer put up 7,500 per car to entice a wealthy person to buy an electric car?

Why should the middle class by paying 26.00 per gallon for “green” fuel supplied to the military when they can get that same fuel for 3.50 per gallon?

The giant retailer Wal-Mart has more workers enrolled in many state Medicaid programs—which are supposed to be reserved for poor people—than any other employer. Why should the middle class be subsidizing Wal-Mart?

Instantly the Republicans will gain credibility with Americans.  They can stand toe to toe with Obama, look him straight in the eye and say:  “We are willing to put Americas future first are you?”

Nothing short of boldness will work now, otherwise it will be another kick the can down the road and Americans will be more disillusioned than ever with their leaders in Washington.

Would US foreign aid be better spent in Ireland, rather than Egypt where it supports a new Islamist dictator?

Riots in Tahir Square

 Egypt’s new President (for life?), Mohammed Morsi, riding the afterglow of  huge praise from President Obama and Hillary Clinton for his role in ending 8 days of hostility in Gaza, leveraged that glow to seize dictatorial powers over his countrymen.

Morsi a leader of the  Muslim Brotherhood, which is tied closely to the United States mortal enemy, Al Quaeda, has been aggressively seizing power since he gained office by winning a democratic election 52-48.

On Thursday he issued constitutional amendments that placed him above judicial oversight & extended that same immunity to a committee drafting a new constitution for the country that many say has been hijacked by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood allies.  Morsis’s critics say he is trying to push through an Islamist state that will marginalize women and minority Christians, infringing on personal liberties.

"Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh," pro-reform leader Mohamed El Baradei wrote. "This is a major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences."

The last time Hillary Clinton visited Egypt, her motorcade was pelted with tomatoes by Egyptians who felt they have been sold out by the Obama administration.  These Egyptian citizens feel the Obama administration let Egypt fall into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, an arch enemy of democracy and the western worlds way of life.

But since the pelting of Hillary’s motorcade several months ago, the Obama administration has showered millions of dollars on the Morisis government in spite of his dictatorial moves and his aggressive disregard of previous peace agreements with neighboring country, Israel.

Many Americans think “foreign aid” should be based on the carrot and the stick approach.  Regardless of the fact that America is broke, it still borrows money and prints it in order to dole out foreign aid. So lets help our friends, so they can help us.

This foreign aid money should have strings attached…It seems we have exchanged a previous dictator, who was friendly towards us, for a new dictator who is not friendly towards us or our close ally Israel. What kind of madness is this?

We are showering Egypt with billions of dollars; in fact Hillary just authorized giving the Morsi government 450 million in emergency funds on the heels of the just completed cease of hostilities in Gaza. Despite the fact Egypt has total control over weapons smuggled into Gaza and Hamas.

Dublin Ireland

We should take the billions we are now sending to a country hostile to our civilization and spread it to a country that is a friend.   A true democracy; giving foreign aid to Ireland on the scale we are giving it to Egypt would be like pouring Miracle Grow on a flower garden.

Blessed with a highly educated and motivated population, funds could be used to set up manufacturing facilities, hi-tech development, spur energy independence and create an economic powerhouse/ strong ally in line with western values.

The foreign aid could have strings attached.  Perhaps one of those strings could be to give the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland the chance to vote for a united republic. 26+6=32. 

Even the late British American Christopher Hitchens was in favor of a United Ireland and surprised many when he publicly voiced that opinion.

The bakers union cooks its own goose as Hostess shuts its doors

If there’s anything that symbolized America’s greatness in the snack industry, it was the iconic Hostess Twinkie.  The tasty snack was a must have for cravers of a cheap, high caloric/carb/sugary fueled food rush.

We grew up with the entire family of Hostess snack foods:  From chocolate covered Cupcakes, to the powder sugar Gems, Ding Dongs, Ho Ho’s, Sno Balls and Donettes.-these were comfort foods to millions of Americans.   Every quick stop and grocery store in America carried Hostess products.

Everyone has had a personal relationship with some Hostess product at some point in their life.

But today it was announced that relationship is coming to an end as Hostess stated they were shutting their doors forever.

On announcement of the news, stoners on the Cheech and Chong blog said one of their favorite treats is going up in smoke and decry the empty Hostess shelves in local grocery stores.

An American success story in manufacturing and marketing since 1930,, Hostess, (Interstate Bakeries), also owns, Wonder Bread, Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison, Butternut Breads, and Drake's brands.

Hostess had been trying to get an agreement from their unionized labor pool of approximately 18,000, in order to stay in business and remain competitive.  Operations at their plants had been paralyzed due to strikes and pickets.  Last minute negotiations had brought some of the unions to agreement, but the bakers union voted 92% to turn down requests for scale backs on pay.  As a result Hostess is shutting its doors and the 18,000 employees are all out of work.

The company had 372 collective bargaining agreements with a dozen unions and had roughly $2 billion in unfunded pension liabilities to its various unions' workers.

Hostess work rules based on labor contracts included separate drivers for deliveries of different Hostess products, vastly increasing labor costs to the company.

Management has a part to play in the demise of the company as well.  Many said they have been riding the popularity of the Twinkie since 1933 and had failed to refresh their company and products image.  Sales began to decline in the 1980s and '90s as consumers found healthier alternatives to snack cakes and white bread. The debt started to pile up and lead to the first company bankruptcy in 2004.

But a last minute order by a bankruptcy judge forced Hostess and the bakers union into a negotiation to see if a compromise could be worked out.  The judge said  there are “serious questions as to the logic behind the decision to strike.”

If the company is forced into liquidation, its brand names are valuable.  Prior to the judge announcing the forced, last minute labor negotiations, there were rumors that some companies were willing to step in and take over operations, but would not be honoring any of the union labor agreements.  Perhaps the Twinkie will be back, but it will never be the same.

Sex sells, as media finally delves into Libya scandal

Paula Broadwell

The murder of our Ambassador to Libya and 3 other Americans at the Benghazi consulate was relegated to a few blurbs on the news and back page status in the New York Times.

But “sex sells” & news of an illicit affair between one of the main players in the Benghazi debacle, head of the CIA, David Petraeus and his” biographer” Paula Broadwell, does  capture headlines. The aptly named book, “All In”  takes on new connotations as more is revealed about the tawdry affair.

As a sad commentary of the shallowness of our media, maybe this will lead them to get to the bottom of why Americans were left to be killed in Benghazi.

Petraeus was forced to step down as head of the CIA as the result of an FBI investigation that exposed his affair. The investigation was triggered by a complaint from another woman who received threatening emails from Petraeus paramour. But the woman behind the FBI complaint, far from being a victim of harassment, seems to be a major player herself in this twisted tale.

Jill Kelly a Tampa Bay socialite, herself married and very active in social circles in southern Florida,  is a longtime friend of Petraeus and his wife.

The plot thickens as another General gets whacked

 But to add even more fuel to the fire, another top General in Afghanistan, John Allen, seems to have been carrying on a relationship with Jill Kelly.  An official told the AP that 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails, some flirtatious and other communications between Allen and Kelley since 2010 are under review.

Gen Allen/Jill Kelly

 Kelley has been described as an "unpaid social liaison" for MacDill Air Force Base, headquarters to U.S. Central Command. Her mansion was a frequent party spot visited by the military's top brass, including Petraeus and Allen.

Evidently Kelly and her surgeon husband are in deep financial trouble as a result of bad investments and are underwater by millions.  Unnamed sources claim money may have been a motive behind pressure on Petraeus and may have sparked the threatening emails from Broadwell.

This puts a whole new spin on the possibility of blackmail of Petraeus.  Was he pressured by the administration to tell a fabricated story?

Already tapes have been leaked of Paula Broadwell revealing top secret information revolving around the scenario behind the attack on our Benghazi consulate. 

What she revealed is the real possibility the consulate might have been the cover for a clandestine prison where captured Libyan rebels were interrogated.  The attack itself may have been a planned operation to free captured prisoners.

This flies in the face of the administrations oft repeated mantra that the attack was a spontaneous reaction to a cheesy anti Mohammed tape. This also contradicts President Obamas pledge to not have secret prisons where prisoners are held and possibly interrogated using enhanced techniques.

The FBI spent 4 hours at Paula Broadwells house combing through every square inch of her residence looking for evidence.  They left carrying boxes of material they loaded into vans.

Ironically, the time spent at Paula Broadwells house, was far more time than the FBI spent at the scene of the murder of our Ambassador in Benghazi.  

In the meantime as congress delves into this issue, the main players involved in this mess are conveniently not available to testify.  Hillary Clinton is busy at a wine tasting in Australia and David Petraeus has said he won't be available to attend the hearing. 

Update: David Petraeus has agreed to testify this week in front of the House & Senate committees investigating the murder of our ambassador and 3 other Americans at the Benghazi consulate. His testimony will be behind closed doors.

Update: Hillary Clinton is still wine tasting in Australia until further notice. 

Murray Energy, the canary in the mineshaft for America and its source of power

Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, Americas largest privately owned coal company, has been a strong and articulate defender of his industry. 

Murray has over 3,000 employees and their families, who depend on his leadership and good judgment for their livelihoods.  Countless thousands of other jobs depend on support industries that rely on the shipping, handling and processing of what he produces……Millions of Americans depend on Murray Energy to light and heat their homes for a modest price.

Mr. Murray is a frequent guest on television shows who seek him out for his business acumen & expertise on what it takes to keep Americas economic engine fueled.…. he has never shied away from speaking his mind.

Mr. Murray and I have been communicating over the future of America’s energy industry and what can be done to keep America’s energy prices affordable. 

I was taken by surprise when Mr. Murray sent me an email  with an excerpt from his private staff meeting held yesterday.  What I read within alarmed me, because he is a strong, steady, intelligent leader, whose history is not one of making knee jerk reactions. 

On the corner of the attached email was a note to me in his handwriting, telling me to feel free to use this information as I feel fit to do.  As a result I have decided to post it in its entirety and share it with my fellow Americans.

In a sign of the gravity that Mr. Murray feels America has come to, he accompanied the notes of his meeting with a prayer, which I will also post.

What I foresee in America

Staff Meeting November 7, 2012

1. Drastically reduced economic activity

2. Reduced electric power consumption

3. Drastically reduced coal markets w/worse coal pricing

4. Total destruction of the coal industry by 2030

5. Enactment of 12 EPA regs alone, by the Obama Administration

6. Per Sen Imhoffe: 3 regs on greenhouse gas, MACT & coal ash will cost USA 600 billion

7. Likely a carbon tax will be forced to subsidize the government and  “receivers” (Obama supporters) in the total destruction of the coal industry, as early as 2030.

8. All coal companies are performing drastically worse than their CEO’s and boards want to report and this is understandable with their concerns for stock prices/refinancing.

9. Most public companies will not be able to continue to emphasize any positive they had, while avoiding the negatives in their statements and opinions.

10. The markets will soon take away this ability from these public CEO’s/directors

11. Of course private companies will abandon this industry

12. We must prepare for this today and we cannot bleed cash waiting for competitors to be eliminated.

13. We must totally go into survival mode and generate all of the cash that we can from whatever we have left that can help us.

14. We must tear down all structures of Murray Energy and reassemble them.

15. While putting Murray Energy into a survival mode, I will be fighting allegations from radical Obama supporters, that you know are blatantly false and were inspired  only to shut down opposition to them on behalf of our employees, your area and our country.

16. We must be passionate and austere in all that we do.

Robert E. Murray

Chairman, President and CEO

My Prayer

Dear Lord:

The American people have made their choice. They have decided America must change its course, away from the principles of our founders….And away from the idea of individual freedom and individual responsibility….Away from capitalism, economic responsibility and personal acceptance.

America is no longer America.  We are a country in favor of redistribution, national weakness and reduced standard of living and lower levels of personal freedom.

My regret Lord is that our young people, including those in my own family, never will know what America was like, or could have been. They will pay the price in their reduced standard of living and most especially, reduced freedom.

The takers outvoted the producers. In response to this I have turned to my Bible and in II Peter, Chapter 1 vs. 4-9 it says: “To faith we are to add goodness; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self control, perseverance; to perseverance; godliness; to godliness, kindness; to brotherly kindness, love.

Lord please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corporation for the decisions we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any enterprises that you have helped us build. We ask for your guidance in this drastic time with the drastic decisions that will be made to have any hope of our survival as an American business enterprise.

Amen

Robert Murray

America voted to expand the nanny state, but who is paying the nanny?

 Last nights elections results didn’t change the balance of power much in Washington.  It is still headed in the direction of runaway spending, expanding entitlements with more and larger government services. Of course, this costs tremendous amounts of money

Bill O’Reilly summed up the election results yesterday:

“There are fifty percent of the voting public who want stuff. They want things. Who is going to give them things? President Obama. He knows it and ran on it. ... Twenty years ago, President Obama would have been roundly defeated by an establishment candidate like Mitt Romney.”

As I wrote in my October 21 piece, the left has capitalized on being the party of the government dependent entitlement society.  This population has been mobilized to vote and has tipped the balance of power. They are immune from the effects of a bad economy the private sector is mired in. Why should they care if taxes are raised? 

The national debt of 16 trillion doesn’t affect them either, future generations will be saddled with this burden.  We ran out of our own money long ago and are now spending our children’s/grandchildren’s money to afford today’s entitlements.

But what is important to this base, is getting stuff today… President Obama and his party have done the best job of promising that. But nothing is free, everything comes with some sort of price tag.  That price is monetary and a loss of freedom from more intrusive big government protecting you from yourself by imposing its policies on you.

 Britain’s Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher said:  “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” 

America had an opportunity yesterday to change that direction, but failed to grasp it when an alternative for fiscal responsibility was offered by the Romney candidacy.

Many Americans will now get what they voted for: A bigger and more intrusive nanny state…paid for by someone else, until they run out of money.

Voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio will become rich states if they vote for Romney

Voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio have a unique opportunity to make themselves energy producing giants this Tuesday, if they vote for the right candidate. 

As geologists and energy experts probe what’s under the ground in these two states, it is becoming apparent they are sitting on huge reserves of natural gas.  In addition to gas, they already have huge reserves of other forms of fossil fuels.

But in particular, the gas is near the surface and easy to obtain.  If there is willing government cooperation  from Washington DC, these states will be booming due to energy production.  State treasuries would be overflowing with royalties from the billions in energy sold.

Thousands of jobs would be created on exploration, recovery, pipelines, transportation and infrastructure.  Long-term employment would necessarily increase as companies look for qualified employees to help in recovering & marketing these resources.   

North Dakota is a prime example of what a state can do when they pursue their energy resources. With a 3% unemployment rate, they are the lowest rate in the nation. 

Under the last four years of the Obama administration, there has been a concerted effort to wage war on our energy sector. One of the key Obama EPA administrators was caught saying he wanted to crucify the energy industry. One of the biggest foes of Americas fossil fuel reserves, Bill McKibben, has the Presidents ear and was said to play a key role in his rejection of the Keystone Pipeline.

See McKibben Epstein ultimate energy debate November 5, at Duke University

For the last 4 years, the Obama administration has been quietly crucifying and hamstringing our energy sector.

The stark, easy to see result of this policy,  is to pull into the gas station and fill up your car for 100.00, when it only cost 50.00 4 years ago.

Governor Romney has already promised he will encourage responsible recovery of our energy resources the first day he takes control of the reins of government.

We have already seen what 4 years of Obama policies have done to our energy sector.  Energy plant shut downs-Coal mine bankruptcies-Huge tracts of federally controlled land barred from energy exploration-Billions in losses on taxpayer funded green energy schemes. The next 4 years will be all of the above, but on steroids,  as he will not have to answer to the voters again.

The choice is clear for the voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  With Romney you have the opportunity to become energy rich and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.  At the same time you can help our country become energy self sufficient.