Merry Christmas From The Crash Test Dummies

Talk Carries the Times

The Roar

Talk Carries the Times

There’s smooth talkers, cheap talkers, fear mongering talk and just plain liars.  That just about sums up our Presidential timber.  Representatives of any or all of the above usually find their way to the top echelons of Presidential aspirants every four years.  For the most part, this current batch falls right in line.

Aside from the glibness of these hopeful prevaricators, our susceptibility to their polished fables is invigorated through the daily offerings from our journalists and political pundits.  More and more, it’s even become apparent that most of our popular radio talking heads are talking like the carnival barkers of old.  Like the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton once replied, “it’s where the money is.”

Just when will the American voter become strong enough, in mind and spirit, to be able to demand truth from our political representatives?  Being told what we want to hear has led us to this national abyss.

The 1964 fear promoted from a little girl picking a daisy in the field as a mushroom cloud rises in the background was all it took for LBJ’s re-election.  His promise not to send American boys off to fight in Asia was a classic “tell them what they want to hear” hoodwinking.  Later, we were treated to a sitting President avowing that “I didn’t have sex with that woman.”  Or how about the other classic of, “read my lips” from President Bush.  About the only instance of truth came from candidate Obama when he promised to “fundamentally change America.”

This last promise should speak volumes about what the voter wants to hear.  Three years later, I have yet to hear of an Obama supporter remembering that one word, “fundamentally.”  The idea was “change” and that single word filled the public’s ears.

I, for one, look past the candidates which are now being shoved down our throats.  Smooth talking just will not cut it anymore.  When one can step back and observe how all facets of our media are funneling this contest into a predetermined two horse race, one must start to consider other options.  And they are there for your choosing.  And from a personal point of view, one who is qualified and experienced also hails from Pennsylvania.  Why is it that not a Santorum word makes the Pennsylvania daily print?   He may not be as polished as the sound bite master or the former liberal Governor but he sure makes a lot more sense.  Just a thought.

Jim Bowman, Author of
This Roar of Ours

Why I’m Depressed — Off The Internet

Why I’m Depressed Courtesy Cathy Craddock

Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel , “Pick up
your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the Promised
Land.”

Nearly 75 years ago (when Welfare was introduced) Roosevelt said, “Lay down
your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the Promised
Land.”

Now Obama has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of
Camels, and mortgaged the Promised Land!

I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the economy,
the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc. . .
I called Lifeline. Got a call center in Pakistan.

I told them I was suicidal. They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.

Out Of Control

The Roar

Out of Control

Tis the season to be merry.  However, the days are dwindling for the average “free” American to buy a necessary, practical and efficient household item of century age durability.  That would be the 100 watt incandescent light bulb, of which served us during two World Wars, not to mention The Great Depression.  Old faithful will become illegal on January first.

To begin with, our reaction of “are you kiddin me” just doesn’t quite do it justice.  Many of us have watched as our highly paid governmental officials flubbed one policy after another.  However, this is a policy which defies common sense along with the product’s useful history.  Just how much are “free” people willing to digest before the boot becomes insufferable upon our throats?

The 2007  democrat Congress passed the Energy Security and Independence Act which President George W. Bush then signed into law.  Words in the act’s title, ” Security” and “Independence” are insulting, devious and nonsensical.  How does outlawing such a useful product increase or even stabilize our “security?”   And, as far as cementing or protecting our “independence” goes, forget it!  These little curled light bulbs are the products from our patriotic General Electric plants in China.

The bottom line to this absurdity is that our government forced the closing of our manufacturing centers in America so that we could buy a product which would be made in China.

Now, one of the definitions of the word “treason” is, “a betrayal of trust or confidence.”  This Act certainly exemplifies such a betrayal.  In addition, it was bandied about Congress that this insanity would be shelved, starting with a pro-American vote in both Houses.  Our illustrious Senate became the bulb’s “A Bridge Too Far.”  The same Senate which cited the eradication of the incandescent age would, in turn, reduce the need for new power plants.  This ability, to rationalize from a 100 watt bulb onto the stage of eliminating the need for “24 fewer coal-type electric plants” defies any system for equational understanding.

To estimate just how out of the understanding loop this legislation is, reasoning leading to its passage also cited inefficiency and wasted energy.  This is the flimsy and unproven thinking which introduced such a negative result against the most standard American product ever made.

It may be interesting to note that while we all rage against the evil influences from Washington’s lobby culture, we at the same time ignore the most effective of lobbyists.  That would be the environmentalist’s greasing of the Washington gearbox.  One yet unproven outcome from this quarter is the Presidential action concerning the Keystone pipeline project from Canada to Texas.  Our President, as was likely the similar case with former President Bush, will be swayed not to endorse an instant 20,000 plus jobs project based upon the concerns and goals from this radically led environmental fringe.

In typical gradualist fashion, today it’s the 100 watt bulb, next year it will be the 75 watt followed with  the 60 and 40 watters in 2014.

In conclusion, talk floats as to the dispersing of those Americans who followed the communist dogma into the current environmental enclaves.  Wisdom preaches that “actions speak louder than words.”  Judging from their lobbying results, their influence seems frightening as they apparently have the power to eliminate common sense from the equation.  Add to this scenario the complacency of the American “go along” mentality and viola, the Red flag may be on the rise!

Jim Bowman, Author of
This Roar of Ours

TARP Costs Are Back Up

TARP Costs Are Back Up — The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)  was signed into law by President Bush a month before the 2008 election and authorized spending $700 billion to buy assets and equity in financial institutions. The plan was to prevent an economic meltdown due to the subprime mortgage scam.

It was originally expected that taxpayers would be on the hook for $300 billion but the spending authorization was cut to $475 billion in the Dodd-Frank regulations passed in July 2010 and by March 2011 the total  cost estimate for the taxpayers had been cut to $19 billion as the banks and other institutions began paying back  loans.

On Friday the Congressional Budget Office announced the cost estimate is back  to $34 billion due to a drop in the market value of the government’s investments in American International Group and General Motors.

So how is that Chevy Volt working out? Maybe D.C. should have invested in Ford. Oh, that’s right. Ford threw the money back in their faces.

I see Fords in our futures assuming you think it desirable to buy American.

TARP was basically a scheme for wealthy, connected people to be able keep their homes in the Hamptons and their chateaus in Aspen. If Congress simply raised the federal deposit insurance from $250,000 to $2.5 million, the irresponsible banks would have failed, the deposit holders would have transferred their money to the responsible banks,  and justice would have prevailed.

The bad guys would have got bloody noses. The little guy wouldn’t have been hurt any worse than he was and maybe not even as badly.

And we would not have ended up with the Dodd-Frank travesty.

And maybe even John McCain would be president.

Hat tip Tom C.

 

TARP Costs Are Back Up

Catholic Mass, Andy Reid, School Choice and Dumb Security Measures

 

 

The best thing about being a columnist is that there’s never a
shortage of material—especially the kind that leaves you shaking your
head.  The bad part is that there isn’t enough time to cover all those
topics thoroughly.

So the following is a brief perspective on various events, many of which the media has missed:

Pennsylvania School Choice Disaster: For the last year, those fighting for educational reform (comprehensive choice in education) but against
Senate Bill 1, the fatally-flawed bill in Harrisburg that would have
neither educated nor reformed (and is now dead), were lectured on the
merits of “incrementalism” by SB 1 proponents. “You have to get a little
at a time,” they scolded.

Well, despite never actually trying to pass a
broader bill that would include the middle class—which is why school
choice failed—the SB 1 folks (pushing the incremental approach) were
smashingly successful.  They set the entire Movement back
incrementally.  Comprehensive school choice passed the senate in 1991,
and garnered 89 votes in the House (of the needed 102). In 1995, an even
broader bill had 101 votes—just one shy.  Yet in 2011, with a governor
who made vouchers a top priority, with Republican majorities in both
chambers and with millions of dollars for lobbying, the SB 1 forces
couldn’t even get 90 votes.

So let’s see. In 20 years, we went from 89 to 101 to 90.   Not exactly progress, but definitely incrementalism.

Political Motivation: The “politically motivated”
charge is an overused—and   meaningless—line uttered by those who refuse
to confront the truth.  Consider two recent examples, with the typical
lack of follow-up by the media to call the complainers on the carpet:

Herman Cain is certainly an affable chap, but had no business running
for president for two reasons.  First, he was clueless on the issues,
as his entertaining responses illustrated.  Second, if you’re going to
be under the most intense spotlight in the world, you need to be up
front with your skeletons so that they are revealed on your terms. But
Cain didn’t do that, and he got burned.

How could he possibly think that three sexual harassment suits
wouldn’t come to light? In his announcement speech, he could have denied
wrongdoing, blamed bloodthirsty trial lawyers and wimpy settle-happy
insurance companies, and moved on.  Instead, he just kept blaming Rick
Perry and later the Democrats for leaking it, self-righteously stating
that the story was “politically motivated.”

Hey, Herman, here’s a newsflash.  You were running for President of
the United States! Of course it’s politically motivated!  So what? It’s
not whether something is politically motivated but whether the allegations were true—which
the national media never seemed to ask. Politicians leak things about
their opponents all the time, motivated by their desire to win. If he had just been honest from the beginning, he might still be in the race.

And locally, we have all the Democratic leaders fuming about the new congressional districts,
redrawn every 10 years by the party in power in Harrisburg, which
happens to be the GOP.  Therefore—you guessed it—we have the Dems
leveling the charge that the gerrymandered districts were drawn that way
for political purposes (or, as one classicly described the new 7th District, “Meehan-mandered”).

Let’s see.  They are congressional seats, filled by … politicians.
They are designed by … politicians.  They will remain unchanged for the
next decade, so the drawing was done for … political purposes.  Where’s
the surprise?  That’s the way it’s always worked.  Interestingly, the
Dems’ statements could be swapped word for word with Republicans when
they were out of power.

It would have been refreshing to hear a Democratic official be honest
and say, “Yes, the districts suck for us. Kudos to the GOP.  They got
slaughtered in 2006 and 2008, but won when it counted (2010), and now we
have to live with the results. It’s our party’s fault, so we’ll be sure
to gear up in 2020 to gerrymander them to our liking.”

But that type of honesty is just a pipe dream in politics.

Catholic Church changes: Church leaders decided that
it would be a nice idea to substantially change the liturgy using new
translations.  Brilliant move.  It took centuries for most Catholics to
even begin mumbling the prayers at Sunday Mass (though singing is still
nonexistent), and now they change the whole works?  You can hear the
crickets now …

Fair or not, it has also left many wondering why the Church spent so
much time and energy on such an endeavor while still not cleaning up its
own house regarding the (continuing) sex scandals. And not
coincidentally, more Catholic school closings will be announced next
month.  Sorry, that’s not because of the economy, demographics and
population shifts, but lack of leadership, very little transparency and
an image of arrogance that will be very hard to break. Amen.

Safe to Fly? Think Again: A hugely important story
that got very little attention is the new Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) rules that don’t require children under 12 to take
their shoes off for x-ray inspection. Additionally, children will
receive significantly fewer pat-downs. (Despite the inevitable claims by
one or two whining parents, these pat-downs are not intrusive and the
parents are never separated from their children during the procedure.)

Well, at least it’s reassuring that terrorists don’t know about this new policy.  Oh wait … they do.

Not only do we implement such an insane, politically correct
procedure, but gleefully announce it to the world.  And since there are
numerous examples of terrorists strapping bombs to their children’s
bodies in the name of God knows what, does anyone really think they
won’t gleefully accept this gift, change their strategy, and place
explosives in Junior’s shoe?

And when the next disaster occurs, we’ll all stand around wondering
how on Earth this could have happened.  For that answer, just look to
the TSA signs announcing the policy.

Of course, before that tragedy occurs, we could end the security
theatre and start profiling, make everyone take off their shoes, and
have no exceptions for pat-downs.

As always, those who don’t like it can take the bus to Europe.

And finally, for all the Eagles fans who have been praying for Andy Reid’s firing
at the end of the season, keep dreaming. The Birds will play just well
enough to keep the best three-quarter coach in football right where he
is.  After all, this is Philadelphia, and we revel in the misery heaped
upon us, year after year, by boneheaded decisions made by our teams.

And you can take that $10,000 bet right to the bank.

 

Feinberg RINO Hunt May Get Some Big Guns

The young man primarying the more-liberal-than-he-should-be Republican representing the 18th Congressional District outside of Pittsburgh may be getting some high-caliber endorsements.

PoliticsPa is reporting that senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma are considering supporting Evan Feinberg, who served as an aide to both men, over long-time fellow party member  Timothy F. Murphy.

Murphy has a history of supporting Democrats and other big-spenders on budget-busting votes.

Hat tip Bob Guzzardi.

Polar Bear Fell On Me

By Hawthorne Tarry


A polar bear fell on me.

What sadder words are there in the English language? It’s a craven phrase but ultimately a useful one.

A polar bear fell on me.

The phrase is the final sentence in the script from  the docudrama Road House and is used by the only witness to a vile murder to escape from having to testify.

Road House is based on the cold-blooded killing of a disruptive person in a Missouri town done in broad daylight before many witnesses all of whom denied knowledge of it. Granted none of them used the phrase “a polar bear fell on me” as it would not have made much sense unlike in the dramatization in which a polar bear did literally fall on the witness, a man by the name of Tinker.

Still, as is too often unfortunately the case, it is Hollywood that writes the history and “a polar bear fell on me” is what we remember from the crime.

One wonders why it is not used more.

Would not Herman Cain still be in the running if when confronted with the allegations of Ginger White, rather than issue a blanket denial, simply said “a polar bear fell on me”?

Would not Bill Clinton have avoided impeachment if he said “a polar bear fell on me” rather than “I did not have sexual relations with that woman . . .”

Al Gore, when confronted with the discrepancies in the evidence for global warming could use the phrase with ironic aptness.

Thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest.


Ed Note: All who think Hawthorne should hug a polar bear raise your hands.

A Polar Bear Fell On Me
A Polar Bear Fell On Me Tinker

Irony and Tim Tebow

Irony exemplified — Tim Tebow, the devout Christian who has quarterbacked the Denver Broncos to an unexpected winning strike, treats football as just a sport.

Primary Skullduggery

The Roar

Primary Skullduggery

I’m sorry but I thought we were in the process of choosing a candidate for the office of President of the United States.  So far, this primary season has consisted of a political version of the old time boys game called “king of the hill.”  Embedded within this kill the leader mentality is an unmistakeable American Idol aura which leaves no area, whether it be professional or personal, unscathed.

What is often termed “the vetting process” has turned into a systematic attack against any challenger who may represent a genuine threat to Romney.  Over these past few months, this take on what is unfolding is so unmistakably clear that it tends to cheapen the entire process.

In retrospect, the 2008 media treatment afforded to then candidate Obama now stands as a glaring contradiction verses the intense scrutiny which Presidential hopeful Herman Cain recently endured.   And this protective layer attributed to Obama’s past continues today as after very nearly three years in office, Americans knows very little about his years leading up to his presidential bid.  This special care now seem not only in practice concerning Romney, but it’s beginning to send a general unease throughout the voting public since we have already felt the remorse from electing a candidate that was teasingly presented by the media.

This political impropriety suggests that the future of free elections will become an after the fact charade since the selection process may well precede the primaries.  A silver lining to all this subterfuge is this bipartisan appeal since Romney is now heir apparent for such good tidings of care and precautions.

As voter pessimism stirs, it also appears that our news outlets have another tactic in play.  While protective of their candidate, at the same time they ignore any and all who may present a qualified challenge.  This has been most apparent with regards to Rick Santorum.   We owe it to ourselves to ask why.  In fact, it might become prudent for all to consider what the media will not.  Just as there is a reasoning for their Romney selection, so is there a reason why Santorum is being ignored.

Due in part to the President’s own agenda, 2012 will be a determining year for America’s future. Already, our Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing of Obama’s Health Care law and Immigration policies.  Since this fork in the road has been shoved in our faces, we the voter must rid ourselves of any and all entangling influences.  The predominance of media input is not just entangling, it has become suffocating.  More importantly, it’s emphasis has morphed from presenting the news to a presentation of thought.

In honest reflection, the voter still is in the dark as to whether those unsubstantiated charges, which led to Mr Cain’s withdrawal, were in fact, truthful.  The most telling of this outcome is the manner in which it is now considered “old news.”  It appears that the media had its way once again.

What was presented through the personal assault upon Mr. Cain was a picture perfect example from the power of the press, which unfortunately doesn’t equate with a “freedom of the press.”

Jim Bowman, Author of,
This Roar of Ours