Books to read

I am reading a fantastic book by Thomas Sowell called A Conflict of Visions. The book advances a theory about two opposing ways of looking at the world - the constrained and the unconstrained - and posits that each vision forms the basis of the differences in political ideologies that continue to this date. Sowell is so smart he will make your head hurt - but his use of practical applications and direct quotes from major contributors to the respective visions make this book a joy to read.

New thread: Circumventing the Constitution and undermining the democratic process and our republican form of government

I am starting a new thread that will address the attempts by Congress and the Obama Administration to circumvent and undermine the Constitution and our generally-accepted political processes. The most recent of these is the use of the recess option to approve the appointment of 15 candidates whose appointments had been held up by the Republicans. The appointees are for a number of agencies and departments including the National Labor Relations Board, the EEOC, and the Treasury Department. They all have fabulous resumes, for the most part, but who knows what their "real" backgrounds are (which I define as those actions, positions on the issues, etc. for which they have consistently advocated or taken in the past that define who the candidates really are) since the White House does a ridiculously poor job of vetting its potential appointees or, alternatively, purposefully ignores their radical connections and tax reporting faux pases. I guess we will have to wait until Glenn Beck exposes them. Regardless, getting appointees passed through while Congress is on recess, while technically legal and, I am sure, something other Presidents have done in the past, is still cheating, It is still doing something without following the standard accepted practices. It is still pulling a fast one. There are still ulterior motives. For example, there is a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the decision of the NLRB while it is not fully staffed (i.e. have all of its Board members). Now, that Obama has approved his own nominees, does that now make the case of the entity challenging the NLRB's decision moot? Regardless, Congress will be back in session after the Easter break - isn't that soon enough? What else does the Administration need to accomplish in the middle of the night when no one is standing watch?

You expect this type of arrogance from the President, but from Bob Gibbs?

We have come to expect the President's condescending attitude towards anyone who opposes his freight train to socialism (remember the "get out of the way and let me clean up the mess" speech?) and his gloating, smug smile anytime he gets his way. But, to have Press Secretary Robert Gibbs - that Alabama country bumpkin who has to be the worst liar on the planet - throw sarcastic barbs takes the cake. From politico.com: “Understanding that what [Republicans] got out of the health care thing was virtually nothing, I think they may think twice on financial reform. There’s certainly ample evidence that their 'strategery' needs a little reform.” Hey, Opie - did you forget that your boss took over a year to get healthcare passed with clear majorities in the House and the Senate (at least, until Scott Brown was elected) and had to resort to reconciliation, the Louisiana Purchase, Cornhusker Kickback, Florida Gator Aid, the Stupak Executive Order, using water to drought-stricken counties in California as a bargaining chip, and who knows how much arm-twisting, with all of the major media outlets in his back pocket and after repeatedly lying to the American people? So let's not get too cocky, shall we?

The Return

After a hiatus of almost 4 months, it is time to get back to work. You can only blog so much and, during this period of time, I have been actively blogging on a local site. It was fun while it lasted, but, lately, it has become increasingly dissatisfying. Few people are willing to put effort into the blogs and the whole thing has slowly digressed into a bunch of name-calling. It is time to move on and moving on means devoting my attention to my blog. Freedom of speech is under attack. There are many out there that would like nothing more than to take away my right - and the right of anyone in the opposition - to express their thoughts freely on the Internet. I will exercise that freedom until my dying breath.