This is the first “Weekender” of 2012. We’ll continue them until the Mayan calendar runs out…..or until the Obama Justice Department bans them….or until we are arrested on the streets of Bowling Green, Ohio, and whisked off to Guantanamo without benefit of charges or trial….or until I die from medicine shortages as a result of misguided laws and government intervention into the marketplace….or until I get “taken out” by an irate reader or listener.
My, oh my, the “Santorum effect” has certainly stirred things up in the GOP race for the presidential nomination. His strong finish in Iowa has changed the matrix for New Hampshire and South Carolina. Defining “winning” for any candidate who gets a minority of the vote will become increasing problematic as contenders drop out. Santorum’s meteoric rise does express a deep and abiding distrust of Romney’s bona fides as a conservative. I would argue that only one in the GOP field would satisfy my definition of a conservative---someone who is committed to conserving constitutional principles and individual liberty. While I find myself personally sympathetic to most social conservative positions, I do not trust the power of government to determine what are and are not acceptable social practices. Sharia Law (Google it) merges the social, religious and political realms under one banner. Even the most ardent Christian fundamentalist can recognize that Sharia is grossly unjust. Again, I do NOT want my government choosing my social behaviors. In the area of fiscal and economic policy none of the candidates except one has a plan for reducing the size and cost of government. Most of them trim around the margins without attacking the root cause…..government is too large, and the only concrete guide we have for defining the legitimate size of government is The Constitution of the United States. Any other formula or prescription relies on preferences and guesswork.
Generally I’m not a big TV fan, but today may be the exception: NFL playoffs, OSU men’s basketball plus OSU women’s basketball back to back on the Big Ten Network beginning at 3:00pm and the New Hampshire debate. Given my history of dedicated sports viewing, I’ll probably be asked to go to the mall or Elder Beerman’s for some nonsensical reason.
It’s early, but I’ll be back on the air on Friday January 13th (yes, Friday the 13th) sitting in for Brian Wilson from 3:00pm – 6:00pm on 1370 WSPD, Toledo. www.wspd.com We’ll have author Ted Lacksonen, Ohio Director of Americans for Prosperity, Katie Eagan, and Kalin Stipe, Libertarian candidate for the 9th Congressional District.
You may have noticed if you’re a regular reader that I rarely (except for the Weekender) discuss the immediate goings-on in the news. There are two primary reasons for this: Facts are stubborn things and I hesitate to spring into frothy condemnation without being totally comfortable with my position, and….I prefer to ruminate and consider things before addressing them. I know my writing sometimes appears rash and flamboyant but that is merely an indication that I have been operating under a full-boil mode for several days. So with this lengthy introduction…the February 18th Weekender will include my very first blog post. You can read to see if I’ve grown or regressed over the past three years. Probably a little of both.
If I could have a staff of dozens to assist me, I could chronicle the daily destruction of our constitutional principles. The President openly defies his constitutional limitations and ignores his constitutional duties. The Congress brazenly passes unconstitutional laws in unconstitutional ways, some of them openly,…..others behind closed doors or buried in huge pieces of legislation. The federal bench, for the most part, appears to have decided that The Constitution of the United States is no longer relevant. It’s a scary development when a determined minority of the people support the supreme law of the land, and the ignorant remainder and the elites do not. When I consider the eventual outcome of this tension, it is difficult to imagine a rosy scenario.
Had several doctors’ appointments yesterday. They must think I’m going to live a little longer ‘cause I have appointments for 90 days and 6 months ahead. It looks like I won’t have to make any major alterations in the estate plan for now.
President Obama’s “recess” appointments of his new consumer protection Czar, Richard Cordray, and NLRB commissioners is a technical violation of the Constitution, and he has acted with casual disregard for the constitutional procedure. The response from the opposition is? Bellyaching, handwringing, moaning, groaning and business as usual. Clearly, the GOP caucus has only one “pair” among them, and Michele Bachmann took them with her to Iowa. If the GOP maintains control of the House, I nominate Bachmann for Speaker and Jim Jordan for Majority Leader. We might have a chance if this could happen.
Have a great remainder of the first full weekend of 2012. Light a fire, make some hot chocolate and popcorn, then read a good book.
Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com
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