Littlestuff Weekender-2-11-2012

Home today following an exhausting and busy three days at CPAC. I had a chance to chat with some notables and some unknowns. Michele Bachmann and her assistant, Becky Rogness, shared a short time with us. Senator Rand Paul and former Senator and current candidate George Allen stopped for mini moments. Chip Reid of CBS News interviewed me for about 5 minutes, used approximately 12 seconds of the piece and placed it in the wrong context. Oh well, it’s the Main Stream Media and they are ideological and generally incompetent. We did encounter a 2 hour protest by the IBEW-led Occupy crowd….didn’t amount to much. Approximately 300 of the looting class failed to disrupt the producers. Looking forward to enjoying Sunday at the Little Patch of Paradise with my faithful canine companion, Frosty.

All in all CPAC is a worthwhile endeavor if you’re in to playing groupie, business card collector or fawning media watcher. This will be my final one unless I have a significant designated task for any future one (e.g. book signing, speaking or broadcasting duties). Elbow to elbow, lemming-like crowd movement is not my idea of a good time. It’s always great to renew old friendships, but the telephone and email are more private and less costly.

Dr. Paul did not address the CPAC convention, but Mitt, Newt and Rick did on Friday. Of the three Newt had the best and most raucous presentation, Mitt used more than 20 references to the word “conservative” during his speech….probably a subliminal thing, and Santorum professed to be the only clear contrast with Obama. Will their appearances and the subsequent media coverage change the dynamics of the race? Who knows?

As I traveled throughout the halls of the Marriott, it was obvious that an overwhelming number of the attendees wanted Obamacare stopped. Yet…neither McConnell nor Boehner was called out for his cowardly lack of leadership. It seemed as if the activists and their political leaders were moving in parallel universes. They all agreed about that it was bad, but no one (at least openly and publicly) attempted to hold the clowns accountable. That is my biggest regret about the CPAC gathering. I should have gone to the Boehner and McConnell speeches and risked being tossed for “dissing” them. I didn’t realize that I would have to be the only one of 6000 people who thought it necessary.

Tuesday evening from 6:00pm to 7:00pm I’ll be back on the air on the Talk of Toledo, 1370 WSPD. It’s Valentine’s Day so I may play the role of “Dr. Love.” Then again, perhaps not.  www.wspd.com

Thursday night, February 16^th, I’ll be speaking with the North Central Ohio Conservatives (NCOC) about The Fed and the economy. The meeting begins at 6:30pm and is held at the Camden Falls Complex at the intersection of US 224 and Ohio 231 on the south edge of Tiffin….right beside the Hampton Inn. If you can make it a little earlier, I’ll be eating dinner at Carmie’s in the same building. Good food and great prices are standard there.

On February 25 and 26 I’ll be in Elisabethtown, Kentucky to speak to the Libertarian Party of Kentucky. My theme will be “Why liberty? Why now?” If you are in KY, Southern Indiana or Southern Ohio, just check out the KyLP on Facebook for details and “come on down.”

Has Greece gone under….yet? What about California or Illinois? Maine selects their delegates today (Saturday).

Attorney General Eric Holder should be removed from office and prosecuted…at the very least for perjury regarding the Fast and Furious murderous debacle. He is an incompetent, lying ideologue….a dangerous combination for the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the nation.

If you read my Friday column ”My Hall of Heroes,” you may be interested in knowing that I had more than 80 total responses from my various distribution sources. Nearly half of them “bitched” because I had left their favorite off my initial list. Good grief, the column was more than 1100 words…I had to stop somewhere. Poor persecuted me! J

Have a great weekend and a superb next week and a glorious eternal life.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Happy Feet

So, why call this column “Happy Feet?” As you probably know, I spent last weekend in Washington, D.C. at the CPAC convocation listening to a variety of conservatives lambast the Obama administration and wailing about the condition of our nation on a number of fronts. “Happy Feet” because except for very few exceptions the presenters leapt onto the floor of national policy and proceeded to dance around every conceivable issue. They were adept. They were graceful. They were opportunistic cowards. As an example, to my knowledge, not one speaker suggested that the federal budget be reduced by $1.5 trillion…the amount of the current year’s deficit. Even if the “expert” decided that to employ such a radical cut would be disastrous for the nation, they might have approached the problem with clarity and candor. That did not happen. The massive deficit was mentioned many times, and proscriptions such as “we must cut spending” fell off their lips like silky saliva. But never, never (within the range of my hearing) was a concrete remedy put forward. They danced and danced, the orchestra played and the iceberg destroyed the ship.

Liberals or Progressives love to tax and spend. Their justification is based on the “share the wealth” model…sort of like water seeking its own level. To advance their agenda they promise many benefits to a multitude of special interests and demographic groups. When they have the power, they usually deliver, and their voter base(s) become even more devoted to them. They perform just like we expect. No surprises…when the statists grab power, the taxpaying citizens should grab their ankles and guard their wallets and property. Meanwhile, the conservatives “tsk, tsk” as the wealth of the nation becomes absorbed by the state and personal liberties are violated with impunity. The GOP and their mouthpieces rail against the “tax and spend” Democrats, but overlook their own proclivities for excessive spending. Is there no major unconstitutional function of government that they can cut? Perhaps they are afraid of a special interest or group who would squall in pain if their favored programs were eliminated. Give us something, please, Republicans. Something concrete, something identifiable…give us something that indicates you are serious about cutting government spending and reducing the size of an overly large big government.

When in power, the democrats irresponsibly spend and tax with reckless abandon. The Nanny State grows, and our freedoms are dissolved. When they control the reins of government, the republicans cut taxes, increase subsidies, endorse new programs and pass legislative measures that undermine personal liberty. They dance and dance and dance…blissfully unaware that the music has stopped. Their happy feet tap out the same non-answers to the wondering questions from their constituents. “Yes, spending is too high, and we must cut it.” That’s great, Congressperson, how are you going to cut ONE POINT FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR? For many of us the “where you cut” isn’t nearly as important as the “will you cut?” We don’t believe you…well, I don’t believe you. I do believe that you think the spending should be dramatically reduced, but I do not believe that you have a clue as to how to do it, or if you do have a clue, you lack the courage…the guts…the will to do what must be done.

There is no more time for kicking the can down the road of irresponsibility. Elected officials must step up and make the hard choices to right our ship of state. Every facet of government involvement must be measured against its Constitutional necessity and its drain on the national treasury. Every policy, foreign and domestic, must be reviewed and either eliminated, slashed or tweaked to reconcile its value and need with the overall federal, state or local condition. There can be no sacred cows unless they are mandated by the Constitution…and if so required, they should be thoroughly vetted to assure the citizens that they are getting their money’s worth. Defense spending is an example of the over-bloated constitutional requirement. Is it absolutely necessary that the United States maintain military bases in 140 countries? Remember, Politicians, you volunteered for your job. We did not draft you. Now do it.

We implore you, we beg you…we demand that you discard your ballet slippers or tap shoes, stop dancing, and do the right thing for your country…your state or district…your community and your progeny. Nero fiddled while Rome was burning, but we refuse to allow you to dance away from reality. Face the music and join the band. The dance must end.

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