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

Littlestuff Weekender-1-7-2012

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 13^th (yes, Friday the 13^th) 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 9^th 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 18^th 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

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

  

Littlestuff Weekender-12-17-2011

In my view the Thursday night debate on Fox was one of the better ones. There appeared to be no major gaffes, and Michele Bachmann took no prisoners. Each of the candidates seemed to have ample time for presenting their cases to the people, and the Fox panel did a good job by avoiding typical liberal gotcha questions. Up until this point most of the candidates were nearly indistinguishable from one another on domestic policy. The Thursday night contest created some space and differences among them. There are probably two main reasons for their more definitive roles: a better quality of questioning and more debate maturity as candidates.

In case you missed it, the College Football Bowl season starts today (Sat.) with three “can’t miss” games. Temple plays Wyoming in the all-powerful New Mexico Bowl, Ohio University tackles Utah State in the ever-popular Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and Louisiana-Lafayette battles San Diego State in the New Orleans Bowl. Only 32 more bowls to go and many of them are just as memorable as these stellar representatives. For example…mark your calendar for the Tuesday night contest at the Beef “O” Brady’s Bowl featuring gridiron powerhouses Florida International and Marshall. Yawn…….

If you need a warm-up for the Wednesday night Poinsettia Bowl between Louisiana Tech and TCU (Texas Christian), join me on 1370 WSPD at 6:00pm to 7:00pm ( www.wspd.com). I’ll have an exclusive interview with Santa Claus that I assure you will not be replicated anywhere. Although the discussion will not be profane or obscene, it is suggested that tiny tots not listen because their respect and love for the jolly elf could be severely unraveled. I can see the Thursday National Enquirer headline in my mind, “Santa tells all to Toledo radio host.” It could be ugly. It may even be humorous….hopefully.

Our holiday season officially begins today (Sat.) as my Mother is hosting my wing of the family. Looking forward to seeing my little Sis and little Bro’ and their respective spouses and children….and grandchildren. Food will be abundant and a lot of “catch-up’ talk will occur. Next week except for a lunch meeting on Wednesday and the radio show that evening is still somewhat of an undetermined blur. I guess I’ll do what I usually do….wait on Pat and the kids to tell me what’s going on. Dad or Grandpa is always the last to know. Over the years I have learned to stop complaining (usually), shrug my shoulders and go along with the plans of the others. There’s less friction and angst that way, but I believe they know that if I object…..they’ll allow me to do it my way (cue Frank Sinatra). Of course I’m dreaming.

http://youtu.be/nZ6yQgBvuoI

Once again the headlines predict the fiscal collapse of Europe ( and us because of our massive entanglements). Once again they have TEMPORARILY postponed the inevitable. My question is probably rhetorical: Don’t they understand that by prolonging the resolution of the problem, they are making it worse? Of course they do, but they’re trying to hold off the collapse until they can clearly identify someone or something to blame. The only aspect of this mess that is worse than their incessant can kicking is their rabid lust for blame shifting. Politicians….socialists, Republicans, Democrats, communists, despots and tyrants …. are all alike….grab power, assume control, screw up and blame someone else. It’s a putrid perverse pattern of predictable political perfidy. And it “pees” me off.

This must be Groundhog Day (Fri.). I just heard on the radio that Congress has passed another short-term trillion dollar package so the government will remain open. This government will NEVER CLOSE. We can’t get rid of the darn overgrown over-controlling mess. It just keeps getting larger and more costly. And our representatives at the D.C. Clown College were afraid it would “shut down.” Hell, we should be so lucky. Government is more enduring than zucchini and less reliable than wind. Three years since the last budget… which means there is no plan in place for them to violate and ignore. Just wait ‘til they have your health and well-being in their slick oily hands.

Tonight I will complete Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer. It’s a detailed analysis of how OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES become wealthy through using insider knowledge that is perfectly legal for them and prison time for us. Double standards abound in Washington and our other capitols. The greatest problem is that double standards are the only standards for our unethical elitist political class. They have no standards….no principles….no integrity…no shame. They believe they are entitled. Their actions make our 47% non-contributors look like pikers. They are giving “sleaze” a bad name. The title of the book says it. Now we must do it.

Have a special weekend. Save your Walgreen and CVS coupons so you can go wild with gift shopping. Sit for a moment, enjoy a cup of whatever and thank Him for your blessings. Do it fast before the government outlaws blessings.

Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Wed. night, 6-7:00pm, 1370 WSPD, Toledo  www.wspd.com