Klaatu barada nikto

President Obama has created yet another commission to study something. Rather than sitting down with economists himself which would no doubt infringe on his abilities to continue his love affair with his teleprompter on television every other minute, he has created a "bi-partisan"debt commission tasked with finding a way of getting America out of debt. And given the most recent developments (the climate bill) in the realm of bi-partisan politics I am not sure that we should hold our breath.

The heads of this commission are Erskine Bowles, a failed Democratic Senatorial candidate and outgoing president of the University of North Carolina, and Alan Simpson a former Republican Senator from Wyoming. These two will head an eighteen member panel charged with the task of reducing the deficit to $550 BILLION by 2015. The deficit for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2009 was $1.4 Trillion so the commission apparently have their work cut out for them.

As the president of the University of North Carolina system, Bowles was ultimately responsible for the budget and in the current fiscal year had to make cuts totaling $162.5 Million. These cuts included 935 jobs. Ninety percent of the job cuts were administrative positions eliminated "in order to protect the Academic core" of the system. Mr. Bowles has also stated that further cuts will have to be made - namely approximately $100 million from the 2010-2011 operating budget - but that those will no doubt unfortunately have to be stripped from the University's Academic core. Convenient that Mr. Bowles has announced his retirement from the presidency before he is associated with the cuts and with the permanent damage that will lead to a path of mediocrity.

After leaving the Senate, Alan Simpson (once named by a tabloid as an alien) taught at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. In 2001, Senator Simpson became Honorary Chairman of the Republican Unity Coalition (a gay/straight alliance within Republican party that has since disbanded) and then supported a former Democratic candidate (over a much more conservative choice) in the 2002 Wyoming gubernatorial race. So I guess that I shouldn't be surprised at the inclusion a liberal leaning Republican as the Administration's attempt at bi-partisanship.

Is trimming administrative positions, those positions that are usually vital to the day-to-day operations of most of the programs that they will no doubt want to continue to fund, the answer? Once we do that, are we then faced with the trimming of the "Academic core" of America? And will that lead the country down the path of mediocrity - more so than even some say we already are?

I fear that when Alan Simpson this time utters "Klaatu barada nikto" it will be too late to call off the President's destruction of our beautiful country.

Zombies Don't Need Dentists

This morning a story has surfaced that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele contemplated the purchase of a plane with GOP funds. In addition to the rumors of a jet purchase, there is also a litany of extravagant charges on trips to California and Las Vegas.

Really does this surprise anyone? Okay well maybe some will be surprised about the $1946.25 spent at Voyeur West Hollywood but all of these "expenses" are part and parcel for most politicians in Washington DC (and even in some state capitals as well).

It seems that the majority of politicians, once elected (and some even before), feel that they are better than the rest of the American public. First class airfare, private jets, limousines, champagne, luxury hotels and over-the-top meals at swanky restaurants quickly become the standard that they feel entitled to. This perception of permission on the part of our elected officials is nothing new.

When did this transformation from being a servant to the public good to being someone who requires a servant happen? I tend to believe it was during the Kennedy administration. America's love affair with Camelot allowed politicians to begin to think of themselves as celebrities. And aren't celebrities afforded better treatment in our society?

Politicians in search of the ultimate prize of power have a number of tools in their bag to allow them the lifestyle they have "earned". Not only do they have tax-payer paid salaries, expense accounts, travel and entertainment allowances they also have access to funds from political action committees, re-election funds and the donations received by their national party's fundraising. And that doesn't include speaking fees that are often deferred or donated to "charity" in order to comply with ethics rules.

Politics is like a virus and politicians are like zombies infected with that virus. Unlike the standard zombie, who doesn't need food, water or air, political zombies do not need morals, ethics or good set of dentures. So absent preparing yourself and knowing how to survive a zombie attack, you must exercise your will in other ways and educate yourself and find people who will fight the zombies and their moral-less actions in Washington DC. Elect these people to office and pray that they don't find themselves infected as they are sworn in. And if they become infected, repeat the process again. But NEVER give up the fight.

Special Note: The author neither endorses nor condones the list of ways to prepare yourself for a zombie attack. I merely provide the link for your enlightenment.

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My fear has been transformed

Yesterday morning I was scared. Its difficult to put into words how I feel at the moment. Its kind of like the scene in "The Patriot" where the Revolutionaries are making the final push and the line starts to fall and someone has dropped the flag. I'm confused and tired and wow it would be nice to turn, run and just give up. The House of Representatives voted last night to pass the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill. Obamacare is now a reality and 1/6 of the American economy is firmly in the hands of the government.

I am sick to death of the politicians in Washington telling me what I need. I am tired of them telling me that the founding fathers would want me to have health insurance. I am exasperated by their insistence that they are better equipped to decide how my business can operate than I am. I am simply worn out by over a year of fighting with politicians who neither listen to nor care about their constituents.

Politicians. There's a real winning group of people. We've got Nancy Pelosi who can't be farther in the pocket of all that is evil if she tried. Its been said that it was she, and not Rahm Emanuel, who urged the President to keep fighting for healthcare even after the Scott Brown election. I certainly don't want to visualize the locker room confrontations that she had to conduct to get this legislation to a vote. Then we have Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson and Kent Conrad (just to name a few) that were able to score big kickbacks with catchy names for their states. Some of those kickbacks have been stripped with the change language to the bill but at least they showed the ability to get something tangible for the selling of their vote. Maybe it will help them that they tried to get something for their state but then again they probably really don't care. None of them are up for reelection until 2012. They are free to wreak havoc for another 2 years.

That's not the case for poor Bart Stupak (D-MI). I think I need to make him one of my shirts. "I negotiated with the President and all I got was a lousy piece of paper". Mr. Stupak sold his vote for a non-binding promise of an executive order on abortion language. He didn't even hold the President's feet to the fire and ask for the executive order before the vote. I guess the economic woes of Michigan extend to their Representative's offices.

I know people who support this bill. They aren't bad people and I am confident that they do not want to see our beautiful Republic destroyed. These are people who have been convinced by the Washington DC and Chicago power machines that health insurance and a college education are a right. I don't blame them for their opinions. I just hope that someday that they can awaken from the dream.

The President went on TV to pat himself on the back and to again tell me how this was a good thing for the country. He made a statement that stuck with me. "To every unsung American who took the time to sit down and write a letter or type out an e-mail hoping your voice would be heard — it has been heard tonight." You are correct Mr President. The voices were heard and summarily were ignored over and over and over again. But do not be mistaken, we will not go quietly into the night, we will not go without a fight. The majority of the American people did not want this bill. Your bill went from a 67% approval to under a 35% approval in less than a year.

Well, I now know how to feel. I have seen the flag fall but that cannot be the end. I am energized and ready to pick up the flag again and fight. The light of the morning and the fact that the IRS is now going to control healthcare is going to bring more people to the fight. As more information is gleaned from the bill, we will gain more and more supporters and we will find a way to save our country. That's what we do, we're Americans.