Fong, Branstad, oh my!

July 16, 2009 by 6 Comments

So last week I listened to GOP gubenatorial candidate Christian Fong be interviewed by Steve Deace. I was pretty excited when I heard he was going to be on after hearing a lot of hype about him. By the end of the interview I was cringing because of his awkward performance. Right now I feel a lot of people are pushing Fong just because he is young and a minority. As I’ve written before, the GOP needs to move beyond being seen as the party of old, white men and use conservative values to attract younger and minority voters. But, we can’t be practicing identity politics where we promote someone JUST because they are young and a minority and overlook the fact that they have little public policy substance or not enough government experience and donate money to liberals. Let’s leave the identity politics to the Democrats. That’s not to say I don’t admire Fong’s life story. It is very admirable. For an interesting take on Fong, go here.

Speaking of old, white men in the GOP,  former Gov. Terry Branstad is rumored to be considering another run for the governorship. At first I was astonished and then I remembered back to a couple of weeks ago when he was speaking  at the Ames Conservative Breakfast. All the Story County GOP party insiders were drooling over the the former governor like tweens at a Jonas Brothers concert. And nothing surprises me any more about the GOP here in Iowa, so Branstad running again actually makes sense now. The GOP’s strategy and thought processes are still stuck in the 80s so  leave it to the Republicans to re-nominate a 4-term governor who was elected in 1982. And since 1982 was the year of my birth, I dedicate this top hit from that year to Gov. Branstad for a little motivation should he decide to throw his hat in the ring.

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My new hero Harry C. Alford takes on Barbara Boxer!

July 16, 2009 by 5 Comments

It has made my day to know that Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) got boxed around by Harry C. Alford, President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. When Boxer would not be quiet Alford just continued to talk and not back down. I needed a hero today and I have one in Mr. Alford! Ms. Boxer must be used to having the last word and almost everyone’s expense. Not today.

Read the transcript below and I believe you will have a new hero, as well.

“Madam chair, that is condescending to me,” Alford said. “I’m the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and you’re trying to put up some other black group to pit against me.”

Boxer defended including the report, however, saying the report reflects a “diversity” of support behind climate change legislation facing the Senate. “If this gentleman were here, he would be proud he’s being quoted,” Boxer said in defense of the NAACP support.

Alford, however, struck back against Boxer, accusing her of “getting racial” in the climate change debate. “All that’s condescending, and I don’t like it. It’s racial. I take offense to it. As an African-American and a veteran of this country, I take offense to that,” he said. “You’re quoting some other black man — why don’t you quote some other Asian or some other… You’re getting racial here.” “You’re speaking on behalf of the black community?” Alford asked. “Why are you doing the colored people association’s study with the black Chamber of Commerce?”

He finally concluded:

“We’ve been looking at energy policy since 1996. And we are referring to the experts, regardless of their color. And for someone to tell me, an African-American, college-education veteran of the United States Army, that I must contend with some other “black group” and put aside everything else in here — This has NOTHING to do with the NAACP, and really has nothing to do with the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We’re talking about energy. And that — that road the chair went down, I think is God awful.”

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Grassley, Sotomayor and eminent domain

July 16, 2009 by 5 Comments

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee attempted to press Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on a variety of issues that were of interest to me. It was Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa who used a portion of his 30-minute allotted time to ask about eminent domain.

Grassley wanted to know when it is appropriate for the government to seize private property. The Des Moines Register’s article states that Sotomayor “steered away from Grassley’s question.”

For someone like me who has strong and passionate opinions about the government grabbing up private land, I appreciate that Grassley went into his line of questioning about a 2005 Connecticut case where the Supreme Court ruled against overturning a state law that allowed local governments to take private land to generate economic development and property taxes. This ruling set the stage for land grabs in Iowa.

Even with the Iowa Legislature attempting to strengthen Iowa’s eminent domain law the real threat of private land being taken for land development in Iowa is currently happening in Clarke County. Other Iowa counties have citizens who live under the threat of land grabs as well.

On the same day that Grassley was quizzing Sotomayor I heard a radio program that caught my attention. After doing some research I did find information about what is happening in South America. I share a portion of the article here.

Chavez’ so-called back-to-the-land movement calls for the redistribution of land — increasingly properties that the state has taken over in what officials term a “rescue” or “recuperation.”

“I say to all who say they own land: In the first place, that land is not yours. The land is not private. It is the property of the state,” Chavez said last month on an episode of his weekly television show broadcast from rural Barinas state, where he grew up.

Felicia Escobar, a lawyer and consultant on land issues who used to work for the Agriculture Ministry, said land redistribution has failed across the continent because farmers are not given incentives to produce and governments have not provided adequate credit or technical assistance. She said that in Venezuela, the new farmers are not even given title to the lands they occupy. In some cases, they are grouped into communes and expected to work as a unit, with little stake in their plots. “That is socialism,” she said. “It did not work before, and it does not work now.”

I realize that some reading my post will think it is a stretch to relate that what is happening in a far away place like Venezuela will ever happen in the United States of America. To you I say yes it could. In my wildest imagination I did not think that our President and others would be making such progress to distribute the wealth of Americans. Wealth to some is money. Wealth to others is their homes, their land, and their way of life.

Charles Grassley has concerns about the altering of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

I join him in his anxiety about the government’s ability to seize private property. There seems to be so many issues to care about, be concerned about, and keep on the front burner of opinion. Easy use of eminent domain to seize private property certainly is one of them.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090715/NEWS09/907150359/-1/archive

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=80976

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Universal Health care chart looks like Chutes and Ladders.

July 16, 2009 by 6 Comments

The Universal Health care chart the Democrats put forward today looks more like a game of Chutes and Ladders. But this is gonna be more costly than a game of Chutes and Ladders. If any of you can make sense of this chart then your doing better than i am. But for you and the rest of us in America this will not be a game. I don’t know why we are going down this path. For one its never worked in any country thats tried it. And the ones that do have it are abandoning it. There is long waiting lists to get treatments. And if they say your treatment will cost to much you get turned down. Thats why there are Canadians coming to America for surgeries and cancer treatments and heart surgeries. My nephew lived in Ottawa and he was on a waiting list for over 6 months before he could have his stint checked for any blockages. I have some personal experience least with Canadas anyway.

I say it won’t be long til we will catch up with some of the highest taxed countries citizens. Its going to take loads of money to pay for this not to mention Tax and Trade alias Cap and Trade bill if it gets passed by the Senate. We also got rising inflation due to come from all the money we have printed. How much is to much? And who says this should be a right given to us? The Obama administration thinks it should be a right i think he has read to many socialism for dummies books. Socialism works til you run out of someone elses money. I personally would like to see the cost of drugs affordable for people as some are down right outrageous and needed to live for some folks.

But i don’t think this is the thing to be doing right now when people are losing jobs daily and barely getting by. If we do all this and throw in say $4.00 or $5.oo a gallon for gas and you will see whats left of the economy come to a screeching halt. And the Democrats are trying to rush this monster of a bill through. I know from the bills they have passed  lately that was rushed through without most of Congress even knowing what the bill even said. I feel they don’t want the people to know how much this will cost and how much your taxes will increase to pay for this thing or whats all in it.

 Sen. Orrin Hatch of of Utah warned President Obama that health care reform under his administrations watch could be a nightmare he also said ” this reckless budget will swamp Americans in a morass of debt and mortgage the future of children and grandchildren”. And Hatch voted for the SCHIP to fund childrens health care. I don’t know why i feel im on the Uss Titanic? And we have already hit the iceberg and there are not enough life boats for us all and no where else to run.

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