Thursday, October 4, 2012

Romney Wins First Debate!

* It certainly appeared as if President Obama wanted to be anywhere but at the debate. And Governor Romney was energetic, enthusiastic and engaged with both Obama and the audience. Romney also came prepared with facts and argument.

* One of the most telling topics for this writer was the discussion about cutting tax rates. Romney said he would cut tax rates but also said he would cut deductions, essentially making his proposal revenue neutral. Obama kept saying how the numbers don't add up. Per Obama, we cannot cut enough deductions to make up for the cut in rates. He completely missed one essential Romney point: government revenues will grow when more people are back to work and paying taxes again. Those same people will no longer need government handouts of either welfare, food stamps, unemployment or social security disability.

* Obama's policies have hurt the middle class. According to the 10/3/12 Investor's Business Daily, the middle 20% of households suffered a 4% drop in income since 2009. The poorest 20% dropped 7%. The IBD also cites a study by the National Employment Law Project which found that 60% of the jobs lost due to the recession were mid-wage, but just 22% of the newly created jobs paid well. As Biden recently said, the middle class "has been buried the last four years." (After being told that did not look good for Obama, Biden then blamed Bush.)

* Obama previously complained that the US has only 3% of the world's population, but consumes 25% of the resources. He just does not get it. It is all a zero sum game to him. If the rich have more, the only way to even things out is to take money from the rich and give it to the poor. The US, as a wealthy nation, needs to consume less so others can consume more. In a nutshell, socialism. The last four years are proof enough to anyone willing to see that these policies do not work. (How many countries in Europe that have followed these policies are going under?) What works is a growing economy; the wealthy keep their money and the middle class grows. And many in the lower class can move up into the middle class because of good jobs.

* So the US should consume less? Maybe only our share of the world's population? How many jobs will be lost if we only buy 3% of the world's automobiles, for example. And only 3% of the world's cell phones and TVs and on and on. Millions of jobs would be lost as production dropped due to a lesser demand. It is NOT a zero sum game. When US consumers buy more, jobs are created all over the world. Would Obama also like us to only produce 3% of the world's food? Too bad for countries that depend on us?

* Obama just does not get it. It is time to put a man in the White House who understands that a growing economy benefits everyone.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Are We at War With Islam? Part III

* For those readers who may be new to this blog, I previously wrote two posts entitled "Are We at War With Islam, Parts I and II," on 8/29/10 and 9/13/10. These posts can still be read by simply scrolling down and clicking on "older posts." In my latest post of 9/23/12 I discussed how the Organization of Islamic States wants to criminalize any insults to Islam. I also discussed how the U.S. military is sanitizing all references to radical Islam and Jihad.

* At this past week's meeting of the U.N. General Assembly various world leaders spoke. In light of the recent violence across the Middle East, and the alleged provocation caused by the trailer for the film "The Innocence of Muslims," the topic of "free speech" was frequently discussed. President Obama, while again criticizing the film, gave a strong defense of the right to free speech. This is what the Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, had to say: "We expect from others, as they expect from us, that they respect our cultural specifics and religious references, and not seek to impose concepts or cultures that are unacceptable to us...Insults against the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, are not acceptable. We will not allow anyone to do this by word or by deed." And exactly how will they "not allow" it? Here's a clue. While running for president of Egypt, Morsi said this: "The Quran is our Constitution. The Prophet Muhammad is our leader. Jihad is our path. And death for the sake of Allah is our most lofty aspiration." So, prevent insults by causing deaths?

* The President of Yemen had this to say: "...there should be limits for the freedom of expression, especially if such freedom blasphemes the beliefs of nations and defames their figures." So, maybe we should outlaw criticism of the leaders of these countries too? The President of Pakistan also said he wanted to see "incitement of hate" against Islam criminalized. Said the Secretary General of the Arab League: "If the international community has criminalized bodily harm, it must just as well criminalize psychological and spiritual harm." (All quotes from the 9/27/12 New York Times.)

* In his 2009 speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, Obama said that "Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance." When? Certainly not now. How come hundreds of thousands of Christians left Iraq? How come 100,000 Christians have left Egypt? How come Lebanon went from being a majority Christian country to an Islamic country? And why have Christians by the thousands left Gaza and the West Bank? How come you cannot even bring a bible into Saudi Arabia?

* You want to hear tolerance? Take a look at the Arab Muslim media. The highest ranking cleric in the Sunni Muslim world has referred to Jews as "the enemies of Allah, descendants of apes and pigs." Morsi has concurred with that. This same cleric has called Jews "the scum of the earth." But they want to outlaw insults to Islam?

* Malmo, Sweden. It is Sweden's third largest city, with about 700 Jews but up to 100,000 Muslims, in this city of 300,000 people. In 2010 a group of Jews were attacked there by a group of Muslims. Earlier this year a Rabbi was assaulted. On 9/28/12, just a few days ago, there was an explosion at a Jewish Community Building. Malmo has been referred to as the "Baghdad" of Sweden with its increasing violence, explosions and murders, often caused by...take a guess.

* Think it is so much better here? At the Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan, Christians holding Christian signs were attacked. They had bottles, stones, eggs and other objects thrown at them. A video showed kids from the festival participating in the assaults. The Police were not inclined to actually protect the Christians; instead they ordered them to leave.

* Meanwhile, the 9/27/12 Investor's Business Daily reports that the ACLU now has at least eight Muslims on its executive staff. What's the result of that? Jameel Jaffer heads the ACLU's Center for Democracy, and is friends with one Tariq Ramadan, grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ramadan was denied a visa in 2004 based upon claims that he raised funds for Hamas. Jaffer sued and got the ban lifted. Jaffer has lobbied the Justice department to remove CAIR and other front groups for Hamas and the Brotherhood removed from the blacklist of groups accused of raising money for terrorists. Jaffer has also tried to get suspected Muslim terrorists removed from the "no-fly" list. And Jaffer wants the Feds to stop freezing the assets of terrorist groups.

* I have said before that the failure to believe in free speech and freedom of religion presents a fundamental clash in values between the West and the Muslim world. And whether or not you agree with the opinions expressed in this blog, do you believe that these comments should be criminalized, because some may take them as an insult to Islam?