Has Obama Delivered?

With the exception of Sean, I suspect that not too many Free Racine readers voted for Barrack Obama in 2008. So the following will probably be a fruitless exercise.

To those of you who did vote for Barrack Obama, I am sure you had your reasons. Please reflect on those reasons. Perhaps you thought he would unify the country or improve our economy or improve our standing in the world with allies and adversaries. But only you know the reason you voted for Obama. I have a simple request; evaluate whether President Obama has delivered. And by all means share your thoughts here.

The Deflowerers Perspective

Dear Penthouse:

I never thought this could happen to me. I am a married man in my late 40's with two youngish daughters. Anyway, I came to know that a young adult gal was ready to give it up to me! She wanted to give it up to a great guy. Yah I'm a great guy all right. Or so I have been told my whole life. Who could blame the young broad. I'm frickin eye candy dammit. She wanted birth control so I said fine, I'll get other people to pay for that. She wanted other stuff like middle east peace, health care blah blah blah.... She pretty much told me what she wanted to hear so I lied to her. Whatever it takes, you know what I mean. The deed itself didn't take too long as you can imagine. One quick thrust  and it was over, another manipulated woman and another vote for me. Next!

Big F...ing Deal

The Obama campaign has a new ad out that equates a vote for Obama with losing ones virginity. You can find it here</>. 

This ad is so disturbing and disgusting that I have to admit that I think I might be falling for some sort of hoax here. Could anyone seriously making the case to be President of the US for a second term really put out an ad like this?

Unlike the woman in the ad, I didn't vote for Obama. Why do I feel like I have been f...ed?

A Job For Our Mayor

It is pretty much an open secret in downtown Racine that a city inspector is making life hell for restaurant entrepreneurs, three of whom have had their "opening soon" signs displayed for an absurdly long time. And rumor has it that the Journal Times would like to write a story but can't get anyone to speak on the record. As an aside, the French press had a similar problem trying to break a story about impolite guillotine operators.

So what to do? To me this seems like a problem in need of a long overdue intervention from our mayor. Full disclosure: I have known John Dickert since childhood and I like him personally though our politics I am sure diverge. Of course both sides of a political divide can agree that filling vacancies with new restaurants in the downtown is a good thing, one would hope.

One thing about John Dickert that many people now realize is that he is a man of big ideas. As such, he seems to spend a fair amount of his time in pursuit of something big. Big companies moving to Racine, big deals, big out of state conferences with big shots, big developments etc...  I will leave it to others to catalogue the results of his efforts.

A good mayor may well pursue big plans but must also ensure that day to day operations are running smoothly. Presently we have an inspector who is wreaking havoc downtown and no doubt other places as well. This is crushing development and perhaps more importantly, sending very discouraging signals to other would-be entrepreneurs in Racine. The problem is simple enough though no doubt unpleasant. Mayor Dickert - fire away!

President Offends

President Obama at the debate on the Bengazi tragedy:

And the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the Secretary of State, our U.N. Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as Commander in Chief.

The president also indicated that on the day after the attack on our consulate he indicated that it was a terrorist attack. As such, it was clearly not a obscure movie review gone bad. If he knew that on day two, why did he, his press secretary, his UN ambassador, etc... repeatedly claim that the movie was to blame for the attack?

No doubt President Obama is offended by the suggestion that a false and misleading narrative is viewed by many as a misleading political play. I suspect that anything that might impair his path to reelection is offensive to the president.

The most plausible explanation for the false narrative is political. With an impending election, clearly a terrorist attack calls into question the success of our foreign policy. Better perhaps to play politics and suggest that an obscure film was to blame. 

I know, my suggestion is offensive to the president. I too am offended. I am offended when our president and members of his administration pedal a false narrative on the Bengazi attack. I am also offended that he has not issued any explanation for the false narrative despite ample opportunity to do so. That is not what a president, a commander in chief, should do. 

Racism Discussion

Yesterday I attended a Coming Together Racine meeting/movie/discussion on racism at the Racine Public Library.

Attendees were five activist white liberals and myself. We watched a movie on the Freedom Riders who courageously confronted the segregation in the deep south. While the film was a bit manipulative at times -example, splicing in scenes of white bus passengers merrily singing, juxtaposed with vicious racism - there is no mistaking the horrific violence and racism perpetrated by southern segregationists.

I wondered to myself what relevance that blatant, state sponsored racism of fifty years ago has to claims of racism today. Indeed one participant noted that we don't have such problems today. The problem of course is now subtle and rooted in each of us, according to one participant. That might be the case for liberals I suppose but I am not accepting the guilt. It just leads to more problems, like electing an unqualified man as President of the United States, among others.

Over the course of the discussion I made a few points. I wish now I had tied my comments into the consequences of white guilt but I did not. However, I noted that the tendency to expect lower outcomes  or worse behavior from blacks is not in the end very helpful to them. Also I noted that the City of Racine, one of Coming Together Racine's sponsors, has thrown up roadblocks (conditional use permit) for businesses which has had the greatest negative impact on minority business owners and or those wishing to serve alcohol to black customers. This revelation seemed to make an impact on the group.

I enjoyed the discussion very much and I will try to attend future meetings. If nothing else, there is no point in ceding the high ground on race to liberals.

Totalitarian Diversity

The top diversity officer at Gallaudet University has been suspended because she signed a petition indicating a preference for a referendum on a gay marriage proposal.

Why is the left largely unable to see the hilarious hypocrisy on this issue?

The suspension makes a mockery of liberals supposed support of the idea of diversity. Wouldn't the folks that embrace diversity celebrate the expression of a diverse range of ideas on social issues?

But of course diversity as the left sees it has nothing whatsoever to do with ideas. When it comes to ideas, a strictly enforced uniformity prevails.

A more honest university would replace their diversity officials with conformity/thought police.

Bully Crap

I have had a few days to reflect on the recent presidential debate and the reaction from leftist pundits and bloggers. Leaving aside the outlier points like Al Gore's altitude excuse, it seems that many have settled on Romney as liar and bully. Many have debunked the former point but nobody that I know of has considered the latter. So I will.

I watched the debate. I have seen many replays of particularly relevant segments. If someone were to tell me with a straight face that Gov Romney was a bully during the debate, I might have to quote said Gov and say "I don't know what you are talking about." I didn't see anything that even remotely resembled bullying. Whatever you might think of Romney's arguments, he simply advocated them assertively, unapologetically, respectfully, and with occasional humor.

But the left are masters at word play. And the left is also leading the crusade (or is it a jihad?) against bullying. Is it fair to connect the alleged bullying by Romney with the broader effort to confront bullying behavior? Perhaps not but I will anyway because both efforts emanate from the left primarily.

Bullying should be confronted. On that point I agree with the anti-bullying crowd. But it all depends on what is meant by bullying. If asserting a point of view that is disagreeable to leftists is the new bullying, perhaps we need to be suspicious of the movement to confront bullying. If bullying must be stopped and asserting positions that offend liberals is bullying, then the anti-bully movement is little more than a disguised assault on the freedom of speech. Calling one who challenges liberal orthodoxy a bully becomes the secular equivalent to blasphemy. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the left is more open to criminalizing insults to Islam. Who is the real bully?

A Modest Proposal

I have to admit I am a tad giddy after last nights' debate. I even have an inexplicable yet pleasant tingling sensation in my leg.

Anyway, I have a plan for the country that could work for everyone. Let's build a second White House, identical to the real one. After a round of golf and a View taping, bring President Obama over to the fake White House. We declare him President for life and he can live out his days much as before, believing to be the leader of the free world. Nothing would have to change. He could still skip national security meetings, Beyonce could still come over for play dates,  he could still go on Letterman. Meanwhile Romney could do the actual presidential stuff.

We can pull this off I am sure. The media is already well versed at pretending he is an acting (as in actually doing presidential things) president. All we need is buy in from MSNBC et al who might after all enjoy the fantasy more than say, reporting on a Romney victory and presidency.

Undebatable

Wow. Even lefties are unable to lie about the thrashing President Obama received last night.

Hey Nonprofit, Can You Spare a Dime?

Racine Mayor John Dickert has sent out a letter to Racine tax exempt nonprofit organizations asking them to "consider paying a portion of the property tax the city would normally charge them if their properties were taxed" according to this Journal Times article.  A few random thoughts on the subject to follow.

I have no problem with the city asking for money but I suspect that in time "asking" will be replaced by "insisting."

Certainly there are plenty of people who would welcome an elimination of the tax exempt status of some institutions, particularly religious ones. But in many cases these institutions are providing services for people which would otherwise cost the government. Still, I think the hostility towards religion is so strong for some that they would welcome any effort to damage religion in favor of their preferred religion of militant secularism.

Speaking of militant secularists, the article mentions the Olympia Brown Unitarian Church and two spokespeople, both of whom would personally favor contributing, though the decision is in the hands of their board. As the Unitarians tend to favor big government liberalism at every turn and pass those costs to the rest of us, I am at least grateful that they might now consider picking up part of the tab. Is there really any difference between a donation to the Unitarian Church or one to the City of Racine?

A better idea in my view would be to sell all government owned buildings not serving a legitimate government purpose. Sell all residential and commercial buildings and let go of employees working in residential and commercial property development. Not only would the city get money from the sale of said properties, but they would also be returning properties to the tax rolls from which they never should have been removed. And while they are at it they could demonstrate a commitment to property rights by revoking the conditional use permit that effectively politicizes all entrepreneurism while allowing the city to discriminate against those wishing to serve black people.

The program is called Racine's Fair Share, a name that implies that non-profits are not paying their fair share. I doubt that is the case with most non-profits who I suspect are saving us all money via their service.

Problem Eliminated

Remember when liberals were upset at "eliminationist" rhetoric? When they tied the Gabby Gifford shooting to Sarah Palin's use of targets on a map? Well that was then.

The threat is over now folks. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has once again vowed to eliminate Israel, but we mustn't take him seriously. Never mind the millennia plus of hatred toward Jews and a handful of wars intended to eliminate Israel. They are just words, pure posturing etc... and he surely doesn't mean it. Isn't that right liberals?

Imagine

Imagine a world where -  if your beliefs are insulted by anyone, anywhere in the world - you are justified to fly off the handle, to riot, burn and kill.

It might just start in your local grocery store if a young mother offends her toddlers belief in candy before dinner. Imagine the rampage through the store with poor mom helplessly following behind, apologizing profusely.

Imagine a homosexual couple strolling down the street holding hands. Clearly this could offend the beliefs of those who believe homosexuality is wrong or an abomination. So they get killed.

Of course this would offend the homosexual community who believe they have a right to express there love openly. So they burn down the homes and churches of advocates of traditional marriage.

Then there are those who believe in white supremacy. Those beliefs may well be offended by the very sight of dark skinned people. So they throw rocks at them until they are out of eyesight.

Some believe that white's are oppressing people of color and enriching themselves off the backs of the non-white labor. So they steel the nice car owned by the white guy.

Thankfully, even President Obama doesn't want a world like this. Surely everyone can't act violently with even the slightest provocation. For starters, it would complicate our efforts to celebrate diversity.

It is best that only the Arab street gets to react violently when offended. They can have there own set of rules and expectations. And our job will be to ensure that none of the several billion people on earth do anything to offend the sensitivities of the prickly mobs in the Middle East.

And soon peace will rage throughout our world!

Double Standard Exposed

Tennis and tornadoes are not a good mix. On Saturday at the US Open Tennis Tournament, they made for bad tennis and questionable scheduling decisions. At issue was whether to play the two men's semifinals matches back to back or concurrently. They decided to play them back to back and sure enough, the second match had to be postponed because of the weather. Arguably this resulted in a significant advantage to the winner of the first match as he got an extra day of rest before the final.

The three commentators were agreed that the powers that be made the wrong call. One of them, I don't remember her name, said "I guarantee you that there were no women on that committee." This comment was pretty much ignored by the two male commentators and the comment never became an issue on the set or anywhere else so far as I know.

Now imagine if one of the male commentators had said "I guarantee you there were no men on that committee." Perhaps this becomes a story for the media.

Now suppose one of the three white commentators had said "I guarantee you there were no white people making that call." National story. Jesse Jackson to the rescue. Heads roll.

But there is no bias in the media.

Obama Helping Bush Oil Buddies

Remember, way back in the Bush administration, when gas prices spiked to around $4 per gallon? It was widely assumed by liberals that Bush was somehow manipulating the price of gas for the benefit of himself and his rich oil buddies?

Well, with gas prices exceeding those in the Bush days we hear nothing on the subject of price manipulation. Of course, using the same "logic" would mean that Obama is now working to enrich Bush's oil buddies. And we can't have that news swirling around before his election now can we?

After Title IX

Is Title IX necessary? Title IX is the law which more or less mandates equal rates of participation in athletics at schools receiving federal funds.

Would universities scrap their womens' teams and insist that the pursuit of athletics is appropriate for men only?

Would mens' wrestling return to many campuses and would we say goodbye to the womens' fencing team?

Or would things remain pretty much the same?

I guess the broader question for our society is to what extent do we see ourselves as unfair to women? 

My own guess is that we would see a modest increase in intercollegiate athletic opportunities for men and a modest decrease in those for women. This would not in my view reflect a bias against women by our universities but rather would reflect the reality that males tend to have a greater interest in sports than females, on average. 

And if Title IX remains necessary, what does it say about our bastions of liberalism (universities) that they must be coerced to treat women fairly?

Why Not Polygamy?

Recently I was having, for the umpteenth time, a conversation about gay marriage. Every aspect of my position was scrutinized and I of course returned the favor. And then a question occurred to me. Why are we having this discussion about gay marriage and not polygamy? Why is there legislation and litigation on gay marriage but not polygamy? Why has one become a national issue but the other seldom if ever discussed? Why?

It is a simple question but the answer I suspect is not so simple. I especially would like an answer from a left leaning individual. That said, I do not discriminate on the basis of political ideology and I appreciate diversity.

Driven By Hatred

I have a confession to make. Yesterday I had a Chick-fil-A sandwich for the first time in my life. And perhaps it is unsafe to admit, but I was motivated by pure hatred.

Try a thought experiment please. Imagine if it was announced that Chick-fil-A was filing for bankruptcy because of successful boycotting campaign. Investors lose millions, thousands lose their jobs, hardships ensue etc....  Do you think that just maybe some segment of our population would rejoice with this news? Only hatred can explain rejoicing for the suffering of others.

It was that hatred which motivated me to join the opposition, to take a (until now) silent stand against the bullying and the intolerance of the leftist extremists.

Goodbye Buddy

Yesterday we said goodbye to Buddy, our yellow lab. Buddy wasn't much for politics. So long as you were willing to give him attention, a treat, or a butt scratch, you had a friend. Despite his transparently selfish agenda, he managed to give far more than he took. May Buddy's daily lessons in patience, love, loyalty and forgiveness live on. Thank you Bud. Rest in peace.

Illegal People

"People are not illegal" read the t-shirt.

Clever. Of course nobody thinks people are illegal so the shirt wearer is technically correct. Is anyone claiming that illegal aliens are themselves illegal? No. Rather, it is understood by everyone not inclined to wear a "people are not illegal" t-shirt that said folks are somewhere - in the USA - that they are not legally allowed to enter.

So the clever set are insinuating that, because people are not illegal, that they are then somehow entitled to enter into the US. Just stupid. But they are part of a club that thinks they are clever and passionate and humane and oh so caring while those who disagree are racists etc... I bet that feels good.