Our Shadow Government

In 2008, Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States. As an avowed socialist, he did much that aggravated conservatives. Obama arguably even worked against several constitutional requirements and on more than one occasion disparaged that august document. 

All during Obama’s two terms, the news media gave him a pass for every action he did against the interest of our country. When he went on an international apology tour, the media was silent. When he bowed to foreign dignitaries, the media was silent. When he issued illegal executive orders countermanding immigration law, the media glossed it over. When the IRS, under his administration, sought to punish conservative organizations, the media winked as they reported it. For eight years the only public condemnation of actions by this anti-American president came from social media and Fox news.

What a difference there is when the shoe is on the conservative foot. There seems to be a shadow liberal government formed by the media and Democrats. Every action our duly elected president, Donald J. Trump, does brings down immediate condemnation in the media and instant rejection and retribution by Democrats. It seems our president can’t go to the bathroom without the media crying foul over the smell for weeks and some Democrat congressman or senator threatening an investigation.

Liberals -- okay, progressives, socialists, communists or whatever they choose to call themselves at the moment -- have become masters of intolerance. I get that they didn’t vote for Trump; I get that they have a heightened personal dislike for Trump; I even get that they are peeved about Trump thwarting their dream of creating a socialist utopia in this country. But by their absurd rejection of Trump’s every waking hour they are merely driving the wedge that Obama created between liberals and conservatives deeper. Perhaps at no time in the history of this country since the civil war has the divide been more pronounced than now.

The fires of dissent are being fueled by Obama’s “shadow government.” That’s right folks, our ex-president’s Organization for Action (aka: OFA) may well be behind this division. Funded by the likes of the noted subversive billionaire, George Soros, Obama has created and distributed a manual for resistance and disruption at any Republican meeting or Town Hall. The mainstream media have always leaned left. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much effort for the OFA to coordinate media disruption of the Trump administration. 

We only saw sporadic demonstrations -- freeway blocking, women’s march, a few protest movements, California’s threat to secede -- in the beginning, but the news media seems to now be on board with Obama’s OFA. Every time President Trump does or says anything, even the most benign things, the media casts it in a negative light. Several states and local governments are actively working against presidential and congress on things like immigration and climate change. There always seems to be a convenient liberal Federal Judge to thwart Trump’s executive orders. Although I can’t remember any conservative judge blocking any of Obama’s illegal executive orders. 

The fact is our president is doing exactly what he promised. No, that is not expected to appease those who didn’t vote for him. On the other hand, the half of the country that did vote for him are getting exactly what they asked for. By not recognizing that fact, the left is creating a massive us-verses-them environment and in the process not doing this country or it’s citizens one bit of good.

Yes, there is a very real shadow government that is actively out to subvert any and all actions by our legally elected president. And for what purpose? Nearly half of the voters in this country are conservative. This shadow government is driving the wedge deeper and hardening the conservative stance. These liberals aren’t going to win converts to their cause, certainly not this way. States like Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming are tending ever more toward the conservative cause, while California and New York are leaning further toward the socialist edge. Our country is experiencing a de facto Mason-Dixon line once again. The last time this occurred there was a civil war. Could this be in our future once again?

Just Plain Fed Up

To say that Donald Trump’s election was a surprise would be the understatement of the century. The democrats and Mainstream News Media were astounded, world leaders were flabbergasted, and  Hillary Clinton was devastated. Even republicans, especially those who lost in the preliminary election were surprised. Perhaps the most surprised person in the whole process was Donald Trump. This was evident the other day when at a televised outdoor meeting in the White House rose garden, he said in astonishment, “I’m president! Can you believe that?”

Meanwhile, political pundits and analysts keep poring over election results and shaking their heads. Columns and papers are published with a profusion of reasons for the election results. So far, none that I have read have even come close to revealing the true reason for Clinton’s loss and Trump’s win.

Did Hillary lose because of her gender? Well, she did garner some 2 million votes more than Trump. Did the Electoral College do her in? Nope, the electoral college merely leveled the field to give the less populous states a fair shake in the election.

Hillary blames former FBI director James Comey for the ‘October Surprise’, but now that he has been fired he is no longer the goat, he is a martyr. How about the WikiLeaks factor? C’mon now, everybody knows that politicians -- especially democrats -- are masters of shady deals. Was it really surprising that the Clinton campaign was out to do Sanders in and the DNC was in collusion with that strategy?

How about those pesky Russians? It looks like the democrats are going to ride this one out for every penny’s worth. But even if the Russians were behind the hacked campaign chair emails, did it slant the election? No, it only revealed what everyone already knew, Clinton was running a crooked campaign.

No, my friends, the real reason Donald Trump is sitting in the Oval Office today is because he is not and has never been part of the Washington political scene. People are simply fed up with politicians.

Ask any person who voted for Trump why they did so and you are likely to hear, “because he’s not a politician.” Right, as arrogant and bombastic as he is, Trump is no politician. And over the last 100 some days that has become painfully evident.

When asked a question, most experienced politicians will hesitate while weighing the politically correct answer for the moment then either double talk some political blather or dance around the answer and completely avoid the question. Trump has no filter on his mouth. What comes out is something regurgitated from his gut while bypassing his brain headed straight to his mouth. In truth, even he must be surprised at what he says sometimes. 

Well, there you have it. We were fed up with Washington politics, elected an outsider, and wound up with an amateur president. The only thing I can say about that is that the change is both entertaining and refreshing. One can only hope that his on-the-job training period ends before he does himself in. His ideas and intentions are all in the right direction. His execution of those ideas needs a good bit of polishing -- and maybe a zipper on his mouth.

Fly the Unfriendly Skies?

United Airlines has been on my no-fly list for decades, but the latest fiasco only serves to fortify my resolve to walk before flying that airline.

Back in the last century, I had the unfortunate experience of being booked on a United flight from Pittsburgh. In those days, the hub for United was in Chicago. Most flights across the country connected there. Everyone knows the weather in Chicago in the spring is dicey, but I had no choice in the matter. The flight was booked for me.

Now, I had flown on United before and wasn’t real fond of their service. Like I said, I had no choice in time, place, or carrier.

We boarded the flight in Pittsburgh expecting to be in Chicago in a few hours and routinely catch my connecting flight to Los Angeles. Five hours later we were still sitting in the aircraft on the tarmac in Pittsburgh. The Chicago area was under a tornado warning.

We were offered no refreshments or even water. We simply sat in our seats for five hours until finally, the plane fired up and we were on our way to Chicago. Of course, my connecting flight was long gone.

At the United counter, I asked how they were going to get me home. “You missed your flight”, the agent said. I think his name must have been Captain Obvious. I can’t repeat what I said, but eventually, a manager appeared. After a few more unprintable words, they finally booked me on a flight that would leave the next day. Whoa Charlie, now I have to be here overnight? Who’s going to pay for that?

After a few more choice words, the manager found me a room in the Airport Ramada hotel where the United Airline personnel stay. I said room, well, it did have a bed … and a shower. My room was in the basement of the building, but what the hey, it was better than sleeping in the terminal. And that shower was just what the day called for. Of course, some towels and soap would have been a nice touch. I would have called the front desk but there was no phone in the room.

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, but that was the last time I would ever fly United Airlines, friendly skies or not.

I have since heard horror stories of others that flew on United. Never could I even imagine any airline would beat and drag a person off the plane so one of their people could have a seat. Unfathomable draconian acts of this nature don’t even happen in third world countries.

Now the CEO of United Airlines has bent over backward to apologize to the doctor they beat and literally dragged off the plane. He even offered to compensate all the passengers that were on the plane. I hear that two of the security personnel responsible for this tragedy have been fired. Well, that makes it okay! Not hardly!

Far be it from me to even try influencing others in their flying choices, but I won’t be flying United’s unfriendly skies any time in the future.

Tax and Not Spend Democrats

California Governor “Moonbeam” Jerry Brown once declared that California leads the nation. Well, yes, it does. Most of the weird, wacky, political nonsense originates in this state. Take for instance Brown’s latest propaganda, the gas tax necessity.

Are California’s roads in need of repair? Of course they are. The whole nation’s roads are in need of repair. President Eisenhower created this wonderful Interstate transportation system but was a little shortsighted on funding the cost for maintaining it. If you think California’s roads are bad, you should try driving in the Chicago area some time. Repair crews constantly block those roads. They call it a constant state of destruction.

But our roads are not the only poorly maintained infrastructure. Many of our bridges are rated as dangerous too. Should we be taxed – again – for this maintenance, though?

We currently pay 18 cents per-gallon in gasoline taxes. Those taxes are supposed to be earmarked specifically for road maintenance. In addition, we have vehicle license “fees” that are supposed to go into the maintenance fund. In reality, that money is thrown into the general fund and spent on everything from the Bullet Train to nowhere to illegal alien assistance in this sanctuary state. Lord only knows how much is actually spent on road maintenance. I suspect it is in the neighborhood of hundredths of a cent per-dollar.

Now our not-so-illustrious governor and his Demoncrat cronies want to increase the gasoline tax from 18 cents to 30 cents per-gallon. It doesn’t stop there, though. If you drive a diesel, you are now paying 16 cents a gallon but that will go to 36 cents with this new tax. And… that tax will be adjusted annually for the cost of living just to make sure you don’t get a break if you get a COLA increase. Even after paying that extortion, you still aren’t out of the woods. Your vehicle fee will increase anywhere fro $25 to $175 depending on the value of your vehicle. This is on top of the monstrous registration fee increase we saw a couple of years back. And these are PERMANENT increases.

Altogether Governor Moonbeam wants an additional 5.2 billion dollars a year in taxes. What is not being said is that those funds are likely to go into the general fund too!

My question to these tax hungry politicians is, how do we know the money will be spent for road and bridge repair? Wasn’t that what the current gas tax and increased vehicle registration fees were supposed to be used for? What did you do with that money? Now you want more? I say not just no but hell no!

Why not take the billions yet to be spent on Brown’s folly, the bullet train-to-nowhere that no one will ride, and spend it on road repairs? Quit subsidizing illegal aliens in this state and deport them as the law requires. That would save a huge chunk of change. Better yet, spend the existing gas taxes and registration fees on what it is intended. Wow, what a concept!

It is a simple fact of life in our democracy that if you give a politician a dollar he will soon be back for five more… and still not spend it on what he promised.

Grilling Time

Well, Spring has finally arrived, time to drag out the barbecues. The US Senate Judiciary Committee has its own form of Spring barbecue; they threw Neil Gorsuch on the grill.

Our pistol-packing Senator, Dianne Feinstein set the tone for the hearings by denouncing the Republican’s denial of a hearing for Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. In effect, she was placing the committee on notice that the Democrats will do everything in their power to discredit Judge Gorsuch at every opportunity.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is made up of nine Democrats and eleven Republicans. Senator Chuck Grassly (R: Iowa) is the chairman and Dianne Feinstein is the “Ranking Member”. Other Democrats include Patrick Leahy (Vermont), Richard Durbin (Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Al Franken (Minnesota), Christopher Coons (Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii).

The Republicans on the committee include Orrin Hatch (Utah), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), John Cornyn (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Jeff Flake (Arizona), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), and John Kennedy (Louisiana).

It is going to be hard for even the likes of Feinstein and Al Franken to assail the character and integrity of a man of Neil Gorsuch’s proven record, but they are determined to try their worst. Feinstein is concerned that Judge Gorsuch is an “originalist”. In other words, she fears that he will not read between the lines of the constitution to find meanings that are not there. Apparently, Feinstein believes the original wording of the constitution no longer applies in today’s society.

Gorsuch may be not just qualified for the Supreme Court seat but the most qualified person in the land for that seat. He has degrees from University College, Oxford, Columbia University, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and Harvard Law School. His Senate confirmation for the 10^th Circuit Federal Appeals Court was unanimous. His work history may be the most impressive of any person nominated to the Supreme Court. He has clerked for the likes of Supreme Court Justices Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy and was a Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Also to his credit, he has tried 2700 cases in the 10^th Circuit Appeals Court.

In his opening statement, Gorsuch affirmed his commitment to leaving the law making to the legislature and merely passing judgment on the laws as they are written. It’s going to be hard for the Democrats to discredit a man of this caliber. But I’m certain that won’t stop them from trying.

While the Senate Judiciary Committee may be a thorny patch to transcend, the full Senate will be the real test. Democrats know it will take 60 votes for confirmation. They will try to coerce as many of their party to vote no, but they also know that Harry Reid set a precedent for the “nuclear” option – simple majority vote – to get confirmation for Obama appointees. Although Supreme Court nominees were specifically exempted from Reid’s nuclear option, it would not be unthinkable for Senate Majority Leader McConnell to extend it for this confirmation.

The appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court may be one of the most important actions of the Trump term. It may even be the most important action of the century. Many of the Trump plans are destined to depend on judiciary review. We have already seen that in the two travel bans the Federal Courts have held up. The Progressives and Obama’s paid agitators are more than willing to subject any actions from the Trump White House to litigation. The Supreme Court is certain to have the final say, though, making it essential to have an ideologically balanced court. The addition of Judge Gorsuch to that court would bring it back to the days when Antonin Scalia sat on the bench.

The View From Across the Pond

My wife and I periodically visit relatives in Germany. Since we just returned from the latest trip, I thought it might be informative to share the view from that perspective.

The March 9^th edition of Rheinishe Post had an interesting piece on the front page headlined “Now 1600 Dangerous Islamists in Germany”. Well, gee, imagine that. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes a million “refugees” into the country with scant or non-existent vetting and they now find there are some 1600 dangerous people among them with the potential for mass terror attacks. What a surprise.

This seems to be a lesson lost on the open-border advocates in this country. You know, the ones paid to protest every policy our president tries to implement.

Our last trip to Germany was in October. The difference in customs procedures when returning to the US on our current this trip was amazing. Even with automated passport processing for US citizens and green-card holders we still had to stand in lines and show our passports a number of times. While this may seem to be an inconvenience, at least our government is finally cracking down at the ports of entry.

In this country, we hear about unfettered “refugee” immigration throughout Europe. The reality is that many, if not most, of those “refugees” are in fact “asylum” seekers whose homeland is nowhere near a conflict area, Romania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Serbia, Kenya, Sudan, and Somalia, are only a few. Their only real claim for asylum is one of economic hardship. They come to Europe to take advantage of the supposed worker shortage in Germany, France, and England only to wind up on welfare and government subsistence because they have no skills to offer. They live in government provided enclaves and spend the day loitering in gatherings while wearing expensive sneakers and clothes. The women have numerous babies, new clothes, high-tech baby strollers, and free travel on buses and trains, all paid for by the working class in their host countries.

With all of this goodwill provided by host countries, you might think these “refugees” would want to assimilate into the culture of those footing the bill. No way! On the contrary, these asylum seekers who are fleeing the oppression in their homelands demand their new hosts bend to their “culture” and languages. The Muslims in the country demand to be governed solely by Sharia law. The bottom line seems to be that they want to create another crap-hole just like the one they left.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s only because this is also happening in our country. Muslim migration is described in the Quran, Surah 4:100, "And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many locations and abundance, and whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him, his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah." It’s called Hijrah, and in effect, directs Muslims to spread their religion through invasion of other countries.

But as we are seeing, this is not simply a matter of Muslim invasion, people from many other countries are coming here and demanding we bend to accommodate the same conditions they left.

America may be “the great melting pot” – and many great customs and traditions have been imported with immigrants – but do we really want open sewers running down our streets and run-down shacks with dirt floors in our neighborhoods? Do we want young girls to be forced into marriage or women going around in burqas? Do we want to allow young girls to have their genitals forcibly mutilated simply out of cultural tradition?

The lesson is there if only our leaders would care to see. Open, unregulated, migration is not what made this country great. You can’t make a country great by forcing third-world values and traditions on it. It is a lesson those in Europe are painfully experiencing.

A Lingering Odor

You know that bad smell that lingers in the bathroom after flushing the toilet? That seems to be the case with the Obama presidency. It’s gone, but the smell still lingers.

Have you heard of the Organization For Action or OFA? No? That’s not surprising. The mainstream media, aka “Lying Media”, wouldn’t dare report this.

Keeping true to the only real job he knew, former community organizer Barrack Obama created yet another subversive non-profit 501 (c) 4 organization called the Organization For Action. I call it subversive because that is exactly what it is. The entire charter of this organization is to undermine the Trump presidency.

In effect, Obama has set up a shadow government. According to WND (http://www.wnd.com) news reporter Paul Sperry, “Obama will be overseeing it all from a shadow White House located within two miles of Trump. It features a mansion, which he’s fortifying with construction of a tall brick perimeter, and a nearby taxpayer-funded office with his own chief of staff and press secretary.”

Also in the New York Post, “An Obama-tied activist group [OFA] training tens of thousands of agitators to protest President Trump’s policies plans to hit Republican lawmakers supporting those policies even harder this week, when they return home for the congressional recess and hold town hall meetings and other functions...”

Obviously, this is not something George Soros could pass up. He is not only funding OFA, as he has Black Lives Matter, Moveon.org, and other anti-American organizations, he is working with Obama to ensure complete gridlock in the functioning of our country’s government.

Democrats aren’t one bit happy about this either. They have charged Obama with creating a shadow party that circumvents state Democrats. “This is some GRADE A Bull[*]hit right here,” Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party, wrote in a private Democratic-listserv email obtained by The Daily Beast. “Yes, it sure is,” Katie Mae Simpson, executive director for the Maine Democratic Party, replied. WND says, “Two Democratic operatives recently called OFA ‘The Devil.’”

The irony is astounding. These are the people who gave us Obama in the first place and again tried to foist Hillary Clinton on us. Now Obama is “the Devil?”

Well, what did we expect? Did we think Obama would do what other good presidents have done and just quietly advise his successor? We are talking about a man who made a career out of apologizing for America, one who hates American values and tried to circumvent the US Constitution with executive orders. This is the guy who rallied Democrats in congress to jamb socialism down our throats.

The next time you see a bunch of people protesting at a rally, town hall meeting, or blocking the streets, just remember who has trained and paid for them. In Weimar Germany they were called Brown Shirts, here they are merely paid minions of Obama’s OFA. Would someone please light a match and make that smell go away.