POTUS Defends Entitlements

From Fox News:

Obama warns against steep spending cuts, presses for immigration bill in inaugural address

President Obama launched into his second term with a sharply worded inaugural address Monday -- using the platform to "reject" steep cuts to entitlements, press for an immigration reform package and wag the finger at Washington's penchant for "name-calling" and "spectacle."

....

The president quickly toggled through a host of agenda items, but used some of his most forceful language to defend costly entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that could be the target of cuts in upcoming fiscal talks.
Declaring that the country cannot succeed "when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it," he described those programs as a vital safety net -- though, without some intervention, budget forecasters warn they will not be sustainable in the long term. 

There is no easy solution to the Social Security/Medicare problem. There are a great many individuals who paid into both programs for their entire lives, expecting that when they retired, the money would still be there. The problem is, politicians (on both sides of the aisle) used these programs like a piggy bank, and spent the money on pet projects. Now there is no money there, and Social Security and Medicare rely upon current contributions to pay for those currently collecting. They are robbing Peter to pay Paul, and eventually the whole construction will fall apart. So while just abolishing the programs will not work, serious reform is needed.

Also "safety net"? Medicare and Social Security were never intended as such - they are supposed to be retirement programs, not welfare.

Medicaid on the other hand... People who do nothing of utility and pay little to nothing in taxes get Medicaid. Medicaid is a welfare program, plain and simple. It is unnecessary and cost $275,000,000,000 in 2011 (I'll be doing a post on that infographic later).

Our president chose to take a stand against reforming or abolishing the largest part and most wasteful part of our budget. It is obvious that while he talks a great talk, he could care less about actual fiscal responsibility.

To Gun Control Fetishists

To all Gun Control Fetishists: You talk about "sporting purpose" and "you don't need that to hunt". You're right. I don't need an automatic firearm to hunt, and it doesn't serve a "sporting purpose". I need a fully automatic firearm to defend myself against criminals who manage to get their hands on fully automatic firearms despite laws to the contrary. I need a fully automatic firearm (in addition to MANPADs and anti-tank weapons) to defend myself if my government steps over the line into totalitarianism. I need a fully automatic firearm because there is a small, but finite possibility that I may need to defend myself from someone wielding a similar firearm. So shut up about the whole "you don't need that" sh*t. Because I do need it.

Why I hate the UN

The UN is a hotbed of despotism, anti-semitism, cronyism, and deception.
The UN Human Rights council includes Cuba, China, many other countries where human rights are a low priority, and until recently, Libya.  This Council has recommended a boycott on American companies that do business in Israel and the areas of "Palestine" that Israel occupies.

Their officials decry our free speech, speak out against one of our candidates, and send election observers here - some of whom come from countries where Stalin's famous quote "Its not those who vote who count, but those who count the votes" is the reality.

The UN is not our friend or ally. They are not an institution which believes in human freedom. At the beginning the UN included the Soviet Union as a permanent member of the security council, with full veto power. While the US is also a permanent member of the security council, and thus enjoys that same veto power, it must be realized that whatever the UN did before the fall of the USSR had to meet the approval of the Soviet Politburo, or they would veto it. Communist China, the People's Republic of China, is also a permanent member of the UN security council. The USSR is gone, but the PRC remains. We must not allow the UN to push us around. Let us stop funding the UN and begin to use our own veto power too prevent it from doing anything harmful to our republic, just as the Soviets once did, and the Communist Chinese still do.
Why don't we take the money that we send to the UN, which fails more than it succeeds at keeping the peace (As the Tutsi can attest) and give it to our military, which actually does something useful - protecting us from those who would take our freedom. Let us stop caring what the "International Community" thinks about our candidates for higher office. Romney and Obama aren't running for President of the World. They're running for President of the US, and the freedom, safety, and prosperity (in that order) of their constituency should be all they care about.

Sources:

U.N. Official Warns: Electing Mitt Romney Means ‘Democratic Mandate for Torture’

UN Affiliate Will Monitor U.S. Elections

Texas sparks international row with election observers

Pillay: Hatred, free speech don't mix

U.N. Human Rights Council Calls for Boycott of U.S. Companies

 http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/UN-Report-Sept-2012.pdf

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (Current Membership)

Freedom in the World 2012

Al Qaeda Wants Holy War over Free Speech

I've just read the same article, on Fox News, and CBS about Al Qaeda's reaction to "demonstrators" killing three members of the State Department in Benghazi.
Here is my proposal for handling future embassy problems:

1. In the event that "demonstrators", storm any US embassy - official or not - and kill the ambassador and staff we respond by completely destroying the city through saturation bombing.
2. In the event that a US embassy is held hostage, all traffic in and out of the city will be cut off by US air power, and the US will drop one MOAB or TLAM-D on the city for every American or allied hostage killed.
3. Should a nation's regular armed forces storm a US embassy, the US will saturation bomb the capital of said nation, in addition to performing a campaign of extermination against that nation's leadership.

A little draconian you say? Mean? Destructive?
Its better than  following Genghis Khan's example and destroying entire countries/empires in order to make the point that messing with ambassadors is a bad idea.

What about this proposed holy war on our free speech? Is that draconian? Mean? Destructive?
We face enemies who are ruthless, cruel, and who don't give a sh*t about any laws, especially the laws of war.

Personally, I'm waiting to see how the radical Muslim community reacts to this.

Update: Fox News has added some has added some significant information and commentary of its own to the original AP article that they posted. CBS' version is still unchanged.

It is not those Who Vote...

It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.

Joseph Stalin

Many Venezuelans living here in the US - mostly in Florida - are shocked about Chavez' win, some of them claiming that Chavez engaged in a little creative vote counting. Given Chavez' choice of ideology such actions shouldn't be unexpected. Chavez has created a cult of personality in his goal to create a socialist system in Venezuela. I don't see this ending well for anyone, especially not the Venezuelan people.

Source
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57527944/south-florida-venezuelans-unhappy-with-chavez-victory/

"Ex-Patriot Act"

Democratic Senators Chuck Shumer and Bob Casey have put forth a bill that would subject high earning emigrants to a nasty capital gains tax. What needs to happen is that the capital gains tax needs to be cut, so that entrepreneurs will be drawn to the US, rather than chased away from it.

Whining about Voter ID Laws

Democrats are whining about Voter ID laws. Really though, its their fault, with stuff like the ACORN scandals being linked to their party. With all that has happened to link their party to voter fraud, they are in the same position as a counterfeiter whining about new, harder to counterfeit, currency.

6 - Year old on No Fly List?

Courtesy of Fox News' Mark Zinni we have this government outrage.

6-Year-Old Northeast Ohio Girl on 'No Fly' List

Mark Zinni Fox 8 News Reporter

10:30 AM EDT, June 25, 2010

WESTLAKE, Ohio - Alyssa Thomas, 6, is a little girl who is already under the spotlight of the federal government. Her family recently discovered that Alyssa is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.

"We were, like, puzzled," said Dr. Santhosh Thomas. "I'm like, well, she's kinda six-years-old and this is not something that should be typical."

Dr. Thomas and his wife were made aware of the listing during a recent trip from Cleveland to Minneapolis. The ticket agent at the Continental counter at Hopkins Airport notified the family. "They said, well, she's on the list. We're like, okay, what's the story? What do we have to do to get off the list? This isn't exactly the list we want to be on," said Dr. Thomas.

This is a prime example of why big government is bad. If the family had any connections with terrorists, then it would be better sense to place the entire family on the No Fly list - not just a little girl who hasn't done anything to deserve this. The government needs to learn a little common sense! More at the link

The advent of the Personal Defense Laser

I found this courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and Miguel Gonzalez Jr.

"May The Force, and Safety Goggles, Be With You"

"Since Luke Skywalker first picked up a light saber in 1977, we’ve dreamed of wielding the laser sword made famous in the “Star Wars” movies—“an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” And while the technology isn’t quite there yet, we’re getting closer.

For around $200, Shanghai-based WickedLasers.com will ship you its latest laser device, known as the Spyder III Pro Arctic and looking suspiciously like the beloved science-fiction weapon. Using a blue-laser diode taken from a powerful film projector, the Spyder III emits a 445-nanometer wavelength beam of up to one watt in power. Or, as the WickedLasers site explains:

“Don’t let the Arctic name fool you, this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That’s why it’s also the most dangerous laser ever created.”

As the article goes on to explain, the laser is a Class IV laser product, meaning that it can be dangerous.

Wicked Lasers says the Spyder III isn’t to be taken, ahem, lightly, and posts photos of two surly-looking fellows arrested for pointing lasers at aircraft. The Spyder III is a Class 4 laser, meaning it’s so strong that it can cause blindness and color-perception problems, including the inability to perceive the color green for four to six months. Also, at a thousand times stronger than sunlight on skin, it can burn skin and may even cause skin cancer.

So Wicked Lasers adds an FDA-mandated safety sticker on the device, includes a pair of safety glasses and warns that you shouldn’t make direct eye contact with the beam. Or expose it to bare skin. Or shine it at anyone. Or shine it at reflective surfaces. And don’t use it near airports, highways or construction sites. Really, they say, it should be used only by “individuals who have appropriate laser safety training and product familiarity in using Class 4 lasers.”

But other than that, they add, “As a general concept, owning a laser is pretty fun.”

And that fun is illustrated on the site, using videos that show Wicked Lasers products doing such disparate tasks as burning holes in trash bags, popping balloons, cutting electrical tape and igniting matches. Not exactly the sort of swashbuckling space adventure we imagined.

They shouldn't be marketing this as a toy, but as a non-lethal self-defense weapon. It can cause blindness and burn skin, and while they made it to be a toy, it would certainly made an adequate non-lethal defense. If they can up the power levels, it could even become a lethal weapon. This is a great advance in the creation of laser weapons (for consumers - industry and governments have access to more dangerous lasers already) , and it is being sold as a toy.