Simple Man Politics

Due to circumstances beyond my control I will not be publishing an April 1st / Fools Blog. It seems I have to help the government bail out one of the Big Three automakers tomorrow. I will report on the success of my endeavors on Thursday, either that or I will report on something really important.

By the way, I wonder if you can guess how I am going to help bail this automaker out, and who they are. Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

I was watching a news program that had Bill O’Reilly on as an interviewee rather than the interviewer. I can’t remember who was interviewing him partly because I wasn’t in the mood to watch news, and partly because I didn’t spend more than maybe thirty seconds on the channel as well.

What I remember about the interview though was a comment he made regarding the actor Sean Penn. He said he would not watch any of the actor’s movies even though he is an excellent actor simply because he did not agree with Penn’s political ideology. I found this to be intriguing, because I watch many movies with actors who have political beliefs that differ from mine and the same thing with some musicians whose music I enjoy.

Now I will grant you that the times we live in are very politically charged up. I will also agree that these celebrities have a public forum to say what ever they want on any subject and their celebrity status will almost guarantee that they will be heard. However I will tell you right now that being famous doesn’t make you intelligent or intellectual, it makes you popular and your that has nothing to do with how you apply your grey matter.

Here are a few celebrity personalities whom I enjoy seeing perform but don’t agree with on almost anything.

Eddie Vedder: This guy is an amazing singer song writer and I rock out with this guy all the time.
1- Bruce Springsteen aka (The Boss): Easily one of the most talented song writers and performers from my generation.
2- Billy Joel: Man he can tickle the ivories I love to hear him play.
3- Alec Baldwin: A very good actor. I loved him in “Hunt for Red October”.
4- Willie Nelson: Perhaps the greatest American troubadour of the last century.
5- Tom Hanks: The man with the Midas touch. I loved him in “The Polar Express”, and “The Da Vinci Code”.
6- Sean Penn: Perhaps the greatest character actor I have ever seen. I loved him in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”.

These people are arguably some of the best and talented in their fields of endeavor, but that does not make them politically astute figures. I would have no problems what so ever sitting down to watch their films or go to their concerts, because they are good at what they do for a living. However I would not vote for a political figure or believe in something simple because they do.

They are here for me strictly for entertainment purposes and nothing more. I am an intelligent, educated, and motivated individual, who can do the research and come up with my own opinion, without having to come up with one based on someone else’s likability factor or celebrity status. I would hope that the same is true of those who read my blog’s. Apparently Bill O’Reilly needs to see things from a more enlightened perspective.

I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday and I will see you all again tomorrow CIAO4NOW!!!!!

Hello my friends and welcome to another installment of Simple Man Politics. Today’s topic is one I have had an opinion on for sometime, but of course I always do have an opinion on what I write about, so I guess that isn’t really news. However today’s topic is about news or more to the point newspapers and the idea that they need government bail outs to. As you are all aware of by now I have not favored bail outs for any businesses, so my opinion on newspaper bail outs will be no different.

It doesn’t matter to me whether your business is banking, insurance, investments, autos, news papers, or anyone for that matter. A free market capitalist economy/society has always had a survival of the fittest mentality, which means that the weak die and the strong survive. This philosophy is what ultimately makes a nations economy stronger. Unfortunately in this new age of entitlement that we are now suffering through, every hog is fighting for their place at the tax payer trough.

Now don’t get me wrong I used to enjoy reading the newspaper. When I was a kid I couldn’t wait for the Sunday paper to be delivered so I could read the comics. As a teen I added the sports page to my list of required reading from my local paper. When I became an adult my morning coffee and paper was a ritual that I was loathe to forgo, needing my information fix on local, state, and national news.

But as we all know times change. First with the advent of cable and ultimately the creation of the 24 hour news cycle it became possible for me to catch up on the news at the push of a button becoming my morning ritual of coffee and cable, instead of coffee and paper. With the creation of the internet and all of its resources it finally took the place of cable and coffee and became computer and coffee.

The great thing about all of this is that it has all happened in my lifetime, and I have welcomed the technology age with open arms, and so was delivered out of the dark ages and into the light. All of this has become possible because we had a growing economy willing to take advantage of cutting edge technology that has kept America at the forefront of the world economically, and eventually led to us being the sole remaining global superpower in the world.

In addition to all of that I have another reason for not wanting to see any newspapers getting government bailouts. The reason newspapers exist in the first place is to keep an eye on our government as well as the world to keep us informed. Unfortunately it has been proven that the newspapers are not looking out for us regular Joes anymore. Newspapers now have their own political agenda’s that they promote and are anything but fair and balanced in their reporting.

I personally don’t care whether a publication is left wing or right wing; they should not be picking sides in political fights. Their job is and should be reporting the news factually and accurately, without bias or prejudice. This rarely happens anymore and to the detriment of society I might add. Bailouts might make these newspapers supplicate themselves to the government making them unable to defend us against those they are supposed to be watching, the government.

I pay my bills, feed my family, put a roof over their heads, and clothes on their backs. Whether I am right or wrong we survive by the decisions I make every day, if I am right we swim, and if I am wrong we sink. There is no government program out there that is going to bail me out if I get in a little trouble. Sure there is unemployment and food stamp’s, but how long can you be a productive member of society on those pittances. So I say no government bailouts for me no government bailouts for anybody. My tax dollars should be working for me not big business, or Barack Obama and company.

That is all I have to rant about for today, but as usual I am sure I will find something else tomorrow. Have a marvelous Monday all, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

T.G.I.F. my friends I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to a great weekend, because I am. I am also sorry this post is coming to all of you so late today, but as the saying goes “life Happens”, and it happened to me today. Today’s blog is going to be on Mexico and the War on Drugs. Anyway let’s get started what do you say?

As I am sure you are all aware we have been fighting the war on drugs for decades. We have not always been successful in our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country, but we have had our victories to. The war on drugs has lasted longer than the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan combined. It has also cost more money than all three of those wars put together, and when you count the lives lost on all sides of the drug war the loss of life is immensely greater also.

This war has also been fought on many fields and fronts from Europe, the Far and Middle East, to central and South America, and now Mexico. Although for the record Mexico has always been a port of entry for smuggling drugs into the US the four Mexican cartels that are currently vying for supremacy as the reigning exporter of drugs to the states control the Mexican side of the border now and no one smuggles drugs into the US unless one of them gets paid.

The war on drugs in Mexico has really gotten bad on their side of the border in recent years. Many of the cartel members either have prior military or law enforcement experience. Some of these guys are even still serving in the Mexican military or as law enforcement officers inside of Mexico. Their training in weapons and technology make them far superior to other criminal organizations around the world.

The results of their expertise are immediately obvious to even the most casual observer. Their willingness to bring death to their adversaries with cool, calculated, efficiency is just one trademark of their talents demonstrated to their countrymen and the world on a near daily basis. Their expertise in exporting drugs to the US and importing weapons back into Mexico speaks to their talent for avoiding capture and arrest.

Now I am going to say something that most of you will find surprising, and that is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right. She was right about the hunger and desire for the drugs that these cartels supply by many of our citizens, which makes us partially responsible for the drug trade that flourishes in Mexico. She was right about US weapons and money going to Mexico as partially our responsibility as well.

However I am quite sure that Mexico is at least as much responsible for these things as we are, after all it is their side of the border that US weapons and cash are smuggled across by these very cartels, in order for them to finance and wage their war on terror against the Mexican people. It is also across their side of the border that the trafficking in illegal narcotics begins.

For the record though I don’t think that it is necessary for our Secretary of State to apologize to the Mexican government for their criminal elements and their lack of ability to police those criminals. It is not our fault that their government officials, law enforcement officers, and military personnel are corrupt. We are not responsible for their current economic instability either.

In one way or another, American dollars are Mexico’s biggest import, whether it is by illegal immigrants sending a portion of the money they earn here back to Mexico, or the profits from drugs that get smuggled back into their country by the drug cartels. Mexico is responsible for their own economic problems by utilizing a de-facto caste system where the few rule the rich like the royals and the serfs in 15th century Europe.

The truth is that the major export from Mexico to the US is Cannabis Sativa although they do import cocaine and heroin into the US as well. However if we were to not only decriminalize marijuana, but legalize it as well most of the problems on the border would disappear overnight. Well that and actually do something on our side of the line with a real border security plan like building the fence, increasing border agents, and applying 21st century technology to the task.

Well that is all I have to rant about here at Simple Man Politics for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend and I will be back again next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

My god there is so much to write about that I really don’t know where to start or what to write, about so I am going to have to decide this with a flip of a coin so I will be right back. Well it was tails and as the saying goes tails never fails, so today’s target is none other than everyone’s favorite tax cheat Tiny Tim (Turbotax) Geitner.

Geitner really is an easy target though, because he has all of the personality, charisma, and intelligence of a pet rock. There is also the fact that he knew about things like the AIG bonuses way before he said he did. There is even a rumor floating around that he was involved in some way with AIG before they even received their first bail out.

Of course I don’t promote rumors I just report the facts and you can decide for yourself. That is why we are going to address a couple of other things that Tiny Tim is up to that I can substantiate with facts today.

One of these things is the administration and Geitners attempt to gain authority over any business they deem a risk to the economy simply by saying they may be in jeopardy and the other is the new global currency plan he favors with China.

On the subject of Geitner gaining the authority to take over a major corporation based simply on the notion that they might be in financial trouble and could wreak havoc on the economy is simply not a good idea. If this law is passed it would mean that he could take any business he wanted to without any checks and balance system in place to make him prove his position with regard to the company.

He would be able to take over a business that is operating profitably, creating jobs, and stimulating the economy for the benefit of the government. This would give the government ownership control of the business and its profits. He would not even have to prove his position, which would put any business in the bad position of losing its autonomy.

These businesses would not even being able to defend themselves against what would in reality be a hostile takeover by Geitner and the US government. The next thing you know all financial, transportation, and healthcare business would be the exclusive province of Uncle Sam and we will be on the road to the point of no return, and the same also applies if Geitner and the administration manage to globalize our currency.

The globalization of all currency as proposed by the Chinese government and supported by Tiny Tim would be another step to take us down the road to socialism. This would ultimately devalue US currency down to the level of at least 2nd world nations such as China and Russia, and maybe even lower if the global recession continues on a downward spiral.

The effect of this on our economy would truly be catastrophic to. Prices on all sorts of items like foodstuffs, gasoline, and homes would skyrocket out of the tax payers reach. Our export markets would shrivel up, while at the same time making it all but impossible to import items to the US because the cost of transporting them here would be beyond our abilities.

Our current administrations policies towards dealing with our economy are so far to the left that even those who are openly European Socialists have said that Obama and his party’s plans for our economic recovery is the road to hell. Now I don’t know about anybody else but when those people make that distinction about our President it worries me greatly.

That is all I have to say for now and I hope you all have a fantastic day. I will be back again tomorrow, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

Finally someone is going to get to see “Hillary: The Movie”, but unfortunately it is not because it has been released for public viewing, it is because it is at the center of a Supreme Court case regarding the governmental regulation of a political film as a campaign ad. The decision in this case might well determine how people can make movies and educate the people about them.

David Bossie who is a former congressional aide produced the Clinton movie as well as another film titled “Obama: The Hype Effect”. David Bossie ran into legal problems regarding both of these films because he wanted to release them during Hillary’s run for the White House and in Obama’s case during his general election campaign against John McCain. Bossie says that both of these films are about important moments in American politics, but do not tell people not to vote for either Clinton or Obama.

“Hillary: The Movie” was originally shown in eight theaters, and Bossie’s group also wanted to run ads on television and as well as show the movie on cable TV’s video-on-demand in key election states at the height of the primary season. Unfortunately federal courts cited the McCain Feingold law saying that Bossie’s ads would violate that law.

The judges went on to say that the movie was a 90 minute attack ad ruling that if the ads appeared on TV Citizens United would have to identify its financial backers and if the movie appeared on cable television not only would Citizens United have to name it’s financial backers, but they would also have to pay the costs to air the film.

This of course prompted Citizens United to appeal to the SCOTUS arguing that their film is not a political ad, but rather a documentary style film comparable to those shown by “Frontline”, “Nova”, and “60 Minutes.” Theodore Olson who represents Citizens United stated that while “Hillary” does present a critical assessment of Clinton’s political background it does not convert the movie into an appeal to vote against Senator Clinton.

Michael Moore the filmmaker who was responsible for the controversial film “Fahrenheit 9/11” also ran into problems when he tried to air his film criticizing President Bush during the run up to the Presidential election in 2004. The people responsible for throwing up the road block that stopped Moore from airing the film was none other than Citizens United. David Bossie went on to say that Moore’s recognition of the power of documentary film is what inspired him to make this film.

Forget for the moment that this movie is nothing more than political entertainment. From what I have been able to gather it also hits the viewer very hard with the truth about Hillary Clinton and one of those truths is that she is a very dangerous, ruthless, and evil political player. She is also a politically motivated creature that just like her husband Bill Clinton craves the power that comes along with being President.

She has lied over and over to the American people on everything from Whitewater to the White House travel issue. She will say whatever she has to at the moment and hope we will forget that she said it later, and that is the truth. She is certainly one of the most liberal figures in the Democratic Party and next to Obama and almost as much a socialist as well. She is the perfect political chameleon, because you never know who she is going to turn into next.

Today is the day that the SCOTUS hears the case and I really hope that the Supreme Court treads lightly when considering this case from both sides. Not only is the infringement of free speech at risk here, but so is freedom of the press and our own right to pursue certain forms of entertainment as our pursuit of happiness all of which are guaranteed us by the Constitution.

With other films currently out there like “W”, “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “Frost Nixon”, and “An American Carol” Who has the right to say this is not politically motivated entertainment or to censor it for that matter. Is there anyone out there who knows better than you what forms of entertainment you enjoy, whether it is books, music, magazines, or movies? I don’t think so, because I know exactly what I like to watch, read, or listen to better than anyone else does.

I hope you all have enjoyed this post and the video I am including with it. Remember silencing David Bossie’s voice is the prelude to the government silencing all of us especially those of us who disagree with them. Have a terrific Tuesday, CIAO4NOW!!!!!

Citizens United: http://www.citizensunited.org

Hillary: The Movie: http://www.hillarythemovie.com

Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov

Background on the case: http://tinyurl.com/cfltx

I was looking through all of my stuff I have in a folder I call political stuff. This is a folder on my machine that I keep in the hopes of one day actually writing about some of the stuff in it. Anyway I came across a transcript of an interview between Milton Friedman and Phil Donohue that took place way back in 1979. I also found a part of that interview at YouTube and watched it and it was very interesting.

Milton Friedman born July 31, 1919 and died November 16, 2006 was an American economist, statistician and well known public intellectual. He has also won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and was well known for his research into consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy.

Milton Friedman was based out of the University of Chicago he had great influence in shaping the entire profession as well as its research agenda. He wrote many different articles, papers, and books on microeconomics, macroeconomics, economic history, and public policy issues. He also did several television, video and lectures on these subjects also. He was also a leader of the Chicago School of Economics, which is at the University of Chicago.

Milton Friedman was originally a Keynesian supporter of what was called the new deal and an advocate for higher taxes. His belief system ultimately changed and he became a staunch supporter of the capitalist system and at one point even refuted his former Keynesian beliefs by claiming that monetary policy could have prevented the great depression and said that Keynesian policies would cause stagflation.

He points out in his interview with Phil Donahue that there has been no successful economy that did not have a capitalist agenda and free trade and that history proved this theory. He also debunked Donahue’s attempt at proving that a capitalist society rewards those willing to manipulate the system and that those who can’t manipulate the system or who have higher virtues suffer.

Anyway I just thought I would write a little about this historically important figure who was instrumental to the success of our economy. If he wasn’t influenced so much by his close friend George Stigler he would not have advocated many of the policies that made our economy the envy of the world under such figures as Ronald W, Reagan our 40th President.

I am including the Donahue interview video for you to watch. I hope you all have an excellent day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!