The Occasional Observer

I enjoy a nice cigar. Tonight, I was thoroughly engrossed in smoking one. The local beer & cigar store guy recommended Avo to me. He told me the store's owner says they're better than Cubans. I picked up a No. 9 and wasn't disappointed. I'm no expert on cigars, but this one was super smooth and flavorful. I almost went back to get more.

But in case you didn't believe me, here it is.

This is how they roll in Motor City.

Laura Ingraham proves it (ht: R 4 '08)

"You are in Kansas, and I wanna go to Colorado." Classic.

You might want to offer, you know, an opinion.

I'd love to see a GOP Presidential candidate take the reins, and speak out as a leader on this issue. Not just positioning themselves against other candidates: e.g, uber-hard-ass-I-will-vote-for-nothing (Bachmann); or more-conservative-than-Mitt-but-less-crazy-than-Bachmann (T-Paw). But actually talk about the facts of the situation directly to the American people. Talk about the fact that Obama even considering tax hikes at a time like this shows just how divorced from economic reality this White House is.

And just as importantly, the fact that the White House is cynically using this opportunity to push for higher taxes and more government interference in the economy, blindly adhering to leftist ideology, at a time when we can least afford it.

Boehner is right to take taxes off the table and talk about cuts exclusively. If we can't get bipartisan movement towards entitlement reform and spending cuts in this environmen--an enviornment in which Greece, Portugal, and now Italy are on the verge of a massive margin call--well, as the President is saying, "if not now, when?"

I think this article is right on the money except for one important point. It says that Obama doesn't get that $250,000 isn't rich necessarily. I think he does get it. He knows it well. He's trying to push more people down. Right now it's a pretty even split between people paying federal income tax and people getting money/benefits from the federal government. Which group do you think will vote for Obama? How far can it go before the productive people just leave or revolt? 40% paying, 60% receiving? 30/70? We're near (or at) a point of no return where those receiving from the government will outnumber those paying so badly that it will take some sort of severe national crisis to ever start turning back the tides. The left says the Tea Party types are nuts. What they don't understand or won't publicly acknowledge is the driving desire for liberty from government.

(to be's) derrierre! Nice thong!



Royalty being sexy is kinda weird and new.

And this blog will never be the same.

See here.

Merrill Matthews at Human Events lays out why, in his opinion, Obama most fears Perry of all the potential GOP candidates.

He makes a lot of good points--the article is definitely worth a read.

Here is one plus for Perry I hadn't considered:

A full two and a half years after taking office, Team Obama still blames Bush—for everything except the fall of Adam. Well, there is one other elected chief executive who inherited a Bush economy: Rick Perry, as governor of Texas. And yet I have never once heard Perry whining that the state would be doing so much better if it hadn't been for the policies of his predecessor.

To use a football analogy—I mean, we're talking about Texas—it's not who hands you the football and it's not where the ball is handed to you, it's what you do with the ball after you have it.

Rick Perry took the ball from Bush and scored an economic touchdown for Texas. Obama took the ball from Bush and fumbled it—repeatedly—giving the other team a chance to score a touchdown.

First off, thanks to all those men and women who serve in the military protecting our freedoms, many of whom currently are in foreign lands standing in harms' way.

Secondly, well wishes go out to my fellow contributors. I hope you are all enjoying a happy and safe 4th with friends and family.

Meanwhile, in the political realm, over at Race42012.com, you can read the statements made by each of the GOP contenders regarding Independence Day. Most are brief and cookie-cutter.

Gary Johnson's, however, was longer and worth a read:

As I’ve traveled the country over the past many months, I have been known on occasion to ask crowds, given what’s going on in Washington, DC, if they want a Revolution. Now that I am a declared candidate for president, I’ve tried to cut down on the references to revolution – with the amount of travel I do, it would be really inconvenient to end up on a government watch list.

But as we celebrate Independence Day, it is entirely appropriate to consider the possibility that we need another Declaration of Independence. There’s nothing wrong with the old one. I just think we perhaps need another one.

While the list of grievances that prompted the original Declaration was quite long, and included much that doesn’t apply — yet — when it comes to our relationship with our own federal government, there are a couple that jump off the page when you look at them today.

Consider this: Much of the motivation behind the Declaration of Independence in 1776 stemmed from repressive taxation. The Tea Act, the Stamp Act…..we all remember the history lesson. What we sometimes forget, though, is what brought those taxes about: Britain was heavily in debt. Much of that debt was the consequence of having engaged in several costly wars in a short period of time – including the French and Indian War.

Lacking financing options, Britain turned to taxing the Colonies to erase the red ink – justifying it in part on the basis that the colonists were made more secure by that war. With a debt ceiling about to be breached and the government’s financing options becoming more limited, and some of the rhetoric we are hearing from the White House and others, does that scenario sound familiar or what?

Also chief among the grievances which prompted the Declaration was the chronic abuse by monarchy in Britain of its right to “Assent to Laws”. Laws passed by the colonies, before they could take effect or be enforced, had to be “assented” to by the Crown – and the Crown used that right to block the colonies from governing themselves and adapting their own laws to their own needs, innovations and best interests.

While the governance structure is a little different, is there any real dispute that our federal government has quite successfully created its own right of “Assent” in far too many areas of our lives and economy? Go to any state in the union, and you will find innovations, ideas and priorities that have the support of the legislature or governor, but which are blocked by the Feds. Health care, Medicaid, highway construction, gun rights, education, drug laws – the list goes on and on of issues in which the states are not even remotely free to act without the permission of an all-knowing federal government. Just this week, the Department of Justice once again reminded the states that implementing medicinal marijuana laws could bring the full weight of the federal government down on them. All across the country, states are having to submit health care and Medicaid plans to Washington for permission to innovate, save money, and fashion programs that might actually work without bankrupting us.

Let there be no mistake; our government in Washington has done a masterful job of reestablishing the right to Assent of Laws. We may not have to wait for the King’s blessing any more, but if you are a governor or state legislature, just try doing something innovative or important with the Assent of Washington.

And of course, there is whole notion of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Washington’s interference in those would require a book.

Yes, perhaps the time has come for a new Declaration of Independence – or at least a refresher course on the old one. The good news: As I travel the land and talk with Americans of all political persuasions and walks of life, it is clear that the same spirit of independence, the same desire for liberty, and the same willingness to push back against over-reaching government that created this great nation is alive and well today.

Americans are once again demanding Independence – and I am confident we will once again prevail.

From the AP:

(AP) CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A spray-painted sign threatening death for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents was found Friday next to a school in a northern Mexico state capital, officials said.

Addressed with profanity to "Gringos (D.E.A.)," the unsigned graffiti warned: "We know where you are and we know who you are and where you go. We are going to chop off your (expletive) heads."