Nice to see the football isn't being spiked...

I know I just wrote about this issue, but it is amazing to me that President Clinton agreed to be the spokesman for this message given he had three opportunities to remove Osama bin Laden from this world before September 11 was ever carried out and didn't execute on actionable intelligence at the time.

If he had carried out his duties as Commander-in-Chief, I think it is arguable that President Bush would never have been re-elected and arguably your Veep could have appeared stronger than he did in the 2000 general election where he lost the Electoral College by an exceptionally few votes.

White House Correspondent's Dinner

Portions of Jimmy Kimmel's speech were above the top, but as Robert Deniro said as Capone in the Untouchables "we laugh because its funny, but we laugh because its true."

Fortunately, it is a great statement that in America we can make fun of our leaders at ten feet.  It is unfortunate that they walk so easily into these jokes and do not better represent those that elected them.

It probably is a challenge defending human rights...

...while President Obama yucks it up at the White House Correspondent's Dinner while Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese dissident, is reportedly being hidden in the American Embassy in Beijing.


As media reports note,  Secretaries of State and Treasury, Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner, were supposed to be en route next week for talks with the Chinese, but now their fragile relationship might be in trouble.  The question, should be why?


During the Cold War, Ronald Reagan had no trouble bringing human rights up again and again with the Soviet Union, lecturing the Mikhail Gorbachev when they met in Switzerland.  He had no issue bringing human rights up again and again, but what will our current White House occupant do?


Given the history of recent Democratic administrations I would be shocked if they didn't hand Guangcheng over to Chinese authorities like the Clinton administration did with Elian Gonzalez.  Guangcheng is a human rights advocate who has pushed for care of those who are disabled and against forced population control measures including forced abortion.  Given the Obama Administration's love for his healthcare death panels and previous history when a provincial police chief provided information about the murder of a British businessman, it will be no surprise if Obama continues yucking it up at the expense of those who are doing what he only talks about.

A New Babysitter

Let me get this right?

• You can carry a firearm?
• You can carry a firearm on any number of flights that the rest of us can not?
• You can carry credentials that make you an agent, a special agent, of the US federal government?
• You receive a security clearance after an extensive background check and go through more than 27 weeks of specialized training?

...and you need a chaperone?

Mr. Sullivan, is this a joke?  The men and women of the US Secret Service do not need chaperones - as you are apparently directing - for your agents.  They need to remember they are in a profession that is all about honor and maybe your boys and girls need a little lesson in honor and not another babysitter.  Aren't they busy enough babysitting prima donnas to need a babysitter themselves?

I am appalled by the behavior of the gentlemen, and I use the term loosely, in Cartagena and probably in El Salvador and we could go on and on I am sure now that the lid is off.  Using the Bushido Code that followed the samurai, Honor meant you were born and bred to value the duties and privileges of your profession.

A chaperone will not fix that any more than they keep boys and girls from getting together on school band trips.  The right answer is to make sure your employees know their responsibility to not only their mission, but to their profession.

A chaperone is just another embarrassment to an organization that needs to reassert its samurai sensibility.

Abdominal Problems

So according to Time magazine via another post on the breitbart site Obama was not the "guts" of the decision in relation to Osama bin Laden afterall.

As per usual for 44, Obama is not Mr. Guts and Glory, but instead defers timing, control, and operational decisions to Admiral McRaven.  The Ben Shapiro post is totally correct on this one.  Obama claimed all the credit because the op went well, if it had gone bad it would have all over McRaven's doorstep.

It reminds me of Kennedy's response after the Cuban missile crisis when he quoted the Count Galeazzo Ciano who said, "Victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan."  Now and then it would be nice if Obama would invoke a little bit of Kennedy and learn some humility.  I am probably asking for too much, but Obama will be out of office in a very few months.  January 20 can not come quick enough!

For those of you interested enough to see it, here is the hand written memo from the DCI (Director of Central Intelligence) Leon Panetta.

So much for reality...

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, one of world's most annoying people, either is exceptionally misinformed or just plain willfully ignorant.  In a recent appearance on Fox News, Congresswoman Schultz argued that the Romney-Ryan budget plan was flawed, but had no specifics of her own on how to make a budget work.

The idea that the US Senate hasn't voted a budget up or down in three years is a joke.  You complain about the Ryan budget, but you know the only way to defeat it is via conference committee between the House and Senate when both Houses pass a bill which are not identical.  However, you haven't even passed a budget in the Senate, so...it's like they seem to teach in law school.  When you don't have the facts, argue process and the law.  When you don't have the process or the law, argue facts.  The whole thing is problematic though as the Social Security and Medicare crisis continues on as does the rest of the bloated federal government.

Yes, bloated, as in have you ever tried to get anything done via the federal government?  It isn't easy to say the least and it is often designed to make life more difficult on the person trying to correct the situation that it needs to be.  Where are the leaders?

As one commenter noted on YouTube, Congresswoman Schultz is just a talking points robot.  She has no ability to think on her own and she clearly has no desire to step up and say here is how we would do it.  She is not interested in substance or solution, just obstruction.

I Hate To Tell You, But...

I hate to be the one to tell you, but the government's subsidy of school loans is why school has doubled in cost during their lifetime.  Can I get an Amen Mr. President?

As in every other commodity out there, the price we pay for any good (or service) is determined by supply and demand.  When people say Alex Rodriguez gets paid too much money I agree with them because he cheated by taking steroids, but in general I say no, they aren't.  They are paid as the market will bear because there are a limited number of players who can consistently his Major League pitching.


All things being equal, the greater the supply of some product with a given demand, the lower the price the supplier will ask and obtain for that product. Conversely, when there is a given supply and there is a rising demand, prices increase.


Don't believe me?

If a music album downloads for $10, there will be a given number of people willing to purchase them at that price.  What happens if a third party decides to subsidize the cost of downloads and pays everyone $5 to help defray the cost of purchasing that music?  More people will now decide they can afford to purchase the latest and greatest by Justin Beiber or Coldplay or whoever. After all, these $10 downloads only cost them $5.  They will now buy the downloads even though they value them less than those willing to pay the full $10 price.  Again, don't believe me?  Check my iTunes with the ridiculous number of free downloads I have for bands I would never pay for but am more than happy to clutter my music library with because they are free.

This subsidy will of course cause sales to increase.  How long will it then take for the music producer to then raise the price to $12, $15, or even $20?  The consumer isn't feeling the pinch, so why not?

This is the basic problem with government subsidy...you alter the normal market pattern and usually not in a positive way.  This is Economics 101 and for some reason Obama doesn't seem to get it.

P.S. It is offensive Mr. President, for you to ask for an "amen" like you are a preacher when all you have done for your entire Presidency is work to further remove our country from God.  Instead of using catchy phrases, maybe a little honest prayer is in order and no, I don't mean the vile from the Rev. Wright either.

Attention To Detail

In August 2011, I was invited to the Arkansas EMT Association's annual conference in Hot Springs, Arkansas to present an all day session on leadership.  During this time, I used a lesson I learned from General Colin Powell which was about attention to your people.

The crux of his comments were that you had to pay attention to your people.  In a brain based economy, the most important thing you have is not tools or technology, but your people and their critical thinking ability.  This reminds me of a former boss I had when i was doing natural resources policy in Virginia who said our most important natural resources are our human resources.  I don't know General Powell, but in the latter case, she meant it and it was clear every day that her focus was on her people.  Not just a handshake, cup of coffee, or a hello, but a genuine, "what is going on?"

It brings me to the other point General Powell was making about leadership and people which was when folks don't bring their problems to you it is usually for two reasons.

1. Your people think you are incompetent and can't fix them, or
2. Your people don't think you care...and you can't fix them.

Both are problematic for the leader who needs his or her team to function well in an increasingly competitive environment because at that point the team doesn't think you can lead.

It seems appropriate to remember that the guy with the most cool toys or technology is only the guy with the most cool toys and technology, but if his staff isn't buying into the message otherwise or not "getting it" there should be a siren going off.  Especially when you are in public safety.

Stay safe!

American direction...

A great video from Free Market America about the environment...if there are familiar themes here, don't be surprised.  However, you should skip it if you aren't ready to watch with an open mind.