Five Big Challenges In 2013 That Dwarf The Fiscal Cliff

Discussion of the so-called fiscal cliff has sucked so much air out of the room that many people don't realize it's not the biggest thing we face as a nation. Indeed, many challenges loom. Will we be up to them?

Read More At IBD: Click here

Will Obama and our elected representatives be up to it?       Don’t bet on it!

As a nation, not only are we over the “fiscal cliff” and “national debt cliff”, we’re over the “moral cliff” too.  If the recent elections proved anything, it is that the candidates and our voting citizens are collectively driven by one guiding light . . . What’s in it for them.  The idea of doing what’s best for the nation as a whole is long gone.  The unions and their membership vote for those who will advance the union objectives of more money and guaranteed jobs for “theirs”.  Our elected representatives vote for more votes, more money, more perks and more job security for themselves.  Our voting citizens’ vote for those candidates they believe will get them more entitlements, lower taxes and more favorable legislation on any subject they perceive as in their self-interest.  Those who did not vote disavow their moral obligation to elect representatives who will do what’s best for this country, not just for the near future but over the long haul and regardless of what “the opposition” does and says about it.

It’s about collective survival as a nation folks, not about just you or just about me!  We are all in the same boat together and we will all float or sink together in the end.  If we delay appropriate course corrections much longer, the rush for the “lifeboats” will get ugly at a very personal level.

(Un)Democratic

Read (Un)Democratic in the 9/29/11 edition in the IBD.

The editorial makes reference to an article by Peter Orszag, formerly Obama's budget director and now a vice chairman at Citigroup, who recently penned in a column in The New Republic titled: "Too Much of a Good Thing: Why We Need Less Democracy."  No joke, folks!

Want some opinions on his article?  Click Comments.

As for mine;

Pete Beck, one of the commentators, has the correct view of it in my opinion.  Unfortunately, the majority in this country play right into the hands of the ego-centric elite, be they of academia or elected government, “experts”, or wealthy power-brokers.  All are only interested in perpetuating the status quo and their own advantage.  Too many of our other citizens today remain silent on the sidelines, unwilling or unable to invest the time, energy and thought required have an effect on the outcome.  As Ted Frier, another of the commentators, put it, “(They prefer) authority, which promises to be paternal, in preference to freedom.”  When the promises prove empty and it is too late, they cry out at the injustice of it all and wonder how it all came to such an intolerable end.   “Automatic stabilizers”, more “commissions”; designed, established, selected and staffed by whom?   “Less democracy” by what authority?  Certainly not our Constitution!  Orzag is a classic example of the “revolving door” that Obama promised to correct so it is hardly surprising to hear him make such proposals.  Thanks but no thanks!  I’ll settle for gridlock and hope for a third party with enough clout to break the logjam.

Where do you fit in?

Culture Of Corruption – Another Case Surfaces

I’ve been reading Michelle Malkin’s updated book, “A Culture of Corruption”.  As if the Obama administration hasn’t already provided more than enough self-dealing examples, the most recent being the Solyndra debacle (see my 9/16/11 blog entry), now another one comes to light.  This one makes Solyndra look like a minor raid of the kitchen cookie jar!

Scandal: The Air Force's Space Command chief was pressured to alter testimony about the danger of a wireless project developed by a Democratic donor's company. Are lives as well as money being put at risk?

Crony capitalism, which has been rampant in President Obama's push for green energy, is one thing. Rewarding donors with stimulus dollars is merely the "Chicago Way" brought to Washington, D.C.

But when ideology combines with cronyism to place American lives and the nation's security at risk, it's quite another thing.        Read more at Investors.com