Barack Obama's Priorities

Today is Memorial Day, "a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service."  It is a day that, traditionally, the President of the United States attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.  Today, Barack Obama sent Vice President Joe Biden in his place because he is on vacation in Chicago.  (Link here.)

While attendance at the ceremony in Arlington is "traditional," it is not mandatory for presidents to attend.  Some do, some do sometimes, and some don't.  But the real galling thing is not that Obama skipped the event.  In fact, I give him credit for attending a ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, but America is at war in Iraq and in Afghanistan.  And there is a major ecological disaster continuing in the Gulf of Mexico yet Barack Obama is on vacation . . . again.  This is Obama's second vacation since the BP Oil rig exploded on April 20.

Two vacations in just over a month.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think the country would be better off if Obama took a lot of LONG vacations over the remainder of his term but the question must be asked . . . just what are Obama's priorities?

Now to the true priority of the day . . . to the men and women who died in service of this great country . . . may you rest in peace.  And to those of us who live in freedom because of their sacrifice . . . may we never forget.

In case you're wondering . . .

this blog is still alive.  And so am I - just very busy these days, baseball games, meetings, kids, and, occasionally, even work at my paying job.  So I haven't been keeping up with the daily blogging duties.  And now summer is just around the corner.  I don't expect to find more time.  So, to all my loyal readers out there, sorry for the days to come.  I won't be posting every night - or even every Sunday through Thursday night - as was my typical practice.  But I won't go far.  Posts will appear from time to time, maybe even often (who knows?), whenever I find the time or the impulse to write.

Please, no tears.  (And Robin Carnahan shouldn't jump for joy either.)  By the time election season heats up, I'll be back in the regular swing of things.

Justice Kagan?

It appears that Elena Kagan will be the next justice of the United States Supreme Court.  She clerked for Thurgood Marshall, worked for Bill Clinton, and currently serves as Barack Obama's Solicitor General.  And, she's only 50 years old.

Chances that this could be a good thing for conservative principles?  Or the country?

Why the left-leaning media hasn't said much about polls in Missouri's U.S. Senate race recently . . .

The above table from Real Clear Politics shows a pretty clear trend in Missouri voters from Democrat Robin Carnahan to Republican Roy Blunt.  Shouldn't that be newsworthy?  Where are the media reports?

Well, I suppose that goes without saying.

A message from Arizona to President Barack Obama and the federal government:

What happens when Christians turn the other cheek?

Link here to see.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I think that turning the other cheek is noble and the right thing to do.  It does seem rather unfair and backward, though, like life itself.

Who are the 39%?

In a poll released today by the National Journal, 39% of American voters reported being completely uninformed, biased to the gills, bribed with government handouts, or just plain stupid.  That 39% "said they would vote to re-elect Pres. Obama if the election were held today."

The truth . . . from Barack Obama's own budget director

Barack Obama's Fiscal Commission met last week.  Peter Orszag, the President's Budget Director spoke.  Surprisingly, he told the truth.  Not so surprisingly, we haven't seen much reporting of what he said.  Here are a couple of excerpts . . .

"Sustained, growing long-term deficits will increase our reliance on creditors from abroad, reduce investment in our labs, factories and businesses, and weaken confidence in the federal government's creditworthiness."

Translation:  The federal government is spending borrowed money like a bunch of drunken sailors, steadily destroying the country's economic engine, and increasing our indebtedness to the Chinese.

"Under current policies, our projected deficits amount to about 5 percent of GDP in the second half of this decade, much higher than would be prudent or sustainable."


Translation:  Unless the federal government stops spending borrowed money like a bunch of drunken sailors - soon - the country will be in deep sh#@!

Unfortunately, there is no sentiment at the White House to listen to Mr. Orzag.  It is too difficult, you see, to buy the votes the Democrats need to retain power on a fiscally responsible government.

"Simply put," Orszag said, "it may be easier to ignore long-term problems, but we will pay a severe price if we do so . . ."  (Emphasis added.  Link here.)

"Government is us."

Here's an interesting quotation from Barack Obama's commencement speech at the University of Michigan yesterday (pulled from this AP story):

"But what troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad.  . . . When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us."


That says a lot.  Where to begin . . .

First of all, Obama is so handily losing every argument against existent, rational human beings these days that he's chosen to instead argue against phantom nonexistent or irrelevant straw men.  He says that he's troubled by people saying that "all of government is inherently bad."  Who's saying that?  Nobody I know.  Nobody rational anyway.  And certainly no nationally known leader of the Republican Party.

Second, but for those folks who claim that Barack Obama is not American, I don't think anybody is calling the U.S. government a "foreign entity."  The government can be and, under Obama, seems to be gaining or solidifying the ability to menace or threaten its citizenry.  I think that America's founding fathers would be proud of those of us who remain wary of Washington's power.

Finally, Obama wants to placate fears of government power by reminding us that "government is us."  You know what, since the government is "you" right now, Mr. Obama, my fears are actually heightened at the moment.