Van Jones, an American Cry Baby

Van Jones is a typical liberal. First, his behavior is more ghetto than professional, and then when he gets called on the carpet to answer for his juvenile demeanor, he attacks those who objected to his antics.

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

Smear campaign? Lies and distortions? What did I miss here? All those videos about Columbine, crackheads, and @$$hole Republicans were "manufactured", I suppose.

The marks of a real man are not only to act appropriately, but to be accountable for one's actions. Jones can do neither. He's a pathetic excuse for an American man. The real question is why he was appointed to a position of such authority (Green Czar) in the first place.

It stinks of the Chicago politics that Obama brought to the White House and how he runs it. Somehow, none of this surprising. Very few of his appointees have paid their taxes until forced to do so to accept the job (but have no problem levying more taxes on us in fly-over country).

Jones goes on to say, "It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead."

Mr. Jones, don't drag my country's name through the mud by associating yourself with it. You have no honor and certainly no capacity for answering honestly for you misdeeds. A Harvard-educated person who signs a petition without reading it?

Sir, you disgrace this great nation and your school.

League City Police "Crack Down" on Illegal Aliens

Ah, justice at last. According to 1070 AM radio yesterday, League City, Texas police are cracking down on illegal aliens that congregate to solicit day labor work.

Of course, the illegals have been doing it for years while the law turned a blind eye to people who break the law in multiple ways - sneaking across the border illegally, working without a social security number, not paying employment-related taxes yet consuming social services, etc.

So why the sudden move by the city? According to the Houston radio station, the illegals had the gall to expand operations beyond convenience store parking lots to, gasp, the police station parking lot.

Not only were they soliciting illegal work (that's OK; wink, wink, nod, nod) but they had the nerve to actually litter in the parking lot and whistle at female police officers. Now, that's crossing the line, buster!

This is a huge problem in the entire Houston metroplex area, make no mistake about it. We've seen how it's brought down the economy in California. Yet Houston mayor Bill White continues to wear blinders and continues the city's sanctuary city stance. Pure folly.


But it's easy to take that liberal stance when you're a politician and not a carpenter, welder, or landscape worker having to compete with under-the-table workers. Yes Bill, let's keep those votes rolling in; everybody likes to have their cheap lawn mowing service.

I did a drive-by of day labor congregation spots this morning along FM 518 in League City. Sure enough, They are not in the convenience store parking lots now. They've re-located to empty lots next to the convenience stores.

I guess LCPD is really putting the fear of God into them. Unfortunately, now we are going to have a traffic issue since there is no parking lot for day labor pick-up.

As a journalistic experiment, I approached the illegals at one labor hook-up spot and asked who would be willing to take $20 for a 1 hour job. They not only laughed at me, they called me a "pinche bolillo". (They didn't realize I'm bilingual.)

Gratitude is everything, yes? I'm all for helping my fellow man, but not when he takes food off my plate, spits in my face, and my elected officials favor illegals over citizens.

Cozying up to Cuba

It's no secret that Obama wants to be embraced by his socialist and communist brethren. Since Cuba is close to home, and we have so many Cubans living in the US that would like to reconnect, his assumption that that is the place to test the waters.

After all, it stands to reason that this is where he can garner the most support. His stated objectives are to "recast" relations with the island nation, with whom we've kept in embargo status for the past 47 years.

There is good reason for that. When Fidel Castro decided to alienate his nation, remove freedoms, and oppress and starve his people, we took the high ground for moral reasons, not political ones.

Unfortunately, with Obama, ideology trumps human values.


And at the end of the day, this is Obama's fatal flaw, and it is tripping him up now. He came into office with very little experience on the state level and none on the national or global level. (Yes, he was in the senate, but he spent all that time campaigning for president.) In other words, an intellectual with no experience based in reality. Naive.

When he went on his worldwide "apology tour", bowing to Petro-tyrant kings and handing out iPods to the Queen, his assumption was that with enough kowtowing and abdicating his assumed title of Leader of the Free World, the rest of the globe's leaders would make nice with us.

But now he's starting to see that this is not how it works in the real world where political and economic reality is ruthless. His numbers are slipping into the sea, and no number of NYC fly-over pranks and beer summits will distract the American public from the fact that he is ill-prepared to lead the nation, and certainly not lead on a global level.

He is, as we say in Texas, "All hat and no cattle."

Obama and the Media Still Play Snuggle-Puppies

The recent theories being floated are that the honeymoon between President Obama and the media is ramping down. I think the media is simply miffed. After all, they threw their full weight behind the messiah to get him elected.


Now that he's in office, rather than running for office, the campaign promises are going away like so much pot smoke drifting out of the dorm rooms of a liberal university campus. And gasp! Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, was supposed to be their buddy.

After all, during the campaign, the press limited themselves to softball questions of the Democrat nominee. Shouldn't there be payback now? No, Gibbs sports an arrogant attitude when it comes to returning the favor.

He's better known for laughing serious questions off or evading them than he is giving a straightforward answer.

It's interesting to reflect on Obama's campaign rhetoric. We were going to bring the troops home. Well, actually, they might be, eventually, but it will be via Afghanistan. And while at the time this political bloviating was going on, the media was giving kudos to all the righteous anti-war liberal mobs.

"Bush evil! Bush evil!"

Hmm, now the media delights in telling us the grandmothers, veterans, and hard-working citizens that are peacefully questioning their "representatives" at town hall meetings are mobs. Those protesting against Bush were citizens using their constitutional rights.

Nancy Pelosi is down with that. She has a conspiracy theory that today's dissent is being organized by some secret wing of the Republican party. No, something that organized would take some type of community organizer, wouldn't it?



Other Democrats go so far as to compare them to Nazis. That's quite pathetic, but understandable, given the source.

Obama and the media may seem to be pouting like quarreling adolescent sweethearts, but they'll kiss and make up. And before anyone berates me for calling the president childish, it was he not I that said, “There’s something about August going into September where everyone in Washington gets all ‘wee-weed’ up."

The Recession and Recreational Activity

Everyone knows we are deep in a global recession. The two questions on most people's minds are, "How will it affect me?" and "When will it turn around and stabilize my life and 401K?"

Even the brightest economists can't touch the second question; there are too many factors and an unhealthy degree of government intervention. The answer to the second one is easier. "You'll have to tighten your belt and hang on for the ride."

One of the first things to do is cut spending on recreation. I remember the last time anything of this magnitude happened here in Houston. We are still weathering the storm fairly well due to the energy sector.

But last time, one of the first things to go was gym memberships. That put a lot of personal trainers on the street, and their talents don't translate to many other occupations.

Instead of going to the movies, fueling up the ski and fishing boats, and eating out, it's still possible to have fun on a shoestring. Public libraries are still free. So are public parks. Why not begin a fitness routine outdoors, like a beginners running program?

All that takes is a pair of running shoes and shorts. There's always a good deal if you shop around and find a New Balance Clearance Sale. Heck, you don't even have to drive anywhere. It doesn't get any easier than that!

How Dangerous will North Korea Get?

North Korea's latest missile test is problematic to say the least. Them saying they're launching for a satellite program is like saying OJ Simpson wasn't guilty (the first time, not the looney-tunes act in Las Vegas).

North Korea has arguably one of the strangest societies in the world. It's like quirkiness going exponential. The caricature that is Kim Jong il is enough to boggle the mind. The public's worshiping of him makes the whole thing stranger. If that's possible.

What do they see in him? The inner Elvis?

The question in my mind is this, "How is Obama going to handle this?" He'll be expected to be a leader. But how will he react?

He's practically advocating demilitarization, at least out of one side of the mouth. The other side is committing more action in Afghanistan and maintaining a continued presence in Iraq.

He needs to get on the stick and light the fire beneath Korea. Tell them to cease and desist. It'll be humiliating if Barak pulls another bow-at-the-hip act, but this time with Kim "Elvis" Jong il instead of the Sheik.

Obama Appoints Yet Another Tax "Mistaker"

Being a tax avoider seems to be one of the most common traits of Obama's appointments. The latest "detail overlooker" is Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius, who is the Governor of Kansas, and her husband, who is a federal magistrate judge, overlooked $7,040 in back taxes. Not just a single mistake either; they began overlooking details in 2005 and continued through 2007. Wow.

Now, I'm not trying to throw stones here; anybody can make a mistake. Some of theirs were ones that, well, I bet most of us make all the time. Especially it we're Governors and federal magistrate judges. Here's an interesting sampling of how this couple's finances went so wrong:

• Not keeping paperwork for three charitable deductions.
• Not enough documentation for various business expense deductions.
• They took mortgage interest deductions for payments they continued to make even after they sold the home. I hate it when I keep paying for a house somebody else owns! I could've had a V-8! Argg!
  

OK, I'm just wondering here. Now that the Democrats are in charge of the whole game now, and the people getting appointed and confirmed can't seem to pay their taxes, doesn't it seem logical that they might take a look at simplifying the federal tax code?

I mean, if these people are smart enough to be running the country and can't figure it out, what hope is there for us serfs?