Calling Out the Mob

Last winter, as biting winds whipped snow around the federal capital, chilling news on energy was released.  The moratorium on coal fired power plants, combined with a number of forced closures, would force energy prices to rise 70 to 80 percent.  The Obama Administration last week tried to cushion the blow of higher prices with an apocalyptic prediction of climate destruction.

Ignoring Congress, the EPA manufactured a regulatory interpretation that allowed them to force plants to use sequestration technology to capture carbon.  This technology does not even exist.  Enforcing this rule will start shutting down plants whose output was necessary to maintaining power levels in the Northeast during the record cold winter.

This is, of course, done to prevent global warming.

The Heritage Foundation's Stephen Moore and Joel Griffith researched all of the climate claims used as "proof" of climate catastrophe.  Every single weather phenomenon was debunked by the article. Temperatures have neither increased, nor dropped on average in ten years.  Tornadoes do not happen with any increasing frequency.  Hurricanes have actually happened less often.

Moore and Griffith also examined Jimmy Carter's own apocalyptic climate report, predicting oil shortages and starvation in 2000.  None of the fearsome claims made by the scientists of the 1970s ever came to pass.

And they wonder why Americans view politicized science with more skepticism now.

An Article Written About West Virginia By A Connecticut Journalist With a Reply By Yours Truly

Lessons learned in West Virginia
By Christina Cio cca
Posted: 02/19/2009 08:17:54 PM EST

"West Virginia? WOOF."

This blunt and biting phrase is representative of my friends' response when I told them I'd be away for a couple of days on business in Charleston, W.Va.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," is another.

And so, with a heavy heart, I boarded my Delta shuttle at LaGuardia. My dejection came less from leaving the New York metro area, where a deathly pallor has descended on Park, Madison and even Greenwich avenues, but more because we're talking about West Virginia. For business. In my mind, there were few things further from the definition of "fun." Call me short-sighted, but the only things I have associated with West Virginia are mountains, coal mines and Habitat for Humanity.

But 24 hours later, I was encountering a different emotion. This time, it was that small euphoria that awakens when you realize that some of your deepest preconceptions are dead wrong, that you just have been taught something you didn't even know you needed to learn. These lessons are worth sharing.

First and foremost, Charleston reassured me it's possible to maintain a friendly manner, a peaceful demeanor and a low-stress lifestyle even when the country is facing "some of the largest challenges since the Great Depression," as we've heard. Speaking with some of West Virginia's business and political leaders, as I had the good fortune to do, it became clear that this news is not enough to erase a sense of optimism and hope for the future -- qualities that are
going down the drain in Washington, D.C., and the New York metro area.

Why? Perhaps because West Virginia is one of the few states that still maintains a budgetary surplus, retains a greater sense of commonality among its citizens, and borders on being "small." But I also have the feeling, after asking some questions, that it's a result of leaders joining together and approaching their state's challenges as a rational, involved, tightly knit community, one that would like to conserve what many described to me as "low-stress corporate and political life." I admit I have been working in corporate America for approximately 1 1/2 years. But I already strongly believe that this "low-stress" mentality is worth deep consideration and preservation where it already exists.

Another lesson: Leadership goes a very long way. One of my stops while in Charleston was a "viewing party" for Gov. Joe Manchin's State of the State Address. Again, I approached the experience somewhat tentatively -- how much detail did I really want or need to know about the state of West Virginia?

But as I watched the popular Democratic governor report on his state's progress, I found my mind engaged and my spirits uplifted. Here was a leader still capable of celebrating his state's achievements and laying out a series of forward-thinking, long-term goals, even while recognizing the vast challenges and sacrifices ahead. Not only was the speech delivered with energy and inspiring rhetoric, but the governor really was rooting for his state, from the lowest wage earners to those teachers responsible for raising the state's dismal educational performance to the top executives running key industries. He even gave a tribute to a University of West Virginia football player just drafted into the NFL.

Looking around the viewing party, I was struck by the number of smiles dotting the room. West Virginians were on board. A sense of possibility still seemed to exist in full force, as did my own feeling that West Virginians actually may join together to tackle the numerous challenges the governor outlined. And this is from a state that consistently has ranked among the lowest in U.S. business development.

Sadly, I am unsure that I can make similar statements about President Obama's first major press conference, where we saw not even a small glimmer of hope that our great country will come out of this crisis stronger, better and no worse for the wear. As a young American, this is a message I long to hear.

One final lesson: Friendliness goes a very long way. Walking the streets of New York City, ill humor and scowls get the gold and silver medals, respectively. Even the quaint streets of Fairfield, where my family now lives after spending most of my childhood years in Darien, have developed a bit of an edge: I recently had the door of a local retailer closed directly in my face by a disgruntled shopper. Granted, both New York City and Fairfield County are facing significant economic challenges bound to throw us all off-kilter.

Yet it was so refreshing in Charleston to have jovial conversations with cab drivers who own blueberry farms, to learn the state's political history from a camera operator while accompanying a client to a TV news interview, and to be greeted by a woman suffering from bronchitis because, "We've had such nice telephone conversations, I just had to meet you in person." These very basic elements of human kindness are not to be underestimated, especially considering today's dismal realities.

So there you have it. West Virginia in fact was one of the best times I've had in weeks. Who would've guessed?
------
Christina Ciocca is a former resident of Darien and a graduate of Greenwich Academy, Georgetown and Oxford. She now lives in Manhattan, where she works in strategic communications and public relations.

Here is my reply, posted on her newspaper:

Much of this is typical condescending Northeastern crap that West Virginians have grown accustomed to reading over the past several decades. Having spent time in Connecticut researching at Yale, I am at a loss to see where you get your heightened sense of superiority. To get there I had to run the gauntlet of the Cross Bronx Expressway, woe unto he who rolls down his or her window. Pheeewww!!!

The writer is dead on about Joe Manchin. I was in Charleston on business during his address as well. The next day I attended a gathering in his reception room where he again spoke. His emphasis on individual responsibility, his criticism of government handouts, his insistence that no one receive any help from the government unless they could prove that they had started helping themselves first were floodlights in a generally gloomy political time. I wished that, if the Democratic Party were destined to win the White House, that they would have nominated someone with experience and rock solid American economic ideals as Joe Manchin has expressed. I am sick of hearing about what I need to fear. We need to hear again that Americans have nothing to fear and will prevail. That is the difference between Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama on one hand and Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan on the other.

Please. Do not send any more young and enlightened journalists to West Virginia for personal learning experiences. Instead we will export people to your state and others to explain concepts such as the balanced budget and restrained government spending. Maybe then, the ethic of good old fashioned common sense and hard work, courtesy of your friends in the Mountain State, will help bring you out of the quagmire you all find yourselves in.

Oh, and enjoy Senator Countrywide while you are at it.

Jimmy Carter: Middle Eastern Terror's Bestest Buddy

Former president (my it hurts to admit that he was once our president) Jimmy Carter has become an advisor to the Palestinian terror group Hamas. These people, who seized power in Gaza by force, have an Israeli solider hostage. Carter advised them on what price to seek for his release.

Yes, this is the so-called "best ex-president." Right now he lies about on the Jane Fonda level of the patriot scale.

Carter met with Syrian as well as Hamas leaders, assuring all of us that these guys are not religious zealots, but wear suits. Well that is a huge relief. I don't trust just anyone. But if they wear a suit, well, that is a whole different story! Adolf Hitler wore a suit from time to time, as did Saddam Hussein (this ensemble came with fedora and shotgun, too!)

Carter is trying hard to win the "Neville Chamberlain Award" for the man who sold out his and other people's countries the most this decade.

Of course it could be worse. Obama could have made this jackleg secretary of state.

The Wisdom of Margaret Thatcher

I just started reading Margaret Thatcher: The Downing Street Years. First of all, this autobiography comes from a simply amazing individual. Thatcher's precise writing articulates a clarity of vision rarely seen in politics, but certainly shared by some of her contemporaries. It cannot be just coincidence that great visionary leaders such as this Prime Minister, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Chancellor Helmuth Kohl brought their principles and courage together to save democracy and peacefully annihilate the Soviet Empire.

The introduction of Thatcher's book strikes me as unnerving though. She describes the sharp decline suffered by Great Britain after World War II. Certainly some of that came from Franklin Roosevelt's rather predatory policies towards Britain during World War II, but most of the blame lies with the British themselves. Simply put, they lost faith in capitalism and succumbed to the utopian dreams of the Left. Will our country follow the same path despite the fact that we have enjoyed our most productive twenty-five years in history?

The welfare state bloated to the point where 30% of the British people worked for the government in some form. Heavy taxation destroyed what was in the early 1900s one of the most dynamic economies on earth. The taxes passed after World War II were very similar to the ruin that Barack Obama promises our entrepreneurial class. Government regulation forced the supposedly free market into following policies planned out by the government. By 1979 strikes paralyzed the economy and the dead even lay unburied. Such was the success of Eurosocialism in Britain.

Thatcher spoke of the Soviet Union in an interesting way. She claimed that they imposed upon themselves economic backwardness and as a result lost power. What a fascinating observation. Self-imposed backwardness is not inherent only to totalitarian regimes. Look at the current United States where we risk our economy and national security because environmentalists will not let us develop a few thousand acres out of the many millions that compose ANWAR. At least the Soviets held themselves hostage to an ideal, as mistaken as it was, it was an ideal. We hold ourselves hostage to reindeer.

She had some interesting points to make about Jimmy Carter. Thatcher said he was a likeable man with good intentions. Carter's windfall profits tax on the oil industry, passed during an OPEC price hike, caused shortages and lines at the gas pumps. He was accountable to a Democratic Party that sought to minimize as much as possible the threat posed by the USSR. In other words, Carter was in over his head. How similar was Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama? The main difference lies in the fact that Obama is beholden to anti-American moneymen such as George Soros. The scary thing about the modern day Carter is that Obama's supporters think American weakness is good for the world. Why else would they continue to oppose reforms that would strengthen our economy? Like Carter, Obama merely says that we must get used to a lower standard of living. Luckily, Carter begat Reagan and America was saved before it was too late.

The road towards a bright future runs through the Republican Party. It can only happen if Republicans and Democrats that believe in free market economics and a strong America band together to continue working towards less government and more opportunity. This takes the kind of courage shown by people willing to take criticism and even hatred. Republicans remain respected over time when they put principle in front of popularity, just like Margaret Thatcher.

Hillary Clinton Supporters Call Fox News Fair and Balanced, Indirectly

Democrats, especially those of the pantsuit persuasion, have many times over the years chided Fox News as being a bastion of conservative bias. They love bashing the network's "Fair and Balanced" slogan.

Certainly over the years Fox News has gotten its shots in at both Clintons while other networks cast a glow upon them. This primary season saw the Clinton backlash candidate within Democratic circles result in the nomination of not a formidable Clinton Part II, but of Jimmy Carter and George McGovern rolled into one vague and incomprehensible package.

Hillary Clinton thought she had this one in the bag. Based upon the media love affair with her over the years, why should she have felt any differently. Negative media coverage, not just in stories, but also photo selection, point of view, even jokes, assailed her as it normally does the GOP nominee. She found out suddenly what it was like to be a Republican.

Last week her supporters called out MSNBC and CNN for their presumed bias against her nomination. Of course they hauled out the sexist card against those two organizations. Interestingly by default she acknowledges Fox's claim of fair and balanced coverage. Stories also surfaced last week describing the possibility of retribution against those who turned on the Clintons. In our state, Governor Manchin only announced his support of Obama after receiving the blessing of the Clintons. Not that it matters since Joe Manchin would rather be seen with Mao Tse Dong at this point than Barrack Hussein Obama (of course there's not much difference between those two.)

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Speaking of disciples of Mao Tse Dong, Delegate Carrie Webster (D-Kanawha) spent over $73,000 in the primary! The party of the common man has 80% of the $1.28 million that all legislative candidates have at this point, according to Lincoln Walks at Midnight.

Voters must look past the flash and dash that the Democrats can afford and pay attention to their pro-abortion platform that also endorses the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol was voted down by the US Senate in 2000 99-0. It would have been 100-0, but Strom Thurmond was too ill to vote. It would effectively destroy much of the coal market. Additionally it would place restrictions on the US economy that competing third world nations would not be burdened with. Senators Byrd and Rockefeller as well as all our representatives voted against it.

The Barack Obama School of Diplomacy

Last week Barack Obama, in a very defensive move, lashed out at President Bush. Bush stated that some advocate negotiating with terrorist states such as Iran, but that he refused to do so. Obama naturally felt that Bush referred to his long cherished dream of someday negotiating with the only world leader currently calling the Holocaust a hoax and lashed out.

Obama angrily denied that he would ever negotiate with terrorism. Then he turned around and said he intended to open negotiations with Iran. Apparently he does not believe Iran represents a terrorist state. Iranian homosexuals might disagree, had they not been murdered or driven into hiding by the regime. The Iranian president's dream of destroying Israel might also strike some as terroristic.

To back his idea, Obama strangely brought up the Reagan talks with Mikhail Gorbachev. If Barack Obama seriously wants to compare the current Iranian leadership with former Soviet leader Gorbachev, the latter might have a great case for slander in US federal court. Reagan started out his presidency with tough talk and tougher action. He moves against Soviet designs in Grenada, helped anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan, and scared the bejesus out of them with the Strategic Defense Initiative. The Soviets spent themselves into collapse and Reagan had given the United States a position of strength from which to begin talks. A position of strength is the only one dictatorial regimes respect. Besides that, Gorbachev advocated expanding liberties and free speech. I do not see Iran's government doing the same.

Obama is not the next Jimmy Carter. He could be far worse. Obama believes that his charm and savvy would be enough to make revolutionary Iran see reason. Five presidents' best efforts tell a different story. Iran's best hope lies in the kind of quiet pressure maintained by Bush, not public enough to force a nationalist response on the part of their people but strong enough to impress the many in that country that yearn for freedom. Iran's mullahocracy may not be as stable as it looks, but giving it credibility by negotiating with it would be a huge mistake.

Our position in the world cannot afford the appeasment impulses of Barack Obama.

American Troops Continue Their Hard Work Worldwide (no thanks to the liberal media)

This week, Congress has grilled General David Petraeus, as well as other high level officials. Republicans have generally sought reassurance, as one put it, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The expected announcement of troop cutbacks comes as welcome news, but war supporters increasingly call for some idea of when Iraq will be ready for us to leave.

Democrats of course came out with their knives sharpened. Many of them almost gleefully (including some of their presidential candidates) too the opportunity to criticize without offering their own ideas. This is all too familiar territory for liberals. They attack without offering solutions of substance. They know that running away won't deter America's enemies, but it's much more important to try and win the next election.

It is interesting that the liberal media hangs on the words of a few retired generals that have not set foot in Iraq if they are critical, but ignore the facts given by the guy that has been there doing the job.

Moving Iraq into the next phase will require a massive investment in intelligence capabilities. When President Jimmy Carter pulled many of our human resources off the ground in the Middle East, he destroyed decades of work. We still have not restored our former capabilities there and reap the consequences of that president's poor decision-making. America must invest the resources, but also demonstrate the willingness to allow the CIA enough latitude to do its job. We must be willing to let them do in real life what we expect them to do in the movies. Sometimes that requires harsh measures. That, however, is how we move Iraq forward towards a successful conclusion and remove most of our ground forces.

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You will never hear about these guys on the news either, but their hard work deserves a salute.

The USNS Comfort just concluded a week long deployment in Haiti. The medical relief ship has been deployed by the Navy on a tour of the Caribbean and some Latin American nations. In Haiti the ship's staff treated over 11,000 Haitian patients in one week. Throughout the tour thus far they have seen well over 70,000. A Naval Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit went ashore to repair water facilities and work on other community projects.

Not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in so many places around the world our men and women in uniform work, struggle, and sometimes sacrifice to improve people's lives.

How Democracy Dies

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez took another step towards the final strangulation of democracy in his country this week. He announced a proposal to eliminate presidential term limits and the rubber stamp National Assembly will undoubtedly approve enthusiastically. Venezuela's people will again suffer from Chavez's quest for absolute and permanent power.

Wealthy people, private enterprise, and the middle class definitely suffer. A business climate requires the rule of law and protection of private property. Without these guarantees, investment dwindles and people lose opportunities. The poor suffer as well. They may appreciate the crumbs thrown their way by the government, but the opportunity for real advancement (except through the government) disappears. Even though Venezuela sits atop a major oil pool, the state ownership of much of that resource means that the private sector must kowtow to Chavez. One wonders if Jimmy Carter received a gift basket for his certification of the rigged vote that assured Chavez of continued power.

Term limits have generally defined the limits of our presidential system. George Washington rejected pleas for a third term because he wanted to avoid the precedent of a man serving until he died. Washington died in 1799, two years before his possible third term would have ended. Franklin Roosevelt broke the third term barrier due to an unusual national emergency and served until his 1945 death. Since then a constitutional amendment bars third terms.

America benefits from this limitation. The strain of the job wears down the holder of the job mentally and physically. Few leaders have the kind of political and state responsibilities that the American president has. Early Roman Emperors who shared their authority with other bodies provide a parallel. However the immense power drove many of them mad within their first decade of rule. Being Caesar for too long can mentally unbalance a person, or physically destroy them (like FDR.)

Chavez has few political worries except for a bullet in the head. However he presents a danger to his people and to US influence in the region. Hopefully his murder of Venezuelan democracy will inspire other Latin Americans to hold even tighter to their freedoms. Conversely he has grown into an inspirational figure for loony leftists such as the mayor of Macon, Georgia who requested a partnership with him. Does he think he can inspire revolution here? Likely. His activities require watching.

What Did He Say?

Isn't it sad when a former president has descended to the level of Rosie O'Donnell?

Jimmy Carter at one point had a fairly strong reputation among not only liberals, but also moderates. Not in 1981, mind you, when he exited office as one of the least effective presidents ever, but later. Throughout the 1980s he led causes such as "Habitat For Humanity" and endeavored to promote peace around the world. Sure he seemed misguided in some of his efforts, but even some conservatives gave him credit for having his heart in the right place.

How times have changed. The election of George W. Bush either threw a bolt loose in his gourd, or maybe it unleashed the real character of the man already there. All the world knows Hugo Chavez for what he is, a brutal dictator in Venezuela. Democracies shy away from him; dictators cuddle up to him. Only Jimmy Carter would certify one of his "elections" as valid. He did so in an effort to embarass Condoleeza Rice who criticized Chavez for election violations that would have made Don Chafin blush.

Recently Carter condemned the United States and Israel for not treating Fatah and Hamas as equals. Say what? In the emerging Palestinian state two factions exist. The Fatah Party comes closest to committing to democracy and peaceful engagement with Israel. Hamas makes its political statements by sending suicide bombers into places where Israeli teenagers congregate. Of course you encourage the peacemakers and try to discourage those bent on killing Jewish kids and destroying Israel.

Either Carter is confused in his mind, or once again he wants to try to embarass President Bush. Whatever his true intentions, the former President has lost most of his credibility. Now, like O'Donnell, people just wait for the next crazy thing to pop out of his mouth.