There’s a Difference Between Vetting and Smearing

January 31, 2012 | Filed Under Elections, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, President, Republicans | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

Call it wishful thinking. Call it expecting the campaigns to honor what the American people have been demanding for several election cycles. Call it what you will, but I admit, I am one of the life-long Conservatives and Republicans who finds the attack ad blitz being perpetrated by our GOP presidential candidates against one another over-the top and, quite frankly, embarrassing. It is one thing to illuminate an opponent’s past record, even his past behavior where it applies to his ability to execute elected office, but it is quite another to engage in the slash-and-burn, win-at-all-cost political tactics of the Progressive Left. We, as Conservatives and as Republicans are better than that…we have to be.

The recent exchanges between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich about lobbying, taxes, who is more Conservative than who, etc., serve as a perfect example of destruction (read: negative) politics. Truth be told, aside from the fact that we now know Newt Gingrich had a rider in his consulting contract with Freddie Mac that prohibited him – or any of his team – from lobbying, and aside from the fact that we now know venture capitalist Mitt Romney is wealthy and pays the least amount of taxes legally possible, what did we learn from any point brought up by either candidate that weighed heavily on the negative?

For the record, being a venture capitalist is not only legal, when done in a responsible manner, i.e. when done successfully so that investors glean profits from companies that are set on the path to prosperity, they create employment opportunities and products that help the Capitalist economic cycle. The last time I checked the United States employed a Capitalist economic system, much to the chagrin of the Progressive Left.

An ‘Axelrod-esque’ Moment for Gingrich

January 20, 2012 | Filed Under Conservatives, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, President, Republicans | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

Almost on the eve of the South Carolina GOP Primary, ABC News is set to televise an interview with Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, where she claims the presidential contender asked her for an “open marriage” so that he could see the woman that would become his third wife, Callista. Truth be told, this is a re-hashed interview, the original having run in Esquire Magazine in 2010. Which leaves us this to consider: the execution and airing of this interview is either an attempt by a woman scorned to even the score, a politically motivated hit-piece, or both. Whichever it turns out to be, the one thing it won’t be is a game changer.

That Newt Gingrich has had marital issues in his past is common knowledge. Anyone shocked by this news should not consider themselves well-informed. Anyone offended by the marital transgressions of his past should heed the words from a follow-up Esquire Magazine article:

“…Love makes fools of us all, etc., and liberals who believe in parole and rehabilitation really should think at least once before they snicker at the religious folks who have decided to believe in Newt’s remorse for his past behavior.”

In a recent article titled, Political Baggage: Establishment & Media Manipulation, in which I wrote about Mr. Gingrich’s infidelity issues, juxtaposing them to the sexual peccadilloes of myriad Democrat and Progressive politicians, I argued:
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Raiding of the Treasury to Bribe the Irresponsible

January 19, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Congress, Crony Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Liberals, President, Taxes | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

A little publicized political story, if played out to the satisfaction of California Democrats (read: Progressives), would not only set the stage for a politically motivated raid on the US Treasury, it would afford President Obama, his administration and political operatives plausible deniability in any “coincidental” benefit to Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign. And if you don’t think that has David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe salivating, you haven’t been paying attention for the past three years.

According to a report by TheHill.com:

“A long list of California Democrats is urging President Obama to name a new housing regulator using a controversial recess appointment.

“In a letter to the president, more than two dozen House members said the temporary head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Edward DeMarco, simply hasn’t done enough to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The lawmakers are pushing the president to name a permanent director ‘immediately.’

“‘FHFA has consistently and erroneously interpreted its mandate far too narrowly and as such has failed to take adequate action to help homeowners,’ the lawmakers wrote. ‘Installing a permanent director of the FHFA will allow the FHFA to move forward to make key decisions that will help keep families in their homes and improve our economy.’”

Okay, let’s first examine the FHFA. According to their website:
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Promises, Promises: The Reality of Campaign Speak

January 11, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Communism, Constitution, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, DOJ, Economy/Finances, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Socialism, Taxes | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

As the campaign cycle progresses we are going to hear a lot about what one candidate or another is going to do about this or that. We will, to the point of weariness, be inundated with campaign promise after campaign promise, albeit, between gratuitous attacks, both political and personal. This is politicking and the American electorate – for better or for worse – has come to accept a certain amount of it from the people in the political class. But expecting grandiose pledges and believing in the unattainable, well, those are two different things. It is the truly foolish who believe half of what a political candidate says he can deliver, and the blame for that foolishness must fall on the shoulders of the individual voter.

While Presidents sign legislation into law, it is Congress – the House and the Senate; the Legislative Branch – that actually crafts and passes legislation. Therefore, any promise made on the campaign trail by a presidential candidate, be it by the incumbent or the challenger (or the field of candidates vying to be the challenger), is subject to the debate and acquiescence of those in the Legislative Branch; in Congress. It is because of this that any promise made by a presidential candidate must be received by the voting public as more of an intention, rather than a promise. To accept a campaign promise as an impending reality is to set oneself up for almost certain disappointment. And to blame a successful candidate for not living up to those campaign promises requires a level of certainty that the promise was actually ignored, not thwarted.

A good example of campaign promises thwarted comes in the form of the Republican TEA Party supported congressional freshman class who, during the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, promised to “repeal or defund Obamacare” and to “bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.” Each of those elected sincerely believed that they would be able to succeed in doing what they promised. In fact, HR2 of the 112th Congress did, in fact, attempt to repeal Obamacare and many of the TEA Party supported members of the House took it straight on the chin during the debt, deficit and budget debates. But for all of their good intentions and actions, the freshmen Republicans of the 112th Congress learned that unless you have a veto-proof majority in the House, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and a friendly inhabitant in the White House, absolutes in campaign promises do not exist.

The same must be said about the Executive Branch and the President of the United States, although he has some additional quivers in his pouch where getting his way is concerned: the bully pulpit (self-explanatory) and the Executive Order.

So, What Actually Came of the ‘Shellacking’ of 2010?

January 4, 2012 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, House of Representatives, Republicans, Senate | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

We were so full of “hope” for “change.” No, I am not talking about the election of Barack Obama, one of the most effective Progressive presidents in American history. I am speaking of the excitement felt within the Conservative, Libertarian and Center Right and Left political communities after the 2010 election delivered the House and a non-filibuster proof Senate to the American people. Finally, most of us thought, some balance in the federal government. Maybe, just maybe, the Progressives and Liberal Democrats in federal government would be forced to the ingenuous table of true and honest compromise; compromise fitting of a truly free people. But, as we look back over the year, what did we really get for all that so-called “compromise?”

With Republicans in control of the US House of Representatives, the body where – by the mandate of the US Constitution – all legislation relating to revenue is to begin, many on the Right and in the Center believed that the reckless and spendthrift fiscal actions of the 111th Congress would be constrained if not reversed. With a sizable number of new members identifying with the oft demonized TEA Party, there was high hope for a glimmer of fiscal sanity to emerge from the halls of Congress. And while the TEA Party members of Congress are to be congratulated for doing exactly what their constituents sent them to Washington to do, in the end, they were thwarted by establishment, inside the beltway Republicans and the despotic obstructionism foisted upon them by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-NV, (to be fair, Reid was aided by a less than reform-minded Republican leadership in the senate, led by Mitch McConnell, R-KY).
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I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

December 24, 2011 | Filed Under Christmas, Frank Salvato, Holiday | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

I was checking out at a store earlier this week and as the transaction was coming to a close the cashier handed my receipt to me and said, “Happy Holidays!” I looked into her smiling face and asked, “What holiday?” She looked at me with a quizzical look and said, reminiscent of Tiny Tim of A Christmas Carol lore, “Why, Christmas, of course.” With a big grin I said, “Indeed!” We both knew exactly what I meant by both the question and the answer.

It is easy, as we navigate our daily lives, to forget about things that, in the end, are more important than the many lesser and/or trivial things that we elevate to crisis. While the attacks on our nation from nefarious forces, both ensconced in our governmental complex and from abroad, are important issues, and ones we should indeed concern ourselves with, many of us forget to count our blessing each day; we forget to be thankful for all that we have. Even in these trying economic times, there are genuinely more valuable and precious things among our immediate surroundings; things like family, friends and the many things held in common by those who love our country; by those who love life.

The subject matter we address daily on these pages is always of a serious nature; of subjects that present clear and present dangers to freedom, to liberty and to our very unique American way of life. We, as the editor’s, writers and publishers, expect our readers to be more than consumers of the information we provide, we expect you to be advocates for freedom, liberty, fair opportunity for all and for our Charters of Freedom; we expect you to be advocates for honesty and truth; we expect – and we trust that you are – role models for all that you would like our nation and our society to be.

Eating Our Own & Providing Strategy

December 19, 2011 | Filed Under Conservatives, Elections, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President, Republicans, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

One cannot turn on the television or radio without some talking head or so-called political analyst pontificating about how Newt Gingrich is grandiose, how Mitt Romney isn’t really a Conservative – and how they both have flipped on several issues – or how Ron Paul’s foreign policy is isolationist. Glenn Beck, to many people’s extreme disappointment, even went so far as to call Speaker Gingrich a Progressive (I guess ratings are down as GBTV). It makes for good news show content, to be sure. In certain respects there is truth to the critiques. But this hyper-critiquing and self-immolation also does two things that Conservatives and Republicans fall prey to each and every time the General Election cycle comes calling: It deflects from addressing the differences between the GOP field and the opposition; and it provides the opposition with talking points, opponent research and the luxury of hiatus.

Make no mistake, the primaries are where each party – when not in incumbency – needs to critique and evaluate their prospective candidates. A hard-fought primary, when devoid of “it’s my turn” establishment national party politics, usually results in the fielding of the best candidate, and a candidate who is sufficiently prepped to engage in the “main event.” But there is a difference between an intellectual meeting of the minds, where policy differences and a juxtaposition of experiences are proposed, examined and debated, and the childish, nonsensical “braggateering” (to coin a word); of trading insignificant insults; of executing a campaign of personality-based mudslinging.

As we approach the actual start of the primary cycle – yes, we haven’t begun the cycle just yet – this act of political stupidity is coming into play, yet again, among the front runners for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination.

History & The Eye of Newt

December 15, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Semitism, Frank Salvato, History, Israel, Palestinians | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Former US House Speaker and GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich was instantly assailed by a plethora of people for statements critical of the modern-day understanding of the Palestinian history. From Palestinian Authority leaders, to mainstream media political analysts and even those who share the GOP presidential primary debate stage with the former Speaker, each offered denunciation ranging from outright condemnation of Mr. Gringrich’s statement to disagreement based on its diplomatic political incorrectness. But, the fact of the matter is this: Mr. Gingrich’s history on the matter is solid.

In the interview with The Jewish Channel, Gingrich said:

“Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community…And they had a chance to go many places. And for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940′s, and I think it’s tragic.”

He went on to say that it is “delusional to call it a peace process,” pointing out that the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority and Hamas “represent an enormous desire to destroy Israel.”

Anyone debating the base declaration of Mr. Gingrich’s assertion – that there has, through history, never been a Palestinian state – is either disingenuous or an extremely poor student of World History.
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Political Baggage: Establishment and Media Manipulation

November 22, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Communism, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Mitt Romney, Republicans | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

As the 2012 Election primary seasons begins to ratchet-up, we had all better get ready for a onslaught of talk about “political baggage.” Whether it’s Mitt Romney’s “Louis Vuitton baggage” of having hired illegal aliens to manicure his lawn or Rick Perry’s “Cabela baggage” of having not painted over a racial epitaph on a rock outside a family hunting lodge or the “Bebe baggage” leveled at Herman Cain in the form of as of yet unsubstantiated accusations of sexual misconduct against disgruntled, Democrat operative represented, former employees, the political baggage angle is one that has toppled solid political candidates in the past and, if left unaddressed, will topple solid Republican candidates in the 2012 election.

As with all political baggage, there is always some truth to the matter. Mitt Romney’s landscaping company did, in fact, break the law by hiring illegals to work on their crews. Gov. Romney, after warning the company that he could no longer employ their services should they continue the practice, terminated their services when it was found that they continued to employ illegals. And while it may have been true at one time that a rock outside of a family hunting lodge owned by Gov. Perry’s family did offer-up a racial insensitivity, the offending label was painted over years ago. And Mr. Cain? Well, to date no substantial evidence has surfaced but for a Gloria Allred represented repeat complaint filer’s word…you make that call.

The constant in each of these instances is a bloodthirsty media all too anxious to bring to trial in the court of public opinion those who possess an alternate political philosophy, regardless of fact or evidence. Today, unless you live in the squalid “utopia” that is an #Occupy encampment, it is universally recognized that but for a very few mainstream news media outlets the global community of journalists – and I use the word “journalist” for lack of a better term, although propagandist would be more appropriate – leans so far Left that they have to crane their necks just to see where Ché Guevara once stood. That acknowledged, these “journalists” target Conservatives, Libertarians, Constitutionalists and all others of a non-Progressive (read: neo-Marxist) bent. And one of their favorite tools is being able to define the “electability” of candidates.

The Triangulation of the ‘Occupy’ Movement

November 17, 2011 | Filed Under Banks, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, New York City, Taxes, Unions | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Throughout the painful and paradoxical existence of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) we have been told by those in the mainstream media, as well as by sympathetic politicos, that at its root, at its genesis, the OWS Movement was both organic and legitimate. We were told that the movement was exclusively about a rebellion against high unemployment and crony Capitalism, even as those championing the cause disingenuously blurred the line between crony Capitalism and Capitalism. But, an honest examination of the underlying goal(s) of this movement – and who is serving to advance its agenda – exposes a nefarious, deceitful and dangerous reality.

The notion of “triangulation” is not new to American politics. Savvy politicians have triangulated messages and circumstances to their benefit ever since the creation of our country. One needs look no further than the debates that took place over the creation of the US Constitution to understand that even though our Framers and Founders were dedicated to their principles and positions, they were willing to employ rhetorical leverage to achieve their goals. Alexander Hamilton was a master at message triangulation.

Perhaps the most contemporary politician to masterfully employ the art of message triangulation was former Pres. Bill Clinton. In pursuit of re-election in 1996, Clinton senior advisor Dick Morris advocated for a set of statements, a set of policies, that differed from those of his fellow elected Democrats. These policies, which pandered to the ideological Middle and Right, included deregulation and balanced budgets, culminating in the false declaration, included in Mr. Clinton’s 1996 State of the Union Address, that the “era of big government is over.”

When Government Knows No Limitation

November 3, 2011 | Filed Under Constitution, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Frank Salvato, Government, Corruption | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

I was once told by someone involved in a federal investigation not to let any identified federal law enforcement officer into your house without: a) a warrant, and, b) your lawyer present. At the time this notion seemed a bit less than cooperative, to wit: shouldn’t law abiding citizens be able to live their lives free from the fear that our own government would underhandedly manipulate our rights in their pursuit of an investigation? After all, the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution enumerates a limitation on the federal government; a limitation that prevents “unreasonable search and seizure.” Today, this enumerated protection is being ignored by – of all institutions – the US Justice Department, under the darkened shadow of Attorney General Eric Holder.

A recent column by The Atlantic’s Emily Berman, a Furman Fellow and Brennan Center Fellow at NYU School of Law, informs the citizenry:

“It just got easier for the federal government to collect information about innocent Americans — and those Americans have had surprisingly little say in the matter.

“On October 15, the FBI reportedly implemented new rules that relax restrictions on, and oversight of, the FBI’s intelligence collection activities. Although they are not available to the public, reports indicate the changes permit FBI agents to search an individual’s trash with the goal of finding material that might pressure him into becoming a government informant, grant agents the authority to search commercial or law enforcement databases without first opening an investigation, and reduce the type of investigations subjected to heightened oversight because of their relationship to protected First Amendment expression, association, or religious practice.

“This is the third modification of the FBI’s intelligence collection authorities since September 11, 2001. First in 2002, again in 2008, and finally, just last week, amendments were adopted with scant public attention and with minimal — if any — congressional involvement. Groups and communities concerned about the new rules’ impact on civil liberties, particularly the risk of religious or ethnic profiling, also had no constructive input.”

Granted, there continues to be debate surrounding the PATRIOT Act, signed into law after the jihadist attacks of September 11, 2001. Debate is good. It helps all involved – citizenry, government and advocacy groups, to present cogent arguments in pursuit of protections for the US Constitution and the whole of the Charters of Freedom. But the PATRIOT Act, whether you agree with it or not, was the result of a direct enemy attack on our country; it was in pursuit of protection for our citizenry. And while it may need to be refined, it is a completely different matter from the federal government usurping enumerated limitations on federal authority and protected rights to extract information from an American citizen who is not officially under investigation; to coerce an American citizen in matters not related to national security, and even then without due process.

Why Democracy Is Dangerous for the ‘Arab Spring’

October 26, 2011 | Filed Under Afghanistan, Africa, Democracy, Egypt, Foreign Countries, Foreign Policy, Frank Salvato, Government, Corruption, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

There is a concerted movement that began in earnest with the Progressive Era to identify the United States of America as a Democracy. To be sure, this movement has made great strides in convincing the American citizenry of just that. This movement has been so successful in delivering this message that Democrats, Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives have, throughout history – and even up to and including today, have identified our American form of government as that of being a Democracy. There is even an initiative promoted by our federal government to export “Democracy” throughout the world. Today we see this initiative playing out in the Middle East and North Africa. There is only one thing wrong with all of the above and the problem exists at the root: The United States of America is not a Democracy; it never has been and, God willing, it never will be.

Democracy has always, throughout history, served as a gateway to despotism. This is primarily because Democracy is tantamount to “mob rule,” or government by the majority. In a government ruled by the will of the majority – a Democracy, the rights of the minority are not guaranteed and are often neglected or even ignored by those who hold power, most often in pursuit of keeping or maintaining that power.

Additionally, in a Democracy, because it is essentially government by the will of the majority, government has no constraints. If fifty-one percent of the people – or a plurality of the people – can be persuaded to believe a particular avenue of thinking; convinced that a certain law is “necessary,” it becomes the policy of the government or the law of the land, regardless of whether or not the minority’s rights have been usurped or protected.
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When the Greedy Feign Outrage

October 13, 2011 | Filed Under Banks, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Security/Safety, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

“Greedy: Excessively or inordinately desirous of wealth, profit, etc.; avaricious.”
– Dictionary.com

By now, no doubt, you have heard about the “incredible” Occupy Wall Street Movement taking place on and around Wall Street; a movement whose organizers claim is “organic” and spreading across the globe, not unlike the so-called “Arab Spring.”

There are a few problems with this claim, however. First, the movement is anything but “organic.” And second, for the most part, the “Arab Spring” has facilitated the rise of radical Islamist factions to the courts of power. Incredible indeed.

The “movement” is incredible for many reasons; incredible in that what we are being asked to believe the impossible or very difficult to believe, via the reporting in the mainstream media and declarations issued from the movement’s organizers. Interviews with a credible sampling of those in attendance prove that many participants don’t even know why they are there but for it being “the place to be” for the terminally and youthfully disgruntled.

The Idea of the ‘Fair Share’

October 5, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

We’re hearing an awful lot about the “wealthy” paying “their fair share” where taxes are concerned. Pres. Obama and his Progressive and liberal Democrat brethren have perfectly coordinated their talking points to affect a campaign of undefined and reckless class warfare against the productive class, doing so for the sole purpose of political gain. Expectedly, Mr. Obama presents a Janus face: denying out of one mouth that he is utilizing class warfare; demonizing the producers out of the other.

In announcing his new, but all too familiar, deficit reduction plan on September 19th, Mr. Obama said:

“This is not class warfare, it is math…All I’m saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay their fair share in taxes…We can’t just cut our way out of this hole… It is only right we ask everyone to pay their fair share…We can’t afford these special lower rates for the wealthy. We can’t afford them when we are running these big deficits… Middle class taxpayers shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to argue against that…”

Of course, an honest man would admit that the federal government is spending way, way, way beyond its means. An honest man would admit that the federal government has gone far, far, far beyond its constitutional mandate in providing special interest programs that would be better suited for private sector benevolence organizations. An honest man would acknowledge the fact – the fact – that the federal government, now hijacked by the political correctness of Progressivism, has ventured into social engineering via its “social justice” campaign and departed, to a great degree, from the vision of federal government established by our Founders and Framers.

Framing the Election Before the Progressives Do

September 28, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

There is a great discontent emanating from the Democrat and Progressive base regarding President Obama’s performance, a demographic he desperately needs if he is to succeed in his bid for re-election. Many in the traditional Republican circles, especially the so-called Republican strategists, argue that Republicans could run a teleprompter-reading “animatron” and win in 2012. This is a foolish and dangerous position to espouse but one that should come as no surprise. Republicans, since their first days as a party, have honed the skill of shooting themselves in the foot to perfection. If Conservatives and Republicans don’t wake-up, evolve in their media tactics, get ahead of the message, frame their opponents and mandate the argument before the Progressives do, we could very well find Barack Obama taking the Oath of Office in 2013.

Steve Chapman, no stranger to the Chicago Progressive crowd, wrote in The Chicago Tribune:

“The vultures are starting to circle. Former White House spokesman Bill Burton said that unless Obama can rally the Democratic base, which is disillusioned with him, ‘it’s going to be impossible for the president to win.’ Democratic consultant James Carville had one word of advice for Obama: ‘Panic.’
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Now Is the Time

September 21, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Nanny State, President, Republicans, Senate, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Unless you’ve been living under a soundproofed rock for the past two and a half years you know that the approval rating for our nation’s politicians is pathetically low. President Obama’s approvals are hovering around 44 percent while Congress’ approval rating hardly shows-up on the radar screen at 13 percent, and rightfully so. Those elected to federal office (and for that matter, the many State houses) have ignored the basic responsibilities of their offices – to represent their constituencies – and have, instead, arrived inside the Washington DC beltway to execute their stations in the best interests of their political parties and associated special interest groups.

Incredibly, some in the political talking-head and spin doctor class try to explain away the dismal approval ratings as repercussions from the maladies of our time; they try to rationalize that the cause of public discontent, where their elected officials are concerned, is more about an unsophisticated and less realistic interpretation of all the bad news emanating from across the world. These contentions might very well be true if it weren’t for the truth of extremely elevated non-approval ratings received by the elected class. President Obama’s negatives are over 50 percent and Congress’ negative rating is at a stunning 83.5 percent. In fact, the only leader not to have a negative rating over 50 percent is House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who stands at 41 percent.

Keep in mind that, traditionally, approval ratings can bounce up and down quite erratically, but once a voter has established a negative view of a candidate it is very hard to flip that view to the positive. It is for this reason that a unique opportunity presents itself; an opportunity that even the doomed politician can use to throw a lifeline to his or her legacy.
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‘On a Day When Others Tried to Divide Us’

September 11, 2011 | Filed Under 9/11, Anti-Americanism, Anti-Semitism, Democrats/Leftists, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, History, Liberals, Security/Safety | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

“…on a day when others tried to divide us, we can regain the sense of common purpose that stirred in our hearts 10 years ago. As a nation, we face difficult challenges, and as citizens in a democratic society we engage in vigorous debates about the future. But as we do, let’s never forget the lesson we learned anew 10 years ago — that our differences pale beside what unites us and that when we choose to move forward together, as one American family, the United States doesn’t just endure, we can emerge from our tests and trials stronger than before. That’s the America we were on 9/11 and in the days that followed. That’s the America we can and must always be.”
– Pres. Barack Obama, USA Today, Sept. 8, 2011

Ten year have passed since the Islamist attacks on the United States of America; attacks that killed 2,977 people in New York, Washington, DC and Shanksville, PA. Since that time we have routed the Taliban from their haven in Afghanistan, dispatched Osama bin Laden to the icy deep and lopped off many of the heads of the Islamist terror hydra. We have grown as a people to better understand the dysfunctional relationship that the Islamic theo-political dogma has with Western Culture. And we have done our best to attain closure, for ourselves, for our society and for our country.

But closure can be hard to attain when there are no bodies to bury and no pointed victory over a vanquished foe. And when closure alludes because of unresolved issues we must always re-examine the event; the moment; the realities.

Special Interest Racial Incitement at Its Peak

September 9, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Race | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

If you thought the class warfare tactic was being used successfully by the Progressive Left to instigate strife between the upper and lower classes in the United States you need to re-examine what you think you are seeing. With declarations by three Congressional Black Caucus Progressives that target the TEA Party, we witness a pathetic attempt by special interest Progressive Leftists to re-package the contrived charge of racism against what is essentially Middle Class America.

Over the past two weeks we have experienced some incredibly caustic declarations by three Congressional Black Caucus members: US Rep. Maxine Waters (P-CA), US Rep. Frederica Wilson (P-FL) and US Rep. Andre Carson (P-IN). All three, evidently, have little respect for their own President who, just after the shooting of US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), called for “toning down the rhetoric.”

On August 20, 2011, while speaking to a friendly audience at a Los Angeles “community summit,” Maxine Waters, a member of both the Progressive and Congressional Black Caucuses in the US House said:
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Western Unrest and the Failure of Social Engineering

August 19, 2011 | Filed Under Britain, Budget, Cities, Communism, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, EU, Europe, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Nanny State, Socialism, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

While the world mainstream media is focused on the unrest that has plagued Great Britain, they are delinquent in reporting on societal unrest elsewhere in the Western world. In Chile, tens of thousands of students staged violent protests, demanding changes in government-funded public education. In Philadelphia, a rash of “flash mob” incidents has forced that city’s mayor to impose curfews for teenagers in several neighborhoods. And in Milwaukee, authorities are investigating a string of mob-like actions involving large groups of predominantly black teenagers near the Wisconsin State Fair, leading one City Alderman to attributing the violence as a sign of “deteriorating African American culture in our city.”

In all of these instances – from London to Milwaukee, Santiago to Philadelphia, one common factor exists: Young people, who have been endowed with a falsely elevated sense of self-esteem, are narcissistically demanding more from a grossly over-extended government entitlement system instituted by Progressives to create a dependent populace. Why would anyone want to create such an unstable and dangerous societal atmosphere? Power.

In its detailed examination of Progressivism, DiscoverTheNetworks.org, states:
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The Stunning Demonization of Fiscal Responsibility

August 13, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, President, Republicans, Senate, Taxes, Tea Party | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Just when you thought the Progressive Movement could be more deeply invested in denial, now comes the absurd notion that somehow, the TEA Party Movement, whose pinnacle tenet is fiscal responsibility; which has devoutly insisted that the federal government cease the practice of spending beyond the tax revenue it gleans from taxpayers, that somehow it is the TEA Party Movement and their affiliated members of Congress who are responsible for the downgrade in the US credit rating by S&P and not the glad-handing spendthrifts of the big government, nanny state Progressive Movement.

“Bottom up, top down…inside out.”

Shameless partisan, Chicago Progressive operative and former senior advisor to Pres. Barack Obama, David “Say Anything, Lie, Cheat and Steal to Win” Axelrod is quoted as saying, “The fact of the matter is that this is essentially a Tea Party downgrade.”

Long Live the ‘Boogie’ Man

August 9, 2011 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Nanny State, President, Republicans, Senate | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

There is a lot of talk about our politicians today. Some of what I hear is good but a majority of what I hear is awful, as in we’re pretty upset that our elected class has taken to making excuses for not executing the will of their constituents, abdicating their responsibilities only to position for re-election and bolster their political parties. This happens on both sides of the aisle so, no, this isn’t a hit piece on one party of the other. It is a request that elected members of both parties stop, just for a minute, and examine their motives. Just what is the purpose of government; what are you trying to achieve?

In the wake of all of the rancor that surrounded the debt ceiling debate and subsequent legislation – a piece of legislation only eclipsed in poor quality by the partisan posturing that preceded its enactment – one thing has become quite apparent: the United States federal government has moved completely away from “protecting and serving” the American people and has, instead, become an exercise in societal engineering and transformation.

It is an exercise in societal engineering because increasingly we see elected officials unmasked only to be found zealous ideologues hell-bent on making people believe what they believe. It is almost the exact opposite of what representative government is supposed to be. In a true representative government the elected officials actually represents his or her constituents; he or she stands to express the concerns, fears and intentions of those who he or she represents, thus the moniker “public servant.”

Mandating the Future to Kow-Tow to Now

August 5, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

What is being termed a “historic debt ceiling compromise deal,” complete with backslapping and self-congratulations at the highest levels, is being considered by the Senate and the House rank-and-file. And consider they will. With many provisions going against the principles of both the TEA Party contingent and the far-leftist Progressive faction, there is a lot to consider. Significantly, lost in this “grand compromise” are these facts: a) Almost all of the spending cuts trumpeted as victory for the TEA Party Movement come after the 2012 General Election and with the election of a new Congress, b) The agreement does not eliminate deficit spending, rather, it simply lowers the amount of deficit spending, and c) Because the agreement doesn’t reach the $4 trillion mark mandated by the ratings agencies there is still a chance for our nations credit rating to be downgraded.

Perhaps the most significant issue in all of this is that for all the talk of not wanting to “kick the can down the road,” this agreement “kicks the can down the road.” Why do I say that? I say that because one Congress cannot mandate a future Congress to do anything. Short of a constitutional amendment that includes triggers that would apply devastating consequences outside the manipulative reach of any future Congress – or the Executive Branch – future Congresses don’t have to honor anything passed by previous Congresses. A perfect example comes in the form a the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which mandates that Congress must complete its annual budget resolution by April 15th. Even though there is an enforcement mechanism – a punishment for not achieving this goal – in that if Congress fails to pass a budget resolution, legislation that affects budgetary matters cannot be considered, today, the 111th Congress has essentially ignored the law, having been delinquent in passing a budget for over two years running.

The Debt Ceiling Is Actually Not the Issue

August 1, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Republicans, Taxes | 1 Comment

-By Frank Salvato

As we tick-tock toward August 2nd, the day President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner have set as the day the Executive Branch will have to start prioritizing expenditures – establishing what programs are covered exclusively by actual tax revenue and not borrowed money, we approach an artificial deadline for a secondary issue created by a much more systemic national malady. Where the news media and elected officials argue, whine and mislead on the issue of raising the federal debt limit ceiling, the debt ceiling isn’t even close to the issue that all inside the beltway, but for the TEA Party, are refusing to address seriously: overspending.

Many on the Left side of the aisle have been caught rationalizing the need to raise the debt ceiling by noting it has been raised 78 times since 1960 – 49 times under Republican presidents, and 29 times under Democrat presidents, an irrelevant attribution due to the fact that Congress holds the power of the purse, not the Executive Branch. In fact, if one wants to split hairs about which party has presided over the majority of debt ceiling raises, and, consequently, which party has presided over the most deficit spending, it would be more accurate to point out that Democrats, from 1960 to 2010, have held the majorities in the Senate for 36 years and the House for 41 years. Ergo, Democrats and Progressives are far more to blame than Republicans for bringing the nation to the precipice of financial ruin.

Obstructionist Politics: Denying a Vote

July 31, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Just minutes after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) tabled (read: killed) the second piece of legislation presented by the House to his chamber addressing solutions to the politically manufactured debt ceiling â€œcrisisâ€ â€“ legislation crafted through not only bipartisan negotiations among members of the House, but bipartisan consultation with Senate members â€“ Mr. Reid had the unmitigated gall to infer that Republicans were being â€œobstructionist.â€

As reported in the Washington Times:

â€œRepublicans offered to let the vote happen Friday night, just minutes after the chamber voted to halt a House Republican bill. All sides expect Democratsâ€™ bill will fail too, and the GOP said senators might as well kill both at the same time so that negotiations could move on to a compromise.

â€œâ€˜We would be happy to have that vote tonight,â€™ Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republicansâ€™ leader, offered.

â€œBut Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid objected, even though the vote would occur on his own bill. He instead said the chamber would have to run out the full procedural clock, which means a vote in the early hours Sunday morning.

â€œHe said he would be willing to move up the vote if Republicans didn’t insist on a 60-vote threshold, which has become traditional for big, controversial items to pass the Senate. But the GOP held firm on that demand, so Mr. Reid said he would insist on the full process, which he said would show the country that Republicans were being obstructionist.â€

At a time when the American people are screaming â€“ nay, demanding â€“ that those elected to office in Washington stop with the political positioning and gamesmanship, Progressive Democrat Harry Reid, a man whose approval rating is just 27 percent, whose negatives stand at 53 percent, a man whose last election was handed to him not by the people of Nevada but by the union members of Las Vegas, represents the quintessential example of exactly the kind of behavior Americans detest.

‘Obamanocchio’

July 30, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

A good friend of mine, David Jeffers of The Aletheia Group, sent out a message last night almost directly after President Obama finished his speech to the American public regarding the debt ceiling. His message was titled â€œObamaocchio,â€ and, in light of what Mr. Obama and his Administration have been telling bankers behind closed doors about this issue, appropriate.

Even as President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner take to the airwaves (as it were) to trumpet that the economic sky will fall if Congress does not reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling; to give the federal government the ability to amass more foreign debt, both Mr. Obama and Mr. Geithner â€“ and their dispatches â€“ have been reassuring the financial sector that they have no intention of allowing the United States government to â€œdefaultâ€ on its debt, regardless of whether Congress raises the debt ceiling or not.

A senior banking official admitted to receiving â€œguidanceâ€ from the Obama Administration insisting that â€œdefault is off the table.â€ This should be the catalyst for a great deal of anger; anger emanating from those who receive Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments, not to mention anyone whose investments have been held in limbo for all the uncertainty surrounding the debt ceiling issue.
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Republicans Have Compromised; Obama Has Not

July 29, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

The Obama Administration, Congressional Progressives and Democrats, and the mainstream media have done a fantastic job of controlling the narrative in the debt ceiling/budget debate. They have hammered home, in an almost Goebbels-esque manner, the false notion that Republicans have not â€œcompromised on their partisan idealsâ€; that the GOP is, to use their talking point, â€œintransigent.â€ This is nothing short of exactly the opposite from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that House Speaker John Boehner, and a majority of the House and Senate Republican contingents, have compromised, and have done so on a major issue: raising the debt ceiling.

Looking back on the 2010 Mid-Term Election, those concerned about the fiscal irresponsibility executed by our elected class stated loud and clear, in the only poll that matters â€“ the poll at the ballot box, that we wanted the federal government to employ fiscal restraint. In many cases, those whose names were on the ballot, indicated that they finally â€“ finally â€“ got the message. Even Harry Reid (D-NV), ran on a platform that included support for a balanced budget amendment. They said time and time again, at rallies and fundraisers that they understood that the American people were demanding dramatically reduced spending, an honest effort to reduce debt and an abdication of status quo partisan politics, at least until the countryâ€™s fiscal health was on the mend.

Fast-Forward to today.
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If Debt Is the Enemy Then There Are Traitors Among Us

July 25, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

The so-called â€œdebt ceiling default crisisâ€ continues to loom, with enough Progressive-Leftist demagoguery in the air to choke a horse, or, in this case, kill an economy. I roll my eyes at the term â€œdebt ceiling default crisisâ€ because the honest man â€“ an increasingly rare species in federal government â€“ understands that there can only be a crisis should President Obama choose to create one. That said, Republicans, TEA Partiers and Conservatives are in danger of doing the right thing in refusing to enable more debt, but losing the public relations war to what amounts to the traitors among us due to chronic messaging impotency.

According to the Daily Treasury Statements, approximately sixty percent of every dollar gleaned by the US government comes to it in the form of revenue generated by taxes. This amounts to roughly $200 billion a month. Given that the debt interest due per month is approximately $29 billion, even a third grader from an under-achieving inner-city Atlanta public school can deduce that there is absolutely no possibility of the United States defaulting on its debt interest payments. The â€œdebt ceiling default crisisâ€ is not so much; it is a ruse, a canard, a fallacy…it is a lie.

Doing some simple math â€“ again, at a level understood by an Atlanta public school third grader â€“ we subtract $29 billion from $200 billion to find that we have $171 billion a month left over with which to pay off other debts, liabilities and operational costs incurred by the federal government.
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The False-Flag of the Debt Ceiling â€˜Crisisâ€™

July 18, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

I suppose I will have to come out publicly to â€˜east crow,â€™ as it were. I have often berated the Obama Administrationâ€™s assertion that it is the most transparent administration in US history. Evidently it is. You see, I was looking at it all wrong before; silly me. I was expecting the declaration of transparency to be applied to the inner-workings of the Obama Administration, you know, open meetings, accessible information; a transparent process of government. What I hadnâ€™t understood until now is that this wasnâ€™t the context of the declaration at all. The transparency Mr. Obama was talking about in his run up to the Presidency was one of â€œwatch what I can do right in front of your face and get away withâ€ transparency, and we are getting that transparency in spades.

Never before has an administration so transparently and blatantly lied to the American people. Yes, dishonesty, exaggeration and spin have become the standard operating procedure for almost every politician, lobbyist and special interest operative inside the beltway and the 50 government complexes, but the Obama Administrationâ€™s degree of expertise in this area is nothing short of Olympian and the perfect example of their proficiency comes to us in the form of the debt ceiling debate.

When President Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid or House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi take to the many media outlets to profess the dire situation our country faces should we not grant this spendthrift administration the ability to incur more debt by raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, they are lying â€“ bald-faced â€“ to the American people; they are creating a crisis where there is none. Itâ€™s a simple as that. If you donâ€™t believe me just take a look at the Daily Treasury Statements published by the US Treasury Department and execute some elementary math calculations.
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How Destructively Disingenuous Can They Get?

July 6, 2011 | Filed Under Congress, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Patriotism, President, Senate | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

As if the American public’s tolerance for political chicanery hasn’t been tested beyond the breaking point, now comes news that several shyster Progressives and Democrats are floating the notion that the debt ceiling is – get this – unconstitutional. Far be it from me to ask, but why is it the only time Progressives and Democrats concern themselves with the constitutionality of issues is when its concern their ability to spend money?

US Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) – you remember him, he’s the candidate that Delawareans deemed better suited to represent them than Christine O’Donnell; the one who wrote an article for his college newspaper, entitled “Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist” – is quoted as saying:

“This is an issue that’s been raised in some private debate between senators as to whether in fact we can default, or whether that provision of the Constitution can be held up as preventing default…I don’t think, as of a couple weeks ago, when this was first raised, it was seen as a pressing option. But I’ll tell you that it’s going to get a pretty strong second look as a way of saying, ‘Is there some way to save us from ourselves?’”

Great choice, Delawareans…you should be proud.
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Legislating Through Regulations

July 1, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Frank Salvato, Free Trade, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Regulation, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

I have often written about “the bright shiny thing,” an event that is sure to catch the mainstream media’s and public’s eye while, in fact, something much more important is taking place. It is a common practice amongst politicos from both sides of the aisle, but a practice heavily employed by the Progressive Left. Movies have even been made about it. Wag the Dog comes to mind as a perfect, albeit fictitious, example of the execution of a “bright, shiny thing” strategy.

The Obama Administration, having completely annihilated any claim to being a “transparent” government, uses the “bright, shiny thing” strategy with an artful, even if nefarious, prowess, doing so while maintaining plausible deniability. As a life-long student of Chicago politics, to watch this administration employ the “bright, shiny thing” strategy is to watch an exercise in political beauty, even if it is being employed to usurp the founding philosophies of our nation, while paying short-shrift to the United States Constitution.

The Obama Administration’s use of the “bright, shiny thing” strategy has been one of subtle consistency. Shortly after Mr. Obama’s election, then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, was quoted as saying,
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