Ken's Comments

The word conservative is used by many people, but few seem to have any real idea of what it means. The media uses the term very inconsistently. A frequent misperception is that conservative is synonymous with Republican -- not true at all. Despite the misuse of the word conservative, laying out a political spectrum that shows conservatives and liberals, which represents all political philosophies, and can be applied to any domestic issue and show consistent results is not hard. However, when you actually applied this to issues of the day some interesting results occur. Not the kind of results you'd get if you read the paper. If you read or listen to the media, you'd have a hard time coming up with a definition of conservative that can be consistently applied. Perhaps the media subscribes to a political spectrum that has Communists and Socialists on the "Far Left" (a term never seen in the press any more) and Nazis and Fascists on the "Far Right." If t...

CNN's Robin Meade reports the hot news about the Illinois Governor being arrested. Four times I saw her report this. Not once did she say the Governor is a Democrat. I went to the CNN website and there is a big story on the Illinois Governor being arrested. Not once does it say he is a Democrat. CNN has never withheld party affiliation when a Republican (e.g. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens) was arrested.

Remember when Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber used the "S" word (Socialism) in the election? The media was up in arms. Yet she was not far off, just perhaps Gov. Palin and Joe the Plumber were labeling the wrong person. Consider this story from the NY Times today titled Detroit Bailout is set to bring on more U.S. oversight which says: "Congressional Democrats were drafting legislation Sunday for tight government control of the crippled American auto industry, including the possible creation of an oversight board made up of five cabinet secretaries and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and led by an independent chairman or “car czar.” "Tight government control..." and "...oversight board..." If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck... According to the article, this legislation is being negotiated with President Bush. Let's see where he stands on the idea of the Government having tight control over an indus...

Barack Obama won the 2008 election because he and his campaign were very good. They were also a bit lucky in that their campaign was floundering when the economy began its melt-down. But luck, in this case, was where opportunity opportunity met capability. Plus it did not hurt that the Obama campaign cheated when it came to fundraising. Nevertheless, you have to give Sen. Obama and his campaign their due -- they ran a very good campaign and capitalized on the opportunities given to them. A key reason Sen. Obama won, in my opinion, is that he put forth a positive message. Ironically, I'm reminded of the campaign results of Ronald Reagan. Both Reagan and Obama ran campaigns where they talked about what they would do as President and their messages were simple but powerful messages. In both cases, the result was not just the election of a President but a shift in power in Congress. Sen. Obama's campaign was very good, particularly when the economy went into the tank. They...

2008 Election Review The Election is over and the worst has happened. The Republicans got what they deserved. John McCain’s campaign was run by boobs. The Obama campaign was very good and they benefitted from every media outlet not named Fox News having a collective thrill run up their legs at the idea of Sen. Obama being elected. And all of this coalesced at just the wrong moment in time leading to a tidal wave of voters dissatisfied with the way things turning to the Democrats. So it’s time for an election recap and then I’ll move on to using this space for discussing ideas for the future. The McCain campaign -- what a bunch of boobs. I’m not talking about Senator McCain here – he was magnificent. He provided leadership, he overcame disaster in 2007 – when his campaign was nearly bankrupt and he fired key campaign leaders -- to defy all the odds and win the Republican nomination. Then he overcame the odds again in the summer of 2008 to go from way behind Senator Obama to actua...

2008 Election Review The Election is over and the worst has happened. The Republicans got what they deserved. John McCain’s campaign was run by boobs. The Obama campaign was very good and they benefitted from every media outlet not named Fox News having a collective thrill run up their legs at the idea of Sen. Obama being elected. And all of this coalesced at just the wrong moment in time leading to a tidal wave of voters dissatisfied with the way things turning to the Democrats. So it’s time for an election recap and then I’ll move on to using this space for discussing ideas for the future. Unfortunately as I started writing this article it ran on and on and on… So I will break this up and post it in three or four installments. Looking back at the 2008 elections it is obvious that the Republicans got what they deserved. During the 80’s and 90’s the Republicans were the party of ideas and the Democrats were intellectually bankrupt and rudderless. That culminated in the House Repu...

**Read this all the way through, there is a bonus surprise at the end.** There are lots of things being said about the Election Night coverage -- which I did not watch, by the way. I had a pretty good idea where things were going and did not need Chris Mathews and others to tell me what a thrill they have running down their leg (or was it up). Conservative media watchers are lamenting the pro-Obama coverage. However, regardless of your views, it was indeed, as one person compared it, like the Moon landing of 1969. This was an historic event so one has to suspend political beliefs as they apply to media journalism. That being said, here is a link to a really, really nice article on the coverage from Election Night. According to Ms. Werts, Sheppard Smith of Fox News is due some compliments for his handling of key moments in the evening. I'm not surprised, I have found Sheppard Smith to be quite good and enjoyable as a news anchor. If you are a Fox News disbeliever, I particular...

Wow! I added some cool stuff to the Blog. Let's see if it works. First, I added a feature that lets me track my followers. I'll get to see if anyone out there is paying attention. :-) Second, I added a game -- Hangman. It is fun, but it does not function entirely right because if you win some text appears but I can't get it to scroll up on my screen. Oh well. I didn't invent it. Third, I added a tool by which you can click a button to make comments about what I have written. That is because it appears no one has figured out how to click on the comments button and type in comments. So I made it easier. I hope you like this stuff. I started working on a posting about the 2008 election. It ended up being very, very long. So I'll finish what I'm writing and break it up into parts and then post them one at a time. After that, I'm going to start writing about ideas - things I think the Government should be doing, or not doing. Until next time, be well. Ken

A quick thought on the idea of taxing people earning over $250,000 per year. I am not a tax expert by any means, so I can only cover this at a high level. However, there are some things that stand out. Question -- if a person has their money placed in a trust fund, does that individual "earn" money? For example: the Kennedy's, the Rockefellers, Bill Gates, etc. Are they earning money or is their trust fund earning money? Also, Warren Buffet makes money on the stock market or other investments (as do most of the others mentioned above and/or their trust funds). Question: What impact does raising the income tax have on investments? Answer: None. Investment income is taxed only when you sell the investment and then it is taxed at the Capital Gains tax rate which is a lot lower than the income tax rate. Look at the big dollar figures that CEOs either make or walk away with when they retire or are fired. Is that a pile of income? No, it is all in stock or stock options ...

Barack Obama is now flooding the airwaves with more advertisements than we have ever seen before. Because he is in the lead, his ads are very positive. Because he is a liberal, his ads promise all things to all people -- including tax cuts to people who do not pay taxes. Kudos to Senator Obama and his campaign. They have been pretty smart. Meanwhile, the campaign for John McCain has been disappointing. John McCain made a difference in getting the bailout package passed and he did not capitalize on that at all. In fact, he allowed Democrats to wrongly get the message out that Sen. McCain injected politics into the process. The McCain campaign spending their limited money to bring up the Bill Ayers connection via commercials also made no sense at the time those were released. They made no headway and came across as nasty. Only now has the McCain campaign seized on a theme that works. The commercials tying Barack Obama to the liberals in the Senate and the House and then saying that John ...

Gov. Palin's performance in tonight's debate changed the election -- at least for a little while. The momentum has been going against Sen. John McCain for the last few days. Gov. Palin's performance has changed that, at least for a few days. The Fox News Channel had a focus group of undecided voters -- half voted for Bush four years ago and half voted for Kerry. EVERY SINGLE PERSON said Sarah Palin exceeded expectations. EVERY SINGLE PERSON save two or three said Sarah Palin won the debate. Now... let's be honest, as a person who very much has liked Sarah Palin since I learned about her after her nomination, I had some trepidation about this debate. So I have to be honest and say part of the reaction of that group was driven from lower expectations. But that does not take away from the very, very positive impression she made. The most important impression she made on that focus group is that she spoke to us and like us. Sen. Biden is talking Washington and talkin...

Earlier I commented on Wolf Blitzer's really poor performance on an interview with Sen. Christopher Dodd that occurred on CNN last week. Later the same day, I saw Sheppard Smith, on Fox News, interviewing U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney confronted with a similar situation. His response was an example for all interviewers. Representative Maloney started to say that the Bailout meeting last week blew up because of Sen. John McCain. Sheppard Smith immediately interjected saying "Wait a minute..." Mr. Smith went on, in a polite fashion, to say that Fox News reports suggested that Sen. McCain was quiet at the meetings, that it was the House Republicans who objected, which led to Sen. Harry Reid blowing up. Mr. Smith then, in a non-confrontational way (e.g. not as a "Gotcha") asked Rep. Maloney if she could confirm or deny those reports. This caused Rep. Maloney to state that she was not in the meeting and really couldn't say what happened. That's good intervie...

Wolf Blitzer had Sen. Christopher Dodds (D-CT) on his show after the meeting in the White House on the bailout. During the interview, Sen. Dodds criticized John McCain at length and suggested that John McCain and the House Republicans have derailed a deal on the bailout. Earlier in Mr. Blitzer's show, members of Mr. Blitzer's panel of commentators said that for political reasons, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would not let the House Democrats vote for the bailout without significant House Republican support. Did Mr. Blitzer ask Sen. Dodd for his comments about Speaker Pelosi putting the political interests of her Members ahead of the interests of our nation? No, Mr. Blitzer did not. Earlier in the Mr. Blitzer's show, CNN reported that Sen. Richard Shelby left the meeting on the bailout and said that there was no deal. Sen. Shelby also said he felt the package was flawed from the outset and that there were certain measures he, Sen. Shelby, would never vote for. Did M...

I want to second a commentary by Bill O'Reilly on Friday night. Mr. O'Reilly provided clips and translations of some spanish language advertising by both the Obama and McCain campaigns. Mr. O'Reilly correctly pointed out that the ads by both campaigns were factually incorrect. He also had a Republican and Democrat strategist on the show and he harangued them into admitting the ads by the candidate of their own party were wrong. I have to give credit to Mr. O'Reilly. His shows label of "The No Spin Zone" lived up to its name there. I don't mind negative ads but the campaigns should make sure that what they say is accurate. Furthermore, the ads should focus on issues, not stuff like the lipstick on a pig or other topics that go away from issues of interest to the voters. Be well til next time. Ken

I watched Sen. Barack Obama give a presentation on Friday, around mid-day. He was speaking on the Bush Administration's actions to help bail out the banking situation. I have to give credit to Sen. Obama. He did not politicize the situation, when he could have. Rather he said that he has been in contact with the Secy. of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and he, Sen. Obama, was just going to monitor the situation to wait for the specifics of the plan being developed. That was a very statesmanlike position on his part. I think it was appropriate, given all the panic that had been happening and the uncertainty. It would have been easy for Sen. Obama to try to score points, but that would not have been good for the U.S. during a time of real uncertainty. I did not see or hear any reaction from Sen. McCain, so I cannot comment on what he did or said. However, I think we need to give credit when credit is due.

Here's my first substantive post. I saw a piece in the paper today and just have to dissect this. The story is an AP story, no author attributed, it appeared in the 9-19-08 Morning Call, page A5. I don't want anyone saying I did not attribute this. :-) Small headline in the paper -- "GOP Sen. Hagel says Palin isn't qualified." The article is quoting Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as saying Sarah Palin lacks foreign policy experience and it is a stretch to say she is qualified to be president. The article also says that Sen. McCain and other Republicans have defended Gov. Palin's qualifications and cite Alaska's proximity to Russia. Now let's go through this story. First, if lacking foreign policy experience renders one unqualified to be President then shouldn't Sen. Hagel also be saying that Sen. Barak Obama is not qualified to be president? After all Sen. Obama actually is running for President. Gov. Palin is just a Vice Presidential nomi...

Casey Stengel was famous for responding to something that was said with "You're full of [stuff] and I'll tell you why..." This is my chance to emulate Casey and answer back to news reports, commentaries, and anyone or everyone else with why I think they are full of [stuff]. All too often I've seen or heard something that I knew was off-base and wanted to reply but did not have the venue or means to do so. Too often, I've seen or heard people who did reply and they either did so badly or missed the point. , or had an idea of a solution to a problem and have wanted a way to express my thoughts. And many times I've had thoughts or ideas on a problem that confronts us and wanted a way to express my views. This is going to be that vehicle. Now before we go too much further, let me warn you. A lot of what I will write about is going to be about politics and government. My point of views will be based on the following -- I'm an American first, a conserv...