THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

Yesterday I wrote a column suggesting that Moveon.org do exactly that…move on.

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/07/moveonorg-needs-to-just-move-on/

The whole point of the column was to suggest that Move get beyond hatred of George W. Bush and develop an actual philosophy that can be translated into a positive agenda. Disagreeing with the President is fine. Comparing him in any way to Adolf Hitler is antisemitism. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I know a thing or two about Hitler.

Commenter # 6 offered overt antisemitism.

“George Bush is compared to Hitler at moveon.org for several reasons.

1. Bush is guilty of the same crimes as Hitler. According to precendents set at Nuremberg it is an international war crime to invade or attack another nation that has nothing to you. Bush invaded Iraq and it had done nothing to us.

2. Hitler attempted to create an ethnic state and slaughtered all those who were different. Bush puts Israel’s interests before US interests and Israel is an ethnic state and Jews slaughter all non jews.

3. Hitler rounded people up and put them in camps. Bush has rounded people up and put them into Gitmo.

4. Hitler took away the rights of the German people under the excuse of protecting the homeland. bush has taken away the rights of Americans under the guise of protecting the homeland.

5. Hitler unleashed chaos, wars and slaughters and destablized the entire world with his warmongering. Bush has destablished the entier middle east and caused a dangerous shift in the world and untold suffering and slaughter that has spread to Pakistan.

Rather than look to our best interests bush is taking out Israel’s enemies. ”

They also left more virulent antisemitic comments at www.thescolai.wordpress.com.

Commenter # 13 was more troubling because his antisemitism was done in a stealth manner. This covert approach started out very reasonable.

“Personally, I believe in free speech. I am also a charter member of MoveOn. Here’s the other side: The originators of MoveOn and I were raised Republicans.

We BEG them (The republican congress of 1996) to censure and move on. AND THEY STILL CONTINUED WITH THE IMPEACHMENT!!! They lost the chance to go down as one of the greatest Congresses ever, all because of their hatred for ONE man (Bill Clinton).

To be fair, it is true that both MoveOn members and I will never be Republicans again. Let’s get past that, and continue having an adult discussion.

What are the Republicans doing once again? They are shooting themselves again in the foot, this time not just for the next election, but probably for the next generation at least.”

Not one word of that offended me. The fellow wanted a constructive dialogue, and I was prepared to engage in a spirited but respectful debate. However, before I did that, I sent him the following email:

“So that I can decide whether or not to give you an intelligent response, I need to ‘gauge’ you first. Please read comment # 6 by Southern Voice. I want your honest, brutal opinion on those specific remarks.”

I was hoping that this fellow would condemn the remarks. This did not happen.

“I don’t like that post. I will tell you honestly that I do not like what Bush is doing, but I think those comments take a kernel of truth and exaggerate it into untruth. I don’t like untruth. I will also say, I don’t blame Bush so much as I blame the Loyal Bushies who ALLOW him to do what he’s doing.

Also, I think we should be very careful about throwing out the Hitler sh*t. (and, in return, I’d be interested in what you think of Bill O’Reilly comparing DailyKos with Hitler.) Like the Dogs, my interest in Hitler is not 1939; it is 1933. People made choices in 1933 about what power they would cede to their government. Hitler roused them and for that they rewarded him with some of their liberty. I do believe that Bush did some things in 2003 that are not good for a democracy.”

I responded as follows: “The difference between you and post # 6 is you at least put a semi-moderate face on it. Your refutation of the Bush-Hitler link was too tepid for my tastes. Your inability to unequivocally condemn those remarks invalidates anything else you may have to say. Perhaps there is someone in Moveon.Org who will actually have the decency to disagree with Bush while condemning comparisons with Hitler as wrong and evil.”

I then recommended the fellow learn about the Simon Wiesenthal Center, so that he could gain a better understanding of why this issue was important. I also stated that dialogue was no longer possible, and his commenting on my blog would no longer be welcomed.

The final response I received was this:

“A brook, a toy, and annoy…You have NO idea who I am! You label me an anti-semite… !!!!! Do you know where Skokie, Illinois is? What a f*cking arrogant FOOL you are! Good riddnace.”

I have sent these comments to www.hughhewitt.com, www.michellemalkin.com, www.rjchq.org, and www.chabad.com.  If they choose to follow up with these comments, that is their prerogative.

I also sent the responses to Moveon.org, Daily Kos and the Huffington Post. I want them to condemn these remarks and state unequivocally that their websites and their organizations do not condone any comparison between President George W. Bush or Adolf Hitler. I do not expect any responses from them, but when they get angry at their organizations being labeled “antisemitic,” it is because the analogy fits like a glove.

I will for the milli-vanillionth time explain to those on the political left what decent people know everywhere. Dissent is healthy. Political disagreements are vital to America. Disagreeing with George W. Bush on every political issue is legitimate. Comparing him to Adolf Hitler is antisemitism, and antisemitism is a cancer that must be removed from society.

Moveon, Kos and Huffington have all allowed antisemitic rantings on their websites. I am responsible for every comment on my site, and so are they. The comments do get removed when enough pressure is applied, but at this point more needs to be done.

The left has a cancer eating itself to death. If allegations are lodged against me, and I do not refute them, then silence is acquiescence. The leftist websites need to condemn hate speech in the strongest possible terms, without equivocation. Tepid statements of regret will no longer cut it. Saying that such remarks are “not helpful,” is not good enough.

Hatred is wrong, and that includes hatred of republicans, conservatives and George W. Bush. While I would enjoy watching the democratic party rip itself to shreds trying to fight their own cannibalistic left wing elements, I would rather that these elements that embrace Moveon, Kos and Huffington simply become decent human beings.

They are the axis of antisemitism, and that axis must be confronted from within and externally. Honorable liberals and conservatives will be better off for this.

eric

Moveon.org needs to just move on. So does the Daily Kos. I get your message. You hate President Bush, and anybody who supports him. You want to slap his Vice President, humiliate his cabinet, and kick his dog. Fine. Just understand that blind hatred coarsens society. Before going any further, an absolutely brilliant post dealing with liberal Nimbys and Guantanamo Bay was written yesterday. Satirical genius is a more effective dagger than any uncontrolled rage could be.

 http://mszig.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/lark-program/

As for Moveon and Daily Kos, let us be reminded of why they were created, or at least why they claim to have been born. Moveon came about during the Clinton impeachment hearings. Now while anyone who supports the rule of law should have found the impeachment of a corrupt politician the right thing to do, Moveon took a position that the impeachment was bad for America.

I have no objection to this. That is a position on an actual political issue. The problem with this is that when the struggle ends, so does the rationale for existence. When basketball fans wore “Free Kobe (Bryant)” t-shirts, confused people asked, “Isn’t he already free?” The NAACP would look foolish if they marched down the streets today demanding that black people be given the right to vote. They already have this.

Rome fell because they conquered everybody, and then had nothing to do. Moveon was victorious in the impeachment battle. They won. Unfortunately, the bored millionaires that created them needed a reason to continue existing. People who start out with an actual philosophy do not have this problem.

When the 2000 election came and went, and Al Gore gave the least gracious concession since Richard Nixon in 1962, Moveon had a new reason to live. The problem is that they went from defenders to attackers. Defending somebody requires loyalty and a liking of them. Attacking somebody, especially somebody who did not attack first, requires a certain amount of rage. Otherwise, why attack anyone? Somewhere there is a woman living in San Francisco who I have never met and whose name I do not know. She might disagree with me politically, but I have no rationale for hating her. It would make no logical sense.

Moveon simply defies logic. Once one accepts the premise of this cult that George W. Bush is evil, there is no reason to analyze things in a fair manner. President Bush has appointed some of the best and brightest individuals to powerful positions (in some cases they were holdovers that stayed), but Moveon never gave these people a chance.

Alan Greenspan, who former Senator Phil Gramm correctly referred to as “the greatest central banker in the history of the central bank,” was deemed by Moveon to be part of the “republican controlled Federal Reserve Board.” Nobody controlled Greenspan, which is why he was so universally respected by everybody except those that had reason to fear positive economic news during a republican administration. Instead of arguing that times were good despite the President (I would disagree, but it would be a legitimate argument), the left would attack Greenspan’s reports as biased before they came out, and then state that the economy was bad.

Chief Justice John Roberts is an intellectual titan. Yet his decisions are often attacked as being part of a Bush Administration cabal. Justice Roberts does not answer to the President. It is one thing to disagree with a report, another to impugn the integrity of a man who is decent and just.

Now General Petraeus is being attacked. This is insane. The man is trying to save our lives, and civilization along with it, and he is the bad guy? The left has discredited his upcoming September report as being biased before he even testifies. Yes, he reports to the President. Yes, a positive report would benefit the President. However, is there any proof that this man has a history of lying, or even sugarcoating the truth? His career has been sterling and spotless. Therefore, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I predict he will issue a mildly positive report that will show what we have done right, what we have done wrong, and what we need to do to do better. Under any circumstances, this is a normal process. So why would Moveon want to shoot the credible messenger of a reasonable message?

The reason is because the message does not matter. It is ironic that the same people who accuse President Bush of shooting first and asking questions later are doing this themselves. The same people that used phrases like “rush to judgment” are guilty of this. The left is simply guilty of having a predetermined opinion. It seems the one time that the left is ever in favor of a preemptive strike is when it is against a report or decision that might benefit republicans.

Imagine if the left took all the anger they had at President Bush, and directed it towards Al Queda. America is divided not because of President Bush, but because the left despises him. Politics used to stop at the water’s edge. Republicans backed Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman and JFK on foreign policy, and they were right to do so.

Moveon claims that they are being censored for disagreeing with the President. Nobody has censored them. They scream louder than everybody else combined. The problem is that invective is not a policy. Rage is not a program. Hatred is not a plan for governing or improving society. Moveon is still living in the year 2000. Every position they have taken since then stems from the fact that they believe George W. Bush stole the election.

The Daily Kos began in 2002 out of disgust for the President’s popularity following 9/11. The left complains we were unified after 9/11, and then Bush broke that unity. No, he did not. The Daily Kos began bombthrowing long before any War in Iraq took place. They were angry that a man who won a close election had sky high popularity, and that the democrats would suffer losses in the 2002 elections (which they did).

Winning elections cannot come at any and all costs. If losing one’s soul is the price, then the price is simply too high.

In 2002, the democrats failed to offer actual policy proposals to counter President Bush. In 2004, their governing philosophy was ABB (anybody but Bush). They won in 2006 due to republicans running out of steam, but the republicans were guilty of straying from their core beliefs and principles. The democrats do not seem to have any of these, and if they do, they will not articulate them.

Reasonable people look at men like Alan Greenspan, John Roberts, and General Petraeus, and they just do not see zealots, extremists, or partisan hacks. They see bright, capable men doing their jobs quietly and effectively. Normal Americans might not agree with every word, but they are willing to listen to what these men have to say before forming entrenched opinions. They understand that whether it be an economy, a court decision, or a military report, good news is not automatically bad news just because some people, mostly on the left, want it to be.

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/03/may-leftist-protesters-speak-early-and-speak-often/

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/07/unless-your-name-is-general-david-petraeus-your-opinion-on-the-war-is-irrelevant/

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/06/chief-justice-roberts-and-general-petraeus-the-best-and-brightest-do-matter/

From a Machiavellian perspective I want the Moveon and Daily Kos minions to keep speaking. They are the gift that keeps on giving to republicans. However, from a human decency perspective I want them to grow up, and simply stop being terrible human beings who say vile things about good people they have never met.

Free speech is not free. Hate speech is not protected. Invective inevitably leads to violence, such as ecoterrorism. Daily Kos and Moveon have their leftist pit bulls so jacked up on the steroids of hatred and rage that they will have blood on their hands when a small number of their followers end up committing acts of violence in the name of some warped sense of righteousness (this has probably already happened).

In the same way that they say it is not fair to blame them all for the acts of a few, especially when comparing Bush to Hitler, this arument is merely a way of passing the buck. If I belong to a country club that is racist, antisemitic, or the like, I have the obligation as a human being to resign my membership or force internal change.

There might be people in Daily Kos and Moveon that are not cancerous, but until they weed out the cancerous elements, their whole organizations are one big festering bunch of bilgewater.

These organizations need to stop being against everything related to George W. Bush, because when he leaves office in 2009, they will again have no reason to exist. They need to be for something…anything. Also, it has to be something positive.

Otherwise, they can just demand that the next President spend their entire term investigating the eight years of George W. Bush. Republicans could then hold hearings on Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick. The left would then say, “That is old news, just move on.” Republicans have moved on.

Ted Kennedy killed a woman. We moved on. Robert Byrd was a klansman. We moved on. Bill Clinton was a liar and a sexual predator. We moved on. If Hillary Clinton is defeated, we will move on. She and her supporters were not, but we will.

Moveon and Daily Kos have a right to exist. They just have a responsibility to find out why they should exist. I have a right to find them repugnant, vile indiviudals.

These organizations need to do something to make the world a better place, and stop fighting decent people struggling to do exactly that just because of a disputed election several years ago. They need to get over it. They need to unite behind what is right, which is winning the War on Terror. They can disagree with means, but not the end. They do not have the right to put the lives of good people everywhere at risk.

The left needs to regroup and become part of a civilized debate. They need to stop rejecting news that has not been offered yet. They need to form opinions and solutions after the depth of problems have been explained, not before.

They need to forget the anger and rage of the past, and move forward with a positive agenda for improving the world.

They need to become thinking, rational human beings.

They must…finally…Move on. 

eric  

When I started blogging in March of 2007, it was after several years of resistance. I considered it the height of arrogance to think anybody would possibly care what I had to say. I now see that the blogosphere, while quite idiosyncratic, is relevant. It matters.

People spend so much time in life dealing with what does not matter. Therefore, I wanted to dedicate today to putting everything in perspective. For those of you who find disappointment that money, power and sex are not on the list of what is relevant, then you might wish to reread the list thrice. Below is my list of what actually does matter. It might take people a whole year to read some of the links attached to this column. I believe it will be a well spent year.

What matters:

1)      God–Without God, there is nothing. Yet even though may people believe that God matters, we have a difficult time explaining to others why God matters.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/mono.html  

2)      Family—I have had the best parents and grandparents a fellow could ask for. My father used to sing a song to me when I was a child. Thankfully my parents and I did not make the same mistakes that this beautiful song talks about. It was written by Harry Chapin, redone by Ugly Kid Joe. Even those who know you love them…tell them again.

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/cats-in-the-cradle.html

3)      Freedom—Freedom is not American or Western. It is a gift from God. When Ronald Reagan thundered,  “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” he was spreading hopes and dreams to millions of people. Four years later, those hopes were realized.

http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/wall.asp

4)      Laughter—There will always be tough times. There are many comedians, but Bill Cosby is one that will always be relevant. His stand up routine “Bill Cosby, Himself,” will be watched 1000 years from now. It was my father’s parenting bible. My father, grandfather and I watched it together, pointing at each other every time Mr. Cosby spoke. He also did it without gratuitous foul language or crudity. He truly became America’s dad with that routine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby:_Himself

5)      Human contact—Whether in businessor in our personal lives, isolationism does not work. It is harmful for society. From a 14 year old sending another 14 year old a happy face through instant messenger to international commerce through Ebay and other websites, we are truly an interconnected world. When every nation joins this group, the world will be even better off.

http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/printStoryId.aspx?StoryId=4217

6)      War on Terror—Some may wonder why the War on Terror gets four links, while the rest get one or two. The War on Terror is the defining issue of our time, a global struggle for civilization against barbarism. Unless civilization wins, there will be no trees to plant, people to embrace, or God to Worship. 1000 years from now, the world will exist because the good people alive today saved civilization.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071201619.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/119989/why_we_must_win_the_war_on_terror.html

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/Transcript_Page.aspx?ContentGuid=484182dc-bf7c-42a7-ac74-9e270a9ef0f2&comments=true

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=115845

7)      Love–Without love, there is no life. World Love Inc promotes peace, but is not an anti-war protest site. It recognizes that sometimes fighting is necessary for there to be peace in the long run. However, it reminds us that the ultimate goal is a world filled with peace and love. I pray to God the people of this world do what is necessary to achieve this on a permanent basis.

http://www.worldloveinc.us/page/page/1391009.htm

8.)      America–Americans are good people. We feed, clothe, protect and defend the world. Never has a nation been so powerful and so noble. We have made mistakes, and we have flaws. We also take introspective looks deep inside ourselves, and constantly improve on an already fine nation. Being American is a badge of honor. 

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-ferrara092501.shtml

9)      History–Worrying about how our actions will affect us in the short run is not what life is about. What truly matters is the judgment of history. Public opinion swings like a pendulum, but a noble historical legacy of having done the right thing can last forever.  

http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/WhyStudyHistory.htm

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006760

10)  Expression of ideas—Every human life has value, and everybody has something relevant to say. We can raise or lower the level of discussion and discourse. Technology has given us advances in science and medicine, and allowed creativity to flourish. The blogosphere has helped spread that creativity rapidly, like a wildfire of innovation and brilliance. The blogosphere matters because the people are the blogosphere, and God created the people.

http://www.webmasterview.com/blogging/why_blog

I thank God for creating my family and me, and for giving me the ability to write. Out of my deep love and respect for God and my family, I hope that what I have to say actually does make a difference in this world. If this column is relevant for one person, then it has done its job. Like all of us…it matters.

eric 

As the Senate was mistaking length for strength, and confusing hours worked for actual productivity achieved, the real world (everywhere except the U.S. Senate) was continuing. There was good, bad and ugly events, although most of the ugly emanated from the Senate itself.

Starting with the bad news, I strongly recommend one goes to www.demediacraticnation.blogspot.com and read what Blandly Urbane has to say.

The bad news, without being repetitive, is that America’s enemies (no, not oil or timber companies for you liberals) all over the world did not have time for a slumber party. They were busy trying to kill us, which they have been doing for the last 35 years or so.

Al Queda plotted in caves. They planned the next big attack. Insurgents, or as we should call them, Islomafacist terrorists, continued to plan homicide bombings everywhere from Afghanistan to Iraq to Israel, and of course to the West as well. The Palestinians decided to teach their children about the birds and the bees, although in this case the bee involves an adorable character in a bee costume picking up where his Mickey Mouse predecessor left off, that being teaching children about the glories of martyrdom.

As hours and hours drifted by, and Senators who died years ago but were never told of this fact (Thank you Don Rickles) prattled on and on, our enemies were too busy to watch. Apparently Osama Bin Laden does not need Harry Reid’s approval to help his side win the War on Terror.

As for the ugly side of the last 24 hours, a tragic plane crash killed 200 people aboard a Brazil flight. Apparently this is only a minor story because it happened so quickly, instead of taking a whole ngiht to unfold. The tragedy is unimaginable, it shakes the very foundation of what we believe is decent and right in this world, and perhaps the media will cover it despite the fact that it is actual hard news.

Less ugly, but still grotestque, is the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal. I will wait for more facts to come out, but on the surface it seems that actions that were barbaric (unless you live in the Syria, Iran or Gaza, where barbarism is simply known as normal behavior) towards dogs took place. Animal rights activists will start screaming and hollering as soon as they can pull themselves away from the riveting television drama known as Capitol Hill. Some of these senators are so old they think bedwetting is what ecomonists mean by trickledown theory. Get the bedpans and send some of these fossils home. Otherwise, they will be even grumpier than pit bulls bred for fighting (see it does tie in).

The truly ugly event today that was mentioned at www.michellemalkin.com courtesy of www.mypetjawa.mu.nu (The Jawa Report)  was the 38th anniversary of Mary Jo Kopenchne’s death. Yes, Ted Kennedy is still a Senator instead of an inmate at Rikers Island, and yes, he is still hailed by feminists everywhere as a champion of womens’ rights along with Bill Clinton. I know this is not an original slogan, but “Teddy lied, a woman died.” Liberals have no right to criticize any republican legislator for anything until Ted Kennedy is removed from the Senate.

When asked for a comment about Senator Chapaquiddick, Moveon.org, taking a lunch break from hate speech, discovered benevolence and said we should all just move on. After all, killing somebody in the 20th century and getting away with it is old news.

However, there was plenty of good news occurring during the Senate Slumber Party. No, none of it actually came from the Senate itself. Again, one day Senators will discover there is a world beyond them. Or perhaps they will not, and become as irrelevant as Hollywood celebrities, if slightly less self absorbed.

The good came from the U.S. Military. It was not anything new. Like days past that went unrecognized, our soldiers continued to capture and kill terrorists. Another top Al Queda leader was killed. The surge is continuing to work, and General David Petraeus is going about his job, something Senators could learn from. In fact, Senators were the ones complaining about soldiers being over worked and overtired from lack of sleep. They then stayed up all night to point this out. I think if I want people to lead by example, I will go with the military.

Libya is continuing to try to enter the family of nations. North Korea is disbanding its nuclear reactor, although time will tell if they are serious. Some will give credit for Libya to delicate negotiations begun by Jimmy Carter, with Bill Clinton getting credit for the North Korea breakthrough. This is nonsense. What brought these nations one inch closer to normalcy than lunacy is the Bush Doctrine.

For all the talk about Khadafi Duck and Kim Jong Mentally Ill (Thank you David Letterman for the latter), apparently these fellows are pragmatists. They simply do not want to end up like Saddam. One would think more liberal feminists would hate them, given that they are pro-life, at least when it comes to preserving their own.

George W. Bush’s vision of the world will take time, but while the Senate becomes the Seinfeld of government, deliberating about nothing (and accomplishing it as well), the Bush Doctrine is slowly but surely being implemented. This is good for America, good for the world, bad for democrats, and ugly for the terrorists.

I could go turn on C-Span and watch the slumber party, but like President Bush and many useful, productive Americans, and unlike the Senate, I have actual, real work to do.

I will also accomplish it during business hours. That is what a professional does.

eric    

In an ever increasing attempt to take advantage of the long summer nights brought on by daylight savings time, the Senate has decided to throw a slumber party. In an institution whose effectiveness is measured on various scales ranging from uselessness to harmfulness, apparently they thought spending more time on the job could somehow do less harm.

For those of you lucky enough to not be following this nonsense, either because it is summer, or just because you have lives, here is a basic recap. We are in a global War on Terror. That war has taken us to Iraq. Although the soldiers and their commanders keep telling us that we are succeeding, liberals in the media insist we are failing. Successful missions do not sell newspapers. The republicans support the troops, and democrats want to bring them home now.

Now that you are caught up, the present situation is this. The republicans have used parliamentary procedures to delay or avoid votes on legislation they do not want. This has been going on since 1776. The democrats are upset by this, and are turning an old trick on its head. Instead of saying, “It’s my bat and my ball, and I am going home,” they are saying, “Until you vote the way we want, nobody is going home.”

Harry Reid has declared that the Senate will pull an all nighter until a vote that democrats want is passed. He has been brought in cots for senators to sleep on.

CNN reports that “Reid said he would schedule other votes during the overnight hours to ensure the session is a ‘real’ all-nighter, but said he does not yet know what measures would be taken up.”

So he is going to schedule an all night talking session, but has no idea what will be talked about. Is this organizational planning at its finest, or what?

“Workmen will set up cots near the Senate floor so senators have a place to slumber — although it’s not clear how many senators will choose to stay up for the debate, much less use the cots.”

So the senators are forced to be there, but not forced to stay awake. How is this different from any other senate session? If Harry Reid wanted to be a tough guy, why not mandate people actually stay awake? I know he is incredibly boring, but if staying awake was not mandatory, I would be asleep in seconds once he opened his mouth. He would say his name, introduce himself, I would yell, “I object,” and then my head would hit the desk faster than you could say “Junior High School Social Studies Class.” I suspect he will not force them to stay awake because making somebody do their jobs in today’s society can be construed as torture, which apparently violates the Geneva Convention that everybody except terrorists swear by.

“Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, when told that Reid might force overnight votes asked, ‘What’s the point? It’s not going to accomplish anything. I’ve been through a lot of these, and they never have.’

Members of both parties know that, in this fight, Democrats will fall short of the required 60 votes to end a filibuster.

Because results of voting are a foregone conclusion, supporters of the Democratic-authored amendment are simply aiming to garner more GOP support by pressuring additional moderate Republicans to join them.”

So the results are a foregone conclusion, this strategy has never worked, and nothing will get accomplished. These are the people that want to run a war and provide advice to our troops?

I am not aware how or if President Bush responded to this, but he should do what he always does…go to sleep at a reasonable hour. That is what people who do real work actually do.

Now as for this slumber party, picture former prisoner of war John McCain going to Harry Reid and saying, “You know, I was held in captivity, beaten and tortured for six years, but I have never been treated this roughly. I cannot handle staying up this late. I will vote however you want.” 

There is no word yet on whether Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer will braid each other’s hair, and rumors of Ted Kennedy bringing the vodka jello shooters are unconfirmed at this time.

Since all good slumber parties require Smores, moderate wavering republicans, in keeping with their tradition, will bring the marshmallows. Come to think of it, they will probably bring extra jello as well in case Teddy devours it before reaching the senate floor and devouring them like he does all weaker creatures.

What amazes me most is that a senate body that is obsessed with counting votes cannot use their multiplication tables. For those of you who are deficient in basic mathematics (not being judgmental, for me it was the aforementioned social studies), any number multiplied by zero equals zero. Therefore, if eight hours multiplied by nothing accomplished equals nothing, then fourteen hours multiplied by nothing accomplished also equals nothing. Once again, basic math proves the pointlessness of this all night congresscapade (I have to admit, Ted Kennedy and his friends do love a good congresscapade).

In fact, over the loudspeakers on C-Span, they can pump in the song, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. You’ve got to have something…if you want to be with me.” Yes folks, C-Span covering Harry Reid at 4:00am. If you are watching it, then you died two years ago and nobody told you.  

I say this to the democrats in the Senate…develop a spine. No cots allowed. No drinking games. No Smores. Attendance is mandatory. No sleeping on the job allowed. No pagers, cell phones, text messaging or video games allowed. This environment should be more oppressive than Guantanamo Bay, but less oppressive than Junior High School.

My prediction is a republican knockout over Harry “Boxer” Reid and Barbara “Check Bouncer” Boxer in the third round, only because round one will be roll call, and round two will be repeating roll call for those who fell asleep, or were just not paying attention. 

Harry Reid will cry uncle, the democrats will cave again, President Bush will get everything he wants again because he is still right, and a meaningless nonbinding resolution might almost pass, which the Jayson Blair Times will hail as a symbolic victory about something.

The American people will have missed it, because they will have been sleeping. Again, that is what people do when they have work the next day. Only those with idle time on their hands force their friends to stay out all night doing nothing.

We know they will not pass any tough crime measures during this session. If they did, 100 senators would be arrested for loitering.

Coed slumber party! Last one to bed is a rotten Senator!

eric

I speak with God every night and every morning. It is a brief conversation. God does all the listening. While I attempt to live my life the way I believe God wishes, at no time do I mistake myself for God. I am responsible for my own actions.

I say this because I am deeply concerned that too many people in society use God to justify their actions. Yes, there are certain things God tells us to do and not do. God tells us not to murder. True, one can be an atheist and still believe murder is wrong, but many people obey aspects of civil and criminal law not because of the police, but because of God.

Having said that, God is not a democrat or a republican. When I write about ideological bigotry, I express my frustration with liberals, especially Jewish liberals, citing the Torah (Old Testament) to justify their liberalism. To me it is a sign of weakness that liberals need to say that God orders them to be liberals through the concept of social justice.

The problem with that argument is that it implies that somebody who is not a liberal is defying the word of God. When Al Gore in 2000 said that the election was a choice between good and evil, he crossed a line that goes beyond civilized discourse. It was a choice between a liberal and a conservative, nothing more.

A very thoughtful liberal emailed me and asked me if I felt the same way regarding Christian Coalition republicans. I stated to him unequivocally that I absolutely do.

I want to make it clear that most evangelicals in this country are wonderful people. Their religious faith and belief in Jesus tells them to love their neighbor, help shelter the homeless, help feed the hungry, help clothe the poor, and help keep kids in school and away from drugs. These are extremely positive aspects of Christianity, and a belief in God is directly correlated to steps taken to act as God would wish.

However, God does not command that they vote republican. The Old Testament does say that “a man that lays next to another man as he would a woman shall be stoned to death.” Does any truly decent human being believe we should take gay people and brutally beat them? Abortion does involve the issue of life, but the word abortion is not mentioned in the Old Testament. To say that God hates those who have abortions is speaking for God.

Yes there should be standards, but that does not mean zealotry is acceptable. Whether it is people on the right yelling “abortion is murder,” or people on the left yelling “meat is murder (Given that meat makes people more aggressive, how are these vegetarians so militant?),” the God I believe in loves you as long as you obey the commandments, which do not in any way specify what diet one has.

I cannot prove God exists, but I do not need to do so. Growing up I thought my dad was all powerful, and he thought the same of his father. Even approaching age 100, my grandfather, rest his soul, could strike fear into the heart of a young man with a flash of anger. Yet my grandfather believed in God, and prayed every day. That tells me this God was one powerful dude. God was a man, because given that women seem to be given the short end of the stick in most areas of society, and they have to give birth to new life, it is obvious God looked after his own.

So other than God being male, the rest is uncertainty. I think about this because my vision of God was that of a corporate CEO. He is busy, and does not have time to worry about nonsense.

When I was a little boy, I would pray that the Oakland Raiders would beat the Broncos or Chiefs in football. Then one day I thought things that even today I am surprised that I could think about at such a young age. What if there was a child in Denver (Broncos) or Kansas City (Chiefs) that was just as good a child as I was, and he deeply prayed to God for the Raiders to lose? What makes his prayer any less valid than mine? Shouldn’t God love all his children equally?

Today it hits me that if we are God’s children, then that makes God our parent. What does every parent want? Well to quote Bill Cosby, “Parents aren’t interested in justice. They want quiet!” My father was an honest and just man, but he was more than willing to sacrifice the childrens’ version of justice for peace and quiet in the home.  

As others in my family had a laundry list of requests for God, ranging from ponies and chocolates to other treasures, all I prayed for…all I still pray for…is for the happiness and health of my parents and grandparents.

As I get older, I am almost hesitant to pray for anything else for fear of asking too much. At work, I do not like asking my boss for things, the same way growing up I did not like asking my parents for things. My dad used to tell me “leave the boss alone. Do your work, and don’t bother him.” Given the reluctance to ask my dad or my boss for things, try asking God for stuff that is not vitally necessary for survival.

The night before the 2004 election, I asked God to help deliver a George W. Bush victory. I had never done that in a political race before. I am well aware that others were praying for his defeat. The reason I asked God to do this was because I do ask God on a regular basis to make the world a better place. I believe winning the War on Terror is vital to that request. I also believed George W. Bush was the right man for this task.

I still occasionally pray for the President. Yet I am under no illusions that God is too busy to deal with such trivial insignificances as the democrat and republican parties.

My dad worked hard all day. When he came home, he wanted the kids to “sit down and shut up.” There was much love in the house, but when dad was eating dinner, the kids needed to let him unwind. Given that God has to watch over 7 billion people, I cannot imagine him wanting to listen to us complain about political issues.

People are politically liberal because they believe in liberalism. People are conservative because they believe in conservatism. They have every right to passionately fight for what they believe.

What people do not have the right to do is sit in judgment of others. To call somebody else a liar, as some on the left have done to the President, merely because they disagree with him, is questioning the decency in his heart. This is vicious, and degrading to society.

I believe in God. I am also a conservative republican. These two matters are completely mutually exclusive. I made the decision to support the War in Iraq, and as of now I will go to my grave believing it was the right thing to do. God did not tell me it was right. I told me it was right. I only ask God that if I turn out to be wrong, and I am standing before him, that he will accept that I believed in my heart it was right, and then forgive me.

As for atheists, I absolutely respect their right to not believe in God. However, I will stand up against anyone that attacks my right to be a believer.

I have many questions, and sometimes I even feel like I have the answers. While my answers may be based on my belief in God, or my reading books and trying to interpet God, my beliefs and actions are not direct orders from God. If I am wrong, it is not because God’s instructions were wrong. It is because I failed to understand and implement the instructions properly.

Human being do not realize how good we have it. Humans get to experience love. There is no “Mrs. God.” How can one find romance when he is busy trying to keep his 7 billion children from destroying his home? God cannot even put his feet on the coffee table and watch the football game. What is the point? He already knows the score. I know how upset I get when I tape the game and somebody ruins it for me. God probably gave up years ago. What is he supposed to do, avoid reading the results in the paper? He created the people who write the papers.

Ignorance can be bliss. Human beings may be ignorant of what God wants, but as any parent knows, being a parent is more stressful than being a child ever could be. God has to sit and watch his children all argue about things that are often nonsensical.

It is a thankless job, and I am glad I am merely one of 7 billion foot soldiers. Anything more would be more responsibility than any of us could bear.

Besides, if I was in charge…I respectfully say…God help us all.

eric     

Once again, the Jewish Liberal Journal, or JLJ for short, has decided to publish fringe commentary from a Jewish leftist. It is ironic that the same people that scream at the top of their lungs that Jesus was not a republican seem to have no problem declaring Moses a democrat. True, the JLJ will publish an article by Dennis Prager every once in awhile, which in their minds means the paper itself is diverse.

For the many that have still not been effectively clubbed over the head, I will again state the obvious. Liberalism is a political philosophy and an ideology. Judaism is a religion. They have nothing to do with each other. Any overlap is either coincidental or the result of indoctrination. It is not fact or text based. There is nothing in the Torah (Old Testament) that commands one to be politically liberal. Social justice, the argument frequently used, is code for socialism. It is not connected to any religion. In fact, helping one to help themselves is the highest form of charity in Judaism, and that is a politically conservative message.

So who is the most recent practitioner of ideological bigotry? An organization known as the “American Jewish Committee.” The JLJ quotes the AJC’s legal counsel Jeff Sinensky as follows: “Looking forward, it’s likely that the majority, now headed by Justice John Roberts and with Justice Samuel Alito coming on the court, have a fundamentally different perspective than the Jewish community.”

Do liberal Jews have any spokespeople at all that are not arrogant gasbags? What is this Jewish community that he claims to speak for? My republican Jewish friends and I would like to know.

If these Jewish liberals had any intellectual and emotional honesty (we know they do not), they would state the following: “We run a liberal organization. The court is conservative. That is a threat to our liberal beliefs.” There is no need to bring Judaism into the mix, unless one is trying to use religion to advance a political agenda. How can one attack Conservative Christians and then turn around and behave in the exact way that the Conservative Christians are being slandered about?

Some liberal Jews at this point will say that if I love Christianity so much, why do I not just become one? This is equivalent to the elementary school children on the playground saying, “if you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” I will not become a Christian, but I will absolutely respect them. I will continue to fix the problems in my own community.

I will speak up when Temple Valley Beth Shalom on a religious holiday has a Rabbi who states during a holiday speech, “Forget your stressful day. Picture a calm peaceful existence. A world without problems and stress…a world without negativity…a world without Donald Rumsfeld being in the news.” The liberal Jewish audience chortled.

I will speak up when Sinai Temple, on Memorial Day, has liberal activist Ruth Messinger give an antiwar speech laced with references to Darfur. Darfur may be a worthy cause, but would it have killed Sinai Temple to reserve Memorial Day for positive references to the soldiers? Instead they bring in perhaps the only woman too liberal to be elected in New York City.

Getting back to the Roberts Court, what were the cases that had the so called Jewish community up in arms?

One was an abortion case. The last time I checked, abortion involved a medical procedure. First a liberal activist Supreme Court invents a right to privacy, and now liberal Jews try to find a religious reason to be pro-choice. This would be less than hypocritical if they would stop criticizing evangelicals for also having a religious belief that is contradictory.

Another case involved a time limit on pay discrimination cases. A third case involved a school busing issue, which I think relates more to the black community in the 1960s than the Jewish community, which never had to ride in the back of any bus in America.

The last case ruled that activists cannot challenge faith based programs in court, since they were not personally injured. What a bizarre concept. Somebody has to be actually rather than theoretically wronged to be given the opportunity to ask the court to make it right. What is even more troubling is while Christian groups are embracing President Bush’s faith based initiatives, liberal Jews are fighting him.

If liberal Jews do not want more money to help their communities, just donate it to Christians so it will not be wasted. Faith based initiatives are not a way of forcing God upon children (although the Fear of God would solve many societal ills). They are a way of helping priests, rabbis, ministers and imams of helping people. In the same way more money for community policing helps reduce crime, more money for those who feed, clothe and protect the poor is a positive development for everybody except those who prefer lip service to actual results. Come to think of it, that defines liberalism perfectly.

Buried deep in the article is commentary by Orthodox Jewish organizations that are quite satisfied with the Roberts Court, and who actually wished the court went even further in support of faith based programs. Given that Orthodox people spend their whole lives reading and studying Torah (thank you Michael Medved), I am willing to trust their version of it as opposed to the evolving Torah that secular liberal Jews have created as an ugly kid sister to their evolving constitution.

The Anti-Defamation League laments the Roberts Court as well based on the cases listed above. Did the Roberts Course pass a constitutional amendment declaring Zionism equal to racism, or was that the liberal loving bastion of uselessness, the United Nations?

Did the Roberts Court ban Judaism? Did it sanction pogroms? Did it mandate America fund Hamas or Hezbollah? Did it say Israel should not exist? Did it ban the right of Jews to pray in synagogues? If not, what did the court do that in any way attacks the right of Jews to practice Judaism? Nothing!

It boggles my mind how Jews, long known for being an educated “people of the book,” can have such fierce hostility towards John Roberts, one of the finest legal minds America has ever seen. In fact, he gained his knowledge by thorough readings of the required books. John Roberts may not be qualified to argue the Talmud or other Jewish texts (although knowing his brilliance he might be) , but his liberal Jewish critics do not have anywhere near his knowledge of American legal texts.

Jewish organizations such as the ADL, AJC and the JLJ have to put aside their phony commitment to diversity and justice if they are not going to defend everybody, including conservatives. I have never been the victim of a pogrom, or of bigotry by anybody who was a devout Christian. Many devout Muslims have been fabulous to me. Yet try being a Jewish republican attending a Jewish dinner party, and see how pervasive the hostility is by enlightened, tolerant, liberal Jews. It is frightening.

Liberal Jewish groups should simply state that they are liberal first, and Jewish second. Otherwise, why reflexively follow a liberal agenda?

Liberal Jews have every right to battle with a court that they see as conservative. That is debate, and it makes for a vibrant healthy nation. What they do not have the right to do is claim that Judaism is liberalism. If this were true, does that mean that the many Orthodox Jews that vote republican and are politically and culturally conservative not practicing Judaism? I do not want to witness that potential bloodbath.

Liberal Jews are constantly accusing the Orthodox community of being intolerant towards them. Perhaps they might wish to look in the mirror. Perhaps they might wish to use Yom Kippur to apologize for all the vicious things they have said about President Bush, and conservatives in general.

Most importantly, perhaps they might wish to drop the hostility against John Roberts, whose only sin is being the Chief Justice of a Supreme Court that wants to give Rabbis more money to make their Synagogues stronger so that their congregations can have a richer Jewish experience.

eric

I often refer to the blinking VCR theory, which states that even people who are almost always wrong can accidentally be right twice a day.

I now need to offer the supernova theory, which allows for even the arbitrarily volatile among society to accidentally show a glimmering flash of truth every incredibly long once in a while.

Hillary Clinton is wrong about virtually everything that matters in this world. It is not because she is stupid. Far from it, she is an intelligent woman who seems to soak up policy information. It is that her conclusions on most issues are simply impractical, unrealistic, and recycled ashes of past failures of others.

In addition to her inability to be correct about what matters in this world, she is also not a very nice person. In fact, she is quite nasty. When confronted with this, she then plays the innocent girly girl routine, claiming that any criticism of her is an indictment of all women, and that men with the same qualities would be seen in a positive light. This is false. Margaret Thatcher was a great leader. George Herbert Walker Bush has shown an incredible graciousness towards Bill Clinton, as has the current President Bush. The dour looks on Hillary Clinton’s many scowls during State of the Union Addresses shows she is unwilling or unable to show the same graciousness. Most people have opponents. She has personal enemies.

Yet despite that fact I look at Hillary Clinton and see very little politically that is positive for society, I must separate my ideology on the supernova occasions when she is right. She actually had an unscripted moment, and a lot was gleamed from that.

At a recent trip to the circus, aka the democratic debates, Hillary Clinton was overheard telling John Edwards that she wished they could have a debate without all of the lower tier candidates sucking up air time. She was criticized by many people for this. Her comments supposedly reinforced her image as an arrogant, haughty queen who thinks everybody else is beneath her. While on many occasions this perception may be reality, I am forced to say the four words I did not know could possibly exist inside of me…Hillary Clinton was right. My head almost exploded thinking this, but I am giving Lady MacBeth her due.

For all the many reasons to dislike her, Hillary is a legitimate candidate surrounded by clowns. The fact that anybody can run for President and automatically be on the same stage with serious contenders is a flaw in the debate system. Anybody who states that with exposure comes a rise in the polls has it backwards. One proves viability first in the polls, and then deserves the exposure that comes with viability.

Despite his lunatic meltdown that ended his 2004 candidacy, Howard Dean flew under the radar, and demonstrated his viability. It was only after he rocketed to the frontrunner position that he began getting coverage. He earned it fair and square. He then crumbled under tougher scrutiny, which was also fair. He may have peaked too early, but he peaked without any help from the media.

I have often referred to the republican candidates as Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and the Seven Dwarfs. I have since added Fred Thompson to the list of the “big dogs,” since he has proven his viability. I have nothing against the other candidates, who I will not even deign to mention. I am sure they are fine men. They are also wasting valuable air time.

For those who think this view is haughty, where does one draw the line? When Gray Davis was recalled like a defective product, Americans had Gary Coleman, porn star Marey Carey, and comedian Gallagher sharing the stage discussing politics.

Some may say this is an aberration, but can anyone tell me why Mike Gravel and Ron Paul are on my tv set during a serious debate of serious issues? One man’s “gadfly,” is another man’s intrusion. Neither of these are glowing terms. The debates may get better ratings, but at the expense of lower quality. I guess anything television touches truly does turn to poison.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are the legitimate candidates on the democratic side. The republicans have their four big dogs. The rest should simply go away and quit wasting time. If they want to be Vice President, they can send their resume and cover letter to the remaining presidential nominees. Yes, they have aright to run, but the U.S. Constitution does not give them the right to be taken seriously.

At some point the children need to go to sleep and let the adults talk business. This is how things get done. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates requires that a candidate have 15% in the polls to participate in the debates during the general election. This is why Ross Perot at 19% participated in 1992, and the same reason why Perot at 8% in 1996 was excluded. Between the libertarians, peace and freedom, green, american independent, socialists, communists, anarchists, and others (remember the natural law party, where every issue could be solved with transcendental meditation?), at some point sanity had to win out.

The primaries are an anarchist’s dream. There is no structure. It is hard to have a serious conversation about relevant issues (not that the democrats would anyway, but at least they would have no excuses) when there are young screaming kids on the stage demanding attention.

Dark horses do not win in today’s society in presidential races. The idea that people will come out of nowhere to win does not happen. The horse and buggy gave way to the Ford Model T a long time ago. The invisible primary, for better or worse (most would say worse) lasts over a year. That is more than enough time for candidates to either develop credibility. The candidates that complain that money equals viability are simply the candidates that are failures on the fundraising circuit. Like Ben Affleck says in “Boiler Room,” “People who say money is the root of all evil do not have any.”

As much as many liberals despise the free marketplace and capitalism, the winnowing of candidates into tiers is the free marketplace working effectively. I personally think Hillary Clinton is totally wrong for the job of President of the United States. However, plenty of people disagree with me, and their opinion trumps mine.

Just because the minority in this country has rights does not mean hey get decision making power. The majority does, and should, rule. It is why, despite being one of my favorite comedians of all time, Gallagher did not become Governor of California.

Many people like Gallagher. They just do not see him as a serious and viable candidate. This is all Hillary Clinton was trying to say during that unscripted moment. Some politicians would issue phony apologies, but luckily, Hillary never apologizes because she never sees herself as wrong. In this case, she is not wrong.

We are trying to judge who will be the next leader of the free world, the person who will be leading America during World War III. A series of debates that gives the serious candidates only a few minutes to speak is bad, but the current system that gives them only milliseconds is worse.

The Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears played in the Superbowl last year. The Oakland Raiders went 2-14. They had every right to attend the game as spectators and sit in the stands, but they did not earn the right to be on the field. The season winnowed 32 teams down to 12, and the playoffs winnowed further down to two teams.

It is time to stop this nonsense of letting every candidate endorsed by at least half their own family members share the stage with candidates who are supported by millions. The person making minimum wage should not be taking a seat with the billionaires at estate sales and auctions. Life is not fair.

Hillary Clinton was 100% right to be frustrated at being forced to contend with nonsense. Now if only she could have a platform so that more people could hear her speak. Then they would know she was right about virtually nothing else.

eric

Happy days are here again. The stock market has shattered its previous high, and is now higher than ever. This benefits everybody in America.

Yes folks, what is good for big business is great for America.

Larry Kudlow has often referred to the U.S. economy as the “greatest story never told.” The stock market and the overall economy are inseparable.

For those who love to carp at President Bush because Iraq has not met artificial barriers knows as “benchmarks,” it is time that those same critics give George W. Bush his due. The economy has met every single benchmark. There is not a cylinder left to be clicked.

Unemployment is ridiculously low. Proof of this is the immigration debate. While this column has remained steadfastly neutral on the immigration issue, an undeniable truth is that if the economy was bad, there would be support for rounding up all illegal aliens and deporting them now. The immigration debate has moved to the left, where even most conservative hardliners admit that those already here will most likely be staying.

Inflation is also quite low. for those who have savings accounts, my condolences. However, people need money to make money, and low inflation and low interest rates means easier borrowing costs. Many Americans fret over borrowing, but the truth is borrowing is good for America. America was built on entrepreneurship, and a healthy economy with low borrowing costs means more entrepreneurs can begin achieving their dreams in the forms of self employment and start up businesses.

The real estate market, while cooling in some areas, is still red hot in others. Low interest rates also lead to that other American dream, home ownership. For the 85-90% of black Americans who vote democrat, they might wish to appreciate that the rate of black home ownership has never been higher. What is also notable is that the most red hot areas are in red states.

True, many people move to Florida for warm weather and Arizona for dry air, but make no mistake about it. Blue Staters have screwed up their own states, and are moving to red states due to low taxes and better job growth. As much as elite northern liberals like to treat southerners as “Bubbas,” the “New South” does exist. In the last decade, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Gulfport have exploded in population. Many black Americans are moving there for the same reason anybody would move anywhere…better quality of life, and better opportunity. What does this say about those enlightened New England liberals? If they are so great, why are people fleeing blue America en masse? The Census speaks loudly and clearly on this issue.

The stock market is entering stratospheric territory. It has fought back against 9/11, a War in Iraq, and a vicious bear that growled for three years at the start of this century. For those keeping score, the stock market did nothing in the first two years of the Clinton presidency. The bulls returned when the republicans took over congress and began discussing capital gains tax cuts. The stock market began collapsing while Bill Clinton was still in power, and began to recover when President Bush began passing…what you ask? That’s right…tax cuts. Does anybody see a pattern here?

Now some will argue that the stock market is basically fat, bald, rich, white males smoking cigars in a back room. I just had a conversation with the 90s…actually the 1890s…and they want their cliche back. The stock market is about families putting $100 per month into S & P 500 mutual funds. When the bear market hit, leftists like Robert Reich and other Clintonistas stated that people’s 401k’s were becoming 201k’s. Will they now state that people are happy about their 601k’s?

The stock market is a great metaphor for the War in Iraq. Those who left the stock market when the going got tough in 2000, or even 2002 (or even worse, in 1981), did not get to reap the benefits of higher stock prices when the bulls returned. Good news was around the corner, but they had little faith. They only believed bad news. Those who hung tough were rewarded with large gains and a better financial world.

Like Iraq, people who invest in the stock market are rewarded by being patient, not by trying to be “market timers,” or as we call them in politics, “wind blowers.” People who are for the war when it is popular and against it when the polls tell them to be against it are the equivalent of investors who buy stocks high, sell them low, and then complain that the game is rigged for the rich. Whenever liberals lose, the game is rigged. Perhaps if they ever won, they would see the game is fair, and quite winnable.

Not only are real estate and stock prices doing well, but the commodities markets are also doing well. Stocks and commodities traditionally move in opposite directions, but farmers are reaping spectacular profits for their crops, be it corn, sugar, beef or pork. Precious metals dealers are thriving, as gold, silver and platinum do well. The price of oil has risen as well, and yet Americans are calm.

Some would think that more expensive milk and eggs will destroy society, but this is not the case. Farmers going bankrupt is what hurts society. If those who produce food cannot make money, they will stop producing food. As for higher oil prices, Americans are traveling in record numbers.

The pie is not finite. When everybody has more money, they can then transfer it to others by spending it. Although this is economics 101, many people, especially liberals, were busy visiting Europe when they should have been taking this class.

There will be bad economic times ahead one day, but right now times are better than good. They are phenomenal. While much credit should be given to Sir Alan of Greenspan, and of course to George W. Bush, who seems to be able to deal with Iraq while handling a multi-trillion dollar economy, even more credit should be given to Wall Street itself.

Some on the left love to portray Wall Street as Robber Barrons, but capitalism works. Wall Street is not about Robber Barrons. It is about Barrons Magazine, as well as the Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily. Yes, some CEOs get 50 million dollar bonuses, but if a person contributes billions in wealth to the economy, then millions is an appropriate bonus.

Most importantly, credit must be given to the American people. 9/11 could have devastated us. Instead it made us stronger. We dug down deep, and found a reservoir of strength. This is not surprising, given how America was founded. This 1776 experiment is not perfect, but it is working better than any experiment in world history. The economy bounced back because the people drive the economy. The State of our Union has never been stronger, because our people are rock solid. Ronald Reagan exhorted us by reminding the doubters that “we are Americans.”

So as we now admit how fabulous the economy is, the important issue is keeping it going. How do we do this? Simple. We continue what has always worked. We keep taxes low, borrowing costs low, cut capital gains taxes, abolish the death tax, and allow workers to keep more of what they earn so that they can invest in the stock and commodities markets. We take away the government’s right to waste money so that the American people spend it as they see fit. We lower the regulatory burden so that people can be free to start new businesses without being crippled by red tape. Most importantly, we only vote for candidates for elective offices that promises to do this, and keep this promise.

As we turn our attention to Iraq, there will always be naysayers. Ignore these nervous nellies. They are the same people that have predicting economic doom and gloom despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Some people despise good news for the most selfish of reasons.

For the overwhelming majority of normal Americans, I congratulate you on your success. Despite obstacles, you have earned it. Happy Days are here again. Let us celebrate!

eric