Monthly Archives: January 2015

Netanyahu and Obama

Netanyahu and Obama

Both are heads of state.

Both are used to speaking publicly.

Both will, or have, given speeches in our House of Representatives this year.

And, there, they diverge.

President Obama gave a political speech, his SOTU,  to try to placate his leftist allies; and, while he was at it, insulted Conservatives once again, AND promised to spend more money for a variety of “worthy” causes.  There were no explanations of how to pay for all his generosity with OUR tax dollars.

Netanyahu will speak to the same Congress.  He will describe Israel’s place in an unfriendly world and how he hopes to protect his fellow citizens.  He will probably thank America for its past help.  He will explain how he sees Israel’s relationship with America and how he hopes to remain our best ally in the middle East.

Having an ally as a guest is good for America.  But, the White House’s “anonymous” sources say that President Obama is furious that Netanyahu did not say “Captain (Obama), may I come?” before the media heard of the upcoming speech.

The White House churlishly refuses to even meet with Netenyahu while he is here justifying that by saying that it is a “spit in the face” to not ask their permission.  Do they remember spitting in Netanyahu’s face when they unceremoniously ushered him out the back door of the White House on a previous visit?  Whose House is the House of Representatives anyway?  Why, it is OUR House.  And, if the Speaker of the House invites a guest to speak, that is his right.  Whether it is a head of state, or not, is immaterial.  And, no matter what Obama says, his nose is out of joint because he expected Boehner and Netanyahu to kow tow to him, NOT make their own decisions!  Obama is, to put it colloquially, acting like a JERK!

We should have seen this coming because Obama has never been a uniter.  He continually sets one economic class against another in his bid to get his own way on entitlement programs.  He said he would make all of us feel “American”.  Instead, he has played the race card over and over, dividing Americans into black and white — quite often before the facts prove there was no racial animus involved.  He repeatedly uses divisive, insulting  language against Conservatives or Conservative thoughts;  and then, whines that the Republicans aren’t willing to work with him.  He has even divided the world into two armed camps by reinforcing the demands of the Arab world, always at the expense of Israel.

So, let this Grandmother give President Obama a lesson in manners.  First, always make sure your words are tender because you might have to eat them some day. Always be the “better man” and welcome everyone, including those whom you disagree with.  And, always remember that you are NOT a monarch.  YOU are the President of the United States and should act as a Head of State, NOT a whining, spoiled brat.  You have bowed and scraped to almost every world leader you ever met which embarrassed Americans immensely.  Why not swallow your pride and, at least, make an effort to be a gracious host to one of our best allies in the world?

Remember, Mr. Obama.  You represent America, NOT a political faction.  And,  it serves America better to keep allies close and friendly than to openly create yet another divide between friends.

If you forget everything else, please remember this.  There are many countries and peoples who hate America and want to destroy her.  Netanyahu, and Israel, do not.  They are friends.

 

 

 

 

Face it, Hillary!

Hillary seems to be absent from all the latest controversies in the world today.  Usually, the Clintons, like Al Sharpton, are “johnny on the spot” whenever a political advantage can be found in a situation.

Not so lately.

So, where is she?

Is she busy building a Presidential team for 2016?

Is she busy on yet another speaking tour to raise millions for herself?

Is she busy helping the down-trodden through charitable donations of her millions?

No.

She is out of sight because she is improving her “sight”.  That is, the most logical explanation of her absence from the national scene is that she is “exposing” herself to many plastic surgeons in an effort to remove the signs of her advanced age.  She is determined to remove her wrinkles, her saggy, baggy middle, and to appear as youthful enough be President.

In politics, your face is your fortune and, for Hillary,  her current one is too OLD!

But, Hillary wants to be President and, a face lift, tummy tuck, and new hair do are minor impediments to that end.

The problem for us is that she also is willing to change her political stances if it helps her desperate search for the White House.

Unless Hillary does a “face off”, we will never know the real Hillary and, as someone who twists in the political winds, she can never be trusted.

Face it!

What is a “fair share” ?

President Obama came into the presidency as an inexperienced, unaccomplished, and unabashed Lieberal.  And, he reached that pinnacle,  not by his own efforts, but through someone else’s efforts.  In fact, most of the benefits he received were the result of affirmative action and the efforts of  many others.

So, it’s no wonder that he is trying to redistribute wealth in America.  After all, it worked for him.  Besides, giving away money, especially when it isn’t yours, must be a lot of fun. I would love to give away millions, if it were someone else’s;  but, unfortunately, when you or I donate, it comes out of our own wallet……..and, it comes out AFTER you pay the income taxes, gasoline taxes, fees, etc., that today’s welfare society requires.   Still, Obama doesn’t worry about that because, you see, unlike you and I, Obama has never had to pay his own way.

Obama has always taken the easy (lazy) way out.  He was a mediocre student in college by his own admission, favoring the Choom Gang.  He was a mediocre senator voting present countless times rather than making a tough call on bills.  And, even in his Presidency, he twists and turns every which way to avoid making any difficult decisions.  Red lines?  Forget them.  Supporting allies (Israel)?  Forget that!  Destroying terrorism?  Forget that.

Because, you see, it is so much easier to pretend that you are being conciliatory to promote peach, goodness, and the American dream than realizing that tough decisions are the result of blood, sweat and tears.

So, it is natural for Obama to lecture us about the rich paying their fair share despite multiple studies proving that the “rich” pay more in taxes, both in a percentage of the total tax burden, and in absolute dollars.

Besides, what is a fair share?  I fear Obama’s view is that “fair share” means whatever is politically needed at a given moment in time.  Forget that Equality in opportunity, NOT results, is what the Constitution promises.

His idea of fair share seems to be an America where he grabs all your income and redistributes it to his buddies.  Never mind that you worked for it, built it, and earned it.  HE WANTS IT ALL!

I ask you.  Is THAT fair?

 

 

 

Pope Francis “stepping out”……

Pope Francis is the undisputed, spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church.  And most of us Catholics respect his moral authority in spiritual matters because few of us have the training or the time to study and contemplate spiritual matters.  For most of us, working and living consume almost all our time whereas for Pope Francis, living IS the study of all things spiritual.  When he speaks of our relationship with God, he speaks with authority.  When he issues an encyclical on a spiritual topic, he is infallible.

For this, I admire him.

However, Pope Francis is NOT a scientist.  And, though he is an expert on God and how we should conduct our spiritual lives, many of us believe that we know as much, if not more, on some issues than he does.

For example, I would say that there are many of us who have a better handle on daily living than he does.  After all, we live IN the world and must deal with earning a living, raising our children, and maintaining our personal relationships with our spouses, family and friends.   Many of us are more familiar with subjects such as sewing, or computers, or sports than he is.  More people understand astronomy or business than he does.  And, there are even more who understand farming or plumbing or carpentry than he does.  He is NOT an expert in many areas of life.

And, because we know more than Pope Francis on some of these subjects, it truly bothers me that there are rumors he intends to write an encyclical, an infallible document, on the subject of global warming.  Although he has company if he believes in this, there are many, many  scientists who disagree with that theory.  And, because the science is NOT settled, despite what President Obama opined, it is dangerous for Pope Francis to write a one-sided opinion and expect Catholics to accept his beliefs when they know them to be false.  While his motives might be good, it is unwise, if not arrogant, for Pope Francis to believe that he knows enough science to dictate what Catholics should believe and how we must act on the issue of global warming.

By positing an erroneous theory as true,  he will lose the aura of authority he now possesses as Pope.  If he tries to insist that all of us believe his theory about a scientific issue like global warming, and a crowd of scientists dispute his theory, the Pope loses even the moral authority that is his due as Pope.  If he maintains that there is global warming and it can be demonstrated that he is wrong, it will be much easier to question whether he is correct about spiritual matters.

In short, by stepping outside the circle of the Church and spiritual issues, he is exposing himself, the Church, and future Popes, to proof that he does NOT know everything. And,  once proven wrong, many Catholics will begin to question his right to expound even on spiritual issues.

There have been other Popes in other times who have tried to force  their flocks in secular areas,  rather than leading them toward God.  In eras when Catholics were illiterate, Popes could easily direct, and even force,  people to act and speak in accordance with Church teachings.  However, in today’s world, where most of us can not only read and write, but think about matters which affect our lives, it is much more difficult for a Pope to insist that he alone knows everything.

So, maybe the Pope should stay “home”, and deal with religious issues, as he was elected to do.  He was not elected King over us.  He was elected Pope, or shepherd.  When he “steps out” into areas where we all have knowledge and some of us are true experts, he is no longer infallible.  He is just another man trying to force his own beliefs upon others.