Go Michele!!!!!!!

Today Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll!!!!  I am really impressed with how well she has done in such a short time.  She did have advantages like being born in Iowa and serving in Congress in an adjacent state, but she proved that she could successfully compete on a big stage under a huge spotlight with some of the biggest names in the game.  I think this shows that she has real potential, and is a serious contender.

Republican Debate

I watched the debate on Fox last night.  It was much better then i expected!!  It was too bad that Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty tore into each other as much as they did.  I like both of them for different reasons.  I would like to see either of them succeed, so it was a shame to see them try to cut each other off at the knees.  I think the suprise of the night was Newt Gingrich.  I had pretty much written him off, but he made a really good showing for himself.  It will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on that or if his campaign continues to flounder.  I think Santorum did well, and he made several points that I think are very important, but I really don't see his campaign going anywhere.  He certainly is fighting the good fight though!!

Are you getting your moneys worth???

I wish there was some kind of reality TV show where they toured the multitude of ridiculous government agencies and bureaus.  It could be sort of like a mix between Undercover Boss (because ALL those govt bureaucrats work for us!) and my favorite sitcom The Office (because they are all self important losers taking pleasure in running whatever little tyranny they have built).   There could be special episodes on public service unions, and safety commisions.  There could be entire episodes just on how many offices and departments there are out there.  You could have wilderness month and hit up Fish and Game, DNR, Dept of Interior, Land Management, etc etc.  This show would be great because it would really show people how redundant and useless these departments are.  I think if more people knew how swamped we are paying for all these groups, there would be more calls to eliminate all the redundant ones, and finally demand some results and accountability from the few that were left.  Just saying...

As The World Burns.........

You see riots breaking out across the world.  In some places they have been going on for half a year now.  The Arab Spring has burnt out as the factions that gained power are now busy consolidating it.  In the places where there is no clear winner, fighting rages on and casualties pile up.  Now even in the "First World" countries violence is breaking out.  It starts off as "protests" and soon escalates at any excuse to hurt someone or break something.  The world economy is causing all of this.  Different regions have different specifics, but in every one  it boils down to people not having enough personal freedom and personal responsibility.  In the middle east people have had absolutely no personal freedom, and feel helpless stuck in their stagnant economies.  Frustration built up until it started exploding!  Literally!!  In the Western World, people have spent generations being bought off by government promises and entitlements.  They lost any sense of personal responsibility.  And like a spoiled child who runs out of toys, they are reacting violently to the news that the gravy train is going to have to stop soon.

Obama Makes History (of Our AAA Credit) - The Editors - National Review Online

Obama Makes History (of Our AAA Credit) - The Editors - National Review Online

This is the best article I have found that explains what led up to this mess, and what the important factors are. This should be read by every American citizen. It really puts it in terms that help others understand what is going on, and why it is happening. Anyone have any other articles to recommend?

S&P Downgrade

No suprise here.  S&P decided to downgrade America's credit rating from AAA status to AA+.  This makes sense because they are not measuring whether or not the debt deal got done by August 2nd like the Democrats were so worried about.  They are actually measuring the content of the deal.  If we had passed the Ryan plan or the Cut Cap and Balance plan then there was a chance that we could have kept our sterling credit rating.  But by passing the plan that the Democrats had gutted, that provided for no real meaningful spending cuts or structural reforms, S&P had to be honest in its assessment.  And in all honesty all this plan does is slow down the budgetary problems that got us in this mess in the first place.   As long as we continue to spend more then we need to, we will continue to dig ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole.  The farther we get, the more painful it will be to get us out.