When Success Means Failure (and Failure Means Success)

When Rush Limbaugh expressed his desire last year for Obama to fail, I admit I was taken aback. The rhetoric seemed harsh, a display of sour grapes after a brutal election year that had conservatives scrambling. But not anymore. Now I find myself waking up every day hoping Obama will fail. Why? Because after a year in office, the evidence is in. I've seen what he considers his successes and it's devastating.

Oddly enough, it's where Obama and the Democrats think they've succeeded that they've failed the most. The budgets they have passed have been dreadful, increasing discretionary spending by 84% in just over a year. They've quadrupled the deficit. Their stimulus bill stole money from the private sector to shore up union and government jobs that are a drain on state budgets. It also failed to create new jobs, as 4 million Americans (and counting) found themselves out of work during the president's first 12 months in office.

Now, in order to deal with the never-ending, unsustainable debt, tax increases are being discussed. This is the worst time to hit Americans with a decrease in take home pay, when consumers are already reluctant to spend and higher interest rates are on the horizon.

Passing Obama's government takeover of health care will only make things worse. It's a massive entitlement program that will increase deficits, raise taxes, and make health care more expensive. Ultimately, health insurance rates will go up, not down, based on massive government regulation.

This isn't theory. This is fact based on analysis of current state's insurance rates, which I wrote about here. Guess which state had the most expensive rates? Massachusetts - the only current state with government run health care.

Obama and Democrats consider their inability to pass this monstrosity a failure of the administration. Given the failure of their successful legislation, I'd say that's actually a success. Same goes for the EPA regulating carbon as a "pollutant" and the decision to try KSM and other enemy combatants with full constitutional rights in a civilian criminal trial. These are all first year successes for Obama, his policies have prevailed, but they are highly unpopular and damaging the future of this country. In fact, they are so bad that he must spend countless hours convincing an unconvinced public that he is smarter than all of us. Damn the results.

When you have to campaign as hard as this president does to seduce people into believing his passed legislation is "working", the truth becomes evident. If Obama's successes are such failures, we should all hope he has less of them. Rush was right. The president might have graded his first year in office a B+, but we'd all be better off next year if he gave himself an F.

Are You Suffering from Obama Nausea?

I'm going to admit it. I stopped blogging for a short stint, because even I have grown tired of listening to this president. It's all become so predictable and tedious. A more naked emperor has never walked before us, at least not in my lifetime. In fact, I have become afflicted by a condition that is sure to affect more Americans in the coming years. I am suffering from Obama Nausea, which it turns out, can only be caused by Obama ad nauseam.

It's not just his policies anymore, although I deplore his policies. It's his hubris and arrogance, his refusal to change course for a less ideological path, to lecture those who disagree with him, and to endlessly campaign instead of govern. I can't stomach the way he champions himself while blaming others, or how he always reminds us how difficult his job is. I am exhausted from hearing the same promises over and over again, many of which are naive and all of which have been broken.

Barack Obama is not the one we've been waiting for. Unless you've been waiting for a thin-skinned narcissist quick who is completely incapable of seeing anyone else's point of view. Obama refuses to listen to the people, even in Massachusetts, where they voted for him by a whopping 26% only to elect a Republican senator this year. In other words, unless you host a cable show on MSNBC, this messiah is not for you.

How do you know you're suffering from Obama Nausea? Do his speech patterns, once considered fresh and articulate, suddenly sound tired and calculated? Would you rather listen to Joe Biden? Do you miss the stumbling, but more heartfelt words of George W. Bush because, hey, at least he wasn't talking down to you?

I became suspicious that I was suffering from Obama Nausea months ago, but it was the State of the Union address that confirmed my diagnosis. My ears can't take another false promise about banning earmarks. Then, of course, there's always the blaming of his predecessors. But the key phrase that really did me in this time was when he said:

"That's why I'm asking you to take another look at my health care bill."

Another look? Are you kidding me? This thing's been rejected and refuted by the American people more times than a John Travolta scientology movie. Contestants on American Idol don't get this many chances. If only Simon Cowell was there to tell him the truth. Let's face it. If you've lost as liberal a state as Massachusetts, you've lost the debate. But Barack keeps trying to tweak the sales pitch, as if we're not hearing him correctly. He just doesn't get it.

The mainstream media keeps telling us that any day now he's going to pivot, but the only thing he has switched so far is which side he uses to give us the razzle dazzle. Granted, I didn't vote for him, but even I hoped he would learn on the fly, adapt his positions, and prove he could govern a la Bill Clinton. Instead, he just keeps selling himself as if America is the problem and he's the solution. If that's what he really believes, then no wonder we're in trouble.

State of the Union speeches have historically been significant, because the public doesn't get a chance to hear the president lay out his agenda and articulate the challenges we face as a nation often. But this president is on TV more times a day than the weather forecast.

Barack Obama is more obsessed with his image than America's image, with his problems rather than the average American's problems. His problem is his ego, in which he's greater than the entire country. Too much more of this, and we're all going to be suffering from Obama Nausea.

Democrats Applaud the Closing of Another Small Business

I'm watching the Dow fall under 10,000 for the first time in a few months. No angst. No surprise. I'm told this has something to do with problems facing the European Union. Maybe. But as long as this president continues with his economic policies, it will not be the last time we plunge below 10,000. Or even 9,000. We are on the precipice of a disaster that shows we learned nothing from the Great Depression, which by the way, was overseen by the same type of progressive Democrats who are now running things in Washington.

Increase the size of government. Waste money. Raise taxes. That's become the Democrat's modus of operandi. It may not have a noticeable impact during good times when consumer confidence is up and unemployment is below 6% (as it was during the Clinton years), but it certainly doesn't promote private sector growth. After all, the Clinton years ended in a recession that the Bush tax cuts were fortunately able to correct.

So now that Obama and the Democrats have increased spending across the board, including an 84% increase in discretionary spending, two omnibus bills with trillions in deficit spending, the disastrous cash for clunkers, and a trillion dollar failed stimulus that hasn't stimulated anything but government, they want to play the role of fiscal chicken hawks and work to reduce the deficits they just created by passing pay-go amendments and raising taxes.

This is a really, really bad idea. After all, a tax increase is the same thing as a salary cut, a reduction in the discretionary income for the average working family. And a reduction in discretionary income is the worst thing that could happen when consumers aren't spending. Now they have even less money to meet their financial obligations, to spend on their families and at small businesses in their communities.

Besides, deficits aren't the problem. Spending is the problem. Federal spending goes up every year regardless of who is in charge. Granted it goes up a lot more under Democrats (the last year Republicans controlled Congress the budget deficit was a manageable $160 billion vs. Pelosi and Obama's 2011 budget deficit of $1.4 trillion) and especially when huge entitlement programs are passed (which progressives always favor). Deficits aren't the cancer killing the patient, they are a symptom of the cancer - too much government spending. So why just treat the symptom?

Democrats want us to focus on deficits instead of spending, because they like big government. And so long as spending can be paid for with tax increases (it can't according to the Laffer Curve, but that's a whole different issue), why stop spending? They never met a tax increase they didn't like, so of course they are for pay-go amendments. It makes tax cuts next to impossible, grows government, and gives them more power. But by focusing on deficits instead of spending, we are neglecting the root of the evil - the loss of private sector wealth and free enterprise. In the meantime, businesses are getting crushed, finding it harder to succeed faced with new taxes and unnecessary regulation. And voila, we have recreated the exact type of policies that led to the Great Depression.

This will be Obama's legacy, and while the president talks a lot about favoring small business and entrepreneurs, his policies do nothing to encourage confidence. He has created an atmosphere that frowns on letting businesses and banks do what they do best - make a profit. Then he chastises them for not hiring. This is a lot like claiming to love sports cars, so long as they don't run on gas or oil. Then chastising them when they don't go fast.

Take it from me. I just closed a furniture store after trying to hang on for 14 months of decreasing sales. I could no longer afford the 50% loss in revenue and customer traffic. And for every month of Obama speeches and policies, it only got worse. Government is growing at the expense of the private sector. It always does. Sadly, progressives only applaud this. And that's what I hear: Democrats applauding the closing of my store and the end of my means of income.

Southern, White, Out-of-Touch Party Wins Senate Seat in Liberal Massachusetts (or Happy Anniversary, Barack!)

Eight months ago, when the smarmiest of RINOs announced he was going Benedict Arnold and joined the Democratic Party, Washington insiders and pundits alike began writing the obituaries for the GOP. They said Republicans were a dying breed, the party of southern white men, totally out-of-touch with the mainstream. They said unless the party became more moderate (i.e. progressive), the GOP was destined to become a regional party that faded into obscurity.

What a difference a special election makes. Turns out such talk was not only premature, it was dead wrong. Sadly, this was the same type of conventional thinking that kept John McCain from running an effective campaign against Barack Obama in the first place. Scott Brown proved last night with a Republican victory in Massachusetts that Democrats are the ones who are out of touch with the American people. Even in the bluest of blue states when replacing a liberal icon like Ted Kennedy. This leaves just one question. When will Arlen Specter be announcing his party switch again?

On Monday night, MSNDNC ran a special two hour program called Obama's America: 2010 and Beyond. By Tuesday at midnight, it became apparent that Obama's America may not last beyond 2010. Most of us don't want to live in Obama's America or even Bush's America. We just want to live in the United States of America. We want to pass down the freedom and liberty that so many take for granted to our children and grandchildren. Every day it seems like that freedom is at stake. Scott Brown tapped into that and ran a mostly conservative campaign. Of course, it didn't hurt that his opponent stumbled down the stretch in what most years would have been a coronation.

As a result, the Democrats chance to pass their progressive agenda is slipping away faster than Tiger Woods' chance of celebrating his twentieth wedding anniversary. From state-run health care to cap-and-trade to amnesty, it's all an uphill battle now. This is what happens when you try to marginalize the opposition and paint everyday Americans as extremists. You ignore their concerns at your own peril. It's hard to keep calling them astroturfers when they're voting you out of office.

If Obama is the true pragmatist that the mainstream media tries to claim he is, then this election is a wake-up call. Fire Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod and start reaching across party lines for bipartisan solutions. Scrap the current health care bill and start over without any closed door deals or back room meetings. Of course, I won't hold my breath. It takes a certain kind of arrogance to promise a new era of change and transparency only to hope the people are too stupid and/or overwhelmed to actually hold you accountable. So far, Barack Obama has allowed that arrogance to define his presidency.

Today, a nation woke up with hope. Not the kind promised by campaign slogans and demagoguery, but real hope. That hope is for the president to start listening to the concerns of all Americans, not just progressive Americans or union leaders or New England elites. That hope is for the president to stop shifting the blame and start being accountable for the struggles of this economy. That hope if for common solutions, not class divisions. That hope is for America to continue to stand strong against terrorism and to stop apologizing to the world for daring to stand against tyranny. We'll stand by your side, Mr. President, if you'll just stand by ours.

Scott Brown isn't going to Washington to write his own legacy. He's going to write the people's legacy, to be a voice for those hardworking Americans that this administration has failed to hear or flat out ridiculed. The people of Massachusetts have spoken. Let's hope this time it's loud enough to be heard in Barack Obama's insolated world.

Brown vs Coakley: Live Election Results

Got the link from Matt K. Lewis. If you aren't following him on twitter, you should add him immediately. Lots of site traffic headed there so you might have to try a few times or hit the refresh button. Here's hoping for a Republican miracle in the bluest of blue states!

RESULTS UPDATED HERE

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Politics First. Country Second. People... Third?

Country First. Remember that sign from the campaign trail a little over a year ago? Turns out it was more than a slogan. The sign speaks a truth to Obama's style of governing. Politics first. Country second. People... third? How else do you explain his outright denial of how unpopular the Democrats attempted takeover of health care has become? Why in the world is Obama still trying to push it through? For such big ears, this president sure seems to have tin ones.

I don't ever remember seeing a sitting president expend so much energy trying to get his party's candidates elected in a non-election year cycle. First it was for Corzine, now it's Coakley. Yep, that's right, the Hopenchange Express could go 0 for 2. That's worse than the Dallas Cowboys playoff record this year. And needless to say, it doesn't come off as post-partisan. It comes off as petty. It diminishes Obama's role as a leader for all Americans. Probably because Obama's actions show that he only wants to be the leader for progressive-minded Americans. The rest can buy government sanctioned health insurance or go to jail.

The public sees this and it's affecting the president's poll numbers drastically. Especially given the challenges our nation is facing: from 10% unemployment to the war in Afghanistan, from trying to stabilize a disaster area to fighting terrorism at our own army bases and on our planes. Is there a precedent for presidential shilling during times like these? Of course not. Then again, there's no precedent for this kind of shilling, either.

Four million people in the United States lost their jobs last year. That's despite spending a trillion dollars on a "stimulus bill" that hasn't stimulated anything except big government. Too bad big government relies on a successful and prosperous private sector to keep it going, because there's not much of a private sector left. These charts (and an excellent post at Captain Capitalism) show how government is now growing more rapidly than the independent businesses that can actually create wealth and jobs. No wonder, in what seemed like a long shot weeks ago, Taxachusetts might turn out for the GOP.

Even if Brown doesn't win tonight's special election for the Senate seat previously occupied by Ted Kennedy, a one or two point loss in a state with only 12% registered Republicans should be enough to halt the one party rule and the sleazy backroom deals the Democrats have perpetuated on the American people during Obama's first year in office. It should at least be enough to make other Democrats running in more conservative states change their course for more moderate footing. If not, then this president and this Congress are truly enemies of the people. That's not just a tin ear. That's tyranny, no less offensive than if we were ruled by kings.

Avatar: Worst Movie of the Year Glorifies Environmental Extremism

Avatar is the biggest, blandest, least original story to come out of Hollywood in years, with one dimensional characters, cliched action movie dialogue, and a banal lesson about the environment that makes Al Gore's eco-worship seem restrained by comparison. In other words, it's a sure bet to win the Oscar for best picture.

The bulk of the movie takes place on the faraway planet of Pandora. Or maybe Pandora is a moon. It doesn't matter. What matters is Pandora is lush and inhabited by beautiful, colorful creatures that bring to mind snorkeling amidst a coral reef in the Caribbean. And who would want to harm a coral reef? The film uses that psychology to its advantage, manipulating us to root against our pale species in the vivid alien world. After all, if the creatures looked like the bugs in Starship Troopers, you'd be cheering on a weaponized can of raid. And we can't have that.

In the first act of the film, writer/director James Cameron presents us with three types of characters: a primitive forest-living native people, a group of dedicated human scientists, and military/security personnel who work for a giant corporation seeking to mine a profitable mineral called "unobtainium." Needless to say, you don't have to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal to figure out which group will be portrayed as the villains. The mineral is said to be an allegory for oil, although the value of the mineral as a resource is never explained (does it provide energy or heat homes or make up plastics that save lives?) We're given no backstory.

Unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably become accustomed to Hollywood and the Left obsessing over the evils of capitalism, painting corporations as ruthless and greedy plunderers who will do anything for a profit (see Michael Clayton.) Avatar is no different except this might be the first movie that actually treats living in a cave as a more noble aspiration than exploring the far corners of the universe (a message Osama bin Laden would surely endorse.) To boldly go where no man has gone before? That's no longer politically correct. Someone inform the Trekkies they are now considered an occupying force.

It takes some kind of ego to raise over $300 million to make the most expensive film in the history of moviemaking and spend it bashing the excesses of capitalism. Then again, that's James Cameron for you. Perhaps he and Michael Moore have been shopping for private jets together. It should also be noted that his giant film crew invaded the faraway, pristine world of New Zealand (for the tax breaks) to shoot this monstrosity. Although I'm sure no trees or animals were harmed in the process.

I'll admit that Avatar is an amazing looking piece of cinema, especially in 3D, but unfortunately the only way to enjoy the magical world is to turn off your brain. Try not to note the irony as Hollywood, who will do anything for a buck, preaches a heavy handed message against the evils of corrupting a culture for monetary gain. I guess we're supposed to believe all thoseSaw and Jackass movies were striving for high art.

The primitive aliens presented in the film couldn't be flatter. They have no character flaws to speak of (even their bodies are drawn in svelte, model-like proportions, with six pack abs and figures that starlets would kill for) and live in perfect harmony with each other. No infighting, no disease, no outside enemies other than greedy capitalists. Apparently, no politics either. They literally live like angels in heaven. And they're bilingual! Everything in their tribal world is perfect until the "evil white man" enters the picture.

We've seen this story before, but never has a native population been presented as such a flawless, idealized culture, nor their world so heavenly. There is no nuance here, because that would interfere with setting up the straw man, which turns out to be us, the human race. White human race, I might add. Meanwhile, the native people live in hammocks and pray to spiritual trees, which we are assured really are magical because they are illustrated in a way that leaves no doubt.

Avatar revels in new age mysticism and nature worship. No longer is tree hugging enough. Tree worship is required to convert the last of us into the eco-friendly movement. It's like The Secret on steroids, with superstition usurping traditional values and refuting the idea of a Judea/Christian God. Of course, we all know that the green movement has become a cult. And an acceptable one to the Oprah/Obama crowd. James Cameron's movie is literally a recruitment film for environmentalism. Cut down enough "spiritual trees" and the capitalists will face their day of reckoning. In the end, the natives unite with the scientists and fight off the evil, imperialist humans before they can create a welfare nanny-state. Okay, not exactly, but wouldn't that have made a much better and more relevant picture?

In Avatar, saving trees is the number one priority. And if that means killing people, so be it. We're all ecoterrorists now, right? This film comes dangerously close to glorifying environmental extremism. Of course, it's hard to take this message seriously from the suburban wasteland of the multiplex, with forty screens and not a tree in sight. But someone will. Someone always does. And that's the danger of the mythology that James Cameron has created here. No matter how poorly it's done.

The Day Texas Tech Football Died

When Lubbock's most famous resident got on a plane and perished in a snowstorm on February 2, 1959, singer/songrwiter Don McClean called Buddy Holly's death "the day the music died." Fifty years later, December 30, 2009 might go down as the day Texas Tech football died.

Texas Tech University's decision to fire successful head football coach Mike Leach based on overblown allegations from one player, a day before his contract stipulated an $800,000 payment and three days before the university's fifth consecutive bowl game, is a decision that will go down as one of the dumbest in the program's history.

While there's certainly no lack of fowl stench blowing around Lubbock, this decision stinks worse than the stockyard air. Texas Tech officials have really stepped in it this time. They have backed a pampered player with a famous dad at an even more famous television sports network over the head coach, his staff, and the majority of the players, past and present. They have also shown themselves to be about as loyal as Tiger Woods, willing to pull the rug out on a coach's hard-earned salary right before the bill comes due.

This is bad news for Tech fans and the Big 12.

If you were a candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Texas Tech and you just watched the previous coach get thrown under the bus to appease a TV network that has basically been spinning one side of the story (that of their sports analyst and illegally-paid former SMU athlete Craig James), would you be in a hurry to schedule an interview in Lubbock? Nevermind that it's Lubbock!

People who live there might not know better, and something can certainly be said of its sweeping vistas and big sky sunsets, but to the average city dweller (heck, even to the average Texan), a weekend trip to Lubbock is usually a day too long. Located in the middle of nowhere, it's hardly a recruit's idea of paradise and far from a coaching dream job. On top of that, now you have an administration and board of regents who unabashedly protect personal relationships and trump up charges from players' parents rather than stand by their team's coach and staff.

Something stinks alright. Most universities don't take the word of third string benchwarmers over coaches and trainers. Most universities hold comprehensive investigations to get all the facts straight before making rash decisions on the eve of bowl games. Especially universities with a history of hiring controversial figures like Bobby Knight.

Leach is suing the university and rightly so. To prove that they had cause to fire him, Texas Tech will have to show that he acted callously and demonstrated an unwillingness to treat injured players. If there is a history of this, if previous injuries and/or concussions were treated in the same or worse fashion as wide receiver Adam James, then Tech made the right call. However, that appears to be far from the case. No other allegations of mistreatment from current or former players have surfaced. In fact, Tech players appear highly motivated and dedicated to their coach. These are not the results typical of players who experience ridicule and abuse.

It should also be noted that the trainers have backed Coach Leach's decision and claim to have monitored the entire situation. The accuser has shown no negative effects or further injuries from his isolated time or his incident in "the shed." In reality, "the shed" and "utility closet" described by ESPN and Craig James appear to be much more comfortable facilities than actual sheds or closets. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a more spacious room at the Lubbock Holiday Inn. The player had access to water, ice, and fans, and the door couldn't be locked from the outside. In other words, he wasn't locked in. Even the ACLU would praise these amenities.

More and more it appears the reason for firing Leach was either a personal vendetta or purely financial. Ironically, the financial fallout will be far worse from firing Leach. Leach has brought national recognition to a school's football program that wasn't even on the radar a few years ago. He has clearly helped bring in millions of dollars that frankly make the $800,000 bonus the university is "saving" look like chump change. That money and recognition will disappear as Tech returns to its place as an also-ran in the Big 12 without a top tier coach. Sure, they might have a winning season every now and then, but no one is going to be talking about them in the same sentence as Texas or Oklahoma again, not to mention TCU.

I'm not Mike Leach's biggest fan. I think he's arrogant and cocky. But that's also one of his greatest strengths. He uses that to build confidence in his players, players who usually aren't as talented as the big schools, but play hard to make up for what they lack in skills or size. Leach has made Texas Tech a household name and has sent several players on to successful careers in the NFL. All that is now down the drain thanks to the James family.

Unless new charges surface, Leach will win a big settlement against Texas Tech and land on his feet somewhere else. Perhaps even the NFL. As for Adam James, who was on a questionable scholarship to begin with, here' s betting you will never hear from this loser again.

UPDATE: In the first paragraph, I originally wrote forty years instead of fifty. Please pardon my Homer Simpson math skills. The error has been corrected.