Is Edward Snowden a Hero or a Traitor?

As you've probably heard, whistle blower Edward Snowden is the man behind leaking the NSA's massive secret electronic/phone data capturing program to the British paper The Guardian. If you are unfamiliar with the story, here are a few links for reference:

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/10/politics/nsa-leak/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/10/report-nsa-contract-worker-is-surveillance-source/

ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/edward-snowden-reported-nsa-leaker-face-extradition-hong/story?id=19362851

"Gun Control" Fueled by Emotion and not Logic

I've said this many times: I'm a conservative republican, and while I love our party and its ideals, I don't believe, by any means, that it's perfect. In that regard, I've also said many times that I think there are some positions the GOP holds that are losing propositions (the GOP's position on gay marriage, for example, I think, regardless of anyone's personal feelings, is a losing position to have in the party of smaller government), and while these political "losers" are small in number, there are many, many winners.

Simply put, gun rights is one of these winners. In my opinion, the GOP has the winning position. Hands down.

Much has been said in this arena since the tragic massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and that tragedy should never be forgotten. No one can fathom the loss and grief the families and friends of the 26 victims are feeling. It's unquestionably a sorrow few know, and this brief article is, in no way, an attempt to downplay that aspect of one of the darkest events in American history.

Obama says "There is no Immediate Debt Crisis"

And then claims, "in fact, for the next 10 years, it's gonna be in a sustainable place."

Wait, WHAT?!

I just had to post this. It seemed so "out of whack" that I figured it would be something worth talking about: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/03/president-obama-there-is-no-debt-crisis/

Take a look at The President's interview, and share your thoughts. I will say, upon looking at some of the comments in the article, these sum it up the best:

 - "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem, and a failure of leadership. America deserves better." - Senator Barack Obama, March 16, 2006

- "The problem is, is that the way Bush has done in the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt form $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents - #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back - $30,000 for every man, woman, and child. That's irresponsible. It's unpatriotic." - Candidate Barack Obama, July 3, 2008

What do YOU think?

What Did YOU Think of the State of the Union Address?

Here we are, 34 minutes in to the #SOTU2013, and I swear it's October, 2012. To me, this is a campaign speech.

But it's not over... what do you think? I'll post the transcript as soon as it becomes available. Please share your thoughts below.

UPDATE: Speech transcript: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/transcript-president-barack-obamas-2013-state-union-address/story?id=18480069

Open Forum: President Obama's Second Inaugural Address - What Do You Think?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/

Below is the full transcript of President Obama's second inaugural address. It was found at CNN.Com.

This Open Forum is designated for debate on the President's speech. It has been label by republicans as divisive, while democrats praise it as encompassing and progressive.

What do you think? How would you rate this speech? Is it what the country needs and what the country needs to hear, or is it divisive and counterproductive? Please share your thoughts below.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional - what makes us American - is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

President Obama's 23 Executive Orders Involving Guns

The purpose of this post is to pass along the information and specifics of President Obama's 23 executive orders pertaining to gun rights and gun control. I'm not labeling every executive order as a "gun control" measure, so that's why the title is named as such.

I have not yet developed an opinion of each order specifically, and since I'm not a Constitutional lawyer, I might not be able to for a long time. I will certainly share what I think based on the headlines of each order (of the entire proposal in full), but I don't believe it would be significant to address them individually. Regardless, since this blog exists to pass along information and foster civil, informative debate, I believe it's imperative to share this information.

Here is the PDF of Obama's plan titled "Now is the Time" - http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/556943/white-house-now-is-the-time.pdf

Here is a list, summarized by CainTV and Herman Cain's staff, that extracts from the main document the 23 orders in principle: http://www.caintv.com/complete-list-of-obamas-execut

The Fiscal Cliff Deal: Country-Helping Compromise or Crap Sandwich?

You've now undoubtedly heard that the House of Representatives has voted in favor of the Senate's version of the Fiscal Cliff bill (officially titled the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012). President Obama is expected to sign it soon. To see the pdf of the bill, go here: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/01/01/american.taxpayer.relief.act.pdf

So what do you think? Is this good for the country? Did one side win? Did one side lose? What about the process?

My opinion:

First, I want to address the process. This might sound odd to some, but in my opinion, the process is the biggest winner here... to some extent. Our bicameral legislature was established to do exactly what the Congress just did: Debate, delegate, argue, and move slowly towards a compromise. While the Fiscal Cliff negotiation process was "oversensationalized" by the media, (albeit, a heavily-slanted media that used this opportunity to push an agenda), it went precisely as our Forefathers envisioned. Our legislative body, the Congress, was designed to be slow. It was designed this way to ensure tyrannical, quick, dictator-like laws were difficult to enact. Our Forefathers believed that if laws were passed quickly, they would not be passed properly. If it was possible for a bill to become law in quick fashion, without debate (which is a representation of the people spread around this country), why not just have one man or woman, namely, a king or queen, simply implement laws? I addressed this previously, and I do believe wholeheartedly in the concept of legislative compromise:

Open Forum: Fiscal Cliff Friday

Here we are about one month away from the self-imposed "fiscal cliff," and, as expected, the opinions are flying. I believe that because of the mainstream media's liberal leaning it's difficult to get a real sense of what this situation comprises. It seems clear that the media has taken sides, (here, here, and here are just a few of many examples), so getting real, truthful, fact-based information might be difficult.

Regardless, based on what we do know, how would YOU solve the problem. Put yourself in any situation: As a senator, a representative, the President, a casual observer, a taxpayer... whatever you like. How would you handle the situation? Would you negotiate? What do you think should be the solution? What would you like to see as the outcome? This open forum is for just that: sharing any thoughts, opinions, advice, information, etc., that you have concerning the fiscal cliff. I'll put my quick opinion below; feel free to join in any time.

Happy Fiscal Cliff Friday! :-)

Mr. Obama: What are These Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Really About?

Call this an open letter, a fair question, or a continuation of this blog's debate on the Fiscal Cliff:

Part 1 - Fiscal Cliff Open Forum: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/11/open-forum-fiscal-cliff-friday.html

Part 2 - Speaker Boehner's Offer/Proposal to the President: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/12/speaker-boehners-letter-and-fiscal.html

And now Part 3 - Trying to discover what this is truly about. I pose what I think is a very real question:

"Mr. President (and, by association, democrats), would you accept a GOP-sponsored proposal IF it raised the exact same revenue as your proposal but did so by cutting loopholes, deductions, etc., and not raising tax rates?"

Can everyone see where I'm going with this? It's philosophical, sure... but it gets at the heart of this negotiation.

Speaker Boehner's Letter and Fiscal Cliff Proposal

This post is an add-on to our ongoing Fiscal Cliff debate taking place here: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/11/open-forum-fiscal-cliff-friday.html

Yesterday, the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, sent a letter to President Obama outlining the GOP's proposal to avoid going over the impending "Fiscal Cliff." This single issue, in my opinion, is the most important issue in our current socio-political-economic environment. Dollars and cents aside, I believe the handling of this issue, from the "kick-the-can-down-the-road-until-after-the-election" proposition to the notion of "compromise" or general lack thereof, highlights the broken nature of our federal government. From the divide in the halls of Congress to the split nature of our debates in social media, this single issue is driving a wedge through the nation. Regardless of how this will be resolved, the handling of this problem will surely set a precedent, unfortunately, for the handling of similar, ideologically-divided issues for years to come.

A key "x-factor" in this arena seems to be the lack of "good" information. The media, an unchecked faction who's supposedly charged with passing information to the people, seems to be subjective rather than objective. It's often said that the media leans to the left, and in this year alone, it doesn't seem ashamed to show it. With respect to the Fiscal Cliff, many examples have emerged (here are a few from Newsbusters - whom I respect because they back their claims with video, audio, links, and transcripts: ABC, Piers, Diane Sawyer, Wolf to show a few) that show the media is shamelessly taking sides without offering a balanced set of inquiries or interviews to anyone on the right. This leads to an American public that is grossly misinformed about the facts of our dire situation.

Attention Democrats: There is a Difference Between Asking and Forcing

With all the recent talk about the "fiscal cliff" and tax revenues, I've noticed a political "framing" that is central to the left's attempt to sell tax increases on the wealthy. It comes down to one simple notion:

Just ask.

It shouldn't be news to anyone that Obama, even well before his reelection victory, has been touting a consistent tax policy of "tax the rich." As any reader of this blog knows, I'm vehemently opposed to this and any progressive tax rate system with respect to economics, fairness, and democracy grounds. Of course, I've summarized the fairness issue in this article from April, 2012. Regardless, as I said, team Obama and the left like to frame this "tax the rich" issue as if it's a simple request. He has said, time and time again, that part of his tax policy approach is to "ask the rich to pay a little more."

How convenient. It sounds nice. It sounds warm and fuzzy. The word "ask" sounds as if we're all drinking buddies, and we're simply requesting a favor: "I don't mean to impose, but I'm low on cash today, can you please pay for my beer?" On top of that, if were truly a measure of asking, if the rich were to squirm or rebel or protest, well, it gives the non-rich citizens of this country, who comprise the vast majority, another reason to loathe them.

A "Quick and Dirty" Look at Obama's Tax The Rich Plan

I couldn't resist. I saw the following article and I just had to write about it: http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/14/news/economy/obama-taxes-deficit/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Yes, I know that in the post-2012 election era, this blog will naturally pivot to more philosophical writings, but some economic analyses will come up here and there. This is an example of one of these economic analyses.

As many readers of this blog know, rarely would I conduct an analysis on a simple article such as the one listed above. Usually, as seen in this previous analysis, I prefer digging deeper and analyzing primary-source data... usually involving IRS data tables, OMB information, or anything of the like. Since this is a simple analysis of the second-hand information discussed in an article, it is officially a "quick and dirty" look. :-)

An Interesting Election Day Analysis - Independents

I was stumbling through some polling data and I noticed a trend I've been writing about in my poll tracker: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/09/lme-presidential-poll-tracker-database.html

- Mitt Romney is doing well with independents.

But why is this significant considering I projected Obama to win the election? http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/11/cnns-joke-of-poll-and-my-election.html

I'll answer that by looking back to 2008 exit polling data: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

In 2008, Obama won independents 52 - 44. Party line votes were nearly split (Obama won 89/9 D/R - McCain won 90/10 R/D), but as shown, independents, or 29% of the vote in 2008, went for Obama.

CNN's Joke of a Poll and My Election Prediction

As you can see from the title of this post, there are two relevant issues I'm writing about today: CNN's final poll, and how I think the election will play out. They're relatively unrelated, but I figured I'd get them both out in one post.

First, the CNN poll: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/11/04/top16.pdf

This final CNN poll is truly a joke. It claims the that Obama and Romney are tied 49% to 49%, but that is with, according to the poll, Romney winning the independent vote my 22 points, 59% to 37%. You might be scratching your head in amazement. "How could this be?" you might ask. Well, it's really quite simple: democrats are oversampled by +11! (D/R/I = 41/30/29).

CNN Shamelessly Misleads On Economic Report

Last Friday, the Commerce Department released a report claiming the economy grew at a dismal 2.0% annualized rate. By most economists' standards, an economy whose output exceeds last year's output by 2.0% is not growing quickly or strongly by any stretch of the imagination. But that didn't stop CNN from claiming it was a different story. See the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/26/news/economy/gdp-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Here is the front page headline from CNN.com:

Click Image for Expanded View

Team Obama's "My First Time" Ad

Here is the new controversial ad from Team Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o6G3nwhPuR4 #MyFirstTime

Does anyone see a problem with this? Is Obama's campaign seriously comparing voting for Obama to a young woman losing her virginity? Is this how democrats view women? That when they vote, it's like a hook-up? That voting for your unquestioned, unchecked king is something sensual? That they chastise republicans for a "war on women" and wanting to take away women's rights, but "hey, voting for us is like sex! Bring it on!?" Lena Dunham, in the clip, says that voting caused her to go from being a girl to a woman. Come on!

Honestly, in my opinion, this ad lacks class. Mixing sex, especially when sensitivities are high from recent statements about rape and sexuality in general have been made, with voting seems to be going too far. Yes, this is done by Team Obama. It's on their barackobamadotcom YouTube channel.

But maybe I'm way off on this one. I don't have kids, but I'm curious how mothers feel about this. How does the mother of a 16-18 year old feel about the innuendos in this ad. I'm not religious, but how do religious fathers of teenage daughters feel about this ad? I think, personally, that the ad sinks to a new low in campaigning. And, of course, I predict the media won't even make this a story. Can you imagine the media outrage if the GOP dared to put something like this out?

What do you think? Am I way off? Please share your opinions below. Happy Friday!

Obama's Second Term Plan Diagnosis: Déjà Vu

Okay, I'll admit it... all the good titles for this post were used already. What I wanted to use was "does the math add up," but that was taken already. I'll get to that in a second. Moving on, here is the official second term plan from President Barack Obama titled, "A Plan for Jobs and Middle Class Security - The New Economic Patriotism"

See Obama's second term plan here: https://secure.assets.bostatic.com/pdfs/Jobs_Plan_Booklet.pdf

The first surprising thing to me is that CNN's Jessica Yellin said, "it's not anything significantly new." - Check it out: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/10/23/cnns-jessica-yellin-not-anything-significantly-new-obamas-just-releas

The Third Presidential Debate - Open Forum

The debate will air live at 9:00pm tonight on all major networks. 

The final presidential debate is supposed to center on foreign policy.

Pre-debate questions:

- Who do you predict will win? 

- Will Obama continue with his aggressive approach?

- Will Mitt Romney be able to unseat Obama's "successes"?

After the debate:

- Who won? 

- Did this debate sway your vote?
- Who do you think will win the election?

After the debate, join me and the usual crew on The 405 Live at 10:30pm EST tonight for our special post debate show!  The show is hosted by @johng405. Listen at the following link:

http://the405radio.com/

Call in at 877-297-8022 to give your take on the presidential debate. Jump on the air and join us in the fun! As always, feedback on the segment is greatly appreciated. 

The Presidential Town Hall Debate Open Forum

As with the recent VP Debate, this is an open forum to discuss tonight's Presidential town hall debate.

Pre-debate questions:

- Who do you predict will win? 

- Will Obama be more successful with is "aggressive" approach?

- What would YOU ask the candidates?

After the debate:

- Who won? 

- Has your vote been swayed?
- Best line? Worst line?
- Who do you think will win the election?

After the debate, join me and the usual crew on The 405 Live at 10:30pm EST tonight for our special post debate show!  The show is hosted by @johng405. Listen at the following link:

http://the405radio.com/

Call in at 877-297-8022 to give your take on the presidential debate. Jump on the air and join us in the fun! As always, feedback on the segment is greatly appreciated. 

"I'm Barack Obama, and I'm Going to Deceive You in This Message"

Harsh, huh? Maybe. But true? Absolutely.

If you watch his most recent ad, President Obama is using the same old lie: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/obama-mitt-romney-tax-rate_n_1962187.html (the video is near the bottom).

Why is this deception? Well, I've written about that before... many times: http://loudmouthelephant.blogspot.com/2012/08/obama-continues-to-lie-about-taxes.html