Gary Wellings Chief Editor of The Courant (www.courantonline.com), The Daily Drift (www.thedailydrift.com) Host of The Drift Radio Show WAAM Talk 1600

 

Election of Survival

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor April 2016

I’m sure this editorial will get plenty of heads shaking and a few extra emails and calls.  I always welcome even negative comments by the way folks. If you don’t like the views in this paper you are welcome to contribute. I may be biased but I am fair, I try to print all views, I just don’t get much from the liberal minded.

I have people complaining to me vociferously about my support of Donald Trump, from both my liberal friends and my conservative friends.  The conservatives say he’s not a rea conservative!  The liberals say he’s a racist, he’s rude and a hate monger!

Obviously I have to engage both these arguments; they are after all my friends despite our differing views.  That may surprise some of you. Yes I have room in my life for folks who don’t think like I do it’s not always about politics even for a guy like me.

For those who don’t think he’s a conservative, you are correct. I say good, because what have the so called conservatives done for me, for any of us?  We gave the “conservatives” the House and the Senate and they’ve been too cowardly to do anything. They have one power over a President who ignores the Constitution with his executive orders, the power of the purse but they cower before the media and refuse to defund anything.  Conservatives along with Liberals have also failed to secure our borders that issue is the fault of both parties.

For those who think he’s rude and hatemongering because he wants to slow or halt immigration I say YES that’s exactly what needs to happen and it’s not rude.  Going on 15 years now we have not had an increase in wages and you won’t when you import 1 million people a year legally.  Big business is fueling that, the billionaires and Wall Street are fueling that.  They want cheap labor.  On top of that include another million maybe more of illegal immigrants.  The people that suffer most from immigration are the uneducated, the low skilled the urban poor of every color.  We are encouraging more competition for the quickly disappearing low skill jobs.  With H1B visas the special interests are now giving away our technical jobs to “educated” foreigners because they’ll accept lower salaries.  We are being played by Washington and Wall Street. Ask yourself how Congressman and Senators come out of Washington as millionaires when even their high salaries can barely cover living expenses in high priced Washington DC.

The system is broken and corrupt, if you don’t see that open your eyes.  Democrats and Republicans are both taking advantage of taxpayers.  People say Trump is no better he’s part of the broken system.  Yes he is but there is a difference.  He simply plays by the rules the political elite in Washington set up. There is a difference between the man who has to pay the bribes (political donations) to succeed compared to the briber (politicians) who set the system up to benefit from those bribes.

My support of Trump is based simply on statistics.  I have 100% chance of nothing changing or things getting worse with all the normal politicians be it a Bush, a Clinton, a Sanders, a Kasich, a Romney, a Rubio or a Cruz.(depending on convention games) The super delegate game is proof of corruption and an attempt to silence the voting public.

With Trump I have a 50% chance that he may be who he claims to be, that he may do what he says he will do. Those chances are better by half.  He might be a complete liar or incompetent but I know all the other candidates are with 100% certainty.

This election is about survival. Immigration affects our national security and our ability to create jobs for Americans which is a necessity if our great country is to continue. Trump is exactly right on immigration. Trade deals can decimate or enrich our country. I trust a businessman like Trump to handle that not another lawyer or politician who serves special interests.

Hate me if you want I’m taking the better chance and rolling the dice with Trump. Our survival depends on it.

 

The Most Important Election

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor March 2016

With all the attention on this year’s Presidential election people tend to forget about the most important elections.  No part of government affects you more than your local elections. Township Boards, City Councils and School Boards directly affect your life more than any federal or state election.

This year spend a little time thinking about your local municipality and schools and ask yourself are you happy with how your school or town is doing? Are taxes too high? Is your town growing correctly or growing at all?  Is your school board putting the proper curriculums into place to give your child the best education they need to succeed in today’s world?

Local elections are far more important than any Federal or State election and yet most people don’t really think about it. Your local government affects your property rights, property values, lifestyles and your pocket books. Your school directly affects the future of your child and grandchildren.  In some instances the very survival of your school district may be at stake.

It’s 2016 so educate yourself to local issues and don’t be afraid to get involved and try running for office.  We all complain about government yet career politicians are the direct result of each of us not doing our part volunteering as citizen politicians. Public service is important and worthwhile despite the hassles and stress that is often involved.  New blood is what has made this country great so do your share, vote, campaign and consider running for local offices this year.  You really can’t complain about your community if you haven’t stepped up and tried to make a difference.

Deadlines for running for public office are in April 2016. Contact your local Clerk’s Office or the County Clerk’s Office for filing information. Go ahead it’s easier than you think.

The Outsiders

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor November 2015

The 2016 election is well underway and it’s obviously not business as usual.  While the mainstream media keeps touting Hillary as the shoe in candidate for the Democrats, Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds of the young and disenchanted.

On the right billionaire tycoon Donald Trump has electrified the GOP base.  Now you’re establishment Republicans won’t admit it yet but even some mainstream right wing pundits are saying he isn’t just a flash in the pan.  Chasing Trump from a short distance behind is neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

One might ask what these candidates have in common.  Almost nothing.  Are they outsiders? Hmmm maybe Ben Carson is but Donald Trump certainly isn’t he’s been buying most of these politicians for years and admits it.  Its part of why people like him, he’s brutally honest about it.  Bernie Sanders is nowhere near an outsider he’s been playing taxpayers for his political salary for a long time.

So what do they have in common?  Pretty simple when you think about it. It’s us.  We are what they have in common. We are the true outsiders. The politicians that we have continued to elect for years on end either because we stopped caring or we were gullible enough to believe their constant lies are the insiders now.  They are no longer the public servants. We have become servants to the politicians and subconsciously we are beginning to realize it.

What is the attraction of a washed up socialist or a brash rude billionaire?  It’s something different; it’s not the same old same old.  We are crying out for leaders who at least this time around are just saying what we want to hear they are pointing out the almost criminal behavior of the insiders.  The Capitol, Washington DC is the inside. It is everything that is wrong with our society, we see the rot and we are beginning to not only see it we’re beginning to act on it.

Do I believe any of these new insiders can make a difference? I’m not sure. After seeing politics for over 40 years here I’m not sure I believe in much from any candidate for public office but I know what I’m going to get from a Jeb Bush or a Hillary Clinton. More of the same.  Many in the Wall Street crowd are donating to both Jeb and Hillary because they know that both of them will continue the big bank bailouts, the crony capitalism and the government handouts.

I’m not voting for same old same old this time around. I’ll happily pull the lever for a Donald Trump or Ben Carson and I’d actually be happier with an honest Bernie Sanders Socialist than a phony, dishonest Hillary Clinton.  At least I hope old Bernie is honest.  Because you know what?  The way things are going, hope is about all we got left.

Time to Get Involved

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor May 2015

If you haven’t been paying attention to the national news because it seems all bad you might want to start.  First, there’s the Trans Pacific Partnership or TPP trade agreement that Barack Obama wants power to fast track and that not so surprisingly those nasty establishment Republicans support is now really big news.  We don’t know all that’s in it but if you use some common sense you’ll figure out it most likely isn’t good for American’s job prospects.  Remember that whooshing sound that Ross Perot warned us about with NAFTA?  If you happen to be a union member or if you are looking for work you might find you have another new problem to deal with. Well, enough said. call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to not fast track this. Giving Obama and his big business cronies even more authority to ruin our economy is a bad thing.

If you are a property owner or farmer you probably should be paying attention to the new EPA rules governing waterways in the US.  I’m not talking about the Detroit River and Great Lakes. The EPA wants sweeping new powers to control streams, creeks ditches and even those seasonal puddles on your property that they want to classify as “wetlands”.  Even if you are a tree hugger you might want to think about giving  control over your property to the Feds.  Your Mother Jones project in the backyard may well be at stake.  Call and email your representatives and tell them to stop the EPA over reach. I have email, phone and other contact info for your national and state representatives at www.thedailydrift.com or www.garywellings.com. Find your voice and get Involved.

You Deserve Better

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

You’ve seen enough of my editorials to know I have no love for bad government. That’s why I am so vehemently opposed to Proposal 1.

Prop 1 is the poster child for poor government. It’s a Frankenstein of bad legislation that caters to special interests and non-road related projects and programs without fixing the main reason that these idiots we call State Elected officials have thrown this lump of garbage on the ballot.

This isn’t about safe roads.  If it was the cowards in Lansing including Governor Rick Snyder would have passed any of the alternative funding bills that were available in the last 24 months. Rick Snyder has been in office for more than four years.  If it were a priority he would have been pushing it instead of the albatross of a new bridge to Canada.

Yes I’m bagging on the Republicans in Lansing as well as the Democrats who support this pork filled ballot proposal.  Only about $400 Million dollars of the approximate $1.2 billion will actually go to roads in the first year of this nightmare there rest lines the pockets of special interest groups.

This “mere” 1 cent rise in the sales tax is actually a 17% increase in the sales tax just do the math.  This is government that wants to tax you more so they can continue their spending spree.  Rick Snyder and crew have increased State spending by over $5 Billion dollars in the last four years.  They spent all that money but didn’t fix the roads?  Who really cares about safe roads?  Not your State government. Each and every politician who supported this ballot proposal should not be re-elected and should never be elected to any other office.

They are thieves who think that your pocketbook is their own.  Send a strong message this May 5^th vote NO on Proposal 1, you do deserve better than this. Tell Lansing to do the job they were elected to do and make the same sacrifices the rest of us have in the last 8 years.

Love America?

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

Rudy Giuliani has taken some flak for his comments about Barack Hussein Obama not loving America.  You can give me some flak too if you wish because I whole heartedly endorse those comments.  When pressed on the comments Rudy didn’t back down but instead like a true leader, he explained it.

The America most of us grew up in is not the America Barack grew up in. In fact Barack spent some of his formative years out of the country as a youth. After his self-described socialist mother divorced his Kenyan father who also happened to be a Socialist , she married a second Muslim man from Indonesia. Lolo Soetoro, his step father enrolled Barack at a  schools in Indonesia.  Barack also had mentors like socialist Frank Marshall Davis and America hater Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Not a typical American life.

I believe Barack loves what he wants America to be. That’s a problem for many of us. Most Americans still basically love America as it was founded and as it has grown and what it stood for. It’s a place of freedom where ideas, good and bad are welcomed. Where hard work and common sense can get you ahead in life…sometimes, there are no guarantees here or any other country on this planet.

When he was elected Barack Hussein Obama said that he would fundamentally transform America.  That’s not love.  Have you tried to fundamentally transform your wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend or other person you supposedly love? If you have, I’m betting it didn’t turn out well.

As human beings you don’t really love something if you want to fundamentally change it but Barack stated those words with forceful pride. Barack Hussein Obama doesn’t love America, he loves the version of America that he’s changing us into. That’s pretty selfish and that certainly isn’t love.

In the end actions speak louder than words and by any measure the actions of this President over the last six years doesn’t show love for this country.

Rudy Giuliani prefaced his comments about the President with these words. He said “This is a horrible thing to say”. That’s very profound. You see, it’s not horrible that Rudy said it; the real horror is that we actually have to say it.

 

State of the Cheerleader

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

I felt the need to prepare for a blast of high blood pressure when I watched this year’s State of the Union speech by our Dear Leader but thankfully I didn’t hear anything I didn’t expect from our supposed Commander in Chief.

Now you can say “Gary that’s terrible, at least respect the office!”  Truth is I cannot respect anyone who lies as consistently and outrageously as this President has.  Barack Hussein Obama saying we have come out from under the shadows concerning our economy is probably just the smallest of the whoppers he told.

This last week the CBO just downgraded December’s GDP estimates slashing alleged growth to 2.4%.  Wall Street seems to be making big bucks under the President’s policy of low  interest rates to the banks but Main Street hasn’t been able to get that cheap money to invest with.  Frankly the stock market has become just an east coast Vegas where thousands of automated transactions are run every day risking bank assets and the stakes played for are for millions or even billions of dollars. Wall Street may have come out of this recession but most of us have not.

Watching Barack Obama talk about the US no longer being at war in Iraq and Afghanistan was also ironic. His pullout in Iraq has led to ISIS being able to slaughter thousands of innocent people who didn’t want to submit to medieval Islamic rule. Even as he spoke another Middle Eastern country, Yemen , fell under the yoke of Islamic extremism.  He also didn’t mention his constantly increasing number of US military trainers and advisors in Iraq and Syria.

The Divider in Chief also threatened to veto anything the newly elected GOP Congress tried to pass that he didn’t agree with. It seems he didn’t get the message from the American people that we don’t agree with the direction he has taken us.

Finally in his latest attempt to divide the country he talked about Congress not passing legislation for equal pay laws for women    He forgot to tell the country there have been such laws on the books since the 60’s and that his own Administration pays women 83 cents for every dollar they pay men.

The President’s speech signified all that he’s done in six years’ time, nothing but cheerleading…and for the wrong team.

 

Self-Censorship

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

By now you’ve all heard about the movie “The Interview”.  Its initial nationwide release was canceled after hackers threatened violence at theaters if it was shown.

The story of the hacking is still not clear but the majority of the media and the FBI are blaming the North Koreans because the movie is a dark comedy about the assassination of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.

I saw the movie over the holiday. It was released at independent theaters on Christmas Day and also released on the internet.  There has been no violence at the theaters despite the threats.  While the media and the federal governments have been quick to blame North Korea many cybersecurity experts are saying the evidence does not truly support blaming the North Korean government.

What the media is not telling the public is that the Sony Corporation recently outsourced much of its cyber security and information technology to an outside firm laying off workers.  That may well have led to disgruntled ex-employees causing the problems.

Eventually we may actually trace the hack to the real culprits but the real problem is how Sony reacted. Liability issues or not our country is based on the concept of freedom especially freedom of speech and while we can argue the limits here at home amongst ourselves we should never bow to the will of extortionists, terrorists, rogue nations or organizations who don’t like what our US companies produce.
What precedent has Sony Pictures sent by not releasing the movie as intended?  They stand to lose possibly as much as $100 million dollars and while they do have some cybersecurity insurance it won’t make up for all of it.  How much will the next ill-fated product or service that is disliked by some technologically proficient malcontent cost our economy?

As Americans and as American businesses we must learn to adapt to this new cyber world and its dangers. We must be better prepared and make more efforts at cyber security. We also have to stop being cowards and not self-censor ourselves simply out of fear.

Supporting Criminals

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

I’m sure a lot of us are just tired of hearing and seeing Ferguson Missouri. I’m with you but unfortunately I’m beginning to believe it’s a sign of things to come.

Despite the Grand Jury finding no fault for Officer Darren Wilson, the media, famous race baiters, Hollywood elite and many other people around the country and world want to see a police officer punished for doing his job.

Some people may think I’m crass and uncaring. I’m not, I feel deeply for Michael Brown’s parents. No father or mother should ever have to bury their offspring. However let’s get one thing straight. Michael Brown was no child nor was he an unarmed teen.  At 18 in this country you become a person of majority with all the legal trappings of an adult (minus purchasing and drinking alcohol in public legally)

Michael Brown was a 6’6’’ 300 pound man who had graduated high school and should have known what his actions would lead to.  The fact is, on August 9, 2014 Michael Brown was a one man crime wave on the streets of Ferguson.  We don’t know all that he did that day but the facts show quite clearly that his downfall that day began with the smoking of marijuana and then the petty theft of cigars from a party store. Before leaving said store he committed assault and battery on a store clerk (caught on video). Any crook with common sense would have maintained a low profile after pulling even a minor theft but not a young giant of a man looking for trouble. Michael Brown and his friend proceeded to walk through their neighborhood in the middle of the street obstructing traffic  instead of using the side walk  and when told to use the sidewalk by a passing Officer Darren Wilson he did not go to the sidewalk but instead started a verbal altercation with the officer, maybe not illegal but certainly not a wise thing for any person to do.

When Officer Wilson saw that the pair matched the description of the two men who robbed the party store he confronted them, where Michael Brown made his final fatal decision to throw common sense out the window. Instead of facing a possible arrest he attacked the officer while still in his car and tried to take his gun.  In doing so he committed assault and battery again and by trying to take the officer’s gun committed what could be called attempted murder.

Michael Brown was wounded in the hand inside the window of the police car. When he turned to run he was followed by Officer Wilson whose job is to pursue and apprehend criminals.  When he finally stopped and faced the officer according to the autopsy and reliable witness he charged the officer and was killed.  These are the facts from the Grand Jury.  All that information is open and available.

So why do protestors ignore the facts? Why does the media treat the officer as the criminal? This case has been a travesty and a media circus meant to increase television ratings and get airtime for the race baiters who make a living stoking racial fires.

This was not a racial incident it was a simple crime scene that some people in our society saw as an opportunity to cause trouble. There are no more questions as to how Michael Brown died but there are a few questions to still ask.

Ask yourself why wasn’t Attorney General Eric Holder standing next to the Missouri Prosecutor when the findings of the Grand Jury were read, why not Barack Obama even?  Why  the National Guard wasn’t posted prior to the announcement of findings and why was there a final leak of Grand Jury information in Washington DC prior to the announcement? Ask yourself why people should worry about following the law if their President doesn’t?

Finally ask yourself why so many in our society seem to be accepting, supporting and promoting criminal behavior .

Does Standardized Testing Hurt Your Student?

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

For decades kids have complained about how tough testing is and how much stress it causes. Now in the second decade of the 2000’s some parents are beginning to believe that. Ann Arbor Schools have recently had a slew of letters from parents telling the school district to remove their children from standardized testing such as MEAPs.

You didn’t know that was an option? Well you’re not alone, most people don’t.  School districts don’t want successful students opting out because loss of good scores would hinder raising the overall school performance. Students who don’t perform well could opt out but it may prevent teachers and staff from knowing where they need help. It has been alleged however that in some districts the schools actually keep low performing students from participating for fear of bad grades lowering school performance.

As with any issue there are positives and negatives but according to local Whitmore Lake School Board member Ken Dignan, State of Michigan law puts parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to making the decision on participation with standardized testing.

THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE (EXCERPT) Act 451 of 1976 380.10
Rights of parents and legal guardians; duties of public schools. [M.S.A. 15.4010 ] Sec. 10. It is the natural, fundamental right of parents and legal guardians to determine and direct the care, teaching, and education of their children. The public schools of this state serve the needs of the pupils by cooperating with the pupil’s parents and legal guardians to develop the pupil’s intellectual capabilities and vocational skills in a safe and positive environment. HistoryAdd. 1995, Act 289, Eff. July 1, 1996

So parents need to weigh the pros and cons and then decide. One positive outcome of knowing this as a parent is that it indeed gives you some control over a school board if you have high performing children. Those parents who fear the mediocrity of new Common Core curriculums now have a trump card.  The school needs the scores of your successful student. You are not a helpless parent when dealing with those school boards that don’t listen and push bad curriculums. Either way it’s not a decision to take lightly so do your own homework when dealing with your child’s education and testing.

Chicken Little and the Debt Ceiling

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

What happened the last time you told your credit card company you wanted your limit raised? More than likely you were never stupid enough to ask especially if you were already having problems making those payments. Most of us know what that answer would be.

Unfortunately our Federal government thinks it exists in its own special world where it can print money and leave you on the hook for it, so raising the debt ceiling limit has become a regular occurrence. Our House of Representatives controlled by the Republicans huffs and puffs about not raising it but each time they do. The Democratically controlled Senate simply refuses to debate or vote on any bill that limits spending and of course Barack Hussein Obama constantly threatens a veto of anything that involves a spending cut.

This week Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pulled on his Chicken Little costume again like last fall and warned that the sky would fall in on the US if we didn’t raise the ceiling.  What kind of Treasury Secretary would promote ceaseless spending with no plan to cut back?  Wouldn’t the first qualification of any Treasury Secretary be the ability to balance a budget or at least trim the budget?

Those of us in talk radio and small community papers seem to understand the common sense in this but the mainstream media rolls along with this juggernaut of spending as if it’s a never ending all inclusive cruise.

It’s not, the bill that eventually comes won’t be a pleasant one and there won’t be an easy bankruptcy judge to let the United States of America off the financial hook.  The creditors to United States; China, Saudi Arabia and the Federal Reserve (whoever they are) among others, are probably a lot less forgiving than our American Banks who have become immune to Americans going belly up. This election year don’t get sidetracked by the smoke and mirrors of soft social issues, your first priority in picking someone to vote for should be a politician who will push for a balanced budget or you and your children will be on the hook for something terrible.

A Dynasty Shows Need for Term Limits

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

Congressman John Dingell decided to retire last week after 59 years of serving the 15^th district. Does that sound like a long time?  It is and while many laud the Congressman for his many years of public service, I do not.  While Congressman Dingell accomplished some positive things in all those decades such as… well I can’t think of anything at the moment, he will mostly be remembered for helping push through a destructive Obamacare along with every other Democrat in the House of Representatives. None of whom even understood the problems it would cause. So is Dingell retiring because of his age or because he knows Obamacare may well have been the nail in the coffin of his congressional career (no pun intended)

What many younger people may not know though is that Dingell basically inherited that Congressional seat from his father John Dingell Sr. who held the seat for 22 years of his own.  Does it strike anyone as odd that here in America where there is supposedly no royalty a single family can control a senate seat for 81 years?

Even more disturbing is that now John Dingell’s wife Debbie plans on running for his Congressional seat.

Is she qualified? Probably no more than Dingell was but she certainly has everything now required to be a Washington politician, the name leverage and most likely, access to a huge campaign war chest that Dingell built up over an almost 60 year period.

The Dingell Dynasty has already ruled a good chunk of south east Michigan for over 80 years. Must we see this seat continue in this royal lineage for another 20? This is not the House of Lords in England. Maybe that is what the Dingell’s are shooting for?   This kind of anti-American politics shows the need for term limits, it vindicates the fears the founding fathers had of royal titles and shows how out of touch politicians become when sheltered in the capitol for so long.

Term limits make more sense now than ever before and if we can’t put term limits in place maybe a simple rule such as not serving consecutive terms so that these royal politicians can’t campaign on our dime when they should be working. Maybe they would make better decisions if they weren’t worried about getting re-elected. Maybe they would have a better understanding of what they have wrought if they have to spend the following term living under the rules they have made for the rest of us.

Face the Truth

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

The Middle East is burning with violence, much of it to do with bad and ignorant policies by the Western world including the United States. As it does I find it disgraceful to watch the American media and many Americans put the blame in the wrong place for the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

The terror group Hamas is not waging a war with Israel, this is simply Hamas holding innocent Palestinian women and children hostage. You can see examples all across the internet, Google or You Tube it up. Hamas and other terror groups would like to spin their ramped up violence into a grand story of Palestinians who are being treated badly.

They are being treated badly, by Hamas. Palestinian women and children are being forced to occupy houses, apartment buildings, mosques and schools while Hamas fires rockets and mortars from them. They then flee themselves forcing the civilians to stay as Israel returns fire, destroying those launch areas. They do this so that the easily gullible world media will believe Israel is killing women and children indiscriminately.

This violence is not the fault of the Israelis. In ceasefire after ceasefire it is the terrorists who break the peace. If Israel laid down their arms the Palestinian terrorists would kill every Israeli they could get their hands on, women and children included. If the Palestinian terrorists laid their arms down Israel would stop firing, they already have, multiple times. That is the difference. The Charters of Hamas and Hezbollah include the total destruction of Israel and all Jews; they want Israel to no longer exist.

Israel already gave the Gaza strip back to the Palestinians in a deal that was brokered to bring peace and a step toward a Palestinian homeland but there has been no peace. With the money US taxpayers have sent to the Palestinians they could have built Gaza into an incredible city. Instead they built tunnel systems to assists them in terrorism and weapons movement.

Rockets have been fired into Israel on a regular basis for decades now and only when it becomes unbearable do the Israelis finally respond. When they do they actually place multiple phone calls to the buildings and sites they intend to destroy to give innocent civilians (and of course the terrorists) time to get out. Who does that in a war setting? Who gives the enemy fair warning anymore? Who has that kind of honor? The Israelis. There is only one democracy in the Middle East, Israel. If Palestinians want peace and a homeland they need to learn you get more flies with honey than you do vinegar they need to accept the Israelis have a right to exist and not be wiped from the face of the planet. So far they’ve shown only vinegar, spread by rocket attack. The Palestinian people need to stop supporting the same terrorists who forcibly use them as cannon fodder and targets.

So the next time you hear an ignorant person blame the Israelis for killing women and children, set them straight with the truth. Do your part as a good human being and support those who have honor and who legitimately try to protect themselves instead of blaming them and ask yourself how you would respond to rocket attacks and terrorism right here in the US.

The Overwhelming of America

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

To those of us paying attention the scandal upon scandal that comes out of Washington each week  is no surprise but let’s face it most of us are too busy working, paying bills, getting the kids to practice or just surviving, to give it more than a glance.  It’s called life. We’re so deep in the woods we don’t see the forest.

To those of us who are paying attention we notice the price hikes at the gas pump, the grocery store the clothing stores but again most of us just keep filling up the tank bringing home the groceries and opening our wallets for those debit and credit cards.

To those of you not paying attention please take a minute and give the evening news, the internet website or talk radio just a bit more of your thought process.

You might say you’ve heard enough of the IRS Scandal, the Benghazi Scandal, the Veteran’s Administration scandal, the Immigration debacle, the NSA scandal and the Foreign Policy nightmares. You might say you don’t want to hear any more about it. Frankly I’m with you.  I’m tired too.  But is this all sheer coincidence? Can we just call it bad luck for the Obama Administration? Can you just chalk it up to lack of experience or misjudgment about the people Barack Hussein Obama brought into his Administration to work with him?  You could maybe…I can’t.

It’s clear to me that no one person or Administration could be so completely ignorant or out of luck.  What if, just as a thought mind you… but what if these scandals upon scandals are meant to overwhelm you? To get you tired, uncaring and unmotivated to pay any further attention.  What if this was a grand scheme to fundamentally change America simply by making us throw up our hands or worse turn our heads to ignore it.

I’m not trying to be just another biased anti-Obama guy.  I don’t dislike Barack Obama the man. I dislike what he’s done. I dislike what he’s doing and I dislike the fact that so many of us just don’t seem to care anymore and falling into that trap.

You can believe that an open border with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants pouring across it is ok. You can believe that those illegals won’t cost taxpayers money. You can believe that they won’t create more competition with those of us already unemployed. You can believe that America is still respected by countries around the globe. You can believe that the smug non-apologetic IRS commissioner doesn’t know how all those emails got lost. You can believe that the VA is really caring for our Veterans and you can believe that it really was just a video that got four Americans in Benghazi killed.  You can choose to believe that but I won’t. Nobody and no administration can be that stupid or have that much bad luck. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed but fight that feeling.

The Elephant in the Room

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

I know we all seem wrapped up in Obamacare, its failures, its consequences and all the other scandals and foreign policy problems the country faces, but there is another issue that may well be bigger and far more important by November’s election.

That issue would be immigration. By most accounts it is said there are 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States and some estimates put that number nearer to 20 million.  It’s hard to say exactly what that number would be due to the fact that if they are “undocumented” we really have no idea how many could be here.

The left would have you focus on the families that would be divided if true immigration enforcement were to happen. Vice-President Joe Biden would have you believe that people coming here illegally are heroes trying to make a better life for themselves. Even former Republican Governor Jeb Bush is calling illegal immigration an act of love.  The truth is, coming to the United States without documentation and permission is simply breaking the law.  You can’t enter Mexico or Canada without very severe penalties including jail time and yet our present and past administrations turn a blind eye toward enforcement.

There is much to debate, a large illegal population is a drain on resources, a lost source of tax revenue and drives down wages. We can argue about all of that but let’s focus on what we can agree on. We can all agree that this is a complicated problem and frankly, like it or not, complicated problems are best solved one step at a time. It’s easier to fix your leaking roof first rather than jumping into a whole house renovation.

Stopping a leaking border with a huge project to seal that border and thus creating thousands of jobs is a common sense step that we should all be able to agree on and wouldn’t mind our taxes being spent on.  Those on the right who want no amnesty can agree to that, average citizens and “legal” immigrants would agree with that, even illegal or “undocumented” aliens would probably agree with that since they have the most to lose if more illegals come across the border to take their “undocumented” jobs.

Sealing the border completely will most likely bring even the staunchest anti-amnesty parties to the table to talk about the next steps in dealing with our undocumented population.  Let’s start with just one small step in reforming immigration: sealing and controlling our own national border, because it’s not just acts of love making people cross that border. An unsealed and uncontrolled border allows people with absolutely no love for the United States at all to come waltzing into our country and doing us harm. Let’s tackle this elephant in the room, not in an alleged and impossibly comprehensive way but in small common sense steps.

A Dynasty Shows Need for Term Limits

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

Congressman John Dingell decided to retire last week after 59 years of serving the 15^th district. Does that sound like a long time?  It is and while many laud the Congressman for his many years of public service, I do not.  While Congressman Dingell accomplished some positive things in all those decades such as… well I can’t think of anything at the moment, he will mostly be remembered for helping push through a destructive Obamacare along with every other Democrat in the House of Representatives. None of whom even understood the problems it would cause. So is Dingell retiring because of his age or because he knows Obamacare may well have been the nail in the coffin of his congressional career (no pun intended)

What many younger people may not know though is that Dingell basically inherited that Congressional seat from his father John Dingell Sr. who held the seat for 22 years of his own.  Does it strike anyone as odd that here in America where there is supposedly no royalty a single family can control a senate seat for 81 years?

Even more disturbing is that now John Dingell’s wife Debbie plans on running for his Congressional seat.

Is she qualified? Probably no more than Dingell was but she certainly has everything now required to be a Washington politician, the name leverage and most likely, access to a huge campaign war chest that Dingell built up over an almost 60 year period.

The Dingell Dynasty has already ruled a good chunk of south east Michigan for over 80 years. Must we see this seat continue in this royal lineage for another 20? This is not the House of Lords in England. Maybe that is what the Dingell’s are shooting for?   This kind of anti-American politics shows the need for term limits, it vindicates the fears the founding fathers had of royal titles and shows how out of touch politicians become when sheltered in the capitol for so long.

Term limits make more sense now than ever before and if we can’t put term limits in place maybe a simple rule such as not serving consecutive terms so that these royal politicians can’t campaign on our dime when they should be working. Maybe they would make better decisions if they weren’t worried about getting re-elected. Maybe they would have a better understanding of what they have wrought if they have to spend the following term living under the rules they have made for the rest of us.

 

Culture of Hypocrisy

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

I think most people would expect me to complain about Obamacare and I most certainly have, both here in the paper and on The Drift radio show, but there’s something that I find even more troubling. It’s the hypocrisy of the Obama Administration, the Democrats in the House and Senate as well as the duplicitous actions of the Mainstream Media.

When the Republicans tried to defund and stop Obamacare they were labeled extremists who didn’t care about the millions of people who didn’t have health care insurance.  When the Republicans tried to compromise and just delay Obamacare as part of budget negotiations they were labeled obstructionists trying to thwart the law of the land. It’s hard to swallow that millions more people have now lost their insurance than have gained it. Why hasn’t the media admitted the Republicans were right?

When President Obama singlehandedly decides to change and delay many parts of that same law of the land, the media and its pundits says nothing. In our form of government which is a Constitutional Republic, it is the President’s job to enforce the law, not make or change it. So when President Obama acts on his own and treat the laws of the nation as simple instructions that can be changed at his whim, there’s a serious problem.

This is not how the United States should be run. We are a nation of laws, not of men.  It is the job of the media to help protect those laws by pointing out those politicians who do not follow the law.  If it had been either President Bush or even Bill Clinton making these changes, the impeachment trial would have been well underway. Those of us who turn a blind eye to this injustice are as guilty as the actual perpetrators.

As citizens it is our job to hold politicians accountable for their actions, all the more so when they are as blatant as this. We should also be prepared to hold the media just as accountable when they fail to report fairly on our government and those who run it.

One of the most blatant hypocrisies is the very fact that one of President Obama’s campaign strategies along with the media’s, was to demonize Mitt Romney for working at Bain Capital Management. What the media has not widely touted is the fact that President Barack Obama appointed a Bain Capital guy, Jeffrey Zients as his acting Director of Management and Budget and then called on him to fix Healthcare.gov when it failed at launch. Didn’t know that? Most people don’t; the media failed to report that small detail.

You may not want to hear it, but its 2014 and another election year is already here.  Don’t let hypocrisy go unanswered this year. Stay informed and don’t rely on the mainstream media to help you. They have their own agenda and it’s not good for you or the country you’ve grown up in.

Default Would Be Obama’s Fault

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

The Democrats are already wrongly trying to blame the GOP for the 17% Federal government shutdown. Next they will try to blame a default on US debt on the Republican controlled House. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like it or not The House of Representatives has passed bills to fully fund the government albeit without funding Obamacare. They compromised and passed a bill to fully fund the government with just a one year delay of Obamacare (which the President has illegally delayed parts of already).  Then they have passed bills to individually pay for those parts of the 17% shutdown that were really hurting people.  All of these compromises were turned down by the democratically controlled Senate at the behest of Barack Obama.  The Republicans have done their job. The Dems have not.

The IRS, if you haven’t noticed is not part of the shutdown and still collecting record amounts of taxes from US taxpayers and businesses.  So there is still plenty of money coming into the Federal coffers.

The US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has the decision to prioritize what gets paid and what does not. His decision will be based on what his boss, President Barack Hussein Obama, tells him to pay.  What this means is that paying the debt despite reaching the debt ceiling is Obama’s decision.  For every dollar the US Federal government spends right now we borrow forty cents, an unsustainable model for any economic entity, even the great United States of America.

What this means is we have to reduce spending by 40 cents per dollar or increase revenues by 40 cents for every dollar or a combination of the two.  From an economic standpoint there isn’t enough revenue in the United States economy to increase taxes by that amount.  Simply put it’s a spending problem not a revenue problem.

Increasing the debt ceiling should only happen if there are major and significant cuts to the Federal budget in the double digit range.  We have seen in the last two weeks that a 17% shutdown has not destroyed the economy.  The sky has not fallen.  If we were to cut 20% in a methodical and common sense fashion we can correct this course, get a compromise and end the shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis but that requires the Democrats and Barack Obama to make that common sense decision. If Obama chooses to not pay the Federal debt then default lies solely on him and his cronies.

I Will Gladly Pay You Tuesday for A Hamburger Today

 

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

I listened to Senator Harry Reid and Dem Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi after their meeting with John Boehner and our Liar in Chief Barack Obama as they met to discuss the government shutdown.  All I could think of while listening to these two habitually lying legislators was the old Depression cartoon character Wimpy asking for a Hamburger today and he’ll pay for it later.  It was the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen any American, let alone an elected politician do.  Not that being down on your luck is a bad thing but lets face it, this isn’t about being down on your luck. This is a leading US Democratic Congresswoman and The leading US Democratic Senator asking the GOP leader to trust them.  Would you trust Pelosi who said  that Obamacare must be passed to find out what’s in it?  Do you think you know what’s in it now Nancy?

The GOP have now offered to pay Federal bills item by item since Harry Reid is saying no to anything that involved defunding or even delaying the President’s signature legislation that he has already delayed some of the most important parts of.  Dirty Harry said not to that too and tried to tell the Media that he is being reasonable but it fell flat. At least to anyone with half a brain.

John Boehner, who is no saint in this quandary (as released emails show) needs to stand his ground with true conservatives and hold the line. Everyday that passes will show the American Public that the furlough of “non-essential” Federal employees is not the end of the world and that we as a nation can survive without the ever growing beast that is the Federal Government.  Call your Congressmen and Senators and tell them “Shut It Down.”

 

Justice Found

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

Despite all the hoopla from the race baiters and the attempt by the media to extort a story of racist murder from a justified self-defense case, justice came indeed at the hands of 6 women some of them mothers.  The attempt by the media to show the Trayvon Martin killing as a racist act of violence first by a white man against a black youth and then a “white Hispanic” was the real tragedy here. Each of us has had probably at least one argument with someone we know over this issue. I have and let me tell you the Trayvon supporters arguments were always based on misinformation from the mainstream media and emotions.

George Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer in a community that had a rash of break-ins.  He put himself out there to protect his neighbors when others did nothing.

The facts of the case never warranted a murder charge. It was self-defense from the beginning and the verdict from the jury today proves it.  Now of course the naysayers say the jury was biased.

The court case showed forensic evidence that George Zimmerman fired the shot at near point blank range and that the shot was fired upward.  Not the type of shot a cold blooded killer would take. Eyewitnesses said Trayvon was on top of George Zimmerman and physical medical evidence showed that Zimmerman had been beaten on the face and that the back of his head sustained injuries from being banged on the cement.

There is no argument that this was a tragedy and that a young life was snuffed out and that the whole issue could have been avoided if George Zimmerman had not followed Trayvon Martin and just waited for the police but as a Neighborhood Watch volunteer he was within his right to be where he was and to attempt to keep an eye on what he considered a suspicious character in his neighborhood. Zimmerman called the police as soon as he suspected a problem.  If Trayvon had felt threatened why did he not call 911 instead of confronting someone?  That in itself is a question any Trayvon Martin supporter should ask. The jury found the truth and they found justice.

The jury saw all the evidence we did without the emotional non-sense that the race baiters and media carpet baggers wanted to sell.  This is the reason George Zimmerman is legally a free man today. Or is he? The truth is he must now face civil lawsuits from the family of Trayvon Martin, and possibly civil rights charges from a hypocritical and bigoted Federal Justice Department.

Can a man and his family ever be free in a country where the media and professional bigots have named you a racist killer?  Frankly George Zimmerman should file his own lawsuit. The defendants should include the local, county and state of Florida officials who brought charges against him. The defendants should be the professional race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. The defendants should include MSNBC, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS and CNN and all the other media outlets for failing to report the truth, for sensationalizing a death and worse for actually reporting untruths.

 

Scandalous

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

Well you’ve been living under a rock if you aren’t aware of the three major scandals rocking the Obama White House right now.  There are more but getting the main stream media to cover them is the tough part. Whatever happened to true journalism in this country?

You’d be surprised how many Americans don’t bother with the news anymore. They’ve tuned out from life and tuned into “reality” shows which is kind of ironic?  Frankly I’m surprised President Obama hasn’t just turned the White House into a reality show…or has he?

The IRS scandal gets worse by the day, this investigation has been going on for over two years now, Congress has been lied to, IRS employees are pleading the fifth and Obama says he didn’t know anything about it until he heard it in the news.  Really? Top brass from the IRS have had 118 meetings at the White House  in less than 24 months.  Were they discussing sports or their kids?  Obama feigns outrage and says he has asked a top Director to resign, problem is that Director had already planned on resigning.  Yea that’s punishment enough for a Federal agency that targets Obama’s conservative enemies.  What will they do when they run Obamacare?

How about that Department of Justice Scandal?  The only reason we even heard about it is because the Department of Justice was stupid enough to tap into the Main Stream Media’s phone records and get their media allies’ panties in a bunch. Despite denials by Attorney General Eric Holder on that issue we come to find out he actually signed off on the DOJ spying on Fox reporters emails despite telling Congress he knew nothing about it.  What else is he hiding? They say they are justified because they’re trying to stop government leaks…from their own administration.  They say dogs can’t smell their own dirt I guess the same goes for the Obama Admin.  The leaks are coming from the White House and their appointees shouldn’t they be investigating themselves?

Finally probably the worst is Benghazi and Hillary Clinton can’t distance herself from this even if she’d prefer it to fall on the White House.  The State Department knew in advance there were problems with security in Libya they turned down requests for more security. Then they refused to help and told special forces in Tripoli that wanted to go to Benghazi to stand down which wouldn’t have helped Ambassador Stevens but could possibly have saved the other three Americans. Then they lied about the attack being a just a demonstration against an anti-Islamic  video for weeks after the attack. Now they get continually caught in lies during the hearings about who did or didn’t do what.

The common denominator in all of this is a lack of transparency and a lack of accountability.  On not one of these 3 scandals has Obama or his minions stood up and said it’s my fault I’m to blame or even better I was ordered to do this by this person.

How a Presidential Candidate who said he would have the most transparent administration in history fell to a 2^nd term President who seems runs the country in the shadows is almost better than a reality show.  It’s a book and Hollywood movie of intrigue in the making.  And there really are only two answers for Obama’s actions. He is either the most uninvolved and incompetent President ever or the most dastardly villain seen in American history.

Your Rights Like Them or Not

Gary Wellings, Chief Editor

The gun rights issue has been hot and it’s not going away. I’ve seen some good and bad arguments on both sides of the issue but much of the time facts are not present.  I wholly support our 2^nd Amendment rights probably not a surprise for those of you who have followed The Courant since 2007.  But its not because I’m a conservative its because I believe in common sense above all else.

There are three reasons our founding fathers gave us the 2^nd amendment. The first one was to prevent a tyrannical government from abusing its citizens.  We’ve watched our Federal government overreach and expand its powers for the last 50 years.  If this continues at this pace tyranny is a valid concern and if so you want to be as well armed as any troopers the government can send against you. Sounds a bit paranoid and end of the worldish?  Maybe not; more than 6 million Jews who died in Europe would argue that it can and has happened.

The 2nd reason is that we as American citizens are the last, best line of defense in defending our nation from attack by other nations or rogue terrorist forces. Again it may seem like a plot from a movie but it is credible and a certain deterrent. During World War II, the Commander in Chief of Japanese Naval forces, Admiral Yamato told the Japanese Emperor after bombing Pearl Harbor that invading the United States was not possible because a gun would be behind every blade of grass due to the amount of arms Americans owned.  You see he was educated here in the United States, at Harvard of all places, so he knew the US people and their penchant for guns.

The third reason is not speculative at all. Common sense dictates that no matter how good your police department is, rare is the occasion that they can get there quick enough to help you if someone assaults you or is breaking into your home with your family present.  You have to rely on yourself and hopefully you’ll be as well armed as the criminals. If you are hopefully it will deter them from proceeding further and no one gets hurt. If it doesn’t at least you have a equal chance of coming out on top.

Finally I am a firm believer in data and I have many times over the last month spent time debating this issue.  My fondest argument is that even if you can persuade me to accept some form of gun limitation why would you focus on assault rifles?

Fact: rifles in 2011 contributed  to 323 deaths while handguns accounted for 6220 in 2011.  Which gun is used more to kill people?                                                                                                                                        Fact: Blunt objects like hammers and bats killed more people than rifles accounting for 496 deaths. Where is the ban on those?

Fact: Gun deaths have been declining since the assault gun ban was lifted

Fact: More people died from car accidents  in 2011(32,367) than guns.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year

For this editorial I wanted to include the FBI Homicide statistics from 2011 to show the truth to my arguments their available on this page. See Below