Our Leader

Is this just creepy or what?

America's Ruling Class

Angelo M Codevilla brings us this lengthy essay that looks at the coming conflict between what he calls the "country class" and the ruling class. That we now have a ruling class that has embedded itself in positions of power is beyond serious debate. The question for the two-thirds of Americans who belong to the country class, i.e. regular Americans of the bitter and clingy variety, is how do we reverse the travesty that has been forced on us.

It is a very large question because the ruling class has spent considerable time and effort over the years creating the political machine that they control and from which they benefit. It has tentacles that reach into nearly every area of American life and will be very difficult to dislodge. But dislodge it we must, or we will lose that which has made America the great nation that it is and we will be no better, and no different, than the rest of the world from which our ancestors escaped.

Sooner or later, well or badly, that majority's demand for representation will be filled. Whereas in 1968 Governor George Wallace's taunt "there ain't a dime's worth of difference" between the Republican and Democratic parties resonated with only 13.5 percent of the American people, in 1992 Ross Perot became a serious contender for the presidency (at one point he was favored by 39 percent of Americans vs. 31 percent for G.H.W. Bush and 25 percent for Clinton) simply by speaking ill of the ruling class. Today, few speak well of the ruling class. Not only has it burgeoned in size and pretense, but it also has undertaken wars it has not won, presided over a declining economy and mushrooming debt, made life more expensive, raised taxes, and talked down to the American people. Americans' conviction that the ruling class is as hostile as it is incompetent has solidified. The polls tell us that only about a fifth of Americans trust the government to do the right thing. The rest expect that it will do more harm than good and are no longer afraid to say so.

Happy Birthday from Arizona

Want to send the President a message? How about a virtual birthday cake that will let Obama and Michelle Antoinette know just how you feel about securing the border!

Tax on Toast

I'm not a film person, but I do work in graphic design and advertising, so here is my simple idea for a commercial that would get the basic idea of Cap and Trade across with an image that everyone can understand. Call it "Tax on Toast"

Picture a toaster on a white back background. A hand come into the frame with a slice of bread. Bread goes into toaster, hand pushes the toaster handle down and starts the toasting process. A counter immediately starts counting up the Cap and Tax; 25¢ --- 50¢ --- $1.00 --- $1.75 and so on. By the time the toast pops up we get up to something like say $3.75. Voice over explains that the left wants to tax the energy that you use to make your breakfast because you just don't pay enough for the energy you use.

That's Cap and Tax.

The Propaganda of Incompetents

Investor's Business Daily pulls no punches in this editorial that questions the competence of the Obama-Fuhrer and his minions, none of whom seem to have a grasp of basic economics. There is no question that the recent jobs report, referenced in this article, shows that this administration does not know what it is doing and has no understanding of what to do to get the economy going again. They know that the election in November will be a disaster if the economy does not pick up, but they are clueless as to how to fix it.

No wonder, as they are tied to the failed Marxist/Keynsian model. They spend and spend and spend, pulling ever more capital away from the private sector, but they are unable to make the connection that their own actions are putting a lead weight around the people who would otherwise be leading a recovery. They could not be more blind.

Boiling Over

Peggy Noonan at The Wall Street Journal brings us this item in which she worries that the left has struck a blow against American optimism. And she is right to be concerned. In the last several years, and particularly given the stranglehold that the left has over the country now, many are wondering if our best days are behind us. It will take a major long term effort to dislodge the many hard core anti-American types who hold sway over us, but the rise of the Tea Parties is an encouraging sign for the future. Many Americans have not given up, and have correctly identified the culprits on the left who do not want us to be a great country. This administration has people in it who are dedicated to "managing America's decline" as they themselves have put it. But the rest of us see no need to let them get their way.