T.W.A.K. PERSON OF THE YEAR(s)

2010 was a troubling and challenging year, to be sure. Certainly not the time anyone would want to be in charge of a company, yet alone the most powerful nation on earth. It could be said that few if any Presidents started their terms in office with so much going against them. Two wars, an economic tailspin, two polarized Congressional bodies with majority leaders that were straight out of a stooges movie, and oh yes, you are the first black President in a country that did not even pass a Civil Rights bill before your lifetime.

Yet for all the saber rattling, the do nothing congressional opposition and the intense criticism that questioned your citizenship and compared you to Nazi leaders, you have flourished. In fact the last time a President got so much accomplished, booze was illegal.

Yes, the federal debt has increased, a troubling fact since you inherited a 12.5 trillion dollar deficit as it was. But with your stimulus bill (or more precisely the senate's stimulus bill) you have staved off a second great depression. Unemployment still hovers around 10%, and that fact much be improved, but the country has rebounded, and confidence has been regained.

Militarily you have shifted the focus away from Iraq and are concentrating on the real hotbed of terrorist activity, Afghanistan. You closed secret detention facilities in Europe,and prohibited the use of torture. You eliminated wasteful defense spending, such as the F-22 fighter jet program. You got rid of the arcane "Don't Ask Don't Tell," and reformed protocols with a Weapons System Acquisition Act. You signed a new G.I. bill, and pushed the START treaty through a lame duck senate.

You have spent more on education than any other, including an increase in Pell grants and loans, increasing the SCHIP program, and you reformed student loan predatory practices. You expanded spending for NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Domestically, you have gotten a new food safety bill through, along with landmark legislation allowing the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry. You negotiated a 9/11 relief workers bill which seemed all but dead, you signed the Christopher Reeve paralysis act and stem cell research has begun because of your efforts. You have continued to offer tax cuts, extended unemployment and COBRA rights for the unemployed. You crafted a credit card reform bill that will end abuses from lenders, signed the Ledbetter fair pay act, crafted a Wall Street reforms bill, a fraud enforcement and recovery act, and changed the way lobbyists operate in our government....and you signed hate crimes legislation that will protect victims and prosecute offenders.

You invested more than anyone in clean energy initiatives, increased fuel economy standards, continued the debate on climate change, allocated over 100 billion to improve our infrastructure and signed a sweeping public lands bill.

What am I forgetting? Oh yes, you put two women on the bench, saved the American auto industry and did what others have been trying to do for 65 years...reformed health care for all.

Not bad for half of his first term.

He has been a shining example of a family man, and an educated man. Because of him, when a parent tells their off spring that they can truly be or do anything when they grow up, they will not be lying or exaggerating.

Under enormous pressure, under enormous scrutiny, and some might say under enormous hatred, he has succeeded.

No doubt you will focus next on the DREAM act, energy reform and filibuster reform. You will keep reaching across the aisle despite having your hand slapped back numerous times. And you will continue to achieve and succeed.

For these and many other considerations....and without question or hesitation, the "World According to Kimba" Person of the year, is United States President, Barack Obama.

IN GOOD COMPANY

Only 4 presidents have had their birthplace home declared a national park, can you name them?

Undoubtedly not, but you probably guessed the biggies...

Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Care to guess the fourth?

If you read the paper (does anyone do that any more besides me?)

you might have read about the creation/approval of the

394th park created in the National Park System.

Give up?

Needless to say this list makes me ecstatic...

George Washington,

Abraham Lincoln,

Teddy Roosevelt and

William Jefferson Clinton

Quite the list

SOCIALISM

"When you are in the service of your fellow human beings,

you are in the service of your God"

EGREGIOUS SPENDING MARKS THE MIDTERM

Now that the midterm elections are over and the dust has cleared, we should look back and take note of the process. Certainly as a liberal, who apparently got "shellac-ed" by all estimation, I may have an axe to grind, but the numbers speak for themselves...and I am talking of the cost of running for statewide and congressional offices, or at least the amount of money some candidates were willing to spend in order to become elected.

John Roberts and the Supreme Court recently declared that campaign contributions are merely "speech" and thus should not be regulated or inhibited in any way. This ruling, as repugnant as I may find it, went into our election process with nary a whimper from the electorate, leaving the rich, and leaving large corporations entirely free to spend at will in order to push their candidates, and their agendas (and yes...the unions as well).

No matter how you may view this ruling, I am sure we can find agreement that election spending is completely out of control; in fact is has reach obscene levels in some cases. Case in point, Carly Fiorina spend over 6 million of her own money in a failed run for the Senate from California. You do not have to be a bleeding heart lib to consider much more palatable alternatives for this money...but this is the tip of the iceberg. Let's look at three other examples.

Florida's Greene spent 23 million of her own cash reserves to mount her campaign. Garnering 284,000 votes, this works out to a whopping $83.55 per vote, hardly a bargain. Wrestling magnate Linda McMahon spent over $41.9 million from her pocket book, or $84 per vote.

Former Goldman Sacs exec and e-Bay head Meg Whitman got out her checkbook and spent over $144 million, and some estimate the total will top $160 million by the time the dust clears. That's a relative bargain at $38.32 per vote, until you realize she LOST her bid for California Governor. With that amount of cash, she could have paid the 2011 tuition of all 23,000 UCLA students, or certainly made some very happy non-profits this year.

This is not to say that in a democracy they should not be allowed to spend their own hard earned cash to mount a campaign, but we have to ask ourselves what affect this will have on who can run for office in the future. Abe Lincoln would not have a chance in today's world...but Larry Flint might breeze into office with his financial advantage. An exaggeration of course, but what happens to the caliber of candidates able to mount a successful campaign when the most important line item on their resume is personal wealth?

For my money, each office should be capped in terms of how much they could spend. A run for Governor? $50 million. A run at the Senate would be capped at 35 million, and so on. Of course the first thing any candidate would have to do is either pay for, or raise the money, but from then on, they would be free to be as innovative as possible when allocating those funds, certainly a consideration of fitness for office.

In the case of Whitman, it would have limited her to spending only $12 per vote, a much more palatable expense, and certainly fair across the board. And if it shortens up the election cycle periods, I couldn't be happier.

And that's the world...the "World According to Kimba." Thanks, as always, for reading.

Hamish and Andy interview Hillary Clinton - The 7pm Project (Australia) ...

This should be our President folks....doing an outstanding job as our Secretary of State, garnering great polling numbers, earning the respect of our allies and our enemies alike...classy and tough, she is the best thing Obama has done in his first term.

Ohio McDonald's gives voting advice in paychecks

Ohio McDonald's gives voting advice in paychecks: "A handful of McDonald's employees in northeastern Ohio received handbills in their most recent paychecks suggesting they vote for three Republican candidates.
'If the right people are elected we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above our present levels,' the insert said. 'If others are elected we will not.'
The fast food chain's corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., distanced itself from the action by Canton franchisee Paul Siegfried, saying it was not reflective of the company's position. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the Democratic elections chief, said she was launching an investigation because the action appeared to violate Ohio election laws.
Allen Schulman, an attorney representing one of the employees, said Friday he had forwarded the paycheck insert to Canton's city law director, citing state and federal laws against corporate advocacy in elections.
'It's no surprise to anyone that Ohio is a battleground state in this election, and for a multinational corporation like McDonald's to threaten employees like this is morally and legally wrong,' Schulman said in a statement.
Siegfried issued an apology later Friday, emphasizing the value he places on employees and their freedom of choice in the upcoming election.
'Distributing this communication was an error of judgment on my part,' Siegfried said in a statement. 'Please know, it was never my intention to offend anyone. For those that I have offended, I sincerely apologize.'
The handbill with a simple McDonald's logo at the top recommended votes for Republicans John Kasich for governor, Rob Portman for U.S. Senate, and Jim Renacci for Ohio's 16th congressional district. A Renacci campaign flier was also included."

Portfolio's Worst American CEOs of All Time - CNBC

Portfolio's Worst American CEOs of All Time - CNBC: "A consummate self-promoter, Fiorina was busy pontificating on the lecture circuit and posing for magazine covers while her company floundered. She paid herself handsome bonuses and perks while laying off thousands of employees to cut costs. The merger Fiorina orchestrated with Compaq in 2002 was widely seen as a failure. She was ousted in 2005."

Want to vote for a business train wreck? Someone who outsourced 30,000 American workers in favor of boosting the economies of foreign countries labor force? Someone who brought HP down to their knees? Vote for Carly Fiorina.

GROUND ZERO MARKING A SUSPENSION OF CIVIL RIGHTS?

What do the following cities have in common........Temecula California, Murfreesboro Tennessee, and Sheboygan Wisconsin? Answer....they are all fighting the construction of mosques in their cities. Given that you do not feel these cities are too close to ground zero.....the question has to be asked, why? Why the blatant discrimination towards one religion?

Certainly the threat of terrorism comes with costs....bigotry, paranoia, suspicion and open hostility. But that is not all....the ultimate cost is the suspension of civil rights, and a questioning of the constitution, the very document that not only extends us those rights, but defines (or once defined) our country as a whole.

So it has to be asked....How does a country such as this, a country established as a haven against the blatant and discriminatory practices of a country and King who demanded their homeland worship in one manner only....how does this country....why are its citizens and politicians, in a country founded by individuals who sought religious freedom and enshrined it in their constitution overlooking this value by condemning the Muslim center in Lower Manhattan in a manner that is increasingly demagogic and vitriolic? (paraphrased from Jennifer Merolla)

Not to water down or question the focus of political leaders and political entertainers calling for the relocation of the proposed site for the Cordoba mosque a few blocks away from ground zero (Palin, Gingrich, Beck, et. al.), but maybe they should start slower with their campaign of hatred and bigotry and take on the Halal food carts parked directly across from ground zero.....can you imagine, rubbing their pita bread concoctions into the open wounds of the 9/11 tragedy!!

And that is the world...the "World According to Kimba."

Thanks for reading.

WHO REALLY CREATES JOBS IN AMERICA?

Jobs, jobs, jobs......when is the Obama administration going to create jobs? That's the question being asked, but is this notion a fallacy? Can any administration truly create jobs without out and out creating them and paying the salaries? Of course not.

The creation of jobs (non-governmental positions) happen in the private sector. It is as much a result of economic confidence as much as anything, my friends. As the stock market rebounds back to normal, the auto industry experiences growth, and many other indicators improve, the nation holds onto their cash with a death grip. A record death grip, in fact.

Non-financial corporations in the S & P 500 index reported cash on hand of nearly $837 billion, an increase of 26% over the previous year. Needless to say, they are nervous about our economic futures.....and their reticence to invest and / or hire is having a dramatic effect on any economic recovery. Companies are currently holding, on average, cash on hand equal to 10%+ of their total value, twice as high as in 1999. And as their cash increases, their inventories reduce to extremely low levels.

This lack of confidence is not limited to corporations. Consumers are holding onto their cash in record amounts as well; American households are hoarding their cash whenever they can, rising 6.4% over last year. And if they will not spend, corporations will not spend...in compensation or inventory stocks. No wonder unemployment continues to be stuck at 9.5%.

So is the nation out of financial danger...certainly not. In fact, we may succumb to a looming recession. Growth has been extremely sluggish, albeit positive for the past three quarters.

But for the recovery to continue at a appreciable rate, a sense of economic optimism has to be created, and I do not see this happening at any time soon. Naysayers far outnumber optimists these days, and certainly the GOP is leading the charge, a charge maintained in order to gain Congressional seats in November.

So as they continue to tout the frightful economic times in the nation (and blaming Obama for it), what they fail to admit is they are playing a role in the sluggish recovery as well.

Personally, I continue to be cautiously optimistic for the near future. Yes, historically a deep economic lull turns around in a quick, booming manner, and that certainly has not materialised. But corporate profits are up....way up. Cash on hand is way up, for both corporations and individuals (at least those gainfully employed).

All we need is a little confidence in the numbers, in our ability to fight our way out of it, and a little leadership. I am afraid the character attacks on the Obama administration has taken hold to such an affect that it may delay any real robust recovery for a few years. In my opinion, this is a situation caused, and maintained equally by both parties. For all the talks of the GOP rebounding back, truth is, the American voters are disenchanted with both parties performances over the past ten years. Trouble is, they are our only two choices...at least for now.

9/11 RESCUE WORKERS GET SHAT ON BY NO VOTES

PERSPECTIVE

GROUND ZERO FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

By now you most certainly heard the debate over the proposed Cordoba Mosque near Ground Zero, the site of the tragic events of 9/11. You have certainly heard the calls to disallow its presence so close to a reminder of the threat of global Islamic radicalism. You most certainly have heard the ignorant blathering of the bonehead from Wasilla, Sarah Palin as she brutalised the English language while calling on peaceful Muslims to please "repudiate" their desire to establish their mosque so close to ground zero.

As understandable as it would be to blame the entire Muslim faith for the attack on the World Trade Center, as understandable as it would be to hate everyone sharing a common religion with the perpetrators; deep in our hearts, we know it was from a small band of animalistic criminals, and not a united effort from their religious leaders and followers. We realize that they no more represented their religion than Timothy McVeigh represented Catholicism.....and we do not stop the building of Catholic churches next to the site of that bloody act of terrorism either.

Am I for the building of the mosque? Absolutely. It goes to the main tenets upon which this country was founded...freedom of religion. For it? I am an ardent supporter of it. We need to insure this mosque is built, we need the world to know that we are a free society, an intelligent society, and not the mindless sheep that largely make up the Muslim world in the middle east. We need to begin to build monuments on ground zero, and monuments around ground zero, and the Cordoba mosque should be one of them......a testament to our freedoms......freedom of religion and religious tolerance.

If we let these blocking efforts succeed, if we let these hatemongers succeed, if we let the vicious act of madmen let us change what we are, and what we believe, then they win. Don't let them win. We need this mosque as much as the Muslims do. We need a mosque, a church, a synagogue and a temple surrounding ground zero. We need to retain the core beliefs this country was founded on. We need to point to this mosque with pride; as much a testament of who we are as it will be yet another defeat of the hatred and bigotry spewed forth by Ms. Palin and her irk. They say they want to take their country back....truth is, they want to change this country in ways that would make the framers of our constitution sickened. Don't let them win.

You may not like every component necessary in order to make this gigantic sausage we call democracy, but it doesn't mean you get to choose the ingredients. It's called freedom.......get over it. Freedoms do not change with what calms you, or upsets you. Freedoms are freedoms. Don't like it? Move to China and see what upsets you.

And that is the world...the "World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

IOWA TEA PARTY BILLBOARD PREYS ON THE NAIVE AND IGNORANT

Billboard bought and paid for by the Northern Iowa

Tea Party placing a picture of our President

between two of the most heinous dictators in the world's history.

Question: when these zealots say they

want their country back, what country are they talking about?

Certainly not the United States of America.

NO CHOICES AGAIN IN CALIFORNIA

The primary season is finished in my state, and once again I am left with no options whatsoever....and for a moderate this is especially disheartening (what.......you don't believe I would vote for Republican? Ask Governor Reagan...twice).

I would, but I can't. You see in California, I have a choice between a former board member of Goldman Saks (bleech), and Jerry Brown; a candidate I will, but don't want to vote for (Gavin was my hope, but he suddenly dropped out and will accept Attorney General in a landslide). His opponent, Ms. Whitman, long on cash and completely devoid of experience, sans running a business selling shit to the masses (EBay) and running a financial institution that brought us to our knees....and I am loathe to buy into her particular load of shit. No brainer...let's re-live the past and re-elect Brown.

On to the senator race where Barbara Boxer (double bleech) the incumbent, is running against one Carly Fiorina, whose only experience is making Hewlett Packard successful by shipping off every fucking job overseas she possibly could....maybe she should run for office in India. This is a candidate so devoid of experience or political savvy, she actually criticized her opponents hair into an open mic (her hair....it's sooooo eighties..."). Gag me with a fucking spoon, somebody. Double no-brainer, Boxer gets my vote.

And so it goes.....

BUSH LEGACY: IRREGULAR BEHAVIORS FROM UNREGULATED INDUSTRIES

Government: bad. Corporations: good. If you had to encapsulate the Bush doctrine, this would have to be at least half of it to be sure, along with regional (Middle Eastern) domination of course. Smaller governments, and corporations given free reign to police themselves; to operate unfettered from government regulations and oversight.

This is the GOP party economic platform. Lower taxes and free markets. Less regulations, more competition. And although this looks good on paper, a mere year after the two Bush administrations we are seeing the aftermath of these doctrines.

Mining accidents with clouds of accusations of unsafe working conditions, as we dig further and further into the earth than ever before. Financial institutions left to operate less with the focus of what is good for the economy and its customers, and more focused on achieving their greedy end game of profit, and we are all experiencing the result of that.

And now we are seeing what happens when the offshore drilling industry is allowed to operate with little to no oversight, without a big government over their shoulder to reign in the profit driven practices of big oil....a gulf saturated with millions of gallons of crude, unfettered from a single shut off valve, which is standard practice allover the world.

So who is to blame...BP? Halliburton or others? Yes and no. Truth is, most of the fault lies in the 2001 energy policy masterminded by newly sworn in VP Cheney. Cheney, former CEO of oil and gas company Halliburton was charged with developing a new energy policy as his first official duty. And he did so with the aid of the leaders of the industry, leaders such as Enron's Ken Lay.

The task force report was based on recommendations sent to Cheney from coal, oil and nuclear companies...many of which were major contributors of the Bush election committee. This report included opening up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and encouraging increases in oil and coal production and output, along with increases in the development of bio-fuels and nuclear power.

A year later, the Bush administration released their first budget, which stripped renewable clean energy efforts drastically, solar and renewable cut by more than a third, nuclear by half, and energy conservation by twenty-five per cent. And as they did, big oil and coal applauded...they had won round one.

In 2003, research and development for biomass, renewable and solar energy were further reduced by the administration and the GOP controlled congress, while they provided multi-billion dollar tax breaks for dirty energy, along with tax breaks ($23.5 billion) and subsidies.

In his energy policy act of 2005, Bush gave $27 billion to coal, oil and gas, while giving only $6.4 billion for renewable energy. Also in that same year, the Interior Departments Minerals Management Service decided that oil companies, rather than big government, were in the best position to determine their operations environment impacts. This meant no requirements for environment impact studies for offshore drilling.

In his 2006 state of the union address, Bush famously stated "America is addicted to oil," and he was correct. What he failed to point out were his administrations continuous efforts to cater to big oil and the special interests efforts to quash all efforts into clean and renewable energy technologies. There can be little doubt of his efforts, as big oil garnered massive, record profits during his administrations.

In 2008, Bush lifted the moratorium on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and pacific coasts, reversing the ban placed in 1990 by his father. Only this time, they could do so with little regulation, little to no oversight, and an MME department all but bought and paid for with gifts and graft. No regulations, no oversight, no environmental impact studies, no shut off valves, no safety contingency plans.

And here we are....cleaning oil soaked wildlife, hiring shrimp boats stripped of their ability to make a living fishing to aid in the clean up, and listening to the conservatives bloviating about how this is "Obama's Katrina." All they needed was to foot the cost of an emergency safety shut off valve. But, unlike offshore rigs everywhere else on the face of the earth, they chose not to. And there was no one around to tell them otherwise. What an absolute crock of shit.

IT'S ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS

Critics have said the Obama home buyer tax credit only created imaginary demand. I agree....home sales up 7.45%? 20.5% increase over April 2009? Obviously President Obama has created imaginary people to purchase imaginary homes, creating the imaginary illusion that the economy is growing. Imagine that??

ARIZONA WHITEWASH MERELY AN ATTEMPT AT ETHNIC CLEANSING?

In 1993, the United Nations defined it as...."The planned deliberate removal from a specific territory, persons of a particular ethnic group, by force or intimidation, in order to render that area ethnically homogeneous."

It is called ethnic cleansing, a process the state of Arizona is currently on the throws of. Not only have they passed a tough immigration bill (see below), but they have now passed a new bill banning any school or university from offering curriculum in ethnic studies.

And with this new bill passage, the government of the state of Arizona, has made it official. Their efforts, which at first appeared to be an attempt merely to enforce immigration law and protect their citizenship, now appears to be nothing more than an official doctrine to the 41.6% of the population who do not enjoy the advantages of being Caucasian in a bigoted state / country: "you are not welcome here."

Considering the Mexican border / drug wars currently being waged, which are practically forcing the Mexican border population into relocating for their own safety, and the new assaults on the Hispanic population in Arizona by way of two major bill passages, one can only wonder what hell Arizona is bringing on themselves by shaking up this already volatile hornets nest.

I think I am going to cancel my Arizona vacation plans this summer....oh wait a minute...now I remember, Arizona is a brutally hot, barren land with virtually nothing of worth, or interest whatsoever. Kind of like Las Vegas without the fun. Now that I think about it, the only thing California has to do is strengthen their Arizona border to insure no ignorant, bigoted Arizonian tries to move here. Let them move to Texas, they'll be at home there.

And that is the world....the World According to Kimba. Thanks as always, for reading.

The average entry age of sex slavery (child prostitution) is 12 years old

Their are 27 million modern-day slaves in the world today,

more than at anytime in our history.

Human trafficking is the second largest criminal activity market in the world.

BORDERING ON RACISM? A TOUGH ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW PASSES.

You may have heard of the bill recently passed in Arizona which establishes increased penalties and enforcement capabilities involving illegal immigrants. The bill, Arizona Senate bill 1070, contains sweeping changes in policy, and has drawn much ire from liberal groups, up to and including the President himself. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney went so far as to call the mandate to show legal papers to prove legal status in this country bordering on "Nazism" (your papers, please).

Here is the bill in a nutshell...

"a law enforcement officer, without benefit of a warrant, may arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States"

"...it is unlawful for a person who is unlawfully present in the United States to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place, or perform work as an employee or independent contractor"

"...it is illegal to transport an illegal alien if they know or recklessly disregard this law"

"it is illegal to conceal, harbor or shield an alien from detection in any building or means of transportation..."

"...an employer shall not knowingly employ an illegal immigrant, and shall keep records of all immigrant workers status for a period of 3 years through the federal e-verify program..."

The bill also contains a very narrow definition of entrapment on the part of law enforcement agencies, especially if the employer is "predisposed to hire such labor." It establishes strict fines, criminal penalties, and allows for the confiscation of motor vehicles in the case of blatant disregard for the laws. It also allows people to sue their local or state government agencies if they believe the immigration laws are not being enforced.

Will this lead to massive sweeps of known places immigrants congregate, especially where they have been known to look for work? Yes. Will this result in some citizens being forced to show proof of citizenship merely as a result of their appearance or heritage (racial profiling)? Yes. Will it require everyone be able to provide proof of citizenship on demand of any law enforcement agent, even if they are not presently involved in criminal activity? Yes.

And so you would expect a bleeding heart liberal such as myself to be screaming bigotry and fervently against such a bill. Better sit down...I cannot. Yes, in Arizona,this bill will severely effect Hispanics. If passed elsewhere, in Florida it will effect Haitians, in New York, it will effect Puerto Ricans,and on and on.

The bottom line is, this is a great country, and if you want to enjoy immigrant status here, carrying papers to prove you are here illegally is not to much to ask. If you are an employer who frequently hires illegal immigrants, you should be held to the law. I am not crazy about law enforcement agents in sting operations trying to catch you, but the courts will protect you from overt entrapment.

This is merely a drastic step to protect its citizens from the unfortunate situations on our Mexican border....illegal drug smuggling, illegal immigrant smuggling, Mexican criminals seeking refuge here in the United States, illegal immigrants here to commit crimes in the United States, and illegal gun and weapon smuggling in the United States. Carried out correctly, this will be a small thing. Will law enforcement take this way too far? Possibly, but if enforced judiciously and to the letter of the law, it will be yet another tool to protect our borders and weed out the criminals in our society here illegally. I am holding my nose slightly, and I am biting my liberal, card carrying ACLU bent somewhat, but I am 60-40 in favor of this bill. Good Lord help me....but I am siding with the GOP on this one....and praying I will not hear stories of massive abuse of this law by bigoted law enforcement agencies.

THE TEA PARTY: STEEPED IN IGNORANCE

I love protests, I love anyone in this country who cares enough to form an opinion....if it is an informed one. But criticism for criticisms sake with no solutions offered is just whining, which is exactly why I think these zealots either need to come up with a solution, or shut the f*ck up.

Take a portion of their platform...smaller government and a reduction of taxes. Makes sense to me, where do I sign up? AND this is easily done...we just have to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, avoid an armed conflict with Iran, raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare, and we can reduce the deficit and lower taxes...and reduce the size of government. Where do I sign up?

Oh wait, the Tea Party is actually against reducing Medicare and the raising of the age for Social Security (their supporters are..let's be kind and say "mature"), and FOR the dual wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as taking a hard line on Iran (and who knows where that will lead us)....so considering these are overwhelmingly our largest expenditures, how exactly does that work? Hello.....tea partiers, hello? Anybody?

They want to end any socialist program to help the poor and disadvantaged, yet seem to forget that is what Social Security and Medicare does (programs that do not pay for itself since long ago in the bubble generation)......how about we drop you sorry asses from these programs...it would save a fortune, and the savings could be used to reduce taxes for everyone.

They are decidedly anti-Obama (with insultingly immature signage and slogans) and his spending, but fail to remember his one year performance was overwhelmingly affected by the sorry state of the economy he inherited from his predecessor (and his multiple tax cuts, pathetically run wars with massive amounts of funds still unaccounted for, his unfunded mandate called Medicare-D, and two sorry attempts at regime change in the Middle East).

They want government to stop as they say "rewarding failure"....so I can only imagine this means an end to lunch programs in school, unemployment insurance, welfare, food stamp programs, and the like. And I can get on board....because my religion says screw everybody. I have long said this country would be better off with more people starving and living on the streets. More people losing their jobs, their homes, and watching their children go to sleep hungry. I am with you...where do I sign up?

Maybe I should ask your spokesperson, the Governor who quit her job and quit on the people who elected her for an all out assault on the American pocketbooks, as she refuses to even speak to an American college without six figures and a humiliating list of diva like demands. Where do I sign up....and do I have to be white to join? It seems all your members are white and middle aged. OK, I qualify. But do I have to mirror your bigotry? Maybe I won't join. I just can't get into your little protests and the insipid signage you carry, and the limited intelligence you possess.

Sure, I like to criticize...do it all the time. But at least I think of solutions in my own way. Maybe I won't join your little group. Cause I don't need to be a card carrying member of your little cult to aimlessly scream into the darkness.

IT'S OFFICIAL...WE HATE EVERYONE!

According to recent polling, you would be hard pressed to find anyone in politics today who poll favorables over 50%...especially in the Senate, where only 6 out of 50 poll favorables over 50% (and barely at that).

In early 2012 polling, Obama has dropped to 47%, Romney 44%, Gingrich 43%, Pawlenty, once thought to be a contender is at 42% in his home state, Huckabee is at 40%, and ex-Governor (and current public speaking / money ho) is at 37%, although polls incredibly high among the Tea Party cult. BTW, the Tea Party itself is polling favorables at 41%.

So does this mean we have yet to meet the next President, or the race is wide open? Not hardly. The only question is who Romney will take for his ticket, and (I hope not) if Obama retakes the invisible man Joe Biden once again on his ticket.

Clearly, anyone in politics today is about as popular as a child molester in a Chuck E. Cheese. Obviously, this dark period opens up all kinds of opportunities for fringes on both sides to organize and achieve some level of acceptance (witness the Tea Party). Anytime unemployment reaches double digits and the economy is sluggish as it is, the political scene will be rife with critics and 15 minutes of fame celebrities. But, as strong as the American citizens disapprove of both sides of the political scene, it will only mean a lower turn out at the polls. Clearly the fever pitch of engagement by the citizens is waning to say the least.

Can either side achieve any momentum in 2012? Not to 2008 levels in my mind. Clearly the right has the big "MO" at present, but if the economy continues to improve, the left can only benefit (and take credit), which would even the score by primary time.

But at present, the early numbers lead me to ask...who the hell do the American people want (or approve of)? The more I read, the more I wonder if they even know. As engagement decreases, so does knowledge on the behalf of the electorate, and this is a scary proposition to say the very least......as each party distorts and retorts the truth in order to curry favor. This is a scary time indeed.

THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

Just kidding, the man ain't done shit.

At least he hasn't made the news by

saying something stupid lately.

What a great choice our Pres made.

The invisible man.

His only accomplishment has been standing next to Pelosi

and clapping during the State of the Union.

The only positive I can think of for Joe Biden is

he has good taste in women.

20+ REASONS TO APPRECIATE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

stabilized the stock market

health care reform

expansion of SCHIP program

more money for education

stimulus package signage

no lobbyist rule

pay freeze for WH staffers over $100k

closed the secret CIA prisons

ended water boarding, no torture policy

freedom of information act

reversal of stem cell ban

more $ in college Pell grants

lowered taxes for middle class

higher auto fuel standards

credit card reform bill

increased earned income tax credits

new car purchase tax breaks

withdrawal of troops from Iraq

focusing on Afghanistan

assisting Pakistan to stay strong

DIPLOMACY

lifting restrictions to Cuba

recent job growth (165k)

BUNNING STRIKES OUT

I am a huge sports fan. I love the game of baseball, have since I was a kid. So, naturally I know the name of Jim Bunning. One of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. Spent years taking the mound and mowing down thousands of opponents and sending them back to the bench, bat in hand.

Last week, Congressman Jim Bunning took the mound and mowed down another batter. Only this time, he threw a curve ball. Threw a curve ball, a change up, screwball and knockdown pitch all in one. Only this time, his opponent was not the opposition, it was the American unemployed.......the 9+% of America unable to find a job. Jim Bunning voted no to extending unemployment insurance for the American unemployed, and sent them back to the bench, only this time instead of a bat in their hand, they had a hat in their hands.

Jim Bunning suddenly woke up to the fact that the American government should reduce spending, and should not vote to spend any additional funds they could not afford to pay for. Good idea...only you should have had it when you had the majority in Congress...should have had it when you were voting in countless spending bills, one after the other, and another.

No, you decided to take a stand when your electorate, the nearly 12% of your constituents who are out of work, needed you most. Needed you to do what was right and compassionate for them. They voted you in time after time, and the one time they needed you most, you kicked them in the teeth. You kicked them while they were down, and that takes a very small measure of a man.

You see, at least in this area, Congress reached a bi-partisan agreement, to extend unemployment for those who need help in putting food on the table, and affording to heat their homes....and yes, to possibly afford their homes. But you saw this as a perfect time to take the mound as you always did, alone and make a political statement about spending at the worst possible time.

Time after time, you thwarted attempt after attempt to show some compassion towards those in need and you block passage of the bill. At midnight, they finally gave up on any hope of you regaining your senses...regaining any perspective on a vote that will help those in need. And for what...so you can get your name in the paper? To garner some publicity, to build the reputation as a hard line spending foe?

That day passed long ago, as you approved one drunken sailor spending measure after another. No, what you did was mean spirited and directed at those who are counting on your support in their time of need and uncertainty. You sir, have lost your mind. You are a very small measure of a man. You took the mound and did what no other pitcher had ever done on a pitching mound. You struck out. You struck out and struck a blow against the nearly 10% of American people who desperately need help. And for what? So you can reach a budget?

You didn't just vote no to unemployment, sir. You announced your retirement. Because if you think your base of supporters will sit blithely bye and re-hire you when you come up for re-election next time, you have lost full control of your faculties. The American people will not forget this, sir. Because in the end of the day, we have the final vote. We call the strikes and balls, we controls who stays in the game. And you sir, need to hit the showers.

That is the world....the "World According to Kimba." Thanks, as always, for reading.

A TRUE BI-PARTISIAN EFFORT

PLEASE GIVE UNTIL IT DOESN'T HURT ANYMORE

THE POLITICS OF FEAR

Elections are rapidly approaching, and it is officially silly season, and that is being kind. In fact it is officially the season of gross distortions and full on lies. Lies to make you fear the future. You see the deficit, conservatively estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5% of GDP, is apparently going to rob generations of any hope of a future, and the Chinese are currently scouting out locations for a new Tienanmen square, complete with a huge mural of Chairman Mao.

The simple fact is, running deficits in this economic time is prudent. Used correctly, increasing expenditures, such as in the stimulus package, will create jobs. Funds used to prevent AIG, the financial cyclops of the east, with its massive tentacles into ever financial sector...was prudent. Propping up financial institutions, thus preventing a run on banks with an ever increasing number of bank closures, was prudent. Increasing unemployment benefits and Cobra rights for the newly unemployed, was prudent. Small business loans will help as well.

The current propaganda stemming from the opposition is that the deficit is entirely Obama's fault, and the sooner every liberal is unemployed, the least likely we will fold up the national tent. The fact is, a goodly portion of the national deficit is caused by a lack of national revenue due to the economic times. Add in Medicare and Social Security, not to mention the massive cost of fighting not one, but two wars, and you now have a clearer picture of where we stand today. A condition most economists label not as a crisis, but as problematic. Nothing to be scared or fearful of whatsoever.

But in a country whose collective I.Q. is just above illiterate...a country who will collectively spend millions on something so completely benign as filling out a 1040E tax form (which requires two salient pieces of information...how much you made, and how much you paid in taxes), this tactic works. These are the people Sarah Palin likes to call "real" Americans, who clamor to her like the sheep they truly are. And distorting the facts and making them afraid...very afraid, is good politics. Wave the flag, mention God, and make them afraid.....it works every time.

Considering the caliber of candidates America is willing to send to Congress (actors, comedians, nude centerfold models and athletes), this little sportscaster from Wasilla just might have a bright future, despite having a resume thinner than her depth of knowledge....on just about anything. So she has hit the road, at $100,000.00 per speech, and is the new darling of the Tea baggers, and the "real" people more than willing to pony up her speaking fees.

Come to think of it, I am more scared than you are....not of the deficit, but of whom you might elect next. And that is the world....the "World According to Kimba."

OBAMA TAKES EM' TO THE WOODSHED

President Obama, normally bi-partisan to a fault, finally ended his conciliatory nature and took the do nothing GOP members of Congress to the woodshed for a well deserved spanking.

For a complete text of the State of the Union address, go onto http://www.c-span.org/, and for a video version, try http://www.youtube.com/, however I would like to focus on three paragraphs uttered by President Obama which I feel are indicative of the true State of the Union and completely self explanatory....

"...if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions."

"Those of us in public office can respond to reality by playing it safe and avoid telling the hard truths...we can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through to the next election instead of doing what's best for our next generation."

But I also know this: if people had made that decision (the current GOP do nothing posture) fifty or one hundred years ago, or even two hundred years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren."

Beautiful.......if I were Obama's speechwriter, I would have added only the phrase..."you gutless fat weasels...." Imagine...Americans are suffering through the worst economic downturn in their lifetimes.....the most disparaging, gut-wrenching, no end in sight economic downturn with no less than 10% of our workforce unable to find gainful employment, and nearly half of the United States Senate bands together to do....nothing. Nothing. But point fingers, place blame, and snidely smirk at the struggles of a party for whom none of this is their fault.

Their battle cry is "let this be his Waterloo," and wring their hands in anticipation of political gains two years down the road. While 10% of our workforce lies sleepless in their beds over the prospect of not saving their homes, not being able to afford health insurance, or their children's education; while the value of their 401K's slide into the abyss, while they struggle to put bread on the table...the GOP sits blithely by hoping their government fails them. In consideration of their efforts...their unfeeling inaction's and the pomposity of their schadenfreude, last nights scorn by our sitting President was holy inadequate.

So, has Obama reclaimed his testicles and decided to actually lead? To stop apologizing and push the agenda he was elected on through any means possible? Time will tell. One thing is for sure...any reference he made to both parties working together was nothing more than air. His scolding of the GOP guarantees it.

As he referred to earlier in his speech, it's an election year, and in my mind, it's time to start swinging away. And in his first real at bat, Obama hit a clean double. Not bad for a guy who has spent his first year in office taking pitches and hoping for a walk....

And that is the world...."The World According to Kimba."

Thanks for reading.

STATE OF THE DIS-UNION

With the State of the Union speech to be delivered next week, President Obama will take center stage days after a crippling and awakening defeat in Massachusetts as his party lost one of the longest Dem Senate stronghold in the nation. So where does he go from here?

The overall theme must be "I hear you." I hear you, I understand your concerns, and as your leader, I am going to modify my vision of the nation to your wishes. In that vein, I am taking my short term and long term goals and agendas and revising them with the help of congressional leaders, both on the majority and minority sides.

First and most important is the state of the economy. Understand, I was catapulted into a situation that demanded immediate action. Not only demanded immediate actions, but demanded actions to save the economy that surely would be risky and wildly unpopular, and as your leader, I made them. I understand your concerns over the cost of the stimulus packages, but we had to do it to stop the economic downturn we were experiencing when I took office. Simply put, to do nothing would have crippled the nation. To let enormous conglomerates like AIG to go under would start a house of cards that would have effected every portion of the nation. To let the American car industry to vanish would have cost thousands and thousands of jobs, and take away a source of pride all Americans have enjoyed since Henry Ford himself. To let a majority of banks and financial institutions go bankrupt would have killed the savings of every American. I know it was spending money we couldn't afford...but understand...I was spending money we couldn't afford to spend. For the duration of my Presidency, this unfunded spending will stop. My goal is balanced budgets from here on in, and that will mean everyone biting the bullet.

Next is health care. I hear you. My dream was to insure every American...man, woman and child. You have spoken and I have heard you. So i am taking health care off the congressional floors, and back to committee. I am not saying "not ever," I am saying "not now." The new health care goal is to insure every American under the age of 16, a goal we can easily accomplish...together.

Starting today, I am calling for a rapid redeployment of troops from Iraq and into Afghanistan. By the end of the year, I will reduce these troops in Afghanistan by 50%...I will bring the majority of our troops home. The savings alone will bolster the American economy, and the remaining troop force in the Middle East will be more than adequate to keep the peace in Afghanistan, and in the region should events in neighboring countries warrant our immediate attentions.

That's it... a very good start of his state of the union speech. It should be simple and easy to understand, and be grandiose promise free. Achievable goals over a two year period. I hear you, and we are molding our platform towards your wishes when prudent. Let them see the orator of old, and not the mud-stuck leader you have been. then go from there.

REIGNING SUPREME

A recent Supreme Court decision overturned a 20 year precedent saying that corporations could not pay for campaign ads from their general treasuries and struck down a law saying corporations couldn't buy "issue ads," negative ads supporting candidates in all but their names, most commonly devoting scads of money in the very last days of closely held campaigns.

Due to this decision, corporations can unleash multi-million dollar assaults on targeted issues and candidates, especially those battling against special interest groups, or they can infuse campaigns with untold monetary resources to the candidate(s) of their choosing. With virtually no limits on their spending, groups such as Big Oil, health insurance companies and Wall Street banks (GOP's best friends) will try to drown out the voices of everyday Americans...much to the advantage of the Republican party.

GET IN ON THE GROUNDFLOOR OF THE LATEST FAD

First it was Governor Sarah Palin, who has since defiled herself and solidified her legacy as a mockery / mockingbird. Next Oprah, the big O, the Pied Piper of the midlife soccer mom crowd announced she would retire in 2011, then turned around and admitted she would start her own "O" television network. Shortly thereafter, Lance Armstrong announced his retirement in 2011, then Miley Cyrus walked out on the highly successful Hannah Montana franchise. Not to be out done, Tyra Banks announced she will quit her show, Simon Cowell will leave American Idol to concentrate on his very own (and highly lucrative) X Factor show coming across the pond very shortly, now Conan O'Brien tells NBC to take the Tonight Show and use it for an enema.

Let's all be cool, ride the latest wave

and quit our stinkin' jobs!!

NEEDLING (IN) THE BIG APPLE

How do you combat HIV and hepatitis in New York? Why by spending $32,000.00 on publishing an instruction pamphlet called "Take Charge, Take Care."

Then print out 70,000 copies and distribute them to drug addicts and "high risk" abusers. Basically, it is a 16page how-to of using...correction, injecting drugs into your body for maximum effectiveness. I would say the New York Health Department used their own advise before conceiving this little project.