Observation Point

When I understand that everything happening to me is to make me more Christlike, it solves a lot of anxiety.  A.W. Tozer


Today is an anxiety-producing day and I would do well to heed the above advice. The above passage does not mean that God causes things to happen to make us more Christlike, but that He will use them for that purpose if we allow Him to do so. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28. So with that in mind, it's time to unclench my fist at the disaster of the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision and let God begin working out the good that it is abundantly clear only He can work. 

A Colossal Fraud; A Colossal Failure

You probably know by now that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Obamacare as constitutional on a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts. Obamacare was always sold as grounded in the Commerce Clause (Art. I, Sec. 8) of the Constitution. When this argument got into trouble in the courts, the DOJ added the argument that it could be justified under the taxing power of Congress. Of course the problem with this argument was that throughout the legislative process the Obama Administration and its Congressional allies had gone to great lengths to deny that this was a tax. Now, it has been upheld on just that basis.


The simple word for all this is "FRAUD." There has to be some level of trust between the government and its citizens and here we have the biggest piece of legislation in decades that is nothing more than the world's biggest con job. An ordinary citizen would go to jail over what was done here. The bill was created behind closed doors and rushed to a vote. No member of Congress even read the whole bill. As Nancy Pelosi famously reminded us, "We have to pass it to see what is in it." Then it was the Court's turn.


The Supreme Court is uniquely supposed to deal with justice, but when this gargantuan con job came along, it too fumbled its mission.  The Court did declare the Commerce Clause as an unconstitutional authority for the legislation, but then upheld it under Congress' taxing authority. Essentially, by giving credence to the taxing clause as the basis for Obamacare, the Court became a party to the fraud. It could easily have said that nowhere was the taxing clause ever cited as the basis for the legislation and therefore the Court was not going to recognize this argument. It could have, but it didn't, and so we now have a colossal fraud on the American people perpetrated by all three branches of government. It is a sad, sad day in American history that such a thing could happen. Total system failure.

I'll Have a Clark Bar

It was a little slow at the office today and we began talking about extinct soda brands and candies. Anybody remember TruAde? Great stuff and it was non-carbonated. Clark Bars fall into the same category.

Originally created by David Clark in 1917, I loved them as a kid but hadn't seen them for years. A quick Google search revealed that the New England Confectionery Company (Necco Wafers anyone?) bought the line in 1999 and has been producing them ever since. You can buy them directly from Necco in 24-count boxes; $24. Question: will a box fit into my Christmas stocking?

www.neccostore.com/all-natural-milk-chocolate-clark-bar.pd

Here's One I Hadn't Thought About

A new poll finds that a majority of the public believes that Obama would better handle a visit by aliens than Romney. How did I miss that one?! Well then, I guess I'm going to have to switch my vote.

www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77881.html

Half a Loaf

Yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision gave a half a loaf to each side. Arizona had the key provision of SB 1070 affirmed as constitutional, which was a reversal of the 9th Circuit. Basically, Arizona police officers can check on immigration status if they have made a stop based on probable cause. The Feds and President Obama got their half loaf because the Court ruled that only the Feds can decide what to do with a person who is an illegal. Therein lies the rub.

The President has ordered that we are going to do nothing with most illegals. He had been deporting them wholesale, but that is bad for his re-election, so now everybody stays. Further, there's not much enforcement on the southern border to keep folks out. "Illegals" are a discrete voting block for the Dems, just like "Dead People," "Multiple Voters" and many other creative categories.

What we need is a President who will enforce the law and Obama has shown that he is not that person. A discussion needs to be had in Congress about what the law should be, but "Y'all come!" is not in the long term best interests of the United States.  November 6 is 133 days away.

Go Big!

On April 12 I posted a piece that Romney now had the nomination sewn up but he had to resist the conventional political wisdom to go safe with his campaign. Thus far I have been pleasantly surprised. He is clearly growing as a campaigner and his media/social media team is first rate at quickly countering Democrat bilge. Over the last several weeks The Dems have rolled out their usual assortment of horse pucky against Romney and nothing has stuck because Team Romney has been so good and so quick at counterattacking. Now there is the issue of VP and this is no time to resort to old - and bad - habits.

Numerous reports are floating around that Ohio Senator Rob Portman is top dog at the moment in the VP Sweepstakes. Nice guy; bad choice. These are not normal times and if Obama is reelected, the fact that we are not in Kansas anymore will become apparent to even the dullest knives in the drawer. It is time for Republicans to go BIG or go home. Marco Rubio is the candidate.

Team Obama would love Sen. Portman - he would fit in perfectly with their media campaign against Romney of Out of Touch White Guys (OTWG).  Rubio, on the other hand, must terrify them: young, smart, tough, Hispanic, and most of all, articulate. I would pay to watch the VP debate between Rubio and Biden. Rubio knows where he stands and why and he can talk to crowds of all kinds and the camera about what it is going to take to get the U.S. back on track. And then he can do it in Spanish. The Dems will not be able to pigeonhole and because of his formidable skills, they will not be able to contain his message - this is an exceptional country and it is time to  get back to basics! So Mitt, if you want to go through the motions on a VP, fine. But when it's time to make the pick - don't hesitate, go BIG; go Rubio.

Market Discipline

I don't always agree with Warren Buffett, as you may know, but his canning of the CEO of Benjamin Moore Paint for a lavish company-paid vacation for its execs is something I wholeheartedly applaud. The company went into the dumper when the housing industry tanked and the company made necessary layoffs, furloughs, and generally did whatever it took to survive.  Recently the company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, turned in its first profit since 2007. A lot of people no doubt worked very hard to get there. For many companies, shareholders are a minor nuisance for top executives and they get away with all sorts of executive perks and compensation that boggle the mind, often times whether the company is performing well or not. Buffett showed that there are some shareholders out there who still think that shareholder return and overall team compensation is more important than executives doing a Marie Antoinette. My applause, sir.

www.nypost.com/p/news/business/tint_of_scandal_yKBZbWNaIfkRvlzWSXXwuJ

Happy Father's Day

Let's talk about a happier subject - Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all you dads! Being a father has been one of the real privileges of my life.

I have four great kids and raising them was often a challenge, but always a joy. My three girls - Cristy, Jenny, and Amy - taught me what a household of girls was like. I grew up with only a brother, so this was definitely new territory, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it - and I am hopefully both older and wiser in this department now. My son Matt gave me a taste of what I was like for my parents. There was the inevitable head-butting (both of us put holes in the wall during our teenage years and for the same reason) but there were also the many shared moments that fathers and sons enjoy that are special years later.

Adulthood has brought new "kids" into the family - Glenn, Jocelyn and Mark - all of whom have been wonderful additions. And there are now grandchildren, all but one of whom are pictured above. Great kids; great life. I am blessed. Psalms 127:3-5. Happy Father's Day to all!

Will Greece Go Down?

You tell me. Your move Deutschland.

Who is Flying This Thing?

Between 2007 and 2010, Americans' median net worth fell 38.8 percent – or from $126,400 per family to $77,300 per family. This was the same net worth as in 1992. At this rate, if Obama wins again we will be down to $47,000. Forward.

www.nydailynews.com/news/money/americans-net-worth-fell-40-due-declining-home-values-report-article-1.1093810?localLinksEnabled=false

Guilty Pleasure

Okay, I admit it: Joe Biden is one of my guilty pleasures. I was upset with Obama winning the 2008 election but I consoled myself with the fact that Joe Biden would provide comic relief. I haven't been disappointed. 


Perhaps my favorite Biden moment was when he asked a guy in the balcony to stand up and take a bow at a political rally. The look on his face, and his subsequent spin control, were priceless when an aide leaned over and whispered in his ear that the gentleman was a paraplegic. You just never know what Old Joe is going to come up with. Shoot, Old Joe himself doesn't know what he's going to come up with until it has come up. Jonah Goldberg comments on this practical problem for President Obama:


"It's a fascinating weakness of this presidency: Obama has no reliable surrogates. Joe Biden is the vice president, and 90 percent of his job description is to be a carnival barker for his boss. But, particularly since Biden forced the president's hand on gay marriage, it's apparently dawned on the White House that Biden is less than dependable as a wingman. Sure, he might begin a statement by saying, "This president saved us from another Great Depression." But you never know if he'll finish by adding, "My neighbor has three rabbits," or, "These are not my pants."


Truer words have not been spoken and that is why Joe has been - and will remain - one of my guilty pleasures.


townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/2012/06/08/searching_for_a_surrogate

The Horse and the Rider Thrown Into the Sea

Here's an interesting piece. Remains of chariots are being found in the Red Sea. Can anybody say Moses? Included in the debris is a gold-plated chariot wheel that is relatively intact because coral and marine organisms cannot attach to gold. This is potentially a very interesting story to watch as it develops - one that makes you say, "Hmm..."

www.wnd.com/2012/06/chariots-in-red-sea-irrefutable-evidence/

Faster Than a Speeding Neutrino!

Remember the buzz a year or two ago that a sub-atomic particle had been measured going faster than the speed of light? Well, not so much. It turned out to be faulty measuring equipment. Rest easy Einstein!

news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57449418-76/cern-confirms-speedy-neutrinos-follow-laws-of-physics-after-all/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

How Many Planners Does it Take to...?

The I-5 bridge across the Columbia River has needed replacement for a long time. A planning group with all the bells and whistles has spent years and $140 MILLION dollars working on this project and managed to get something as basic as the height wrong. Unfortunately too for the planners the opposition is not a bunch of lightweights but the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, both of which must sign off on the project before construction begins. What in the Sam Hill is going on? Basically, willful ignorance.

Public testimony was given on the height issue at several points in the hearing process that made it clear that 125 feet was the minimum height for the bridge and even higher was preferable. The Coast Guard dredge that clears out river mouths (like after Mt. St. Helen blew) needs 116' to clear the bridge. Many sail boats have masts that need that much clearance. Several steel fabricators on the east side of the proposed location are building Alaska drilling rigs testified that they need 178' to get the completed rigs down river. All of these can get through the current bridge. And so the planners promptly blew off all this testimony and made a calculated gamble that setting the height at 95', which would cover 97% of all users, would be good enough. Well, it's not. Neither the Coast Guard nor the Corps are going to approve the project. Great.

This is a great real time example of what is wrong with government. It spends colossal amounts of taxpayer money listening to everybody from the Merry Waifs of Portland to the Herniated Umbilical Striped Snail Society and gets even the most basic stuff wrong - really wrong. The Marion County office building is another fine example of this same trend. Whoever is doing the planning on the Columbia Crossing project should be summarily fired and the work turned over to someone who knows what the heck they are doing. Government is working very, very poorly and we can no longer afford the lame excuses that are standard table fare when things go wrong.

www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/06/planners_ignored_river_users_w.html

Into the Cauldron

June 6, 1944, D-day, zero hour. This is the view of Omaha Beach seen from an infantryman's eyes that fateful day. It was the beginning of the end of Hitler's Third Reich. Brave men and desperate times. Thank you for your service to humanity.

Forward - Take 3

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that unemployment increased from 8.1% to 8.2% in May. Yessir - this economy is definitely going somewhere!

www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm