Who's Your Dictator?

I thought that was a catchy title. But, I am going to pose this question...Is the United States close to becoming a dictatorship under Barack Obama? Certainly Presidents have overstepped their bounds before...Andrew Jackson comes to mind. However, Barack Obama seems to be taking this to an extreme.

First, I'd like to cite 2 quotes from a speech he gave today announcing his nominee for Surgeon General. Obama is talking about Health Care Reform.

"Don't bet against us. We are going to make this thing happen,"

"I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone," the president said. "Inaction is not an option."

Some may say that those 2 quotes are "showing leadership." To me it sounds bullyish. However you slice it, members of Congress, including Democrats, have serious reservations about the President's Health Care Reform Plan. Remember, they don't need Republicans to get this done.

The people of this country elected their representatives to do a job, and for the first time since Obama got elected they are doing it. They are taking a critical look at something the President is proposing and saying that they don't like everything in there. But, rather than try to work with these members of his own party, Obama is acting like the school yard bully and putting people on notice.

The 2nd point that I've been meaning to address, and this goes more to the point of whether or not we are becoming a Dictatorship, is all these czars President Obama has been appointing. The number I've seen is 34 czars. For those of you who don't know, the President can appoint these czars without Constitutionally required Congressional approval and they report directly to him. Often, they have as much or more power than Cabinet level positions.

By appointing czars, Obama is able to more quickly enact sweeping changes at the federal level, because he doesn't have to go through the normal red tape. While I despise the overgrown government, the bureaucracy does serve one purpose...it stops the government from overreaching too quickly. Obama has taken a privilege that Presidents typically use for 4-5 positions and extended it to everything from a car czar to an executive pay czar. Obama has essentially set up a parallel government beholden to no one but him.

Look, I really don't know what Obama's plan is with this. I have my suspicions, but I don't want to sound too conspiratorial. What I do know is this...Obama only won 53% of the vote, yet he's operating like he won 75% of the vote. He's arrogant and I think he believes the American people will let him get away with whatever he wants, just because he sounds good when he asks for it. As Americans we need to send Obama a message. To do this, we need to call our Senators and Representatives when we don't support what they are doing and let them know how we feel. In 2010 and then 2012, we need to send a message with our vote. So far, the U.S. is not a Dictatorship, and it's up to us to keep it that way.

Movie Review: Valykyrie

"Valkyrie" boasts an solid cast as it tells the story of the German resistance against Hitler during the 2nd World War. This resistance was led by Claus von Stauffenberg, portrayed by Tom Cruise in the movie. Based on what is on Wikipedia, the movie appears to be somewhat accurate, though you can never truly trust Wikipedia.

I actually enjoyed this movie more than I expected to...I ended up giving it a 4 star rating. Tom Cruise has been growing more annoying, but he was surprisingly ok in this movie. The rest of the cast was pretty good as well, including Eddie Izzard, the famed British comedian turned actor. Also, any movie with Terence Stamp is generally made better.

I thought Bryan Singer did a terrific job in telling this story. The scenery was perfect and the suspense was really well done. I really liked how they started the movie in German, but then during mid paragraph began to transition to English. Bryan Singer is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors.

I just can't complain about too much in the movie...if not for my disposition against Tom Cruise, I may have given this 5 stars.

Think Outside the Natural World!

I guess I'll have to start eating more Taco Bell. After all, I want to be environmentally friendly.

LOL...I just wanted to try embedding a video. The Onion News Network always makes me laugh. Enjoy!


Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

These Guys are Good...too bad I didn't get to see it!

Yesterday I took a vacation day to go to the John Deere Classic in Moline, IL. The John Deere Classic is a PGA Tour event, and this year, they had a really great field, so I was very excited about this trip. My friend/neighbor was joining me, and he had never seen a PGA Tour event, so it was all good on both fronts.

Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. It was raining when I got up at 5:15 am, but I wasn't too worried, because I had watched the forecast the previous night, and it was supposed to rain at 5:15 am, but it was supposed to clear out by 6-7. Given the 2 hours it takes to get to the event, I figured they'd start golfing around 8, and we'd get to watch 7-8 hours of golf before the afternoon round of storms came through. This entire plan was based on Thursday night's weather forecast.

So, 6 am rolled around, and it was still pouring, and the radar looked awful, so we delayed and left at 8 am. So much for the weather forecast...I've never lived in a place where the weather is as hard to predict as it is here in Iowa. They never get it right!

Anyway, we got there at 10, and we were told they were starting at 11:30. We knew there was another round of storms coming, so figured we'd only get to see 3 to 4 hours before round 2 of the storms hit, washing out the rest of the day. Just as we were getting ready to head to the course, we heard Thunder. The people who were busing people to the course informed us that more storms were nearby and play was delayed until 2, but we could go over to the course if we wanted. So, we went over, figuring we'd walk the course and wait it out.

We started walking the course and got through about 3 holes on the back nine when the monsoon hit...it was raining so hard. We continued walking, umbrellas in hand, and saw the entire course. As we saw the standing water, we concluded there would be no golf played today...at about 1:15, they pushed play back to a 4 pm start, so we left...we figured there was no way golf was being played, and we were right, they ended up postponing the entire day.

We were both very disappointed, but tempered our disappointment some by stopping at Buffalo Wild Wings before heading back. Still, it was a bummer of a day. Next year, we'll have to keep a couple of days for the tournament open, and go whichever day seems like it's going to have better weather.

Book Review: Enemies and Allies

"Enemies and Allies" by Kevin J. Anderson is a sort of a "nerd" book. I mean that in a good way. As you can probably tell from the picture, it is a book in which Batman and Superman team up for the betterment of America. Right up my alley, but probably not for everyone. I owe this one to my wife as well...I never would have known about this book if not for her.

"Enemies and Allies" is set in mid 1950's America. The era of Sputnik, McCarthy and the cold war. Gotham City has a vigilante that has been roaming the streets stopping criminals for the last year and a half. The police want him arrested and the public doesn't know what to make of him. The Batman is a mystery to everyone. In Metropolis, a new hero from another planet has emerged. He's doing incredible things, and everyone wants to know more about him.

In the midst of these 2 emerging story lines, Kevin J. Anderson weaves a story that brings to the 2 iconic Super Heroes together, against a common enemy...Lex Luthor. Luthor is bent on controlling as much of the world as he can, and wants to be seen as the real hero. To stop him, the 2 heroes have to overcome their initial distrust of each other. Neither man knows what to make of the other, or his methods, and their initial contact does nothing to improve this.

This story is really well done from a character standpoint. As a Batman fan, first and foremost, I thought this portrayal was perfect. Batman is dark and mysterious. He keeps mostly to the shadows and avoids the public spotlight. He is a brilliant strategist relying on nothing more than his skills and gadgetry to get the job done. Superman is portrayed as the hero of all heroes. He charges in, with no regard for his own safety, to save the day. He says and does all the right things and the people love him for it.

This story has everything the typical Batman/Superman stories have, including Batman saving Superman, so that Superman can save the world. This seems to happen in all Batman/Superman stories, but the way it occurs in this book is different and tops all the others I've seen or read.

If you are a fan of either Batman or Superman, you won't be disappointed by "Enemies and Allies."

The Latest Renewable Resource

I saw this and had to post it. They're calling it Pee Power...apparently scientists at Ohio University have figured out how to create hydrogen gas from urine. They then convert the hydrogen gas into energy. The best quote from the article came from Gerardine Botte who is developing the technology. "One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses". Not only a food source, but now an energy source as well...the cow is a magnificent beast. According to the story, there could be fuel cells using this technology in as little as 6 months.

I think it's kinda cool...in a gross sort of way.

The Dilemma that is Sarah Palin

I struggle with what to make of Sarah Palin's abrupt resignation from the Alaska Governorship. In general, I struggle with what to make of Sarah Palin. I think Bill Kristol, writing in the Washington Post sums up my thoughts very well. Or, at least he comes as close as anyone has.

I genuinely found Sarah Palin to be likable during the campaign. I agree with her critics that she wasn't ready to be President on day 1...but neither was Obama. In fact, he continues to prove that he wasn't ready. But I digress...Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention was the highlight of the political year for me (though there wasn't much for us Conservatives to cheer about). Her straight talk, almost folksy style made her instantly likable to people like me who are sick of know-it-all elites from Ivy League schools running everything.

I'm going to digress again...who was our last President who didn't go to an Ivy League school? Did you say Ronald Reagan? I hope you did...he's a graduate of Presidential Powerhouse Eureka College. Sometime I'll have to blog about my theory that Ivy League College Graduates are the new aristocracy, replacing the "royal families" of old. But that's a topic for another day.

Back to Sarah Palin. I don't know if she'll be a candidate for President in 2012. Heck, I don't know if she'll run for any more political offices. I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't. Here's what I do know...she wasn't ever given a fair chance. From the moment she was nominated, political elitists in both parties, along with an all too willing media began destroying her. She faced tougher scrutiny than Barack Obama and John McCain combined!

So, why? Why was Palin treated so unfairly by the political establishment and media? I have to agree with Bill Kristol. I think the establishment, made up of Ivy League political elitists in both parties, fears Sarah Palin and what she stands for. The Ivy League elites run this country, and they want to continue to run this country. So, they have to squash Sarah Palin. Because, if Sarah Palin, former beauty queen, graduate of the University of Idaho, from backwoods Alaska can be a serious candidate for President, then anyone can! And the Ivy League Political Elites can't let that happen.